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Australia Sanctions Iran’s Revolutionary Guards For Threatening Regional Stability

Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles (left) and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong during a meeting in Melbourne (AP)
Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles (left) and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong during a meeting in Melbourne (AP)
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Australia Sanctions Iran’s Revolutionary Guards For Threatening Regional Stability

Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles (left) and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong during a meeting in Melbourne (AP)
Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles (left) and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong during a meeting in Melbourne (AP)

The Australian government on Tuesday said it is imposing new targeted sanctions on five Iranian individuals and three entities, in response to Iran’s destabilizing behavior in the Middle East.
Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong said that the senior officials sanctioned include Iran’s Defense Minister, Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, and the Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Qods Force, Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, in addition to the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard's contracting arm, Khatam al-Anbiya, Brigadier General Abdol Reza Abed.
The list also includes former defense minister Amir Hatami, managing director of Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industries Mehdi Gogerdchian and Major General Gholam Rashid.
“Tuesday’s listings mean the government has now sanctioned 90 Iranian-linked individuals and 100 Iranian-linked entities and are a further demonstration of our commitment to taking strong action against Iran,” the government said.
According to a Foreign Ministry statement, the IRGC is a malignant actor that has long been a threat to international security, and to its own people.
It said the sanctioned include Iranian senior officials, business people and companies that have contributed to the development of Iran’s missile and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) programs.
“Iran’s proliferation and provision of these technologies to its proxies has fostered instability across the region for many years,” the statement added.
Wong pledged that Australia will continue to deliberately and strategically apply pressure on Iran to cease its disruptive activities and adhere to international law.

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Rescuers Dig for Survivors of Vanuatu Earthquake

A handout photo made available by the Vanuatu Police Force shows rescue teams conducting search and rescue operations following an earthquake in Port Vila, Vanuatu, 17 December 2024 (issued 18 December 2024). EPA/Vanuatu Police Force
A handout photo made available by the Vanuatu Police Force shows rescue teams conducting search and rescue operations following an earthquake in Port Vila, Vanuatu, 17 December 2024 (issued 18 December 2024). EPA/Vanuatu Police Force
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Rescuers Dig for Survivors of Vanuatu Earthquake

A handout photo made available by the Vanuatu Police Force shows rescue teams conducting search and rescue operations following an earthquake in Port Vila, Vanuatu, 17 December 2024 (issued 18 December 2024). EPA/Vanuatu Police Force
A handout photo made available by the Vanuatu Police Force shows rescue teams conducting search and rescue operations following an earthquake in Port Vila, Vanuatu, 17 December 2024 (issued 18 December 2024). EPA/Vanuatu Police Force

Vanuatu's capital was without water on Wednesday, a day after reservoirs were destroyed by a violent magnitude 7.3 earthquake that wrought havoc on the South Pacific island nation, with the number of people killed and injured expected to rise.
The government's disaster management office said early Wednesday that 14 deaths were confirmed, but hours later said nine had been verified by the main hospital. The number was “expected to increase" as people remained trapped in fallen buildings, a spokesperson said. About 200 have been treated for injuries, The Associated Press reported.
Frantic rescue efforts that began at flattened buildings after the quake hit early Tuesday afternoon continued 30 hours later, with dozens working in dust and heat with little water to seek those yelling for help inside. A few more survivors were extracted from the rubble of downtown buildings in Port Vila, also the country's largest city, while others remained trapped and some were found dead.
A near-total telecommunications collapse meant people struggled to confirm their relatives' safety. Some providers began to reestablish phone service but connections were patchy.
Internet service had not been restored because the submarine cable supplying it was damaged, the operator said.
The earthquake hit at a depth of 57 kilometers (35 miles) and was centered 30 kilometers (19 miles) west of the capital of Vanuatu, a group of 80 islands home to about 330,000 people. A tsunami warning was called off less than two hours after the quake, but dozens of large aftershocks continued to rattle the country.
The Asia-Pacific head of the International Federation of Red Cross, Katie Greenwood, speaking to The Associated Press from Fiji, said it was not clear how many people were still missing or killed.
“We have anecdotal information coming from people at the search and rescue site that are fairly confident that unfortunately those numbers will rise,” she said.
The capital’s main medical facility, Vila Central Hospital, was badly damaged and patients were moved to a military camp. Clement Chipokolo, Vanuatu country director at the Christian relief agency World Vision, said health care services, already strained before the quake, were overwhelmed.
No water in Port Vila While power was out in swathes of Port Vila, the biggest fear among aid agencies was the lack of water. Two large reservoirs serving the capital were totally decimated, the National Disaster Management Office said.
Resident Milroy Cainton said people were joining large queues to buy water in stores, but could only purchase two or four bottles at a time. “People are not really concerned about electricity, they're just concerned about water,” he said.
UNICEF was recording a rise in diarrhea among children, a sign that they had begun to drink tainted water, said the chief of the Vanuatu office, Eric Durpaire. Officials told residents of areas where water had been restored to boil it.