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Iran Hangs Another Protester as Dozens More Risk Execution

A woman rides a bicycle as others cross a street in downtown Tehran, Iran, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP)
A woman rides a bicycle as others cross a street in downtown Tehran, Iran, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP)
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Iran Hangs Another Protester as Dozens More Risk Execution

A woman rides a bicycle as others cross a street in downtown Tehran, Iran, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP)
A woman rides a bicycle as others cross a street in downtown Tehran, Iran, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP)

Iran on Monday executed a man on charges related to protests this year, the latest in a spree of hangings on political or security accusations since the start of the US-Israeli war with dozens more risking execution, rights groups said. 

Some three dozen men have been hanged on charges related to protests, membership of banned opposition groups, or espionage since wartime executions resumed in March, according to rights groups. 

The latest man to be hanged was Abbas Akbari, who was accused of attacking an official building in Nain in the central province of Isfahan during the peak of the protest movement in January. 

"The primary purpose of these executions is to instill fear in society and prevent future protests," said the director of Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR) Mahmood Amiry Moghaddam. 

He added the surge in executions has resulted in no "serious political consequences for" Iran. 

"Unless the political cost of executions increases, we are likely to witness the continuation, and even escalation of daily executions in the weeks and months ahead," he said. 

The Hengaw group, also based in Norway, described the execution as "a clear example of state-sanctioned killing aimed at intimidating society and suppressing the people's legitimate right to protest". 

The judiciary's Mizan Online website described Akbari as "one of the armed leaders" of protests in his region. 

IHR and Hengaw said Iran has now executed 15 people on charges related to the 2026 protests since the war began. Another man was also executed in the same period on charges connected to protests in 2022. 

Thirteen men have also been hanged over links to banned opposition groups including the outlawed People's Muhajedin of Iran (PMOI or its Persian acronym MEK) but also proscribed Kurdish and Baluch organizations. 

Nine men have meanwhile been executed on espionage charges, according to IHR. 

Iran on Sunday hanged Mojtaba Kian on espionage charges after convicting him of sharing information during the war, Mizan said. His execution was the first on charges linked to this war. 

IHR also said on Wednesday that two Iraqi men had been hanged on espionage charges. Their hanging has not been reported by media inside Iran. 

Amnesty International said on Thursday that at least 78 "protesters, dissidents and others with real or perceived links to banned opposition groups" are under sentence of death and at risk of execution. 

Hengaw said on Monday that a court had sentenced four defendants to death, and another four to prison terms in a case concerning the death of a member of the Basij militia in the Tehran district of Ekbatan in 2022. 

"The defendants were sentenced to death without access to lawyers or adequate opportunities to present their defense, despite substantial ambiguities and flaws in the case file," said Hengaw, adding they were at "serious risk of execution". 

Meanwhile the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said the supreme court had overturned death sentences issued against Mohammadreza Majidi-Asl and his wife, Bita Hemmati, in a case connected to the January 2026 protests. 

Hemmati was the only woman so far known to have been sentenced to death in these protests. This latest development has yet to be confirmed by the Iranian judiciary. 

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World

Landfill Collapse Kills 30 in Guinea

Residents and rescuers use an excavator to search for bodies after a landslide struck the Dar es Salaam dumpsite overnight in Conakry on August 23, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
Residents and rescuers use an excavator to search for bodies after a landslide struck the Dar es Salaam dumpsite overnight in Conakry on August 23, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
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Landfill Collapse Kills 30 in Guinea

Residents and rescuers use an excavator to search for bodies after a landslide struck the Dar es Salaam dumpsite overnight in Conakry on August 23, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
Residents and rescuers use an excavator to search for bodies after a landslide struck the Dar es Salaam dumpsite overnight in Conakry on August 23, 2026. (Photo by AFP)

Thirty people died in Guinea's capital Conakry on Sunday when a mound of rubbish in a landfill collapsed before dawn onto neighboring homes following heavy rains, the government said.

Six others were seriously injured in the 2:00 am (0200 GMT) incident in the Bbessia district's Dar-es-salam neighborhood on the capital's outskirts, a government statement said.

Neighborhood leader Lancine Sylla had previously told AFP that he feared a heavy toll.

"We have pulled out 18 bodies that were taken to the morgue," he told AFP.

Guinea's minister for territorial administration Djenabou Toure went to the scene of the accident, where AFP photographers saw excavators take part in a search-and-rescue operation through the collapsed landfill under the gaze of a crowd of onlookers.

In recent days, the government had ordered the expulsion of people and safety measures around the site because of fears of a collapse.

World

French Ambassador to Asharq Al-Awsat: Mohammed bin Salman’s Visit Paves Way for New Phase of Strategic Partnership

Patrick Maisonnave, French Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Patrick Maisonnave, French Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat).
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French Ambassador to Asharq Al-Awsat: Mohammed bin Salman’s Visit Paves Way for New Phase of Strategic Partnership

Patrick Maisonnave, French Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Patrick Maisonnave, French Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat).

A senior French official stressed that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to France on Sunday means, in short, that Riyadh and Paris are entering a new phase of a genuine strategic partnership. He said the visit will address diplomacy, security, defense, investment, energy, culture, technology, and education.

Patrick Maisonnave, the French ambassador to Saudi Arabia, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the momentum is now being further strengthened through the visit of Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman to France and the first meeting of the French-Saudi Strategic Partnership Council.

According to Maisonnave, the council is particularly important because it provides a permanent institutional framework for this political ambition, allowing both countries to set priorities, measure progress, and develop long-term cooperation across the main pillars of the relationship.

He added that as the two countries seek to keep pace with profound geopolitical, economic, and technological changes, Mohammed bin Salman’s visit demonstrates a shared determination to move from a very strong bilateral partnership to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

He continued by saying that the readiness of the two leaderships to work together is not limited to bilateral issues, but also extends to regional stability, global challenges, and the major transformations shaping their societies, as the partnership enters a new phase with this visit.

He explained that the transformation Saudi Arabia is undergoing under Vision 2030, together with France’s strengths in sectors such as energy, infrastructure, culture, innovation, artificial intelligence, education, and creative industries, is creating new areas for convergence.

He stressed that the strategic dimension of the partnership lies precisely in this development, moving from a relationship based on strong cooperation to one increasingly grounded in shared objectives, long-term planning, and joint initiatives.

A Convergence Resilient to Challenges

Maisonnave affirmed that Riyadh and Paris have a well-established partnership and mutual trust that enable them to overcome the geopolitical challenges facing the region. He noted that the bilateral convergence translates into close coordination on the region’s most prominent crises.

He added that Paris and Riyadh are working together to support a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians and create the necessary political conditions for lasting peace. The two countries also share an interest in Yemen’s stability and in protecting freedom of navigation and the security of strategic maritime routes.

According to Maisonnave, the two countries support efforts to end the devastating war in Sudan and preserve the country’s unity and institutions. They also support Syria’s sovereignty, unity, and recovery, as well as the establishment of a stronger Lebanese state capable of exercising its authority, while reducing external interference and the influence of non-state armed groups.

He continued by saying that France and Saudi Arabia naturally have their own interests and perspectives, but have developed the ability to engage in frank dialogue, particularly during periods of regional tension and profound international changes. This has enabled the relationship not only to endure, but also to continually reinvent itself.

Ambassador Maisonnave said the distinctive nature of the Saudi-French relationship lies in its rare combination of historical depth, political trust, and a shared ability to look to the future. Over the past century, he explained, the two countries have built a relationship based on mutual respect, continuous dialogue, and, most importantly, strategic autonomy.

He added that the relationship is no longer defined solely by its history or traditional areas of cooperation. Instead, it is increasingly focused on what the two countries can build together over the coming decades. French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Saudi Arabia in December 2024 was a landmark moment that gave new political momentum to bilateral relations.

He attributed the resilience of bilateral relations since their establishment in 1926 to the fact that their strength lies in a century of accumulated trust, sustained political engagement at the highest levels, and a determination to adapt the partnership to each new historical period, despite some turning points along the way.

Maisonnave added that since diplomatic relations were established in 1926, France and Saudi Arabia have steadily expanded the scope of their cooperation. The relationship has accompanied the transformation of the Kingdom itself while responding at the same time to successive regional and international challenges. After 100 years, he said, the relationship is broader and deeper than at any previous stage in its history.

He continued by saying that this continuity is particularly evident today in diplomatic cooperation. At a time when the Middle East is going through one of its most significant periods of transformation, France and Saudi Arabia share a fundamental objective: preventing instability from becoming permanent and restoring the priority of diplomacy, state sovereignty, and international law.

Of particular importance, according to Maisonnave, is that this diplomatic coordination is developing alongside an equally deep economic and societal partnership. France is accompanying the transformation taking place in Saudi Arabia under Vision 2030 in areas ranging from investment and energy to culture, tourism, technology, education, and human capital development.

In his view, this gives the relationship an unprecedented scope, noting that strategic dialogue at the highest political levels is reinforced by growing ties between the two countries’ economies, institutions, and societies.

He also noted that the centenary of the establishment of diplomatic relations represents more than a commemoration of the past. It symbolizes the transition from one chapter to another in the history of the relationship.

Maisonnave explained that the first 100 years established and laid the foundations for a relationship based on trust. He stressed that the next 100 years must build on this legacy, making France and Saudi Arabia not merely partners in a changing world, but partners in shaping the future.

World

Zelensky Rejects Wartime Elections, Says Would 'Split' Ukraine

(FILES) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives to attend a meeting with Serbian President at the Palace of Serbia, in Belgrade on August 8, 2026. (Photo by Andrej ISAKOVIC / AFP)
(FILES) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives to attend a meeting with Serbian President at the Palace of Serbia, in Belgrade on August 8, 2026. (Photo by Andrej ISAKOVIC / AFP)
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Zelensky Rejects Wartime Elections, Says Would 'Split' Ukraine

(FILES) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives to attend a meeting with Serbian President at the Palace of Serbia, in Belgrade on August 8, 2026. (Photo by Andrej ISAKOVIC / AFP)
(FILES) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives to attend a meeting with Serbian President at the Palace of Serbia, in Belgrade on August 8, 2026. (Photo by Andrej ISAKOVIC / AFP)

President Volodymyr Zelensky said in remarks made public Sunday that it would be too dangerous for Ukraine to hold an election while it fights Russia's invasion, after a call by his former defense minister to organize a vote.

"I believe that in a war like this, elections as such are a huge risk. Elections right now are a tsunami for the country that will split Ukraine," Zelensky said in the comments.

Ukraine has suspended elections under martial law, a measure still widely supported by the population as the country focuses on fighting off Russian forces.

"If we want to destroy the country, then we can move in the direction of elections during these times of war," the 48-year-old leader added.

He held a briefing with a group of journalists including AFP on Saturday, the first in months amid several political crises.

The latest upheaval saw thousands take to the streets after Zelensky fired his defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov.

The ousted Fedorov this week made a surprise call to find a way to organize a vote - but without offering a roadmap, and prompting even some of his supporters to distance themselves from him.

Experts have cited a flurry of obstacles, including how soldiers, millions of Ukrainian refugees and people from occupied territories would vote, as well as disinformation threats from Russia.

Only 15 percent of Ukrainians believe elections should be held before the end of hostilities, according to a poll by the Kyiv Institute of Sociology.

Zelensky made numerous jab at his opponent during the briefing.

"I believe he is going himself -- or is being pushed - toward wrong things," Zelensky said of Fedorov.

The former minister had pushed for reforms but clashed with the military's command and their traditionally stiff approach.

The public initially took his side and pushed for the dismissal of commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky.

Zelensky said people had the right to protest but warned against "disrespectful" attitudes to military people.

"Since when has marketing started to outweigh the people who are giving their lives?" he said.

After a political crisis that had weakened him, Zelensky was able to cast himself as a rampart against division.

"I believe that society and soldiers must not be divided," he said, "We must acknowledge that there is this risk -- that there may be movement in that direction, toward dangerous developments."