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Iran Hangs Two Men for Blasphemy

Iranian flag (AFP)
Iranian flag (AFP)
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Iran Hangs Two Men for Blasphemy

Iranian flag (AFP)
Iranian flag (AFP)

Iran has executed two people who had been sentenced to death for blasphemy, the judiciary's news website Mizan reported on Monday, drawing an angry reaction from human rights group Amnesty International.

Yousef Mehrdad and Sadrollah Fazeli Zare were executed for crimes including blasphemy, insulting the religion of Islam, the prophet and other sanctities, Mizan reported.

The website reported that the two were running dozens of online anti-religion platforms dedicated to the hatred of Islam, the promotion of atheism and insults to sanctities.

Amnesty International condemned the executions on its Twitter page for Iran.

"Today's execution of Yousef Mehrdad and Sadrollah Fazeli Zare for 'apostasy' marks a shocking new low for Iran's authorities & only furthers Iran’s pariah status," it wrote.

"They were hanged solely for social media posts in a grotesque assault on the rights to life and freedom of religion."

UN experts have called on Iran to stop the persecution and harassment of religious minorities pointing to an Iranian policy of targeting dissenting beliefs or religious practices, including Christian converts and atheists.

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Australia PM to Invite Israeli President to Visit

15 August 2025, Australia, Sydney: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks at the Martin Place cenotaph during a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Pacific, which commemorates Japan's acceptance of the Allied demand for unconditional surrender and the end of World War II for Australia. (dpa)
15 August 2025, Australia, Sydney: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks at the Martin Place cenotaph during a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Pacific, which commemorates Japan's acceptance of the Allied demand for unconditional surrender and the end of World War II for Australia. (dpa)
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Australia PM to Invite Israeli President to Visit

15 August 2025, Australia, Sydney: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks at the Martin Place cenotaph during a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Pacific, which commemorates Japan's acceptance of the Allied demand for unconditional surrender and the end of World War II for Australia. (dpa)
15 August 2025, Australia, Sydney: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks at the Martin Place cenotaph during a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Pacific, which commemorates Japan's acceptance of the Allied demand for unconditional surrender and the end of World War II for Australia. (dpa)

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday said his government would invite Israel's president to visit, after a mass shooting in Sydney targeting the Jewish community.

"Prime Minister Albanese advised President (Isaac) Herzog that, upon the recommendation of the Australian government, the Governor-General of Australia will issue an invitation in accordance with protocol to President Herzog to visit Australia as soon as possible," said a post on the leader's X account.

Fifteen people were killed and dozens injured in a mass shooting at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi on December 14.

World

Trump Says It Would Be 'Smart' for Venezuela's Maduro to Leave Power

US President Donald Trump attends a press conference, as he makes an announcement about the Navy's "Golden Fleet" at Mar-a-lago in Palm Beach, Florida, US, December 22, 2025. REUTERS/Jessica Koscielniak
US President Donald Trump attends a press conference, as he makes an announcement about the Navy's "Golden Fleet" at Mar-a-lago in Palm Beach, Florida, US, December 22, 2025. REUTERS/Jessica Koscielniak
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Trump Says It Would Be 'Smart' for Venezuela's Maduro to Leave Power

US President Donald Trump attends a press conference, as he makes an announcement about the Navy's "Golden Fleet" at Mar-a-lago in Palm Beach, Florida, US, December 22, 2025. REUTERS/Jessica Koscielniak
US President Donald Trump attends a press conference, as he makes an announcement about the Navy's "Golden Fleet" at Mar-a-lago in Palm Beach, Florida, US, December 22, 2025. REUTERS/Jessica Koscielniak

US President Donald Trump said on Monday it would be smart for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to leave power, and the United States could keep or sell the oil it had seized off the coast of Venezuela in recent weeks.

Trump's pressure campaign on Maduro has included a ramped-up military presence in the region and more than two dozen military strikes on vessels allegedly trafficking drugs in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea near the South American nation. At least 100 people have been killed in ‌the attacks, reported Reuters.

Asked ‌if the goal was to force ‌Maduro ⁠from power, Trump ‌told reporters: "Well, I think it probably would... That's up to him what he wants to do. I think it'd be smart for him to do that. But again, we're gonna find out."

"If he wants to do something, if he plays tough, it'll be the last time he's ever able to play tough," he said.

During the press conference, Trump ⁠also took aim at Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who he has also feuded with throughout ‌the year.

"He's no friend to the ‍United States. He's very bad. ‍Very bad guy. He's gotta watch his ass because he makes ‍cocaine and they send it into the US," Trump said when asked about Petro's criticisms towards the Trump administration's handling of the tensions with Venezuela.

In addition to the strikes, Trump has previously announced a "blockade" of all oil tankers under sanctions entering and leaving Venezuela. The US Coast Guard started pursuing an oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela ⁠on Sunday, in what would be the second such operation this weekend and the third in less than two weeks if successful.

"Maybe we will sell it, maybe we will keep it," Trump said when asked what would happen with the seized oil, adding it might also be used to replenish the United States' strategic reserves. Without directly referring to Trump's statements, Maduro said every leader should attend to the internal affairs of their own country.

"If I speak to him again, I will tell him: each country should mind its own internal affairs," Maduro ‌said, referring to an initial phone call between the two leaders last month.

World

Suspected Militants Ambush Police Vehicle in Northwest Pakistan, Killing 5 Officers

File photo: Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025. EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER
File photo: Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025. EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER
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Suspected Militants Ambush Police Vehicle in Northwest Pakistan, Killing 5 Officers

File photo: Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025. EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER
File photo: Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025. EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER

Suspected militants opened fire on a police vehicle in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday, killing five officers before fleeing, officials said, part of a surge in violence in the region bordering Afghanistan.

The attack took place in the Karak district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province while police were on routine patrol near an oil and gas field, said local police chief Noor Wali told The Associated Press. He said the assailants, after killing the officers, poured gasoline on the vehicle and torched it.

A large police contingent cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to track the attackers, according to The Associated Press.

Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Suhail Afridi condemned the attack. In separate statements, they said the assailants would be brought to justice and expressed condolences to the families of the killed police officers.

No group immediately claimed responsibility, but suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, which is separate from but aligned with Afghanistan’s Taliban government and has been blamed by authorities for previous attacks.

Pakistan has seen a steady rise in militant violence, which has strained relations with Afghanistan. Islamabad accuses the TTP of operating freely inside Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover in 2021, a charge Kabul denies.

Tensions escalated in October after Afghanistan accused Pakistan of an Oct. 9 drone strike in Kabul, followed by cross-border clashes that killed dozens, before a Qatar-brokered cease-fire on Oct. 19. Talks in Istanbul last week ended without agreement.