Iran Receives Mojahedin-e Khalq's Computers Seized by Albania

Members of the People's Mojahedin Organization in front of the entrance to Camp Ashraf 3 near the Albanian capital, Tirana, on June 20 (AFP)
Members of the People's Mojahedin Organization in front of the entrance to Camp Ashraf 3 near the Albanian capital, Tirana, on June 20 (AFP)
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Iran Receives Mojahedin-e Khalq's Computers Seized by Albania

Members of the People's Mojahedin Organization in front of the entrance to Camp Ashraf 3 near the Albanian capital, Tirana, on June 20 (AFP)
Members of the People's Mojahedin Organization in front of the entrance to Camp Ashraf 3 near the Albanian capital, Tirana, on June 20 (AFP)

Albanian authorities handed over computer devices to Iran that were confiscated during a police raid of a camp inhabited by the opposition People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (Mojahedin-e Khalq) about two weeks ago near Manze, Iranian presidency official said on Tuesday.

On June 20, Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK) said one of its members had been killed during a raid by hundreds of Albanian police officers on the Ashraf-3 camp, which Tirana denied. It also reported that the Albanian police confiscated 200 computers.

Chief of the Government's Information Council Sepehr Khalaji announced on Twitter that Iran received part of the hard drives and computer cases seized from Mojahedin-e Khalq.

Khalaji said the Iranian specialists are "busy retrieving information, identifying operatives, and the destructive cores and blind spots," adding that the "results so far are promising."

MEK warned that collaboration with Iran would lead to the "arrest, torture, and execution of the families, prisoners, and supporters of the MEK."

It accused Western countries of appeasing the Iranian regime amid reports about accelerating Iranian and European talks to revive the nuclear agreement.

Albanian police said they carried out searches at Ashraf-3, which is home to members of the People's Mojahedin suspected of plotting cyberattacks against foreign institutions, according to local media.

Albanian media reported that these operations were carried out as part of investigations into cybercrimes, noting that the police confiscated computers and software. It also announced the indictment of six members of the organization.

Iranian General Prosecutor, Mohammad Jaafar Montazeri, vowed that the trial of 700 MEK members would start soon.

Relations between Tehran and Tirana have been strained in recent years after the Balkan country agreed to receive on its territory 2,800 MEK members, the most prominent Iranian opposition faction in exile, at the request of Washington and the UN in 2013.

The Organization created a base camp near Durres, the country's main port.

Earlier, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Nasser Kanaani, warned France of the repercussions of "supporting and hosting terrorists" after the MEK held its annual conference in Paris.

The conference was held in the presence of former US Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and British ex-Prime Minister Liz Truss.

The "Iranian regime has never been weaker than it is today," said Pence, one of the potential Republican candidates for the presidential elections.

"I call upon the Biden administration, and leaders of all freedom-loving nations, to stand with the people of Iran, to stand up for the cause of freedom and justice and to cease and desist all nuclear negotiations with Tehran immediately," Pence said.

Thousands of MEK supporters staged a rally in the center of the French capital that the police had initially banned.

Kanaani "strongly condemned" the decision by the French government to host the meeting, reported AFP.

"Instead of compensating for the gross mistakes of the past in supporting the murderers of the Iranian people ... the French statesmen are providing an arena for the gathering of terrorists," Kanaani said, urging the French government "to heed the demands" of its people instead of "supporting terrorist groups."

The spokesman warned Paris of the political and legal repercussions of continuing to support and host terrorists and murderers of Iranian citizens and officials.

In 1979, the People's Mojahedin Organization supported the revolution led by Khomeini, which overthrew the Shah's regime before joining the opposition.

Tehran has banned the group since the early eighties, accusing it of being behind many attacks and bombings that have claimed the lives of thousands of Iranians.

The group also supported the Iraqi army during the war with Tehran between 1980 and 1988.



First European Flight Lands in Venezuela Since Maduro’s Ouster 

A man holds up a Venezuelan flag while taking part in a march calling for amnesty for political prisoners and to mark Youth Day, in Caracas, Venezuela, February 12, 2026. (Reuters)
A man holds up a Venezuelan flag while taking part in a march calling for amnesty for political prisoners and to mark Youth Day, in Caracas, Venezuela, February 12, 2026. (Reuters)
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First European Flight Lands in Venezuela Since Maduro’s Ouster 

A man holds up a Venezuelan flag while taking part in a march calling for amnesty for political prisoners and to mark Youth Day, in Caracas, Venezuela, February 12, 2026. (Reuters)
A man holds up a Venezuelan flag while taking part in a march calling for amnesty for political prisoners and to mark Youth Day, in Caracas, Venezuela, February 12, 2026. (Reuters)

A plane from Spain's Air Europa landed in Venezuela Tuesday, according to a flight tracking monitor, the first European commercial flight to arrive in the country since the United States toppled president Nicolas Maduro.

A slew of international carriers stopped flying to Venezuela after the United States warned of possible military activity there in late November -- a prelude to its surprise attack on January 3.

The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner landed at Simon Bolivar International Airport, which serves the Venezuelan capital Caracas, at 9:00 pm (0100 GMT).

Since US forces raided Venezuela and captured Maduro, US President Donald Trump has struck a cooperative relationship with interim president Delcy Rodriguez.

Late last month he called for flights to resume to the country.

Spanish airline Iberia is evaluating security guarantees before announcing a return, according to the Spanish press.

Portugal's TAP has said it will resume flights. Colombian airline Avianca and Panama's Copa have already restarted operations.

Hoping to prompt US flights, the Trump administration has lifted a 2019 ban on US airlines flying to the country.


Fireworks Shop Explosion Kills 12 in China

Fire performers carry a dragon during a molten iron fireworks performance known as "fire dragon steel flowers" ahead of Lunar New Year celebrations at an amusement park on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Fire performers carry a dragon during a molten iron fireworks performance known as "fire dragon steel flowers" ahead of Lunar New Year celebrations at an amusement park on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
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Fireworks Shop Explosion Kills 12 in China

Fire performers carry a dragon during a molten iron fireworks performance known as "fire dragon steel flowers" ahead of Lunar New Year celebrations at an amusement park on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Fire performers carry a dragon during a molten iron fireworks performance known as "fire dragon steel flowers" ahead of Lunar New Year celebrations at an amusement park on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

An explosion at a fireworks shop in central China killed 12 people on Wednesday, the second day of the Lunar New Year holiday, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Setting off fireworks and firecrackers is common during holiday celebrations in China, especially around Lunar New Year, which fell on Tuesday.

While many larger cities, including the capital Beijing, have banned the practice in recent years -- in part due to pollution -- towns and rural areas are often filled with the sounds of exploding firecrackers and "missile" fireworks for days on end during the holiday period.

"At approximately 2 pm on the 18th, there was a fire and explosion at a firework and firecracker shop in Zhengji town" in Hubei province, CCTV said, citing local authorities.

"The fire covered an area of around 50 square meters and has already resulted in 12 deaths."

The cause of the explosion is under investigation, CCTV added, according to AFP.

On Sunday, an explosion at a fireworks shop in eastern China's Jiangsu province killed eight and injured two.

In response to that incident, the Ministry of Emergency Management urged fireworks enterprises nationwide to strengthen supervision and undertake a "full inspection" of safety risks and hazards.

It also warned citizens against unsafe practices like test-firing or smoking outside of shops.

Industrial accidents are common in China due to lax safety standards.

An explosion at a biotech factory in northern China's Shanxi province killed eight people this month.

And in late January, an explosion at a steel factory in the neighboring province of Inner Mongolia left at least nine people dead.


Vatican Says It Will Not Participate in Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ 

Pope Leo XIV speaks after leading a Mass during a visit to the parish of Santa Maria Regina Pacis in Ostia Lido, Rome, Italy, February 15, 2026. (Reuters)
Pope Leo XIV speaks after leading a Mass during a visit to the parish of Santa Maria Regina Pacis in Ostia Lido, Rome, Italy, February 15, 2026. (Reuters)
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Vatican Says It Will Not Participate in Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ 

Pope Leo XIV speaks after leading a Mass during a visit to the parish of Santa Maria Regina Pacis in Ostia Lido, Rome, Italy, February 15, 2026. (Reuters)
Pope Leo XIV speaks after leading a Mass during a visit to the parish of Santa Maria Regina Pacis in Ostia Lido, Rome, Italy, February 15, 2026. (Reuters)

The Vatican ‌will not participate in US President Donald Trump's so-called "Board of Peace" initiative, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's top diplomatic official, said on Tuesday while adding that efforts to handle crisis situations should be managed by the United Nations.

Pope Leo, the first US pope and a critic of some of Trump's policies, was invited to join the board in January.

Under Trump's Gaza plan that led to a fragile ceasefire in October, the board was meant to supervise Gaza's temporary governance. Trump thereafter said the board, with him as chair, would ‌be expanded to ‌tackle global conflicts.

The board will hold its ‌first ⁠meeting in Washington ⁠on Thursday to discuss Gaza's reconstruction.

Italy and the European Union have said their representatives plan to attend as observers as they have not joined the board.

The Holy See "will not participate in the Board of Peace because of its particular nature, which is evidently not that of other States," Parolin said.

"One concern," he said, "is that ⁠at the international level it should above all ‌be the UN that manages ‌these crisis situations. This is one of the points on which we have insisted."

The ⁠Gaza truce has been repeatedly violated with hundreds of Palestinians and four Israeli soldiers reported killed since it began in October.

Israel's assault on Gaza has killed over 72,000, caused a hunger crisis and internally displaced Gaza's entire population.

Multiple rights experts, scholars and a UN inquiry say it amounts to genocide. Israel calls its actions self-defense after Hamas-led fighters killed 1,200 people and took over 250 hostages in a late 2023 attack.

Leo has repeatedly decried conditions in Gaza. The pope, leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, rarely joins international boards. The Vatican has an extensive diplomatic service and is a permanent observer at the United Nations.