عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

France Says Fate of Citizens Held in Iran Worsening

Iranians walk past a billboard with the pictures of late Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani (C), late Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh (L) and Yahya Sinwar (R), and late Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah (2-R), and the head of Hezbollah's executive council Hashem Safieddine (2-L) at the Enghelab square in Tehran, Iran, 06 January 2025. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
Iranians walk past a billboard with the pictures of late Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani (C), late Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh (L) and Yahya Sinwar (R), and late Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah (2-R), and the head of Hezbollah's executive council Hashem Safieddine (2-L) at the Enghelab square in Tehran, Iran, 06 January 2025. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
TT
TT

France Says Fate of Citizens Held in Iran Worsening

Iranians walk past a billboard with the pictures of late Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani (C), late Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh (L) and Yahya Sinwar (R), and late Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah (2-R), and the head of Hezbollah's executive council Hashem Safieddine (2-L) at the Enghelab square in Tehran, Iran, 06 January 2025. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
Iranians walk past a billboard with the pictures of late Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani (C), late Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh (L) and Yahya Sinwar (R), and late Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah (2-R), and the head of Hezbollah's executive council Hashem Safieddine (2-L) at the Enghelab square in Tehran, Iran, 06 January 2025. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

The situation of three French citizens held in Iran is worsening with some being detained in conditions similar to torture, France's foreign minister said on Tuesday, adding that future ties and sanctions lifting would depend on their fate.

"The situation of our compatriots held hostage in Iran is simply unacceptable; they have been unjustly detained for several years, in undignified conditions that, for some, fall within the definition of torture under international law," Jean-Noel Barrot told a conference of French ambassadors.

"I say to the Iranian authorities: our hostages must be released. Our bilateral relations and the future of sanctions depend on it."

Most Viewed

 
 
World

China Discovers Cluster of New Mpox Strain

A woman walks on the Youyi Bridge at the Liangmahe river in Beijing, China on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
A woman walks on the Youyi Bridge at the Liangmahe river in Beijing, China on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
TT
TT

China Discovers Cluster of New Mpox Strain

A woman walks on the Youyi Bridge at the Liangmahe river in Beijing, China on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
A woman walks on the Youyi Bridge at the Liangmahe river in Beijing, China on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Chinese health authorities said on Thursday they had detected the new mutated mpox strain clade Ib as the viral infection spreads to more countries after the World Health Organization declared a global public health emergency last year.
China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention said it had found a cluster outbreak of the Ib subclade that started with the infection a foreigner who has a history of travel and residence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Reuters reported.
Four further cases have been found in people infected after close contact with the foreigner. The patients' symptoms are mild and include skin rash and blisters.
Mpox spreads through close contact and causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions on the body. Although usually mild, it can be fatal in rare cases.
WHO last August declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years, following an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that spread to neighboring countries.
The outbreak in DRC began with the spread of an endemic strain, known as clade I. But the clade Ib variant appears to spread more easily through routine close contact, including sexual contact.
The variant has spread from DRC to neighboring countries, including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, triggering the emergency declaration from the WHO.
China said in August last year it would monitor people and goods entering the country for mpox.
The country's National Health Commission said mpox would be managed as a Category B infectious disease, enabling officials to take emergency measures such as restricting gatherings, suspending work and school, and sealing off areas when there is an outbreak of a disease.