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German Court Tries Two Men over Alleged Iran-backed Anti-Jewish Plots

The two men were remanded in custody in Germany following their arrest last year in Denmark and subsequent extradition. (Reuters - file photo)
The two men were remanded in custody in Germany following their arrest last year in Denmark and subsequent extradition. (Reuters - file photo)
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German Court Tries Two Men over Alleged Iran-backed Anti-Jewish Plots

The two men were remanded in custody in Germany following their arrest last year in Denmark and subsequent extradition. (Reuters - file photo)
The two men were remanded in custody in Germany following their arrest last year in Denmark and subsequent extradition. (Reuters - file photo)

Two men went on trial in Germany on Friday accused of planning attacks on prominent pro-Israel public figures and spying on Jews on behalf of Iranian secret services.

Danish national Ali S. is charged with espionage, attempted murder, attempted arson and sabotage, while his alleged Afghan accomplice, Tawab M., is accused of attempted murder, AFP reported.

Ali S. allegedly spied on the head of the German-Israeli Society, the former Greens MP Volker Beck, as part of plans to assassinate him, according to prosecutors.

He is also accused of spying on the president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, as well as two Jewish grocers in Berlin as part of plans to carry out arson attacks.

Prosecutors say Ali S. in early 2025 took orders from the Quds Force, the foreign operations branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The two men were remanded in custody in Germany following their arrest last year in Denmark and subsequent extradition.

Volker Beck was in the public gallery at the opening of the trial, accompanied by police protection, Marayke Frantzen, a spokeswoman for the court in Hamburg, told AFP.

Both defendants exercised their right to remain silent after the indictment was read out, Frantzen said.

When the charges were announced in May, Beck called on Berlin to expel the Iranian ambassador as well as consular officials.

"Jewish life and a commitment to the Jewish and democratic state are repeatedly threatened with murder and attacked by the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran on German soil," he said.

In July 2025, the foreign ministry summoned Iran's ambassador to Germany to protest following Ali. S's arrest in Denmark.

When the two men were charged last month the Iranian embassy in Berlin released a statement rejecting what it called "unfounded allegations made at the behest of Iran's enemies".

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World

Teen Sentenced to 20 Years for UK Murder Plot Tied to Iran-linked Group

A red double-decker bus rides past as a Union Jack flag flutters on the Victoria Tower at the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, October 15, 2026. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
A red double-decker bus rides past as a Union Jack flag flutters on the Victoria Tower at the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, October 15, 2026. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
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Teen Sentenced to 20 Years for UK Murder Plot Tied to Iran-linked Group

A red double-decker bus rides past as a Union Jack flag flutters on the Victoria Tower at the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, October 15, 2026. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
A red double-decker bus rides past as a Union Jack flag flutters on the Victoria Tower at the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, October 15, 2026. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes

A Norwegian teenager who planned to commit murder in Britain after being recruited by a Swedish organized crime group linked to the Iranian government was on Friday sentenced to 20 years' detention.

Johannes Natland, now 19, was arrested in a hotel room in Huddersfield, northern England, in March ⁠2025 with two ⁠firearms and ammunition in his possession.

Natland was recruited by the Foxtrot Network, a Swedish organized crime group used by the Iranian state and sanctioned by ⁠both Britain and the United States, prosecutors said.

He admitted possessing a semi-automatic pistol, a revolver and ammunition, but denied conspiracy to murder and claimed he did not intend to carry out the plan.

But he was convicted in July after a retrial ⁠and ⁠was sentenced at London's Woolwich Crown Court to detention for 20 years.

Natland was the latest young adult to stand trial in Britain and elsewhere over serious criminal acts allegedly carried out after being recruited online for money, often as an unwitting proxy for a foreign state.

World

UN: Millions May Be Forced to Move as Climate Change Hits South Asia

International Organization for Migration (IOM) chief Amy Pope, seen here in 2023, warned of a lack of urgency globally about the risks that vulnerable communities are facing. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP
International Organization for Migration (IOM) chief Amy Pope, seen here in 2023, warned of a lack of urgency globally about the risks that vulnerable communities are facing. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP
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UN: Millions May Be Forced to Move as Climate Change Hits South Asia

International Organization for Migration (IOM) chief Amy Pope, seen here in 2023, warned of a lack of urgency globally about the risks that vulnerable communities are facing. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP
International Organization for Migration (IOM) chief Amy Pope, seen here in 2023, warned of a lack of urgency globally about the risks that vulnerable communities are facing. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

Climate change is threatening livelihoods and forcing people from their homes across South Asia, but technology and government action could help limit the damage, the UN migration chief told AFP on Friday.

Rising seas, flooding and drought threaten homes and farmland, Amy Pope, Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said during a visit to New Delhi.

In the Himalayas, she pointed to Nepal's August 26 disaster, when a mountain and glacier collapse triggered deadly flooding, where IOM sent humanitarian aid to help.

In a worst-case scenario, up to 40.5 million people in South Asia may be forced to move by 2050, according to IOM.

"When they can't produce food, when they can't feed their livestock, it increases the likelihood of displacement," said Pope. "The first adaptation is often for people to move."

Pope said climate change was also accelerating urbanization in India.

"As people seek shelter from heat, they're going into urban centers," she said.

- 'Migration as a tool' -

The risks are particularly acute in South Asia, where vast populations and limited resources leave many communities vulnerable.

"There's a lack of urgency globally about the risks that vulnerable communities are facing," Pope said, warning that funding to help residents prepare for climate change remained inadequate.

"The cost of a humanitarian disaster is in the billions. The cost of investing in some of the resilience measures can be far less," she said.

Better data and artificial intelligence could help governments identify communities at risk before disaster strikes, Pope said.

"With the advancements in AI forecasting, you can now better anticipate those communities that are at high risk of displacement," Pope said.

By combining weather forecasts with information about local livelihoods, authorities can identify which communities most need help.

"If you know a community is at risk, we don't need to wait until they're displaced to respond," she said.

Measures could include improving farming methods, training people for other jobs and, where necessary, relocating communities repeatedly hit by floods or drought.

Finding the money for such programs is a major obstacle, Pope said, with governments often struggling to navigate the systems available to fund climate adaptation.

India's investments in early-warning systems, disaster response and technology offer grounds for optimism, she said. But no government can meet the scale of the challenge alone.

International migration can also help people earn a living while filling labor shortages abroad.

South Asia already has established migration routes, offering opportunities to build on existing links.

"Here we have government partners who recognize both the threats to their communities but they're also using migration as a tool for development," Pope said.

She warned that growing demand for workers must be matched by safe, legal routes to employment.

Otherwise, migrants risk exploitation by traffickers and smugglers, including through fraudulent overseas job offers.

India's technological capacity could also help its workers compete internationally as artificial intelligence reshapes employment, Pope said.

AI could threaten some jobs, particularly those involving routine analysis of documents and reports, but other sectors still rely heavily on human labor.

"If we can marry that capacity with the labor mobility, so that the workers are being skilled for those jobs as they're emerging, they will be ahead," Pope said.

"This is a place where I have more optimism than in places where we're dealing with the most acute crises," she said.

World

Iran President Says Conflict in Mideast Amounts to 'Ecocide'

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian visits an exhibition that showcases the defense ministry's latest advancements in defense and space in Tehran. Photo: -/Iranian Presidency/dpa
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian visits an exhibition that showcases the defense ministry's latest advancements in defense and space in Tehran. Photo: -/Iranian Presidency/dpa
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Iran President Says Conflict in Mideast Amounts to 'Ecocide'

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian visits an exhibition that showcases the defense ministry's latest advancements in defense and space in Tehran. Photo: -/Iranian Presidency/dpa
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian visits an exhibition that showcases the defense ministry's latest advancements in defense and space in Tehran. Photo: -/Iranian Presidency/dpa

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday urged countries to condemn what he called "ecocide" in the Middle East caused by "wars of aggression".

Pezeshkian said the conflicts in Gaza and the wider Middle East had inflicted a significant toll on nature that extended beyond borders and required "international solutions", AFP said.

"What has occurred in our region as a result of wars of aggression is ecocide, or environmental genocide, and it must be condemned," Pezeshkian told a nature summit in Armenia attended by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.