Crowds Bid Farewell to Khamenei in Iranian City of Qom

Mourners attend a prayer for Iran's slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 in Israeli and US airstrikes, at the Jamkaran Mosque, in Qom, Iran, July 7, 2026. Mohammad Asadi/ISNA/via WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
Mourners attend a prayer for Iran's slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 in Israeli and US airstrikes, at the Jamkaran Mosque, in Qom, Iran, July 7, 2026. Mohammad Asadi/ISNA/via WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
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Crowds Bid Farewell to Khamenei in Iranian City of Qom

Mourners attend a prayer for Iran's slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 in Israeli and US airstrikes, at the Jamkaran Mosque, in Qom, Iran, July 7, 2026. Mohammad Asadi/ISNA/via WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
Mourners attend a prayer for Iran's slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 in Israeli and US airstrikes, at the Jamkaran Mosque, in Qom, Iran, July 7, 2026. Mohammad Asadi/ISNA/via WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Thousands of people took to the streets on Tuesday in the Iranian city of Qom during a fourth day of marathon funeral proceedings for late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The remains of Khamenei, who was killed in late February on the first day of the US-Israeli war against Iran, are lying in state at the Jamkaran Mosque in Qom.

Aerial footage broadcast by state television showed the streets of Qom -- home to about 1.5 million people -- packed with mourners.

The massive crowd at the service chanted in unison, "death to America", a rallying cry frequently heard at official gatherings in Iran.

Other television footage showed mourners, including clerics, paying their respects at the coffins of Khamenei and four relatives killed alongside him, including a granddaughter reportedly only 14 months old.

The previous day, a lengthy funeral procession in Tehran drew huge crowds, with authorities keen to project an image of strength and unity following the war, and after massive, bloody anti-government protests across Iran six months ago.

Iranians flooded the streets of the capital in an event comparable to the 1989 funeral of Khamenei's predecessor, Khomeini, the founder of the republic.

But so far in the ceremonies there has been no sign of Khamenei's successor and son Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since his appointment in early March.

Iranian officials have said he was wounded in the airstrike that killed his father and it remains unknown if he will appear for the ceremonies.

Another funeral procession is scheduled to be held on Wednesday in neighboring Iraq, which is home to a large Shiite community.

The final burial of Khamenei, who ruled Iran for over three decades until his death at the age of 86, will take place on Thursday in his hometown of Mashhad, a city in the northeast of the country.



France's Le Pen Faces Pivotal Ruling in Race for President

Tuesday's verdict will be pivotal for French far-right chief Marine Le Pen's political career. Alain JOCARD / AFP/File
Tuesday's verdict will be pivotal for French far-right chief Marine Le Pen's political career. Alain JOCARD / AFP/File
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France's Le Pen Faces Pivotal Ruling in Race for President

Tuesday's verdict will be pivotal for French far-right chief Marine Le Pen's political career. Alain JOCARD / AFP/File
Tuesday's verdict will be pivotal for French far-right chief Marine Le Pen's political career. Alain JOCARD / AFP/File

France's far-right chief Marine Le Pen is bracing for a key verdict on Tuesday that will determine if she can run in next year's presidential elections, when her party has its best chance yet of winning power.

A lower court last year sentenced Le Pen, 57, to a five-year ban from public office and two years in prison over a fake jobs scam at the European Parliament.

If the appeals court upholds that ruling, it will be a devastating blow to the three-time presidential candidate's hopes to replace outgoing centrist President Emmanuel Macron.

The decision, expected to be read out from 1:30 pm (1130 GMT), could also find her guilty but include a shorter ban from public office and some form of house arrest.

If the sentence prevents her from campaigning, she has said she will hand over to her 30-year-old lieutenant, Jordan Bardella, the leader of their National Rally (RN) party.

"We will never be discouraged, we will always fight," she told crowds at a party event at the weekend.

Le Pen came third in the 2012 election, then twice made it to a runoff against Macron, in 2017 and 2022.

"I'm not scared," she said last week.

"If I can run, I will -- as long as I can campaign."

'Witch hunt'

The first trial found Le Pen -- along with 24 former European lawmakers, assistants and accountants, as well as the anti-immigration party itself -- guilty of operating a system from 2004 to 2016 to use European Parliament funds to employ RN staff in France.

The lower court also sentenced Le Pen to four years in jail, with two suspended.

Le Pen claimed her party was the victim of a "witch hunt", and some supporters sent the judges death threats.

The presidential candidate, the party and 10 others appealed.

During the appeal trial, she denied that the RN had a system to embezzle European Parliament funds, and has said her party acted in "complete good faith".

But prosecutors allege she "professionalized" a way to divert EU funds first introduced haphazardly by her late father, party co-founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, after she took over its leadership from him in 2011.

They have demanded the court maintain a five-year ban and sought a four-year term, with three years suspended.

'Very intelligent'

If Le Pen is banned from office for years, she will not be able to run for president in time for the first round on April 18 next year.

Similarly, if she is condemned to serve a one-year term on house arrest with an ankle tag, crippling her ability to campaign, she will likely decide to hand over to Bardella.

Opinion polls in recent months have largely suggested the far right will lead in the first round of next year's vote, but are divided on the outcome of the second round.

Many have shown slightly better results for Bardella than Le Pen, but their adversaries have inferred the veteran politician would be a fiercer opponent.

"This woman is very intelligent, she's not here by chance. And if she does also run for a fourth time, she won't be an opponent we can sneer at," hard-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon has said.

An opinion poll in late May suggested Le Pen could win the runoffs next year if she is allowed to compete.

The Harris Interactive Toluna survey of more than 1,700 registered voters projected her winning, against Melenchon as well as centrist former prime ministers Gabriel Attal and Edouard Philippe.

Other polls have however suggested Philippe -- who is also courting right-wing voters -- could emerge victorious in a runoff against the far right.


Ukraine Fired Over 400 Drones Towards Moscow Ahead of NATO Summit, Says Mayor

 This photograph shows a heavily damaged gas station following a Russian air attack in Kamianske, Dnipropetrovsk region on July 7, 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
This photograph shows a heavily damaged gas station following a Russian air attack in Kamianske, Dnipropetrovsk region on July 7, 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
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Ukraine Fired Over 400 Drones Towards Moscow Ahead of NATO Summit, Says Mayor

 This photograph shows a heavily damaged gas station following a Russian air attack in Kamianske, Dnipropetrovsk region on July 7, 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
This photograph shows a heavily damaged gas station following a Russian air attack in Kamianske, Dnipropetrovsk region on July 7, 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)

Ukraine launched more than 400 drones toward Russia's capital Moscow, the city's mayor said on Tuesday, ahead of a crucial NATO summit in Türkiye in which the war will likely dominate talks.

The attacks underscore Kyiv's use of long-range drones in the more than four-year war, with Russian border areas coming under fire and Moscow facing increasing drone attacks.

"From evening until 6:00 am (0300 GMT), more than 430 drones were flying in the direction of Moscow region," Mayor Sergei Sobyanin posted on the state-backed MAX platform.

"Most were neutralized by air defense forces at distant approaches. 36 enemy UAVs were destroyed on approach to Moscow."

Acting Belgorod regional governor Aleksandr Shuvaev said several Ukrainian missile strikes had targeted Belgorod city in the south-west and the surrounding district.

"In the village of Belovskoye, Belgorod district, a civilian resident was, sadly, killed as a result of the first missile strike," Shuvaev said on MAX.

It comes after Russian strikes killed 30 people in Ukraine on Monday a day ahead of a crucial two-day NATO summit.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged allies to take "strong decisions" at the summit in Ankara just hours after the deadly strikes.

"It is critically important that the world -- first and foremost the United States and our European partners -- come out of the NATO Summit in Ankara with strong decisions in support of our air defense," Zelensky said on Facebook.

Russia and Ukraine have stepped up long-range strikes in recent months, with both sides regularly reporting drone attacks and missile launches targeting territory far from the front line.


Landslide in Northwestern China Leaves 5 Dead and 12 Still Trapped

File photo: An aerial drone photo taken on 16 June 2024 shows an area affected by torrential rains in Tieshan Township of Zhenghe County, Nanping City, China's Fujian Province, 16 June 2024. (Xinhua/EPA)
File photo: An aerial drone photo taken on 16 June 2024 shows an area affected by torrential rains in Tieshan Township of Zhenghe County, Nanping City, China's Fujian Province, 16 June 2024. (Xinhua/EPA)
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Landslide in Northwestern China Leaves 5 Dead and 12 Still Trapped

File photo: An aerial drone photo taken on 16 June 2024 shows an area affected by torrential rains in Tieshan Township of Zhenghe County, Nanping City, China's Fujian Province, 16 June 2024. (Xinhua/EPA)
File photo: An aerial drone photo taken on 16 June 2024 shows an area affected by torrential rains in Tieshan Township of Zhenghe County, Nanping City, China's Fujian Province, 16 June 2024. (Xinhua/EPA)

Five people were killed and 12 others remained trapped after a landslide in northwestern China, state media said Tuesday.

The landslide shortly before 7 a.m. buried 33 people in Nanhe township of Longnan city in Gansu province, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

The cause was unclear. Photos and video posted online by state broadcaster CCTV showed three excavators and rescuers on mounds of earth in an otherwise heavily wooded green area. The sky appeared sunny and clear.

Authorities relocated residents while rescue operations were underway.