Khamenei’s funeral demonstrated that the institutions, ideology, and social base he built remain alive On July 9, Iran’s former Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was laid to rest in Mashhad. He was buried in the Imam Reza Mausoleum, one of the holiest sites in the Shiite world and a particularly significant shrine for the Islamic Republic. This marked the conclusion of a multi-day mourning ceremony that began in Tehran, continued in Qom, the spiritual center of Iranian Shiism, then moved to the Iraqi cities of Najaf and Karbala (the main centers of Shiite Islam), and concluded in Khamenei’s hometown of Mashhad. The farewell ceremony marked the culmination of the week-long mourning route, and the funeral itself drew enormous crowds. For Iran, this was more than just a farewell to a statesman. It was a farewell to a man who, for nearly four decades, had shaped the political, ideological, an...
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Veteran British politician Ann Widdecombe was found dead at her home on Thursday British police have launched a murder investigation into the death of Ann Widdecombe, a former government minister and spokesperson for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party. Widdecombe, 78, was found dead with serious injuries at her home in Haytor, on the edge of Dartmoor National Park, on Thursday. The political veteran’s management team announced her passing the next day, saying that they were “absolutely devastated” by what had happened. The Devon and Cornwall Police said on Friday that there was “no information that this is a politically motivated crime.” Widdecombe’s death is also not being treated as a terrorism-related incident, they added. A 26-year-old white British man who was arrested on suspicion of murdering the Reform UK spokeswoman on the day of her death has been released...
The US president promised to grant Kiev a license to manufacture the interceptors during the NATO summit in Ankara Ukraine is unlikely to start producing its own Patriot air defense missiles despite US President Donald Trump’s promise to grant Kiev the relevant license, Reuters has reported, citing informed sources. During the meeting on the sidelines of the recent NATO summit in Ankara, Türkiye on Wednesday, Trump told Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky that “we’re going to give a license to you to make Patriots. That’s pretty cool. This way, you can’t complain that we’re not giving them enough.” However, the president maintained that Washington would not supply the in-demand interceptors directly. Reuters reported on Friday that, according to its sources, it isn’t safe for Ukraine to launch the production of Patriot missiles for as long as the fighting...
Kiev must recognize the massacre of Poles by Nazi collaborators during WWII in order to mend ties with Warsaw, Donald Tusk has said Kiev needs to “sober up” to prevent further escalation in the row with Warsaw over the glorification of Ukrainian Nazi collaborators, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said. Tensions between the neighboring countries, which have been close allies during the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, escalated last month after Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky named one of his country’s commando units after “heroes of the UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army).” Speaking on Friday, the eve of the National Day of Remembrance, when Poland honors the victims of UPA, Tusk insisted that Kiev must recognize the crimes committed by the UPA if it hopes to mend ties with Warsaw. “I can once again appeal to all decent, wise, responsible Ukrainians. Remembe...
Rights groups say that a picture of a blindfolded and semi-naked detainee confirms testimonies of alleged war crimes in Gaza Israel’s military has confirmed that a viral photo showing a semi-naked and blindfolded Palestinian man bound to an iron rod is authentic. The photo triggered an uproar on social media, with rights groups arguing that the image corroborates years of testimony on torture inside Israeli detention facilities in Gaza. The disturbing photo was shared on a now-deleted social media account in late June with the Hebrew-language caption “good morning” and was brought to wider attention by a Palestinian activist under the nickname Tamer. He claimed that the man had been kidnapped by soldiers from the ‘Netzah Yehuda’ battalion in Gaza. While the photo surfaced in late June, the incident got the media spotlight only this week. The picture shows the man lying face ...
An advocacy group believes driving under the influence of narcotics has reached epidemic proportions Drug-driving has become Britain’s biggest road safety threat, overtaking drunk-driving for the first time, a recent study suggests, fueling criticism of outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer over his government’s handling of the issue. It is illegal in the UK to drive while impaired by legal or illegal drugs, or with specified levels of certain controlled substances in the bloodstream. Convicted drug-drivers face a driving ban of at least one year, a fine, and up to six months in prison. According to figures obtained by the advocacy group IAM RoadSmart from the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), 30,707 drivers were convicted of drug-driving in 2025, up 28% from 23,981 in 2022. Over the same period, drunk-driving convictions fell 17% to 29,981. Acco...