World
Iran protesters insist Islamic regime ‘does not represent’ the people in exclusive interview
Iranian protesters spoke solely to Fox Information Digital to precise their outrage towards the Islamic regime of their nation in addition to the need to take away Ayatollah Khamenei as supreme chief of Iran for the reason that man “doesn’t characterize the individuals.”
“We wished to exhibit not solely to the regime but in addition need individuals the world over [to know] — the Iranian individuals reject this regime, and so they need it overthrown,” Mashhad, a 42-year-old trainer in Iran, defined.
“Our final objective and supreme want and demand is the overthrow of the regime in its entirety, and we’re very, very decided to convey this about,” she continued. “We would like our voices to be heard, and I guarantee you that we’ll convey down this regime. Now we have completely little doubt in our minds that we will do it.”
Protests began on the funeral for Mahsa Amini, 22, after her demise whereas within the custody of the morality police, who declare that she merely fell right into a coma following her arrest. Her household and a few witnesses as an alternative stated they noticed proof that the police had crushed her.
IRAN PROTESTS: DEATH TOLL CONTINUES TO CLIMB AS REPORTER WHO FIRST HIGHLIGHTED AMINI’S DEATH IS ARRESTED
As of Thursday night time, the protests reportedly unfold to 164 cities, with 300 individuals killed and 15,000 extra arrested, in accordance with the Folks’s Mojahedin Group of Iran (MEK). Fox Information Digital couldn’t confirm these numbers, however different shops have reported not less than 100 cities with protests and dozens useless as of this week.
Iran has seen an growing variety of protests over the previous few years, however the protests that began with Amini’s demise really feel completely different to the residents — each in scope, with girls taking a extra distinguished position, and within the severity of the regime’s response.
“It was a lot, a lot harsher, way more extreme,” stated Reyhaneh, 19, from Tehran. “Not solely within the numbers of the forces that they had — the morality police, safety pressure, plainclothes brokers and others — but in addition their therapy. They had been very vicious, very brutal, way more brutal earlier than.”
IRAN POLICE WARN THEY WILL CRACK DOWN WITH ‘ALL THEIR MIGHT’ AS PROTESTS NEAR THIRD WEEK
“What I’ve seen the final two days in Tehran, they’ve risen up. I actually have taken half in these protests … what I’ve seen is exemplary bravery and braveness, particularly as a result of the rebellion is being led by girls,” she added.
“We wished to exhibit not solely to the regime but in addition individuals the world over: the Iranian individuals reject this regime.”
The ladies spoke to Fox Information Digital after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi spoke earlier than the United Nations Basic Meeting. Raisi allegedly helped perform the 1988 “demise fee” that led to the deaths of hundreds of political dissidents.
IRAN SUMMONS BRITISH, NORWEGIAN AMBASSADORS AMID NATIONWIDE PROTESTS
Mashhad requested why Western governments allowed Raisi to talk to the U.N. and didn’t present they had been “standing with the individuals of Iran.”
“The place is … freedom and assist [in] supporting this legal? And [has] the blood of hundreds on his arms, particularly in 1988, the bloodbath,” she stated. “Why do not they … prosecute him and maintain him accountable?”
Mashhad first joined protests two years in the past, however she feels this one is completely different as a result of individuals have seen how “shameless” the Ayatollah and his regime are, resulting in individuals of many ages and backgrounds throughout the nation to take to the streets.
Reyhaneh stated there are examples of earlier protests that led to regime change and that the individuals haven’t any cause to imagine this one can’t be similar.
“We in our battle … have put our lives in our arms, prepared to sacrifice our lives, and we are going to struggle to the very finish to result in freedom in Iran and already dramatic fundamentalism,” she stated.
World
Blinken to meet businesses in Shanghai as he kicks off a tough China trip
World
Togo cracking down on media, opposition ahead of parliamentary elections: report
Authorities in Togo have repressed the media and prevented civilians from gathering to protest peacefully, Amnesty International said in a report published Wednesday, ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled to take place at the end of this month.
Amnesty International said in its annual report on human rights around the world that two newspapers in Togo were forced to close for several months last year, while a number of journalists were arrested or hit with hefty fines after reporting on corruption.
REWRITTEN TOGO CONSTITUTION BUCKED BY CITIZENS, STOKES DICTATORIAL FEARS
Two journalists in Togo were sentenced to three years in prison after reporting about a minister’s involvement in corruption, but both fled the country to avoid detention. The human rights organization said it had recorded instances in which detainees in prison were tortured or mistreated.
The report comes at a time of heightened tension in Togo, a country of about 8 million people that has been ruled by the same family for almost 60 years. Parliamentary elections have been pushed back until April 29, and the government have arrested opposition figures and quashed efforts to organize protests ahead of the vote.
At issue is a proposed new constitution that would scrap presidential elections permanently, giving parliament the power to choose the president instead. It is awaiting sign off by President Faure Gnassingbe. The opposition and the clergy say the legislation is an effort by Gnassingbe to prolong his rule after his mandate expires in 2025.
World
US secretly sent long-range ATACMS weapons to Ukraine
The weapons, which can hit targets as far as 300km (186 miles) away, have been used twice already.
The United States quietly sent long-range ballistic missiles to Ukraine as part of a package of military support in March, and Ukraine has used the weapons twice, according to US officials.
The longer-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) can hit targets as far as 300km (186 miles) away, nearly double the range of the mid-range ATACMS that the US began sending towards the end of last year.
Washington had long been reluctant to provide Ukraine with the longer-range weapon amid concerns they could be used on targets deep inside Russian territory and escalate the conflict.
But in February, Biden approved the delivery of the missiles and a “significant” number was included in a $300m aid package announced the following month, officials said.
“We’ve already sent some, we will send more,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters.
State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said the delivery had not been announced “in order to maintain operational security for Ukraine at their request”. Neither official confirmed the number of ATACMS sent.
Ukraine has been forced to ration its weapons amid a protracted delay to a $61bn military assistance package that was finally passed in the US this week. ATACMS are expected to be included in the first $1bn tranche of that aid package.
The weapons sent this month were used on April 17 to strike an airfield in Dzhankoi in Crimea, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014. They were also used this week against Russian forces in southeastern Ukraine, near the occupied city of Berdyansk.
‘Time is right’
Admiral Christopher Grady, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the White House and military planners had looked carefully at the risks of providing long-range weaponry to Ukraine and determined that it was the right time.
The weapons were sent on the condition they be used only inside Ukrainian sovereign territory.
“I think the time is right, and the boss [President Biden] made the decision the time is right to provide these based on where the fight is right now,” Grady said.
A US official told the Reuters news agency it was Russia’s use of North Korean-supplied long-range ballistic missiles against Ukraine in December and January that led to the change of heart.
Russia’s continued targeting of Ukraine’s critical infrastructure was also a concern.
“We warned Russia about those things,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “They renewed their targeting.”
The protracted delay in US funding and weapons deliveries has given Russia the space to push its advantage in firepower and personnel to step up attacks across the front line in eastern Ukraine, where it claims to have taken control of a number of settlements this month. It has increasingly used satellite-guided gliding bombs – dropped from planes at a safe distance – to pummel Ukrainian forces.
Ukrainian officials have not publicly acknowledged the receipt or use of long-range ATACMS.
But in thanking Congress for passing the new aid bill, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed the significance of such weaponry to the war effort.
“Ukraine’s long-range capabilities, artillery and air defense are extremely important tools for the quick restoration of a just peace,” he wrote on social media platform X.
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