Foreign

*Burial Fixed For Thursday A mass funeral procession for Iran’s former Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, kicked off in Tehran, the Iranian capital, today. Millions have assembled in the capital for the six-day, five-city funeral for Khamenei, who was killed on 28 February this year during the first airstrike when the US and Israel started the current war in the region. He was succeeded by his son, Mojtaba Khamenei. The procession followed two days of public farewell ceremonies, during which there were calls for the assassination of US President Donald Trump. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian praised the crowds’ behaviour and expressed…

Iran’s secretive Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) chief emerged for the first time in months as he mourned alongside the casket of the assassinated former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi – who has been sanctioned by the US and has alleged ties to terrorism abroad – was seen yesterday, Thursday, with his hands on Khamenei’s coffin as Tehran prepared to hold the days-long funeral for the late Supreme Leader, according to photos published online by Iranian state media. He had not been seen publicly since 8 February this year — three weeks before Khamenei and several IRGC…

Andy Burnham promised to ease the cost of living if he becomes Prime Minister, in his first interview since returning to Parliament. The Makerfield MP told LBC that if he became Prime Minister later this month, as expected, he would look at reducing business rates for some high street businesses, bringing down water and energy costs by de-privatising companies and making bus travel free for 16- to 18-year-olds. The measures are likely to be included as part of an immediate cost-of-living package which allies say could include more radical measures such as freezing private sector rents. Burnham told the station’s…

In a rebuke to US President Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda, the Supreme Court upheld birthright citizenship, which provides nearly all people born in the US with citizenship. In a 6-3 opinion, the justices ruled that the Trump administration violated a provision of the 14th Amendment, which was affirmed by the Supreme Court 128 years ago. But, apparently undeterred, Trump has said the decision was “too bad”, and seemed set in his quest to end birthright citizenship, turning his attention to Congress. Instead of trying to pass a constitutional amendment, Trump is pushing for lawmakers to create new legislation that establishes…

*Feeling A Bible Beneath Her 'Began My Journey Of Survival', She Says *Over 1,450 Killed *Tens Of Thousands More Missing *Most Brutal Natural Catastrophe In Venezuela's History -Ag President Rodriguez A mother who was pulled from the rubble of her wrecked home in Venezuela with her 18-day-old baby has told the BBC of how her son helped keep her alive. Dayana Patino said her son Juan David gave her "motivation to be awake and alert." "As long as he was alive, I was going to be alive. Every now and then I was touching his nose for proof that he…

*They Will Not Reopen Till I Say So, He Orders Uganda's military chief, who is also the President's son, said on Sunday he had ordered the closure of two ​leading media outlets, declaring that he did "not believe in ‌a free press." Muhoozi Kainerugaba said the Daily Monitor - Uganda's largest independent daily newspaper - and NTV Uganda, one of the country's largest private broadcasters, would "not re-open ​without my permission". "In Uganda, I do not believe in ​a free press! The press should be guided by cadres ⁠of the revolution," Kainerugaba wrote in a series of posts ​on X.…

*Tehran Slams Fresh American Strikes, Vows To Defend Self *Arab Nations Report 'Hostile' Drone, Missile Attacks US President Donald Trump has warned that his country may be pushed to a point where it will be "no longer able to be reasonable" over Iran and then be forced to annihilate the Persian Gulf nation. He claimed that the US has the upper hand after it launched further strikes on multiple targets in Iran, a day after it struck the country in retaliation for a drone attack on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz. “There may come ‌a point when…

*Trouble Looming As He Prepares To Fight Dirty To Keep Office Cabinet Ministers loyal to British Prime Minister (PM) Keir Starmer have told him he faces being forced out of office by his party if he does not set a timetable for his departure by the end of the weekend. Andy Burnham, who won a compelling majority in the Makerfield by-election overnight, is expected to travel to London on Monday to meet MPs in the expectation of becoming PM within weeks. One Cabinet Minister – who has not previously told the PM to go – said his departure was now…

*'Accommodating A Regime That Flogs Women For Their Voices And Kills Citizens For Demanding Their Rights Only Emboldens It To Continue Down Its Tyrannical Path' The Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi and eight members of a production team, including musicians, have been reportedly sentenced to 74 lashes for performing in a concert livestreamed on Ahmadi’s YouTube channel in 2024. According to court documents, the Criminal Court of Qom Province sentenced the artists to flogging, a two-year ban on leaving the country and a two-year ban on engaging in artistic activities on charges that include offending public decency through the production and…

*Some Republicans Joined In Too US House of Representatives on Wednesday delivered a stunning rebuke to President Donald Trump over his war on Iran, as representatives backed a move to force him to seek approval from Congress or withdraw US forces. The House voted 215 to 208 in favor of the war powers resolution, as four Republicans voted with Democrats. The dissident Republicans were Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Warren Davidson of Ohio and Tom Barrett of Michigan. The vote came nearly two weeks after House Republicans cancelled an earlier scheduled vote, on the grounds that they…