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Iranian police say 139 foreigners arrested over unrest in Yazd province

Iranian police said 139 foreign nationals have so far been arrested in the central province of Yazd for their participation in recent protests, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Tuesday, without specifying their nationalities. Yazd, a predominantly desert province with a relatively small population above 1 million, was one of many provinces affected by nationwide protests in January. The protests, which started in December over economic hardships and quickly turned political, were repressed in the most violent crackdown since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The official death toll stands at 3,117, although rights groups say many more people have been killed. US-based rights group HRANA has said that nearly 50,000 people have so far been arrested. Authorities blame Israel and the United States for fomenting the violence. "These (foreign) individuals played an active role in organising, inciting, and directing riotous actions, and in some cases were in contact with netwo...

Canada, UK face backlash over changing embassy addresses to 'Palestine'

The websites of both the UK and Canadian embassies in Israel have come under criticism after references to “Palestine” were added to their addresses. Global Affairs Canada updated its site to describe its Tel Aviv embassy as being located in “Palestine”, according to the Toronto Sun. The page initially listed “Israel and Palestine” before later being corrected. The UK government website has been updated. pic.twitter.com/VQBOqfPzZ3 — Mukhtar (@I_amMukhtar) September 24, 2025 The UK Foreign Office faced similar scrutiny after the website of its Consulate General in Jerusalem added “Palestine” at the bottom of the address. The location had previously been described as “East Jerusalem”. Read More: Muslim leaders reject Gaza displacement The changes quickly spread across social media, drawing thousands of views and comments. “This is nuts, and of note, they’re doing it all on Rosh HaShanah when a large portion of the Jewish community is offline,” wrote X user Dan Levy. In Canada, Liberal MP Anthony Housefather said he had contacted Global Affairs, and a correction was made “a few hours later”. In the UK, Alex Hearn, director of Labour Against Antisemitism, said: “The UK government erased Israel’s capital even on the Jewish new year.” Also Read: US allies’ support for Palestinian statehood puts Trump’s Israel policy to test France has also faced criticism after changing the address of its consulate in West Jerusalem to list “Palestine”. Canada’s Tel Aviv embassy was briefly listed as “Tel Aviv, Israel, Palestine”. Hearn described this as “geographically incoherent”, adding: “This geographically incoherent address is a political statement, showing they have decided all of Israel is Palestine ‘from the river to the sea’.”

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