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Iran acknowledges about 2,000 deaths in protests as U.S. imposes sweeping tariffs and weighs next steps DUBAI, Jan. 13 — An Iranian official said about 2,000 people, including security personnel, have been killed in two weeks of nationwide protests, the first time authorities have acknowledged a death toll from the crackdown that followed unrest over Iran’s collapsing currency and deepening economic pain. The official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, blamed “terrorists” for the deaths on both sides but did not…

An Irish man who spent seven months wrongly imprisoned in Iran has condemned what he called the “terrible” brutality of the country’s rulers, as fresh protests flare against the clerical establishment amid rising prices. Bernard Phelan, who was detained in 2022 after being accused of providing information to an enemy country, said he is encouraged to see Iranians taking to the streets but warned that fear runs deep under the current regime. “In one sense, I’m happy that the Iranian people are out in the street against the…

Snow, ice and high winds battered Europe for a third straight day Thursday, snarling transport networks from Paris to Stockholm, canceling hundreds of flights and stranding passengers as authorities warned of more dangerous weather ahead. At least seven people have died in weather-related incidents. Air travel bore the brunt of the disruption. Airports in Paris and Amsterdam were among the worst affected, with Dutch authorities saying more than 1,000 travelers spent the night at Schiphol, one of the continent’s busiest hubs.…

European leaders on Monday closed ranks around Denmark and Greenland, declaring the Arctic island “belongs to its people” in a joint statement that rebuffed U.S. President Donald Trump’s renewed push to take control of the territory. Trump has repeated in recent weeks that he wants the United States to gain control of Greenland — an idea first floated in 2019 — arguing the move is vital for U.S. military interests and contending Denmark has not done enough to protect the island. Greenland, which has home rule under the…

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland — Several people were killed and others injured after an explosion and fire tore through a bar in the luxury Alpine ski resort of Crans-Montana early Monday, Swiss police said. A police spokesman for Wallis canton in southwestern Switzerland said the blast was of unknown origin and occurred at about 1:30 a.m. local time (3 a.m. Irish time). The incident struck Le Constellation, a popular nightspot, as revelers marked the New Year. Authorities said there were “several injured, and several dead.”…

Ahmed al Ahmed, the fruit seller hailed as the Bondi Beach shooting hero, has described the moment he leapt on a gunman and wrested away a weapon during last month’s massacre in Sydney, as families of victims issued a fresh call for a national inquiry into antisemitism and systemic failures they say enabled the attack. In an interview published by a U.S. outlet, al Ahmed said he ran toward one of the attackers to protect “innocent people” as gunfire sent crowds scrambling across Sydney’s famed shoreline on Dec. 14.…

In the hills of Cox’s Bazar, inside a shelter pieced together with bamboo and tarpaulin, Nur Haba unwraps a bundle of keepsakes. At its center is a faded photograph of Mariam. “She was shot dead in front of me,” Nur says quietly. The picture is one of the few belongings she salvaged from their home in Myanmar’s Rakhine State before, she recalls, soldiers torched it and the family fled. In the chaos of escape, as they waded across a river, her two-year-old son, Mohammed, was swept away and drowned. For the Rohingya—described…

Bondi Beach Hanukkah shooting kills 15; Albanese condemns ‘antisemitic terrorism’ SYDNEY — Two gunmen opened fire during a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday evening, killing 15 people — including a child — and wounding dozens more in what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called an act of antisemitic terrorism. Authorities said the attackers were a father and son. A 50-year-old man was shot dead by police and his 24-year-old son was wounded and hospitalized, New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon…

Myanmar air strike hits hospital in Rakhine’s Mrauk-U, killing more than 30 as junta pushes pre-election offensive A Myanmar military air strike on a general hospital in Mrauk-U killed more than 30 people on Wednesday evening, an on-site aid worker said, intensifying a pre-election offensive in Rakhine state where the Arakan Army holds near-total control. The AA’s health department said at least 10 patients were “killed on the spot” when the strike hit around 9 p.m. The attack struck the main hospital in Mrauk-U, an ancient…

At least 25 people were killed when a fire tore through a crowded nightclub in Arpora, a popular tourist hub in northern Goa, around midnight local time, the state’s chief minister said. Tourists were among the dead in the blaze at the Birch nightclub, according to authorities. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the deaths “deeply saddening” and said he had spoken with Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. Modi added that the state government was providing “all possible assistance” to victims and their families. Sawant told…