Iran paid homage yesterday to its revolutionary father Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini who landed in Tehran 30 years ago to set off the Islamic revolution.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Cabinet, as well as Iran’s military and revolutionary guards commanders, appeared at Khomeini’s mausoleum in Tehran to mark his arrival from exile.
Former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was to speak at the shrine, where hundreds of military personnel were also present.
To mark Khomeini’s return after 15 years in exile, all schools, trains and boats ring their bells at precisely 9:33am, the moment his plane touched down in 1979.
The country will begin 10 days of celebrations marking the 30th anniversary of the overthrow of the shah, who ruled Iran for almost four decades but fled just two weeks before Khomeini’s return.
This year’s anniversary celebrations come barely four months before a presidential election in Iran, with Ahmadinejad seeking another four-year term.
Meanwhile, Egypt on Friday accused the Hezbollah leader in Lebanon, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, of being “an agent of Iran” after he attacked Egypt in statements on Thursday.
“Hassan Nasrallah’s criticism of Egypt confirms once more that he is nothing more than an agent of the Iranian regime and takes his orders from Tehran,” an unnamed Egyptian official said.
Nasrallah had criticized Egypt for keeping its border with Gaza shut. He also accused Egypt of being involved in blockading Gaza, and questioned the neutrality of Egyptian ceasefire efforts.
Egypt on Wednesday accused Iran and its allies from Hezbollah and Hamas of trying to create conflict in the region.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
NO EXCUSES: Marcos said his administration was acting on voters’ demands, but an academic said the move was emotionally motivated after a poor midterm showing Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday sought the resignation of all his Cabinet secretaries, in a move seen as an attempt to reset the political agenda and assert his authority over the second half of his single six-year term. The order came after the president’s allies failed to win a majority of Senate seats contested in the 12 polls on Monday last week, leaving Marcos facing a divided political and legislative landscape that could thwart his attempts to have an ally succeed him in 2028. “He’s talking to the people, trying to salvage whatever political capital he has left. I think it’s
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
Polish presidential candidates offered different visions of Poland and its relations with Ukraine in a televised debate ahead of next week’s run-off, which remains on a knife-edge. During a head-to-head debate lasting two hours, centrist Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, from Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s governing pro-European coalition, faced the Eurosceptic historian Karol Nawrocki, backed by the right-wing populist Law and Justice party (PiS). The two candidates, who qualified for the second round after coming in the top two places in the first vote on Sunday last week, clashed over Poland’s relations with Ukraine, EU policy and the track records of their
RSS