LONDON: The Iranian regime is systematically covering up a series of massacres as it “shamefully” celebrates the 44th anniversary of the Islamic Republic, Amnesty International said on Monday.

A report by the organization details how key officials involved in the cover-up of prison massacres in 1988 did not face punishment for their role in disinformation campaigns, with Amnesty warning that Iran’s current regime “employs similar strategies to weaken international responses to crimes.”

DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates on Monday pledged humanitarian assistance worth around $13.6 million to Syria following an earthquake in Turkiye that killed at least 1,000 people in the war-torn country, Emirates News Agency reported.
The 7.8 magnitude quake struck near the Turkish city of Gaziantep before dawn on Monday, killing more than 1,651 people in Turkiye and another 1,100 in neighboring Syria.
Dubai Ruler and UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum “directed urgent humanitarian aid to those affected in Syria,” WAM said.

ISTANBUL: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Western missions would “pay” for issuing security warnings and temporarily closing consulates in Turkiye last week, while police said there was no serious threat to foreigners after detaining 15 Daesh suspects on Sunday.

AL-MUKALLA, Yemen: Security services of the southern Yemeni city of Taiz said that two children committed suicide in two separate events on Saturday, leaving the beleaguered population in shock and despair.

Police in Taiz said in a statement that they were notified of two suicide victims in the city on Saturday evening, citing the deaths as “dangerous precedents.”

Police named the first child as 12-year-old Kareem Abdul Kareem from the Al-Jamhuria neighborhood, who hanged himself inside his room on Saturday afternoon by tying a scarf around his neck.

TRIPOLI: Its arch is cracking and its vast pavilions lie empty, but the crumbling Rachid Karami International Fair in Lebanon’s port city Tripoli now has hope of revival, having been added to the United Nations’ list of world heritage sites in danger.
Designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer in 1962, the collection of structures on the 70-hectare plot is considered one of the key works of 20th century modernism in the Middle East.