JESSICA RAWNSLEY
Categories: All Climate Protest + Activism Global Social Justice Data-driven Science + Tech
A referee and a student are among hundreds of people reportedly killed during massive anti-government protests in Iran.
Coach Amir Mohammad Koohkan, 26, was hit by live ammunition on 3 January during protests in the town of Neyriz, his friend told BBC Persian.
"Everyone knew him for his kindness", they said, adding his family is grieving and "angry because he was killed by the regime".
Five days later, student Rubina Aminian, 23, was shot from behind during a protest in Tehran, according to human rights groups. "She fought for things she knew were right", her uncle told CNN.
Nearly 500 protesters and 48 security personnel have been killed in two weeks of protests, a US-based rights group says.
Coach Amir Mohammad Koohkan, 26, was hit by live ammunition on 3 January during protests in the town of Neyriz, his friend told BBC Persian.
"Everyone knew him for his kindness", they said, adding his family is grieving and "angry because he was killed by the regime".
Five days later, student Rubina Aminian, 23, was shot from behind during a protest in Tehran, according to human rights groups. "She fought for things she knew were right", her uncle told CNN.
Nearly 500 protesters and 48 security personnel have been killed in two weeks of protests, a US-based rights group says.
THE SUNDAY TIMES
With flip flops and no gear, these volunteers stop the Amazon burning
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A streak of canary yellow emerges from the forest. José Martins speeds across the sand on a bright red quadbike, dressed in his full firefighter uniform, yellow helmet glinting in the sunlight.
Martins is chief of the fire brigade in Anã, a community of 350 ribeirinhos — riverside dwellers — living on the banks of the Arapiuns River in the northern Brazilian state of Para. Like many firefighters in the Amazon, he is a volunteer, and the quadbike is his fire engine.
For these firefighters, the fight is existential: a battle to protect their people, as well as the land and creatures their lives depend on. Martins’s grandfather died trying to put out a fire alone. Many have similar stories. “It’s very hard to be a volunteer, not earning anything, working just for love, for your territory,” the 49-year-old says. “But I feel so good when we extinguish the fire and give the land back to the community. It’s a big joy.”
Martins is chief of the fire brigade in Anã, a community of 350 ribeirinhos — riverside dwellers — living on the banks of the Arapiuns River in the northern Brazilian state of Para. Like many firefighters in the Amazon, he is a volunteer, and the quadbike is his fire engine.
For these firefighters, the fight is existential: a battle to protect their people, as well as the land and creatures their lives depend on. Martins’s grandfather died trying to put out a fire alone. Many have similar stories. “It’s very hard to be a volunteer, not earning anything, working just for love, for your territory,” the 49-year-old says. “But I feel so good when we extinguish the fire and give the land back to the community. It’s a big joy.”
FILED UNDER:
Climate, Global
Climate, Global
BBC
‘I want to get home’: Thousands of Britons trapped in Israel as conflict with Iran rages
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Thousands of Britons are stranded in Israel and unable to leave, as Iran and Israel continue to attack each other in an intensifying conflict that has been ongoing for days.
The Israeli airspace is closed until further notice and all flights have been grounded, with no sign of an imminent pause in hostilities. Iran has launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel over the past few days in retaliation for Israeli strikes which began on Friday.
Speaking to the BBC, British nationals spoke of sleepless nights punctuated by the wail of sirens, constant trips back and forth to bomb shelters and the uncertainty of not knowing when they will be able to get home. Many of those stranded are pressing for the UK government to do more to help them, but the BBC understands that, at this stage, there are no plans for an evacuation.
The Israeli airspace is closed until further notice and all flights have been grounded, with no sign of an imminent pause in hostilities. Iran has launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel over the past few days in retaliation for Israeli strikes which began on Friday.
Speaking to the BBC, British nationals spoke of sleepless nights punctuated by the wail of sirens, constant trips back and forth to bomb shelters and the uncertainty of not knowing when they will be able to get home. Many of those stranded are pressing for the UK government to do more to help them, but the BBC understands that, at this stage, there are no plans for an evacuation.
FILED UNDER:
Global
Global
BBC
Kyiv hit by barrage of drone strikes as Putin rejects Trump’s truce bid
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One person has been killed and 26 others were injured after a night of intensive Russian strikes on almost every district in Kyiv, officials say.
A pall of acrid smoke hung over the Ukrainian capital on Friday morning following hours of nightfall punctuated by the staccato of air defence guns, buzz of drones and large explosions. Ukraine said Russia fired a record 539 drones and 11 missiles.
The strikes came hours after a call between US President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin, after which Trump said he was "disappointed" that Putin was not ready to end the war against Ukraine. Moscow says the war will continue for as long as it is necessary to reach its objectives.
A pall of acrid smoke hung over the Ukrainian capital on Friday morning following hours of nightfall punctuated by the staccato of air defence guns, buzz of drones and large explosions. Ukraine said Russia fired a record 539 drones and 11 missiles.
The strikes came hours after a call between US President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin, after which Trump said he was "disappointed" that Putin was not ready to end the war against Ukraine. Moscow says the war will continue for as long as it is necessary to reach its objectives.
FILED UNDER:
Global
Global
BBC
‘Shocking but not unexpected’: Jewish community reacts to ambulance attack
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In Golders Green the smell of smoke still lingers in the air.
The source: the remanants of burnt out ambulances, which lie blackened in a car park next to a synagogue in the north-west London suburb.
In the early hours of Monday, four Jewish charity-run ambulances were set alight at the site, leading to explosions that caused the windows of nearby buildings to shatter and the evacuation of some residents.
While no-one was hurt, the incident - which is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime and investigated by counter-terror police officers - has left members of the Jewish community feeling increasingly unsettled and fearful.
"It's a shock," said Jack Taub, who is on the leadership team of the Machzike Hadath Synagogue, where the incident took place.
The source: the remanants of burnt out ambulances, which lie blackened in a car park next to a synagogue in the north-west London suburb.
In the early hours of Monday, four Jewish charity-run ambulances were set alight at the site, leading to explosions that caused the windows of nearby buildings to shatter and the evacuation of some residents.
While no-one was hurt, the incident - which is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime and investigated by counter-terror police officers - has left members of the Jewish community feeling increasingly unsettled and fearful.
"It's a shock," said Jack Taub, who is on the leadership team of the Machzike Hadath Synagogue, where the incident took place.
