Former Iran detainee Anoosheh Ashoori in London Marathon bid

Anoosheh Ashoori, who was released with fellow British Iranian detainee Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe in March, said he had thought about running the marathon while in the notorious Evin prison. (Screenshot)
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Updated 26 August 2022
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Former Iran detainee Anoosheh Ashoori in London Marathon bid

  • Anoosheh Ashoori, 68, plans to run in support of Amnesty International, other Iranian detainees
  • British Iranian businessman began running while in prison, promising himself to take part in marathon whenever released

LONDON: British Iranian businessman Anoosheh Ashoori, held captive by Iran for nearly five years, plans to run the London Marathon on Oct. 2.

The 68-year-old Londoner, who was released with fellow British Iranian detainee Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe in March, said he had thought about running the marathon while in the notorious Evin prison, north of Tehran.

He took to running around the jail’s exercise yard, building up stamina to eventually be able to run for two hours.

While incarcerated, he also read a book on running and now intends to take part in the London event in support of human rights advocacy and campaign group Amnesty International.

“When I read that, I decided it was so inspiring that anytime I was released, I promised myself, whatever age I am, I am going to participate in the London Marathon. By running you can fight going insane, it is magic,” he said.

Ashoori was arrested in August 2017 and convicted of spying for Mossad, Israel’s intelligence service, charges he has always denied. He had been living in the UK for 20 years and was in Iran to visit his elderly mother.

He plans to run the marathon alongside his son, Aryan, and pointed out that they were also doing it to, “let all the ones who are left behind know they are not forgotten.”

He also urged the UK government to do more to secure the release of other dual nationals being held in Iran, including conservationist Morad Tahbaz.

Amnesty International UK described Ashoori’s story as an “amazing turnaround.”

Jo Atkins-Potts, of the group’s UK operation, said: “Since his release in March, Anoosheh has always been clear that he wouldn’t rest until Morad Tahbaz, Mehran Raoof, and others unjustly detained in Iran were released.

“He’s an inspiration and we’re delighted and honored to be campaigning with him.”


Japan’s foreign minister praises Djibouti’s work on maritime security

Updated 5 sec ago
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Japan’s foreign minister praises Djibouti’s work on maritime security

TOKYO: Japanese foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya met with Dileita Mohamed Dileita, President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Djibouti, on Friday and praised the “deepening of cooperation between the two countries in the field of maritime security.”

Iwaya stated that Djibouti, located at the southern end of the Red Sea and an important sea lane linking Europe and Asia, is a strategically important partner in the quest for a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP).”

Referring to the good relations between the two countries and his own special attachment toward Japan, President Dileita expressed his appreciation and gratitude for Japan’s development cooperation in various fields and for the Self-Defense Force facility in Djibouti, noting the strategic importance of his country.

The two sides exchanged views on issues that included the regional situation in Africa and in East Asia and agreed to further strengthening bilateral relations and cooperation in regional and international arena, with a view to TICAD 9 in August and Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan.

• This article originally appeared on Arab News Japan


Bangladesh’s Yunus meets key party leader in London

Updated 12 min 23 sec ago
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Bangladesh’s Yunus meets key party leader in London

  • Tarique Rahman, the son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, is the acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party
  • Yunus’s government warned last month that political power struggles risked jeopardizing gains that have been made
DHAKA: Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus met in London on Friday with the leader of the South Asian nation’s key party that many expect to be the frontrunner in elections next year.
Tarique Rahman, 59, the son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, is the acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which is widely seen as likely to sweep elections that Yunus said will be held in April.
The exact date of the elections remains a sticking point but they will be the first in the nation of around 170 million people since a student-led revolt ousted former premier Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, ending her iron-fisted 15-year rule.
Yunus and Rahman were shown smiling and shaking hands in the meeting in London, according to photographs released by the government press team, although relations between the caretaker government and the BNP have been rocky.
Yunus’s government warned last month that political power struggles risked jeopardizing gains that have been made, saying that holding elections by mid-2026 would give them time to overhaul democratic institutions.
Hasina’s rule saw widespread human rights abuses and her government was accused of politicizing courts and the civil service, as well as staging lopsided elections.
Under pressure from political parties, including the BNP, Yunus said this month that polls will be held in April.
However, the BNP has continued to push for an earlier date.
The BNP said on Friday it wanted to hold the elections before Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting, begins around February 17.
Khalilur Rahman, a senior member of Yunus’ cabinet, said it was possible that the “election will be held earlier provided significant progresses in reforms and trials are made.”
Key BNP leader Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said they “hope we can reach a consensus on the reforms soon.”
Yunus, 84, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, has said he will not continue the caretaker role he took up at the behest of student protesters after Hasina fled by helicopter to India.

Rescuers scour buildings after Air India plane crash kills over 240

Updated 13 June 2025
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Rescuers scour buildings after Air India plane crash kills over 240

  • Only one passenger survived after the plane crashed onto a medical college hostel during lunch hour
  • Parts of the plane’s fuselage were scattered around the smoldering building into which it crashed

AHMEDABAD, India: Rescuers searched for missing people and aircraft debris in charred buildings in Ahmedabad on Friday after more than 240 people were killed in an Air India Boeing 787 crash, and as local media reported that India was considering grounding the airline’s 787 fleet for safety checks.

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with 242 people on board bound for Gatwick Airport south of London took off over a residential area and disappeared from view before a huge fireball was seen rising into the sky from beyond the houses, CCTV footage showed.

Only one passenger survived after the plane crashed onto a medical college hostel during lunch hour, with local media reporting as many as 24 people on the ground were also killed. Reuters could not immediately verify the number.

Rescue workers had completed combing the crash site and were now searching for missing people and bodies in the buildings as well as for aircraft parts that could help explain why the plane crashed soon after taking off.

Local media reported that one of two black boxes from the 787 had been found. Reuters could not verify the reports, which also did not say whether it was the flight data recorder or the cockpit voice recorder that had been recovered.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was briefed by officials on the progress of rescue operations when he visited the crash site in his home state of Gujarat on Friday. Modi also met some of the injured being treated in hospital.

“The scene of devastation is saddening,” he said in a post on X.

Residents living in the vicinity said that construction of the hostel for resident doctors was completed only a year ago and the buildings were not fully occupied.

“We were at home and heard a massive sound, it appeared like a big blast. We then saw very dark smoke which engulfed the entire area,” said 63-year-old Nitin Joshi, who has been living in the area for more than 50 years.

Parts of the plane’s fuselage were scattered around the smoldering building into which it crashed. The tail of the plane was wedged on top of the building.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources, that an investigation into the crash was focusing on “whether the aircraft had a loss or reduction in engine thrust.”

India’s NDTV reported that New Delhi was considering grounding Air India’s Dreamliner fleet for safety checks. Air India has more than 30 Dreamliners that include the Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 versions.

Modern, wide-body jet

It was the first crash for the Dreamliner since the wide-body jet began flying commercially in 2011, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.

The plane that crashed on Thursday flew for the first time in 2013 and was delivered to Air India in January 2014, Flightradar24 said.

Air India, Boeing and India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the NDTV report on the possible grounding of the fleet.

The lone survivor, a British national, told Indian media how he had heard a loud noise shortly after Flight AI171 took off.

India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said he is in touch with foreign ministers of Britain, Portugal and Canada after citizens from their countries were killed in the crash.

Global leaders have expressed their condolences, including China’s President Xi Jinping who sent his message to India’s president, prime minister and Britain’s King Charles on Friday.

The passengers included 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese and one Canadian.

Air India has said the investigation would take time. Planemaker Boeing has said a team of experts is ready to go to India to help in the probe.

Vidhi Chaudhary, a top state police officer, said on Thursday the death toll was more than 240, revising down a previous toll of 294 because it included body parts that had been counted twice.

“Almost 70 percent of the passengers were found in their seats, most of them had their seatbelts on,” a first responder told local newspaper Indian Express.

The last fatal plane crash in India, the world’s third-largest aviation market and its fastest-growing, was in 2020 and involved Air India Express, the airline’s low-cost arm.

In an unrelated incident, an Air India flight from Phuket in Thailand headed to Delhi made an emergency landing on Friday after a bomb threat was received on board, airport authorities said.

Indian conglomerate Tata Group took control of the formerly state-owned Air India in 2022, and merged it with Vistara — a joint venture between the group and Singapore Airlines – last year.


Air India flight makes emergency landing in Thailand after bomb threat; all passengers off plane

Updated 13 June 2025
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Air India flight makes emergency landing in Thailand after bomb threat; all passengers off plane

  • Indian airlines, airports received nearly 1,000 hoax calls and messages in first 10 months of 2024
  • Incident follows Air India flight crash in Ahmedabad on Thursday, which killed over 240 people

BANGKOK: An Air India flight from Phuket in Thailand to India’s capital New Delhi received an onboard bomb threat on Friday and made an emergency landing on the island, airport authorities said.

All 156 passengers on flight AI 379 had been escorted from the plane, in line with emergency plans, an Airports of Thailand official said.

The aircraft took off from Phuket airport bound for the Indian capital at 9.30 a.m. (0230 GMT) on Friday, but made a wide loop around the Andaman Sea and landed back on the southern Thai island, according to flight tracker Flightradar24.

The incident follows the crash of an Air India flight in Ahmedabad on Thursday shortly after takeoff, in which more than 240 people were killed.

AOT did not provide details on the bomb threat. Air India did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Indian airlines and airports were inundated with hoax bomb threats last year, with nearly 1,000 hoax calls and messages received in the first 10 months, nearly 10 times that of 2023.


Mexican citizen dies in US immigration detention center

Updated 13 June 2025
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Mexican citizen dies in US immigration detention center

  • The man died on June 7 at an ICE facility in the southern state of Georgia
  • US authorities notified the Mexican consulate in Georgia’s capital Atlanta of the death

MEXICO CITY: A Mexican citizen died in a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center from undetermined circumstances, Mexico’s foreign ministry has said.

The death comes amid ongoing demonstrations in several US states, most prominently in California, against immigration enforcement raids launched by US President Donald Trump’s administration.

The man died on June 7 at an ICE facility in the southern state of Georgia, where he was being held after he was transferred from a state prison, the foreign ministry said in a statement Thursday.

US authorities notified the Mexican consulate in Georgia’s capital Atlanta of the death.

“Consular staff has established communication with local and ICE authorities, as well as with the individual’s family members, to clarify the facts, confirm the official cause of death, and provide legal advice and support to the family,” the ministry said.

Mexico’s foreign ministry said consular staff had not been notified to interview the detainee while he was in custody, despite regular visits to the facility to assist Mexican nationals.

“The consulate has requested an explanation from the (detention) center’s authorities,” the ministry said.

It also said it was examining legal options and maintaining communication with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the state’s independent investigative body.