Pezeshkian Says he Recently Met with the Supreme Leader
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said he met recently with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, state media reported on Thursday, offering a first public account of him meeting Khamenei after the latter suffered severe wounds at the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran.
The meeting was marked by a "humble and deeply cordial" atmosphere, Pezeshkian was reported as saying.
Khamenei, reportedly wounded in strikes on the first day of the Middle East war that claimed the life of his father and predecessor Ali Khamenei, has released only written statements since his appointment.
"What struck me most during this meeting was the vision and the humble and sincere approach of the supreme leader of the Islamic revolution," Pezeshkian said in a video broadcast by state television.
South Sudanese Migrant Jailed in UK for Piloting Record Channel Boat Crossing
A South Sudanese man was jailed for two years and three months in an English court on Friday after he admitted piloting a small boat across the Channel from France, which carried a then-record 165 people.
Chan Mathok Atak, 19, previously pleaded guilty to endangering another during a July crossing to Britain in an inflatable dinghy.
The record for most migrants travelling to Britain across the Channel by small boat was broken again last month, when 230 people made the journey.
Atak's sentencing comes as the numbers of those arriving in Britain across the Channel have fallen, but the crossings remain a prominent political issue which successive British governments have struggled to tackle.
Earlier this month, hundreds of black-clad protesters gathered twice in two days on Britain's south coast, blocking streets in response to arrivals of small boats, which a government minister described as "thuggish".
Right-wing opposition parties and anti-migration activists have called for more action, but greater cooperation with French authorities and even repeated deaths have not deterred many people from seeking to make the perilous journey.
Atak was sentenced to 27 months in prison at Canterbury Crown Court. Prosecutor James Harrison said Atak piloted the dinghy for at least 90 minutes while it carried 164 other people, including 31 children aged 14 to 17.
He said there was no navigational or first aid equipment on the boat, which had only one of its two engines working and was slowly deflating and taking on sea water before it was intercepted by Britain's Border Force.
Atak's lawyer Audrey Cherryl Mogan said Atak was a young asylum seeker from South Sudan who did not have anything to do with the number of people or the conditions on board.
Judge Sarah Counsell accepted there was no evidence Atak organized the journey, but said that "those who chose to steer such vessels assume responsibility for the safety of those on board".
"This undermines public confidence in the immigration system and places considerable strain on already stretched public resources," she added.
The National Crime Agency's senior investigating officer John Turner said in a statement: "Chan Atak was unimaginably reckless and his actions could have easily resulted in many deaths had this boat not been intercepted."
At Least 16 Killed in Suicide Attack on Police Facility in Northwest Pakistan
At least 16 people, including five police personnel, were killed in northwest Pakistan on Friday after a suicide attacker rammed an explosives-laden car into a police facility as people were praying at a mosque inside, police said.
The incident occurred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province's Kohat city, with the vehicle ramming into an outer wall of the police facility and gunmen who accompanied it opening fire, provincial police chief Zulfikar Hameed said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, according to Reuters.
The blast occurred close to a mosque where the police personnel, their family members, and other civilians were offering Friday prayers, a police statement said.
A gun battle was still raging between police and the attackers, and one assailant wearing an explosives-laden vest had been killed, the statement said.
The interior ministry said the "cowardly actions" of the attackers could not weaken the "nation's firm resolve".
Militancy in Pakistan's border areas has risen sharply in recent months, targeting mainly the military and police.
Islamabad says the militants use safe havens in Afghanistan to train and plan attacks in Pakistan. Afghanistan's Taliban government has denied the charge and said militancy is Pakistan's domestic problem.
Spanish Police Launch Operation to Clear Ceuta Migrants off Beach
Spanish riot police fired rubber bullets into the air and struck people with batons on Friday as they began an operation to clear thousands of migrants off beaches in the North African enclave of Ceuta and move some of them into temporary housing.
Spain estimates 10,000 migrants remain in the tiny territory. More than 72,000 crossed into the enclave from Morocco at the end of July in an unprecedented border rush, although most later left, Reuters said.
The authorities have built new temporary housing inside the enclave's port to hold 1,700 people. NGOs say thousands remain unhoused and have been sleeping rough in camps.
Friday's operation to clear the beaches began shortly before 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) and involved both riot police and the Spanish military.
Migrants who had spent the night waiting on the beach in hope of a place in temporary shelter initially applauded as the march got under way, but tussles later broke out as they competed for the limited number of places available.
Footage from state broadcaster TVE showed crowding and jostling as people struggled to enter the designated route. Police fired rubber bullets into the air and struck several migrants with batons before the situation calmed down and the operation resumed.
