'Massive' blast in south Iran port
TEHRAN: Several containers exploded Saturday at a key Iranian port, authorities said, causing a major blast and fire, and leaving several people injured.
State media reported a "massive explosion" at Shahid Rajaee, the country's largest commercial port located in Hormozgan province on Iran's southern coast.
"The explosion occurred in a part of the Shahid Rajaee port dock, and we are extinguishing the fire," state TV quoted Esmaeil Malekizadeh, a regional port official, as saying.
Shahid Rajaee, more than 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) south of the capital Tehran, is the most advanced container port in Iran, according to the official IRNA news agency.
It is located 23 kilometres west of Bandar Abbas, the Hormozgan provincial capital, and north of the Strait of Hormuz through which a fifth of world oil output passes.
Footage on state TV showed thick columns of black smoke billowing from the port area where many containers are located.
"Four rapid response teams were dispatched to the scene after the explosion," Head of the Hormozgan Red Crescent Society, Mokhtar Salahshour, told state TV.
Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, head of the province's crisis management authority, told state TV that "the cause of this incident was the explosion of several containers stored in the Shahid Rajaee Port wharf area."
"We are currently evacuating and transporting the injured to nearby medical centres," he added, without specifying the number of casualties. - AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
5 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Iran hangs man convicted of spying for Israel amid air war
TEHRAN: Iran's judiciary said Monday it hanged a man arrested in 2023 and convicted of being a spy for Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, as fighting raged between the two foes. "Esmaeil Fekri, a Mossad agent convicted of the capital offences of 'corruption on Earth' and 'moharebeh' (waging war against God) was hanged after going through the full process of criminal procedure," the judiciary's Mizan Online news website said. Mizan said the execution was carried out after all legal procedures were completed and the verdict was upheld by the supreme court. On Monday, Iran's chief justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei vowed swift trials for people arrested on suspicion of collaborating with Israel. "If someone is arrested for having ties to and collaborating with the Zionist regime, their trial and punishment should be carried out and announced very quickly, in accordance with the law and given the war conditions," Ejei said, quoted by Tasnim news agency. On Sunday, Iranian media reported that police in Alborz province, west of Tehran, had arrested two people suspected of links to the Mossad. Later on the same day, Israel said it had arrested two citizens suspected of working for Iran's intelligence services. After decades of enmity and a prolonged shadow war, Israel on Friday launched a surprise attack, saying it was targeting Iran's nuclear and military facilities. So far it has killed at least 224 people in the Islamic republic, including top military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. Iran has retaliated with barrages of drone and missiles that have killed at least 24 people in Israel, according to the latest figures from the prime minister's office. Iran does not recognise Israel and has long accused it of carrying out sabotage operations against its nuclear facilities, as well as assassinating its scientists. — AFP
New Straits Times
5 hours ago
- New Straits Times
TikTok murder highlights Pakistan's unease with women online
SINCE seeing thousands of comments justifying the recent murder of a teenage TikTok star in Pakistan, Sunaina Bukhari is considering abandoning her 88,000 followers. "In my family, it wasn't an accepted profession at all, but I'd managed to convince them, and even ended up setting up my own business," she said. Then last week, Sana Yousaf was shot dead outside her house in the capital Islamabad by a man whose advances she had repeatedly rejected, police said. News of the murder led to an outpouring of comments under her final post – her 17th birthday celebration where she blew out the candles on a cake. In between condolence messages, some blamed her for her own death: "You reap what you sow" or "it's deserved, she was tarnishing Islam." Yousaf had racked up more than a million followers on social media, where she shared her favourite cafes, skincare products and traditional shalwar kameez outfits. TikTok is wildly popular in Pakistan, in part because of its accessibility to a population with low literacy levels. On it, women have found both audience and income, rare in a country where fewer than a quarter of the women participate in the formal economy. But as TikTok's views have surged, so have efforts to police the platform. Pakistani telecommunications authorities have repeatedly blocked or threatened to block the app over what it calls "immoral behaviour", amid backlash against LGBTQ and sexual content. TikTok has pledged to better moderate content and blocked millions of videos that do not meet its community guidelines as well as at the request of Pakistan authorities. After Yousaf's murder, Bukhari, 28, said her family no longer backs her involvement in the industry. "I'm the first influencer in my family, and maybe the last," she told AFP. Only 30% of women in Pakistan own a smartphone compared to twice as many men (58%), the largest gap in the world, according to the Mobile Gender Gap Report of 2025. "Friends and family often discourage them from using social media for fear of being judged," said a statement from the Digital Rights Foundation (DRF). In southwestern Balochistan, where tribal law governs many rural areas, a man confessed to orchestrating the murder of his 14-year-old daughter earlier this year over TikTok videos that he said compromised her honour. In October, police in Karachi, in the south, announced the arrest of a man who had killed four women relatives over "indecent" TikTok videos. These murders each revive memories of Qandeel Baloch, dubbed Pakistan's Kim Kardashian and one of the country's first breakout social media stars whose videos shot her to fame. After years in the spotlight, she was suffocated by her brother. Violence against women is pervasive in Pakistan, according to the country's Human Rights Commission, and cases of women being attacked after rejecting men are not uncommon. "This isn't one crazy man, this is a culture," said Kanwal Ahmed, who leads a closed Facebook group of 300,000 women to share advice. "Every woman in Pakistan knows this fear. Whether she's on TikTok or has a private Instagram with 50 followers, men show up. In her DMs. In her comments. On her street," she wrote in a post. In the fifth-most-populous country in the world, where 60% of the population is under the age of 30, the director of digital rights organisation Bolo Bhi, Usama Khilji, says "many women don't post their profile picture, but a flower, an object, very rarely their face." "The misogyny and the patriarchy that is prevalent in this society is reflected on the online spaces," he added. A 22-year-old man was arrested over Yousaf's murder and is due to appear in court this week. At a vigil in the capital last week, around 80 men and women gathered, holding placards that read "no means no." "Social media has given us a voice, but the opposing voices are louder," said Hira, a young woman who joined the gathering. The capital's police chief, Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi, used a press conference to send a "clear message" to the public. "If our sisters or daughters want to become influencers, professionally or as amateurs, we must encourage them," he said.
Sinar Daily
7 hours ago
- Sinar Daily
Relatives lament slow support, wait for remains after India crash
Health officials have said the process of matching blood samples with the DNA of victims will be slow, with just 47 identified by Sunday evening. 16 Jun 2025 02:34pm Workers clear debris from the Air India flight crash site at a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad on June 15, 2025. The death toll from the fiery crash of a London-bound passenger jet in an Indian city climbed to 279 on June 14, as officials sought to match the DNA of victims with their grieving relatives. (Photo by Punit PARANJPE / AFP) AHMEDABAD - More than three days after giving a DNA sample, Imtiyaz Ali is enduring an anguished wait to receive the remains of his brother who died in the Air India crash. "My 72 hours are over, but I've not heard from them so far," Ali said in Ahmedabad, where relatives of victims have gathered since the air disaster. Police personnel inspect the crash site of Air India flight 171 at a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad on June 15, 2025. The death toll from the fiery crash of a London-bound passenger jet in an Indian city climbed to 279 on June 14, as officials sought to match the DNA of victims with their grieving relatives. (Photo by Punit PARANJPE / AFP) All but one of the 242 people on board the plane died on Thursday when it slammed into a residential area, where at least 38 others were killed. Health officials have said the process of matching blood samples with the DNA of victims will be slow, with just 47 identified by Sunday evening. Ali, whose brother Javed was killed alongside his wife and two children, said he understood the delay and was more frustrated with the airline's response. "With Air India, the next day after this accident they should have appointed whoever they needed to ensure everything is available to us," such as help with paperwork, he told AFP on Sunday. "Whatever it took, they should have done it within hours of the accident," he said, a day after being appointed a support person by the airline. Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said "over 200 trained caregivers are now in place, with each family assigned dedicated assistance", in a video message on Saturday. The airline directed AFP to earlier statements about its response to the crash when asked to comment on the criticism from families. 'What happens next?' While some funerals have already been held, the majority of grieving relatives are still waiting for a DNA match before remains are handed over from the mortuary. Rinal Christian, whose elder brother was on the flight, said her family keeps returning to the hospital but they have been told to wait. "They said it would take 48 hours. But it's been four days and we haven't received any response," the 23-year-old told AFP. Her brother Lawrence Christian had travelled to Ahmedabad from his home in London after his father died. "After my father, my brother was the sole breadwinner of the family. I'm still studying, my mother doesn't work, and we have our grandmother too. So what happens next?" asked his sister. Air India and its parent company Tata Group have announced financial aid, amounting to $146,000 for each family, but Christian said she has not heard from the airline. With some in Ahmedabad mourning those who supported their families, parents are also confronting the loss of children. Suresh Patni, a driver, had just dropped his teenage son off at his wife's tea stall when the plane hit. She was severely injured, with burns and nerve damage, and Patni has been unable to tell her their son was killed. "She won't be able to handle it... I've already lost one, I can't risk losing her too," he said. While watching over his wife, Patni is among those still waiting for his son's remains to be found. "As soon as our number comes, they'll call us, ask us to come, and then hand over the body." - AFP
