Britain and Iran in row over spy allegations
Britain and Iran summoned each other’s diplomats in London and Tehran on Monday after British authorities charged three Iranian nationals under a national security law after a major counterterrorism investigation. Britain said it had summoned Iranian ambassador Seyed Ali Mousavi, while Iran summoned the British charge d’affaires in Tehran over the arrests of its nationals over what it called “false claims”. The three men appeared in a London court on Saturday charged with suspected spying. Reuters
Ivory Coast cocoa delivery hit by poor quality
Above-average rainfall last week in most of Ivory Coast’s main cocoa-growing regions is set to boost the development of pods for the final stage of the April to September midcrop, farmers said on Monday. The world’s top cocoa producer is in its rainy season, which runs from April to mid-November, when rains are abundant. Growers said midcrop harvesting was accelerating, with buyers active in the area. However, weekly arrivals at the country’s two main ports between May 12 and May 18 fell sharply, with the drop attributed to buyers rejecting more beans because of poor quality. Reuters
Six killed as floods sweep through southern China
Heavy weekend rains in China’s southern Guangdong and Guangxi provinces killed at least six people and disrupted trains and power supply to more than 1-million people, the official Xinhua news agency said, with alerts issued for severe flooding and geological disasters in parts of the country. The National Meteorological Centre issued multiple heavy rain warnings in the Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangxi and Guangdong regions and the northwestern province of Xinjiang from Sunday to Monday. Reuters
Indonesia volcano alert level at highest
Indonesia raised the alert level of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki to the highest after it erupted eight times over the weekend, its volcanology agency has said. Lewotobi Laki-laki, located on Flores island in eastern Indonesia, spewed volcanic ash between 3km to 5.5km high on Sunday, agency head Muhammad Wafid said late on Sunday. “Our analysis showed the activities of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki are still high,” he said. Images showed clouds of thick grey ash billowing from the crater. On Monday, the volcano erupted again, belching 1.2km-high ash clouds. The agency said a 6km radius from the crater must be evacuated. Reuters
Moscow bans Amnesty for supporting Ukraine
Russia’s prosecutor general said on Monday it had banned human rights group Amnesty International Limited as an “undesirable organisation”, accusing it of backing Ukraine against Russia.
Founded in 1961 and headquartered in London, Amnesty International campaigns for human rights across the world, including on behalf of those it designates prisoners of conscience.
Russia’s prosecutor general said Amnesty International’s London office was a “centre for the preparation of global Russophobic projects”.
Russian officials regularly accuse Ukraine of being dominated by “neo-Nazis”, an accusation seen in Ukraine, the West and other countries as baseless propaganda. Reuters
Lithuania accuses Belarus of smuggling migrants
Lithuania’s foreign ministry said on Monday it has filed a case against Belarus at the International Court of Justice, accusing its neighbour of facilitating the smuggling of migrants into Lithuania.
“The Belarusian regime must be held legally accountable for orchestrating the wave of illegal migration,” Lithuania justice minister Rimantas Mockus said.
“We are taking this case to the International Court of Justice to send a clear message: no state can use vulnerable people as political pawns without facing consequences under international law.”
In 2021, Latvia, Poland and Lithuania faced an immigration crisis when thousands of people began crossing from Belarus. Reuters
WHO ‘is facing major financial challenges’
People in at least 70 countries are missing out on medical treatment due to funding cuts to aid programmes, the WHO said on Monday, adding it also faces major financial challenges.
“Patients are missing out on treatments, health facilities have closed, health workers have lost their jobs, and people face increased out-of-pocket health spending,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
The WHO is facing a $600m hole in its annual budget and cuts of 21% over the next two-year period.
As the US prepares to exit the organisation, China is set to become the biggest provider of state fees — one of the WHO’s main streams of funding alongside donations. Reuters
Documents of Mossad agent recovered in Syria
Israel’s spy agency Mossad has recovered a trove of documents and photographs belonging to its late agent Eli Cohen, who was hanged in Damascus six decades ago after collecting intelligence on Syrian military plans.
The 2,500 documents, photographs and personal belongings of Cohen were taken to Israel after a “covert and complex Mossad operation, in co-operation with an allied foreign intelligence service” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Sunday.
After penetrating Syria’s political leadership, Cohen sent high-level intelligence back to his handlers but was captured in 1965, put on trial and hanged on May 18 1965. Reuters
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