1 Dead in Iran Water Shortage Protests
Voice of America
WASHINGTON - Iran’s state media report that one person was killed late Friday during a protest of water shortages in the country’s southwest.
The state news agency IRNA quoted Omid Sabripour, head of the local government in Shadegan, as saying “a number of Shadegan's people had gathered to protest water shortages due to the drought, during which opportunists and rioters shot dead one of the demonstrators." Sabripour told the agency someone had shot into the air and the falling bullet had struck and killed a bystander. A two-day wave of antigovernment protests in southwest Iran in response to water shortages has drawn new attention to what experts say is the long-running mismanagement of natural resources by Iran’s Islamist rulers.Israeli Ofer Kalderon, who has been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, waves before being handed over to the Red Cross by Hamas fighters in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 1, 2025. Israeli Yarden Bibas, 34, who has been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, is escorted by Hamas fighters before being handed over to the Red Cross in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 1, 2025.
A rescued pug plays in the home of Cheryl Gaw in Johannesburg, South Africa, Jan. 14, 2025. Cheryl Gaw plays with some of the 2,500 pugs she has rescued in South Africa at her home in Johannesburg, South Africa, Jan. 14, 2025. Pugs pause for a photograph at the home of Cheryl Gaw in Johannesburg, South Africa, Jan. 14, 2025.
The homepage of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine's website on Jan. 31, 2025. Sergiy Tomilenko, president of the organization, says many Ukrainian media outlets face the threat of closure after the United States froze all foreign aid for 90 days. The homepage of Frontier Myanmar's website, Jan. 31, 2025. Ben Dunant, editor-in-chief of the magazine, says, “It is difficult — or even impossible — for many [media outlets] to make commercial revenue” in war-torn Myanmar.