Iran protests over young woman's death continue, 83 said killed
Protests continued in several cities across Iran on Thursday against the death of young woman in police custody, state and social media reported, as a human rights group said at least 83 people had been killed in nearly two weeks of demonstrations, Reuters reported.
Mahsa Amini, 22, from the Iranian Kurdish town of Saqez, was arrested this month in Tehran for "unsuitable attire" by the morality police that enforces the Islamic Republic's strict dress code for women.
Her death has sparked the first big show of opposition on Iran's streets since authorities crushed protests against a rise in gasoline prices in 2019.
"At least 83 people including children, are confirmed to have been killed in (the) #IranProtests," Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based group, said on Twitter.
Despite the growing death toll and a fierce crackdown by authorities, videos posted on Twitter showed demonstrators calling for the fall of the clerical establishment in Tehran, Qom, Rasht, Sanandaj, Masjed-i-Suleiman and other cities.
State television said police had arrested a large number of "rioters", without giving figures.
Rights groups said dozens of activists, students and artists have been detained and the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Twitter that it had learned that security forces had arrested at least 28 journalists as of Sept. 29, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, Germany's foreign minister said on Thursday she wanted the European Union to impose sanctions on Iran following Amini's death.
Floods trap many in Florida as Ian heads to South Carolina
Rescue crews piloted boats and waded through inundated streets Thursday to save thousands of Floridians trapped amid flooded homes and shattered buildings left by Hurricane Ian,which crossed into the Atlantic Ocean and churned toward South Carolina, Associated Press reported.
Hours after weakening to a tropical storm while crossing the Florida peninsula, Ian regained hurricane strength Thursday evening over the Atlantic. The National Hurricane Center predicted it would hit South Carolina as a Category 1 hurricane Friday, with winds picking up to 80 mph (129 kph) near midnight Thursday.
The devastation inflicted on Florida came into focus a day after Ian struck as a monstrous Category 4 hurricane, one of the strongest storms ever to hit the U.S. It flooded homes on both the state’s coasts, cut off the only road access to a barrier island, destroyed a historic waterfront pier and knocked out electricity to 2.67 million Florida homes and businesses — nearly a quarter of utility customers.
Four people were confirmed dead in Florida. They included two residents of hard-hit Sanibel Island along Florida’s west coast, Sanibel city manager Dana Souza said late Thursday. Three other people were reported killed in Cuba after the hurricane struck there on Tuesday.
In the Fort Myers area, homes had been ripped from their slabs and deposited among shredded wreckage. Businesses near the beach were completely razed, leaving twisted debris. Broken docks floated at odd angles beside damaged boats and fires smoldered on lots where houses once stood.
“I don’t know how anyone could have survived in there,” William Goodison said amid the wreckage of the mobile home park in Fort Myers Beach where he’d lived for 11 years. Goodison rode out the storm at his son’s house inland.
The hurricane tore through the park of about 60 homes, many of them destroyed or mangled beyond repair, including Goodison’s single-wide home. Wading through waist-deep water, Goodison and his son wheeled two trash cans containing what little he could salvage — a portable air conditioner, some tools and a baseball bat.
The road into Fort Myers was littered with broken trees, boat trailers and other debris. Cars were left abandoned in the road, having stalled when the storm surge flooded their engines, according to Associated Press.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at least 700 rescues, mostly by air, have been conducted so far and involving the US Coast Guard, the National Guard and urban search-and-rescue teams.
After leaving Florida as a tropical storm Thursday and entering the Atlantic Ocean north of Cape Canaveral, Ian spun up into a hurricane again with winds of 75 mph (120 kph).
A hurricane warning was issued for the South Carolina coast and extended to Cape Fear on the southeastern coast of North Carolina. With tropical-storm force winds reaching about 415 miles (665 kilometers) from its center, Ian was forecast to shove storm surge of 5 feet (1.5 meters) into coastal areas in Georgia and the Carolinas. Rainfall of up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) threatened flooding from South Carolina to Virginia.
National Guard troops were being positioned in South Carolina to help with the aftermath, including any water rescues. On Thursday afternoon, a steady stream of vehicles left Charleston, a 350-year-old city.
Sheriffs in southwest Florida said 911 centers were inundated by thousands of stranded callers, some with life-threatening emergencies. The U.S. Coast Guard began rescue efforts hours before daybreak on barrier islands near where Ian struck, DeSantis said. More than 800 federal urban search-and-rescuers were also in the area, Associated Press reported.
Australia to end mandatory Covid isolation
Australia will end enforcing mandatory Covid isolation from next month, the government has said, BBC reported.
Currently anyone who tests positive to the virus must isolate for five days, but that will end from 14 October.
At times nicknamed "Fortress Australia", the country has had some of the strictest restrictions in the world since the pandemic began.
Mandatory isolation had been one of the few restrictions remaining.
Australia's chief medical officer, Professor Paul Kelly, said the decision "does not in any way suggest that the pandemic is finished".
Australia continues to record about 5,500 virus cases each day, according to the latest government figures. It is one of the world's most vaccinated countries.
After the pandemic began, Australia closed international borders for around two years and imposed strict limits on movement around the country, according to BBC.
Two die of dengue in last 24 hours
Two persons have died of dengue in the last 24 hours. With this, the number of people who list their lives to dengue has reached 38. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 28, 109 people have been infected with the dengue so far. The infection has been seen in all the 77 districts. The Ministry has urged the people to clean the places where garbage is collected and to wear clothes with full sleeves to avoid dengue.
