Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei yesterday endorsed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president for a new four-year term, describing him as a “courageous” man but telling him to listen to his critics.
In a sign of the escalating feud between rival political factions over Ahmadinejad’s hotly disputed re-election, key opposition leaders were absent from the ceremony, state TV said.
Khamenei, who has given his full backing to Ahmadinejad despite a political spat, described his protege as “courageous, astute and hardworking,” and hailed his “unprecedented” victory on June 12.
He warned Ahmadinejad, however, that the “angry, wounded opposition” would continue challenging his government and told him to heed the views of his critics, in a possible reference to a row between the president and his own conservative supporters.
Ahmadinejad, whose first four years put him on a collision course with the West, again lashed out at “selfish and meddling” foreign governments over the election crisis.
“You do not want a new model of divine democracy rising in the world. You wanted to divert global opinion from the collapse of capitalism, so you insulted the Iranian people,” the Fars news agency quoted him as saying.
“Whether you like it or not, the sun of justice has dawned upon the world and the government of justice will prevail,” he said.
The June poll set off the worst turmoil in Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution, with deadly street protests, a raft of political trials and increasing divisions among the ruling elite.
Among those who did not attend yesterday’s ceremony were Ahmadinejad’s defeated rivals Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, along with powerful cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and former reformist president Mohammad Khatami.
Ahmadinejad, who is to be sworn in before parliament tomorrow, has also come under fire from his own hardline camp, which has questioned his loyalty to Khamenei in a row over a key political appointment.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
At least 35 people were killed and dozens more injured when a man plowed his car into pedestrians exercising around a sports center in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai on Monday night. Footage showing bodies lying on the pavement appeared on social media in the hours after the crash, but had vanished by early Tuesday morning, and local police reported only “injuries.” It took officials nearly 24 hours to reveal that dozens had died — in one of the country’s deadliest incidents in years. China heavily monitors social media platforms, where it is common for words and topics deemed
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
RSS