Day: June 2, 2026

Mohammad Amin Tavakkoli-Zadeh, Tehran’s deputy mayor for social and cultural affairs, said authorities were preparing for between 15 million and 20 million participants in the capital, News.Az reports, citing Middle East Monitor.
***
He said Khamenei would be buried at the shrine of Imam Reza in the northeastern city of Mashhad, in accordance with his will and recommendations from those close to him.
Tavakkoli-Zadeh said requests from provinces across Iran to host funeral and memorial ceremonies were continuing and that the events would likely be held at the end of Dhu al-Hijjah, the 12th month in the Islamic calendar.
He added that three days of farewell ceremonies had been planned and that the funeral procession in Tehran would last at least 24 hours.
According to the official, Mashhad is expected to host large numbers of visitors from neighboring countries, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and Bangladesh, as well as the Kashmir region.
Tavakkoli-Zadeh said the funeral would be unprecedented in scale, drawing mourners from across the Muslim world.
Regional tensions escalated in late February after the United States and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran that killed more than 3,00 people, including Khamenei and senior military commanders and government officials.
Iran responded with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and US-linked assets in the Gulf region, while also closing the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil shipping route.
A ceasefire brokered by Pakistan took effect on April 8, but subsequent talks in Islamabad failed to produce a permanent settlement. The two sides have since exchanged proposals and counterproposals aimed at resuming direct negotiations and ending the conflict.

The post Iran schedules Khamenei funeral ceremonies in three cities appeared first on azeritimes.com.

The black-tie gathering of journalists and politicians in Washington was postponed after a suspect stormed a security checkpoint and fired a shotgun outside the event on April 25, with Trump in attendance, News.Az reports, citing India Today.

***

Trump and first lady Melania Trump were safely rushed out of the dinner.

In a letter to association members on Tuesday, WHCA president and CBS News senior White House correspondent Weijia Jiang said the decision to reschedule was not “automatic,” and the event will feature “significantly enhanced safety measures and new access procedures.”

Trump — who has a history of maligning the media — posted that Jiang asked him to attend and speak, and that he accepted. He added: “I don’t know whether or not I will give the same rather nasty statements, at least as it concerns certain people, but we will soon find out.”

Trump said the event will take place at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Washington. The Trump Organization developed the hotel, once a federal office building, and sold it in 2022.

Jiang said in her letter that the association has raised funds to ensure WHCA members who purchased tickets will not have to pay if they attend the second event, which she described as a “more intimate gathering.”

“This dinner will not only be an opportunity to carry out our program,” Jiang wrote. “It will be a statement that violence has no place in American life and a free press will not be intimidated into silence.”

The annual gala – a Washington fixture for more than a century – raises funds for journalism scholarships and celebrates the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, which guarantees free speech and a free press.

In 2011, Democratic President Barack Obama used his WHCA speech to roast Trump, then attending the dinner as a real estate mogul and reality television star. Trump waited, however, until this year to make his first appearance as president. His attendance and the tone of his expected remarks at the April event were highly anticipated in Washington.

The post Trump to attend White House correspondents’ dinner July 24​ appeared first on azeritimes.com.

Jakub Mensik defeated João Fonseca to book his place in the French Open semi-finals, News.Az reports.

Mensik secured the victory in straight sets, winning 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) in a competitive match that ended in a third-set tiebreak.

The result sends Mensik into the French Open semi-final against Alexander Zverev.

The post Mensik beats Fonseca to reach French Open semi-finals​ appeared first on azeritimes.com.

Clashes have continued in eastern Congo, where M23 rebels, which the U.N. says are backed by Rwanda, and the Democratic ‌Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Hutu militia rooted in the 1994 genocide, are fighting on opposite sides. Rwanda denies backing M23, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.

***

The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said it imposed sanctions on M23 commander and chief of intelligence John Imani Nzenze, as well as Gustave Kubwayo, an FDLR commander and leader of an intelligence and special operations unit.

“President Trump has been clear that there is an urgent need to resolve the horrific conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the United States is committed to peace and prosperity in the region,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the statement.

“Persistent violence by armed groups is exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis and presents a threat to U.S. interests in the region. Today’s sanctions support a peaceful resolution and end to the bloodshed.”

Nzenze, a spokesperson for the Rwandan government and the Democratic Republic of Congo did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Rwanda and Congo signed a peace deal in Washington in December as part ​of U.S. President Donald Trump’s push ​to broker peace and attract billions of dollars in Western investment.

Days after that ceremony, however, M23 rebels entered the eastern Congo city of Uvira, near the Burundian border, ​in the war’s biggest escalation in months. They later pulled out under U.S. pressure. ​

The post US sanctions commanders over eastern Congo fighting​ appeared first on azeritimes.com.

Watch YouTube in Dark theme Dark theme allows you to tone down your screen’s glare and experience YouTube with a dark background.

Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye launch upgraded Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway  Qazinform

Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye launch upgraded Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway  Qazinform

This article explores the significance of beauty in African culture, highlighting traditional practices, modern influences, and the role beauty plays in self-expression and cultural pride.