UK FM fails to say how many British detainees still held by Iran
UK FM fails to say how many British detainees still held by Iran/node/2112611/world
UK FM fails to say how many British detainees still held by Iran
UK Foreign Minister Liz Truss was asked how many detainees are being held hostage by Tehran and what progress the UK government is making in freeing them. (Screenshot/UK Parliament TV)
UK FM fails to say how many British detainees still held by Iran
Questions raised over Britain’s response to Tehran ‘hostage-taking’
Updated 28 June 2022
Arab News
LONDON: UK Foreign Minister Liz Truss has struggled to reveal the exact number of British detainees still being held in Iran.
During a Foreign Affairs Committee meeting, Truss was asked how many detainees are being held hostage by Tehran and what progress the UK government is making in freeing them.
She claimed that the government is “continuing to press Iran on the release of all detainees.”
But concerns have been raised that families of detained individuals may avoid publicizing their cases out of fear of the UK Foreign Office’s reaction.
Pressure from human rights organizations such as Amnesty International was said to be behind the UK government push to secure the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori earlier this year.
During the committee meeting, Conservative MP Alicia Kearns said: “The purpose of the Foreign Office is to keep British nationals safe abroad.”
Death toll in Karachi shopping plaza fire rises to 10 as search continues for dozens missing
Mayor Murtaza Wahab said on Monday that four more bodies were recovered overnight, raising the death toll to at least 10
The fire broke out late Saturday. According to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, families reported about 60 people missing
Updated 2 sec ago
AP
KARACHI: The death toll from a massive fire at a shopping plaza in Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, rose to at least 10 after rescuers recovered four more bodies from the badly damaged building during an overnight search for dozens of people reported missing, officials said Monday. Firefighters extinguished the blaze at the multistory Gul Plaza late Sunday nearly 24 hours after it erupted, allowing rescue teams to enter the building to rescue those trapped there. Mayor Murtaza Wahab said four more bodies were recovered overnight, raising the death toll to at least 10. Local media reported that at least 14 people died in the blaze. The fire broke out late Saturday and spread quickly through shops storing cosmetics, garments and plastic goods, said Dr. Abid Jalal Sheikh, the city’s chief rescue officer. On Sunday night, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said families had reported about 60 people missing, prompting authorities to launch the search operation. Relatives of the missing gathered outside the heavily damaged building Monday, many in tears, witnesses said. The cause of the fire was not immediately known. Police said an investigation was underway. Karachi, the capital of Sindh province, has a history of deadly fires, often blamed on poor safety standards and illegal construction. In November 2023, a fire at a shopping mall in the city killed 10 people and injured 22 others. A massive fire at a garments factory in Karachi in 2012 killed 260 people.
