PARIS: France’s foreign minister has held a rare face-to-face meeting with her Iranian counterpart in China, urging Tehran to release French nationals “arbitrarily detained” in Iran, the foreign ministry said Friday.
Catherine Colonna, traveling with President Emmanuel Macron on his state visit to China, met Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Beijing.
Amir-Abdollohian was leading the Iranian delegation in separate reconciliation talks in Beijing between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
China mediated the reconciliation last month in a sign of Beijing’s growing clout in the Middle East.
Colonna “renewed her urgent demand for the immediate release of the six French citizens who Iran is arbitrarily detaining,” the French statement said.
The six are among an estimated two dozen foreigners who activists and Western governments say are being held by Iran as hostages in a bid to extract concessions.
Iran’s foreign ministry confirmed the meeting took place, adding that “some consular issues were also raised during the meeting.” It did not specify further.
Contacts between Iran and European powers — including over the Iranian nuclear program — have been drastically scaled down over Tehran’s deadly crackdown on the protest movement that erupted in September.
“The talks also focused on the situation in Iran, regional issues and the Iranian nuclear program. The minister expressed France’s concern about the attitude of the Iranian authorities on all these subjects,” the statement said.
For its part, the Iranian foreign ministry said: “The foreign ministers of the two countries emphasised the necessity of mutual respect and continuation of dialogue.”
The Iran protests began in mid-September after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian Kurd who had been arrested for allegedly violating Iran’s strict dress code for women.
Four men have been executed in protest-related cases in what activists have described as “show trials.”
According to Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR), at least 537 people have been killed by security forces in the crackdown on the protests.
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French top diplomat in rare meeting with Iran counterpart in Beijing
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French top diplomat in rare meeting with Iran counterpart in Beijing
- Amir-Abdollohian was leading the Iranian delegation in separate reconciliation talks in Beijing between Iran and Saudi Arabia
Australian bushfires raze homes, cut power to tens of thousands
SYDNEY: Thousands of firefighters battled bushfires in Australia’s southeast on Saturday that have razed homes, cut power to thousands of homes and burned swathes of bushland. The blazes have torn through more than 300,000 hectares (741,316 acres) of bushland amid a heatwave in Victoria state since the middle of the week, authorities said on Saturday, and 10 major fires were still burning statewide. In neighboring New South Wales state, several fires close to the Victorian border were burning at emergency level, the highest danger rating, the Rural Fire Service said, as temperatures hit the mid-40s Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit). More than 130 structures, including homes, have been destroyed and around 38,000 homes and businesses were without power due to the fires in Victoria, authorities said. The fires were the worst to hit the state since the Black Summer blazes of 2019-2020 that destroyed an area the size of Turkiye and killed 33 people. “Where we can fires will be being brought under control,” Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan told reporters, adding thousands of firefighters were in the field.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the nation faced a day of “extreme and dangerous” fire weather, especially in Victoria, where much of the state has been declared a disaster zone.
“My thoughts are with Australians in these regional communities at this very difficult time,” Albanese said in televised remarks from Canberra. One of the largest fires, near the town of Longwood, about 112 km (70 miles) north of Melbourne, has burned 130,000 hectares (320,000 acres) of bushland, destroying 30 structures, vineyards and agricultural land, authorities said. Dozens of communities near the fires have been evacuated and many of the state’s parks and campgrounds were closed. A heatwave warning on Saturday was in place for large parts of Victoria, while a fire weather warning was active for large areas of the country including New South Wales, the nation’s weather forecaster said. In New South Wales capital Sydney, the temperature climbed to 42.2 C, more than 17 degrees above the average maximum for January, according to data from the nation’s weather forecaster.
It predicted conditions to ease over the weekend as a southerly change brought milder temperatures to the state.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the nation faced a day of “extreme and dangerous” fire weather, especially in Victoria, where much of the state has been declared a disaster zone.
“My thoughts are with Australians in these regional communities at this very difficult time,” Albanese said in televised remarks from Canberra. One of the largest fires, near the town of Longwood, about 112 km (70 miles) north of Melbourne, has burned 130,000 hectares (320,000 acres) of bushland, destroying 30 structures, vineyards and agricultural land, authorities said. Dozens of communities near the fires have been evacuated and many of the state’s parks and campgrounds were closed. A heatwave warning on Saturday was in place for large parts of Victoria, while a fire weather warning was active for large areas of the country including New South Wales, the nation’s weather forecaster said. In New South Wales capital Sydney, the temperature climbed to 42.2 C, more than 17 degrees above the average maximum for January, according to data from the nation’s weather forecaster.
It predicted conditions to ease over the weekend as a southerly change brought milder temperatures to the state.
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