TOP NEWS

Middle East Crisis  Situation in Iran
Iran denies: Mojtaba Khamenei is alive

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi denies that the country's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is dead. He writes this in a post on Telegram.

"The leader of the revolution is in good health and is handling the current situation," the post says.

The statement comes after Donald Trump speculated that Mojtaba, like his father Ali Khamenei, may have been killed in a US-Israeli attack and said he had "heard" that this was the case.

Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen since the Iran-Iraq war began more than two weeks ago and there have been reports since that he is injured. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said that the new leader is disfigured and Trump this week chose the word "damaged", rather than "injured", to describe Mojtaba Khamenei.

Middle East Crisis  Reactions
Experts warn Hegseth – “no quarter” is a war crime

During a press conference this week, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that the country’s enemies should be shown “no quarter” – an expression that means the equivalent of “no mercy” or “take no prisoners”, and means that enemies should be executed rather than taken prisoner.

Legal experts are now warning Hegseth that international humanitarian law explicitly prohibits threatening or giving such an order, Axios reports.

– The best thing Hegseth can do for the country and for the US military is to say he was wrong and retract the statement, says Ryan Goodman, a law professor at New York University.

Canada-Europe relations
Canada deepens cooperation with Nordic countries

The five Nordic countries and Canada have agreed to deepen cooperation in several areas. The government said this in a press release.

Among other things, they agree to strengthen security around the Arctic.

“To achieve this, we will work together with indigenous peoples and northern communities to unlock the potential of the Arctic, prevent and mitigate the effects of climate change, and promote security.”

Ukraine will also continue to receive military and civilian support.

The announcement comes after the countries held a meeting in Oslo on Sunday, which was attended by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M), among others. In addition to Ukraine, trade and AI are mentioned as important points.