UPDATES

Nord Stream possibly lost forever, says German government

Wed, September 28, 2022 

The Nord Stream could become completely unusable after an incident in the Baltic Sea

According to the publication's sources, if the damaged lines are not repaired swiftly, the pipeline can be destroyed by a large amount of salt water, which will cause corrosion.

Read also: Nearly simultaneous leaks in Nord Stream undersea gas pipelines ‘could be sabotage’

Only one line of the Nord Stream-2 pipeline remains intact.

In response to the accident, the German Federal Police is strengthening control over German sovereign waters. Also, German states will step up the protection of the coastal areas of the North and Baltic Seas.

The European Commission, German law enforcement agencies, and the German Federal Intelligence Service have assumed that the pipeline damages are a deliberate act of sabotage.

Due to the complexity of the attack, experts believe that it could only be carried out by a state actor, the newspaper writes.

Read also: Europe can win Putin’s gas war but must learn Nord Stream lessons

According to one version, divers could have planted explosives in both lines of Nord Stream 1 and one of the two lines of Nord Stream-2, which is not yet operational.

Tagesspiegel notes that the isolated explosions indicate that the leak is huge and the rate of pressure drop in the pipeline is correspondingly high.

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck warned of the possibility of further attacks on critical energy infrastructure.

Following the decompression of the Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream-2, which was reported on Sept. 26, gas pressure plummeted along both lines of Nord Stream-1.

Read also: EU calls Nord Stream gas leaks sabotage

Nord Stream AG said that the simultaneous destruction of three gas lines in the Baltic Sea is unprecedented and it is not yet possible to estimate the timing of the restoration of the gas transport infrastructure.

Two underwater explosions that occurred on the Nord Stream-1 and Nord Stream-2 pipelines were confirmed on Sept. 27.

According to German newspaper Spiegel, citing its sources in the German government, a few weeks ago the U.S. intelligence services had warned Germany about possible attacks on gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea.

The Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline was completed in 2021 and filled with technical gas, but it did not receive certification before the full-scale invasion, and thus was never operational.

The Nord Stream-1 gas pipeline was stopped for maintenance at the end of August and did not resume operation, due to Russian interference.

Nord Stream operator says three offshore gas pipelines damaged in one day

Tue, September 27, 2022 

(This content was produced in Russia where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine) (Adds detail)

MOSCOW, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Three offshore lines of the Nord Stream gas pipeline system on the bed of the Baltic Sea sustained "unprecedented" damage in one day, Nord Stream AG, the operator of the network, said on Tuesday.

The bulletin was published after Sweden's Maritime Authority issued a warning about two leaks in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, shortly after a leak on the nearby Nord Stream 2 pipeline was discovered that prompted Denmark to restrict shipping in a five nautical mile radius.

Nord Stream AG said it was impossible to estimate when the gas network system's working capability would be restored.

"The destruction that occurred on the same day simultaneously on three strings of the offshore gas pipelines of the Nord Stream system is unprecedented. It is not yet possible to estimate the timing of the restoration of the gas transport infrastructure," it said in comments to reporters.

Nord Stream 1, which consists of two parallel lines with nameplate capacity of 27.5 billion cubic metres per year each, started supplying gas directly from Russia to Germany in 2011.

Flows via the pipeline, which had been working at only 20% of its capacity since July, were halted at the end of August and were not relaunched following maintenance.

Russia blames faulty equipment at a key compressor station and Western sanctions over Ukraine for its idling.

Nord Stream 2, which runs almost in parallel to Nord Stream 1, was built in September 2021 but was never launched as Germany refused to certify it. The project was halted altogether just days before Moscow sent its troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Louise Heavens and Jan Harvey)

Denmark, Germany and Poland caution of ‘sabotage’ after Nord Stream leakages

Suspicious leakages in 2 Russian gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea are most likely the outcome of sabotage, authorities in Denmark, Germany and Poland have actually cautioned, increasing issues over the vulnerability of Europe’s energy facilities.

Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen stated sabotage might not be dismissed as the reason for leakages in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which have actually been at the centre of the energy dispute in between Russia and Europe.

“It is too early to conclude yet, but it is an extraordinary situation,” she stated. “There are three leaks and therefore it is difficult to imagine that it could be accidental.”

She later on stated there was no increased military risk to her nation. “These are deliberate actions, not an accident,” she included.

German authorities revealed issue that the unexpected loss of pressure in both pipelines might be the outcome of a “targeted attack”. They included that Russia’s participation might “not be excluded”, however stated Germany was not associated with the examination being run by Denmark and Sweden.

United States nationwide security consultant Jake Sullivan and secretary of state Antony Blinken talked to their Danish equivalents on Tuesday about the suspicious leakages of the pipelines, which Sullivan referred to as “apparent sabotage”.

“The US is supporting efforts to investigate and we will continue our work to safeguard Europe’s energy security,” Sullivan later on composed on Twitter.

Ned Price, United States state department representative, likewise explained the attacks as “apparent sabotage” in a declaration late on Tuesday.

Price stated Blinken talked to Denmark’s foreign minister Jeppe Kofod, including: “The United States remains united with our allies and partners in our commitment to promoting European energy security.”

The leaks come as Russian gas supplies to Europe have dwindled as part of President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to hinder assistance for Ukraine. The leakages, which will not straight impact Russian gas streams due to the fact that the pipelines were not running, accompanied the inauguration of a pipeline that will provide Norwegian gas through Denmark to Poland for the very first time.

“We don’t know all the details of what happened, but we see clearly that it’s an act of sabotage related to the next step of escalation of the situation in Ukraine,” stated Poland’s prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Reuters reported.

Mykhailo Podolyak, a consultant to Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, composed on Twitter: “‘Gas leak’ from NS-1 is nothing more than a terrorist attack planned by Russia and an act of aggression towards [the] EU. Russia wants to destabilise [the] economic situation in Europe . . . The best response and security investment — tanks for Ukraine. Especially German ones.”

Asked if sabotage was the reason for the leakage, Kremlin representative Dmitry Peskov informed press reporters that “no version can be excluded now”, Russian company Interfax reported. “Obviously, the pipe has been damaged somehow. What the cause was — before the results of the investigation appear — no version can be excluded,” he included.

Sweden’s maritime administration on Tuesday reported 2 leakages in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline near the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. That report came hours after Denmark’s energy company stated there was a different leakage, likewise near Bornholm, in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which Germany efficiently cancelled soon prior to Russia’s major intrusion of Ukraine.

Nord Stream 2 had actually been filled with Russian gas at the end of in 2015 in preparation for its scheduled start-up, while Nord Stream 1 was carrying gas to Germany as just recently as the start of this month.

Danish authorities stated the gas bubbles in the Baltic Sea determined about 1km in size. Sweden and Denmark cautioned ships to prevent the location.

Gas bubbles from the Nord Stream 2 pipeline leakage reach the surface area of the Baltic Sea near Bornholm © Danish Defence Command/Handout/Reuters

Sweden’s National Seismology Centre stated it had actually identified 2 effective blasts the day previously in the location of the gas leakages. “There is no doubt that these were explosions,” Björn Lund, a member of the seismic network, informed Swedish state broadcaster SVT.

Terje Aasland, Norway’s oil and energy minister, stated that as the leakages looked like sabotage, the nation was paying very close attention to security, on the day that it opened a gas pipeline to Poland.

Norway’s petroleum security authority had actually cautioned on Monday that numerous oil and gas business had actually just recently suffered unknown drones near their overseas centers. In June, a Russian warship two times broke Danish territorial waters near Bornholm.

Energy experts stated it was unclear who would stand to take advantage of the leakages at a time when neither line was functional. But some presumed a connection to the brand-new gas pipeline link. Frederiksen remained in Poland on Tuesday for the opening event.

“The leak on Nord Stream 2 is very close to the new Baltic pipe that will bring Norwegian gas to Poland for the first time . . . so there’s some heavy symbolism,” stated Tom Marzec-Manser at energy consultancy ICIS. “For EU gas imports, it’s a new dawn for Norway and twilight for Russia.”

Ukraine has actually long opposed the Nord Stream pipelines, arguing that they were developed to damage its position as one of the primary avenues for Russian gas into Europe. Russian gas has actually continued to stream through Ukraine even after the intrusion, however Moscow stopped products through Nord Stream 1 last month, magnifying Europe’s energy crisis.

James Huckstepp at S&P Global Platts stated the leakages increased unpredictability in the energy market. “The probability of Nord Stream 1 coming back before the end of the year has essentially dropped from 1 per cent to zero per cent,” he stated. “But there remain concerns about the remaining gas flows through Ukraine and whether they could see reductions later this year.”

Henning Gloystein at Eurasia Group stated the pipelines “are designed to avert accidental damage”. But he included: “Given both lines were still pressured and each has the capacity to pipe around 165mn cubic metres of methane-heavy gas a day, leaks of this size are a severe safety and environmental hazard.”

Nord Stream, the pipelines’ Swiss-based operator whose bulk investor is Russian state-owned energy business Gazprom, stated the events were “unprecedented”, however recommended the majority of the dripping methane would liquify in the water.

What is known so far about the 

Nord Stream gas pipeline leak

Tue, September 27, 2022 

By Nina Chestney

LONDON (Reuters) - Three unexplained gas leaks detected in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines from Russia to Germany have prompted the European Union and Russia to point at sabotage.

Here is a breakdown of what is known so far:

WHAT HAPPENED?

The operator of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline reported a sudden drop in pressure overnight on Monday, with a spokesperson suggesting there could have been a leak.

This was followed by a Danish Energy Authority statement that a leak had likely occurred in one of the two Nord Stream 2 pipelines lying in Danish waters.

A few hours later, Nord Stream AG, operator of another undersea gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, said it was looking into a drop in pressure in Nord Stream 1.

Sweden's Maritime Authority said on Tuesday it had warned of two leaks on Nord Stream 1 in Swedish and Danish waters.

Each line of the pipeline consists of about 100,000 24-tonne concrete-weight coated steel pipes laid on the seabed. The pipelines have a constant internal diameter of 1.153 metres, according to Nord Stream.

Sections lie at a depth of around 80-110 metres.

WHERE ARE THE LEAKS?

Two leaks were detected on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which stopped delivering gas to Europe last month, both in an area northeast of the Danish island of Bornholm.

A leak was also detected on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which has yet to enter commercial operations, in the same area.

Danish authorities have asked ships to stay clear by a five nautical mile radius off Bornholm. The plan to use Nord Stream 2 to supply gas was scrapped by Germany days before Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February.

Both pipelines still contain gas under pressure.

WHAT CAUSED THE LEAKS?

It is not yet clear. Analysts and experts say such leaks are very rare and Nord Stream AG has called leaks on three strings of the offshore gas pipelines "unprecedented".

However, the European Union believes sabotage probably caused the leaks, Josep Borrell was reported as saying by German broadcaster ntv, echoing views aired by Germany, Denmark and Sweden. The EU has not named a potential perpetrator or suggested a reason behind it.

On Wednesday Moscow said claims that Russia was somehow behind a possible attack on the pipelines were stupid, adding that Moscow saw a sharp increase the profits of U.S. companies supplying gas to Europe.

A day earlier the Kremlin had said it did not rule out sabotage as a reason behind the damage and it was an issue affecting the energy security of the "entire continent".

Seismologists in Denmark and Sweden said they had registered two powerful blasts on Monday in the vicinity of the leaks and the explosions were in the water, not under the seabed.

WHO IS INVESTIGATING?

Armed forces, coast guards, maritime authories, energy agencies and police from counties such as Sweden, Germany and Denmark are all carrying out investigations.

Sweden's Prosecution Authority said it will review material from a police investigation into the damage to the pipelines and decide on further action.

Denmark's defence minister has had a meeting with NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels, adding it might take a week or perhaps two before the areas around the damaged pipelines were calm enough to be investigated.

POTENTIAL IMPACT?

Denmark's armed forces said the largest gas leak had caused a surface disturbance of well over 1 kilometre (0.6 mile) in diameter, while agencies issued warnings to shipping to avoid the area.

Although neither pipeline was in operation, they both contained natural gas - which is largely composed of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that is the second biggest cause of climate change after CO2.

This has raised fears that the disruption could cause a climate calamity - although to what extent is still unclear.

Norway has said it will strengthen security at its oil and gas installations in the wake of the leaks and reports of drone activities in the North Sea and Danish authorities asked that the level of preparedness in its power and gas sector be raised.

(Reporting by Nina Chestney and Reuters bureaux; Editing by Alexander Smith, Alexandra Hudson)

Snowden responds to Putin approval of Russian citizenship




Julia Mueller
Tue, September 27, 2022

Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who fled the U.S. in 2013 after leaking classified information about U.S. government surveillance programs, responded on Monday to his newly granted Russian citizenship, which he received as the result of a decree from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Snowden, charged with espionage in the U.S., has been living in exile in Moscow for nearly a decade to avoid prosecution, now joined by his wife, Lindsay Mills, and their two children.

“After years of separation from our parents, my wife and I have no desire to be separated from our SONS. After two years of waiting and nearly ten years of exile, a little stability will make a difference for my family. I pray for privacy for them—and for us all,” Snowden wrote on Twitter.

Snowden’s emphasis on “sons” is a reference to a 2020 tweet in which he announced he and his wife would apply for dual U.S.-Russian citizenship.

“After years of separation from our parents, my wife and I have no desire to be separated from our son,” Snowden wrote in 2020 after the birth of their first child. “That’s why, in this era of pandemics and closed borders, we’re applying for dual US-Russian citizenship.”

Snowden had said in 2019 that he ultimately wanted to return to the U.S. if the government guaranteed him a fair trial, but he requested an extended residency permit in early 2020 and applied for Russian citizenship later that year.

Putin granted citizenship to 75 foreigners in a new decree Monday.

The Russian president’s move comes in the wake of a controversial partial mobilization order that would call up thousands of Russians from military reserves to fight in the ongoing war in Ukraine — and a week after Putin threatened the use of nuclear weapons in the conflict.

UPDATES

Iran's protesters chant from buildings amid crackdown

In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian Presidency, President Ebrahim Raisi speaks in an interview with the state TV at the presidency office in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. Raisi again vowed to investigate death of Mahsa Amini, whose death in morality police custody over his veil, but said authorities would not tolerate any threats to public security. Amini's death sparked nearly two weeks of widespread unrest that has reached across Iran's provinces and brought students, middle-class professionals and working-class men and women into the streets. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)

The Associated Press
Thu, September 29, 2022 

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian anti-government protesters chanted from windows and rooftops in parts of Tehran early Thursday, but there were no reports of street protests in the country's capital, where authorities have waged a fierce crackdown in recent days.

It was not immediately clear whether that signaled a decline in the nationwide protests over the death earlier this month of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was detained by the morality police for allegedly wearing the mandatory Islamic headscarf too loosely. Her death has triggered an outpouring of anger at the country's ruling clerics.

Iranian media have sporadically covered the demonstrations since they began. That they did not report any new protests in Tehran could mean that there weren't any or that authorities have tightened media restrictions.

There was also no sign of burned trash cans or rubble in the streets of central Tehran early Thursday, as there had been following previous nightly street protests.

Tehran’s provincial governor, Mohsen Mansouri, was quoted by state media as saying the protests in the capital have ended and security has been restored. But people could be heard chanting “Death to the dictator” from buildings, where it is harder for police to arrest them.

It was not immediately clear how extensive the protests were elsewhere in the country. Students have continued to demonstrate on some university campuses, including Shiraz University in the south.

Authorities are still blocking access to WhatsApp and Instagram, social media services used by protesters to organize and share information. They are also heavily restricting internet access in the afternoons to prevent demonstrations from forming.

Iranian police have clashed with protesters in dozens of cities over the past 12 days.

State TV has reported that at least 41 protesters and police have been killed since the demonstrations began Sept. 17. An Associated Press count of official statements by authorities tallied at least 14 dead, with more than 1,500 demonstrators arrested.

Norway advised against all unnecessary travel to Iran and urged its citizens inside the country to "exercise caution and avoid demonstrations and large crowds.”

Authorities have meanwhile arrested Elahe Mohammadi, a journalist who reported on Amini's funeral earlier this month in the Kurdish town of Saqez. She is among several journalists to have been detained since Amini's death.

Late Thursday, Iranian media reported the arrest of female songwriter Mona Borzoui and a former soccer player, Hossein Mahini, claiming they were “encouraging rioting.” Iranian hard-liners have regularly urged for the arrest of celebrities and influential public figures who have openly supported the protests. No further details on their arrests were immediately available.

The police say Amini died of a heart attack after being detained by the morality police and was not mistreated. Her family has questioned that account, saying they were told by other detainees that she was severely beaten and were not allowed to see her body.

In a speech late Wednesday, Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi again vowed to investigate her death but said authorities would not tolerate any threats to public security.

In death, Amini has emerged as an icon of resistance to Iran's theocracy, which requires women to dress conservatively and cover their hair in public. Authorities have faced waves of protests in recent years, mostly linked to a long-standing economic crisis worsened by international sanctions.

Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian activist who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003, said the latest protests are different from earlier ones, telling the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle that “there is a possibility of overthrowing the regime.”

“Unlike previous protests, people aren’t passive. When they are beaten by the security forces, they respond by beating the security forces as well,” said Ebadi, who fled the country in 2009 during an earlier crackdown on dissent.

She called on the international community to withdraw ambassadors from Iran and impose sanctions on those involved in killing protesters.

Iran's leaders have blamed the protests on unnamed foreign entities that they say are trying to foment unrest. The Foreign Ministry summoned the French charge d'affaires on Thursday, accusing French officials of meddling in Iran's internal affairs by expressing support for the protests, according to Iran's state-run IRNA news agency.

But even Jomhouri Eslami, a hard-line newspaper, acknowledged in an editorial that the protests reflect real anger.

“In regards to ending the protests, authorities should not think that the discontent is over and will not grow. The current situation is like embers under the ashes, which can flare up again.”

Several people try to enter Iranian Embassy in Oslo



Police scuffle with demonstrators outside Iran's embassy in Oslo, Norway, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022, as they protest the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in custody in Iran after she was detained by the country’s morality police. Several people attempted to enter the Iranian Embassy in Oslo, police said Thursday, with scuffles breaking out and rocks being thrown at officers with authorities saying some 90 people had been detained. (Terje Pedersen/NTB Scanpix via AP)More

Thu, September 29, 2022

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Several people in a violent crowd attempted to enter the Iranian Embassy in Oslo, police said Thursday, with scuffles breaking out and rocks being thrown at officers. Authorities said 90 people had been detained.

A crowd had gathered outside the diplomatic mission in Oslo to protest the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in custody in Iran after she was detained by Iran's morality police. Several were shouting, others had Kurdish flags around their shoulders. Some called for freedom for Kurdistan, women’s freedom and shouted the name of Amini.

Police in the Norwegian capital said “many people were behaving violently."

Amini was arrested for allegedly breaking headscarf rules and died on Sept. 16. The Iranian police said she died of a heart attack and wasn’t mistreated, but her family has cast doubt on that account. The Oslo clashes came as protests over her death spread across dozens of Iranian cities, towns and villages.

Bipartisan group of senators condemns Iran over Amini death

Demonstrators show posters and photos as they attend a protest against the death of Iranian Mahsa Amini in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died in Iran while in police custody, was arrested by Iran's morality police for allegedly violating its strictly-enforced dress code. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Thu, September 29, 2022 

WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan group of senators on Thursday introduced a resolution condemning the detention and death of Mahsa Amini, who was held by Iran's morality police this month for allegedly wearing the mandatory Islamic headscarf too loosely.

The 22-year-old's death sparked large-scale protests across Iran that have captured the world's attention, with women protesters making a show of taking off their headscarves and cutting their hair in solidarity with Amini.

“As co-chair of the Human Rights Caucus, I commend the thousands of brave protesters who are risking their lives to advocate for human rights in Iran, including the human rights of Iranian women," Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, said in a statement. “The public response to Mahsa Amini’s death at the hands Iran’s morality police makes clear that the Iranian government’s oppression is no match for the demands for dignity and respect by the Iranian people.”

At least a dozen people have been killed since the protests erupted around the country following Amini's death in mid-September, according to a tally by The Associated Press. Iranian state media has said the toll could be much higher. The Iranian government has pushed back, clashing with demonstrators and clamping down on internet access.

Amini had been detained Sept. 13 for allegedly wearing her hijab too loosely in violation of strictures demanding women in public wear the Islamic headscarves. She died three days later in police custody; authorities said she had a heart attack but hadn’t been harmed. Her family has disputed that, leading to the public outcry.

Dozens of Republican and Democratic senators showed their support for the resolution Thursday, which also comes as the U.S. is negotiating the revival of a deal with Iran meant to prevent the country from acquiring a nuclear bomb in exchange for the loosening of economic sanctions.

The ongoing negotiations between Washington and Tehran — after former President Donald Trump abruptly withdrew U.S. from the deal in 2018 — are a point of contention for Republicans in Congress.

“The Biden Administration’s blind pursuit of a new nuclear deal only serves to empower the Iranian regime," Sen. Jim Risch, an Idaho Republican and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement. "The administration should reverse course and hold Iran accountable for its human rights abuses.”

The resolution, lawmakers say, seeks to send “a loud and clear message” to the Islamic Republic that the U.S. stands behind women's rights and the right to peaceful protest. It remains unclear when the resolution would come to the Senate floor for passage as the chamber is expected to be gone for the majority of October during campaigning for the midterm elections

Iranian woman whose death led to 

mass protests was shy and avoided 

politics

Protest following the death of Mahsa Amini, in front of the United Nations 

headquarters in Erbil

Wed, September 28, 2022 

By Parisa Hafezi

DUBAI (Reuters) - The young Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, whose death in police custody triggered nationwide protests, was a shy, reserved resident of a small town who never challenged the country's clerical rulers or its Islamic dress code, sources close to the family said.

Amini, from the northwestern Kurdish city of Saqez, died three days after she was arrested in hospital after falling into a coma. It sparked the first big show of opposition on Iran's streets since authorities crushed fuel price protests in 2019 in which 1,500 people were killed.

Authorities deny beating Amini and insisted in a statement that the cause of death was sudden heart failure, possibly from preexisting conditions. But the family has denied the 22-year-old had any previous health issues.

Amini minded her own business and steered clear of politics, two sources close to her family said, traits that most Iranians hope would keep them out of trouble in the Islamic Republic.

But on Sept 13, Amini would pay a heavy price for not paying attention to every detail of her clothing as she and her family visited her uncle in Tehran.

She was arrested as soon as she stepped out of a train station in the evening.

Amini was suddenly confronted by the morality police, a force tasked with detaining people who violate Iran's conservative dress code in order to "promote virtue and prevent vice".

The typical unit consists of a van with a mixed male and female crew that patrols or waits at busy public spaces to police non-proper behaviour and dress.

Her crime? Wearing tight trousers.

Amini and her brother begged for mercy, saying they were not familiar with the rules in Tehran. She was begging her brother not to let them take her.

Her brother waited in front of Vozara morality police detention centre for her. But after two hours an ambulance arrived to transfer her to a hospital. The family eventualy found Amini at the Kasra hospital

Doctors kept the family in the dark. Loved ones had no access to her CT scan. In the coroner's office her body was covered in such a way that her father could not see anything except a small part of her leg that was bruised, the sources said.

"He kept begging doctors to brief him about his daughter’s condition. But no one answered him," said another source.

Women who were arrested along with Mahsa told her father that she was beaten inside a van that was transporting them. She was crying and pleading with police to let her go, the father was told.

"The police told the father that cameras in the van did not function. So, the family does not know what happened inside the van and at the detention centre," said one of the sources close to the family.

"They do not believe in the video published by authorities that shows her suddenly falling at the police station. Her family believes that the video was edited."

In an instant, she would be robbed of her dreams of one day getting married and having children after finishing university.

"She wanted to live a normal and happy life," said one of the sources.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has said he had ordered an investigation into the case of Amini.

Officials said 41 people, including members of the police and a pro-government militia, had died during the protests. But Iranian human rights groups have reported a higher toll.

Amini's death has drawn international condemnation while Iran has blamed "thugs" linked to "foreign enemies" for the unrest. Tehran has accused the United States and some European countries of using the unrest to try to destabilise the Islamic Republic.

Far removed from politics, Amini's family is still trying to make sense of her death.

Her mother insists that Mahsa's hijab was proper. During the funeral, she was repeatedly saying "Why, why? My daughter had proper Hijab and her coat was long and black, but I don't know why she was arrested."

"Where is my daughter? Where is my child?,” she repeats everyday, said the sources close to the family.

A statement on Instagram from the hospital which was later taken down said she was brain dead when she arrived there.

"Resuscitation was performed on the patient and her heartbeat returned and the patient was admitted to the intensive care unit," the hospital said.

"But unfortunately, after 48 hours on Friday, she had a cardiac arrest again, due to brain death. In spite of the medical team's efforts, the medical team could not revive her and she died."

Iranian authorities have told Amini's relatives to avoid speaking about her case, said the two sources close to the family. Her father, mother and uncle do not answer their phones.

(Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

​​Here's How to Help Iranian Women Following the Death of Mahsa Amini

Leah Campano

Tue, September 27, 2022 

Photo credit: SAFIN HAMED - Getty Images

Mass protests have erupted across Iran after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody earlier this month. On September 13, the young woman, originally from the city of Saqqez, was apprehended by “morality police” in Iran’s capital of Tehran and taken to a “re-education center” for allegedly not wearing her hijab properly. At the time of her arrest, she was with her brother, Kiaresh Amini.

According to a report from the United Nations, Amini was brutally beaten by the police and taken to the Vozara Detention Center. While there, Amini collapsed and fell into a coma. She was transferred to Kasra Hospital, where she died on Friday, September 16. Iranian authorities claimed Mahsa died of a heart attack, but, according to CNN, her family affirmed she had no pre-existing heart conditions.

It’s widely believed that Amini was tortured and killed by the police. Her father, Amjad Amini, said that doctors forbade him from seeing his daughter after she died in the hospital. “They’re lying. They’re telling lies. Everything is a lie… no matter how much I begged, they wouldn’t let me see my daughter,” he told BBC Persia on September 21, per CNN.

Amini’s death has sparked outrage in Iran, mobilizing thousands — especially women and young people — to take to the streets and demand an end to repression and violence against women. Below, we explain the latest on the demonstrations, how to help, where to donate, and how you can stay informed on the protests in Iran.

Photo credit: Jenny Matthews - Getty Images

Latest Updates on Protests

Protests against the Iranian government have spread to dozens of Iranian cities since the death of Mahsa Amini. It’s reported by state media that 35 people have been killed, per The New York Times, but it’s believed by human rights organizations that the death toll is much higher. As of September 27, BBC reports that 76 protestors have been killed.

Women and young people are at the forefront of these protests. After the 1979 Iranian Revolution, women have been subjected to severe, oppressive restrictions. According to The Washington Post, the regime has forced Iranian women to wear a hijab for nearly four decades. Since Amini’s death, women have taken off their headscarves, set them on fire in the streets, or cut their hair in public, in a remarkable act of defiance.

The Iranian government cut off internet access in the country last week, according to Politico, to restrict communication and suppress the proliferation of footage from protests. In response, the United States Department of Treasury announced that it’d increase internet access to Iran.

“As courageous Iranians take to the streets to protest the death of Mahsa Amini, the United States is redoubling its support for the free flow of information to the Iranian people,” Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said in a press release. “Today, Treasury is announcing the expansion of Iran General License D-2, which will expand the range of internet services available to Iranians. With these changes, we are helping the Iranian people be better equipped to counter the government’s efforts to surveil and censor them.”

How to Help

There are a number of ways to help the people of Iran and show your solidarity. You can check social media to find a protest near you, start a local demonstration, and share and repost fact-based information to lift the voices of those inside Iran on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. You can also donate to human rights organizations such as the Center for Human Rights in Iran, the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, and Amnesty International, which are fighting for the rights and freedoms of all Iranian people.

You can also contact your representatives to speak out against the Iranian government’s human rights atrocities.

Who to Follow on Social to Stay Informed

Wondering how to best stay up-to-date and informed on what’s happening in Iran, and why citizens are protesting? Use social media to follow those who are breaking down the issues and sharing the efforts of Iranian citizens in the streets, bravely demanding accountability from their government. Here are some accounts to follow.

• Nazanin Boniadi, actor and Amnesty UK Ambassador

• Masih Alinejad, activist and journalist

• Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran, nonprofit organization

• Middle East Matters, organization

• Gissou Nia, Director of Atlantic Council Strategic Litigation Project

Read These Books to Learn More

The titles below are moving, powerful depictions of life in Iran before and after the 1979 revolution, chronicling the experiences of women during times of political upheaval.

How Iran's crackdown on protests 

could become larger and deadlier 

than ever

Niamh Cavanagh

Mon, September 26, 2022

LONDON — Iran has entered its 10th day of nationwide protests over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody. Amini had been detained by morality police on Sept. 13 for allegedly violating a religious law that decrees that a woman should wear a headscarf. She died three days later.

Activists and Amini’s family believe she died from injuries sustained from a beating by police. Authorities in Iran, however, deny any mistreatment and claim that Amini suffered “sudden heart failure.”

Iranian newspapers with headlines about the death of Mahsa Amini. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Public anger over Amini’s death has sparked some of the biggest protests Iran has seen in years. Demonstrations led by women have been held across 90 cities and towns in the Islamic Republic in the past week. Social media has been flooded with videos of what appears to be women burning their hijabs and cutting off their hair in public acts of defiance.

But as public outcry appeared to reach new heights, both online and on the streets, Iran’s government reacted by shutting off the internet to multiple cellular networks. Videos that were uploaded before the blackout show protesters fighting back against the government’s security forces. On Saturday, Iranian officials said they would continue to restrict internet access until the protests cease, CNN reported.

Protesters block the street in downtown Tehran, Iran, on Sept. 21. (AP)

This appears to be just the beginning of Iran’s crackdown on dissent in the country. On Friday, the military hinted that it was prepared to “confront the enemies’ various plots in order to ensure security and peace for the people who are being unjustly assaulted,” Reuters reported.

Elsewhere in Iran, pro-government rallies took place in cities on Friday in response to the nationwide protests over Amini’s death. Reuters reported that chants such as “Offenders of the Koran must be executed” could be heard from the crowds.

People stage a rally in Tehran to “support the administration and security forces” on Sept. 25. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

The demonstrations over Amini’s death are the latest in a string of protests over the past several years in which Iranians have fought back against their government on a number of issues. In every instance, however, the Islamic Republic’s forces fought to quell the rebellion.

About three years ago, hundreds of protesters took to the streets after a decision by the authorities to raise the price of gasoline by at least 50%. In what was later labeled as “Bloody November,” hundreds of civilians were killed and demonstrations were violently crushed by government forces. It was the deadliest instance of political unrest in Iran since the 1979 revolution.

A gas station burned by protesters during a demonstration against a rise in fuel prices in Eslamshahr, near Tehran, in November 2019. (AFP via Getty Images)

“In November 2019, Iranian authorities coupled the brutal crackdown with a near blackout of the internet, so that Iranians were cut off from the outside world,” Dr. Assal Rad, research director of the nonprofit National Iranian American Council, told Yahoo News.

Iran’s state television would later acknowledge that security forces had fatally shot “rioters.” Among the dead were peaceful protesters and passersby, the report also stated.

But this time it seems as though the government’s response might be larger and deadlier.

People protest the death of Mahsa Amini in Tehran on Sept. 21. (Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

“The fact that we are seeing protesters openly confronting security forces and fighting back in this unprecedented manner may indicate a larger and deadlier crackdown than what we have seen in the past, as authorities try to repress protests that have spread across the country,” Rad said.

“If precedence is any indication, Iranian authorities have shown that they will use deadly force, mass arrests and control over communications to suppress protests.” She added: “In that respect, Iranian authorities have shown that they will go to any length to ensure their own survival over the rightful needs and demands of the people of Iran.”

Hurricane Ian could cripple Florida's home insurance industry

Experts say a storm like Ian could push insurance companies into insolvency.

ByAlexis Christoforous

September 29, 2022, 

2:24

World News Tonight Prime with David Muir

Hurricane Ian could cripple Florida's already-fragile homeowners insurance market. Experts say a major storm like Ian could push some of those insurance companies into insolvency, making it harder for people to collect on claims.

Since January 2020, at least a dozen insurance companies in the state have gone out of business, including six this year alone. Nearly 30 others are on the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation's "Watch List" because of financial instability.

"Hurricane Ian will test the financial preparedness of some insurers to cover losses to their portfolios, in particular smaller Florida carriers with high exposure concentrations in the impacted areas," Jeff Waters, an analyst at Moody's Analytics subsidiary RMS and a meteorologist, told ABC News. Waters said Florida is a peak catastrophe zone for reinsurers, and those with exposure will likely incur meaningful losses.

This aerial photo shows damaged homes and debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, Sept. 29, 2022, in Fort Myers, Fla.

Wilfredo Lee/AP

More than 1 million homes on the Florida Gulf Coast are in the storm's path, and while Ian's track and severity can change in the coming days, one early estimate pegs the potential reconstruction cost at $258 billion, according to Corelogic, a property analytics firm.

Industry analysts say years of rampant and frivolous litigation and scams have brought Florida's home-insurance market to its knees, with many large insurers like Allstate and State Farm, reducing their exposure to the state in the past decade."Insurers most exposed to the storm will be the Florida-only insurers, which we define as insurance companies with at least 75% of their homeowners and commercial property premiums written in Florida," according to a report from Moody's Analytics submitted to ABC News.

The state-run, taxpayer-subsidized Citizens Property Insurance Corp. stands to lose the most. As more local insurance companies in Florida have closed their doors, Citizens has seen its number of policyholders swell from 700,000 to more than 1 million in just the past year.

Florida state Sen. Jeff Brandes, a Republican from St. Petersburg and a vocal critic of Florida's insurance industry, warns that if Citizens can't pay its claims, Floridians should brace for assessments to go up on their own insurance policies under a state law that allows it to assess non-customers to pay out claims.

"Every policy holder in the state of Florida, home and auto, should be watching this storm very carefully because it could have a direct impact on their pocketbooks," said Brandes. He predicts policy holders will see rate hikes of up to 40% next year as a result of Ian.

A spokesperson for Citizens tells ABC News that if their preliminary estimate of 225,000 claims and $3.8 billion in losses holds, the insurer of last resort would be in a position to pay all claims without having to levy a "hurricane tax" on residents.

Florida is already home to the highest insurance premiums in the U.S., something Charlie Crist, the former Florida governor running against incumbent Gov. Ron DeSantis, blames on his opponent.

"Gov. DeSantis let these insurance companies double Floridians' rates and they're still going belly up when homeowners need them most. You pay and pay and pay, and the insurance company isn't there for you in the end anyway," Crist said in a statement Monday.

A spokesperson for DeSantis did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.

In May, DeSantis signed a bipartisan property insurance reform bill into law that poured $2 billion into a reinsurance relief program and $150 million into a grant program for hurricane retrofitting. Among other things, it prohibits insurance companies from denying coverage based on the age of a roof and limits attorney fees on frivolous claims and lawsuits.

At a news conference Tuesday, DeSantis said a lot of the damage from Ian would be from flooding and storm surge. DeSantis said the danger with the Tampa Bay area is that the water has no place to go, noting that the area has close to 1 million residents enrolled in a national flood insurance program.

A man begins cleaning up after Hurricane Ian moved through the Gulf Coast of Florida on Sept. 29, 2022 in Punta Gorda, Fla.

Win Mcnamee/Getty Images

Homeowner policies typically do not cover flood damage, and most homeowners located in a flood zone often get coverage from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Most private property insurance companies insure primarily for wind damage.

President Joe Biden on Thursday approved DeSantis' request for a disaster declaration for a number of counties in the state. It includes grants for temporary housing and home repairs and low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses.

"The expense will be higher because of higher construction costs and overall inflation," Denise Rappmund, the vice president of Moody's Public Project and Infrastructure Finance Group, told ABC News. "FEMA is the key source of aid following a natural disaster, but much of the costs to repair and rebuild damaged property will be borne by property insurers who will benefit from $2 billion of state-funded reinsurance."

Analysts say Hurricane Ian has the potential to be among the four costliest storms in U.S. history, mostly because Florida's population has exploded in recent years.

No state in the eastern U.S. has grown faster in population than Florida in the past decade and the state's fastest growing cities: Tampa, Fort Myers and Sarasota, are all in the storm's path. Analysts warn that more people and more homes mean that a major storm could become more destructive and costly.

Texas Right-Wing Lawyer Targeting PrEP Now Goes After Bisexuals

Wed, September 28, 2022 


Equal rights demonstration

Anti-LGBTQ+ lawyers and their clients are arguing that antidiscrimination protections under the Supreme Court’s Bostock ruling don’t apply to bisexuals, who according to polls make up the largest proportion of the LGBTQ+ community.

Attorneys Jonathan Mitchell and Gene Hamilton are representing Braidwood Management, which is owned by anti-LGBTQ+ activist Steven Hotze, and Bear Creek Bible Church, both located in Texas, in a case seeking exemptions from nondiscrimination law for employers with religious objections.

They filed suit against the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in federal court in 2018 and updated the complaint last year in light of the Bostock v. Clayton County ruling, in which the Supreme Court held in 2020 that Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964, in outlawing sex discrimination, bans discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Mitchell, a former Texas solicitor general, is well known for filing anti-LGBTQ+ cases and for crafting Texas’s anti-abortion law. He recently brought a case on behalf of Braidwood Management arguing that paying for insurance covering PrEP drugs violates the employer’s religious beliefs because it facilitates “homosexual behavior.”

In the PrEP case, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor sided with Mitchell and Braidwood, saying that the federal government hadn’t shown a compelling interest in requiring employer insurance plans to cover PrEP drugs, which prevent HIV transmission.

In a ruling last year, O’Connor also largely agreed with Braidwood and Bear Creek in their suit against the EEOC, but “sided with the federal government on two issues — so-called bisexual conduct and certain transgender health care procedures,” The Dallas Morning News reports. Mitchell and Hamilton filed a brief September 21 with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit contending that O’Connor was wrong on these counts. “According to their argument, an employer cannot fire a gay man for being attracted to men if it would not also fire a woman for being attracted to men,” the Morning News notes. “But that same employer is in the clear if it discriminates equally against all bisexuals because it is not treating bi men and bi women differently, the lawyers argued.”

They “also argued that the Bostock ruling gave employers the green light to fire a transgender worker for getting hormone therapy or gender-affirming surgery as long as they would fire a worker of the opposite sex for the same behavior,” according to the paper.

The federal government is appealing O’Connor’s ruling. It says Braidwood and Bear Creek did not have legal standing to challenge antidiscrimination protections and that O’Connor should not have ruled in favor of religious exemptions. It has taken issue with the plaintiffs’ claims about discrimination against bisexuals as well.

“The district court properly recognized that it is impossible to define bisexuality without reference to both the employee’s sex and the sex of the employee’s partners,” lawyers for the government wrote.

An LGBTQ+ rights lawyer who is not involved in the case was not impressed by Mitchell and Hamilton’s argument.

“First, some perspective,” Gregory Nevins, senior counsel and employment fairness project director at Lambda Legal, told The Advocate in an email. “In a sprawling opinion (spanning 55 pages of the Federal Supplement (3d ed)), their hand-picked judge agreed with almost every one of their arguments. Yet this one was a bridge too far. Rather than take a hint, or simply in recognition of greed being a deadly sin, they press on. Sigh. The discrimination that bisexuals experience in the workplace occurs overwhelmingly when they are in a same-sex relationship. ‘Overwhelmingly’ becomes ‘exclusively’ when we are talking about the plaintiffs in this case, religiously motivated employers, who last I checked encouraged people to be in different-sex relationships or celibate. And Bostock is pellucidly clear that discrimination against a man dating a man or a woman dating a woman is unlawful sex discrimination.”