International
Iran carries out first public execution in two years: NGO

AFP
Iran on Saturday carried out its first public execution in over two years, an NGO said, denouncing the practice as “medieval” as concern grows over rising repression in the Islamic republic.
Iman Sabzikar, who had been convicted over the murder of a police officer in February 2022 in the southern city of Shiraz, was hanged in the early morning at the scene of the crime, Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights said.
It said that Iranian state media has reported on the public execution taking place and that the convict had been identified as Sabzikar, whose sentence of being hanged in public had been confirmed by the supreme court earlier this month.
“The resumption of this brutal punishment in public is intended to scare and intimidate people from protesting,” said IHR’s director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam.
“We can raise the cost of carrying out such mediaeval practices by people protesting more against the death penalty — particularly public executions — and the international community taking a strong stance,” he added.
Images circulating on social media claiming to be of the execution showed a man dressed in Iran’s standard light blue and black striped prison clothes hanging several metres above the ground on a rope attached to a crane on a truck.
Executions in Iran usually take place within the walls of prison and activists say public executions are used as a deterrent, especially when the crime concerns the killing of a member of the security forces.
IHR said that the last recorded public execution was carried out on June 11, 2020. It added that four other men who were all also sentenced to death for the murder of police officers in separate but similar cases are currently at risk of the same fate.
In recent weeks, activists have expressed concern over a growing crackdown in Iran as the country sees unusual protests in the face of economic crisis.
Prominent film directors and other intellectuals have been arrested while IHR has said that the number of executions in 2022 doubled in the first half of the year compared with 2021.
International
Paraguay summons Brazilian ambassador over Itaipú espionage scandal

Paraguay summoned the Brazilian ambassador in Asunción on Tuesday to demand “explanations” and called its own representative in Brasília for consultations following Brazil’s acknowledgment of an espionage operation. The Brazilian government, led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, attributed the operation to the previous administration.
The surveillance effort aimed to uncover Paraguay’s position in now-suspended negotiations with Brazil regarding the pricing of electricity from the binational Itaipú hydroelectric plant, according to reports in the Brazilian press.
The Brazilian government “categorically denied any involvement in the intelligence operation,” stating in a Foreign Ministry communiqué on Monday that the espionage was carried out under former President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration (2019-2023).
“The operation was authorized by the previous government in June 2022 and was annulled by the interim director of the (state intelligence agency) ABIN on March 27, 2023, as soon as the current administration became aware of it,” Brazil’s government asserted.
Paraguay’s Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez announced that Brazilian Ambassador José Antonio Marcondes de Carvalho was summoned “to provide detailed explanations” regarding the operation. Additionally, Paraguay recalled its diplomatic representative in Brasília “to report on aspects related to the intelligence activity conducted by Brazil regarding Paraguay’s government affairs.”
International
Elon Musk to step down as government advisor, per Trump insiders

President Donald Trump has informed his inner circle that Elon Musk will be stepping down from his role as a government advisor, according to a report by Politico today.
Citing three individuals close to Trump, Politico states that the president is pleased with Musk’s leadership at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), where he has implemented significant budget cuts. However, both have agreed that it is time for Musk to return to his businesses and support Trump from a different position outside the government.
A senior administration official told Politico that Musk will likely maintain an informal advisory role and continue to be an occasional visitor to the White House. Another source warned that anyone thinking Musk will completely disappear from Trump’s circle is “deluding themselves.”
According to the sources, this transition is expected to coincide with the end of Musk’s tenure as a “special government employee,” a temporary status that exempts him from certain ethics and conflict-of-interest regulations. This 130-day period is set to expire in late May or early June.
International
Milei vows to make Argentina so strong that Falkland Islanders “choose” to join

Argentine President Javier Milei reaffirmed his country’s claim over the Falkland Islands (known as the Islas Malvinas in Argentina) and praised the role of the nation’s armed forces during a ceremony marking the “Veterans and Fallen Soldiers of the Malvinas War Day,” commemorating 43 years since the 1982 conflict with the United Kingdom.
Argentina continues to assert sovereignty over the islands, arguing that Britain unlawfully seized them in 1833.
“If sovereignty over the Malvinas is the issue, we have always made it clear that the most important vote is the one cast with one’s feet. We hope that one day, the Malvinas residents will choose to vote with their feet and join us,” Milei stated.
“That is why we aim to become a global power—so much so that they would prefer to be Argentine, making deterrence or persuasion unnecessary. This is why we have embarked on a path of liberation, working to make Argentina the freest country in the world and once again the nation with the highest GDP per capita on the planet,” he added.
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