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(LONDON) — Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Court on Tuesday opened the trial of Niloofar Hamedi, the first journalist in Iran who reported on Mahsa Amini’s death in police custody in September.

Hamedi’s report came ahead of spiraling mass protests across the country, posing one of the biggest threats against the Islamic regime in over four decades. She published a photo of Amini’s family in the hospital hallway hugging and mourning after hearing the news of their daughter’s passing. She was arrested a few days later on Sept. 22.

Hamedi faces charges including “Collaborating with the hostile government of the United States” and “conspiring to commit crimes against national security and propagandistic activity against the system,” Masoud Setayeshi, judiciary spokesperson, said on April 26.

Amini, 22, was on a trip to Tehran last September when the hijab police, called the “morality police,” arrested her for not wearing an outfit that fully matched the Sharia-based compulsory hijab laws of the country. She was taken into custody only to be announced dead at a hospital three days later, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency. Iran Human Rights reported that at least 537 people were killed in the ensuing protests and at least 22,000 people were arrested as IRNA confirmed.

Hamedi’s hearing on Tuesday was “private,” and family members were not allowed, her husband, Mohammad Hassan Ajurlou, tweeted.

“Niloofar denied all the accusations and emphasized that she performed her duties as a journalist within the framework of the law and did not take any action against Iran’s security,” he wrote, adding that Hamedi’s lawyers did not get a chance to defend her.

Another journalist, Elaheh Mohammadi, faces the same accusations as Hamedi for covering Amini’s funeral in Saqez, in northwestern Iran. Mohammadi’s trial opened on Monday. The two journalists have been in jail for over eight months.

One of Mohammadi’s lawyers, Shahab Mirlohi, listed unlawful treatment of his client during her arrest and the hearing process, including keeping her in solitary confinement for long periods of time and assigning the country’s revolutionary court for the hearing.

“In our opinion, the Revolutionary Court does not have the jurisdiction to hear this case, and the case should be heard publicly in a competent court (Criminal Court 1) with the presence of a jury,” Mirlohi said in an interview with the Iranian daily Hammihan Monday.

“No matter how many times we requested a chance to inform the court of our explanations, unfortunately, we were not granted any chance,” he added.

Talking about the atmosphere outside of the court building, one of Hamedi’s friends who was there told ABC News that the guards would not allow people to stay for more than a short time around the hearing time.

The friend, who did not want to share her name for security reasons, added that being upon being taken back to the prison, Hamedi managed to sneak a look outside and wave for her friends from behind the dark windows of the black Hyundai she was in.

The continuation of two journalists’ hearing proceedings was postponed to the next sessions, the date of which has not yet been announced.

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(LONDON) — Several drones struck Moscow early on Tuesday, damaging residential buildings in the Russian capital, the mayor said.

The pre-dawn attack “caused minor damage to several buildings” in a residential area, according to Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin. Some residents were evacuated from their apartments due to “safety reasons” as first responders surveyed the damage, Sobyanin said.

“All municipal emergency services are currently at the scene of the incident,” the mayor wrote on his official Telegram channel. “They will find out the circumstances of what happened.”

It’s believed to be the first major drone strike on a residential area of Moscow.

No one was seriously injured in the attack, according to Sobyanin. Two people sought and received medical attention on site for unspecified injures but did not require hospitalization, the mayor said.

Russian emergency services told state news agency TASS that drone-like fragments were found around at least one of the buildings and that apartment windows were shattered on several floors.

Eight drones targeted Moscow, five of which were shot down while the other three were jammed, causing them to veer off course, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

The rare attack came as Russia continues to wage war in neighboring Ukraine. The Russian defense ministry called Tuesday’s drone strike a “terrorist attack” by the “Kyiv regime” and said Moscow will react “as harshly as possible to the actions of Ukrainian militants.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday’s drone attack on Moscow was Kyiv’s retaliation against the effective Russian strikes “on a decision-making center” on Sunday.

On May 3, Russia accused Ukraine of attacking the Kremlin with drones. Russia later blamed the United States for the attack, a claim rejected by Washington.

Meanwhile, in recent days, Russia has launched a series of drone and missile attacks on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. At around 2 a.m. local time on Tuesday, Kyiv residents once again awoke to the sound of air raid sirens as dozens of Russian drones targeted the city for a third straight day.

Most of the drones were intercepted and shot down, but the fallen debris sparked fires that engulfed several cars, houses and residential buildings, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko. At least one person was killed and 33 others were injured.

“If the Russians can make Kyiv a nightmare, why do the people of Moscow rest?” Klitschko said in a televised address on Tuesday.

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(LONDON) — Several drones struck Moscow early on Tuesday, damaging residential buildings in the Russian capital, the mayor said.

The attack “caused minor damage to several buildings” in a residential area, according to Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin. Some residents were evacuated from their apartments due to “safety reasons” as first responders surveyed the damage, Sobyanin said.

“All municipal emergency services are currently at the scene of the incident,” the mayor wrote on his official Telegram channel. “They will find out the circumstances of what happened.”

No one was seriously injured in the attack. Two people sought and received medical attention on site but did not require hospitalization, according to Sobyanin.

Russian emergency services told state news agency TASS that drone-like fragments were found around at least one of the buildings and that apartment windows were shattered on several floors.

Moscow Oblast Gov. Andrey Vorobyov said several drones were shot down as they approached the capital, according to TASS.

It’s believed to be the first major drone attack on a residential area of Moscow. The attack came as Russia continues to wage war in neighboring Ukraine.

On May 3, Russia accused Ukraine of attacking the Kremlin with drones. Russia later blamed the United States for the attack, a claim rejected by Washington.

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(NEW YORK) — Joran van der Sloot, the prime suspect in the unsolved 2005 disappearance of American teenager Natalee Holloway, has been severely beaten in Peruvian prison, his lawyer told ABC News on Monday.

Van der Sloot is awaiting extradition to the U.S. on extortion and wire fraud charges stemming from an accusation that he tried to profit from his connection to the Holloway case.

The Dutch citizen has been serving a 28-year sentence in Peru for the 2010 murder of 21-year-old college student Stephany Flores.

Van der Sloot’s Peruvian attorney, Maximo Altez, said he doesn’t believe the beating was related to the upcoming extradition. It may, however, be connected to gang rules inside of the Challapalca Prison, where he’s being held, Altez said.

Van der Sloot is currently in the prison’s medical aisle, Altez said, adding that he’s asking the Peruvian Justice Ministry to transfer him to another prison as soon as possible.

Holloway, 18, went missing in May 2005 while on a graduation trip to Aruba with her Alabama high school classmates. She was last seen driving off with a group of young men, including van der Sloot, then 17.

Van der Sloot, who was identified as a suspect and detained but ultimately released, was indicted by an Alabama federal grand jury in 2010 for allegedly trying to extort Holloway’s family.

Federal prosecutors alleged that in March 2010 van der Sloot contacted Holloway’s mom, Beth Holloway, through her lawyer and claimed he would reveal the location of the teen’s body in exchange for $250,000, with $25,000 paid up-front. During a recorded sting operation, Beth Holloway’s attorney, John Q. Kelly, met with van der Sloot in an Aruba hotel, giving him $10,000 in cash as Beth Holloway wired $15,000 to van der Sloot’s bank account, according to prosecutors.

Then van der Sloot allegedly changed his story about the night he had been with Natalee Holloway, prosecutors said. Van der Sloot claimed he had picked her up but that she had demanded to be put down, so he threw her to the ground. He said her head hit a rock and she was killed instantly by the impact, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors said van der Sloot then took Kelly to a house and claimed that his father, who had since died, buried Natalee Holloway’s body in the building’s foundation.

Kelly later emailed Van der Sloot, saying the information he had provided was “worthless,” according to prosecutors. Within days, van der Sloot left Aruba for Peru.

Earlier this month the Peruvian government issued an executive order accepting a request by U.S. authorities for a temporary extradition. An extradition date has not been set.

ABC News’ Morgan Winsor, Emily Shapiro and Ellie Kaufman contributed to this report.

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(LONDON) — Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed one of the world’s harshest anti-LGBTQ bills into law on Monday.

The Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023, which was introduced in Uganda’s Parliament in early March, calls for the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality,” which is defined as cases of same-sex relations involving people who are HIV positive as well as with minors and other categories of vulnerable people. Anyone else who engages in gay sex could face life imprisonment if convicted, while anyone caught trying to have same-sex relations could face up to 10 years in prison.

Ugandan Parliament Speaker Anita Annet Among was the first to announce on Twitter that the president had signed the bill into law, saying Museveni had “answered the cries of our people.”

“I thank His Excellency, the president, for his steadfast action in the interest of Uganda,” Among tweeted. “With a lot of humility, I thank my colleagues the Members of Parliament for withstanding all the pressure from bullies and doomsday conspiracy theorists in the interest of our country.”

An earlier draft of the legislation also criminalized “the offence of homosexuality,” meaning anyone who identifies as LGBTQ or “any other sexual or gender identity that is contrary to the binary categories of male and female” may be subject to imprisonment of up to 10 years if convicted. Lawmakers passed that version of the bill in late March after several readings and hours of debate. The proposed legislation was then sent to the president, who subsequently returned the bill to Parliament in April, asking for changes that would differentiate between identifying as LGBTQ and actually engaging in homosexual acts amid outcries from human rights groups and Western governments. Lawmakers passed an amended version of the bill in early May that does not criminalize those who identify as LGBTQ.

Homosexuality was already illegal in Uganda, as in over 30 of Africa’s 54 countries. It was first criminalized in the East African nation under colonial laws, but there had never been a conviction for consensual same-sex sexual activity since independence from Britain in 1962.

Human rights advocates had said they plan to challenge the legislation in court if it’s signed into law.

Prior to the bill’s signing, members of Uganda’s LGBTQ community reported being on the end of increasing discrimination and violence. Many said they are worried about their personal liberties and safety.

“There are no words to describe the feeling of being persecuted by everyone around you, just for being yourself, for being who you are,” Atuhaire, a Kampala-based member of Uganda’s LGBTQ community, told ABC News in March, using only their first name to protect their personal safety.

“The vitriol and we receive daily on social media has always been vicious, but nothing like the last few months,” Grace, a Ugandan LGBTQ activist, also told ABC News in March.

ABC News’ Emma Ogao contributed to this report.

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(BELGOROD, Russia) — At least two people have died in strikes on Russian territory as Russia reported more attacks on Saturday, with drones crashing in its western regions and areas on the border with Ukraine coming under shelling, according to Russian officials.

Russia’s Belgorod region on the border with Ukraine came under multiple rounds of shelling, killing one person, according to its governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov.

In the neighboring Kursk region, which also borders Ukraine, one person was killed by cross-border mortar fire, Kursk Gov. Roman Starovoit said.

Two drones attacked an oil company’s administrative building in Russia’s western Pskov region that borders Belarus, Latvia and Estonia, Pskov Gov. Mikhail Vedernikov reported Saturday.

Vedernikov said the building was damaged as the result of an explosion. 

Another drone went down in the Tver region about 150 kilometers, or 90 miles, north of Moscow, according to local authorities. 

Meanwhile, Russian forces continued their offensive operations, but the pace of the attacks decreased, according to Ukrainian officials.

“Yesterday and today there have not been any active battles – neither in the city nor on the flanks,” Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said on Telegram.

She added that Moscow’s troops were shelling the outskirts and approaches to Bakhmut.

“The decrease in the enemy’s offensive activity is due to the fact that troops are being replaced and regrouped,” Maliar said. “The enemy is trying to strengthen its own capabilities.”

According to Maliar, Ukrainian troops “firmly hold” the heights overlooking Bakhmut from the north and south, as well as a portion of the outskirts, but have not advanced during the past two days to focus on “other tasks.”

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(KUWAIT CITY) — An American soldier was killed in a non-combat rollover accident in Kuwait, U.S. officials said late Friday.

Spc. Jayson Reed Haven, 20, of Aiken, South Carolina, died from a rollover accident that occurred in a non-combat situation on Thursday at Camp Buehring in the northwestern desert of Kuwait, about 20 miles from the southern border of Iraq.

The fatal incident remains under investigation, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Defense. Further details were not immediately available.

The news of Haven’s death came just days before Memorial Day, a federal holiday for honoring and mourning those who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.

“There are no words that can adequately express how deeply saddened I am at the loss of one of our own,” Maj. Gen. Van McCarty told Haven’s hometown newspaper, the Aiken Standard. “SPC Jayson R. Haven was more than just a member of the South Carolina National Guard; he was family.”

Haven, a machine gunner, had received multiple medals and awards during his service with the South Carolina National Guard. He was assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 118th Infantry Regiment, 218th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, based in Charleston. He initially joined the U.S. Army in 2020, according to the Aiken Standard.

Haven was deployed to Kuwait to support Operation Spartan Shield, an effort to strengthen U.S. defensive relationships throughout Southwest Asia, according to the Army.

Vehicle accidents involving rollovers are a leading cause of death for the U.S. military.

While rollovers only account for a quarter of vehicle accidents, they contribute to 63% of accidents involving a death between 2010 and 2019, according to a 2021 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

That same report found that the military did not take sufficient action during that time frame to reduce the often preventable accidents, which accounted for 123 deaths for the Army and Marines between 2010 and 2019.

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(NASSAU, Bahamas) — A recent high school graduate from Louisiana is missing after going overboard while on a trip to the Bahamas, school officials said.

Cameron Robbins, who attended University Laboratory School in Baton Rouge, was on a trip with a group of students when he went overboard on Wednesday night, according to school officials.

“As of this interview right now he has not been located,” Kevin George, director of the Laboratory School, told ABC Baton Rouge affiliate WBRZ midday Thursday.

The incident occurred around 9:40 p.m. local time near the area of Athol Island, according to the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

The 18-year-old “reportedly jumped from a pleasure vessel,” the Royal Bahamas Police Force said in a statement.

The United States Coast Guard said Thursday that it was assisting with search efforts for a missing U.S. citizen “believed to have fallen overboard from a sunset cruise near Nassau” on Wednesday. A Coast Guard spokesperson confirmed to ABC News that the search was for Robbins.

The Coast Guard provided air assistance in the search and rescue mission, which was being led by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, according to Petty Officer 3rd Class Ryan Estrada. But on Friday evening, the Coast Guard was informed by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force that they were suspending the “active search efforts” for Robbins “pending further developments” and were no longer requesting assistance from the Coast Guard after notifying Robbins family, according to Lt. Cmdr. John W. Beal.

“We offer our sincerest condolences to Cameron Robbins’ family and friends,” Beal said in a statement.

The Bahamas vacation was not a school-sanctioned trip but included students from several high schools in the area, including between 10 and 15 students from the Laboratory School, George said.

The school just held its graduation on Sunday.

George described Robbins as a “great kid” and athlete who had been with the school for 13 years, since the start of his education.

“Just one of those kids that you’re so proud of once they cross the stage,” George said.

Students held a prayer circle for Robbins on Thursday morning following news that he was reported missing, holding hands outside the Laboratory School, located on the main campus of Louisiana State University.

“It’s a tight-knit family,” George said. “The kids reached out to us wanting to know, could they do a prayer circle. Obviously we agreed. We really appreciated their leadership in this trying time.”

Robbins has a sister who is a junior at the school, according to George, who said he spoke to their father on Thursday morning.

“It’s just a really emotional time for us right now,” George said. “Just trying to send up our prayers and give our support.”

“Let’s continue to pray and pray that we find Cameron safe and sound,” he added.

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(WASHINGTON) — Earlier this week, an unknown number of heavily armed soldiers stormed over Ukraine’s north-eastern border with Russia.

At around the same time, Russian media reported explosions inside Belgorod. Russian officials later said Ukrainian artillery was used to fire into Belgorod.

The official version of events from the Ukrainian side is that only Russian nationals, belonging to two far-right paramilitary groups, were involved in the assault.

So far there is no evidence to contradict that claim.

The two paramilitary groups involved are the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Free Russia Legion. They are made up of Russian nationals who have been fighting in Ukraine alongside the Ukrainian military since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

It is unclear whether the Ukrainian-backed operation in that region is completely over.

On Thursday, the governor of the Russian region of Belgorod, Vyacheslav Gladkov, claimed that the Ukrainian military was shelling areas inside Belgorod and that Russian air defense had been active in a district of Belgorod, which borders Ukraine.

There have been other reports of explosions and drone attacks in the Russian region.

Eyewitness testimony from local civilians, videos circulating online and images filmed by independent media in Belgorod back some of those reports up.

The Ukrainian-backed far-right paramilitary groups who claimed responsibility for the operation in Belgorod also alleged, without providing details, that their mission was “still ongoing.”

Denis Kapustin, the leader of the Russian Volunteer Corps, told reporters that “Phase One” of the operation had ended. He also claimed that “Phase Two” would begin “in a couple of days.”

The Russian authorities took the threat seriously and launched a counterterrorism operation in the border region.

Some local residents were also evacuated from settlements close to the border where the fighting was taking place.

The level of strategic military success achieved by the Ukrainian-backed mission in Belgorod is unclear.

On Wednesday Kapustin claimed his men had taken control of roughly 16 square miles of territory inside Russia.

He also claimed two of his fighters had been killed in the raid. Russian officials said dozens of “terrorists” had been killed.

None of these figures can be independently verified.

Ukraine’s involvement

Publicly, Ukraine has tried to distance itself from the execution of the operation in Belgorod, however, there is mounting evidence that Ukraine was involved.

A commander for the Free Russia Legion, who goes by the military callsign of “Cesar,” told reporters on Wednesday that armored vehicles, “light weaponry” and “artillery weapons” used in the operation were supplied by Ukraine.

Speaking at the same event in northern Ukraine, Kapustin drew a distinction between the actions of his men in Ukraine and the operation on the other side of the border in Belgorod.

“Everything we do within the state borders of Ukraine we obviously coordinate with the Ukrainian military. Everything we do, every decision we make beyond the border (of Ukraine) is our decision,” he claimed in a response to a question from ABC News.

Kapustin told reporters that his men had been “encouraged” by the Ukrainian military.

“They wished us good luck,” he said.

Despite trying to distance themselves from the actual military operation in Russia, Ukrainian officials have celebrated what has been happening on social media and have mocked the Russian authorities for appearing to have lost control of an area near the border for an extended period of time.

In some ways, the apparent tactics of Ukraine are reminiscent of the Kremlin’s modus operandi in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas during a war which began in the spring of 2014.

Back then, Russia armed and supported Ukrainian separatists but falsely denied any involvement.

Aleksey Baranovsky, a Russian dissident who is part of the Political Center of Russian Armed Opposition, suggested to ABC News that the Kremlin was now receiving a dose of its own medicine.

“This game works both ways,” said Baranovsky, whose organization is a political affiliate of the paramilitary groups which conducted the operation in Belgorod.

“Putin thought that he was the only one to play this game,” he said. “One should respond to aggression with cunning. And Ukraine has been doing that in a smart way, as have the Russian volunteers.”

Far right links

Fighters from the two paramilitary groups were also questioned by reporters on Wednesday about their neo-Nazi and white supremacist links.

Kapustin said his group had never hidden the fact it was a far-right organization.

“We are conservative traditionalist right wingers. I don’t care what [the Russian authorities] call us. Should we care how our enemy insults us?” he said.

The spokesman of the Russian Volunteer Corps claimed his group was “more centrist” than the Russian Volunteer Corps.

Both groups emphasized that their fight against Vladimir Putin’s regime in Russia gave them a common cause with Ukraine.

According to Kapustin, the Ukrainian military and his group are “brothers in arms.”

The timing of the operation is noteworthy, coming as Ukrainian officials promise a major counteroffensive “soon.”

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(NEW YORK) — A recent high school graduate from Louisiana is missing after going overboard while on a trip to the Bahamas, school officials said.

Cameron Robbins, who attended University Laboratory School in Baton Rouge, was on a trip with a group of students when he went overboard Wednesday night, school officials said.

“As of this interview right now he has not been located,” Kevin George, director of the Laboratory School, told ABC Baton Rouge affiliate WBRZ midday Thursday.

The U.S. Coast Guard Southeast said Thursday that it is assisting with search efforts for a missing U.S. citizen “believed to have fallen overboard from a sunset cruise near Nassau” on Wednesday.

A Coast Guard spokesperson confirmed to ABC News that the search is for Robbins.

The incident was reported between 11:30 p.m. and midnight local time Wednesday, according to Petty Officer 3rd Class Ryan Estrada.

The Coast Guard is providing air assistance in the ongoing search and rescue mission, which is being led by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, Estrada said.

The Bahamas vacation was not a school-sanctioned trip but included students from several high schools in the area, including between 10 and 15 students from the Laboratory School, George said.

The school just held its graduation on Sunday.

George described Robbins as a “great kid” and athlete who had been with the school for 13 years, since the start of his education.

“Just one of those kids that you’re so proud of once they cross the stage,” George said.

Students held a prayer circle for Robbins Thursday morning following news that he was reported missing, holding hands outside the Laboratory School, located on the main campus of Louisiana State University.

“It’s a tight-knit family,” George said. “The kids reached out to us wanting to know, could they do a prayer circle. Obviously we agreed. We really appreciated their leadership in this trying time.”

Robbins has a sister who is a junior at the school, according to George, who said he spoke to their father Thursday morning.

“It’s just a really emotional time for us right now,” George said. “Just trying to send up our prayers and give our support.”

“Let’s continue to pray and pray that we find Cameron safe and sound,” he said.

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