
Iran's Supreme Leader attends ceremony in first public appearance since Iran-Israel war started
Send this page to someone via email
Share this item on Twitter
Share this item via WhatsApp
Share this item on Facebook
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attended a mourning ceremony on the eve of Ashoura on Saturday in his first public appearance since the Iran-Israel war started.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
The absence of Khamenei suggested heavy security status for the Iranian leader, who has final say on all state matters, before possible strikes by Israel.
More to come.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Global News
an hour ago
- Global News
How Canada's election may have left ‘gaps' in U.S. travel advice
Newly-released documents show Global Affairs Canada knew it was facing criticism from Canadians days into the federal election over a 'lack of information' on travel advice to the United States after the Trump administration launched a border crackdown, including enhanced security at ports of entry. But with Canada in a caretaker government at the time, bureaucrats weighed the potential 'sensitivities' of acting during a federal election campaign that revolved around U.S.-Canada relations. Documents obtained by Global News through access to information laws show the department was aware Canadians were concerned about visiting the U.S., but federal officials lagged non-governmental organizations in providing citizens with guidance on the risk of searches of electronics and the possibility of detention. 6:31 Canadian dies in ICE custody. What we know so far Prime Minister Mark Carney triggered a federal election on March 23. Story continues below advertisement Canada updated its travel advisory on April 4 urging Canadians to 'expect scrutiny' from U.S. border agents. The newly-released documents raise questions about whether Global Affairs should have updated that advice sooner, given concerns around U.S. travel and the high-profile detention of at least one Canadian by U.S. border agents last March. 'I think we're seeing here is that they were slow on this and you can't be slow. You have to do your job,' said immigration lawyer and founder of Jain Immigration Law in Toronto Ravi Jain. 2:05 What Canadians need to know about new U.S. travel rules Global Affairs Canada had considered how to respond, 'recognizing the requirement the department has to maintain accurate travel advice for Canadians, at the same time as any sensitivities to any communications during a writ period.' 'Canadians have been critical about the lack of information in the U.S. TAA [Travel Advice and Advisories] about the perceived risks of travelling to the U.S. at this time,' reads an email dated April 2, a week and a half after Carney triggered a federal election. Story continues below advertisement But federal officials acknowledged law firms and post-secondary institutions had already acted. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Bureaucrats noted 'leading migration lawyers and universities' had issued 'their own cautionary advice' to clients and staff by then, the documents obtained by Global News show. That advice often included warnings electronics could be searched. In a statement, Global Affairs Canada spokesperson Charlotte MacLeod said the department provided 'up-to-date travel information that reflected publicly available information by U.S. government agencies and officials. The intent of the updates was to ensure Canadians have accurate information about traveling to the United States.' But MacLeod did not answer questions about whether the writ period affected how and when information was shared with Canadians. 1:46 Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' set to become law after it passes in US House Back in the spring, Jain was one of the lawyers urging the federal government to update its advisory: 'I understand the political sensitivities, but our first responsibility is to our citizens.' Story continues below advertisement Federal officials discussed closing 'information gaps' and updating Canadians on what they described as four 'themes': visa applications; enhanced security at border points, including electronics; new U.S. info for stays beyond 30 days; guidance on carrying ID and evidence of status in the U.S. in light of the risk related to ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) operations. On April 4 — two days after the email was sent to staff at Global Affairs — Ottawa made its updated U.S. travel advice public, warning Canadian citizens could be detained while awaiting deportation if they fail to meet entry or exit requirements. 'Individual border agents often have significant discretion in making those determinations. U.S. authorities strictly enforce entry requirements. Expect scrutiny at ports of entry, including of electronic devices.' The internal communication highlights the 'intricacies' the department faced during the writ period, as it tried to navigate U.S. President Donald Trump's ever-evolving policies and pronouncements and when to weigh into issues potentially at play during the election. Caught between a 'rock and a hard place' 'The department was really caught between a rock and a hard place,' said former foreign affairs minister Perrin Beatty. Story continues below advertisement Beatty says the caretaker government likely did not want to find itself in the middle of a 'heated' political debate. A caretaker government operates during this transition period and is expected to limit its actions to essential and urgent matters and avoid making major policy decisions. 'The Canada U.S.-issue was the number one partisan issue in the election they were wary about doing anything… (but) we were seeing developments taking place very rapidly with stories of people being detained at the border or changes coming by the day.' 6:43 Extended: B.C. woman detained in the U.S. returns home Jasmine Mooney, originally from Vancouver, tried to enter the U.S. from Mexico at the San Diego border, and was taken into custody on March 3. She spent nearly two weeks in ICE detention. Global Affairs was following public interest in her case. Story continues below advertisement 'Since March 13… we have received 16 media calls on the detention of Canadian citizen Jasmine Mooney,' read the documents. Federal officials also received more than 5,000 comments on their social media channels related to U.S. travel advice in March, 'the highest ever' received in a single month. An internal memo contained a 'sentiment scan of the comments' and included calls for Global Affairs Canada 'to update the risk level for travel to the U.S., questions about registration and ICE/Border Patrol (fear of detainment, phone searches.)' Jain would like to see more detailed advice in the current travel advisory to the U.S. 'We shouldn't be alarmist. Many Canadians are able to travel to travel to the U.S. and face no issues.' But the immigration lawyer adds federal officials' first obligation should always be informing Canadians as quickly as possible. '(Politics) shouldn't matter. There's politics to everything.'


Winnipeg Free Press
5 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Shiite neighborhoods in Damascus commemorate Ashoura quietly after Assad's ouster
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Shiite pilgrims from Syria and abroad used to flock to the Sayyida Zeinab shrine outside of Damascus every year to commemorate Ashoura, a solemn day marking the 7th-century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson. In the days leading up to Ashoura, the streets would be lined with black and red mourning banners and funeral tents. On the day of the commemoration, black-clad mourners would process through the streets, while in gathering halls known as 'husseiniyas,' the faithful would listen and weep as clerics recounted the death of Imam Hussein and his 72 companions in the battle of Karbala in present-day Iraq. Protecting the shrine dedicated to Sayyida Zeinab, the Prophet Muhammad's granddaughter and sister to Hussein, from Sunni extremists became a rallying cry for Shiite fighters during Syria's 14-year civil war. It was often pointed to as justification for the intervention of militants from Iran, Lebanon and Iraq in the Syrian conflict in support of former President Bashar Assad. This year, after Assad's ouster in a lightning rebel offensive led by Sunni Islamist insurgents, the Shiite neighborhoods of Damascus were subdued. The hotels that were once brimming with religious tourists were empty. There were no banners or processions. The faithful continued to observe their rituals inside the shrine and prayer halls, but quietly and with strict security measures. Violence takes its toll Syrian Shiites already felt they were in a precarious position after Assad's ouster. Their fears increased after a suicide bomber blew himself up in a church outside of Damascus last month, killing 25 people and wounding dozens more. Government officials blamed the attack on a cell of the Islamic State group and said they had thwarted plans by the same cell to attack Sayyida Zeinab. In Damascus' Zain al Abdeed neighborhood, mourners entered gathering halls after going through a search and screening with metal detectors. Qassem Soleiman, head of a body that coordinates between the Shiite community and the new government, said Shiite leaders had agreed with the state that they would hold their Ashoura rituals but would 'cut back on certain things outside of the halls in order for no one to get hurt and for there not to be problems.' The attack on the Mar Elias Church in Dweil'a 'put us into a state of great fear and anxiety,' he said. 'So we tried as much as possible to do our commemorations and rituals and ceremonies for Ashoura inside the halls.' Jafaar Mashhadiyia, an attendant at one of the gathering halls, echoed similar fears. 'The security situation is still not stable — there are not a lot of preventive measures being taken in the streets,' he said. 'The groups that are trying to carry out terrorist attacks have negative views of Shiites, so there is a fear of security incidents.' Worry affects the economy The absence of pilgrims coming from abroad has been an economic hit to the area. 'There are no visitors,' said a hotel owner in the Sayyida Zeinab area near the shrine, who asked to be identified only by his nickname, Abu Mohammad, because of security concerns. During the lead-up to Ashoura, 'the hotels should be 100% full,' he said. 'The Iraqis normally fill up the area.' But this year, they didn't come. His economic woes predate Assad's fall. In the months before the rebel offensive in Syria, a low-level conflict between Israel and the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah escalated into a full-scale war in Lebanon. Hundreds of thousands fled from Lebanon across the border into Syria to escape the bombardment, with many of them staying in the hotels in Sayyida Zeinab at discounted rates, Abu Mohammad said. A guard at a checkpoint in Sayyida Zeinab, who gave only his nickname, Abu Omar, in accordance with regulations, said he had seen no security issues in the area since the fall of Assad. 'There are attempts to sow discord and sectarianism by corrupt people who were with the former regime and want to play on the string of sectarianism and destroy the country and create issues between us,' he said, describing them as 'individual efforts.' Abu Omar pointed to a group of local men sitting in chairs on the sidewalk nearby smoking hookah. Sundays Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba. 'If they didn't feel safe here next to us, next to a security checkpoint, they wouldn't come and sit here.' Soleiman said he hopes that next year, the foreign pilgrims will be back and Shiites will be able to openly commemorate Ashoura, with Syrians from other groups coming to see the rituals as they did in the past. 'We hope that next year things will return to how they were previously, and that is a call to the state and a call to the General Security agency and all the political figures,' he said. 'We are one of the components in building this state.' ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.


CTV News
8 hours ago
- CTV News
‘A step forward with a deal on the table,': former Israel ambassador on Israel-Hamas ceasefire
Watch Former ambassador to Israel Jon Allen discusses the potential outcome of Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks in Qatar and Trump's impact on both parties' deal.