Theocracies

Iran's attack on Israel with more than 300 missiles and drones is a signification escalation of the conflict between the two. For the first time, Iran struck directly at Israel itself, not through proxies. Tehran had given notice that it would respond to the Israeli attack on its consulate in Damascus on April 1.

Iranians are expected to visit Türkiye the most during Nevruz celebrations, taking benefit of their two-week national holiday, sector representatives have said.

Iranian tourists are preparing to spend the Nevruz period between March 21 and April 1 in Türkiye. The initial rush of tourists will arrive from the Kapıköy border gate in the eastern province of Van on March 17.

In a chilling display of authority, the Taliban carried out a double public execution at a stadium in southeastern Afghanistan, shocking thousands of spectators who witnessed the killing of two convicted individuals.

A Taliban official said journalists were committing "a major sin" by taking pictures, Afghan media reported yesterday.

Television and pictures of living things were banned under the previous Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001, but a similar edict has so far not been imposed since authorities took back power in Afghanistan in 2021.

With the storm over the planned legislation for same-sex marriage having subsided - at least on the surface - the tranquil monastic community of Mount Athos welcomed its new civil administrator at the start of this week. All the proper honors were observed with utmost formality as Anastasios Mitsialis officially took office on his inaugural visit to Karyes.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Feb. 2 that his country will not start a war, but it will "respond strongly" to anyone who bullies it amid remarks by U.S. officials on attack plans on Iranian sites in the Middle East.

After the "salvo" of the Holy (Monastic) Community against the visit of Archbishop of America Elpidophoros to Mt Athos, delivered on the occasion of the baptism of children of a Greek-American same-sex couple, the monastic community is going through days of solemnity due to the Christmas holidays, which are celebrated according to the old Julian calendar.

In a concerning trend, more than 3,000 Afghan nationals have been repatriated to Kabul from Turkey over the past 20 days, marking a significant uptick in deportation efforts, as reported by Afghan news agency Khaama Press. The head of the Ministry of Refugees' Legal Support Directorate shared this information, revealing that the deportees included seven families and seven children.

Poppy cultivation and opium production have plunged 95 percent in Afghanistan since Taliban authorities banned the crop, according to a U.N. report published Sunday.

Since returning to power in 2021, Taliban authorities have vowed to end illegal drug production in Afghanistan and in April 2022 banned the cultivation of the poppy plant, from which opium and heroin are made.

A Greek shipping company has pleaded guilty to smuggling sanctioned Iranian crude oil and agreed to pay a $2.4 million fine, newly unsealed US court documents seen Thursday by The Associated Press show.