Shabtabnews In this dark night, I have lost my way – Arise from a corner, oh you the star of guidance.

Iranwire – A dissident Iranian composer who has been jailed three times for his music has won the United Nations’ second annual International Art Contest for Minority Artists.  The honor was presented to Mehdi Rajabian in absentia on November 2 because he is unable to leave Iran. “This is an important award,” Rajabian said in a statement, adding, “Happiness is …

Iranwire – A group of UN experts has expressed “shock” over the death of Armita Geravand, a 16-year-old Iranian girl who was hospitalized after collapsing on a subway in Tehran last month following an altercation about failing to wear a headscarf. In a statement on November 2, the eight experts called for an “independent, prompt and impartial” investigation into Armita’s …

Iranwire – The daughter of Jamshid Sharmahd, a German-Iranian man sentenced to death in Iran, says his health condition has deteriorated to a point where he can hardly speak or take a few steps. Gazelle Sharmahd made the comments on the social media platform X on November 2, after the inmate was allowed to make a rare phone call to …

VOA – A fire broke out at a drug rehabilitation center in northern Iran on Friday, killing at least 27 people, state media reported. Seventeen others were injured and taken to hospitals in Langroud city, about 200 kilometers northwest of the capital, Tehran, state TV said. It said the fire started at the private rehabilitation center early Friday morning, and …

VOA – Thai officials held direct talks with Hamas in Iran last week over the fate of 22 of the kingdom’s nationals taken hostage by the Palestinian militant group in its attack on Israel, the head of the Thai delegation said. Negotiators met Hamas officials in Tehran on Oct. 26 and were given a pledge that the Thais would be …