Three drones downed after explosions heard in Iran’s Isfahan: State media
US media reported Israel launched missile attack on target in Iran, but there has been no official comment from Israel.
Iran’s air defences have brought down three small drones over the central city of Isfahan, state media reported, hours after United States broadcasters, quoting senior US officials, said Israeli missiles had hit an Iranian site.
Iranian state television reported explosions in Isfahan as air defences were activated and flights across several areas, including the capital, Tehran, and Isfahan, were suspended.
Airspace was reopened about four and a half hours after the incident and there were no reports of casualties.
Voting begins in India’s election with Modi widely expected to win third term
First phase in world’s largest democratic exercise begins, with 969 million people eligible to vote over six-week period
Voting has begun in India’s mammoth general election, as Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party hopes to increase its parliamentary majority amid allegations that the country’s democracy has been undermined since it came to power 10 years ago.
India’s elections are the largest democratic exercise in the world, with more than 969 million voters, amounting to more than 10% of the world’s population. The voting began at 8am on Friday, when polling opened at 102 constituencies across the country, and will continue over the next six weeks, in seven phases, until 1 June. All the results will be counted and declared on 4 June.
The elections have been described by analysts at the most predictable polls India has held in decades, with Modi and his BJP widely expected to win a third term in power.
Finland urges EU to help end migrant influx from Russia
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen visited the Nordic nations border with Russia, accusing Moscow of weaponizing migration to settle a score with the new NATO member.
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo on Friday called on the European Union to help his country stop an influx of migrants via Russia.
The Nordic nation closed its eastern border in mid-December after nearly 1,000 migrants had arrived without a visa through its frontier with Russia since August. Most of them were from the Middle East or Africa.
The two neighbors share a 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) border and Helsinki has accused the Kremlin of weaponizing migration in response to Finland's accession to NATO, triggered by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
French police arrest suspect after surrounding Iran consulate in Paris
French authorities arrested a man who threatened to blow himself up at Iran's consulate in Paris, a police source said Friday after officers cordoned off the building in the French capital.
Police earlier surrounded the Iranian consulate and asked the public to avoid the area in the 16th arrondissement (district) of the French capital.
A Paris police official said the man was seen at about 11am local time (0900 GMT) entering the consulate, carrying what appeared to be a grenade and an explosive vest.
The man later left the consulate and on being searched was found not to be carrying any explosives, a police source said.
Japan begins release of 5th batch of Fukushima treated water
The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant said Friday it started releasing a fifth batch of treated radioactive water into the sea from the plant, amid opposition from China.
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc will discharge 7,800 tons of water through May 7 in the first discharge of the current fiscal year, which began this month.
Before releasing water, TEPCO ensures the radioactivity levels meet the standards set by itself and the government.
Apple deletes WhatsApp, Threads from China app store on orders from Beijing
Apple has removed WhatsApp and Threads from its app store in China, following an order from the country’s internet watchdog which cited national security concerns.
“We are obligated to follow the laws in the countries where we operate, even when we disagree,” an Apple spokesperson told CNN on Friday. “The Cyberspace Administration of China ordered the removal of these apps from the China storefront based on their national security concerns. These apps remain available for download on all other storefronts where they appear.”
The apps, both owned by Meta (META), were already blocked in China and not widely used. They could be accessed in the country only by using virtual private networks (VPNs) that can encrypt internet traffic and disguise the user’s online identity.
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