A woman and a child were among at least 20 people wounded in the attack by a “group of assailants” on the parade in the city of Ahvaz, the official IRNA news agency reported.

The semi-official Fars news agency said two gunmen opened fire on the large crowd of spectators and then attempted to attack the viewing stand for official dignitaries before being shot and wounded by security forces.

The rare attack targeted Khuzestan, a province bordering Iraq that has a large ethnic Arab community, many of them Sunni, and was a major battleground of the devastating 1980-88 conflict between Iran and Saddam Hussein’s Iraq.

Saturday’s rally was one of many in cities across Iran held to mark the anniversary of the launch of the war with massive Iraqi air strikes.

Attacks by Kurish rebels on military patrols along the border in mainly ethnic Kurdish areas further north are relatively common.

But attacks on regime targets inside major cities are far rarer.

On June 7, 2017, 17 people were killed and dozens wounded in simultaneous attacks in Tehran on parliament and on the tomb of revolutionary leader Ruhollah Khomeini, building — the first inside Iran claimed by the Sunni Muslim extremists of the Islamic Strate group.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani vowed earlier Saturday to boost his country’s ballistic missile capabilities despite Western concerns that were cited by his US counterpart Donald Trump in May when he abandoned a landmark nuclear deal with Tehran.

“We will never decrease our defensive capabilities… we will increase them day by day,” Rouhani said at a separate military parade in the capital.

“The fact that the missiles anger you shows they are our most effective weapons,” he said, referring to the West.

James Ricketson, 69, was given jail time three weeks ago for “espionage and collecting harmful information that could affect national defence” by a Phnom Penh court.

He was then issued a royal pardon on Friday, after strongman premier Hun Sen requested it from the Cambodian king.

“We will deport him today,” Keo Vanthan, spokesman for the immigration department, told AFP. “We are looking for a flight for him.”

Ricketson’s lawyer Kong Sam Onn confirmed this, adding that the Australian’s visa to stay in Cambodia had expired.

The embattled filmmaker had been in prison since last June, after footage emerged of him using a drone to film a rally of the now-defunct opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP).

His six-day trial — which rights groups have slammed as a farce — showed him to be defiant and combative, and featured a surprise appearance by Hollywood director Peter Weir who served as a character witness for his friend.

The prosecution accused Ricketson of working as a filmmaker in Cambodia as a front for spying activities, but the verdict failed to name which country he was allegedly spying for.

His truncated prison term came after a series of activists and opposition lawmakers were freed in the weeks following July’s national election, which critics have said was neither free nor fair.

The CNRP, which had served as the sole legitimate opposition force to Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party, was dissolved in the lead-up to the controversial poll, clearing the path for the CPP to take all 125 parliament seats.

This effectively rendered Cambodia a one-party state, which the international community has decried as a death knell to democracy.

After the poll Hun Sen — who has been in power for more than three decades — returned to a pattern of easing up on dissent.

Ricketson’s pardon comes just days before Hun Sen is scheduled to travel to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly.

Seven vessels and 166 law enforcement personnel from the four countries participated in the mission which started on Tuesday.

The patrols targeted drug trafficking, smuggling and other illegal activities along the Mekong River, conducting random inspections in waters near key regions, including the Golden Triangle.

The joint patrols started in December 2011 to tackle safety concerns after a gang hijacked two cargo ships and killed 13 Chinese sailors in Thai waters on Oct. 5, 2011.

“The patrols have greatly improved security and stability in the region, bringing benefits to residents along the river and promoting trade activities,” said Khamsone, a lieutenant colonel with Lao People’s Army.

The Mekong River, known as the Lancang River at the Chinese stretch, runs through China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, and is an important waterway for transnational shipping.

In the latest bombshell to rock the troubled administration, The New York Times and The Washington Post reported that Rod Rosenstein in May 2017 had suggested secretly recording Trump for evidence of White House dysfunction — and using that to formally remove him from power.

Coming on the heels of an explosive book by respected White House chronicler Bob Woodward, the reports added to mounting evidence indicating that numerous people in Trump’s own government have serious doubts about his fitness for office — and have actively worked to undermine him.

As the number two Justice Department official, Rosenstein oversees the probe into whether Trump’s 2016 election campaign colluded with Russians in defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton.

The Time and Post reports were both based on secret memos by a former FBI director — which some speculated may have been leaked in order to undermine Rosenstein, and in turn the Russia special prosecutor Robert Mueller.

Rosenstein branded the reports “inaccurate and factually incorrect.”

And the Justice Department released a statement by a former senior official — who would not be identified — saying that he was “in the room” at the time and that Rosenstein was only joking.

“The statement was sarcastic and was never discussed with any intention of recording a conversation with the president,” said the former official.

Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. held up the reports as evidence of disloyalty among the president’s entourage.

“Who are we kidding at this point?” he tweeted, above a link to the Times article. “No one is shocked that these guys would do anything in their power to undermine @realdonaldtrump.”

Trump’s Republican ally Mike Huckabee meanwhile urged Attorney General Jeff Sessions to fire Rosenstein — or for Trump to fire them both if he refuses.

Washington was convulsed this month by the release of Woodward’s book on the inner workings of the White House — which he described as mired in a perpetual “nervous breakdown” with staff battling to control an unstable president.

Compounding Woodward’s account, The New York Times went on to publish an op-ed by an anonymous senior official — whose identity remains a mystery — claiming that select administration staff are so alarmed by the president’s “erratic” and “amoral” behavior that they actively sabotage his most extreme policy efforts.

“We believe our first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic,” the writer said.

Mueller probe threatened?

The latest reports were based on private memos written by then-interim FBI director Andrew McCabe, summarizing discussions with Rosenstein.

Because of Rosenstein’s crucial role in overseeing the Russia probe, there was immediate speculation that the memos may have been leaked in order to damage Rosenstein, and by extension Mueller — more than to hurt Trump.

Rosenstein appointed Mueller in May 2017 to lead the Russia investigation.

After securing convictions of seven people associated with Trump, Mueller’s probe increasingly threatens the White House and the president himself. Trump has repeatedly pressured Rosenstein and Sessions to shut down what he calls an illegal “witch hunt.”

Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, immediately sought to pre-empt any attempt to push out Rosenstein.

“This story must not be used as a pretext for the corrupt purpose of firing Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein in order (to) install an official who will allow the president to interfere with the Special Counsel’s investigation,” Schumer said.

The New York Times said Rosenstein made the comments in a particularly chaotic period, in the weeks right after he was appointed deputy attorney general.

Rosenstein’s alleged allusion to the 25th amendment of the US Constitution, which provides for removing a president if they are judged unfit for office, came just after Trump fired FBI director James Comey — invoking a memo written by Rosenstein.

According to the Times, Rosenstein was unhappy about being “used” by Trump in the firing of Comey, as well as concerned about other turmoil in the White House under the new president.

“I will not further comment on a story based on anonymous sources who are obviously biased against the department and are advancing their own personal agenda,” Rosenstein said in a statement Friday.

“But let me be clear about this: Based on my personal dealings with the president, there is no basis to invoke the 25th Amendment.”

The Royal Malaysia Police on its Facebook page on Thursday (Sept 20) said that it is against the law to physically place oneself in a parking lot to prevent other vehicles from using it.

This is classified under the law as unlawful interference and importuning.

“Those who are on the road or at any parking spot (besides the authorities), with the intention of directing a driver to park or reserve a parking spot is deemed to have broken the law under Section 50(3) of the Road Transport Act 1987.

“The penalty will increase for subsequent offences,” read the post, adding that this problem did not only occur in Malaysia.

“However, it is an irresponsible thing to do and inconveniences others,” it said.

Recently, such cases have been making its rounds on social media. Such acts often lead to untoward incidents, including arguments and squabbles.

Security has been tightened also in Myawady to recapture the escapees and authorities are checking vehicles passing through from Myawady to Mae Sot from September 18. They are also checking passengers arriving on powered motor boats in Moei River.

Wanted posters of the fugitives along with their pictures are posted in gates, markets and crowded places and wards authorities are being instructed to make a report, said an official from Mae Sot.

“Thai army and border guard forces are checking buses and cars at the entry of the checkpoint from September 18. A total of 18 escapees from Hpa-an prison are still at large. The operation will be carried out from 6 am to 8 pm daily,” said a driver running between Myawady and Mae Sot.

Police and army are patrolling along Moei River and Myanmar army, police force, border guard forces and people are putting barriers to arrest the fugitives in Myawady.

Two more escapees are recaptured on September 20 and a total of 24 out of 42 inmates are recaptured. The authorities are trying to recapture the remaining escapees.

“We found one escapee in Upper Minzi Village and another in Taungkalay check-point. We are requesting the public to make a report if the escapees are being seen,” said a police officer from Kayin State police force.

Policemen, supervised by Col. Aung Myat Moe, head of the state police force, are conducting operations to recapture them in border exits, check-points, entries and exits of towns and quays in Myawady.

    Campaigners have long called for a ban on the controversial trade in big cat bones, which are sought after for medicine and jewellery in Southeast Asia.

Singapore Airlines was the sole carrier importing lion bones from South Africa to Southeast Asia last year, according to a report released in July by the non-profit EMS Foundation and animal rights group Ban Animal Trading.

At least 800 lion skeletons had been exported with the blessing of the South African government in 2017, the report said, making it the world’s largest exporter of lion bones.

The airline told AFP it had stopped accepting lion bones as cargo, but did not say when the policy had come into effect.

“Singapore Airlines does not accept the carriage of lion bones as cargo following a review which took into account increasing concerns around the world,” the company said in an email.

EMS Foundation director Michele Pickover said her organisation had sent the report to the airline and “appealed to them to immediately stop its involvement in this terrible trade”.

“I believe that once they were informed about what this trade entails they took the correct and logical decision not to support it,” she told AFP.

South Africa has been sending lion bones to Southeast Asia since at least 2008 and it was likely that Singapore Airlines had been transporting them since that year, Pickover added.

Lion bones and other body parts are highly sought after in parts of Southeast Asia — particularly Laos, Thailand and Vietnam — for use in jewellery and for their supposed medicinal properties.

In Vietnam, lion bone is cooked and turned into balm while claws and teeth were used as body ornaments, the report said.

While trade of body parts from wild lions is banned, international treaties allow the sale of parts taken from lions bred in captivity.

The men who were recorded on closed-circuit television (CCTV) putting a pregnant cat into a running dryer at a launderette, causing its death, have claimed trial at the Selayang Sessions Court.

Technician A. Mohanraj, 41, and taxi driver S. Satthiya, 26, were accused with another person still at large of ruthlessly causing unnecessary suffering to the feline.

They allegedly committed the offence at Queen Self Service Laun­dry, Taman Gombak Ria, Batu Caves between 12.54 and 1am on Sept 11. They were produced before judge Rasyihah Ghazali yesterday.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Ahmad Zuhaini Muhamad Amin, who was assisted by prosecuting officer from the Selangor Veterinary Services Department Roslan Mohd Isa, asked for a RM20,000 bail.

In seeking a lower bail, Mohanraj said he needed to take care of his parents while Satthiya said he had to support eight children.

Judge Rasyihah then granted bail at RM18,000 in one surety each and ordered them to report to the nearest police station once a month. The court later fixed Oct 16 for mention.

A CCTV recording showed a pregnant stray cat being thrown into a coin-operated dryer at the launderette in Taman Gombak Ria.

The cat died, drenched in its own blood.

Chin said the stern action being taken against them shows that Malaysians are serious about fighting animal cruelty.

“This is a strong wake-up call to society that the Veterinary Services Department (DVS) is empowered to combat animal cruelty,” she said.

She said as there has been no precedent in which animal abusers were punished under the Animal Welfare Act, people had been brazen in flouting the law.

    The culprit can be seen driving a four-wheel drive vehicle down a dirt road, before ploughing into at least a dozen of the birds, counting each time he hits one.

“Fucking emus,” he can be heard saying. “This is fucking great!”

The video was posted on social media and is now being examined by authorities.

Australia’s leading animal welfare group, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), appealed to the public for information.

“Such horrific cruelty clearly has no place in our society,” the RSPCA said.

“Our inspectors are currently examining the footage to try and determine when and where it was filmed.”

It added: “The RSPCA unequivocally condemns this type of behaviour, as it clearly shows a disregard for the lives of these vulnerable native animals.”

The ostrich-like Emu is native to Australia. Standing up to two metres (6.5 feet) tall, it is the country’s largest bird.

The fast-running flightless bird, with its distinctive grey feathers, is widely found in rural areas.

The RSPCA warned that penalties for offences like that committed in the video are punishable by up to five years in prison.

The Prime Minister said even though the government respected the recommendations made by the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam), it would not accept everything.

“While we agree with suggestions made by Suhakam, we must remind them that our value system is not the same as the West.

“They are more free. “Our concept of family remains the same.

“A couple with children or adopted children are considered a family, but two men or two women are not considered a family,” said Dr Mahathir at a press conference after chairing the fourth meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Anti-Corruption here on Friday (Sept 21).