A court in Tehran says acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi must serve a six-year sentence he was handed more than a decade ago for supporting anti-government demonstrations.
The Committee to Protect Journalists has called on Tajikistan to fully disclose information on the whereabouts of two detained bloggers with a history of critical views and immediately release them.
Dozens of Iranian cultural and art activists living outside the country have condemned a recent wave of arrests in Iran whose targets have included three filmmakers and a political activist, and accused officials and Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei of colluding "against the people."
The U.S. government said it and the World Bank will provide Ukraine with an additional $1.7 billion in assistance to pay the salaries of its health-care workers and provide other essential services following Russia's invasion of the country.
Iran is waging a new crackdown on dissent, arresting several high-profile government critics, including a reformist politician and three renowned filmmakers. The clampdown has coincided with rising anti-government sentiment and near daily protests across the Islamic republic.