A teenage Iranian boy from Iran’s southwestern Khuzestan province has caught the imagination of the country for a heroic act that cost him his life. 

Ali Landi, 15, was laid to rest on Friday with full state honors after succumbing to third-degree burns he sustained while saving two elderly women from a burning house in his hometown of Izeh earlier this month.

Leading tributes to the teenager, President Ebrahim Raisi hailed him as a “national hero” and said his “story of self-sacrifice” must be narrated through art and literature to “inspire future generations.”

Every Iranian is “proud of such children,” he said in a statement, while extending sympathies to the bereaved family.

Vice President Mohammad Mokhber also condoled Landi’s tragic death, asserting that his “selfless action” had set an example for those “who strive to spread and deepen the culture of self-sacrifice and selflessness.”

Many senior ministers and politicians also joined the tributes to the young boy.

Alireza Kazemi, the caretaker education minister, described him as a “great hero” for younger generations in the country.

Landi, who hailed from a small village in Khuzestan, made the daring rescue on Sept. 9, family sources told Anadolu Agency, after which he was hospitalized in Ahvaz, provincial capital of Khuzestan, with 90% burns.

As his condition deteriorated, he was shifted to the neighboring province of Isfahan for advanced treatment, where he spent two weeks in an intensive care unit.

The government had instructed officials in Isfahan and Khuzestan to ensure the best possible medical care for the teenager and to bear all expenses.

While he was battling for his life, the whole nation came together for Landi, with his story trending on social media for the past few weeks.

As news of his death broke on Friday, a pall of gloom descended across the country over the loss of a “hero” and “martyr.”

“All superheroes don’t wear capes,” wrote one Twitter user, with an illustration of Landi carrying an elderly woman on his back amid raging flames./agencies

Japan on Friday called for a “free and open international order based on the rule of law,” stressing that peace cannot be ensured in the world through use of force.

“We must uphold universal values such as freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law that our predecessors have established to maintain peace and prosperity in each region and in the world,” Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said in a prerecorded video address to the UN General Assembly.

“I am convinced that the foundation of this undertaking is not force, but a free and open international order.”

Suga, who will step down as premier early next month, also stressed the importance of a “free and open Indo-Pacific.”

His speech came after a meeting of the Quad group, a loose security alliance of the US, Japan, India, and Australia aimed at countering China’s expanding influence in the wider Asia-Pacific region.

Beijing said earlier on Friday that any regional cooperation mechanism “should not target or harm the interests of a third party,” warning that “a closed, exclusive clique targeting other countries … will find no support and is doomed to fail.”

However, Suga used his UN speech to assert that Japan will “closely collaborate with like-minded countries and regions and work strategically to fulfill this vision.”

“As the only country that has experienced the devastation of atomic bombings, Japan will endeavor to bridge the gaps among countries with different positions and contribute to international efforts towards the realization of a world free from nuclear weapons,” he said.

He also called for “concrete negotiations” on reforms to make the UN Security Council a “more effective body that reflects the realities of the 21st century.”

On the situation in Afghanistan, Suga stressed the need “to ensure that humanitarian aid organizations can safely deliver assistance and that human rights, especially those of women, are protected.”/aa

Afghans took to the streets of the capital on Friday to call for the release of central bank reserves frozen outside the country by the US after the Taliban takeover.

Protesters, many of them holding banners with messages printed in English, gathered near the Haji Abdul Rahman Grand Mosque in Kabul, demanding immediate release of Afghanistan’s funds as the country grapples with a worsening economic crisis.

The US government has blocked the Afghan central bank’s reserves, and many donors and organizations, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, have halted payments since the Taliban swept to power on Aug. 15.

The Taliban have ramped up calls for the foreign reserves to be released, but there have been no positive indications from the international community so far.

Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen also posted a photo of the demonstration on Twitter.

“People in the capital city of Kabul took to the streets, demanding immediate release of Afghanistan’s central bank reserves,” he said.

“They were chanting, our people are facing hard economic situation, there is urgent need for unfreezing our assets to overcome the harsh poverty situation.”

Grants to Afghanistan amount to $8.5 billion per year – equal to 43% of the country’s gross domestic product – and pay for 75% of public expenditure, 50% of its budget, and around 90% of government security spending, according to an assessment by the Kabul-based research group Afghanistan Analysts Network./aa

No migrants remain at a former encampment under a bridge in Del Rio, Texas after US authorities cleared the site, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Friday.

Thousands of predominantly Haitian migrants had sought shelter under the bridge that connects Del Rio with Mexico, and Mayorkas confirmed there are "no migrants remaining in the camp."

"Nearly 30,000 migrants have been encountered at Del Rio since Sept. 9, with the highest number at one time reaching approximately 15,000," Mayorkas said at the White House. "Migrants continue to be expelled under the CDC's Title 42 authority."

Mayorkas was referring to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's health authorities mandating expulsions due to the coronavirus pandemic. About 2,000 migrants have been expelled under Title 42, according to Mayorkas.

Earlier Friday, US President Joe Biden sharply criticized the forceful treatment of Haitian migrants on the US-Mexico border, saying their treatment was an "embarrassment" for the US while pledging to ensure accountability.

Biden said "it was horrible" to see the scenes of predominantly Haitian migrants forcefully being corralled by border patrol agents, with some pictures that prompted widespread outcry appearing to depict horse-mounted agents using ropes and reins to whip people.

"It’s outrageous," Biden told reporters at the White House, further saying the agents "will pay" for their actions following an investigation. "It’s an embarrassment, but beyond an embarrassment it’s dangerous, it’s wrong. It sends the wrong message around the world. It send the wrong message at home. It’s simply not who we are.”

Biden has faced mounting criticism from fellow Democrats and rights groups for the situation in Del Rio, Texas where thousands of migrants have formed an encampment under a bridge. The administration has already begun the process to deport some of those at the site.

Daniel Foote, Biden's special envoy to Haiti, abruptly resigned Thursday because of what he said was a "deeply flawed" policy on Haiti./aa

Turkey as a "responsible member of the international community" will continue to pull its weight in tackling climate crisis and ensuring clean energy transformation, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.

"We are putting our signature under a great success story in energy transformation, renewable energy and energy efficiency," he said in a video statement to the UN High-Level Dialogue on Energy.

Turkey, he added, ranks fifth in Europe and 12th in the world in installed power based on renewable energy.

The president said Turkey's renewable share in installed electrical power is 53%.

Describing global warming and climate change as one of the most important challenges in human history, Erdogan said that even the most remote corners of the world are facing natural disasters, health problems, and economic and social struggles triggered by the climate crisis.

"This crisis can only be managed through global cooperation. For this, we must not leave anyone behind and ensure fair burden sharing. It is obvious that the energy sector will make the most important contribution in this regard," he said.

"The formula here is also clear: the use of traditional energy sources should be reduced, renewable and clean energy resources should be extended, and energy efficiency should be increased. The purpose of this meeting is to focus on the Sustainable Development Goal 7, which basically summarizes the issues I mentioned," he added.

Erdogan said it is clear that energy transformation is not "an easy process," and that it not only affects all institutions, markets and consumers in the energy sector, but also has an impact on a global, national and local level.

"This is why universal or uniform approaches to energy conversion should be avoided, and appropriate policies should be developed with specific circumstances of countries being taken into account," he said.

In this regard, the Turkish leader explained, his country closely follows developments on alternative energy, green hydrogen, clean combustion and carbon capture technologies, and offshore wind and wave energy technologies, which are emphasized in the European Green Deal.

The high-level dialogue is the first UN gathering on energy since 1981, and comes ahead of the COP26 conference on climate change in Glasgow, Scotland in November./agencies

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Friday called on Carles Puigdemont to “submit to justice” as the regional former president of Catalonia, who fled Spain after leading a botched independence attempt, was arrested in the Italian island of Sardinia.

“What Carles Puigdemont has to do is appear and submit to justice," Sanchez said during a visit on the Spanish island of La Palma where volcanic eruptions intensify.

He said the Spanish government will respect the decision of the Italian court on Puigdemont.

The premier urged that the dialogue they established with the Catalonian autonomous government should continue to find a political solution to the independence bid in Catalonia.

Meanwhile, Pere Aragones, Catalonia’s current president, called for Puigdemont's immediate release.

“Amnesty is the only way. Self-determination, the only solution,” he said, adding that he will go to Sardinia to support Puigdemont.

Puigdemont was arrested on Thursday upon his arrival to Sardinia, where he was traveling in his role as a member of the European Parliament, his lawyer said.

Earlier, he was arrested in both Belgium and Germany, but authorities in those countries refused to extradite him. In Spain, he faces major charges, including rebellion and sedition.

Few details are known about the latest arrest, except that Puigdemont was traveling to Sardinia to participate in an event about Catalan culture.

Sardinia, which is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean, is home to a separatist movement of its own.

As a member of the European Parliament, Puigdemont did get automatic immunity from being arrested. However, last March, the parliament voted to strip him of that legal protection./agencies

Turkey urged Greece early Friday to cancel a circular restricting Muslim students and teachers from performing their religious duties. 

In a Twitter post, the Turkish Foreign Ministry invited Greek authorities to “reverse the decision that restricts the students and teachers that go to the elementary schools of Turkish minorities in Western Thrace from performing their religious obligations.”

The recently issued circular is a step towards restricting freedom of religion and conscience, the Western Thrace Turkish Minority Advisory Board said in a statement.

The board said the practice in Rhodope and Evros prefectures is against the law and “is cunning, to say the least, if not a snide attitude.”

“We call on all authorities to respect our sensitivities and to make the arrangements that take these sensitivities into consideration at once,” it added./aa

The spectacular volcanic eruption that continues to spew ash, smoke and lava on the Spanish island of La Palma has destroyed nearly 400 homes and 200 hectares (494 acres) of land, Canary Islands president Angel Victor Torres said Thursday. 

More than 5,700 people have been forced from their homes, and many will never be able to return. Agricultural land, much of it for banana production, as well as businesses and roads have also been razed by the lava.

Most people are staying with relatives in safe areas on the island, but hundreds are being transferred around to different state shelters. Those who have fled their homes are encountering a lack of other housing options, and the volcano could continue erupting for weeks or even months.

The regional government has announced that it will acquire nearly 300 houses for the displaced, though many say that will not be enough to meet the demand.

“Everyone is devastated here. If they’re not depressed, they’re on the brink,” Jonay Perez, a politician and resident of a town that has been destroyed, told Spanish daily El Pais.

Many of those evacuated are still unsure whether their homes survived, when the lava will stop flowing and what will happen next.

On a visit to the Atlantic island on Thursday, Spain’s King Felipe VI tried to console the affected residents.

“These are days of immense sadness and anguish for many families. Today it’s not easy to provide solace, but we want to give you hope that step by step, with the help of us all, everyone will be able to rebuild their lives,” he said.

Scientists had predicted that the lava would reach the sea this week, but that appears increasingly unlikely as the terrain, temperature and geological factors are slowing it down to a crawl. The seismic activity or lava spews, however, have not diminished.

On Sunday, the volcano erupted for the first time in 50 years./agencies