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       The nationwide mass protests sparked by the death of Iranian woman Mahsa Amini in September 2022 have been followed by the second-highest number of executions in the country in more than 20 years, according to a recent report.

       The 2023 annual report on the death penalty in Iran by the NGO Iran Human Rights found that there were a total of 834 executions last year in the country, representing a 43% increase from 2022. Only 15% of these executions were announced by authorities, while 85% were not reported by official sources.

       Eight protesters were among the executed last year, six of whom were arrested in relation to the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests. According to Iran Human Rights, they were sentenced to death in “grossly unfair trials without due process.”

       The unfairness and arbitrariness of the trials involving protesters in Iran was also previously condemned by Amnesty International, among others.

       According to the authors of the report, the execution of protesters in Iran is no longer eliciting the same level of attention and outrage from Western media and leaders that it did in the first half of 2023 before other events - like the war in Gaza - took place. Iranian authorities are taking advantage of the world’s distraction to increase the number of executions, they wrote.

       The average number of daily executions rose from two people before the onset of the war in Gaza to an average of 3-4 executions per day during the war, according to the report.

       “The Iranian regime uses the death penalty to prolong its survival. We are dealing with a regime that is oppressive, corrupt and incompetent to solve people’s daily problems,” Iran Human Rights Director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said in a press release commenting on the report.

       “Instilling societal fear is the regime’s only way to hold on to power, and the death penalty is its most important instrument. Increasing the political cost of the executions by international pressure can slow down the regime’s killing machine. The inconsistency in the international community’s reaction to the executions in Iran is unfortunate and sends the wrong signal to the authorities.”

       At least 471 people were executed for drug-related charges - up from 256 in 2022 and 126 in 2021. According to Iran Human Rights, those executed for drug charges belong to “the most marginalised communities in society, and ethnic minorities, particularly the Baluch.”

       At least 282 executions were linked to murder charges. One man was executed for adultery charges - the first time this happened in Iran in 10 years. At least two of those executed were minors, the report writes - a violation of international law.

       Last year also see the number of public hangings in Iran triple compared to 2022, for a total of seven people hanged in public spaces, including a beach park.

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       Severe floods have hit southwest France, the third time in just six months.

       Charente-Maritime is now on orange alert, following Pas-de-Calais and Gironde.

       In Saintes, the river Charente is once again overflowing its banks. It is impossible to move about in the streets without beams. This scenario is being repeated just three months after the last flood, which affected thousands of homes.

       It's "unbelievable", said one resident on Monday, who admitted that he was "fed up". He goes to check on a neighbour who had fifty centimetres of water in her house at the beginning of December.

       Why are France, Germany and England flooded - and is climate change to blame?

       The flood should reach its peak on Friday, when the water level is expected to reach 5.85 metres. Up to 200 homes could be flooded.

       The mayor of the commune is considering solutions for future floods.

       "In this street, we'll probably have to buy some houses and knock them down to make it easier for the water to drain away. Maybe, upstream, we'll have to build some reservoirs, I don't know... Obviously, we'll have to build cofferdams (flood barriers), we'll try to find effective cofferdam systems," explained Bruno Drapron, the mayor of Saintes.

       Extreme weather in Alpine region

       Extreme weather has brought avalanches, storms, strong winds and landslides to Italy and France.

       A 16-year-old boy died after being hit by an avalanche while skiing in southern Italy.

       The avalanche risk in the area stands at level three, or “considerable”, on the European avalanche danger scale. The boy is the second person to be killed by an avalanche in the region in recent days.

       More than 6,000 people living in three villages in the Gressoney area of the Aosta valley, the Alpine region near the French border, have been isolated since Sunday as a result of avalanches, which also blocked a tunnel.

       Thunderstorms and winds of more than 100km/h triggered landslides in the Liguria region on Italy’s north-west coast.

       Ukraine sinks Russian warship in Black Sea

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       Ukraine claimed Tuesday it has sunk another Russian warship in the Black Sea using high-tech sea drones.

       The move - unconfirmed by Russian authorities - comes as Kyiv's force take aim at targets behind the war's frontline.

       The Ukrainian military intelligence agency said a special operations unit destroyed the large patrol ship Sergey Kotov overnight with Magura V5 uncrewed vessels designed and built in Ukraine.

       The Russian vessel can reportedly carry cruise missiles and has a crew of around 60.

       The Ukrainian claim could not immediately be independently verified.

       Meanwhile, disinformation has been a feature of the fighting that broke out after Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February 2022.

       Kyiv's forces are struggling to keep the better-provisioned Russian army at bay at some points along the largely static 1,500-kilometer front line, but are also taking aim at targets deep beyond the battlefield.

       In the Black Sea, Ukrainian successes against enemy warships have pushed the Russian fleet away from the coast, allowing Ukraine to set up a grain export corridor.

       US airman charged for sharing intel on Russia's war in Ukraine

       A civilian US Air Force employee has been charged in federal court in Nebraska with transmitting classified information about Russia's war with Ukraine on a foreign online dating platform, the American Justice Department said Monday.

       David Franklin Slater, 63, who authorities say retired as an Army lieutenant colonel, was arrested Saturday on charges of illegally disclosing national defence information and conspiring to do so.

       Prosecutors say Slater attended briefings between February and April 2022 about Russia's war with Ukraine.

       Despite having signed paperwork pledging not to disclose classified information, he shared details about military targets and Russian capabilities on an online messaging platform with an unindicted co-conspirator who claimed to be a woman living in Ukraine.

       According to an indictment, that alleged co-conspirator, who is not identified by prosecutors, repeatedly asked Slater for information and described him as “my secret informant love.”

       It wasn't immediately clear if Slater had a lawyer. He is due to make his first court appearance Tuesday.