- Incoming French government under pressure on multiple fronts
- Hezbollah rockets strike near Israel's Haifa as UN warns of 'catastrophe'
- Haddad Maia roars back to beat Kasatkina in Korea Open final
- All-rounder Ashwin powers India to 280-run Test win over Bangladesh
- Failed Springbok 'gamble' sets up rugby championship decider
- Lebanon strikes send Israelis to shelters as UN warns of 'catastrophe'
- Far-right AfD eyes new win in east German state vote
- Tony Popovic set to become new Socceroos coach - reports
- All-round Ashwin powers India to big Test win over Bangladesh
- NZ chase 275 to win first Sri Lanka Test after Patel bags six
- Ashwin bags six wickets as India hammer Bangladesh in first Test
- Nascent French government under pressure on multiple fronts
- Angry French cognac makers see red over Chinese tariffs threat
- Protect the prosciutto: Italy battles swine fever
- UN holds 'Summit of the Future' to tackle global crises
- Marxist leader set to become Sri Lanka's next president
- From blades to pull-up bars: UK charity tackles knife crime
- Swiss vote on pensions and environment protections
- No pain, no gain: Chinese pro wrestlers fight for recognition
- UAE leader seeks to deepen 'strategic' ties in US visit during Mideast crisis
- Hezbollah takes heavy hits but still fighting Israel
- Floods, landslides hit central Japan months after major quake
- All Blacks coach Robertson demands better finishing
- Argentina edge South Africa to keep title hopes alive
- Biden says China 'testing us,' in hot mic remarks to Quad allies
- Dubois destroys Joshua to retain IBF world heavyweight crown
- Guardiola says critics want Man City wiped 'from face of the Earth'
- Biden says 'Quad' is 'here to stay' despite challenges
- Dubois knocks out Joshua to retain IBF world heavyweight crown
- Vinicius helps 'faster' Madrid overturn stubborn Espanyol
- Zelensky to press US on long-range missile strikes inside Russia
- PSG drop first points in draw at Reims
- Vinicius, Mbappe on target as Madrid crush plucky Espanyol
- Jeeno leads Ko by two at LPGA Queen City Championship
- Bottega Veneta goes for 'E.T.' chic as Madonna pops into D&G
- Messi, Miami frustrated by New York late leveler
- Musk's X platform takes first step toward lifting Brazil ban
- 'Business as usual' for Australia match-winner Carey amid boos
- Israeli jets pound Lebanon after deadly Beirut strike
- Ten Hag bemoans Man Utd's lack of killer instinct in Palace stalemate
- France's Macron appoints new government in shift to right
- Cheika proud of Leicester grit after winning start as boss
- Profligate Man Utd pay price in 0-0 draw at Palace
- Kane, Olise run riot as Bayern thump Bremen
- Diaz fires Liverpool top of Premier League, Man Utd held at Palace
- LIV champion Rahm out of LIV Team semis with severe flu
- Slot surprised by tearful Nunez's moment of magic
- Title rivals Norris, Verstappen on 'cool' front row for Singapore GP
- Biden talks China with 'Quad' leaders in hometown summit
- Juve and Napoli play out goalless draw in early Serie A title tussle
British-Iranians reunited with family in UK after Tehran release
Two British-Iranians imprisoned for years in Iran were reunited with their families in the early hours of Thursday, tears of joy and long hugs marking the culmination of years of campaigning and earlier false hopes.
Their release on Wednesday came as the British government confirmed it had paid a longstanding debt over a cancelled defence contract, and as major powers inch closer to renewing the Iran nuclear deal in Vienna.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 43, a project manager for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, and 67-year-old engineer Anoosheh Ashoori touched down at RAF Brize Norton in southwest England just after 01:00am (0100 GMT), following a stopover in Oman.
Both appeared relaxed, smiling and waving briefly at the cameras before heading towards the building where their families were waiting.
As they stepped out of the plane, Zaghari-Ratcliffe's seven-year-old daughter Gabriella could be heard asking "Is that mummy?" and then shouting "Mummy!" as she recognised her, a live video showed.
The footage, posted on Instagram by Ashoori's daughter Elika, streamed the two families' first meeting after years of enforced separation -- Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been detained since 2016, and Ashoori since 2017.
Gabriella ran towards her mother as the released pair entered the room, and loud sobbing could be heard as the families kissed and held each other.
"Do I smell nice?" Zaghari-Ratcliffe, clinging to her daughter, asked in mock surprise. "I haven't had a shower in 24 hours!"
- Complex talks -
The project manager worked for the philanthropic arm of the Thomson Reuters news and data agency and was arrested in Tehran on a visit to family in 2016, accused of plotting to overthrow the regime.
Ashoori, a retired engineer from southeast London, was arrested in 2017 and jailed for 10 years on charges of spying for Israel.
Both families believe they were being held as political prisoners until a debt between Britain and Iran was settled.
The UK has consciously avoided saying the detention of the pair, and others held in Iran, was linked to the debt for an order of tanks that was cancelled after the 1979 Islamic revolution.
But soon after the release was announced, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss confirmed that London and Tehran had resolved the £394-million ($515-million) issue "after highly complex and exhaustive negotiations".
Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Wednesday that Iran had received the money but that it was "wrong to link Iran receiving its debt... to the release of these people".
Truss said the money can only be used for humanitarian goods.
The pair's release also comes as major powers in Vienna close in on renewing the landmark 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on regulating Iran's nuclear programme.
The deal gives Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme, and Tehran on Wednesday said that "two issues" remain with the US to restore the deal.
- 'Cornerstone back in place' -
Before her return, Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband, Richard Ratcliffe, who has twice gone on hunger strike to highlight his wife's plight, told AFP "the first thing she wanted was for me to make her a cup of tea".
"I'm relieved that the problems were solved," he said, adding that the government should make sure "it doesn't happen again".
Ashoori's family said their "family's foundations were rocked" when he had been detained.
"Now, we can look forward to rebuilding those same foundations with our cornerstone back in place," they said in a statement.
Truss, who was waiting with the families, wrote that it was "great to see both Anoosheh and Nazanin in such good spirits".
She also announced that Morad Tahbaz, an Iranian-American who also holds British nationality, had been released from prison "on furlough" to his Tehran home.
Tahbaz was arrested alongside other environmentalists in January 2018 and sentenced to 10 years in jail for "conspiring with America".
Addressing parliament on Wednesday, Truss said: "The agonies endured by Nazanin, Anoosheh, Morad and their families must never happen again."
Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK's chief executive, said the government must renew "its calls for the release of the UK nationals Mehran Raoof and Morad Tahbaz, both of whom are still going through an ordeal all too similar to Nazanin and Anoosheh's".
Raoof, a labour rights activist, was detained in October 2020 and was being held in solitary confinement, according to Amnesty.
Dual nationals from Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Sweden and the United States have also been arrested in similar circumstances.
burs-cjo/har/reb/cwl
G.Schulte--BTB