LONDON: Iran’s regime is to plough billions of dollars into the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as the regime bolsters its security apparatus amid protests, soaring inflation and a collapsing economy.

The militia was allocated $3 billion in the national budget, representing a 28 percent increase on last year, The Times reported. However, some experts estimate its actual income could be as high as $17 billion.

AL-MUKALLA: Yemeni women have taken to social media to publish images of themselves dressed in colorful traditional gear, defying Houthi clothing restrictions and the militia’s escalating crackdown in regions under their control.

Using the hashtag #Yemeni_identity, scores of women inside and outside the country have posted pictures of themselves on Facebook and Twitter. Activists often take to social media to voice their protests.

LONDON: Senior former Iranian diplomats have slammed Tehran for failing to revive the nuclear deal and supplying drones to Russia in Ukraine, warning that the country risks becoming economically weakened and isolated.

Hamid Aboutalebi, a former political adviser to Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s previous president, tweeted on Monday that “Iranian foreign policy has been captured by extremists.”

PARIS: Some 5,000 people marched Monday to the EU parliament in the French city of Strasbourg in support of Iran’s anti-government protesters as Paris prepared an Eiffel Tower tribute to Mahsa Amini, whose death in September prompted the demonstrations.

CAIRO: Two passengers who arrived at Cairo International Airport are to be prosecuted in separate cases for trying to smuggle in items in violation of customs laws.

The first passenger was held in possession of 45 bladed weapons, while the other was carrying a quantity of tramadol tablets.

The passenger facing legal action over the bladed weapons was on a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul. He was stopped by a customs officer at the gate and an inspection of his baggage by the X-ray machine revealed the presence of metallic objects.