Iran’s Only Female Olympic Medalist, Kimia Alizadeh, Defects From Islamic Republic

(DUBAI, United Arab Emirates) — Iran’s only female Olympic medalist said she defected from the Islamic Republic in a blistering online letter that describes herself as “one of the millions of oppressed women in Iran.”

Taekwondo athlete Kimia Alizadeh posted the letter on Instagram as Iran’s semiofficial ISNA news agency said she had fled to the Netherlands. She criticized wearing the mandatory hijab headscarf and accused officials in Iran of sexism and mistreatment.

“Whatever they said, I wore,” Alizadeh wrote in the letter posted Saturday. “Every sentence they ordered, I repeated.”

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با سلام آغاز کنم، با خداحافظی یا تسلیت؟ سلام مردم مظلوم ایران، خداحافظ مردم نجیب ایران، تسلیت به شما مردم همیشه داغدار ایران. شما مرا چقدر می‌شناسید؟ فقط آنطور که در مسابقات، در تلویزیون، یا در حضور مقامات دیده‌اید. اجازه دهید حالا آزادانه، هویت سانسور شده‌ام را معرفی کنم. می‌گویند کیمیا پس از این چیزی نخواهد شد. خودم از این هم فراتر می‌روم و می‌گویم قبل از این هم چیزی نبود..

Two World War II Bombs Defused in Germany After Mass Evacuation

(BERLIN) — Two World War II bombs were successfully defused in the western German city of Dortmund on Sunday, hours after thousands of people were evacuated from the surrounding area, officials said.

The bombs were 250-kilogram (330-pound) American and British bombs. Authorities initially thought they had detected four bombs, but later clarified that only two were found.

Authorities had evacuated two hospitals and opened schools for residents who had to leave their homes. City officials had asked about 14,000 people to leave the areas where the bombs were buried.

The city’s train station had also been shut down and trains were rerouted. Before experts defused the two bombs, helicopters patrolled overhead to ensure everyone had evacuated.

Almost 75 years after the end of the war, unexploded bombs are frequently found in Germany. Disposing of them sometimes entails large-scale evacuations as a precaution.

4 Iraqi Servicemen Wounded by Rocket Attack on Air Base Near American Trainers

(BAGHDAD) — Four members of Iraq’s military were wounded Sunday in a rocket attack targeting an air base just north of Baghdad where American trainers are present, Iraqi security officials said.

The attack by at least six rockets came just days after Iran fired ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq that house U.S. forces, causing no casualties.

Recent heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran were sparked last month when a rocket attack killed an American contractor at a base in Iraq. The U.S. has blamed that attack and others on Iran-backed militias.

Sunday’s attack wounded an Iraqi air force officer and three enlisted men, Iraqi security officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack.

The rockets struck Balad air base, which hosts American trainers, advisers and a company that provides maintenance services for F-16 aircraft. Some rockets fell on a restaurant inside the airbase, the officials sai..