Tom Grant

Tehran’s bitter winter had penetrated the dungeon and left the frail inmate shivering with cold. Houshang Asadi, a communist dissident, took pity on his cellmate and gave him his sweater. The man refused it at first before tearfully accepting the gift. “Houshang,” the man said, “when Islam will come to power, not a single tear will be shed.”

READ MORE: https://www.thetimes.com/world/middle-east/israel-iran/article/ayatollah-ali-khamenei-iran-supreme-leader-phd8p3z85

That memory of Ali Khamenei in 1975 as an idealist who suffered for his opposition to the Shah stayed with Asadi for decades to come. Years later, in 2003, Khamenei, now the undisputed dictator of Iran who threw young men and women into those same dungeons, repaid Asadi’s kindness by forcing him into exile.

“He changed from a man who fought for freedom into a dictator,” Asadi told an interviewer. “Now Mr Khamenei is more of a dictator than a shah.” If he met him again, he said, he would ask: “Who are you, Mr Khamenei?”

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#iran #israel #tehran #ayatollahkhamenei

Elis James is getting married! Organising events does not come naturally to Elis so thank goodness lover of organisation tools, John Robins, is best man and here to relieve some of the stress by organising the stag.

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#ElisJames #JohnRobins #ElisAndJohn

John is ecstatic to be organising Elis' stag | Elis James and John Robins

We are BBC Sounds. The home of binge-worthy podcasts, music curated by music lovers and live radio.

Tom Grant looks at the stories of students impacted by Coronavirus, and highlights the financial and mental strains lockdown has brought.

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William stumbles upon an award-winning loo, while Jordan is busy preparing for the state visit from Wendy and Graham (get your potato peelers ready!). Amid the excitement, the boys debate the ownership rules of Clone-A-Willys and discuss the unexpected fallout from bad curtains.

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In 2024, violent anti-immigration protests erupt across Britain. A year later, and Britain is again grappling with a wave of similar fury. Hundreds of angry locals and hard-right activists have been taking to the streets and protesting outside asylum hotels in scenes that threaten widespread unrest.

Ireland, too, is experiencing a similar surge in anti-immigration violence. But why is this happening again? What makes the protests this year different? And who are the hard-right players driving them?

The latest series of protests ignited in Epping in July 2025. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the town's Bell Hotel, where he had been housed alongside other migrants.

The demonstration became violent as some of the protesters brawled with police and counterprotesters, leading to several arrests.

Anti-immigration protests have also been taking place in Ireland and Northern Ireland. A wave of violence swept through the town of Ballymena in June 2025 after two Romanian boys were accused of an attempted sexual assault. They deny charges.

Successive governments have ramped up rhetoric to solve the political crisis that asylum has become — but the technicalities of planning law could put a spanner in the works for Labour.

Appeal judges last week overturned a decision from the High Court in August that migrants should be removed from an Essex hotel, which threatened to scupper the government’s accommodation scheme and its statutory duty to house asylum seekers.

In the High Court, Mr Justice Eyre had granted a temporary injunction to Epping Forest district council to prevent the Bell Hotel from housing asylum seekers and gave its owner, Somani Hotels, until September 12 to rehouse its 138 residents.

00:00 Intro
00:41 What is going on?
02:22 Protests Spread to Ireland
03:13 Southport Riots
03:33 Hard-right Goes Mainstream
05:23 Misinformation
07:42 Politics

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Watch Aberystwyth's Mellt take to stage at our Selector Showcase in Brighton, on the south coast of England, at The Great Escape festival.

Performing tracks from their award-winning Welsh Lanaguage Album of the Year, ‘Mae’n Hawdd Pan Ti’n Ifanc’ (It’s Easy When You’re Young), their fusion of expert indie rock is something to behold!

Fancy some more Selector Sessions from English Teacher, Yard Act, Connie Constance, Chiedu Oraka, Rachel Chinouriri, Cooper T and many more? Head to https://bit.ly/selectorsessions.

Fuse TV Today brings you the latest news and interviews from behind the scenes at Fuse TV! On this inaugural show, Tom chats to Tegwyn from the new comedy series 'Teatime with Tegs', whilst Rob catches up with the team behind the 'Fuse Live Sessions'.

Originally Broadcast LIVE on 9 February 2021.

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