Iran: Angry protesters in Iran's capital held a third day of demonstrations over the country's anemic economy as President Hassan Rouhani told the nation that it faces an "economic war" with the US following America's pullout from the nuclear deal. While online videos showed demonstrators again confronting police on Tehran's streets and alleyways, the protests looked far smaller than those yesterday, when security forces fired tear gas on crowds in front of parliament. Demonstrators forced the temporary closure of Tehran's Grand Bazaar and on Monday, protests forced two major shopping centres for mobile phones and electronics to close in Tehran. Rage persists over the plunging of the Iranian rial to 90,000 to the US dollar — double the government rate of 42,000 rials to $1 — as people watch their savings dwindle and shopkeepers hold onto some goods, uncertain of their true value.
United States: A water ride at Six Flags in suburban St Louis has been closed after a woman said she was flung from a tube and suffered whiplash. Sondra Thornhill, of the Missouri town of Lebanon, told KMOV-TV that the accident happened on the Typhoon Twister at Hurricane Harbour in Eureka. She was taken to a hospital, where she underwent a CT scan and X-ray. "Only my hands were on the handles. My whole body went off the raft and of course, when it went back down, my hands were still on it and it threw it me so far forward and back so fast, all I heard was my neck pop," Thornhill said. "I thought I broke it at first then it was just a little sore and I stopped panicking. I'll be all right." Six Flags said that it is investigating, but released no information on how long the ride will be closed.
Britain: A London court gave ride-hailing firm Uber a shorter than usual license to keep operating in the capital, accepting the firm's claim that it has changed its aggressive corporate tactics and is now a more responsible corporate citizen. But Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot granted an operating license lasting just 15 months, short of the five-year permit Uber had had been seeking. That means the company will remain under scrutiny and serve a probation period of sorts in meeting the terms of regulators at Transport for London. London transport officials had revoked Uber's license in September. They had objected, among other things, to the company's failure to report serious criminal offences and its use of technology to allegedly evade law enforcement officials. Uber was ordered to pay £425,000 in court costs.
United States: A US Air Force veteran set himself on fire while "wearing a vest lined with fireworks and flammable devices," officials said in an email. The 58-year old man from Mableton, Georgia, had been "disgruntled" with the Veteran Administration system, according to Commissioner Mark McDonough of the Georgia Department of Public Safety. A Georgia State Patrol trooper quickly put out the fire with extinguisher, and the man was transported to a hospital, McDonough said. About 85 per cent to 90 per cent of the man's body has been burned, according to local reports. Authorities did not identify the man or provide details on why he was unhappy with VA but said he was able to speak during transport.
