Watchdog

Iranian authorities say they have detained 11 members of a modeling network.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency said the network was involved in producing and publishing pornographic pictures and spreading “depravity” in society.

The reports said the 11 people detained were “key elements” of the network, which was active in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan.

The government news agency IRNA reported that 50 people were apprehended and released after receiving “guidance.”

Three underground studios used by the network were shut down, the reports said.

In May, authorities announced an operation targeting modeling posts on Instagram.

Authorities said several people had been arrested for posting pictures of women without their compulsory hijab -- a crime in Iran.

Based on reporting by AP, Tasnim, and IRNA

Turkmenistan will hold a presidential vote on February 12, state media reported on October 12.

The announcement comes a month after Turkmenistan passed constitutional changes which removed barriers to President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov’s lifelong rule.

The election date was approved by the Turkmen parliament on October 15.

The amendments, signed by Berdymukhammedov last month after approval by the rubber-stamp parliament and the Council of Elders on September 14, scrap a rule that barred anyone over 70 from presidential ballots in the tightly controlled Central Asian country.

They also extend future presidential terms to seven years, from the current five.

State news agency TDH said that the Democratic Party, the Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, and the Agrarian Party would all present their own presidential candidates.

All three parties strongly support Berdymukhammedov's rule.

Berdymukhammedov, 59, won elections by landslides in 2007 and 2012 after coming to power following the death of Sapurmurat Niyazov in late 2006.

Gas-rich Turkmenistan is one of the most isolated countries in the world and has never held an election that was deemed fair and democratic by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Rights groups say dissent is not tolerated, government critics are routinely jailed or placed in psychiatric hospitals, and the country has no independent media.

Based on reporting by AFP