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State-organised demonstrations took place in several Iranian cities on Friday to counter anti-government unrest triggered by the death of a woman in police custody, with marchers calling for the execution of protesters.

The demonstrations followed the strongest warning from the authorities yet when the army told Iranians it would confront "the enemies" behind the unrest - a move that could signal the kind of crackdown that has crushed protests in the past.

Demonstrators condemned the anti-government protesters as "Israel's soldiers", live state television coverage showed. They also shouted "Death to America" and "Death to Israel", common slogans the country's clerical rulers use to try and stir up support for authorities.

"Offenders of the Koran must be executed," the crowds chanted.

Iranians have staged mass protests over the case of Mahsa Amini, 22, who died last week after being arrested by the morality police for wearing "unsuitable attire".

The morality police, attached to Iran's law enforcement, are tasked with ensuring the respect of Islamic morals as described by the country's clerical authorities.

Amini's death has reignited anger over issues including restrictions on personal freedoms in Iran, strict dress codes for women and an economy reeling from sanctions.

The Iranian army's message on Friday, seen as a warning to protesters enraged by the death, read: "These desperate actions are part of the evil strategy of the enemy to weaken the Islamic regime."

The military said it would "confront the enemies' various plots in order to ensure security and peace for the people who are being unjustly assaulted."

Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi also on Friday warned "seditionists" that their "dream of defeating religious values and the great achievements of the revolution will never be realized," according to the AsrIran website.

The anti-government protests were especially strong in Amini's home province of Kurdistan and nearby areas. State television said two caches of weapons, explosives and communications gear were seized and two people were arrested in northwestern Iran which includes the border with Iraq where armed Kurdish dissident groups are based.

Human rights group Hengaw said a general strike was held on Friday in Oshnavieh, Javanroud, Sardasht and other towns in the northwest where many of Iran's up to 10 million Kurds live.

Internet blockage watchdog NetBlocks said mobile internet has been disrupted in Iran for a third time.

"Live metrics show a nation-scale loss of connectivity on leading cellular operator MCI," it said on Twitter.

Mobile internet had been partially reconnected overnight.

Twitter accounts linked to Anonymous "hacktivists" voiced support for the protests and said they had attacked 100 Iranian websites, including several belonging to the government.

Websites of the central bank, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several state-affiliated news agencies have been been disrupted in recent days.

SECURITY FORCES COME UNDER ATTACK

Iran's clerical rulers fear a revival of the protests that erupted in 2019 over gasoline price rises, the bloodiest in the Islamic Republic's history. Reuters reported 1,500 people were killed.

Rights groups such as Hengaw and HRANA, lawyers and social media users reported widespread arrests of students and activists at their homes by security forces in an apparent effort to curb protests.

Majid Tavakoli, a student leader turned human rights activist, was detained overnight, his brother Mohsen said.

"They raided the home and arrested Majid while he was asleep...We are unable to do anything. Please spread the word," Mohsen Tavakoli wrote in a Tweet.

In the latest unrest, protesters in Tehran and other cities torched police stations and vehicles as outrage over Amini's death showed no signs of abating, with reports of security forces coming under attack.

Iranian media reported the arrest of 288 "rioters" on Thursday.

In Madrid, four topless activists from the Femen women's movement protested on Friday in front of the Iranian embassy over Amini's death, carrying signs reading "Women, Life, Liberty" and "Mahsa Amini was assassinated".

The protest took place peacefully and there were no arrests.

In Athens, angry protesters demonstrating over Amini's death tried to approach the Iranian embassy on Thursday before being forced back by police wielding shields. Demonstrators chanted slogans and held placards reading "Homophobia and sexism kill."

Protests over Amini's death were also held in Canada and the Netherlands on Thursday. (Reuters)

Russian President Vladimir Putin was "pushed" into invading Ukraine and wanted to put "decent people" in charge of Kyiv, former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi has said, drawing fierce criticism just ahead of Italy's election.

The Italian leader, whose Forza Italia party belongs to a right-wing coalition expected to win Sunday's parliamentary election on Sunday, is a long-time friend of Putin and his comments are likely to alarm Western allies.

"Putin was pushed by the Russian people, by his party, by his ministers to come up with this special operation," Berlusconi told Italian public television RAI late on Thursday, using the official Russian wording for the war.

Russia's plan was originally to conquer Kyiv "in a week", and replace the democratically elected Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelenskiy with "a government of decent people" and get out "in another week," he said.

"I haven't even understood why Russian troops spread around Ukraine while in my mind they should have only stuck around Kyiv", said the 85-year-old Berlusconi, who once described Putin as being like a younger brother.

Putin's stated war aims have varied during the seven-month war. Ukraine initially chased his troops from the Kyiv area, and more recently from parts of the northeast near the Russia border. Putin now says the main aim is to secure territory in the Donbas region partly controlled by pro-Russia separatists. 

Facing widespread condemnation from opponents, Berlusconi released a statement on Friday saying his views had been "oversimplified".

"The aggression against Ukraine is unjustifiable and unacceptable, (Forza Italia's) position is clear. We will always be with the EU and NATO," he said.

'TOTALLY OUTRAGEOUS'

The leader of the centre-left Democratic Party, Enrico Letta, described Berlusconi's comments on the war as "scandalous".

"If on Sunday night the result is favourable to the right, the happiest person would be Putin," Letta told RAI radio.

Centrist leader Carlo Calenda, another election contender, said on Radio24 said Berlusconi had spoken"like a Putin general".

Asked about Berlusconi's comments, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said he believed the former Italian premier liked "to take the side of the winners, and this is definitely not Russia and not Putin".

"I believe the Italian people, and specifically Mr. Berlusconi, are quite pragmatic and understand that, based on the current internal political situation in Russia and based on the situation at the front, it would be a mistake to support Russia in the medium term," Podolayak told Reuters.

Two pollsters Reuters spoke to downplayed suggestions that Berlusconi's statements were driven by electoral calculations.

"These kind of remarks shift very few votes, people are not very interested in foreign policy," said Renato Mannheimer, head of the Eumetra polling agency.

"I think he let slip something that he believes in but which he didn't want to say out loud," said Antonio Noto, head of Noto Sondaggi.

Under outgoing Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Italy has been a staunch supporter of Western sanctions on Russia following the invasion.

Giorgia Meloni of the far-right Brothers of Italy, tipped as the next premier, has pledged to stick to that position, but her allies Berlusconi and Matteo Salvini of the League have been more ambivalent.

Berlusconi said on Thursday that Moscow's decision to invade followed an appeal by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, who allegedly told Putin, "please defend us, because if you do not defend us, we don't know where we could end up."

Voting began on Friday in four Ukrainian regions mostly held by Russian forces including the separatists, the start of a plan by Putin to annex a big chunk of Ukraine.  (Reuters)

If rich nations think the pandemic is over, they should help lower-income countries reach that point too, a senior World Health Organization official told Reuters.

In an interview, WHO senior adviser Bruce Aylward warned that richer nations must not step back from tackling COVID-19 as a global problem now, ahead of future potential waves of infection.

In the last few weeks, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the end of the pandemic was in sight, and U.S President Joe Biden said the pandemic was over.

"When I hear them say, 'Well, we're so comfortable here,' it's like, 'Great, now you can really help us get the rest of the world done'," said Aylward.

Aylward said that the group he co-ordinates, which focuses on equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and tests worldwide, is not yet ready to move out of the emergency phase of tackling the pandemic and that countries need to be ready and have treatments in place for any further waves of infection.

"If you go to sleep right now and this wave hits us in three months... God - blood on your hands," he said.

He also stressed that Biden had a point domestically as the United States has good access to all COVID tools. It has also not cut its global commitment to fighting COVID, he added.

Aylward co-ordinates the ACT-Accelerator, a partnership between WHO and other global health bodies to help poorer countries access COVID-19 tools. The effort, which includes the vaccine-focused COVAX, has reached billions of people worldwide but has faced criticism for not acting quickly enough. There had been some speculation that the effort may wind up this autumn, but Aylward said it was simply changing its focus as the pandemic changes.

Over the next six months, the partnership will aim particularly at delivering vaccines to the roughly one quarter of the world's health care workers and elderly who have still not had a shot, as well as on improving access to test-and-treat particularly with Pfizer's Paxlovid, he said.

It will also look to the future as COVID is "here to stay", and unless systems are put in place, support will collapse once other industrialised nations also think the pandemic is over, said Aylward.

The initiative already has an $11 billion gap in its budget, with most of its available $5.7 billion in funding pledged towards vaccines rather than tests or treatments. (Reuters)

The Bali provincial government shared details regarding the readiness to hold the 2022 G20 Summit with the delegation of India, as the country will be next in line to assume the G20 Presidency.

Bali Deputy Governor Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardana Sukawati (Cok Ace) elaborated on the readiness of hotels being used during the G20 Summit in Bali to the coordinator of the  Indian delegation here, on Friday.

"All hotels used for G20 must pass six assessment parameters, including completeness of infrastructure, understanding of disasters, early warning systems, ability to respond to disasters, disaster mitigation, and security," Cok Ace remarked.

He noted that these parameters were efforts to prepare hotels in Bali to handle disasters, such as fires, riots, and natural disasters, during the G20 event and their readiness to evacuate guests with complete equipment in place.

Regarding hotel readiness in terms of disaster preparedness, the feasibility assessment process was conducted by the Bali Hotel Association (BHA), Bali Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), National Police, Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), and Search and Rescue Team (SAR), Cok Ace remarked.

In addition, security at those hotels was guaranteed with certificate from the Bali Police. Hotels and villas were also necessitated to have a Cleanliness, Health, Safety, and Environmental Sustainability (CHSE) certificate.

Cok Ace remarked that the local government had also issued a governor's regulation related to traditional village-based security by optimizing the role and function of traditional security, or pecalang, in securing traditional villages in Bali.

Meanwhile, G20 coordinator of the Indian delegation, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, lauded the Indonesian Government, especially the Bali provincial government, for preparing accommodation for the G20 Summit's delegation.

"Bali is a very well-known tourist destination. It is the right decision to hold the G20 Summit in Bali because it has adequate infrastructure," Shringla stated.

The Indian delegation's G20 coordinator remarked that the exchange of information with the Bali provincial government was necessary to help his side in preparing for the upcoming G20 Summit in 2023 in India.

Shringla also commended Bali for being able to cooperate with village officials to partake in securing the G20 Summit. (Antaranews)