Death toll in southwestern Iran tower collapse rises to 41

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The death toll in the collapse of a building in southwestern Iran has risen to at least 41. That’s according to Ehsun Abbaspour, the governor of the city of Abadan. State television said he gave the figure on Monday based on an official report. The May 23 collapse at the Metropol Building some 660 kilometers southwest of the capital, Tehran, has dredged up painful memories of past national disasters and shined a spotlight on shoddy construction practices, government corruption and negligence in Iran. It follows weeks of sporadic protests roiling the oil-rich but impoverished Khuzestan province. There have been protests in Abadan over the collapse, which have seen police club demonstrators and fire tear gas.