Stephen King pens Twitter-Trump horror, and Iran's former leader tweets despite ban

Image copyright Associated Press Image caption Horror author Stephen King has been a vocal critic of US President Donald Trump

US horror writer Stephen King tweets a story Trump-style, a former Iranian president takes to a social media platform years after he banned it, and a well-known young Syrian girl asks Theresa May to help her country's children.

A Twitter horror story, set in the White House

US horror author Stephen King may have written his latest story in a series of four tweets - inspired by US President Donald Trump.

Mr King launched a series of tweets over the weekend after the US president accused former President Barack Obama of tapping his phone.

In the story, Mr Obama is said to have planted wire taps in the White House and stolen strawberry ice cream.

Mimicking Mr Trump's "writing style" on Twitter, Mr King wrote:

"All politics aside, the Trump administration reminds me of that Tom Arnould movie, THE STUPIDS. Really, you guys, this is embarrassing.

"Not only did Obama tap Trump's phones, he stole the strawberry ice cream out of the mess locker.

"Obama tapped Trump's phones IN PERSON! Went in wearing a Con Ed coverall. Michelle stood guard while O spliced the lines. SAD!

"Trump should know OBAMA NEVER LEFT THE WHITE HOUSE! He's in the closet! HE HAS SCISSORS!"

Image copyright Twitter/@StephenKing

Image copyright Twitter/@StephenKing

Image copyright Twitter/@StephenKing

Image copyright Twitter/@StephenKing

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The series of tweets were liked and retweeted thousands of times.

But not everyone took lightly to Mr King's newest work.

One Twitter user and former Stephen King fan responded: "I buy your books when a new one comes out. But NOT anymore! So tired of cry babies that don't get their way!"

Another user called on Mr King to "stick to horror".

Image copyright Twitter/@petesmith78

Image copyright Twitter

Mr King has been a vocal critic of President Trump since the start of his presidential campaign.

In October 2016, he authored a tweet in which he said: "My newest horror story: Once upon a time there was a man named Donald Trump, and he ran for president. Some people wanted him to win."

Mr King has also reworked nursery rhymes into his anti-Trump vitriol.

Last week, King tweeted: "Trumpty-Dumpty promised a wall. Trumpty-Dumpty had a great fall. Mexican woman & Mexican men wouldn't put Trumpty together again.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption The former Iranian president banned the social media platform under his rule

Former Iranian leader in Twitter account controversy

Have you ever spoken out against something and then gone and done it yourself?

Well, former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad seems to have done just that, provoking the anger of Persian Twitter users.

Mr Ahmadinejad set up a new Twitter account in English on Sunday, despite having banned the platform under his rule in 2009.

He appeared in a short video posted to the account on 5 March, in which he spoke in English: "Follow me at Ahmadinejad1956, that's me. Peace and love, best wishes." It has been viewed over 244,000 times in 24 hours.

Despite this, the account has not yet been verified by Twitter.

In a tweet posted to his account on Monday, Mr Ahmadinejad said: "The merciful creator created all human beings from the essence of love. Let's all love each other."

Image copyright Twitter/@Ahmadinejad1956 Image caption Mr Ahmadinejad asked people to follow his Twitter account

But the former leader banned Twitter in 2009 when protesters disputed his re-election. Some dubbed the protests as the "Twitter Revolution".

Iranian social media users bypass the restrictions - still in place today for ordinary citizens - by using privacy software.

Both Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Javad Zarif have English-language accounts on Twitter.

One user pointed out the irony of the situation: "Ahmadinejad who blocked Twitter in 2009 now uses a proxy to bypass the Twitter censorship and say follow me! This is a mad world."

Image copyright Twitter/@_Cafe

Another user posted a cartoon in which Twitter's logo, Larry Bird, has killed himself over the news of Mr Ahmadinejad's account.

Iran's presidential elections are due to be held this May. While Mr Ahmadinejad has been told by Iran's Supreme Leader not to run in the polls, one of his allies will be standing in the elections.

The similarity in Mr Ahamdinejad's biographical details on Twitter and that of the former US President Barack Obama did not go unnoticed. One user pointed out the resemblance, by comparing screengrabs from both accounts.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Bana Alabed has penned letters to various world leaders

Aleppo girl asks Theresa May to send "food, medicine" to Syrian children

A seven-year old girl, known around the world for her tweets from Aleppo, has called on UK Prime Minister Theresa May to help Syria's children.

Bana Alabed shared an image of the hand-written letter, which she tweeted to Mrs May.

She wrote: "Dear Theresa May, I am writing this letter with the help of my mother.

"I am looking for help for the suffering of the people of Syria. Can you send them medicine, doctors, water and milk?

"Have you seen the young children who are weak and dying because of hunger? I have seen them.

"They live if we give only food but no one cares. I am very sad.

"Promise me you send them food and medicine now please. Don't forget them.

"Love to you, Dear Theresa May."

Image copyright Twitter/@AlabedBana Image caption Bana's open letter to Theresa May

Bana was evacuated from eastern Aleppo in December 2016 after government forces started closing in on rebel-held areas.

She and her family now live in Turkey. Bana and her younger brother also met Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara after they fled Syria.

Some have questioned the authenticity of Bana's account, which is moderated by her mother, claiming that she had initially been tweeting from outside Syria.

A thorough investigation by citizen-journalist site Bellingcat concluded that the tweets on the account were indeed coming out of eastern Aleppo.

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This isn't the first time that the young girl has addressed a world leader.

Last week, Bana shared a letter she wrote to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his ally Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In it, she wrote: "My name is Bana Alabed from Syria. Stop the bombing now, save the children of Syria and go to jail for killing my friends."

Image copyright Twitter/@AlabedBana Image caption Bana's open letter to Theresa May

Earlier this year, Bana also authored an open letter to US President Donald Trump.

Her mother, Fatemah, sent the text of the letter to the BBC in which Bana called her Syrian hometown the "city of death".

She also said that children across Syria were "suffering because of adult people".

Bana addressed President Trump: "I know you will be the president of America, so can you please save the children and people of Syria? You must do something for the children of Syria because they are like your children and deserve peace like you."

The Foreign Office has previously said that British aircraft would risk being shot down if they dropped aid to Aleppo.

And the government says that it "reluctantly concluded that airdrops over Syria would pose too great a risk in the current circumstances".

Will Mrs May respond to Bana's appeal?

By the UGC and Social News team; Additional reporting by BBC Monitoring's Iran team