Anti-government protests in Iran entered their fourth month on Friday despite widespread repression, mass arrests and the trials and executions of protesters.
Sparked by anger over the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian Kurd arrested for allegedly violating the dress code for women, on September 16, the demonstrations spread across the country.
On Friday, protesters in Zahedan, the capital of Sistan and Baluchestan province, chanted “Death to the dictator”, a reference to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to a verified video shared by Oslo-based Iran Human Rights.
Other images from Zahedan showed crowds of men, some raising posters with anti-government slogans, and a group of black-clad women marching down what appeared to be a nearby street, also chanting slogans.
US-based rights group HRANA said hundreds rallied after Friday prayers in Zahedan, where there have been weekly protests since the security forces killed more than 90 people on September 30 in what has come to be known as Bloody Friday.
The trigger for that violence was protests over the alleged rape in custody of a 15-year-old girl by a provincial police commander. But analysts said Baluchs were inspired by the protests that flared over Amini's death, which were initially driven by women's rights but have expanded to include other grievances.
Sistan and Baluchestan, on Iran's south-eastern border with Afghanistan and Pakistan, had been the site of often deadly violence before nationwide protests began.
The province's Baluch minority, who adhere to Sunni Islam rather than the Shiite branch predominant in Iran, have long complained of discrimination.
Last week, a cleric was killed after being kidnapped from his mosque in the town of Khash.
Zahedan's chief prosecutor said on Tuesday that the killers of Abdulwahed Rigi had been arrested, and accused them of seeking to stir trouble between Sunnis and Shiites.
The largely peaceful demonstrations sparked by Amini's death have been met with force from the Iranian security forces that has killed at least 458 protesters, according to a toll issued on December 7 by the Norway-based IHR.
Iran's highest security body, the Supreme National Security Council, said on December 3 that more than 200 people had been killed in the unrest, including security personnel.
The UN says Iran's security forces arrested at least 14,000 people.
Iran's judiciary said it has handed down 11 death sentences in connection with the protests.
Iran executed Mohsen Shekari on December 8 and Majidreza Rahnavard on Monday. Both were 23 years old.
Rahnavard was hanged in public rather than in prison as has been usual in Iran in recent years.
The London-based rights group Amnesty International said on Friday that at least 26 people were at risk of execution in connection with the protests in Iran.
The response to the demonstrations has led to international condemnation, sanctions and Iran's removal on Wednesday from a UN women's rights body.
Solidarity protests have also started worldwide, and a group of Iranians in Germany on Friday reached the final day of a hunger strike while camped outside their country's consulate in the city of Frankfurt.
Ultraconservative cleric Ahmad Khatami, meanwhile, lashed out at the European Union after the bloc placed sanctions on him for what it called “repression against protesters”.
Mr Khatami was sanctioned for allegedly inciting violence against protesters, including demanding the death penalty.
During a Friday sermon in Tehran, the cleric said the EU had a “black” human rights record, state news agency IRNA reported.
The EU “is on the top of the list of human rights violators”, he was quoted as saying.
Iran's Foreign Ministry on Thursday condemned the EU measures, branding them “unacceptable and groundless”.
Iran has accused the US and other countries of fomenting the protests.
With reporting from AFP
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Company Profile
Name: JustClean
Based: Kuwait with offices in other GCC countries
Launch year: 2016
Number of employees: 130
Sector: online laundry service
Funding: $12.9m from Kuwait-based Faith Capital Holding
The biog:
Languages: Arabic, Farsi, Hindi, basic Russian
Favourite food: Pizza
Best food on the road: rice
Favourite colour: silver
Favourite bike: Gold Wing, Honda
Favourite biking destination: Canada
Formula%204%20Italian%20Championship%202023%20calendar
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UAE%20FIXTURES
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Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
25-MAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Francis Uzoho, Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Daniel Akpeyi
Defenders: Olaoluwa Aina, Abdullahi Shehu, Chidozie Awaziem, William Ekong, Leon Balogun, Kenneth Omeruo, Jamilu Collins, Semi Ajayi
Midfielders: John Obi Mikel, Wilfred Ndidi, Oghenekaro Etebo, John Ogu
Forwards: Ahmed Musa, Victor Osimhen, Moses Simon, Henry Onyekuru, Odion Ighalo, Alexander Iwobi, Samuel Kalu, Paul Onuachu, Kelechi Iheanacho, Samuel Chukwueze
On Standby: Theophilus Afelokhai, Bryan Idowu, Ikouwem Utin, Mikel Agu, Junior Ajayi, Valentine Ozornwafor
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The years Ramadan fell in May
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
The biog
Alwyn Stephen says much of his success is a result of taking an educated chance on business decisions.
His advice to anyone starting out in business is to have no fear as life is about taking on challenges.
“If you have the ambition and dream of something, follow that dream, be positive, determined and set goals.
"Nothing and no-one can stop you from succeeding with the right work application, and a little bit of luck along the way.”
Mr Stephen sells his luxury fragrances at selected perfumeries around the UAE, including the House of Niche Boutique in Al Seef.
He relaxes by spending time with his family at home, and enjoying his wife’s India cooking.
Sour%20Grapes
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Company%20profile
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Profile box
Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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