Iran is often in the news for its regional and international affairs, but in recent weeks a domestic political issue has dominated the headlines in the country – censorship of the internet.
Ordinary Iranians have had limited access to the internet for very many years now. Thousands of websites are banned, as are popular platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram. While this amounts to the suppression of a basic freedom, the blanket censorship also poses economic problems, given that hundreds of thousands of Iranians rely on social media for doing business.
Relaxing restrictions on both internet use and the mandatory head-covering for women were among President Masoud Pezeshkian’s campaign promises when he ran for office last year. But since most of the political power in Iran resides outside the President’s office, he has found it difficult to fulfil these promises.
Last month, a preliminary but important step was taken towards removing some curbs on internet freedom when Iran’s Supreme Council of Cyberspace agreed to allow unrestricted access to WhatsApp and Google Play. This came as disappointing news for many, as bans remained in place for much more popular apps such as Instagram and Telegram. The running joke has since been that nobody remembers what Google Play is used for.
The modest scope of the measures can be explained by the SCC’s composition (which in and of itself is a reminder of Dr Pezeshkian’s limited powers). Of the Council’s 28 members, 10 are appointed directly by the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, while others serve ex-officio and include Dr Pezeshkian himself as well as heads of the other branches of government, six cabinet ministers, head of the national broadcaster, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the chief of police.
Other than Dr Pezeshkian, there are other powerful internet freedom proponents in the Council, such as Speaker of the Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, who heads the judiciary. But most Khamenei appointees as well as many ex-officio members, including Dr Pezeshkian’s own Defence Minister, Aziz Nasirzadeh, oppose the President’s internet freedom agenda.
As a result, its decisions have had to be made by compromise. But proponents of internet freedom fear that Dr Pezeshkian’s concessions have resulted in not only a pared-down agenda but a potentially worsening of internet use. The exact details of the SCC’s ratification last month have not been published. But a version leaked by the Mehr News Agency, an outlet close to the top leadership, shows that the Council is moving towards the adoption of some ideas that have long been warned against by internet freedom advocates.
One of these ideas is “tiering the internet”, which means that free internet would be made available only to members of select professions such as journalism and academia. The other is the promotion of “governance-compliant platforms”, which is an opaque way of referring to apps created by the government that will let users access banned sites such as YouTube or Telegram; but only while being closely surveilled by the authorities.
Many in Iran are opposed to such methods.
Hamidreza Ahmadi, a senior member of the Tehran E-Commerce Association, is among them. His contention is that if such a government-sponsored proxy app is created for YouTube, users’ visits wouldn’t be counted on the website, subscriptions wouldn’t be possible, and content would thus not be seen widely. This is why Mr Ahmadi believes it would be better to leave YouTube under the current ban than to create such a proxy app.
Internet freedom advocates have long agitated against such plans.
“Pezeshkian has made a deal with his hardliner opponents,” Amir Rashidi, a director at Miaan Group, a US-based group advocating for digital rights in Iran, told The National. “He would bring about a minimum-level satisfaction [by lifting the ban on some platforms] while allowing for concepts such as the tiered internet. The future of the internet will be very dark.”
The modest scope of the measures to lift restrictions on internet freedom can be explained by the composition of Iran’s Supreme Council of Cyberspace
Hardliners, however, continue to speak out against Dr Pezeshkian’s plans. Late last month, internet freedom opponents in Tehran organised a demonstration on motorcycles after the Friday prayers. Passing through the capital on their two-wheelers, they said any move to relax restrictions would be a boon to Iran’s enemies.
Mohammad-Hassan Ghadiri-Abyaneh, a former ambassador to Mexico and Australia, opposed lifting bans on even WhatsApp and Google Play, saying: “They want to make Iran into Thailand.”
Such colourful language has also been used by members of the Centre for Promotion of Good and Prevention of Vice, a body charged with spreading Islamic ideals in society. One official said lifting restrictions would be “a dagger to the back of revolution” and would serve to help detractors such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Despite such rhetoric, the tide appears to be turning in favour of lifting restrictions.
For its part, the Pezeshkian administration has pledged to continue its march towards internet freedom. On New Year’s Day, Communications Minister Sattar Hashemi said the government is working hard to eventually lift the ban on all platforms.
The Javan newspaper, an outlet closely aligned to the IRGC, conceded that the current internet bans are “irrational and undesirable”. Mansur Haqiqatpur, a veteran IRGC commander and former MP, supported Dr Pezeshkian’s plans and called the recent motorcycle demonstrations in Tehran futile.
The sign that the tide may indeed be turning is clearest inside Parliament. A group of 136 MPs recently co-wrote a letter criticising the SCC’s recent decision and called it “a wonderous gift to our enemies in the soft war”. Tellingly, however, the group has chosen not to release the names of the signatories. Evidently, the MPs themselves know that theirs is a hugely unpopular position.
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Yabi%20by%20Souqalmal%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMay%202022%2C%20launched%20June%202023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAmbareen%20Musa%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20u%3C%2Fstrong%3Endisclosed%20but%20soon%20to%20be%20announced%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E12%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eseed%C2%A0%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EShuaa%20Capital%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The design
The protective shell is covered in solar panels to make use of light and produce energy. This will drastically reduce energy loss.
More than 80 per cent of the energy consumed by the French pavilion will be produced by the sun.
The architecture will control light sources to provide a highly insulated and airtight building.
The forecourt is protected from the sun and the plants will refresh the inner spaces.
A micro water treatment plant will recycle used water to supply the irrigation for the plants and to flush the toilets. This will reduce the pavilion’s need for fresh water by 30 per cent.
Energy-saving equipment will be used for all lighting and projections.
Beyond its use for the expo, the pavilion will be easy to dismantle and reuse the material.
Some elements of the metal frame can be prefabricated in a factory.
From architects to sound technicians and construction companies, a group of experts from 10 companies have created the pavilion.
Work will begin in May; the first stone will be laid in Dubai in the second quarter of 2019.
Construction of the pavilion will take 17 months from May 2019 to September 2020.
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
The years Ramadan fell in May
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
Friday's schedule in Madrid
Men's quarter-finals
Novak Djokivic (1) v Marin Cilic (9) from 2pm UAE time
Roger Federer (4) v Dominic Thiem (5) from 7pm
Stefanos Tsitsipas (8) v Alexander Zverev (3) from 9.30pm
Stan Wawrinka v Rafael Nadal (2) from 11.30pm
Women's semi-finals
Belinda Bencic v Simona Halep (3) from 4.30pm
Sloane Stephens (8) v Kiki Bertens (7) from 10pm
The Bloomberg Billionaire Index in full
1 Jeff Bezos $140 billion
2 Bill Gates $98.3 billion
3 Bernard Arnault $83.1 billion
4 Warren Buffett $83 billion
5 Amancio Ortega $67.9 billion
6 Mark Zuckerberg $67.3 billion
7 Larry Page $56.8 billion
8 Larry Ellison $56.1 billion
9 Sergey Brin $55.2 billion
10 Carlos Slim $55.2 billion
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Attacks on Egypt’s long rooted Copts
Egypt’s Copts belong to one of the world’s oldest Christian communities, with Mark the Evangelist credited with founding their church around 300 AD. Orthodox Christians account for the overwhelming majority of Christians in Egypt, with the rest mainly made up of Greek Orthodox, Catholics and Anglicans.
The community accounts for some 10 per cent of Egypt’s 100 million people, with the largest concentrations of Christians found in Cairo, Alexandria and the provinces of Minya and Assiut south of Cairo.
Egypt’s Christians have had a somewhat turbulent history in the Muslim majority Arab nation, with the community occasionally suffering outright persecution but generally living in peace with their Muslim compatriots. But radical Muslims who have first emerged in the 1970s have whipped up anti-Christian sentiments, something that has, in turn, led to an upsurge in attacks against their places of worship, church-linked facilities as well as their businesses and homes.
More recently, ISIS has vowed to go after the Christians, claiming responsibility for a series of attacks against churches packed with worshippers starting December 2016.
The discrimination many Christians complain about and the shift towards religious conservatism by many Egyptian Muslims over the last 50 years have forced hundreds of thousands of Christians to migrate, starting new lives in growing communities in places as far afield as Australia, Canada and the United States.
Here is a look at major attacks against Egypt's Coptic Christians in recent years:
November 2: Masked gunmen riding pickup trucks opened fire on three buses carrying pilgrims to the remote desert monastery of St. Samuel the Confessor south of Cairo, killing 7 and wounding about 20. IS claimed responsibility for the attack.
May 26, 2017: Masked militants riding in three all-terrain cars open fire on a bus carrying pilgrims on their way to the Monastery of St. Samuel the Confessor, killing 29 and wounding 22. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.
April 2017: Twin attacks by suicide bombers hit churches in the coastal city of Alexandria and the Nile Delta city of Tanta. At least 43 people are killed and scores of worshippers injured in the Palm Sunday attack, which narrowly missed a ceremony presided over by Pope Tawadros II, spiritual leader of Egypt Orthodox Copts, in Alexandria's St. Mark's Cathedral. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks.
February 2017: Hundreds of Egyptian Christians flee their homes in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula, fearing attacks by ISIS. The group's North Sinai affiliate had killed at least seven Coptic Christians in the restive peninsula in less than a month.
December 2016: A bombing at a chapel adjacent to Egypt's main Coptic Christian cathedral in Cairo kills 30 people and wounds dozens during Sunday Mass in one of the deadliest attacks carried out against the religious minority in recent memory. ISIS claimed responsibility.
July 2016: Pope Tawadros II says that since 2013 there were 37 sectarian attacks on Christians in Egypt, nearly one incident a month. A Muslim mob stabs to death a 27-year-old Coptic Christian man, Fam Khalaf, in the central city of Minya over a personal feud.
May 2016: A Muslim mob ransacks and torches seven Christian homes in Minya after rumours spread that a Christian man had an affair with a Muslim woman. The elderly mother of the Christian man was stripped naked and dragged through a street by the mob.
New Year's Eve 2011: A bomb explodes in a Coptic Christian church in Alexandria as worshippers leave after a midnight mass, killing more than 20 people.
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
