Two Australians held in Iran have been identified on social media as Jolie King and Mark Firkin after the pair were arrested 10 weeks ago.
Ms King, an Australian-British dual national, and Mr Firkin have been documenting their two-year journey from Perth, Australia, on Instagram and YouTube as they make their way to the UK overland in a Toyota LandCruiser.
The pair, whose last updates showed them in Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan, went silent abruptly at the end of June. They are now believed to be in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison.
The families of the two bloggers have called for their safe return after they were identified on social media and in the British press.
A day before they were named, Australian officials first acknowledged three of its citizens had been detained in Iran.
The arrests coincided with Australia’s announcement that it would join the naval campaign led by the US to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
The shipping route between the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman has become the centre for increasing tension between Iran and the West, including retaliatory oil tanker seizures.
The Times reported the third Australian, also held at Evin prison, was a British-Australian, Cambridge-educated academic who had been detained in Iran almost a year ago.
The three are being held as bargaining chips, with one of them being told they were part of a plan for a prisoner swap.
Australian authorities have said they have been working for the release of all three of their nationals.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was providing consular assistance and revised its travel advice to Iran this week.
It has said its citizens should “reconsider your need to travel" to Iran and urged nationals to stay away from the borders of Afghanistan and Iraq.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia would continue to “pursue these matters in the interests of the Australians at the centre of these cases".
"We will do that carefully and we will do that in close consultation through our officials who have been part of this process now for some time," Mr Morrison said.
The country's Foreign Minister, Marise Payne, did not want the pair to be dragged into the broader stand-off with Iran.
“We have no reason to think these arrests are connected to international concern over Iran’s nuclear programme, UN sanctions or sanctions enforcement, or maritime security and the safety of civilian shipping,” Ms Payne told the Australian Senate.
She said she had raised the arrests of the three “many times” with the Iranian Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif.
Ms King and Mr Firkin had posted dozens of photos and videos from their trip on a blog called The Way Overland.
The pair said they hoped to “inspire anyone wanting to travel” and break the stigma surrounding countries that are portrayed less favourably in the media.
Their arrest seems to have been linked to their operating a drone near Tehran, although initial indications were that the pair had been detained for camping near a military area outside the Iranian capital.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
The figures behind the event
1) More than 300 in-house cleaning crew
2) 165 staff assigned to sanitise public areas throughout the show
3) 1,000 social distancing stickers
4) 809 hand sanitiser dispensers placed throughout the venue
Match info
Australia 580
Pakistan 240 and 335
Result: Australia win by an innings and five runs
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Virtual banks explained
What is a virtual bank?
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority defines it as a bank that delivers services through the internet or other electronic channels instead of physical branches. That means not only facilitating payments but accepting deposits and making loans, just like traditional ones. Other terms used interchangeably include digital or digital-only banks or neobanks. By contrast, so-called digital wallets or e-wallets such as Apple Pay, PayPal or Google Pay usually serve as intermediaries between a consumer’s traditional account or credit card and a merchant, usually via a smartphone or computer.
What’s the draw in Asia?
Hundreds of millions of people under-served by traditional institutions, for one thing. In China, India and elsewhere, digital wallets such as Alipay, WeChat Pay and Paytm have already become ubiquitous, offering millions of people an easy way to store and spend their money via mobile phone. Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines are also among the world’s biggest under-banked countries; together they have almost half a billion people.
Is Hong Kong short of banks?
No, but the city is among the most cash-reliant major economies, leaving room for newcomers to disrupt the entrenched industry. Ant Financial, an Alibaba Group Holding affiliate that runs Alipay and MYBank, and Tencent Holdings, the company behind WeBank and WeChat Pay, are among the owners of the eight ventures licensed to create virtual banks in Hong Kong, with operations expected to start as early as the end of the year.
About RuPay
A homegrown card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank
RuPay process payments between banks and merchants for purchases made with credit or debit cards
It has grown rapidly in India and competes with global payment network firms like MasterCard and Visa.
In India, it can be used at ATMs, for online payments and variations of the card can be used to pay for bus, metro charges, road toll payments
The name blends two words rupee and payment
Some advantages of the network include lower processing fees and transaction costs
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
