Iran's ruling hardliners have dealt a blow to the power and prestige of their country's former president, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, by jailing his daughter for "spreading anti-state propaganda".
Faezeh Hashemi, a 49-year-old Islamic feminist, was arrested late on Saturday to serve a six-month sentence passed in January, Iranian media reported.
She is understood to be in Tehran's Evin prison where her father, a pillar of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution and protégé of the late Ayatollah Khomeini, was once jailed by the US-backed Shah.
Mr Rafsanjani, a 78-year-old cleric, is a wily political survivor and pragmatic centrist who favours detente with the West.
But his influence has steadily diminished since he expressed sympathy for opposition demonstrators who challenged President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's "stolen" re-election in 2009.
His daughter's conviction is believed to be over an interview she gave to an opposition news website in which she criticised human-rights violations and economic policy in Iran.
Hashemi, a former parliamentarian, has long promoted women's rights within the strict confines of Iran's Islamic system, and is a former head of Iran's Women's Sports Federation.
Her jailing follows speculation that Mr Rafsanjani, reputably one of Iran's wealthiest men, could make a political comeback in next year's presidential elections.
Hashemi was detained briefly after the unprecedented unrest in 2009. She was arrested again in 2011, accused of chanting anti-government slogans during a banned rally in Tehran.
Her latest detention came as her brother, Mehdi Rafsanjani, was expected to return to Iran after studying in Britain during a three-year period of self-imposed exile. Iranian officials have said he should be arrested on arrival for fomenting unrest after the 2009 presidential vote.
He was in Dubai and expected to return to Iran yesterday, Reuters reported, citing an unnamed source.
Meir Javedanfar, an Iran specialist at the Interdisciplinary Centre in Herzilya, Israel, said if Mr Rafsanjani's opponents "think they can get away with jailing his kids, then it doesn't say much about his influence".
Media outlets close to Mr Rafsanjani, who served two four-year terms as president between 1989 and 1997, deny he harbours any ambition to resume the post. His favoured role is as a behind-the-scenes kingmaker. He has long kept a foot in Iran's reformist and conservative camps.
Mr Javedanfar said: "He has been strengthened by Ahmadinejad's policies which have been so counterproductive that they've created nostalgia for Rafsanjani's days [in power]."
mtheodoulou@thenational.ae
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Results
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Fixtures
Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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The specs
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Honeymoonish
On Women's Day
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'Tell the Machine Goodnight' by Katie Williams
Penguin Randomhouse
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
World Mental Health Day
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY PROFILE
The specs: 2018 Honda City
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Engine: 1.5L, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
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Fuel economy, combined: 5.8L / 100km
On Women's Day
Dr Nawal Al-Hosany: Why more women should be on the frontlines of climate action
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Justin Thomas: Challenge the notion that 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus'
The National Editorial: Is there much to celebrate on International Women's Day 2021?
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Two-step truce
The UN-brokered ceasefire deal for Hodeidah will be implemented in two stages, with the first to be completed before the New Year begins, according to the Arab Coalition supporting the Yemeni government.
By midnight on December 31, the Houthi rebels will have to withdraw from the ports of Hodeidah, Ras Issa and Al Saqef, coalition officials told The National.
The second stage will be the complete withdrawal of all pro-government forces and rebels from Hodeidah city, to be completed by midnight on January 7.
The process is to be overseen by a Redeployment Co-ordination Committee (RCC) comprising UN monitors and representatives of the government and the rebels.
The agreement also calls the deployment of UN-supervised neutral forces in the city and the establishment of humanitarian corridors to ensure distribution of aid across the country.
THE DETAILS
Kaala
Dir: Pa. Ranjith
Starring: Rajinikanth, Huma Qureshi, Easwari Rao, Nana Patekar
Rating: 1.5/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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UAE jiu-jitsu squad
Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
SPECS
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
NO OTHER LAND
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Rating: 3.5/5
AT%20A%20GLANCE
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
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Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
Votes
Total votes: 1.8 million
Ashraf Ghani: 923,592 votes
Abdullah Abdullah: 720,841 votes
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
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Torque: 175Nm
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MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Rashford 36')
Liverpool 1 (Lallana 84')
Man of the match: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)