Iran's persecution of the Bahai community was condemned by the US Congress in a resolution this week that calls on the Iranian government to release all Bahai prisoners, end its campaign of state-sponsored persecution and reverse discriminatory policies against the community.
The resolution, first introduced by Congressman Ted Deutch, had strong support from 93 co-sponsors.
The Bahai faith originated in Iran 150 years ago but is not a recognised religion there, which is probably the main reason for its practitioners being oppressed.
Since 1979, Iranian authorities have killed or executed more than 200 Bahai leaders, and more than 10,000 were dismissed from government and university jobs.
Authorities in Tehran deny members of the group access to higher education and government jobs, among 25 professions in which they are barred from working. Iranian Bahais are also subject to arbitrary arrests and imprisonment.
Members of the Bahai group hailed the development in Congress.
"We are grateful to the House of Representatives for passing this important piece of legislation. Iranian Bahais, and Bahais everywhere, are peaceful, non-partisan, and charged to be concerned with the betterment of society," Anthony Vance, director of the US Bahai Office of Public Affairs, told The National.
The Iranian government's continued persecution of the Bahai community “is a stain on their conscience, and we join Congress's call for it to end now”, Mr Vance said.
The faith has nearly five million followers worldwide, including an estimated 300,000 to 350,000 in Iran, where it is considered heretical by the country’s religious leaders.
Bahais regard their faith’s 19th-century founder as the latest in a line of prophets that includes Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Jesus and Mohammed.
Human rights groups denounced what they say is unlawful incarceration of the Bahais in the region, especially in Iran and Yemen, and demanded that the minority group be allowed to practice its faith freely.
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It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
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Transmission: 7-speed auto
0-100kmh 2.3 seconds
0-200kmh 5.5 seconds
0-300kmh 11.6 seconds
Power: 1500hp
Torque: 1600Nm
Price: Dh13,400,000
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Brief scores:
Toss: Nepal, chose to field
UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23
Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17
Result: UAE won by 21 runs
Series: UAE lead 1-0
Winners
Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
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Player Career Award: Ronaldinho
THREE
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Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
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Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Bayern Munich 2 Borussia Monchengladbach 1
Bayern: Zirkzee (26'), Goretzka (86')
Gladbach: Pavard (37' og)
Man of the Match: Breel Embolo (Borussia Monchengladbach)
Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press
Brief scoreline:
Liverpool 2
Keita 5', Firmino 26'
Porto 0
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
