Iran’s Transport Ministry website was hit by “cyber disruption” at the weekend, only hours after a similar apparent attack was carried out against the state railway company.
The ministry’s website was still inaccessible on Sunday, a day after state television said the computer systems of the staff of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development were the subject of the attack that resulted in the ministry's portal and sub-portal sites becoming unavailable.
It came hours after train services were disrupted on Friday, with hackers posting fake delay notices on station boards, state-affiliated news outlets reported.
The government-run railway company said only the displays were affected and that trains ran normally, but Fars news agency reported “unprecedented chaos” at stations with hundreds of trains delayed or cancelled.
The Fars report has now been deleted but included photos of station departure boards showing rows of cancelled trips with a message reading “long delays due to cyberattacks”.
Telecoms Minister Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi gave warning on Saturday of possible ransomware attacks unless vulnerability in computer systems was dealt with, Iranian news outlets reported.
In late 2020, Iran said hackers launched large-scale attacks on two of its government institutions, without giving details on the targets or the suspected perpetrators.
Iran says it is on high alert for online assaults, which it has blamed in the past on the United States and Israel.
The US and other Western powers have accused Iran of trying to disrupt and break into their networks.
Separately, state TV reported that a loud blast heard in north Tehran early on Saturday morning was a stun grenade exploding in a park.
The stun grenade – a device which explodes with bright light and a loud sound – had been set up to go off in the park near an adjoining hospital building, a TV reporter said.
The report said no one was injured and it is unclear who set it off or why.
Tehran Deputy Governor Hamid Reza Goudarzi, who is in charge of security issues, visited the site.
“Just one explosion took place inside Mellat [People] Park,” he told the Tasnim news agency.
“We are investigating the dimensions and causes of the incident and we will provide information after we are sure.”
Attacks are rare in Iran, but a number of sensitive military and nuclear sites have been targeted in recent years.
Iran has accused Israel of several attacks on facilities and scientists linked to its nuclear programme. Israel has neither denied nor confirmed the allegations.
At the weekend, Iranian government exiles rallied in Berlin and elsewhere to demand the prosecution of the newly elected President Ebrahim Raisi for crimes against humanity.
Flag-waving demonstrators rallied at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate and other locations as part of a Free Iran World Summit that featured speeches by former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa.
In a keynote address, Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, accused Mr Raisi of being the “henchman” responsible for the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in 1988.
Iran has never acknowledged the mass executions and Mr Raisi has never publicly addressed allegations about his role. Some clerics say the trials were fair, praising the “eliminating” of armed opposition in the early years of the 1979 Islamic revolution.
In an online address, Mr Pompeo described the Iranian presidential election as, “in fact, a boycott and the regime knows it.
“This is a show laid bare for the entire world to see,” he said.
The council and its largest component, the People's Mujahideen of Iran (MEK), were previously listed as terrorist groups by the US, while the EU categorised the MEK as a banned entity. The US and the EU removed the council and the MEK from the list of banned groups.
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Ads on social media can 'normalise' drugs
A UK report on youth social media habits commissioned by advocacy group Volteface found a quarter of young people were exposed to illegal drug dealers on social media.
The poll of 2,006 people aged 16-24 assessed their exposure to drug dealers online in a nationally representative survey.
Of those admitting to seeing drugs for sale online, 56 per cent saw them advertised on Snapchat, 55 per cent on Instagram and 47 per cent on Facebook.
Cannabis was the drug most pushed by online dealers, with 63 per cent of survey respondents claiming to have seen adverts on social media for the drug, followed by cocaine (26 per cent) and MDMA/ecstasy, with 24 per cent of people.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
