Yesterday, 300 million people across the globe celebrated the 3,000-year-old festival of Nowruz which celebrates the beginning of spring. The event is celebrated in different formats in countries as diverse as Albania, India, Iraq, Tanzania and Kazakhstan. But for all those who participate in it – many are from non-Persian identifying communities – the celebration focuses on emerging from the darkness of winter into a new season of light.
For Iran, in which Nowruz is the most important non-Islamic holiday, recent calls for a brighter future have gone unanswered. After decades of isolation, the nation now ranks among the countries worst-affected by Covid-19, having had to date almost 1.8 million confirmed cases of the virus. The true number is probably far higher.
The pandemic struck at a time when the country's economy was already struggling. Longstanding corruption, economic mismanagement and a severe US-led sanctions regime has resulted in rates of inflation as high as 40 per cent in 2019. In the same year the country's economy contracted by almost seven per cent.
A Haft-sin is a table laid with symbolic items every Nowruz. EPA
On Friday, Saudi Arabia suffered the latest in a string of drone attacks targeting its oil facilities
This is just one prong of a longstanding foreign policy of intimidation, which also includes, to name just a few, hostage-taking and the use of the country's wide network of destabilising proxies in the Middle East. In recent years, the world has seen the extent of the damage these groups can inflict. On Friday, Saudi Arabia suffered the latest in a string of drone attacks targeting its oil facilities. While no party has yet claimed responsibility for the strike, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebel group have consistently launched similar drone operations, the most devastating of which targeted Saudi oil refineries in 2019, momentarily suspending over half the Kingdom's output, making it an attack on the entire global energy system.Iran's impoverishment was never inevitable. It is strategically located, with a young and highly educated population. It holds a vast range of natural resources, including the second-largest natural gas reserves globally, an array of largely untapped precious materials and excellent conditions for sustainable wind and solar energy, which could comfortably provide enough power to meet the country's electricity needs. And yet, Tehran pours money into an illicit nuclear programme that it claims is solely for the purpose of generating atomic energy. It is, instead, covering up its activities and refuses to verify its programme in the manner that other countries around the world do. With a declared regime target of destroying Israel by 2040, the vast majority of the international community is calling urgently for the programme to be halted.
Elections in June mean that 2021 will be a year of new beginnings in Iran. But with the country's hardline factions desperately pushing for the election of the most reactionary candidate they can find, Covid-19 raging on and an economy in sharp decline, change this year could well be for the worse.
Where can I submit a sample?
Volunteers can now submit DNA samples at a number of centres across Abu Dhabi. The programme is open to all ages.
A German university was a good fit for the family budget
Annual fees for the Technical University of Munich - £600
Shared rental accommodation per month depending on the location ranges between £200-600
The family had budgeted for food, books, travel, living expenses - £20,000 annually
Overall costs in Germany are lower than the family estimated
As proof that the student has the ability to take care of expenses, international students must open a blocked account with about £8,640
Students are permitted to withdraw £720 per month
MATCH INFO
Borussia Dortmund 0
Bayern Munich 1 (Kimmich 43')
Man of the match: Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)
ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
