Thousands march in Strasbourg in support of Iran's activists


Paul Carey
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About 12,000 people marched to the EU Parliament in the eastern French city of Strasbourg in support of Iran’s anti-government protesters while the Eiffel Tower lit the night with the slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom”, which embodies the protest movement spilling beyond Iran.

Highlighting the demands of protesters, the Eiffel Tower display also displayed the message, “Stop executions in Iran”.

The messages paid tribute to Mahsa Amini, whose death in September triggered demonstrations in Iran, along with arrests and executions.

Paris posthumously declared Ms Amini an honorary citizen in October, and Paris City Hall has said that the Eiffel Tower displays were a homage to her and to “those who are bravely fighting for their freedom as the [Iranian] regime is continuing executions of protesters”.

The Strasbourg march, which was held on Monday, was organised by Iranians in Europe on the 44th anniversary of the day when Iran’s last Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, ailing and under growing pressure, left the country for good.

The following month, the monarchy collapsed under the fervour of the Islamic revolution that gave Iran its theocracy. Some of the demonstrators on Monday carried photos of the shah.

Mahsa Amini protests in Iran and around the world — in pictures

Local media cited police as saying some 12,000 people took part.

“Your silence is violence,” one banner read, reflecting the demand of Iranian protesters abroad to support their message and ensure Tehran hears it.

Protesters want the EU to take a firmer stance against Tehran, declaring the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a terrorist organisation.

The European parliament’s plenary session is to debate the EU’s response this week to the protests and executions in Iran.

A non-binding resolution is to be voted on Thursday, which protesters and others see as a chance to put the Revolutionary Guard on the EU’s terrorist list.

Alternative Mahsa Amini protests — in pictures

A letter last week, by more than 100 Members of the European Parliament, to Josep Borrell, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, called on the bloc to designate the IRGC “in its entirety as a terrorist organisation.”

The IRGC was designated a foreign terrorist organisation by the US in 2019.

Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said on Monday — after a meeting with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock in The Hague — that they both had summoned Iran’s ambassadors in their respective countries to protest executions of protesters and British-Iranian former defence ministry official Ali Reza Akbari.

Thousands defy Iranian police to mourn Mahsa Amini — in pictures

Mr Hoekstra said the ministers support moves “to go further with EU sanctions against those responsible, all those responsible for these grave human rights violations in Iran”.

Iran has been rocked by protests since the September 16 death of Ms Amini, 22, in the custody of Iran's morality police.

The protests have since become one of the most serious challenges to Iran’s leaders.

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Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

Iran's dirty tricks to dodge sanctions

There’s increased scrutiny on the tricks being used to keep commodities flowing to and from blacklisted countries. Here’s a description of how some work.

1 Going Dark

A common method to transport Iranian oil with stealth is to turn off the Automatic Identification System, an electronic device that pinpoints a ship’s location. Known as going dark, a vessel flicks the switch before berthing and typically reappears days later, masking the location of its load or discharge port.

2. Ship-to-Ship Transfers

A first vessel will take its clandestine cargo away from the country in question before transferring it to a waiting ship, all of this happening out of sight. The vessels will then sail in different directions. For about a third of Iranian exports, more than one tanker typically handles a load before it’s delivered to its final destination, analysts say.

3. Fake Destinations

Signaling the wrong destination to load or unload is another technique. Ships that intend to take cargo from Iran may indicate their loading ports in sanction-free places like Iraq. Ships can keep changing their destinations and end up not berthing at any of them.

4. Rebranded Barrels

Iranian barrels can also be rebranded as oil from a nation free from sanctions such as Iraq. The countries share fields along their border and the crude has similar characteristics. Oil from these deposits can be trucked out to another port and documents forged to hide Iran as the origin.

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Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah

Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University

2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship

2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy

2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment

2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment

2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager

 

 

 

 

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MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:

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Retail gloom

Online grocer Ocado revealed retail sales fell 5.7 per cen in its first quarter as customers switched back to pre-pandemic shopping patterns.

It was a tough comparison from a year earlier, when the UK was in lockdown, but on a two-year basis its retail division, a joint venture with Marks&Spencer, rose 31.7 per cent over the quarter.

The group added that a 15 per cent drop in customer basket size offset an 11.6. per cent rise in the number of customer transactions.

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What sanctions would be reimposed?

Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:

  • An arms embargo
  • A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
  • A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
  • A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
  • Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
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This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home. 

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

Updated: January 17, 2023, 4:13 AM