Pressure on Mousavi after students' protest



TEHRAN // Pressure on the opposition leader, Mir Hossein Mousavi, who staunchly refuses to accept the results of the June presidential elections that brought Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power for a second presidential term, mounted yesterday, one day after nationwide protests against the government. As students and other protesters chanted anti-government slogans in and outside universities in Tehran and cities throughout the country during National Students' Day rallies on Monday, Iran's prosecutor general, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, told reporters he would put a petition signed by 100 hardline legislators to put Mr Mousavi on trial on the agenda of the Mohammad Jafari Dowlatabadi, the prosecutor general of Tehran, Iranian Labour News Agency reported.

On Monday and yesterday, the premises of the Iranian Academy of Arts, of which Mr Mousavi is chairman, were under siege by about 40 plainclothes motorcyclists, according to a report that appeared on Kaleme, Mr Mousavi's official campaign website. Plainclothesmen or motorcyclists are often associated with various security forces and the militia known as Basijis. The plainclothes bikers on Monday repeatedly tried to prevent Mr Mousavi from leaving his office to keep him from joining the protesters.

The bikers were back yesterday. About noon yesterday as the bikers chanted slogans against him, Mr Mousavi walked into their midst. The former premier, annoyed by the harassment, the report on his website said, confronted the bikers by saying: "You have a task. Carry out your mission. Kill me, beat me, threaten me." The bikers retreated, but remained on the streets near the academy campus, according to the report.

Mr Mousavi returned to the safety of the academy afterward and left later after the plainclothes bikers had left. Two days before the nationwide protests, Mr Mousavi had released a statement in which he repeated his claims that the elections were rife with fraud and discussed the importance of students in the country's political and social life. One in 20 Iranians is a student and authorities would not have faced a crisis if they had not ignored the leading role of students in society, Mr Mousavi had said in his statement.

National Students' Day commemmorates the killing of three students in an anti-US rally in 1953 after a coup replaced the elected prime minister with the shah. The shah himself was removed from power in 1979 by a movement largely led by students. On Monday during protests at Tehran University, Zahra Rahnavard, Mr Mousavi's wife, was assaulted by several women when she tried to join the student protesters inside the university, according to a report that appeared on Kalemeh, Mr Mousavi's official campaign website, and Ayandeh news portal.

Ms Rahnavard, who is a professor in Tehran University's art faculty, was driven away from the campus by university security guards, but the women, who said they belonged to the Basij militia, followed them and pepper-sprayed Ms Rahnavard at close range on a street outside the campus. The pepper-spray blinded Ms Rahnavard temporarily and caused breathing difficulties. She was then whisked away by the university security guards, according to the report.

The opposition claims plainclothesmen and security forces attacked the protesters with tear gas, batons and electric batons during the protests on Monday. Photographs of security forces and plainclothesmen throwing stones at protesters have appeared on several news portals, including Tabnak, a conservative news portal associated with Mohsen Rezaie, the only conservative candidate in the presidential elections and a former Revolutionary Guards chief commander.

Borna News, IRNA and Fars News Agency all reported several minor clashes between opposition students known as the Greens and pro-government students during fresh protests in Tehran University yesterday. The rallies ended as dusk fell. Pro-government students prevented the protesters who had gathered in front of Tehran University's faculty of technology from spreading their protest to other parts of the campus, the pro-government Fars News Agency reported.

The pro-Mousavi protesters, who chanted slogans against Mr Ahmadinejad and the Basij militia, broke windows and threw stones and bottles at the pro-government students and used tear gas on them, the report claimed. There were no reports of arrests yesterday, but an unspecified number of protesters were detained by security forces on Monday in and outside universities in Tehran and other cities, including Shiraz, Mashad, Hamadan, Arak, Isfahan, Shahrekord, Ahwaz and Rasht, according to Tagheer, the official website of Mehdi Karrubi, another defeated presidential candidate and opposition leader.

Brig Gen Azizollah Rajabzadeh, chief of the Tehran police, said 165 men and 39 women were arrested in Tehran on Monday, Iranian Labor News Agency reported yesterday. He also said only police were involved in dispersing protesters on Monday and Basij militia force had not carried out any operations. On Monday, the leading reformist newspaper, Hayate No (New Life), was banned by the Press Supervisory Committee for "reporting outside approved boundaries".

The newspaper had published for nearly 10 years under Seyed Hadi Khamenei, a cleric and former lawmaker who happens to be a half-brother of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In the lead-up to National Students Day, authorities barred journalists and cameramen working for foreign media from reporting on the protests, making independent reporting impossible. The ban is being lifted today. State-run television on Monday evening accused foreign media, in particular Al-Arabiya television, a Saudi-owned, Dubai-based network, of fomenting unrest in Iran by exaggerating opposition protests. Voice of America Persian TV and BBC Persian TV, which were called "the main sedition stage managers of December 7th", were also condemned in the broadcast.

@Email:msinaiee@thenational.ae

 

Rock in a Hard Place: Music and Mayhem in the Middle East
Orlando Crowcroft
Zed Books

Joker: Folie a Deux

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson

Director: Todd Phillips 

Rating: 2/5

MATCH INFO

Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')

Verona 1 (Verre 19' pen)

Cricket World Cup League 2

UAE squad

Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind

Fixtures

Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE

Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode

Directors: Raj & DK

Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon

Rating: 4/5

Related
The specs

Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6

Power: 400hp

Torque: 475Nm

Transmission: 9-speed automatic

Price: From Dh215,900

On sale: Now

UAE v Ireland

1st ODI, UAE win by 6 wickets

2nd ODI, January 12

3rd ODI, January 14

4th ODI, January 16

Abu Dhabi traffic facts

Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road

The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.

Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.

The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.

The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.

Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019

 

MATCH INFO

Champions League quarter-final, first leg

Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)

Match on BeIN Sports

Sri Lanka squad for tri-nation series

Angelo Mathews (c), Upul Tharanga, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Janith Perera, Thisara Perera, Asela Gunaratne, Niroshan Dickwella, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Dushmantha Chameera, Shehan Madushanka, Akila Dananjaya, Lakshan Sandakan and Wanidu Hasaranga

Singham Again

Director: Rohit Shetty

Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone

Rating: 3/5

If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners

Qosty Byogaani

Starring: Hani Razmzi, Maya Nasir and Hassan Hosny

Four stars

Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Fasset%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2019%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mohammad%20Raafi%20Hossain%2C%20Daniel%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%242.45%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2086%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Pre-series%20B%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Investcorp%2C%20Liberty%20City%20Ventures%2C%20Fatima%20Gobi%20Ventures%2C%20Primal%20Capital%2C%20Wealthwell%20Ventures%2C%20FHS%20Capital%2C%20VN2%20Capital%2C%20local%20family%20offices%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Inside%20Out%202
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EKelsey%20Mann%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%C2%A0Amy%20Poehler%2C%20Maya%20Hawke%2C%20Ayo%20Edebiri%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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

COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Warlight,
Michael Ondaatje, Knopf 

Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hoopla%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jacqueline%20Perrottet%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2010%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20required%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Alnamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMicrofinance%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E16%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFamily%20offices%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Going grey? A stylist's advice

If you’re going to go grey, a great style, well-cared for hair (in a sleek, classy style, like a bob), and a young spirit and attitude go a long way, says Maria Dowling, founder of the Maria Dowling Salon in Dubai.
It’s easier to go grey from a lighter colour, so you may want to do that first. And this is the time to try a shorter style, she advises. Then a stylist can introduce highlights, start lightening up the roots, and let it fade out. Once it’s entirely grey, a purple shampoo will prevent yellowing.
“Get professional help – there’s no other way to go around it,” she says. “And don’t just let it grow out because that looks really bad. Put effort into it: properly condition, straighten, get regular trims, make sure it’s glossy.”

Electoral College Victory

Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate. 

 

Popular Vote Tally

The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.

The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo

Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000

Engine: 5.6-litre V8

Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm

Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km

Ain Issa camp:
  • Established in 2016
  • Houses 13,309 people, 2,092 families, 62 per cent children
  • Of the adult population, 49 per cent men, 51 per cent women (not including foreigners annexe)
  • Most from Deir Ezzor and Raqqa
  • 950 foreigners linked to ISIS and their families
  • NGO Blumont runs camp management for the UN
  • One of the nine official (UN recognised) camps in the region