Iran should improve water supplies across its drought-stricken south-west instead of killing, injuring and jailing those who protest against shortages, the UN’s human rights chief said on Friday.
Michelle Bachelet, the UN high commissioner on human rights, said she was “extremely concerned” by the deaths, injuries and arrests of those demonstrating against water shortages in Khuzestan province.
The wealthy, oil-producing region has been gripped by drought since March, triggering protests in several towns and cities this past week that have been met with a heavy-handed response.
“The impact of the devastating water crisis on life, health and prosperity of the people of Khuzestan should be the focus of the government’s attention, not the protests carried out by people driven to desperation by years of neglect,” Ms Bachelet in a statement.
Iranian media and officials have said at least three people have been killed, including a police officer and a protester, and have accused “opportunists” and “rioters” of shooting at protesters and security forces.
But campaign group Amnesty International said on Friday it had confirmed the deaths of at least eight protesters and bystanders, including a teenage boy, as the authorities used live ammunition in a bid to quell the demonstrations.
The Khuzestan region was once Iran’s most reliable source of water, but years of mismanagement, droughts and the diversion of water to dryer regions have seen supplies dwindle, the UN says.
The Karkheh and Zohreh riverbeds and the Hawizeh marshes in western Khuzestan have all dried up in recent months.
The province’s five million inhabitants include a large Arab minority and its people regularly complain of being sidelined by Tehran. The area was in 2019 a hotspot for anti-government protests that shook other parts of the country.
Rallies against water shortages and mismanagement erupted across the province on July 15, with protesters, including children, chanting, “I am thirsty, water is my right.”
“Water is indeed a right,” said Ms Bachelet. “But Instead of heeding the legitimate calls by its citizens for that right to be upheld, the authorities have, for the most part, concentrated on oppressing those making those calls.”
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday warned Khuzestan residents not to give ammunition to Iran’s opponents.
“The enemy will try to use any tool against the revolution, the nation and the people's interests, so we must be careful not to give him any pretext,” he said in comments posted on his official website.
President Hassan Rouhani said on Thursday that the people had the right to protest. State security chief Admiral Ali Shamkhani said anybody who has been detained for protesting peacefully would be released.
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Install an air filter in your home.
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Practitioners of mindful eating recommend the following books to get you started:
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Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
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Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
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Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
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A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
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VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
About RuPay
A homegrown card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank
RuPay process payments between banks and merchants for purchases made with credit or debit cards
It has grown rapidly in India and competes with global payment network firms like MasterCard and Visa.
In India, it can be used at ATMs, for online payments and variations of the card can be used to pay for bus, metro charges, road toll payments
The name blends two words rupee and payment
Some advantages of the network include lower processing fees and transaction costs