Tag: Iran

  • Two PIA planes miraculously avoid mid-air collision

    Two PIA planes miraculously avoid mid-air collision

    Two Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flying on the same route and altitude avoided mid-air collision over Iranian airspace near the United Arab Emirates (UAE) border.

    It has been reported that the two carriers came close to mid-air collision due to the alleged negligence of the Iranian Air Traffic Control (ATC). However, the Iranian ATC then cleared the altitude for both airplanes. One was directed to dive while the other was asked to go higher in altitude as per standard practice.

    One airplane was PIA Boeing 777, which was en route from Islamabad to Dubai while the other airplane was Airbus A320, en route from Doha to Peshawar.

    A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) spokesman said that flight (PK-211), a Boeing 777 was maintaining a 35,000-feet altitude when it came close to a Peshawar-bound PIA flight (PK-268) of Airbus A320 from Doha. He said the PK-268 flight was flying at an altitude of 36,000 feet at the time and was cleared to descend to 20,000 feet.

    According to the PIA spokesman, the descent would have come in the flight path of PIA flight of Boeing 777 PK-211.

    Over the negligence matter, the spokesman said that the Pakistan Airlines is writing to the ATC to investigate the matter.

  • After fleeing from Iran, Zara Amir Embrahimi wins ‘Best Actress Award’ at Cannes

    After fleeing from Iran, Zara Amir Embrahimi wins ‘Best Actress Award’ at Cannes

    Iranian actor Zar Amir Ebrahimi, who lives in exile following a smear campaign about her love life, wept with joy as she won the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival.

    Iranian actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi poses with her trophy during a photocall after she won the best actress prize for her part in

    Ebrahimi, 41, won for the film Holy Spider, in which she plays a journalist trying to solve the serial murders of prostitutes in Iran’s holy city of Mashhad.

    “I have come a long way to be on this stage tonight. It was not an easy story. It was humiliation but there was cinema,” she told the audience in her acceptance speech.

    Directed by Danish-Iranian Ali Abbasi, Holy Spider was inspired by the true story of a working-class man who killed prostitutes in the early 2000s and became known as the “Spider Killer”.

    The film was not permitted to shoot in Iran and instead was made in Jordan.

    Ebrahimi became a star in Iran in her early 20s for her supporting role in one of its longest-running soap operas, Nargess.

  • ‘We don’t look at Israel as an enemy’: Saudi Crown prince reveals in rare interview

    ‘We don’t look at Israel as an enemy’: Saudi Crown prince reveals in rare interview

    Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called Israel a “potential ally” of Riyadh, in an interview with a United States (US) monthly magazine, The Atlantic.

    “But we have to solve some issues before we get to that,” he added.

    “We don’t look at Israel as an enemy, we look to them as a potential ally, with many interests that we can pursue together,” the prince said. Talking about the Palestine-Israel issue, he said that Riyadh hopes that the conflict between them is solved.

    Interestingly, the prince also opened up about Iran, he said, “They are neighbours. Neighbours forever. We cannot get rid of them, and they can’t get rid of us.”

    “Hopefully, we can reach a position that’s good for both countries and is going to create a brighter future for them and Iran,” he added.

    About the assassination of Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, the prince said that he was unfairly blamed for it.

    “Why would I do it?” he asked, saying that accusations that he ordered the killing “hurt me a lot”. He claimed that he never read a Khashoggi article in his life.

    “In any case, if that’s the way we did things, Khashoggi would not even be among the top 1,000 people on the list,” added the prince.

    The Kingdom does not have diplomatic relations with Israel but the two countries are believed to have ties. In 2020, Israel’s then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s secret visit to Saudi Arabia raised speculations.

    Under Mohammed bin Salman, a series of progressive developments have been made in Saudi Arabia, women were allowed to drive for the first time in 2018 in the Kingdom.

    In 2020, two Gulf countries— Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates normalised ties with Israel.

  • Iran’s interior minister arrives in Pakistan

    Iranian Interior Minister Dr Ahmad Vahidi has arrived in Islamabad today (Monday), where he was received by his Pakistani counterpart, Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed.

    During the meeting between the two ministers, both sides also discussed suggestions to overcome terrorism and about the formation of a stable Afghanistan.

    Dr Ahmad has come for a day along with his nine-member delegation. He will meet Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and other officials to discuss the issues of prisoner swap and Pakistan-Iran border management, reports Radio Pakistan.

    Last week, Saudi Interior Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Nayef arrived in Pakistan on a day-long visit.

    The visit by the Iranian interior minister follows a string of militant attacks in Balochistan, which shares a long and porous border with Iran. 

  • Man allegedly beheads 17-year-old wife, walks on streets with head in hand

    Man allegedly beheads 17-year-old wife, walks on streets with head in hand

    Trigger warning: Sensitive content

    A man in Iran allegedly beheaded his 17-year-old wife and walked on the streets with her head in his hand, Iranian media outlets reported. As per media reports, the incident took place in the southwestern city of Ahvaz. The girl had travelled to Turkey, but she was brought back to Iran with the help of her father.

    The man beheaded his wife in front of many people in a city square followed by parading the city with her head in his hand on February 5. The video of the man walking on the streets with a knife and his wife’s head in his hands went viral on social media.

    As per media reports, two brothers were arrested four hours after the incident took place. Moreover, they have confessed to their crime. The case is under investigation.

    Iran has shut down a news website after it published an image of the man holding the head of his wife in his hand. According to the report, a media supervisory board on Sunday decided to close Rokna website because of its continuing to “publish images and issues that violate public decency”.

    People took to social media to condemn the horrific incident:

    https://twitter.com/NilofarAyoubi/status/1490069026478899208

  • Several people killed in Yemen capital by a Saudi Arabia led airstrike

    Several people killed in Yemen capital by a Saudi Arabia led airstrike

    Saudi Arabia launched an airstrike in the capital city of Yemen, Sanaa which killed about 14 people in a residential building in a response to an attack on Abu Dhabi on Monday.

    Saudi Arabia state media said that the coalition has begun airstrikes against strongholds and camps in the capital city belonging to the Houthi rebel group.

    The strike targeted the home of a former military official which killed him, his wife and son, other family members, and some unknown casualties.

    On the other side, the deputy minister for the Houthi administration tweeted that the coalition strikes killed a total of 20 people.

    According to the Houthi media channel, the airstrike attack damaged the building, killed at least a dozen people, and several people were wounded as well.

    The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is backing Saudi Arabia in a war with Yemen that has been going on for the last seven years.

    On Monday, three petrol tanks blew up near a storage facility of an oil giant company, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) in Abu Dhabi. A fire also erupted in a construction area at the Abu Dhabi airport.

    These attacks have been claimed by the Iran-backed rebel group, Houthi in Yemen.

    Pakistan also condemned the attacks on the UAE by saying, “violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the UAE and pose a grave threat to the regional peace and security”.

    The statement issued on Monday by the Foreign Office called for an immediate end to these attacks. It also offered condolences to the families of the victims of the attack including one Pakistani.

  • One Pakistani dead among three casualties in Abu Dhabi attack

    Three people were killed in a suspected drone attack in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, which involved two Indians and one Pakistani national.

    The incident happened when three petrol tanks blew up near a storage facility of an oil giant company, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). A fire also erupted in a construction area at Abu Dhabi airport.

    The company released the official statement, “ADNOC is deeply saddened to confirm that three colleagues have died. A further six colleagues were injured and received immediate specialist medical care.”

    Police found small flying objects at both places and claimed that they have never witnessed such a huge attack in the peaceful country of the Middle East.

    The Foreign Ministry of UAE said, “The UAE condemns this terrorist attack by the Houthi militia on areas and civilian facilities on Emirati soil…(It) will not go unpunished.”

    It further added, “The UAE reserves the right to respond to these terrorist attacks and criminal escalation.”

    A small number of flights were briefly stopped by Etihad Airways at the airport but after a few hours, normal operations were resumed.

    Police said, “Preliminary investigations indicate the detection of small flying objects, possibly belonging to drones, that fell in the two areas and may have caused the explosion and fire.”

    These attacks have been claimed by the Iran-backed rebel group, Houthi in Yemen.

    The Deputy Minister of Information Nasraddin Amer in Houthi-controlled Sanaa, the capital of Yemen confirmed that the rebel forces had carried out an attack. This attack was launched in reaction to the “UAE’s escalation” in two contested provinces of Yemen, Shabwa and Marib.

    The visit of the South Korean President, Moon Jae In to the UAE was also called off due to the current situation. The summit was planned between the South Korean President and Abu Dhabi’s crown prince.

    UAE is backing Saudi Arabia in a war with Yemen that has been going on for the last seven years.

    Saudi Arabia and Bahrain also condemned the attack and dubbed it as a “cowardly, terrorist” attack.

  • Iran launches state-approved ‘halal’ dating app to encourage marriage

    Iran on Monday introduced a Muslim dating application to boost marriages in the country and help young people find a partner for themselves.

    As per details, the app, Hamdam which means  “companion” in the Persian language allows users to “search for and choose their spouse.”

    It is the only state-sanctioned platform of its kind in the Islamic republic, according to Iran’s cyberspace police chief, Colonel Ali Mohammad Rajabi.

    While dating apps are popular in Iran, Rajabi said that all other platforms except Hamdam are illegal.

    Developed by the government’s Tebyan Cultural Institute, Hamdam´s website claims it uses “artificial intelligence” to find matches “only for bachelors looking for permanent marriage and a single spouse.”

    Tebyan head, Komeil Khojasteh said family values were endangered by outside forces.

    “Family is the devil’s target, and (Iran’s enemies) seek to impose their own ideas” on it, he said, adding that the app helps create “healthy” families.

    According to Hamdam’s website, users have to verify their identity and go through a “psychology test” before browsing.

    When a match is found for the user, the app “introduces the families together with the presence of service consultants”, who will “accompany” the couple for four years after marriage. The registration is free for the users.

    Iran’s authorities, including the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have cautioned many times against the country’s rising rate of marriage and declining birth rates.

    In March, Iran’s conservative-dominated parliament passed a bill titled “population growth and supporting families.”

    It mandates the government to offer significant financial incentives for marriage and to encourage people to have more than two children while limiting access to abortion.

    The law awaits approval by the Guardian Council, which is tasked with checking that bills are in accordance with Islamic law and the constitution.

  • Iranian supreme leader declares hijab for cartoons mandatory

    Women in cartoons must wear hijab, a fatwa by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has declared.

    Iranian news agency Tasnim quoted Khamenei as saying that women in cartoons and animated cartoon films should wear hijab, in response to a query by a Telegram user.

    “Is observing hijab necessary for characters in animated films (three-dimensional paintings that come from the artist’s mind)?” the user had asked.

    “Although wearing hijab in such a hypothetical situation is not required per se, observing hijab in animation is required due to the consequences of not wearing a hijab,” Khamenei responded.

    Women are bound to wear headscarves and hijab following an order passed by the authorities soon after the establishment of the Islamic regime in Iran in 1979, Global Village Space reported.

    Iranian women defying the decree set by the authorities face severe repercussions in the form of imprisonment or sanctions.

    A large number of women in Iran have been rising to protest against the hardcore laws that have now been relaxed a bit amid growing agitation.

  • Cleric believes COVID vaccine makes people ‘gay’

    Cleric believes COVID vaccine makes people ‘gay’

    Amid an increase in conspiracy theories about coronavirus vaccine, an Iranian cleric has come forward with another absurd claim about the vaccine turning people into homosexuals, reported Arab News.

    In a rant on Telegram, Ayatollah Abbas Tabrizian, who is known for his vitriol against Western medicine, said that the people who have received COVID vaccine have become “gays”. “These jabs have made the individuals gay,” he claimed, asking people to keep their distance from these individuals.

    The so-called father of Islamic medicine claimed that in the presence of Islamic knowledge, Western medical practices have become “irrelevant”.

    Last year, there was a viral video of him burning a copy of Harrison’s Manual of Medicine – considered an authority and the most trusted brand in medical content.

    Iran’s regime has executed 4,000-6,000 gays and lesbians since its 1979 Islamic revolution, according to a 2008 WikiLeaks cable.

    Iran is the Middle East region’s hotspot for the coronavirus’ worst outbreak with almost 1.5 million cases. The country’s vaccination program begins Tuesday for the population groups most at risk: frontline healthcare doctors and nurses working in contact with COVID-19 patients at intensive care units.

    Iran earlier launched a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Iran’s Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute.