Iran beach soccer team maintains place in world rankings

The national Iranian men’s beach soccer team has kept its position as the best Asian squad in the latest edition of the Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW) rankings, and stayed put in the world’s third spot. According to the latest monthly rankings released by the BSWW, the organization responsible for the founding and growth of beach soccer, Team Melli Football Saheli gained 3,208 points. Japan occupied the second place in Asia and sat in the ninth slot in the global rankings with 1,759 points. The Japanese squad was followed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman teams,…

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Iran foreign minister: ‘shameful’ travel ban targets ‘Iranian grandmothers’

Iranian officials and Iranian Americans criticize ‘discriminatory’ measure that will keep families apart and delay resettlement of already vetted refugees to US  A man caries a welcome sign to refugees near arriving international travelers on the first day of the partial reinstatement of the Trump travel ban. Photograph: David McNew/Getty ImageFriday 30 June 2017 16.19 BSTLast modified on Friday 30 June 2017 16.25 BSTThe modified version of Donald Trump’s travel ban, which went into effect Thursday night, is a “shameful” act targeting “Iranian grandmothers”, Iran’s foreign minister has said.Travel ban goes into effect despite courts…

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Trump travel ban comes into effect for six countries

People from six mainly Muslim countries and all refugees now face tougher US entry due to President Donald Trump’s controversial travel ban. It means people without “close” family or business relationships in the US could be denied visas and barred entry. Lawyers took up positions at US airports, offering free advice. But there was no sign of the chaos that affected travellers when the first version of the ban was brought in at a few hours’ notice in January. That is because the executive order does not affect people who…

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Iran’s drug problem: Addicts ‘more than double’ in six years

The number of people suffering from drug addiction in Iran has more than doubled in the last six years, local media report. A survey carried out by a drug control group has found that about 2.8 million people are regularly consuming drugs in the country. Opium, the main ingredient in heroin, is the country’s most popular narcotic, making up 67% of consumption. Production of the drug in neighbouring Afghanistan has risen in recent years. A spokesman for the Drug Control Organisation, Parviz Afshar, said that marijuana and its derivatives accounted…

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Five Cyberactivists Arrested in Kurdistan, Iran

In the ongoing Violations of Expression and Communications Rights in Iran, five Bloggers and cyberactivists moderators of Telegram Groups were arrested in Mahabaad and Sanadaj. At the same time, a top judiciary official warned against continuous opposition activities on social media while only weeks remains to Iran’s presidential elections.   Human Rights sources reported the arrest of Bijan Eivary, Mostafa Sharifi and Mehdi Badzahr on Sunday April 2, in the city of Sanandaj, while Hiva Kiyaei (Dastan) and Mehdi Salahi were arrested at the same day in the city of…

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The Appeal Court of 2 Labor Activists Held in Kurdistan

On March 6, 2017, the appeal hearing of Mahmoud Salehi and Osman Ismaili was held in Kurdistan province. According to the report of Human Rights Activists , the appeal hearing of Mahmoud Salehi and Osman Ismaili was held at the fourth branch of the Appeal Court in Kurdistan Province on March 6, 2017. Previously the appeal hearing had not been held because of the absence of the prosecutor. It should be noted that Mahmoud Salehi, labor activist was sentenced to nine years in prison on charge of “propaganda against the regime”…

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3 Labour Activists Arrested in Shiraz

Three labour activists in Fars province were arrested by the security forces in Shiraz. There is no information about these activists’ situation and whereabouts. According the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran, Shahab Karin Aghaei, Jafar Pazhoheshpour, and Hossein Esmaeili were arrested in front of Job Centre Department of Fars province, by the plainclothes agents, on Wednesday February 8, 2017.   These citizens were among the striking workers and protesters of “Iran’s Telecommunication Company” and have been active in organizing workers and employees of this company’s recent…

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11 Iranian Christians Arrested While Attending Mass

Iranian authorities arrested a group of Iranian Christians at a house-church in the city of Isfahan, central Iran, last week. A total of 11 Christians were arrested by armed plain clothes intelligence agents in the raid on August 12. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) have been able to identify ten of those arrested but an eleventh has still not been identified. However, there is no information about the current status of the detainees. Those identified were Amin Ahanin, Mohammad Alyasi, Fatemeh Amini, Edmund Khachaturian, Mohammad Malek Khatai, Mohsen…

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Iran: Ten Christians arrested in home church on Christmas Day

Ten Christians were arrested in Iran when they were attending the Christmas Day service in the city of Shiraz in southern Iran. Human Rights sources have reported that 10 Christian converts were arrested during a ceremony in a house church in Shiraz. According to report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran , a group of Christian converts had gathered to celebrate “Christmas” and also the eve of New Year, then with the sudden influx by plainclothes forces, they were arrested and transferred to an unknown location, on Friday…

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No news of arrested Christian converts in Iran

Two weeks after the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (sepah) arrested a number of Christian converts in various cities of Iran, there is no news on their condition and their fate.   Based on a report by Iran Human Rights Watchdog Network, Friday 16 October 2015, 9 members and activists of domestic churches in Shiraz were arrested and detained by IRGC, their condition still unknown. Based on the report, Brother Edward, Hossein Karimi, Maryam Fahimi, Mohammadreza Farmani, Milad Shahabi, Farhad Nikoei, Zahra Khakrah, Nasir Ahamad Safi (Afghanian) and Sina Namvar, were…

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