BBC News | Spain police bust huge Iran-UK immigration ring BBC News Police in Spain say they have broken up a large immigration ring that smuggled Iranians as young as five into the UK. The gang allegedly supplied fake Spanish passports to Iranian nationals so they could fly into the UK. More than 100 people were ... |
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Spain police bust huge Iran-UK immigration ring - BBC News
(CNN) Among the thousands of shops that line the labyrinthine alleyways of Tehran's Grand Bazaar sits the Haj Ali Darvish teahouse.
It's not the only teahouse in the bazaar, but having first opened in 1918, it's definitely one of the oldest. And according to some, it's also the smallest -- not just in the bazaar but in the whole world.
For those who find their way to this closet-sized, two-meter-wide cafe, owner Kazem Mabhutyan is on hand to serve up a wide range of teas and advice about their healing properties.
"I've traveled abroad and tested different styles such as English, Turkish and Arabic, but nothing matches Persian-style tea," he tells CNN.
Coffee and hot chocolate are on the menu, too.
Mabhutyan took over the business from his father, Haj Ali Mabhutyan, who bought the teahouse in 1962 from its original owner Haj Mohammad Hasan Shamshiri.
Before the 1979 Iranian revolution, the teahouse provided tea for many of the shops at the bazaar, Mabhutyan says. Since then, however, people working at the bazaar began to prepare tea themselves. But that hasn't stopped the shop from thriving.
Mabhutyan serves an increasing number of tourists. The number of foreign visitors traveling to Iran has boomed in recent years, rising from 2.2 million in 2009 to 5.2 million in 2016.
"I ask all my customers to leave a message in the visitors' book, and everybody who drinks tea here for the first time is presented with a souvenir coin."
He loves to post photos of everyone who visits. He says it's helped make his tiny teahouse into one of the most popular pit stops in the bazaar.
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Teahouse in Iran's Grand Bazaar may be world's smallest - CNN
The next aircraft to carry the President of the United States has yet to be built, but it already is an aircraft that has captured a lot of attention since US President Trump called the aircraft too expensive. Since then, Boeing (BA) and Trump have gotten closer and the replacement of the Boeing VC-25A aircraft that operate as Air Force One when the president is on board didnt seem so much of a hot subject anymore.
Source: here
The latest news on the Presidential Aircraft Program is that Boeing might use two Boeing 747-8I aircraft that have already been built as the base of the new VC aircraft. In this article, I will have a look at the background of the aircraft and explain why there is no reason to be skeptical about this construction.
When the news broke that the next Presidential Aircraft might already have been built, I marked this as ironic. The aircraft that might be used as a base for the next Presidential Aircraft are the Boeing 747-8I aircraft with line numbers 1519 and 1523. Initially these aircraft were destined for Russian airline Transaero, but the airline collapsed before it could take delivery of any of the superjumbos and Boeing 747 jumbos it had on order.
Source: http://www.boeing.com
Given the cold relation between Russia and the US, it might be seen as somewhat ironic that the next Presidential Aircraft will be two aircraft that were once destined for a Russian carrier. Some, however, we're seeing things differently, even going as far as saying that it is a surprise that the US did not buy the aircraft directly from the Russians.
This can obviously be linked to Trumps campaign team potentially having been too close with the Russians. Everybody has their thoughts and say on that, but the fact is that these aircraft have never been property of a Russian airline.
The aircraft with line number 1519 is almost a year old while the aircraft with a line number is little over year old. Both aircraft have never flown in revenue service and as a matter of fact neither aircraft has ever been in Russian hands. Since Transaero collapsed before it could take delivery of the airframes, the delivery slots have been assigned to Transaero but the actual aircraft have never been a property of Transaero and have been property of Boeing ever since they rolled out of the factory. Both aircraft have been stored in Victorville since February 2017.
So as much as people want to come up with scenarios to link this aircraft to Russia, there is very little reason to do so. At some point Iran, another country the US does not have a warm relation with, seemed to be taking up the ex-Transaero jets, but this did not come to fruition.
Since Boeing does not see a role for the passenger variant of the Boeing 747-8I, it is unlikely that the aircraft Boeing currently has in storage will find a customer any time soon. With that in mind offering these jets to the USAF is a step that does make a lot of sense for Boeing.
Source: Defense One
Boeing could have built new jets and it would fill some delivery spots, but with little to no market appeal for the current Boeing 747-8I chances of selling aircraft that are built to the specifications of other airlines are low and Boeing would be stuck with these airframes for a while.
I expected Boeing to build new aircraft for the VC-25A replacement, but the USAF taking white tails over newly built aircraft also is reasonable, but not because of possible discounts. I deem it highly unlikely that Boeing will throw in significant additional discounts to sell these stored aircraft. Any discounts the USAF gets will likely be offset by the costs that Boeing will have to refurbish the aircraft. So, my guess would be that the USAF will be paying at least the price of a new Boeing 747-8.
The Government Accountability Office has estimated the costs for procuring two Boeing 747-8 to be $282.2 million or $141.1 million per airframe. The Boeing 747-8 had a list price of $378.5 million in 2016, so the discounts would be around 65% which is not uncommon for an aircraft with low market appeal.
Boeing continues to work with the USAF on cost efficient solutions, but on the procurement of the Boeing 747-8I there seems to be little to gain and I think using the white tails is more beneficial to Boeing than it is to the American tax payer.
There is absolutely no reason to criticize the current administration as Boeing might use aircraft once destined for a Russian airline. The aircraft are likely to support presidential transport missions starting in 2024, so it will be an aircraft that the next president of the United States will be using primarily.
The fact that these aircraft were once destined for a Russian carrier has little to no meaning. The aircraft have always been property of Boeing and it is in the companys best interest to place these aircraft with customers. For the jet maker delivering these aircraft to the USAF is a very good solution, since these aircraft in particular and the Boeing 747-8 program have low market appeal.
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Disclosure: I am/we are long BA.
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Boeing 747: Russia, Iran Or Presidential Aircraft? - Seeking Alpha
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Iran election and Qatar crisis set Middle East on edge as Saudi Arabia seeks to extend its influence - The Independent
Give Iran a break
Oh, Iran! What a week it was.
At first, everything was cheery when President Trump confirmed that Iran has been complying with the nuclear deal signed under Obama. Hoorah! Our trust in a Middle Eastern country hasnt backfired. In fact, it seems that the Iran nuclear agreement has done worlds of good for Iranians wishing to join the world.
As if to prove this, Iran launched its first satellite into space on Wednesday. A first space launch is truly an important day in a countrys history, and one that will be remembered for years to come. Since the 1960s, having a satellite has been the definition of modernity for a country. You dont join the big leagues of the U.N. until you have your own weather satellite and GPS systems, and it finally seems that Iran is able to do that.
But no. Things couldnt be that simple. A day after the Pentagons confirmation of Irans space launch, President Trump announced new economic sanctions on the country, claiming that a space rocket is close enough to warrant a ballistic missile scare. I suppose the only thing more characteristic of our president than announcing hes going back on his word would be doing so over Twitter.
For goodness sake, after all of the havoc the United States has created in Iran, cant we give them a break?
COOPER KIMBALL-RHINES
Hopkinton
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Letter: Give Iran a break - Concord Monitor