Mediaboss Marketing

Female human rights activists imprisoned in Iran are facing a slew of new charges to prevent them from being temporarily released because of the Covid-19 epidemic, rights groups say.

Since Covid-19 spread rapidly through the country in early March, Iranian authorities have been under pressure to release all prisoners who pose no risk to society. Around 85,000 prisoners were temporarily released under a furlough scheme earlier this year in response to the coronavirus outbreak, half of whom were believed to be political detainees.

Yet dozens of womens rights activists remain in prisons across the country, with groups including the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) accusing authorities of deliberately rendering them ineligible for release by bringing new charges. Those considered security prisoners with sentences of more than five years were automatically denied furlough.

Narges Mohammadi, one of Irans best-known womens rights defenders, was jailed for 16 years in 2015 after she campaigned to abolish the death penalty. Mohammadis family and the GCHR say that she has been denied furlough and charged with dancing in prison during the days of mourning to commemorate the murder of the Shia Imam Hussein a charge the family dismissed as absurd.

It is feared that Mohammadi could face another five years in prison and 74 lashes as a result of the new charges, which include collusion against the regime, propaganda against the regime and the crime of insult.

Atena Daemi, 32, a womens rights activist and anti-death penalty campaigner, was expected to be furloughed on 4 July, but is facing additional charges that make her ineligible for the scheme.

Already serving a sentence for disseminating anti-death penalty leaflets, she now faces a further 25 months in prison for writing a letter criticising the execution of political prisoners. Her family say that she is also facing additional charges for disturbing order at Evin prison by chanting anti-government slogans, a claim she denies.

Saba Kord Afshari, 22, who was jailed for nine years in 2019 for not wearing a headscarf, has had her sentence increased to 24 years.

Its no surprise that intelligence agents and judicial officials in Iran are zealously working to put womens rights activists behind bars and keep them there for as long as possible, said Jasmin Ramsey of the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran. Women are on the frontlines of struggles for rights and equality in Iran, as shown by the multiple political prisoners who continue to speak out for the rights of others from inside jail cells.

By going so far as to alter the judicial process with the hopes of muzzling these prisoners under lengthy jail sentences, Iranian judicial and intelligence officials are revealing how desperate they are to prevent women from taking on more leadership roles.

Nassim Papayianni, Amnesty Internationals Iran campaigner, said that adding fresh charges is commonly used to silence detainees, particularly when they have campaigned from behind bars.

Increasing numbers of female activists have been arrested in recent years and given lengthy sentences for criticising or challenging state policies by advocating human and civil rights.

US-based journalist and activist Masih Alinejad, who started the White Wednesdays campaign against mandatory veiling, said the increasing number of charges levelled against female activists like Afshari proved how desperate the Iranian state had become.

For years and years, we had the fear inside us. And now women are fearless. They want to be warriors and that scares the government, she said.

In the Islamic Republic, we dont have freedom of expression, we dont have free parties or free media or free choice. They can shut down NGOs and political parties and newspapers but they cant go after every person who becomes an activist or a movement themselves, who become their own saviours instead of waiting for someone to save them.

Originally posted here:
Iranian authorities move to block release of female rights activists - The Guardian

More sanctions are needed to stop Iran from attaining nuclear weapons, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the start of a meeting with U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook on Tuesday.

Netanyahu added that Iran has been deliberately misleading the international community in regards to its nuclear ambitions.

U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

(Photo: GPO)

"The international community largely stood idle in the face of Iranian deceit and aggression", the PM asserted, saying that a number of nations even colluded with Tehran.

He praised the U.S. for its "maximum pressure" policy on Iran, saying that while Tehran tried to intimidate Washington, the White House's resolve left its efforts barren.

He also commended the United States for the January drone strike that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and warned that Israel will do everything necessary to make sure that Iran does not expand its foothold in Syria.

Netanyahu also referred to remarks Defense Minister Benny Gantz on Monday that whatever isnt connected to fighting coronavirus will wait until after the virus, period.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad meeting with Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei

(Photo: EPA)

We have very important topics to discuss, even ones that cant wait until after coronavirus, Netanyahu said.

Hook, whose visit to Israel was part of a wider Middle East diplomatic tour, said that Israel and the U.S. "see eye to eye" on the need to extend the UN conventional arms embargo, warning that its expiration would allow it to export more arms to its regional proxies.

Hook also warned that Iran was the world's largest sponsor of anti-Semitism and terrorism, not just in the Middle East, but all across the globe.

On Monday, Hook visited Saudi Arabia, where Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir joined the U.S. call for extending the international embargo against the Islamic Republic.

Bahrain also backed the U.S. initiative during Hook's visit to the country.

Read the original post:
More sanctions against Iran needed to stop nuclear ambitions, PM says - Ynetnews

With mail processing delays around the world and the United States Postal Service (USPS) teetering on the brink of collapse as a result of the financial losses caused by the pandemic, as reported by Politico, many people are coming to realise just how crucial a role the mail plays in their daily lives.

Far fewer, however, may be aware of how the modern postal service came to be, and the ancient Persian institution that served as the model and inspiration for the USPS and other such delivery services.

Although civilisations like those of Egypt and China are said to have been amongst the first to use postal services, and the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian Empires in modern-day Iraq were using forms of mail delivery before the Persian Empire was founded in the 6th Century BC, the Persians of Iran took the idea of a postal system to previously unseen heights and then some. They used an extensive network of roads worked by expert horsemen who covered stupefying distances throughout the massive, diverse empire with bewildering speed and unwavering resolve.

The Achaemenid Persians (approx. 550-330 BCE) were able to deliver, through the use of a system of couriers on horseback (known as pirradazi in Old Persian), messages from one end of the massive Persian Empire to the other in a matter of days. According to scholars, a message could be sent from Susa, the administrative capital of the empire in western Iran, to Sardis, in what is now western Turkey, in between seven and nine days, following the Royal Road, a sort of highway connecting the two cities. In the Histories, the Greek historian Herodotus who estimated that the approximately 2,600km distance would take three months on foot marks Susa and Sardis as the extremities of the Royal Road, but the Persian postal system was far vaster.

Herodotus description is fragmentary The Royal Road from Sardis to Susa is just one royal road among many others, writes Dr Pierre Briant in From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire.

At its peak under the reign of Darius the Great, the Persian Empire stretched from Greece to India. Briant notes in his book how tablets from Persepolis, the ceremonial capital of the empire, show that messages were sent to and from India and Egypt, also pointing out that the historian Ctesias mentioned the Greek city of Ephesus, too, in his writings.

The entire imperial territory, Briant writes, was covered.

Never before had messages been delivered on such a massive scale. The ancient Persian postal system was powered by horses that operated on a relay system, making journeys speedy and efficient. But the Persians would not have been able to cover the daunting distances they did in so little time had they not been expert horsemen. The ancient Iranians (of whom the Persians were just one of numerous peoples) were redoubtable when it came to horsemanship. The postal system aside, the Iranians inspired the use of cavalry amongst the Athenian Greeks, for example, and also devised the game of polo.

Historically, the Persian Royal Road was the first major land structure conceived to thoroughly exploit horse transportation and relay, writes Dr Luc-Normand Tellier in Urban World History: An Economic and Geographical Perspective.

According to Dr Lindsay Allen, a lecturer in ancient history at Kings College London, the Persian postal system was also impressive for its use of a standardised language across such a vast expanse, as well as its consistency in terms of message delivery and format. Although Old Persian was the Persians native tongue, the linguistically unrelated Aramaic was the administrative language of the empire and thus used in composing messages throughout it, much in the same way that English and Latin-alphabet transliterations are usually used on envelopes and parcels worldwide today.

You may also be interested in: Iran's fascinating way to tell fortunes How Fiji changed the way we travel What can we learn from 'kind' countries?

For long distances were looking at Aramaic on ink on prepared animal skin, folded up and sealed, Allen said. This was the first time that consistently formatted letters, folded and sealed, were used. Unfortunately, we have only a few surviving parchment letters written in Aramaic [but] even these suggest there was shared administrative practice between letters sent to Egypt and those sent by a local governor in Bactria.

While the Royal Road was an incredibly efficient and effective way of delivering messages, it was only used for administrative purposes and not by private individuals. The Persian emperors used the Royal Road and other such routes for issuing decrees and for their armies, tribute-bearers, and troops of government workers, according to Briant.

It was also used by the emperor to keep abreast of all the goings-on in the empire. In the Cyropaedia, a book in praise of Cyrus the Great that is still read as a classic guide to effective leadership, Xenophon attributes the establishment of the Persian postal system to Cyrus and describes his use of it in gathering intelligence: The king will listen to any man who asserts that he has heard or seen anything that needs attention, he writes. Hence the saying that the king has 1,000 eyes and 1,000 ears; and hence the fear of uttering anything against his interest since he is sure to hear, or doing anything that might injure him since he may be there to see.

This was the first time that consistently formatted letters, folded and sealed, were used

According to Xenophon, Cyrus first found out how far a horse could travel when ridden hard before breaking down, and then used this distance to set up stations at intervals throughout the empire. The couriers travelled from dusk till dawn, and Xenophon who was once hired by the Persian prince Cyrus the Younger as a mercenary and had to flee back to Greece from Iran with his army when the formers coup detat went awry considered the Persian postal system to undeniably be the fastest overland travelling on Earth.

Herodotus also mentions the relay system in the Histories. The first rider delivers his charge to the second, the second to the third, and thence it passes on from hand to hand, he explained; and his description of the Persian couriers gives added credibility to that of Xenophon, who wasnt always the most historically accurate: There is nothing mortal that accomplishes a course more swiftly than do these messengers, by the Persians skillful contrivance [They] are stopped neither by snow nor rain nor heat nor darkness from accomplishing their appointed course with all speed.

This is the most famous description of the Persian couriers and the ancient Persian postal system. In a slightly amended form that reads, Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds, it now serves as the unofficial motto of the USPS. It can also be seen engraved on the facade of the USPS stately James Farley Post Office in New York City. In popular American culture, the phrase is associated with the dedication of the USPS worker to the extent that the mailman Cliff Clavin in the popular 1980s television series Cheers quoted it with pride to his drinking buddies.

On that note, so famous is Herodotus account of the Royal Road that the term has been used throughout history to refer to denote an effortless path. There is no royal road to science, wrote Karl Marx in the preface to the French translation of his book Das Kapital, and only those who do not dread the fatiguing climb of its steep paths have a chance of gaining its luminous summits.

After the fall of the Sassanian Persian Empire in the 7th Century AD, the Persian relay system of message delivery continued to be used if not wholly, then at least partly, according to the Encyclopaedia Iranica by invaders like the Arabs and Mongols, as well as the indigenous dynasties that followed like the Safavids, Zands and Qajars.

However, the Achaemenid (and Sassanian) glory days of the pirradazi by then referred to by the Turkish term chapar were long gone. In her 1890s travelogue Persian Pictures, for instance, Gertrude Bell wrote about how she and her companions found themselves lying in a little alcove under the archway of a tiny tumble-down post-house, vainly demanding fresh horses.

Nevertheless, the myriad chapar khanehs (post offices) that dotted Iran at the time, no matter how decrepit they could often be, were invaluable to travellers like Bell as they also served as little inns between major cities. Kinarigird is the last stage from the capital of the Medes and Persians, wrote T S Anderson in his late-19th Century travelogue My Wanderings in Persia, and it was with no small amount of satisfaction that I entered the chapar khaneh [I] was soon enjoying (in slippers and loose jacket) the beauties of an Eastern moonlight, as also of a good dinner on the roof.

Chapar khanehs are no longer used in Iran today, but they can still be seen throughout the country. In Meybod in central Iran, for instance, a Qajar-era (1785-1925 AD) chapar khaneh serves as a Post and Communications Museum (featuring wax figures of Qajar postmen) and tourist destination. And, although in ruins, an earlier one from the Zand period (1751-1794 AD) can be seen in the nearby village of Sar-Yazd. Elsewhere, travellers can visit the remains of a Safavid-era (1501-1736 AD) post office in Zafaranieh near the north-eastern city of Sabzevar.

The Royal Road and the Persian postal system may very well be things of the past, but the ingenuity of the Achaemenid Persians and the perseverance of their couriers continue to influence and inspire well beyond the borders of ancient Iran, and even the mighty Persian Empire.

Places That Changed the World is a BBC Travel series looking into how a destination has made a significant impact on the entire planet.

Join more than three million BBC Travel fans by liking us onFacebook, or follow us onTwitterandInstagram.

If you liked this story,sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newslettercalled "The Essential List". A handpicked selection of stories from BBC Future, Culture, Worklife and Travel, delivered to your inbox every Friday.

Here is the original post:
The surprising origins of the postal service - BBC News

Top of The World our morning news round up written by editors at The World.Subscribe here.

The National Peoples Congress Standing Committee,China's top legislative body,passed a highly controversial national security lawfor Hong Kong Tuesday, which will take effect just ahead of the 23rd anniversary of the end of British rule on July 1. The legislation outlawssecession, subversion, terrorism and foreign collusion with a maximum penalty of life in prison. It comes inresponse to pro-democracy protests; activists havewarned of the erosion of human rights and the risk of turning Hong Kong into apolice state.

The law gives Beijingsweeping powersto crack down on political opposition in the semi-autonomous territory, where many Hongkongers are protective of the broader rights and liberties afforded them under a separate legal system. The territoryhas enjoyed a semi-autonomous status under China's "one country, two systems" policy since revertingto Chinese sovereigntyin 1997. Semi-autonomyhas afforded the special administrative region certain freedoms, which could be compromisedunder the new law.

The national security legislation was fast-tracked, andonly a few Hong Kong delegates were able to read the drafted text before the law was passed. This lack of transparency raised alarm bells, but the legislation was nonetheless signed by President Xi Jinping and added to Hong Kong's Basic Law,the territory's mini-constitution. Carrie Lam, Hong Kong's chief executive,urged the international community to accept the lawin a video to the UN Human Rights Council. Taiwan, which Beijing views as a breakaway province,condemned the law, and will dedicate an office to help Hongkongers looking to flee.Pro-democracyactivistJoshua Wong tweetedthe law "marks the end of Hong Kong that the world new before," but pledged to continue to fight for freedom: "When justice fails, our fight goes on."

Tune into The World today, when wewillspeak with Chinese artist and activist,Ai Weiwei:"I think the world will abandon Hong Kong. It's a very sad story."

What The World is following

The New York Times reports thatPresident Donald Trump was briefed on a suspected Russian operation to incentivizekilling US soldiers in Afghanistan as early as February.This new reporting contradicts Trump's claim that he hadnot been informed and undermines his efforts to cast dispersions on the veracity of the intelligence. Concerns have been raised that the White House knew about Russian machinations but authorized no response.The World spoke with Gen. David Petraeus about Russian bounties:"We were looking for this kind of activity, frankly, from Russia."

Ruhollah Zam, an Iranian journalist,has been sentenced to deathfor the charge of "corruption on Earth." Zam's workincluding running a channel on Telegram, a messaging app, that helpedinspire widespread economic protestsin 2017; authorities accused Zam ofinciting violence.Zam had been living in Parisbut was convinced to return to Iran, where he wasarrested in 2019. The decision may be appealed by the supreme court.

Koalas could become extinctby 2050 in New South Wales unless swift action is taken to prevent further habitat loss, an Australian parliamentary inquiry found. Koalas were dramatically impacted by bushfires earlier this year and climate change is heightening risk to the iconic species.

From The WorldA US report shows big strides on human trafficking. Advocates say the message is misleading.

Every year, the US issues an annual report that ranks countries by their progress fighting human trafficking. The 2020 report lists22 countriesreceiving improved rankings for their work on the issue over the past year. But advocates across the globewarn that with the pandemic and economic downturn, theres an urgent risk that more people will fall prey to human traffickers. They say the report is poorly timed, and counterproductive.

Fair & Lovely cream gets a makeover in India, but will it change prejudice?

Last week, consumer giant Unilever announced it will rebrand its bestselling skin-lightening cream,Fair & Lovely,and drop the word "fair" from its name in the latest makeover of the brandin response to global backlash against racial prejudice.The Fair & Lovelycream and colorism is something Mumbai-based documentarist Richa Sanwal has been familiar with since she was a child growing up in India. Sanwal welcomes the news from Unilever, but says more needs to be done to change the stigma associated with a darker skin tone that has been perpetuated by skin lightening products.

Morning meme

Yes, you can find us @TheWorld but we're not actually, you know, the world.

In case you missed itListen:Russian bounties on US troops in Afghanistan

In the past few days, The New York Times published bombshell revelations that Russia reportedly offered cash bounties to Taliban-linked fighters for killing US soldiers in Afghanistan. The World's host Marco Werman speaks with David Petraeus, the retired former head of US forces in Afghanistan and an ex-CIA chief, about how the US should respond if the reports are verified. And, one of the most important North Koreans alive isKim Yo-jong, the half-sister of leader Kim Jong-un.Her influence in the regime has been hyped up by rumors some true, some not but its now becoming clear that Kim Yo Jong really does have a lot of power. According to The Worlds Patrick Winn, whether North Korea tilts towards peace or war could hinge on her decisions. Also, the coronavirus lockdownsaround the world haveled animals to explore some places previously filled with people. The World speaks toChristian Rutz, an evolutionary ecologist at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, about wildlife movement while humans are in quarantine.

Don't forget to subscribe to The World's Latest Edition podcast using your favorite podcast player:RadioPublic,Apple Podcasts,Stitcher,Soundcloud,RSS.

From The World 2019

The rest is here:
Hong Kong national security law to take effect; Iran sentences journalist to death; Koalas could be extinct by 2050 in New South Wales - WBFO

In Irans endless drive to prove that its military makes it a great world power, the Iranian media showed off three locally built Kowsar fighter jets this week. They were delivered to the armed forces by Defense Minister Gen. Amir Hatami. Iran claims it has been building domestically produced jets since 2018.US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has sought to spotlight Irans air force in recent comments, claiming that if an arms embargo is ended, Irans expanded jet fighters could pose a threat. Pompeo wrote on Wednesday that if the UN arms embargo were to expire in October, Iran will be able to buy new fighter aircraft like Russias SU-30 and Chinas J-10.These lethal aircraft could threaten Europe and Asia, the US says. In theory, they could also threaten Israel.Pompeos map of Iranian aircraft threats shows that the J-10 could make a one-way 1,648-km. flight and reach Israel. But being unable to return to Iran, it would be the end of the Iranian air force if it embarked on this journey.The SU-30 could get to Italy on a one-way mission. That is enough gas for the Iranian pilot to defect. And that likely is the only reason an Iranian pilot would take a precious aircraft on a one-way mission: to flee Iran. An Iraqi pilot actually did that in 1966, flying his MiG-21 to Israel to flee Iraq.A more reasonable discussion about Irans air power reveals that its great achievements are in drone technology, not aircraft. HESA, the corporation that makes some of Irans aircraft, is built on an American Textron factory that once made Bell helicopters in Iran.It is basically good at making copies of 1970s American equipment. For instance, the Kowsar is a copy of an American Northrop F-5, first built in the 1950s. The engineering team at HESA has also managed to copy a Bell 206 helicopter and rename it a Shahed 274.What HESA has been more innovative at is making drones, such as the Ababil. Iranian drones have struck Saudi Arabia and have been given to Houthi rebels in Yemen and Hezbollah. They are a serious threat to the region; Irans air force is not.Tehran still has American F-14 Tomcats and some MiG-29s it acquired in 1990. Some of these are Iraqi aircraft acquired when Baghdad sent its air force to Iran in 1991. Iran also has American F-4s and F-5s and several Su-22s.Iran has used its air force sparingly. In contrast, the IRGC and its aerospace engineers led by Amir Hajizadeh have actually pioneered precision guidance for missiles and drones. This is a major threat, and it is where Iran has sought to do asymmetric warfare, building capabilities that can go around its enemies.For instance, Iran used ballistic missiles to attack US forces in Iraq in January. It has attacked ISIS and Kurdish dissidents. Tehran has transferred ballistic missiles to Iraq and precision-guided munitions to Hezbollah. It is in this IRGC-based technology that the Islamic Republic excels.The end of an arms embargo would give Iran access to more sophisticated weaponry. But the implication that it would funnel that to its aging air force in order to threaten others seems unlikely.On the other hand, the immediate neighbors of Iran are chaotic, and it can exploit the weaknesses of Iraq and Afghanistan to use its air force. Turkeys air force is already pounding Iraq, claiming to be fighting terrorists.But Irans adversaries in the Gulf have access to the latest US air-defense technology.In general, Iran is a substandard country when it comes to its regular air force. But when it comes to its drones and missiles, it may be one of the worlds major powers and certainly a major threat.

Continued here:
Could Irans air force ever be a threat to Israel or Europe? - The Jerusalem Post