Iran’s actress banned for posing topless gathers support

LOS ANGELES: A fleshy rebellion is spreading hot and fast across the cybersphere, as a growing number of activists are stripping down in support of Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani, who was reportedly banned from her homeland after posing topless for French magazine Madame Le Figaro.

Farahani — who had earlier been banned from leaving her country for appearing in the 2008 Leonardo DiCaprio/Russell Crowe film “Body of Lies” — appeared (see above) without a shirt, but with her hands covering her breasts, to protest Iran’s restrictive policies toward women. The actress, who’s now based in Paris, told the press that she was subsequently advised by the Iranian government that she is no longer welcome within her former country’s borders.

But there might be a happy — or at least sexy — ending to the sad tale of gender oppression. Since world of Farahani’s predicament broke, a movement has sprung up,

with supporters encouraging others to post Farahani’s topless photo as a “PicBadge” of the actress’ photo-shoot to their Facebook profiles.

Other, more daring, supporters have gone so far as to post their own skin-baring portraits as a show of solidarity for the banished thespian. A Facebook page in support of Farahani has so far amassed 3,422 “likes,” and boasts numerous photos of pro-Farahani-partisans posing in the buff.

“This page has been formed, in order to support Golshifteh’s move, in order to say NO to relegion sic, tradition, culture and anti women’s law,” a statement on the Facebook page reads. “Viva freedom !!!”

A similar protest occurred in November, when supporters of controversial Chinese artist Ai Weiwei tweeted naked images of themselves in response to authorities detaining the artist and his assistant for distributing a photo of four naked women.

It’s unclear what, if any, effect the movement will have on the infamously rigid Iranian government’s decision.

If you happen to be surfing Facebook and come across a photo of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the buff with the words “Support Golshifteh” scrawled across his form, however, you can be pretty sure that the war has been won. AGENCIES

Six Pakistanis killed, 2 injured in Iranian border security forces’ firing

TrendPK.com

GWADAR: At least six Pakistanis have been killed and two injured by Iranian security forces’ firing in Pak-Iran border area, TrendPK reported on Thursday.

According to the Deputy Commissioner of Gwadar, Abdul Rehman Satti, this firing and Pakistanis killing’s incident took place in the limits of Iranian area Zaran.

He informed that these persons were heading towards Iranian area Nobandian when Iranian border security force opened fire on them, leaving six killed and two injured.

The dead bodies and injured were moved to Chahabar Hospital, added the Deputy Commissioner. TrendPK

Iran hangs 5 drug traffickers

The latest hanging brings to 192 the number of executions reported in Iran so far this year, according to an AFP tally based on media and official reports.

Iranian media reported 179 hangings last year but international human rights groups say the actual number was much higher, ranking the Islamic republic second only to China in the number of people it executed in 2010.

Tehran says the death penalty is essential to maintain law and order, and that it is applied only after exhaustive judicial proceedings.
Murder, rape, armed robbery, drug trafficking and adultery are among the crimes punishable by death in Iran.

Iran drama wins top award at Berlin film festival

BERLIN: Iranian drama “Nader and Simin: A Separation” won the Golden Bear for best picture at the Berlin film festival on Saturday, fulfilling its billing as overwhelming favourite to scoop the coveted award.

Director Asghar Farhadi’s portrayal of a marriage in crisis explores Iran’s class divisions, religious conservatism and its judicial system while at the same time maintaining the tension of a crime thriller. AGENCIES

Iran: Seventy Feared Dead in an Air Crash

Seventy people are feared to have been killed in an air crash in Iran on Sunday night whereas 32 others were rescued with minor injuries.

The plane was on an internal flight from Mehrabad Airport in Tehran to the north-western city of Urmia when it crashed in heavy fog near its destination, state media reported.

Emergency crews were able to rescue up to 50 people from the wreckage with relatively light injuries, according to preliminary reports. Initial reports said that 105 people were on board in total.

The crash will once again focus attention on the state of the Iranian air industry, which has had difficulty in maintaining its fleet amid economic difficulties and international sanctions.

There have been at least five other major disasters since December 2005, the most recent being the loss of a Caspian Airlines jet en route for Yerevan in Armenia which came down in north-western Iran in July 2009 with the loss of all 168 on board.

According to reports, the plane involved in the latest incident, an Iran Air Boeing 727, was one hour late in departing because of bad weather across parts of the country.

Ahmadinejad slapped by top Revolutionary Guard: WikiLeaks

The chief of the Revolutionary Guard angrily slapped Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in early 2010, as Tehran was still dealing with the fallout from last year”s election, according to a leaked US diplomatic cable.

The cable, written in February, said Revolutionary Guard Chief of Staff Mohammed Ali Jafari blamed Ahmadinejad for the post-election “mess” in 2009, which saw the country roundly criticized by the West amid allegations of fraud and tough crackdowns on large-scale protests in Tehran.

The guard was founded after the Islamic revolution in 1979 to prevent dissident activity and is a strong internal force within the country, with economic and military wings.

Jafari is seen as close to the most conservative Iranian elements, but Ahmedinejad himself is also deemed a stalwart hawk.

The cable, titled “He who got slapped,” quotes an Iran watcher in Baku, Azerbaijan, who related that Ahmedinejad felt that in the aftermath of the post-election street protests, which turned violent, “people feel suffocated.”

In a meeting with his national security council, the president “mused that to defuse the situation it may be necessary to allow more personal and social freedoms, including more freedom of the press,” according to the source.

This provoked an angry retort from Jafari, according to the cable:

“You are wrong! (In fact) it is YOU who created this mess! And now you say give more freedom to the press?!”

The top guard then slapped the president in the face “causing an uproar and an immediate call for a break in the meeting” which did not resume for another two weeks, the cable said.

It took the intervention of Ayatollah Ahmad Janati, a senior member of the top oversight body, the Guardian Council, to get Jafari and Ahmedinejad back to the table, according to the cable.

The source cited in the cable released by WikiLeaks “predicted that events are trending towards major developments and a new phases” during 2010.

Russia to urge Iran to discuss nuclear programme

MOSCOW: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will urge Tehran to resume talks with global powers over its nuclear programme when he meets with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday, a Russian official said.

Medvedev is also willing to listen to Iran’s concerns on the issue when he meets with Ahmadinejad at a summit of Caspian Sea states in Azerbaijan, an official in the Russian delegation said in remarks authorised for release on Wednesday. AGENCIES

US sees Iran rift, says strike would unite country

WASHINGTON: Sanctions against Iran are biting hard and triggering divisions among its leadership, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Tuesday, as he argued against a military strike over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Iran has agreed to meet with a representative of the six big powers for the first time in more than a year over its uranium enrichment drive, but diplomats and analysts see little chance of a breakthrough in the long-running dispute.

Gates said he saw little choice, however, to pursuing a political strategy that includes sanctions and renewed his concerns that a military strike would only delay Iranian nuclear capabilities by two or three years.

He added that sanctions “have really bitten much harder than (Iranian leadership) anticipated,” and suggested Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was increasingly at odds with Supreme Leader

Car bomb targets Iranian pilgrims in Iraq holy city

BAGHDAD: A car bomb killed five people and wounded 28 after targeting Iranian pilgrims in Iraq’s holy Shi’ite city of Kerbala on Monday, a provincial official said.

“It was a car bomb. There were Iranian pilgrims in the area.

They were targeted,” said Mohammed al Moussawi, head of the Kerbala provincial council.

Political tensions in Iraq have been stoked by the failure of its leaders to agree on a new government eight months after an inconclusive election. AGENCIES

Suicide bomber kills 10 in attack on Iraqi cafe

BAGHDAD: A suicide bomber blew himself up in an Iraqi cafe usually packed with Shi’ite Kurds in a town northeast of Baghdad on Friday, killing at least 10 people and wounding 30, a police spokesman said.

The attack took place in the town of Balad Ruz, roughly halfway to the Iranian border from the volatile city of Baquba, said Major Ghalib Attiya, a spokesman for Diyala province police.

The blast was the first major suicide bomb attack to occur in Iraq for several weeks, as political factions continue to tussle over positions and power almost eight months after an inconclusive election. AGENCIES

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