The family Iranian-American businessman Emad Shargi, who has been detained in Iran since April 2018, speak outside the White House. Willy Lowry / The National
The family Iranian-American businessman Emad Shargi, who has been detained in Iran since April 2018, speak outside the White House. Willy Lowry / The National
The family Iranian-American businessman Emad Shargi, who has been detained in Iran since April 2018, speak outside the White House. Willy Lowry / The National
The family Iranian-American businessman Emad Shargi, who has been detained in Iran since April 2018, speak outside the White House. Willy Lowry / The National

Iran says prisoner exchange with US could happen if goodwill shown


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Iran could exchange prisoners with Washington soon if the US shows goodwill, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said on Monday at his weekly press conference.

"Regarding the issue of exchanging prisoners with America ... negotiations are ongoing through mediators ... if the other party shows the same seriousness and goodwill, this can happen in the near future," Mr Kanaani said in a televised weekly news conference.

Currently, three Iranian-American dual citizens are being held in Iranian prisons, Siamak Namazi, Emad Shargi and Morad Tahbaz.

Mr Namazi is a businessman who was sentenced in 2016 to 10 years in prison on charges of spying and co-operating with the US government.

Iran has detained a number of foreigners and dual citizens over the years, accusing them of espionage and various other state security offences.

Often those charged are sentenced following secretive trials in which human rights groups say they have been denied due process.

Critics of Iran have accused the regime of state-sponsored hostage-taking, arbitrarily detaining and jailing dual citizens to use them as political pawns.

The family of Baquer (L) and Siamak Namazi say that negotiations with Iran should commence only after foreign prisoners detained unfairly are released. Photo: family handout
The family of Baquer (L) and Siamak Namazi say that negotiations with Iran should commence only after foreign prisoners detained unfairly are released. Photo: family handout

Earlier this month, Iran released one Dane and two Austrian-Iranians who had been detained for several years.

Austrian-Iranian citizens Kamran Ghaderi and Massud Mossaheb were released after being held for 2,709 and 1,586 days, respectively.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Monday reaffirmed Tehran was not in any talks to conclude an interim or new nuclear agreement with world powers.

The US and Iran denied a report last Thursday that they were nearing an interim deal under which Tehran would curb its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief.

US and European officials have been searching for ways to curb Tehran's nuclear programme since the breakdown of indirect US-Iran talks on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal involving Iran, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia.

The latest statements come after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Iran should co-operate with the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, but added a number of caveats that suggest full co-operation was some way off.

He also said that Iran did not want a nuclear weapon due to its “religious beliefs” but would have built one by now if it desired.

"There is nothing wrong with the agreement (with the West), but the infrastructure of our nuclear industry should not be touched," Mr Khamenei said, according to state media.

Last month, the IAEA said that some outstanding issues, specifically the installation of cameras and the presence of unexplained highly enriched uranium particles at four sites, had been resolved.

Their decision to halt an investigation into the unexplained uranium particles provoked an angry response from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said the organisation had become “politicised”.

But the IAEA's head, Raphael Grossi, said last week that only “a fraction of what we envisaged” had been achieved in terms of installing cameras and enrichment monitoring equipment at two major sites, Fordow and Natanz.

“What needs to happen now is a sustained and uninterrupted process that leads to all the commitments contained in the Joint Statement being fulfilled without further delay,” he said.

RESULT

Copa del Rey, semi-final second leg

Real Madrid 0
Barcelona 3 (Suarez (50', 73' pen), Varane (69' OG)

RESULTS

Bantamweight title:
Vinicius de Oliveira (BRA) bt Xavier Alaoui (MAR)
(KO round 2)
Catchweight 68kg:
Sean Soriano (USA) bt Noad Lahat (ISR)
(TKO round 1)
Middleweight:
Denis Tiuliulin (RUS) bt Juscelino Ferreira (BRA)
(TKO round 1)
Lightweight:
Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR) bt Joachim Tollefsen (DEN)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 68kg:
Austin Arnett (USA) bt Daniel Vega (MEX)
(TKO round 3)
Lightweight:
Carrington Banks (USA) bt Marcio Andrade (BRA)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 58kg:
Corinne Laframboise (CAN) bt Malin Hermansson (SWE)
(Submission round 2)
Bantamweight:
Jalal Al Daaja (CAN) bt Juares Dea (CMR)
(Split decision)
Middleweight:
Mohamad Osseili (LEB) bt Ivan Slynko (UKR)
(TKO round 1)
Featherweight:
Tarun Grigoryan (ARM) bt Islam Makhamadjanov (UZB)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 54kg:
Mariagiovanna Vai (ITA) bt Daniella Shutov (ISR)
(Submission round 1)
Middleweight:
Joan Arastey (ESP) bt Omran Chaaban (LEB)
(Unanimous decision)
Welterweight:
Bruno Carvalho (POR) bt Souhil Tahiri (ALG)
(TKO)

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Brief scores:

Toss: Sindhis, elected to field first

Kerala Knights 103-7 (10 ov)

Parnell 59 not out; Tambe 5-15

Sindhis 104-1 (7.4 ov)

Watson 50 not out, Devcich 49

Indoor cricket in a nutshell

Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai

16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side

8 There are eight players per team

There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.

5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls

Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership

Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.

Zones

A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs

B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run

Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs

Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full

Types of bank fraud

1) Phishing

Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.

2) Smishing

The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.

3) Vishing

The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.

4) SIM swap

Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.

5) Identity theft

Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.

6) Prize scams

Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.

Despacito's dominance in numbers

Released: 2017

Peak chart position: No.1 in more than 47 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Lebanon

Views: 5.3 billion on YouTube

Sales: With 10 million downloads in the US, Despacito became the first Latin single to receive Diamond sales certification

Streams: 1.3 billion combined audio and video by the end of 2017, making it the biggest digital hit of the year.

Awards: 17, including Record of the Year at last year’s prestigious Latin Grammy Awards, as well as five Billboard Music Awards

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Juliot Vinolia’s checklist for adopting alternate-day fasting

-      Don’t do it more than once in three days

-      Don’t go under 700 calories on fasting days

-      Ensure there is sufficient water intake, as the body can go in dehydration mode

-      Ensure there is enough roughage (fibre) in the food on fasting days as well

-      Do not binge on processed or fatty foods on non-fasting days

-      Complement fasting with plant-based foods, fruits, vegetables, seafood. Cut out processed meats and processed carbohydrates

-      Manage your sleep

-      People with existing gastric or mental health issues should avoid fasting

-      Do not fast for prolonged periods without supervision by a qualified expert

Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

UAE central contracts

Full time contracts

Rohan Mustafa, Ahmed Raza, Mohammed Usman, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Sultan Ahmed, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid

Part time contracts

Aryan Lakra, Ansh Tandon, Karthik Meiyappan, Rahul Bhatia, Alishan Sharafu, CP Rizwaan, Basil Hameed, Matiullah, Fahad Nawaz, Sanchit Sharma

Updated: June 12, 2023, 9:59 AM