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U.S. Cyberweapons, Used Against Iran and North Korea, Are a ... - New York Times
Iran celebrated on Monday as the country's national soccer team qualified for next year's World Cup finals by beating Uzbekistan 2-0 with goals from Sardar Azmoun and Mehdi Taremi.
Azmoun's goal midway through the first half at the Azadi Stadium put them on track to qualify for a place in Russia before Taremi added a second two minutes from time as Iran reached back-to-back World Cup tournaments for the first time.
The three-time Asian champions, who also missed a penalty just after the break, became the second nation after five-times champions Brazil to qualify for the finals by securing a fifth World Cup appearance at the 32-team tournament.
Iran's president Hassan Rouhani congratulated the nation and the players on clinching a place at the finals. "Your victory made all of us happy... Guys well done for the qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia," he tweeted.
Thousands of Iranians spilled onto the streets after the match with impromptu street parties in Tehran and across the country as people danced, waved flags and honked car horns.
"People are shouting 'Iran, Iran'... It is like a carnival We are so happy and proud of our team," said Iran fan Reza Ghanbari in northern Tehran's Tajrish Square.
The win means Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz's Iran team will finish in the top two places in Group A of Asia's final round of qualifying. Uzbekistan are eight points adrift of the leaders in third place and have only two games remaining.
The top two teams in each of Asia's two qualifying groups advance automatically to the finals while the teams in third place go through a series of playoffs.
Azmoun opened the scoring in the 23rd minute when Alireza Jahanbaksh's through ball found the FC Rostov striker with time and space behind the Uzbek defense to roll the ball under goalkeeper Aleksandr Lobanov and into the net.
Captain Masoud Shojaei squandered the chance to double Iran's advantage five minutes into the second half when he fired a penalty over the bar after Taremi had been bundled over in the box by Akmal Shorakhmedov.
But Taremi calmed Iran's nerves when he added the second goal late on by curling a low shot into the corner of Lobanov's goal to spark the celebrations amongst the home supporters.
(Writing by Michael Church in Hong Kong; Additional reporting by Parisa Hafezi in Ankara; Editing by Ken Ferris)
Patric Hornqvist's late goal followed by an empty-netter from Carl Hagelin lifted the Pittsburgh Penguins to a thrilling 2-0 Stanley Cup-clinching victory over the Nashville Predators on Sunday.
PARIS Claycourt king Rafa Nadal regained his Roland Garros throne after two years in exile with a brutal 6-2 6-3 6-1 mauling of Swiss Stan Wawrinka to complete 'La Decima' on Sunday.
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Soccer: Iran celebrates as national team earns World Cup spot - Reuters
President Trump is preparing to accept hundreds of refugees from Iran and other terrorist-connected countries, taking them from camps being maintained by Australia under a deal his predecessor struck, without putting them through the long vetting that usually takes place, according to a report being released Monday.
Some of the refugees have tried to cleanse their social media presence to try to delete red flags that could cost them their chance to come to the U.S., the Center for Immigration Studies report concludes.
A staggering 88 percent of the refugees have some level of mental illness or disorder, according to a U.N. health inspection last year. And the centers report documents incidents of rape and sexual assault perpetrated by the refugees on locals.
Australia has been looking for a landing place for the refugees for years, and President Obama agreed to take them. Mr. Trump criticized the dumb deal in February, and shared a testy phone call with Australias prime minister, but has since relented and is moving quickly to welcome the refugees.
Usually processing refugees takes up to 24 months, but analysts said the process for this set is likely to be eight months, with the first due to arrive by late September.
The process is well underway, Nayla Rush, a senior policy analyst at the center, says in the report.
The refugees tried to reach Australia but were instead detoured to camps on Nauru and Manus Island north of Australia. The vast majority are Iranian one of the countries Mr. Trump has specifically singled out as a trouble spot in his extreme vetting policies. Others are from Sudan and Somalia, which are also on the list.
Australia says it has assurances the deal wont be affected by Mr. Trumps executive order attempting to halt refugee admissions and banning entry to most visitors from Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and Libya.
Some 850 refugees have been identified by the U.N. as candidates for resettlement in the U.S., and American officials are now going through that list and doing their own review.
Homeland Security officials began interviews in May, with decisions on the first group of 70 people expected in weeks.
In exchange for the U.S. taking the refugees off its hands, Australia has committed to taking several dozen Central Americans who are in Costa Rica, hoping to make their way north to the U.S.
Ms. Rush said she can understand Australias thinking, but wondered what the Obama administration saw in the deal and why Mr. Trump, who was initially critical, has now reversed himself.
What is hard to comprehend is President Trumps agreement to move ahead with this deal, she wrote.
She said members of Congress have tried to pry loose more details on the refugee deal, without success.
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Trump moves to accept hundreds of refugees from Iran under Obama deal - Washington Times
BBC News | Proposed ban on Zumba dance classes in Iran criticised - BBC News BBC News A call made by a local sports federation to ban Zumba dance classes across Iran has angered many online. The Iran Sport for All Federation penned a letter to ... |
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Proposed ban on Zumba dance classes in Iran criticised - BBC News - BBC News
Iran has started sending fruit and vegetables to Qatar after Gulf nations cut trade links with the emirate.
Iran's national carrier has already delivered 90 tons of food and flights will continue "based on demand".
Three boats, carrying more than 350 tons of food, will also be leaving an Iranian port for Qatar, according to Tasnim news agency, quoting local officials.
:: Analysis - UK fears Qatar blockade is hurting its people
It was not clear whether the shipments were made as aid deliveries or as exports.
The deliveries came nearly a week after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates began a blockade against Qatar, sparking an unprecedented diplomatic crisis.
The Gulf states expelled Qatari nationals from their territory, cut trade links to the emirate and banned Qatar's national airline from their airspace. Egypt and Yemen followed in passing measures against Doha.
The blockade was in retaliation for what the states claim is Qatari support for terrorist groups and close relations with Iran.
Qatar denies the claims. It has hired John Ashcroft, the US Attorney General during the 9/11 attacks, to review its attempts to combat terrorism and terrorism funding.
The peninsula, which is connected to Saudi Arabia, is heavily reliant on imports for food and before it was cut off from its neighbours brought in 80% of its supply from surrounding Gulf countries.
The isolation measures have led to supermarket queues as citizens anticipated food shortages.
Iran has opened up its airspace to around 100 new Qatari flights daily, upping its air traffic by 17% according to the official state news agency.
Other states in the region have also stepped in. Kuwait, which is not joining in the blockade of Qatar, is pushing to adopt a mediating role in the rift.
Turkey's parliament has also approved sending troops to be stationed in Qatar.
The move to isolate Qatar followed a visit to Saudi Arabia by US President Donald Trump.
Speaking in Washington on Friday, he told journalists that the "nation of Qatar, unfortunately, has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level".
The US has, however, called on Gulf states to "de-escalate" the crisis.
Saudi accuses Qatar of backing groups allied with Iran across the region, including Shiite militant groups in both Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
Saudi has also accused Qatar of supporting the Houthi rebels in Yemen, despite the fact that Doha is a member of a Saudi-led coalition bombing the group.
The states involved in the blockade have released a list of 59 entities and individuals that they say are involved in "terrorist" activities.
Qatar denies accusations that it provides financial support to groups like Islamic State and Al Qaeda, and defends its links with Iran and Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood.
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Iran flies food to Qatar after isolation by Gulf neighbours - Sky News