Day: July 9, 2024

tehran, iran — Police in Iran shut down the Turkish Airlines office in the capital of Tehran, Iranian media reported Tuesday, after female employees there apparently refused to wear the mandatory headscarf, or hijab, in an act of defiance of the country’s law.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency said police officers went to the Turkish Airlines office in Tehran on Monday to issue what is called a first warning over the “non-observance of hijab” by the company’s employees.

However, the employees — who are Iranian nationals — reportedly “made trouble for the police officers,” prompting the closure. The Tasnim report said police subsequently sealed the office over the employees’ behavior.

According to Tasnim, the Turkish Airlines office will be allowed to reopen on Wednesday and resume business as usual, something that the police did not confirm. The report further said that police would not seal any business due to the non-observance of hijab but issue first warnings.

There was no immediate comment from the Turkish Airlines over the incident in Tehran.

An open defiance of the headscarf law erupted into mass protests across Iran following the September 2022 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after her arrest by the country’s morality police. While those demonstrations appear largely to have cooled, the choice by some Iranian women to remain uncovered in the street poses a new challenge to the country’s theocracy.

Iranian authorities have over the past years shuttered hundreds of businesses across the country — from shops, restaurants to pharmacies and offices — for quietly allowing their female employees to forgo wearing the hijab.

That enforcement was intensified in the months running up to Iran’s presidential election in June to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi who died in a helicopter crash a month earlier.

The fracas at the Tehran office of the Turkish Airlines took place on the same day as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Iran’s President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian to congratulate him on his win in Iran’s presidential runoff last week.

Pezeshkian bested hard-liner Saeed Jalili in the election by promising to reach out to the West and ease enforcement on the country’s mandatory headscarf law after years of sanctions and protests squeezing the Islamic Republic.

The state-run IRNA news agency quoted Tehran Prosecutor Ali Salehi as saying that no legal proceedings or ruling had been issued regarding the sealing the Turkish Airlines office in Tehran.

Iran and Turkey have maintained good relations and in 2023, the volume of bilateral trade between the two stood at $5.4 billion. Turkey is also a popular tourist destination for Iranians, with some 2.5 million visiting last year.

Turkish Airlines is a favored carrier among Iranians because of the shorter travel time to the United States and Canada, compared to other long-haul flights from Arab countries in the Persian Gulf.

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan has halted the expulsion of undocumented migrants from Afghanistan after discussions with the chief of the United Nations refugee agency. 

Filippo Grandi, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR, wrapped up his three-day visit Tuesday and called for “a bolstering of efforts towards longer-term solutions” for Afghans in Pakistan.  

A post-visit UNHCR statement said, “Grandi expressed appreciation that the ‘Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan’ had been suspended and sought assurances that it would remain on hold.” 

A senior Pakistani official who was knowledgeable about Grandi’s meetings with leaders in Islamabad confirmed to VOA that Pakistan had halted deportation of Afghans. However, the official did not specify the duration of the suspension. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly to the media.  

“Our message to Grandi was that the international community should fulfill its responsibility for the upkeep and repatriation of Afghan refugees. It’s a shared responsibility and shouldn’t be left to Pakistan to lift the entire burden,” the official said. 

The decision to suspend the evictions of Afghans was taken on “humanitarian grounds” because of deteriorating economic and humanitarian conditions facing impoverished, war-ravaged Afghanistan, said Pakistani and U.N. officials.  

During his visit, Grandi met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other senior Pakistani officials, and his talks mainly focused on the fate of about 3 million Afghans.  

According to Pakistani and U.N. officials, of those, about 1.3 million are officially declared refugees, nearly 900,000 hold Afghan citizenship cards, and the remainder are without documents, or their visas have expired while waiting to seek asylum in third countries after fleeing the August 2021 Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. 

Repatriation action 

Pakistan unleashed a crackdown last November on all foreigners illegally staying in the country, citing a dramatic rise in militant attacks and attributing them to people residing among the refugee populations. The move has largely targeted more than 1 million Afghan migrants and asylum-seekers who lack legal documents or valid visas.  

Pakistani and Afghan officials say close to 600,000 Afghans have been repatriated to their homeland since the deportation campaign started.  

During his stay in Pakistan, Grandi also traveled to Afghan refugee localities in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, including its capital of Peshawar, and met with their representatives. 

“In the meantime, as Pakistan continues to host some 3 million Afghans, all solutions need to be explored in addition to voluntary repatriation, including third-country resettlement and longer-term solutions within Pakistan,” concluded the UNHCR statement. 

Islamabad maintains that anti-Pakistan militant groups entrenched in sanctuaries in Afghanistan have stepped up attacks against Pakistani security forces and civilians since the Taliban returned to power in the neighboring country three years ago.  

Taliban authorities have criticized the expulsion of Afghans from Pakistan and dismissed allegations they are allowing militants to use Afghan soil to threaten neighboring countries and beyond.

OKLAHOMA CITY, oklahoma — Former Senator Jim Inhofe, a conservative known for his strong support of defense spending and his denial that human activity is responsible for the bulk of climate change, has died. He was 89. 

Inhofe, a powerful fixture in Oklahoma politics for more than six decades, died Tuesday morning after suffering a stroke during the July Fourth holiday, his family said in a statement. 

Inhofe, a Republican who underwent quadruple bypass heart surgery in 2013 before being elected to a fourth term, was elected to a fifth Senate term in 2020, before stepping down in early 2023. 

‘The greatest hoax’

Inhofe frequently criticized the mainstream science that human activity contributed to changes in the Earth’s climate, once calling it “the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people.” 

In February 2015, with temperatures in the nation’s capital below freezing, Inhofe brought a snowball on to the Senate floor. He tossed it before claiming that environmentalists focus attention on global warming as it kept getting cold. 

As Oklahoma’s senior U.S. senator, Inhofe was a staunch supporter of the state’s five military installations and a vocal fan of congressional earmarks. The Army veteran and licensed pilot, who would fly himself to and from Washington, secured the federal money to fund local road and bridge projects, and criticized House Republicans who wanted a one-year moratorium on such pet projects in 2010. 

“Defeating an earmark doesn’t save a nickel,” Inhofe told the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce that August. “It merely means that within the budget process, it goes right back to the bureaucracy.” 

He was a strong backer of President Donald Trump, who praised him for his “incredible support of our #MAGA agenda” while endorsing the senator’s 2020 reelection bid. During the Trump administration, Inhofe served as chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee following the death of Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona. 

Closer to home, Inhofe helped secure millions of dollars to clean up a former mining hub in northeast Oklahoma that spent decades on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund list. In a massive buyout program, the federal government purchased homes and businesses within the 104-square-kilometer region of Tar Creek, where children consistently tested for dangerous levels of lead in their blood. 

Republican U.S. Representative Frank Lucas, the senior member of the Oklahoma congressional delegation, called Inhofe a true public servant. 

“His long career in the United States House and Senate serves as a testament to his strong moral compass and innate desire to better his home state,” Lucas said in a statement 

In 2021, Inhofe defied some in his party by voting to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election, saying that to do otherwise would be a violation of his oath of office to support and defend the Constitution. He voted against convicting Trump at both of his impeachment trials. 

Worked in business, public service

Born James Mountain Inhofe on Nov. 17, 1934, in Des Moines, Iowa, Inhofe grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and received a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Tulsa in 1959. He served in the Army between 1956 and 1958 and was a businessman for three decades. 

He was elected to the state House in 1966 and two years later to the state Senate, where he remained during unsuccessful runs for governor in 1974 and for the U.S. House in 1976. He then won three terms as Tulsa mayor starting in 1978. 

Inhofe went on to win two terms in the U.S. House in the 1980s, before throwing his hat into a bitter U.S. Senate race when longtime Senator David Boren resigned in 1994 to become president of the University of Oklahoma. Inhofe beat then-U.S. Representive Dave McCurdy in a special election to serve the final two years of Boren’s term and was reelected five times. 

Boren, a Democrat, said he and Inhofe worked together in a bipartisan manner when both were in the state Legislature. He later defeated Inhofe in a race for governor. 

“While we ran against each other for governor, we were opponents but never enemies and remained friends,” Boren said in a statement. “I hope we can rebuild that spirit in American politics.” 

Frequent flyer

Inhofe was a commercial-rated pilot and flight instructor with more than 50 years of flying experience. 

He made an emergency landing in Claremore in 1999, after his plane lost a propeller, an incident later blamed on an installation error. In 2006, his plane spun out of control upon landing in Tulsa; he and an aide escaped injury, though the plane was badly damaged. 

In 2010, Inhofe landed his small plane on a closed runway at a rural South Texas airport while flying himself and others to South Padre Island. Runway workers scrambled, and Inhofe agreed to complete a remedial training program rather than face possible legal action. 

He later sponsored legislation that expanded the rights of pilots when dealing with Federal Aviation Administration disciplinary proceedings. 

Inhofe is survived by his wife, Kay, three children and several grandchildren. A son, Dr. Perry Dyson Inhofe II, died in November 2013, at the age of 51, when the twin-engine aircraft he was flying crashed a few miles north of Tulsa International Airport. 

United Way of Greater St. Joseph to host PACE sessions in July and August  KQ2.com

BlockDAG’s AMA Session | Cronos expansion, PEPE breakout.  NullTX

‘Putin fears Trump’: Why Russia waited until Biden became president to invade Ukraine  Sky News Australia

Former President Donald Trump Holds Rally in Doral, Florida  C-SPAN

Trump rips Fox News over ‘fake’ polls: ‘I do better with CNN’  The Hill

The field of archaeology in Armenia is currently in an active, dynamic phase. Excavations continuously reveal new archaeological items that open the pages of Armenian history. These discoveries present the lifestyle and habits of Armenian ancestors and testify to their indigeneity. 

The Erebuni Historical and Archaeological Reserve-Museum stands out for its significant archaeological activity. Founded on October 19, 1968, to mark the 2,750th anniversary of Yerevan, the museum was established with the material cultural remains and discoveries from three famous ancient sites within the city’s administrative boundaries: Arin Fortress, Karmir Blur and Shengavit.

The “passport” of Yerevan, a cuneiform record by King Argishti I about the construction of the Erebuni fortress, is preserved at the museum. This fortress, built by King Argishti I in 782 BC, has been a focal point of archaeological studies. Excavations at the site, with some breaks, lasted for 20 years, from 1951 to 1975.

Erebuni museum is among the most welcoming of Yerevan’s ancient sites. In 2023, it had 37,182 visitors, and it welcomed more than 2,000 visitors during the “Museum Night” events in May. 

To gain deeper insights into current efforts at the Erebuni museum, the Weekly spoke with Vahe Sargsyan, its acting director. He underscored the ongoing importance of the museum’s work.

The Erebuni Historical and Archaeological Reserve-Museum continues to carry out serious work, especially in the field of ongoing Karmir Blur excavations. Teishebaini (also known as Teshebani, modern Karmir Blur) refers to the hill on which the fortress is located. It was the capital of the Transcaucasian provinces of the ancient kingdom of Urartu. This site is near the modern city of Yerevan in Armenia. Teishebaini was once a fortress and government center, featuring towered and buttressed perimeter walls, massive gates, a parade ground within its walls and ground-floor storage rooms.

Karmir Blur excavation site

As early as in the fall of 2021, during excavations at Karmir Blur carried out by an Armenian-Austrian archaeological expedition, a trace of a wall was found. “We did on-site reconnaissance to make sure that we are dealing with an archaeological layer, and our hypothesis was confirmed,” Sargsyan said. Surveying the area with a drone, it was confirmed that there is a complex structure with strong walls, about 20 m long and 1.60 m wide, in that area.

“It became clear that a unique structure has been discovered in the Republic of Armenia and, in general, in the Armenian Highlands. It is one of the city buildings built by Urartu King Rusa II in the seventh century BC. It is a three-part structure, the right and left parts of which were designed for a specific purpose, and the central part is the path of human movement. The floor is completely covered with flagstones, and the height of the preserved walls is more than a meter, making it unique, considering that it is located in the territory of our capital. To my knowledge, a monumental structure of this kind has not been unearthed in decades,” Sargsyan said.

Vahe Sargsyan, acting director of the Erebuni Historical and Archaeological Reserve-Museum

Sargsyan explained what purpose the structure served when it was standing. “Such structures exist in modern Israel and in the present territory of Turkey, and more precisely, in the Armenian Korchaik province. According to one view, it could have been a market, or according to another, a stable-caravan. One more observation: in the Urartian period, not every mortal was destined to enter the citadel, which is an extremely important structure from a strategic point of view. Therefore, it can be assumed that the discovered structure could be a place where passers-by and members of the king’s retinue rested,” he said. 

After the 1970s, no excavations were carried out in the “Red Hill” for decades, and almost no funding was allocated to this ancient site. Yet a few years ago, during the construction of the North-South highway through Armenia, a part of which passed through the territory of the ancient site, archaeologist Hakob Simonyan excavated 300 tombs with the financing of the construction organization. The expedition is currently carrying out excavations in Karmir Blur with state funding.

Sargsyan notes that Karmir Blur is rich in archaeological materials, including grain, parts of textile pieces and Scythian objects, such as weapons, horse equipment and jewelry. According to the archaeologist, the structure continues to surprise the expedition. He did not mention specific dates for the end of the excavations.

The Erebuni museum hosts various events for the popularization and preservation of Armenian culture. On February 14, 2024, in the Urartu hall of the State Hermitage of St. Petersburg, a section dedicated to the Erebuni museum was opened. 

The Erebuni museum is among few museums in the world that has a section in an esteemed global cultural institution like the Hermitage. With the joint efforts of Erebuni and Hermitage researchers, a popular scientific and illustrated booklet has been created which visitors can pick up free of charge. The Erebuni section at the Hermitage will be maintained for at least one year.

“Any cooperation with the museums of other countries should be based on the need to preserve the Armenian value system without unreasonably questioning their exact meaning,” Sargsyan said.

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