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What you need to know about Iran’s raging protests | CNN

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What you need to know about Iran’s raging protests | CNN

Editor’s Word: A model of this story first appeared in CNN’s In the meantime within the Center East publication, a three-times-a-week look contained in the area’s largest tales. Enroll right here.


Abu Dhabi, UAE
CNN
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Protests continued throughout Iran on Sunday regardless of authorities crackdown and state media stories claiming that demonstrators have put an finish to their rallies.

The protests, now of their tenth day, had been triggered by the dying of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in a hospital three days after being apprehended by the morality police in Tehran and brought to a “re-education middle” for not abiding by the state’s hijab guidelines.

Protests have since then taken place in additional than 40 cities, together with the capital Tehran, with dozens reportedly killed in clashes with safety forces. Not less than 1,200 had been arrested, based on state-backed media.

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Rallies that began with requires justice for Amini’s dying have morphed into bigger protest, uniting an array of social factions and courses, with many calling for the autumn of the regime.

Right here’s what you might want to know concerning the protests:

What’s totally different concerning the present protests?

At this time’s protests aren’t not like earlier anti-government actions, however the core points driving at the moment’s mobilization are totally different, specialists say, arguably making them extra important.

Earlier waves of protests – in 2019, 2021 and extra just lately this yr – had been primarily fueled by financial grievances, says Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, founder and CEO of the Bourse & Bazaar Basis in London, including that it was one of many predominant causes protests didn’t cross over to different segments of society.

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“That is totally different, as a result of what individuals are actually asking for is a extra important type of political change,” mentioned Batmanghelidj, including that this motion has made it simpler to “generate solidarity amongst totally different social teams.”

At this time’s protests are additionally amassing youthful Iranians with web entry who haven’t identified an Iran earlier than the Islamic Republic, mentioned Sanam Vakil, a senior analysis fellow for the Center East and North Africa program at Chatham Home think-tank in London.

How safe does the federal government really feel now?

The federal government doesn’t seem to really feel extra weak than earlier than, mentioned Trita Parsi, vice-president of the Quincy Institute in Washington, DC. “And so they could also be miscalculating right here.”

Consultants anticipate protests to escalate. On Sunday certainly one of Iran’s predominant lecturers’ unions referred to as for a nationwide strike. Staff’ strikes are delicate in Iran as a result of they bring about again recollections of the 1979 revolution, when collective labor motion acted as a helpful tactic that helped deliver down the Shah.

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“I believe it’s fairly seemingly that we’ll see extra strikes as a result of the strikes had been taking place even earlier than this [movement],” mentioned Parsi. “They could find yourself being mutually reinforcing,” he mentioned, including that strikes may add extra strain on the federal government.

How seemingly is the federal government to make concessions and what would the concessions appear to be?

An finish to the protests is extra more likely to come via using brute pressure than concessions, say analysts.

The federal government has blamed Western media for instigating the protests, alluding to international conspiracies. Analysts say that determines how they’ll be handled.

“In the event that they see this as a safety risk and never as a problem of political expedience, then they’re extra more likely to reply utilizing the instruments of their safety equipment,” mentioned Batmanghelidj. “The federal government has much more capability for repression than it does for reform at this stage.”

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Vakil mentioned that even when authorities make concessions via minor reforms, the larger query will probably be “the way to get these younger ladies to place their hijabs again on.”

A face-saving final result could be a rollback on the morality police, she mentioned, including {that a} full scrapping of the hijab regulation is unlikely. A referendum permitting Iranians to vote on the difficulty of hijab may additionally assist quell the protests, she mentioned, casting doubt on that taking place too.

At what level does the federal government turn into weak, and the way shut is it to that time?

Regardless of ten days of demonstrations which have unfold throughout the nation because the dying toll has risen, the protests proceed to be leaderless, with a few of the loudest and most seen proponents of the protests residing in exile as the federal government has restricted web entry at house.

“That is an indigenous Iranian motion,” mentioned Vakil, “and it is very important stress strange Iranians contained in the nation are the mobilizers of what’s taking place.”

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A figurehead could be essential to each negotiate change with the federal government in addition to internally lead the motion itself, mentioned Batmanghelidj.

The protests have a variety of grievances, going past the obligatory hijab and the brutality of the state’s safety equipment.

It additionally stays unclear whether or not there are members throughout the Iranian authorities who perceive the stakes at hand and are keen to push for important change throughout the current construction of energy, added Batmanghelidj.

Germany indicators vitality settlement with UAE amid diversification drive

German utility RWE signed a take care of Abu Dhabi Nationwide Oil Firm (ADNOC) to ship liquefied pure fuel to Germany by the tip of December, Reuters reported on Sunday. The announcement got here on the second day of a two-day journey to the Gulf area by Chancellor Olaf Scholz in his bid to safe different vitality sources. ADNOC will ship the primary cargo in late 2022 to be used within the trial operation of a floating pure fuel terminal in Brunsbuettel, UAE’s state-run WAM information company mentioned.

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  • Background: On Saturday, Scholz held talks in Jeddah with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. In Qatar, he mentioned that Berlin and Doha will push forward with cooperation on hydrogen, which is able to play a key function within the decarbonization and electrification of the German economic system.
  • Why it issues: Germany, till just lately closely depending on Russia for fuel, has been looking for to diversify its vitality provide since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Though the preliminary quantity of LNG to be delivered from Abu Dhabi is comparatively small, it’s a politically important deal to shore up provides of fuel from outdoors of Russia as Berlin seeks to deepen ties with the Gulf and discover different vitality sources. Germany nonetheless lacks infrastructure to import liquefied fuel.

Banks in Lebanon to partially reopen after wave of holdups

Banks in Lebanon had been set to partially reopen on Monday following every week of closure, the Affiliation of Banks in Lebanon (ABL) mentioned in a press release despatched to CNN. As a result of “present tough safety situations and the necessity to protect the security of shoppers and workers alike, within the absence of enough safety by the state”, banks will partially reopen companies for industrial use, the ABL mentioned. Personal depositors will solely be allowed to entry ATM’s.

  • Background: Banks closed on September 19, prompted by a wave of financial institution holdups the place Lebanese depositors, some armed, held-up branches throughout the nation demanding to withdraw their financial savings.
  • Why it issues: Depositors in Lebanon have seen their accounts frozen for the previous two years, resulting from capital controls imposed by the banks over the nation’s monetary collapse. On September 16, 5 banks had been held up by disgruntled depositors demanding to withdraw a part of their financial savings in {dollars}.

Controversial Muslim cleric Qaradawi dies

Senior Muslim cleric Sheikh Youssef al-Qaradawi, who was primarily based in Qatar and was a religious chief for the Muslim Brotherhood, died on Monday, based on a put up on his official Twitter account.

  • Background: The cleric, who was in his nineties, was extremely crucial of Egypt’s President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi and his crackdown on the Brotherhood. Egypt and Qatar’s Gulf neighbors who imposed an financial and diplomatic boycott on the nation commonly referred to as Doha out for giving him refuge. Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have labelled the Brotherhood a terrorist group.
  • Why it issues: Qatar has repaired relations with the boycotting states and resumed commerce and diplomatic ties with them. Its emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani mentioned just lately that his nation doesn’t host any “lively members” of the Brotherhood.

As hype over the upcoming 2022 World Cup reaches fever pitch, rival European groups have teamed as much as ship a united message of tolerance in Qatar.

Ten nations – the Netherlands, England, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Wales – will take part in a season-long “OneLove” marketing campaign selling inclusion and opposing discrimination.

Every of these nations besides Sweden and Norway has certified for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and every captain of the eight qualifying nations will put on a particular OneLove armband – which includes a coronary heart containing colours from all backgrounds – in the course of the match.

Homosexuality is unlawful in Qatar and punishable by as much as three years in jail. The Netherlands soccer affiliation, which is spearheading the marketing campaign, selected the colours to signify all heritages, backgrounds, genders and sexual identities.

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Gulf states have cracked down on LGBTQ symbols of late, with Saudi Arabia ordering the withdrawal of rainbow flags from retailers, and all six Gulf nations, together with Qatar, calling on streaming service Netflix to take down content material that violates native sensibilities.

A Qatari safety official instructed the Related Press information company in April that rainbow flags could possibly be taken from followers on the World Cup to guard them from being attacked for selling homosexual rights.

“This is a crucial message which fits the sport of soccer: on the sphere all people is equal, and this needs to be the case in each place in society. With the OneLove band we categorical this message,” mentioned Virgil van Dijk, the Netherlands captain.

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Finland probes Russian shadow fleet oil tanker after cable-cutting incident

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Finland probes Russian shadow fleet oil tanker after cable-cutting incident

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Finnish authorities are investigating an oil tanker that is part of Russia’s shadow fleet over whether it cut an electricity cable between Finland and Estonia.

The Eagle S was stopped by Finnish authorities after the Estlink 2 subsea electricity cable in the Gulf of Finland was disconnected on Wednesday. The tanker, which is registered in the Cook Islands and is carrying oil from Russia to Egypt according to ship tracking data, was seen passing over the cable at the time of the incident.

The aged tanker is part of Russia’s shadow fleet and is the focus of Finland’s investigation, according to people familiar with the probe. The Eagle S is also under investigation over whether it cut three communications cables in the Gulf of Finland, the people added.

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The shadow fleet is a group of old and often poorly maintained ships used by Russia to circumvent international sanctions on its oil exports.

The Christmas Day incident appears to be the latest in a series of pipelines and cables being targeted in the Baltic Sea by foreign vessels, sparking fears of deliberate attacks on critical infrastructure between Nato countries.

“We must be able to prevent the risks posed by ships belonging to the Russian shadow fleet,” said Finland’s President Alexander Stubb in a post on X after a meeting with security chiefs on Thursday.

Last year a Chinese container ship, the Newnew Polar Bear, cut a gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia but was not stopped by authorities as it was in international waters.

A Chinese bulk carrier, the Yi Peng 3, last month passed over two data cables between Finland and Germany and Sweden and Lithuania about the times they were severed. It stopped for a month in international waters between Denmark and Sweden.

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Chinese investigators finally boarded the ship last week, with Swedish, Danish, German and Finnish representatives present as observers. But Sweden’s foreign minister criticised Beijing for not allowing the lead Swedish investigator to board or to inspect the vessel, which has now left the region.

The Eagle S case is different as the ship voluntarily stopped inside Finnish waters, according to people familiar with the investigation, leaving no question as to jurisdiction. Ownership of the Eagle S is murky but it appears to be the only vessel owned by a Dubai company. Attempts to reach the owner on Thursday were unsuccessful. 

Authorities have not determined the cause of the disconnection of the Estlink 2 cable. Estonia has also said it will not affect its electricity supply. The cable is used to export electricity from Finland, which recently brought its latest nuclear power plant online, to Estonia.

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said the country’s electricity supply would not be affected.

Finnish authorities are keeping an open mind on the latest incident, not least because dozens of poorly maintained vessels in the shadow fleet sail in the Baltic Sea.

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Environmental campaigners have issued repeated warnings about the dangers in the region and elsewhere of the dilapidated vessels.

In the Mediterranean, a Russian cargo ship under US sanctions for working with the Russian military sank between Spain and Algeria on Tuesday.

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Popeye, Tintin and more will enter the public domain in the new year

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Popeye, Tintin and more will enter the public domain in the new year

An enlarged cartoon of Tintin pictured on display at Paris’ Pompidou Cultural Center in 2006. The Belgian cub reporter is among the characters and works entering the public domain in 2025.

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Jan. 1 marks the dawn of a new era for Popeye and Tintin. It’s the day the nonagenarian cartoon characters officially enter the U.S. public domain along with a treasure trove of other iconic works.

The copyrights of thousands of films, songs and books expire in 2025, making them instantly available for people to use, share and adapt. The list includes classics like Virginia Woolf’s book A Room of One’s Own, the Fats Waller song “Ain’t Misbehavin’” and the Marx Brothers’ first feature film, The Cocoanuts.

The main thing they have in common is their age — under U.S. copyright law, their terms all expire after 95 years. All of the works entering the public domain next year are from 1929, except for sound recordings, which (because they are covered by a different law) come from 1924.

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“Copyright’s awesome … but the fact that rights eventually expire, that’s a good thing, too, because that’s the wellspring for creativity,” says Jennifer Jenkins, the director of Duke’s Center for the Study of the Public Domain, which spends months poring over records to compile the most famous examples.

Once in the public domain, these works become fodder for remakes, spinoffs and other adaptations.

That explains the recent wave of horror films starring Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh, characters that entered the public domain in 2024 and 2023 respectively. The trend seems poised to continue: Jenkins says there are already three Popeye slasher flicks in the works.

“They’re capitalizing on the incongruity of this comic book character in a different genre and they get a lot of buzz,” she adds. “[But] when I sit back and look at the universe of remakes of public domain characters or works … the things that we still talk about that stand the test of time don’t tend to be these buzzworthy, kind of ew, grossed-out features.”

More enduring examples include West Side Story drawn from Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, screen adaptations of Jane Austen’s Emma, Percival Everett’s 2024 book James (a retelling of Huckleberry Finn) and Wicked, the musical-turned-movie prequel to L. Frank Baum’s Wizard of Oz. 

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But these artifacts don’t only become fodder for big-name directors and authors — they’re available for anyone who wants to use them, from artists to high school orchestra directors.

Jenkins says she gets “adorable emails” from people who are drawing their own little Winnie the Pooh cartoons, and parents whose kids are talented musicians, eager to finally be able to perform certain compositions publicly and post them online.

In other words, the impact of public domain works extends far beyond the box office and Billboard charts.

“I’m excited about those things that not everybody’s going to notice — people really re-discovering some of these older works and engaging with them and appreciating them and making them their own,” she adds.

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Here’s a look at some of the works that are just days away from the public domain:

Characters

A Popeye balloon flies over the 33rd Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in Times Square.

A helium-filled Popeye balloon participates in the 33rd Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York in 1959, three decades after his comic strip debut.

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Tintin the brave cub reporter — and his dog, Snowy — will enter the public domain in the U.S. well before they will in the European Union, where they are copyrighted until 2054. That’s because EU copyright terms extend 70 years past creators’ deaths, and Belgian cartoonist Hergé died in 1983.

Closer to home there’s E.C. Segar’s Popeye, who made his debut in a January 1929 Thimble Theatre cartoon strip. He sports his signature pipe, sailor outfit, anchor tattoo and sense of humor, responding when asked if he’s a sailor: “Ja think I’m a cowboy?”

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He could have a whole new set of adventures starting in 2025. But there’s a catch: Popeye didn’t start deriving his strength from spinach until 1932.

As Jenkins explains, many cartoon characters develop over time and have been in copyrighted works year after year, meaning certain aspects of them may come into the public domain in different years. So only the original 1929 versions of Popeye and Tintin are fair game, at least for now.

“Definitely the Popeye from 1929 and everything that he says, all of his characteristics, his personality, his sarcasm … that’s public domain,” she says. “The spinach, if you want to be on the safe side, you might want to wait.”

Films

A promotional card for Clara Bow's movie "The Wild Party."

The Wild Party, Clara Bow’s first talkie, was released in 1929, making it public domain in 2025.

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Similarly, the original Steamboat Willie version of Mickey Mouse arrived in the public domain with much fanfare in 2024. In 2025, a dozen more Mickey animations will follow suit — including The Karnival Kid, in which he speaks for the first time.

“His very first words are ‘Hot dogs! Hot dogs!’ — so I guess that’s kind of cute,” Jenkins says. “And then he didn’t wear the white gloves in 1928, but next year, in 2025, we get the version of Mickey Mouse with the signature white gloves in the public domain.”

Sound is a big theme across the films making their public domain debut next year, since 1929 marked the end of the silent film era and the dawn of the sound film age.

The list includes the first sound films from major directors like Alfred Hitchcock (Blackmail), John Ford (The Black Watch) and Cecil B. DeMille (Dynamite), as well as Clara Bow’s first talkie, The Wild Party, and The Broadway Melody, the first sound film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture.

Other notables include Walt Disney’s The Skeleton Dance (the first of the Silly Symphony shorts); King Vidor’s Hallelujah, the first major studio film with an all-Black cast; and Alan Crosland’s On With the Show, the first all-talking, all-color, feature-length film.

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Books

This combination of photos show authors Ernest Hemingway in 1950, left, William Faulkner in 1950, center, and John Steinbeck in 1962.

From left: Ernest Hemingway in 1950, William Faulkner in 1950, and John Steinbeck in 1962.

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Among the many literary works entering the public domain next year are two of the most acclaimed books about World War I: Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms, and the first English translation of Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front — both authors served in the war themselves.

The list includes several detective mysteries: Red Harvest and The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett, Ellery Queen’s The Roman Hat Mystery, and Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie.

There are also some literary debuts, including John Steinbeck’s first novel, Cup of Gold, and Richard Hughes’ first novel A High Wind in Jamaica.

Musical compositions

George Gershwin writes sheet music while sitting at a piano.

George Gershwin’s “An American in Paris” is among the musical compositions entering the public domain in 2025.

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The latest crop of compositions spans the era’s jazz standards, show tunes, pop music and more.

They include: Arthur Freed’s Singin’ in the Rain (which was featured in the film The Hollywood Revue of 1929, also entering public domain), George Gershwin’s An American in Paris, Maurice Ravel’s Bolero, Jack Yellen’s Happy Days Are Here Again (the campaign song for FDR’s 1932 presidential run), Cole Porter’s What Is This Thing Called Love? and Tiptoe Through the Tulips (the Joseph Burke version, not the 1968 Tiny Tim one).

“But if you felt like singing like Tiny Tim for some reason, and you could, you can record your own version of Tiptoe Through the Tulips next year because that song’s going to be public domain,” Jenkins says.

The Center for the Study of Public Domain specifies that musical compositions refer to “the music and lyrics that you might see on a piece of sheet music, not the recordings of those songs.” Those are covered by a separate copyright.

Sound recordings

Marian Anderson poses for a photo outside.

Marian Anderson became the first Black singer to perform at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York in 1955. One of her early recordings from 1924 will enter the public domain next year.

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Under the 2018 Music Modernization Act, sound recordings are protected by copyright for 100 years. It’s the particular recordings that eventually enter the public domain, not the song’s music or lyrics or later recordings from those artists.

These are some of the 1924 performances that will become available for legal reuse in January: Marian Anderson’s “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen,” George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” Jelly Roll Morton’s “Shreveport Stomp,” “Deep Blue Sea Blues” by Clara Smith, and “Everybody Loves My Baby (But My Baby Don’t Love Nobody But Me)” recorded by Louis Armstrong and Clarence Williams’ Blue Five.

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Dozens feared dead as Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashes in Kazakhstan

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Dozens feared dead as Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashes in Kazakhstan

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An Azerbaijan Airlines plane carrying 62 passengers and five crew has crashed while making an emergency landing at a Kazakhstan airport, with 29 survivors, including two children, taken to hospital.

Videos on local media showed a large explosion after the aircraft crashed into an empty field. Images from the scene showed passengers climbing out of the tail of the fuselage aided by emergency workers.

Those aboard were from Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, Russian state Ria news agency reported, citing Kazakhstan’s transport ministry.

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Local media outlets reported that nine of those taken to hospital were in serious condition and that search and rescue operations were under way.

The plane, an Embraer 190, was travelling to Grozny in the southern Russian republic of Chechnya from Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, but was diverted to Aktau after flying into heavy fog.

Early media reports suggested that the plane hit a flock of birds, which affected control of the aircraft.

“After a collision with birds, due to an emergency situation on board the aircraft, its commander decided to go to an alternate airfield and Aktau was chosen,” Ria reported, citing Russia’s aviation agency Rosaviatsia. Local media also shared unconfirmed reports of an explosion of an oxygen canister onboard, leading many passengers to lose consciousness.

Baku has sent an official delegation to Kazakhstan to investigate the incident, Azerbaijan’s APA news agency said. The country’s president, Ilham Aliyev, left an informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States in Russia to return to Baku. He expressed his condolences to the those affected by the crash.

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Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin had also extended his condolences to Azerbaijan’s leader.

Chechnya’s leader Ramzan Kadyrov expressed his condolences to the relatives of the deceased on social media. “We pray to the Almighty for [the survivors’] recovery.”

Photos on social media showed relatives gathering in Grozny airport to wait for news of their loved ones.

One man at Grozny airport said he had just received a video in which he could see his nephew had survived the crash. “Of course I am very happy,” he told a Ria news reporter.

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