Iran
Young Iranians' new show of freedom? Curly locks
If Iran's hardliner’s had their way, men would keep their hair cropped short and women’s locks would be firmly out of sight under tight veils. As a result, free-spirited young Iranians have decided to wear their curly locks Jimmy Hendrix-style, a move less innocuous than it looks at first glance. Read more...
Kurdish student Habib Latifi escapes the gallows, but for how long?
Who's behind the 'Association of Iranian Nazis'
Our Observer in Iran alerted us on this surprising newcomer to the Iranian Web: a website and discussion forum for the “Association of Iranian Nazis”. He was surprised to note that the domain name extension is ".ir", which indicates that it has been officially approved by Iranian authorities. Read more...
Man bleeds to death in Tehran street before idle onlookers
Iranian asylum seekers sew mouths shut to protest Greek mistreatment
As Greece faces growing international pressure to improve its “catastrophic” immigration system, a group of Iranian asylum seekers have sewed their mouths shut during a hunger strike in central Athens to pressure the Greek government to accept their applications for refugee status. Read more...
When puppy love holds up Tehran traffic
In Iran, young men and women are not allowed to openly meet or flirt in the usual western contexts of bars or nightclubs. Instead, they turn to a rather unexpected matchmaking joint : their car. Read more and watch the video…
Iran wildly overestimates France 24’s – and Ahmadinejad’s - popularity
According to Fars news the official Iranian press agency, an article on France 24.com about Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech at the UN General Assembly in September reaped in 2.2 billion reader comments. This figure doesn't exactly match those of France 24. Read more...
Lula da Silva 'endangered' alleged adulteress with asylum gesture
An Iranian woman who may be stoned to death for adultery charges has attracted worldwide attention, including that of Brazilian President Luiz Lula da Silva. Will it help her? Quite the opposite, one of our Tehran Observers explains. Read more...
Maymand, the prehistoric Iranian village
A small village in the south of Iran has been suspended in time for thousands of years. Read more and see the photos...
Ahmadinejad allies shut up shop over tax dispute
The Iranian government is facing strong opposition from enraged merchants, who entered their sixth day of strikes on Monday in protest against a hefty annual tax increase. Generally considered close allies of the Islamic regime, the stall owners' protests are viewed as a serious warning to President Ahmadinejad. Read more...
