A fighting man. Gegard Mousasi's face is marked with scars, many of them small, and healed, like the pitted landscape of this road warrior's life. The 32-year-old, fighting for the 51st time and headlining on his Bellator MMA debut against tough Russian Alexander Schlemenko on Friday's card here at the Mohegan Sun on a Native Indian reservation in Connecticut, has plied his trade across the world from Asia, through Europe, to the USA. Yet his life story is one of Exodus, upheaval, and the long struggle to prove himself. With all that, Mousasi remains one of the quiet men of mixed martial arts, in spite of a history that resonates with turmoil once the lines open up and you read between them. Born in Iran into an Armenian community, at the height of the Iran-Iraq war - in which half a million Iraqi and Iranian soldiers, with estimates of a similar number of civilians, are believed to have died – Gegard’s formative years were inextricably linked to … [Read more...] about Gegard Mousasi: from exodus in Iran to a life as one of the world’s great road warriors
Iran
Iran planning to develop own cryptocurrency following Venezuela’s foray into digital cash
Iran could follow the lead of Venezuela and develop its own cryptocurrency, a move that could bring in much-needed money for the sanctions-hit country. Cash-strapped Venezuela on Tuesday became the first country to launch its own version of bitcoin, a move President Nicolas Maduro celebrated as putting his country on the world's technological forefront. In its first hours on the market, the so-called petro racked in $735 million worth in purchases, Mr Maduro said without providing details. In Iran, Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi, minister of Iran's Ministry of Information and Communications Technology, tweeted that state-run Post Bank was working on developing a cryptocurrency. "In a meeting... To continue reading this article Start your free trial of Premium Access all Premium articles Subscriber-only events Cancel any time Free for 30 days then only £2 per week Try Premium Access one Premium article per week Register for … [Read more...] about Iran planning to develop own cryptocurrency following Venezuela’s foray into digital cash
Russia vetoes UN resolution linking Iran with terror activities in Yemen
(CNN)Russia vetoed a United Nations draft resolution Monday that would have linked Iran with the transfer of Iranian-made arms to Houthi militias in Yemen. The UK-proposed draft, which was strongly backed by the United States and its allies, was blocked by Russia despite being supported by 11 of the 15 members of the Security Council. Two countries, China and Kazakhstan, abstained from voting, while Bolivia also voted against the draft. Only the five permanent council members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- maintain veto power. The failure of the draft was followed by the unanimous adoption of a Russian-drafted measure that extended an arms embargo against Yemen, but made no specific reference to Iran. Read More The situation in Yemen has been labeled by the United Nations as "the world's worst man-made humanitarian disaster." Almost three years of civil war and sectarian violence has left much of the country in ruins, with tens of thousands dead … [Read more...] about Russia vetoes UN resolution linking Iran with terror activities in Yemen
Rudy Giuliani on Iran Uprising: Trump Changed U.S. Foreign Policy with a Tweet
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani told those attending an event hosted by the Organization of Iranian American Communities at the National Press Club on Wednesday that President Donald Trump changed American foreign policy with one tweet in support of protests taking place in Iran. “This is a major uprising that’s going on,” Giuliani said. “I am very, very glad that at the very outset — back in December — when the president was in Florida and this happened, unlike the prior president, he didn’t turn his back on the demonstrators.”“Now people can like and don’t like his tweets,” Giuliani said. “I like them because I’ve known him for 28 years and he’s always tweeted nice things about me.” “He put out a very powerful tweet, which basically changed American foreign policy,” Giuliani said. “It must have shook the heck out of the State Department.”“And what it said … [Read more...] about Rudy Giuliani on Iran Uprising: Trump Changed U.S. Foreign Policy with a Tweet
After UN Defeat, U.S. and Allies Condemn Iran over Yemen Arms
(AFP) UNITED NATIONS — The United States and three European allies condemned Iran on Tuesday after the United Nations found Tehran had violated the arms embargo on Yemen by failing to block supplies of missiles and drones to Houthi rebels. Britain, France, Germany and the United States urged Iran to “immediately cease all activities that are inconsistent or would violate” the UN resolution that established the arms embargo in 2015.The joint condemnation came a day after Russia vetoed a British-drafted resolution renewing sanctions on Yemen and citing “particular concern” for the report’s findings about Iran. The report by a UN panel of experts in January concluded that Iran was in violation after determining that missiles fired by the Huthis at Saudi Arabia last year were made in Iran.Russia, however, questioned the findings and blocked the resolution, saying the report did not contain conclusive evidence of Iran’s violation of the arms … [Read more...] about After UN Defeat, U.S. and Allies Condemn Iran over Yemen Arms