Shabtabnews In this dark night, I have lost my way – Arise from a corner, oh you the star of guidance.

VOA – Iran executed seven men Wednesday in two prisons outside Tehran on drug and rape charges, a rights group said, accelerating what activists describe as a hanging spree over the past two weeks. The United Nations had warned on Tuesday of a “frighteningly” high number of executions in the country after a rare execution on Monday of two men …

VOA – Billboards across Iran’s capital proclaim that women should wear their mandatory headscarves to honor their mothers. But perhaps for the first time since the chaotic days following Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, more women — both young and old — choose not to do so. Such open defiance comes after months of protests over the September death of 22-year-old …

Al-Monitor – Iran has been ramping up trade with members of the BRICS group, as Tehran looks to join the five-nation alliance that is often seen as an alternative to the Western economic and political hegemony.  BRICS is comprised of the emerging economies of Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa. The alliance accounts for 42% of the global population and about …

RFL/RE – Students and teachers’ rights activists across Iran joined forces to stage nationwide rallies on May 9 against what they call the deteriorating state of the educational system and the systematic suppression of students, teachers, and parents. The call for action, dubbed a “revolution of women, life, and freedom,” was joined by a number of organizations, including the Iranian Retirees Council, …

RFL/RE – An Iranian newspaper has reported that an increasing number of poverty-stricken Iranians are selling their organs to make ends meet. The daily Jahan-e Sanat said in a May 4 report that kidneys, bone marrow, parts of livers, and “anything else that can be transplanted is being bought and sold on the black market” in Iran. The newspaper said …