Germany top EU exporter to Iran
A senior Iranian aviation official announced that two other ATR 72-600 for the national flag-carrier, Iran Air, have received license to register and conduct flights.
According to Fars News Agency, Head of Public Relations Office of Civil Aviation Organization of Iran Reza Jafarzadeh further said, “With these two passenger carriers joining the fleet, the number of the newly bought airplanes of Iran Air, Iran’s national flag-carrier becomes eight ATR 72-600 planes and three Airbuses.”
In April, Iran signed a deal to purchase 20 ATR 72-600 with ATR as a third aircraft manufacturer after having signed lucrative deals with Airbus and Boeing following the implementation of the nuclear deal in January 2016.
The first package, which included four out of the twenty purchased ATR aircraft, landed in Tehran on May 17, followed by two more on September 29.
The ATR 72-600 has a range of 1,500km and a seating capacity of 70.
last two elections, winning the first round of the 2005 vote that eventually went to Sirleaf. Weah ran as the vice presidential candidate with diplomat Winston Tubman in the 2011 poll. They boycotted the runoff that granted Sirleaf her second term.
Weah’s rags-to-riches story has been an inspiration to many supporters who call him “King George.”
He was born in a slum of the capital, Monrovia, and showed promise in soccer at a young age. He played for top Liberian clubs before starting his international career in Cameroon, then moved on to AS Monaco and Paris Saint-germain, where he became famous.
While with AC Milan, Weah in 1995 won World Player of the Year. He later played for Chelsea and Manchester City.
Weah’s limited educational background hurt his political aspirations, and he returned to school after the 2005 attempt for president. He obtained a high school diploma abroad and earned a degree from Illinois-based Devry University.
As Liberia grappled with the Ebola outbreak in 2014, Weah was elected as a senator, defeating Sirleaf’s son Robert for the seat.
Weah’s critics have argued that his lack of political experience makes him unequipped for Liberia’s top job.
Germany was the top exporter to Iran among EU countries during the eight months to November 22 exporting goods worth $1.792 billion. The European country stood fifth after China, UAE, Turkey and South Korea.
At least eight members of the EU maintained their rankings among the top 20 exporters of goods to Iran during the period, reported Trend News Agency.
Germany's exports to Iran registered a 20-percent growth year-on-year, according to the latest figures released by the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran.
Germany had a 5.5-percent share of Iran's overall imports in terms of value during the eight-month period. However the volume of its exports to Iran amounted to 529,000 tons which is 29 percent less year-on-year, indicating that the European country has exported more valuable goods to Iran during the period. A Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen has killed 109 civilians in airstrikes in the past 10 days, including 54 people at a crowded market and 14 members of one family on a farm, the top UN official in the country said on Thursday.
The fighting is futile and absurd, UN resident coordinator Jamie Mcgoldrick said, in unusually direct criticism of the campaign being waged by the coalition against the Houthi movement, Reuters reported.
The Saudi-led coalition, which is backed by the United States, Britain and others, denounced the charges, saying the information lacked credibility. Mcgoldrick appeared to be taking the Houthi side in the conflict, the Saudis said.
Citing initial reports from the UN human rights office, a statement by Mcgoldrick said airstrikes hit a crowded market in the Al-hayma sub-district of Attazziah in Taiz governorate on Tuesday, killing 54 and injuring 32. Eight of the dead and six of the injured were children, according to the reports.
On the same day, an airstrike on a farm in Attohayta district of Hodeidah governorate killed 14, and airstrikes elsewhere killed a further 41 civilians and injured 43 over the past 10 days.
“These incidents prove the complete disregard for human life that all parties, including the Saudi-led coalition, continue to show in this absurd war that has only resulted in the destruction of the country and the incommensurate suffering of its people, who are being punished as part of a futile military campaign by both sides,” Mcgoldrick said. Under international law, the warring sides must spare civilians and civilian infrastructure, he added. The United Nations has no up-to-date estimate of the death toll in Yemen. It said in August 2016 that according to medical centers at least 10,000 people had been killed.
The United Nations says Yemen is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with about eight million people on the brink of famine, a cholera epidemic that has infected one million people, and economic collapse in what was already one of the Arab world’s poorest countries.
Besides Germany, Switzerland ($1.121 million, a 10-percent increase), France ($970 million, a 45-percent increase), Italy ($863 million, a 28 percent-increase), the Netherlands ($723 million, a 16-percent increase), the UK($585 million, a 61-percent increase), Belgium($377 million, an 82-percent increase) and Sweden($327 million, an 80-percent increase) were the European countries that ranked among the top exporters of goods to Iran in the mentioned period.
EU exports to Iran plummeted to €7.3 billion in 2012, down from highs of €11.3 billion in 2006.
Under the sanctions, the Islamic Republic shifted its trade eastward and expanded economic ties with countries such as China and India as well as Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, which took the advantage of the sanctions, and acted as reexporting intermediary to Iran.
During the eight months to November 21, Iran purchased 61.3 percent of its imported goods from five countries — China, the UAE, South Korea, Turkey and Germany.
China was the main exporter of goods to Iran in the mentioned period. Its exports made up 24.5 percent of Iran’s total imports in terms of value. During the eight-month period, Iran imported goods valued at $7.95 billion from China, indicating a 22-percent increase year-on-year.
Iran also imported goods worth $5.749 billion from the UAE (a 23-percent increase), accounting for 17.7 percent of Iran’s total imports in terms of value.
Turkey exported goods worth $2.221 billion to Iran during the period which is 26 percent more year-on-year.
South Korea and India exported goods worth $2.162 billion and $1.547 billion to Iran, respectively.
Imports from India registered an increase of 18 percent, meanwhile South Korean exports to Iran did not register any change compared to the figures for the preceding year.