Rouhani to take oath OMV to develop Band of office on August 6 2 Karkheh oilfield soon 4

Number 5646 ● Wednesday May 31, 2017 ● Khordad 10, 1396 ● Ramadan 5, 1438 ● Price 5,000 Rials ● 12 Pages ● www.irandailyonline.ir Iran urges enhanced ties with Azerbaijan ranian President Hassan Rouhani said the Islamic Republic and Azerbaijan enjoy very good potential for developing rela- Itions in various fields. In a telephone conversation with Azerbaijan’s President Trump hits back at Merkel 3 Ilham Aliyev on Monday night, Rouhani added that the firm with ominous warning determination of the Iranian and Azerbaijani governments for Germany and deep commonalities between the two nations had laid the groundwork for strengthening mutual relations in all fields, Press TV reported. He emphasized that no obstacle could hinder the expansion of political, economic, trade and cultural cooperation between the two countries, saying that the speedy implementation of agree- ments could further increase the level of bilateral and regional relations. The Iranian president also called for collective efforts to fight terrorism and extremism and foster unity among Muslim coun- tries, stressing the importance of eliminating the ideological roots of extremism in Muslim states. Children in Yemen need 9 The Azerbaijani president said relations between Tehran and Baku had always been expanding, but the past four years had support been a remarkable period for both countries. He urged the two countries’ officials to implement all agreements previously signed, saying that a railway con- tract would also be inked between Tehran and Baku in the near future. Aliyev further stressed the importance of enhancing bilateral cooperation on regional developments, particularly the regional stability and security as well as the joint fight against violence, extremism and terrorism.

AP Valverde in charge of 11 Nighttime, early morning bombings Unknown ancient civilization a new era at Barcelona in Baghdad kill dozens rock art found in NE Iran Philippines A massive bombing by the Daesh terror A closed-circuit camera captured Later Tuesday, seven people died and group outside a popular ice cream shop the moment of the explosion, the video 19 were wounded in four separate bomb- in central Baghdad and a rush hour car showing a busy downtown avenue, ings in and around Baghdad, officials warns militants bomb in another downtown area killed with cars driving down the street when said. The attacks targeted commercial ar- at least 31 people on Tuesday, Iraqi of- the blast strikes. A huge fireball then eas and a patrol of Sunni anti-Daesh tribal to surrender or die ficials said. engulfs a building, forcing the cars to fighters, they said. No group immediately Later in the day, bombings in and scramble to get away. Other videos of claimed those attacks. Philippine authorities on Tuesday warned mili- around the Iraqi capital killed seven the attack posted on social media show The attacks came just days into the tants occupying parts of a southern city to sur- more people. wounded and bloodied people crying holy month of Ramadan when Mus- render or die, as attack helicopters pounded the The attacks come as Daesh terror- for help on the sidewalk outside the ice lims fast during daylight hours. After gunmen’s strongholds where up to 2,000 residents ists are steadily losing more territory cream parlor. sundown, families break their fast and were feared trapped. to Iraqi forces in the battle for Mosul, In the second attack, an explosives- Baghdad’s restaurants and cafes quick- More than 100 people have been confirmed the country’s second-largest city. The laden car went off during rush hour ly fill up with people staying up long killed in the conflict, which began last week when terrorists are increasingly turning to in- near the state-run Public Pension Office into the night. gunmen waving black flags of the Daesh terror surgency-style terror attacks to detract in Baghdad’s busy Shawaka area, kill- During Ramadan last year, another group rampaged through the mostly Muslim-pop- from their losses, AP reported. ing 14, a police officer said. At least 37 section of Karrada was hit by massive ulated city of Marawi, AFP wrote. The nighttime attack outside the ice people were wounded in that attack, he suicide bombing that killed almost 300 President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law cream parlor in the bustling Karrada added. people, the deadliest single attack in the across the entire southern region of Mindanao, neighborhood killed 17 people and also In separate online statements, Daesh Iraqi capital in 13 years of war. The at- ibtines.co.uk home to roughly 20 million people, in response to wounded 32, police and health officials claimed responsibility for the two at- tack was also claimed by Daesh. In Iran’s remote northeast, the discovery of mysterious rock art the crisis as he warned that local militant groups said. tacks. Continued on Page 2 is intriguing archeologists. Strange symbols engraved on an out- were uniting behind Daesh and becoming a major crop of volcanic rock, on top of a mountain, appear particularly security threat. puzzling. But the militants, initially estimated by the na- The site, known as Pir-e Mazar Balandar (or PMB001), is tion’s defense chief to number just 100, have with- ‘Shocked’ South Korea leader situated near a small village and is well known to the locals. stood eight days of intense air assaults and street- They in fact consider the engraved stone to be sacred. to-street combat, prompting the government’s Continued on Page 12 threats on Tuesday. “We call on the remaining ter- orders probe into US missile additions rorists to surrender while there is an opportunity,” Military spokesman Brigadier General Restituto South Korean President Moon Jae-in has fense (THAAD) system battery was ini- grams in defiance of UN Security Council Padilla said in a statement. “For the terrorists, not ordered a probe after the Defense Min- tially deployed in March in the southeast- resolutions and threats of more sanctions. WHO: Tobacco kills surrendering will mean their sure death.” Padilla istry failed to inform him that four more ern region of Seongju with just two of its also said the surrender call warning was aimed at launchers for the controversial US anti- maximum load of six launchers to counter China tensions easing limiting the loss of more lives and property. missile system had been brought into the North Korean “missile threats.” more than 7m a year Up to 2,000 residents were trapped in areas held country. During his successful campaign for the Moon’s order of a probe into the by the militants, according to the local govern- THAAD launchers came amid signs of Smoking and other tobacco use kills more than seven million ment, and the International Committee of the Red easing tensions between major trading people each year, the World Health Organization said Tuesday, Cross had voiced alarm they would be caught in partners South Korea and China. also warning of the dire environmental impact of tobacco pro- the bombing raids or crossfire. South Korea’s Jeju Air said on Tuesday duction, distribution and waste. Clashes on Tuesday appeared to be as intense China has approved a plan to double its as previous days. Military helicopters fired rock- flights to the Chinese city of Weihai from ets repeatedly on that part of the city on Tuesday June 2. morning, and black smoke rose from the buildings China has been incensed over the that were apparently hit. The gunmen were being THAAD deployment, fearing it could backed by foreign militants, including Malaysians, give the US military the capability of Indonesians and Singaporeans, authorities said. seeing into its own missile systems, and The militants had killed at least 19 civilians, could open the door to a wider deploy- while 20 security forces and 65 gunmen had died, ment of the system, possibly in Japan and according to the military. elsewhere. The death toll looked likely to climb, with sol- China has denied it had discriminated diers reporting the smell of corpses in a public against South Korean companies, which market still being held by the militants. have faced product boycotts and bans on The violence began when dozens of gunmen Chinese tourists visiting South Korea. went on a rampage in response to an attempt by REUTERS Although there have been no official security forces to arrest Isnilon Hapilon, a vet- “President Moon said it was very May 9 presidential election, Moon called orders from the Chinese government to eran Filipino militant regarded as the local leader shocking” to hear the four additional for a parliamentary review of the system, lift the ban, a few Chinese travel agencies of Daesh. Hapilon, a senior member of the Abu launchers had been installed without be- whose deployment has also infuriated have sent inquiries about package tours, AFP Sayyaf kidnap-for-ransom gang, is on the US gov- ing reported to the new government or to China, North Korea’s lone major ally. he said. However, Lotte Group has yet to The UN agency said tougher measures were needed to rein in ernment’s list of most-wanted terrorists. the public, presidential spokesman Yoon Moon had campaigned on a more mod- reopen any of the 74 retail stores in China tobacco use, urging countries to ban smoking in the workplace He was being protected in Marawi by the lo- Young-chan told a media briefing on erate approach to North Korea, calling for it was forced to close in March after the and indoor public spaces, outlaw marketing of tobacco products cal Maute group, which has pledged allegiance to Tuesday, Reuters reported. engagement even as Pyongyang pursues group allowed South Korea to install the and hike cigarette prices, AFP reported. Daesh. The Terminal High Altitude Area De- nuclear weapons and ballistic missile pro- THAAD system on land it owned. Continued on Page 3 May 31, 2017 Riyadh interference Secretary of Iran’s Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaei said Saudi Arabia’s interference in Qatar’s internal affairs on the pretext of Doha’s 2 friendship with Tehran is the highest-level transgression. National

OPINION Rouhani to take oath of office Why Iran represents an opportunity for Europe on August 6 By forging closer relations with Iran, Europe could unshackle its foreign policy from US. assan Rouhani who won a second term will be sworn in as Iran’s president in By Cornelius Adebahr Hthe Parliament on August 6, a mem- ber of the Parliament’s presiding board said on The final result in Iran’s election was more clear-cut than Presi- Tuesday. dent Hassan Rouhani’s supporters had dared to hope: the incum- Ahmad Amirabadi Farahani told reporters bent received 23.5 million votes (around 57 percent of the 41+ that the inaugural ceremony will be held four or million votes cast), enough to secure outright victory in the first five days after endorsement of Rouhani’s presi- round. His win allows him to continue the policy of rapproche- dency by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Aya- ment that he has pursued since assuming office in 2013, with the tollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, IRNA reported. 2015 nuclear agreement his biggest success to date. Given the Following the swearing-in ceremony, Ami- uncertainty emanating from the new US administration, the Eu- rabadi added, the president will have two weeks ropean Union now has a key part to play. By taking a determined to submit his new cabinet to the Parliament for a approach on foreign policy, the EU could unshackle itself from vote of confidence. the US on a matter of global political importance. The lawmakers will then assess the programs The short but intense election campaign in Iran has shown that of the proposed ministerial picks for a week, be- lively political debate is possible in the Islamic Republic, despite fore an open sessions for the vote of confidence, controls on the media. Conservatives and moderates went on the he added. offensive, with the former accusing the government of incom- Rouhani garnered 23,549,616 votes from a petence while the latter denounced the hardliners for wanting to total of 41,220,131 ballots in Iran’s presidential bring back the bad old days of deprivation and no freedom. election held on May 19. Both sides withdrew one of their candidates shortly before No sitting president in Iran has failed to win a voters went to the polls, meaning that from the first round the second term since 1981. election was a contest between two clerics: the incumbent Rou- During the previous presidential election in hani and his opponent Ebrahim Raisi, the custodian of the Imam June 2013, Rouhani had emerged victorious by Reza Shrine in Mashhad (Iran’s second-largest city and an im- winning 50.7 percent of a total of over 36 mil- portant religious center). The former attorney general, who was lion votes. He had won more than three times as virtually unknown a year ago. many votes as his closest challenger. With a high turnout of 73 percent, the result is also a victory jamejamonline.ir for the system. In an emphatic endorsement of the moderate course he has taken, President Rouhani received almost five mil- lion more votes than in the 2013 election; however, in his second IRNA, Sputnik term he will still be able to act only within the limits laid down Iran releases by the Leader. For Europe and the international community, the result repre- 15 Indian fishermen sign cooperation agreement sents continuity in terms of foreign policy, as the election was a de facto referendum on whether Iran would stick to its nuclear Indian officials announced on Tuesday that Iran has re- Iran’s leading news agency, the Islamic Re- Iran and Rossiya Segodnya and Sputnik will deal (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA). This was leased 15 Indian fishermen who had been detained in the public News Agency (IRNA), and Sputnik In- have important role in introducing potential reflected in the words of the EU’s High Representative of the country since December 2016. ternational News Agency and Radio signed a capacities of cooperation between Iran and Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogh- The 15 fishermen were working on fishing vessels in cooperation agreement. Russia in all fields.” erini, who took to Twitter shortly after the result was officially the United Arab Emirates and were detained in the Ira- Rossiya Segodnya Director General Dmitry Sputnik is a news agency and radio net- announced to congratulate Rouhani on his “strong mandate”. nian southern island of Kish, IRNA reported. Kiselev and IRNA Managing Director Mo- work with multimedia news hubs in dozens She summarized Europe’s priorities in under 160 characters: According to Time of India newspaper, the fishermen hammad Khoddadi sealed the agreement. The of countries. Sputnik broadcasts through its “#EU ready to continue work for full JCPOA implementation, ventured on a fishing expedition in three boats from parties have agreed to exchange information, websites in over 30 languages, as well as on bilat engagement, regional peace, and meet expectations of all Dubai in December 2016, but were apprehended by Iran hold joint events, and strengthen media coop- analogue and digital radio, mobile apps, and people in #Iran” naval forces on charges of trespassing. eration between Russia and Iran, Sputnik re- social media. Sputnik newswires, available by She was addressing the main criticism levelled by the presi- After inquiry, the fishermen along with their boats ported. subscription, 24/7 in English, Arabic, Spanish dent’s opponents, who claim his deal has not brought a promised were detained on Kish Island in Iran. Since then, the economic recovery. Although the Iranian economy has grown by families of these fishermen have been petitioning the almost five percent in the past year and Rouhani’s government district administration seeking the state and central gov- has managed to bring down inflation from over 40 percent to ernments’ help in securing their release. less than 10, the upswing has not been felt by ordinary Iranians. After the owner of the fishing vessels paid the penalty Since Washington is unlikely to make concessions on sanc- amount, Iranian authorities allowed the Indian fisher- tions, the EU must take the initiative, for example by providing men to leave the country. financing and payment channels or exercising due diligence to In April 2017, Iran released 15 Indian fishermen who verify that Iranian business partners are not affected by existing had been detained in the country since October 20, 2016. sanctions. The fishermen were working for a Bahraini company Mogherini’s second point – greater engagement between Eu- and were arrested due to illegal entry into Iran’s wa- rope and Iran – is in line with the principle of broad-based, bi- ters. lateral cooperation with third-party states that is at the heart of European foreign policy. It represents a determination to move beyond a narrow focus on the nuclear question, which dominat- ed the 12 years of negotiations that led up to the signing of the JCPOA. On both these points, there are frictions with Washington. Both the Trump administration and Congress believe trade with Iran is tantamount to strengthening the Iranian government. The Mohammad Ali Rajabi US is therefore willing to cooperate further with Iran on a very limited set of issues, such as in the fight against so-called “Is- lamic State” (IS) in Iraq. Members of Congress from either party Khoddadi said, “Cooperation with influen- and Chinese. want to force Iran to its knees with new sanctions over its missile tial foreign news agencies is on IRNA agenda. IRNA is a state-run news agency of the Is- program and its activities in Syria and Yemen. We believe that direct news exchange be- lamic Republic of Iran that was established in This is the issue addressed by the third and most ambitious tween news agencies is the only way to coun- 1934. One of the most respected and quoted point in Mogherini’s tweet: bringing peace to the region. ter one-way flow of information in the world. media in the country, the agency publishes Israel and the neighboring Persian Gulf states see Tehran’s Therefore, cooperation between IRNA as of- daily news in Farsi, Urdu, English, French, support for Shiite militias in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen ficial news agency of the Islamic Republic of Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Turkish. as a threat. They believe the problem with the JCPOA lies not in temporary restrictions on the Iranian nuclear program (indeed, they support this restriction) but in the elevation of Tehran’s status in the region’s politics following successful Nighttime, early morning bombings... negotiations with the Obama administration. From the Arab and Israeli perspective, Donald Trump’s visits to Riyadh and From Page 1 Jerusalem (the first calling points on his maiden foreign tour) represented an important, and not merely symbolic, return to Iran condemnation old lines of conflict. This marks a formidable foreign policy challenge for the EU Iran condemned the terrorist bombings, say- and its member states. Although Rouhani’s reelection means ing the “criminal move” clearly indicated the rapprochement between Europe and Iran will continue (provided inherent enmity of terrorists toward Islam and Iran continues to uphold its JCPOA obligations), tensions with Muslims. the US are likely to increase. Although the US itself is unlikely Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qas- to pull out of the actual agreement, it is deliberately endanger- semi on Tuesday expressed his sympathy with ing the deal with its provocative rhetoric and harsh anti-nuclear the Iraqi government and people as well as the measures. Some Iranian institutions are likewise opposed to the bereaved families of the victims of the terrorist deal, making an uncontrolled escalation likely. blasts. Expanding bilateral relations in the face of US resistance will It was also the latest futile attempt by ter- demand courage and farsightedness from the EU. Europe dem- rorists to make up for their defeats in Iraq, he onstrated both these qualities when it began nuclear talks with added. Iran in 2003. If the EU and its member states build on their dip- Qassemi emphasized that the final vic- lomatic successes, they could make crucial progress towards tory against terrorism in Iraq was imminent another goal: unshackling themselves from the USA on a key and expressed hope that Iraq would be com- security policy issue and showing themselves capable of acting pletely cleansed of Takfiri terrorists soon autonomously on the global political stage. given the recent achievements by the Iraqi popular forces in the northern city of Mo- International Politics and Society sul. IRNA May 31, 2017 Bangladesh battered Cyclone Mora battered Bangladesh on Tuesday, killing five people, damaging thousands of homes and ripping through a camp housing 3 thousands of Rohingya refugees who had fled violence in Myanmar. International

Trump hits back at Merkel North Korea says ballistic missile test successful North Korea on Tuesday said its test of a precision guided missile was “successful”, adding it had zeroed in within a few with ominous warning for Germany meters of a target provocatively close to Japan the day before. The North’s leader Kim Jong-un supervised the launch of Compiled from Dispatches the guided ballistic rocket – the third missile test by the nu- clear-armed state in less than three weeks and carried out in he US President Donald Trump defiance of US threats of military action and UN sanctions, hit back at Angela Merkel’s recent AFP reported. Tcomments about the unreliability of the US as a trading partner. In a tweet, the US president said Amer- ica had a “massive trade deficit with Ger- many” and warned: “This will change,” the Independent reported. It came after the German Chancellor said her country can no longer rely on the US under Trump’s presidency. Speaking at a campaign event held in a Bavaria, Merkel emphasized the need for friendly relations with the US, Britain KCNA VIA KNS/AFP/STR This undated picture released from North Korea’s and Russia, but added: “We Europeans official Korean Central News Agency shows leader must really take our destiny into our own Kim Jong-un watching the test of a new antiaircraft hands.” guided weapon system. Merkel said that as the traditional West- ern alliance is threatened by the new US “The ballistic rocket flew toward the east sky where the day presidency and Brexit, “the times in which broke and correctly hit a planned target point with deviation of we can fully count on others are somewhat seven meters after flying over the middle shooting range,” the over”. state-run news agency KCNA said. Her comments came after Trump said South Korea’s military earlier said the Scud-type missile he needed more time to decide if the US traveled eastward for 450 kilometers (280 miles). Japan said would continue backing the Paris climate it believed it had fallen into its exclusive economic zone, ex- deal, which has frustrated European diplo- tending 200 nautical miles from the coast. mats. The missile test triggered swift condemnation from US On Monday, Merkel again underlined President Donald Trump who said it showed “disrespect” to her doubts about the reliability of the US neighboring China, the North’s sole major ally, which has as an ally but said she was a “convinced sought to dampen tensions over Pyongyang’s weapons pro- trans-Atlanticist”, fine-tuning her mes- JONATHAN ERNST/REUTERS gram. sage after surprising Washington with her Trump took office. His administration has Meanwhile, contributions to the defense According to NATO data, Germany is The launch was aimed at testing a weapon “capable of mak- frankness a day earlier. previously said that Germany’s trade sur- alliance NATO has emerged as another currently spending 1.2 percent of its GDP ing ultra-precision strike on the enemies’ objects at any area”, “We have a MASSIVE trade deficit with plus is a result of the country’s manipula- problem between Berlin and Washington. on NATO. The US spends 3.6 percent. KCNA said. Germany, plus they pay FAR LESS than tion of the euro. Trump has repeatedly asked NATO allies Germany, like other NATO members, The country rejects UN and unilateral sanctions by other they should on NATO & military. Very bad Germany fought back arguing that it to step up their contributions. At the mo- vowed to present an action plan on how states against its weapons program as an infringement of its for US. This will change,” Reuters quoted doesn’t have powers to manipulate the ment, only 5 of the 28 members fulfill the it’s planning to increase defense spending right to self-defense and says the program is necessary to Trump as tweeting on Tuesday. euro and the only reason consumers opt target of paying at least 2 percent of their at a summit last week. At the time, Trump counter US aggression. The image of friendly relations between for its products is because they are more gross domestic product (GDP) on defense, told his allies they were being unfair to- The projectile was showcased for the first time last month Germany and the US seems distant since competitive. cnbc.com reported. wards US taxpayers. as part of Pyongyang’s annual military parade to mark the 105th birth anniversary of the state’s founder Kim Il-sung, the news agency added. Following North Korea’s test-firing earlier this month of what analysts said was its longest-range rocket yet, the UN UNHRC names team to probe Myanmar Rohingya abuses Security Council vowed to push all countries to tighten sanc- tions against Pyongyang. The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Tuesday named a three- But China has made it clear that the push for talks – and not person team to probe alleged atrocities against Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims, a more sanctions – is its priority. On Monday it pleaded again key step in an investigation already rejected by the country’s government. for dialogue. The Geneva-based UNHRC voted in March to create a Myanmar fact-finding “We hope that related parties can remain calm and re- mission, in a politically sensitive move that faced fierce resistance from the gov- strained, ease the tension on the peninsula, and bring the pen- ernment of Aung San Suu Kyi, AFP reported. insula issue onto the right track of peaceful dialogue again,” The mission was ordered to “urgently” investigate abuses reportedly commit- the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. ted by the security forces, particularly in Rakhine state where troops have been The US has said it is willing to enter into talks only if the accused of raping, torturing and murdering members of the Rohingya community. North halts its missile and nuclear tests. The nation has staged Decorated Indian lawyer and women’s rights campaigner, Indira Jaising, Sri two atomic tests and test-fired dozens of rockets since the be- Lanka’s former human rights chief Radhika Coomaraswamy and Christopher ginning of last year, including 12 launched this year. Dominic Sidoti, a prominent human rights advocate from Australia, were appoint- ed to lead the probe. The group is scheduled to meet soon in Geneva to chart a work plan, a rights WHO: Tobacco kills more than... council statement said. AFP But it is not yet clear if they will be granted From Page 1 access to Rakhine, or even be permitted to land in Myanmar. “Tobacco threatens us all,” the WHO chief, Margaret Speaking in Brussels earlier this month, Suu Chan, said in a statement. Kyi made clear that her government had “dis- “Tobacco exacerbates poverty, reduces economic pro- associated” itself from the resolution setting ductivity, contributes to poor household food choices, and up the probe, calling it out of touch “with what pollutes indoor air,” she said. is actually happening on the ground.” In a report released ahead of World No Tobacco Day on The north of Rakhine state has been under Wednesday, WHO warned that the annual death toll of sev- lockdown since October, when the military en million people had jumped from four million at the turn launched an operation against the minority af- of the century, making tobacco the world’s single biggest ter deadly attacks on police posts on October cause of preventable death. 9. The government blamed the Rohingya for the assault that left nine policemen dead de- spite the fact that Rohingya have no militant faction to fight for them. The minority has flat- ly denied the allegations against it. Some 100,000 people from the Muslim mi- nority were displaced by the violence, most of them fleeing to Bangladesh. An earlier UN rights office report based on testimony from Rohingya refugees in Bangla- desh said Myanmar’s security forces may be guilty of crimes against humanity. AFP Myanmar has rebuffed those charges and has And the death toll is expected to keep rising, with WHO refused to allow international observers into bracing for more than one billion deaths this century. the area. “By 2030, more than 80 percent of the deaths will oc- The rights council called on the government cur in developing countries, which have been increasingly to give investigators “full, unrestricted and un- targeted by tobacco companies seeking new markets to cir- monitored access to all areas.” cumvent tightening regulation in developed nations.” Matthew Smith, who heads the Fortify Tobacco use also brings an economic cost: WHO es- Rights watchdog in Bangkok which closely timates that it drains more than $1.4 trillion (1.3 trillion tracks the Rakhine situation, told AFP the gov- euros) from households and governments each year in ernment had “no defensible reason to not co- healthcare expenditures and lost productivity, or nearly two operate with this mission.” percent of the global gross domestic product. He said investigators appointed Tuesday In addition to the health and economic costs linked to were “a strong team that’s certainly up to the smoking, the WHO report for the first time delved into task.” the environmental impact of everything from tobacco pro- The mission is scheduled to give the rights duction to the cigarette butts and other waste produced by council an oral update of their findings in Sep- smokers. tember. May 31, 2017 Gasoline production Iran’s gasoline output increased by 2.7 million liters per day (ml/d) in the 4 year to March 20, to about 70.22 ml/d, reported Trend News Agency. Domestic Economy

PERSPECTIVE Chabahar Port: Strategic necessity for India By Bharat Shakti

Chabahar is definitely an opportunity for Iran, Afghanistan and India. Lo- cated close to Gwadar, it provides India an avenue to extend its reach and contest the emergence of China as the predominant influence in the region. In terms of capacity, the port is much smaller in design as compared to Gwa- OOMVMV ttoo ddevelopevelop dar, but with investments being more limited its viability is definitely greater. For India, it provides a routing to Afghanistan without having to pass through Pakistan. The author provides an evaluation of the project both from the strate- gic and also the economic viewpoint. Located in close proximity to Afghanistan and the Central Asian countries of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, Chabahar Port has been termed as the ‘Golden BBandand KKarkheharkheh Gate’ to these landlocked countries.

Iran- India partnership

Iran invited India in 1990s to develop the Chabahar Port to obtain a land ac- cess into Afghanistan. This was followed by a trilateral agreement in 1997 with ooililfieeldld ssoonoon Turkmenistan to expand trade into Central Asia followed by another agreement with Russia to provide seamless transport between India and Europe via an In- ternational North South Transport Corridor. India agreed to expand the Chabahar port and to lay a railway track between Chabahar and Zaranj. India spent $134 million during 2005 to 2009 to construct a road from Delar- am in Afghanistan to Zaranj at the Iran Afghanistan border. Iran has completed first phase of the Chabahar Port at a cost of $340 million. Connectivity from Chabahar through Milak, Zaranj and Delaram has been established to the Garland road in Afghanistan which connects the major Af- ghan cities Herat, Kandhar, Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif. In March 2012, ships from India docked at Chabahar carrying 100,000 tons of wheat under humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. However, without further de- velopment of the port the roads remained unutilized. REUTERS In May 2016, India signed a series of 12 memorandums of understanding pertaining to the port of Chabahar. The most important one pertains to the deal xecutive manager of the project to develop Band exploration and production (E&P) signed a memoran- OMV has a long lasting partnership with Iran and en- between Iran and India which permits India to develop and operate two berths Karkheh oilfield announced that OMV, the inter- dum of understanding (MoU) with Austria’s OMV for tered the country in 2001. In 2016 the NIOC and OMV of the Chabahar Port for 10 years. This will be done by India Ports Global — Enational, integrated oil and gas company based cooperation in upstream oil projects in Iran. signed a memorandum of understanding to evaluate a joint venture between Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and Kandla Port Trust in in Vienna, will begin developing the oilfield in the near OMV and Dana Energy, a leading Iranian company in- fields in the Zagros area in the west of Iran, for potential partnership with Iran’s Aria Banader. The company has guaranteed handling of future. volved in upstream oil and gas field development activi- future development. 30,000 twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) ships on completion of two years Fars News Agency quoted Alireza Zamani as saying ties, signed a memorandum of understanding on January OMV also signed a joint study agreement with NIOC and eventually reaches a figure of 250,000 TEUs. The berths will be developed on Tuesday, “The OMV will soon start development ac- 20, 2017. Exploration for the Fars area. at a cost of $85 million. A container handling facility of 640 meters will be con- tivities in Band Karkheh oilfield.” The parties agreed to evaluate possible upcoming de- OMV entered Iran in 2001 as the operator of the Mehr structed and reconstruction of the existing 600 meters container handling capa- Noting that the oilfield was discovered by OMV, he velopment and redevelopment projects in the Iranian oil exploration block in western Iran, leading to a success- bility in the second berth will be taken up. All these will be fitted with modern said, “The operation was carried out based on a discov- and gas industry. The document was signed in Vienna by ful discovery (of Band Karkheh) in 2005. Most recently, port handling equipment. This would result in the port handling capability of ery and development contract between the National Ira- S. Mostafa Khoee, Dana Energy board member and E&P in announcing OMV’s strategy on February 18, 2016, Chabahar being enhanced from 2.5 million tons to 8 million tons. nian Oil Company (NIOC) and the OMV firm.” president, and Johann Pleininger, OMV executive board OMV CEO Rainer Seele set Iran as one of the three de- It is pertinent to note that the investment is supplemented with a $150 mil- In a relevant development in January, an Iranian oil member responsible for upstream division. velopment areas in the upstream portfolio. lion line of credit to Iran through the Exim Bank of India. Apart from this, a memorandum of understanding was also signed for the financing of the planned Chabahar–Zahedan railway line as a part of the North South Transport Corridor by Indian Railways construction unit — Ircon International. The offer entails providing the cost of $1.6 billion. This would enable Chaba- Renovating aviation fleet will generate jobs, revenues har to be linked to Afghanistan and Russia by rail. Domestic Economy Desk said the promotion of the aviation fleet Strategic necessity will result in economic development. A university lecturer described the “Iran has historical cities with nu- As per political observer Aagam G Shah’s statement in quora.com, the rea- purchase of medium-range ATR pas- merous tourism attractions. You can son for Indian economic and geopolitical involvement with Iran is to counter senger planes as a ‘very important’ de- easily name five historical Iranian the influence of China’s string of pearls strategy. The advantages that would ac- velopment in activating Iran’s airports cities which are known for their tour- crue are: and promoting tourism as well as en- ism attractions in the world. Hence, trepreneurship. the development of air transport and ● It will provide a land route to Afghanistan, Iran, Central Asia and Russia. In Ali Dadpey, who serves as the asso- aviation fleet will not only impact the doing so it will make way for India to bypass Pakistan in transporting goods to ciate dean and MBA director for The economy of metropolises such as Teh- Afghanistan using a sea land route. At present Pakistan does not allow India to Bill Munday School of Business at ran but all cities across the nation,” transport goods through its territory to Afghanistan. St. Edward’s University, made the re- Dadpey said. ● It would give momentum to the International North-South Transport Cor- marks in an interview with IRNA. He said countries which have good ridor of which both are initial signatories. It entails the ship, rail and road routes Iran has purchased 20 medium- airlines have turned into investment for moving freight between India, Russia, Afghanistan, Central Asia and Eu- range planes from Franco-Italian air- centers for hotel construction to take rope. craft manufacturer ATR. in greater numbers of tourists. ● It would counter the Chinese presence in the Arabian Sea through the sup- On May 17, Iran received the first He said the establishment of more port to Pakistan in developing Gwadar port. Further it would enable our ship- batch of the aircraft which included than a dozen of airlines turned Kish Is- ping vessels to be provided security if the need arises in the region. four planes. land into a hub for investment. ● All these leads to the development of the region and with iron ore deposits Dadpey hailed the performance of Dadpey rejected criticisms that the available it could result in a steel plant being opened in this region. This would President Hassan Rouhani’s adminis- airliners.net purchase of new aircraft only benefits see the region developing economically apart from being a communication hub. tration to boost national aviation fleet has taken steps to tap tourism po- boosting revenues from air transit,” the rich saying all walks of life irre- noting ATR aircraft can be employed tentials because it has renovated the he said. spective of financial needs can benefit The other important issue is the Japanese interest in developing Chabahar. in the country’s low-income markets aviation fleet, promoted ties with for- The university lecturer said invest- from this. Japan’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Kentaro Sonoura during a visit to Af- and promoting tourism. eign nations and paved the ground for ing in air transport and establishing He said ART planes are among low- ghanistan in January 2017, pledged to develop access to Chabahar. “The incumbent government has international airlines to use domes- airports can generate jobs and wealth. cost planes which are designed for use Japan’s interest in Chabahar is important to India as the assistance would been the first administration which tic airports. This has contributed to Citing Iran’s tourism attractions, he in less developed regions. ensure time-bound completion of the port leading to timely optimization of fa- cilities. Japan is an important strategic partner of India and its support would be essential in countering Chinese influence in Gwadar. India is playing an important strategic role in Afghanistan. Currently India is training the Afghan National Army and providing limited military equipment. NPC rejects claims of Iran’s frozen petrochemical assets in China We are undertaking Capacity Development for which material both civil and military needs to reach Afghanistan. Chabahar provides connectivity and this Managing Director of the National Iranian Petrochemical Company Marzieh Shahdaei has in turn provides multiple strategic options. Apart from move of equipment, we rejected claims that the company’s assets have been frozen in China. could plan training exercises initially at a small scale and later at a larger scale According to Fars News Agency, she told reporters on Tuesday, “Iranian assets have not between the two armies. been frozen in China, but there are some difficulties in the payment process.” She added that the main cause for the current difficulties is the anti-money laundering Way ahead laws which have come into effect in China since the beginning of May, under which some strict restrictions have been placed on exports of petrochemical products and transfer of Undoubtedly the development of Chabahar port would be a game changer funds. for the region. Apart from countering the Chinese port of Gwadar, the route Iran exports about 40 percent of its petrochemical products and 60-70 percent of the would possibly eliminate the term ‘strategic depth’ from the lexicon of the Pa- polymer materials to China. kistan Armed Forces. It is hoped that the Iranian government completes the ap- In a relevant development in early December, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China plication for the $150 million loan and forwards it to the Exim Bank of India. (ICBC) agreed to invest in a joint venture with an Iranian energy company to develop a Thereafter, Indians can move expeditiously. India would be able to extend its petrochemical complex in the city of Mehran in the western province of Ilam. reach as a regional power, too. It is extremely important that India connects on The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by ICBC and Iran’s Petro Saman a direct route to Afghanistan without having to go through Pakistan to exercise Zagros Company. its strategic options. Such a routing also provides a passage to the Central Asian “Some 85 percent of the share will be provided by the Chinese bank,” a local official Republics. Chabahar provides us this great opportunity and we must leave no Heidar Nemati said. stone unturned to turn this concept into a reality. He added that the Iranian partner undertook 15 percent share of the joint venture invest- ment project. “The development of the petrochemical complex in Mehran city is aimed at This article originally appeared on portnews.com. setting up a natural-gas-to-polypropylene conversion process,” he added. IRNA Marzieh Shahdaei Nemati hoped that the project would provide jobs for more than 1,000 technicians. May 31, 2017 Singapore fines Credit Suisse, UOB Singapore’s central bank said it had fined Credit Suisse and United Overseas Bank (UOB) a total of S$1.6 million for breaches of anti-money laundering 5 rules for transactions related to Malaysia’s scandal-ridden state fund 1MDB. TSE & Global Economy Has global trade revival run out of puff?

revival of global trade this year may be run- A ning out of steam before it has got under way, with wide- ly-followed data indicating a slowdown in the pace of growth as analysts warn of sluggish de- mand in industrialized and de- veloping countries alike. Figures from CPB World Trade Monitor, a research bu- reau at the Dutch ministry of economic affairs, show growth in the volume of global trade slowing to 1.4 percent in the quarter to March, down from a recent high of 2.6 percent in January, as the first chart shows, FT reported. January’s rate was the fast- est for seven years, helping fuel hopes that the world economy was back on a path to growth after two years of disappointing performance. Economists have been en- eurogrus.com couraged by the promise of a ‘reflation’ of the US economy St. Gallen, warned against read- two jumps in world trade in the last week that the drivers of re- rose from about $400 in March and of a revival in the fortunes ing too much into the surge in most recent six months of data, cent export growth in Asia were last year to a recent high of of emerging economies, espe- the year-on-year figures. CPB’s in March and in November last ‘temporary’. $2,081 in October, according to cially those in Asia. seasonally-adjusted data typical- year. “The growth hasn’t been “The first was the rise in Xeneta, a Norwegian firm that Indeed, compared with the ly show a significant fall in trade sustained, nor is it broad-based,” goods export prices,” they monitors container freight rates. same month last year, emerging volumes in the month of March. he said. wrote, “led by the rebound in It has since fallen back to about market exports surged in March, This year, they showed a sig- The quarterly data — which commodity prices from their $1,719. by nearly 10 percent. Global nificant increase — perhaps be- the CPB describes as revealing lows of Q1 2016. The second Patrik Berglund, Xeneta’s trade as a whole rose by 5.6 per- cause the Easter holiday fell a the ‘momentum’ of trade — was China’s inventory rebuild- chief executive, said shipping cent on that basis, according to month later than usual, in April. show that the upturn in volume ing, which is already showing industry consolidation, bottle- the CPB. Analysts have pointed Even smoothing out the year- growth has been led by exports signs of slowing. We believe necks and other factors were to a recovery in commodity on-year figures by comparing from emerging markets, which that Asia’s export growth has al- also at play, but that shipping prices, the resilience of China’s moving three-month periods, grew at a quarterly pace of more ready peaked or is close to peak- lines would struggle to hold construction industry and the the unusual March data were than four percent in January, ing.” rates high as their customer de- integration of supply chains be- enough to produce a surge in also the fastest for seven years. Freight rates suggest that mand fails to keep pace with the tween China and other Asian the annualized comparison But the pace slowed to 1.9 per- trade between Asia and devel- supply of very large new ships manufacturing countries as driv- that Evenett described as “pre- cent in the quarter to March. oped markets may also have being delivered from this year, ers of export growth. cious little signal and too much David Mann and colleagues peaked. The average cost of ordered when the outlook for But Simon Evenett, a trade noise”. at Standard Chartered Bank in shipping a 40-foot container trade was seen as much bright- specialist at the University of He noted that there had been Singapore argued in a report from China to northern Europe er.

How Britain will pay a key role in building China’s New Silk Road

Britain will play a pivotal role in building Chi- na’s New Silk Road, cementing London’s posi- tion as the world’s financial center after Brexit. Sam Xu, head of China transaction banking at Standard Chartered, said the UK would serve as a financial hub for the ‘One Belt, One Road’ ini- tiative, which spans 65 countries and covers 64 percent of the global population. Xu said no other city in the world could match London’s expertise and financial infrastructure, The Telegraph wrote. “In terms of global money centers, there’s only London and New York. Given the geo- graphic location of New York compared with London, and less passion from the Americans for the project, London’s expertise and the infra- structure will ensure the UK plays a very impor- tant role,” he said. Philip Hammond, chancellor of the exchequer, described China as a ‘natural’ trade partner for the UK on a recent trip to the country, where he was followed by a number of UK-based businesses, in- cluding Standard Chartered and KPMG. Sherry Madera, the City of London Corpo- Major Currencies ration’s special adviser for Asia who also trave- led to China this month, said policymakers had CurrencyTo USD Currency To USD shifted their focus on to how countries and busi- nesses would raise the funds to complete the Turkish Lira 0.2806 Chinese Yuan 0.1458 ambitious projects. “I always though the UK’s role was going to Euro 1.1157 UAE Dirham 0.2721 be important, but this shift towards execution has focused the discussion much more squarely British Pound 1.2860 Kuwaiti Dinar 3.2904 in terms of what can be financed.” Xu said Chinese investors were not that con- Australian Dollar 0.7445 Iraqi Dinar 0.0008 cerned about Brexit and were eager to reinforce trade ties. “People in China do follow the elec- Japanese 100 Yen 0.0900 Saudi Riyal 0.2666 tion and Brexit, but in general people there are still evaluating the real impact. Business is busi- ness, and so far I haven’t seen any Chinese cli- ent that has let Brexit get in the way of that.” Major Commodities Simon Bevan, a partner at Grant Thornton, said, “The good thing about British expertise is that it is used to dealing with things in different Crude Oil $49.53 Silver $17.29 parts of the world. “It’s not as if we’re just used to providing ser- Gold $1262.50 Platinum $947.40 vices here in the UK — all of the world class Copper $2.54 Wheat $434.75 financial services in the UK have been interna- tionally minded for years.” May 31, 2017 US beekeepers lose bees Beekeepers across the United States lost 33 percent of their honey bee colonies during the year spanning April 2016 to April 2017, according to 6 the latest preliminary results of an annual nationwide survey. Cultural Heritage & Environment Historical rainfall levels CClimatelimate cchangehange ccouldould mmakeake are significant ccitiesities 88°C°C hhotterotter Scientists have known that microbes living in the regions. ground can play a major role in producing atmos- Scientists determined that this was because nder a dual onslaught of global warm- pheric carbon that can accelerate climate change, the microbes responded differently to change: ing and localized urban heating, some but now researchers from The University of Texas Those from the wettest areas were four times as Uof the world’s cities may be as much at Austin have discovered that soil microbes from sensitive to shifts in moisture as their counter- as 8°C (14.4°F) warmer by 2100, researchers historically wetter sites are more sensitive to parts from the driest areas. warned. moisture and emit significantly more carbon than “Current models assume that soil microbes at Such a temperature spike would have dire microbes from historically drier regions. any site around the world exhibit the same re- consequences for the health of city-dwellers, The findings, reported today in the Proceed- sponses to environmental change and do so in- rob companies and industries of able workers, ings of the National Academy of Sciences, point stantaneously,” said Christine Hawkes, a profes- and put pressure on already strained natural re- the way toward more accurate climate modeling sor of integrative biology, “but we demonstrated sources such as water, The Guardian reported. and improve scientists’ that historical rainfall The projection is based on the worst-case understanding of distinct shapessh the soil respira- scenario assumption that emissions of green- regional differences in tionti response.” house gases continue to rise throughout the microbial life, phys.org It is unclear whether 21st century. wrote. theth insight into how soil The top quarter of most populated cities, in Microbes in the soil microbesm respond to this scenario, could see temperatures rise 7°C add between 44 billion moisturem would drastical- or more by century’s end, said a study in the and 77 billion tons of ly change the results of journal Nature Climate Change. carbon to the atmosphere worldwidew climate mod- For some nearly 5°C of the total would be at- twimg.com each year — more than elinge efforts, which, so tributed to average global warming. all fossil fuels combined far,fa have taken different The rest would be due to the so-called ‘urban The median city, right in the middle of the earth’s surface but produce about 80 percent — through a process amazonaws.com approachesap to estimating heat island’ effect, which occurs when parks, range, stands to lose between 1.4 percent and of gross world product and account for around called respiration. howh soil respiration re- dams and lakes, which have a cooling effect, 1.7 percent of GDP per year by 2050 and be- 78 percent of energy consumed worldwide, say As the planet warms, soil respiration is ex- sponds to moisture. are replaced by concrete and asphalt — mak- tween 2.3 percent and 5.6 percent by 2100, the researchers. pected to increase, but forecasters have had trou- Incorporating the new discovery into ecosys- ing cities warmer than their surrounds, the re- they conclude. They produce more than 60 percent of global ble accurately pinpointing by how much. The tem models, however, could help improve pre- searchers said. “For the worst-off city, losses could reach up carbon dioxide emissions from burning coal, new research indicates that to do a better job of dictions based on local or regional differences in “The top five percent of cities by population to 10.9 percent of GDP by 2100,” wrote the team. oil and gas for fuel. predicting changes in soil respiration, forecast- soil respiration and climate history. could see increases in temperatures of about UHI ‘significantly’ increased city tempera- The world’s nations agreed in Paris in 2015 ers need to pay attention not only to climate Hawkes and the team conducted three long- 8°C and larger,” study coauthor Francisco Es- tures and economic losses from global warm- to the goal of limiting average global warming change but also to climate history, as microbes term studies involving field research and lab ex- trada of the Institute for Environmental Studies ing, they added. to two degrees centigrade over pre-industrial respond differently to shifts in their environment periments occurring over six years. In each case, in the Netherlands said. This meant that local actions to reduce UHI revolution levels by curbing greenhouse gas in wetter versus drier areas. the finding was the same: Historical rainfall lev- Estrada and a team used different projections — such as planting more trees or cooling roofs levels in the Earth’s atmosphere. In regions with more rainfall historically, soil els proved critical for how soil microbes would of average planetary warming, combined with and pavements — could make a big difference For the latest study researchers used data microbes were found to respire twice as much respond to change, affecting the outcome just as the UHI effect and potential harms, to estimate in limiting warming and minimizing costs. from the world’s 1,692 largest cities for the pe- carbon to the atmosphere as microbes from drier temperature does. the future costs of warming on cities. Cities cover only about one percent of riod 1950 to 2015. May 31, 2017 Knee pain risk Older people, who eat the most fiber, are at lower risk of developing knee 7 pain and stiffness due to osteoarthritis (OA), new research fou nd. Health

Congo approves use of Ebola vaccination to fight outbreak Democratic Republic of Congo’s Health Ministry has approved the Celiac disease symptoms use of a new Ebola vaccine to counter an outbreak in its northeast that has killed four people, a spokesman said. more likely to be resolved in children

n response to a strict gluten-free were not associated with the likeli- diet, celiac disease symptoms are hood of improvements in celiac dis- Imore likely to go away in children ease symptoms. than in adults, researchers said. “It is important to know that not all Senior author Dr. Hilary Jericho patients have resolution of symptoms from University of Chicago said, overnight and for some it can take “The study team found faster and up to 24 months before all their labs greater rates of improvements for and symptoms resolve,” Jericho said, most gastrointestinal (GI) and extra- adding that often those that have the businessinsider.com intestinal manifestations of celiac worst disease severity at presentation disease in children as compared to will take the longest to see normaliza- Quoting Jonathan Simba, a Health Ministry spokesman, reuters. adults.” tion of lab results and symptoms. com reported, “The non-objection was given. Now there’s a Medicines Celiac disease is an autoimmune “For children more often than Sans Frontieres team that is arriving (in Congo) to validate the proto- disorder triggered by consuming the adults, most GI and extra-intestinal col with the technical teams.” gluten protein in wheat, rye and bar- symptoms should improve if strictly The vaccine, known as rVSV-ZEBOV and developed by Merck, is ley, Jericho’s team wrote in Journal of adherent to the gluten-free diet. not yet licensed but was shown to be highly protective against Ebola in Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nu- “If they don’t, and the patient is 12- clinical trials published last December. trition, foxnews.com reported. 24 months from the diagnosis and is Congo had registered 52 total suspected cases, including two that Diarrhea, abdominal pain, bloating strictly adherent to the diet, then it is have been confirmed, the World Health Organization (WHO) spokes- and other GI symptoms are common very important that the physician not man in Congo, Eugene Kabambi, said by telephone, adding that the in people with celiac disease, but so blow off the symptoms but look for situation appeared to be under control. are ‘extra-intestinal’ symptoms like bountyfromthebox.com another cause that may require an al- Simba said that the details of the vaccination campaign would be an- joint and muscle pain, infertility and ternate treatment.” nounced after a meeting of the health ministry and its partners. numbness and tingling. extra-intestinal symptoms. and 12 percent of adults did not fol- Dr. Runa D. Watkins from Univer- WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said in Geneva that vaccination In all age groups, Jericho noted, the Adults most commonly experi- low a strict gluten-free diet, and they sity of Maryland School of Medicine would be deployed should an EVD (Ebola virus disease) laboratory con- study found greater improvements in enced diarrhea, bloating and abdomi- were more likely to have persistent in Baltimore said, “It is important for firmed case be identified outside already defined chains of transmission. GI symptoms compared to the non- nal pain, along with anemia, fatigue, symptoms. patients to adhere to a gluten-free Jasarevic said, “In that case, it would be offered to contacts and con- GI symptoms in response to follow- headache and mental problems. Sticking to the gluten-free diet was diet, as this is only treatment we cur- tacts of contacts of a confirmed EVD case, including healthcare work- ing a strict gluten-free diet. More than two years after diagno- associated with better outcomes: 34 rently have. ers and field laboratory Workers.” The team used 13 years of medi- sis, improvements in symptoms were percent of kids who stayed on the “It is also important for patients to A vaccination campaign would present logistical challenges in Con- cal records to compare symptoms in greater among children than among diet, compared with 62 percent of receive yearly follow-ups with both go’s isolated northeastern forests, including transporting and storing 513 children and adults with celiac adults for bloating, diarrhea, weight kids who didn’t, still had symptoms their GI physician and their dietician. the vaccine in special containers at the required minus 80°C. disease, and to track how strictly they loss and abdominal pain. after two years. “Yearly serologies and vitamin lev- stuck to a gluten-free diet and wheth- Extra-intestinal symptoms in chil- Among adults, 52 percent who fol- els need to be checked to determine if er symptoms improved over time. dren and adults also had improved, lowed the diet closely and 70 percent a patient is compliant and to monitor Scientists find smoking harms Among children, abdominal pain, although slow to improve were short of those who didn’t have ongoing for any nutritional deficiencies. diarrhea and failure to thrive were the stature and mental problems in chil- symptoms. “The other point to be made is the livers of unborn babies most commonly reported GI symp- dren and muscle aches and poor More than a third of children and importance of early diagnosis of ce- toms and short stature, fatigue and mood in adults. nearly three quarters of adults had liac disease and close follow-up of The impact of cigarette damage to unborn babies has been revealed in headache were the most common Only eight percent of the children other medical conditions, but these patients with celiac disease.” a new stem cell study. Scientists found that the cocktail of chemicals in cigarettes is par- ticularly harmful to developing liver cells, bbc.com reported. They developed a method of studying the effects of maternal smok- ing on liver tissue using embryonic stem cells. The team, led by the University of Edinburgh, also discovered the An Australian research insti- “The team would base their cigarette chemicals affect male and female fetuses differently. tution has been awarded a re- research on the idea that the During their research they used pluripotent stem cells — cells which search grant to develop a drug MND is caused by an imbal- have the ability to transform into other cell types — to build fetal liver to slow the progression of Mo- ance in the brain between exci- tissue. tor Neurone Disease (MND). tation and inhibition. Liver cells were exposed to the harmful chemicals found in ciga- Tasmania’s Menzies Institute “This grant is to fund a three- rettes, including specific substances known to circulate in fetuses was given the $750,000 grant RResearchersesearchers givengiven grantgrant toto year program of research on when mothers smoke. to research treating MND with motor neuron disease. The study showed that a chemical cocktail — similar to that found in a drug already being trialed for sslowlow progressionprogression ofof “This drug, which is called cigarettes — harmed fetal liver health more than individual components. the treatment of post-traumatic Neuropeptide Y, we hope, will stress disorder (PTSD), epilep- go to restoring the balance that Lasting harm sy and schizophrenia, xinhua- ddegenerativeegenerative bbrainrain ddiseasesiseases occurs. net.com wrote. “This will hopefully stop a Dr. David Hay from the University of Edinburgh’s Center for Re- MND is a name given to a cascade which triggers in the generative Medicine, said, “Cigarette smoke is known to have damag- group of diseases that cause brain but then spreads to other ing effects on the fetus, yet we lack appropriate tools to study this in a motor neurons, the brain cells valleysleepcenter.com parts of the central nervous sys- very detailed way. that control voluntary move- tem. ment, to deteriorate and die. eventually causes death. More than 2,000 Austral- Tracey Dickson, the deputy “This is a rapidly progressing The disease, which currently Once diagnosed with MND, ians are afflicted with MND director of the Menzies Insti- disease, so any drug that could does not have a cure, can af- a person’s life expectancy is with an average of two peo- tute, said that researchers were slow down the degenerative fect a person’s ability to walk, typically between three and five ple being killed by the disease optimistic of slowing the pro- process would give people the speak, swallow and breathe and years. every day. gression of MND. option to live longer.”

Injury rates in young female athletes may be underestimated Injury rates among elite young female Overall, at any given time during the Athletic trainer Scott Sailor, who is athletes have adequate nutrition, hydra- athletes may be higher than what’s been study, 48 percent of the athletes reported president of the National Athletic Train- tion and rest. reported, new data suggested. injuries, the authors found. ers’ Association, said, “I believe this “Failing to do these things predisposes According to reuters.com, research- And every two weeks, nearly 61 percent study provides some real value to what the athlete to injury and illness.” ers wrote in the journal BMJ Open Sport of the athletes were reporting some sort of we know as health care providers who Lawrence Spriet, a researcher in the and Exercise Medicine, “Most studies health problem — either injury or illness. work in sport. Department of Human Health and Nu- medicaldaily.com define injury as time loss from participa- Put another way, if a thousand athletes “Often the data we have deals with tritional Sciences at the University of tion, whereas many athletes with over- such as these were to participate in their time loss injuries and the majority of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, said, “Most “This new approach means that we now have sources of renewable use injuries continue to participate de- sports for an hour, nine of them would injuries athletic trainers treat on a daily training for athletes has now transitioned tissue that will enable us to understand the cellular effect of cigarettes spite pain and reduced performance. sustain an injury, the researchers said. basis are non-time loss. from maximum lifts in the gym to func- on the unborn fetus.” “When time-loss definitions are used, By comparison, a 2016 study of high “It’s crucial that athletes be appropri- tional exercises that train sport-specific The liver is vital in clearing toxic substances and plays a major role about 90 percent of overuse injuries ap- school soccer players in the US found ately prepared for the demands of the movement patterns. in regulating metabolism. pear to be missed.” that if a thousand of them were to prac- sport. “Ensuring that athletes fuel properly Smoking cigarettes, which contain around 7,000 chemicals, can Angelo Richardson of Amsterdam tice or play soccer for an hour, only two “This involves making sure they have through their diet, have consistent warm- damage fetal organs and may do lasting harm. University of Applied Sciences in the would sustain an injury — with only a adequate strength and flexibility, but it ups and cool-downs before and after ex- The findings of the latest research, which was carried out in collabo- Netherlands and colleagues studied 60 slight difference between girls and boys. goes beyond that, to making sure they ercise, and use individualized training ration with the Universities of Aberdeen and Glasgow, also highlight- young women who competed at the na- Injury rates were similar for all three have appropriate movement patterns — protocols can all assist in injury preven- ed the different effects of cigarette smoke on livers in male and female tional or international level in soccer, sports. But when it came to ‘substan- that the way they run, jump, lunge, land, tion. fetuses. basketball or gymnastics. The average tial’ injuries, the soccer and basketball etc. is efficient and effective so that they “It is not uncommon for athletes to Male tissue showed liver scarring and female tissue showed more age of the study participants was 17. players were at higher risk, with rates of don’t get their joint in a position where sustain injuries but it is essential to try damage to cell metabolism. Every two weeks during the 2014- roughly 28 percent in each group, com- their body can’t protect them from injur- to prevent injuries that cause time-loss Professor Paul Fowler, director of the Institute of Medical Sciences 2015 season, the athletes filled out ques- pared to the gymnasts, whose rate of ing tissues. from training and competition, decrease at the University of Aberdeen, said, “This work is part of an ongoing tionnaires that asked about health prob- substantial injuries was 16 percent. “Working with athletic trainers or other performance levels, and that can become project to understand how cigarette smoking by pregnant mothers has lems, including not just new injuries but The high prevalence of self-reported sports medicine professionals can provide chronic if not treated properly. harmful effects on the developing fetus. also overuse injuries, which occur over injuries among these talented female added benefit and ensure proper form, “Seeking treatment at the onset of “These findings shed light on fundamental differences in damage time as a result of repeated stresses on athletes suggests that efforts toward movement and reduced risk of injury. complaints or injury will help avoid between male and female fetuses.” tissues, bones and joints. prevention are needed, the authors wrote. “Equally important is ensuring our this.” The study was published in the journal Archives of Toxicology. May 31, 2017 Antibiotic advance Scientists have given new superpowers to a lifesaving antibiotic called vancomycin, an advance that could eliminate the threat of 8 antibiotic-resistant infections for years to come. Science & Technology

DNA breakthrough on sunflowers could help beat climate change The complete DNA of the humble sunflower has been mapped for the first time — and it’s more complicated than a human’s. Astronomers make largest-ever Once worshipped by the Incas because it looked like the ‘Sun God’, its genome has about 22,000 genes — about ten percent more than ours, according to mirror.co.uk. The breakthrough could combat climate change by leading to better breeding programs for one of the five most important oilseed crops in the world. map of Universe yet Botanist Dr. Loren Rieseberg, of British Columbia University in Vancouver, said it had been one of the most challenging genomes to unravel to date. The sunflower is native to the Americas where the Incas worshipped its image as a symbol of the sun god. At the beginning of the 16th century Europeans discovered many gold figures of sunflowers — including in temples in the Andes. American Indians placed bowls of seeds — from which sunflower oil is produced — on the graves of the dead. The study published in Nature makes it the last of the ‘big five’ oilseed crops to have its genome fully sequenced. It represents a cornerstone of mirror.co.uk future work to improve genetic diversity and use the sunflower’s stress resistance and ability to grow across different climates. The sunflower oilseed industry is already worth over €15 billion and holds great promise for climate change adaptation. It can grow and flourish across a diverse range of environmental conditions — including drought. en.freshnewsasia.com In evolutionary biology the sunflower is a long-time model for re- search on how new species arise. ased entirely on the positions of Quasars are the incredibly bright and During the first two years of the confirm the standard model of cosmol- It’s also a model for understanding solar tracking and plant growth. quasars, an international collab- distant points of light powered by su- Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)’s ogy that researchers have built over the Despite this large interest, assembling the sunflower genome has Boration of astronomers with the permassive black holes. Extended Baryon Oscillation Spectro- last twenty years. been extremely difficult because 70 to 80 percent is made up of repeat- Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) have As matter and energy fall into a qua- scopic Survey (eBOSS), astronomers In this standard model, the Universe ing regions. created the first map of the large-scale sar’s black hole, they heat up to incred- measured accurate three-dimensional follows the predictions of Einstein’s The problem is the genes are much more similar to each other than structure of the Universe. ible temperatures and begin to glow. positions for more than 147,000 qua- General Theory of Relativity — but in the human genome. It could also help improve our un- It is this bright glow that is detected sars. includes components whose effects we Rieseberg said, “This is one of the most challenging genomes pub- derstanding of dark energy, according by a dedicated 2.5-meter telescope And to use the map to understand the can measure, but whose causes we do lished to date. to news.xinhuanet.com. here on Earth. expansion history of the Universe, the not understand. “Not only have we sequenced sunflower’s genome but we have also Xue Suijian, professor and deputy The telescope’s observations gave the astronomers had to go a step further, There is still work to be done how- built physical and genetic maps of its structure, which increases the director of the National Astronomical scientists the quasars’ distances, which using measurements of a phenomena ever, and the eBOSS experiment con- genome’s value for research and breeding.” Observatories of China (NAOC) under they used to create a three-dimensional known as baryon acoustic oscillations tinues using the Sloan Telescope at Another reason sunflowers inspire excitement is because they can Chinese Academy of Sciences, said, map of where the quasars are. (BAOs), which are the present-day Apache Point Observatory in New grow very, very tall. The ‘Russian Giant’ can grow to three meters. “To unveil the mystery of the cosmic Gongbo Zhao from the National As- imprint of sound waves which trave- Mexico, USA, in order to observe even Dr. Catalina Lopez-Correa, chief scientific officer and at Canadian acceleration, the astronomers have tronomical Observatories of Chinese led through the early Universe, when more quasars and increase the size of company Genome British Columbia which funded the research, said, been trying to map the Universe from Academy of Sciences, the study’s other it was much hotter and denser than the any future maps. “We congratulate Rieseberg and the entire team on this accomplish- now to the remote past. co-leader, said, “These quasars are so Universe we see today. Xue said, “Besides eBOSS, the ment. “The Chinese astronomers, espe- far away that their light left them when But when the Universe was 380,000 Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument “Our investment will have significant benefits to academic and in- cially those from National Astronomi- the Universe was between three and years old, conditions changed suddenly (DESI), which is a larger galaxy survey dustry stakeholders because this information will help to inform the cal Observatories of Chinese Academy seven billion years old, long before the and the sound waves became ‘frozen’ mapping the Universe using remote development of strains with stress-resistant traits like resistance to of Sciences (NAOC) working on ob- Earth even existed.” in place. astronomical objects up to 10 billion drought and low nutrients, enabling them to grow in dry and degraded servational and theoretical cosmology, To make their map, the international These frozen waves are left imprint- light years from us, will start observa- soils. have been playing key roles in the large research team used the Sloan Founda- ed in the three-dimensional structure of tions in 2018, and Chinese astronomers “Such resistance traits will be key to increasing food production un- international collaborations of the eB- tion Telescope to observe an unprec- the Universe we see today. will continue contributing great ef- der climate change, especially in demanding environments like those OSS galaxy survey.” edented number of quasars. The results of the new study also forts.” found in sub-Saharan Africa.”

Visual brain predicts future events based on past experience

For a long time, researchers thought of the vis- ture locations. the dot sequence — the one that was shown on where. ual cortex as a brain area that determines what screen — but also the remaining dots of the se- “The fact that the event prediction is inde- you perceive based on information coming White dots quence. pendent from the attentional state, suggested from the eyes. Ekman said, “Our results show that we form that it reflects an automatic process.” Neuroscientists from Radboud University The Radboud researchers designed an expectations about upcoming events, and that Of course, the MRI experiment is simplified now show that the area is also involved in the experiment that mimics this kind of situation. the visual cortex can complete a sequence from compared to real life. prediction of future events, sciencedaily.com Instead of a car, study participants were shown only partial input.” But according to Ekman, the results can still wrote. a white dot moving quickly from the left to the tell us about how we anticipate future events in Imagine that you are standing on the side- right side of the screen, while lying in an fMRI Automatic process the ever changing world. walk, ready to cross the street. A car ap- scanner. “Our visual cortex might constantly pre- proaches and you need to decide whether The brain activity pattern in their visual cor- The predictive power of the visual cortex is dict events happening all around us on a daily to wait, or to cross the street before the car tex proved remarkably similar to the visual dot also apparent from the results of one study con- basis: The rotating arms of a windmill, or passes by. stimulus that was shown on the screen. dition in which participants were asked to focus how to catch the ball that is moving towards Did you ever wonder how you predict the The crucial part of the experiment began af- sciencedaily.com on a changing letter in the background, com- us.” future trajectory of the car? An experiment by ter participants had watched the moving dot se- The white dot (L) moves from the left to the pletely ignoring the moving dots — see this In a follow-up study, the researchers examine Matthias Ekman and fellow researchers from quence for a few minutes. right side of the screen in 0.5 seconds. The video for an illustration of the task. which brain areas collaborate with the visual bottom image shows the brain activity pat- Radboud University’s Donders Institute shows Now, occasionally, only the first dot on the tern in the visual cortex, which is similar to Surprisingly, the same pattern of activity as cortex to anticipate upcoming events. that the primary visual cortex — the main vis- left side of the screen was shown. the visual dot stimulus. In another before was measured in the visual cortex. “We expect that the hippocampus — a brain ual area of our brain — is not only involved in Interestingly, the visual cortex’s activity pat- condition of the experiment, only the Ekman added, “Your visual cortex predicts area linked to memory — plays an important perceiving the car, but also in predicting its fu- tern represented not only the starting point of first dot on the left side of the screen was these events, even when your attention is else- role in this process.” shown to the study participants.

European astronomers report Located only 21 light years Recently, a team of astrono- (HADES) radial velocity pro- approximately 0.08 Alpha Cen- Astronomers discover the detection of a new extrasolar away, GJ 625 is an M-dwarf star mers led by Alejandro Suarez gram, which resulted in the dis- tauri (AU) from the star, which is world several times more massive (spectral type M2) about ⅓ the Mascareño of the Canary Islands covery of a new planet. relatively close. By comparison, than Earth. size and mass of the Sun. Institute of Astrophysics, com- The author wrote, “We report Mercury orbits the Sun at a mean ‘super-Earth’ planet The newly-found exoplanet, Such stars offer great potential pleted challenging studies of GJ the discovery of a super-Earth distance of 0.38 AU. classified as a so-called ‘super- in the search for alien Earth-like 625, which began in 2013 and orbiting at the inner edge of the The results of radial velocity orbiting nearby star Earth’, is circling a nearby star worlds, as low-mass rocky plan- lasted over three and a half years. habitable zone of the star GJ 625 measurements allowed the team designated GJ 625, phys.org re- ets appear to be more frequent The observations were conduct- based on the analysis of the radi- to conclude that GJ 625 b is a ported. around M-dwarfs. ed with the High Accuracy Radial al-velocity (RV) time series from small ‘super-Earth’ on the inner ‘Super-Earths’ are planets However, finding an Earth-like velocity Planet Searcher for the the HARPS-N spectrograph, con- edge of the habitable zone and more massive than Earth but not planet orbiting low-mass stars is Northern hemisphere (HARPS-N) sisting in 151 HARPS-N meas- has a mean surface temperature exceeding the mass of Neptune. difficult due to their stellar activity. spectrograph installed at the Tel- urements taken over three years.” of 76°C that is very dependent on Although the term ‘super- This is because signals induced escopio Nazionale Galileo at the The newly found alien world, the atmospheric parameters. Earth’ refers only to the mass of by the rotation of a star can easily Roque de los Muchachos Obser- designated GJ 625 b, has a mini- Moreover, the researchers as- the planet, it is also used by as- mimic those of planetary origin. vatory on the island of La Palma, mum mass of 2.8 Earth masses, sume that the newly detected tronomers to describe planets big- Therefore, the signals coming Canary Islands, Spain. which makes it the lightest exo- exoworld might potentially host ger than Earth but smaller than from M-dwarfs tend to be com- The researchers analyzed 151 planet found around an M2 star liquid water, but more observa- the so-called ‘mini-Neptunes’ parable to those of rocky planets radial-velocity time series from to date. tions focused on GJ 625 b’s at- phys.org Phase folded curve of the planetary signal detected in GJ 625 using (with a radius between two to close to the habitable zone of HARPS-N as part of the HArps- The planet orbits its host mosphere are required to confirm the parameters of the Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) model. four Earth-radii). their stars. n red Dwarf Exoplanet Survey every 14 days at a distance of this assumption. May 31, 2017 Clean energy funds The Australian government said it would introduce legislation to allow 9 clean energy funds to back carbon capture and storage projects. Society

EU demands ‘right to remain’ for unborn children of EU nationals in UK

Children in Yemen need support European Union (EU) bureaucrats are demanding that ‘current and future family members’ of European nationals in the UK should By Mike Penrose* have an open-ended right to settle in this country after Brexit. They also want Britain to continue to agree to pay the pension ith more than two costs of Brussels bureaucrats after Britain leaves the EU in March years of brutal con- 2019, telegraph.co.uk reported. Wflict, a looming famine The demands are made in two negotiating papers which have and now life-threatening cholera been published by the EU ahead of formal Brexit talks starting on that is spreading rapidly — right June 19, just 11 days after next Thursday’s general election. now, nearly 10 million children Theresa May, the prime m inister, will condemn them as ‘aggres- in Yemen are in extreme danger. sive’ and stress that she is better placed to negotiate Britain’s exit Yemen is currently facing a from the EU. fast-spreading cholera outbreak that is of an unprecedented scale. In the last month, the number of reported cases has nearly doubled since the previ- ous outbreak, and a much more infectious strain seems to be the culprit this time: Contaminated water, untreated sewage and uncollected garbage have led to more than 400 associated deaths alone, huffingtonpost.co.uk bbci.co.uk wrote. Overcrowded cities are help- The document, titled ‘Essential Principles on Citizens’ Rights’ ing the disease spread quickly. said that “family members — will join the holder of the right at Amongst a crumbling health any point after the date of entry into force of the withdrawal agree- system and poor infrastructure, ment”. this epidemic is continuing to It then added that this will apply to ‘current and future family spread against the backdrop of members’, which makes the commitment potentially open-ended a major humanitarian crisis, and over generations for decades. children continue to bear the EU nationals will also receive an identity document giving them, biggest brunt. huffingtonpost.co.uk their wives and husbands and children the right to remain in the UK. One out of every hundred Another document, entitled ‘Essential Principles on Financial people are dying in this most re- children get sick and have diar- than 300,000 people in cholera- pounds are being given toward have continued to get worse. Settlement’, set out the scale of the bill the EU wants Britain to pay cent outbreak. In just one month rhea, it can be worrying but cer- affected areas already. the immediate cholera response UNICEF staff are sparing no to leave the EU. there have been 41,866 new tainly not life-threatening. How- UK aid is effective in crises — British aid is delivering sup- effort throughout the country, It listed 74 different EU bodies which it wants Britain to pay its cases — of these, 30 percent ever, this is far from the reality like this thanks to the UK hav- plies, distributing hygiene kits even in the hardest to reach ar- share of funding, including the European Commission, the Euro- are children. The consequences in Yemen, where mothers and ing an independent and dedi- and establishing centers where eas — monitoring and treating pean Standards Agency and the EU Council. could be catastrophic if the their fatally sick children are fill- cated department focused on children will have access to oral contaminated water, ensuring The final bill should be paid in euros, it said, adding that the “fi- world does not act now. ing up health centers desperately scrutinizing the use of every rehydration, which could save children have access to treat- nancial settlement should be based on the principle that the United Malnourished children and seeking treatment in the coun- penny and operating within their lives. ment such as oral rehydration Kingdom must honor its share of the financing of all the obligations people living with other chronic try’s capital, Sana’a. rules that ensure its mission is Having visited Yemen last salts and health services, as well undertaken while it was a member of the Union. health conditions are now at Much of this outbreak is treat- clear. year, I saw the gradual decline in as continuing to respond to the “The United Kingdom obligations should be fixed as a percent- greater risk of death as they are able and preventable. Through The effective delivery of this services for children first hand. ongoing needs of children suf- age of the EU obligations calculated at the date of withdrawal in facing a ‘triple threat’ of con- Department for International vital, life-saving aid that chil- Many schools were closed, food fering from food insecurity. accordance with a methodology to be agreed in the first phase of the flict, famine and cholera — this Development (DfID), British aid dren so desperately depend on supply was erratic and most negotiations.” outbreak has come at a time has played and still is playing is unequivocal and must be pro- children already didn’t have ac- * Mike Penrose is the CEO of when children really are at their a huge role in this humanitar- tected to continue to reach the cess to a doctor or a hospital. Action contre la Faim ― an in- most vulnerable. ian response, with water and hy- people who need it the most. In Malnutrition levels were star- ternational NGO specialized in Lives of Indian mothers, Here in the UK, when giene programs reaching more these very weeks, millions of tling then. Since that time things the fight against hunger. children at risk

Campaigners have warned that the lives of mothers and children are Growing unemployed youth in Africa a time bomb at risk after an Indian government scheme that pays women to re- ceive maternal healthcare throughout their pregnancy was amended There are nearly 420 million young Af- and Akinwumi Adesina, AfDB Group to apply only to first-borns. ricans between the ages of 15 and 35 to- president, fears that “If we don’t change The program was introduced in 2010 to help stem India’s high day. And it is estimated that within ten the labor composition of agriculture in rates of infant and maternal mortality. An estimated 38 children die years, Africa will be home to one-fifth Africa, in the next twenty years, there for every 1,000 live births, and 55,000 women die of preventable of all young people worldwide. will be no farmers.” pregnancy-related causes each year, theguardian.com wrote. These millions of young people could To get youth involved, Adesina be- The scheme, which operates in 53 districts across India, origi- be a source of ingenuity and engines of lieved, “We need to change the mindset nally applied to a mother’s first two children, with another program productivity that could ignite a new age about agriculture — agriculture is not a offering an additional 1,400 rupees (£17) for every child born in a of inclusive prosperity, Ipsnews wrote. social sector, agriculture is not a way of medical setting. But there are no guarantees. Although life, it is a business.” Last week, India’s Ministry for Women announced that as part of the continent has shown consistent eco- But the how question is crucial, and he a national expansion of the scheme, the two entitlements would be nomic growth in the last decade, it has points to finance among other incentives. rolled together and restricted to first-born children only. failed in creating the number of quality “There are opportunities for youth Researchers said the change will reduce the program’s scope jobs needed to absorb the 10-12 million but certain things have to be put in place reach to about 43 percent of India’s nearly 30 million annual preg- young people entering the labor market to realize them, such as financing…our nancies. each year. modernghana.com young people are doing amazing things Under the scheme — the Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana And this, according to AfDB Vice existence of opportunity and the young creation in Africa’ was therefore the with ICT — they are providing weather (IGMSY) — mothers were paid up to 6,000 rupees in installments President for Agriculture, Human and person’s belief that they can access that major theme of the 52nd AfDB Annual index insurance, extension services and as long as they complied with conditions such as registering their Social Development, Jennifer Blanke, is opportunity that prevents pessimism Meetings held in Ahmedabad, India a host of other things.” pregnancy, attending pre-natal care sessions, immunizing their a time bomb waiting to explode. and political unrest…inaction is not an from May 22-26, 2017.” For its part, the bank has provided a child and breastfeeding for at least six months. “While the youth population is Af- option, young people without oppor- Experts agreed that transforming Af- roadmap for the growth of agriculture in Women also had to be 19 years or older to qualify, encouraging rica’s asset, it can also easily become a tunity, and more importantly without rica’s agriculture requires a business Africa with a plan to inject nearly $2.4 families to delay childbirth in a country where around half of all liability, and this is the whole question belief in their leaders’ ability to provide approach that would incentivize youth billion every year for 10 years to build women are married before they reach adulthood. about demographic dividends,” ob- opportunity are a certain source of civil who still see farming as way of life for roads, irrigation infrastructure and stor- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in December served Blanke. unrest and we are seeing it every day. the poor. As a result of this scenario, the age facilities to attract high-value inves- that the program would soon be expanded across India. “Let us be clear, it is only the “Transforming Agriculture for wealth average age of farmers in Africa is 60, tors. Campaigners welcomed the move but questioned how the wider rollout would be funded, estimating it would cost almost the entire budget allocated to India’s Ministry for Women and development. The ministry did not explain why the program was being restrict- High-fat diets literally re-wire children’s brains ed, but Sudeshna Sengupta, a researcher, said it was clear the extra money set aside to fund the national expansion was ‘only adequate Scientists have shown how a high-fat diet can literally (either drugs, food or other stimulants) cause an increase system. to cover one child’. alter the brain of a child. in response. The authors found that rats who were raised on a high Poonam Muttreja, the executive director of the Population Foun- Studying rats, researchers in France found that those In the study, Ferreira fed a high-fat diet to a group of fat diet exhibited increased happy brain activity in re- dation of India — a leading family planning organization — said who were raised on a diet high in processed foods expe- rats for three months, from weaning to adulthood. sponse to a second injection of amphetamine. the program appeared to have “shrunk even before it began its ex- rienced a far greater rush of pleasure from junk food as They then gave each rat two injections of ampheta- Looking closely at their brains, they saw a spike in pansion at a pan-India level”. adults, according to dailymail.co.uk . mine, a psychostimulant which triggers the dopamine activity among dopamine cells and a stronger dopamine “This is a disappointing development and does not augur well for Consequently these rats — compared to healthy ones release, making them happier. the maternal and child health indicators of the country,” she said. — grew up to crave fatty cuisine when they were feeling It is hardly the first study to draw such a conclusion. The new limits would discourage greater numbers of women low, almost akin to a drug user getting a hit. In fact, the research joins a burgeoning swell of re- from keeping in touch with health professionals during pregnancy, The researchers said it all boils down to the way fatty search analyzing junk food’s impact on children amid Muttreja added, “putting at risk the lives of both mothers and chil- foods reinforce pathways in our brain’s pleasure center a global obesity crisis and limited access to fresh food dren”. by triggering an intense rush of dopamine with each bite. among lower-income communities. Evaluations of the program had already been critical, finding that And they said they had no doubt their findings applied In 2015, a high-profile study by the University of Il- only 63 percent of the money promised between 2013 and 2016 to humans linois found fatty foods can reduce the speed at which a had actually been spent. Onerous paperwork required to prove that The study, published in the journal eNeuro, focused on child’s brain works. women were complying with conditions was also slowing pay- the way high fat diets fuel reward-seeking behavior. It found that children who ate a diet higher in saturat- ments, according to a review last year. To do so, Dr. Guillaume Ferreira from the Université ed fats and cholesterol had slower reaction times and a Poor health infrastructure in many rural parts of the country — de Bordeaux in France led a team looking at dopamine in poorer working memory. where mothers’ health is generally most at risk — was also pre- the brains of male rats. Children who ate the fatty diet performed worse when venting women from complying with the conditions necessary to Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays an im- they were given a task-switching game to complete, the receive the payments, data released in 2014 showed. portant role in sensitization — when repeated rewards dailymail.co.uk researchers said. May 31, 2017 Spanish proverb 10 Bad news flies Entertainment

TV adventurer takes part in Cheese Rolling Race Ben Fogle has rowed the Atlan- came back early especially for this. tic, run across the Sahara Desert “I’ve done it now. I can tick and trekked the Antarctic but he that one off. I did it once ― that has ticked off another feat ― is enough.” chasing an 8lb cheese down a Fogle, who was muddy and suf- very steep hill. fering from a sore shoulder, said: The TV presenter and adven- “It is a lot scarier at the top than turer had always wanted to take down here, believe me. When you part in the annual death-defying see the photographs, you have no Cheese Rolling event but had al- idea just how steep it is. ways been prevented by health “It is so slippery. The nerves... and safety authorities due to film- all these guys look tough but once ing commitments, dailymail. you’re up there and you are looking co.uk reported. down, it is really nerve wracking. Fogle took part in the first “You have got to commit be- race of the day as he and another TV adventurer Ben Fogle cause once you start on that hill two dozen competitors chased a you can’t really just gingerly de- Double Gloucester cheese 200 scend, you have got to really go yards down the 1:2 gradient for it. It is really scary. Cooper’s Hill at Brockworth, dailymail.co.uk “I have a slightly sore shoul- Gloucestershire. der but it will be OK.” Speaking afterwards, the He added: “This is just quin- 43-year-old father of two said Cheese champ equals all-time record tessential Britishness ― I love it the race course was a lot steeper A champion cheese- next year. ― and I love the eccentricity of than it looked and he was nerv- chaser has equaled the Anderson left other events like this. ous as he waited at the start. all-time record for the daredevils trailing in “I think I did most of it on my “When I was filming things most cheeses won in the his wake as he sprinted, bum. Am I pleased with my run? for TV, I was never allowed to, Cheese Rolling Race. tripped and tumbled I got down to the bottom, I didn’t mirror.co.uk for health and safety reasons, so Chris Anderson, 29, down Cooper’s Hill. win the cheese, but I got down. I’ve come along on my own to- from Brockworth, has However, he will not “I think the moral of this is day,” he said. now taken home a total be tucking into his prizes quit while you are ahead. I’ve Hunter pictured “It is the first time I have done of 20 double Gloucester ― an 8lb double Glouces- got the mud and a few scrapes the Cheese Rolling. I’ve covered cheeses over the past 13 ter ― as he only likes ched- and cuts and I’ll enjoy watching all sorts of weird and wonderful years. dar. other people do it from now on. with ‘giant Frogzilla’ events across Great Britain and this After winning all three Chris Anderson The women’s race was “I’d always wanted to do it was almost the last one on my list. men’s downhill races this won by 18-year-old Keavy and finally I can say I ran after a man claims to have wrote: “My first thought, ‘Oh “I’ve watched from afar for year, he is now level with record-holder Stephen Morgan, also from Brockworth, who has now cheese down Cooper’s Hill. hunted a giant frog wow it has dreadlocks. It’s years. I made the long journey Gyde and has set his sights on breaking the record had two victories after first winning in 2015. “The cheese went to the best A dubbed ‘Frogzilla’. fake’.” to be here. I was in Canada and I man.” In the photo the smiling While Ron Baia added: “My hunter is seen holding the mas- chihuahua weighs 12lbs and is sive creature, which reportedly not even a ⅓ that size!” weighs 13 pounds or 5kg, in But one wildlife expert Travel misery as two horses one hand and a rifle in the other, thinks the photo is real and according to mirror.co.uk. more of ‘an optical illusion’. bring traffic to a standstill The South Texas Hunting Steve Lightfoot, of the Texas Association shared the images Parks and Wildlife Department, on its Facebook page. confirmed that the photo is real, on the M5 Markcuz Rangel shared the but reassured the public that Fuming motorists onto a road nearby. photo with the website, stating wild frogs are not taking over were forced to en- The mother and its foal were captured by that it was caught in a pond on South Texas. dure Bank Holiday travel mis- a driver’s dashcam as they sprinted along a ranch near Batesville, Texas. He said: “It’s not as bigly as ery after two horses galloped the carriageway on the A370 at Weston- Nearly a quarter of a million it appears.” onto the M5 and caused miles super-Mare, after coming off the M5. people have shared the image Lightfoot continued, “It’s of tailbacks. The motorist posted: “I was driving since it was posted on May 25. more of an optical illusion cre- Traffic ground to a halt on the motorway along the A370 in Weston-super-Mare and But there have been accusa- ated by extending frog toward between Junctions 21 and 22 in Somerset, I come across this cropper lol.” tions the photos are fake, par- the camera, similar to what southeast England, the UK, with vehicles Highways England also tweeted that a ticularly due to the long hair the you see with fishermen hold- in both directions completely gridlocked, crash had taken place on Junction 23, near ‘creature’ appears to have. ing up fish to make them ap- dailymail.co.uk wrote. the Bridgewater area, causing further de- Commenting on the image pear larger. It later emerged that two horses had lays, but it is not clear if this was related to post, Cheryl Stewart-Williams “Still a big bullfrog, though.” caused the motorway chaos after escaping the horses. dailymail.co.uk

Puzzle Verse Fit the bold words in the puzzle SSudokuudoku Up . . up . . up above, Hunting bloodied waters, Away from the darkened deep. Aching for their fill. Sudoku was inspired by the table devised by Iranian mathematician Surging up towards the light, Khwarazmi. Fill 9×9 grid with digits so that each column, each row In one gigantic leap. Turn . . turn . . turn again, and each of the nine 3×3 sub-grids that compose the grid, contains all Still they follow on. of the digits from 1 to 9. Crashing through the tossing waves, Drifting down below once more, Ocean meets the sky. Soon he will be gone. A roaring gust of seething brine, A long and mighty sigh. The rumble of the iron beast, Slowly fades away. Falling . . falling . . falling down, Those who ride upon its back, Towards the swirling foam. Curse against the spray. Through the roll and surface swell, Emerald ocean home. Down . . down . . down . . down, Here no man will go. Then the sound of predators, They fear the depth of his domain, Closing for the kill. Far, far, below.

Yesterday’s solution May 31, 2017 Luciano leaves Luciano Spalletti has stepped down from his position as Roma manager on Tuesday, two days after leading his side to a second-place finish in 11 Serie A. Sports Djokovic, Nadal pass tricky tests Novak Djokovic won his first match under For Agassi it was a successful, if not en- Depleted Esteghlal crashes out of ACL new coach Andre Agassi, while Rafael Nadal tirely comfortable, return to the court where took a first step toward his 10th title at the he completed his career Grand Slam in ersian Gulf Pro League runner-up Esteghlal of Tehran de- French Open. 1999. pleted by injured and banned players went out of the 2017 Defending champion Djokovic, who split At one point there was a chance to catch PAFC Champions League after suffering its heaviest defeat with his coaching team last month, beat up with old rival Boris Becker, the man he re- in the history of the competition at the hands of UAE’s Al Ain. Spain’s Marcel Granollers 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, BBC placed as Djokovic’s coach, that partnership Last year’s beaten finalist Al Ain cruised into the quarterfinals reported. producing six Grand Slam titles. of the competition on Monday with a 6-1 thrashing of Tehran’s Asked about Agassi, the Serb said: “He has The Las Vegan is only scheduled to stay in Esteghlal, the-afc.com reported. a lot to share with me outside and inside of the Paris until the end of this week before he has Caio and Omar Abdulrahman both scored twice as Al Ain tennis lines. I’m really enjoying it so far.” to leave for other prior engagements. bounced back from a 1-0 first leg defeat in Iran to notch up a 6-2 Nadal saw off Frenchman Benoit Paire 6-1, “I’m going to try to use the time spent with aggregate win and signal its intent as the competition breaks for 6-4, 6-1 with little trouble. him as best as I can, as best as we can,” said the summer. “Always at the start, I’m happy for the vic- Djokovic. “So far plenty of information, plen- Caio’s first half double put Al Ain in command, the Brazil- tory,” said the Spaniard. “It was not an easy ty of things to kind of process. ian netting in the 27th and 33rd minutes, before the floodgates opponent in the first round, obviously. “I think this is exactly what I need at this opened in the second half as Esteghlal sought a way back into the “He’s an uncomfortable opponent that al- moment, a person like him that understands tie. ready had some good victories this year. I the transitions as a tennis player and as a per- Abdulrahman scored from the tightest of angles four minutes came on court with a lot of respect.” son as well, going through these kind of life- after the restart, while Lee Myung-joo added the fourth seven minutes later before a long-range attempt from Abdulrahman made it into the bottom corner on the hour mark. Nassir al-Shamrani slammed home the sixth in the 76th min- ute and Kevah Rezaei claimed a consolation for Esteghlal seven the-afc.com minutes from time when his free kick sneaked in at Khalid Eisa’s Omar Abdulrahman was the key man for his side as his brace in the second half steered near post. Al Ain to a 6-1 home victory against Esteghlal in the ACL Round of 16 on May 29, 2017. Valverde in charge of a new era at Barcelona

Barcelona have confirmed Ernesto Valverde as its new manager follow- ing Luis Enrique’s departure. Valverde, 53, stepped down from his role in charge of Athletic Bilbao last week having led the Basque club to seventh place in La Liga and Europa League qualification, The Guardian reported. He has also managed Villarreal, Valencia and Barça’s city rival Espa- nyol in a varied coaching career that included two years in Greece with Olympiakos. Valverde also had a two-year spell as a Barcelona player REUTERS in the late 1980s and will now return to the Camp Nou after a 27-year Rafael Nadal began his quest for 10th French Open title in resounding fashion as he overcame French absence. Benoit Paire in straight sets on May 29, 2017. Barcelona lifted the Copa del Rey with a 3-1 win against Alaves Elsewhere, Canadian fifth seed Milos Ra- style and certain choices that you make, how in Enrique’s final game in charge on Saturday, the ninth trophy of his onic beat Belgium’s Steve Darcis 6-3, 6-4, that affects you later on.” three-year reign. 6-2. Nadal, 30, was up against the crowd as However, the victory came at the end of a campaign which included Seventh seed Marin Cilic is also through much as his opponent as he took on French- disappointment in both La Liga and Europe, with the title going to Bar- after he won 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 against Ernests man Paire on the lively Suzanne Lenglen ça’s bitter rival Real Madrid, which is also in the Champions League Gulbis. Court. final on Saturday, aiming to retain the European Cup by beating Juven- Djokovic, 30, was out early on Philippe The fourth seed was himself given a huge tus. fcbarcelona.com Chatrier Court practising under the watch- ovation as his list of title wins stretching back Enrique had announced in March he would be leaving the club rique said he was not going to continue (technical secretary) Robert ful eye of new coach Agassi, and he returned to 2005 was read out, and he dominated for at the end of the season to take a one-year break from manage- Fernandez began a search. He spoke to a lot of people and studied the a few hours later to get their first win on the the most part. ment. market.Many people took part in this decision and we did look at differ- board. An unexpected rash of errors early in the The Barcelona president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, said: “Valverde has ent names but our conclusion was one name and one coach. We know It was hardly vintage Djokovic, with the second set allowed Paire into the match, and the ability, the judgment, the knowledge and the experience. He pro- him, we know what he can do. second seed making 29 unforced errors and the world number 45 had a break point to lead motes the youth players and he has a Barça way. He is a hard worker “Robert explained he was looking for a coach who had the Barce- falling to convert 12 break points. 5-3, but Nadal snuffed out the danger and and he is a fan of using technology in training and in managing match- lona profile and knows the style. Ernesto is a very hard worker. He has He needed eight chances just to clinch the powered home. es. knowledge, experience and has a philosophy similar to ours. He works second set as he eventually made it through “For me, it’s important to serve a little bit “He was not the only name on the table. From the moment Luis En- a lot, he likes using technology.” after two hours and 27 minutes of hard work better than I did today,” said Nadal. in sweltering conditions. “The rest of the things I am happy with.”

day board meeting, BBC reported. Arsenal is planning to make an official an- National Grassroots Conference Wenger to pen new deal nouncement later today. The Gunners were fifth in the Premier League held in Iran Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has agreed a new Wenger and club owner Stan Kroenke met on this season, the first time they have finished out- two-year contract, extending his 21-year reign at Monday to determine the Frenchman’s future, side the top four since the Frenchman joined in The Football Federation Islamic Republic of presentation by Dr. Kabiri, while UEFA/FIFA the club. with the decision relayed to directors at a Tues- 1996. Iran (FFIRI) held its second Islamic Republic instructor Richard Bate discussed the future Arsenal finished 18 points behind champion of Iran National Grassroots Conference re- of football and role of grassroots in building a Chelsea, but beat the Blues 2-1 to win the FA Cup cently in conjunction with the Asian Football future for football. at Wembley on Saturday. Confederation’s (AFC) Grassroots Football Finally, AFC Grassroots Panel member An- Wenger’s contract was set to finish at the end Day. ders Krystad spoke about the upcoming AFC of the current campaign. Over 600 grassroots coaches and managers Grassroots Charter. The Charter is a develop- Wenger led the Gunners to three Premier from across Iran participated in the confer- ment tool with which Member Associations League titles and four FA Cups in his first nine ence, the main objective of which was to dis- (MA) can raise the quality of their grassroots seasons in charge. cuss the development of grassroots activities activities through an endorsement program, In 2003-04, he became the first manager since throughout Iran, the-afc.com reported. and Krystad explained the criteria, key con- 1888-89 to lead a team through an entire top- flight season unbeaten. But after winning the 2005 FA Cup, arse- nal had to wait another nine years - or 3,283 days - for its next silverware. It came as it beat Hull City to win the 2014 FA Cup, be- fore winning the trophy again the following year. Some Gunners fans turned on the 67-year-old Frenchman as a result of Arsenal’s league per- formances and it lost 10-2 on aggregate to Bay- ern Munich in the Champions League last 16 in March. The London club finished the league sea- son with five successive victories, but it was not enough to carry it above Liverpool to take the fourth and final Champions League spot. Wenger told BBC’s Football Focus on Satur- ffiri.ir day the criticism he has faced this season is “a Head of Iran Grassroots Committee Mo- cepts and financial support required to devel- disgrace” he will “never forget”. stafa Zarei who opened the conference, began op grassroots in Asia. Anti-Wenger banners were held aloft by Gun- by detailing the previous year’s accomplish- “I am truly impressed with the dedication ners fans in the closing stages of a 3-1 defeat at ments, and outlining the programs currently FFIRI has shown,” said Krystad in his closing West Brom on March 18, while in the first half being undertaken. Zarei said: “The main aim remarks. two planes towed banners over the ground - one of the Committee is to promote and increase “Gathering 600 coaches and leaders to dis- criticizing the manager and the other supporting the number of participants in football, espe- cuss the future of Iranian football proves com- him. cially women’s grassroots football. mitment. I am also impressed with the quality After that loss, Wenger said he had made a de- “We hope that our current plans and pro- of the presentations, they were all up-to-date cision on his future which he would announce grams will lead to a twofold increase in the which represents a modern and forward look- “very soon”. participation of women in grassroots by the ing MA. “I wish Iranian football the very best, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte, meanwhile, year 2020.” and am assured that the FFIRI will take the described Wenger as “one of the best managers The conference also covered the topic of necessary steps to implement the AFC Grass- GETTY IMAGES in history”. Fair Play in grassroots football courtesy of a roots Charter.” May 31, 2017 Qur’an (2:185): The month of Ramadan is the month in which the Qur’an was revealed; a guide for the people, the most authoritative of all guidance and a criteria 12 to discern right from wrong. Art & Culture

Iranian artist wins License Holder: Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) Managing Director: Sadrodin Moosavi Editor-in-Chief: Kambakhsh Khalaji Focus Photo Club prize Editorial Dept. Tel: +98 21 88755761-2 Editorial Dept. Fax: +98 21 88761869 An Iranian photographer, from the southern province of Bush- Subscription Dept. Tel: +98 21 88521954, +98 21 88748800 ehr, won the best photo prize of Focus Photo Club, said the di- ICPI Publisher: +98 21 88548892, 5 Advertising Dept. Tel & Email: +98 21 88500617 - [email protected] rector general of Bushehr Province Culture and Islamic Guid- We b s it e : http://www.irandailyonline.ir ance Department. Email: [email protected] Printing House: Iran Cultural & Press Institute

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Concurrent with holy month of Ramadan, Iran’s Culture Minister Reza Salehi-Amiri opened the 25th International IRNA Hamideh Mahoozi told IRNA that by winning the prize, Holy Qur’an Exhibition at Saeed Arabzadeh was entitled to membership in the jury of Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Khayyam International Photo Festival. Grand Prayer Grounds According to the official, at the end of each year, the prize (Mosalla). The exhibition will is given to the artist who has gained the most admissions and continue until June 16. prizes in international festivals in the year. He said that if the winner meets other requirements of Fédé- ration Internationale de l’Art Photographique (FIAP) to judge, he will join the panel of jury at the Khayyam International Photo Festival.

Iranian ensemble shines in Georgia Golden Dolphin festival Iranian folklore music band ‘Herron’ ranked first in the Geor- gia Golden Dolphin 2017 international folk and art festival in the categories of solo, ensembles and choreography of rituals. The Iranian band managed to rank first among 26 bands from 18 countries, IRNA reported. The event took place in Batumi from May 20 to 25. Herron — a famous music band from the southern province MEHDI JAFARI/IRNA of Bushehr — has taken part in several international music festivals. The members of the band are: Saeed Saheli-Rad, Hossein Sohrabi, Nima Tangsiri, Farshid Chehreh-Azad and Hadi Manouchehri. Unknown ancient civilization rock art Kandinsky’s painting appears at auction for first time found in NE Iran Hailing from a landmark moment in Kandinsky’s mastery of ab- straction, Bild mit weissen Linien reveals the artist’s discovery From Page 1 volcanic rocks covered with engravings representing chronology. that color, when disassociated from representational concerns, animals and humans. Some of the symbols at PMB001 do give some could become the principal subject of a painting. It is covered in 16 simple symbols, including U- “We found this second rock art group after a local clues. For instance, circular symbols on the stone are It is a powerful shapes which the villagers believe are the hoof prints pilgrim invited us to have lunch at his home. There, comparable to those found at another site and attrib- masterpiece that of the horse of Imam Reza (PBUH), who is buried at a we discovered rock outcrops with several engravings uted to the Bronze Age. encapsulates Kand- nearby shrine. showing specific subjects — anthropomorphic and However, no precise dates can be put forward by the insky’s innovation Pilgrims had for years left offerings by the volcanic zoomorphic figures. They are small in size, different archeologists without conducting more in-depth exca- and invention in stone and had started to build a small temple around from the ones documented on PMB001 but similar to vations in the area. the revolutionary it. But it was only recently, in 2015, that archeologist other figures found in rock art all over Iran,” co-au- “There is a lot of debate when it comes to rock art year of 1913, cru- in Iran to know whether cial within the his- we can attribute cer- tory of modern art tain engravings to a as it was marked by period or another. We events and works have a dating problem, across Europe and because the same fig- America that fun- ures were represented, damentally changed at different points in the way art was time from the Neo- conceived and un- lithic to the Iron Age. derstood. Probably the PMB001 artdaily.com Early in his ca- area was settled at dif- reer, Kandinsky recognized that he was moving towards some- ferent periods, and the thing that would drastically transform the landscape of modern rock art represents all art, writing in a letter of 1904 to his companion Gabriele Münter these phases. But with- “without exaggerating, I can say that, should I succeed in this out more excavations task, I will be showing a new, beautiful path for painting suscepti- conducted at the site, ble to infinite development. I am on a new track… which will be we can’t say for certain recognized, sooner or later”. what the chronology of This was a quest that he accomplished in 1913 when he finally the two sites is,” Sigari achieved abstraction in a uniquely pure, lyrical form, artdaily. said. com reported. The archeologists Executed on a grand scale and in dazzling colors, this painting ibtimes.co.uk ibtimes.co.uk also want to investigate was prized highly by the artist himself and boasts an impressive Mahmoud Toghrae discovered the site and began doc- thor of the paper Dario Sigari, from the University of what the location of the stones in the landscape can early exhibition history. Never offered at auction before, it will be umenting the rock art. Ferrara in Italy told IBTimes UK. reveal about the significance of the rock art. The fact offered as part of Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art Even- The first results of these investigations are now At present, it is impossible to date the engravings that PMB001 is located at the top of a mountain may ing Sale with an estimate in excess of $35 million. published in the journal Antiquity. or to associate them with any particular culture. This prove important in interpreting the engravings. Created in the same year as the important Kompositions VI In August 2016, Toghrae and two of his colleagues is a problem that archeologists have always almost It’s possible that this position gave it a greater per- and VII, Bild mit weissen Linien achieves a synthesis of both conducted fieldwork at the site, carefully describing encountered when trying to date rock art in Iran. Be- ceived sacred value, which was later adapted by mod- ‘absolute’ paintings whilst also being a unique composition in its the mysterious symbols marked in the stone. cause similar symbols and figures have been depicted ern population, in light of their new beliefs. “Such own right. During this period, Kandinsky took his cue from the They also conducted a survey of the area and met repeatedly over the years, it is difficult to link them re-purposing of rock art for new beliefs and rituals language of musical composition — determined that every color with local people. to a specific period — unless artifacts are found near- will form another part of our ongoing research,” the corresponded with a particular emotion or ‘sound’. This led them to discover a second nearby site with by, helping researchers come up with a more precise authors concluded. 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