Only Iran is confronting Dutch fabric artist on Iran must improve Iranian films take home ISIL, general says mission to introduce to beat the U.S., 222 awards at intl. events 2 5 Iran Feel Iran’s felt 9 says Slobodan Kovac 12 overver past year: ofofficialficial NATION HISTORY & HERITAGE SPORTS ART&CULTURER T&C U L T URE

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Rahbari asks Rouhani to help Tehran symphony arrange UN 12 HQ gig 12 Pages Price 10000 Rials 37th year No.12278 Tuesday MAY 26, 2015 Khordad 5, 1394 Sha’aban 7, 1436 Single-rate Iraq PM fuel price Politicians, analysts back nuclear rebuts U.S. system criticism launched negotiators, warn of a bad deal of security in Iran forces Iraq on Monday rejected accusa- TEHRAN — The tions by the U.S. defense chief that Economic Desk Iranian admin- its security forces dodged battle in istration on Sunday decided to scrap Ramadi and lack the will to fight the an eight-year-old program of allo- Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant cating 60 liters of gasoline at a sub- (ISIL) terrorist group, AFP reported. sidized price for each car per month, Pentagon chief Ashton Carter ar- officially launching a single-rate fuel gued that the May 17 fall of Ramadi, price system. the worst defeat Baghdad has suf- The new price per liter for gas- fered in almost a year, could have oline would be 10,000 rials (34 been avoided. cents), up from 7,000 rials (24 “We have an issue with the will cents). of the Iraqis to fight ISIL and de- Diesel fuel prices also will rise fend themselves,” he told CNN on to 3,000 rials (9 cents) per liter, up Sunday, using one of the acronyms from 2,500 rials (8 cents). referring to the ISIL terrorist organ- That was while National Iranian ization. Oil Products Distribution Company’s Washington has been one of Managing Director Naser Sajjadi Baghdad’s key partners in the war said last week that fuel prices and to reclaim the ground lost to ISIL quotas will not change at least by last year and Iraqi Prime Minister the end of the current Iranian calen- Haider al-Abadi expressed disbelief dar year (March 19, 2016). at Ashton’s stinging comments. Iran began cutting energy and TEHRAN — The Mehr The panel of the conference included and Ahmad Tavakoli, Khorasan newspaper “I’m surprised why he said that. I food subsidies in 2010 as part of Political Desk news agency on Monday a number of informed officials who an- editor-in-chief Mohammad Saeed Ahadian, mean, he was very supportive of Iraq. what was described as a “sur- hosted a conference on the ongoing nucle- swered questions posed by the audience, political expert Mehdi Fazaeli, former cul- I am sure he was fed with the wrong gery” to help the national econo- ar talks between Iran and the 5+1 group of mostly university students and elites, on ture minister and current member of the Ex- information,” Abadi told the BBC. my as it faced international sanc- countries, in which the participants focused the prospect of Iran’s nuclear marathon pediency Council Mohammad Hossein Saffar The loss of Ramadi, capital of tions for its nuclear program. The on dos and don’ts in drafting a possible nu- with the 5+1. Harandi. Iraq’s largest province Anbar, raised second phase, which targeted clear deal. The panel included MPs Alireza Zakani Contd. on P. 2 questions over the strategy adopt- further gasoline subsidy cuts, ed not only by Baghdad but also by started in 2014. Washington to tackle ISIL. Some 70 million liters of gasoline Contd. on P. 11 is consumed in the country per day, with some 10 percent refined and imported from abroad. Nasrallah: Hezbollah to increase presence in Syria

The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah has said “We are fighting alongside our Syrian NEWS his fighters would expand their presence in brothers, alongside the army and the peo- NEWS Syria, saying the group was engaged in an ple and the popular resistance in Damascus Ansarullah, allied existential battle against the Islamic State and Aleppo and Deir Ezzor and Qusayr and forces attack Iran to build in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorist group. Hasakeh and Idlib,” he said. power plants Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah acknowledged “We are present today in many places Saudi military base for the first time that his movement was and we will be present in all the places in in Indonesia fighting across all of Syria in support of Pres- Syria that this battle requires.” Fighters from Yemen’s Ansarullah ident Bashar al-Assad’s government. Former Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, who (Houthi) movement together with He called specifically on his fiercest critics heads Lebanon’s anti-Hezbollah bloc, crit- Iran and Indonesia have reached members of allied Popular Com- in Lebanon to back his intervention across icized Nasrallah’s speech and his move- a final agreement on building 48 mittees have launched an attack the border, warning that their support for ment’s intervention in Syria. power plants in the Southeast Asian against a Saudi military base as Ri- Assad’s opponents would not save them “We in the Future Movement declare country. The speech was a full-throated defense yadh presses ahead with its air cam- from ISIL terrorists. publicly that the Lebanese state and its in- Iranian Energy Minister Hamid of Hezbollah’s role in Syria, where it has act- paign against its impoverished and “Today we are facing a kind of danger that stitutions are legitimate and our choice and Chitchian met with Indonesian ed as a key force multiplier for Assad’s em- conflict-ridden neighbor. is unprecedented in history, which targets hu- guarantee,” he said in a statement. Coordinating Minister for Eco- battled government since an uprising that On Monday, Ansarullah move- manity itself,” Nasrallah said, speaking ahead “Defending the land and the sovereignty nomics Sofyan Djalil in Tehran, began in March 2011. ment fighters and forces of popular of Monday’s anniversary of the withdrawal and dignity [of Lebanon] is not Hezbollah’s finalizing a deal under which Ira- ‘Present in all places’ committees attacked the base in of Israeli troops from Lebanon in 2000. responsibility ... and our position on Daesh nian companies will build small- Nasrallah dismissed the U.S.-led coalition Saudi Arabia near the mountainous “This is not a threat to the resistance in [ISIL] and the forces of terror does not need sized hydroelectric power plants fighting against ISIL terrorist group, saying Tuwayliq district of the northwest- Lebanon or to one sector of the regime in to be certified by anyone.” in Indonesia. the Sunni armed group continued to move ern Yemeni province of Sa’ada, Syria or the government in Iraq or a group in More than 220,000 people have been Djalil said Indonesia plans to con- freely despite the coalition’s air strikes. though there was no immediate in- Yemen,” he added, addressing an audience killed in Syria since the conflict there began struct 48 dams in the next five years He directed much of his speech to mem- formation on casualties, Arabic-lan- in the southern town of Nabatiyeh in a tele- with anti-government protests before spiral- along with a series of 1-10 megawatt bers of Lebanon’s Future movement, which guage al-Masirah satellite television cast broadcast on a big screen. ing into a civil war after a government crack- hydroelectric power plants. is fiercely opposed to Hezbollah and its role network reported. “This is a danger to everyone. No one down. While Lebanon is officially neutral on In February 2014, the two coun- in Syria, warning they would be the “first Earlier in the day, Saudi fighter should bury their heads in the sand.” the conflict next door, the country has been tries signed an agreement to build victims of ISIL and al-Nusra” if they arrive in jets struck al-Saifi area of the same “We invite everyone in Lebanon and the unable to escape the effects of the war. a refinery in Indonesia to process Lebanon. province. No figure has been report- region to take responsibility and confront It hosts more than 1.2 million Syrian ref- 300,000 barrels per day of Irani- He said Hezbollah was fighting through- ed yet for the casualties. this danger and end their silence and hesita- ugees, and has seen existing sectarian ten- an heavy crude oil. out all of Syria, and not just in areas near the Saudi forces also lobbed a number tion and neutrality.” sions rise during the war. (Source: agencies) Djalil said they were “seriously” border with Lebanon. of mortar rounds at Takhyah area of working to start construction of the Sa’ada Province. There were no im- refinery. Syria army ‘launches 15 air raids around Palmyra’ mediate reports of possible casualties He added that the biggest hur- and the extent of damage inflicted. dle to expansion of bilateral rela- Muslim scholars make desperate call to save Syria’s Tadmur Moreover, scores of civilians lost tionship is the banking problem their lives or sustained injuries when which prevents money transac- Syrian government aircraft world heritage site, he said. that operations were under way “Military operations, includ- Saudi warplanes carried out air- tions with Iran. launched at least 15 strikes in A military source confirmed in and around Palmyra. ing air raids, are ongoing in the strikes against al-Mosa’abah area in Indonesian officials have said the and around the ancient city of area around Al-Suknah, Palmyra, Majaz district of the northwestern country intended to resume oil im- Palymra (Tadmur) on Monday, the Arak and Al-Hail gas fields Yemeni province. ports from Iran and join China, India, following its fall to the Islam- A Letter of Appreciaion and all the roads leading to Pal- Saudi Arabia started its military aggression against Yemen on March Japan and South Korea which are ic State in Iraq and the Levant I wish to express my deep appeciation for all those myra,” he said. the main customers of the Iranian 26 -- without a UN mandate -- in a bid (ISIL) terrorist group, a monitor- who have been at my side during the trying times of my “We are pursuing Daesh crude in Asia. ing group said. (ISIL) wherever they are,” he to to restore power to Yemen’s fugi- husband Mr. Irfan Parviz’s illness. Trade between Iran and Indo- “Since this morning, govern- added, using the Arabic acro- tive former President, Abd Rabbuh nesia stood at $450 million last ment aircraft have carried out at I appreciate with all my heart and soul everyone who nym for ISIL. Mansour Hadi, who is a staunch ally year, having plunged from $2 bil- least 15 air strikes in Palmyra and shared my pain and suffering, especially those who were ISIL terrorist group is ac- of Riyadh and to undermine the An- lion before the West intensified the areas around it,” Observato- with me all the time: cused of executing hundreds sarullah movement, which current- sanctions on the Islamic Republic ry director Rami Abdel Rahman of people in and around Palmy- ly controls the capital, Sana’a, and in 2012. Dr. Hossein Entezami, Deputy Minister for Press Affairs of the other major provinces. said, AFP reported. Ministry of Culture; His Excellency the Ambassador of the Republic ra since it swept into the oasis Chitchian said there is a huge He said that dozens of people city last week after a lightning According to the UN, since market in both countries for coop- of South Korea Song Woong-Yeob; Mr. Ali Asgari, the Managing March, nearly 2,000 people have had also been wounded in the Director of the Tehran Times; Mr. Moqaddassi; Hojjatoleslam Saheb advance across the desert from eration given the size of their pop- raids, and that ISIL was believed its stronghold in the Euphrates been killed and 7,330 injured due to ulations. Fosool; Mr. Mohammad Soltanifar; Mr. Shirzad Bozorgmehr, Mr. the conflict in Yemen. to have taken losses when a mili- Ali Mehran, Dr. Shahi, Mr. Mohsen Mohammadi; Mr. Abolqasem Valley to the east. “These two big markets could The Observatory said on Sun- The United Nations Children’s Fund tary security building was hit. Naghavi; Mr. Salimi Namin; and Mr. Islami. complement each other and pro- day that it had documented the (UNICEF) says the Saudi aggression The strikes targeted sever- And my special thanks for those who attended my husband’s vide the best venue for joint cooper- executions of at least 217 people, against Yemen has claimed the lives of al areas of the city, including funeral at Beheshte Zahra. Sincerely, ation,” Chitchian said. among them 67 civilians, includ- more than 130 children over the past some close to the city’s famed Mrs. Irfan Contd. on P. 11 (Source: Press TV) Greco-Roman ruins, a UNESCO ing 14 children. Contd. on P. 11 two months. I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y 2 NATION MAY 26, 2015 http://www.tehrantimes.com/politics

MEDIA MONITOR Only Iran is confronting ISIL, general says Iran denies TEHRAN — Abbas Araqchi, By staff and agencies ISIL captured the city. accepting a top Iranian nuclear nego- “Obama has not done a damn thing tiator, declined on Sunday he United States and other pow- so far to confront Daesh [an Arabic ac- inspection of accepting inspection of Iran’s ers were failing to confront Islamic ronym for ISIL]. Doesn’t that show that MEHR T military sites military sites as part of a deal State in Iraq and the Levant, and only there is no will in America to confront with the 5+1 group (the five per- Iran was committed to the task, the it?” Mehr quoted Soleimani as saying. manent members of the UN Secu- commander of the Quds Force of the “How is it that America claims to be rity Council plus Germany). Islamic Revolution Guard Corps says, protecting the Iraqi government, when He highlighted the necessity of according to the Reuters. a few kilometers away in Ramadi killings paying attention to “sensitivity” Major General Qassem Soleimani, and war crimes are taking place and and “complexity” of the nuclear whose force is responsible for protect- they are doing nothing?” he explained. talks and avoiding publishing false ing the Islamic Republic’s interests ISIL routinely executes prisoners, news, IRNA reported. abroad, has become a familiar face on enslaves captives and destroys his- “It is essential that all prioritize the battlefields of Iraq, where he often toric sites. national interests,” he stated. outranks local commanders. “We should immunize our borders Araqchi also stated that the Ira- “Today, in the fight against this dan- against this great evil and we should nian negotiators act based on the gerous phenomenon (ISIL), nobody is help those countries that are suffering principles and redlines set by Su- present except Iran,” the Tasnim news under Daesh,” Soleimani said. preme Leader of the Islamic Revolu- agency quoted Soleimani as saying on Baghdad officials have said that it tion Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. Sunday in a speech to former and serving Mehr news agency reported. tries with apparent ease. was Iran that rushed to help Iraqis in The deputy foreign minister for members of the IRGC in city of Kerman. ISIL militant group has taken key cit- On May 14, Ramadi’s defense the face of surprise attacks by ISIL mili- legal and international affairs said Iran should help countries suffering ies in Iraq and Syria in the past week, melted away as ISIL advanced. Hun- tants whose brutalities have shocked that both he and Foreign Minister at the hands of ISIL, said Soleimani, the routing regular forces in both coun- dreds of policemen were killed after the world. Mohammad Javad Zarif expressed opposition to any inspection of military sites or interview with the Iranian scientists in closed session Iran slams UN discriminatory approaches to regional conflicts of parliament on Sunday. TEHRAN — Iranian Asian and Central Asian countries are Linhart stated that Austria wel- The 5+1 group (the five permanent Interview TEHRAN — Iranian Foreign Po l i t i c a l D e s k Foreign Minister facing terrorist and extremist threats comes expansion of ties with Iran. members of the UN Security Council with Minister Mohammad Javad Za- Mohammad Javad Zarif has slammed more than others,” he stated. He also said that the Europe is deter- plus Germany) should make efforts rif has said that interview with the UN Security Council’s discrimina- Zarif called for expansion of coop- mined to play more “effective” role in to reach an agreement by avoiding scientists is IRNA Iranian scientists is principally tory approaches to conflicts in the Mid- eration and interaction among the re- countering against terrorism. adopting utmost position, he said. unrelated to unrelated to nuclear talks be- east region. gional and European countries in coun- Iran seeks an agreement entails He also stated that Iran seeks to es- talks: Zarif tween Iran and the 5+1 group (the He made the remarks during a tering against terrorism. its rights tablish peace and stability in the region five permanent members of the UN meeting with Michael Linhart, the Aus- Commenting on Iran-Austria rela- Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister said through dialogue and peaceful ways. Security Council and Germany). trian secretary-general for Foreign Af- tions, he said that strengthening of on Monday that Iran seeks an agree- The Austrian official expressed optimism Pointing to the opposition of the fairs, in Tehran on Monday. ties is important to Iran. ment that entails all of its rights. toward reaching a nuclear agreement. Supreme Leader to any request for “Situation in the region is very sensi- There is no obstruction for expan- He made the remarks in a separate meet- Linhart stated that Austria is ready interview with Iranian nuclear scien- tive and complicated and the Western sion of ties in various areas, he added. ing with Linhart. to expand ties with Iran. tists by certain Western countries in the 5+1 group, Zarif said the ap- proach of all country’s officials is fol- lowing the Leader’s guidelines. Politicians, analysts back nuclear negotiators, warn of a bad deal Last week, in a speech at Imam Hus- Contd. from P. 1 sein University in Tehran, the Leader [‘s nuclear facilities] for over 280 times. However, declared that Iran will never allow any People should not ridicule us for signing bad America has agreed with only eighteen of such in- inspection of its military sites or inter- deal in the future spections,” he explained. Russia has also adopted even more strict conditions view with its nuclear scientists under Addressing the gathering, Zakani said any nuclear with regards to adopting the Additional Protocol, he said. any nuclear deal with major powers. pact between Iran and the 5+1 should safeguard the country’s interests and inalienable rights to peaceful Nuclear achievements shall not be jeopardized nuclear technology so that the “Iranian people do Mehdi Fazaeli told the gathering that the country’s By staff and agency Turkey backs not ridicule us for signing the deal in the future.” nuclear achievements should not be jeopardized by nuclear deal TEHRAN – Turkish Foreign Min- “naivety”, reminding the audience that the country has ister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said The nuclear talks are a dialogue between “the between Iran modern Islamic school of thought and the modern paid dearly to attain access to nuclear technology. that Ankara supports a nuclear He also reminded that the Iranian nuclear is- and major agreement between Iran and Jahiliyat (ignorance) school of thought,” Zakani said. We shall never trust the enemy sue has always been a more “political issue” than a the 5+1 group (the five perma- powers Zakani, a principlist lawmaker representing Teh- “technical one”. nent members of the UN Secu- ran, added that nuclear technology has a significant He also called for support for the country’s nuclear rity Council plus Germany). impact on the future of not only Iran, but also many rights, acknowledge its right to nuclear technology, re- negotiators, saying as stated by the Leader of the Islam- He made the remarks in an DAILY SABAH DAILY world countries. spect Iran’s right to nuclear research and development ic Revolution, the country’s nuclear negotiators are the interview with the Daily Sa- Another point to keep in mind, he said, is that the (R&D), remove sanctions, respect the country’s inde- children of the Revolution, experienced and “we trust bah published on Monday. nuclear talks have become a “pretext” for the United pendence and national security, and stop opposition to them as much as we do not trust the opposite side”. “The peaceful solution of this States to impede the progress and advancement of the Iran’s anti-hegemonic aspirations. Growing pessimism and anti-U.S. sentiments in Iran issue through dialogue is our de- “Islamic Revolution and the Islamic Republic of Iran”. He said any outcome of the nuclear talks should Saffar Harandi, for his part, also called on the nation sire. We hope that this will be an He said the enemies made one huge mistake: they be assessed based on the aforementioned criteria. to back the negotiating team despite the “growing pes- extensive resolution and the em- thought Iran sat down for the nuclear talks under the Ahadian also expressed worries about the inclu- simism” about the prospect of the nuclear talks and the bargoes will be lifted,” he stated. pressure of sanctions and that the country needs to sion of any inspection of Iran’s military facilities and nation’s growing distrust to the United States. He added that sanctions against clinch a nuclear deal. the interview of the country’s nuclear scientists in He said the most important issue for the people Iran are not “fair” to the country Although the sanctions have not been entirely inef- the potential nuclear pact. at the present juncture is the total removal of sanc- and also affect Turkey’s economy. fective, he added, the country’s nuclear negotiators He also advised the country’s nuclear negotiators to tions slapped on the country. “However, we do not should acknowledge that they should not merely sit for pay heed attention to the “close ties” between the In- hear much good news about the removal of anti-Iran Zarif TEHRAN — In separate mes- the talks to free the country from a number of sanctions. ternational Atomic Energy Agency and the United States. sanctions from our negotiators.” congratulates sages, Iranian Foreign Minis- “We shall also support the country’s nuclear negotia- Ahadian reminded that the United States itself Economic challenges do not have a foreign ter Mohammad Javad Zarif tors as representatives of the nation,” Zakani said. How- has also accepted a version of the Additional Proto- resolution

Nasrallah, FARS has congratulated Hezbollah ever, he warned that “we shall never trust the enemy.” col to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and advised Tavakoli, a graduate of economics who represents Lebanese leader Hassan Nasrallah and Leb- He went on to say that “we should never allow the country’s nuclear negotiators to accept the im- the people of Tehran in the Majlis, told the gathering FM on anese Foreign Minister Gebran the inspection of our military sites nor shall we ever plementation of the Additional Protocol in the same that country’s economic problem would never be re- anniversary of Bassil on the anniversary of the permit them to interview our nuclear scientists.” manner as the U.S. has done and not beyond that. solved from outside, saying an inner will is required liberation of South Lebanon from “We would consider the negotiations as valid only In the U.S.-accepted version of the Additional Proto- to bypass economic challenges. victory over the Israeli occupation in 2000. when it is endorsed by the Majlis,” Zakani concluded. col, Washington has explicitly announced that it would He said the Rouhani administration has also real- Israel He described the victory as remind- Six criteria to assess nuclear talks not observe the protocol when it comes to the national ized that there is no “foreign remedy” for the coun- er of the Lebanese people’s “resist- Ahadian also started his comments by highlighting security of the United States, Ahadian reminded. try’s economic problems. ance, strong will and altruism”, Fars that any potential nuclear pact signed between Iran “Since 1980, the International Atomic Energy Tavakoli also reiterated that in order to resolve challeng- news agency reported on Monday. and the 5+1 group should safeguard Iran’s enrichment Agency has requested an inspection of America es facing the country, an “inner will” is most required. Zarif also stated that the vic- tory was a “turning point” in the history of the Muslims’ resistance. He went on to say that this “great Israel is the biggest threat in the Mideast not Iran: article and unforgettable” event resulted from the Lebanese people’s unity. By staff and agency Iran being member of the NPT and Focusing attention on Israel the final statement.” Baedinejad said. In 2000, South Lebanon was liberat- close to signing a possible nuclear Clearly Egypt’s proposal was intend- A foreign diplomat at the United ed from Israeli occupation after 22 years. ith its stockpile of nuclear war- agreement wasn’t the country that ed to focus attention on Israel even if no Nations, who wished to remain anon- Wheads, Israel is the biggest threat made the headlines this time around. one officially and openly talks about it. ymous, said, “It may be that the con- Iran TEHRAN — Iran’s deputy for- in the Middle East region not Iran, the This time it was Israel’s turn. A country Haaretz newspaper reported that a ference failed to reach a final state- considers eign minister for Arab and Afri- Al-Arabia wrote in an article. which is not a NPT member and one senior Israeli official said “Israel feared a ment after a month of discussions but can affairs has said that Tehran The following is an excerpt of the that is widely believed to be home to ‘rerun’ of what happened at the last NPT clearly this failure showed how the ties with ILNA considers relations with Africa Monday article, written by Camelia such weapons. Review Conference in 2010, when Egypt world, especially the Middle Eastern Africa as “strategic” and “significant”. Entekhabi-Fard: What about Israel? succeeded in forcing the U.S. to include countries, is united against nuclear ‘strategic’: Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said After negotiations and hard work at the In the light of the possible solving of a section in the concluding statement weapons… For me as an observer, that Iran has always been prioritiz- United Nations during a conference on the Iran’s nuclear file, it seems the country that addressed Israel’s nuclear capabili- the regional animosity with Iran came diplomat ing a strengthening of ties with Af- 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the is opening up to International Atomic ties and urged it to open all of its nuclear from this nation’s hidden nuclear pro- rica, ILNA reported on Sunday. 191 signatories failed to come to a conclu- Energy Agency inspectors and dispelling facilities to U.N. inspections.” gram … Once Iran cleared itself of all The Iranian government has sion on May 22 due to disagreements over allegations that it is planning to produce Hamid Baeidinejad, General Director allegations, naturally it would become adopted the policy of having “stra- an atomic weapons ban for the Middle East. a nuclear bomb. aWhat about Israel? of Iran’s Foreign Ministry’s in Political and a regional partner with countries like tegic view” on Africa in bilateral However, the disagreement was Israel never admitted or rejected to International Security Affairs whom has Saudi Arabia despite the differences and international relations, the not imposed by the Middle Eastern having nuclear weapons but has said been leading Iran’s team at NPT in New they have over many matters.” Foreign Ministry official added. participants at the conference and in- it would consider joining the NPT only York, told State News Agency IRNA that U.S. Under Secretary of State Rose Amir-Abdollahian also stated terestingly all the participating Middle once at peace with its Arab neighbors even France, Russia and China, despite Gottemoeller announced there was “no that relation between Iran and Af- Eastern countries, except Israel, stood and Iran. Peace is not in the near future disagreement they had over the final agreement” and accused some coun- rica is “growing” in various areas. together to push for a region free of as long as the rights of the Palestinians statement, didn’t confront it directly. tries of undermining the negotiations. Elsewhere in his remarks, he nuclear weapons. aren’t addressed by Israel. “World and progressive Western na- Gottemoeller did not say which na- stated that terrorism and extrem- The idea for a 2016 conference on While the United States and Israel tions all were united except the three tions had tried to “cynically manipu- ism are common concerns of Afri- banning atomic weapons was pro- say Iran’s nuclear program is the real countries, the U.S., U.K, and Canada and late” the conference, though she ac- ca and other countries in the world posed by Egypt and backed by Iran. regional threat, if this threat is disman- these countries’ direct objections relaxed cused Egypt and other Arab states of and it is necessary to cooperate in Clearly Egypt’s proposal was intend- tled, which country will be seen as the China, Russia and France which couldn’t bringing “unrealistic and unworkable fight against terrorism. ed to focus attention on Israel next regional threat? directly express themselves and object conditions” to the negotiations. I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

http://www.tehrantimes.com/international MAY 26, 2015 INTERNATIONAL 3 Iraqi forces make new headway Sistani condemns terrorist attack on Shia Muslims in in anti-ISIL fight Saudi Arabia Terrorists face renewed battle for Ramadi By staff & agencies

By staff & agencies round Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Sistani in a statement on GMonday condemned terrorist attacks on Friday to he Islamic State in Iraq and the Le- a mosque at Qatif region in Saudi Arabia claiming lives Tvant (ISIL) terrorist group poured of many innocent civilians and injured scores of others, more fighters into Ramadi on Monday Shafaqna reported. as security forces and Shia volunteer The Qudaih bombing, which left more than 200 in- forces renewed efforts to retake the jured, was the second such hate crimes against Saudi western Iraqi city that fell to the terror- Shias in less than a year. Seven other Shias were gunned ists a week ago in a major setback for down in November in the Eastern Province village of Al- the government. Dalwa while observing their religious rituals. ISIL terrorists reinforced Ramadi on The killing of Saudi Shias has caused an international Monday, deploying fighters in prepara- outrage, with rights groups and regional countries ex- tion for battle against security forces pressing concern over the ongoing deadly violence. and paramilitary groups advancing on Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province has been the site of the provincial capital, Reuters reported. peaceful demonstrations, mostly in the districts of Qatif Iraqi forces have regained ground and Awamiyah, since February 2011. east of the city since launching a coun- ter-offensive on Saturday, a week after it was overrun by the insurgents, and on Monday retook a rural area south of the city. ‘U.S. warplanes never Police sources said Iraqi security forc- engaged ISIL’ es supported by Shia volunteer groups and locally recruited Sunni tribal fighters Iraq’s former national security advisor says most U.S. fighter had retaken parts of al-Tash, 20 km (12 jets deployed to bomb terrorists in the Arab country return miles) south of Ramadi, which lies only a to their bases without engaging terrorist positions. short distance from Baghdad. Mowaffak al-Rubaie Fresh gains kilometers (80 miles) north of the capi- gaged in crimes against humanity in the night,” Baiji city mayor, Abdelhakim sharply criticized the U.S.- Meanwhile, Iraq’s Shia and Sunni vol- tal, Baghdad, was overrun by the ISIL areas under their control. al-Jughaifi, said, noting that the men led airstrikes against the unteer forces have made fresh gains in terrorists in summer 2014 along with Iraqi soldiers, police units, Kurdish were first kidnapped and then were ei- Islamic State in Iraq and the their fight against the ISIL terror group Iraq’s second-largest city of Mosul and forces, Shia volunteers and Sunni tribes- ther shot to death or beheaded, Press Levant (ISIL) terrorist group in northern Salahuddin province. other areas in the Arab country’s Sunni men have succeeded in driving the ISIL TV reported. as ineffective. According to media reports, the forc- heartland. terrorists out of some areas in Iraq. “The victims were transporting From where I sit in Bagh- es managed to take full control of Hajjaj The recapture of Tikrit was crucial for ISIL execute 16 Iraqi merchants in mostly food goods, such as vegeta- dad, said Rubaie, “eight out district, north of the city of Tikrit, which the Iraqi army in its quest to take control Anbar province bles, from Baiji to Haditha,” the mayor of each 10” aircraft loaded was liberated from the ISIL’s grip in late of Mosul. In another event, the ISIL terrorists said, adding, “They were stopped at a with ammunition return to March. The ISIL terrorists, many of whom executed 16 Iraqi merchants who were checkpoint and abducted. They then their bases without striking The Iraqi military, backed by volun- were initially trained by the U.S. Central transporting foodstuff from the north- executed them, some by shooting their targets.” teer forces, has since been pushing its Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Jordan in ern strategic city of Baiji to the western them, others by slitting their throats.” “Only two out of ten way towards areas which are still under 2012 to destabilize the Syrian govern- city of Haditha. He also said Haditha residents dis- strike their targets in Iraq,” the control of the Takfiri terrorists. ment, now control parts of Iraq and “Daesh (Arabic acronym for ISIL) covered the bodies of the victims on the he told Press TV in an exclu- The strategic city, located some 130 neighboring Syria. They have been en- executed 16 Haditha traders last road and carried them back to the city. sive interview.” Rubaie also demanded the United States to speed up the process of supplying Iraq with weapons that Iraqi forces require, saying Washington must immediately deliver the Arab army chiefs plan for proposed joint Arab force in Mideast weapons and military hardware that Baghdad has paid for in the past. Army chiefs of staff of Arab states have drafted a pro- tested in the ongoing Saudi-led coalition’s airstrikes said officials who attended the gathering. They There are weapons that the Iraqi government has paid tocol for a new joint force to intervene in Middle East in Yemen. But observers say that in cases like Libya, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were for in the past but has not received yet, Rubaie noted. hotspots despite lingering disagreements on some de- consensus on a military intervention would be diffi- not authorized to speak to journalists. According to Rubaie, some of the weapons that Bagh- tails, including where to base the force’s headquarters. cult since different Arab states support rival parties Qatar has been at odds with Egyptian President dad is waiting for the U.S. to send over can potentially turn The plan, drafted at a gathering on Sunday in in the North African nation. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and has previously backed his the tables around on the ground in the fight against ISIL. Cairo, describes where and how the force would be Defense ministers of member states would run predecessor, ousted President Mohammed Morsi (Source: Press TV) put into action. Membership is “voluntary,” the draft the force, with two-thirds of votes required to pass and his now outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group. says, and if only three of the members sign up, it’s decisions. Military plans on engagements would be U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter endorsed the enough to put the plan into action. A decision to in- up to the member states’ military chiefs. Arab joint force plan and State Department officials tervene would be based on a request from a member However, there was dissention over the force be- said that the United States was waiting to see the exact Olmert sentenced to 8 state “facing threats.” ing headquartered in Cairo, the home of the Arab structure and operational mandate of the joint force. The idea of an Arab joint force has already been League. Qatar and Algeria objected to the location, (Source: The New York Times) months in prison Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was sen- tenced on Monday to eight months in prison for unlaw- Second poll shows Turkish ruling party Taliban truck bomb hits government fully accepting money from a U.S. supporter, capping the dramatic downfall of a man who only years earlier led the may lose majority in election offices in southern Afghanistan country and hoped to bring about a historic peace agree- Turkey’s ruling AK Party is seen los- investors which have been pricing in A Taliban suicide bomber in a truck The wounded included 17 women and ment with the Palestinians. ing its parliamentary majority in a a majority for the AK Party. loaded with explosives struck a provin- two children, Tokhi added. Olmert was convicted in March in a retrial in Jerusa- June 7 election and may have to Previous surveys by other poll- cial government neighborhood in Zabul Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ah- lem (al-Quds) District Court. The sentencing comes in ad- form a coalition government, ac- sters had put AKP support around in southern Afghanistan on Monday, madi said on his official Twitter account dition to a six-year prison sentence he received last year cording to the results of a survey by the 45-47 percent level. wounding nearly 70 people, officials said. that the truck bomb was aimed at the in a separate bribery conviction, ensuring the end of the pollster SONAR seen by Reuters on Meantime, the lira eased to 2.61 The Afghan Taliban, claimed respon- provincial council and attorney gener- former premier’s political career. Monday. against the dollar from 2.5961 on Fri- sibility for the attack in Qalat city, the al’s offices in Zabul. Olmert’s lawyer, Eyal Rozovsky, said Olmert’s legal The poll put AKP support at 41 day. Istanbul shares fell 0.35 percent latest in a series following the with- Earlier on Monday, four police team was “very disappointed” by the ruling and would percent, the main opposition Re- and the benchmark 10-year bond drawal of most foreign troops from the turned their weapons on their col- appeal to Israel’s Supreme Court. They were granted a publican People’s Party (CHP) at 26 yield rose to 9.15 from 9.12 percent country. Zabul police said the attack leagues in Maiwand district of Kanda- 45-day stay, meaning the former Israeli leader will avoid percent, the nationalist MHP at 18.1 on Friday. - which they believed used more than har province. Zia Durani, a spokesman incarceration for now. percent and the pro-Kurdish HDP at A level of support for the AK Party 1,000 kilograms of explosives - was for Kandahar police, said three police Olmert also was given a suspended sentence of an ad- 10.4 percent, just above the 10 per- indicated by the latest polls would carried out near several government were killed. ditional eight months and fined $25,000. cent threshold needed to enter par- make it very hard for it to achieve offices, including courts, the attorney The Taliban said two of their mem- A slew of character witnesses had vouched for Olm- liament. constitutional changes sought by its general’s office, Zabul municipality and bers had infiltrated the police force ert, including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and It was the second poll within days co-founder, President Recep Tayyip the women’s affairs department. and carried out the attack. The Taliban former Israeli Mossad chief Meir Dagan in written state- by a widely watched pollster point- Erdogan, who wants stronger execu- Lal Mohammad Tokhi, head of the claimed the assailants killed eight po- ments read aloud on Monday. The verdict stated that it recognized Olmert’s vast contributions to Israeli society ing to AK Party support just above tive powers. public health department in Zabul, said lice and took 10 weapons. and sentenced him to less than the prosecution had de- 40 percent, hitting sentiment among 68 people had been taken to hospital. (Source: Reuters) (Source: Reuters) manded. Still, it ruled that “a black flag hovers over his conduct.” Olmert was forced to resign in early 2009 amid the corruption allegations. His departure cleared the way Saudi Shias begin mass funeral for bombing victims for hard-liner Benjamin Netanyahu’s election, and subse- A mass funeral has begun for victims of a recent bomb- down in November in the Eastern Province village of Al- quent peace efforts have not succeeded. ing in a Shia mosque in Qatif district, in Saudi Arabia’s Dalwa while observing their religious rituals. Olmert, 69, was acquitted in 2012 of a series of charges that included accepting cash-stuffed enve- Eastern Province, with thousands taking part. Security officials have also confirmed that the bomb- lopes from U.S. businessman Morris Talansky when According to organizers, a huge crowd has turned er had links to the ISIL, a group currently based in ter- Olmert was mayor of Jerusalem (al-Quds) and a Cabi- out for the funeral procession to show respect for the ritories in neighboring Iraq and Syria, which continues net minister. Olmert was found to have received about victims of the Friday bombing in a mosque in al-Qudaih committing crimes against followers of all religious de- $600,000 from Talansky during his term as mayor, and village which led to the killing of 21 worshipers, includ- nominations, including the Shias. additional amounts in cash during his term as a Cabi- ing two children. Initial videos posted on the social me- The killing of Saudi Shias has caused an international net minister, but a court did not find evidence that the dia showed people carrying banners with words in sup- outrage, with rights groups and regional countries ex- money had been used for unlawful personal reasons or port of the victims written on them. pressing concern over the ongoing deadly violence. illegal campaign financing. The huge rally comes despite warning by extremists Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province has been the site Talansky, an Orthodox Jew from New York’s Long Is- that they may again launch an attack on Shia gatherings. of peaceful demonstrations, mostly in the districts of land, had testified that the money was spent on expen- Organizers of the funeral said they have coordinated all Qatif and Awamiyah, since February 2011. Protesters sive cigars, first-class travel and luxury hotels, while in- security measures with local authorities, adding that against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have been demanding reforms, freedom of expression sisting he received nothing in return. tens of thousands have agreed to act as marshals to Takfiri terrorist group – which claimed responsibility for and the release of political prisoners. They want an end The acquittal on the most serious charges at the time protect the crowds against any potential attack. the bombing – as well as the House of Saud. Protest- to economic and religious discrimination against peo- was seen as a major victory for Olmert, who denied be- Even women and children declared their willingness to ers expressed their frustration at authorities over the ple of the oil-rich region. ing corrupt. He was convicted only on a lesser charge of attend in huge numbers, although they have been warned deadly blast. Several demonstrators have been killed and dozens breach of trust for steering job appointments and con- to stay away from the main gathering of mourners. The Qudaih bombing, which left more than 200 in- of activists have been arrested since the beginning of tracts to clients of a business partner, and it raised hopes On Saturday, tens of thousands of demonstrators jured, was the second such hate crimes against Saudi protests in the Shia-dominated province. for his political comeback. took to the streets of the region to show their anger Shias in less than a year. Seven other Shias were gunned (Source: Press TV) (Source: AP) I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y 4 ECONOMY MAY 26, 2015 http://www.tehrantimes.com/economy

NEWS Oman seeking establishment of Iran’s inflation rate hits 14.3%: official Iran’s car manufacturing site TEHRAN — The Iranian Management Economic Desk and Planning Organization’s Director TEHRAN — Oman In the largest solo exhibition of Mohammad Baqer Nobakht has announced that the inflation Economic Desk requests Iran to Iranian products, which was held in rate for the 12-month period ended the second Iranian set up a manufacturing site of its car Muscat from January 6 to 10, Iranian calendar month of Ordibehesht (April 21-May 21) hit 14.3 maker Iran Khodro Company (IKCO) in Industry, Mining and Trade Minister percent, falling from 14.5 percent in the previous month. the Arab country, according to Hassan Mohammadreza Ne’matzadeh said He put the point-to-point inflation at 13.7 percent in Bin Ahmed Al Nabhani, the CEO of that there is huge untapped potential Ordibehesht, showing 0.3 percent drop from the same Oman Investment Fund. for cooperation with Oman on the month in the previous year, according to the Islamic Republic Al Nabhani made the statement export and re-export of Iranian- of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB). in a meeting with Hashem Yekke- manufactured cars, Times of Oman In July 2014, Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Ali Zare, the managing director of IKCO reported. Tayyebnia said the Iranian government will implement in Tehran, the Islamic Republic of Mohammad Hazrati, the export anti-recession programs until a single-digit inflation rate is Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) reported on manager at Iran Khodro Diesel (IKD), achieved. Monday. a subsidiary of IKCO, said that his The administration has prepared a comprehensive plan to While welcoming Oman’s request assessment of Oman’s market showed combat high inflation and bring the national economy out of for establishment of the site, Yekke- that there are great opportunities for recession, the IRNA news agency quoted Tayyebnia as saying. Zare said IKCO could offer all required cooperation in the auto industry given engineering and technical services in the potential of the market in the this regard, while expects Oman to Sultanate and neighboring countries. finance the project. Car production in Iran rose over 53 China invites private He stated that if the two countries percent in the past Iranian calendar investors to help build come to terms, a manufacturing year, which ended on March 20, site will be set up in Oman with the will be exported to the other countries exports affairs, said establishment of compared to its preceding year. $318 billion of projects production capacity of 20,000 vehicles, such as Yemen, Sudan and Ethiopia. Iran Khodro’s manufacturing site will Iranian carmakers manufactured of which 5,000 will be distributed to Addressing the same meeting, Ali create jobs for 200-250 persons in more than 1.13 million vehicles in the China's state planning agency on Monday released a list of the Omani market and the rest 15,000 Elmi, the deputy director of IKCO for Oman. last calendar year. more than 1,000 proposed projects totaling 1.97 trillion yuan ($317.75 billion) that it is inviting private investors to help Emerging stocks decline on U.S. rate Oil prices dip below $65 as dollar fund, build and operate. The National Development and Reform Commission concern strengthens said the 1,043 projects, in sectors such as transport, water conservancy and public services, will be done as public- Emerging-market stocks fell as break an impasse over the release LONDON (Reuters) — Crude oil despite a pick-up in prices," Energy private partnerships (PPP). utilities tumbled and concern of funds for its economy. Markets in futures dipped below $65 a barrel as Aspects said in a note. An NDRC statement on its website did not say whether grew that the Federal Reserve will Hong Kong and South Korea were the dollar strengthened on Monday, Japan's customs-cleared crude oil private investors will include foreign firms. (Source: Reuters) raise interest rates. Poland’s zloty closed for the holidays. with a public holiday in the United imports rose 9.1 percent year on year weakened after an opposition “It seems emerging markets are States and much of Europe keeping to 3.62 million barrels per day (17.28 candidate won the presidential affected by Yellen’s statement,” oil trading volumes muted. million kilolitres) in April, the Ministry election. Jeffrosenberg Tan, a portfolio Front-month Brent crude fell 62 of Finance said on Monday. Iran’s EN Bank Tenaga Nasional Bhd. sank 4.4 manager at PT Sinarmas Asset cents to $64.75 a barrel by 0828 GMT. In China, crude imports hit a sponsors FIDIC-ASPAC percent, dragging Malaysian shares Management, said in Jakarta. “Riskier U.S. crude was down 46 cents at record 7.4 million barrels per day to a four-month low. ITC Ltd., assets will be hit the most. Markets $59.26 a barrel. (bpd) in April, with healthy car sales Conference 2015 India’s biggest tobacco company, are also a bit slow and thinly traded The dollar rose to its highest countering a slowing economy. slid 3 percent after its profit trailed with some countries on holiday.” against the euro and yen in nearly two "We expect Chinese imports to TEHRAN — Eghtesad Novin (EN) Bank of Iran sponsored estimates. The zloty lost 0.2 percent Raising interest rates this year months and reached a one-month be high in the second half of 2015, this year’s edition of the conference of the International Fed- versus the euro and Poland’s WIG20 would be “appropriate,” Yellen said high against a basket of currencies. potentially averaging 7.5 million bpd. eration of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) for the Asia-Pacific Index fell toward a five-week low. during a speech in Providence, Rhode A strong dollar makes crude oil This is due to the start-up of 39 million region, known as FIDIC-ASPAC Conference 2015, which was Malaysia’s ringgit slumped 0.8 Island, provided the economy meets less attractive for holders of other barrels of commercial storage, five held in Tehran from May 10 to 13. percent against the dollar. China’s her forecasts. While the labor market currencies. SPR (strategic petroleum reserve) The conference provided an opportunity for directors of CSI 300 Index rallied above the 5,000 is nearing full strength, “we are not "The overall fundamentals still sites and linefill for Kunming domestic and foreign companies active in the fields of con- level for the first time in seven years. there yet,” she said. point to a well-supplied market, a fact refinery," Energy Aspects said. sulting engineering and investment to exchange knowledge The MSCI Emerging Markets The developing-nation index that should continue to put a ceiling In the United States, the peak and information in addition to discuss joint venture opportu- Index dropped 0.5 percent to 1,032.11 has gained 8.1 percent this year on prices," Barclays said. summer driving season officially nities. at 9:27 a.m. in London, extending and trades at 12.3 times projected However, the market drew started with Memorial Day on Addressing the conference, Reza Ansari, the director of last week’s 0.6 percent retreat. Fed 12-month earnings, data compiled by support from strong demand figures Monday, and the American EN Bank for international affairs, expounded upon the per- Chair Janet Yellen said Friday that Bloomberg show. The MSCI World across Asia and the United States. Automobile Association said road formance of this bank in financing development projects and she expects to raise borrowing costs Index has risen 5.5 percent in 2015 "Global oil demand continues to travel was expected to reach a 10- said the bank is ready to finance new projects. this year. Greece called on creditors and is valued at a multiple of 16.9. surprise to the upside, with April year high over the Memorial Day Founded in 1913, FIDIC is charged with promoting and im- to compromise on aid demands to (Source: Bloomberg) data showing no signs of slowdown weekend. plementing the consulting engineering industry’s strategic goals on behalf of its member associations and to dissemi- Gold slips toward nate information and resources of interest to its members. Today, FIDIC membership covers 97 countries of the world. PICTURE OF THE DAY By iccima.ir $1,200 as interest rate outlook boosts dollar TEHRAN STOCK EXCHANGE Gold slipped, extending the biggest weekly loss since April, as prospects for Index Value Change Percent the first U.S. interest rate increase since Main Board 2006 helped to push the dollar to a one- 45899.3 101.2 0.22 Index month high. Silver and palladium de- Industry Index 52230.9 99.4 0.19 clined. Overall Index 63496.5 132.7 0.21 Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said she expects to raise rates this year if the Free Float Index 72903.7 211.8 0.29 economy meets her forecasts. Inflation is Secondary Index 130486 240 0.18 moving toward the Fed’s 2 percent target, with a report on Friday showing that core consumer prices climbed 0.3 percent in April, the biggest gain in more than two OVERALL INDEX DETAILS years. While a pickup in inflation can boost demand for bullion as a hedge, higher First 63363.8 borrowing costs cut the allure of the Max Value 63562 metal, which generally provides returns only through price gains. Min Value 63391.5 If the Fed “does plan to raise interest Closing 63496.5 rates this year, it’ll be quite bearish on Variety 132.7 gold,” said Raymond Mok, head of foreign Change end of year(%) 697.04% exchange and bullion development at Sucden Financial Ltd.’s Hong Kong unit. “I Historical highest 89500.6 (2014/01/05) don’t see $1,200 as a strong support, given Source: tse.ir the strength in dollar.” Bullion for immediate delivery lost as much as 0.3 percent to $1,202.95 an ounce and traded at $1,203.91 at 10:56 a.m. MAJOR CURRENCIES An Indonesian trade delegation, headed by Sofyan Djalil, the coordinating minister of economic affairs, met with Iranian Chamber of Commerce, in London, Bloomberg generic pricing Industries, Mines, and Agriculture Chairman Gholamhossein Shafe’i and Iranian Telecommunications Minister Mahmoud Vaezi, in Tehran on Sunday. showed. The metal dropped 1.5 percent To U.S. To IR. To U.S. To IR. The delegation was also comprised of Indonesia’s central bank officials, as well as managers of 40 economic enterprises. last week, the most since the period to Currency Currency Dollars Rial* Dollars Rial* April 24. (Source: Bloomberg) US dollar 1 32950 UAE dirham 0.272 9030 Russia OKs draft deal on free trade between British Pound 1.547 51190 EURO 1.097 36750 *The free market rates (Sources: Mehrnews.com & xe.com) Eurasian Economic Union, Vietnam The Russian government has approved a ticipants; it will also solve the problem of draft agreement for a free trade zone be- involving the Eurasian Economic Union in tween the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) integration processes in the Asia-Pacific re- MAJOR COMMODITIES and Vietnam. The deal is supposed to dou- gion,” saida corresponding order published Light Crude $ / barrel 59.72 Silver $ / troy ounce 17.05 ble bilateral trade and see the EEU more in- on the Cabinet‘s website on Monday. volved in integration processes in the Asia- The draft includes tariff liberalization Gold $ / troy ounce 1,204.00 Platinum $ / troy ounce 1,148.60 Pacific. between the Russian-led EEU and Vietnam Copper $ / pound 2.81 Wheat ¢ / bushel 515.5 “Implementation of the agreement that will reduce or eliminate import cus- will boost bilateral trade and promote toms duties for most of the goods traded Source: cnnmoney.com trade and economic ties between the par- between the sides. (Source: RT) I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y http://www.tehrantimes.com MAY 26, 2015 HISTORY & HERITAGE 5

Feel Persian felt: Dutch artist on HISTORY On Alexander Pushkin mission to introduce Iran By Elaine Feinstein oday marks the birth anniversary of the genius of Alex- INTERVIEW “Nowadays in Europe, people respect ander Sergeyevich Pushkin (1799-1837). He transformed and pay attention to handicrafts and T By Setareh Behroozi every form of Russian literature he touched. What I admire handmade products. Many people came most is the ease of his invention, his range and his own imp- earts of great people ignore the to the conclusion to create their own ish courage. His life was as poignantly short as that of Mo- Hborders on the map! This is what I needs by themselves,” she explained. zart, whom in many ways he resembled. discovered after my meeting with the She then explained the different Almost everything about Dutch fabric artist Marijke Eken on a hot types of usages that felt was given in Pushkin was paradoxical. afternoon of spring at the Tehran Times ancient Iran. “It was used as a rug, as He was at once urbane and office in Tehran. a pad under silk Persian carpets, over- mischievous, yet always Marijke has been a textile artist ever coats, and saddles in different parts of thought of himself as ugly. since she graduated from the school Iran,” Marijke explained He was descended on one of arts in Nijmegen Netherlands (TE- “Although making a rug out of felt side from aristocrats, but HATEX) in the early 80s. may only take one day, it is done non- on the other from Gannibal, In 1995, she met Inge Evers who gave stop and at full strength by groups of the famous African slave Marijke her very first lessons in felt. The men,” she said. of Peter the Great who be- experiment had a profound impact on “However, these days people tend came a leading general. her, so much so that in 2003 she took up to buy little objects made out of felt, He took great pride in his felt-making as a full-time job. since it is more practical and the price is mixed blood, and always Since 2005, Marijke has travelled to more appropriate,” she added. kept an inkstand with an Af- Iran three times to take classes on felt and Felt-making is a hard physical task, rican figure on his desk. But which was previously done by men in study the art of felt-making of the country. Marijke Eken shows some of her abstract felt artworks (Photo: Mohammadreza Abbasi) the many sketches he made She came to Iran with her friend and traditional ways. of himself are bitter caricatures. translator Ali Abdoli in May 2015 to edu- “I was connected Iranians interested “I am planning to invite Iranian art- “But I saw strong women like Kyrgyz He was exiled to southern Russia just before his 21st cate herself on Iranian textile artists and in making felt through my Facebook ists, who have played an active role in who also done the job,” she said. birthday for verse written against despotism. Those poems Be creative and don’t forget the their works. page. While in Iran, I also watched docu- the felt-making art, to the Netherlands were found among the papers of many of the Decembrists. Mother Nature! Iran’s felt-making remains un- mentaries and studied articles on the to set up art exhibitions in different gal- The failure of their rebellion against Tsar Nicholas I in 1825 The art of felt-making is gradually at- known to many art of felt-making,” she said. leries,” she said. led to executions that haunted Pushkin all his life. When tracting more attention in European coun- “I took an interest in Iran when I “I came to know some young women She also said she would probably Nicholas summoned him to inquire into his loyalties, Pushkin tries and people show interest in it, she said. was a child. Later on, when I was in the in Tehran who performed felt-making and bring some of her works to Iran for dis- declared that, had he been in St. Petersburg, he would have “In my opinion the art of felt-making is Netherlands, I befriended many Irani- made handicrafts with felt,” she explained. play in an exhibition. been on Senate Square with his friends. sort of healing. Wool is soft loose animal ans, who inspired me even more to see Art will show true face of Iran “We are planning for artistic ex- Nicholas appeared impressed by his frankness and al- hair and when processed by felt-making the country. abroad change in the field of felt including lowed him back to the capital, but appointed Count Ben- it transforms into a firm and sturdy textile “I took a trip to Iran in 2005 for the first “As an artist, you have a calling to holding joint exhibitions and work- kendorff to keep an eye on what he was writing. In Soviet that cannot be torn or broken. When you time. Actually, Iran was interesting, the create and no one can take that away shops,” she said. times, poets who were censored or silenced found Pushkin gradually form the felt in your hand, some- land of opportunity for me to study art of from you,” she said. “As an artist, I have my own person- an inspiration. Anna Akhmatova revered him. thing inside you takes shape,” she said. felt-making,” she told the Tehran Times. “Felt-making is a genuine kind of al style and this is my personal project Pushkin chose a cold young beauty for a wife. Natalya It is a kind of meditation; it relaxes She named Turkey, Turkmenistan art in Iran and its neighboring states. but I am sure that people and enthusi- loved balls at court, where she was surrounded by admirers you, she added. and some parts of Europe the hubs of Unfortunately, the Western media has asts will join me in this uneven way,” and wore expensive dresses Pushkin could not afford. He She also pointed out to the impor- felt-making art. portrayed a negative image of Iran. I she added. longed to retreat to his country estate, but the tsar would tance of feeling connected with the “However, felt-making in Iran re- believe art, literature and culture are of Felt-making as a technique! not allow him to remove Natalya from court. Mother Nature, adding that one should mains unknown to many in this kind of great help to introduce the true and real She then proceeded to explain about After receiving letters accusing him of being a cuckold, never forget to stay part of it even in the art. During my first visit to Iran, I came face of Iran to the world”, she said. the felt-making technique. “You should Pushkin felt obliged to fight a duel to defend his wife's hon- modern life. across a book on the art of felt-making The Iranian Dutch-based Ali Abdoli, create a kind of friction between the ma- or. He lost his life in it at the age of 37. With a smile on her face, she advises at the Carpet Museum of Iran and I who accompanied Marijke on her trips terial (wool) and your body, or you can Here are some excerpts from his book “Eugene Onegin” understood that the art is being prac- to Iran as her translator, plans to hold use a needle to do it,” she explained. everyone to stay creative and take the “It's a lucky man, a very lucky man, who is committed ticed in Isfahan, Shiraz, Kerman and a showcase of calligraphy on the poems “It is thoroughly a physical task advantage of the right scope of imagi- to what he believes, who has stifled intellectual detachment Mazandaran. of Persian poet Rumi in the Netherlands. which needs strength”, she added. nation as the sky is the limit. and can relax in the luxury of his emotions - like a tipsy trave- ler resting for the night at wayside inn.” “People are so like their first mother Eve: what they Explained: ISIS’ war on History are given doesn’t take their fancy. The serpent is forever enticing them to come to him, to the tree of mystery. They UNESCO World Heritage Site Palmyra will likely join the Why the Destruction: For religion? must have the forbidden fruit, or paradise will not be para- list of humanity’s collective heritage that has been de- ISIS has invoked the sin of shirk, or idolatry, in justifi- dise for them.” stroyed by the ISIS. What has the world lost already? cation. In videos, it has said, “We were ordered by our (Source: The Guardian) Why are the militants doing it? prophet to take down idols and destroy them… When- 15 km from Mosul, the Assyrian Sargon II built a beau- ever we take control of a piece of land, we remove the tiful palace between 717 BC and 706 BC. It had carved symbols of polytheism and spread monotheism in it.” stone reliefs, some of which are now in museums in ISIS ideas of shirk apply not just to pre-Islamic sites, Baghdad, Cairo and Europe. On March 9, 2015, Iraq said it but also to dissenters to their view of Islam: Shias, Yazid- ON THIS DAY had received reports that ISIS had destroyed Khorsabad. is, Kurds, Christians, etc. City of Nimrud Worst may not be over yet The Battle of Avarayr between Armenian rebels and Capital of the first in a long series of empires in Tigris- ISIS home to nearly 1,800 of Iraq’s 12,000 registered ar- the Sassanid Empire takes place. The Armenians are 451 Euphrates basin; in c. 800 BC, got a city wall, ziggurat, chaeological sites. The extent of damage ISIS impossible to defeated militarily but are guaranteed freedom to Tourists walk in the historical city of Palmyra, September 30, 2010 temples, and palace elaborately decorated with carved estimate, but the UN has warned that the “rich tapestry of openly practice Christianity reliefs of sacred and mythical figures including famous (Nour Fourat/REUTERS) cultural heritage” at Palmyra, the Crac des Chevaliers, the winged bulls and lions. Jonah’s Tomb Saint Simeon Church in the ancient villages of northern Syr- Museum, Library The location where the Biblical prophet Jonah ia, and Aleppo “are being ripped to shreds”. Boston University is chartered by the Commonwealth of In February 2015 ISIS released a video showing was thought to have been buried, inside a large Sun- Lost forever in Palmyra? 1869 Massachusetts militants hammering at ancient Assyrian statues and ni mosque known as Nabi Yunus in Mosul, had been An idea of the extent of damage will probably have to museum pieces. In February 2015, ISIS blew up with destroyed by explosives, ISIS said in a video released await another ISIS video. Palmyra’s irreplaceable herit- explosives Mosul’s nearly a century-old Central Public in July 2014. The mosque stood on layers of history, age includes a grand, colonnaded 1.1-km street (left) that Start of Sherlock Holmes “Adventure of Three Gables” Library, along with thousands of ancient manuscripts built atop a Christian church, that had itself been forms the monumental axis of the city. 1903 and instruments. built on a mound of the Assyrian city of Nineveh. (Source: The India Express) (BG)

At Masjed Soleyman in southwest Iran, the first major commercial oil strike in the Middle East is made. The 1908 A TASTE OF IRAN By Mojtaba Mohammadi/IRNA rights to the resource are quickly acquired by the United Kingdom

1922 Lenin suffers a stroke

Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company produce the last (and An Iranian 1927 15th million) Model T Ford / Tin Lizzie woman picks tea leaves at a tea farm 1937 San Francisco Bay’s Golden Gate Bridge opens in Iran's northern city Lahijan. A Premier Churchill & General Marshall fly from U.S. to person who 1943 harvest the North Africa tea leaves, should take great care Buddhist sets himself on fire at US consulate in Hué, 1966 to pick the South Vietnam right parts. Only the tea bud and the 1969 Apollo 10 astronauts returned to Earth two adjacent leaves give U.S. President Ronald Reagan rules out U.S. military you true 1984 intervention in Iran-Iraq war quality. Lahijan is renowned for 2014 Narendra Modi becomes the 15th Prime Minister of India tea farms and high-quality products in The World Health Organization (WHO) confirms that Ebola Iran. 2014 has reached Sierra Leone I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

6 INTERNATIONAL MAY 26, 2015 http://www.tehrantimes.com/international Aung San Suu Kyi’s inexcusable silence Suu Kyi was a moral icon, a human rights champion - so why has she been silent about the Rohingya Muslims?

By Mehdi Hasan by peaceful means”. renowned and courageous prisoner struggled to attract attention to their Suu Kyi, the Committee added, was an of conscience”. Not to mention Arch- plight. n awarding the Nobel Peace Prize “important symbol in the struggle against bishop Desmond Tutu, who has said Until, that is, a few weeks ago, when “I… to Aung San Suu Kyi,” the Nor- oppression”. that the people of Myanmar “desper- thousands of Rohingya refugees began ar- wegian Nobel Committee announced in Fast forward 24 years, and the Ro- ately need the kind of moral and princi- riving in Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, 1991, it wished to “honor this woman for hingya Muslims of Myanmar might pled leadership that Aung San Suu Kyi while thousands more believed to be still her unflagging efforts and to show its sup- disagree with the dewy-eyed assess- would provide”. stranded on rickety boats off the coasts of port for the many people throughout the ment of the five-member Nobel Com- In recent years, the Rohingya Muslims – these three countries, with dwindling sup- world who are striving to attain democ- mittee. And with Gordon Brown, too, the “world’s most persecuted minority”, plies of food and clean water. racy, human rights and ethnic conciliation who called Suu Kyi the “world’s most according to the United Nations - have Contd. on P. 11

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http://www.tehrantimes.com/economy MAY 26, 2015 WORLD ECONOMY 7

Experts missed this: FEATURE Stalling economy hurts Turkey's AK Party ahead Cheap oil hurts U.S. economy of election WASHINGTON (AP) — If there was one thing most economists agreed on at the start of the year, it ISTANBUL (Reuters) — Murat Dalga stands in a shop was this: Plunging oil prices would boost the U.S. filled with everything but customers and swears he economy. won't be voting for Turkey's ruling AK Party this time It hasn't worked out that way. around. The economy is thought to have shrunk in the "In 20 years I've never seen it so bad," the 38-year-old January-March quarter and may barely grow for the electronics salesman said amid rows of televisions and first half of 2015 — thanks in part to sharp cuts in fridges. "The AKP used to be the party of the working energy drilling. And despite their savings at the gas class, but not any more. They will definitely bleed this pump, consumers have slowed rather than increased time." their spending. For the first time since coming to power in 2002, At $2.71 a gallon, the average price of gas the AKP is heading into an election under fire over the nationwide is nearly $1 lower than it was a year ago. economy, thanks to stalling growth, stubbornly high In January, the average briefly reached $2.03, the unemployment and worrying levels of household debt. lowest in five years. That has given the opposition a new line of attack and Cheaper oil and gas had been expected to highlights the difficulties a weakened AKP will face after turbocharge spending and drive growth, more than the June 7 polls, when it will need to bring in overdue making up for any economic damage caused by reforms to cut personal and corporate debt, boost cutbacks in the U.S. oil patch. savings and increase productivity. Consider what Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen Investors think the AKP will win just enough seats to said in December: Lower gas prices, Yellen declared, remain in power as a single-party government and keep are "certainly good for families.... It's like a tax cut its economic management team intact, although one that boosts their spending power." closely watched poll has predicted it could be forced to form a coalition. Other experts were more direct: "Lower oil prices During their policy meeting last month, Fed Moody's Analytics expects the economy to It is almost certain to fall far short of the super are an unambiguous plus for the U.S. economy," officials grappled with the changing impact of expand just 2.6 percent this year, down from an majority required to change the constitution and give its Chris Lafakis, an economist at Moody's Analytics, cheaper oil, according to minutes of the meeting earlier forecast of 3.3 percent. (The downgrade is founder, President Tayyip Erdogan, the broader powers wrote in January. released Wednesday. Several policymakers said the also due in part to a stronger U.S. dollar, which has he wants. So what did they get wrong? economic drag from drilling cutbacks could be "larger depressed exports.) A lacklustre performance at the polls may be a much- The reality and longer-lasting than previously anticipated." For families, the drop in gas prices was an needed wake-up call, said Vedat Mizrahi, a managing It turns out that the economic effects of lower They also worried that the weakness in consumer unexpected gift. The government has estimated that director at financial services firm Unlu & Co. energy prices have evolved since the Great Recession. spending, despite cheaper gas, suggested that cheaper gas will save a typical household $675 this "If the AKP does lose some popularity, that could Corporate spending on drill rigs, steel piping for Americans might generally be more reluctant to year. force it to focus more on economic management and wells and railcars to transport oil has become an spend than assumed. Yet still scarred by the recession, many remain reform," he said. "We haven't seen any reforms in increasingly vital driver of economic growth. So Changing models reluctant to spend freely. Analysts also note that the last couple of years and Turkey is really lagging its when oil prices fall and energy companies retrench, Some economists are reconsidering assumptions Americans are less likely to spend extra money if emerging market counterparts." the economy suffers. they use to forecast the economy. they think the gain is temporary. Turkey has enjoyed years of breathtaking growth The drilling boom that erupted in 2008 has "The benefit of lower oil prices is less pronounced "Consumers have been very reluctant to spend under the AKP. In 2002, per capita GDP averaged $3,600, boosted U.S. oil production nearly 75 percent and than, say, 10 years ago," says Jim Burkhard, a (savings from cheaper gas), because they view just ahead of Equatorial Guinea. By 2013 it had trebled natural gas 30 percent and made the United States researcher at IHS Energy. "You're taking a big engine that as fleeting," says Greg McBride, chief financial to $11,000, higher than Malaysia. With annual output the world's largest combined producer of oil and of economic activity and cutting it sharply." analyst at Bankrate.com. of more than $800 billion, Turkey is now comfortably natural gas. Energy production contributes about Lafakis and many others still expect consumers Consumer spending rose at an annual rate of just among the world's top-20 economies. 2 percent to economic output, up from less than 1 to spend much of their savings from cheaper gas, 1.9 percent in the first quarter, compared with the But growth has stalled, slipping to 2.9 percent last percent in 2000. powering faster growth in the second half of the previous quarter's 4.4 percent. Much of the cash year, from more than 4 percent in 2013. Critics say Turkey Yet in recent months, industry activity has year. Economists say it can take up to six months for saved at the gas pump was put away: The U.S. savings relies too much on construction, private consumption dropped more sharply than predicted. people to spend unexpected windfalls. But any gains rate reached its highest point in more than two years. and debt, and desperately needs to boost household "So far, it is fair to say that we have been hurt won't likely be enough to counter the anemic start Wal-Mart and Target have confirmed that their sales savings. more than helped," Lafakis acknowledges now. to the year. aren't getting much lift from cheaper gas. "The Turkish economy is sort of a bubble. It's living off foreign capital being pumped in, which has made it G7 finance ministers to address Japan slides back into possible for people to borrow and consume," said Halil Karaveli, managing editor of The Turkey Analyst. faltering global growth trade deficit "The savings rate in Turkey is extremely low. You're totally dependent on inflows of foreign capital, which has sustained consumption and it has sustained this construction boom." Turkey's current account deficit, which was over 5 percent of GDP last year, remains a worry, as does household debt. In the last decade, consumer credit has ballooned 11- fold. Dollar-denominated debt equals nearly 30 percent of gross domestic product, meaning regular collapses in the lira currency drive up borrowing costs. The weak economy has been an opportunity for the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). "Until this election, the opposition did not want to talk about the economy because it was seen as an asset for the ruling party. But things have changed. They have hijacked the economic agenda from the AKP," said Sinan Ulgen, the chairman of the Istanbul-based Centre for LONDON (Reuters) — Finance ministers Analysts largely agree the country's TOKYO (WSJ) —Japan slipped back Exports to the U.S. in April were Economics and Foreign Policy Studies. from the world's largest developed cash squeeze is increasingly acute and into a trade deficit in April, a month robust, rising 21.4% in value from a The CHP wants the removal of income tax on economies meet in Germany this week fresh aid will be needed sooner or later after recording its first surplus in year earlier. Cars, power generating minimum wages as well as the creation of an oversight against a backdrop of faltering global to avoid bankruptcy. nearly three years, as the decline in machines were among items pushing commission to improve fiscal discipline. growth, scant inflationary pressures Merkel and French President the value of oil imports narrowed up its exports. The lira's precipitous fall this year - which investors and a bond market in turmoil. Francois Hollande held talks on from a month earlier. Japanese car exports to China, on ascribe to concerns about political meddling in monetary High on their agenda -- even if Thursday with Greek Prime Minister Still, Japan’s trade deficit in April the other hand, tumbled 50% during policy - is one sign of the government's mishandling unofficially -- will be Greece and how Alexis Tsipras on the sidelines of a was the smallest in six years, as faster- the month. A ministry official cited a of the economy, CHP Deputy Chairwoman Selin Sayek it can stay in the troubled euro zone. European Union summit in Riga, hoping than-expected export growth helped slowdown in the Chinese economy. Boke told Reuters. Figures due on Friday from the United to speed the resolution of Athens' debt mitigate an increase in the nation’s The value of crude-oil imports "Countries that work well, that are led well and make States that will almost certainly crisis. import bill. fell 34.6% in April from a year earlier, reforms and look to the future are not punished like this." show the world's biggest economy With business growth slowing in The world’s third-largest economy narrower than the 51% on-year decline For many foreign investors, the key election question contracted last quarter are also likely to the euro zone and factory activity logged a ¥53.4 billion ($439 million) seen in March. Japan also saw a is the future of Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan, feature. contracting again in China, market trade deficit, data from the Ministry of sharp increase in imports of drags, the 48-year-old Fulbright scholar and Northwestern "With the negotiations between watchers have been looking to the Finance showed Monday. Economists power generating machines and University MBA long seen as an anchor of investor Greece and the rest of the euro area United States to drive a pick-up in polled by The Wall Street Journal semiconductors last month. confidence. at an impasse, an impatient German growth. and the Nikkei business daily had The government and Bank of Babacan, in charge of the economy for much of the Chancellor Merkel has warned that an But a preliminary Reuters poll last predicted a ¥325 billion deficit. Japan are counting on external AKP's 13 years in power, is prevented from standing for agreement must be reached before week predicted that adjusted first The value of exports grew 8.0% demand to support stronger growth re-election because of the party's three-term limit. the end of the month," said Thomas quarter U.S. GDP numbers due on Friday on year, down from 8.5% growth in the fiscal year through March 2016 Two high-ranking officials in Ankara told Reuters he Costerg, senior economist at Standard would be massively revised down and in March, while imports fell 4.2%. A after the economy was battered by will stay on in at least an advisory role to Prime Minister Chartered. show a 0.7 percent contraction in the plunge in global oil prices since last an increase in the nation’s sales tax Ahmet Davutoglu, if the AK Party forms the next Greece cannot make a payment first three months of this year. summer has curbed the value of that took effect in April last year. government. to the International Monetary Fund "The poor Q1 2015 performance Japan’s overall import bill. Japan’s economy grew at an "There's absolutely no doubt Babacan will be part of due on June 5 unless foreign lenders follows growth of just 2.2 percent “The result underscored [that] annualized pace of 2.4% during the economic team. There's no title in place for now, but disburse more aid, a senior ruling party in Q4 2014, so there has been very exports grew faster than anticipated. the first quarter of the year, much he'll work closely with Davutoglu either as a key advisor lawmaker said on Wednesday, the little growth over the last couple of That’s a good thing for the economy,” stronger-than revised growth of 1.1% in charge of the economy or another position," one of latest warning from Athens it is on the quarters," said Joseph LaVorgna, chief said Yoshiki Shinke, chief economist in the final quarter of last year, data the officials said. verge of default. U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank. at Dai-Ichi Life Research Institute. released last week showed. Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek is also expected to retain a position, while Ibrahim Turhan, a former deputy central bank governor and ex-chairman of the Istanbul European stock markets fall on Greek and Spanish political concerns stock exchange, is seen as a potential member. Turhan was among a delegation that went to New LONDON (Reuters) — European equi- International Monetary Fund next month that Greece will remain in the euro zone, common ground to have an agreement York in March in an attempt to calm investors' concerns ties fell on Monday, with the Spanish and unless it makes a deal with creditors. stock market dealers said the latest with the creditors." after Erdogan's criticism of the central bank, equating Greek stock markets hit by investors' con- Spain's IBEX equity index also fell 2.1 comments coming out of Athens were The pullback in European stock mar- high interest rates with treason, exacerbated a sell-off cerns over Greece's debt problems and a percent after the ruling People's Party enough to make traders nervous. kets also mirrored losses on Wall Street in the lira. poor local election result for the Madrid took a battering in regional and local elec- "Investors are very nervous because on Friday after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Keeping Babacan and Simsek in the economic team government. tions on Sunday. Voters punished Prime the chance of a default has clearly in- Janet Yellen hinted at a possible rate hike would reassure foreign investors and be positive for the Athens' main index equity index fell 1.2 Minister Mariano Rajoy for four years of creased," said KBC's senior economist this year. currency, at least in the short term, said Unlu & Co.'s percent after Greece's interior minister severe spending cuts and a string of cor- Koen De Leus. "But I believe that Greek Yellen said delaying a policy tightening Mizrahi. said on Sunday the country would not ruption scandals. politicians understand the seriousness until employment and inflation hit targets "Most of the investors I speak to, they only know the be able to make debt repayments to the Even though most investors believe of the issue and will ultimately arrive at a risked the economy overheating. names of these two guys," he said. I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

8 MED & SCI MAY 26, 2015 http://www.tehrantimes.com

NEWS IN BRIEF Lack of exercise can disrupt Researchers design robot helping movement of exoskeleton the body’s rhythms

TEHRAN (ISNA) — Iranian researchers at Tarbiat Mod- Exercise may affect how and when dares University have designed a lab robot helping move- we move, even when we aren’t ments of exoskeleton. exercising, according to a fascinat- Sajjad Ozgoli, the lead author of the study, said exo- ing new study in mice. The findings skeleton robot is a new technology in the world of robots suggest that, by influencing our developed to improve individuals’ movement ability. built-in body clocks, exercise may Using the technology, the robot’s movement power is help our bodies to recognize the combined with controlling individual’s brain power, con- optimal times we should be mov- siderably helping movement ability. ing, and when we should be still. The robot is used to help people with disabilities or im- Most of us have heard of cir- proving physical power of nurses and workers. cadian rhythms. Our heartbeats, The lab robot built in real scale is controlled by com- hormones, hunger, alertness, di- puter, he said, adding, the robot has not been optimized gestion, fatigue and other bodily and is designed only for testing control algorithms. functions move through regular cycles on a schedule that is both predictable and syncopated, changing as circumstances de- Depression ups mortality mand. But probably risk in heart failure patients Interestingly, few of us realize dynamic patterns that physical activ- Patients with heart failure are at five-fold increased risk of of movements in ity, both in people death following discharge from hospital if they also suffer from and most animals, moderate to severe depression, a new research has found. the young people likewise tends to The findings suggest that recognition and management were quite similar follow a broad, cir- of depression may reduce mortality for patients with heart cadian pattern. failure. “Our research clearly shows a strong association to those seen in Most obviously, between depression and risk of death in the year after dis- healthy, young we tend to sleep at charge from hospital,” said chief study investigator John Cle- lab animals, night, hardly mov- land, professor of cardiology at the Imperial College London. ing, and be active Depression is often related to loss of motivation, loss of said Frank during the day. interest in everyday activities, lower quality of life, loss of But during the confidence, sleep disturbances and change in appetite with A.J. L. Scheer, day, too, physical corresponding weight change. an assistant the day, and on other days he or ting. In doing so, the researchers dom movement at night. They were “This could explain the association we found between activity by people professor at usually shows cer- she might be moving early on and felt, the body created a healthy, still when they probably should have depression and mortality,” Cleland explained. quiet later. dynamic circadian pattern. been moving and restless when (Source: Business Standard) Harvard Medical tain patterns, al- though those pat- An internal logic Interestingly, these dynamic they should have been still. Their School. terns noticeably But there was generally an in- patterns of movements in the movement patterns in general be- change with age, ternal logic to the movement, the young people were quite similar came more random, Dr. Scheer said. recent science shows. In a telling scientists concluded. If someone to those seen in healthy, young lab But whether these undesirable NASA Curiosity rover 2009 study published in Proceed- had been still for some time, he animals, said Frank A .J. L. Scheer, changes were caused solely by ag- adjusts route up Martian ings of the National Academy of or she then would start moving; an assistant professor at Harvard ing or also to other factors was not Sciences, scientists asked young and if someone had just moved Medical School and director of the clear. So for the new study, which mountain adults and older people to wear or exercised a lot, he or she often Medical Chronobiology Program also was published in P.N.A.S., Dr. activity monitors for a week as would take some time to settle, at Brigham and Women’s Hospital Scheer and his colleagues, includ- NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity has found a new route to some they went about their normal lives since presumably the body was in Boston, who oversaw the study, ing Kun Hu at Harvard and Johanna interesting rocks after its original path proved too difficult and then plotted each volunteer’s still physiologically aroused, but suggesting that there are biologi- Meijer at Leiden University in the to traverse due to slippery slopes. Curiosity climbed a hill on would then be still. cal imperatives to movement pat- Netherlands, gathered mice ranging Thursday to approach an alternative site for investigating a 24-hour movements. The graphs showed that the In essence, the young people’s terns even among those of us who in age from young adults (6 months geological boundary, after a comparable site proved hard to bodies seemed to be somehow live modern, office-bound lives. old) to almost ancient (2 years old) reach. The drive of about 22 meters up slopes as steep as 21 young people moved quite a bit remembering and responding to Those “memory” in those pat- and settled them in cages equipped degrees brought Curiosity close to a target area where two during the day, with frequent what that body had just been do- terns was reduced drastically with with infrared sensors that would distinctive types of bedrock meet. peaks and valleys in their activi- ing, whether sitting or moving, The rover science team wants to examine an outcrop ties. These patterns weren’t neatly age, however. In the 2009 study, constantly monitor their physical that contains the contact between the pale rock unit the consistent; some days someone and then calculating a new, appro- older people showed less move- activity. mission analyzed lower on Mount Sharp and a darker, might sit and barely move early in priate response — moving or sit- ment during the day and more ran- (Source: The New York Times) bedded rock unit that the mission has not yet examined up close. Two weeks ago, Curiosity was headed for a comparable geological contact farther south, NASA said. Foiled by slippery slopes on the way there, the team ‘Micro rockets’ to capture cancer cells rerouted the vehicle and chose a westward path. The A group of scientists from India idic devices to capture and isolate mission’s strategic planning keeps multiple route options and Germany claimed to have cre- tumors but the devices did not open to deal with such situations. ated “micro rockets” out of carbon serve the purpose efficiently. (Source: The Economic Times) nanotubes to selectively capture It is difficult to detect tumor tumor cells from a large population cells in cancer patients as for of blood cells. every milliliter of blood, only 10- “It is difficult for clinicians to trap 100 tumor cells appear in a sea of SUBSCRIPTION FORM the few nasty cancer cells swim- about a billion normal blood cells, ming stealthily alongside billions he said. WWW.TEHRANTIMES.COM I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y of healthy blood cells and diagnose The researchers from Actorius cancer affirmatively. We have over- Innovations and Research, Maha- come this challenge,” Pune-based rashtra Institute of Pharmacy and Tehran Times subscription form researcher Jayant Khandare said. peers from Institute Chemie, Freie The researchers used a chemical University Berlin, worked to syn- Dear readers: ‘fuel’ to propel these rockets up thesise the new efficient micro Since the Tehran Times had not increased or down in an artificial cell suspen- rockets, Khandare said. its price over the past four years it had no sion. The micro rockets could become choice other than hiking the price to partly “We were able to trap and trans- a potential tool for non-invasive liq- cover some of the costs such as post service. port tumor cells to diagnose spe- uid biopsy at an early stage of me- We hope to meet your needs by present- cific cancers. The micro rockets chemicals, deliver drugs and pen- surgeries,” Khandare said. tastasis, Khandare said. ing better news and articles. can also be used to detect or trace etrate tissues during non-invasive Scientists earlier used microflu- (Source: Economic Times) F i r s t n a m e : ...... Family name: ...... Record-breaking energy unleashed in largest atom smasher Company: ...... The world’s largest atom smasher is really cranking the teams figured out where to place the collima-  12-month subscription: 3,200,000 rials  now: Protons zipped around the giant underground tors to capture the stray protons and protect the 6-month subscription: 1,600,000 rials ring at near light-speed and collided head on, releas- machine’s equipment. The test run was successful,  3-month subscription: 800,000 rials ing record-breaking energies. he added. The beauty of the fallout from these powerful Also, the nearly 9,600 magnets that move the Phone No.: ...... particle smash-ups can be seen in images released protons around in a circle are working properly, he yesterday (May 21) by the European Organization said. Fax: ...... for Nuclear Research (CERN), which oversees the The LHC is scheduled to begin runs at 13 TeV in 17-mile-long (27 kilometers) Large Hadron Collider early June. At that time, the various experiments, Address: ...... (LHC). The underground particle collider in Switzer- such as ALICE, ATLAS and CMS, can begin producing land awoke in April after a two-year snooze for re- data. The LHC’s claim to fame right now is the Higgs Postal code: ...... pairs and upgrades. boson, a particle thought to explain how other parti- Last week during a test run, the protons sped into cles get their mass and which was discovered in 2012 E-mail: ...... each other with energies of 13 tera-electronvolts inside the underground ring. (TeV), or double the collider’s previous power. magnets and detectors from stray particles. With higher energies, the collisions could pro- ATTENTION: The money can be depos- “It doesn’t sound like very much, but if you have When 100 billion to 1,000 billion protons are sped duce even heavier exotic particles that have not yet ited into Tehran Times account number a mosquito buzzing around, the amount of energy up in a ring, some of them are inevitably going to been discovered. And physicists are excited about 6973086221 in Bank Mellat at any branch. it takes to keep that mosquito floating is about the be “off spec,” having slightly different energies than what’s in store, hoping that the particle crashes will Send the subscription form along with the energy of one of these collisions — except that you the other particles, Rakness said. “If they don’t have reveal unknowns about the universe, from extra di- deposit receipt to No. 18 Bimeh Lane, Ne- have this energy compressed down into the size the right energy, they float outside [the main beam, mensions to twins of the Higgs boson, the scientists jatollahi Street, Tehran, or fax to number that’s a million times smaller than the width of a hu- and] they go around in a little bit bigger circle. And have told Live Science. 88808895 (special for Tehrani citizens). man hair,” Greg Rakness, run coordinator for one of when they do this, the problem is these protons can The new run of the LHC could also give physicists Interested individuals in other cities can the experiments called CMS at the collider, told Live hit equipment” inside the LHC, Raknesssaid. evidence of supersymmetry, the idea that all the contact the subscription office at Science. To capture these “out of whack” protons, Rak- known subatomic particles have superpartners that 8880-3025 Physicists used these test collisions to set up sys- ness said, physicists rely on the collimators, which are yet to be discovered. tems called collimators that would protect the LHC’s are essentially blocks of metal. During the test run, (Source: Live Science) I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y http://www.tehrantimes.com/sports MAY 26, 2015 SPORTS 9

Iran must improve to beat the U.S., FOOTBALL FIFA head Sepp Blatter describes himself as says Slobodan Kovac 'mountain goat' Iran volleyball coach Slobodan Sport D e s k FIFA president Sepp Blatter has described himself as a 'moun- Kovac believes his men must tain goat' and has lost the support of UEFA's Michel Platini. improve their service in order to get the good FIFA president Sepp Blatter compared himself to a results in the 2015 FIVB World League against mountain goat, as he attempts to withstand mounting the U.S. team. pressure on his re-election campaign. “We tried to analyze the U.S. team. They serve While he remains favourite for the position, to be de- very well and put their opponent under pressure. cided on Friday, he has endured a rough period over FIFA’s They’ve played three friendlies against Canada, support for the Qatar World Cup despite the deaths of Cuba and Mexico. The quality of their serves is many workers in the preparation for the tournament, the much higher than us but we will try our best to country’s human rights abuses, and allegations of FIFA’s reach their level. We will have the very tough own corruption. games but my players will fight until the end to get Blatter told the NZZ newspaper: “I am a mountain the result,” Kovac told the reporters. goat that keeps going and going and going, I cannot be Iran libero Farhad Zarif also believes the U.S. is stopped, I just keep going.” strongest team in the competition but they are a Despite reports of FIFA’s largesse, Blatter described team to beat. himself not just as a goat, but a “simple, devout man.” “We should not forget that U.S. team is the de- Should Blatter, 79, be re-elected, it will be his fifth term fending champion while it is taking advantage of as FIFA president, and he now faces just one rival for the hosting against us but we are not here for fun, we position, Prince Ali bin-Al Hussein. Al-Hussein has gained will go to beat them,” Zarif told the reporters after the backing of UEFA president Michel Platini. arriving in Los Angeles. Platini told L’Equipe: "If he really loves FIFA, he should Iran, who has been drawn in the group of death put it before himself. at the 2015 FIVB World League alongside Russia, "While he remains in office, whether he likes it or not, the U.S. and Poland, will take on U.S. on May 30 whether it is just or not, FIFA will have a credibility problem and 31 at the Galen Center, Los Angeles. and thus a problem of authority." "I am convinced that Ali, who I have known personally for many years, can make a great president of FIFA. . "He Iran’s Yadegar Rostami chosen Iran into AFC Under-14 Football has all the qualities. He has of course great passion for soc- cer and FIFA. He brings legitimacy, he has been president Cordial Cup best player Festival semis of a national federation for 15 years, a member of the ex- ecutive committee of his confederation and a vice presi- dent of FIFA. "He knows completely the workings of the institution without yet having had time to be crushed or deformed by them, and he has resisted that because he has great free- dom of spirit and independence." Platini insisted his support for Prince Ali was not an at- tack on Blatter: "He is a man that I like and respect. We have enjoyed great times that cannot be erased. He did some very good things and made good decisions at diffi- cult times. This is why I would never attack him. But after a while you cannot simply hold on to the throne at any cost." Platini was not the only man who refused to back Blat- ter. Diego Maradona launched a more vituperative attack KIA Football ed the top scorer of the tournament. Iran advanced Iran will play with Group B sec- on the current president. In the Telegraph, Maradona said Sport D e s k Academy striker More than 3,000 players in 164 teams Sport D e s k to the semifi- ond team on Tuesday. FIFA had become a “disgrace and painful embarrassment Yadegar Rostami has been named as competed in the Cordial Cup which is for nals of the Asian Football Confed- A total of seven teams, namely to those of us who care about football deeply.” the best player of the Cordial Cup. teams ages U-11, U-13 and U-15 years old. eration (AFC) Under-14 football Tajikistan, Iran, Afghanistan, India, He continued: “While I find almost no one openly sup- KIA Football Academy lost to TSV Young footballers look forward festival for Central and South Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan have porting Blatter, many think he will win a fifth term. Why? 1860 München 7-6 in penalty shootout to participate in the Cordial Cup as it Asian region. participated in the festival. The whole notion of a fifth term is an absurdity in 2015. No on Sunday in the Cordial Cup final. is one of the most prestigious tour- Team Iran drew 2-2 with India in The festival is focusing on devel- one has argued that he is the best man for the job and de- Rostami was named as the best naments in Europe. Group A on Monday in the match opment rather than winning. serves to win.” player of the competition. The two-day tournament took held at the Stiqlol Academy in Du- All teams will receive a medal “Recently he pledged to follow through in addressing The Iranian prodigy was also award- place in the Kitzbueheler Alps. shanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. and certificate of participation. racism in football and promoting women in the sport. That made me laugh. My question is: ‘Sepp, what were you do- ing in your last four terms?’ “We have a dictator for life. I call Blatter ‘the man of Carlo Ancelotti rules out move to Milan or England due to spinal operation ice’ because he lacks the inspiration and passion that are at the very heart of football. If this is the face of international Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed job at the Bernabeu, despite Rossoneri CEO Adriano Galli- It has been a tough season for Ancelotti and Real football, we are in a very bad place.” that, should he leave the club, he will take a year off to ani having reportedly travelled to meet with him in Madrid. Madrid all round. Prince Ali is the sole remaining challenge for Blatter after recover from spinal surgery. "I can assure you that I have not lacked opportunities, Gareth Bale has been slowly edged out of the side as the Luis Figo and Dutch FA president Michael van Praag failed Ancelotti has endured a difficult second season at Real from Italy, England and Germany, and I will not lack offers Bernebeu crowd have turned on him for suffering a notice- to garner enough support to mount a serious challenge. Madrid, having won the club's 10th Champions League - La between now and next year,” the 55-year-old told Il Giornale. able, but not disastrous, dip in form in his second series. (Source: Eurosport) Decima - in 2014, but failing to win La Liga in either year. "I said it at the press conference, and I can only re- Iker Casillas, a strong dressing room presence, was Club president Florentino Perez has reacted by re- peat it - I’ll stop for a year. I also have a very serious on occasion replaced by Keylor Navas in goal, and Real portedly lining up Rafael Benitez, Napoli's current man- reason to stop, I need to have an operation for cervical Madrid's famously intolerant and entitled fans round- ager, as Ancelotti's replacement amid growing specula- stenosis [a spinal condition]. ed on their club legend and captain after he too could Mercedes explains Lewis tion that he could be set to leave. "For some time I’ve been having tingling in my not keep his performance levels to their liking. Ancelotti has been repeatedly linked with a return hands, if I wait any longer it may spread to my legs, so Although Luis Enrique had a tough start to his career Hamilton Monaco Grand to AC Milan - and he has admitted, "I’ve always said and I’ve made an appointment for surgery. as manager at Barcelona, both he and Lionel Messi have Prix pit error thought that if one day I return to coach a club in Italy, "Frankly I don’t know how long I’ll have to physically stop, improved their fortunes and Barcelona's form, support- I could only do it with Milan". for the postoperative phase and subsequent rehabilitation. ed by Luis Suarez and Neymar in attack to score over 100 But he has now confirmed that he would take a year out "Galliani is in Madrid? It’ll be a pleasure to have goals this season and stay on target for the treble. Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff explained how Lewis Hamil- to recover from an operation on his spine if he is to lose his guests for dinner, but I can’t change the schedule." (Source: Eurosport) ton’s team miscalculated his advantage when they called him in to pit during the Monaco Grand Prix. Having been comfortably leading the race, Hamilton’s Dani Alves: Barcelona don’t Slaven Bilic Besiktas exit fuels West Ham late pit stop under the safety car dropped him from first to third and he was unable to overtake in the closing laps. respect me job rumours With team-mate Nico Rosberg going on to take victory from Sebastian Vettel, Hamilton saw a dominant victory taken away from him and Wolff explains there was some confusion during the safety car period. “What the hell happened there, that is exactly the right question,” Wolff said. “The simple answer is we got the math wrong, the calculation wrong. We thought we had a gap which we didn’t have when the safety car came out and Lewis was behind the safety car. The calculation was simply wrong and that’s what happened. “In Monaco you have no GPS and that makes the whole exercise more difficult and this is why we got it wrong when it switched from virtual safety car into safety car.” Explaining why the risk was taken to bring Hamilton in, Wolff says Mercedes was worried Sebastian Vettel would Dani Alves has accused Barcelona of stupid to do that and I’ve reached my Besiktas coach Slaven Bilic said on Bilic spent six successful years with be able to pit and rejoin in third on fresh tyres. not valuing him in contract negotia- limit. I’m not here to answer anything Sunday he will leave the club at the the Croatia national team and then took “The potential risk could have been that Sebastian tions and launched a scathing attack but to defend myself. I’m not thinking end of the season as media specula- over at Dynamo Moscow for one sea- would switch on to a soft tyre behind us and coming up on the Spanish media. about money but only to be valued for tion grew that he may replace Sam Al- son before signing as Besiktas coach. behind Nico, it could have been a risk at the end. Now, let’s Speaking at a Press conference on what I do, and I don’t think the club lardyce as West Ham Unitedmanager. The 46-year-old spent a little more say, very simply from a common sense overview disregard- Monday, in which he also confirmed value me as I deserve. Bilic told reporters after Sunday’s than a year at Upton Park as a player ing the data … we have to follow the data. This is how the that he would not make a decision until “I’ll happily leave before they kick me 2-0 derby loss to Galatasaray saw Be- from 1996, making over 40 appearanc- squad works, but I agree it looks like a risk. The simple an- after the Champions League final, the out, but what I won’t accept is [accusa- siktas miss out on Champions League es for West Ham. He is best remem- swer is that the numbers were wrong.” expiring right-back did not hold back in tions of being a mercenary] because qualification that he wouldn’t be stay- bered in England for beating Steve With Hamilton getting the final call to pit just 50 metres expressing his contempt with how his I’ve always worked hard for this club, ing on as manager. McClaren’s England 3-2 at Wembley before he reached the pit entry, Wolff says the team takes future had been played out in public. including this year. For now I’ll continue “I won’t be Besiktas’ manager next to ensure the home side would not responsibility despite a discussion with the driver. “I’m here because I’ve been disre- to give 200 percent to the team, but season. I’m proud of what I’ve done qualify for the 2008 European Champi- “This is the team’s decision, we are all in this, we are all in this spected and a lot of rubbish has been the President [Josep Maria Bartomeu] here. As I said before, I am the first one onships. McClaren is also expected to together. We make decisions together and it’s not one person written about me. I want to do my knows what he’s getting from me. who is going to take responsibility for be out of work this season after Derby to blame because we win and lose together – that is clear.” talking on the pitch because then eve- “Dani Alves has both feet in the not winning the league for two years. I County collapsed and missed the play- Despite finishing third, Hamilton remains at the top of ryone can make their own minds up team and a foot-and-a-half out of have already made my decision.” offs, but has not been seriously linked the Formula 1 standings, with 126 points, now just 10 points [about my commitment]. the club.” A fan favourite, Bilic has been work- with the West Ham job. against his Mercedes team mate and rival, Rosberg. “Unfortunately, [people] are too (Source: Football Espana) ing with Besiktas since June 2013. (Source: Eurosport) (Source: Eurosport) I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y 10 WOMEN MAY 26, 2015 http://www.tehrantimes.com/society

QUOTE OF THE DAY The women of Islamic Republic

By Seyyedeh Fatemeh Zahra Jalili

ehind every great man stands a greater woman, as Bgoes the famous saying. If I may humbly add, be- hind every great nation stands a great mountain of in- novative, resilient and collaborative men and women. When I visited the 28th Tehran International Book Fair, this exact attitude seemed to have taken a firm grip of the new generation of publishers and exhibitors work- ing there. However, as Ms. Maryam Zamani from the One day someone will walk into your life and make you see Institute of Ghadirshenasi remarks, this phenomenon is why it never worked out with anyone else. not simply limited to one industry; it is an industrious Anonymous and success-driven approach shared across the cities and towns of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The spokeswoman of Mahan Business School, Ms. Ayda Mir-Elmasi, states that in the educational sphere in particular more than half of the staff are women. Situat- NEWS ing her statement in the historical context of the Islamic Revolution, it appears as a well-recognized fact that Masterchef, the first the Islamic Revolution aimed to initiate certain social headscarved woman in changes in order to encourage more women to enroll in universities and to educate themselves. One of the Is- male workers ratio as almost equal and fair, and stated legal affairs, to name a few. American cooking show lamic Revolution’s most overlooked commitments was that she feels a lot of progression has been done during Iranian women have attained influential positions to provide universal education for Iranians, regardless the past decade for women’s working rights. Similarly, in various disciplines ranging from arts to humanities Amanda Saab is Muslim and wears a hijab, a tradition- of gender and social class. The reason behind such com- Ms. Shafe-e, a saleswoman from the publishing com- to sciences, and received praise and recognition both al Muslim headscarf for women. She is a contestant mitment becomes much more logical when taking into pany of Takthe Siyah (KAD), expressed that the pres- nationally and internationally. In arts, Mrs. Rakhshan on this season’s Masterchef on Fox and is, according consideration that, prior to the 1979 Islamic Revolution ence and influence of women in Tehran has increased Bani-E’temad is an internationally well-known Iranian to Muslim girl, the first Muslim female chef to appear in Iran, the female literacy between the ages of 15 to 24 dramatically, and believes that the society is more open female film director and screenwriter, often described in a hijab on an American was mere 35%; today that number is nearing 99%, with to accept women with the according experience and as the ‘First Lady of Iranian Cinema,’ having received the primetime cooking show. well over 60% of the university-goers as women. expertise for senior leadership positions. Though there Best Screenplay Award at the 71st Venice International Saab never intended to Increase in literacy demands for increase in the work are very few women holding managerial positions in Film Festival. Furthermore, in science, whilst breaking be a trailblazer; she sim- force, and according to the World Bank, Iranian women commercially profitable companies, Iran’s political land- the gender-related boundaries, the first Muslim woman ply wanted to follow her are evenly distributed across the economic sectors of scape has attracted particular attention in regard to its and the first Iranian to fly to the International Space Sta- passion for cooking. She education, agriculture, administration and finance. In numerous high-ranking female politicians. For example, tion was Mrs. Anousheh Ansari in 2006. Similarly, Mrs. has, however, inadvert- comparison with other Muslim countries in the region, the acceptance of fourteen female elective members Maryam Mirzakhani made history in 2014 as the first fe- ently become an inspira- Turkish women, for example, work primarily in agricul- to the Islamic Consultative Assembly in 1996 was a male and the first Iranian to be honored with the most tion for many. ture and customer service, whilst Saudi Arabian women groundbreaking step for women at the time, and a year prestigious award in mathematics, the Fields Medal. In an interview with are restricted to the services industry, and even then re- later, in 1997, when Mrs. Masoumeh Ebtekar became She is currently serving as the professor of mathemat- Muslim girl, Saab ac- quire working capacities in which they can serve wom- the first female Vice President of Iran. ics at Stanford University. knowledged the precon- en exclusively. Furthermore, as defined by the Interna- During President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s admin- Indeed, to collaborate and to support one another ceptions of those who tional Labor Organization, more than half of all female istration, Mrs. Fatemeh Bodaghi, Mrs. Marzieh Vahid- is the best method of moving forward for any society. see Muslim women in workers in Iran are self-employed or entrepreneurs Dastjerdi and Mrs. Maryem Mojtahidzadeh - vice presi- Without our hard-working and ambitioned men paving headscarves. “As with with their own business ventures. It has been on Iran’s dent for legal affairs, minister for health and medical the way, we would not have our studious and driven any profession,” she long-term political agenda to provide varying support education and vice president for family and women’s women. Having successful women in economics, in said, “Muslim women wearing hijab can be faced with and opportunities for women to take more prominent affairs respectively, were all considered close advisors politics, in arts and the sciences, is not about individual ignorance. In my experience, many stereotypes have steps in becoming formal participants in the country’s of the president. Currently, under the President Has- gains, but about a collective progression toward a more been quickly dispelled as people get to know me. I economy. san Rouhani’s administration, the women politicians educated, more alert and much more advanced society. believe my presence in the culinary world is breaking In a recently held public questionnaire about wom- have retained even more influence, with Mrs. Marzieh It is about raising the bar for living standards for every- stereotypes that Muslim women are oppressed and en’s presence within the contemporary Iranian society, Aham as the spokeswoman and as the head of Public one, and about setting diligent examples for the sub- cannot follow their passions.” Ms. Mahsa Aghazadeh, from the sales team of a promi- and Media Diplomacy in Iran’s Foreign Ministry; as well sequent generations of what they can be - or rather of Masterchef Australia had a contestant two years nent educational publisher, described the female-to- as with Mrs. Elham Aminzadeh as the vice president for what they should be. ago, Samira El Khafir, who was Muslim and wore a hijab. Her exit generated quite a bit of controversy due to the nature of the cooking challenge that led to her exit: cooking a pork hot dog. Pork is a prohib- Efforts in progress to allow women in stadiums ited food under traditional Islamic custom, and many questioned the fairness of asking El Khafir to prepare TEHRAN (MNA) — Iran Volleyball Federation Presi- and FIVB Secretary General reports, international a meat that was in violation of her religion. dent Mohammad Reza Davarzani announced the Video check systems and HD-quality devices which Saab is a social worker, and originally used cook- federation’s efforts to provide opportunity for fe- will have a great impact on the next international ing partly as an outlet for the amount of stress she male fans to take part in volleyball matches in Iran. hosting conditions for the country. experienced at her job. “I needed an outlet; a way to Davarzani said special watchdog for International Pointing to the recent negative propaganda process the traumas and grief that I had witnessed,” Federation of Volleyball (FIVB) will be in Iran to moni- against the Islamic Republic of Iran, Davarzani said she said. “I would come home to prepare dinner and tor Iran’s conditions for hosting the 26th FIVB World Iran’s progress in the international arena has pro- would feel better. I soon realized that cooking was League. voked the enemies to try to tarnish Iran’s image. my way to process my day, my creative outlet, my ‘me He stated that Iran’s Volleyball Federation will do “They annually pay billions of dollars to the mer- time.’” its best to arrange hosting conditions in a way to avoid cenaries to present negative propaganda against Saab began experimenting with recipes and start- the possibility of any problem regarding the hosting Iran in various social networks to promote Iranopho- ed her own blog. Last fall, she saw a casting notice requirements, stressing that the conditions need to be bia in the world.” for the sixth season of Masterchef and applied. The within the framework of system’s principles. Fortunately, Davarzani emphasized, Iranian ath- Davarzani, while acknowledging Iran’s special po- season premiered last night. Saab is less concerned letes and people around the world have proved their sition for hosting among members of World League’s vation of some requirements set by the law in the love for Iran by travelling thousands of miles to sup- with stereotypes others have of hijab-wearing and Group A, said FIVB puts more emphasis on obser- Group A which include observer checklist, observer port their beloved country. women and more on her own cuising: “My cooking is a representation of me — East meets West. I love American food and I also love Mediterranean food. I love blending the flavor profiles and putting my own Violence against women and girls ‘shames every society’: UN anti-crime chief twist on classics.” (Source: Eater) Voicing concern over the continued killing of wom- of the solution,” Mr. Fedotov underscored, adding en and girls, the United Nations anti-crime chief on that “no woman or young girl must be allowed to Tuesday issued a strong call to end such acts, as well feel isolated or in danger.” as to unravel the gender at the heart of the “dread- Therefore, not only should societies provide ful daily experiences of violence” that blight so many women with much needed security, but also offer RECIPE OF THE WEEK of their lives. them opportunity, equality and prosperity. “Violence against women and girls, in all its many Citing efforts to tackle crime against women and Fresh strawberry pie forms, shames us all,” Yury Fedotov, executive direc- girls, Mr. Fedotov said UNODC is working to unravel tor of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the gender bias that has been woven into many leg- “Delicious pies made with fresh strawberries. Top with said in a statement issued in Vienna during the 24th islations and criminal justice systems, and which per- whipped cream if you session of the commission on crime prevention and petuates impunity for these violent acts. like.” criminal justice. He also called for all those in the criminal justice Ingredients: According to UNODC, women and girls continue system to respect and protect women and girls and 2 (8 inch) pie shells, baked to be killed in large numbers worldwide. In 2012, for to view domestic violence as a serious crime. 2 1/2 quarts fresh straw- example, at least 43,000 women were murdered by Hundreds of thousands of women displaced by conflict and “To end this serious crime, we must all work in berries their intimate partners or family members. living in camps in Somalia are especially vulnerable to sexual a spirit of partnership and cooperation to change 1 cup white sugar Yet such crime is only the most visible and brutal and gender-based violence, having lost their families and laws, change perceptions and change behaviors,” 2 tablespoons cornstarch sign of what is happening to millions of women. Hid- homes. declared Mr. Fedotov, warning that if no action is 1 cup boiling water den from our view, Mr. Fedotov said, are the dread- lence, occur in the countryside and cities; as well as taken “we will continue to see this violent crime un- 1 (3 ounce) package ful daily experiences of violence that blight the lives in schools, work places and especially the home. dermine our efforts to build better, more inclusive strawberry flavored Jelly of women and girls. “We must also acknowledge that, just as no soci- societies.” Directions: Such experiences, including terrible sexual vio- ety is immune from these violent acts, we are all part (UN News Center) In a saucepan, mix together the sugar and corn starch; make sure to blend corn starch in com- Culinary school fined for forcing Muslim girl to eat pork pletely. Add boiling water, and cook over medium heat until mixture thickens. Remove from heat. Add gelatin HOLSTEBRO, Denmark — A Danish wine would be in the recipes but not recorded the conversation she had moved to Denmark from Libya at a mix, and stir until smooth. Let mixture cool to room court has fined a culinary school for that tasting prepared dishes was with the school authorities, who asked very young age. temperature. forcing a Muslim student to taste compulsory. her to taste the food, not swallow it. The case, which came up before The Place strawberries in baked pie shells; position ber- pork, Turkey’s Anadolu Agency re- As she was forced to try the dish, She presented the conversation be- Equal Treatment Board, was upheld ries with points facing up. Pour cooled gel mixture ported. the girl filed a complaint against the fore the court. and the court had initially ordered the over strawberries. The 24-year-old student, who school, stating she was being dis- The school was fined 40,000 Danish school to pay $75,000, but the school Refrigerate until set. Serve with whipped cream, if was studying at Holstebro Culinary criminated on religious grounds. krone ($6,000) for the “moral dam- challenged the verdict. desired School, was informed that pork and The student, who was not named, ages”, caused to the student, who had (Source: onmanoram) I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y http://www.tehrantimes.com/international MAY 26, 2015 WORLD IN FOCUS 11

South African President Jacob Zuma gether in peace and friendship at all marked Africa Day, pledging to contin- S. Africa’s Zuma marks times.” ue working in unity and to make Africa Zuma apparently was trying to as- a continent of hope for the youth and Africa Day, calling for unity sure foreigners from other African JUMP future generations. countries that they would not be at- Hezbollah takes more “Africa Day is a celebration of Af- tacked again. rican progress. We have a lot to cel- Xenophobia attacks took place in Qalamoun highlands from ebrate and we have a lot to look for- parts of South Africa in April, leaving ward to. It is also a day to reflect on seven killed and thousands of foreign- al-Nusra challenges that still remain,” Zuma ers displaced most of them from other said on the occasion of the Africa Day African countries. Hezbollah forces captured more territory in Syria’s Qa- celebrations in Mamelodi, Pretoria. Africa Day, Zuma said, is also a cel- lamoun Mountains on Monday, three weeks into an Africa Day is celebrated annually ebration of the strides that Africa has offensive to oust terrorists from the rugged border re- within the African continent to mark made since the establishment of the gion, Al-Manar said. the formation of the Organization of OAU in advancing peace and stability, The report said Hezbollah fighters captured several African Unity (OAU) on May 25, 1963 democracy and sustainable develop- highlands northeast of the outskirts of Nahleh along Leb- and the African Union (AU) in 2002 ment. anon’s eastern mountain range shortly before midday. and the progress made by the conti- “We are proud of our modest contri- The Hezbollah-run Al-Manar said the advancing fight- nent since then to advance democra- bution to the success of the continent ers destroyed a military vehicle belonging to al-Nusra cy, peace, stability and socioeconomic through involvement in peacemaking, Front terrorists, “killing and wounding several militants.” development. peacekeeping as well as reconstruc- Hezbollah fought a fierce battle with Syria-based mil- South Africa rejoined the continent tion and development, working within itants on the outskirts of Nahleh in October, sparked by and the international community in the ambit of the African Union with an extremist ambush on party posts. Hezbollah acknowl- 1994 following the dawn of freedom other sister countries.” edged the deaths of eight fighters at the time. and democracy. Africa Day 2015 is thus African countries continue to work The Syrian army and Hezbollah launched the battle a celebration of 21 years since South ship that South Africa received from home to many nationals of Mozam- together as Africans to find solutions for Qalamoun earlier this month, capturing dozens of Africa’s reintegration into the interna- the African continent during its strug- bique, Rwanda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, in the DR Congo, Somalia, Mali, Sudan, militant bases and driving the terrorists north toward tional community and into the African gle for liberation. Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Con- the Central African Republic and other the outskirts of Lebanon’s Arsal. Hezbollah chief Hasan continent in particular. “We also at the same time celebrate go (DR Congo), Republic of Congo, parts of the continent facing challeng- Nasrallah vowed in a speech on Sunday night that the Qa- “Africa Day is a celebration of Af- the solidarity and friendship provided Tanzania, Burundi, Somalia, Ethiopia, es such as Burundi in recent weeks, lamoun offensive would push on until Lebanon’s border is rican unity and a reminder that we by South Africans in many townships Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana, Alge- Zuma said. secure. (Source: The Daily Star) should never lose sight of that noble and villages to African nationals who ria, Uganda, Kenya and others, Zuma “Today we also celebrate the ad- goal of the founding leaders of the came to settle in our country in search said. “We are happy to be joined by vancement of the continent econom- OAU,” Zuma said. of opportunities even at the height of nationals from these countries at this ically, although there is still a long way Syria army ‘launches 15 Africa Day, Zuma said, is about re- apartheid colonialism.” celebration. “We became one people, to go,” he said. calling selfless solidarity and friend- South Africa has for decades been and shall remain one people, living to- (Source: Xinhua) air raids around Palmyra’

UN chief praises Africa’s vision for a Iraq PM rebuts U.S. Contd. from P. 1 peaceful and prosperous continent criticism of security forces Some of those killed had been beheaded, Abdel Rah- man said, adding that the terrorists had also taken some United Nations Secretary General Ban gress. Overall, the continent’s econ- Contd. from P. 1 600 people prisoner. Ki-moon in his message on Africa Day omy grew by roughly 4 per cent in Months of air strikes and the de- Syrian state media said at least 400 civilians had been held on May 25, 2015, praised Africa’s 2014, creating one of the longest ployment of advisers to reform and killed by ISIL terrorists in Palmyra, most of them women, vision to build a peaceful and pros- stretches of uninterrupted positive train the security forces have failed to children and old men. perous continent where democracy, economic expansion in Africa’s his- keep up with ISIL’s aggressive tactics. The pro-government Al-Watan daily reported on Mon- human rights and the rule of law are tory. As a result, a growing number “Secretary Carter’s remarks are day that the number of executions had risen to 450. entrenched and flourishing by 2063. of Africans have joined the middle surprising and likely to negatively af- Call to save Syria’s Tadmur The UN chief’s message reads: class each year. With investment in fect the morale of the ISF,” Iraq an- Before ISIL hammers have a chance to fall on the ruins Each year, Africa Day gives us the education, health and infrastructure alyst Ahmed Ali said, using the acro- of Palmyra, a leading Sunni Muslim body is appealing one opportunity to celebrate Africa’s increasing, the prospects for much of nym for the Iraqi security forces. last time for people to unite “in a battle of humanity” and achievements and to reflect on its Africa are bright. Ali, a visiting senior fellow at the save what UNESCO calls a historic city of “outstanding challenges. The dominant story of The challenge is to spread these Education for Peace in Iraq Centre, Sunni stronghold of Anbar. universal value”, RT reported. the year has been the Ebola crisis that benefits of Africa’s progress more argued there were several examples The People’s Mobilization, has The terrorist group has already killed 400 people in swept West Africa, claiming at least broadly and deeply, particularly to of Iraqi forces showing plenty of grit deployed en masse to take part in a the ancient Syrian city, northeast of Damascus, while 11,000 lives and threatening hard-won the women and girls who represent and cited the Baiji refinery, where planned operation to recapture Ramadi. thousands more have been displaced by the fighting. social, economic and political achieve- Africa’s future. If we empower wom- elite troops have repelled relentless “It makes my heart bleed because Now, Al-Azhar, a Cairo-based center for Islamic learn- ments. With great courage and de- en, we help build better, more equal ISIL attacks for months. we lost Ramadi but I can assure you ing, has sounded the alarm as time runs out to prevent termination, and with the generous and more prosperous societies. I After a year of fighting and de- we can bring it back soon,” Abadi Palmyra from becoming another Nimrod, the Iraqi (As- support of African nations and the in- commend the commitment of the spite a string of territorial losses, the told the BBC. syrian) city where ISIL wiped thousands of years of histo- ternational community, the affected African Union to gender equality and terrorists’ will to fight, on the other Iraqi regular forces backed by The ry from existence with axes and sledgehammers. countries have made remarkable pro- the empowerment of women as part hand, was never really in doubt. People’s Mobilization and Sunni tribal “Protecting archeological sites from destruction and gress toward ending the outbreak. of its Agenda 2063, and I welcome ISIL is a trim fighting force which fighters from Anbar have begun claw- plundering is the battle of all of humanity,” the center said Now, we have to intensify efforts to the declaration of 2015 as the year has time and again displayed great ing back land east of Ramadi over the in a statement a day after another appeal by Syria’s antiqui- “get to zero and stay at zero” cas- of women’s empowerment in Africa. tactical skill and whose men see past few days. ties director and ISIL entered the museum in the 2,000-year- es, repair the damage, and strength- While we work to break down the death on the battlefield as the ulti- Abadi said the major counteroffen- old Palmyra and raised their black flag over the citadel. en social and institutional resilience social, economic, environmental and mate reward. sive in Anbar would be launched in a Maamoun Abdulkarim, the antiquities director, called throughout the continent. To help cultural obstacles that women and Ramadi fightback imminent matter of days. for the implementation of United Nations Security Coun- mobilize support for this important girls face, let us also recognize the Abadi has had to change tarck as The capture of Ramadi together cil Resolution No. 2199, which was unanimously approved task I will convene an International gains that have been made. Africa a result of Ramadi’s fall and to call with the ISIL takeover of Palmyra in on February 12 and called for nations to combat terrorism Ebola Recovery Conference at the leads the world in female representa- in the Hashd al-Shaabi (The People’s eastern Syria last week has consoli- by any means possible. United Nations in New York in July. tion in Parliaments, and the continent Mobilization or The National Mobili- dated the terrorists’ grip on the heart “We have to unite our efforts in order to protect one Africa continues to make steady has one of the highest rates of female zation) force which he and Washing- of their self-proclaimed caliphate. of the most important archaeological cities in the Middle economic, social and political pro- entrepreneurship. (Source: UNIC) ton had wanted to keep out of the (Source: Reuters) East from being destroyed by Daesh [the Arabic acronym for Islamic State],” Al-Azhar’s statement said. Following UNESCO’s call for a swift resolution and an Aung San Suu Kyi’s inexcusable silence end to the fighting, Al-Azhar urged the international com- munity to do whatever it can to prevent one of the world’s Contd. from P. 6 tor of the State Crime Initiative, in a recent op-ed for that oppress the entire community.” most important archaeological sites from being de- ‘So hungry, so skinny’ The Independent. Imbued with “enormous moral Yet, despite the boats and the bodies, the reports stroyed. Since the city’s seizure on Thursday, the race has “Fisherman Muchtar Ali broke down in tears when and political capital”, Green argued, Myanmar’s op- and the revelations, Suu Kyi is still mute. She hasn’t been on to save this World Heritage site – a collection of he set eyes on the overcrowded boat carrying des- position leader could have challenged the “vile rac- raised a finger to help the Rohingya, as they literally Greco-Roman ruins with intricate designs, colonnades and perate, starving Rohingya off the coast of Indonesia,” ism and Islamophobia which characterizes Burmese run for their lives. Shouldn’t we expect more from a an ancient cemetery full of elaborately-decorated tombs. noted a report by AFP on May 20. political and social discourse”. Nobel Peace Prize laureate? (Source: agencies) “I was speechless,” Ali told AFP. “Looking at She didn’t. Instead, she spent the past few years Maybe not. The words “Henry” and “Kissinger” these people, me and my friends cried because they courting the Buddhist majority of Myanmar, whose come to mind. Plus, the Nobel Prize Committee has looked so hungry, so skinny.” votes she needs in order to be elected president in a pretty awkward history of prematurely handing These Rohingya “boat people”, however, are a 2016 - if, that is, the military will allow her to be elect- out peace prizes. Remember Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Ansarullah, allied forces symptom of a much bigger problem. As Kate Schuet- ed president, or even permit her to stand - by playing Peres and Yasser Arafat’s joint prize in 1994? Ask the ze, Amnesty International’s Asia Pacific Researcher, down the violence perpetrated against the Muslim children of Gaza how that worked out. Remember attack Saudi military base has observed: The “thousands of lives at risk should minority, and trying to suggest a false equivalence Barack Obama’s in 2009? Ask the civilian victims of be the immediate priority, but the root causes of this between persecutors and victims of persecution. drone strikes in Pakistan how that worked out. Contd. from P. 1 crisis must also be addressed. The fact that thou- In a BBC interview in 2013, for example, Suu Kyi Rabin, Arafat, Obama … ultimately, of course, “Since the conflict escalated in March, as many as 135 sands of Rohingya prefer a dangerous boat journey shamefully blamed the violence on “both sides”, they’re all politicians. Suu Kyi was supposed to be children have been killed and 260 injured,” the UNICEF they may not survive to staying in Myanmar speaks telling interviewer Mishal Husain that “Muslims have something else, something more; a moral icon, a hu- said in a statement on Sunday. volumes about the conditions they face there.” been targeted but Buddhists have also been subject- man rights champion, a latter-day Gandhi. The UN body said that one-third of the deaths oc- Those oppressive conditions range from a de- ed to violence”. Sad truth curred in Yemen’s southern coastal city of Aden that has nial of citizenship to Myanmar’s 1.3 million Ro- Yet in Myanmar, it isn’t Buddhists who have been Why weren’t we listening when the opposition been hit by violent clashes over the past few days. hingya Muslims to severe restrictions on their confined to fetid camps, where they are “slowly leader and former political prisoner told CNN in 2013 UN talks on Yemen conflict ‘postponed’ movement, employment and access to educa- succumbing to starvation, despair and disease”. It that she had “been a politician all along”, that her Meantime, United Nations talks to end the conflict in tion and healthcare, as well as a discriminatory isn’t Buddhists who have been the victims of what ambition was to become president of her country? Yemen have been postponed just four days before they law imposing a “two child” limit on Rohingya Human Rights Watch calls “ethnic cleansing” and The sad truth is that when it comes to “The were due to begin, a UN official told AFP news agency. families in their home state of Rakhine. what the UN’s special rapporteur on the human Lady”, it is well past time to take off the rose-tint- There had been growing uncertainty over which of the Hundreds of thousands have been driven from rights situation in Myanmar has said “could amount ed glasses. To see Suu Kyi for what she is: A for- warring Yemeni parties would attend the talks, slated to their homes; their towns and villages razed to the to crimes against humanity”. It isn’t Buddhists who mer prisoner of conscience, yes, but now a cyni- begin on Thursday in Geneva, and the postponement is a ground by rampaging mobs. In 2014, the govern- are crowding onto boats, to try and flee the coun- cal politician who is willing to put votes ahead of further blow to UN efforts to broker peace in a country ment even banned the use of the word “Rohingya”, try, and being assaulted with hammers and knives as principles; party political advancement ahead of where nearly 2,000 people have been killed since March. insisting the Muslim minority, who have lived in that they do so. It isn’t Buddhists, to put it bluntly, who innocent Rohingya lives. “I can confirm that the meeting has been postponed,” country for generations, be registered in the census are facing genocide. “Ultimately our aim should be to create a world the UN official told AFP, without providing further imme- as “Bengali”. Risk of ‘genocide’ free from the displaced, the homeless and the hope- diate explanation. Inexcusable silence Is this mere hyperbole? If only. Listen to the ver- less,” Suu Kyi grandly declaimed in June 2012, as she Underlining the difficulty of trying to get the rivals So, where does Suu Kyi fit into all this? Well, for a dict of investigators from the U.S. Holocaust Memo- finally accepted her Nobel Peace Prize, in person, 21 around the negotiating table, exiled Yemeni President start, her silence is inexcusable. Her refusal to con- rial Museum’s Simon-Skjodt Center for the Preven- years after she won it while under house arrest, a Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi laid out his government’s de- demn, or even fully acknowledge, the state-spon- tion of Genocide. “world of which each and every corner is a true sanc- mands to attend the talks in a letter to UN Secretary-Gen- sored repression of her fellow countrymen and “We left Burma,” they wrote in a report published tuary where the inhabitants will have the freedom eral Ban Ki-moon, insisting that Ansarullah movement women, not to mention the violence meted out to earlier this month, “deeply concerned that so many and the capacity to live in peace”. must withdraw from territory they have seized. them by Buddhist extremists inspired by the monk preconditions for genocide are already in place.” Forget the world. She should try starting at Hadi fled to the Saudi capital Riyadh along with his Ashin Wirathu (aka the “Burmese Bin Laden”), The investigators, who visited Rohingya intern- home, with the Rohingya of Rakhine. And if she government in late March when rebels advanced on his makes her part of the problem, not the solution. ment camps and interviewed the survivors of violent won’t, or can’t, then maybe she should consider southern stronghold, the port city of Aden. “In a genocide, silence is complicity, and so it is attacks, concluded: “Genocide will remain a serious handing back the prize she waited more than two He reiterated his position on Sunday during talks in with Aung San Suu Kyi,” observed Penny Green, a risk for the Rohingya if the government of Burma decades to collect. Riyadh with the UN special envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould law professor at the University of London and direc- does not immediately address the laws and policies (Source: Al Jazeera) Cheikh Ahmed. (Source: agencies) b

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NEWS Rahbari asks Rouhani to help Tehran Shast Salegi to perform at Niavaran Cultural Center symphony arrange UN HQ gig TEHRAN — Shast Salegi, an Iranian Art Desk choir consisting of seniors, will be TEHRAN — Tehran Symphony giving a performance at Tehran’s Niavaran Cultural Art Desk Orchestra General Music Center tonight. Director Ali Rahbari has asked President Hassan “The average age of the members is 60 and they Rouhani to obtain approval from the United Nations will perform compositions that are as old as they for the orchestra to perform a concert during the are,” conductor Farshad Fuladvand told the Persian 70th Session of the UN General Assembly. service of Honaronline on Monday. The Youth Philharmonic Orchestra of New Compositions by York City has recently invited Rahbari to conduct masters Ruhollah the orchestra during a concert scheduled on Khaleqi, Ali Tajvidi and September 27 at Carnegie Hall. Anushirvan Rohani have The performance will coincide with the annual been selected for the UN General Assembly session, which is scheduled performance, pieces to be held from September 15 to 28. with which the members “Since I will be in New York City at that time, Ali Rahbari have long associated I asked Mr. Rouhani to have his aides make all conducts fond memories during necessary preliminary preparations for a trip to the Tehran their lives, Fuladvand New York City by the Tehran Symphony Orchestra Symphony added. to perform Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 at UN Orchestra Pianist Faraz Headquarters,” Rahbari told the Persian service of during a Khanafari and solo singer MNA on Monday. concert at Valiollah Fahimi are also Tehran’s “Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 symbolizes Vahdat Hall collaborating in this peace and the performance would be helpful on April performance. under the present circumstances where our senior 23, 2015. Shast Salegi in an undated photo “The group was officials are trying to convince the world of the (Tasnim/ established eight years ago with 17 members, who peaceful purposes of the Iranian nuclear program,” Erfan have reached 50 now. None of the members were he added. Kucharis) professional, but they have been training all these He asked Rouhani to take his proposal seriously appropriate preparations, the Tehran Symphony down by the government under former president years,” he explained. and said that he guarantees a very professional Orchestra will thrill the whole world by the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The choir gave its first performance last night. performance at the session of the UN General concert,” Rahbari added. Consequently Vienna-based Iranian maestro Assembly, if the president’s aides can obtain UN After the victory in the 2013 presidential election, Rahbari was hired to reestablish the Tehran approval for the concert. Rouhani asked cultural officials to reinstate the Symphony Orchestra. He took the helm at the “Be assured that if our officials make the Iranian symphony orchestras, which were closed orchestra in early March. NEWS IN BRIEF Abadan A large collection Iranian films take home 222 awards at intl. events over past year: official of photographs on the photo exhibit theme of the liberation of highlights TEHRAN the program. said. Khorramshahr from Iraqi Art Desk — Cinema The IHC, which is the guild of He emphasized that theaters are liberation of forces on May 24, 1982 Organization of Iran (COI) Director Iranian cineastes, was disbanded still not sold out for films, but thanked Khorramshahr opened at the Abadan Hojjatollah Ayyubi says Iran’s cinema in early January 2012 by the former God for people’s reconciliation with Museum of Contemporary has gained higher status in the minister of culture and Islamic cinema. Art on Sunday. world, having won 222 international guidance, Mohammad Hosseini, Addressing the filmmakers The exhibit is displaying awards over the past year. however, Ayyubi made efforts to attending the ceremony, he said, works by Mahmud Farnud, Ayyubi made the remarks at the reopen the IHC a few years later. “People like your films and we will Mohsen Rastani, Kazem inauguration ceremony of the new “Closing the Iranian House of have a brighter future”. Akhavan, Mohsen Chubdaar, managing director of the Iranian Cinema was a strategic mistake In his brief speech Asgarpur also Rasul Mollaqolipur and Rasul House of Cinema (IHC), Reza committed by several officials, and said that Mirkarimi with his illustrious Sadr-Ameli. Mirkarimi, Persian media reported COI Director Hojjatollah Ayyubi in an undated today after the election of the new background is the best choice. A port city in southwestern on Monday. photo (Nasim/Mehdi Shojaeian) director and reconciliation of people The ceremony was brought to Iranian Khuzestan Province, He wished Mirkarimi success former director Mohammad-Mehdi with cinema, I believe better days an end honoring Asgarpur with a Khorramshahr was captured and expressed thanks to the Asgarpur who was also attending are ahead for Iran’s cinema,” Ayyubi plague of honor. by Iraqis on October 26, 1980 during the 1980-1988 Iran- Iraq war. France wins big, y PICTURE OF THE DAY B Hossein Esmaeili/Mehr Italy, Blanchett Photo, A photo and cartoon exhibition, which reviews lose out in Cannes cartoon urban space and structures and opened on Sunday, is exhibit CANNES, FRANCE (Reuters) — reviews currently underway at the Iranian Artists Forum. French film “Dheepan” won the urban space Over 200 works are on top Palme d’Or prize for director display at the showcase Jacques Audiard at the 68th Cannes entitled the Exhibition of International Film Festival on Urban Space and Structures. Sunday, crowning a good night for The exhibit, which aims French cinema but a bad one for Italy to lay the groundwork for and actress Cate Blanchett. further urban aesthetics and The choice of a film that revolves a safer environment, will end around the lives of Tamil refugees on May 30. from Sri Lanka’s civil war moving to France was seen as sending a political message, but the awards overall Payam-e Rey A new Iranian publishing left some critics and festivalgoers house entitled Payam-e Publishing dumbfounded. Rey is scheduled to begin “It’s extremely disappointing, House to working with publishing nobody seems happy,” Jay start with Swiss aviation pioneer Weissberg, European-based critic “Persienflug” Walter Mittelholzer’s for trade publication Variety, told “Persienflug” (“Persia Reuters. Flight”). “It’s an anti-climactic finish to a Rendered into Persian by festival that was middling to begin Seyyed Saeid Firuzabadi, the with.” book contains the account Ethan Coen, who along with his of Mittelholzer’s journey brother Joel served as co-president to Iran in the early 19th- of the jury, defended the jury’s century. choices, especially the Palme d’Or Mittelholzer (1894- winner. 1937) was also active as a “Everybody had an enthusiasm photographer, travel writer for it, to some degree or another we and also was one of the first Art fans visit an exhibition displaying photos on the liberation of Khorramshahr during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war at the Iranian Artists Forum in Tehran on May 24, 2015. The exhibition was organized to celebrate the 33rd anniversary of the national historic event. all thought it was a very beautiful aviation entrepreneurs. movie,” he told a press conference.

Scandinavian Finland, Sweden, countries to Denmark and Norway plan Intl. cineastes to hold master classes at Tehran festival to hold a joint cultural hold cultural festival in Tehran from TEHRAN — host the festival until June 2. international authority on transnational chief for Variety. festival in June 7 to 16. Art Desk International Zanussi, 76, is a renowned Polish cinema, global film industries and Active as a screenwriter and director Tehran Many art exhibitions cineastes Krzysztof Zanussi, Dina filmmaker and screenwriter. Zanussi, film festivals, as well as on Eastern Otto is a member of the Federation of will be arranged by the Iordanova, Deborah Young and whose work was noticed during his European and Balkan cinema. Scriptwriters in Europe (FSE). She was countries during the Caroline Otto are scheduled to hold activities in the amateur film movement American film critic Young is an also the head of the script funding festival, which will take several master classes during the 5th in the 1950s and 1660s, is also a editor of the Hollywood Reporter, commission of the German film board place at the Iranian Artists International Urban Film Festival, which professor at the Silesian University in and Film Comment Magazine. Based during 2009-2013. Forum. is currently underway in Tehran. Katowice. in Rome, Italy, she has reviewed films The festival is organized every year The master classes will be held at Iordanova, a professor of film from around the world since the 1990’s, by the Art and Cultural Organization of the Mellat Cinema Complex, which will studies at University of St Andrews, is an when she was appointed Rome bureau the Tehran Municipality