WWW.TEHRANTIMES.COM I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y 12 Pages Price 40,000 Rials 1.00 EURO 4.00 AED 39th year No.13632 Sunday APRIL 5, 2020 Farvardin 17, 1399 Sha’aban 11, 1441 Iran likens remarks by Iranian-made COVID-19 Playing in Olympics “Water Never Dies” German health minister diagnostic system one of my main goals: narrator Mirza Mohammad to April fool’s joke 3 unveiled 9 Arsalan Kazemi 11 Solgi dies at 65 12 580 kilometers of freeways to be Restrictions on Iran amounts inaugurated by Mar. 2021 TEHRAN— About 580 kilometers of free- going to pursue in this year is the National ways will be inaugurated throughout Iran Housing Plan which aims to build 380,000 during the current Iranian calendar year affordable housing units, ILNA reported. (ends on March 20, 2021), Transport and Back in January, Deputy Transport and to ‘crime against humanity’ Urban Development Minister Mohammad Urban Development Minister Kheirollah Eslami announced on Saturday. Khademi had announced that six prioritized Mentioning Transport and Urban De- freeways projects with a total length of 550 velopment Ministry’s plans for the current kilometers (KM) were planned to be inaugu- See page 3 Iranian year, Eslami noted that one of rated by the Iranian Calendar year of 1400 the major programs that his ministry is (starts on March 21, 2021). 4 Iran, Oman launch new container shipping line TEHRAN — Iran, and Oman launched Iran and Oman had signed a maritime a new container shipping line to transit cooperation agreement in December 2019 cargoes between the southern Iranian for boosting maritime transportation be- port city of Bandar Abbas and Port Sultan tween the two countries. Qaboos in Oman, IRNA reported, quot- Based on the agreement, Iranian trad- ing the head of Iran’s Trade Promotion ers and businessmen would be able to Organization (TPO). interact constructively with their Omani According to Hamid Zadboum, the counterparts, and regular shipping lines line which officially started operation were to be established between the two on Saturday is going to be used to tran- countries, while the two sides also pledged sit container cargoes, mainly fruits, and to provide facilities for using each other’s vegetables, between the two countries. ports. 4 Racism row as French doctors suggest virus vaccine test in Africa Two French doctors have been accused “It may be provocative. Should we not of racism for suggesting that a potential do this study in Africa where there are no vaccine for coronavirus should first be masks, no treatment or intensive care, Desing by Bahman Vakhshour tested on people in Africa. a little bit like it’s been done for certain The comments were made on the French AIDS studies, where among prostitutes, television channel, LCI, during a discussion we try things, because we know that they on Wednesday about COVID-19 trials set are highly exposed and don’t protect them- to be launched in Europe and Australia to selves?” said Jean-Paul Mira, head of the Tehran Times/ see if the BCG tuberculosis vaccine could intensive care unit at the Cochin Hospital be used to treat the virus. in Paris. 10 ARTICLE IIDCYA gives discounts on books to enrich children’s time during home quarantine ARTICLE Ebrahim Fallahi By Manijeh Rezapoor born American writer Meindert DeJong is one The exact date of the fair will be specified later. Zahra Bahadivand Chegini Tehran Times journalist TEHRAN — Iran’s Institute for Intellectual De- of the highlights. It is worth mentioning that the Tehran book Freelance translator velopment of Children and Young Adults (IIDCYA) The book, which has won the 1955 Newbery fair used to welcome thousands of book fans and has given discounts on its electronic copies of a Medal for children’s literature, has been narrated students for about 10 days during April. number of its publications to help keep children by veteran voice actor Ehteram Borumand. Ba- It was a venue for family and friend gatherings, Indigenizing busy with reading during the home quarantine hereh Anvar is the Persian translator of the book. while meetings with writers and publishers were COVID-19, an amid the coronavirus pandemic. Another highlight is “Paulina” by the Spanish other highlights of the fair. petchem catalysts: Hundreds of books ranging from novels and author Ana Maria Matute. Now, that the country is dealing with fears uninvited guest historical books to audiobooks are currently The book has been translated into Persian of the coronavirus pandemic, it is a good op- a big step toward available on Taaghche, a major online Iranian by celebrated translator Mohammad Qazi and portunity to purchase the audiobooks from who helped us bookstore. narrated by actress Gelareh Abbasi. online bookstores to promote book reading total independence More interesting is that some of the children’s The audiobook is available with a 50 percent and remember the good days of book reading cherish our planet, books are narrated by some celebrated actors discount. in the country. s the second-biggest source of rev- or voice actors, which can also be appealing for The 33rd Tehran International Book Fair Photo: This combination photo shows a family more enue for Iran, the petrochemical parents. (TIBF) was postponed to a time after the holy number of IIDCYA publications available on he widespread outbreak of the coro- Aindustry is one of the most important “The Wheel on the School”, a novel by Dutch- month of Ramadan due to the new virus epidemic. Taaghcheh. pillars of the country’s resilient economy navirus has created a new situation and one of the main suppliers of foreign Tin the human world. From political currency especially the euro for the country. troubles and disputes to the humankind’s The industry became more significant Coronavirus sparks a ‘war for masks’ as accusations fly potential vulnerability to confront nature, since the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions on and the increasing importance of science As the coronavirus pandemic spreads across that was due to fly to France had instead daily battle to secure orders. “It’s true,” he claimed, the country’s oil industry and since then, in human life, are part of changes and Europe and the United States, a global scram- gone to the US. “that on the tarmac the Americans arrive, take the government has been taking serious hints caused by the introduction of the ble for protective equipment such as masks Muselier was asked by CNN affiliate BFM-TV out cash and pay three or four times more for the measures to expand the industry and move virus into modern human life. and gloves is underway. In France they are whether masks had been taken by Americans at orders we have made, so it’s necessary to fight.” toward self-sufficiency. So far, over 1.12 million people have calling it the “guerre des masques” -- the war Chinese airports. He replied: “Exactly,” before Rottner tweeted that 2 million masks had ar- Cooperating with capable domestic been infected with the virus worldwide, of the masks. adding, “There is a foreign country that paid three rived on April 1 from Shanghai, posting video of knowledge-based companies and startups and more than 60,000 died, something Some French officials have even alleged that times the price of the cargo on the tarmac. So the cargo being shipped on his Twitter account. is one of the very fruitful steps that the oil rare and perhaps unprecedented for at their consignments from China have been hijacked the masks are gone and the region that ordered Two more shipments are due to arrive at the ministry has taken in its efforts to reach least this century, most importantly, it by Americans. them has been destitute.” weekend, he said. complete independence from the foreign has involved the whole world. The presidents of two regions in France have Muselier later tweeted that masks for his own Contacted by CNN, Rottner’s office would resources for meeting its equipment needs. In fact, most of the world’s population has claimed that American customers -- without spec- region were on their way and had “not been bought not elaborate on his claims, but a third regional In this regard, the country’s Petrochem- experienced this phenomenon, and COV- ifying who -- have tried to pay Chinese suppliers by a foreign power.” president, Valérie Pécresse of Île-de-France, ical Research and Technology Company ID-19 may later become the only memory three or four times the agreed price to get critical Contacted by CNN, Muselier referred further said the quest for masks was a global treasure (PRTC) has played a very significant role shared by all humans on the earth. It is better supplies diverted. questions to the French Foreign Ministry, which hunt. “We had made an order but were unable in collaborating with such companies for to say that this is the common pain of the Renaud Muselier, president of the Sud said Thursday it was looking into the reports. to complete it because others were ready to working on innovative research projects world since no identification is required to region, alleged in several interviews that an Jean Rottner, the president of another French pay three times the market price,” Pecresse for producing various equipment and understand what is going on in the world order from one French region had been bought region -- Grand Est -- echoed Muselier’s remarks, told radio network Franceinfo. She did not base-products needed in the industry. these days, it is not required to put ourselves by the Americans for cash -- and the plane telling French radio network RTL that it was a identify the “others.” Earlier this month, the PRTC’s Manag- 10 in the shows of people around the country to ing Director Ali Pajouhan announced that understand this, because almost all people National Petrochemical Company (NPC), around the world breath under the white in collaboration with domestic companies, masks for an hour or a few minutes or days is planning to indigenize the knowledge Firefighters to stay immune against this virus.