Iran

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Swiss businesses
set to explore potential
for trade with Iran
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Luka Pavicevic
named Iran
basketball coach
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Iran summons Saudi
diplomat as rocket lands near
Tehran embassy in Yemen
WORLD IN FOCUS
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Sotheby’s Doha to
auction high-caliber
Iranian artworks
A R T & C U L T U R E
I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y
12 Pages Price 10000 Rials 36th year NO.12250 Tuesday APRIL 21 2015 Ordibehesht 1 1394 Rajab 2 1436
Advocates and critics of Lausanne
agreement meet nuclear negotiators 2
Venezuela
seeking to
develop ties
with ‘emerging
powers’ like
Iran: ambassador
INTERVIEW
By Marjan Golpira
TEHRAN — Afghan Pres-
Economic Desk ident Mohammad Ashraf
Ghani invited the Iranian private sector to invest in Afghanistan’s manufacturing sector.
In a meeting with Iranian and Afghan
businessmen in Tehran, Ghani urged Iranian
investors to establish factories and industrial
units in Afghanistan, the IRNA news agency
reported on Monday. He welcomed the development of transit infrastructures in Iran’s
strategic port of Chabahar, saying that the
port plays a vital role in the economic stability of Afghanistan. He voiced his country’s
willingness to expand trade and investment
Contd. on P. 4
ties with Iran.
‘Iran,
Venezuela
oppose use of
force against
countries’
TEHRAN — Iranian For-
Political Desk eign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said that Iran and Venezuela share common views on opposing
use of force against countries.
He made the remarks during a joint press
conference with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez in Tehran on Monday.
“Given Venezuela’s membership to the
United Nations Security Council and serious
problems in the region, Tehran and Caracas
have common policies in opposing forceful
Contd. on P. 11
policies,” he stated.
President.ir
TEHRAN — The Venezuelan Ambassador to Tehran signals his
country is seeking to promote
relations with “emerging powers” like Iran in order to reduce
dependency on countries like the
United States.
“The Bolivarian Republic of
Venezuela is an autonomous state
that has decided to establish
political and economic relationships with the world’s emerging
powers in order to finish with the
dependence from major powers
with hegemonic goals,” Amenothep Zambrano Contreras tells the
Contd. on P. 11
Tehran Times.
Afghanistan seeking
to lure Iranian investors
Venezuelan
Foreign
Minister Delcy
Rodriguez met
with President
Hassan Rouhani
on Monday.
Australia
and Iran
to share
intelligence
in campaign
against ISIL
Australia and Iran have agreed to
share intelligence relating to Australians fighting with extremist
groups in Iraq, Australia’s Foreign
Minister, Julie Bishop, has announced according to the Guardian.
Around 100 Australians are believed to be fighting for ISIL or related groups in Iraq and Syria.
Bishop revealed the details of the
cooperation after a meeting with
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, describing it as an extraordinary deal
that will have beneficial outcomes
in the fight against global terrorism.
“During my discussions with the
national leadership here it was agreed
that we could share intelligence, particularly on the foreign terrorist fighters from Australia who are taking part
in this conflict in Iraq,” Bishop said.
“It was an informal arrangement
whereby we would share intelligence that would give us information on the Australians who are taking part and I believe that Iran has
information that we would seek and
they were very agreeable to share
that information with us,” she said.
Contd. on P. 3
Large explosions rock Yemeni capital Sana’a
NEWS
Assad:
French, Syrian
intelligence
agents in contact
Syrian President Bashar Assad told
French television that the intelligence services of his country are
in contact with their counterparts
in France, which has severed diplomatic ties with Assad and insists he
must leave power.
Assad, who added there had
been no actual co-operation between the two sides despite the
contacts, made the comments
to France 2, according to extracts of an interview the public
TV channel.
“There are some contacts but
there’s no co-operation,” Assad
told the journalists who interviewed him.
When asked if there was any
exchange of information, he said
“no”, adding that the contacts had
been with French intelligence services staff who had visited Syria.
There was no immediate response from the French Foreign
Ministry to an emailed request for
comment.
The Islamic state in Iraq and
the Levant (ISIL) terrorist group
have seized on a conflict involving
a far broader opposition uprising
against Assad’s leadership to seize
parts of Syria, as well as parts of
neighboring Iraq.
French Foreign Minister Laurent
Fabius said in March that Paris wanted a political solution to the crisis
in Syria but that Assad was not part
of it. He said any solution that puts
Assad “back in the saddle” would
be a gift to ISIL terrorists.
EU foreign ministers, in a line
also backed by Washington, also
said after a March meeting that
the Assad government could not
be a partner in the fight against
ISIL which has seized parts of Syria and Iraq. Russia hopes a united
front will be formed against ISIL
and backs Assad in the war.
(Source: Reuters)
Ofxam condemns Saudi attacks on Yemen
By staff & agencies
Powerful explosions have
rocked the Yemeni capital,
shattering windows and damaging structures, as Saudi-led
air strikes targeted suspected
weapon caches and missiles
held by Ansarullah (Houthi)
movement fighters.
Mushroom clouds on Monday
rose in the sky over Fag Atan, in western Sana’a, where the capital’s largest
weapons caches are located.
One of the air strikes reportedly targeted a Scud missile
base held by the Ansarullah
in Fag Atan Mountain beside
Hadda district, where the presidential palace and many embassies are located. Nearby homes
were being evacuated.
“This was by far the strongest explosion witnessed in Sana’a so far. Hundreds, if not
thousands of homes have been
damaged, sending thousands of
people to flee the area.” Hakim
al-Masmari, the editor-in-chief
of Yemen Post, told Al Jazeera.
Masmari said that the weapons depot in Fag Atan was not
hit.
“We sent reporters to the
scene who confirmed that the
strike missed the depot. The impact site was far away from it,”
he said.
Residents of Sana’a said the
explosions sent large shockwaves through the city.
“The hanging ceiling and
chandelier fell because of the
explosions,” resident Mohammed Mohsen told the Associated Press.
In a separate development,
Riad Yassin, Yemen’s foreign minister said thousands of Ansarullah
and fighters loyal to the former
president have been killed since
the operation started.
Ofxam condemns Saudi
attacks
Meanwhile, the international aid and development organization, Oxfam, condemned a
Saudi airstrike targeting one of
its storage facilities in northern
Yemen, Press TV reported.
The aid agency’s director in
Yemen, Grace Ommer, said that
Saudi Arabia had targeted one
of its offices containing humani-
tarian supplies in Yemen’s northern province of Sa’ada despite
knowing that the office is an
aid storage facility.
Ommer said the agency had
shared “detailed information”
with Saudi Arabia about “the
locations of our offices and storage facilities.”
“The contents of the warehouse had no military value. It
only contained humanitarian
supplies,” Ommer added.
Oxfam has been working in
Sa’ada for years, building water
networks to bring clean water
to rural communities.
Saudi officials have not commented on the incident yet.
International relief agencies
have lashed out at Saudi Arabia because of the difficulties it
causes for sending medicine and
food to Yemen.
According to reports, over
2,600 people, including women
and children, have so far lost
their lives in the attacks.
Saudi soldier killed in border clash
A Saudi soldier has been
killed in a barrage of mortar and
other fire along the border with
Yemen, the interior ministry said
on Monday, AFP reported.
The soldier is the eighth to
die since warplanes from a Saudi-led coalition on March 26 began airstrikes in Yemen to stop a
southern advance by Ansarullah.
The air campaign has sparked
exchanges of fire along the border region between Yemen and
Saudi Arabia, where all the kingdom’s casualties have occurred.
Saudi Arabia has reinforced
the border with artillery, tanks
and hilltop lookout posts to
block the incursion of any Ansarullah movement fighters
from their traditional highland
stronghold just over the border.
Saudi Arabia and allied countries began the air campaign on
March 26,
without a United Nations mandate - in a bid to restore power
to the country’s fugitive former
President Abd Rabbuh Mansur
Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh.
Riyadh says air strikes will continue until President Abd-Rabbu
Mansour Hadi, who has fled the
country, is reinstated.
OSCE chief: Good chance for peace in Ukraine
The OSCE (Organization for Security and
Co-operation in Europe) chief said on Monday a truce was holding in a key village in
eastern Ukraine and urged rival sides to
“embrace a good chance for peace” in the
war-torn region.
“The news this morning is that our people, our monitors have brokered a truce in
Shyrokyne, down near Mariupol,” OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier said.
“And this truce seems to be holding,” he
told AFP in an interview during a visit to Lithuania’s capital Vilnius.
The OSCE sent a monitoring mission to
Ukraine in March 2014.
Close to the strategic port of Mariupol,
Shyrokyne has been the latest flashpoint in
a year-long conflict that has left more than
6,000 people dead.
Zannier said there were still challenges
ahead to secure peace but added that “all
in all the situation is better than it was few
weeks back.”
“There is a good chance for peace at this
moment and we need to invest as much as
we can in this. But there is always a risk of
relapse in the conflict,” Zannier said.
In February, leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine brokered the so-
called Minsk II truce between rebels and
Ukrainian government forces in the east of
the former Soviet state.
The United States and the 28-member European Union insist its full implementation is
a key prerequisite for the lifting of sanctions
against Russia imposed after its March 2014
annexation of Crimea and alleged meddling
in eastern Ukraine.
“Heavy weapons have been largely withdrawn” from the agreed truce line in the
conflict zone, Zannier said, adding that the
focus could shift on “withdrawing other categories of smaller weapons because they
are still actively used in these violations of
the cease-fire.”
He said the number of its observers in
Ukraine would increase to “at least 600 by
the beginning of the summer” from the curContd. on P. 11
rent level below 500.
PERSPECTIVE
A message
from Iran
By Mohammad Javad Zarif
W
E made important
progress in Switzerland earlier this month. With the
five permanent members of the
United Nations Security Council plus
Germany, we agreed on parameters
to remove any doubt about the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s
nuclear program and to lift international sanctions against Iran.
But to seal the anticipated nuclear deal, more political will is required. The Iranian people have
shown their resolve by choosing to
engage with dignity. It is time for
the United States and its Western
allies to make the choice between
cooperation and confrontation,
between negotiations and grandstanding, and between agreement
and coercion.
With courageous leadership and
the audacity to make the right decisions, we can and should put this
manufactured crisis to rest and
move on to much more important
work. The wider Persian Gulf region
is in turmoil. It is not a question of
governments rising and falling: the
social, cultural and religious fabrics
of entire countries are being torn to
shreds.
Endowed with a resilient population that has stood firm in the face
of coercion while simultaneously
showing the magnanimity to open
new horizons of constructive engagement based on mutual respect,
Iran has weathered the storms of
instability caused by this mayhem.
But we cannot be indifferent to the
unfathomable destruction around
us, because chaos does not recognize borders.
Iran has been clear: The purview
of our constructive engagement
extends far beyond nuclear negotiations. Good relations with Iran’s
neighbors are our top priority. Our
rationale is that the nuclear issue
has been a symptom, not a cause,
of mistrust and conflict.
Contd. on P. 2
2
I NTE R NATI O NAL DAI LY
MEDIA MONITOR
102 media
receive
license
ISNA
MEHR
Persian
share of web
content is
0.9%
TEHRAN – A member of the
Majlis National Security and
Foreign Policy Committee
says an Israeli reporter who
recently visited Iran is not a spy.
“However, we are asking for a
ban on Israeli born people from
entering Iran in order to prevent
such cases,” said Mohammad
Saleh Jokar in interview with ISNA
on Monday.
He explained that Orly Azoulay,
a journalist with Israel’s Yedioth
Ahronoth daily, was in Iran as an
American on a tourist visa who
flew to Tehran from Frankfurt,
Germany.
The MP went on to say that
Azoulay stayed in Iran for 14 days,
writing reports for the Israeli
newspaper.
According to Jokar, Azouly had
written in her reports that the Iranian people are impatiently waiting for a nuclear deal and the alleviation of economic situations.
TEHRAN — The ICT deputy
minister says 0.9 percent of
the World Wide Web content
is in Persian.
So far over 25,000 Persianlanguage android applications
have been created and reached
users, said Nasrollah Jahangard.
He further stated that so far 50
percent of the 5th National Development Plan that relates to highspeed communication has been
materialized, the Mehr news agency reported on Monday.
By the end of the plan’s term,
60 percent of Iranian households
must be provided with high-speed
internet connection, which would
mean 18 million high-speed connections, he explained.
By the end of the previous Iranian year (March 20), over 200
cities were using 3G, and 50 cities
were using 4G internet connections, he stated.
IRNA
MP urges
banning
Israeli-borns
from Iran
travel
TEHRAN — The Press Supervisory Board issued licenses for
102 media in a Monday session.
The number consists of 34
printed magazines and 68 news
websites, IRNA reported.
Also, the board agreed to 28 applications for status, concession,
or managing directorship changes.
The complete list of the media
which received licenses during the
session is available on the website of
the Press Department of the Ministry
of Culture and Islamic Guidance.
TEHRAN — By the end of the
current Iranian year (March
20), 24 dams will become operational and watered, said the
energy minister on Monday.
Luckily so far the dams across
the country have been half watered, Hamid Chitchian stated
while on a trip to Ilam Province,
according to Mehr news agency.
However, he noted, there has
been less water than previous years.
Government
dismisses
reports on
cutting cash
subsidies
TEHRAN — The government
spokesman and head of the
Management and Planning
Organization on Monday
dismissed reports that the
government has cut subsidies to 5
high-income social groups.
Mohammad Baqer Nobakht
made his statements in a live interview on the Islamic Republic of
Iran News Network (IRINN).
Earlier the day, some sources
had reported that cash subsidies
to medical practitioners, owners
of luxury automobiles, foreign exchange dealers, and even those
Iranians who had travelled overseas had been withheld.
Officials, especially from the Oil
Ministry, have frequently spoken
against cash subsidies.
Deputy Oil Minister Mansour
Moazami said on Sunday that the
large sum of petrodollar going
into monthly cash subsidies is a
major hurdle against funding the
country’s oil projects.
He said that because of the subsidies, the total investment in four
years’ projects of the Oil Ministry
has barely hit the annual amount
envisioned in the fifth national development plan.
IRINN
MEHR
24 dams
to turn
operational
by year’s
end
N
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APRIL 21, 2015
h t t p : / / w w w . t e h r a n t i m e s . c o m / p o l i t i c s
U.S. opposes Iran-Afghanistan
cooperation: Leader
TEHRAN — Leader
Po l i t i c a l D e s k of the Islamic Revo-
lution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei
said on Sunday that the United States
opposes “empathy and cooperation”
between Iran and Afghanistan.
He made the remarks during a meeting with Afghan President Mohammad
Ashraf Ghani in Tehran.
“The Americans and some regional
countries are not aware of Afghanistan’s capacities and do not agree with
the two countries’ cooperation and
empathy, but Iran considers security
and progress of its neighboring country, Afghanistan, as its own security
and progress,” he stated.
The Leader pointed to historical
and cultural commonalities between
the two countries and said that in addition to “abundant natural resources”,
Afghanistan has “rich cultural and human resources” and all these capaci-
ties and resources should be used to
promote cooperation.
He cited Iran’s advances in various
spheres of science, technology, culture and diplomacy as examples for
cooperation between the two neigh-
boring countries.
The Leader also said, “Issues between the two countries such as immigrants, water (sharing), transportation
and security can all be settled and all
the issues should be examined and resolved in the form of a timetable,” the
Leader stated.
Ashraf Ghani stated that Afghanistan’s “political will” is based on expansion of relations with Tehran.
The two countries should make efforts to boost friendship, he added.
He went on to say that the Afghan
government’s policies are to turn “paradoxes and domestic clashes” into
“points of cooperation”.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the Afghan president stated that no country
has fought against drug trafficking so
seriously than Iran, adding that Afghanistan is ready to cooperate with
Iran in this regard.
Advocates and critics of Lausanne agreement meet nuclear negotiators
TEHRAN — The remaining part
Po l i t i c a l D e s k of the nuclear talks between Iran
and the 5+1 world powers is easy unless some “involved hands” complicate the issue, a senior Iranian
nuclear negotiator says.
Seyed Abbas Araqchi made the remarks while addressing a gathering of proponents and opponents
of the Lausanne nuclear talks in Allameh Tabatabai
University.
Araqchi, the deputy foreign minister for legal and
international affairs, said the rest of the nuclear talks
is much easier than the past as most outstanding issues are taken care of. However, he said, the other
side might change policy that would cripple the talks
and complicate the whole issue.
As an example, he referred to a recent U.S. Senate
committee bill as “the latest effort by the Congress
to enter the talks”.
The bill has required President Barack Obama to seek
congressional approval for a lifting sanctions on Iran.
Addressing the critics of the Lausanne state-
ment, Araqchi also said if the tentative deal was not
to Iran’s benefit, the U.S. Congress would not have
made so much effort to sabotage it.
“We have not clinched any deals yet. We would
sign only one deal to be implemented in a single
stage. If materialized, it [the signing of the deal]
would be by the end of June,” Araqchi said.
Iran seeks a ‘good deal’
However, the other Iranian negotiator Majid
Takht-Ravanchi did not fully agree with Araqchi as to
the rest of the talks being so “easy”.
Addressing the gathering, Takht-Ravanchi the
deputy foreign minister for European and American
affairs, said the country has always sought a “good
deal” in the nuclear talks with the 5+1 group.
Takht-Ravanchi, a nuclear negotiator although
less vocal than Araqchi, said “the negotiations are
complicated and we are making every efforts to
clinch a good deal.”
“We would depart [to Vienna] on Wednesday
for the complicated and sensitive negotiations. We
are currently in the drafting stage, which is a tough
work. However, we would pursue the talks with seriousness,” he said.
“We negotiate with ‘open eyes’ and utmost care.
The talks are complicated and we make every efforts
to sign a good deal,” Takht-Ravanchi concluded.
Spread of terrorism is an old policy against Muslims: Shamkhani
TEHRAN
—
Ali
Po l i t i c a l D e s k Shamkhani, the sec-
retary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, has said that “spread
of terrorism and insecurity” is an “old
policy” of some countries to paralyze
the “national capacities” of Islamic
countries and undermine their status.
He made the remarks during a
meeting with Afghan National Security
Adviser Mohammad Hanif Atmar in
Tehran on Monday.
“Terrorism has always been a tool
in order to justify military, political and
economic interventions by some countries,” he stated.
Shamkhani also said promoting
border trade and developing infrastructure projects in border areas are
important tools to decrease drug trafficking.
Elsewhere in his remarks, he stat-
Contd. from P. 1
Considering recent advances in symptom prevention, it is time for Iran and other stakeholders to
begin to address the causes of tension in the wider
Persian Gulf region.
Iranian foreign policy is holistic in nature. This is
not due to habit or preference, but because globalization has rendered all alternatives obsolete. Nothing in international politics functions in a vacuum.
Security cannot be pursued at the expense of the insecurity of others. No nation can achieve its interests
without considering the interests of others.
Nowhere are these dynamics more evident than
in the wider Persian Gulf region. We need a sober assessment of the complex and intertwined realities
here, and consistent policies to deal with them. The
fight against terror is a case in point.
One cannot confront Al Qaeda and its ideological
siblings, such as the so-called Islamic State, which is
neither Islamic nor a state, in Iraq, while effectively
enabling their growth in Yemen and Syria.
There are multiple arenas where the interests of Iran
and other major stakeholders intersect. The establishment of a collective forum for dialogue in the Persian
ed that spread of war in the regional
countries poses a threat against all
countries’ “security, stability and permanent interests” so it is essential to
put an immediate end to attacks on
the “defenseless” Yemeni people.
‘Afghan government determined
to expand ties with Iran’
The Afghan official stated that the
new Afghan government is determined to expand all-out ties with its
A message from Iran
Gulf region, to facilitate engagement, is long overdue.
If one were to begin serious discussion of the calamities the region faces, Yemen would be a good
place to start. Iran has offered a reasonable and practical approach to address this painful and unnecessary crisis. Our plan calls for an immediate cease-fire,
humanitarian assistance and facilitation of intra-Yemeni dialogue, leading to the formation of an inclusive,
broad-based national unity government.
On a broader level, regional dialogue should be
based on generally recognized principles and shared
objectives, notably respect for sovereignty, territorial
integrity and political independence of all states; inviolability of international boundaries; noninterference in
internal affairs; peaceful settlement of disputes; impermissibility of threat or use of force; and promotion of
peace, stability, progress and prosperity in the region.
A regional dialogue could help promote understanding and interaction at the levels of government, the private sector and civil society, and lead to agreement on
a broad spectrum of issues, including confidence- and
“powerful” neighbor Iran.
The Afghan government is also
determined to use Iran’s “valuable”
experiences to fight against terrorism
and resolve political, economic and security issues, Atmar added.
He also called for expansion of cooperation with Iran in rooting out drug
trafficking and production, saying that
Iran has taken “effective” actions in
campaign against drug trafficking.
security-building measures; combating terrorism, extremism and sectarianism; ensuring freedom of navigation and the free flow of oil and other resources; and
protection of the environment. A regional dialogue
could eventually include more formal nonaggression
and security cooperation arrangements.
While this cooperation must be kept to relevant regional stakeholders, existing institutional frameworks
for dialogue, and especially the United Nations, must
be utilized. The secretary general could furnish the
necessary international umbrella. A regional role for
the United Nations, already envisaged in the Security
Council resolution that helped end the Iran-Iraq war in
1988, would help alleviate concerns and anxieties, particularly of smaller countries; provide the international
community with assurances and mechanisms for safeguarding its legitimate interests; and link any regional
dialogue with issues that inherently go beyond the
boundaries of the region.
The world cannot afford to continue to avoid addressing the roots of the turmoil in the wider Persian
Gulf region. This unique opportunity for engagement
must not be squandered.
(Article first published by New York Times)
Military competition should not undermine ‘peaceful’ Caspian Sea: Iran
TEHRAN — The Cas-
Po l i t i c a l D e s k pian Sea has always
been the sea of peace and friendship
and should not turn into a region for
military competition, the Iranian defense minister says.
Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan
made the remarks in a meeting with
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in
Baku on Monday.
Dehqan added that outstanding issues with regards to the regime of the
Caspian Sea can be perfectly resolved
through “negotiations” by littoral states.
The Iranian defense minister also
referred to the numerous religious and
historical affinities between Iran and
Azerbaijan and called for “strong political will to develop ties”.
He said Iran and Azerbaijan share
many geopolitical interests, adding that
the two states’ common threats and interests further increase the necessity of
their bilateral cooperation.
President Aliyev expressed gratitude with Dehqan’s visit to Baku and
called for enhanced defense ties between the two nations.
“We regard the stability, security,
and progress of Iran as the security and
progress of Azerbaijan. Thus, we have
always defended the position of the Islamic Republic of Iran concerning Iran’s
peaceful nuclear activities and believe
that nothing can affect Azerbaijan’s
stance in the regard,” Aliyev said.
‘Saudi assault on Yemen complicates Mideast crisis’
Dehqan also touched upon the
Saudi-led aggression on Yemen, saying
the Saudi airstrikes targeting Yemen’s
infrastructure, civilians, and revolutionaries would further complicate the
crises in the Middle East region.
He asserted that the Saudis’ attack
on Yemen has been coordinated by
the United States and Israel, calling
for collective support of all Muslim
nations to bring the conflict to an end
and dispatch humanitarian aid to the
people affected.
h t t p : / / w w w . t e h r a n t i m e s . c o m / i n t e r n a t i o n a l
APRIL 21, 2015
INTERNATIONAL
U.S. and Philippines to launch ‘war
games’ amid China row
The U.S. and the Philippines are set to
launch their biggest annual joint military exercises in years, amid growing
tensions over China’s recent activities
in disputed South China Sea waters.
The “war games” that began on
Monday will involve an estimated
12,000 troops - double the number
from last year - in simultaneous drills
across the Philippines for 10 days.
Analysts have described the drills as
a “show of force”.
About 6,656 American soldiers will
join the exercises, to be supported by
76 U.S. aircraft and three naval vessels,
according to reports.
------ Philippines defense pact boosts
U.S. influence
As part of the exercises, American
and Filipino troops will carry out naval
drills on Tuesday at a base west of the
Philippines. The area faces the disputed
islands in the South China Sea, where
China is reportedly building a runway
that could accommodate “any type” of
Chinese aircraft.
The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia,
Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping claims in the area.
A Philippine military spokesman told
reporters in Manila on Sunday that “no
specific threat was factored” into the
drills.
But in an interview with the AFP
news agency last Tuesday, Philippine
President Benigno Aquino cautioned of
possible military conflict in the region
over Chinese activities. He said the latest moves by Beijing “engender fear
for the rest of the world”.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei dismissed those claims,
saying the Philippines should “respect
China’s sovereignty”.
Intriguing symbols
While the Philippines will not overtly
admit that the size of forces involved in
the exercises reflects its anxieties over
China, it is “replete with intriguing symbols,” Alexander Yano, a retired general and former head of the Philippine
military, told Al Jazeera.
“It could be viewed as a show of
force amidst the ongoing tension,” he
said. “The significant increase in num-
bers invariably sends strong signals
of overt ‘muscle-flexing’ particularly
by the U.S., the Philippines’ strongest
ally.”
“The usual line that such moves
have nothing to do with the current
row in the South China Sea is expected
as a diplomatic cloak.”
The expanded number of U.S. and
Filipino troops participating in the
exercises could be “construed as an
enhancement in the level of militaryto-military engagement” between the
two decades-old allies “to address
common threats,” Yano said.
The U.S. and the Philippines have
had a military treaty since 1951. Until
1992, the country hosted two of the
largest U.S. military facilities outside
the U.S., until a volcanic eruption and
a Philippine senate vote forced the closure of these bases.
But in 1998, U.S. troops returned
to the Philippines through a “visiting
forces agreement”, and in April 2014,
during the visit of President Barack
Obama, the agreement was expanded
to allow more troops in the country for
an extended duration.
Jose Torres, a Filipino journalist who
has covered the military, told Al Jazeera
the while the Philippines is closely allied with the U.S., it should “be careful
in handling the China issue, and should
use all diplomatic channels in dealing
with Beijing”.
Yano, the U.S.-trained former Filipino general, agreed saying that the Philippine government should work with
neighboring South East Asian countries
to address the dispute with China.
But he also said that the Philippines should be self-reliant in defending its borders.
“When push comes to shove, the
Philippines should be able to have
credible defense in case such contingency arises. Such military prepared-
ness can only be ensured through an
honest-to-goodness modernization
program that should be pursued with
urgency.”
The latest U.S.-Philippines military
exercises also come seven months
after a 19-year-old U.S. soldier was accused of killing a Filipino transsexual
during a visit in the city of Olongapo
north of Manila, near a former U.S.
air base. That incident has prompted
fresh waves of protests against the
military exercises.
Meanwhile, Renato Reyes, head of
the leftist group Bayan, said the “war
games will not help the Philippines
against the expansionist activities of
China in the region”.
“The U.S. has repeatedly said that it
that does not take sides in the maritime
dispute,” he said, adding that the Philippine national interest “is not identical
with U.S. strategic pivot to the region.”
(Source: Al Jazeera)
Xenophobic clashes hit South African township overnight
Clashes between locals trying to loot foreign-owned
stores and police have taken place overnight in a township outside Johannesburg, as tension persists in several South African cities following attacks on immigrants.
Radio station Eyewitness News reported that police
shot rubber bullets at rioters in Actonville in clashes
that continued into the early hours of Monday morning.
Gauteng Police spokesperson Colonel Lungelo
Dlamini told Al Jazeera that police were called in after
roads were closed but that no looting had taken place.
He denied reports that police had fired rubber bullets,
claiming that only tear gas had been used.
“The situation is quiet now, but we do have a lot of
police presence in the hotspots,” Dlamini said.
Meanwhile, speaking to 702 news on Monday, David Mahlobo, minister of state security, described the
country as “relatively stable over the past 48 hours”.
At least 1,000 people have been displaced after violence against foreign nationals flared up on March 30 in
Durban. The violence soon spread to townships around
Johannesburg.
South African police said 307 suspects had been arrested for a variety of crimes related to xenophobic violence that has resulted in at least eight deaths.
The violence in Johannesburg has centered around
trouble spots such as Jeppestown, Alexandra, Malvern,
Thokoza and Cleveland.
On Sunday, the Sunday Times newspaper published
the images of a Mozambican man being attacked by a
mob in the Alexandra township in Johannesburg. The
man, identified as Emmanuel Sithole , was stabbed to
death.
Police said on Monday that three suspects had been
arrested and search was under way for a fourth suspect
in connection with the killing.
Mahlobo, minister of state security, told local media
on Monday that he was thankful to journalist James
Oatway for capturing the series of brutal pictures that
helped identify the suspects.
A loose collection of civil society organizations said
they planned a massive march for peace later this week.
The People’s March Against Xenophobia said a
march would take place on Thursday. Organizers said
it “will rally support for unity among principled South
Africans standing in solidarity with the mainly poor foreign nationals, migrants and refugees of color under
siege”.
The latest wave of attacks comes barely months after the township of Soweto was engulfed in anti-immigrant violence in January.
(Source: Al Jazeera)
Hundreds ‘locked in hold’ of boat capsized off Libya
A smuggler’s boat crammed with hundreds of people overturned off Libya’s
coast as rescuers approached, causing what could be the Mediterranean’s
deadliest known migrant tragedy and
intensifying pressure on the European
Union (EU) to finally meet demands for
decisive action.
Survivor accounts of the number
aboard the 20-metre vessel varied, with
the Italian Coast Guard saying that the
capsized boat had a capacity for “hundreds” of people.
Italian prosecutors said a Bangladeshi
survivor flown to Sicily for treatment
told them 950 people were on board, including hundreds who had been locked
in the hold by smugglers. Earlier, authorities said a survivor told them 700 migrants were aboard.
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi
said authorities were “not in a position
to confirm or verify” how many were on
board when the boat set out from Libya.
Eighteen ships joined the rescue ef-
fort, but only 28 survivors and 24 bodies
had been pulled from the water by nightfall, Renzi said.
These small numbers make more
sense if hundreds of people were locked
in the hold, because with so much weight
down below, ‘surely the boat would
have sunk”, said General Antonino Iraso,
of the Italian Border Police, which has
deployed boats in the operation.
The incident happened in an area
just off Libyan waters, 193km south of
Lampedusa Island, according to a report
in the Times of Malta’s website.
------ Migrant crisis: Has Europe’s migration policy capsized?
United Nations refugee agency
spokeswoman Carlotta Sami tweeted
that according to one survivor, the
boat had set out with 700 migrants
aboard. When it overturned, “the people ended up in the water, with the
boat on top of them”, Sami said.
Prosecutor Giovanni Salvi told The
Associated Press that the Bangladeshi
survivor said about 300 people were
locked in the hold by smugglers when
the vessel set out. He said some 200
of the boat’s passengers were women
and several dozen were children.
Salvi stressed that there was no
confirmation yet of the man’s account
and that the investigation was ongoing.
Unified response
Meanwhile, calls by Italy’s Renzi for
a more unified response from the EU
were echoed by France, Spain, Germany and Britain ahead of Monday’s EU
meeting in Luxembourg, where foreign ministers scrambled to add stopping the smugglers to their agenda.
‘Europe can do more and Europe
must do more,” said Martin Schulz,
president of the European Parliament.
“It is a shame and a confession of
failure how many countries run away
from responsibility and how little money we provide for rescue missions.”
Europe must mobilize “more ships,
more over flights by aircraft”, French
President Francois Hollande told
French TV on Sunday. “Words won’t
do anymore,” Spain’s Prime Minister,
Mariano Rajoy, told a political rally.
Meanwhile, Renzi rejected calls
by some Italian legislators for a naval
blockade. That would only “wind up
helping the smugglers” since military
ships would be there to rescue any
migrants, and they would not be able
to return passengers to the violence in
Libya.
Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, whose nation joined the search effort, called it the “biggest human tragedy of the last few years”.
Since the start of 2014, Italy has rescued nearly 200,000 people at sea, including 11,000 arrivals in the eight days
up to Saturday.
At least 900 people have died trying
to reach Europe this year, before this
latest sinking.
(Source: AP)
INTERNATIONAL DAILY
3
DNA test confirms death of
Saddam-era figure
Iraqi popular forces confirmed the death of a former top aide
to slain Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
The Kataib Hezbollah group announced that DNA tests
have proved that an individual killed by the popular forces
in Tikrit, in northern Iraq, on
April 17 is indeed Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, a former vice
president under Saddam.
The group had published
a video earlier on Saturday
showing the body of al-Douri.
The governor of the northern Province of Salahuddin
(Saladin Governorate) also
announced on Friday that
the Saddam-era general had
been killed.
However, al-Douri’s death
has been announced more
than once in the past and a spokesman for Saddam’s outlawed Ba’ath Party had previously denied the death.
The body of al-Douri will now be handed over to the Iraqi
government for the further confirmation of his death.
Al-Douri was one of the most-wanted terrorists in Iraq,
who volunteer forces said was killed in an operation in the
south of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. He remained at large
following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, which toppled Saddam
in 2003. Since then he took part in terrorist activities against
the Iraqi nation with the aim of causing unrest in the country.
He later joined forces with the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorists when the Takfiris started their campaign
of terror in Iraq in early June 2014.
Saddam loyalists, hand in hand with the ISIL Takfiri terrorists have been carrying out horrific acts of violence, including
public decapitations, against all Iraqi communities such as
Shias, Sunnis, Kurds and Christians in the region.
Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri was an Iraqi general and a commander of the Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order. He
was an Iraqi military commander and Army vice chairman of
the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council until the 2003 U.S.led invasion of Iraq.
(Source: agencies)
Deadly attack targets UN
staff in Somalia’s Puntland
At least seven people have been killed in an attack on a
United Nations vehicle in Garowe, the capital of Puntland in
northeastern Somalia, local security sources told Al Jazeera.
Four UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) staff members were among the dead and four other staff members
were in a serious condition, the United Nations Children’s
Fund said in a statement on Monday.
Abdiwali Hirsi, Puntland’s Information Minister, told Al
Jazeera that two other victims were Somali security guards.
The seventh victim was yet to be identified.
UNICEF said the attack occurred when the vehicle travelled
from a guest house to the UN agency’s office in Garowe in the
autonomous Puntland region, adding that the UN was presently contacting families of the staff and airlifting the injured.
The victims were an integral part of UNICEF’s work in
Somalia, “dedicated to improving the lives of others”, the
statement said.
(Source: agencies)
British police arrest boy
over alleged Australia ISIL
attack plan
Police in Britain have arrested a 14-year-old boy in connection
with an alleged ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) terrorist group-inspired attack plan in Australia, they said on Monday.
The boy was arrested on Saturday “on suspicion of being
concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of
acts of terrorism and remains in police custody for questioning,” Greater Manchester Police in northwest England said in a
statement.
Australian police arrested five men in counter-terrorism
raids in Melbourne on Saturday and charged one of them with
conspiring to commit a terrorist act on Anzac Day on April 25,
when ceremonies are held to remember Australian and New
Zealand Army Corps troops who fell at Gallipoli.
One of the officers working on the case in Britain, Detective
Chief Superintendent Tony Mole, said: “We have uncovered
communication between an individual in the northwest and a
man in Australia to what we believe is a credible terrorist threat.”
(Source: AFP)
Australia and Iran to share
intelligence in campaign
against ISIL
Contd. from P. 1
But the foreign minister would not comment on whether
there was a conflict of interest in sharing information with
Iran which could ultimately be used to capture or kill Australian fighters.
”I’m not going into those kind of details. That is obviously a matter of deep intelligence operational issue,” she said.
Bishop praised Tehran’s extensive intelligence network,
particularly its military influence in Iraq.
“They are in Iraq and places we are not. They also have a
very sophisticated intelligence network and there’s a lot of
information they have been gathering.”
4
I NTE R NATI O NAL DAI LY
Neighboring countries
account for half of Iran’s
annual trade: official
TEHRAN — Fifty percent of Iran’s worth
Economic Desk of trade was with the neighboring
countries in the past Iranian calendar year, which ended on
March 20, according to an
official in Iran’s Ministry of
Foreign Affairs.
Ebrahim
Rahimpour,
the Iranian deputy foreign
minister for Asia, Pacific
and Commonwealth of
Independent States (CIS)
affairs, put the country’s
trade at $140 billion in the
previous calendar year, the
IRNA news agency reported
on Monday.
China, Iraq, the United
Arab Emirates, India and
Afghanistan were the first
to fifth major trading partners of Iran in the past Iranian
calendar year, according to Iran's Customs Administration.
Iran Railways to import
500 new passenger cars
TEHRAN — Raja Passenger Trains
Economic Desk Company, an associate of the Islamic
Republic of Iran Railways, is planning to sign a €600-million
contract in the second Iranian calendar month of Ordibehesht
(April 21- May 21) to import 500 new passenger cars.
Some 75 percent of the cost will be secured from the
National Development Fund’s assets; the IRNA news agency
quoted Seyed Hassan Mousavinejad, the managing director
of Raja, as saying on Monday.
The official said that Raja accounts for 70 percent of
railway transportation in Iran.
The company is planning to add 1000 passenger cars to its
fleet by the Iranian year of 1400 (March 2021-March 2022), he
added.
Iran’s annual petchem
exports hit $10b
TEHRAN — Iran exported 16 million tons
Economic Desk of petrochemical products valued at
$10 billion in the past Iranian calendar year, which ended on
March 20, according to an Iranian oil official.
The country produced 32 million tons of petrochemical products worth $22 billion in the previous calendar year,
showing about 4 million ton rise compared to its preceding
year, the IRNA news agency quoted Mohammad Hassan Peyvandi, the deputy director of Iranian National Petrochemical
Company, as saying on Monday.
Iran is planning to boost investment in its petrochemical
sector by $40 billion, the official stated.
TEHRAN STOCK EXCHANGE
Value
Main Board
Change
Percent
Index
Industry Index
49078.6
-323.8
-0.66
54905.8
-196.6
-0.36
Overall Index
67016.7
-362.1
-0.54
Free Float Index
77698.2
-490.8
-0.63
Secondary Index
133691.8
-343.2
-0.26
OVERALL INDEX DETAILS
First
67378
Min Value
67016.7
Closing
67016.7
Switzerland’s business representatives are
beginning to explore the potential for trade with
Iran, even though doing business with the country
remains delicate and the nuclear deal is not yet
finalized.
Hopes that there will be a positive outcome are
also growing outside diplomatic circles. Western
business representatives are already trying, also
through official channels, to make contact with Iran.
This is not surprising: with its vast gas and oil
resources and more than 80 million inhabitants,
many of whom are well-educated and wealthy, Iran
has great economic potential, especially if sanctions
are lifted.
The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs
(SECO) is keen to cultivate relationships with
the Islamic country. On Sunday, a delegation of
economic representatives under the leadership
of former ambassador to Iran Livia Leu will
travel to Tehran in order to determine economic
opportunities.
“We would like to find out how the Iranian
government wants to proceed until negotiations
are concluded, and after the sanctions are lifted,”
said Leu, who is the cabinet’s delegate for trade
agreements, who served in Tehran until 2013.
Leu does not name names, but she reveals:
“apart from members of SECO and the Swiss
Business Federation, economiesuisse, company
representatives from different business sectors will
also travel to Iran”.
While there, the delegation will be in contact
with ministries, authorities and economic players. It
is important for business representatives to find out
more about business culture in Iran and whether
their products and services would have a future in
Iran. “It’s definitely worth going there and getting
an idea of the market yourself,” Leu said.
(Source: swissinfo.ch)
Venezuela proposes novel OPEC oil
blending deal to fight for market share
Russia denies Western banking
blacklist exists
ORINOCO BELT (Reuters) — Venezuela
has launched talks this month on a
novel plan to blend the country's heavy
crude with light oil from other OPEC
allies, seeking to create a new variety
that can compete against swelling U.S.
and Canadian supplies.
The proposal, which would expand
on a pilot scheme involving Algerian oil
last year, envisions supplying refineries
built for medium-grade crudes rather
than the light oil that has become
plentiful as a result of the North
American shale boom, said the head of
state oil company PDVSA, Eulogio del
Pino.
Del Pino said he raised the idea
during the Summit of the Americas
in Panama earlier this month and at
a meeting with ambassadors from
the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries in Caracas last
week. He did not specify how other
members had responded or what the
next steps would be.
The talks suggest that PDVSA's new
leadership is eyeing creative ways to
The Federal Financial Monitoring
Service of Russia (Rosfinmonitoring)
says there are no plans to introduce
banking restrictions against the 41
Western countries, including some
that sanctioned Russia, quelling rumors
raised by Russian media.
“We deny the existence of a list of
countries that banks need to notify the
Federal Financial Monitoring Service
when residents make transactions,”
the press service of Rosfinmonitoring
told TASS Monday.
Rosfinmonitoring denied reports
in Izvestia on Monday that Russia
would exert special control over
banking operations of citizens and
companies in countries that imposed
sanctions against Russia, such as the
U.S., Canada, the EU (28 countries),
Australia, Norway, New Zealand, as
well as other countries that haven’t
imposed sanctions on Russia like
Iran, Syria, Sudan, Argentina, Mexico,
Switzerland, North Korea, and
Jamaica.
According
to
Izvestia
retain its U.S. market share at a time
of intensifying competition, and to
ride out a deep slump in global oil
prices that has worsened a recession in
Venezuela.
The plan, if agreed, could help
Venezuela get more value from its
heavy grades, which are under pressure
from the rapid rise in shipments of
Canadian crude to refineries on the
U.S. Gulf Coast, while giving a similar
advantage to OPEC members whose
lighter oil has been pushed aside by
U.S. shale.
"We are proposing to blend oils
from here with theirs, to go to the
market together," Del Pino told a
handful of reporters while narrating a
recent helicopter tour of the Orinoco
Belt.
He cited Algeria and Angola as
potential partners given their light
blends. Their combined exports to the
United States have fallen from some
1 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2010
to under 150,000 bpd in January, U.S.
data show.
Rosfinmonitoring would closely
supervise transactions from the more
than 40 countries on the blacklist.
The list included states with sanctions
against Russia, as well as countries
that support terrorism, nations with a
poor anti-corruption track record, and
those that support drug trafficking.
The newspaper said it had
access to a letter from the office of
Rosfinmonitoring explaining in detail
the procedure, a claim the monitoring
agency denies.
“The author incorrectly formulated
and didn’t properly understand,
because they [the author, Ed.] refer
to the informational letter from
Rosfinmonitoring published on the
website which is publicly available.
And it does not refer to banks
because banks are not subject to
supervision by Rosfinmonitoring.
The author misunderstood, there is
no list of countries whatsoever,” a
Rosfinmonitoring representative told
Kommersant FM, as quoted by RBC.
(Source: RT)
World Bank admits peak of Russia economic crisis over
The World Bank has agreed with President
Vladimir Putin’s comment that Russia has
successfully managed to overcome the
worst of its current economic difficulties
due to the government’s fiscal and monetary policy.
In the last two months, the level of confidence in the Russian economy has slightly strengthened and the ruble rallied due
to fiscal and monetary policy, World Bank
Vice President for Europe and Central Asia
Laura Tuck told TASS, commenting on Putin’s statement that the country’s economy has overcome the worst.
However, Tuck warned that the downturn is not over yet and Russia is likely to
face a number of economic challenges in
future, as there is still much uncertainty in
how oil prices will fluctuate. Tuck believes
they are most likely to go down again and
return back to what is considered a ‘new
normal’.
(Source: RT)
Afghanistan seeks to
absorb Iranian private
sector’s investment
Variety
(362.1)
Change end of year(%)
741.23%
Historical highest
89500.6 (2014/01/05)
MAJOR CURRENCIES
To U.S.
Dollars
To IR.
Rial*
Currency
To U.S.
Dollars
To IR.
Rial*
US dollar
1
33270
UAE dirham
0.272
9120
British Pound
1.491
49870
EURO
1.073
36070
*The free market rates
(Sources: Mehrnews.com & xe.com)
MAJOR COMMODITIES
55.74
Silver $ / troy ounce
Gold $ / troy ounce
1,203.10 Platinum $ / troy ounce
Copper $ / pound
2.77
Wheat ¢ / bushel
16.23
1,167.50
489.25
Source: cnnmoney.com
He also welcomed the idea of establishing
a joint chamber of commerce in a bid to facilitate the bilateral trade.
Afghanistan was the fifth leading importer
of Iranian non-oil goods in the previous Iranian calendar year, which ended on March 20,
2014, according to the Iran Customs Administration.
Iran exported $2.38 billion of non-oil
goods to Afghanistan and imported $14.49
million of non-oil goods from the country.
Energy minister honors
Bank of Industry and Mine
TEHRAN — Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian
appreciated the Bank of Industry and Mine
for its efforts to materialize the ministry’s
goals in the past year.
Chitchian granted a plaque of honor to AliAshraf Ahami, the governor of the Bank of
Industry and Mine, for financing large national water and electricity projects.
t
men
ce
oun
nn
st A
Fir
National Iranian
Drilling Company
N.I.O.C
Public Calls For Quality Evaluating Of Tenderers
Contd. from P. 1
Source: tse.ir
Light Crude $ / barrel
h t t p : / / w w w . t e h r a n t i m e s . c o m / e c o n o m y
67378.8
Max Value
Currency
APRIL 21, 2015
Swiss businesses set to explore
potential for trade with Iran
NEWS
Index
E C O N O M Y
TENDER GUARANTEE
Euro
10.225
Rial
ESTIMATED
VALUE(Rial)
409,000,000 8,180,000,000
Announced
code
DESCRIPTION
TENDERNO./INDENTNO
NO
1,397,992
PARTS FOR CATERPILLAR
EQUIPMENT
TENDER NO:FP/11-94/001
INDENT NO:01-22-9345091
1
A) Minimum acceptable point of quality is 60
B) Tenderers can receive the quality evaluaon documents by sending their request to the fax no :0611-2241154 or In
person at the following address:
Foreign procurement Dept. Workshop No.:8
Karoon Industrial Area
NIDC Ahwaz Iran
Tel: 06114142391
C) Qualified tenderers shall submit the completed documents within 14 days from publicaon of such a call(second me)
to the following address:
#203, Opening Tender commiee office
Workshop NO. 1, NIDC Main office
Ahwaz Iran
More on this & other tenders is accessible by click on. WWW.NIDC.IR
Permit No.:1394.212
Foreign Procurement Dept.
APRIL 21, 2015
h t t p : / / w w w . t e h r a n t i m e s . c o m
HISTORY & HERITAGE
Iran’s modernity goes beyond symbol:
The New York Times correspondent
By Thomas Erdbrink
Thomas Erdbrink, 39, got his B.A. in journalism
from Hogeschool of Utrecht. He is the Tehran bureau chief at The New York Times.
“I moved to Iran in 2002 and I’ve been married
since 2003 to Newsha Tavakolian, a well-known Iranian photographer and artist.
When I tell people that I have lived in Iran for 13
years, they’re often shocked.
Iran is more modern, livable and friendly than
some portrayals would have you believe. The country’s modernity goes beyond symbols, such as the
number of skyscrapers in Tehran, or the fact that
Porsche sells more cars here than anywhere else in
the Middle East.
In the time I’ve been living and working here,
Iranian society, under the influence of the Internet, satellite television and inexpensive transportation, has undergone fundamental changes:
Iran became an urban country, with 70 percent
of its people living in or near cities. Illiteracy has
been almost wiped out. More than 60 percent
of university students are women. More than
150,000 highly educated Iranians leave the country each year.
I live here with my wife and our cat in a three-bedroom apartment in a 26-floor residential building.
Newsha has been my guide to this complex society,
and she continues to be my most important critic.
I have made many Iranian friends and I learned to
speak Persian, which makes it easy for me to get
around in this city of 12 million. And though I am
married to an Iranian woman, I am a Dutch citizen
and my visa is good for only six months at a time.
Iran has some very impressive sights, but for me
the real attraction is its people.
Families are not that different around the
world
For starters, the Americans would learn that
crisp rice from the bottom of the pot in which it is
cooked is a delicacy here. In fact, Iranians love it so
much that whole family’s fight over it during lunch,
the main meal of the day in Iran.
Around the dinner table it’s all about family in
Iran. Relatives come together often, especially
these weeks, as Iranians celebrate their new year,
Tabiat
Pedestrian
Bridge
crosses
Modarres
Highway to
connect two
parks of Abo- Atash and
Taleqani.
The 270
meter long
pedestrian
route
complements
the
landscape
of Tehran.
(Image by:
dibats.com)
which started on March 21. If they were to visit
America, they’d expect food courts in shopping
malls. These have also sprouted up in Tehran and
other cities.
I guess what they’d learn is that, across the
world, families are really not that different. They all
like to sit down together, eat and talk.
Minorities in Iran
My mother-in-law, who taught me to speak Persian, is an Iranian Kord. She is a proud and strong
woman, loves Iranian Kordistan just as much as
she loves Iran. Kords are Sunni. Her husband is
Shia. They have been happily married for almost 38
years.
Now while there are issues for religious minorities, such as Christians, Zoroastrians and Jews, they
are in much better positions compared with minorities in other countries in the region.
In Iran, those minorities have their own members of Parliament and are granted their places of
worship. There are dozens of synagogues in Tehran, and thousands of Jews here.
West in the eyes of Iranians
Over the past decade, riding a wave of technological changes such as the wider availability of the
Internet and satellite television, and inexpensive
travel, Iranians have become more in tune with the
world. Many Iranians in the cities are up-to-date on
the news, the latest music and trends.
Generally, Iranians know that in the West, contrary to what many here believed in the past, the
streets are not paved with gold.
Start-up weekends in Tehran
A. Yes. There is the Tehran start-up weekend,
which brings together tech entrepreneurs. Iran has
a large number of highly educated engineers, some
of whom are doing quite well in tech. Iran’s Amazon is called Digikala. There is Fidelio, a restaurant
guide, and many more.
(Source: The New York Times)
Locals reveal the best things to do in Rome
On this day in 753 BC, Romulus and
Remus, twin brothers and main characters of Rome’s foundation myth, established the city.
Here is a list of some unique activities
for you to do in Rome. But it’s not just
any old list – because we know that you
don’t need anyone to tell you what main
sights and attractions to see in Rome.
Buy some good bread and then
go to Campo de’ Fiori in the morning
and sample the olive oils and balsamic
vinegars at the market that is there
daily — Leah from Leah Travels
Mail your postcards from Vatican
City. Aside from the cool stamps and
postmark, the Poste Vaticane is Swiss run
and famously more efficient than the Italian postal system — Jessica of Andiamo
Walk up to Gianicolo Hill and listen
out for the cannon that fires every sin-
gle day at midday and has done since
the battle for Rome was won here!
Then admire the view of all of Rome –
just breathtaking!
Buy ‘Jump the queue’ tickets for
the Vatican Museum. Will save you
hours and the groups are very small
Take a Rome Food Tour with Eating Italy Food Tour
Enroll in Gladiatior School to experience the real Rome back in the day
Palazzo Valentini – Using state of
art technology such as lasers and sound
effects, the archaeological remains of
ancient Roman houses are brought to
life! Situated in the headquarters of the
Province of Rome and just a short walk
from Piazza Venezia, it’s educational,
fascinating and a must-visit
Visit the Galleria Borghese (in Villa
Borghese park) to see artworks by Cara-
A TA S T E O F I R A N
vaggio, Berninin and Titian. Both the
art and the building are extravagantly
breathtaking — Romeing Magazine
Spend the day exploring the EUR
zone of Rome where you’ll experience
the city’s fascist architecture. Immerse
yourself into ancient Roman life at the
Roman Civilization Museum, get to
know real, deep Italian folk culture at
the Museo delle Arti e Tradizioni Popolari and finally, see a modern, square
colosseum
Take the elevator up the National
Monument of Victor Emmanuel II (in
Piazza Venezia and also commonly referred to as the Wedding Cake building) and take in a stunning panoramic
view of the city
Get an amazing view of Rome
through the Knights of Malta Keyhole
on Aventine Hill – one of Rome’s best
kept secrets. Use the footpath Via San
Sabina to Piazza Cavalieri di Malta.
You’ll also get a great view of Trastevere and St Peter from the Orange Garden at Santa Sabina
Recreate your own Roman Holiday movie scene and take a Vespa Tour
by night
Stay in an apartment rental to get a
feel for local living. That way you can shop
at the local market and then cook a gourmet meal in your own kitchen
Head out late at night in Rome –
when all the tourists have gone home
safely tucked away in their hotel room
beds and see the sites. Visiting the
Trevi Fountain at midnight is magical
– and probably the only time that you
can get an unobstructed photo of the
iconic fountain!
(Source: businessinsider.com)
By Image: ICHCAP
INTERNATIONAL DAILY
5
H I S T O R Y
Let’s celebrate Sadi with
reading his anecdotes!
Today Marks the National Sadi Day in Iran.The 13th century Iranian poet Sadi whose books are among the bestloved works of classical Iranian literature, occupies a
place in the Iranian Persian not unlike the one occupied
by Shakespeare in our own. Gulistan, his most popular
work, which was translated into French in the 1660s by
Andre du Ryer, provided post-Crusades Europe with its
first sympathetic view of the Muslim world.
Du Ryer felt that Europe needed to know about a
poet whose humanistic values mirrored those of his
Enlightenment contemporaries. Since then,
Gulistan has been translated into a wide range
of languages, including
Russian and Japanese,
though its most common
target language has been
English.
Here are some anecdotes from his magnum
opus “Gulistan” translated by Richard Newman in a book entitled
“Selections from Saadi’s
Gulistan”. Let’s celebrate
this day with reading his words:
Story 18 from Education
I overheard a rich man’s son and a poor man’s son
arguing as they stood near the grave of the wealthier
boy’s father. “My father’s coffin,” the rich boy was saying, “has a marble gravestone decorated with a mosaic
of turquoise-like gems, and his epitaph has been carved
in the most elegant script. Your father’s grave, on the
other hand, is nothing more than two bricks pushed together with two handfuls of mud thrown over them.”
The poor son listened quietly. Then he said, “By the
time your father gets out from under that heavy stone,
mine will already be in paradise.”
An ass walks lightly with a light burden.
Just so, a darvish who carries on his back
nothing but his own poverty will arrive
at death’s gate at ease with the life he’s lived
and with his fate; but a wealthy man, whose life
lacked nothing, will find it hard to die,
for death means leaving luxury behind.
In the end, the prisoner who escapes
with nothing will be happier than a prince
whose wealth lies just beyond the bars of his cage.
Story 20: Contentment
The midwinter night had fallen. Not too far away, the
king saw a lamp shining in the window of a dehqan’s
house. “We will warm ourselves there,” he said, “and
return to the hunting party in the morning.” One of the
royal advisors, however, insisted that it would be better for the group to make camp on the spot, chasing
the cold away with their own fire and sleeping in their
own tents. It would be beneath his majesty’s dignity to
spend the night in the house of a mere peasant.
While the king was considering the vizier’s words,
the dehqan—who had overheard everything—approached the group bearing a tray of food. Bowing low
to the ground, the peasant offered this meal to the sultan saying, “It is not that a dehqan’s hospitality would
insult the sultan’s dignity so deeply. It is rather that the
royal advisors do not want the sultan’s presence to
raise the dignity of a dehqan, even for the briefest moment, to a level approaching their own.”
The king was so impressed by the dehqan’s wit that
he rejected the vizier’s advice on the spot. The next
morning, as he was preparing to leave, the king gave
the dehqan a royal robe as a gesture of thanks. The
dehqan walked a few steps beside the monarch and,
loudly enough so the king’s entourage could hear, recited the following lines:
The sultan’s majesty remained intact
despite this dehqan’s meager offering;
but in the dehqan’s simple heart great joy
is rising, reaching for the morning sun,
the corner of your shadow at my door.
(Source: richardjnewman.com)
O N T H I S D AY
753
BC
Romulus and Remus found Rome (traditional date).
1509 Henry VIII crowned King of England
1796 Napoleon and the French defeat the Piedmontese at Battle of Mondovi
1894 George Bernard Shaw's "Arms & the Man" premieres in London
1914
U.S. marines occupy Vera Cruz, a major Mexican port; they
will stay for 6 months
1941 Greece surrenders to nazi-Germany
1945 Allied troops occupy German nuclear laboratory
1960 Brasilia becomes capital of Brazil
1975
Nomad girls
in South-west
Iran
Last South Vietnam President Nguyen Van Thieu resigns
after 10 years
1976 Swine Flu vaccine, for non-epidemic, enters testing
2012
Two trains in Sloterdijk, Netherlands, injure 117 people in a
head on collision
INTERNATIONAL
6
The silence about Europe
right now makes me nervous
I NTE R NATI O NAL DAI LY
COMMENT
By Natalie Nougayrede
I
traveled to a small town in the
west of England the other day, to
meet an old friend I had not seen in
years, curious to hear how she felt
about Europe. She is English, my
age, and we met when Britain was
in the throes of the Thatcher era
and France was about to elect its
first post-war socialist president.
Today, my friend works as a teacher
and continues to sympathize with
Labour — she associates the Tories
with the slashing of budgets for
education.
For several reasons, I also expected her to be a convinced proEuropean. She teaches French and
German, opening the minds of her
young charges to a world beyond
what she calls the “incredibly insular English mindset”. She spent
part of her childhood in France and
has kept strong links there. In her
teens she went to Germany as an
exchange student and discovered
German memories of the war.
We are, she and I, very much part
of a generation still marked by Eu-
rope’s 20th-century history, a high
point being the fall of the Berlin
Wall. So, when I asked if it mattered
to her that the UK remain in the European Union (EU), I was struck by
her hesitant reply. “I suppose it’s
best to be part of something bigger
than ourselves. But Britain should
be able to decide about some things
on its own, for example, how we
treat our prisoners.”
European institutions are such a
maze that it is hard to hold it against
anyone who’s confused about the
difference between the EU and the
European court of human rights.
The mistake is a small illustration
of how badly Britain still needs an
informed and comprehensive debate about the pluses and minuses
of staying in the EU. Prime Minister
David Cameron has fueled popular
frustration with Europe by painting
the European court as an encroachment on British sovereignty. But it is
doubtful whether Labour has made
an excellent job of convincing many
of its supporters that Europe acts
as an essential pillar of British influence and values.
General election
Three weeks away from a general election, which could return
the Conservatives and bring a 2017
referendum on EU membership, it
is baffling to see what scant mention there is of Europe in the campaign. Yet, Britain’s fate as a power
and the fate of Europe as a world
actor have perhaps never been so
intimately linked. In a global world,
there can only be global or collec-
APRIL 21, 2015
tive solutions.
Many of the issues that people
say they care about, from economic
competition to national security, immigration and the environment, can
only be seriously addressed if people act together. Europe, with all its
Three weeks away from a general election,
which could return the Conservatives and bring a
2017 referendum on EU membership, it is baffling
to see what scant mention there is of Europe
in the campaign. Yet, Britain’s fate as a power
and the fate of Europe as a world actor have
perhaps never been so intimately linked.
h t t p : / / w w w . t e h r a n t i m e s . c o m / i n t e r n a t i o n a l
flaws, is still the main vehicle that
nations can rely on to defend their
interests in a world that has become
more complex, competitive and unpredictable.
How else can one negotiate seriously with a rising China, or deal
with the refugee crises from Africa
or the Middle East that risk deeply
affecting European societies?
Divisions, breakups, Brexits
and Grexits will only make Europe
weaker and its democracies more
exposed. The illusion of going it
alone, the little England syndrome,
has many of Britain’s partners extremely worried. Many continental officials I speak to do not dare
say so publicly, but are scared
stiff that without Britain, the EU
project will simply collapse within
this century. But at the same time,
they will not accept the idea of
EU treaties being renegotiated by
British blackmail. This is the quandary we are in.
In the absence of any positive discourse about Europe, it is probably
fear of the unknown that will keep
us together
British Euroskepticism
But it is also worth putting some
things in perspective. British Euroskepticism is not anything new. Nor
is it simplistic. Recall the famous
conversation in 1944, just before DDay, between Winston Churchill and
Charles De Gaulle. Every time Britain
has to “decide between Europe and
the open sea, it is always the open
sea that we shall choose”, said
Churchill. What is perhaps less wellknown about this episode is (as described by De Gaulle in his memoirs)
that after Churchill spoke, Anthony
Eden looked skeptical and Ernest
Bevin, a Labour minister, came up
to De Gaulle and said in a loud voice:
“Take note that the prime minister
has spoken for himself, and in no
way for the whole cabinet.” Churchill, of course, went on to make his
famous 1946 Zurich speech, calling
for the “United States of Europe”,
although he didn’t explicitly include
Britain in that vision.
The European construct has always been divisive in Britain and
has cut across party lines. In 1975, it
was a divided Labour government
that held a referendum (67 per cent
voted ‘yes’ to stay in). In the 1980s,
Margaret Thatcher, despite all her
“Give me my money back” slogans,
contributed to building the European project. The 1985 Single European Act transferred more power
to Brussels than the 1957 Treaty of
Rome.
Contd. on P. 11
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APRIL 21, 2015
WORLD
ECONOMY
No more foot-dragging in IMF reform
BEIJING (Xinhua) — The ship is leaking,
but the captain is reluctant to do the
repair. That is exactly what the United
States, veto-wielding master of the
International Monetary Fund (IMF),
is doing in the reform of the global
lending body.
With pretty much all of the IMF
members voicing deep disappointment
with the U.S. Congress' block of the
reform plan at the ongoing annual
spring meeting of the Washingtonbased lender, U.S. Treasury Secretary
Jack Lew said Saturday that he still
believes that the Congress will pass
the reform "soon".
The U.S. foot-dragging tells three
things.
First, the United States has been
habituated to let the whole world pay
for the spillovers of bipartisan politics
in Washington.
Second, it considers the reform
as a potential threat to the U.S.
hegemony in the international
financial system.
Third, the nearly-recovered world's
top economy ignores the outcry of
other members for reform, including
its European allies, which are still
suffering from a lasting sovereign debt
crisis.
From fiscal cliff to intermittent
political stalemate on Capitol Hill,
Uncle Sam, whether with intention or
not, has created plenty of "crises" for
America itself and the whole world at
large.
In fact, U.S. politicians are ready
to fight each other at the expense of
anyone's interests. Blocking the IMF
reform plan is nothing short of a daily
practice for them.
Moreover, for those hard-noised
politicians, the IMF reform package,
adopted five years ago, is deviant as
it calls for a six-percent shift in quota
share to the emerging economies,
including Russia, India, China and
Brazil, even though the ad hoc plan
still guarantees America's loin's share
of the whole vote.
Their logic is simple, the ship could
sink as long as America is OK, and all
the crew members should do nothing
but waiting for the captain's decision,
which has taken five years and is still
out of sight.
Garnering a 2.3 percent economic
growth, Washington seemed to have
forgotten the pain of recession and
became more reluctant on reform.
However, it's arrogance on the
issue is near-sighted, as further delay
of the reform would dampen the
painstakingly efforts of the global
economy to claw back from the
deepest recession since the World War
II, thus putting everyone in danger,
including the United States.
Moreover, it will also hurt America's
credit as a responsible stakeholder
of the international community and
ultimately cripple its image as the
global leader.
For all that, Uncle Sam is strongly
advised to drop the dangerous game
of political brinkmanship and pass the
reform plan as soon as possible, so
as to win back the world's trust in its
strong leadership.
cheaper rates than would be usual in a
healthy economic environment.
Lewis said that the nascent shale
industry—in which the "unconventional"
gas is drilled from the ground in a
process known as hydraulic fracturing or
"fracking"— has boomed as a result of
access to ultra-cheap financing, flooding
the market as a result.
Many analysts, including the
International Energy Agency, see high
U.S production as a key factor behind
the price drop, along with global weak
demand and the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)'s
refusal to cut its own production.
The Fed started aggressively
expanding its balance sheet shortly after
the global financial crash of 2008, in a
program that became known as QE 1.
The central bank then started a second
program in 2010, before launching its
third open-ended $85 billion-a-month
program in late 2012.
This aggressive easing has now
been dialed back and the Fed is widely
expected to raise its main benchmark
interest rate this year.
Oil has seen a rebound in recent
weeks, with indicators suggesting
demand has picked up and production
is slightly down. On Friday, oil services
provider Baker Hughes reported that
the number of U.S. oil drilling rigs in
operation had fallen for a record 19th
straight week and was now at its lowest
since 2010.
However, Brent and U.S. crude
gains were pared by news from Saudi
Arabia—a key decision-maker in OPEC—
on Monday. The country's oil minister,
Ali al-Naimi, said Saudi oil production
would remain at 10 million barrels per
day in April, according to Reuters. This is
near record highs for the world's biggest
crude exporter and has scuppered any
hopes that it might cut production.
Brent crude futures traded around
$63.80 a barrel early on Monday, with
U.S. crude futures around $56.20 a
barrel.
Kepler Cheuvreux's Lewis forecast
there would be some consolidation in
the price of oil over the coming months.
He said that the U.S. "fracklog" —the
number of drilled shale wells that are not
yet in operation—needs to be cleared
before any serious gains are registered
in the oil prices.
He saw Brent crude closing out the
year at $75 per barrel.
Lewis added that refinancing would
become an increasing issue for U.S. shale
producers.
"We're going to have first quarter
results in the next two or three, four
weeks, and I think they're going to be
absolutely dreadful," he warned.
(Source: CNBC)
EU to investigate transparency of
Internet search results: document
U.S. economy isn’t growing fast
enough
BRUSSELS (Reuters) — Internet platforms such as Google, Microsoft and
Yahoo! will be the subject of a widespread inquiry by European regulators
to determine whether they are transparent enough in how they display
search results.
The inquiry will seek to address concerns of European business and politicians about the dominance of U.S. tech
giants and whether there is a level playing field for European firms.
However, it is not an antitrust inquiry which can lead to fines of up to
10 percent of a company's global sales.
In a draft of the Commission's strategy for creating a digital single market,
seen by Reuters, it says it will "carry
out a comprehensive investigation and
consultation on the role of platforms,
including the growth of the sharing
economy."
The investigation, expected to be
carried out next year, will look into the
transparency of search results - involving paid for links and advertisements and how platforms use the information
they acquire.
European Commission Vice-President Andrus Ansip is expected to formally announce the new strategy on
May 6.
The transparency of search results
came under particular scrutiny this
week when the European competition chief accused Google of cheating
competitors by distorting web search
results to consistently favor its own
shopping service.
There are concerns in Europe over
Here's one matter that Democratic
and Republican economists agree on:
America's economy could be doing a
lot better.
"The good news is we're growing,
we're creating jobs, property values
are rising. The bad news is we're not
growing quickly enough and there's
tremendous income disparity," Hank
Paulson, the former U.S. Treasury
Secretary under President George W.
Bush, told CNN's Fareed Zakaria on
Sunday.
Paulson argued the biggest risk to
America's "long-term preeminence"
on the world stage isn't China -- it's political gridlock.
"The greatest threat is our own
political inability to deal with the sorts
of things we need to deal with to
strengthen and revitalize our economy," Paulson said.
He pointed especially to the need
for a federal tax code overhaul and
better trade agreements with other
nations.
Both are top issues in Washington
right now as President Obama pushes
for passage of a new Trans-Pacific Partnership to further open up Asian and
Australian markets.
A 'maddening' situation: Larry Summers, the former U.S. Treasury Secretary under President Bill Clinton, had a
similar take.
He warned that America's economy
is entering a period of stagnation -- he
dubs it "secular stagnation" -- where it
won't be able to achieve its full growth
potential because everyone is saving
how Internet companies such as Facebook and Amazon use the huge
amounts of personal data they acquire.
The inquiry will also look at how
platforms compensate rights-holders
for showing copyrighted material and
limits on the ability of individuals and
businesses to move from one platform
to another.
The draft "digital single market"
strategy document cites potentially unfair terms limiting access to platforms,
high fees and non-transparent or restrictive pricing policies as some of the
areas of concern.
"While a framework exists for business-to-consumer complaints in all EU
member states, no such mechanism
exists for business-to-business relations," the document states.
The investigation follows calls from
France and Germany for greater regulation of dominant Internet players
which they believe are harming homegrown European web firms.
In November the two countries
asked the Commission to launch a
public consultation on the issue, with a
view to regulating Internet platforms.
However, in an earlier discussion
paper, seen by Reuters, the Commission concluded there was not enough
evidence to justify legislation.
One EU official said the Commission was assessing whether the issues
raised in the Google antitrust case warranted a more systemic view of the
problem.
"We want to move away from case
studies," the official said.
too much and not spending.
"We are doing less investment in
infrastructure than at any time since
the Second World War on a net basis,"
Summers told Zakaria.
He went as far as calling the situation "madness" since it's incredibly
cheap to borrow money right now
when interest rates are at a record
low.
"[This] is a moment for us, as a
country, to do what a business would
do, which is to take advantage of low
borrowing costs to invest in our future," said Summers, who worked as a
top adviser to President Obama. "This
is not the right moment for a lurch to
austerity."
The U.S. economy grew 2.4% last
year. That's good, but not great. Since
the end of World War II, America's
economy has expanded over 3% a year,
on average. It has yet to get back to
that point after the financial crisis.
What needs to change? Like Paulson, Summers believes the tax code
needs changes, especially to aid the
middle class. He also supports raising
the minimum wage, an issue that is
taking center stage in the 2016 presidential race.
Several major corporations, including Walmart (WMT) and McDonald's
(MCD), recently raised wages for
workers.
As 2016 candidates begin to form
their policy teams, Paulson and Summers gave a preview on what the top
economic issues are likely to be.
(Source: CNNMoney)
Researchers warn of global oil price crisis as investors shy away
The drop oil prices has changed the
longstanding laws of the energy market and made investors deeply insecure about financing expensive projects in the future.
The risk of a global oil crisis has
increased and investors are becoming more and more cautious about
financing expensive projects, according to a study by the Hamburg
7
NEWS
IMF official says China's
growth slower but safer
Fed could be to blame for oil’s decline: analyst
The dramatic 10-month drop in the
price of oil could be due to ultra-loose
monetary policy by the U.S. Federal
Reserve, according to a senior analyst at
a major financial services company.
Mark Lewis from Kepler Cheuvreux
said on Monday that the boom in U.S.
shale gas production over the last few
years that had helped push down oil
prices was partly driven by the Fed's
"very, very low interest rates."
"The financial dimension to the
shale story is hugely important," he
told CNBC. "I think it's questionable
whether we would ever have had the
increase in oil production we've had out
of the shale plays over the last three
or four years if we hadn't been in this
environment."
The Fed has held its target range for
the federal funds rate at 0-0.25 percent
since the end of 2008. With rates so low,
banks have been able to lend money at
INTERNATIONAL DAILY
Research Office Energycomment,
presented by the German magazine
“Der Spiegel”.
The researchers stated that low
oil prices resulted in a drastic cut
of investments in long-term energy
projects, including the development
of the Arctic and production of synthetic and biological fuels.
Oil prices have almost halved since
the summer of 2014, and currently lie
below the level of 60 dollars per barrel. For the first time, the drop was
caused not by an economic crisis, but
tough competition in the global oil
market, experts claim.
On the one hand, the United States
has significantly increased its funding
in the area. On the other hand, OPECcountries have not cut their funding
to counter an oversupply.
According to Energycomment’s
expert Steffen Bukold, OPEC countries should change their policy in the
long run. It especially concerns Saudi
Arabia, the largest OPEC producing
country, which uses the low selling
prices to drive the competitors into
bankruptcy and win new market
shares.
(Source: Sputnik News)
WASHINGTON (Xinhua) — China's economy slowed to a
safer and more sustainable range, marking the transition
to its economic "new normal", said a senior official of the
International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In a recent interview with Xinhua, Steven Barnett, a
division chief in the Asia and Pacific Department of the
IMF, said China's economic growth which moderated to 7
percent in the first quarter, the slowest pace since 2009, is
in line with what IMF expects China's growth range which
stands between 6.5-7 percent.
"We think this marks the transition what in China is
being called 'new normal'. We will call you get on a slower
but safer and more sustainable growth path," he said on
the sidelines of the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings.
In IMF's biannual World Economic Outlook (WEO)
report released on Tuesday, the Washington-based lender
forecast China's economy would ease to 6.8 percent in
2015 from 7.4 percent in 2014. The growth is expected to
cool to 6.3 percent in 2016.
For China, the main risk is the failure to implement the
reform agenda to address financial risks, rebalance the
economy and tap new sources of growth," the report
warned.
"We see it will continue in a safe range in the end... How
fast China can grow depends on how successful China is in
implementing the reform agenda," Barnett said.
He singled out key areas where reforms should be
accelerated, including liberalizing the financial sector,
giving private business equal treatment with the stateowned companies and beefing up the social security
system.
"We think China still has policy space to support growth
if needed," he noted, saying one is to accelerate the
reduction of social security contributions, and the second
relates to strengthening the social security system.
"These will help boost consumption by boosting labor
market and income, and accelerate the shift away from
investment towards consumption as a driver of growth,"
he said.
European Commission
mission head warns
Romania over fiscal targets
BUCHAREST (Reuters) — The head of the European Commission's mission to Romania, Istvan Szekely, said on Monday the government should make sure it doesn't endanger
its fiscal targets while rolling out a plan for sweeping tax
cuts.
Buoyed by a budget surplus and facing a parliamentary
election next year, Prime Minister Victor Ponta's government has reductions in VAT, income tax and other taxes, to
be phased in between now and 2019.
The viability of the cuts has been questioned by Romania's fiscal watchdog and the International Monetary Fund,
which supports Romania with a standby aid agreement.
Emerging stocks fall as
Chinese shares retreat;
ruble advances
Emerging-market stocks fell as industrial companies tumbled and regulatory efforts to curb speculative trading
dragged down Chinese shares from a seven-year high. Russia’s ruble climbed with oil prices.
China CNR Corp. and CSR Corp. plunged from record
highs in Hong Kong. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index sank 2.9 percent and the Shanghai Composite Index
dropped the most in almost seven weeks. India’s rupee and
Turkey’s lira weakened at least 0.5 percent versus the dollar.
Russian equities gained 0.9 percent and the ruble strengthened 0.7 percent.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index declined 0.5 percent
to 1,037.32 at 9:05 a.m. in London, its second day of losses.
China’s securities regulator announced steps on Friday to
clamp down on the use of shadow financing for equity purchases and increase the supply of shares available for short
sellers. The measures overshadowed the central bank’s biggest cut to reserve requirements since 2008.
“The clampdown initiated by China’s regulator is adding
to the selloff and the weak investor sentiment is spreading to other markets in the region,” said Jonathan Ravelas,
chief market strategist at Manila-based BDO Unibank Inc.
“We could see more volatility, investors are taking profits
in China.”
The developing-nations gauge has rallied 8.4 percent this
year and is valued at 12.5 times 12-month projected earnings,
data compiled by Bloomberg show. The MSCI World Index
has risen 3.6 percent in 2015 and trades at a multiple of 16.9.
Eight out of 10 industry groups fell, led by industrial and
technology shares. China CNR and CSR tumbled at least 11
percent, paring gains this year to at least 67 percent. PetroChina Co. retreated from a seven-month high as the Hang
Seng China Enterprises Index dropped the most since Jan.
19.
Tencent Holdings Ltd. sank 3.6 percent in Hong Kong,
the biggest drag on the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. Indian shares lost 1.2 percent as Infosys Ltd. led software exporters lower.
The Shanghai Composite retreated 1.6 percent as Citic
Securities Co. and Haitong Securities Co. slid more than 4
percent after Chinese authorities banned a source of financing for margin trades. The Shanghai gauge trades at 21 times
reported earnings, the highest since April 2010 and more
than double last year’s low, according to data compiled by
Bloomberg.
(Source: Bloomberg)
8
I NTE R NATI O NAL DAI LY
NEWS IN BRIEF
Iranian researchers design
robots able to move in total
darkness
TEHRAN (ISNA) — Iranian researchers at Kerman Azad
University, southeastern Iran, have built a robot which can
move in total darkness, helping researchers to build unmanned vehicles.
Amin Ashraf-Zadeh, the lead author of the study and MS
student in electronics said the ‘line tracking robot’ is working by a camera instead of sensor to conduct its missions.
The camera can shoot 60 frames per second. It can transmit
the data to the processor after shooting the intended items.
He also said that microcontrollers are responsible for
data processing. “We designed a built a chip set dubbed
FPGA since the microcontrollers used before could not process this volume of data.”
The chip set is not a microcontroller, but it is a raw gate
and the user can separate any logic orbit using these gates.
Scientists determine the
physiological relationship
with the color of light
At the University of Manchester, a new study suggests that
it is not only light, but the color of light that can play a dramatic role in how an animal’s brain figures out the time of
day as well as how well their body adapts to it.
Published on Friday in the journal PLOS Biology, the study
examines how scientists found changes in light at dusk and
dawn corresponds to colors at certain times of the day.
Of course, we have known for a very long time that light
can affect the internal clock—circadian rhythms—but this is
the first study to examine the relationship this has with the
color of light as well.
Dr. Timothy Brown with the University of Manchester
Faculty of Life Sciences lead the research. He had some very
specific and important points to make regarding the study
and the findings therein. He shares, “This is the first time
that we’ve been able to test the theory that color affects
our body clock in any mammal.
(Source: Pioneer News)
Blood test could make biopsies
unneeded, study shows
In the usual cancer biopsy, a surgeon cuts out a piece of the
patient’s tumor, but researchers in labs across the country
are testing a potentially transformative innovation: the liquid biopsy.
It’s a blood test that has only recently turn out to be feasible with the most recent exquisitely sensitive techniques,
and it is displaying promise in locating tiny snippets of cancer DNA in a patient’s blood.
The hope is that a simple blood draw — far significantly
less onerous for patients than a regular biopsy or CT scan —
will allow oncologists to immediately figure out regardless of
whether a treatment is operating and, if so, to continue monitoring the remedy in case the cancer develops resistance. Failing therapies could be abandoned swiftly, sparing sufferers
grueling side effects and enabling doctors to try alternatives.
(Source: Bulletin Standard)
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W W W . T E H R A N T I M E S . C O M
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APRIL 21, 2015
h t t p : / / w w w . t e h r a n t i m e s . c o m
Do biofuels still have a place
in the global energy mix?
By Alexis Arthur
L
ess than a decade ago, biofuels were set to take the energy
world by storm. They promised a
low-carbon alternative to gasoline,
while advances in algae technology
were taking biofuels beyond the traditional soybeans and corn. In 2015,
the contrast could not be starker.
The new frontier of biofuel technology has all but disappeared off
the energy agenda, while opposition to traditional biofuels has only
grown. The overarching question
now is whether biofuels have a place
in a sustainable energy future and
what role should they play?
The debate over the negative impact of ethanol and soybean-based
biodiesel is not a new one. But in an
era in which environmental groups
are increasingly savvy
The new
and the concerns over
the economic and envifrontier
ronmental implications
of biofuel
of climate change are
increasing, opponents
technology
have a strong case to
has all but
make. Of course, as
disappeared
with many polemic disthe reality is
off the energy cussions,
far more nuanced than
agenda, while what we are often led
to believe.
opposition
In the U.S., the deto traditional
bate has centered on
biofuels has
corn and its refined
form, ethanol. Accordonly grown.
ing to one estimate,
ethanol accounts for 40% of corn
production in the United States. In
2014 this translated into over 14 billion gallons over the course of the
year. This staggering figure has far
reaching implications for corn prices
and agricultural practices. The requirement that gasoline be blended with 10% ethanol, and the hefty
subsidies the industry has received
over the years have kept the sector
afloat.
Opponents come in many shapes.
There are those who would prefer to
see arable land in the United States
put towards producing food, rather
than fuel.
Conversion of grasslands
Other groups object to the conversion of undisturbed grasslands
into croplands and the environmental hazards that come with largescale agriculture, including fertilizer
runoff, which they argue pollutes adjacent land and water supplies.
Land clearing for biofuel production, detractors further argue, creates a carbon imbalance as the benefits lost from forests or grasslands
are not balanced by the benefits of
biofuels. The ‘carbon debt’ argument is a strong one, particularly in
light of global efforts to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate the devastating impact of climate change.
Further concerns include the loss
of biodiversity, soil erosion, the impact on native fauna as habitats
change, among others.
Both the 2014 Farm Bill and U.S
Renewable Fuel Standards include
incentives to save existing grassland
areas but their range is limited.
This is not a problem unique to
the United States. In the Western
Hemisphere, both Brazil and Argentina are major biofuels producers,
and each has dealt with its own tribulations.
Brazil is the world’s second-largest ethanol producer after the United States, producing close to 7 billion gallons of sugarcane ethanol in
2014. Like the United States, Brazil’s
ethanol industry has been bolstered
by national fuel mandates and sub-
sidies. Brazil also produces around
920 million gallons of biodiesel from
soybean, cottonseed, and animal tallow.
Argentina has focused its efforts
on biodiesel production from soybeans, largely for export. Of the 740
million gallons of biodiesel produced
in 2014, around 450 million gallons
were for export. Argentina once exported the majority of its biodiesel
to Europe, however, a litany of trade
disputes with both the European
Commission and individual countries
has left the nation scrambling for
other trade partners, including Australia, Peru, and now, controversially, the U.S. Efforts to boost domestic
production and increase the diesel
blending mandate to 10% are absorbing some of the slack.
Challenges in South America
Challenges in South America are
not too distant from those affecting the United States. There is a significant international lobby against
Brazil’s expansion of agriculture in
Amazon areas. There are concerns
not just for the fragile biodiversity of
the forests but also the people living
in them, in particular groups in voluntary isolation. Argentina has faced
similar opposition to deforestation
to make way for soybean crops.
The underlying question is much
bigger than each of these examples
demonstrates. Without a doubt, the
biofuels sector in its current form is
unsustainable. Whether policymakers should continue to prop up the
industry is questionable.
That said, biofuels will and should
continue to play a role in our energy
matrix going forward. But our future
may not be fueled by soybeans and
corn.
Decision makers across the hemisphere would do well to revert their
attention to some of the emerging
technologies that have the potential to fulfill many of the promises of
biofuels without the detractions of
land-clearing, industrial agriculture,
and misguided subsidies distorting
the market. Of course, most new
technologies are a long way from
reaching commercial production or
economic viability. These efforts are
deserving of policy incentives or at
the very least further consideration.
Non-traditional biofuels may not
have become the panacea many had
hoped for but they have a role to play
in a diversified energy matrix and innovation should not be discouraged.
(Source: Oil Price)
Rabies jabs could save 60,000 killed
by dog bites a year
FAO calls for urgent action to avoid
irreversible groundwater depletion
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) — Investment in dog vaccination is the single most effective way of tackling canine rabies,
but the lack of a concerted effort
to wipe it out means that around
59,000 people every year, or 160
people each day, still die from the
pernicious disease.
Countries that have invested
most in dog vaccination are the ones
where human deaths from the disease have been virtually eliminated,
researchers said on Friday.
The virus, almost always transmitted by bites from rabid dogs, is almost 100 percent fatal but is one of
the few diseases in which a person
can be protected by a vaccine after
being exposed.
Eliminating the disease would
require a program of mass dog vaccinations as well as improving access
to human vaccines, said the Global
Alliance for Rabies Control which ran
the study, the first to examine the
impact of rabies across all countries.
Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations (FAO), UNESCO, the World Bank, GEF and the
International Association of Hydrogeologists have called for action by
the global community to manage
the increasingly urgent depletion
and degradation of limited groundwater resources.
The five organizations have proposed a set of principles governments can use for better groundwater management.
The 2030 Vision and Global Framework for Action represent a bold call
for collective, responsible action by
governments and the global community to ensure sustainable use of
groundwater.
The amount of renewable
groundwater is unevenly distributed
across regions. Some areas, especially those with low rainfall, are at
risk more than others.
Withdrawal intensity is highest in
large parts of China, India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Iran, the United States,
INTERNATIONAL DAILY
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“No one should die of rabies,”
said Professor Louis Nel, executive
director of the alliance.
The greatest risk of canine rabies
is overwhelmingly in the poorest
countries, the study showed. While
India has the highest number of fatalities, the death rate is highest in
sub-Saharan Africa, where for many
the vaccine is prohibitively expensive.
Researchers said global investment in dog vaccination was “inadequate”.
Annual economic losses due to
the disease are around $8.6 billion,
the study said, mostly because of
early deaths, but also due to lost income and money spent on vaccines.
“An understanding of the actual
burden helps us determine and advocate for the resources needed,” said
Professor Nel.
The research was led by Dr. Katie
Hampson of the University of Glasgow,
who said the amount of data was “far
greater than ever analyzed before”.
Mexico and Europe. This could result
in lost freshwater reserves at a time
when groundwater storage is critical for sustaining water security and
adapting to climate variability.
FAO estimates that the per capita
fresh water availability in the Near
East region has decreased by twothirds over the past forty years and
will probably decrease by another
50+ACU- by 2050.
Ground water oovernance
Similar to other countries located
in the Near East region, Iran uses
over 90 +ACU- of its water resources
for agriculture. About 55 percent of
the cultivated land in the country is
irrigated by groundwater.
For too long, groundwater governance has been an area of policy neglect, resulting in the degradation and
depletion of this critical resource.
Global groundwater withdrawals
have tripled over the past half century -- more than a fourth of current
withdrawals are non-sustainable.
(Source: fao.org/iran)
h t t p : / / w w w . t e h r a n t i m e s . c o m / s p o r t s
S
APRIL 21, 2015
P
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S
Sardar could be successor of
Ali Daei: El Mundo Deportivo
The Iranian football has intro-
S p o r t D e s k duced a star who could be a suc-
cessor for legend Ali Daei.
A new generation has followed in the footsteps
of other successful legendary Ali Daei, who came to
play for Bayern, or his countrymen Vahid Hashemian and Ali Karimi who also played in the Bundesliga,
El Mundo Deportivo wrote.
Now, Iran has a young striker who plays for Russian
Rostov on loan from Rubin Kazan. It's called Sardar
Azmoun and was born 20 years ago in Gonbad, in the
province of Golestan, in the northeast of Iran.
The strange thing is that Sardar Azmoun was a
volleyball player when he was very young and he
even invited to the Iran's national Under15 volleyball team. He is the son of Khalil Azmoun, the
former Iranian national volleyball team player and
coach of several teams, especially Golgohar Sirjan
and Javaheri Gonbad.
But eventually he decided to choose football as
his professional sport. Thus, during the 2012-13 season, when he was 17 years old Rubin Kazan signed
him while he had two interesting offers from Persepolis and Esteghlal.
On July 25, 2013, Sardar made his debut in the Europa League and he scored his first goal in the competition against the Norwegian side Molde on August
29. He made his league debut with a goal and an assist
on 6 October 2013, coming on as a substitute in the
72nd minute in a 5–1 win over Anzhi Makhachkala.
He made his national debut in a friendly match
against Montenegro. Although his biggest disappointment was that Carlos Queiroz did not call him
to play in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
He scored his first goal on 18 November 2014 in a
1–0 friendly win over South Korea. Then Sardar was
called into Iran's 2015 AFC Asian Cup squad by Carlos Queiroz. He scored a goal in a 1–0 friendly win
over rival Iraq just before the Asian Cup. Azmoun
then scored the winner in the second game of
the Asian Cup with a great piece of individual skill
Luka Pavicevic named Iran
basketball coach
Serbian
coach
S p o r t D e s k Luka Pavicevic has
been appointed as new head coach of
Iran basketball team on Monday.
Pavicevic, 48, replaced Memi Becirovic in the post.
Iran Basketball Federation (IBF)
had already announced it will appoint a new head coach by the end
of the week.
Team Iran finished in the second
place under the tutelage of Slovenian coach Becirovic in the 2014 Asian
Games.
Iran will have to participate in the
2015 FIBA Asia Championship for Men
which will be held form September 23
to October 3.
against Qatar. He also opened the scoring against
Iraq in the quarter-final with a header.
Sardar Azmoun is a very dangerous striker and
center forward, rapid in front. He can make fabulous shots with both legs but it is still room for improvement.
My Persepolis must attack, Branko
Ivankovic says
Persepolis
foot-
S p o r t D e s k ball coach Branko
Ivankovic says that his team should
just attack and will never defend.
The Iranian football team has been
scheduled to face Lekhwiya of Qatar
on Wednesday in Group A of the AFC
Champions League.
“My Persepolis should always at-
tack. We want to win in each game,”
Branko told the reporters before
leaving Tehran for Doha.
“Wining in each match; this is
my philosophy. We will not defend against Lekhwiya,” the Croat
added.
Persepolis will advance to the next
stage with even one point.
Foolad Novin Promoted to Iran Professional League
Foolad Novin of Khuzestan football
S p o r t D e s k team won a promotion to the Iran
Professional League (IPL) on Monday.
Foolad Novin edged Mes of Kerman 1-0 in Group A
of the Azadegan League.
Ali-Asghar Ashouri scored the only goal of the match.
Now there is a problem because Foolad and Foolad
Novin cannot play in the same league and the Ahvaz-based
club should make clear the case within the next days.
New Lewis Hamilton deal 'crucial'
says Mercedes boss
Paul Pogba agent has received '2000
calls' about Juventus midfielder
Mercedes Formula 1 team boss Toto
Wolff says it is now crucial for his team
to agree a new contract with Lewis
Hamilton amid its increasing battle
with Ferrari.
The reigning world champion's current three-year deal expires at the end
of the season.
Both Wolff and Hamilton have insisted on a number of occasions over recent weeks that a deal is close but there
has been no formal announcement.
Asked if it was becoming critical for
Mercedes to re-sign Hamilton amid
the growing threat from Ferrari, Wolff
replied: "Of course, Lewis is a factor
and an exceptional guy in the car.
"I think like always in life it needs to
be a win-win situation and at the moment it is a win-win situation.
"We have a very quick guy in the car
The agent of Juventus midfielder Paul
Pogba claims his phone is ringing off
the hook with clubs all over Europe
wanting to sign the Frenchman.
The agent of Juventus midfielder
Paul Pogba claims his phone is ringing
off the hook with clubs all over Europe
wanting to sign the Frenchman.
Pogba has been strongly linked with a
move to Paris St Germain this summer while
former club Manchester United as well as
neighbours Manchester City and Premier
League leaders Chelsea are also reported to
be interested in signing the 22-year-old.
"Since the start of the year, I have
received over 2000 phone call for him
(Pogba)," Pogba's agent Mino Raiola
said to Italian newspaper La Stampa. "I
receive 20 calls a day and at least a few
of them are to negotiate, but the right
offer has yet to arrive.
and we have a very quick car.
"We have a solid foundation in the
team; we have built an organisation
which can be successful on a sustainable basis long term.
"With Ferrari bouncing back very
strongly, it's a win-win [to keep Hamilton]."
Hamilton currently leads the world
championship by 27 points over teammate Nico Rosberg following three
victories from the first four grands prix
of 2015.
Rosberg signed a multi-year contract extension mid-way through last
season.
Shortly afterwards, Mercedes and
Hamilton agreed to postpone their talks
over a new deal until the 2014 championship fight was out of the way.
(Source: AutoSport)
"I believe if the right offer comes
along for Pogba and for Juve, then the
transfer will take place.
"But the biggest challenge will be
for the Bianconero club to rebuild the
team with that money."
Pogba has been a big hit since arriving
at Juve from Manchester United in 2012.
The France international is tied to
the Turin giants until June 2019.
Pogba played a major role in helping
Juventus clinch their third successive
Scudetto last season, scoring seven
goals and setting up seven more in 36
Serie A appearances for the Bianconeri.
Juve, who are still competing on
three fronts this season, are currently
without Pogba's services after he suffered a hamstring injury last month
and was ruled out of action until May.
(Source: Eurosport)
INTERNATIONAL DAILY
9
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Barcelona keen to show PSG
no mercy
Barcelona (AFP) — Barcelona defender Dani Alves has
warned his side against complacency when they host a
Paris Saint-Germain side bolstered by the return of key personnel through suspension to the Camp Nou on Tuesday.
Two goals from Luis Suarez took Barca to the brink of
a seventh Champions League semi-final in eight seasons
as they romped to a 3-1 win in the first-leg of the quarterfinal tie in Paris last week.
However, a late own goal from Jeremy Mathieu offered the French champions a glimmer of hope as they
welcome back top-scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic and midfield maestro Marco Verratti.
"We will not speculate with the result because we don't
know how to," Alves, who has been linked with a move to
PSG come the end of the season, told Barca's website.
"The philosophy and the spirit of the team is to challenge for every ball as if it was the last.
"We cannot think about our advantage, but just control the game and look to score from the first minute.
That is the only way to overcome PSG."
Barca remained on course for a treble of La Liga, Copa
del Rey and Champions League with a hard-fought 2-0
win over Valencia on Saturday thanks to goals in the first
and last minute from Suarez and Lionel Messi, who registered his 400th goal for the club.
And Luis Enrique's men will also have key players back
available as Alves returns after he too missed the firstleg through suspension, whilst Andres Iniesta is expected to overcome the back bruising he suffered at the Parc
des Princes in time to feature.
It would take a remarkable turnaround for PSG to progress to the semi-finals for the first time since 1995 as
Barca haven't lost at home by more than one goal for
nearly two years, when Bayern Munich rounded off a historic 7-0 aggregate thrashing of the Catalans with a 3-0
victory at the Camp Nou.
David Luiz played the full 90 minutes despite his horror show when he was nutmegged twice by Suarez in the
build-up to the Uruguayan's goals and insisted that he is not
feeling the after-effects of a hamstring problem that was
originally expected to keep him out of both legs of the tie.
"I do not feel any pain , I just feel tired after that
match," said the Brazilian.
"In Barcelona we will do all we can. Of course we
must still believe."
However, teammate Blaise Matuidi admitted they will
have to defend an awful lot better against Barca's star front
three of Messi, Suarez and Neymar to stand any chance.
"We must above all go without any complex and try
everything to achieve what would be an amazing feat.
"We will be keen to show something different from
the first-leg and primarily defend well because that's
what we missed at the Parc des Princes."
Bayern hope Pep-talk will
boost confidence for Porto
(Reuters) — Bayern Munich are on a mission with coach
Pep Guardiola firing up his injury-hit team as they seek
to reverse a 3-1 deficit against Porto in the Champions
League quarter-final second leg on Tuesday.
The five-times European champions, who have
reached the final three times since 2010, find themselves
in the unusual position of having to come from behind.
Guardiola, who has only ever recorded wins as player
and coach against Porto, will also be forced to try to turn
things around without several of his leading lights.
“People do not know how difficult our situation is,” he
told reporters after Bayern’s 2-0 victory over Hoffenheim on
Saturday that kept them on course for the Bundesliga title.
“I will never in my life forget these months and I am
proud of the team. Now we have on Tuesday the most
important Champions League game. It will of course be
difficult but this a is our big goal.”
Bayern players need all the pep talk they can get
with Arjen Robben, David Alaba, Medhi Benatia and Javi
Martinez certain to miss the game at the Allianz Arena.
Winger Franck Ribery is also highly unlikely to be fit
for the German champions after being sidelined for five
weeks with an ankle injury.
Bastian Schweinsteiger, who had been out for two
weeks with an ankle knock, did not play on Saturday due
to a virus but should be fit along with captain Philipp Lahm.
However, the Bavarians, chasing a treble of titles,
have also been rocked by the sudden departure of longtime team doctor Hans-Wilhelm Mueller-Wohlfahrt this
week, saying he had been blamed for the defeat in Porto.
“The coach was very emotional (in Hoffenheim),”
Bayern midfielder Sebastian Rode said. “He wanted to
weld us together. He said we need to remain calm and
focused in this situation and if we believe in ourselves
and the team then we can overcome obstacles.”
Porto are in fine form, having yet to lose in the
Champions League this season and showing superb focus in the first leg to contain Bayern.
The Portuguese edged past Academica Coimbra 1-0
in the league, with coach Julen Lopotegui making nine
changes to the squad that beat Bayern.
“We were coming from a tremendously demanding
game, both physically and psychologically, and we felt
this was our best team at the moment,” said the Spaniard of their narrow win. “We had to make some changes, we needed a fresh team to win this match.”
With Danilo and Alex Sandro suspended they will need
another fresh team if they are to deny Bayern -- who have
yet to concede a goal at home in this competition this season -- a fourth straight semi-final spot.
The last time the Porto went through to the last
four was when they won the trophy in 2004.
10
I NTE R NATI O NAL DAI LY
Q U O T E O F T H E D AY
I measure the progress of a community by the degree of
progress which women have achieved.
B. R. Ambedkar
NEWS
German woman set to
become world’s oldest
mother of quadruplets
A 65-year-old Berlin woman who already has 13 children is
pregnant again with quadruplets, Germany’s RTL broadcaster reported on Sunday.
The Russian and English teacher’s pregnancy follows
several attempts abroad at artificial insemination over
the last year-and-a-half, according to the private TV channel.
The woman, Annegret Raunigk, decided to try to have
another child because her youngest daughter, who is
nine, wanted a little brother or sister, the channel said
on its website.
It said it would broadcast an interview with the expectant mother, who has seven grandchildren, on Monday evening and plans to track her through the pregnancy and afterwards.
It said the pregnancy had so far been without any major complications and that if everything went well, the babies were due in the summer and that Ms Raunigk would
be the world’s oldest mother of quadruplets.
Mass circulation newspaper Bild am Sonntag reported the four-baby pregnancy on its front-page, quoting
the prospective mother-of-17, whose oldest daughter is
reportedly 44, recalling the moment doctors broke the
news.
“Certainly that was a shock for me. After the doctor
discovered there were four, I had to give it some thought
to begin with.
“On the scan it was just clear to see,” Bild quoted her
as saying, adding however she had not considered it an
option to reduce the number of embryos.
At a time when other women her age are preparing to
slow down and take things easier, Ms Raunigk indicated
she had no reservations about the challenges ahead.
“I’m not actually afraid. I simply assume I’ll remain
healthy and fit. In matters of organization I have enough
experience, that’s not new for me,” she said.
Asked about moral doubts, RTL quoted her as asking:
“How does one have to be at 65? One must apparently
always fit some cliches which I find rather tiring.
“I think, one must decide that for oneself.”
Her gynecologist, Kai Hertwig, was quoted on the
RTL website ahead of Monday’s broadcast as saying that
quadruple pregnancies were always a strain but that everything was currently going well.
The biggest risk for the babies is being born prematurely and doctors are doing all they can to prevent that,
the gynecologist added.
Ms Raunigk made headlines 10 years ago too, when
she gave birth to her 13th child, Lelia, at the age of 55.
“At first, I only wanted one child,” Bild quoted her as
saying at the time. “Not all were planned. But then things
happen. I’m not a planner but rather spontaneous. And
children keep me young.”
(Source: The Telegraph)
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
Best spinach dip ever
“This is my dad’s recipe. The entire family loves it! A flavorful spinach mixture fills
a tasty bread bowl. Your
family will love it, too.”
Ingredients:
1 cup mayonnaise
1 (16 ounce) container sour
cream
1 (1.8 ounce) package dry
leek soup mix
1 (4 ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1/2 (10 ounce) package
frozen chopped spinach,
thawed and drained
1 (1 pound) loaf round sourdough bread
Directions:
In a medium bowl, mix together mayonnaise, sour
cream, dry leek soup mix, water chestnuts and chopped
spinach. Chill in the refrigerator 6 hours, or overnight.
Remove top and interior of sourdough bread. Fill with
mayonnaise mixture. Tear removed bread chunks into
pieces for dipping.
W
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APRIL 21, 2015
h t t p : / / w w w . t e h r a n t i m e s . c o m / s o c i e t y
Iran to appoint
first female ambassador: reports
The Islamic Republic of Iran is to entrust representing the country to a
woman diplomat for the first time, a
report say.
The incumbent Iranian Foreign
Ministry spokeswoman, Marzieh
Afkham, is to be accredited as the
country’s first woman ambassador
in the near future, the Press TV reported recently.
She will reportedly head the Islamic
Republic’s mission in an East Asian
country.
The official has been serving in the
position as the ministry’s first woman
spokesperson for more than a year.
It is not yet clear who will replace
her in the position as the spokesperson.
Setting precedent has been Mansoureh Sharifi-Sadr, who served as the
charge d’affaires of Iran’s Embassy in
Japan during the ambassadorship of
Abbas Araqchi, the current deputy
foreign minister for legal and international affairs. Araqchi had preceded
Aham as the Foreign Ministry’s
spokesperson.
Women currently make up around
60 percent of university students in
Iran and 10 percent of economically
active women are employed, according to official figures.
In a speech marking Women’s Day
in Iran last year, Rouhani said more
had to be done to improve women’s
rights in Iran, i24news said.
Gissou Nia, deputy director of the
International Campaign for Human
Rights in Iran (ICHRI), a leading rights
group based in New York, hailed
Aham’s appointment on Tuesday.
“This is certainly welcome news for
women in Iran,” Nia told the Guardian.
“It is a positive step that the appoint-
ment has been made.”
In 2013, following the presidential
election that brought Rouhani to power, Iran’s new U.S-educated foreign
minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, appointed Aham as his spokeswoman,
the first Iranian woman to hold such a
high-profile role that demanded regular contact with the press.
The highest ranking position ever
held by a women in the Islamic republic was that of a cabinet minister. Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi was appointed
under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Dastjerdi’s appointment in 2009 as
health minister drew nationwide interest.
In December 2013, a Sunni woman,
Samieh Baluchzehi, who belongs to
the country’s Baluchi ethnic minority,
was chosen as the mayor of a provincial city, Kalat.
If confirmed, Aham would become the second woman in Iran to be
appointed as ambassador, following
Mehrangiz Dolatshahi who served as
the ambassador to Denmark in the
1970s.
(Source: agencies)
Russian woman embraced Islam in the Razavi holy shrine
Concurrent with the martyrdom days of Hazrat Zahra
(A.S.), a Russian woman embraced Islam in the Razavi
holy shrine after uttering Shahadatain.
According to the reports issued from Astan Quds
Razavi website, a lot of Muslim converts attend in the
Razavi holy shrine each year. Olga Radjabi is a Muslim
convert who converted to Islam as she came to know
Islam as a result of her personal interest in reading
Quran in Russian language and studying other Islamic
books.
“I became familiar with Islam through intensive
studies and research about Islam and reading the holy
Quran and several books on Shia and Islamic concepts;
this led me to embracing Islam as the best and the most
complete religion”, she remarked.
Noting that Islam is a religion essentially based on
human disposition, she added, “Islam calls its followers
on doing good deeds and virtues that are considered
rectitude according to viewpoints of all savants.”
Regarding differences between Islam and other religion, Olga said, “As I was formerly a Christian, I should
confess that Islam is the only religion that guides man
to felicity in the simplest ways.”
Noting that Hijab is beautiful and serves as a guardian to woman’s chastity, she said, “Islam has recounted
clothing as a divine gift and has made it obligatory as Hijab and veiling safeguards woman from external and internal dangers without imposing any restriction to her.”
The Muslim convert expressed her happiness from
being in the Razavi holy shrine and said, “The celestial
atmosphere of this holy shrine is really tranquilizing and
according to my studies this is a pilgrimage place that
most of Muslims visit it.”
She who chose the name Maryam for herself after
embracing Islam and Shia noted, “I am very happy and
pleased to become formally a Muslim in such a spiritual
and shining place and I am proud of embracing Islam. I
may not forget such a day.”
It is notable that some blessed packages and cultural items including a Qur’an in Russian, the 4-volume
book of Principles of Beliefs, and poster of the Razavi
holy shrine were dedicated to the Muslim convert.
Sydney woman praised for defending Muslim woman
‘harassed on train for wearing a hijab’
An Australian woman has been described as a “hero” for
challenging a train passenger who was allegedly being
abusive towards a Muslim woman sat in the same carriage.
Stacey Eden claimed an older woman was accusing
the unidentified Muslim woman and the man sat next to
her of being an ISIL supporter because she was wearing
a hijab. Ms Eden, from Sydney, said the alleged tirade began “a good ten minutes” before she started filming the
woman, later uploading the video on to her Facebook
page.
Footage from the alleged incident on Wednesday
began as the unnamed passenger asked the woman,
who was also sat with a pram on the opposite side of
the train, “why do you wear it [a hijab] for a man that
marries a six year-old girl?”
Ms Eden responded: “She wears it for herself, OK?
She wears it because she wants to be modest with her
body, not because of people like you who are going to
sit there and disrespect her.”
The woman continued despite her interjection, say-
ing: “Your kids behead people in Syria. […] Read the
newspapers, 148 people, Christians murdered in Kenya.
They’re killing each other in Syria.”
Ms Eden interrupted again at this point, telling her
angrily: “Don’t sit there disrespecting someone that has
nothing to do with it. Have some respect. If you’ve got
nothing nice to say, don’t say anything.”
Stacey Eden has been praised for defending a Muslim
woman who was being harassed by a fellow passenger
Stacey Eden has been praised for defending a Muslim
woman who was being harassed by a fellow passenger
The footage immediately attracted hundreds of likes,
shares and comments praising her for stepping in and
defending the Muslim woman against harassment.
Mariam Veiszadeh, of the Islamophobia Register Australia, told the Sydney Morning Herald she was heartened by Ms Eden’s stand. “We hope that her actions
inspire others to stand up against racial or religious vilification,” she said.
“We’re not in the midst of an imaginary backlash, Islamophobia is very much real and you can see from the
video it has devastating consequences for Muslim women.” Ms Eden said she was “overwhelmed” by the positive response to the video. “I didn’t realize how something so small would end up becoming so important,”
she wrote on her Facebook page.
“I genuinely have tears in my eyes at the messages
people have sent me.”
(Source: independent.co.uk)
Paris: 100% of women polled in survey admit to being harassed on trains
The French government is being asked to tackle sexual
harassment on public transport after a poll revealed
100% of women admitted to experiencing sexually motivated abuse while travelling on the Metro in Paris.
The study involving 600 women from Seine-SaintDenis and Essonne, the outer suburbs of Paris, was carried out by the High Council for Equality between Women and Men (HCE).
Half of the women questioned said they had experienced some sort of harassment before they had reached
the age of 18, The Local news website reported.
A 26-year-old, who wanted to remain anonymous
woman, said she never felt safe travelling on public
transport in Paris.
She told The Local: “The men in Paris take a lot of liberties... it’s like they don’t really care what they say or
how it might make someone feel.
“Sometimes I deliberately change train carriages if
there are lots of men. I’d rather not put myself in a situation where I’m alone with only men because I know
what would happen.”
The council defined “gender harassment” as “the im-
position of any kind of words of behavior that are intended
to create a situation that is intimidating, humiliating, degrading or offensive”. It added that acts were not usually
physical, such as wolf-whistling, so not punishable by law.
It has now sent the report’s findings to Marisol Touraine, France’s health minister, for the government to
take immediate action. It is calling for measures, such
as harassment education programs and a complaint
hotline number to be printed on transport tickets, to be
implemented.
(Sourcel International Business Times UK)
British Muslim women 71% more likely to be unemployed: research
TEHRAN (FNA) — Discrimination
against Muslim women in the workplace means they are much more
likely to be unemployed than white
Christian women - even when they
have the same qualifications and language skills – research showed.
British Muslim women are around
70 percent more likely to be looking
unsuccessfully for work, according
to the University of Bristol’s Nabil
Khattab, who spoke at the British Sociological Association’s annual conference in Glasgow, The Independent reported.
The recent national Labor Force
survey showed the unemployment
rate among Muslim women was 18
percent, compared with 9 percent
for Muslim women and 4 percent
for white Christian women. This has
previously been attributed to Muslim
women being less well educated and
less fluent in English, but Khattab
says his data shows the discrepancy
is also likely to be explained by employer discrimination.
Khattab analyzed a sample of
2,643 from the national Labor Force
survey to compare the rates of those
looking for work without success. He
adjusted the sample in order to compare women with similar educational
level and language abilities and controlled for marital status, children
and strength of religious belief.
He found that Muslim women
were 71 percent more likely than
white Christian women to be unemployed, even when they had the
same educational level and language
skills. Muslim women were 57 percent more likely to be unemployed
than white Christian women.
“Economic activity among Muslim
women in the UK remains considerably lower and their unemployment
rate remains significantly higher than
the majority group even after controlling for qualifications and other
individual characteristics,” Khattab
said.
He added that the conspicuousness of Muslim women’s religious
background was likely to be a key
factor in explaining their exclusion.
“They wear the hijab or other religious symbols which makes them
more visible and as such exposed to
greater discrimination.”
h t t p : / / w w w . t e h r a n t i m e s . c o m / i n t e r n a t i o n a l
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Pakistani capital Islamabad on Monday to unveil a $46 billion investment plan that Pakistan hopes will end a chronic
energy crisis and transform it into a regional economic hub.
With the plan, known as the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Beijing hopes to increase
investment in Pakistan as part of its ambitions to
expand its trade and transport footprint across Central and South Asia, while countering U.S. and Indian
influence.
The projected investments, $28 billion of which
are ready to be signed during Xi’s visit, dwarf a U.S.
assistance package to Pakistan of $5 billion that was
begun in 2010 but has made less impact than hoped.
Pakistan, a Muslim-majority country of 200 million that has been battling an extremist insurgency
for over a decade, hopes the investment will spur
its long-underperforming economy, which the IMF
(International Monetary Fund) projects to grow 4.3
percent this year.
Xi was given a lavish welcome as he arrived on
Monday morning at Nur Khan air base in Rawalpindi,
APRIL 21, 2015
China’s Xi in
Pakistan to unveil
$46B investment plan
WORLD IN FOCUS
next to Islamabad, where he was greeted by President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif.
After talks in the afternoon, Xi and Sharif symbolically broke ground on five projects around the
country via video link, before inking a series of agreements.
The two allies have enjoyed close diplomatic and
military relations for decades, though economic
ties have only grown more recently. Bilateral trade
crossed $12 billion last year compared to only $2 billion a decade earlier.
The projects foresee the creation of road, rail and
pipeline links that will cut several thousand kilometers off the route to transport oil from the Middle
East to China, while bypassing mutual rival India.
The upgrade will stretch 3,000 kilometers (1,860
miles) from the Pakistani port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea to China’s western city of Kashgar.
In Monday’s edition of Pakistani daily The News,
Xi said the two countries should align their development, trade and economic strategies more closely.
(Source: AP)
Iran urges Islamic states to take moves to resolve Yemen crisis
TEHRAN — Iranian
Political Desk Majlis Speaker Ali
Larijani has said that the Islamic countries should take more moves toward
resolving the crisis in Yemen.
He made the remarks in a phone
conversation with Iraqi Parliament
Speaker Salim al-Jabouri on Monday.
The Islamic countries bear an “important” responsibility toward the crisis in Yemen, he added.
He expressed regret over the con-
tinuation of crisis in Yemen and said
that the aggravation of the Yemen crisis
causes harms to all Islamic countries.
Constant consultations among the
Islamic countries are essential to end
crisis in Yemen, Larijani stated.
The Iraqi parliament speaker praised
Iran’s efforts to settle the crisis in Yemen.
Al-Jabouri stated that the Iraqi government and parliament highlight the
importance of finding a way to resolve
the Yemen crisis.
Venezuela seeking to develop ties with
‘emerging powers’ like Iran: ambassador
Contd. from P. 1
The relations between Caracas and
Washington have been frosty since
leftists took the power in Venezuela.
This continued even under new Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
U.S. President Barack Obama met
Maduro privately at a regional summit
in Panama City on April 11 and tried to
ease tensions that surged after the
United States recently placed sanctions on Venezuela. A Venezuelan
government spokeswoman said they
greeted each other in Spanish and had
a respectful conversation.
Maduro had earlier challenged Obama to discuss his decision to sanction
seven Venezuelan officials.
Ambassador Zambrano Contreras
said, “We strongly reject the sanctions
which pretend to judge the Venezuelan government without any element
to support it.”
Following is the text of the interview:
Venezuela is one of the very few
countries with significant oil reserves.
What is the reason behind the drop of
oil prices in the past few months? And
how has the decline impacted Venezuela?
A: As you may well know the world
oil market is going through an oversupply period boosted by the production
of shale oil in North America - which is
very harmful to the environment- and
the overproduction of some important oil producing countries in terms
of OPEC quotas. Furthermore, the
market is receiving more crude from
Iraq and Libya as well, all this together
with a period of low growth in China
(compared to previous years) and in
the EU.
Compared to other countries, Venezuela has a low cost of production,
even though with the current market
situation, it is very difficult for the oil
suppliers to invest in further explora-
tion and productions plans. Venezuela
will keep the policy of being a trusted
oil supplier for the world energy security.
Under the new sanctions, it
seems Venezuela is under a lot of
pressure. The sanctions bar the Venezuelan officials from doing business
with American citizens and permit the
seizure of any assets they have in the
United States. It also prevents them
from traveling to the United States.
To what extent will the sanctions affect your country and ordinary Venezuelans?
A: We strongly reject the sanctions
which pretend to judge the Venezuelan government without any element
to support it, violating the principles
of international law and imposing the
“rule of law” of an imperialist power. The government of the Bolivarian
Republic of Venezuela promotes the
respect and the development of the
human rights respecting all minorities.
At the multilateral level, the Venezuelan government has received
the support of ALBA [Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America],
UNASUR [the Union of South American Nations] and the Non Aligned
Movement. We have to take a look
at the UNASUR statement on this issue: “UNASUR reiterates it[s] request
to the United States government to
evaluate and implement dialogue with
Venezuela as an alternative, under the
basis of respecting sovereignty and
self-determination of the people. Consequently, we request the derogation
of the Executive Order”. In this regard
we can state that Latin America is determined to exercise with freedom its
right to development in order to build
a more fair society without any foreign
intervention, and we see these sanctions as a special opportunity to consolidate our economic independence
and industrialization.
Venezuelan President Nicolas
Maduro has said that Venezuela is
preparing an event in Washington
to press its case. “Maybe I’ll appear
in Washington at that exhibition, to
show my face for my country and
tell the government in Washington
they are committing grave mistakes,”
Maduro has been quoted as saying.
Would the event ever take place and
so what would be the result of it?
A: The Venezuelan Foreign Affairs
Ministry is organizing at many countries with the support of the Venezuelan Embassies an event called “Venezuela de Verdad” (Truly Venezuela),
which is a pavilion exposition that is
aimed to show the visitors what really
is happening in Venezuela in terms of
social development and welfare. We
have to bear in mind that the poverty
line in Venezuela in 1998 was beyond
70% of the population. Since President
Chavez took office later that year up
to these days the poverty line is now
under 6% of the population. Right now
the education at all levels is accessible
with no cost to every Venezuelan citizen. The government has been carrying out a housing program that had
provided shelter to 5 million citizens in
a period of three years even with the
low oil prices.
Perhaps President Maduro will explain himself to the American people
of the goodwill how these benefits
have been accomplished by the Venezuelan Bolivarian political system.
However, due to lack of real information, the U.S. and international media
may confuse and undermine public
opinion against the Venezuelan government in that country. If President
Maduro considers that he has to meet
President Obama to bring up the issues that concern both countries, he
would certainly ask for that meeting in
order to preserve the peace and mutual respect through some honest and
direct dialogue.
On the other hand, we have to take
into consideration that as a sign of
goodwill, one year ago the Venezuelan
government designated an ambassador to the U.S. and the U.S. government hasn’t given its approval since
then.
What is the quality of ties between Iran and Venezuela under President Hassan Rouhani?
A: Summarily, since President Maduro and President Rouhani took office there have been eight meetings
at the level of president, vice-president, and ministers. This dynamic reflects the brotherhood ties that have
been built between our two nations.
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
is an autonomous state that has decided to establish political and economic
relationships with the world’s emerging powers in order to finish with the
dependence from major powers with
hegemonic goals that have been exploiting and humiliating our people in
our homeland and in the Latin American and Caribbean region.
By early this year President Maduro
visited Tehran and had meetings with
Iranian authorities, including President
Rouhani and the Leader of the Islamic
Republic of Iran Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
The Venezuelan government received
strong support, especially in the area
of economic cooperation. Iran and
Venezuela are doing many joint ventures including cement, housing, automobile, and energy projects in Venezuela.
Our ties are very strong especially
in these moments when Venezuela is
being subjected to the U.S. unilateral
sanctions regime. We have to maintain
that we are fighting against an imperialism that tries to deplete our natural
resources in order to maintain a global
status quo by imposing its will on developing and less developed countries.
U.S. directing Saudi attacks
on Yemen: Ansarullah leader
Israeli man spreading
hate against Arabs nabbed
The leader of Yemen’s Ansarullah
(Houthi) movement has condemned
Saudi Arabia’s military aggression
against Yemen, saying that the U.S.
is “sponsoring and directing” the attacks on the impoverished country.
Abdul-Malik al-Houthi made the
remarks in a televised address on
Sunday in reaction to Saudi Arabia’s
deadly attacks targeting Yemeni people across the country.
“The U.S. is sponsoring the attacks. The U.S. is directing the attacks
against Yemen,” the Ansarullah leader said.
The U.S. has authorized its “criminal hands” to kill people in Yemen, he
added.
Al-Houthi described Saudi Arabia’s
move to target the Yemeni people as
“silly and unacceptable,” emphasizing that the aggressors, Saudi Arabia,
the U.S. and Israel, are killing innocent Yemeni people and are targeting
Yemen’s infrastructure by destroying
mosques, schools, markets, and other places.
The claims that the attacks are
for the sake of the Yemeni people is
silly and illogical, the Ansarullah lead-
Israel has arrested a man who was
shouting “death to Arabs” and allegedly stabbed a Palestinian near
the Tel Aviv, as Israeli settlers intensify their hate campaign against the
Palestinians living in the occupied
territories.
A spokeswoman for the Israeli police said on Monday that it
had nabbed a man behind the
stab-wounding of a Palestinian in
the town of Herzliya near Tel Aviv
earlier in the day.
Luba Samri said in a statement
that the Israeli settler is suspected
of attacking a poor Arab Palestinian
who was busy doing his job cleaning
the streets in the Galilee village of
Kafr Manda.
The Israeli settler, who was
allegedly shouting “death to Arabs,” had stabbed and injured the
Arab man, the statement said,
adding that the motive behind the
move is not yet clear.
Anti-Palestinian hate campaign
has been on the rise in the occupied territories since Israel suffered a humiliating blow in its
military aggression against Gaza
er said, adding that the attacks are
a “justification” for killing innocent
people.
The reason behind the aggression
is that the U.S. and the Israeli regime
want such attacks, he added.
It has been revealed that the
Americans choose the targets for the
Saudi regime to destroy, he said, noting, “Israel supports the aggression
and is happy with the aggression.”
“The goal of Saudi Arabia is to enable al-Qaeda to seize control of Yemen,” the Ansarullah leader explained,
adding that the second goal of the
aggression is to humiliate the Yemeni
nation.
Describing the aggressors as
“greedy,” al-Houthi added that all
the evil and all problems in the region
originate from the Saudi regime.
The United Nations Security Council
(UNSC) is a council supporting hegemony and defending superpowers, he said.
Last Tuesday, the UNSC passed a
resolution, imposing an arms embargo against the Ansarullah revolutionaries. It also imposed asset freezes
and travel bans against al-Houthi.
(Source: Press TV)
in summer of 2014. Since the end
of the 50-day war, many Arab Palestinians living in the occupied
territories have been the target
of terrorist attacks by the Israeli
settlers.
Around 1.3 million Arab Israelis still
live in the occupied Palestine, a community having its roots in the 160,000
Palestinians who resisted Israel’s land
grabbing in the late 1940s and stayed
there after the creation of the regime
in 1948.
The Arab community currently
constitutes around 20 percent of the
entire population in the occupied
Palestine, but the Tel Aviv regime
deprives its members of many rights
and privileges.
In a similar stabbing case,
Israeli settlers assaulted and
stabbed a Palestinian man in
the southern West Bank city of
al-Khalil (Hebron) late in January. Yousef Hantash, 38, was
injured in the hand when the
settlers attacked him as he was
walking along a bypass road near
Dora in al-Khalil.
(Source: Press TV)
I N T E R NAT I O NALDAI LY
11
JUMP
The silence about Europe
right now makes me nervous
Contd. from P. 6
Britain’s political class is not alone in being tortured
by its relationship with Europe. If you look at French politics, the same can be said : Left and Right-wing traditional
parties have been split for years, with strong sovereignist
pressures on both sides. De Gaulle only really became
interested in Europe after France lost Algeria. Hollande
has enjoyed stabbing the European Commission almost
as much as Cameron. Domestic politics trump European
much of the time.
Yet, the great difference today is that the big picture
should count much more than parochial considerations. Europe faces huge existential challenges. Visionary language
is what is needed to reassure citizens. In the absence of any
positive discourse about Europe, it is probably fear of the
unknown that will keep us together. As my English friend
says, it is just best to be part of something bigger than our(Source: Guardian News & Media Ltd)
selves.
Iran summons Saudi diplomat
as rocket lands near Tehran
embassy in Yemen
TEHRAN — The Iranian Foreign Min-
Political Desk istry has summoned Saudi Arabia’s
charge d’affaires in Tehran, the deputy foreign minister
for African and Arab affaires said.
Hossein Amir Abdullahian said that the move followed
a rocket strike near the Iranian Embassy in Sana’a, Yemen.
A rocket hit a few meters from the embassy on Monday morning, breaking windows but not injuring anyone.
“We explicitly announce that our ambassador to Sana’a will continue his activities; and in case anything happens that would disrupt our country’s diplomatic activities in Sana’a Saudi Arabia would be held responsible as
the country that has attacked Yemen,” he underscored.
‘Iran, Venezuela oppose use
of force against countries’
Contd. from P. 1
He also condemned the U.S. moves in portraying Venezuela as a threat.
“We believe that the Venezuelan people stand
against the foreign threats as the Iranian people
resisted against the foreign threats and defeated
them,” he stated.
The Iranian foreign minister also said that Iran and
Venezuela have established “expansive and deep” relationship based on common interests.
Zarif also said in his meeting with the Venezuelan
minister they discussed international relations, economic cooperation and the need for political consultations.
Zarif expressed hope that cooperation between the
two countries on maintaining peace and security would
be expanded.
OSCE chief: Good chance
for peace in Ukraine
Contd. from P. 1
The OSCE now is recruiting officials with military background, Zannier said. He also downplayed Russian claims
that the arrival of U.S. paratroopers in Ukraine on a training mission could reignite the conflict.
Zannier was in Vilnius to attend an international conference focused on the role of women in international
peace and security.
Lithuania’s President Dalia Grybauskaite warned that women in eastern Ukraine face unprecedented levels of violence.
“In the occupied parts of Ukraine gender-based violence has reached alarming levels. Women face physical
and sexual abuse,” she warned.
(Source: AFP)
Egypt sentences 22 members
of Brotherhood to death
An Egyptian court sentenced 22 members of the Muslim
Brotherhood to death on Monday over an attack on a
police station in a district outside Cairo in 2013, judicial
sources said. The assault was part of a wave of violence
that rocked the country after the army removed elected
President Mohamed Morsi from power following mass
protests against his rule in June 2013.
One other defendant, who is a juvenile, was given a 10
year sentence, the sources said. A lawyer for the convicted men said they would appeal.
Egyptian authorities have jailed thousands of suspected members of the Brotherhood and the courts have
sentenced hundreds to death. The government says the
outlawed Brotherhood is a major security threat, but the
Brotherhood says it does not condone violence.
The defendants were convicted of murder, attempted murder, and the destruction of public facilities, among other charges during an attack on the
police station in Kerdasa district, in which one policeman was killed.
(Source: agencies)
b
Poem of the day
I N T E R N AT I O N A L D A I L Y
For this is the shrine of Love, o fool! it is not a sheep cote!
Rub thine eyes, and behold the image of the heart.
Rumi
http://www.tehrantimes.com/culture
SINCE 1979
No. 18, Bimeh Lane, Nejatollahi St., Tehran, Iran
P.o. Box: 14155-4843
Zip Code: 1599814713
NEWS
“The Story of Two Lonely
Turtles” appears in Spanish
TEHRAN — “The Story of Two Lonely
Prayer Times
Noon:13:03 Evening: 20:01 Dawn: 4:53 (tomorrow)
Iranian director to stage
drama on migration at
German festival
Art
TEHRAN — Iranian director Mehdi
D e s k Mashhur plans to stage “The Door”, a
play on migration, at the 9th Donzdorf International Theater
Festival in Germany.
The play is about two girls who want to emigrate from
their home country. Each has her own reasons, but neither is
sure whether she has made a good decision.
The piece was created with the intention to understand
the feelings of immigrants from Asia to Europe or the U.S.,
both before and after their emigration.
Elham Jalali and Ana Hemmati will perform the play at the
festival, which will be held from May 13 to 17.
They put on several performances of the play at Tehran’s
Se-Noqteh Theater in 2014.
“The play will be performed in German with major
modifications in dialogues,” Mashhur told the Persian service
of Honaronline on Friday.
“The dialogues have been shortened and we will try to
convey the sense of uncertainty through action rather than
long dialogues,” he added.
Fifteen other groups from over 10 countries will perform
at the Donzdorf festival.
Previously, Mashhur’s troupe mesmerized the festival
audience in 2012 with “The Man and Words”, which also was
staged in 2014 at the Times Square Arts Center in New York.
Mashhur said that festivals in New York and San Francisco
have invited him to stage “The Door”.
Sunrise: 6:23 (tomorrow)
Printed at: Kayhan - ISSN: 1017-94
Sotheby’s Doha to auction
high-caliber Iranian artworks
Culture D e s k Turtles” by Iranian children’s book writer
Mostafa Rahmandust has been published in Spanish by Iran’s
El Faro Children and Young Adults Group.
The
Persian-English
version of the book was
published in 2009 by Iran’s
Institute for the Intellectual
Development of Children
and Young Adults (IIDCYA),
the Fars news agency
reported on Monday.
The book illustrated
by Alireza Golduzian was
also translated into Italian
the same year and was
welcomed by readers and
a number of publications in
the country.
“The Story of Two Lonely
The cover of the Persian-English version Turtles” simply promotes
of “The Story of Two Lonely Turtles”
the power of friendship
through the story of two friendless animals that set off on
separate journeys in search of a new life. However in the end,
they meet each other on the top of a hill.
El Faro, which specializes in children’s literature, has
published over 50 books by Iranian authors in Spanish and
Portuguese. Over 100 million children and teens are estimated
to live in Latin America, which is home to people who speak
Spanish or Portuguese.
The company is affiliated with the Oriental Cultural
Foundation (Fundación Cultural Oriente), which is located
the Iranian city of Qom.
Managing Director: Ali Asgari
Chief Editor and Deputy Managing Director: Morad Enadi
Editorial Dept.: Fax: (+98(21) 88808214 [email protected]
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Webmaster: [email protected]
Art
TEHRAN — Outstanding works
D e s k by prominent Iranian artists will
go under the hammer today at Sotheby’s Doha
Contemporary Art auction.
The sale includes a selection of high-caliber works
from leading Middle Eastern and international
contemporary artists, the auction house has
announced.
Works by Monir Farmanfarmaian and Mohammad
Ehsaii from Iran, Anish Kapoor from India and Chant
Avedissian from Egypt are among the top works
estimated to go for high prices at the auction.
Artists from Turkey, Indonesia, Qatar, Syria, Egypt
and Iraq are participating in the auction.
The auction will also focus on artists who are
redefining contemporary art through a global
dialogue, many of whom are being introduced in the
region for the first time.
Farmanfarmaian is in the auction with two works:
“The Wall” with an estimated price of $50,000 to
70,000 and “A New Spring” on sale at $150,000 to
200,000.
“Kindness” by Mohammad Ehsai is offered with an
estimated price of $100,000 to 150,000.
The highlights include works by Farhad Moshiri,
Hossein Zenderudi and Bahman Mohasses.
Works by American artist Christopher Wool,
Lebanese painter Ayman Baalbaki and Italian artist
Rudolf Stingel are also among the significant works
on sale.
This
painting
by Iranian
artist
Bahman
Mohasses
will be
auctioned
at Sotheby’s
Doha
Masud Kimiaii’s new novel published
TEHRAN
—
Kimiaii,
who is mostly known for his career
in filmmaking, has published his third
novel entitled “Opposing Ballads Lack
Large Orchestras”.
Published by Akhtaran Publications,
the three-volume book was unveiled
during a ceremony at Maktab-e Tehran
Art and Cultural Institute on Sunday.
A large number of friends and fans,
including actress Behnush Tabatabai,
Culture D e s k Masud
singer Reza Yazdani, film critic Javad
Tusi, director Jafar Panahi and Kimiai’s
son, Pulad, attended the ceremony.
Speaking at the event, Kimiaii said,
“If I am supposed to talk about the
disintegrated world around me, (I must
say) cinema and literature each fill one
part. For me, literature is a world that
deals with all the angles, bends and
twists of man.
“When one begins to write, one
should contribute whatever life has
PICTURE OF THE DAY
bestowed upon him to his writings.
But this is not so in cinema; when one
writes for cinema, daily issues run in the
topics.
“The difference between writing
and cinema is that (for example) in
cinema when one says ‘road’, one
can easily understand since road is
something visible, but in literature, we
have as many images as the number of
readers,” he explained.
Kimiaii expressed his happiness
By Seyyed Kazem Yusefi/IRNA
NEWS IN BRIEF
Florence
exhibition to
display Persian
handicrafts
Iranian
National
Commission
for UNESCO to
commemorate
Sadi
A large collection of Iranian
handicrafts will be showcased
at the 79th International
Handicrafts Trade Fair, which
is scheduled to be held at the
Italian city of Florence from
April 24 to May 3.
Artisans from over 50
countries have been invited
to display their productions at
the event.
The
Iranian
National
Commission for UNESCO
in collaboration with the
Islamic Culture and Relations
Organization (ICRO) will
commemorate
National
Sadi Day during a meeting in
Tehran today.
A number of literati will
deliver speeches at the
meeting on the subject
“Sadi’s Status in the Modern
World through the Eyes of
UNESCO”.
Abu-Mohammad Mosleh
ad-Din Abdollah Shirazi, better
known by his pseudonym
Sadi, was one of the greatest
figures in classical Persian
literature.
A flock of sheep graze on the rich grass of the Jolfa region in the northwestern Iranian province of East Azarbaijan on April 19, 2015.
over publication of the book and
said, “Language is very important in
literature. The writer must be able to
find a specific language for himself out
of the large number of mind-boggling
words.”
Addressing the participants he
concluded, “Writing seems simple but
it is not. I am happy you read books and
you are here for reading.”
“Jealousy” and “Glassy Corpses”
are Kimiai’s other published books.
“The Golden Era”
scoops top prize
at Hong Kong
Film Awards
HONG KONG (Reuters) — A
biographical drama about Chinese
writer Xiao Hong emerged as the
big winner at the Hong Kong Film
Awards, scooping best film as well as
best director for Ann Hui.
“The Golden Era”, a three-hour
movie depicting the novelist’s short
life in 1930s China, also won in the
best cinematography, best art
direction as well as best costume
and make up design categories.
The Mandarin-language movie
was co-produced by both Hong Kong
and mainland China film companies.
While such co-productions are
common, Hui said Hong Kong should
also make more films with local
characteristics.
“I think Hong Kong should have
its own film industry apart from coproductions with China, because
even a province would like to have
its local color and see its way of life in
the films,” she said at the ceremony’s
red carpet on Sunday night.
Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert big winners at Country Music Awards
ARLINGTON, TEXAS (Reuters) — Luke
Bryan won the fan-voted top prize
of entertainer of the year at the 50th
Academy of Country Music Awards on
Sunday, which drew more than 70,000
fans to the AT&T Stadium in Arlington,
Texas.
The home of the Dallas Cowboys
was at near-capacity and broke the
Guinness Book of World Records for
most attendance at a live awards show logging 70,252 guests.
Bryan and fellow country music
star Blake Shelton hosted the awards,
broadcast on CBS, for the third year
running.
“They say everything is bigger in
Texas,” Bryan told the crowd. “Tonight
we are the most attended live award
show of all time.”
Miranda Lambert, who led all
nominees for the second consecutive
year with eight nods, walked away with
three awards, including Album of the
Year for her work, “Platinum”.
“It’s good to be home,” said Lambert,
a native Texan.
Jason Aldean took home the award
for male vocalist of the year for the third
straight year. Cole Swindell won the fanvoted new artist of the year.
George Strait, who retired from
touring with a final show at Cowboys’
Stadium last year, debuted his new single,
“Let it Go” after performing a medley of
his greatest hits.
Little Big Town, whose latest
single “Girl Crush”, has drummed up
controversy over how it depicts postbreakup jealousy, won for vocal group of
the year.
“We really wanted to bring big hair
back to country music,” said singer Karen
Fairchild.
Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney,
Miranda Lambert, Reba, George Strait,
Taylor Swift, and Brooks & Dunn each
received a 50th Anniversary Milestone
Award.
Swift, who crossed over from country
to pop music, thanked the academy and
fans for sticking by her.
“When I told you I wanted to make a
pop album, you showed me who you are
with the grace you accepted it with,” she
said.
Alan Jackson performed his Grammywinning hit “Where Were You (When
the World Stopped Turning)”, a song he
wrote in honor of the 20th anniversary of
the Oklahoma City bombing.
Garth Brooks dedicated his patriotic
performance of “All-American Kid” to
U.S. troops while audience members held
up plastic cards forming the American
flag.
The Academy of Country Music honors
big stars as well as small market radio
disc jockeys and concert promoters, and
the awards are voted on by members of
the Encino, California-based professional
organization.