15124 16Movie reopens case of France’s HIV-infected blood supplies to Iran

I love Iranian people: Jordan Burroughs

‘Pirshalyar’ ancient ritual celebrated in western Iran

ATR to resume talks in Tehran today

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 D A I L Y

Teh

ran

Tim

es/ M

oham

mad

reza

Abb

asi

ECONOMY

d e s k

P O L I T I C S

d e s k

Top Obama aide calls Trump administration’s threats against Iran ‘bluster’A former top aide to ex- president Barack Obama says the new U.S. ad-ministration’s recent hostile postur-ing vis-à-vis Iran amounts to “blus-ter.”

Philip Gordon, who was the White House’s coordinator for the Middle East, North Africa and the [Persian] Gulf region from 2013 to 2015, wrote in an op-ed published in The New York Times on Thursday that the admin-istration of President Donald Trump would find it “so difficult” to turn its threatening words against Iran into action.

Trump, a self-admitted non-politi-cian, has surrounded himself with top aides known for their bellicose stances toward Iran.

Gordon specifically pointed to recent rhetoric by Trump’s nation-al security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, and said he had “set himself and the United States up for either an embarrassing retreat or a risky con-frontation.”

Flynn, a retired U.S. army lieu-tenant general who was fired by Obama as the director of the De-fense Intelligence Agency but has been tapped as national securi-ty adviser by Trump, had said on Wednesday that the U.S. was put-ting Iran “on notice” over its bal-listic missile tests. Iran had earlier conducted a successful missile test.

Gordon said the U.S. had a limited series of options to respond to the Ira-nian test-launches.

“While Trump administration of-ficials have claimed to have a ‘large range’ of options to choose from in re-sponding more effectively to Iran, the reality is that they do not,” he wrote in the Times piece.

Gordon said the Trump administra-tion was “unlikely to find much interna-tional support” for any new sanctions against Iran.

The U.S. administration was ex-pected on Friday to introduce new sanctions against Iran over the recent missile test. 2

Bahraini regime forces attack protestersRegime forces in Bahrain have clashed with people protesting in solidarity with prisoners and mar-tyrs in the run-up to the sixth an-niversary of a popular uprising in the country.

Bahraini policemen used tear gas and sound bombs to disperse dem-onstrators on Sitra Island.

Similar clashes were further report-ed in the Bahraini town of Bilad al-Qa-dim.

Mass anti-regime rallies also took place in the villages of Karbabad, Abu Saiba, Sanabis, Nuwaidrat, and Mus-alla.

Elsewhere, in the village Diraz, peo-ple held a sit-in outside the home of top Shia cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim.

Qassim, the spiritual leader of Bahrain’s dissolved opposition bloc, the al-Wefaq National Islamic Socie-ty, was stripped of his nationality last June over accusations that he used his position to serve foreign interests and promote sectarianism and vio-lence. The clergyman has denied the allegations.

Meanwhile, Bahrain forces raided houses in the village of Bani Jamrah and arrested three young people.

Separately on Friday, some 20 organizations and legal figures sent a letter to British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson expressing concerns about the punitive trials of promi-nent human rights campaigner Na-beel Rajab.

They also called on Johnson to press the Manama regime to release the campaigner.

Rajab, who was arrested last June, is accused of “spreading false news and rumors and inciting propaganda during wartime.” He denies the allega-tions.

Home to the United States Navy’s Fifth Fleet, Bahrain has been rocked by a wave of anti-regime demonstrations since February 2011, when the popular uprising began. Scores of people have been killed and hundreds of others wounded or detained amid Manama’s crackdown on dissent and widespread discrimination against the country’s Shia majority.

(Source: Press TV)

1st IPC tender slated

for Feb. 15 TEHRAN — Iran plans to hold the

first tender for its new oil and gas contract model on February 15, ISNA quoted National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Managing Director Ali Kardor as saying on Saturday.

Addressing a press conference, the official noted that 29 internation-al companies have been prequalified to bid for the country’s oil and gas projects based on the new model of contracts, known as Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC).

Iran, which is currently producing some 3.9 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil, plans to boost its output to 4 million bpd by the end of the cur-rent Iranian calendar year (which ends on March 20), the NIOC head said.

Kardor also said that Iran current-ly exports 2.35 million bpd of oil at highest, and considering gas conden-sate export, which is expected to be 650,000 bpd by year-end (March 20), the country is aiming for 3 million bpd of oil and gas condensate exports by the end of the current fiscal.

According to Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, Anglo-Dutch Shell, France’s Total, Italy’s Eni, Ma-laysia’s Petronas, Russia’s Gazprom and Lukoil, Austria’s OMV, Germany’s Wintershall, as well as companies from Spain, Poland, China, Japan, India and some other countries are in the list of companies prequalified for IPC.

Iran says ready if

anything happens to

nuclear deal TEHRAN — A top Iranian diplomat

who was involved in nuclear talks with great powers has said Iran is ready if anything happens to the Joint Com-prehensive Plan of Action, commonly called the nuclear deal

The comments by Majid Takhtravanchi, the deputy foreign minister for European and American affairs, comes as U.S. Pres-ident Donald Trump and his national se-curity advisor have used threatening lan-guage against Iran in recent days.

“All sides’ obligations in the JCPOA are clear. Either the JCPOA is imple-mented or not we are ready for both situations,” Takhtravanchi told ISNA in an interview published on Saturday.

U.S. President Donald Trump con-tinued his bellicose posture toward Iran on Thursday, reiterating in a series of tweets his administration’s warning that Iran has been “put on notice” for its recent ballistic missile launch.

“Iran has been formally PUT ON NOTICE for firing a ballistic missile,” Trump wrote in a tweet shortly after 6:30 a.m. Thursday. “Should have been thankful for the terrible deal the U.S. made with them!”

In another tweet on Friday, Trump said, “Iran is playing with fire -- they don’t appreciate how ‘kind’ President Obama was to them. Not me!” 2

16 Pages Price 10,000 Rials 38th year No.12761 Sunday FEBRUARY 5, 2017FEBRUARY 5, 2017 Bahman 17, 1395 Jumada Al Awwal 7, 1438

By Tim Wallace Economic growth got off to a strong start in 2017 with expansion in every sector, indicat-ing that the economy’s steady performance since the Brexit referendum will continue un-abated for now.

There are more signs of rising inflation, however, according to the latest surveys from IHS Markit, which threatens to squeeze busi-ness profits and household finances.

Firms in Britain’s dominant services sector benefitted from rising demand for the sixth consecutive month, encouraging them to hire more workers again.

The purchasing managers’ index (PMI) came in at 54.5 in January, a slowdown from 56.2 in December, but still above the 50-level that indicates expansion.

The combined index for all private in-dustries stands at 55.5, also showing slightly slower growth than the 56.7 recorded in De-cember.

Economists at IHS Markit believe this

points to economic growth of 0.5pc in the first quarter, compared with 0.6pc in the final three months of 2016.

“Encouragingly, optimism about the com-ing year has risen to its highest in one-and-a-half years, improving across the board in all sectors to suggest that January’s slowdown may only be temporary,” said IHS’ chief busi-ness economist Chris Williamson.

“The main area of concern is the extent to which companies’ costs are rising across the economy, with the rate of inflation accelerat-ing to a pace not seen since before the global financial crisis.”

It comes after the Bank of England hiked its growth forecasts again, anticipating GDP will rise by 2pc this year as the predicted slowdown caused by the EU referendum has not materialized.

Inflation worries

The main impact of the vote will come through inflation, however.

Sterling fell sharply in the wake of the ref-

erendum in June and that will push up import costs.

Services firms joined their counterparts in the construction and manufacturing indus-tries to report the fastest rise in input prices since 2008.

The PMI for input prices - the cost of sourcing parts and services - climbed to 68.8 across the economy. Meanwhile output prices - those passed on to customers - edged up more slowly to 55.3, indicating that compa-nies may be absorbing some of the costs.

Inflation is expected to pick up pace over the course of the year, potentially even out-stripping wage growth, which would squeeze household finances.

The overall outlook for the future remains positive, according to the companies in the survey.

The PMI component for future growth rose to 71.1, almost precisely matching the 71.2 score recorded in May 2016 - the month before the referendum. 4

Britain set for economic battle between strong growth and soaring prices

Iran will give an “effective and immediate” response to a potential move by the United States to abandon its commitment to a mul-tilateral nuclear deal with Iran, says an Iranian official.

U.S. President Donald Trump, a former businessman with no background in gov-ernance or diplomacy, threatened dur-ing his election campaign that he would “tear up” the nuclear agreement, known

as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or try to renegotiate its terms. He also referred to the accord as “the worst deal ever negotiated.”

While he has not proceeded to turn his campaign rhetoric into action since taking office on January 20, his continuing hostile stance toward Iran — including on Irani-an missile tests — keeps the prospect of an American non-performance of the deal on

the horizon.Reacting to that probability, Hossein

Amir-Abdollahian, who advises the Iranian Parliament speaker on international affairs, said Iran would be ready to respond — effec-tively and immediately.

“If the Americans want to tear up the agreement, we are ready to burn it,” Amir-Ab-dollahian said in an exclusive interview with Russia’s RT television network. 2

Iran’s response to JCPOA violation to be effective, immediate: advisor

IRGC begins major aerial drills

Tas

nim

/ Mah

in M

oham

mad

zade

h

Trekking through Lut

Desert A line of backpackers are trekking through sand dunes in the Lut Desert, southeastern Iran, on February 3, 2017.

Between June and October, this arid subtropical area is swept by strong winds, which transport sediment and cause erosion on a colossal scale.

The massive desert, rich in mag-nificent scenery and unparalleled serenity, has much to offer its visitors who are in search of new adventures.

Seven years of satellite temper-ature data analyzed by NASA show that the Lut Desert is the hottest spot on Earth.

See page 2

VP shrugs off U.S. accusations, calls them ‘threadbare’

2

The file photo shows the launch of Ghadr missile from the northeastern Alborz Mountains to a pre-determined location on the southern shores Mokran in the Sea of Oman on March 9, 2016.

L Y VP shroff U.Saccusacalls th‘thread

P O L I T I C Sd e s k

“If the enemy moves wrong our missiles will land roaring on their heads,” IRGC Aerospace

Commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh said.

TEHRAN — The Aerospace Division of

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has started the major phase of defense exercises in the north-central Iranian province of Semnan.

The new stage of the drills, dubbed “Defenders of the Velayat Skies,” kicked off on Saturday after a five-day preliminary phase, Press TV reported.

Being conducted in an area of 35,000 square kilometers, the drills are aimed at demonstrating Iran’s power, intelligence command, and defense readiness to counter any threats.

U.S. threats to Iran are no more than a pile of rant, IRGC Aerospace Commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh said on the sidelines of the drills, Tasnim reported.

“If the enemy moves wrong our missiles will land roaring on their heads,” the commander said, pointing to recent barrage of U.S. criticism against Iran for a missile test earlier this week.

The U.S. has imposed fresh sanctions on Iran as President Donald Trump shows to have been infuriated by Tehran’s missile program after warning the Islamic Republic that it is “playing with fire.”

In a statement on February 3, the Treasury Department published a list of 13 individuals and 12 entities facing new restrictions. The entities include companies based in Tehran, United Arab

Emirates, Lebanon and China.“The backbone of defense sanctions

is broken,” Hajizadeh said, stressing, “We will not hesitate for a moment about boosting our defense power.”

Different types of missile and radar systems, which are designed and

manufactured by Iranian specialists and have diverse ranges, will be used during the exercises.

One of the missile systems, called 3rd Khordad, has a range of 75 kilometers and an altitude of 30 kilometers. It is capable of simultaneously engaging

several targets and countering electronic warfare with advanced technology.

Another missile system, Tabas, has a range of 60 kilometers and an altitude of 30 kilometers. It can detect all kinds of hostile targets.

Additionally, the long-range Qadir radar system is three dimensional and can detect and track aerial threats up to a range of 1,100 kilometers.

Another radar system, called the Matla-ul-Fajr radar, is capable of tracking aerial threats and has a range of 500 kilometers. It can also detect different types of planes and drones.

The drills come at a time of increased belligerence against Iran by the new U.S. administration. President Trump, Defense Secretary James Mattis, and White House national security adviser Michael Flynn have all recently made anti-Iran remarks. In vague, threatening comments, Flynn said on Wednesday that Washington was “officially putting Iran on notice.”

The Islamic Republic has always stressed that its military might poses no threat to other countries. Recently, and in the face of the hostile public statements by the U.S., senior Iranian officials have voiced Iran’s readiness to defend itself. The IRGC drills are in fact being conducted partly to indicate such preparedness.

(Source: staff and agencies)

FEBRUARY 5, 2017FEBRUARY 5, 2017

I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

P O L I T I C S

MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

TEHRAN — The Kuwaiti embassy has dismissed recent

reports by some news outlets claiming that Kuwait has introduced travel ban on five Muslim countries including Iran.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the embassy stressed that the news are completely baseless and the country has not made any decisions on barring the nationals of the five countries, Mehr reported.

The embassy underscored that the nationals of the mentioned countries are currently residing in Kuwait with their families in full security and prosperity, enjoying all civil rights.

Kuwait rejects rumors of travel ban on Iranians

P O L I T I C Sd e s k

TEHRAN — The Australian ambassador to Tehran said on

Saturday that his country never forgets the dark record of the Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) terrorist group.

In a meeting on Saturday with Mohammad Javad Hasheminejad, the secretary general of the Habilian Foundation, Ian Biggs highlighted Iran’s role in maintaining regional stability and fighting terrorism, IRNA reported.

Australia supports international fight against Daesh and other terrorist groups in the region, Ambassador Biggs said, adding that such services are now underway in Iraq.

Australia never forgets dark history of MKO: envoy

P O L I T I C Sd e s k

Iranian baby gets visa waiver to undergo surgery in U.S.TEHRAN — Federal officials have granted a visa waiver to

Fatemeh Reshad, a four-month Iranian baby with a heart defect, to arrive in the U.S. with her parents for surgery.

“This evening we were pleased to learn that the federal government has now granted Fatemeh Reshad and her family boarding documents to come to the United States,” CNN quoted New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo as saying on Friday.

“We will continue to work with the International Refugee Assistance Project and their partners to ensure this baby receives the treatment she needs.”

P O L I T I C Sd e s k

P O L I T I C Sd e s k

Putin’s Syria envoy due in Tehran

TEHRAN — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy on

Syria is scheduled to travel to Tehran on Sunday.Alexander Lavrentiev will meet Iran’s Supreme

National Security Council chief Ali Shamkhani, ISNA reported on Saturday.

The news agency said the sides will discuss the latest developments surrounding Syria, especially the Astana meetings that are aimed at maintaining a ceasefire in Syria.

Iran, Russia, and Turkey are set to meet in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Monday to assess the situation in Syria on how to monitor the ceasefire in Syria which went into effect on December 30.

‘U.S. seeking to portray Iran as global threat’

TEHRAN — The political director of the presidential office has cen-

sured the recent anti-Tehran comments by some U.S. officials, saying Washington is trying to depict the Islamic Republic as a major global threat.

“America and some other weak, isolated coun-tries try to bring Iran back to the top of the list of (al-leged) global threats via tweets, interviews, yelling and calling for new strategies,” Hamid Aboutalebi said in a post on his Twitter account on Saturday.

P O L I T I C Sd e s k

New U.S sanctions violates JCPOA: MP

TEHRAN — The chairman of the Majlis National Security and

Foreign Policy Committee has denounced the U.S. administration’s move to impose new sanctions on the Islamic Republic as a violation of the JCPOA.

The imposition of the sanctions has its roots in Washington’s anger over the defeats of terrorists that it supports in the Middle East, Alaeddin Borou-jerdi said on Saturday, ISNA reported.

The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday put 13 Iranian people and 12 entities under new sanctions.

P O L I T I C Sd e s k

IRGC begins major aerial drills

1 On Friday the U.S. government also imposed sanctions on 25 individuals and entities which it claimed are connected to Iran’s missile program. Iran said the sanctions are against the UN Security Council Resolution 3321 which endorsed the nuclear agreement.

Takhtravanchi said, “We know what to do if the new U.S. government or any other government refuses to fulfill its commitments.”

He added, “We are interested in successful and full implementation of the JCPOA and we are not seeking to violate it, but we have plans if its implementation is endangered.”

Iran and the 5+1 group - the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia plus Germany - finalized the text of the JCPOA in Vienna on July 14, 2015. On

July 20, 2015, the UN Security Council turned the JCPOA into international law by endorsing the Resolution 3321.

The nuclear deal went into effect in January 2016.

Iran says ready if anything happens to nuclear deal

U.S. District Judge James Robart upheld cases brought by two states, Washington and Minnesota, and granted an order effectively suspending the U.S. visa ban and called it “unlawful”.

Judge Robart, who was appointed to his position by George W Bush, said the states who brought the case had demonstrated that the executive order had caused “immediate and irreparable injury”, The Telegraph reported on Saturday.

Trump’s press secretary Sean Spicer issued a strongly worded statement saying that the administration would appeal what he initially described as the judge’s “outrageous order”.

On January 27, Trump suspended all refugee admissions to the U.S. for four months and banned the entry of Syrian refugees indefinitely pending

a security review meant to ensure terrorists cannot slip through vetting. Trump also issued a 90-day ban on all entry to the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran.

U.S. judge blocks ‘unlawful’ travel ban

IRGC air defense chief Hajizadeh says U.S. threats against Iran are no more than a pile of rant.

TEHRAN — Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Friday saying

the U.S. move in imposing sanctions on 25 individuals and companies is illegitimate and contrary to the UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

The resolution 2231 was adopted on July 20, 215, endorsing the nuclear deal - officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - between Iran, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, Germany, and the European Union. Under the nuclear agreement Iran slowed down its nuclear agreement for a termination of the sanctions.

On Friday President Donald Trump’s administration imposed new sanctions on 25 individuals and companies connected to Iran’s missile program.

Following is an excerpt of the statement by the Foreign Ministry:

The Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Republic of Iran considers the U.S. government’s illegal action in adding new Iranian and non-Iranian individuals and institutions to the list of illegitimate sanctions under the pretext of recent missile test by Iran is contrary to the U.S. commitments and the spirit of the UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

The Development of missile capability is the right of the Iranian people based on international law and the UN Charter.

The Islamic Republic of Iran will take retaliatory and proper action if its people’s interests are targeted.

Iran will take action in exerting legal restriction on a number of the U.S. individuals and companies that help terrorists in the region.

Security of Iran is non-negotiable and the U.S. inconsiderate action will not stop Iran from following its principled policy in maintaining regional peace and stability and fighting terrorism and extremism.

Foreign Ministry: New U.S. sanctions is against UN Resolution 2231

1 He was echoing remarks by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, who had said when Trump was still campaigning for office that the Islamic Republic would burn the JCPOA if the U.S. tore it up.

Amir-Abdollahian also reiterated the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program, stressing that the country never aimed to develop nuclear weapons.

Iran and the P5+1 countries — the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia plus Germany — signed the JCPOA on July 14, 2015 and started implementing it on January 16, 2016.

Under the agreement, limits were put on Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for, among other things, the removal of all nuclear-related bans against the Islamic Republic.

The UN Security Council later unanimously endorsed a resolution that effectively turned the JCPOA into international law.

‘Iran’s missile tests defensive’Elsewhere in the interview, Amir-

Abdollahian referred to the recent hostile rhetoric and threats by American officials against Iran over the country’s latest missile test.

He emphasized that the missile test-launches do not pose a threat to any country in the region and are solely conducted to bolster Iran’s defense capabilities and protect its regional allies.

“The defense policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran is an internal matter. Given the complexity of today’s world, we are carefully working to improve the level of our defense,” the official said.

“Iran’s military programs are designed to protect the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Furthermore, they… exist to protect our friends in the region. There are some who are hostile to the West Asia region, the Middle East, and the Persian Gulf,” he added.

The U.S. has introduced new sanctions

by imposing bans on the banking transfers of 25 Iranian individuals and companies over the missile test.

‘U.S. visa ban political move’Touching on Washington’s recent ban on

the entry of travelers from some Muslim-majority countries — including Iran — into the U.S., Amir-Abdollahian said the move was politically motivated and had nothing to do with fighting terrorism.

Late last month, the U.S. president signed an executive order that blocked the entry of citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen into the United States for 90 days.

Amir-Abdollahian said Trump should have banned the citizens of countries that took part in the 9/11 attacks, but his blacklist neither includes those supporting terrorism nor those who created the Daesh and al-Qaeda terrorist groups, among them Saudi Arabia.

He said the Riyadh regime “has

contributed, and very significantly, to the expansion of terrorism across the region in recent years” but was not on the Trump’s travel ban list.

“Saudi Arabia, and especially its current rulers, have pursued a policy of war and aggression against the long-suffering Yemeni people, carried out a military intervention in Bahrain and supported terrorism in Syria,” Amir-Abdollahian said.

He further warned that the Saudi military campaign on Yemen could be fatal for Riyadh.

“We are concerned that [the] Yemen war could destroy the structure of Saudi army, destabilize Saudi Arabia itself and eventually lead to country’s disintegration,” he said.

Saudi Arabia has been incessantly pounding Yemen since March 2015 in a bid to reinstall the country’s former government, which was allied with Riyadh.

(Source: RT)

Iran’s response to JCPOA violation to be effective, immediate: advisor

P O L I T I C Sd e s k

P O L I T I C Sd e s k

TEHRAN — First Vice-President Es’haq Jahangiri said on Saturday

that Iran does not care about “threadbare” accusations against Iran by the U.S.

The new administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has recently ratcheted up its rhetoric against Iran. Trump himself, Defense Secretary James Mattis, and White House national security adviser Michael Flynn have all recently made anti-Iran comments. Mattis on Saturday called Iran “the single biggest state sponsor of terrorism in the world.”

Jahangiri said Iran is a stable country in the volatile Middle East region and has always helped improve the security situation in the region.

The vice president said such remarks are intended to undermine investment.

“They seek to slow down the country’s development and scare the domestic and foreign investors, but they should know that the Iranian people and officials attach no value to such comments. The investors are well aware that Iran has good development plans,” he stated.

Since the international nuclear deal between Iran and great powers went into force many foreign companies have signed contracts to invest in Iran.

He also said, “If they talk to Iran with a respectful language, the issues can be settled through dialogue and as the president [Hassan Rouhani] says, all can win.”

VP shrugs off U.S. accusations, calls them ‘threadbare’

France’s far-right party Leader Marine Le Pen kicked off her presidential campaign on Saturday, hoping promises to shield voters from globalization boost her chances at a time of French political turmoil.

Opinion polls see the 48-year old daughter of National Front (FN) founder Jean-Marie Le Pen topping the first round on April 23 but then losing the May 7 run-off to a mainstream candidate.

But in the most unpredictable election race France has known in decades, the FN hopes a two-day rally in Lyon, where Le Pen is spelling out her electoral platform, will help convince voters to back her.

“The aim of this program is first of all to give France its freedom back and give the people a voice,” Le Pen said in the introduction to the manifesto.

In 144 “commitments”, Le Pen proposes leaving the euro zone, taxes on the job contracts of foreigners, lowering the retirement age and increasing several welfare benefits while lowering payroll tax for small firms and income tax.

The manifesto also foresees reserving certain rights now available to all residents, including free education, to French citizens only, hiring 15,000 police, building more prisons, curbing migration and leaving NATO’s (North Atlantic Treaty

Organization) integrated command. Emmanuel Macron, a pro-European

centrist candidate whom polls say is likely to be Le Pen’s opponent in the presidential election run-off, will also hold a rally in Lyon on Saturday to propose a radically different platform.

“This presidential election puts two opposite proposals,” Le Pen said. “The ‘globalist’ choice backed by all my opponents ... and the ‘patriotic’ choice which I personify.”

EU overhaul pledge Buoyed by last year’s unexpected

vote to take Britain out of the European Union and Donald Trump’s election in the United States, the FN hopes to ride the same populist wave to victory.

“We were told Donald Trump would never win in the United States against the media, against the establishment, but he won... We were told Marine Le Pen would not win the presidential election, but on May 7 she will win,” Jean-Lin Lacapelle, a top FN official, told several hundred party officials and members.

If elected, Le Pen says she would immediately seek an overhaul of the European Union that would reduce it to a very loose cooperative of nations with no single currency and no border-free area. If, as is likely, France’s EU partners refuse to agree to this, she will call a

referendum to leave the EU. The electoral manifesto is short on

macro-economic details and does not give any public deficit or debt targets and does not explain how a Le Pen government would balance raising welfare benefits while cutting taxes.

The FN would combine leaving the euro with unorthodox policies including money printing, currency intervention and import taxes, Jean Messiha, who has overseen the drafting of Le Pen’s manifesto, told Reuters ahead of the rally.

While Le Pen is hoping to benefit from an unpredictable campaign that has seen the favorites drop out one after the other and that has caught up with hitherto favorite Francois Fillon, embroiled in a scandal over alleged ghost jobs for his wife, opinion polls still see her losing the second round.

And Le Pen and her party are also facing their own scandals, including one over assistants in the European Parliament and investigations over her 2012 campaign financing.

But that leaves grass-roots supporters undeterred. “We’re fighting to win the 2017 election,” said Victor Birra, the regional head of the FN youth association.

(Source: Reuters)

German weekly magazine Der Spiegel sparked controversy at home and abroad on Saturday with a front cover illustration of the United States President Donald Trump beheading the Statue of Liberty.

It depicts a cartoon figure of Trump with a bloodied knife in one hand and the statue’s head, dripping with blood, in the other. It carries the caption: “America First”.

The artist who designed the cover, Edel Rodriguez, a Cuban who came to the United States in 1980 as a political refugee, told The Washington Post: “It’s a beheading of democracy, a beheading of a sacred symbol.”

The cover set off a debate on Twitter and in German and international media, with Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, a member of Germany’s

Free Democrats (FDP/Free Democratic Party/Freie Demokratische Partei)

and vice president of the European Parliament, describing it as “tasteless”.

The cover follows a series of attacks on Berlin’s policies by Trump and his aides, marking a rapid deterioration in German relations with the United States. Chancellor Angela Merkel was the go-to European ally for former U.S. president Barack Obama, who praised her as “an outstanding partne”.

Last month, Trump said Merkel had made a “catastrophic mistake” with her open-door migration policy, and this week his top trade adviser said Germany was using a “grossly undervalued” euro to gain advantage over the United States and its European partners.

No one was available for comment on the Spiegel cover at the U.S. embassy in Berlin. (Source: AP)

Citizens of seven mainly Muslim countries banned from the United States by President Donald Trump can resume boarding U.S.-bound flights, several major airlines said on Saturday, after a Seattle judge blocked the executive order.

Qatar Airways was the first to say it would allow passengers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen to fly to U.S. cities if they had valid documents.

Air France, Spain’s Iberia and Germany’s Lufthansa all followed suit after the federal judge’s ruling, which the White House said it planned to appeal as soon as possible.

But the websites of two other major Persian Gulf airlines, Etihad and Emirates, still carried notices informing passengers of Trump’s original Jan. 27 order.

The travel ban, which Trump says is needed to protect the United States against militants, sparked travel chaos around the world and condemnation by rights groups who said it was racist and discriminatory.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection told airlines they could board travelers affected within hours of Friday’s ruling, but budget airline Norwegian, which operates transatlantic flights including from London and Oslo, said many uncertainties remained about the legal position.

“It’s still very unclear,” spokeswoman Charlotte Holmbergh Jacobsson said. “We advise passengers to contact the U.S. embassy ... We have to follow the U.S. rules.”

In Cairo, aviation sources said Egypt Air and other airlines had told their sales offices of Friday’s ruling and would allow people previously affected by the ban to book flights.

But for some who had changed their travel plans following the ban, the order was not enough reassurance.

VISA suspensionsTrump’s order caused chaos at airports

across the United States last week. Virtually all refugees were also barred, upending

the lives of thousands of people who had spent years seeking asylum in the U.S.

The State Department said on Friday that almost 60,000 visas were suspended following Trump’s order. It was not clear whether that suspension was automatically revoked or what reception travelers with such visas might get at U.S. airports.

The Washington state lawsuit was the first to test the broad constitutionality of Trump’s executive order. Judge James Robart, a George W. Bush appointee, explicitly made his ruling apply across the country, while other judges in similar cases have so far issued orders concerning only specific individuals.

The challenge in Seattle was brought by the state of Washington and later joined by the state of Minnesota. The judge ruled that the states have legal standing to sue, which could help Democratic attorneys general take on Trump in court on issues beyond immigration.

Washington’s case was based on claims that the state had suffered harm from the travel ban, for example students and faculty at state-funded universities

being stranded overseas. Amazon.com and Expedia, both based in Washington state, had supported the lawsuit, asserting that the travel restrictions harmed their businesses.

Tech companies, which rely on talent from around the world, have been increasingly outspoken in their opposition to the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant policies.

Judge Robart probed a Justice Department lawyer on what he called the “litany of harms” suffered by Washington state’s universities, and also questioned the use of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States as a justification for the ban.

Robart said no attacks had been carried out on U.S. soil by individuals from the seven countries affected by the travel ban since that assault. For Trump’s order to be constitutional, Robart said, it had to be “based in fact, as opposed to fiction.”

Meantime, the White House said in a statement: “At the earliest possible time, the Department of Justice intends to file an emergency stay of this outrageous

order and defend the executive order of the president, which we believe is lawful and appropriate.”

It added: “The president’s order is intended to protect the homeland and he has the constitutional authority and responsibility to protect the American people.”

Washington Governor Jay Inslee celebrated the decision as a victory for the state, adding: “No person - not even the president - is above the law.”

The judge’s decision was welcomed by groups protesting the ban.

“This order demonstrates that federal judges throughout the country are seeing the serious constitutional problems with this order,” said Nicholas Espiritu, a staff attorney at the National Immigration Law Center.

But the fluid legal situation was illustrated by the fact that Robart’s ruling came just hours after a federal judge in Boston declined to extend a temporary restraining order allowing some immigrants into the United States from countries affected by Trump’s three-month ban.

A Reuters poll earlier this week indicated that the immigration ban has popular support, with 49 percent of Americans agreeing with the order and 41 percent disagreeing. Some 53 percent of Democrats said they “strongly disagree” with Trump’s action while 51 percent of Republicans said they “strongly agree.”

At least one company, the ride-hailing giant Uber, was moving quickly on Friday night to take advantage of the ruling.

CEO Travis Kalanick, who quit Trump’s business advisory council this week in the face of a fierce backlash from Uber customers and the company’s many immigrant drivers, said on Twitter: “I just chatted with our head of litigation Angela, who’s buying a whole bunch of airline tickets ASAP!!”

(Source: agencies)

Another poll found President Trump’s approval rating is historically low The United States President Donald Trump, who entered the White House with historically low approval ratings, continues to receive record high disapproval ratings compared to his predecessors.

Two weeks into Trump’s presidency, a majority of people (53%) disapprove of how he is handling the job, while just 44% approve, according to a CNN/ORC poll released on Friday. Those numbers reflect the highest disapproval rating for a newly elected president since such figures were first tracked, according to CNN.

By comparison, former President Ronald Reagan’s initial approval rating of 51% was only slightly higher than Trump’s, but his disapproval rating (13%) was not nearly as high.

The poll results were sharply divided along partisan lines, with 90% of Republicans voicing approval for Trump and just 10% of Democrats saying the same.

CNN’s survey echoes the results of a recent Gallup poll, which found Trump to be the first president in the history of Gallup surveys with an initial job approval rating below 50%.

Since his inauguration, Trump has faced several high-profile protests, including a swift backlash to his immigration order last week. Americans surveyed by CNN were divided in their views on the immigration ban. While a majority (53%) said they oppose the order, 47% said they favor it.

The CNN survey of 1,002 adults, conducted between Jan. 31 and Feb. 2, has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.

(Source: Time)

FEBRUARY 5, 2017FEBRUARY 5, 2017 INTERNATIONALI N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

Trump’s travel ban blocked; airlines board barred travelers

German magazine sparks furor with image of Trump beheading Statue of Liberty

Le Pen kicks off campaign, promises French ‘freedom’

Trump pick for Secretary of Army Vincent Viola withdraws The United States President Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of the Army has withdrawn from consideration, White House officials confirmed on Friday.

Vincent Viola is West Point graduate and billionaire businessman who founded Virtu Financial Inc. and is owner of the Florida Panthers NHL (National Hockey League) franchise.

He is the first nominee to drop out before consideration. The White House officials did not give a reason for the move.

Viola’s decision was first reported by the Military Times, which said the move was partly due to strict Defense Department rules concerning business ties. The news organization said Viola said in a statement he was “deeply honored” to have been nominated.

(Source: NBC News)

4I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

E C O N O M Y FEBRUARY 5, FEBRUARY 5, 20172017

1 Eurozone growing

Separate data for the Eurozone bloc of countries showed that the composite PMI rose to 54.4, indicating that the economy is growing steadily, but more slowly than Britain.

Ireland’s economy is racing, with a PMI of 59.3, while

Germany and Spain are expanding solidly, recording scores of 54.8 and 54.7 respectively.

The French economy is also picking up pace - its read-ing of 54.1 represents the fastest expansion in more than five years.

“With jobs being created at the fastest rate since the global financial crisis, it certainly seems that companies are

looking to expand and are not overly concerned about how business might be affected by political uncertainty,” said Williamson.

“However, there remains a significant risk of political events subduing or even derailing the upturn, meaning we retain a cautious outlook for the Eurozone, with GDP likely to rise by only 1.5pc this year.” (Source: The Telegraph)

SNIPPETSIran to open 2 credit lines in S. Korea, Turkey

89% rise in number of cars transited via Iran’s Bahonar Port

China-Iran trade at $31.2b in 2016

TEHRAN — Iran plans to open two credit lines in South Ko-

rea’s Exim Bank and a bank in Turkey in near fu-ture, worth €175 million, to back imports from the named countries, IRNA quoted the managing di-rector of Export Development Bank of Iran (EDBI) on Saturday.

According to Ali Salehabadi, the intended credit in Korean bank is valued at €100 million, while the one in the Turkish bank is €75 million.

As he underscored, no dollar-based credit line will be opened.

TEHRAN — The number of au-tomobiles exported from and

imported into the southern Iranian port of Shahid Bahonar witnessed an 89-percent increase from the beginning of the present Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2016), the managing director of Bahonar Port and Maritime Administration announced.

As IRIB news quoted Mohammad Mohseni, dur-ing the said period 32,313 automobiles have been transited via Bahonar port in the southern province of Hormozgan.

The Iranian official noted that implementation of Iran’s nuclear deal in January 2016 has played a piv-otal role in the increase experienced in the number of transited cars.

TEHRAN — Trade between Iran and China slipped down to $31.2

billion in 2016, Tasnim news agency reported on Saturday.

Based on the latest data released by General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China, the announced figure shows 7.7 percent decrease compared to that of the preceding year.

The two countries’ bilateral trade in 2015 was reportedly above $33.8 billion.

Iran-China trade balance was more than $1.6 billion in 2016 and in China’s favor.

TEHRAN — Repre-sentatives of the tur-

boprop maker ATR will travel to Iran to-day to negotiate terms of a deal for the sale of at least 20 aircrafts, and in case of reaching final agreement, sign a con-tract, IRNA reported on Saturday.

According to Deputy Transport Min-ister Asghar Fakhrieh Kashan, the initial agreement has been signed between

ATR and Iranian flag carrier Iran Air and provided that the two sides reach an agreement on motor spare parts supply, the final contract will be signed.

The official estimated the value of the mentioned contract at about $400 mil-lion and said Iran is expected to receive four of the new aircrafts from the Tur-boprop maker by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2017).

ECONOMYd e s k

ECONOMYd e s k

ECONOMYd e s k

ECONOMYd e s k

ECONOMYd e s k

ATR to resume talks in Tehran today

Chinese online retailer Alibaba Group (BABA.N) opened its Australian and New Zealand headquar-ters in Melbourne on Saturday, its first expansion in the region as it seeks to tap growing global demand for products from the two countries.

The group’s billionaire founder Jack Ma, who spent time in Australia as a young man, said he hoped the e-commerce giant would help Australian and New Zealand businesses “share their world-fa-mous products with billions of customers around the world”.

Telecom Italia on Friday posted a better than expected 14.4 percent rise in full-year core earnings, helped by cost cuts and its domestic operations returning to growth.

Italy’s biggest phone group also said it would spend around 11 billion euros (9 billion pounds) in its home market over the next three years, with 5 billion euros of the total going on speeding up the installation of a nationwide ultrafast broadband network.

BMW AG is recalling about 230,000 vehicles in the U.S. after discovering that some may have been fitted with defective Takata Corp. air-bag inflators during repairs, such as after a crash in which the devices deployed.

The affected vehicles used air bags manufac-tured by Petri AG, a German partsmaker bought by Takata in 2000. If those vehicles needed a replace-ment air-bag module, Takata PSDI-4 inflators would have been used, BMW spokeswoman Rebecca Kiehne said.

NE

WS

IN B

RIE

F

Alibaba Group expands presence in Australia, New Zealand

Telecom Italia reports 14% rise in core earnings

Defective air bags found in repaired BMWs, spurring fresh recall

TEHRAN — Iran’s ex-ports of automobiles

and auto parts have reached $101 million during the first ten months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2016- January 19, 2017), Tasnim news agency reported on Saturday.

According to the report, the destina-tions for the mentioned products were 20 countries on top of which stood Iraq,

Afghanistan and Azerbaijan.Iran has also exported vehicles, com-

ponents and spare parts to Venezuela, Egypt, Poland, Kuwait, Qatar, Kazakhstan, France, Russia, Iraq, Sudan, Ivory Coast, the Czech Republic, Syria, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Jordan, Germany, China, Estonia, the Republic of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.

The country is scheduled to produce 1.35 million cars by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2017), according to Deputy Minister of Industry, Mining and Trade Mohsen Salehinia.

As the official underlined, the gov-ernment seeks to improve the quality as well as the quantity of the domestically produced cars on the way to boost their exports.

Automobile, auto part exports from Iran exceed $100m in 10 months

Iran has signed a flurry of deals with Western companies over the past year since the easing of international sanc-tions on Tehran after an accord was reached over its nuclear program.

Below is a list of deal and Memoran-dum of Understanding (MOU) Iran has signed over the past year.

Oil and gas France’s Total became in Novem-

ber 2016 the first oil major to sign a big deal with Tehran since the lifting of sanctions and agreed to help it develop the world’s largest gas field, South Pars.

Shell signed a provisional deal in December to develop Iranian oil and gas fields South Azadegan, Yadavaran and Kish in December.

Iran has named 29 companies from more than a dozen countries as being allowed to bid for oil and gas projects using the new, less restrictive contract model.

The firms include Shell, France’s To-tal, Italy’s Eni, Malaysia’s Petronas and Russia’s Gazprom and Lukoil, as well as companies from China, Austria, Japan and other countries.

Russia’s Zarubezhneft signed an MOU for a feasibility study on two joint fields in the west of the country.

Norway’s International Aker Solu-tions Company signed an MOU to modernize Iran’s oil industry.

Austria’s OMV signed in May an

MOU for projects located in the Zagros area in western Iran and the Fars field in the south.

South Korean Daewoo Engineering and Construction (Daewoo E&C) signed an MOU to carry out construction of an oil refinery in Bandar Jask on the south-ern coast of Iran.

Italy’s Saipem signed MOUs to co-operate on pipeline projects, upgrading of refineries and development of Tous gas field in the northeastern province of Khorasan Razavi.

Norwegian oil and gas company DNO said was the second western en-ergy company after Total to sign a deal with Iran under which it agreed to study the development of the Changuleh oil field in western Iran.

Lukoil, Russia’s second biggest oil producer, hopes to reach a decision on developing two new oilfields in Iran.

Germany’s Siemens AG signed an MOU in May to overhaul equipment and facilities at Iran’s oil operations and refineries.

BASF’s Wintershall oil and gas ex-ploration subsidiary signed a memo-randum of understanding (MOU) with the National Iranian Oil Company in April 2016.

Aviation Iran Air has ordered 100 aircraft

from Airbus and the first plane has al-ready been delivered.

Boeing has a deal to sell 80 air-craft to Iran Air and plans to arrange the lease of a further 29; the deal is not yet formally on the U.S. manufacturer ’s order book.

European turboprop maker ATR, half-owned by Airbus and Leonardo, has provisionally agreed to sell 20 tur-boprop aircraft with options for a fur-ther 20.

Automotives French carmaker PSA Group was the

Iranian market’s biggest foreign player with nearly 30 percent of sales prior to its withdrawal in 2011 due to sanctions pressure.

In June 2016, PSA signed a 400 mil-lion euro production joint venture re-newing the Peugeot brand’s longstand-ing partnership with Iran Khodro to build Peugeot 208, 2008 and 301 mod-els for the domestic market and export, starting in second half of 2017.

In October 2016, PSA finalized a new joint venture agreement with Citroen brand’s historic partner SAIPA to invest 300 million euros in the production of Citroen models at Iran’s Kashan plant, starting in 2018. Plans to open 150 dedicated Citroen outlets across Iran within five years.

Chemicals/IndustrialsGerman industrial group Siemens

has ties with Iran going back to the 1867 Indo-European telegraph. Re-

cently, it has been in negotiations with Iran over an order for track technology and intercity trains that could be worth over 2 billion euros. It signed a contract to upgrade Iran’s railway network in October.

Iranian media reports last year said German chemicals giant BASF was in talks with Iranian officials about investing in a multi-billion-dollar petrochemical com-plex. BASF has declined to comment on these.

The company has said it welcomed the lifting of sanctions and was strictly ad-hering to international rules and agree-ments. BASF has a sales office in Iran and some polyurethane foams operations for finished products with “currently very limited commercial activities”. It says it is observing the situation very closely.

BankingMajor global banks have so far shied

away from handling Iranian-related business, citing the ongoing risk of vi-olating ongoing U.S. sanctions. Among them is HSBC, which has said it has no intention of doing any new business in-volving Iran.

The Iranian central bank said in June 2016 that a few small European banks were among businesses that had links to the country, including Germany-based Europaeisch-Iranische Handelsbank AG and some small Italian lenders.

(Source: Reuters)

Iran’s projects with foreign firms since the easing of sanctions

Trump’s move on Iran could cost jobs at BoeingBoeing’s $8 billion deal to sell 80 jets to Iran Air was already in trouble before President Trump took office. Now it’s even more in doubt.

And that could mean trouble for American factory workers whose jobs depend on that sale.

Trump has long been harshly critical of the Iran nuclear deal which allowed the Obama administration to clear Boeing’s sale to Iran last December.

After he assumed office, he signed an immigration ban re-stricting people from seven Muslim-majority countries, includ-ing Iran, from entering the U.S. Then, after Iran performed a missile test, he issued a new round of Iranian sanctions Friday morning.

These new sanctions don’t specifically kill the Boeing deal, but they could make it harder for it to go through, should Iran retaliate and cancel the deal. A similar deal for European rival Airbus, to sell 100 Airbus jets to Iran for about $10 billion could also be in jeopardy. Since the Airbus jets are made with mostly U.S. parts, that sale also needs U.S. approval.

“This doesn’t end well for the jetliner deals,” said Richard Aboulafia, aviation analyst with the Teal Group.

Boeing wouldn’t comment directly on its outlook for the deal.

“We’re operating under our current...license,” said Boeing Friday. “Should we receive new guidance from the Treasury Department, we will act accordingly.”

The problem for Trump is that a hard line stance on Iran could hurt the U.S. manufacturing jobs he says are his top pri-ority. Boeing (BA) and its U.S. suppliers such as jet engine mak-ers GE (GE) and United Technologies (UTX) are major U.S. em-ployers. Boeing said at the time the Iran deal was announced that it would support nearly 100,000 jobs at the company and its suppliers.

Likewise, if Trump nixes the Airbus sale, that could cause problems for the U.S. aircraft parts makers, according to Adam Pilarski, vice president with industry consulting firm Avitas.

“That would really annoy the Europeans,” said Adam Pi-larski, vice president with industry consulting firm Avitas. “And that could cause problems for the U.S. because it could move the Europeans not to rely as much on American parts.”

Aboulafia said the Trump administration doesn’t necessarily have to block these deals for them to fall through. He said Trump’s tougher stance on Iran could hurt their ability to fi-nance an Iran purchase with western banks, since they might be reluctant to sign on to risky deals.

“If nothing else, the climate for financing jets is going to get worse and worse, and that alone could kill the deal,” he said. “That risk premium was already pretty high.” Neither Iran nor Boeing or Airbus have provided details on the financing particulars, he said.

(Source: CNN)

The deal securing the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program has helped the country to substantially increase its oil sales, Chairman of the Iranian parlia-ment’s Foreign Policy and National Se-curity Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi said on Friday.

The official said the country’s enemies had imposed sanctions on Iran in order to prevent it from using its extensive oil

and gas resources.“Despite enemies’ economic war

against Iran, we were able to increase oil export from 1 million b/pd [barrel per day] to 2.4 million b/pd by raising ex-ploitation of oil fields,” Boroujerdi said in a local ceremony, as cited by the IRNA news agency.

Boroujerdi called for the enforcement of the policies of the Economy of Re-

sistance as outlined by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, saying that the policy would help in re-solving the country’s economic issues.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed by Iran, the European Union and the P5+1 group of countries comprising Russia, China, France, the United States and the United Kingdom plus Germany. The deal stipu-

lates that Iran must maintain a peace-ful nature of its nuclear program in ex-change for sanctions relief.

The Economy of Resistance, as de-fined by the Iranian supreme leader, is meant to be a safeguard of domestic in-dustries and the country’s finances from foreign competition and international influence.

(Source: Sputnik)

Iranian nuclear deal helps Tehran increase oil sales: Foreign Policy Commission

Britain set for economic battle between strong growth and soaring prices

FEBRUARY 5, FEBRUARY 5, 20172017 5I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

ADVERTISEMENT

Hillary Clinton claimed Trump was “temperamentally unfit” to be President, and in recent months many people the world over have reached the same

conclusion.Clinton was, of course, Trump’s political opponent, but

some psychologists have now started questioning his state of mind.

Until recently, psychologists weren’t allowed to assess public figures and talk to journalists about their findings. But this rule is now being cast aside and mental health experts are speaking out about Trump.

In a bid to warn the public, psychologists are publishing their diagnoses of Trump. Most recently, John D. Gartner said Trump “is dangerously mentally ill and temperamentally incapable of being president.”

He believes Trump shows signs of “malignant narcissism,” which is defined as a mix of narcissism, antisocial personality disorder, aggression and sadism in Campbells’ Psychiatric Dictionary.

Narcissism is in fact one of the most common diagnoses of Trump from psychologists: “Narcissism impairs his ability to see reality so you can’t use logic to persuade someone like that,” clinical psychologist Dr. Julie Futrell told NY Daily News.

“Three million women marching? Doesn’t move him. Advisers point out that a policy choice didn’t work? He won’t care.”

In December, three leading professors of psychiatry wrote to Barack Obama expressing their grave concerns over Trump’s mental stability:

“His widely reported symptoms of mental instability - including grandiosity, impulsivity, hypersensitivity to slights or criticism, and an apparent inability to distinguish between fantasy and reality - lead us to question his fitness for the immense responsibilities of the office,” the professors from Harvard Medical School and the University of California wrote to the then President, urging him to order a “full medical and neuropsychiatric evaluation” of the then President-elect.

Warning of Trump’s psychosisJust after the election, a group called Citizen Therapists

Against Trumpism was created, which was joined by thousands of psychologists. They published a manifesto warning of Trump’s psychosis, citing the following as the signs to fear:

“Scapegoating and banishing groups of people who are seen as threats, including immigrants and religious minorities; degrading, ridiculing, and demeaning rivals and

critics; fostering a cult of the Strong Man who appeals to fear and anger; promises to solve our problems if we just trust in him; reinvents history and has little concern for truth (and) sees no need for rational persuasion.”

The American Psychiatry Association has a nine-point checklist for narcissism - if someone displays just five of the traits, they have Narcissistic Personality Disorder:

1. Has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements).

2. Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love.

3. Believes that he or she is “special” and unique and

can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions).

4. Requires excessive admiration.5. Has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable

expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations.

6. Is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends.

7. Lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others.

8. Is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her.

9. Shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes.Even Trump’s most ardent supporters might struggle to

deny the President displays at least five of those characteristics. Fake news

Through numerous interviews and his infamous tweeting sprees, it seems Trump only believes facts that praise him - anything else is ‘fake news’ in his eyes. And according to psychologists, this pathological disconnection from reality is dangerous.

He surrounds himself with people who admire and applaud him, and goes on angry tirades against journalists who enrage him by daring to suggest anything negative about him.

Trump’s team will only tell him what he wants to hear, thus pandering to his narcissistic and sociopathic ways.

“With Trump, he’s a disturbed person who protects himself by building up his ego and tearing down others,” an anonymous psychologist explained to the NY Daily News.

One woman who used to be one of Trump’s construction workers, Barbara Res, emailed the NY Daily News with a story from 1982 when she was working on one of his construction sites. The NY Times had just published an article about narcissism, which one of the team-members brought to work.

“Being the team who was charged with building Trump Tower, we all knew Donald Trump very well, especially myself. To a person, we all agreed that the characteristics outlined in the article fit Donald to a ‘T’. Now, 35 years later, professionals are saying what we knew back then. Only now he is so much worse.”

For a “severe narcissist” like the President, the need to maintain the self-image is so great that he “bends reality to fulfill whatever fantasy about power, wealth, beauty, etc. he maintains” Futrell added.

The Citizen Therapists’ manifesto believes Trump’s egotistical ways are creating “the illusion that real Americans can only become winners if others become losers.”

“Simply stated, Trumpism is inconsistent with emotionally healthy living.”

However some mental health experts believe we should be wary of psychologists diagnosing someone they’ve never met:

The University of Glasgow’s Professor of Psychiatry Daniel Smith told The Independent: “It’s considered not very ethical or good practice to comment on things like this if you’ve never assessed the individual. It’s also important to remember that there’s a difference between personality disorder and mental illness.”

But nonetheless, as more psychologists speak out, the more worrying the situation appears.

(Source: Independent)

By Rachel Hosie

FEBRUARY 5, 2017FEBRUARY 5, 20176I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

INTERNATIONAL

In a bid to warn the public, psychologists are publishing their diagnoses of Trump. Most recently, John D. Gartner

said Trump “is dangerously mentally ill and temperamentally incapable of being president.”

More and more mental health experts are sharing their diagnoses to warn the public

Trump displays ‘malignant narcisissm’, claim psychologists

Proudly introduces the First class luxurious hotel apartment located in the heart of the city Tehran. The newly constructed section has an

enormous segments of rooms with all the amenities, Experience the TAJ MAHAL

advantage & Hospitality 24/7

Enjoy the authentic North Iranian unique culinary, Experience the home made country style recipes!!

Enjoy the original taste of India !! The professional chef prepares the amazing varieties of kebabs ,

Tandoori nans, Biryani, veg or non-veg curries and the famous Indian desserts.

TAJ MAHAL HOTEL

TAJ MAHAL INDIAN RESTAURANT

TAJ MAHAL ANNOUNCES ITS SECOND RESTAURANT MAHI – MAHI Adress: No.29 South Sheikhbahaei Ave. Mollasadra Ave., Vanak Sq. Tehran – Iran

Http: //www.tajmahalhotel.ir E-mail: info@tajmahalhotel.ir

Tel: (+9821) 88035444(20) Fax: (+9821) 88057399 Cellphone: (+98910) 789 52 83

A N A L Y S I SFEBRUARY 5, FEBRUARY 5, 20172017 7I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

T rump’s recent executive or-der on U.S. entry ban ex-cludes countries like Saudi

Arabia, yet does not change any-thing about his anti-Saudi remarks.

“The defense of Saudi Arabia is vital to the defense of the United States,” Roozvelt had said back in 1943. The United States and Sau-di Arabia have been allies enjoying solid ties since 1945, the time when the vitality of such an oil resource became clear for the then U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt.

Jimmy Carter ’s policy, “Cart-er Doctrine”, which took effect on 1980, fortified the ties further. “Let our position be absolutely clear : An attempt by any outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an as-sault on the vital interests of the United States of America, and such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force,” was the key conclusion of Carter ’s State of Union Address on January 1980 that set the ground for policies deterring Soviet Union’s influence in the Middle East and defending US’ national interests in the region.

The tradition has been persis-tent throughout the history during terms of different presidents yet an exception emerged during the 2016 presidential election campaigns; Donald Trump.

Trump started his anti-Sau-di campaign by calling the king-dom “big, big trouble” when he announced his candidacy for the presidential nomination. Later he announced that he would consider stopping U.S. oil purchase from the Saudis and also other Arab allies during his campaign as the Repub-lican’s front-runner. He made the comments in an interview with New York Times back in March 2016 on his foreign policy. In response to a question about whether, if elected president, he would halt oil pur-chases from U.S. allies unless they

provided on-the-ground forces against ISIL, Trump said “probably yes.”

“We’re not being reimbursed for the kind of tremendoU.S. service that we’re performing by protecting varioU.S. countries. Now Saudi Ara-bia’s one of them,” Trump has not-ed. Trump even went further saying that Saudi Arabia owes its existence

to U.S. and its unwavering protec-tion “If Saudi Arabia was without the cloak of American protection, I don’t think it would be around.”

Maybe at first many believe that this is again one of his strange re-marks during the campaign but surprisingly this was not the last time. Trump continued the tradition during the campaign in his major speeches. Trump continuously un-derlined that his policy regarding US’ Arab allies particularly Sau-di Arabia would be different. On August, Trump had an interview with NBC during which he said he is ‘not a big fan of the kingdom.’ “The primary reason we’re with Saudi Arabia is because we need the oil,” Trump said. “Now we don’t need the oil so much, and if we let our people really go, we wouldn’t need the oil at all and we could

let everybody else fight it out,” he said. Trump also criticized Saudi Arabia’s intervention in Yemen and said that the kingdom would soon need help “Saudi Arabia is going to be in big trouble pretty soon and they’re going to need help, because if you look at Yemen and you look at that border, you don’t have to be an expert to know that is one long border, and they’re not going in for Yemen, they’re going in for the oil, they’re going in for Saudi Arabia, so Saudi Arabia is going to need help,” Trump said in the same interview.

Trump’s anti-Saudi remarks can even be traced in presidential de-bates. “We defend Japan, we de-fend Germany, we defend South Korea, we defend Saudi Arabia, we defend countries. They do not pay us. But they should be pay-ing us, because we are providing

tremendoU.S. service and we’re losing a fortune. That’s why we’re losing—we’re losing—we lose on everything. I say, who makes these—we lose on everything,” Trump said in first presidential de-bate with Hilary Clinton.

During the same debate Trump underlined that these countries ei-

ther have to defend themselves or pay for the services they receive from the United States. Trump even touched upon the human rights issues in Saudi Arabia during the third debate “these are people that kill women and treat women horri-bly. And yet you take their money; why don’t you give back the mon-ey that you’ve taken from certain countries that treat certain groups of people so horribly? Why don’t you give back the money?” Trump said to Hillary Clinton criticizing her for receiving money from Saudi Arabia.

Persian Gulf Arab states, largely Saudi Arabia as the leader of the coalition against Syrian govern-ment and Yemen, are really con-cerned about Trumps’ approach against terrorism and his will for cooperation with Syria and Russia.

The cooperation would have tragic results for Arab states that have in-vested heavily in opposition groups to topple President Bashar Assad, the idea Trump doesn’t support. He has also made it clear that he wouldn’t help financially the oppo-sition groups despite the Obama’s government.

JASTA is another concern for Saudi Arabia. The Justice against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, enacted during last days of Obama’s term, allows Americans to sue Saudi Ara-bia and its officials for complicity in the 9/11 attacks. For sure the real intention behind JASTA was not terrorism and suing Saudis, which would have dire consequences for Washington-Riyadh strategic ties; JASTA was approved to be used as a leverage to impose pressure on Saudi Arabia to grant more privi-leges to U.S. in the region and also let Americans confiscate Saudi as-sets invested in US.

Riyadh reacted to developments in the United states, namely JASTA and election of Trump to presiden-cy, by suspending its investment in U.S. to rethink its financial strategy toward Washington. Sources also announced Saudi Arabia would re-consider its initial public offering (IPO) of the Saudi largest state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco on New York Stock Exchange.

Trump’s anti-Saudi remarks also could be interpreted in the same concept. His stance against the Sau-di Arabia caused greater concern for the kingdom when it became clear that he would run the Arab country’s powerful ally for the next four years. Trump closed a number of companies associated with Sau-di Arabia before his inauguration

as the U.S. president, reportedly to “avoid potential conflicts of inter-ests” after taking the office.

Trump started his presidency with signing an executive order on banning nationals of 7 countries including Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The act does not enlist countries like Saudi Arabia yet Trump announced in an interview with ABC News that citi-zens of countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia would face extreme vetting; “We are ex-cluding certain countries. But for other countries, we’re gonna have extreme vetting. It’s going to be very hard to come in. Right now it’s very easy to come in. It’s gonna be very, very hard. I don’t want terror in this country,” Trump said.

Few days later, Trump and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman had a tele-phone conversation during which

they agreed to support safe zones in Syria and Yemen, according to White House statement. They had also agreed on strengthening joint efforts to fight against ISIL. “The president requested, and the King agreed, to support safe zones in Syria and Yemen,” the statement said. The statement also said Saudi king has invited Trump “to lead a Middle East effort to defeat terror-ism and to help build a new future, economically and socially,” for Sau-di Arabia and the region. Promis-ing financial supports and funding for creating safe zones in Syria and Yemen indicates Saudi Arabia is well concerned about Trump’s poli-cies and try to bribe him into closer ties. The idea of creating safe zones in Syria was raised during Obama administration, but went off the ta-ble when Pentagon estimated it to cost some $1 billion each month.

The deal clearly indicates what new strategic ties would mean for U.S. and Saudi Arabia. Obviously Washington and Riyadh will remain closest allies and that would be simplistic to imagine the breakup of the 70-year relations under acts like JASTA or a president like Trump. Saudi Arabia needs U.S. for security reasons and its support regardless of all Saudis’ crimes in the region. US, on the other hand, is heavily de-pendent on geopolitical and strate-gic position of Saudi Arabia in Mid-dle East, its oil and economy and its support for the Zionist regime. Lat-est developments, well-organized by the United States, would result in more privileged Washington who would use every single opportunity to threaten the kingdom and make it compensate for it, thU.S. moving forward its own national interests in the region.

By Parnaz Talebi

“The defense of Saudi Arabia is vital to the

defense of the United States,” Roozvelt has

said back in 1943.

Obviously Washington and Riyadh will remain closest allies

and that would be simplistic to imagine the breakup of the 70-

year relations under acts like JASTA or a president like Trump.

“We’re not being

reimbursed

for the kind of

tremendoU.S.

service that we’re

performing by

protecting varioU.S.

countries. Now

Saudi Arabia’s one

of them,” Trump has

noted.

Anti-Saudi Trump; will it work?

FEBRUARY 5, 2017FEBRUARY 5, 20178I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

ADVERTISEMENTS

Ask Us Your Required Short Term / Long Term Furnished &Unfurnished Apartments.

آپارتمان هاى كوتاه مدت و بلند مدت مبله و غير مبله مورد نياز خود را از ما بخواهيد.

Holder of

ISO 9001:2008

ISO 10004:2012

ISO 10002:2014

From Oxford Cert Universal

Awesome Apt. in Kamranieh, 280 sq.m,11th floor, 3 Bdrs, fully furn,

bright living room, pool/gym, 2 Pkg, $5500

Mr.Nader: 09128440157

Amazing Apt in Zafaraniyeh400 sq.m, 4Bdrs.,8th floor,big balcony,nice lobby,lux furn,

$10.0000 NegotiableMs.Sara 09128103207

Apt in Kamranieh250 sq.m,3Bdrs.,15th floor furn/

unfurn,green garden,lobby,Spj & gym,$4500 Suitable for Diplomats

Ms.Diba: 09128103206

Amazing Apt in Fereshteh 180 sq.m,3Bdrs.,7th floor

Stone floor, elegant balconyPool/gym, fully furn

Mr.Nader: 09128440157

Apt in Elahieh 150 sq.m,2 Bdrs.,luxury furn, excellent view, nice balcony,lobby,Spj,$3500Ms.Diba: 09128103206

Affordable Apt in Velenjak172 sq.m, 1st floor, 3 Bdrs., fully fur, stone floor,$2000 Mr.Nader: 09128440157

Amazing Villa in DarousTriplex, 410 Sq.m, built up in 1250 Sq.m land, 4 Bdrs., green garden,

3 pkg lot, $7000Mr. Nader: 09128440157

Villa in DarousDuplex,1100 Built up in

2500 Land, 5 Bdrs., completely renovated,2 big saloons, big &

beautiful garden, Outdoor pool, Pkg Lots, Suitable for residence,

$20000Ms.Diba: 09128103206

Amazing Villa in Kamraniehduplex ,750 sq.m, 8 Bdrs. ,

renovated , full furn, ceramic floor, driver room,balcony, 4Pkg ,$ 15.000

suitable for foreign embassiesMr. Nader: 09128440157

Villa in Qeytariehduplex ,700 Sq.m, 5 Bdrs., luxury furn, outdoor pool , nice garden,

servant quarters, cozy place, Suitable for Embassies for residence, reasonable price Ms.Diba: 09128103206

whole building in Zafaranieh2 floors, 850 Sq.m built up, 4 Apts.

totally + suite, completely renovated, 2-side entrances, servant quarters, yard, Pkg lot., Suitable

for Embassies, $16000Ms. Diba: 09128103206

whole building in Jordan9-Storey, each unit 127 Sq.m, fully

furn, 30 Bdrs., 15 Pkg lot, renovated, stone floor, suitable for

foreign companies,$35000Mr.Nader: 09128440157

whole building in Zafaranieh3 floor, each floor 450sq.m, totally

17 rooms. renovated,outdoor pool,nice green garden Ready for Renting To Embassies

or residenceMs.Diba: 09128103206

whole building in Jordancommercial building

110 Sq.m,3 rooms, too many Pkg, guest Pkg, completely renovated,

$40 Per Sq.m, suitable for foreign companies

Ms.Diba: 09128103206

Apt in Elahieh 180 sq.m,3 Bdrs flat, full furn, Spj

& Pkg, good access , only $3000Ms.Sara 09128103207

Modern Apt. in Jordan5th floor, 2 Bdrs., 120 Sq.m, fully

furn, lobby, $1800Mr. Nader: 09128440157

Luxury Apt. in Jordan4th Fl., 200 sq.m, 3 bdrs,

fully furn, Pkg, 3000 USDMs.Diba: 09128103206

Affordable Apt. in Elahieh250 Sq.m, 3 Bdrs, balcony, back yard, fully furn, ceramic floor,

for only $2500Mr.Nader: 09128440157

150 sq.m, 3 Bdrs., full furn, quiet place, Pkg, Suitable for Diplomat, $2000

Ms.Diba: 09128103206

Apt. in Farmanieh1st Fl., 90 sq.m, 2 Bdrs,

fully furn, Pkg, 3000 USDMs.Diba: 09128103206

زعفرانيه95 متر، برج كليد نخورده، نوساز،

پاركينگ، انبارى ، 10 خط تلفنفربد: 09128484216

محموديه340 متر،3 خواب + سوئيت مجزا، در مجموعه ايى خاص و بى نظير،

فول امكانات، نوساز، 100٪ فروشندهنادرنيا: 09128440152

فرشته600 متر بناى لوكس در

طرف،متريال عالى، مجموعه بى نظير و خاص، ديد از چهار ارتفاع البى 6 متر،4 پاركينگ

نادرنيا: 09128440152

الهيه310 متر، نوساز، 3 خواب، تك واحدى، 3

پاركينگ، نقشه عالى،سوپرلوكسفربد: 09128484216

زعفرانيه220 متر، 3 خواب، طبقات باالديد عالى، تكواحدى و نوساز،

2 پاركينگ، خوش نقشه، فول امكاناتنادرنيا: 09128440152

New Administrative license Bldg.

500 sq.m office, open office, Pkg,

highway, Suitable for Foreign Compa

nies, $45 per Sq.m

Ms.Diba: 09128103206

Luxurious Italian Style office in Argantine

300 Sq.m, 7 rooms, Fully Furnished, 5

Pkg, $50 per Sq.m

Mr. Nader: 09128440157

Luxury Office in Vanak

Duplex, 1200 sq.m built up, lobby, Pkg,

Suitable for Foreign Companies

Ms.Diba: 09128103206Administrative license Office

In Jordan

85 Sq.m,4 rooms high security, Good

Access furnished,10 Tel Lines,$1700

Ms.Sara: 09128103207

Office in Jordan110 Sq.m,3 rooms, completely renovated,

guest Pkg, nice lobby, clean, hogh security,

reasonable price, Suitable for Foreign Companies

Ms.Diba: 09128103206Office in Mirdamad

5th floor, 110 Sq.m, 4 Bdrs., fully furn,

12 tel lines, $2800

Mr. Nader:09128440157Office in Jordan

110 Sq.m,3 rooms, completely renovated,

guest Pkg, nice lobby, clean, hogh security,

reasonable price, Suitable for Foreign Companies

Ms.Diba: 09128103206Administrative license building in

Vozara/Argantine500 Sq.m, open office, nice balcony, lobby,

Pkg lot, high security, full of foreign companies

Ms.Diba: 09128103206

By Stephanie Lee

FEBRUARY 5, 2017FEBRUARY 5, 2017 9I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

Why self-control isn’t the reason you can’t meet your goals

When we opt for the elevator over the stairs, swear we’ll start eating healthier on

Monday, or skip that morning workout, we tend to blame our lack of self-con-trol and willpower.

But what if this lack of self-control is just a cop out? After all, any time you engage in self-sabotaging behavior, it’s easy to convince yourself that it’s because you’re weak or lazy to allow yourself to continue doing what you’re doing.

But maybe the underlying reason why you “can’t” just pass the elevator, “can’t” say no to the cookie, or “can’t” get off the couch to go to the gym is that you haven’t recognized your pri-orities and what you truly value: your why. Without knowing your why, it’s much harder to align your actions—no matter how big or small—with what you want to work toward.

Self-control still matters

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not say-ing self-control is dumb and unneces-sary. We still need self-control to beat our impulsive nature into submission and help us toward what’s good for us instead of what just feels good in the moment (think: going to the gym in-stead of Netflix and chilling).

Rather, I merely think blaming the problem on a lack of self-control is like putting the cart before the horse. That is: No amount of self-control is going to keep you from consistently turning down donuts or saying yes to yoga if you don’t know why you need self-control in the first place.

Why do you need to restrain your-self from eating that cake? Because you know it’s “bad” just doesn’t cut it. Why should you get up off the couch and do something active? Because you want to “have a better body” isn’t much more illuminating either.

Think of your why as a sort of GPS and your self-control as the car to help get you there.

Find your deepest why

What you really want and value aren’t always immediately obvious. So to find your why, bust out a pen and paper—we’re going old-school with this. The purpose of this writing exer-cise (borrowed from fitness coach JC Deen) is to help you dig up your deep-est motivation for why you want to do something.

Start by thinking about your current goal. Let’s say you want to lose weight. Write it down and then ask yourself,

“Why?” Maybe it’s because you want fit into your jeans from college again. Okay. Why? Because you think it will make you look hot. Why? And out comes your real why: You want to feel confident in yourself.

You could even do this exercise for smaller habit changes like “drink more water every day” or “go to bed earlier.” Once you’ve discovered your true why, write it down and keep it somewhere you can see (maybe you post it on your bathroom mirror, at your desk at work, or set it as the background on your phone). This way, when you’re sidetracked by temptations or start to wonder what the right choice is, it’ll serve as a powerful reminder.

Use your why to guide deci-

sions

Once you’ve figured out your why, you can now go forth and use your powers for good! Develop better self-control by doing the following:

1. Understand the “risks versus

rewards”

The idea of risk versus reward is of-ten used in finance, but it’s applicable in various areas of your life, including fitness and weight loss-related deci-sions.

By weighing the risk of a decision against your goal, you are teaching yourself to take a step back rather than simply going with the “act now, think

later ” approach.Let’s say your goal is weight loss.

For a coworker ’s birthday, someone kindly brought a store-bought, vanilla-flavored cake. Here, the potential re-ward is your enjoyment of the cake. Enjoyment might be lukewarm since —let’s say—vanilla is not exactly your favorite. The risk of your decision to eat the cake might be regret, or worse, setting off the idea that you might as well eat junk the rest of the day. You weigh the risks and decide that the re-ward is not worth it and that you might as well save it for something else that’ll totally be worth the risk and make you say “heck yes!”

2. Just do things now

When you say something like “I’ll start my diet on Monday,” or “I’ll work out more when things slow down at the office,” you’re offloading the responsi-bility of making decisions to change to the “future you.”

You hope that “future you” will mi-raculously take up responsibility for making the better and healthier de-cisions. Except in reality, “future you” is equally as foolish and probably just as likely to make similar excuses. And on and on the cycle goes. So rather than just hoping for “future you” to be a hero, take action now. As Kelly McGonigal, psychology professor at Stanford University wrote in her book,

The Willpower Instinct, “A short prac-tice that you do every day is better than a long practice you keep putting off to tomorrow.” This way, “future you” actually does have a chance to con-tinue making the choices that enrich your life. And really, the more you do it, the easier it’ll be to continue making the right choices.

The takeaway

Once you truly know why you want something, it becomes easier to prior-itize your goals, to develop skills like better willpower and self-control, and to keep your values front-of-mind in everything you do.

“We need to separate the real re-wards that give our lives meaning from the false rewards that keep us distract-ed and addicted. Learning to make this distinction may be the best we can do,” writes McGonigal. In other words, you do things because you want to, not because you feel like you should. Plus, if your priorities, values, and actions all align, then you’re less likely to feel stressed, guilty, or overwhelmed (all of which could contribute to a greater loss of self-control).

So if you have a goal to reach—whether it’s to get fit, lose weight, or simply be more active—you can at-tempt (and likely fail) to bulldoze your way through it with willpower and self-control. But if you don’t know what you value or your priorities, throwing your hands up and walking away will be all too easy. (Source: greatist.com)

HEALTH & MEDICINE

Once you truly know why you want something, it becomes easier to prioritize your goals, to develop skills like better willpower and self-control,

and to keep your values front-of-mind in everything you do.

Think of your why as a sort of GPS and your self-control as the car to help get you there.

By Adam Erace

This bizarre new watersport is taking over the world

The lifejacket snaps lock with a reassuring click, and Eddie, an amused associate at Saint Lucia’s Viceroy Sugar Beach resort, smiles. “It’s just like getting on a bicycle,” he says, encouragingly.

We’re on the southwestern coast of the island, in the clear shal-lows of Anse de Pitons, and I’m about to try the next great water-sport: waterbiking.

Floating in front of me is the Schiller S1, a $4,500 contraption that’s part bicycle, part catamaran—with a promise that you can pedal it across any body of water. And if creator Judah Schiller has his way, it’ll soon be on the amenity list at every great resort. “We’re at the start of new industry, category, and sport,” he told me. “In five years, I think there will be Schiller Bikes on every hotel beach around the world.”

Eddie gives the back of the bike a light push, and I’m pedaling into the Caribbean, away from the powdery shores of Sugar Beach and Saint Lucia’s majestic green Piton mountains.

Riding out is easy. The water ski-like pontoons resemble bumpers at a kid’s bowling alley birthday party, holding the carriage above the frothy surf as the sea’s sandy bottom drops away. Everything is very stable; during the safety briefing, there wasn’t even talk of what to do should you fall off, because you won’t. The anodized aluminum bike frame is svelte and lightweight, and one rotation of the pedals gives the propeller eight spins, so it takes very little physical effort (and just two minutes) to put me 50 yards offshore. Before long, I’m skimming along a French-flag mega-yacht anchored in the bay, close enough to see my reflection in its cold, mirrored starboard.

The thing about riding a bike in the middle of a large body of wa-ter is that people stare. Suddenly no one’s looking at the multimillion-dollar yacht: they’re all looking at the curious spec of a bike doing leisurely loops through the bay.

Outside the leisure market, a community is growing. Early adop-ters are creating and recording routes, charting territory through Austin’s Lady Bird Lake and around France’s Cap d’Ail and sharing it on social media.

“You get a few people riding together and eventually, some-one’s going to start racing,” Schiller says. “You get athletes to race and you’ve got a sport.” To that point: Schiller is in the final stages of organizing a waterbike race with a “royal-backed foundation” in the south of France next summer.

After biking the length of the yacht, I stop pedaling, stand up on the pontoons, and just float for a minute. My heart rate’s elevated, partly because waterbiking is one of those sneaky workouts you don’t really feel until you’re halfway through, and partly because of the thrill of being this far out on the water, raised up over it, feeling exposed, rather than down in it, cocooned in a kayak’s polyethylene shell or secure on the surface of a surfboard. Schiller calls it a “glass-bottom viewing experience.”

The water is too deep (over 200 feet) and too dark for me to see the rays and turtles and nurse sharks cruising below. (Perhaps for the best.) But I see the water. It’s right there. It’s like the difference between riding a regular roller coaster and a floorless one: the less between you and the elements, the better.

“You don’t have that on a kayak or a stand-up paddleboard. That’s why the Schiller bike is disruptive,” Schiller says, ticking off to-day’s favorite buzzword. The verdict is pending as to whether inves-tors agree; Schiller is pursuing Series A capital this month with the aim to transform it from global beach resort fitness toy into a true industry.

I can tell you that the ride has definitely disrupted my out-of-shape self. Pedaling back to shore, against the current, requires more effort than I anticipated or am prepared to exert on vacation. But I make it back. Fortunately, Eddie isn’t there to see my sweat-drenched face.

I trot across the beach to my wife and flop on a fluffy, white lounge chair: “Water,” I croak. She side-eyes me, “Are you serious?”

My chances in the French summer race don’t look good.(Source: Bloomberg)

Rain Real EstateElahiyeh:200sq 3bdr

fully furnished swimming pool

4000USD

office tel:22248546Mr.Mohamad:

09379160826

IraniaHOMEReal Estate

SH.LAVASANI09123103526

Tel: 88888007 Fax: 88675936www.iraniahome.com

Email: info@iraniahome.com

ea s a e

SHSH LLAVAVASASANANII

villa - Elahie 1000 SQM land - 1000 SQM

built up Quite fantastic full facilities - access to all

ready to move in Fair price Ahrabi 09192571076

مالكين محترم: ويال و آپارتمان مبله شما را جهت اجاره به ديپلماتها نيازمنديم

Elahieh: 200 Sq.m , 3 bedrs, nice view, f,furn. 2500$

Jordan: 160 Sq.m , 3 bedrs, marble floor, f.furn. 1800$

Villa in Zaferanieh : 1600 Sq.m Land,Duplex, 6 bedrs, s/p. nice garden, un furn.8500$

Villa in Elahieh: 1800 Sq.m Land, 1000 Sq.m Built up, 10 rooms, indoor S/P, Nice garden, 10000 $

Mr. Arvin09121434592

PALLADIUM MALL

Add: No901, Palladium mall Tel & fax: 021-22656523

E-Mail: Topplan.palladium@gmail.comملك شما را با شرايط ايده آل

جهت اجاره به خارجي نيازمنديم

KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA TEHRAN (Embassy of India School) Employment Notice

To prepare a select panel of Teaching/Non-teaching Staff on purely contractual basis for 2017-18 a Walk-in-Interview is scheduled on 16th February 2017 at 13.00 hrs in the office of the Principal. The details of the various posts and essential qualifications are mentioned below:

Please send your Resume (CV) to kvtehran@yahoo.com on or before 16th Feb 2017(Thursday)Eligible and interested candidates may attend the Interview on the date and time mentioned above along with Original Certificates /and one set of Attested Copies of all Certificates at:KV (Embassy of India School), Tehran, Saadi Ave, Qayedi (Hedayat) Ave, Noormohammadi Ave, Darvish Street, No. 24 Telephone No: 77531183

(P.C.Sharma)Principal

10th Tehran Intl. Tourism Exhibit kicks off tomorrow

Lebanese tourism minister to visit Iran

TEHRAN — The 10th Tehran International

Tourism Exhibit, adopting the motto of “See Iran Differently”, will open its doors to the public from Feb. 6 to 9.

Organized by the Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization, fair is to bring the country under the spotlight in terms of its lavish natural and historical sights.

“The number of foreign participants [this year] has increased 158 percent compared to the year before,” Farhad Aminian who is secretary of the exhibit said in Oct. 2016.

TEHRAN — Lebanese Tourism

Minister Avadis Kadanian will arrive in Tehran today for a two-day visit.

Kadanian is slated to attend the 10th Tehran International Tourism Exhibit, which will be held at the Tehran International Permanent Fairground from February 6 to 9, 2017.

The visit comes in response to an invitation by Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization Director Zahra Ahmadipour, IRNA reported on Friday.

T O U R I S Md e s k

Sangha TrinationalSangha Trinational is s a transboundary conservation complex in the North-western Congo Basin where Cameroon, the Central African Republic and the Republic of Congo meet.

Sangha Trinational encompasses three contiguous national parks totaling a legally defined area of 746,309 hectares. These are Lobeke National Park in Cameroon, Dzanga-Ndoki National Park in the Central African Republic and Nouabale-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo.

Dzanga-Ndoki National Park is comprised of two distinct units. The parks are embedded in a much larger forest landscape, sometimes referred to as the TNS Landscape.

A buffer zone of 1,787,950 hectares has been established in recognition of the importance of the broader landscape and its inhabitants for the future of the property. The buffer zone includes Dzanga-Sanga Forest Reserve in the Central African Republic, which connects the two units of Dzanga-Ndoki National Park.

Natural values and features include the ongoing ecological and evolutionary processes in a mostly intact forest landscape at a very large scale. Numerous and diverse habitats such as tropical forests comprised of deciduous and evergreen species, a great diversity of wetland types, including swamp forests and periodically flooded forests and many types of forest clearings of major conservation importance continue to be connected at a landscape level.

This mosaic of ecosystems harbors viable populations of complete faunal and floral assemblages, including top predators and rare and endangered species, such as Forest Elephants, Gorillas, Chimpanzees, and several antelope species, such as the Sitatunga and the emblematic Bongo.

(Source: UNESCO)

IN FOCUS IRNA/Reza Qaderi

ROUND THE GLOBE

10I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

HERITAGE & TOURISM FEBRUARY 5, 2017FEBRUARY 5, 2017

TEHRAN — Hoz-e Sultan, a lonely salt lake

in the heart of Iran, resembles a gigantic natural mirror as its shallow water covers a vast plain of salt deposits. It is the epicenter of a relatively rich fauna as well.

Sprawled about 40 kilometers northward of the city of Qom and adjacent to the Qom – Tehran highway, the lake is said to be a suitable place for breeding a kind of shrimp, called Armita.

Covering 37,075 hectares with an altitude of about 720 meters above sea level, the lake is considered as one of the lowest parts of the Iranian plateau.

Shour, Ghara-Chai and Varamin are amongst rivers that discharge into the lake. The latter come from southern parts of Tehran Province. Melting snows and some seasonal rainfalls contribute to the inputs as well.

The lake assumes different characteristics, sizes and shapes in various seasons of the year so that its attractiveness varies from time to time.

It is composed of two main interconnected segments. The western part is named after the lake itself and the eastern one is called Hoz-e Moreh. Both become chockfull of water in rainy season.

The region is a haven for some breeds of migratory birds, majority of them come from the north Caspian countries.

There can be found footprints of houbara, pigeon, grey goose, mallard, duck, ruddy shelduck, stork, flamingo,

falconers, grey goose, stork and different kinds of eagles.

Mammals like rabbit, rat, fox and sometimes deer can be spotted near the lake.

According to researches, there are more than 240 species of valuable aerobic creatures such as algae, bacteria, and mushrooms.

Best timing for visiting this lake starts from late autumn through early spring.

(Reporting by Edalat Abedini; Editing by Afshin Majlesi)

Hoz-e Sultan, a gigantic natural mirror in central Iranian plateau

Paris shooting: New scare for French tourismFrance’s status as a tourist magnet took another hit Friday after a man wielding a machete was shot in Paris.

French authorities have opened a terror investigation after the man, who rushed a group of soldiers, was shot in an underground plaza that adjoins the Louvre museum.

The incident follows a string of high-profile terrorist attacks that have deterred tourists from visiting the country, including a summer attack in Nice that left at least 85 people dead.

France has been in an official state of emergency since the November 2015 attacks in Paris, which left at least 130 people dead.

The latest data from the UN’s World Tourism Organization show international visitor numbers to France fell by about 5% in the first nine months of 2016.

If travelers continue to shun France in favor of other destinations, it could soon be overtaken by the United States as the world’s most popular tourist destination.

Traveler spending in the country also slumped 6.6% in 2016 following a drop of 5.4% in 2015, according to preliminary data from the UNWTO. Spending in 2016 is expected to be significantly lower than its recent peak of $58 billion in 2014.

Paris is among the five most visited international cities in the world with more than 15 million international tourists each year, according to research firm Euromonitor International.

And the Louvre, with its famed glass pyramid entrance, is among the most popular museums in the world.

However, Louvre attendance has fallen by 21% over the past two years. Just 7.3 million people visited the museum in 2016 compared to 9.3 million in 2014.

(Source: CNNMoney)

China tourism revenue up 16% over Lunar New YearChina’s tourism industry saw revenues of 423.3 billion yuan ($61.55 billion) during the recent Lunar New Year festival, up 15.9 percent against last year, the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) said late on Thursday.

The rate of growth, driven by 344 million domestic tourist trips, was, however, slightly slower than the 16.3 percent rise seen in the corresponding year-ago period. Trips abroad over the period increased more moderately with around 6.15 million outbound Chinese tourists, up around 7 percent, CNTA said.

China’s tourism industry is key to the country’s shift towards a more services-driven economy and is a useful indicator of the strength of consumer spending. The domestic sector raked in 3.9 trillion yuan in 2016, which Beijing wants to raise to 7 trillion yuan by 2020, official news agency Xinhua said.

China’s retail and catering firms saw sales over the week-long holiday of around 840 billion yuan, the commerce ministry said in a separate statement, up 11.4 percent over 2016.

Lunar New Year in China is closely watched as it marks a spike in tourism and retail spending as millions of people return home or go on vacation domestically or overseas.

(Reporting by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

A car’s bodywork is reflected in the Hoz-e Sulatan, a salt lake in central Iran.

For the disabled traveler, strategies for a successful trip

Terry Scott Cohen, 42, enjoys roller coasters, mushing in Alaska and tobogganing in the Pyrenees Mountains. Though he gets about in a

motorized scooter, he has not let his myotonic dystrophy, a disease involving progressive muscle loss, curtail his travels. His father, Barry M. Cohen, 72, a retired industrial psychologist, acts as his travel companion, and together the two Floridians have written a book, “Travel Near & Travel Far: Step Out of Your Disabled World!” that provides both encouragement for disabled travelers and practical advice on navigating the world from a scooter or wheelchair. The elder Mr. Cohen recently discussed the book; here are excerpts from that conversation.

Why should people with disabilities travel?There actually are medical reasons to travel. People

who have disabilities and travel have a much easier time sleeping. They’re not as stressed as other people. Particularly if they are in the house and confined, traveling is an incredible way to grow yourself as a person and impact your mind. And travel can produce long-

term health benefits such as using leisure as a coping mechanism for stress. People who have disabilities unfortunately don’t get as much activity as other people. But when they’re in travel mode, they do get activity, which actually contributes to their overall heath.

What are the characteristics of a good travel companion?

The right travel companion can make or break a trip. First is conscientiousness. It takes a person who is going to help the disabled person even if it means personal inconvenience and sacrifice. Second, you want a person who’s caring and thoughtful, because they can recognize and appreciate the physical limitations of the person traveling. Number three, you need a person who can remain cool under fire and doesn’t get upset when they’re faced with setbacks. Physical strength is important. You have to at certain points lift up the wheelchair or scooter to get it into something or another.

What destinations have been friendliest for those with disabilities?

The U.S. and Canada are extremely friendly. The

best in Europe is Germany. When you take a train, for example, in a lot of countries there’s a space between the platform and train. In Berlin, at every station, you can request that the engineer come out and put a special piece of equipment between the train and the platform. In Thailand, the king who recently died ordered the government to have attendants stationed in every handicapped bathroom to help the disabled.

How do you ensure that where you’re going is mobility-friendly?

I would never make the assumption that a hotel overseas is fully accessible. I would definitely call the desk and explain your disability. I check out the bathroom and accessibility into the hotel and then ask them about restaurants. Are there stairs?

What’s your favorite trip?The most incredible trips we take are to Alaska. You would

think that Alaska would not be accessible. Our experience in Alaska is it is a super great place to see so many unusual things, and Alaskans tend to be very friendly people.

(Source: The New York Times)

By Elaine Glusac

T O U R I S Md e s k

T O U R I S Md e s k

T O U R I S Md e s k

A poster for the 10th Tehran International Tourism Exhibit

Iranian and Lebanese national flags flutter in an undated photo

Intl. tour guides visit Persepolis

International tour guides

along with their Iranian fellows pose for a photo during a visit to the magnificent ruins of Persepolis off the southern city of Shiraz on February 2, 2017.

Over 140 tour guides from 35 countries attended the 17th World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations convention, which took place in Tehran from Jan. 28 to Feb. 1.

Sightseeing at Persepolis was in the post-convention timetable.

Prior to the convention, the tourism activists visited arrays of natural beauties and historical spots scattered across provinces of Qazvin, Zanjan and Hamedan.

Drones have come a long way in a short amount of time. They now can deliver packages, help in search and res-cue missions and will even slice off your finger if your happen to touch one of their spinning rotors. Since we almost certainly will live and work with flying robots in the future, scientists have been looking for a better and safer way to fly. A flying robot bat may provide the an-swer.

You’ve got to hand it to bats. Not only are they nature’s only flying mammal, they beat the feathers off most other flying animals when it comes to flight mechanics.

Their swoops, dives, sudden turns and ability to use bones and thin skin for flight, as opposed to feathers, have so entranced observers that scientists have studied bat flight mechanics for years.

Autonomous robotNow three researchers at Caltech University, Alireza

Ramezani, Soon-Jo Chung, and Seth Hutchinson, have built their own flying bat. It’s an autonomous robot called Bat Bot (B2) and it comes remarkably close to replicat-ing the look and style of organic bat flight. Their work was published this week in the science journal Science Robotics.

While most flying robots use rigid wings and propellers to create lif t, researchers sought to

recreate a bat’s unique structure and complex wing flap.

It’s a fully self-contained robot, with an on-board computer and sensors that help it fly and know its po-sition and the relative positions of its elbows, hips and flapping joints.

Set of wing jointsInstead of actuators at each joint, the team used

a reduced set of wing joints, letting the thin (56 mi-crometers), silicon membrane that stretches over the wings and dorsal tail help control wing deformity and flight.

The result is something that, despite being almost white and semi-translucent, looks a lot like a real bat – especially when it flies. It can even perform a bat’s signature move of nose-diving for prey.

Solving the puzzle of bat flight is not just an en-tertaining exercise. Researchers contend that a ro-bot that can fly with soft, flexible wings and that can turn, mid-air, on a dime, will be safer in an environ-ment in which humans and robots must co-exist. It may also provide new opportunities for search and rescue in difficult environments where quadcop-ters, which tend to be more dangerous to humans, might fail.

(Source: Mashable)

A rock that fits in the palm of a scien-tist’s hand and weighs less than a pound is helping paint a picture of the history of volcanism on Mars. That’s because the little igneous rock broke off the Red Planet when something slammed into the Martian surface about 1.1 million years ago. It hurtled through space and then fell to Earth, landing in the desert in Algeria.

Northwest Africa (NWA) 7635, as the meteorite has been dubbed, wasn’t the only igneous rock ejected from Mars at the time.

Researchers have discovered at least 10 others with the same cosmic ray expo-sure, evidence that they, too, flew through space after breaking off Mars around the same time.

Martian meteoritesBut NWA 7635 doesn’t fall neatly into

the same category as those other Martian meteorites, called shergottites. While the shergottites solidified from lava no more than 600 million years ago, NWA 7635 is about 2.4 billion years old, according to new research published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.

Researchers have two main lines of evidence for the geological processes that shape the surface of the Red Planet, he explains in a phone interview with The

Christian Science Monitor. Researchers can study these mete-

orites, or they can study data from the surface of the planet, as recorded by or-biters, landers, and rovers.

The latter vein of study has long sug-gested that big volcanic centers on Mars, such as Tharsis and Elysium, could have formed as long ago as 3 or 4 billion years ago, says Harry “Hap” McSween, a ge-

oscientist at the University of Tennessee Knoxville who was not involved in the re-search. “It’s nice to have confirmation,” he tells the Monitor.

Not everyone is convincedNot everyone is convinced, though.

These Martian meteorites may actually be much older than Dr. Lapen and his colleagues report, says Audrey Bouvier, Canada Research Chair in Planetary Ma-terials and curator of the Western Mete-orite Collection at the University of West-ern Ontario.

Dr. Bouvier, whose own research sug-gests some depleted shergottites are ac-tually 4.3 billion years old, explains in an email to the Monitor that Lapen’s dates could actually be shock ages – a sort of resetting of the rock’s minerals as a result of meteor impact.

“I would say I definitely agree with the age dating,” Chris Herd, a geosci-entist and curator of meteorites at the University of Alberta who was not in-volved in the research, tells the Monitor in a phone interview. The “group is, es-pecially the first author, very well-known for doing excellent work with these ra-diogenic isotopes – the age dating – and so I have little doubt about the age that they obtain.”

(Source: The CSM)

Vegetation resilient to salvage logging after severe wildfireNearly a decade after being logged, vegetation in forested areas severely burned by California’s Cone Fire in 2002 was relatively similar to areas untouched by logging equipment. The findings of a U.S. Forest Service study shed light on how vegetation responds to severe wildfire and whether further disturbances from logging affect regrowth.

The study, “Response of understory vegetation to salvage logging following a high-severity wildfire,” reports a modest difference between logged and unlogged areas for some shrubs, but researchers with the agency’s Pacific Southwest Research Station conclude the diversity of plant species and their abundance, as a whole, differed little between logged and unlogged sites. Salvage logging refers to the practice of harvesting fire-killed trees (“salvage”) to extract economic value from them before the wood decays.

The differences observed within the shrub communities could stem from the plants’ reproduction cycle and timing of the logging operations.

“The three native shrub species that declined in abun-dance with logging (prostrate ceanothus, snowbrush cean-othus and greenleaf manzanita) have seeds triggered to ger-minate by heat or char from fire,” said Eric Knapp, a research ecologist with the Forest Service and study co-author. Log-ging occurred more than a year after the fire, which would have coincided with the seedling stage of the new shrubs, making them vulnerable to surface disturbances.

“It is possible that the effect on shrubs might have been avoided if logging had been done soon after the fire, prior to seeds germinating,” Knapp said.

(Source: EurekAlert)

Boeing’s space taxis to use more than 600 3D-printed partsBoeing Co has hired a small company to make about 600 3D-printed parts for its Starliner space taxis, meaning key components in the United States manned space program are being built with additive manufacturing.

The company, privately held Oxford Performance Materials, will announce a $10 million strategic invest-ment from advanced mate-rials company Hexcel Corp as early as Friday, adding to $15 million Hexcel invested in May and lifting Hexcel’s equity stake to 16.1 percent, Oxford and Hexcel said.

Boeing’s award of the parts for its flagship space program and Hexcel’s fund-ing are strategic bets that printed plastics can perform flawlessly even under the extreme stress of a rocket launch and sub-zero temperatures of space.

They offer further evidence of a shift in 3D printing from mak-ing prototypes to commercial production of high-grade parts for space ships, aircraft engines and other critical equipment.

Oxford’s parts will help Boeing lower costs and save weight on each seven-seat capsule, compared with tradition-al metal and plastic manufacturing, Larry Varholak, president of Oxford’s aerospace business, said in an interview.

“What really makes it valuable to NASA and Boeing is this material is as strong as aluminum at significantly less weight,” he said. Boeing said the weight savings on Oxford’s parts is about 60 percent compared with traditional manufacturing.

Boeing is building three Starliner capsules under a $4.2 billion NASA contract. Entrepreneur Elon Musk’s SpaceX is building a competing capsule under a $2.6 billion NASA contract.

Oxford has already shipped parts for the Starliner. The plastic it uses, known as PEKK, also resists fire and radiation, according to Oxford.

(Source: Reuters)

Scientists discover gene that protects gut from IBDUT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have identified a gene that protects the gut from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

The mouse study found a mutation in the Gatm gene and used CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology to confirm this link. The Gatm gene is required for the rapid replenishment of the intestinal mucosal barrier that guards the intestinal wall against inflammation caused by bacteria in the digestive tract, researchers determined.

The “Gatm gene is needed for the synthesis of creatine, a substance made in the liver that travels to the barrier cells and allows them to utilize energy in an efficient manner,” said Nobel Laureate Dr. Bruce Beutler, Director of UT Southwest-ern’s Center for the Genetics of Host Defense and senior author of the study, which was published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

IBD involves a chronic or recurring immune response and inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. The two most com-mon inflammatory bowel diseases are ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Under normal conditions, the body maintains a bal-ance between the intestinal tract’s ability to respond to dis-ease-causing bacteria and tolerance of normal commensal “good” bacteria that aid digestion.

To understand the mucosal barrier, researchers said, the intestines can be compared to a battlefield during a lull in fighting. Normally, mucus lines the intestines and forms a bar-rier that is similar to a demilitarized zone. That mucus barrier protects the intestinal walls from both the disease-causing and beneficial bacteria. However, if the bacteria somehow get through that mucus layer and reach the intestinal walls, in-flammation is the result, explained lead author Dr. Emre Turer.

(Source: news-medical.net)

S C I E N C EFEBRUARY 5, 2017FEBRUARY 5, 2017 11I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

This robot flies like a real bat and is not at all creepy

Researchers have discovered at least 10 others with the same cosmic ray exposure, evidence

that they, too, flew through space after breaking off Mars around the same time.

Concurrent with the glorious victory anniversary of the Islamic Revolution (Ten-Day Dawn celebrations) and also establishment anniversary of School of Med-icine, the18th round of Avicenna Festival was held at Avicenna Amphitheater of Tehran University of Medical Sciences in the presence of officials, university lecturers and students.

The glorious festival was held with the aim of com-memorating and honoring the unflinching efforts of university lecturers, researchers in the training and re-search fields.

According to the Jury Board, Dr. Farshad Farzadfar Faculty Member of Tehran University of Medical Scienc-es and Head of Non-Communicable Diseases Research Center at Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism of Tehran University of Medical Sciences was introduced

as top researcher at 18th round of Avicenna Festival. The main topics of the Festival are as follows: ex-

emplary and top researcher, selected young research-ers, selected article, top authored book, selected re-

search-scientific journal, selected research project, top invention and innovation and selected thesis, based on which, a number of 35 top researchers were selected in this round of Festival.

Hereunder are the criteria of selection of top re-searcher in the 18th round of Avicenna Festival: the number of articles published, impact factor (rate of credibility), the number of periodicals published, re-search activities conducted, the rate of executive activi-ties and also the number of books published, etc.

It should be noted that the 18th round of Avicen-na Festival was held on Feb. 1, 2017 at Avicenna Am-phitheater of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) in the presence of university lecturers, students, staff, academics and responsible officials in health sec-tor of the country.

Concurrent with the 38th glorious victory anni-versary of the Islamic Revolution, the ground was broken for the construction operation of ZAR In-dustrial Company’s Confectionary Plan in the pres-ence of President Rouhani of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of ZAR Industrial and Research Group Morteza Soltani announced the above statement and said: “This giant project will be put into operation in less than the next two years, so that this unit will be turned into one of the top confectionary brands

in world at the unsparing and unflinching effor ts of talented youth and young adults of this land and territory.”

In the end, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ZAR Industrial and Research Group Morteza Soltani said: “Dare I say that construction of this confectionery unit will be turned into one of the top brands in world, so that brilliant history of ZAR Industrial and Production Group in development of Iranian pasta industry and attaining interna-tional market is only a part of capabilities of this industrial group.”

POST BANK IRAN presents currency ser-vices in Europe and worldwide through SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication).

Intl. Affairs Manager of the bank Mo-hammad-Reza Rahimi announced the above statement and said: “Presently, various types of currency services and international banking services of the bank are offered in worldwide using SWIFT.”

He, who is also manager of branch-es of the bank in free zones, reiterated: “Conducting foreign exchange transfer for importing goods, opening Letter of Credit (L/C) for maximum three years in completing and equipping produc-tion lines of industrial and produc-tion units, opening deferred L/C for maximum one year with the foreign exchange of applicant for importing raw materials of production units, pos-

sibility of purchasing currencies as a result of export of products in free and agreed rate, issuance of various types of currency guarantee letters, paying currency facilities, opening different types of interest-free saving accounts, issuing bank checkbook, etc. are of sa-lient achievements of the bank in the field of currency services.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, he put the number of branches of the bank in the

country at 22 and said: “The bank offers high-quality banking services to all its dear clients in the shortest time possi-ble.”

In the end, Intl. Affairs Manager of the bank Mohammad-Reza Rahimi said: “We intend to expand our brokerage relation with the outside world, so that all currency services of the bank will be provided in the best form possible to all dear applicants.”

Distinguished Iranian Scientist Named Top Researcher in Avicenna Festival

Ground Broken for Construction of ZAR Industrial Group’s Confectionary Plan

POST BANK IRAN Offers Currency Services in Europe and Worldwide via SWIFT

What can a Martian meteorite tell us about volcanism on the Red Planet?

The Caltech University researcher Alireza Ramezani

I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

I N F O C U S FEBRUARY 5, 2017FEBRUARY 5, 201712

Amir Ali RazzaqiTehran Times and Mehr news agency photographer

PHOTO

Pirshalyar, an ancient ritual named after a legendary figure, was celebrated last week in Uraman Takht rural

district, western province of Kordestan.Pirshalyar who possessed spiritual gifts such as healing power is believed

to magically heal ‘Shah-Bahar Khatoun’ the beloved daughter of king of Bukhara and married her. Shah-Bahar Khatoun was both hearing and speech impaired and no one seemed to be able to help her in her hometown. Therefore the king, Shah-Bahar Khatoun, and members of the court set for Uraman Takht to visit Pirshalyar whose reputation precedes him in Bukhara.

Once they got close to the village where Pirshalyar used to live Shah-Bahar Khatoun suddenly started to hear and as soon as they were within only a short distance away from his house the girl abruptly started to talk.

The king who had pledged to marry Shah-Bahar Khatoun to the person who would be able to cure her honored his promise and every year people of Uraman Takht celebrate the wedding anniversary of Pirshalyar and Shah-Bahar Khatoun twice in mid-winter and mid-spring.

The celebration which usually starts on Wednesday lasts for three days. People sacrifice livestock on the first day of the festivities in front of Pirshalyar house and distribute it among the citizens. They also make a porridge which dates back to more than 900 years ago and is said to be served at Pirshalyar ’s wedding ceremony.

Playing daf - a large Persian frame drum - performing spiritual dances, and singing songs about prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and God are of the different parts of this joyous local occasion.

A group of villagers play daf while another group dance.

Children would go from house to house asking for a tasty treat (such as chocolate or nuts) in the morning and afternoon during the three-day celebration.

People are bringing their livestock early morning to Pirshalyar house to sacrifice them.

A group of villagers are in charge of preparing the special porridge which is usually served on this occasion.

Uraman Takht is a village in proximity of Marivan, Kordestan province. It is 75 kilometers from Uraman Takht to Marivan.

The Pirshalyar traditional ritual is being held twice a year in winter and spring. The festivities and the dancing human chain is a tourist attraction in this area.

Men dancing together signifies their unity and solidarity.

People dance in groups while holding each other’s hands.

Singing songs gushed in praise for God and prophet Mohammad (PBUH) while dancing is an inseparable part of the celebration.

‘Pirshalyar’ ancient ritual celebrated in western Iran

S O C I E T Yd e s k

WORLD IN FOCUS 13I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

FEBRUARY 5, 2017FEBRUARY 5, 2017

Saudi airstrikes, mercenaries kill seven across YemenThe House of Saud regime warplanes and Riyadh-backed militias have slain seven civilians in indiscriminate offensives targeting various areas across Yemen.

On Saturday, Saudi aircraft targeted fishing boats off the Tarfah Island of the western Yemeni province of al-Hudaydah, killing one civilian and injuring six others.

Two civilians were killed and a number of others injured after the fighter planes struck the al-Mokha District of Ta’izz Province in Yemen’s extreme southwest.

The United Nations has warned about the dire situation of civilians in Mokha and Ta’izz more generally, as Saudi Ara-bia and its mercenaries try to force out Yemen’s Ansarullah (Houthi) movement.

The Ansarullah movement has been defending Yemen against the Saudi regime war, which started in March 2015 to restore power to former Yemeni president Abd Rabbuh Man-sur Hadi, who has resigned but seeks a forced return to office.

Saudi-backed militiamen, meanwhile, raided residential buildings in the Nihm District in Yemen’s western Sana’a Prov-ince, killing two women and one child.

Sana’a prison riot

Separately, Russia Today reported that five people had been killed and 35 others injured during a melee in the Cen-tral Prison in the capital, Sana’a.

It cited Abdul-Salam al-Dhale’ei, the head of the country’s Rehabilitation Organization, as saying that violence erupted following an argument between a prisoner and a guard.

(Source: Press TV)

Thousands protest in London against Trump’s refugee banSeveral thousand people demonstrated outside the United States embassy in British capital London on Saturday against President Donald Trump and his temporary ban on refugees and nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries from en-tering the United States.

Protesters held black banners with blood stains bearing slogans such as “No to Trump. No to War” and “Trump: Special Relationship? Just say no.” at the demonstration against the ban and Trump’s foreign policy.

Trump signed an order just over a week ago putting a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the U.S. and temporarily barred travelers from Syria and six other Muslim-major-ity countries.

On Friday, a Seattle judge blocked the order but many in Britain are angry about the measure, which they see as dis-criminatory, and the time it took for Prime Minister Theresa May’s government to criticize it.

(Source: AFP)

Trump slams ‘so-called’ judge who suspended U.S. border limitsThe United States President Donald Trump slammed the “so-called” federal judge who temporarily shut down the U.S. im-migration restrictions, saying the decision in a case involving Washington and Minnesota will be reversed.

“The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!” Trump tweeted early on Saturday.

He tweeted before the judge’s decision, after referring to an attack by a knife-wielding man at the Louvre museum in Paris on Friday, “We must keep evil out of our country!”

The president’s restrictions were temporarily halted by the U.S. District Judge James Robart, who said the states of Washington and Minnesota that brought the case, can sue claiming their economy and residents would be harmed by the ban announced a week ago.

“When a country is no longer able to say who can, and who cannot, come in & out, especially for reasons of safety & security -- big trouble!” Trump tweeted minutes earlier.

Friday’s ruling eclipsed a Trump administration win when a federal judge in Boston refused to extend a temporary rul-ing blocking enforcement at that city’s airport of the ban on immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries. Robart, in Seattle, said in his ruling that voiding the president’s order throughout the U.S. was needed for consistency.

The White House said in a statement that the Justice De-partment would file an emergency request at the earliest possible time to freeze the judge’s ruling.

“The president’s order is intended to protect the home-land and he has the constitutional authority and responsibility to protect the American people,” according to the statement. After initially calling the judge’s decision “outrageous,” the White House issued a revised statement removing the word.

The court order, effective immediately, will remain in place until the judge considers a motion -- probably within a month -- to permanently invalidate the president’s order, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said.

Robart rejected a request by the federal government to put his temporary restraining order on hold. He said he ex-pects the Justice Department to file an appeal as early as Monday.

(Source: Bloomberg)

China has warned the United States against destabilizing East Asia after its new Defense Secretary James Mattis said Washington would rush to defend Japan in case of a conflict with Beijing.

The remarks by China’s Foreign Min-istry spokesman Lu Kang on Saturday came after Mattis stated during a two-day official tour of Japan that Senkaku is-lands fell within the scope of the U.S.-Ja-pan security treaty.

Under the treaty, Washington is obli-gated to defend all areas under Japanese administrative control, hence making Senkaku which China calls Diaoyu a bone of contention.

“The Diaoyu Island and its adjacent islets have been an inherent part of Chi-nese territory since ancient times, which is a unchangeable historical fact,” state news agency Xinhua quoted Lu as saying.

“We urge the U.S. side to take a re-sponsible attitude, stop making wrong remarks... and avoid making the issue more complicated and bringing instabili-ty to the regional situation,” he added.

During the visit to Japan, Mattis said, “I made clear that our long-standing pol-icy on the Senkaku Islands stands -- the U.S. will continue to recognize Japanese administration of the islands.”

Lu insisted that the U.S.-Japan trea-ty was a product of the Cold War, and

should not affect China’s territorial sover-eignty, according to the Xinhua’s report.

China cites historical records for its claim, and Japan’s move to nationalize several of the islands in 2012 set off an-ti-Japanese protests across China. The decision prompted the Chinese govern-ment to dispatch warships and aircraft to the area as a challenge to Japanese control.

In addition to the new tension over

the islands and the South China Sea, China has also slammed a recent pact to deploy a U.S. missile system known as Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in South Korea later in the year.

China says the system may disturb the regional balance of power amid Wash-ington’s claims that its only objective is to counter what it regards as the North Korea missile threat.

“We have resolute opposition to the

deployment of THAAD to South Korea by the U.S. and (South Korea),” Lu said in a statement.

“Such actions,” he added, “will jeop-ardize security and the strategic interests of regional countries, including China, and undermine the strategic balance in the region.”

Beijing further warned Washington to stop using the Dalai Lama to create trou-ble for China, saying it would bring no benefit to the U.S. but damage Sino-U.S. ties instead.

China says the Dalai Lama, who fled into exile in India after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, is a violent separatist.

The warning by Chinese official in charge of Tibet affairs, Zhu Weiqun, came after the newly appointed U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said he would re-ceive and meet the Dalai Lama.

Tillerson’s position shows he is a “com-plete amateur” on Tibet-related ques-tions, Zhu told the Global Times which is published by the ruling Communist Party.

The U.S. maintains 28,500 military service members in South Korean and 47,000 in Japan, mostly on the southern island of Okinawa, where Mattis served as a young marine officer in the early 1970s, according to wire reports.

(Source: Xinhua)

Tens of thousands of people across Romania have rallied for a fourth day, protesting against what they deem an alarming retreat in the country’s fight against corruption.

The marches on Friday came as the political cri-sis over a controversial decree showed no sign of easing.

Earlier, Romania’s ombudsman went to the Constitu-tional Court to challenge the decree that decriminalizes abuse of power offences in which the sums do not ex-ceed 200,000 lei ($48,000).

A separate bill, to go before parliament, would free some 2,500 prisoners on short sentences.

The government insists it is bringing legislation into line with the constitution and that it wants to reduce overcrowding in prisons.

Ombudsman Victor Ciorbea’s move echoed a plea

from the general prosecutor and added to challenges to the top court by center-right President Klaus Iohannis and the council of magistrates.

General Prosecutor Augustin Lazar said he welcomed the court challenge and that his office had its own case before the Court of Appeals.

Biggest protests in decades

The street protests have been on a scale not seen since the fall of communist Leader Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989.

On Friday, some 180,000 people marched across the country, with the majority in the capital, Bucharest.

The decree potentially scuttles an ongoing trial of the governing Social Democrat party chief and benefits dozens of other public officials.

The government has rejected calls to rescind the de-

cree.On Thursday, after a meeting in Bucharest of his rul-

ing Social Democrats, Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu said: “We took a decision in the government and we are going to press ahead.”

But cracks in cabinet unity emerged with the resig-nation on Thursday of a minister and a call from a vice-president of the ruling party for the measure to be withdrawn.

Protesters said they would return every day until February 10, when the contentious decree - issued by the government late Tuesday - is due to enter into force.

A major demonstration in Bucharest was planned for Saturday afternoon, with protesters expected to march to the parliament.

(Source: agencies)

At least nine people, including civilians, have been killed in eastern Ukraine as an upsurge in violence between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russia rebels has raised fears of a humanitarian disaster.

The Ukrainian army said Friday’s fatalities included a local woman and an emergency worker in the govern-ment-held town of Avdiivka, where mortar and rocket fire were exchanged between the warring sides.

Five soldiers were killed in other parts of eastern Ukraine where a pro-Russia unrest has raged since April 2014.

The rebels said that shelling by the Ukrainian army also killed two civilians in the separatists’ de facto capital of Donetsk.

AFP news agency reporters in Avdiivka said on Friday the shelling had died down considerably in the town it-self, and that only sporadic echoes of mortar fire could be heard on its outskirts.

The latest reports from both sides take the death toll since

Sunday in the eastern war zone to 34, a level not seen since the height of the conflict in eastern Ukraine in 2014 and 2015.

In a statement on Friday, the United Nations warned that both government forces and armed groups must take “all feasible measures to protect the civilian popu-lation in the areas under their control”.

“We are seriously concerned about the dire human-itarian and human rights situation of civilians in eastern Ukraine where there has been an escalation in fighting along the contact line,” the UN said.

The separatists’ sudden assault came after a month-long spell of relative calm and has sharpened the world’s focus on the bloodshed.

Negotiators from Ukraine and Russia, as well as the rebels, agreed in the Belarusian capital Minsk on Wednesday to withdraw heavy weapons from the front-line by Sunday.

The deal suggests that the Avdiivka violence may

soon wane.Ukraine and Russia have traded blame over who start-

ed the violence and who was responsible for the deaths.Nikki Haley, the ambassador of the United States to

the United Nations, on Thursday condemned Russia’s “aggressive actions” in Ukraine.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov countered that “without question, we dispute (Haley’s) position”.

Peskov said Moscow continues “to coherently explain our own position to all members of the UN Security Council and our other partners, including the perma-nent representative from the United States”.

The U.S. also said it would not lift sanctions against Russia, as many in Kiev feared it would do under U.S. President Donald Trump, until the Kremlin returned the annexed Crimean peninsula to Ukraine.

(Source: agencies)

French investigators believe the man who launched a machete attack in the French capital Paris, before being shot and wounded by a soldier, is a 29-year-old Egyptian man who entered the country on a tourist visa.

Francois Molins, the chief prosecutor of Paris, told a press conference on Friday that the man, who carried out the attack

near the entrance of the Louvre museum, had no identity papers on him when he was arrested.

However, mobile phone data suggest-ed he had arrived in Paris on January 26 after acquiring a one-month tourist visa from the French embassy in Dubai.

The assailant was shot five times and seriously wounded. A soldier suf-

fered slight head injuries in the inci-dent.

Authorities have not “officially” identi-fied the suspect, Molins said, adding that the attack is being treated as an “act of terror”.

Investigators are working to establish whether he acted alone, on impulse, or on orders from someone.

Law enforcement conducted a search in an apartment the man had rented in the city’s central 8th arrondissement, seizing an iPad, several pre-paid cards, and €900 ($970) in cash.

The attacker bought the two machet-es he used in the attack from a store in Paris on January 28, Molins said.

(Source: agencies)

At least 42 members of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Daesh) Takfiri terrorist group have been killed in sepa-rate operations by the Iraqi Air Force in the country’s northern province of Nineveh.

The Iraqi Defense Ministry said in a statement on Saturday that 25 ISIL ter-rorists were killed as Iraqi military air-craft launched precision strikes against

a number of terrorists’ hideouts in al-Ja-maliyah region northwest of Mosul and the village of Tal Abra near Tal Afar city, Arabic-language al-Sumaria satellite tel-evision network reported.

Additionally, 17 ISIL terrorists were killed when Iraqi fighter jets carried out attacks against their positions in Badush village northwest of Mosul.

Iraqi warplanes also struck and de-stroyed the terrorist group’s caches of Composition C-4 plastic explosive and trini-trotoluene in Ayn al-Wakhmah al-Karablah village of the western province of Anbar.

Elsewhere in the al-Mosana district of eastern Mosul, Iraqi forces discovered a considerable amount of rockets and mili-tary hardware belonging to ISIL extremists.

Meanwhile, soldiers from the 15th bat-talion of the Iraqi army have established full control over al-Jamaliyah and Sheikh Mohammad villages west of Mosul.

Iraqi pro-government fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units (al-Hashd al-Sha’abi), freed tens of civilians who had been taken hos-tage by ISIL terrorists in the two areas.

(Source: Press TV)

China warns U.S. against destabilizing East Asia

Top Obama aide calls Trump administration’s threats against Iran ‘bluster’ 1 Gordon said that the tests

had not been banned under a nuclear deal between the Islamic Republic and six other countries — including the U.S. — or a United Nations Security Council res-olution that endorsed the agreement. He implied that the U.S. would not be able to get its European partners on board with new sanctions.

Iran and its international interlocutors, namely Russia, China, the UK, France, Germany, and the U.S., sealed the deal in July 2015. Days later, they took the deal to

the Security Council to have it endorsed under a resolution. The UN document, Resolution 2231 (2015), merely calls upon Iran to refrain from engaging in any ac-tivity related to ballistic missiles “designed to be capable of” carrying nuclear war-heads.

Iran says it is not involved in any such missile work and has no such warheads. In fact, under the nuclear deal, Iran has put its nuclear activities under unprecedented internation-al monitoring, and the International

Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the organization tasked with doing the monitoring work, has repeatedly veri-fied the peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear program.

Trump, who has since taking office been busy undoing almost every ma-jor policy enforced by Obama, has also adopted a belligerent approach toward the nuclear deal, which the Obama ad-ministration, along with the five other countries, negotiated with Iran.

(Source: Press TV)

Romanians ramp up protests against corruption decree

Civilians killed as eastern Ukraine violence flares up

Louvre attacker believed to be a 29-year-old Egyptian

42 ISIL Takfiris killed as army jets strike areas in northern Iraq

I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

W O R L D S P O R T FEBRUARY 5, 201714

IN FOCUS DW/ Hasan Shakoori

The possibility of getting sacked is far from Claudio Ranieri’s thoughts as the Leicester City manager is intent on ensuring the struggling Premier League champions maintain their top-flight status.

Following their stunning title triumph last season, Leicester have continued producing the unexpected, only this time they are battling relegation as they sit 16th in the table, two points above the bottom three.

“It’s not my philosophy to think about this. If my thoughts go there... I remember what was said by my chairman the first time I met him. He said ‘if we go down will you stay with us?’ And I said ‘yes’,” Ranieri told British media.

“Now why do I have to think about this? I am thinking to fight and to survive. That’s it. I don’t speak about my position with the owner. Never do I speak with the chairman about my

position,” the Italian added.“We know that is football. When

everything is right, everyone is fantastic. When you start to lose, the manager is bad.”

Ranieri said he has no problem playing striker Leonardo Ulloa, who tried to force a move away from Leicester in January and accused the manager of betraying him.

“Yes, he will play, don’t worry. He is a professional 100 percent. I don’t know if Leo could give more because he always gives 120 per cent,” Ranieri added.

“Sooner or later, when he is ready, he will have the chance to play. There is no issue. He tried to say everything to push hard but it is okay. He will fight, not for me, for Leicester. Everybody is fighting.”

Leicester host sixth-placed Manchester United on Sunday.

(Source: ESPN)

Former Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas has said Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo would never be whistled by his own team fans were he playing in the Premier League.

Ronaldo has been barracked by supporters at home at the Bernabeu on and off over recent years, despite establishing himself as Madrid’s all-time leading scorer and helping the team win two Champions League trophies in the last three seasons.

There were more whistles and boos after the Portugal captain had misplaced some passes early in Sunday’s 3-0 La Liga win at home to Real Sociedad, with video appearing to show him respond by mouthing an offensive phrase in the direction of the stands. He then provided an assist and goal as Zinedine Zidane’s side stretched their lead at the top of the title.

Asked on Spanish TV station Movistar

Plus whether former Manchester United star Ronaldo would suffer similar treatment in the Premier League, Chelsea and Spain midfielder Fabregas replied: “No way. I am sure about that.”

A number of top stars have faced whistles from the Madrid fans over the years and Gonzalo Higuain, now with Juventus, has said he finds the Italian club’s fans to be more patient.

Higuain spent six years at Madrid, making almost 200 appearances before joining Napoli in 2013. He moved to Juve last summer for a Serie A record fee of €90 million and he told Onda Cero: “The fans are not as demanding here as they are at Real.

“It’s not in the culture of a Juventus fan to whistle their own players. But Juve are like Real Madrid: they are clubs who teach you to win.”

(Source: Soccernet)

Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo wouldn’t be whistled in England - Cesc Fabregas

Ranieri doesn’t fear sack, focused on Leicester survival

Former Juventus left-back Patrice Evra nearly signed with Manchester United in January but says someone at the club blocked his potential return to the Old Trafford club.

Evra, 35, instead signed with ambitious Ligue 1 side Marseille on an 18-month deal. Though he revealed on Friday that he was set to join United but for one dissenting voice.

“I was very close to a return to Manchester United,” Evra told Sky Italia on Friday.

“I also spoke with Mourinho but there was a person, whose name I will not say, who probably did not like the idea of my return.

“Even the fans were enthusiastic and would have been delighted, but because I realised that they [the club] would not do anything I then asked my agent to look for other teams.

“Marseille immediately won me over with

their project and immediately created a great feeling.

“We only spent one day to close the deal. They really treated me like a God, making it clear they had a great need for me.”

Evra left Juventus after two-and-a-half years with the Italian Champions. Though he hadn’t been included in the Juve squad since the winter break, he admitted to Sky he still has “huge respect” for Juventus boss Max Allegri, and backed the him for success should he ever decide to manage in England.

“I have huge respect for the boss,” Evra said.

“In fact, it hurt me a bit when people said I left because of Allegri. We had talked, and in my opinion he’s a great coach and he proved that to me two years ago against Borussia Dortmund.

“He made a presentation for me that, when I got to the Dortmund game, for the first time in my career everything that he said happened on the day of the match.

“He’s very positive, he doesn’t like stress. I think he’d do well in England, because I’ve always said they lack tactical discipline in England.

“That’s why an Italian coach is crucial. We saw that with [Claudio] Ranieri and now [Antonio] Conte. I think Chelsea will win the League.

“If the boss [Allegri] goes there I don’t see why he wouldn’t do well.”

(Source: ESPN)

Paris can handle security, says mayorParis showed on Friday that it can offer a safe environment to host the Olympics after an attack was thwarted at the Louvre Museum on the day when the city submitted its bid file to host the 2024 Games, mayor Anne Hidalgo said.

A French soldier shot and wounded a man armed with machetes and carrying two bags on his back on Friday as he tried to enter the Paris Louvre museum in what the government said appeared to have been a terrorist attack.

“I went straight there (to the Louvre museum) with the head of Paris police and what I could see is the serenity and the efficiency of our security forces,” Hidalgo told Reuters on the Place du Trocadero, with the Eiffel Tower lit in blue and red in the backdrop.

Paris is competing with Los Angeles and Budapest to host the 2024 Summer Games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will select the host following a vote on Sept. 13 in Lima.

Hidalgo does not believe Paris is the only city concerned by militant attacks.

“The threat exists in all cities across the world. It’s a threat that all cities need to take seriously,” she said.

“This morning, our security forces showed their efficiency and again we showed how resilient Paris is.”

More than 230 people have died in France in the past two years at the hands of attackers allied to the militant group Islamic State. Therefore the French capital knows how to handle terror threats, Hidalgo explained.

“This capacity to react is an asset for this (Olympic bid),” she said.

“It is important that we can rely on our security forces to counter these threats.”

On Friday, the man trying to enter the Louvre shouted Allahu Akbar (God is greatest) and rushed at police and soldiers before being shot and seriously wounded near the museum’s shopping mall, police said.

The soldier who shot the man was from one of the patrolling groups which have become a common sight in Paris since a state of emergency was declared in November 2015.

Another soldier received a scalp wound in the incident. “I want to spare a thought for the officer who got injured,” said Hidalgo.

“Paris is a city of hope and youth, in which a lot of people come to take root.

“It is a city that reassures, a city from which we can build a bright future.”

Socialist Hidalgo was elected mayor in 2014.(Source: Reuters)

Neymar ‘way better’ than Cristiano Ronaldo technically, insists PeleNeymar’s ability in the air is the only aspect of the Barcelona star ’s game that is not superior to that of Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo’s, says Brazil legend Pele.

Pele, whose father Dondinho once scored five headed goals in a professional game in Brazil, is considered one of the greatest headers of the ball in the game’s history, and has always exhibited a particular focus on the skill when analysing other greats of the game.

Neymar, known for his silky dribbling and eye for goal, is not much of an aerial threat. And the three-time World Cup winner told ESPN Brasil it’s the only skill in which Ronaldo is superior to Brazil’s No. 10.

“The only problem that Neymar has is the header. Cristiano Ronaldo is not better than him,” Pele told Brazilian outlet UOL.

“Technically, Neymar is way better, but he [Ronaldo] is better when using the head. You don’t see Neymar scoring with the head, and

that counts [in Ronaldo’s favor]”Neymar has scored 94 goals and laid off 69 assists in 167

games since joining Barcelona from Santos in the summer of 2013, and a further 51 goals in 75 matches for his country.

Brazil have surged to the top of the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying table under new manager Tite, who has restored the swagger and unity the Selecao has lacked since 2010 -- a change of fortunes which has pleased the 76-year-old Pele.

“One of the things that pleased me was too see Tite’s work. Because Brazil always had good players. But what was our problem? We didn’t have a team,” he added.

“Then the World Cup disaster came [in 2014], and now Tite is trying to do what Brazil always did. I hope that it works, Tite is on the right path.”

Pele helped Brazil to World Cup titles in 1958, ‘62 and ‘70, and is widely considered the greatest player in the game’s history. However, one of his rivals for the title, Diego Maradona, has made his share of headlines criticising the Brazilian, as well as fellow countryman Lionel Messi, to media -- a habit Pele says he doesn’t quite understand.

“Who knows him knows that he’s a nice guy, good to talk to. But when he goes to give an interview or make some decision, then I don’t know what happens to him,” Pele said.

(Source: Soccernet)

Patrice Evra: Patrice Evra: Someone blocked Someone blocked my return to my return to Manchester UnitedManchester United

First motor race for women held in Iran

Behnaz Shafiei won Iran’s first women motor racing competition which took place at Shahid Chamran circuit in the city of Karaj on Friday.

More than 60 female racers took part in the competition which was held in the 125 cc class.

Hanieh Shakibi and Shadi Beikverdi finished in second and third places respectively.

0101

Drsytd

ps.a

heannthwlle

dn

717

a me that,

Dortmund st time in thing that on the day

ositive, he I think he’d

and, because ey lack tactical nd.

Italian coach ishat with [Claudio] [Antonio] Conte. win the League.gri] goes there I don’t

n’t do well.”(Source: ESPN)

S P O R TFEBRUARY 5, 2017FEBRUARY 5, 2017 15I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

Returning Pharaohs set sights on AFCON gloryNot even the most optimistic of Egypt fans expected to see the national team to gracing the final of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2017 on 5 February. Having failed to qualify for the previous three editions, logic suggested the team would need a major overhaul before it could again aspire to continental glory. With that having taken effect, with this latest squad largely comprised of a new generation making their Cup of Nations debuts, it was anyone’s guess how well they would fare in Gabon.

As always, though, the Pharaohs have followed their own script and reminded the rest of Africa that when they come to continental championships, they do so not to take part or gain experience, but to win. Game after game at Gabon 2017, they have shown they have what it takes to return to their favourite spot on the podium. Fortified by their impressive history, the seven-time African champions went to Gabon with a strong squad featuring three Cup of Nations veterans, a few overseas stars and a group of battle-hardened pros who ply their trade in the Egyptian league.

En route to the final, Hector Cuper ’s charges topped Group E with seven points, then beat Morocco in the quarter-finals before edging out Burkina Faso to reach the decider. While few would dispute that Egypt’s success owes much to the work ethic and group ethos espoused by their coach, a lot of credit should also go to the skipper, Essam El Hadary. Having kept clean sheets in the opening four games, the 44-year-old custodian was once again the shootout hero after saving the last two penalties to secure his side’s place in the final.

“I was nervous before the game,” the keeper said, “and we had to deal with some difficult circumstances. We had a hard game against Morocco and then had to move cities and face a team who’d had an extra day’s rest. In addition, we were missing some key players due to injury. However, as always, we fight for our country and once we cross the white line, we forget all the other stuff and just focus on our ultimate goal.

“We had a tough 120 minutes against Burkina Faso but, when it went to penalties, I stayed positive and remembered our epic [penalty shoot-out] win against Côte d’Ivoire in the 2006 final,” El Hadary added. “I never doubted our ability to win even after we missed the first penalty. I managed to keep my composure throughout, but after they scored their first three penalties, I changed my strategy by waiting for an extra second before deciding which way to go. That way, I was able to keep out the final two kicks. I’m thrilled we were able to make millions happy back home and promise we’ll do our best to lift the trophy.”

Having scored his first goal of Gabon 2017 against Ghana in the group stage, Mohamed Salah netted his second in the semi-final when he curled home a sublime opener for the Pharaohs, only for Aristide Bance to level shortly afterwards for the Stallions. Speaking after the game, Salah refused to take the credit, saying, “Team effort brought about that goal. We worked the ball out from the back and through the middle until it reached Kahraba, who laid it off to me perfectly. I just placed it in the corner, where it’s very hard for the keeper to reach.”

Penalty pressureWhen the match went into extra time and then

penalties, players with confidence and strong nerves were called for. In deciding on his penalty takers, Cuper applied his usual strict criteria, as he explained afterwards: “Penalties don’t just depend on luck, but also on a player ’s psychological and mental strength.” Accordingly, he agreed to let Ramadan Sobhi take the second spot kick after the 20-year-old asked for it, and the Stoke City man duly converted with a Panenka chip.

The player himself talked about the decision, saying: “I missed three spot kicks in training the day before the game, but when the moment came, I was confident I was going to score. I made the decision then to go Panenka-style. The keeper got a hand to the ball but it went in, so I told my team-mates to blast their ones into one corner or the other, as the goalkeeper was waiting for us to hit them before moving.”

The defeat of Burkina Faso brought back memories of the 1998 Cup of Nations, when Egypt beat the same opponent in the semis en-route to their fourth title, secured at the expense of South Africa. Now, the Pharaohs are just one step away from what would be their eight African crown and third appearance at the FIFA Confederations Cup.

(Source: FIFA)

S P O R T S

d e s k

S P O R T S

d e s kAndranik Teymourian has been linked with a

move to Naft Tehran after he cancelled his contract with Esteghlal.

The 33-year-old midfielder joined Esteghlal from Machine Sazi on a six-month contract last week but was forced to cancel his deal after FIFA announced that the Blues cannot sign players during the January transfer window.

Teymourian represented Iran national football team in 2006 and 2014 World Cups.

Teymourian signed a two-year deal with FA Premier League club Bolton Wanderers after the 2006 World Cup and has also played at Fulham and Barnsley.

Ando has played in Iranian clubs Tractor Sazi and Saipa and Qatari clubs

Al-Kharitiyath and Umm Salal.Furthermore, Sajjad Shahbazzadeh

will likely join Esteghlal Khuzestan according to local media.

Shahbazzadeh also joined Tractor Sazi on Thursday but the Iranian football club have been barred from signing players in the January transfer window and former Alanyaspor canceled his contract to join a new team.

Jordan Burroughs says that the Iranian people are huge fans of him and he is disappointed that he cannot travel to Iran to compete at the Freestyle World Cup.

The prestigious event has been scheduled to take place in Kermanshah, Iran, from Feb. 16-17 but U.S. wrestlers have been banned from participating in the competition in the western city of Kermanshah in response to President Trump’s executive order forbidding visas for Iranian nationals.

Iran’s announcement came in response to President Donald Trump‘s executive order forbidding visas for Iranians.

“These decisions, these executive decisions, are always so far beyond your reach,” Burroughs told the Associated Press. “You always feel like, `Well, the presidency or these strict laws or these Muslim bans or whatever you like to call them, they’ll never affect me.’ This is one of the few times where something so personal has occurred. Almost like it (was) handed down

from the president to us. It’s a bummer.”Burroughs hasn’t wrestled competitively since

August, when the defending gold medalist and top-ranked wrestler in his class lost consecutive matches and failed to reach the podium.

Burroughs looked forward to competing in Iran, where wrestling is a national sport. Iran earned a combined 11 wrestling medals at the last two Olympics, its most of any sport, despite entering zero women’s wrestlers.

“There is such a common respect for wrestlers in Iran,” Burroughs said. “They love wrestling. They’re huge fans of mine. I’m bummed about that. I really wanted to be part of something great in what I consider a great country. Obviously, my views and our country’s views are different.”

“I love Iran. I love their people, and I don’t get into politics,” Burroughs added. “I wasn’t going to make a political stance. I was going to compete.”

The U.S. has sent wrestlers to meets in Iran a total of 15 times since 1998, with Burroughs part of the contingent at the 2013 Freestyle World Cup in Tehran.

Teymourian linked with Naft Tehran

I love Iranian people: Jordan Burroughs

Iran’s junior national squash team has featured outstanding performances at the Bright Smart Securities 18th Asian Junior Squash Team Championships 2017 in Hong Kong, and managed to notch up four wins at the major continental sporting event.

On Saturday and the fourth day of the tournament at Hong Kong Squash Center, the Iranian team, comprising Alireza Shameli, Mojtaba Vafili Vijouyeh, Amir Hossein Feizpour and Mohammadreza Ja’farzadeh Kenarsari, subdued the Singaporean squad 2-0.

The achievement came a day after Iranian squash players sustained

a 0-3 defeat from their Pakistani counterparts.

Earlier, the Iran’s junior national squash team had managed to roll past Japan 3-0 on Thursday afternoon, but had lost out 0-3 to the Indian side.

Iranian squash players started their campaign at the Asian junior championships in a dominant fashion on Wednesday, thrashing Macau and South Korea 3-0 in their first two fixtures of the competition.

Bright Smart Securities 18th Asian Junior Squash Team Championships 2017 started in Hong Kong on February 1 and will finish on February 5.

(Source: PressTV)

Iran squash team clinches victories at Asian junior championships

United World Wrestling president

Nenad Lalovic says that wrestling is a sport that unites people and nations.

The prestigious event has been scheduled to take place in Kermanshah, Iran, from Feb. 16-17 but U.S. wrestlers have been banned from participating in the competition in response to President Trump’s executive order forbidding visas for Iranian nationals.

Statement from United World Wrestling president Nenad Lalovic:

Though we had hoped for a different outcome from Iran’s Foreign Ministry, we appreciate the complex

nature of this decision. We are currently working to find a solution for the Freestyle World Cup as soon as possible.

Despite the travel restrictions between their countries I’ve been encouraged this week by the cooperation and friendship of the Iranian Wrestling Federation and USA Wrestling. As we’ve seen over the years, wrestling is a sport that unites people and nations. United World Wrestling hosts a full calendar of events every season and we’re certain to see American and Iranian wrestlers on the same mat again in the very near future.

United World Wrestling issues statement on Iran World Cup

Tractor Sazi match the toughest game of the season, says Persepolis coachS P O R T S

d e s kPersepolis football team head coach Branko Ivankovic believes that the

match against Tractor Sazi on Sunday is the most difficult test of the season for his men.

Iran Professional League (IPL) pacesetter Persepolis will host second-place Tractor Sazi in Tehran’s Azadi Stadium on Sunday.

“The top two teams of the league will meet together and I believe this is the most difficult test for us. Fortunately, we play at home and the fans will play a big role in our success. We play for our fans and I promise we will make every effort to make them happy,” Branko said in the pre-match press conference.

“I am sad after hearing that FIFA imposed transfer ban on Tractor Sazi. I can understand their situation, but it’s not Amir Ghalenoei’s fault and it has nothing to do with him,” Branko added.

“With respect to all of the league teams, we play every match to get the three points no matter who we are playing,” the Croatian coach added.

Last week in an interview with a Croatian website Branko revealed that he has rejected the offer to sign former Arsenal and Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor.

“Yes I rejected Adebayor. The problem with these kind of players is that they had been great players but now they are at the end of their careers and do not have enthusiasm. I don’t want players without passion and motivation,” Branko said.

Persepolis are currently at the top of IPL table with 44 points from 19 games, followed by Tractor Sazi.

S P O R T S

d e s kPersepolis football team head coach Branko Ivankovic believes that the

match against Tractor Sazi on Sunday is the most difficult test of the season for his men.

Iran Professional League (IPL) pacesetter Persepolis will host second-place Tractor Sazi in Tehran’s Azadi Stadium on Sunday.

“The top two teams of the league will meet together and I believe this is the most difficult test for us. Fortunately, we play at home and the fans will play a big role in our success. We play for our fans and I promise we will make every effort to make them happy,” Branko said in the pre-match press conference.

“I am sad after hearing that FIFA imposed transfer ban on Tractor Sazi. I can understand their situation, but it’s not Amir Ghalenoei’s fault and it has nothing to do with him,” Branko added.

“With respect to all of the league teams, we play every match to get the three points no matter who we are playing,” the Croatian coach added.

Last week in an interview with a Croatian website Branko revealed that he has rejected the offer to sign former Arsenal and Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor.

“Yes I rejected Adebayor. The problem with these kind of players is that they had been great players but now they are at the end of their careers and do not have enthusiasm. I don’t want players without passion and motivation,” Branko said.

Persepolis are currently at the top of IPL table with 44 points from 19 games, followed by Tractor Sazi.

b

No. 18, Bimeh Alley, Nejatollahi St., Tehran, IranP.o. Box: 14155-4843

Zip Code: 1599814713

I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Yh t t p : / / w w w . t e h r a n t i m e s . c o m / c u l t u r e

When thou fightest with anyone, consider Whether thou wilt have to flee from him or he from thee.

Sadi

Poem of the day

SINCE 1979Prayer Times

TEHRAN — A movie directed by Masud Jafari Jozani reviewed

the 1980s scandal of France’s HIV-infected blood supplies to Iran.

The film titled “Behind the Wall of Silence” premiered during the 35th Fajr Film Festival at Tehran’s Milad Tower on Friday.

“By making this film, we intend to reopen the case of France’s HIV-infected blood supplies,” Jafari Jozani said during a press conference held after a screening of the movie.

“The infected blood scandal was uncovered over 20 years ago, but unfortunately, nobody has made any response against it and this is the bitter reality,” he added.

Infected blood from France’s National Blood Transfusion Center caused the deaths of hundreds of French people, and an official investigation showed that senior health officials had ordered the continued use of the blood-clotting factor that hemophiliacs need, despite knowing that it had been contaminated.

Even after the supplies were banned, contaminated blood was still exported to countries abroad, including Iran, causing the infection and deaths of hundreds of people.

Jafari Jozani said that he was repeatedly threatened by an attorney of the French center when he was making the film.

He said that some Iranian companies importing pharmaceutical products are still working with

France’s National Blood Transfusion Center.“I don’t know what organization authorized the

cooperation with the center,” lamented Jafari Jozani who is also the writer of the screenplay for the film.

NEW YORK (NY Times) — In one of the strongest protests yet by a major cultural institution against President Trump’s executive order on immigration, the Museum of Modern Art has rehung part of its permanent collection with works by artists from some of the majority-Muslim nations whose citizens are blocked from entering the United States.

Seven works by artists such as the Sudanese painter Ibrahim el-Salahi, the Iraqi-born architect Zaha Hadid,

and the Los Angeles-based Iranian video artist Tala Madani, were installed Thursday night in MoMA’s fifth-floor galleries, replacing seven works by Picasso, Matisse and Picabia, among other Western artists. Alongside each work is a wall text that plainly states the museum’s intentions: “This work is by an artist from a nation whose citizens are being denied entry into the United States, according to a presidential executive order issued on Jan. 27, 2017. This is one of several such artworks

from the Museum’s collection installed throughout the fifth-floor galleries to affirm the ideals of welcome and freedom as vital to this Museum as they are to the United States.”

Except for Hadid and Mr. el-Salahi, the other artists are all Iranian by birth or heritage. They are Ms. Madani; the sculptor Parviz Tanavoli; the draftsman Hossein Zenderoudi; the photographer Shirana Shahbazi; and the painter Marcos Grigorian. In addition, a large sculpture of aluminum and steel by

Siah Armajani, an American artist born in Iran, was placed in the glass-walled lobby courtyard overlooking the garden.

The fifth-floor additions rupture the museum’s traditional narrative of Western modernism before 1945. Only very rarely has MoMA interrupted its succession of art from Post-Impressionism to Cubism, Dadaism, and after — which still reflects the modernist vision of its first director, Alfred Barr — with works of postwar and contemporary art. Further additions are planned for the weeks ahead.

TEHRAN — Actor Reza Kianian was appointed the social

responsibility ambassador of Debenhams, the UK-based department store chain, during the opening ceremony of his photo exhibit at Tehran’s Art Center on Friday.

“Social responsibility means we do not wait for the government and the public sector to help us. We do our work ourselves, that is, to learn to stand on our own two feet. Look at the number of galleries and theaters established recently, this mean we can do things ourselves,” Kianian said at the ceremony.

“One of the companies that stepped in to carry on social activities is Debenhams, which has begun to support Iranian costume designers and help introduce them to the world. The company has also begun to reproduce domestically-produced Iranian appliances in new designs,” he added.

“The company also offered to support my exhibit, but I proposed that they buy artworks instead; this

means social responsibility,” he remarked, adding that Debenhams has officially joined the supporters of Iran’s visual art.

In his brief words Art Center Founder Vahid Malek also called it a good movement for famous companies and brands to support art. “But when a company buys artworks to support an exhibition it helps promote art and this is a new movement,” he said.

The actor ’s collection titled “Infinite Blue” is composed of 24 photos, 12 of which feature photos of the galaxy and the other 12 objects left on the Anzali Marsh.

The ceremony was attended by a large number of officials, fans and art lovers including Health Minister Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi, photographer Fakhreddin Fakhreddini and painter Gholamhossein Nami.

Kianian is among the supporters of the campaign launched by a number of environmental activists to save and restore Lake Urmia from environmental ruin.

The exhibit will be running until February 13 at the gallery located at North Salimi St., Andarzgu Blvd. in the Farmanieh neighborhood.

Noon:12:18 Evening: 17:55 Dawn: 5:35 tomorrow) Sunrise: 7:00 (tomorrow)

PICTURE OF THE DAY Tehran Times/Shahab Qayyumi

Managing Director: Ali Asgari Editor-in-Chief: Hassan Lasjerdi Editorial Dept.: Fax: (+98(21) 88808214 editor@tehrantimes.com Switchboard Operator: Tel: (+98 21) 43051000 Advertisements Dept.: Telefax: (+98 21) 43051450 ads@tehrantimes.com Public Relations Office: Tel: (+98 21) 88805807 Subscription & Distribution Dept.: Tel: (+98 21) 43051603 www.eshterak.ir Distributor: Padideh Novin Co. Tel: 88911433 Webmaster: webmaster@tehrantimes.comPrinted at: Kayhan - ISSN: 1017-94

Saman Ehteshami performs a piano recital during a ceremony held at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall on February 3, 2017 to commemorate composer and piano virtuoso Javad Marufi (1912-1993).

FEBRUARY 5, 2017

“Land of Mine” takes Denmark’s

dark secret to the Oscars

NEW YORK (Reuters) — A country’s dark secret is the subject of an Oscar-nominated film, as a Danish filmmaker tells the true story of German prisoners of war ordered to disable and remove Nazi-planted land mines in Denmark after World War Two.

“Land of Mine”, written and directed by Martin Zandvliet and nominated in the foreign film Oscar race this year, is the story of the young men tasked with the responsibility of removing two million land mines hidden along the Danish coast.

The film sees the relationship between the prisoners of war and the sergeant assigned to watch over them turn from hate to compassion.

Zandvliet told Reuters he wanted to explore the “hate and forgiveness and dilemmas that happen after war.”

The story of the German prisoners is considered by some as a stain on Denmark’s history, and Zandvliet received hate mail in response to his film.

Painting A collection of paintings by Maliheh

Rostami is on display in an exhibition at Negar Gallery.

The exhibition entitled “Dimension of Being a Woman” runs until February 8 at the gallery located at 33 Delaram

Alley, East Roshanai St. in the Qeitarieh neighborhood.

Paintings by Farhad Forutanian are on display in an exhibition at Sohrab Gallery.

The exhibit named “Fragrance of Life” runs until February 12 at the gallery located at 142 Somayyeh Ave.

An exhibition of paintings by Mohammadreza Amani is currently underway at Atashzad Gallery.

The exhibit titled “Colored Steps” runs until February 13 at the gallery located at 23 North

Abbaspur (Tavanir) St., near Vanak Sq. Delgosha Gallery is playing host to an

exhibition of paintings by Maral Kuchak.

The exhibition will be running until February 14 at the gallery located at 30 Mohajer Alley, Iranshahr St., Karim Khan Ave.

Installation Sets of installation art by Arezu Jabbari are

currently on display in an exhibition at Farda Gallery.

The exhibition entitled “Lovely Bones” runs until February 9 at the gallery, which can be found at 2 Arabi Alley, Hosseini St., off Karim Khan Ave.

Multimedia Sayeh Gallery is playing host to an exhibition of

installations and paintings by Arezu Sarvarpur.

The exhibition named “The Whirling of Every Second of My Existence” runs until February 8 at the gallery located at 3 Aqakhani

Alley, Omidvar St. in the Niavaran neighborhood.

WHAT’S IN ART GALLERIES

“Oliver Twist” comes to Iranian bookstores

Hesameddin Seraj to perform in Kabul

Tanzania to host Iranian cultural festival

TEHRAN — A Persian translation of “Oliver Twist” by Zahra

Qalambar Dezfuli has recently been published by Shahr-e Qesseh Publications in Tehran.

The book was translated from an adaptation of English writer Charles Dickens’ original novel by Maggie Pearson.

“Oliver Twist” is the classic tale of a poor orphan boy who runs away from an abusive master, only to fall in with thieves and robbers on the cruel streets of 19th-century London. Eventually, Oliver discovers the truth about his past and finds a true home.

TEHRAN — Vocalist Hesameddin Seraj will give a concert of Iranian

traditional music in Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, the Iranian cultural attaché in Kabul, Reza Maleki, told the Persian service of IRNA on Saturday.

Seraj is also scheduled to meet the chief executive of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Abdullah Abdullah, during a program today.

The concert has been organized to celebrate the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution of Iran.

TEHRAN — The National Museum of Tanzania will host an Iranian

cultural festival, which will be held in Dar es Salaam from February 10 to 12, Iran’s Islamic Culture and Relations Organizations (ICRO) announced on Saturday.

A number of Tanzanian and Iranian cultural officials and artists will attend the festival, which will continue in Zanzibar from February 15 to 17.

Some film screenings, theater and musical performances and art exhibitions will be arranged during the festival.

N E W S I N B R I E F Movie reopens case of France’s HIV-infected blood supplies to Iran

Director Masud Jafari Jozani attends a press conference during the 35th Fajr Film Festival at Tehran’s Milad Tower on February 3, 2017 to brief the media about his latest film “Behind the Wall of Silence”. (Honaronline/Alireza Farahani)

A R Td e s k

Reza Kianian appointed Debenhams social responsibility ambassador

C U L T U R Ed e s k

C U L T U R Ed e s k

MoMA protests Trump entry ban by rehanging work by artists from Muslim nations

A R Td e s k

A R Td e s k

Art enthusiasts visit an exhibition of photos by Reza Kianian at Tehran’s Art Center on February 3, 2017.

(Honaronline/Farzan Qasemi)