Leader vows response if U.S.

renews sanctions push

Iraqi security sources say volunteer fighters have managed to complete the isolation of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Daesh) terrorist group-held Mosul by cutting off the Takfiri terrorist group’s only remaining supply line between the northern Iraqi city and Syria.

According to the officials, the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU/), also known as

al-Hashd al-Shaabi forces, reached the path connecting the towns of Tal Afar to Sinjar, west of Mosul, and linked up with other Iraqi troops there on Wednesday.

“Hashd forces have cut off the Tal Afar-Sin-jar road,” senior PMU commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis said.

The achievement effectively seals off Mo-

sul, the last stronghold of ISIL terrorist group in Iraq. The city is already surrounded on the northern, southern, and eastern parts by government troops.

According to Iraq’s al-Sumaria TV network, the road which is ISIL’s last remaining supply route linking Mosul to other Iraqi cities as well as to eastern Syria has now been cut off. 1 3

42 15 16“Kiss the Lovely Face of God” unveiled in Baku

Morocco rejects Iran football friendly match

Italy to push Iran trade ties, undaunted by Trump

Iran asks EU to cancel MKO’s legal immunity

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

P O L I T I C S

d e s k

P O L I T I C S

d e s k

P O L I T I C S

d e s k

kha

men

ei.ir

See page 2

U.S. Treasury encourages Brazilian banks to finance trade with Iran: officialThe U.S. Treasury has reassured Brazil-ian banks they can finance trade with Iran without fear of sanctions, opening the way to billions of dollars in poten-tial exports of jet planes, buses and equipment, a senior Brazilian official said on Wednesday.

Sanctions on non-U.S. entities do-ing business with Iranian companies were lifted with implementation in Jan-uary of the nuclear accord with Iran, but Brazilian banks remained worried they could still face repercussions, said Rodrigo Azeredo, Brazil’s top diplomat for trade.

“They feared U.S. and European banks could react by cancelling their credit lines,” Azeredo said.

That is expected to change after Treasury officials explained to exec-utives of Brazil’s largest banks in Sao Paulo last week that they can deal with Iranian banks as long as the transac-tions - in dollars or any other currency - do not go through the U.S. banking system and do not involve blacklisted Iranian companies.

The assurances from the Treas-ury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) should remove a financial hur-dle to Brazil’s plan to expand trade with Iran to $5 billion in a few years from $1.6 billion last year, the Brazilian foreign ministry official said.

“The U.S. government feels almost obliged to update its partners on the sanctions on Iran. They want to show that Iran can benefit too from the nu-clear accord,” Azeredo said.

The OFAC team’s briefing coincid-ed with a visit to Brazil by an Iranian mission headed by Finance Minister Ali Tayebnia seeking to advance trade deals.

Brazil’s Embraer (EMBR3.SA), the world’s third largest maker of commer-cial planes, is in talks to sell Iran at least 20 of its E-195 jets worth over $1 billion as the Middle Eastern country moves to renew its aging airline fleets.

Embraer still requires a U.S. license for the sale to Iran of sensitive jet en-gine technology in its planes.

(Source: Reuters)

Lawmakers approve

motion to limit drug-related executions

TEHRAN — Ira-nian lawmakers

on Wednesday voted in favor of a motion under which minor drug offenders would face imprisonment instead of execution, IRNA report-ed.

147 out of 195 parliamentarians present in the Majlis voted “yes” on the single-urgency motion which would add an article to the law on drug of-fences.

If the motion is ratified, the drug offenders who are not charged with capital crimes would face between 25 to 30 years imprisonment as a substi-tute for execution and life imprison-ment.

Ezatollah Yousefian, a parlia-mentarian from Amol, said the ma-jority of those executed are drug traffickers.

“And this issue has been politicized by Western countries” and the Islamic Republic has paid a “huge” price for such a law, he explained.

“In the aforementioned motion, emphasis has been put on replacing the execution of some drug traffick-ers with imprisonment,” the legislator pointed out.

He also questioned the usefulness of executing such large number of drug traffickers. 2

OPEC to debate oil output cut next week but Iraq, Iran hesitateOPEC will debate an oil output cut of 4.0-4.5 percent for all of its members except Libya and Nigeria next week but the deal’s success hinges on an agreement from Iraq and Iran, which are far from certain to give full back-ing.

Three OPEC sources told Reu-ters a gathering of experts from the oil producer group in Vienna had decided on Tuesday to recommend that a ministerial meeting on Nov. 30 debate a proposal from member Algeria to reduce output by that amount.

Such a cut would bring OPEC’s cur-rent output down by more than 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd), accord-ing to Reuters calculations based on the group’s October production, and is towards the upper end of market ex-pectations.

But sources also said the represent-atives of Iran, Iraq and Indonesia had expressed reservations during talks that continued for 11 hours about their lev-el of participation in what would be the group’s first supply-limiting deal since 2008.

Brent oil futures were trading slightly up at around $49.2 per bar-rel at 2010 GMT, having lost most of their earlier gains of around $1 a barrel.

In September, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Coun-tries agreed to reduce production to between 32.5 million and 33.0 million bpd - an effort to prop up prices - from OPEC’s own latest production estimates of 33.64 mil-lion bpd.

OPEC’s deal faces potential set-backs from Iraq’s call for it to be ex-empt and from Iran, which wants to increase supply because its output has been hit by sanctions.

Iraq’s foreign minister said on Tues-day in Budapest that OPEC should allow Iraq to continue raising output with no restrictions.

(Source: Reuters)

Ayatollah Mousavi Ardebili passes away

TEHRAN – Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Abdul Karim Mousavi Ardebili passed away on Wednesday, days

after he was hospitalized in Laleh Hospital in Tehran.Ayatollah Mousavi Ardebili was taken to the hospital due to heart

failure on Monday and later sank into a coma. “His funeral will be held in Qom on Friday, and he will be buried in

(the courtyard of ) the shrine of Fatima Masumeh,” said Hojatoleslam Parsa, head of Ayatollah Mousavi Ardebili’s office.

On Tuesday, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Khame-nei and President Rouhani as well as other senior officials visited him in Laleh Hospital.

Ayatollah Mousavi Ardebili was born on 28 January 1926 in Arda-bil, northwestern Iran. Raised in a clerical family, he travelled to Qom and Najaf to pursue his interest in Islamic studies.

After the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Mousavi Ardebili was appoint-ed the chief prosecutor and after Ayatollah Beheshti was martyred in a terrorist attack in 1982, he was appointed the head of the judiciary.

In 1988, Ayatollah Mousavi Ardebili founded Mofid University in Qom.After Imam Khomeini’s demise, he moved back to Qom to write

and teach in the Islamic seminaries.President Rouhani issued a statement offering condolences over

the death of the ayatollah and declared two days of mourning.

2

Iraq cuts ISIL’s last supply route to Mosul

‘Israeli accusations against Iran intended to hide crimes against Palestinians’ TEHRAN — Iran’s deputy

permanent representative to the UN has said claims by the Israeli regime that Iran has been violating “numer-ous Security Council resolutions” are baseless and a typical attempt by Tel Aviv to smoke screen its criminal acts against the Palestinian nation.

“A regime that has brazenly flout-ed all UN General Assembly and Security Council resolutions about the lands it criminally occupies is not in a position to broach such a claim against other nations,” Gholam Hos-sein Dehghani said in a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Following is full text of the letter published by IRNA:

In the name of God, the most Compassionate, the most Merciful

Excellency,Upon instructions from my gov-

ernment and with reference to the letter dated 21 November 2016 from the Representative of the Israeli regime to the United Nations ad-dressed to the Secretary General, I have the honor to state the following:

1. The letter, once again, contains a flurry of baseless and unsubstan-tiated accusations that are leveled against my country without, as usu-al, a shred of evidence; accusations that none of them are ‘important new information’, as the author of the letter falsely claims, but old re-hashed ones.

2. The accusation of the violation by Iran of ‘numerous Security Coun-cil resolutions’, referred to in the let-ter, is equally baseless and this time amusing too, as it amounts to an innovative in-bulk leveling of accu-sations against a UN Member State. At least, a regime that has brazen-

ly flouted all UN General Assembly and Security Council resolutions about the lands it criminally occu-pies is not in a position to broach such a claim against other nations.

3. In addition, it is absurd and hypocritical for the representative of a regime that has occupied the lands of other peoples for so many dec-ades and denied every basic right of the Palestinian people, including their right to self-determination, to accuse occasionally my country of violating international law.

4. It is equally absurd and hyp-ocritical for the representative of a regime that has for long been in-volved in terrorizing and indiscrimi-nately targeting the Palestinian civil-ians, including women and children, in their own land and in terrorist targeted killings and assassinating individuals in many parts of the

world, to accuse Iran of sponsoring terrorism.

5. Last but not least, this kind of accusatory claims by the Israe-li regime against other countries, including mine, is after all a typical Israeli attempt to smoke screen their criminal policies and acts against the innocent Palestinians, including keeping a two-million community under siege for 10 years, once in a while bombing and shelling res-idential areas, destroying schools and hospitals, demolishing houses, confiscating dwellings, violating the sanctity of the religious shrines and so on and so force.

I should be grateful if you would have the present letter circulated to all Member States of the Security Coun-cil and as a document of the Council.

Please accept, Excellency, the as-surances of my highest consideration.

Iran says to buy new fighter jets

16 Pages Price 10,000 Rials 38th year No.12704 Thursday NOVEMBER 24, 2016 Azar 4, 1395 Safar 24, 1438

Slovenian president hails

Iran visit TEHRAN — The Slovenian president has hailed his for-

mal visit to Iran, saying he will do his best to bring Slovenia and Iran closer to each other.

“I am here to this beautiful country to visit your beautiful people and leaders to estab-lish the best possible political and economic relations between the two countries,” Borut Pahor said at a speech on Wednesday in Iran’s parliament.

He arrived at Tehran late on Monday for a formal visit at the head of a trade delegation.

Pahor also expressed satisfaction with de-bates he had with his Iranian counterpart and the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei dur-ing his visit.

IRNA

/ Ehs

an N

ader

ipou

r

P O L I T I C S

d e s k

Slovenian President Borut Pahor (L) visits Iran’s Majlis on Wednesday, meeting Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani.

Y Iranto bfigh

P O L I T I C Sd e s k

P O L I T I C Sd e s k

TEHRAN — Ayatol-lah Akbar Hashemi

Rafsanjani said on Tuesday that Iran acts based on “dignity”, “wisdom” and “expediency” in the face of the U.S. sanctions and hostile stances.

Rafsanjani, the chairman of the Ex-pediency Council, made the remarks in a meeting with Slovenian President Borut Pahor who made a visit to Iran at the head of a business delegation.

Rafsanjani also criticized comments by Donald Trump, the new U.S.-elect president, on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the official name for the nuclear deal.

In a speech in March to a confer-ence of the American Israel Public Affairs

Committee (AIPAC) in Washington Trump claimed that his “number one priority is to dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran”. However, he later backed down from his rhetoric saying it was difficult to violate a deal which has been approved by the UN Security Council.

Iran and the six major powers final-ized the text of the JCPOA in July 2015 which took effect in January 2016.

Rafsanjani also said that Iran sees no re-strictions to expand relations with Slovenia.

For his part, Pahor said his country’s decision to reopen embassy in Tehran indicates Slovenia’s willingness to ex-pand ties with Tehran.

In a ceremony on Wednesday Slo-venia reopened its embassy in Tehran.

Iran acts with dignity in face of U.S. hostility: Rafsanjani

TEHRAN — Presi-dent Hassan Rouhani

said on Wednesday that the govern-ment is duty bound to support Basij.

Addressing a cabinet meeting, he said Basij played a “valuable” role during Iraq’s war against Iran in the 1980s.

Rouhani made the remarks as Iran is celebrating Basij Week which falls be-tween Nov. 19 to Nov. 25.

The president said Muslims in many countries are following the model of Basij.

“The Basij model, which was creat-ed by founder of the Islamic Revolution Imam Khomeini… can prove effective for Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Af-

ghanistan and all the Islamic countries when they face a problem,” he ex-plained.

He also said currently “economic development” is highly important and called on the Armed Forces in-cluding Basij to help stimulate the economy.

Now economy is the main national issue and “enemy has targeted this area by the weapon of sanctions”, the presi-dent remarked.

Rouhani noted that all should help to prop up the economy.

Elsewhere, in his remarks the pres-ident said promoting ethics and fos-tering national unity are among other national priorities.

Rouhani: Government tasked to back Basij

TEHRAN — The Supreme Leader warned on Wednesday that if

Washington renews a 10-year extension of existing sanctions against Iran before disbanding for the year, Iran will “definitely” react as it breaches the terms of the nuclear deal.

“…if these sanctions are extended, it will definitely be a violation of BARJAM (JCPOA) and they (the Americans) should know that the Islamic Republic will definitely react to that,” Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said at a meeting with hundreds of Basij forces in Tehran.

On November 15, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a clean, 10-year extension to the ISA by a vote of 419 to 1, mounting pressure on the Sen-ate to follow suit. Senate Democrats favored a 10-year extension akin to the House’s measure. To go through, the bill needs President Obama signing on it.

The Leader also rapped Washington for its repeated violation of the nuclear pact, saying, “The current U.S. government has so far violated the nuclear agreement on several occasions with the 10-year extension of sanc-tions being the most recent of which.”

Ayatollah Khamenei further warned Washington against the use of the nuclear deal as a tool to pressure Iran.

“The nuclear deal or BARJAM should not turn into a tool to exert pressure on the Iranian nation and country.”

The Supreme Leader also referred to the election of Donald Trump as the U.S. president and how his incom-ing administration may deal with the nuclear deal, saying it would be premature to judge the new U.S. govern-ment.

“Currently, we cannot make any judgment about the new administration which is due to take office…”

President-elect Trump had raised the prospect of pulling out of the JCPOA during his campaign speeches though he watered down his stance later on.

On Tuesday, Ali Akbar Velayati, the senior advisor to the Leader, underscored that renewal of the Iran Sanc-tions Act would amount to violating the terms of the JCPOA.

Also, other senior Iranian officials have warned that Tehran will not be silent if Washington fails to respect the deal.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, after Trump was announced president, called on all signing sides to act in compliance with the JCPOA, citing that Iran has options if the deal fails.

On Tuesday, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani appeared critical of numerous moves by the U.S. to violate the JCPOA, warning that Tehran will bring to senses the Americans if they fail to honor the nuclear agreement.

NOVEMBER 24, 2016NOVEMBER 24, 20162I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

N A T I O N

MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

1 Under Iranian law, those who commit capital crimes are re-garded as “Mofsed-e-fi larz” (cor-rupt of the ear th), and would face

severe punishments, including death penalty.

In March 2016, the United Nations Human Rights Council said that at

least 966 people were put to death in Iran in 2015, adding that it’s “roughly double the number executed in 2010 and 10 times as many as were execut-

ed in 2005.”Iran, however, dismissed the report as

being founded upon "incorrect informa-tion".

Lawmakers approve motion to limit drug-related executions

P O L I T I C Sd e s k

TEHRAN — The administration of outgoing President Barack

Obama will avoid signing any bill in its final months that would “undermine” the Iran nuclear agree-ment, the White House said on Tuesday.

“We certainly are not going to, however, sign a piece of legislation that would undermine the ability of the international community to continue to suc-cessfully implement the international agreement,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, accord-ing to CNN

Obama administration would not ‘undermine’ nuclear deal: White House

P O L I T I C Sd e s k

Iran to launch giant overhauled logistic warship

TEHRAN — The commander of the Iranian Navy’s First Zone an-

nounced on Wednesday that the country will soon launch a giant overhauled warship.

“The Khark logistic warship, which is the big-gest warship in West Asia has been overhauled after 35 years by Navy experts in Bandar Ab-bas and will be launched soon,” Rear Admiral Hossein Azad told reporters in Bandar Abbas, IRNA reported.

P O L I T I C Sd e s k

Iran says to buy new fighter jets

TEHRAN — The sec-ond-in-command of the Iranian

Army announced on Wednesday that Iran plans to enhance the capabilities of its Air Force by purchas-ing new warplanes.

Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan also said the Air Force’s overhauled planes and fighter jets are ready to defend the country and confront threats, Nasim reported.

Pourdastan didn’t mention what type of aircraft Iran plans to buy and from what country.

Sources recently said Iran and Russia were dis-cussing arms trade.

P O L I T I C Sd e s k

Leader vows response if U.S. renews sanctions push

Leader says if these sanctions are extended, it will definitely

be a violation of BARJAM (JCPOA) and they (the

Americans) should know that the Islamic Republic will

definitely react to that.

The Basij model, which was created by founder of the Islamic Revolution Imam Khomeini… can prove effective for Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Yemen,

Afghanistan and all the Islamic countries.

Rafsanjani criticizes comments by Donald Trump, the new U.S.-elect

president, on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

It’s possible to form Islamic world of Basij: Iran’s top commander

TEHRAN — The Iranian armed forces chief of staff has said it is

possible to establish the Islamic world of Basij by following the Islamic Republic’s model.

In a message released on Wednesday on the 37th anniversary of the establishment of Basij, Mohammad Hossein Baqeri enumerated the services that Basij has done for the coun-try since the victory of the Islamic Revolution, Tasnim reported.

Apart from public services, particularly in under-privileged areas, Basij is viable force in Iran’s de-fense power, he underlined.

P O L I T I C Sd e s k

TEHRAN — In a cer-emony on Wednes-

day Slovenia reopened its embassy in Tehran.

Slovenian President Borut Pahor, his For-eign Minister Karl Erjavec, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and some other officials attended the ceremony.

Slovenia closed its embassy in Tehran in 2011 due to austerity measures.

It is about two months that Slovenia’s interim chargé d'affaires has started his work in Tehran.

President Pahor said the reopening of the embassy is an evidence that relations are growing.

“We believe that today and this mo-ment (the reopening of the embassy) are very important and promising for the two countries,” Parhor said according to a translation of his remarks.

He also thanked Zarif for urging Slo-venia to resume its diplomatic activities in Tehran and lauded Zarif as an important figure who proved very competent in nu-clear talks with great powers.

Zarif also said the reopening of the embassy heralds a new opening in rela-

tions between Tehran and Ljubljana.Zarif also said through the political will of the

two countries’ officials relations can expand.The foreign minister also said the visit

of President Pahor along with two of his

top ministers along with a trade delega-tion will open a new chapter in relations.

Slovenian Economy Minister Zdravko Pocivalsek who was accompanying the president told IRNA that the reopening of

the embassy will lay the ground for ex-pansion of ties.

He also said his previous visit to Tehran led to the opening of the Slovenian eco-nomic office in Tehran.

Slovenia reopens embassy in Tehran

P O L I T I C Sd e s k

‘Khorasan IRGC intelligence had no hand in cancelling Motahari’s speech’

TEHRAN — The IRGC spokes-man has denied allegations that

the intelligence unit of the IRGC in Khorasan had a hand in cancelling Majlis Deputy Speaker Ali Mota-hari’s speech in Mashhad.

However, Ramezan Sharif added, the unit had written to Razavi Khorasan Governo-rate-General and attorney to take due meas-ures to ensure no security breach ensues Mot-ahari’s speech.

The cautionary letter was justified in view of the parliamentarian’s record and his statements in the past which have been used as a pretext to cause problems, he said.

P O L I T I C Sd e s k

TEHRAN — The secretary of Iran’s Human Rights Council in a

letter on Wednesday to EU foreign policy chief Fed-erica Mogherini called on the European states to annul the legal immunity of the terrorist members of Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO).

Mohammad Javad Larijani stressed that the European states’ double-standards on human rights and their support for the MKO terrorist group whose hand is stained with the blood of the Iranian and Iraqi people is not acceptable.

Iran asks EU to cancel MKO’s legal immunity

P O L I T I C Sd e s k

Colombia's government will sign a new peace accord with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC/Fuer-zas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colom-bia) rebels, after a previous deal was re-jected in a referendum last month.

President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC chief Rodrigo Londono are to sign the agreement in Bogota's Colon Theatre on Thursday at 11am (1600 GMT), a statement released by govern-ment peace negotiators said.

The agreement is then expected to be approved by the country's Con-gress, where the ruling center-right coalition National Unity has a majority.

The FARC and government negoti-ators introduced some 50-plus chang-es to the original accord that failed to convince voters.

We have the unique opportunity to close this painful chapter in our history that has bereaved and afflicted millions of Colombians for half a century.

But opposition groups say it still does not go far enough in punishing

rebels for human rights abuses. Santos' chief rival, ex-president Alvaro Uribe, has rejected even the revised deal.

Uribe has insisted, for instance, that FARC leaders should not be allowed to run for office while still serving sentenc-es for atrocities.

“Whether the entire [current] text is voted on, or just the issues that have been sensitive and where there has been no agreement, we ought to do it by national referendum,” Uribe said.

The deal is aimed at ending more than 50 years of civil war, in which more than 220,000 people have been killed.

In a televised address to the nation on Tuesday, Santos said: “We have the unique opportunity to close this pain-ful chapter in our history that has be-reaved and afflicted millions of Colom-bians for half a century.”

The original deal was signed two months ago in a ceremony before world leaders but it was rejected in a referendum on 2 October.

(Source: Al Jazeera)

Hundreds of people have taken to the streets across Bahrain to express soli-darity with prominent Shia Muslim cleric Sheikh Issa Qassim who is to return to the dock on Wednesday for trial.

Protesters rallied in the village of Diraz west of the capital Manama, as well as Daih and Akr to reiterate their support for the 79-year-old cleric, and denounce charges against him.

They carried placards in condemna-tion of the trial, saying it amounts to the violation of the basic rights of all Shia Muslims in the tiny Persian Gulf king-dom.

Skirmishes broke out in Akr, where regime forces fired tear gas as well as rubber-coated bullets to disperse the crowd. There were no immediate re-ports of casualties and arrests.

The Bahraini regime has pressed charges of “illegal fund collections, money laundering and helping terror-ism” against Sheikh Qassim who has strongly rejected them.

On June 20, Bahraini authorities

stripped the clergyman of his citizen-ship. He is the spiritual leader of Bah-rain’s banned opposition bloc, the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society.

Bahraini authorities later ordered the dissolution of al-Wefaq, al-Risala Islamic Association and Islamic Enlightenment Institution, founded by Sheikh Qassim.

Thousands of anti-regime protesters have held numerous demonstrations in Bahrain on an almost daily basis ever since a popular uprising began in the kingdom on February 14, 2011.

They are demanding that the Al Khalifah dynasty relinquish power and a just system representing all Bahrainis be established.

On March 14, 2011, troops from Sau-di Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were deployed to Bahrain to assist the Manama government in its crackdown.

Scores of people have lost their lives and hundreds of others sustained injuries or got arrested as a result of Al Khalifah regime’s crackdown on anti-regime activists.

(Source: Press TV)

Bahrainis stage demonstrations ahead of top cleric’s trial

Colombia and FARC to sign peace deal 2.0

Syrian army soldiers advance further in eastern AleppoISIL could launch gas attacks beyond Syria: OPCW official

The Syrian army has pushed deeper into eastern Aleppo in its effort to retake the area from militants who are preventing residents from leaving it, a London-based monitor says.

Troops advanced in the key district of Masaken Hanano under the Syrian army's air cover, the so-called Syrian Ob-servatory for Human Rights said.

Masaken Hanano was the first Aleppo district to fall to foreign-backed terrorists in 2012 and is strategically vital.

According to the observatory, if government forces man-age to take the district they will be able to cut off the north-ern parts of militant-held Aleppo from the rest of the terror-ist-held districts.

Military aircraft dropped flyers, calling on the militants there to distribute foodstuff among the civilian population, leave the area and allow local residents to move to govern-ment-held areas.

The observatory said militants are preventing dozens of families from leaving eastern Aleppo, just like what they did during a “humanitarian pause” established by Syria and Rus-sia earlier this month.

Government troops are battling terrorists on several fronts inside militant-held districts.

The Associated Press quoted a resident of Aleppo's front-line Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, who corroborated the report by the observatory.

The man, identified as Hajj Mohammed al-Jasim, said his uncles' families were trying to cross from the Bustan al-Basha neighborhood in the east to the Sheikh Maqsoud enclave.

His relatives told him they were prepared to cross during the day but were advised by three militant groups to wait until dark.

“Then in the evening, (the terrorists) began to fire at the crossing” to prevent passage, al-Jasim said. The observatory reported 100 families are waiting to cross. Others said 250 civilians were prepared to go.

Elsewhere in the southwestern province of Quneitra, army troops pounded the positions of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (Front for the Conquest of the Levant), formerly known as the al-Nusra Front (Jabhat al-Nusra), killing an unspecified number of them.

The Syrian military command also announced plans for the formation of a new anti-terrorism commando force, dubbed the Fifth Corps. The announcement comes as the pace of the army's push to recapture eastern Aleppo rises.

An announcement on Tuesday urged terrorist groups to allow civilians to exit the besieged enclave through govern-ment-designated corridors. Another called on residents to stay clear of areas where armed groups operate.

Chemical attack probe

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weap-ons (OPCW) on Tuesday said it had received “samples” from Russia which it “may be of use” to the global watchdog's in-vestigation into chemical attacks in Aleppo.

The Russian military said on November 11 that it had evi-dence of the use of chemical weapons by terrorists.

The OPCW said it had “recently received an offer from Russian authorities to provide some samples and other ma-terial in relation to an incident of alleged use of chemicals as weapons in Aleppo.”

“These samples and other material may be of use in the ongoing work of the OPCW fact-finding mission,” the organ-ization said.

The OPCW said it has asked the Russian Foreign Ministry to submit “such material in Damascus or The Hague” due to the dangerously volatile situation in Aleppo.

On Tuesday, some residents of the Qaterji and Dahjer Awad districts said they experienced breathing difficulties from possible chlorine gas.

US: Air strike kills Abu Afghan al-Masri in Syria

Meantime, a “senior al-Qaeda leader” in Syria was killed last week by a United States air strike, according to the Pentagon.

The killing of Egyptian Abu Afghan al-Masri took place near Sarmada, located in Syria's Idlib province, on Novem-ber 18, Pentagon spokesperson Peter Cook told reporters on Tuesday.

Cook said that Masri had originally joined al-Qaeda in Af-ghanistan and later moved to its Syrian affiliate.

A handful of Arabic-language news agencies had report-ed Masri's death at the time.

Masri was a religious judge in Jabhat Fateh al-Sham until its formal break with al-Qaeda earlier this year.

The air strike was the latest in the U.S. program of target-ed killings in Syria and Iraq. Earlier this month, the Pentagon announced that on October 17 it had killed Haydar Kirkan, who it said was a member of al-Qaeda and had been close to the late Osama bin Laden.

In October, the Pentagon said a U.S. air strike near Idlib had targeted an al-Nusra senior leader, Ahmed Salama Mabrouk, an Egyptian also known by his nom de guerre Abu Faraj.

Syria launches new commando force as war heats up

Elsewhere, Syria's military announced it is forming a new commando force, calling on volunteers interested in “achiev-ing the final victory against terrorism” to apply.

The announcement on Tuesday, which named the new force the Fifth Corps, didn't specify where it would be de-ployed.

After nearly six years of combat, the Syrian conscrip-tion-based armed forces has become overstretched and has increasingly relied on its regional allies that have boosted its numbers and capabilities.

Syria's army said it formed a new corps of volunteers to fight alongside its soldiers and allies against opponents of President Bashar al-Assad.

An army statement said the move came “in response to the rapid development of events, to support the successes of armed forces, and to meet people's wishes to put an end to terrorist acts in the Syrian Arab Republic”.

The Fifth Attack Troops Corps of Volunteers will be made up of recruits over age 18 from across the country “not al-ready eligible for military service or deserters”, it said. It was not immediately clear how many people would be involved.

(Source: agencies)

NOVEMBER 24, 2016NOVEMBER 24, 2016 INTERNATIONAL 3I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

The United States President-elect Donald Trump has said he would “love” to reach a peace deal between Israel and Pales-tine, adding that he would appoint his son-in-law as a Middle East envoy and help broker a deal after he takes charge at the White House.

While Trump said both sides would have to “give up something” during the negotiations to reach an acceptable deal, he promised that he would exercise the U.S. veto “100 percent” of the time at the Security Council.

“I would love to be the one who made peace with Israel and the Palestinians, that would be such a great achievement,” Trump told the New York Times on Tuesday.

“A lot of people tell me, really great people tell me, that it's impossible, you can't do it. I disagree. I think you can make peace.”

It is not the first time Trump has ex-pressed his desire to reach an agreement between the two parties.

In March, speaking at the annual con-vention for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a notorious pro-Israel lobbying group in Washington, DC, Trump blasted the United Nations for what he said was its attempt to “impose” an agreement between Israel and Pales-

tine.Palestinians and their allies have re-

peatedly called on the UN to step in and force Israel to cease its settlement activity in the occupied West Bank, which they say is the first hindrance to serious ne-gotiations.

Critics have suggested that the role that the U.S. has played in the past as neutral broker was a betrayal of the ap-

parent preference the country has given Israel over the Palestinians, primarily with regards to military aid and intelligence sharing.

Trump reaffirmed these sentiments during his AIPAC speech, saying that “the Palestinians must come to the [ne-gotiating] table knowing that the bond between the U.S. and Israel is absolutely, totally unbreakable” and that “there is no

moral equivalency” between both sides.Several right-wing Israeli leaders cele-

brated Trump's victory earlier this month, including Education Minister Naftali Ben-net, who said “the era of a Palestinian state is over”.

A New York Times reporter tweeted that Trump also suggested his son-in-law Jared Kushner could help broker the deal.

Kushner, who is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka, is an observant Ortho-dox Jew and the grandson of Holocaust survivors, is a strong advocate for Israel.

According to Trump, Kushner “could be very helpful” in brokering an agree-ment between Israel and Palestine.

Kushner has recently come into the spotlight as one of the most notable fig-ures of the Trump electoral campaign.

According to a recent Forbes profile, Kushner is “uniquely position[ed] to be a power broker of the highest order for at least four years”.

Trump has repeatedly made his desire known to appoint Kushner to a cabinet position but anti-nepotism laws in the U.S. seemingly stand in the way.

However, Trump says he should be able to designate Kushner as his “special envoy” to a region “he knows”.

(Source: agencies)

Trump: I'd love to make Israel-Palestine peace deal

MEPs in Strasbourg have voted on a non-legislative resolution which calls for the EU to “respond to infor-mation warfare by Russia.” RT and Sputnik news agency are alleged to be among the most dangerous "tools of Russian propaganda."

The EU Parliament's resolution demonstrates "polit-ical degradation" in regard to the "idea of democracy" in the West, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday, commenting on the vote.

Putin pointed out that while "everyone tries to lec-ture" Russia on democracy, European lawmakers them-selves resort to a policy of restrictions, "which is not the best way" to deal with any issues.

Adding that he hopes the Western move to "counter Russian propaganda" won't lead to serious restrictions, the president congratulated RT and Sputnik journalists on their work.

In the Wednesday vote, 304 MEPs supported the resolution based on the report ‘EU strategic commu-nication to counteract propaganda against it by third parties’, with 179 voting against it and 208 abstaining.

Written by a Polish member of the European Con-servatives and Reformists (ECR) group, Anna Fotyga, the report alleged that Moscow aims to "incite fear and di-vide Europe," and called for the establishment of meas-ures to tackle the perceived Russian propaganda threat.

The report suggests that Moscow provides financial support to opposition parties and organizations in EU member states, causing disintegration within the bloc.

At the same time, Russia is accused of "information

warfare," with such entities as RT TV channel, Sputnik news agency, Rossotrudnichestvo federal agency and the Russkiy Mir (Russian World) fund alleged to be among its most threatening propaganda "tools."

The document also places Russian media organiza-tions alongside terrorist groups such as Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL).

Sputnik has already appealed to the UN, the Organ-ization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)

and a number of international journalists' organizations and NGOs, including Reporters Without Borders, to take measures to stop what it considers to be interference into freedom of speech in the EU.

"The resolution hits straight at a number of respected media, including Sputnik agency, and has an aim to stop their activity in the EU. Moreover, the resolution blunt-ly contradicts the EU's own human rights and freedom of press norms," reads the letter signed by Sputnik Edi-tor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan.

Before the Wednesday vote, the document had been criticized by some MEPs, who called it both "insane" and "ridiculous." The EU "desperately needs an enemy, be it Russia or any other," that it can blame for any of its own failures, French MEP Jean-Luc Schaffhaueser told RT. Spanish MEP Javier Couso Permuy said "it fosters hyste-ria against Russia," while British MEP James Carver noted the report is "worryingly reminiscent of the Cold War."

Moscow earlier said it would be forced to take re-ciprocal steps to the EU lawmakers' "unfriendly actions." Having called the MEPs' move "cynical," the Russian Federation Council member on international affairs, Igor Morozov, said that European lawmakers "should be aware that their unfriendly actions." Having called the MEPs' move "cynical," the Russian Federation Coun-cil member on international affairs, Igor Morozov, said that European lawmakers "should be aware that their unfriendly actions" would cause a "very tough response" from Moscow.

(Source: RT)

EU Parliament approves resolution to counter Russian media ‘propaganda’

File photo

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 NOVEMBER 24, NOVEMBER 24, 20162016

Iran’s capital market value reaches $187b

NISOC, Pergas sign MOU for oilfield studies

TEHRAN — Na-tional Iranian

South Oil Company (NISOC) and a consortium of international com-panies, known as Pergas, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Wednesday for carrying out preliminary studies over two

Iranian oilfields, Shana reported.Based on the agreement, the

consortium should hand over the result of its studies to the NISOC within six months but they could submit the proposal for develop-ment of the fields sooner if it is ready.

TEHRAN — The Head of Iran’s Se-

curities and Exchange Organization (SEO) Shapour Mohammadi an-nounced on Tuesday that the value of the country’s capital market, com-prising stock exchange, over-the-counter market (OTC) and funds, has

reached six quadrillion rials (about $187 billion),IRIB news reported on Wednesday.

According to Mohammadi, some $31 million-$37 million worth of deals are being conducted daily in the coun-try’s stock exchange which is a signifi-cant figure.

Russia has not yet received an invitation to attend an OPEC meeting on Nov. 30, but will take part in expert-level consultations with the organization on November 28, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednes-day.

Asked if Russia had received an invitation to the Nov. 30 meeting, Novak told reporters: “Af-ter the consultations the situation will be more or less clear. For now it’s premature to receive them (invitations) until the countries have con-ducted expert-level consultations.”

South Korean prosecutors raided the offices of Samsung Group on Wednesday, a prosecu-tion official said, after media reports of alleged links with a confidante of President Park Geun-hye who has been indicted in an influence-ped-dling scandal.

Prosecutors also raided South Korea’s larg-est pension fund, the National Pension Service (NPS), an NPS spokeswoman said. The Yonhap news agency reported that investigators were probing NPS’s decision to approve the $8 bil-lion merger of Samsung C&T Corp and Cheil Industries last year.

Lufthansa pilots in Germany began a two-day strike on Wednesday, grounding hundreds of flights at one of Europe’s largest carriers in a bid to increase pressure on management in a long-running pay dispute.

The pilot’s union initially called a walkout for 24 hours for Wednesday, but after two courts rejected attempts by Lufthansa to halt the strike, the union extended the strike for a further 24 hours until Friday.

The strike is the 14th to hit the airline in its row with the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) union.

NE

WS

IN B

RIE

F

Russia says not yet invited to OPEC meeting on November 30

Samsung Group raided in growing South Korea scandal

Lufthansa pilots start two-day strike, hundreds of flights cancelled

TEHRAN — “Slove-nian administration

will encourage the country’s investors to expand their activities in Iran and will support their investments in the Islamic Republic,” the Slovenian President Borut Pahor announced during Iran-Slovenia Business Forum held in the building of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) in Teh-ran on Tuesday.

“We vow to increase bilateral eco-nomic trade with Iran to its previous level before 2011,” IRIB news quoted the Slovenia president.

The Iranian Energy minister Hamid Chitchian, who also made remarks dur-ing the meeting as the Iranian head of Iran-Slovenia Joint Committee, admit-ted that Iran supports economic coop-eration with Slovenia as well as the two countries’ economic activities in a third country.

He named auto making industry and heavy machinery, hydroelectric tur-bines, renewable energies, and financial and banking as the possible fields for the two sides to expand their collabo-ration.

As reported, Gholam-Hossein Sha-fei, the head of ICCIMA, also attended the mentioned business forum.

Accompanied by a 50-member trade delegation, Pahor arrived in Tehran on Tuesday to meet Iranian entrepreneurs and businessmen in ICCIMA to confer possible avenues to expand Ljubljana-Tehran economic and commercial ties.

Iran and Slovenia signed three mem-oranda of understanding to expand co-operation in the areas of economy, tel-ecommunication, and nanotechnology after Pahor ’s meeting with the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

Slovenia reopened it embassy in Tehran on Wednesday.

Govt. to back investments in Iran: Slovenian president

PICTURE OF THE DAY IRNA\Javad Ghafari

U.S. grants second Airbus license to sell planes to IranThe United States said on Tuesday it had issued a second license to France’s Airbus to sell commercial planes to Iran Air, bringing Iran’s flag carrier a step closer to receiving new Western jets under last year ’s deal to ease sanctions.

The move in the waning months of Democratic Presi-dent Barack Obama’s administration to further unlock jet-liner sales to Iran prompted complaints from Republicans in Congress and is likely to raise the ire of President-elect Donald Trump. Trump has said he would dismantle the 2015 international nuclear deal with Iran, which includes a measure allowing U.S. and European companies to sell Iran civilian aircraft.

Licenses allowing such sales could easily be withdrawn by the Trump administration if he chose to do so, sanctions experts said. But he would likely face opposition from U.S. allies and other world powers who were partners in negoti-ating the deal to lift some sanctions in exchange for Tehran curbing its nuclear program.

The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on Monday issued the license for the sale of 106 planes to Iran Air, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, on condition of anonymity. An Airbus spokesman confirmed that the company had received the OFAC license, but de-clined to confirm the exact number of planes approved.

Although Airbus is based in France, it must have U.S. approval to sell planes to Iran because at least 10 percent of the aircraft’s components are American-made. Tehran provisionally ordered more than 100 jets each from Airbus and Boeing this year.

Before the license was issued on Monday, Airbus had U.S. permission for the sale of 17 jets to Iran.

Members of Trump’s transition team did not respond to a request for comment on the license.

Opponents of the nuclear deal argue that passenger air-craft could be used for military purposes.

The U.S. Treasury says that the licenses it issues contain strict conditions to require planes be used solely for com-mercial passenger use, and not be sold or transferred to a sanctioned person or group.

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill intending to block the sale of commercial aircraft to Iran, which would also affect sales by U.S. firm Boeing.

The measure is unlikely to become law during the cur-rent Congress, as it would need to pass the Senate, where it would face stiff opposition from Democrats. The White House also said Obama would veto the measure even if it did pass the Senate.

On Tuesday, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and House Foreign Affairs Com-mittee Chairman Ed Royce sent a letter to Obama asking him to refrain from trying to boost international investment in Iran or issuing new regulations, licenses or guidance on remaining sanctions in the last two months of his admin-istration.

McCarthy said in a statement on Tuesday that Obama should not allow for the Airbus sale. “Actions like this un-derscore the need for the upcoming Trump Administration to review all options when it comes to this failed deal,” the statement said.

Confirming a Reuters report on the issuing of a second license, the U.S. State Department said the Obama admin-istration was not trying to push through Iran-related meas-ures on its way out.

“This particular license that we’re talking about today isn’t new. It is something that has been in train for quite some time, as other licenses have been as well,” said State Department spokesman John Kirby in a press briefing. “There’s no Machiavellian intent here to push in any way outside the bounds of our normal commitments and obli-gations here in the final months of the administration.”

Republican members of Congress unanimously opposed the nuclear agreement, seen as one of Obama’s hallmark foreign policy achievements.

The deals by Airbus and Boeing to sell or lease over 200 jets to Iran Air would help modernize and expand the country’s elderly fleet. Iranian officials have voiced growing concerns about what they see as unfair delays in obtaining U.S. licenses, or clarity over banking and financing rules.

Sanctions experts said Treasury licenses allowing such aircraft sales, and easing the way for other commerce with Iran, could easily be reversed by Trump if he chose to do so.

“The licenses can be withdrawn at any moment...so long as they’re not required by legislation, which is a very small number,” said David Mortlock, a former White House sanc-tions official.

The airplane deals still face major obstacles, including reluctance from major European banks to finance deals in-volving Iran.

The Airbus spokesman said that taken together, the company’s two Treasury licenses cover its entire 118-plane deal with Iran, implying that there is some overlap between the two licenses.

(Source: Reuters)

ECONOMYd e s k

ECONOMYd e s k

ECONOMYd e s k

ECONOMYd e s k

Cyprus committed to build long-term economic ties with Iran: fin. min.Cyprus’s Finance Minister Harris Georgiades stressed that the government remains committed to building a long-term and mutually beneficial economic partnership with Iran.

He underlined on Tuesday the challenges but also the opportunities of an economic cooperation with Iran, ad-dressing the annual general meeting of the Cyprus-Iran Business Association.

The minister said that economic cooperation with Iran is still confronted with challenges, noting that the most significant of these challenges relates to the external dif-ficulties for European banks to operate in Iran.

(Source: cna.org.cy)

TEHRAN — Attend-ed by Iranian Com-

munications and Information Technol-ogy Minister Mahmoud Vaezi, the 12th round of Iran-Indonesia Joint Econom-ic Committee meeting is due to start on Thursday in Jakarta, IRNA reported quoting Valiollah Mohammadi Nasrab-adi, Iranian ambassador to Indonesia.

According to Mohammadi, the 11th meeting which was decided on during the Iranian President’s last year visit

to Indonesia was held after a 7-year hiatus and this year ’s event is comple-mentary to the previous round.

“The two sides have continued ex-changing delegations and holding talks after the last year ’s meeting and are eager to take necessary measures to escalate trade relations,” Moham-madi said.

The official expressed hope that the 12th meeting would accelerate the im-plementation of the agreed programs

and goals of the last year ’s event.“A memorandum of understanding

and some agreement documents are going to be finalized in the 12th meet-ing and these documents will be signed during the Indonesian president’s next month visit to Tehran,” he said.

He further noted that in the last year ’s meeting, improvement of the banking relations between the two countries was discussed and this area will be of great significance in this

year ’s event too.According to the official, Iran-

Indonesia trade relations have been improved significantly in the past six months so that Iran’s non-oil exports to Indonesia increased by 39 percent and the imports rose by 25 percent.

Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Darmin Nasution and Mahmoud Vaezi will co-chair the two-day Iran-Indonesia’s Joint Eco-nomic Committee meeting.

Iran-Indonesia joint economic committee meeting due on Thursday

Slovenian President Borut Pahor (L), Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture Head Gholam-Hossein Shafei (C), and Iranian Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian (R) in Iran-Slovenia Business Forum held in Tehran on Tuesday

(Photo: Tehran Times/Saeid Goli)

An exclusive exhibition of Iranian companies was inaugurated at Rome International Fairground on Tuesday in a ceremony attended by Iranian Industry Minister Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh (2nd L) and Italian Minister of Economic Development Carlo Calenda (1st R).

Italy to push Iran

trade ties, undaunted

by TrumpItaly’s economic development minister pledged on Tuesday to support business deals with Iran potentially worth billions of dollars, undeterred by fears U.S. Presi-dent-elect Donald Trump could put slowly thawing international relations back on ice.

Trump has raised the prospect the United States could pull out of the pact, which lifted many sanctions in exchange for limiting the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programs, leaving European diplomats fearing the change of leadership at the White House could thwart growing trade.

But Italian Minister of Economic De-velopment Carlo Calenda said he would continue to work to strengthen trade ties, and travel to Iran in early 2017 along with Economy and Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan.

The issue of funding investment would be high on the agenda, he said.

“The central issue is to make financing channels work fully, so that all the good projects we have can become reality,” Calenda said at a trade fair in Rome for Iranian companies. (Source: Reuters)

ADVERTISEMENTNOVEMBER 24, 2016NOVEMBER 24, 2016 5I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

By Gideon Rachman

NOVEMBER 24, 2016NOVEMBER 24, 20166I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

INTERNATIONAL

By Owen Jones

Following this weekend’s centre-right primary, it seems likely that Le Pen will face a run-off in May

against either François Fillon or Alain Juppé. Both are Hillary Clinton-style establishment figures, who would be ideal opponents for the leader of the far-right.

The consequences of a victory for the far-right in France would be drastic for both European and world politics. A Le Pen presidency could well lead to the collapse of the EU. She wants to pull France out of the European single currency and to hold a referendum on France’s EU membership.

Even if Le Pen softened her stance in office, it is hard to see how Angela Merkel’s Germany could work with a nationalist France. With Germany and France set on radically different paths, Franco-German antagonism would return to the heart of European politics.

The global implications of a Le Pen victory would also be severe.

Of course, even post-Brexit and post-Trump, there is nothing inevitable about a Le Pen victory in France. For what it is worth, the opinion polls still show her likely to lose decisively in the second round of the election. And although Le Pen has moved to embrace the Trump White House and has been keenly supported by Trump’s “alt-right” advisers, there are important differences between the Trump and Le Pen phenomenons.

The National FrontUnlike Trump, the National Front has

been around for decades and is more of a known quantity to voters. France’s bitter memories of the Vichy regime of the 1940s may also mean that the country is better inoculated against far-right politics than the U.S..

Set against that, however, is the possibility that French voters, who might have feared that a Le Pen

presidency would turn their country into an international pariah, may now feel that. Trump’s victory has given them “permission” to vote for the far-right.

The objective conditions for a turn towards nationalism are clearly stronger in France than in the U.S.. France has been subjected to savage terrorist attacks by extremists.

There are large, poorly integrated Muslim populations in most big cities. Unemployment among the general population is over 10 per cent.

Above all, the political establishment is despised. The approval ratings of President François Hollande recently hit an astonishing low of 4 per cent.

The political, social, economic and

international environments could not be more favorable for Le Pen.

In recent years, Le Pen has moved to distance herself from her father, Jean-Marie, whose racist views are embarrassingly open.

These days, Le Pen’s rhetoric is indeed less inflammatory and dishonest than that of Trump. But the French far-right leader has had her moments. She has, for example, compared Muslims praying in France’s streets with the Nazi occupation.

On the other side of the channel, there might even be some in the British government who would quietly welcome the prospect of a far-right victory in France.

Brexit problem While the current French government

is leading the demands that Britain must pay a heavy price for Brexit, Le Pen has applauded the British decision to quit the EU.

A Le Pen victory might even solve the Brexit problem since there might no longer be an EU left for the UK to leave. Boris Johnson, UK foreign secretary, hailed the “opportunity” represented by the election of the pro-Brexit. Trump, and might sniff similar “opportunities” in the rise of Le Pen.

More sober heads in London, however, must surely realize that the rise of the French far-right cannot ultimately be good news for Britain.

A National Front victory in France would mean that the forces of nationalism would be flourishing across Europe.

UnderTrump, the U.S. could no longer be relied upon as a stabilizing force to push back against political extremism in Europe.

Instead, many in Europe are now looking towards Merkel, who has just announced that she will be running for a fourth term as German chancellor, next year, as the anchor of European stability. But the challenges facing Merkel are truly daunting. She confronts Russia to the East and a Middle East in flames to the south. Trump has been openly contemptuous towards Merkel.

Within the EU, Germany’s relations with southern Europe have been poisoned by the euro crisis, while its relations with Eastern Europe have been soured by the refugee crisis.

Meanwhile, Britain has voted to leave the bloc. The election of Le Pen in France could be the final blow to the vision of Europe represented by Merkel, and constructed by generations of European leaders, since the 1950s.

(Source: Financial Times)

A Le Pen presidency could well lead to

the collapse of the EU. She wants to

pull France out of the European single

currency and to hold a referendum on

France’s EU membership.

Marine Le Pen looms over Trumpian world

Tony Blair wonders what’s gone wrong with politics. How sad he can’t see it

If Tony Blair is the answer, then the question is high on illicit substances. He is reported to be launching an organization to examine why the “center left” has been

overwhelmed by the forces of populism. It’s as though he’s a spectator, a passive commentator, a bystander, rather than a leading contributor to this age of political calamity. Someone who should be in the dock is electing himself chief prosecutor.

In July, Tony Blair was damned by an official inquiry for his role in a war that cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of human beings, including 179 British service personnel, and which contributed to the rise of fanatical terrorism. That’s before

we even mention Blair’s lucrative service for foreign tyrants. If normal rules applied to men of power, he would retire from active political life in disgrace. And yet, less than five months later, here he is, plotting a return to the frontline of politics.

Tony Blair is one of the most loathed politicians in Britain. His small but determined fanclub might not like this, they might believe it is unfair and the British public are all suffering from some form of

mass delusion or false consciousness that prevents them from seeing his greatness, but there it is anyway. Even before the Chilcot report was published, polls showed that more than half the population said they would never forgive him.

When Blair became prime minister in 1997, social democratic parties under “centrist” leadership such as Lionel Jospin in France and Gerhard Schröder in Germany were on the march across western Europe. The Clintons were in the White House. This was a different era, and it is gone.

Donald Trump saw that off. Hillary Clinton was the only bulwark against the calamity of his presidency, but her establishment “centrism”, in part, doomed her.

Nobody can explain Britain’s current political situation without referring back to other aspects of Blairism. First, the Iraq war, without which Jeremy Corbyn would almost certainly not be Labour leader, and which provoked fury across the political spectrum. Second, a pact with Lucifer, otherwise known as an improperly regulated financial sector, which left Britain exposed to a financial calamity that still defines political life.

(Source: The Guardian)

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 SNOVEMBER 24, NOVEMBER 24, 20162016 7I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

Many Western pundits and experts on the Middle East often argue that the most

predictable characteristic of Middle Easterners is their unpredictability. It is claimed that both the public and politicians in the Middle East defy prediction for both are equally un-trustworthy, irrational and unwise. Take the 1979 Iranian Revolution as an example: even when signs of the Revolution were quite visible for many Iranians inside the country in 1978 and just a few months before the Revolution, the Central Intelli-gence Agency (CIA) declared “Iran is not in a revolutionary or even ‘prerevolutionary’ situation.” Thus when the revolution took place the news coverage of the Western Me-dia demonstrated a mixture of shock and concern: “the unthinkable rev-olution,” “what went wrong,” and “who lost Iran” were among the news headlines. Reminiscent of the way the 1979 Iranian Revolution was “un-predictable” or “unthinkable” for the community of misinformed experts and intelligence in the US, the 2009 presidential election, its outcome and aftermath baffled foreign ex-perts and observers. The projections and predictions of the western me-dia, their ideological tendencies, and possibly their desires and fancies for Iran in the aftermath of the election defied reality. The 2009 Iranian pres-idential election did not turn out as expected by many foreign experts as well as some Iranians inside the country.

On November 9 the front pages across the world reacted to Trump’s victory with a mixture of shock and concern: “Trump shock?,” “Trump’s Unthinkable Victory,” “Trumpoca-lypse” “Pollsters Tackle What Went Wrong”, were among the headlines.

The election of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States, shell-shocked not only the public but also many political experts inside and outside of the United States. De-spite mainstream media’s attempt to avoid Trump’s victory, including the extensive focus on his offensive remarks about women and his rac-ist statements, he eventually made it to the White House. For many around the world the unimaginable has happened and those Americans who joked about having Trump in the White House were waken up to the reality of “Trump’s unthinkable victory”. How is this possible when every poll, prediction and projection

said that Hillary Clinton would win? How could everyone have gotten it wrong? How are these predictions made after all?

Analysis of why Trump’s victory

was rarely predicted requires an in-depth and comprehensive exami-nation. Some argue that the main-

stream media establishment of the East Coast was largely detached from the rural population, the work-ing class and the unemployed who voted for Trump: academicians, col-lege-educated and urban liberals were counted and taken more seri-ously. Some consider Hillary Clinton’s WikiLeaks emails release the major blow to her success. Others blamed the polls, which failed to predict Trump’s victory and created a false sense of reassurance among poten-tial voters for Clinton. Some argue that polls did not fully consider the shy Trump voters who were reluctant to declare who they wanted to vote for. The failure or misreading of the polls and discussions around it re-quires a careful technical examina-tion. The question hung in the air is that who and which sources we trust and refer to for making predictions?

“Prediction” refers to an informed

opinion often based upon experi-ence or knowledge and a predictor is expected to employ “accurate data” and sound reasoning. Thus, first and foremost, the predictor should ask if the used source for making the pre-diction is in a position to know what is going on? Is it based on facts or a desire to see one’s fantasies as re-ality?

The critical factor in determining the outcome of an election is how the people not the pundits evaluate the situation and make decisions. The fact is that most of the main-stream media, experts and pundits miss stories and get them wrong because they do not want to believe and accept the reality on the ground. Many do not have access to a large number of constituencies, their ex-pectations and concerns.

The 2009 Iranian presidential elec-tion defied predictions for Western observers as the main sources for gaining information were often a handpicked of expat Iran experts who appeared on the western mainstream media. US government-funded news source VOA and BBC Persian were among major sources which them-selves were heavily reliant on tertiary sources and rumors as they had no reporter on the ground. Most of the events were told as rumors that are “heard” from someone else yet such rumors were dealt with as facts. The 2016 US presidential election defied predictions of American mainstream media and journalists who lagged behind the story or choose to turn a blind eye in capturing the anger of a large section of American population.

Now what happens to the myth of unpredictability of the Middle East-erners? The dichotomy of the West as a mature rational liberator and the East as a toddler in democra-cy, whose long quest for freedom is doomed to failure, seems like a bad joke. The “unpredictability” of the Iranian people or politicians is not symptomatic of their irrational-ity or untrustworthiness but lack of knowledge and unfamiliarity of the Western experts and analysts who took wrong sources and materials for making such predictions.

By Zeinab Ghasemi

The fact is that most of the mainstream media, experts and pundits miss stories

and get them wrong because they do not want to believe and accept the reality on

the ground.

The 2009 Iranian presidential election defied predictions for Western observers

as the main sources for gaining information were often a handpicked of expat Iran experts who appeared on the

western mainstream media.

Despite mainstream media’s attempt to avoid Trump’s victory, he eventually

made it to the White House. How is this possible when every poll, prediction

and projection said that Hillary Clinton would win?

Beyond media hype: What went wrong with US presidential election?

NOVEMBER 24, 2016NOVEMBER 24, 20168I 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.

Apt. in Fereshteh3rd Fl., 310 sq.m, 4 bdrs, furn &

unfurn, SPJ, nice lobby, nice balcony, 7000 USDMs.Diba: 09128103206

Apt. in Jordan175 sq.m, 3 bdrs, furn, $2800

Mr.king: 09128440154

Super Luxury Apt. in Mahmoudieh240 sq.m, 2 bdrs + one suite,

furn & unfurn, beautiful lobby, Pkg, SPJ, roof garden, equipped

kitchen, 5500 USDMs.Diba: 09128103206

Apt. in VanakBrand new, 80 sq.m, 3 bdrs,

unfurn, stone floor, $2500 Mr.king: 09128440154

Apt. in Zaferanieh175 sq.m, 3 bdrs, fully furn,

marble floor, $2700Mr.Arvin: 09128103207

Duplex Villa in Mahmoudieh400 sq.m built up, 5 rooms, nice balcony, green garden,

outdoor pool, $8000Ms.Diba: 09128103206

Duplex Villa in Darous1200 sq.m built up in 700 sq.m

land, 6 rooms, outdoor pool, stone floor, Suitable For Embassies,

$18000 Mr.king: 09128440154

Villa in Farmanieh600 sq.m land in 1000 sq.m built

up, pool, nice garden, all renovated, $6500

Mr.Arvin: 09128103207

Duplex Villa in Farmanieh800 sq.m built up, 4 bdrs,

pool, garden, Pkg, completely renovated, Suitable for Residency

& Embassy, $15000Ms.Diba: 09128103206

Whole Bldg. in Mahmoudieh3-Storey, each floor 175 sq.m with

3 rooms, one small suit with 2 rooms, lobby, Pkg, renovated, Suitable For Embassies, $12000

Ms.Diba: 09128103206

Brand New Bldg. in North of Tehran3500 sq.m built up in 1000 sq.m

land, each apt. 3 rooms, indoor pool, Pkg

Mr.king: 09128440154

Bldg. in Farmanieh10 units, each 170 sq.m, totally 30

rooms, Pkg lots, outdoor pool, completely renovated, $18000

Mr.Arvin: 09128103207

Brand New Bldg. in Ajoodaniyeh4000 sq.m built up in 1500 sq.m land, totally 8 apts, 4 units are 250

sq.m & 4 units are 350 sq.mMr.king: 09128440154

Apt. in Farmanieh220 sq.m, 3 bdrs, furn,

marble floor, $1800Mr.Arvin: 09128103207

Apt. in Jordan90 sq.m, 2 bdrs, fully furn,

Pkg, Diplomatic Bldg., $1500 Ms.Diba: 09128103206

Apt. in Jordan4th Fl., 125 sq.m, 2 bdrs,

semi furn, Good access forgust house, 1600 USD

Ms.Diba: 09128103206

Apt. Elahieh150 sq.m, 3 bdrs, fully furn,

outdoor pool, $2200Mr.Arvin: 09128103207

Apt. in Jordan2nd Fl., 150 sq.m, 3 bdrs,

fully furn, Pkg, lobby, Good access to highway, 1800 USDMs.Diba: 09128103206

ولنجك ( پنت هاوس)1200 متر، 5 خواب، در باالترين طبقه، 820 متر روف گاردن اختصاصى + 100

متر تراس، فوق العاده لوكس و خوش نقشه، آسانسور اختصاصى، 4 پاركينگ سندى،

فروشنده واقعى، دسترسى عالى 5 ميليارد هزينه باسازىنادرنيا: 09128440152

زعفرانيه (برج)طبقات باال، 103 متر، 2 خواب، دسترسى عالى، با قابليت باسازى

فربد: 09128484216

فرشته280 متر، 4 خواب، متريال اروپا،

تاپ ترين فرعى، جهت مشكل پسندانفربد: 09128484216

فرشته285 متر، 3 خواب، در بهترين فرعى،

تكواحدى، فول امكاناتنادرنيا: 09128440152

Luxury Office in Vanak

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

Suitable for Foreign Companies

Ms.Diba: 09128103206Administrative license office in Elahieh

300 sq.m. Open space,

Pkg lots, nice view,

$35 per Sq.m

Mr.Arvin: 09128103207

Office in Vozara

2-Storey, each floor 500 sq.m,

Flat, 15 Pkgs, renovated,

Price: $40 per each Sq.m

Ms.Diba: 09128103206

Administrative license office in Elahieh

Brand new, 120 sq.m, facility,

stone floor with Pkg

Mr.King: 09128440154

Office in Vozara

2-Storey, each floor 500 sq.m,

Flat, 15 Pkgs, renovated,

Good for foreign Companies,

Price: $40 per each Sq.m

Ms.Diba: 09128103206

Office in Jordan

Between 100 Sq.m up to 1000 Sq.m, good

price, Suitable for Foreign Company

Ms.Diba: 09128103206

New Administrative license Bldg.

500 sq.m office, open office, Pkg, highway,

Suitable for Foreign Companies, each sq: $45

Ms.Diba: 09128103206

Administrative license Office open space

Brand new, stone floor, 4 Pkgs,

$70 per Sq.m

Mr.King: 09128440154

By Amy Johnson

By Leo Babauta

9 signs she is the one you should marry

Have you found the woman you should marry? While everyone is looking for different traits in their

life partners, there are some essential traits you should seek, from empathy to consistency. These traits help you both to understand and love each other.

Check out 9 signs she is the one you should marry.

1. She is an intellectual challenge for you

If you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, it is important that you find that person intellectually challeng-ing. Looks are fleeting but personality is forever—your conversations together should be interesting, insightful and full of depth. Your partner should be able to challenge your opinions, opening up your mind to new ideas and concepts.

2. She is emotionally consistentThe woman you should marry should

be consistent, rather than volatile. If you struggle to predict your partner’s mood and responses, you may find yourself carrying the burden of your partner’s moods. Your partner shouldn’t transform into a more difficult person after a few months together; they should be fully honest about their feelings and emo-tional state.

3. She is a good empathizerWhen you marry someone, you

should make sure they can show com-passion and support towards others and their struggles, including yours. You will have down days and you will feel upset, and your partner should be able to sup-port you and relate to you during these times.

4. She is honest with you and othersHonesty is a very important trait in a

long-term relationship; if you can’t trust your partner, how can you tell them any-thing in confidence, or believe anything they said to you? Find someone who respects you enough to be honest with you, even when it is difficult for them.

5. She has ambitionAs well as supporting your dreams

and goals, the woman you marry should have her own dreams and ambitions, too. She will look to her future regularly and plan how to improve her life, rather than depending on you for a good and fulfill-ing life.

6. She focuses on improving herselfAs well as being ambitious, your life

partner should be invested in improving herself. From watching documentaries to travelling, she should enjoy improving her state of mind and investing in herself. This means she is less likely to be overly-

dependent on you, as she is equally de-pendent on herself.

7. She isn’t interested in being petty or jealous

Some jealously is natural in relation-ships, but the woman you marry should be secure enough in herself and you to know she doesn’t need to feel jealous. This is also to do with trust; she should be able to trust you enough to give you your freedom.

8. She makes an effort with youA healthy, stable relationship focuses

on giving rather than taking. Seeing your significant other happy should make you just as happy, and she should treat you in the same way. Your joy should be her joy, too—it can be as simple as asking about your day or looking after you when you are sick. As time passes, the excitement at the beginning of the relationship will pass, but you should both be just as fo-cused on giving each other happiness.

9. She inspires you to be a better person

Admiring your partner and their at-titude should motivate you to be a bet-ter version of yourself. From going to the gym to volunteering at a charity, you should want to be the best version of yourself for her—and yourself.

What did you think of this list? Share with your friends and family to find out if they have found the woman they should marry!

(Source: lifehack.org)

Living the simple life

‘A man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone.’

Henry David Thoreau.

For almost 9 years now, I’ve been learning to live a sim-ple life.

A life uncluttered by most of the things people fill their lives with, and left with space for what really matters. A life that isn’t constant busy-ness and rushing, but contempla-tion and creation, connection with people I love and time for nature and activity.

That doesn’t mean I have zero clutter and zero complica-tions: I’m a part of the world, not a secluded monk. I have possessions, electronics, distractions, and occasional busy-ness. I just have reduced it to make space.

Today I’ve been reflecting on this simple life, and thought I’d share some of those reflections.

Some things I’ve learned about living the simple life:• Decluttering your home and work space can lead to

a less cluttered mind. These visual distractions pull on us in more ways than we realize.

• A quiet unrushed morning is a thing to treasure. I wake early so that I have some quiet time to read, write, meditate.

• You can’t have a simple life if you’re unwilling to let go of what you’re used to.

• Letting go can be difficult, but is easier if you do a one-month challenge. Let go of something for a month and see whether you like it or not.

• Letting go of cable TV was one of the best things we did early on — no more constant television in my home, no more ads for crappy things we don’t need.

• Shopping isn’t therapy. It’s a waste of time and money.• If you’re filling your life with distractions, its probably be-

cause you’re afraid of what life would be like without constant Internet, social media, news, TV, games, snacks.

• Simple, whole, healthy food is not only much healthier than junk food: it’s a pleasure.

• You have to make time for what’s important: time with your kids, time with your spouse, time for creating, time for exercise. Push everything else aside to make time.

• Overcommitting is the biggest sin against simple living most people make. I painfully cut out a huge number of com-mitments to simplify my life, and I’m glad I did. I do this every year or so because I keep forgetting.

• I keep my days mostly unstructured and unscheduled so that I have room for the little things that are so important: reading with my child, going for a walk, taking a nap.

• I have certain activities I do almost every day, though not on a schedule: writing, reading, eating healthy meals, do-ing a workout or playing with the kids outdoors, processing my email inbox, reading with the kids.

• It’s easy to fill up our lives because there are so many things that sound amazing. We hear about what others are doing and instantly want to add that to our lives. But it’s hard-er to remember that by adding so many things to our lives, we are subtracting space. And that space is important.

• By saying no to things that sound really cool, I’m saying yes to what’s truly important to me.

• Distractions are both more tempting and more destruc-tive than we realize.

• It’s tempting to fill in every little minute of the day with productivity or distractions. Don’t. Leave some emptiness.

• We put too much emphasis on excitement. It’s tempo-rary, and not important.

• We overemphasize productivity. Focus, priorities and ef-fectiveness are more important. So is a nice walk with a loved one.

(Source: zenhabits.net)

HEALTH & MEDICINENOVEMBER 24, NOVEMBER 24, 20162016 9I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

Since: 1969

Address: No.52, Darya-Noorani Blv.Crossroad,Farahzadi Blv, Shahrak-e-Gharb

Tel: 88562040 - 88562050

Since: 1969Since: 1969

s: Noo 525 Darya Noorani Blv Cr

A great building in Elahiyeh District, with the view of German and Turkish garden residence.Located on 4,500 square meter garden, 330 square meter apartments with 4 bedrooms. Equipped with indoor swimming pool and sauna, 24 hours security guard.

For more info and showing booking please contact us on:

Nasser Dezfouli 0 9 1 2 1 1 1 6 8 5 4

Luxury Apartments for Rent!

fantastic location!

two bedrooms fully furnished apartment

for long-term rental

09122101160

As a figure skater, athlete and United Nations Chil-dren’s Fund (UNICEF) Goodwill Ambassador, I have seen first-hand how sport can transform

lives. It has certainly transformed my.I began figure skating when I was 5 years old. From the

time I was young, I dreamed of winning an Olympic medal for the Republic of Korea. With lots of hard work, I was able to turn my dreams into reality. In 2010, I brought home a gold medal from the Vancouver Winter Olympics and in 2014, a silver medal from Sochi, Russia. In pursuit of my dream, I skated in many international competitions. I saw how sport was able to bring together people from many countries and backgrounds and unite them in the spirit of competition. I realized that no matter who you are or where you come from, participating in sport can be empowering.

I have been very lucky. When I started figure skating, I was encouraged by coaches who recognized my talent. With their support, and that of my family, sport became a way for me to dream, to prepare to take on challenges and achieve my goals.

Many children around the world, however, do not have the opportunity to pursue sport. Many do not even have a chance to play. This is a violation of their rights and it hinders their ability to learn and grow. It also gets in the way of their chance to dream.

As a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and a supporter of Team UNICEF, I have learned about the ways in which this organization engages children in sport, thus helping them change their lives for the better. UNICEF has brought sport programmes to former child soldiers and fostered ado-lescent girls’ empowerment and school participation with football. For the Rio 2016 Olympics, UNICEF has joined with partners to support the first-ever Refugee Team, cheering on 10 athletes chosen to compete on behalf of refugees worldwide.

These are just a few examples of how UNICEF engages children in sport. Regardless of the initiative, however, the goal is always the same: to break down barriers and include children who are too often excluded due to disability or discriminated against because of their gender or ethnicity. In addition, UNICEF connects children with sport to help them develop self-esteem and learn life skills such as co-operation, respect and leadership. Sport can also connect communities and foster peace and tolerance.

For me, peace and sport are linked. Speaking on the In-ternational Day of Peace in 2010, I emphasized this connec-tion. I said then, and I believe now, “Where there is peace,

there is sport; where there is sport, there is peace.” Peace is an important element in providing children with a fair chance to dream and achieve their goals. When every child has this opportunity, the world can become a more peace-ful, prosperous and sustainable place for us all.

Sport can also play a vital role in drawing attention to the hardships faced by children around the world. As an athlete, I have had the opportunity to raise awareness about vulner-able children in Haiti, the Horn of Africa, the Syrian Arab Re-public and elsewhere. As a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, I have tried to shine a light on how important it is for children to dream, because dreams provide the courage to live and thrive, even in the most difficult circumstances.

Figure skating gave me the opportunity to pursue my dreams and make a contribution to my country. Sport also provided me with a platform from which I could work towards making the world a better place for the most vulnerable children. I believe that sport can trans-form the life of every child. Most will probably not pur-sue Olympic medals, but they will learn how to dream, pursue their goals and contribute to their families, com-munities, countries and the world.

Yuna Kim is a world champion figure skater and two-time Olympic medal winner from the Republic of Korea. As a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, she has helped raise awareness about vulnerable children, especially those caught in situations of conflict and natural disaster.

Sports can transform children’s lives and the world

By Yuna Kim

A R T I C L E

N O T A B L E S

HERITAGEd e s k

T O U R I S Md e s k

IN FOCUS IRNA/Ali-Hamed Haqdust

Men darn Persian carpets in the Tabriz bazaar complex

Men darn and repair parts of some hand-woven Persian carpets in the

Tabriz historic bazaar complex, November 21, 2016. The bazaar, inscribed on the UNESCO World

Heritage list, is located in Tabriz, the capital of East Azarbaijan Province in northwestern Iran.

The complex embraces countless shops, some 20 vast domed halls, bathhouses, mosques and over 20 caravanserais and inns, as well as other brick struc-tures and enclosed spaces for different functions.

The bazaar originally dates back to over a millen-nium ago, however majority of its fine brick vaults that capture most visitor ’s eyes date from the 15th century onwards.

The bazaar was pinned on the map in the 13th century when Tabriz became the capital of the Safa-vid Dynasty (1501–1736).

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

HERITAGE & TOURISM NOVEMBER 24, NOVEMBER 24, 20162016

TEHRAN — Based on historical records Ira-

nians indigenous to eastern parts of the country first harnessed the wind power by inventing and using vertical-axis wind-mills in the mid-seventh century CE.

“The earliest-known references to wind-mills are to a Persian millwright in 644 CE and to windmills in Seistan, Iran, in 915 CE,” the Encyclopedia Britannica asserts.

Nashtifan region in northeastern Iran and Sistan situated its southward are amongst the heavens for millwrights for near one and half a millennium.

The so-called ‘120-day wind’ season-ally has always bestowed its blessings to inhabitants in Sistan, initially in a dis-guised feature.

Nearly all mills scattered in the afore-said areas are of the horizontal-mill type. They drive a single pair of stones directly, without the use of gears, and the design is derived from the earliest Persian water mills.

Currently, several of the ancient Iranian windmills have been fully overhauled and are in use so visitors can be well acquaint-ed with the subtle yet simple mechanism in person.

In early second millennium, some East-ern and Western states acquired the tech-nology of making mills from Persia, though the prototype design constantly underwent amendments in the course of time.

Britannica also notes that Persian mill-wrights, taken prisoner by the forces of Genghis Khan (c. 1162 – 1227), were sent to China to instruct in the building of

windmills; their use for irrigation there has lasted ever since.

The use of windmills was increasingly

widespread in Europe from the 12th cen-tury until the early 19th century. However, the rapid demise of mills began in Europe

following World War I with the develop-ment of the internal-combustion engine and the spread of electric power.

Iran and Russia have signed an agreement on introduc-ing simpler rules for the issuance of travel visas to tour groups, IRNA news agency said on Nov. 23.

The directors of the consulate departments of the Iranian and Russian Foreign Ministries, Ali Chagani and Yevgeny Ivanov signed the agreement during the course of the fifth session of the Iranian-Russian commission for

consular collaboration on Nov. 22. The two sides called for continued dialogue between

the Iranian and Russian consular services.Earlier this year, the two countries put into legal effect

an intergovernmental agreement on simpler rules for trips to Russia and Iran by certain categories of Russian and Iranian citizens.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian Pres-ident Hasan Rouhani signed to the agreement during Putin’s 2015 visit to Tehran. It envisions simpler reg-ulations for the obtaining of visas by businessmen, cultural personalities, researchers, teachers, students, and tourists.

(Source: Russia Beyond The Headlines)

Iranians pioneers of wind-power harnessing

Iran amidst hot travel destinations for 2017: Cox & Kings

TEHRAN — Major India-headquartered tour operator Cox & Kings Ltd. has an-

nounced its forecast for next year, with Iran amongst the hot destinations in 2017.

The operator, known for its annual predictions about trav-el trends for centuries, said demand from clients to travel

back to Iran has been “re-markable but not surpris-ing”, TTG Media reported on November 21.

Iran, used to be one of the most popular tours of-fered by Cox & Kings, was reintroduced to its Middle East collection in October 2015 for the first time since 2011.

Cox & Kings added the country has been even more accessible since the British Airways relaunched its direct flights in Septem-ber.

Jordan, Russia, Chile and India are amongst

other countries that Cox & Kings has put on the list. In September, Mastercard Global Destinations Cities In-

dex released its annual report, placing Tehran at ninth place among the top-ten fastest growing destination cities.

The Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Organ-ization has said over 16 million foreign tourists visited Iran during the past three and a half years, fetching $24 billion of revenues.

Al-Jahiz: Muslim theologian and scholarAl-Jāḥiẓ, in full Abū ʿUthmān ʿAmr ibn Baḥr al-Jāḥiẓ (born c. 776, Basra, Iraq—died 868/869, Basra) was an Islamic theolo-gian, intellectual, and litterateur known for his individual and masterful Arabic prose.

His family, possibly of Ethiopian origin, had only modest standing in Basra, but his intellect and wit gained him accept-ance in scholarly circles and in society.

During the reign of the ʿAbbāsid caliph al-Mẚmūn, al-Jāḥiẓ moved to the regime’s capital, Baghdad. He did not take a position at court but supported himself, at least in part, with contributions from patrons, often of high rank, in re-turn for the dedications of his books. When the court moved to Sāmarrāʾ, al-Jāḥiẓ journeyed there, but shortly before his death he retired to Basra.

Few of his treatises on theology and politics are extant; some are known only from quotations by other authors. His prose masterpieces, however, are available. Many of these

are essays on diverse top-ics; others are anthologies in which poetry, jokes, and anecdotes, however obscure or daring, have been intro-duced by al-Jāḥiẓ to illustrate his points.

His unfinished Kitāb al-ḥayawān (“Animals”), in seven volumes, is a bestiary drawing on Aristotle and also an anthology of Arabic literature with animal themes to which theological, socio-logical, and linguistic discus-sions have been added.

Kitāb al-bayān wa al-tabyīn (“Elegance of Expres-sion and Clarity of Exposi-tion”), another long work, treats literary style and the effective use of language. Kitāb al-bukhalāʾ (“Book of

Misers”) is a collection of stories about the avaricious. Al-Jāḥiẓ, in effect, provides in his works an entire education in the humanities of his time.

Although noteworthy for his intellectual freedom, al-Jāḥiẓ often supported government policy in his writings. He was, for example, part of the rationalist Muʿtazilite school of the-ology supported by the caliph al-Mẚmūn and his successor.

When Muʿtazilism was abandoned by the caliph al-Muta-wakkil, al-Jāḥiẓ remained in favour by writing essays such as Manāqib at-turk (Eng. trans., “Exploits of the Turks,” in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1915), a discussion of the military qualities of the Turkish soldiers, on whom government policy depended. (Encyclopedia Britannica)

Iran, Russia sign visa-simplification agreement

An undated picture shows a number of well-preserved vertical-axis windmills which have been in use for several centuries in the Nashtifan region, northeastern Iran.

HERITAGEd e s k

Tourists visit the magnificent ruins of Persepolis in an undated photo.

A crocodile is depicted at the book of Animals by Al-Jahiz (Credit: Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan, Italy/Bridgeman)

His unfinished

“Animals” , in

seven volumes,

is a bestiary

drawing on

Aristotle

and also an

anthology of

Arabic literature

with animal

themes to which

theological,

sociological,

and linguistic

discussions have

been added.

VIK, Iceland (The New York Times) —

An Icelandic volcano brought much of the world’s air travel to a halt. And then it brought the world to Iceland.

Few outside this island nation had heard of Eyjafjallajokull — and even fewer could pronounce it — when the volcano erupted in April 2010 after two centuries of silence, spewing an ash cloud that closed Europe’s airspace and grounded millions of travelers.

Iceland responded to its global notori-ety with savvy self-promotion, sparking a tourism boom to a country whose land-scape of hardened lava, gushing geysers and steaming hot springs has a stark beauty that’s like nowhere else on Earth.

So the prospect of a new eruption brings a mix of trepidation and anticipa-tion.

“We are kind of waiting for it,” said Thordis Olafsdottir, who runs the tourist office in Vik, a village at the base of Katla, a volcano that recently began rumbling after decades of quiet.

“It has been almost 100 years since it erupted,” she said. “It is ready.”

Like many Icelanders, Olafsdottir has a matter-of-fact attitude to life on this unpredictable island, whose hazards in-clude earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, avalanches and floods, as well as volatile North Atlantic weather that can bring rain, sleet, hail, snow and sunshine in one day.

Iceland is home to 32 active volcanic sites , and its history is punctuated with eruptions, some of them catastrophic. The 1783 eruption of Laki spewed a toxic cloud over Europe, killing tens of thou-

sands of people and sparking famine when crops failed. Some historians cite it as a contributing factor to the French Revolution.

Most other volcanoes remained large-ly a local threat — until Eyjafjallajokull (ay-yah-FYAH’-lah-yer-kuhl) blew its top in April 2010. Aviation authorities closed much of European airspace for five days out of fears volcanic ash could damage jet engines, and the phones at Iceland’s Department of Civil Protection started ringing off the hook.

“News agencies that we didn’t even know existed — countries we didn’t know

existed — were calling us,” said the de-partment’s Detective Chief Inspector Rognvaldur Olafsson. “We were even getting phone calls from the public, and emails: ‘You have to do something about this volcano. Can you make it stop?’“

Iceland was briefly infamous as the country that stopped the world. But tour-ism authorities — realizing there’s no such thing as bad publicity — respond-ed with a clever advertising campaign, creating TV and online ads in which Ice-landers and visitors described how they were “Inspired by Iceland.” News footage of lava-spewing craters helped make the country look cool and beautiful, with a hint of danger.

Suddenly, Iceland was hot. Some 1.8 million people — almost six times the country’s population — are expected to visit this year, up from half a million in 2010. They are an economic godsend to a country still scarred by the 2008 financial crisis, which collapsed Iceland’s banks and sent unemployment soaring.

In volcanic Iceland, eruptions bring risk, and tourism boom

Iceland responded to its global notoriety with

savvy self-promotion, sparking a tourism

boom to a country whose landscape of

hardened lava, gushing geysers and steaming

hot springs has a stark beauty that’s like

nowhere else on Earth.

An international team led by researchers from Tohoku University has found an extremely faint dwarf satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. The team’s discovery is part of the ongoing Subaru Strategic Survey using Hyper Su-prime-Cam. The satellite, named Virgo I, lies in the di-rection of the constellation Virgo.

At the absolute magnitude of -0.8 in the optical wave-band, it may well be the faintest satellite galaxy yet found. Its discovery suggests the presence of a large number of yet-undetected dwarf satellites in the halo of the Milky Way and provides important insights into galaxy formation through hierarchical assembly of dark matter.

Currently, some 50 satellite galaxies to the Milky Way have been identified. About 40 of them are faint and diffuse and belong to the category of so-called “dwarf spheroidal galaxies”.

Many recently discovered dwarf galaxies, especially those seen in systematic photometric surveys such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and the Dark Energy Survey (DES) are very faint with absolute luminosity in the optical waveband below -8 magnitude. These are so-called “ultra-faint dwarf galaxies”.

However, previous searches made use of telescopes with

a diameter of 2.5 to 4 meters, so only satellites relatively close to the Sun or those with higher magnitudes were identified.

Dwarf satellites

The combination of the large aperture of 8.2-me-ter Subaru Telescope and the large field-of-view Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) instrument is very powerful in this study. It enables an efficient search for very faint dwarf satellites over large areas of the sky. The first step in searching out a new dwarf galaxy is to identify an over density of stars in the sky, using photometric data. Next is to assess that the over dense appearance is not due to line-of-sight or accidental juxtapositions of unrelated dense fields, but is really a stellar system.

Daisuke Homma, a graduate student at Tohoku Uni-versity, found Virgo I under the guidance of his advisor, Masashi Chiba, and their international collaborators. “We have carefully examined the early data of the Subaru Stra-tegic Survey with HSC and found an apparent over density of stars in Virgo with very high statistical significance, show-ing a characteristic pattern of an ancient stellar system in the color-magnitude diagram,” he said.

“Surprisingly, this is one of the faintest satellites, with absolute magnitude of -0.8 in the optical waveband.

This is indeed a galaxy, because it is spatially extended with a radius of 124 light years – systematically larger than a globular cluster with comparable luminosity.”

According to Chiba, the leader of this search project, the discovery has profound implications. “This discovery implies hundreds of faint dwarf satellites waiting to be dis-covered in the halo of the Milky Way,” he said. “How many satellites are indeed there and what properties they have, will give us an important clue of understanding how the Milky Way formed and how dark matter contributed to it.”

(Source: phys.org)

When the asteroid believed to have killed off the dinosaurs smashed into Earth some 66 million years ago, its sheer force made the planet’s surface momentarily act like a liquid.

The asteroid ripped open a 60-mile-wide hole. From miles deep in that abyss, rock hurtled upward to a height twice that of Mount Everest and then collapsed outward to form a ring of mountains.

Gulick helped lead a team of research-ers that drilled for samples of that moun-tain ring in the Chicxulub crater off the coast of Mexico earlier this year. Their ini-tial findings were recently published in the journal Science.

He says these samples immediately settled a major debate about how a plan-et’s surface behaves during an asteroid impact — and how the mountain ring, known as a “peak ring,” is formed.

Shallow materials

Some researchers have argued that the process is dominated by melting on the surface, which would mean that the ring is mainly formed from material mov-ing from side-to-side. “So things collapse in from the sides, fairly shallow, and in that model this ring of peaks are creat-ed by shallow material kind of moving towards the center and being uplifted,” he says.

Others have suggested that it was a much more dramatic kind of move-ment, involving the fluid-like propelling of material from deep within the Earth’s crust. Gulick says there was a very clear moment during the expedition when the team knew this theory was correct.

“It was just so obvious, even on the drill floor when we’re out there, out in our hard hats and so on, looking at these cores coming up,” Gulick says. The re-searchers were seeing pink granite that is typically found deeper within the Earth — and not the limestone that would have been on the surface during the Creta-ceous Period.

“And it was just plain as day,” he says, “and everybody staring at it went, ‘Wow, there’s the answer. It’s from deep.’ “

Slower-moving fluid

“If you picture all of this happening in a slightly slower-moving fluid than water would be, you can envision that the center that rebounds upwards and splashes upwards would kind of col-lapse outwards. So just as the sides are falling in, this rebounding center is sort of collapsing outwards to cre-ate … this ring of mountains, made from material that ultimately came from fairly deep.”

(Source: npr.org)

The sea level drops more than 3 feet every year due to limited water intake, evaporation and mineral extraction op-erations.

Israel and Jordan are planning a pipeline from the Red Sea to refill the Dead Sea, but environmentalists aren’t on board.

The great salt lake that sits nestled between Israel, Jordan and Palestine is retreating from the shores of all three na-tions at a rate of more than 3 feet per year, according to environmental organi-zation EcoPeace Middle East.

“When I was a child, the Dead Sea used to wash the coast a few yards from our field,” Jordanian farmer Adbul Al-hay Alhwemen told PBS. “Now it lies far – over a mile away. In 20 years, no one will know there was something called the Dead Sea here.”

The 15-million-year-old sea is really a lake that drains the watershed of the Jor-dan River, a natural faucet that has been providing less and less water as the years go by, PBS also reported.

Demise of Dead Sea

“Half of the demise of the Dead Sea is caused by the Jordan River no longer flow-ing and the diversion of waters that used to run along Jordan to the Dead Sea from the Yarmouk River,” Gidon Bromberg, the Israe-li head of Friends of the Earth Middle East environmental group, told PBS.

Water inflow levels have already been reduced to just 5 percent of the original volume, EcoPeace Middle East says, and the sea has already lost over a third of its

surface area.Dissolved minerals in the sea’s waters,

long hailed for their therapeutic prop-erties, are often used in cosmetics and

other consumer products, CNN reports. Large-scale extraction operations lower sea levels even further.

Thousands flock to the sea every year to take advantage of those supposed ther-apeutic powers, or simply float in the highly saline waters. They, and the industry that springs up to cater to them, are also part of the problem, EcoPeace Middle East says. We’re literally loving the sea to death.

Urban facilities

“Additional construction of water parks, shopping malls and urban facilities for the new influx of employees will all place further pressures on the land and water resources,” said EcoPeace Middle East. “Untreated sewage into the Dead Sea from these surrounding areas are projected to increase as well.”

Earlier this month, a multinational group of swimmers swam seven hours through the salty, soupy waters of the Dead Sea on Tuesday in a bid, partly organized by EcoPeace, to draw attention to the environ-mental degradation of the fabled lake.

“We’re here for the first ever Dead Sea swim challenge with 25 swimmers that come from all over the world to send out a clear message to save the Dead Sea, which is shrinking today at an alarming rate,” EcoPeace spokesperson Mira Edel-stein told the Associated Press.

(Source: The Weather Channel)

Dissolved minerals in the sea’s waters, long

hailed for their therapeutic properties, are

often used in cosmetics and other consumer

products. Large-scale extraction operations

lower sea levels even further.

Salting roads harms frog numbers by changing their sexSalting roads and pavements during winter damages frog populations by turning would-be females into males, a major new study warns.

Naturally occurring chemicals used in de-icing substances find their way into ponds, where the amphibians breed, and change the sex of young frogs during early development.

Experts at Yale University found that gritting can reduce the number of female frogs by 10 percent in a given area, as well as harming the quality of their eggs and size of their offspring.

The scientists say the practice could threaten the sustain-ability of frogs in the wild and may also be harming other aquatic species.

Each year more than two million tons of salt are spread on Britain’s motorways, trunk and main roads alone during icy conditions to give people and vehicles better grip.

Numbers of the common frog have already suffered huge declines -- thought to be around 80 percent - over the past 20 years due to outbreaks of ranavirus, which causes them to bleed to death.

The new research, published in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, concluded that salt had a “masculinizing” effect that triggered a “sex reversal” mecha-nism during the early life of the frog.

The researchers believe that sodium binds to the amphib-ian’s receptor cells, mimicking the actions of testosterone or estrogen and altering the ultimate sex of the frog.

“There is a very small testosterone-like effect with one salt molecule,” said Max Lambert, who led the study.

“But if you’re dumping lots and lots of salt on the roads every winter that washes into these ponds, it can have a large effect.

(Source: The Telegraph)

Game-changing weather satellite launched into orbitGOES-R, the most powerful weather satellite ever built, launched into orbit atop an Atlas V rocket Saturday evening from Cape Canaveral, Fla. The weather satellite is the first of a new generation of satellites operated by the National Oce-anic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that is expect-ed to improve weather forecasting across the entire Western hemisphere.

The satellite launched at 6:42 PM EST from Cape Canaver-al Air Force station. It took about 12 minutes for the rocket to boost the high-tech piece of equipment into orbit.

GOES-R, which stands for Geostationary Operational En-vironmental Satellite, is the 16th in the GOES series. Once it reaches its final orbit in two weeks, its name will be changed to GOES-16 to reflect its technological heritage. But the su-per-advanced GOES-R is a far cry from its ancestors, the first of which was launched in 1975.

“For weather forecasters, GOES-R will be similar to going from a black-and-white TV to super-high-definition TV,” Stephen Volz, assistant administrator for NOAA’s Satellite and Information Services division, said during a pre-launch news conference on Thursday. “For the American public, that will mean faster, more accurate weather forecasts and warnings. That also will mean more lives saved and better environmental intelligence for state and local officials and all decision makers.”

As the Monitor previously reported, GOES-R’s final orbit will be geosynchronous, meaning that it will remain in the same relative point in space above the Earth, matching our planet’s daily rotation, at a height of about 22,000 miles.

(Source: The CSM)

Tesla is powering an entire island with solar energy, NBDIn case you weren’t 100 percent convinced, the energy stor-age company is working to provide the entire island of Ta’u in American Samoa with energy.

After Tesla’s $2.6 billion acquisition of SolarCity was approved by its shareholders on Thursday, the company announced its major solar energy project: SolarCity and Tesla: Tau Microgrid.

According to a SolarCity blog post — smoothly titled, “Island in the Sun” — the remote island has had quite the struggle in regards to power rationing and outages. Now, thanks to Tesla’s cost-saving solar panel technology, things are changing.

The island is now host to a solar power and battery stor-age-enabled microgrid, which was implemented over the course of a year and can supply almost 100 percent of the island’s power needs from renewable energy.

The microgrid is comprised of “1.4 megawatts of solar generation capacity from SolarCity and Tesla,” along with “6 megawatt hours of battery storage from 60 Tesla Power-packs,” which allows the island to utilize stored solar energy when the sun goes down.

Aside from ditching its costly diesel generators, some of the life-changing benefits that the nearly 600 residents of the island will receive include giving buildings like the local hos-pital, schools and fire and police stations the ability to con-fidently remain powered without fear of rationing energy or suffering an outage.

In fact, the microgrid will allow the island to stay fully pow-ered for three whole days without sunlight, with its capacity able to fully recharge in seven hours.

(Source: The Mashable)

S C I E N C ENOVEMBER 24, 2016NOVEMBER 24, 2016 11I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

More than 3 feet of Dead Sea’s water vanishes every year, experts say

Record-breaking faint satellite galaxy of the Milky Way discovered

Scientists say dinosaur-killing asteroid made Earth’s surface act like liquid

Hiring efficient and competent manpower is the major concern of Iran Air Navigation and Airports Company (IAC).

Director General of Iran Air Navigation and Airports Company (IAC) Eng. Mohammad Amirani announced the above statement and said: “Efficient and skilled manpower is key for success of any company and this issue should be taken into serious consideration by CEOs.”

Turning to the problems facing his company, he said: “IAC is equipped with 54 airports and hundreds of aviation sites, so that some of them have been con-structed away from provincial centers in hard-to-pass and arduous regions in the country.”

Since IAC is tasked with repairing, maintaining and fixing problems facing plane wreckages, it is a very diffi-cult task for engineers and technicians of the company to fix pertinent problem in remote regions, he main-tained.

Strict government-devised employment rules and also the issue of sanctions imposed on the country have toughened the situation at the company, he said, adding: “Since the country is grappling with a series of problems in this respect, training efficient and expert manpower is felt direly.”

Turning to the impacts of implementation of Joint

Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on supplying required parts and equipment, he said: “Effective steps have been taken in this regard in recent years in the field of purchasing a RADAR device since it had been stopped since 12 years ago.”

In addition, another contract is concluded in the field of purchasing an advanced RADAR device for installing at Mehrabad Intl. Airport, he said, adding: “Once its pertinent banking problem is settled, the purchased device will be installed by yearend.”

It should be noted that International Federation of Air Traffic Safety Electronics Associations (IFATSEA) named Nov. 12 after World Day of Personnel Supplying Safety in Air Traffic via Electronic Equipment.

In this day, aviation staff and personnel guarantee safety in air traffic using electronic equipment on the occasion of its successful achievements during long years as well as active contribution in creating a safe and secured air route in international level, he ended.

A latest artistic exhibition of woven craft entitled “Contemporary Tapestries” in-cluding 40 masterpieces of prominent French Artist Ms. Catherine Maysan was opened in Isfahan Museum of Contem-porary Arts (IMCA).

A tapestry work exhibition dubbed “Wo-

ven Anecdote” will run from Dec. 4 to Jan. 3 from 9:00 a.m. to 13:30 & 15:00 to 18:00 in Art Gallery No. 1 of IMCA, the report added.

She is an outstanding French artist who makes crafts using plant and herbal fib-ers. Tapestry is called to the fabrics that is prepared on the basis of woven kilim. The

simple style dubbed “Woven Kilim” in tex-tile industry means that warps cover woofs and creates different motifs.

Hereunder are the most important exhi-bitions organized by Ms. Catherine Maysan:

- European Artistic Craft Days, Paris. France: 2016, 2015, 2014, 2011, 2008, 2003

- Art Gallery AGAAP, Paris France: 2013, 2010, 2008

- Autumn Fair Paris, France: 2007, 2005, 2002

- Spontaneous Arts Museum, Brux-elles, Belgium: 2012, 2011, 1998

- Association Textile Art: ARELIS

Employing Efficient Manpower, Major Concern at IAC: Official

Latest Artistic Exhibition of French Artist on “Contemporary Tapestries” Opens in IMCA

Every action has a reaction. We have one planet; one chance.

S O C I E T Yd e s kS O C I E T Y

d e s k

LEARN ENGLISH

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

S O C I E T Y NOVEMBER 24, 2016NOVEMBER 24, 201612

IN FOCUS Mizan/ Mohammad Heshmati

Farmers are harvesting cotton in Sabzevar, Khorasan Razavi province. The harvest season started in mid-October and will end in December.

TEHRAN — Reneging on Paris climate

deal seems unlikely, Iran’s chief of Department of Environment (DOE) Masoumeh Ebtekar said on Tuesday, IRNA news agency reported.

Asked about possible violation of the climate agreement by the U.S. president-elect Donald Trump who has called climate change a “hoax” and just a “very, very expensive form of tax”, Ebtekar rendered the claims unlikely as the deal is an international agreement which involves many parties who are determined to save the planet.

She further noted that Iran has also approved the deal and will ratify it in the near future.

According to The Guardian to the world surprise Trump who had earlier announced that “the concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive” has wavered on his previously stated position and said he has an “open mind” over U.S. involvement in the Paris agreement to combat climate change.

Asked by the New York Times whether he would pull the U.S. out of

the Paris climate accord, which has been signed by 196 nations, Trump said: “I’m looking at it very closely. I have an open mind to it.”

In Trump’s recent pronouncements on his first 100 days in power he has pledged to cancel money for climate change programs and lift restrictions upon fossil fuel exploration on public land, but made no mention of quitting the Paris deal.

The Paris Agreement was adopted on December 12, 2015 at the twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Paris from November 30 to December 13, 2015.

The agreement was scheduled to enter into force on the thirtieth day after the date on which at least 55 parties to the convention accounting in total for at least an estimated 55 percent of the total global greenhouse gas emissions have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with the depositary. So far of 197 parties to the convention 113 Parties have ratified the deal.

????

Put all your eggs in one basket

Explanation: to risk losing everything by putting all your efforts or all your money into one plan or one course of action

For example: If you’re going to invest the money, my advice would be don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

Branch out Meaning: to start doing something different from

the work or activities that you normally do For example: Don’t be afraid to branch out and

try something new.

Backseat driver Explanation: a passenger in a car who gives

unwanted advice to the driver is called a backseat driver.

For example: I can›t stand backseat drivers like my mother-in-law!

ENGLISH PROVERB PHRASAL VERB ENGLISH IDIOM

ENGLISH IN USE

Iranian scientists make herbal ointment healing bedsore, infected wounds Scientists at an Iranian knowledge-based company succeeded in producing an herbal ointment which is useful in treatment of bedsores and infected wounds, IRNA news agency reported.The ointment proved to be effective in healing chronic wounds, burns caused by disposable diapers in babies, and preventing new blisters from forming in addition to soothing pain and inflammation.The ointment has antiseptic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and wound healing properties, said an official with the company.Abukhalsa (a kind of herb) root extract, beeswax, and olive oil are of the ointment ingredients which are suitable for treating sunburns and various wounds such as bedsores and diabetes wounds, Farshad Akbarnejad said.

توليد پماد گياهى براى درمان زخم هاى عفونى و بســتر به همت محققان ايرانى

ــه توليــد پمــاد ــا محققــان يــك شــركت دانــش بنيــان موفــق ب بــه گــزارش خبرگــزارى ايرنــراى درمــان زخــم هــاى عفونــى و بســتر شــدند. گياهــى ب

بهبــود زخــم مزمــن، درمــان ادار ســوختگى نــوزادان، جلوگيــرى از ايجــاد تــاول هــاى جديــد، و تســكين دهنــده درد و التهــاب از ديگــر خــواص ايــن داروى گياهــى اســت.

يكــى از مســوولين ايــن شــركت دانــش بنيــان در ايــن رابطــه گفــت: ضدعفونــى كننــده، ضــد باكتــرى، ضــد التهــاب و ترميــم كننــده زخــم هــا از جملــه خــواص ايــن داروى گياهــى اســت.

ــن ــور عســل و روغ ــوم زنب ــه)، م ــاه ابوخلســاء ( هواچوب ــژاد، عصــاره ريشــه گي ــاد اكبرن فرشــراى درمــان زخــم هــاى ــن پمــاد ب ــن دارو اعــالم كــرد و گفــت: اي زيتــون را از تركيبــات اب

ــرد. ــى گي ــرار م ــتفاده ق ــورد اس ــوختگى م ــاب س ــى و آفت ــتر و ديابت بس

LEARN NEWS TRANSLATIONLEARN NEWS TRANSLATION

Reneging on Paris climate deal seems unlikely, says Ebtekar

International bodies fall short of assistance to refugees in Iran: UNHCR

TEHRAN — Financial supports offered by international bodies to Iran to assist

refugees are not much compared to the costs Iran had to bear so far, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR) Representative in Iran said on Tuesday.

Sivanka Dhanapala noted that Iran spent some $52 mil-lion last year (March 21, 2015 to March 19, 2016) to help refugees while international bodies have only made contri-

butions worth of $8 million in the same period.

He made the remarks in a meeting with Rasoul Zargar-pour, the governor general of Isfahan province, adding, Iran is now playing host to some 3 million Iraqi and Af-ghan refugees but providing all these refugees with ser-vices is extremely difficult.

Regional conflicts in the Middle East and flow of Syrian refugees to European countries have urged the world to take measures

and hold seminars to tackle the problem of war-stricken refugees, he pointed.

Helping refugees is an international responsibility, he said, adding, one positive outcome of such seminars is to encourage a feeling of empathy for the refugees and their hosting countries.

Zargarpour, for his part, said that some 15 percent of the refugees of Iran constituting 120,000 refugees are living in Isfahan and almost the same number of them are living illegally in the province.

“Despite all the shortcomings we try to treat the refugees like our own citizens by providing them with same education-al and healthcare services,” he highlighted.

He further called on international bodies to help refugee hosting countries to offer better services to such people.

A delegation comprising ambassadors of Australia, India, Japan, Sweden, England, and Afghanistan to Iran headed by Dhanapala travelled to Isfahan on Tuesday to check up on refugees condition in this province.

School Fundraisers Valerie: What’s this? A.J.: It’s a note from Rachel’s school. It’s about the

next fundraiser. Valerie: Oh no, not another one. What is it this time –

a raffle, car wash, or spaghetti dinner? A.J.: It’s none of those things. It’s a combination bake

sale and craft sale. Parents are supposed to donate baked goods and handmade items.

Valerie: This is crazy. Every month there’s something else. Last month, it was a candy sale. I had to hit up everybody at work, and that’s on the tail of raffle tickets the month before. It’s like this every year.

A.J.: I know, we already donated a lot of things to the rummage sale last semester and gift certificates for the silent auction two months ago. With two kids in two different schools, I feel like we never get a breather.

Valerie: I know and there’s more. Brian’s school is asking parents to buy a brick that will be part of a new school building and our names will be engraved on it.

A.J.: You’re kidding, right? One more fundraiser and my name will get engraved, all right – on my tombstone!

(Source: eslpod.com) Words & phrases

fundraiser: an event that is organized to collect money for a charity, political party, school etc.

raffle: a competition or game in which people buy numbered tickets and can win prizes

bake sale: fund-raising event at which usually homemade foods (as cakes and cookies) are sold

craft sale: an event at which people sell goods they have madedonate: to give something, especially money, to a person or

an organization in order to help themhit up: to ask someone for moneybe on the tail of: it comes immediately after thatrummage sale: an event at which old clothes, toys etc. are

sold as a way of getting money, for example to help a school or church

gift certificate: a special piece of paper that is worth a particular amount of money when it is exchanged for goods in a shop, often given as a present

silent auction: a public meeting where land, buildings, paintings etc. are sold to the person who offers the most money for them in which bids are written on a sheet of paper; this auction is often used in charity events, with many items auctioned simultaneously and closed at a common finish time

breather: to stop what you are doing for a short time in order to rest, especially when you are exercising

brick: a hard block of baked clay used for building walls, houses etc.engrave: to cut words or designs on metal, wood, glass etc.tombstone: a stone that is put on a grave and shows the dead

person’s name, dates of birth and death etc.; gravestone

Aral Sea, 1989 and 2014

The Enterprise Bridge passes over a section of Lake Oroville in 2011 (L) and 2014 (R) in Oroville, California, which is experiencing “exceptional” drought.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is concerned that white su-premacists in the United States are being emboldened by the election of Donald Trump and is watching developments closely.

The Berlin government declined to give an official reaction to a video cir-culating on the internet that showed members of the “alt-right” movement, a grouping that includes neo-Nazis, white nationalists, and anti-Semites, meeting on Saturday in Washington a few blocks from the White House.

But one senior official close to Merkel described the video - which shows a speaker shouting “Hail Trump” and some audience members making the Nazi sa-lute - as “repulsive and worrying”.

Yair Lapid, a member of the foreign af-fairs and defense committee in the Israeli Knesset, called the video “sickening” and “intolerable”.

In an interview with the New York Times on Tuesday, the U.S. president-elect was quoted as saying he wanted nothing to do with alt-right. “I condemn them. I disavow, and I condemn,” said Trump.

A spokesman for the Trump-Pence transition team said on Monday that Trump “continued to denounce racism of any kind”, and was elected to be “a leader for every American”.

Trump, who has been active on Twit-ter in recent days, has not commented directly on the meeting himself.

It came days after he outraged many Democrats, rights activists, and minority groups by appointing Steve Bannon, for-mer head of a website linked to the alt-right, as his chief White House strategist.

In the video, taken inside the con-ference and published by The Atlantic,

Richard Spencer, a leader of the alt-right movement, says America belongs to white people, who he describes as “children of the sun”. He denounces the movement’s critics as “the most despica-ble creatures who ever walked the plan-et”.

“Hail Trump, hail our people, hail vic-tory!” Spencer shouts at one point as some members of the audience raise their arms in the Nazi salute.

The gathering on Saturday drew protesters who blocked traffic around

the Ronald Reagan Building, a federally owned conference center in downtown Washington for both public and private use.

David Harris, CEO of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) in New York, said fringe groups espousing anti-Semitism and targeting minorities had emerged from the U.S. presidential campaign with a “vigor” that has not been seen in dec-ades.

In Germany, which has spent the past 70 years atoning for its Nazi past, using

the “Heil Hitler” salute and other Nazi symbols is illegal and can result in a pris-on sentence of up to six months.

Other European countries including Austria and France have similar laws.

A second German government official said Trump’s decision to bring Bannon into the White House showed he was ““not willing to forgo the movement and mobilization of anger and resentment” that swept him to the presidency.

Guy Verhofstadt, former Belgian prime minister and a member of the European Parliament, accused Ban-non on Tuesday of seeking to influence elections in France and Germany next year with the launch of new Breitbart News websites in Europe.

David Keyes, foreign media spokes-man for the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said: “Prime Minister Netanyahu condemns anti-Sem-itism everywhere and appreciates Presi-dent-elect Trump’s denunciation of all forms of racism.”

Pinchas Goldschmidt, president of the Conference of European Rabbis, said the United States appeared to be “veering away” from its own moral standards and might need to reexamine its stance on free speech.

“If words like this were used in Germa-ny or Austria or France the people would have gotten in trouble with the law,” he said, referring to the Washington meet-ing.

“Social media has created huge change. It has empowered and amplified the voices on the fringes. There may be a need in the United States to consider changes or limits to free speech to ad-dress this.”

(Source: Reuters)

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

Germany-Israel alarm as U.S. white supremacists rise

Ex-CIA boss Petraeus indicates would serve Trump if askedRetired United States general David Petraeus indicated on Wednesday that he would serve in President-elect Donald Trump’s administration if he was offered a job, according to an interview on Britain’s BBC radio.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that Petraeus, who resigned as CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) chief in 2012 after an extra-marital af-fair was revealed, was under consideration for the post of defense secretary.

Asked if he would agree to serve in the Trump admin-istration, Petraeus said: “I’ve been in a position before where a president has turned to me in the Oval Office in a difficult moment and .... said ‘I’m asking you as your president and commander-in-chief to take command of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan’. The only response can be ‘yes, Mr. President’.”

Petraeus was a four-star general in the U.S. Army and oversaw international forces in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He was later appointed as CIA director by President Barack Obama.

Asked during his BBC interview if he thought Trump had the right temperament to be president, Petraeus said: “We’re going to have to see.”

“I’m not someone who’s had contact with him in the past. I don’t know how he operates. It’s interesting that those who have been talking to him have said he’s a very personable, very hospitable, very gracious guy, full of questions and di-alogue.”

“This is a guy who’s done pretty well in life.”Pressed further on the pressures of the office of U.S. pres-

ident and whether he had confidence that Trump was capa-ble of doing the job, Petraeus said: “I think so, yes. It’s up to Americans not only to hope that that is the case, but if they can, endeavor to help him.”

(Source: Reuters)

Lufthansa scraps 900 flights Thursday as pilots extend strikeGerman flagship carrier Lufthansa said it is cancelling 912 flights on Thursday, grounding 115,000 more passengers as pilots extend their strike by another day.

The airline had already scrapped nearly 900 flights that af-fected 100,000 passengers on Wednesday after pilots staged a walkout in a row over pay and working conditions.

This week’s two-day strike is the 14th by pilots’ union Cockpit since April 2014.

Meanwhile a separate walkout by cabin crew at Lufthansa’s low-cost airline Eurowings led to the cancellation of more than 60 flights at airports in Hamburg and Duesseldorf on Tuesday.

The Lufthansa pilots going on strike are demanding a pay rise of an average of 3.66 percent per year, retroactive for the past five years.

Their union says pilots have endured a wage freeze over that time and suffered a “significant loss of purchasing power” due to inflation, while Lufthansa has made billions in profits.

It had offered a 2.5 percent wage hike.Lufthansa urged the Cockpit union to work towards a res-

olution rather than escalate the problem.“Cockpit’s demand for a pay rise... goes far above what

other groups of employees have received. It is incompre-hensible why the union is seeking the highest salary increase for the best paid group of employees,” said Bettina Volkens, Lufthansa’s human resources chief. (Source: AFP)

Trump chooses Governor Nikki Haley for UN ambassadorThe United States President-elect Donald Trump has chosen South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, a daughter of immigrants from India who has little international experience, to be U.S. am-bassador to the United Nations, The Post and Courier newspa-per and other media reported on Wednesday.

The 44-year-old gover-nor has accepted the offer, the Charleston, South Car-olina, newspaper reported, citing unidentified sources.

The choice of Haley, who embraces tolerance, may be aimed at offsetting Trump’s divisive comments about im-migrants and minorities, as well as accusations of sexism during his campaign for the Nov. 8 election in which he defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Haley, who last year signed a bill to remove the Confeder-ate flag from the grounds of the South Carolina state capitol, condemned Trump during the Republican presidential pri-mary campaign for not speaking out more forcefully against white supremacists. The Civil War flag, an emblem of the American South, is long associated with slavery.

Haley supported Trump rivals in the primary before saying last month she would vote for Trump despite reservations about his character. Trump, a Republican, is due to succeed President Barack Obama, a Democrat, on Jan. 20.

(Source: Reuters)

NOVEMBER 24, 2016

1 On Wednesday, Prime Minis-ter Haider al-Abadi charged al-Hashd al-Sha’abi with the task of liberating the nearby town of Tal Afar which lies on a key road used by ISIL terrorists to move back and force to Syria.

A spokesman of the volunteer forc-es said the liberation of Tal Afar locat-ed about 55 km west of Mosul need-ed highly trained forces capable of fighting in urban areas.

Abadi’s order came as reports said some 70 high-ranking ISIL commanders were leaving Tal Afar for the northern Syrian city of al-Raqqah.

Reports also said the self-proclaimed media minister of ISIL was killed in an Iraqi airstrike in Nineveh province. The man identified as Zaid Khorwah was re-portedly responsible for the production of ISIL propaganda videos.

Troops took control of the Kara Tepe village in the Northern Province and raised the national flag over several buildings there.

Al-Hashd al-Sha’abi fighters mean-while shot down an ISIL drone which was collecting information on the posi-tions and movements of volunteer forc-es over western Mosul.

Elsewhere in the town of al-Qaim, about 150 families were reported to have fled ISIL terrorists.

Iraqi government troops and Kurdish forces were preparing to liberate Hawi-jah about 282 kilometers north of Bagh-dad, with one military commander saying that some 2,000 ISIL terrorists were holed up in the city.

Hawijah slipped into ISIL hands in June 2014, and is considered one of the main

strongholds of the terrorist group in Iraq. ISIL may use chemical weapons

in Mosul

Meanwhile, the ISIL Takfiri terrorist group has used chemical weapons in at least 52 incidents since 2014 in Iraq and Syria and it may resort to such warfare to slow the Iraqi forces in Mosul, says a Britain-based conflict monitoring group.

According to a report released by the IHS Conflict Monitor, over one third of the attacks, including ones with chlorine and sulfur mustard gas, were launched around the Iraqi city of Mo-sul, which is currently the focus of ma-jor operations to liberate the city from the terrorists.

The IHS report, compiled from infor-mation gained from local news reports, social media and ISIL propaganda, con-cludes that as Iraqi forces make further gains against the terrorists in Mosul, ISIL may use further chemical attacks to hin-der their progress.

(Source: agencies)

Cambodia’s United Nations-backed court upheld life sentences for two top former Khmer Rouge leaders for crimes against humanity, a verdict welcomed by survi-vors of the brutal regime.

“Brother Number Two” Nuon Chea, 90, and ex-head of state Khieu Samphan, 85, were the first top leaders to be jailed in 2014, belonging to a regime responsible for the deaths of up to two million Cambodians from 1975 to 1979.

The duo appealed their convictions, accusing the court of a string of errors and the judges of failing to remain impartial due to their personal experiences un-der the regime.

But in a lengthy ruling on Wednesday, after months of hearings, the bench upheld the bulk of the convic-tions and the jail terms, but accepted some legal errors had been made in the initial trial.

Most of the victims of the Khmer Rouge “Killing Fields” regime died of starvation, torture, exhaustion or disease in labor camps or were bludgeoned to death during mass executions.

A fifth of the population was killed. The UN-backed Supreme Court Chamber convicted

Chea and Samphan of crimes against humanity, murder, persecution on political grounds and other inhumane acts over the forced evacuation of the capital, Phnom Penh, after the fall of the city in 1975.

“The Supreme Court Chamber affirms the sentence of life imprisonment imposed by the trial chamber on both Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan,” Judge Kong Srim said.

“The Supreme Court orders that Nuon Chea and Kh-ieu Samphan remain in custody.”

Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan sat impassively as

the decision was read out.“I am so happy with the convictions,” Chhun Leap, 74,

who lost around 50 relatives during the Khmer Rouge years, told AFP news agency after leaving the court-room.

“They are monsters and this is their fate.”David Scheffer, the UN Secretary-General’s envoy to

the tribunal, said that the judgment sent a message to leaders around the world.

The Cambodian government also welcomed the court judgment.

“We express our hope that this trial and today’s delivery of the final judgment brings some relief for your pain and suffering,” Deputy Prime Minister Sok An said, addressing survivors of the Khmer Rouge re-gime.

(Source: agencies)

At least nine civilians were killed and nine injured in Paki-stan-administered Kashmir when an Indian artillery shell hit a passenger bus in the disputed region on Wednes-day, Pakistani officials said.

“The passenger bus was attacked by Indian shelling at 8.30 in the morning, resulting in the death of nine people on-board,” DSP (Deputy Superintendent of Po-lice) Neelum Valley Maqsood told Al Jazeera.

“The ambulance heading to the site came under at-tack as well and locals arranged transportation for those injured, taking them to the hospital in private cars.”

According to the police, the bus was heading towards Muzaffarabad from Kel when it came under attack.

Local administration official Sardar Waheed said firing between the two countries was continuing and that was preventing ambulances from reaching the scene.

Indian officials did not comment on the deaths but a military spokesperson said the Pakistan army initiated “indiscriminate” firing on Wednesday morning on Indian army posts in the Bhimber Gali, Krishna Ghati and Naw-shera sectors.

The incident comes a day after India said three of its soldiers had been killed by Pakistani troops and threat-ened “retribution”.

Pakistan and India have been trading fire recently in the Himalayan region, which is divided between the two nuclear-armed neighbors and claimed by both in its en-tirety.

Tension has escalated since armed fighters attacked an Indian army base in Kashmir in September, killing 19 Indian soldiers.

The countries have fought two of their three wars

over the region since partition and independence from Britain in 1947.

(Source: Al Jazeera News)

Iraq cuts ISIL’s last supply route to Mosul

Cambodian court upholds sentences of Khmer Rouge chiefs

Pakistan: Indian shelling kills nine in Kashmir

In an interview with the New York Times on

Tuesday, the U.S. president-elect was quoted

as saying he wanted nothing to do with

alt-right. “I condemn them. I disavow, and I

condemn,” said Trump.

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 NOVEMBER 24, 2016NOVEMBER 24, 201614

Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo ‘has many enemies in Portugal’ - FutreFormer Portugal international Paulo Futre says Cristiano Ronaldo is not universally loved in their home country, with some Portuguese people hoping Lionel Messi wins the 2016 Ballon d’Or.

Ronaldo was welcomed back by his old team Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League on Tuesday as his current side Real Madrid won 2-1 at the Estadio Jose Alvalade, with a special prematch ceremony laid on for a player who spent

six years at the Portuguese club as a teenager.

Roanldo, a three-time Ballon d’Or winner in the past, captained Portugal to victory at Euro 2016, while in January 2014 he was made a “Grand Officer of the Order of Prince Henry” by his country’s president Anibal Cavaco Silva in an official ceremony at the Belem Palace in Lisbon.

But speaking to El Larguero, Futre, who also played for Sporting, said that Ronaldo

had “many enemies” in his own country, including some who would prefer to see him beaten by Barcelona and Argentina star Messi when it comes to individual awards.

“Cristiano is Portuguese, he has done everything, is a European champion,” Futre said. “But he has many enemies there -- for the way he is. He is very direct, and creates many enemies in his own country.

“There was a time when many people used to chant ‘Messi, Messi, Messi’ outside the Portugal team hotel. Which was shameful. Without doubt there are people in Portugal who want Messi to win the Ballon d’Or. This is something very Portuguese.”

Futre said that some people still have a problem with how Ronaldo carries himself on and off the pitch.

And as a former Atletico Madrid player, Futre personally did not enjoy the way Ronaldo celebrated scoring in Madrid’s 3-0 win at the Estadio Vicente Calderon on Saturday.

“The things he says sometimes after games, and his attitude...” Future said. “What he did at the Calderon -- he might be a bit more relaxed, but we saw how Cristiano is. He has so much experience at this stage.

“When he is criticised most at away grounds, that is when he is most motivated. But in any case he is now 31. I understand it is a derbi and it is always more heated. I myself heard a lot what he hears when he goes to away grounds, about being Portuguese.”

Futre said he would find it hard to choose between Ronaldo and Atletico and France forward Antoine Griezmann for this year’s Ballon d’Or.

“After the season [Griezmann] had, he deserves it without a doubt,” he said. “But then Cristiano too, I believe it will be one or the other. I believe that Messi, this year, is behind the two of them. Over recent years, it depends on the moment who is the best between Messi and Cristiano.”

(Source: Soccernet)

Northern Ireland, Wales face FIFA action over poppy displaysNorthern Ireland and Wales are facing disciplinary action by FIFA for displaying signs which included poppies during World Cup qualifiers earlier this month.

Supporters held up cards to form poppy mosaics in the stands before Northern Ireland’s match at home to Azerbaijan on Nov. 11 and Wales’ match against Serbia the following day.

Players also wore black armbands.Soccer’s governing body said its disciplinary committee had

opened proceedings against the Northern Irish and Welsh FAs “in relation to several incidents involving the display of signs.”

The laws of the game, drawn up by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), state that players’ kit “must not have any political, religious or personal slogans, statements or images.”

The IFAB includes representatives of each of the British football associations and four representatives from FIFA.

FIFA has already opened disciplinary proceedings against England and Scotland after they wore poppies on black armbands in their Nov. 11 qualifying match at Wembley.

(Source: Reuters)

Wolfsburg insist Draxler going nowhere in JanuaryWolfsburg sporting director Klaus Allofs has stressed the Bundesliga side have no intention of selling Julian Draxler in the January transfer window.

The Germany international tried to force his way out of Wolfsburg during the close-season amid alleged interest from Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal, but the club refused to part with the attacking midfielder.

Allofs recently admitted Wolfsburg would deal differently with such a situation in the future, fuelling speculation they could offload Draxler at the next opportunity, but he has now made it clear they have no plans to sell the 23-year-old.

“It is wrong to think we are looking to sell him. We are not planning to sell anyone,” Allofs told WAZ.

“The most important thing is that the impression that Julian wants out disappears. He wants to do everything within his powers to be successful at Wolfsburg.

“There is absolutely no reason to even talk about Julian leaving in January.

“I am convinced Julian will not repeat his comments from last summer.”

Draxler has a contract with Wolfsburg until 2020.(Source: Goal)

Juan Carlos Osorio believes Mexico’s first FIFA World Cup™ qualifying win in the USA in 44 years was the catalyst for the latter ’s 4-0 defeat in Costa Rica and the sacking of Jurgen Klinsmann.

The Stars and Stripes were unbeaten in 32 preliminaries – they had won 30 of them – until El Tri cracked their Columbus curse with a 2-1 victory on 12 November. A disheartened USA got thrashed in San Jose four days later, which led to Klinsmann’s five-year reign being ended this week.

“The only thing I think [about Klinsmann’s sacking] is that their play or ours was so important as to generate an initial message about what their qualifying could be like,” said Osorio. “The emotional hit was very strong, and was shown in the hefty scoreline in Costa Rica.”

After two matchdays of the Hexagonal stage of Russia 2018 qualifying, Mexico sit second, above Panama on goal difference and two

points behind Costa Rica. The reigning and record ten-time CONCACAF Gold Cup winners resume their campaign in March, when they are at home to Costa Rica and away to Trinidad and Tobago. The Mexicans are, nonetheless, keeping one eye on their showdown with USA in June – and, more specifically, where they will stage it.

“Mexico historically had an advantage playing in the Azteca, but you have to remember that the majority of our players played in the Mexican league,” explained Osorio. “Now that supposed advantage isn’t so [with so many players in Europe], the players want to consider other possibilities.”

Only Brazil (20), Germany (18), Italy (18) and Argentina (16) have appeared in more World Cups than Mexico (15), who have fell at the Round of 16 in six successive editions of the tournament.

(Source: FIFA)

Jurgen Klopp has warned that he is prepared to drop any players in his Liverpool squad should they become complacent.

The Reds are currently enjoying an impressive campaign and sit second in the Premier League table, just one point off leaders Chelsea, while they have scored more goals than any other side in the division.

While Liverpool -- who were in top spot before Chelsea capitalised on their 0-0 draw at Southampton at the weekend -- have been talked up as title challengers, Klopp is determined to keep his players’ feet on the ground.

“Do not think too much about [the title], that will help,” he is quoted as saying in The Guardian. “We are here [at Melwood] four or five hours a day, sometimes longer, never less.

“They still have a few more hours in the day to be influenced by people around them. If somebody is a character and wants to celebrate position one in November then he will not play in December anymore because I see it pretty quick.

“But these things usually don’t happen. The players are here in this situation because their character is really good. It is a long way to get here. It is not like they are surprised about success whether it is individual or as a team.

“They had successes of being the best player at Southampton, Schalke or other teams. This is success but if you then celebrate this and don’t be professional anymore then you have a problem.”

But while Klopp has stressed his squad must avoid complacency, the German trusts them to act professionally.

“It is not too difficult. Nothing has happened until now,” Klopp said. “It is better to be one time in first place than never in your life but it is not really important in this moment. There is nothing to think about.

“If I went to the players and said: ‘Don’t think we are first’ or ‘We are first but nothing has been reached,’ they would think I’m silly because they know this already. Stay cool, play football and see what happens.”

(Source: ESPN)

Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp: I will drop any complacent players

Osorio: Mexico’s win was an emotional hit for USA

Paris (AFP) — Europa League nights are a distraction for some, given far lower prize money than the Champions League, but a means of staying in touch for others such as Manchester United, who are seeking to reach the last 32 on Thursday.

United are one of five former European champions playing in what, compared with the Champions League, they view as a bridesmaid›s competition.

A fifth-place finish in the English Premier League kept them away from the European game›s top table for a second straight year -- last season bringing an ignominious exit to, of all teams, five-times European champions Liverpool.

Jose Mourinho, thus far thwarted in his ambition to become the first coach to win the Champions League with three different clubs after glory with Porto and Inter Milan but failure with Chelsea and Real Madrid, must currently eye more modest goals as his side host Feyenoord.

United stand a point behind the Dutch and Fenerbahce, who beat them in their last outing in Istanbul to open up a fascinating three-way battle

for last 32 berths.The last time Mourinho was involved

in the tournament, albeit in its former UEFA Cup incarnation, he won it with Porto, 13 years ago.

But after two defeats for two wins so far this season with United, who his Porto side famously knocked out of the Champions League a year later, there is a distinct possibility the Red Devils will miss out.

After the Fenerbahce loss, Mourinho accused his men of “sleeping” on the job and looking as if they were “playing a summer friendly.”

Local media reports Tuesday suggested Mourinho would offer the Feyenoord test as a springboard for Henrikh Mkhitaryan, a bit-part player since his summer move from Dortmund.

“Obviously he is not happy but he is transforming his frustration in a good way which is close the mouth and work hard and try to adapt,” Mourinho said of the Armenian midfielder.

With Fenerbahce meeting winless Group A tailenders Zorya Luhansk in the

other game, United need to go all out for the win if they are to keep their campaign on the rails.

Other English interest centres on Southampton, who following their success over Inter Milan, another former European champion forced to slum it with the B listers, meet surprise group leaders Sparta Prague.

The Saints beat the Czechs 3-0 earlier in the tournament but since then the latter have snatched three wins on the trot.

A win will see Prague qualify -- but they must first see off English opposition for the first time in three decades.

Inter, bottom with one win for three losses and having just appointed Stefano Pioli in place of sacked Frank de Boer, held city neighbours Milan to a draw which cost the latter second spot in Serie A -- but they themselves languish in ninth.

However, a win over Israel›s Hapoel Beer Sheva, currently a point above them, would lose the gap on Southampton to a single point -- if the Saints lose.

Four sides have qualified to date --

Zenit Saint Petersburg from Group D where Ireland›s Dundalk can still make it -- former European champions Ajax from Group G, Shakhtar Donetsk, who have dominated Group H and Schalke, yet to drop points in Group I.

Schalke meet a Nice side who will be missing star striker Mario Balotelli after the Italian pulled a calf muscle in training. His absence will complicate Nice›s attempts to chase a win that would keep them in contention. The Cote d›Azur side are currently bottom of the group.

The expanded groups format has, if nothing else, extended the creed to the farthest-flung parts of the European game and Qarabag can become the first team from Azerbaijan to reach the knockout phase of a UEFA event.

Gurban Gurbanov›s men first need a win at Czech outfit Slovan Liberec or else will hope PAOK Salonika of Greece drop points at leaders Fiorentina.

“By playing in Europe, Qarabag are telling the world that Azerbaijan exists,” midfielder Maksim Medvedev told UEFA.com.

Manchester United, Southampton eye Europa League progress

S P O R TNOVEMBER 24, NOVEMBER 24, 20162016 15I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

Arena returns as coach of U.S. national teamBruce Arena has been handed the tall order of getting the United States’ qualifying campaign for the 2018 World Cup back on track after being named head coach of the national team, U.S. Soccer said on Tuesday.

Arena, a five-times Major League Soccer champion coach who is taking over for the recently fired Juergen Klinsmann, is no stranger to the U.S. national team having been at the helm from 1998-2006.

Considered by many to be American soccer’s greatest coach of all time, Arena’s previous stint with the U.S. team included a run to the quarter-finals of the 2002 World Cup, the country’s best result in the tournament since the inaugural event in 1930.

“I don’t view it as Bruce II but Bruce 2.0,” said U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati during a conference call to introduce Arena. “I think he has far more experience than he did with the national team the first go around and has proven and reproved many times at all levels of the game in the United States that he is an extraordinarily capable and successful coach.”

Arena, who will be in charge of the U.S. team through the 2018 World Cup, will assume his new role on Dec. 1.

He takes over a U.S. squad sitting dead last in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, also known as “The Hexagonal,” after last week’s stunning loss to Costa Rica, which came on the heels of a home loss to Mexico.

Arena has a long history of success and was at the reigns for the two best dynasties MLS has seen.

Prior to his first stint with the U.S. national team, Arena coached D.C. United to consecutive MLS Cup victories during the league’s formative years.

He then captured three MLS titles during a remarkable four-season stretch with the Los Angeles Galaxy that came during one of the league’s most competitive eras.

When Arena joined Los Angeles late in the 2008 season he inherited a team that had not made the playoffs since 2005, were sitting at the bottom of the league, had David Beckham and Landon Donovan but little else.

A year later Arena led the Galaxy to a runner-up finish in the MLS Cup, the start of an impressive run that included championships in 2011, 2012 and 2014.

That success, says Arena, has left him better prepared for the challenge of coaching the national team than he was the first time around. “I hope the experiences I have had are going to benefit the program,” said Arena. “I’ve had the opportunity to work with some of the most talented players in the world, understanding how they work.

“What I really know is how to build a team.”During his first stint with the national squad the United

States shot to fourth from 19th in the FIFA world rankings and his 71 wins are easily the most in U.S. history.

But Arena’s contract was not renewed after a first-round exit from the 2006 World Cup in Germany where his U.S. team scored twice in three games and finished last in their group.

U.S. Soccer are now hoping that Arena can help steady the ship after a rough start to World Cup qualifying.

“They (the players) need to know who I am and what my thoughts are, where they fit in the program and the challenge we have as a team,” said Arena. “I don’t think the roster is going to have radical changes from the last couple of camps but there will obviously be some changes.”

(Source: Reuters)

United to take up option to extend Ibrahimovic’s contractManchester United will exercise their option to extend veteran striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s contract for a second season at Old Trafford, manager Jose Mourinho said on Wednesday.

The 35-year-old Ibrahimovic, who joined on a free transfer in July, has had a mixed start to his United career despite scoring eight goals in 17 games in all competitions.

“Zlatan’s situation is simple: he has a one-plus-one contract with the club and we will execute the option of a second season,” Mourinho told reporters.

The former Sweden captain, who was suspended for Saturday’s 1-1 Premier League draw at home to Arsenal, ended a six-game goal drought in a win over Swansea City earlier this month.

“He’s happy, committed and loving his life as a football player at United,” Mourinho added.

“This is probably the last big challenge of his wonderful career, so it is perfect for him to be here for the next 18 months and then he owns the decision of his future.”

Ibrahimovic said the extension is “automatic after a while”, but the criteria for it to be triggered has yet to be fulfilled.

“We didn’t even have any discussions. I feel good, I feel fresh, I feel like now I’ll probably take a second year,” he said.

“I want to be honest with myself and I don’t want to waste time. The second year goes automatic after a while, there’s no word from me and no word from them. If it continues like this then it is a yes.” Ibrahimovic also leapt to the defence of Paul Pogba, who returned to United from Juventus for a world record fee of 89 million pounds in August, saying the France international needs more time to find his feet at the club.

Pogba has yet to light up the Premier League, scoring just twice in 11 games, as the powerful midfielder struggles to cope with the pace and intensity of English football.

“There is big pressure on him because people expect magic in a short time instead of being realistic,” said Ibrahimovic.

United, who are third in their Europa League group, host second-placed Feyenoord on Thursday before facing West Ham United in the league three days later.

(Source: Reuters)

S P O R T Sd e s k

S P O R T Sd e s k

TEHRAN — Persepolis coach Branko Ivankovic says they are favorite to win

the title in the Iran Professional League (IPL) current season.IPL pacesetter Persepolis will face Paykan on Thursday. The Iranian popular football team held a one-week

training camp in Dubai. “I am satisfied with our training camp in Dubai

and we are well prepared for the match against Pay-kan. We cannot wait for the start of the competition,”

Branko said in the pre-match news conference. “Persepolis goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand and

midfielder Omid Alishah will miss the match because they are suffering hand injuries but the other players are ready for the match against Paykan,” the Croat coach added.

Persepolis stays top of the IPL table with 22 points, two points ahead of Tractor Sazi.

Naft Tehran is third with 16 points.

Persepolis favorite to win Iran Professional League: Branko Ivankovic

Morocco national football team head coach Herve Renard has

rejected the offer to play a friendly match with Iran at the end of December.

The Frenchman has preferred to play Tunisia instead, according to Kooora.com.

Morocco will hold a training camp in the UAE in December in order to prepare for the 2017 African Cup of Nations.

Morocco has been drawn in the Group C of the tournament alongside the defending champion Ivory Coast, DR Congo and Togo.

Iran is going to play Ivory Coast in its training camp in the UAE.

Iran, who is currently top of Group A in the Asia’s 2018 World Cup qualifying with 11 points, will take on Qatar on March 3 before facing China five days later.

Team Melli is pitted against South Korea, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Syria, and China.

The winner and runner-up of each group (four teams in total) will qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, while the third-placed teams of each group (two teams in total) will head to the play-off round of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

The winner of the Asian play-off round will then face twice the fourth-placed squad in the fifth round of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) qualifying games.

Morocco rejects Iran friendly match

FIFA president Gianni Infantino is hoping video replays will be used at the 2018 World Cup in Russia to help referees avoid serious mistakes during the tournament.

Speaking to reporters after the first executive summit of the world governing body on Wednesday, he said video replays could help with decisions on penalties, goals and red cards.

“It will not answer all the questions a referee can have but it will help them not to make serious mistakes,” Infantino said at the regional gathering of FAs.

“How? With a referee in front of a TV monitor who looks at the footage and in the space of two, three, four seconds can advise the field referee if he is asked or if he has not seen a serious mistake.

“Once again, it would be for game-changing decisions - goals, penalties and red cards, that is essentially on these decisions that video replays can intervene.”

Infantino, who was elected in February, believes it is about time referees were assisted by video replays.

“We’ve been talking about this for 50 years and now we’re testing it,” he

said, adding that further tests could be conducted at next month’s Club World Cup in Japan or at next year’s Confederations Cup in Russia.

“We will be testing all this, we will experiment and make mistakes, but the first results are positive and I really hope that in 2018 we will be able to help the referees at the World Cup.

“It is a paradox that the only one not seeing a serious mistake is the referee while all the spectators at the stadiums or with their phones or at home see it immediately, while the referee cannot see it not because he does not want to but because he is not allowed to,” Infantino added.

In March, IFAB approved a two-year trial of a system in which a so-called Video Assistant Referee (VAR), with access to replays, helps the match officials review key decisions.Australia, Brazil, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and the United States have all been conducting tests.

The second and third of 11 FIFA executive summits will be held in Singapore from Dec. 6-8.

(Source: Reuters)

FIFA’s Infantino wants video replays at 2018 World Cup

Spain’s public prosecutor has called for Barcelona soccer player Neymar to be sent to prison for two years for his part in a corruption case over his transfer from Brazilian club Santos to the Liga champions in 2013, said a court filing on Wednesday.

Judge Jose Perals also called for a five-year sentence for former Barca president Sandro Rosell and a fine of 8.4 million euros ($8.9 million) for the club, but called for charges against current president Josep Maria Bartomeu to be dropped.

The case stems from a complaint by a Brazilian investment group, DIS, which owned 40 percent of Brazil forward Neymar’s transfer rights and which alleges it received less money than it was entitled to as Barca concealed the real transfer fee.

Neither Neymar’s representatives nor Barcelona were immediately available to comment when contacted by Reuters.

At a news conference in Madrid on

Wednesday, Jose Barral, chairman of Sonda, umbrella group for DIS, called for a stiffer prison sentence and said Barca should pay compensation while Neymar should be banned from playing during the trial.

Barcelona have been engulfed in legal troubles over Neymar’s transfer since 2013. Rosell resigned as the club’s president in 2014 for his role in the affair and testified in court in February alongside Bartomeu, Neymar and Neymar’s father.

The club struck a deal with prosecutors in June to settle a separate case and paid a 5.5-million-euro ($6.2 million) fine and avoided trial on charges of tax evasion over the transfer.

Barca thought they had brought the affair to a close when judge Jose de la Mata archived the case in June, although Spain’s public prosecutor successfully overturned the ruling in September, allowing the case to proceed.

(Source: Reuters)

Spanish court wants two-year prison sentence for Barca’s Neymar

Iranian International Master and Woman Grandmaster Sarasadat Khademalsharieh has continued to demon-strate her will and a strong fighting spirit at the Fédéra-tion Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) Women’s Grand Prix in Russia, and tied against a former Women’s Euro-pean Individual Chess Championship title holder.

On Tuesday, the 19-year-old Iranian sportswoman held French chess player Almira Skripchenko to an invaluable draw at the fourth round of the tournament’s fifth and final leg at Ugra Chess Academy in Khanty Mansiysk town.

Earlier, Khademalsharieh had managed to prevail over

Russian grandmaster Valentina Gunina in the third round.The second round game between Iran’s sole

representative at the distinguished sports event and Russian chess Grandmaster and former Women’s World Chess Champion Alexandra Konstantinovna Kosteniuk was a real thriller. The players forced a draw at last.

Khademalsharieh featured a very solid play against Harika Dronavalli of India in her opening encounter and both opponents agreed to a draw on the 31st move.

The FIDE Women’s Grand Prix in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia, started on November 18 and will conclude on December 2. (Source: PressTV)

Iranian chess player earns draw against ex-European champion in FIDE event

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

The song is sung and the pearl is strungCome hither, oh Hafiz, and sing again!

Hafez

Poem of the day

SINCE 1979Prayer Times

TEHRAN — An Azerbaijani version of the renowned Iranian

author Mostafa Mastur ’s novel “Kiss the Lovely Face of God” was unveiled during a ceremony held at the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences in Baku on Tuesday.

Mastur and a number of Iranian and Azerbaijani cultural figures attended the ceremony.

The book has been translated by Ariz Tarverdiyev, who is also the translator of Mastur ’s “Bone of a pig, Hands of a Leper ”.

The book has been published as a part of “Luminous Signatures”, an ATV Book series in Azerbaijan.

The book series has been initiated by the Independent Television and Radio Company of Azerbaijan to publish works from contemporary world literature in Azerbaijani.

“Kiss the Lovely Face of God”, which poses a question about man and his faith in God, has been translated into English, Italian, Russian, Indonesian, Arabic and several other languages.

“Sonita” receives nomination at Spirit Awards

Literati to discuss story writing in India and Iran

TEHRAN — The originals of the

calligraphy works published in “The Spring of Morning”, a book featuring a selection of poems by Mohammad-Ali Bahmani, will be showcased in an exhibition, which opens at the Imam Ali (AS) Religious Arts Museum in Tehran this evening.

The exhibition will put on display 43 works inscribed by some top

calligraphers, including Gholam-Hossein Amirkhani, Yadollah Kaboli and Abbas Akhavein, some of whom are expected to attend the opening ceremony.

The collection for the book, which was published by Mirdashti Publications in April, was accumulated by Amir Jalilvand, a 32-year-old calligrapher and photographer.

In an interview published by the Tehran Times in October, Jalilvand said that he engaged in self-sacrifice to get the book published.

He also talked about his wish to organize exhibitions of the works in other countries.

The exhibition will run through December 8 at the museum located at 35 Esfandiar Blvd., off Vali-e Asr Ave.

WASHINGTON (USA Today) — Our current boss honored “The Boss”.

In his last Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony at the White House Tuesday afternoon, President Obama feted one of the most high-profile groups in his eight years in the Oval Office: among them, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Hanks, Robert DeNiro, Ellen DeGeneres and Michael Jordan. The nation’s highest civilian honor was bestowed on a 21 individuals from a varying list of categories, from science to sports to entertainment.

“Today we celebrate extraordinary Americans who have lifted our spirits and pushed us to progress,” Obama said in his introduction. “This is particularly impressive class: Innovators and artists, public servants and rabble-rousers, athletes and renowned character actors like the guy from Space Jam,” jokingly referring to Jordan’s 1996 animated basketball comedy.

Obama called out De Niro as a sensitive artist who could blend dramatic precision with comic detail: “His characters are

iconic: a Sicilian father turned New York mobster, a mobster who runs a casino, a mobster who needs therapy, a suburban father whose scarier than a mobster, Al Capone.”

Poking fun at Hanks’ movies, from “Cast Away” to the recent “Sully”, Obama said that something always happens to him on screen “and yet somehow we can’t resist going where he wants to take us. ... He has introduced us to America’s unassuming heroes.” Yet he also paid tribute to how Hanks — whom Obama called “America’s

dad” — stood up to cancer with wife Rita Wilson. “The truth is Tom has always saved his best roles for real life. He is a good man.”

Hollywood legend and activist Robert Redford was hailed by Obama for applying “his talent and charm to achieve success,” while he reminded the crowd of how Saturday Night Live’s Lorne Michaels created a late-night comedy show that was “a mainline not just into our counterculture but our culture. It’s still a challenge to the powerful, even folks like me.”

TEHRAN — Sahitya Akademi in

New Delhi will be playing host to a seminar titled “Contemporary Story Writing in India and Iran” on Friday.

A number of Iranian and Indian scholars, including the founding director of the Institute of Persian Research in Aligarh Muslim University, Azarmi Dukht Safavi, and Iranian scholar Fariba Vafi, are expected to attend the seminar.

Science fiction and fantasy in Indian writing, and major trends of story writing in Iran are among the topics to be discussed at the seminar.

The one-day seminar has been organized by the academy in collaboration with the Iran Culture

House in New Delhi and Tehran’s Book City Institute.

TEHRAN — Iranian director

Rokhsareh Qaem-Maqami’s “Sonita” was nominated for the best documentary award at the 2017 Film Independent Spirit Awards, the organizers announced on Tuesday.

“Sonita” will compete with “Under the Sun” by Vitaly Mansky from Russia, “13th” by Ava DuVernav, “I Am Not Your Negro” by Raoul Peck and “O.J.: Made in America” by Ezra Edelman, all from the U.S.

The documentary is about an Afghan refugee living in Iran who fights to keep her dream of becoming a rap star alive, while her family attempts to sell her as a bride.

The 2017 Independent Spirit Awards will be presented during a

ceremony in Santa Monica, California on February 25.

Noon:11:51 Evening: 17:12 Dawn: 5:22 tomorrow) Sunrise: 6:50 (tomorrow)

PICTURE OF THE DAY Mizan/Sajjad Yaqubi

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

Fans surround a car carrying the top eulogist of the Prophet’s household Salim Moazzenzadeh Ardebili from his funeral service in Ardebil on November 23, 2016. Moazzenzadeh who was known as the king of eulogists in Iran passed away on Tuesday at the age of 80.

A R Td e s k

NOVEMBER 24, 2016

Brad Pitt cleared by FBI for airplane incident, will not

face chargesNEW YORK (Reuters) — Movie star Brad Pitt will not face any charges stemming from an incident on a private plane in which he was reported to have lost his temper in front of one or more of his children, an FBI spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

Pitt, 52, earlier this month was cleared by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services for the incident on Sept 14. His wife, the actress Angelina Jolie, filed for divorce five days later.

“In response to allegations made following a flight within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States which landed in Los Angeles carrying Mr. Brad Pitt and his children, the FBI has conducted a review of the circumstances and will not pursue further investigation,” said Laura Eimiller, a spokeswoman for the FBI’s Los Angeles field office.

“The Storytelling Animal” comes to Iranian bookstores

“Atlan” honored at Milano FICTS festival

TEHRAN — A Persian version of American writer Jonathan

Gottschall’s “The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human” has recently been published by Markaz Publications.

Translated by Abbas Mokhber, the 2012 book is about the evolutionary mystery of storytelling, about the way we shape stories, and stories shape us.

TEHRAN — “Atlan”, a production of Iran’s Documentary and

Experimental Film Center (DEFC), has received an honorable mention at the 34th Milano International FICTS Fest, Sport Movies and TV, the DEFC announced on Wednesday.

Directed by Moin Karimeddini, “Atlan” tells the story of Ali, an Iranian Turkmen horse-riding instructor, and his horse Ilhad.

The festival was held in the Italian city from November 16 to 21.

A R Td e s k

A R Td e s k

N E W S I N B R I E F

“Kiss the Lovely Face of God” unveiled in Baku

The front cover of the Azerbaijani version of “Kiss the Lovely Face of God”

A R Td e s k

A R Td e s k

A R Td e s k

Kamancheh virtuoso Kayhan Kalhor to give free concerts in Iran

TEHRAN — Accomplished Iranian kamancheh virtuoso Kayhan Kalhor

plans to hold free concerts in the deprived areas of the country.

Kalhor will travel to the poorer regions across the country to hold his concerts in January after his concerts set in Tehran, Shiraz, Bushehr and Ahvaz.

The virtuoso is scheduled to give a duet with Turkish baglama master Erdal Erzincan at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall from December 3 to 6.

“Moonlight”, “American Honey” lead indie film Spirit nominationsNEW YORK (Reuters) — Two coming-of-age movies, “Moonlight”, and “American Honey”, got a leading six nominations each on Tuesday for the Independent Spirit Awards which celebrate low-budget artistic films that often also do well at the Oscars.

Grief-driven blue-collar family drama “Manchester by the Sea” and “Jackie”, about former U.S. first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, also did well, earning nods that included best film and best actor for their respective leads, Casey Affleck and Natalie Portman.

“Moonlight”, which follows a young black man growing to adulthood in a hard-scrabble Miami neighborhood, received six nominations in all, including best film, best director Barry Jenkins and for Jenkins’ screenplay.

But there was nothing for “Moonlight”s three main actors, who play the central character at different stages of his life.

Kenneth Lonergan, the director of “Manchester by the Sea”, and Michelle Williams in an emotionally powerful supporting role, were also left off the list on Tuesday.

Shia LeBeouf, 30, efforting a comeback after alcohol disrupted his career for five years, was nominated best supporting actor for his turn as the leader of a gang of thieves in “American Honey.”

The British-directed tale of a teenage runaway who travels across the American Midwest with a band of misfits, will also compete for best film, best director, and best actress for newcomer Sasha Lane.

The last three winners of the Independent Spirit Awards - “Spotlight”, “Birdman” and “12 Years a Slave” - all went on to win the best picture Oscar, the highest honor in the movie industry.

But this year, some of the films getting the most awards buzz were not eligible for the Spirit Awards, which is open to movies made for less than $20 million.

That meant no nominations for musical “La La Land”, psychological thriller “Nocturnal Animals” and adoption drama “Lion.”

The 2017 Independent Spirit Awards will be handed out at a ceremony in Santa Monica, California, on February 25 - the day before the Academy Awards ceremony.

“The Spring of Morning” streaming in Tehran museum

A poster for “The Spring of Morning” exhibition

C U L T U R Ed e s k

Springsteen, Hanks, DeGeneres honored with Presidential Medal of Freedom