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

Pang SenAmbassador of the People’s Republic of China to Iran

A R T I C L EMartin Love

Political analyst fromNorth Carolina

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By Farzad Farhadi

Uphold multilateralism and promote common prosperity

Since the international financial crisis in 2008, the world has been undergo-ing major changes. A noticeable and

worrying phenomenon is the resurgence of unilateralism, populism, protectionism, and isolationism. Voices against globalization is gathering momentum. Some countries have turned more inward-looking. Regional integration has slowed down and suffered setbacks. The international situation is fac-ing more instability and uncertainty. The international system and order established in the aftermath of the Second World War are experiencing severe challenges. Debates and concerns about global governance and future development intensified. Various ideas and proposals have surfaced.

In the face of profound changes in current international situation, we need to ask ourselves, multilateralism or uni-lateralism, which is the right option to address the complex global challenges and promote the security and welfare of mankind? History has proven that the continuous expansion and interconnec-tion of human activities is an irreversible trend. With advancement of industrial revolutions and rapid development of science and technology, especially the information technology today, the flow of people, goods, and information across the globe has reached an unprecedented scale, resulting in the increasing globali-zation and interdependence of nations. While greatly promoting the development of the world, globalization also produced complex impacts on the internal gov-ernance, stability, culture, interests and external relations of various countries. The benefits from globalization and the attitude towards it differ among nations. China believes no country can address the multiple challenges facing mankind single-handly. Countries need to work together in a responsible spirit so that common interests could be preserved.

Politically, we should respect each other. Discussion of issues of common concern should be conducted on an equal footing. Cold War mentality and power politics should be abandoned for the sake of building a world of lasting peace, based on partnerships, equality and mutual-understanding. 7

Ignorance is the bane of humanity

U.S. citizens will likely not anytime soon hear the end of the horrible tale of the gunman who last week

went into a Pittsburgh, Pa., synagogue and killed 11 Jews who were worshipping there.

The gunman was a crazed white na-tionalist terrorist who no doubt had been listening to Trump for too long, but they don’t call what he did “terror”, which it is. Trump hardly appears as an anti-Sem-ite given his overweening love affair with the Zionists, but his views generally are bound to stir up ignorant, racist whites, even neo-Nazis. It’s important to note that officially nothing is labeled “terror” unless some incident happens to be done by an “Islamist”, according to directives (since Trump took office) by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The very name of this governmental “department” established after 9/11 reeks of pretensions of “empire”: the notion that the U.S. physically is the “homeland” and everywhere else the U.S. has a presence, especially a military presence, are mere satellites – not truly sovereign nations. The concept is quite “Nazi” as with Ger-many under Hitler. And it is abhorrent, as is the U.S. under Trump.

I anyway posted a note to “Facebook” bewailing the fact that what the Zionists/Israelis have been doing is “terror”, too, and the same for what the Saudis have been doing to Yemen. “Friends” agreed, but then I don’t literally have “friends’ who are ignorant about the truth. Later, I posted a response to a Twitter conver-sation by a bunch of Zionist American Jews where I questioned whether what happened in Pittsburgh might be related to Zionist actions in the Mideast? The response was furious and immediate: I was labeled “anti-Semitic scum.”

My first response to this was: “I was working and living in a kibbutz in Israel before you were even born.” (Actually, during summer 1969.) That shut them up temporarily. But then someone noted that I had been writing columns for the Tehran Times, as stated on my Twitter page. And I got this response:

“Iran just directly funds Hizballah, takes American citizens captive, attacks its neighbors, threatens Saudi and tries to get nuclear weapons. They aren’t called the Mad Mullahs for nothing. And you are on their payroll. Shame on you.” 7

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Zarif condemns terrorist attack on Pittsburgh synagogue

Rouhnai offers condolences over Indonesia plane crash

Iran ready for Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup, coach says 15

Turin museum CEO to attend Italian neorealist films session in Tehran 16

Non-oil exports up 13.3% in 7 months

on year

Jahangiri calls for stronger ties with Iraq,

invites Salih for visit

Istanbul trio conclude summit

with joint statementAt the end of the Sixth Trilateral Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Islamic Re-public of Iran and the Republic of Turkey, the foreign ministers of these countries issued a joint statement. The full text of the statement follows as reported by the Iranian Foreign Ministry website. 2

TEHRAN— The value of Iran’s non-oil exports

rose 13.3 percent during the seven-month period from the beginning of current Ira-nian calendar year (March 21) to October 22, compared to the same period of time in the previous year, the head of Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) announced. 4

TEHRAN — The Iranian first vice pres-

ident, who is also the head of Iran-Iraq Joint High Commission, had a telephone conversation with Iraqi president Barham Salih on Tuesday, discussing the expansion of the two countries’ cordial relations on different arenas. 2

16 Pages Price 20,000 Rials 1.00 EURO 4.00 AED 39th year No.13244 Wednesday OCTOBER 31, 2018 Aban 9, 1397 Safar 21, 1440

TEHRAN — The recent development in normali-zation of relations of Persian Gulf Arab states with Tel Aviv has been described as “unprecedented” by the Zionist Radio Correspondent Simon Aran.

The relationship between Arab and the Zionist regime goes a long way and history is a testimony to some of those secretive meetings, and some, that were out in the open like their recent meetings in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

Arabs today are moving towards apparent normalization of relations with the criminal and racist Zionist regime with no fear. It seems that Netanyahu has succeeded in tempting the Arab states to establish ties with Israel.

But what is the reason behind this normal-ization of relations?

Hassan Kharisha, deputy chairman of the Palestine Legislative Council in an interview

with the Al Jazeera called “fear of losing seats of power” the motive behind Arab’s opening up relations with Israel, saying that relationship with Israelis is the gateway to American friendship.

The Arab world knows all too well that to have friendly relations with Americans they have to cozy up to Washington’s friend, Israel.

Political analyst Jihad Harb reasoned with a French news agency, that the division and discord among Palestinians have weakened them and acted as a green light to the Arab states to cozy up to Israel and establish ties with the occupied regime.

Abdel Bari Atwan in an article in Ray al-Youm newspaper referred to the movement of the southern countries of the Persian Gulf on normalizing relations with the Zionist re-gime and said, “The Arab world’s dignity was blown with three painful strikes over the past

three days. First, the participation of the Israeli delegation in the Qatari sports competition; second, the presence of the sports team of the Abu Dhabi emir, headed by Mirie Rigio, the racist minister of culture of Arabs, and third, the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit with Sultan Qaboos who received the Israeli delegation warmly. This normalization has nothing to do with U.S. pressure on Israeli-Palestinian peace process but has all to do with the ‘free peace process’ between Israel and Arab states to prepare the ground for the imposition of other clauses of the deal of the century.

A deal that is translated to taking advantage of the Arab official’s weaknesses to do away with the Palestinian cause, in hope of ending the Arab-Israel conflict, and recognizing Israel as a brotherly Middle Eastern country. 7

The secret behind Arabs normalizing ties with Tel Aviv

Every time the United States President Donald Trump mentions the $110bn arms deal he nego-tiated with the House of Saud regime last year, he quickly follows up, saying “It’s 500,000 jobs.”

But if he means new U.S. defense jobs, an internal document seen by Reuters news agency from Lockheed Martin forecasts fewer than 1,000 positions would be created by the defense con-tractor, which could potentially deliver around $28bn of goods in the deal.

Lockheed instead predicts the deal could create nearly 10,000 new jobs in Saudi Arabia while keeping up to 18,000 existing U.S. workers busy if the whole package comes together - an outcome experts say is unlikely.

A person familiar with Raytheon’s planning

said if the Saudi regime order were executed it could help to sustain about 10,000 U.S. jobs, but the number of new jobs created would be a small percentage of that figure.

Lockheed Martin Corp. declined to comment on the Saudi package. Raytheon Co.’s Chief Fi-nancial Officer Toby O’Brien said last week that hiring overall is growing, but he did not pin it to any particular program.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Jobs are important to Trump. He campaigned on his ability to create American jobs, especially high-paying manufacturing ones.

Meanwhile, he has limited his criticism of the Saudi regime leadership over the killing of

a prominent critic because he did not want to endanger the massive arms deal.

Trump’s 500,000 figure has been greeted with widespread skepticism given the five biggest U.S. defense contractors, who make nearly every item on the Saudi list, now employ 383,000 people.

Documents seen by Reuters and interviews with defense industry sources familiar with the arms package suggest that between 20,000 and 40,000 current U.S. defense industry workers could be involved in the Saudi-bound production if the whole $110bn package goes through.

Existing workers typically are experienced, skilled, who can be redeployed more easily than new hires who would require significant upfront investment in their training. 1 3

Defense firms see only hundreds of new U.S. jobs from Saudi deal

Arbaeen trek, a march towards unanimity

Tehran: March of Arbaeen

Thousands of people who did not have the privilege to travel to Kar-bala to visit the oly shrine of Imam Hossein to mark the Arbaeen ritual, in a symbolic move took the streets of the capital city of Tehran and marched toward Shahr-e Ray in south-west Tehran. The March, re-sembling the “Arbaeen Trek”, took place at 6:30 a.m. from Tehran’s Iconic Imam Hossein Square to the shrine of Abdul Azim Hassani, in Shahr-e Ray.

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MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS Tehran, Ankara, Baku see eye to eye over region: Iran FM

1 At the head of a delegation, Es’haq Jahangiri has traveled to Iraq to attend Arbaeen rituals along with over two million Iranian pilgrims. The Arbaeen mourning ceremony commemorates the 40th day after the martyr-dom anniversary of Imam Hossein (AS), the third Imam of Shiite Muslims.

In this conversation, Jahangiri appreciated the Iraqi government and nation for hosting Arbaeen pilgrims, according to ISNA. He also wished the new president, his administration, and Iraqi people prosperity and ful-

fillment of their goals.Pointing to the strong ties between the two counties in

political, economic, cultural and scientific arenas, Jahangiri expressed hopes that Iran-Iraq relations and cooperation expand all the more in these areas.

On the other end of the line, Salih expressed gratitude to Jahangiri for his attendance in the Arbaeen rituals, adding “The Iraqi government and officials deem it as their honor as well as their responsibility to cooperate in holding the Arbaeen mourning ceremony in the best

possible manner.”Jahangiri also invited Salih on a visit to Iran.Welcoming the invitation of the Iranian vice presi-

dent, Salih noted, “Iran and Iraq are two neighboring and amicable countries that have enjoyed longstanding bilateral relations, and we look forward to expanding and bolstering the ties in all aspects.”

The Iraqi president remarked that he would take a trip to Iran at the earliest opportunity in order to hold talks with Iranian officials, especially with President Hassan Rouhani.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said that although U.S. sanctions on Tehran hurt, they will not work.

“Sanctions will have an economic impact, but they will not change policy. The United States must learn that,” Zariff told CBS News in Tehran on Sunday. “The U.S. has an addic-tion to sanctions and they believe that the sanctions are the panacea that resolve all the problems. They don’t. They in fact hurt people and we have an obligation as a government to minimize the impact on the people. But sanctions never change policy.”

“It is the first time that the Europeans are not only making statements against U.S., policy but are developing a mech-anism to avoid these sanctions and to compensate for the sanctions,” Zarif said of impending U.S. sanctions set to be launched against Iran on November 4.

“I didn’t spend two and a half years in negotiating this deal [the 2015 Iran nuclear deal] in order to simply walk away from it, because I know that there won’t be a better deal. There will never be a better deal for the United States,” Zarif said.

“I can assure President Trump with all his negotiating skills that this is the best deal that was possible. The best deal for us. The best deal for Europe. The best deal for the United States the best deal for Russia and China and the best deal for the international community.”

With the nuclear deal under huge pressure following the U.S. withdrawal back in May, and the Iranian economy suffering when many had hoped it would be thriving under eased sanctions, it’s been a rocky year in Iran.

“Everybody believes that the impact of those sanctions have already affected the economy,” Zarif told CBS News.

As his country continues trying to pave a pathway forward with Europe and other parties to the nuclear deal, Zarif was adamant that no talks -- on or off the record -- were still taking place with Washington.

“U.S. support for Saudi Arabia, Israel embold-ened them for atrocity”

Zarif also told CBS News that the United States’ choices are to blame for the Middle East’s disasters.

“The United States’ choices in the Middle East are wrong, and these wrong choices lead to the disaster in our region,” Zarif said.

“We knew that the invasion of Iraq was the wrong choice, although Saddam Hussein was our enemy. We knew that the attack against Afghanistan was the wrong choice although Taliban were our enemy,” he added.

“We know that the invasion and attack, bombardment of Yemen are wrong choices,” Zarif noted, referring to Wash-ington’s support for the 2015-present Saudi Arabia-led war on the Arab world’s poorest nation.

“But the United States is continuously and persistently on the wrong side,” the Iranian top diplomat asserted.

Zarif said the U.S. had emboldened Saudi Arabia and Israel to stage their atrocities by providing the regimes with “blanket support.”

“I think the blanket support that the U.S. provides to Saudi Arabia and to Israel has enabled them to carry out atrocities that would not have happened, had there not existed this blanket support,” he said.

The remarks came as the kingdom has come under mount-ing criticism for the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, Washington Post columnist and notable critic of Riyadh’s policies, who was murdered after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said recently that the kingdom would not have proceeded with the killing had it not been in receipt of U.S. support.

Washington is separately under pressure from high-pro-file rights groups to axe its arms sales to the kingdom and logistical support for the war on Yemen, which has killed thousands since its onset.

The U.S. is also Israel’s oldest and strongest ally, which has almost invariably blocked efforts at the United Nations to hold the regime responsible for its excesses across Tel Aviv-occupied Palestinian territories.

1 At the invitation of H.E. Mr. Mevlut Çavu?oglu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey and with participation of H.E. Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbai-jan and H.E. Mr. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Sixth Trilateral Meet-ing of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs was held on October 30th, 2018 in Istanbul, the Republic of Turkey.

The Ministers, Emphasized their commitment to the

Urumieh, Nakhchivan, Van, Ramsar and Baku Statements adopted in the previous Trilateral Meetings of the Ministers of For-eign Affairs;

Stressed their strong will to further soli-darity and cooperation among the peoples of the three countries based on common history, culture, religion and traditions;

Agreed to continue close consultations on issues of common interest at different levels and platforms and within the framework of international and regional organizations, with a view to enhancing regional and international peace, security and stability;

Stressed their commitment to principles of international law, in particular, respect of and support for sovereignty, territorial integrity, inviolability of internationally recognized borders, peaceful settlement of all disputes, as well as non-interference in internal affairs;

Reiterated in this regard the importance of the earliest resolution of Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on the basis of the above-mentioned principles;

Underscored the significance of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) which reflects the success of the multilateral negotiations and diplomacy; acknowledged that the successful implementation of JCPOA requires the complete fulfilment of the obli-gations by all the parties for allowing them to fully enjoy benefits provided in JCPOA;

Taking into account the Islamic Republic of Iran’s compliance with the JCPOA as con-firmed by the International Atomic Energy Agency which is a part of the Resolution 2231 (2015) of the UN Security Council, recalled the commitments of all the UN members to contribute to the implementation of JCPOA; in this regard condemned unilateral sanctions as they negatively affect trade and commercial development among their countries;

Reiterated their firm commitment to strengthen their cooperation on the basis of the relevant international instruments in the fight against terrorism, violent ex-tremism and separatism in all their forms and manifestations, transnational organ-ized crime, illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and precursors, illicit trade in arms, human trafficking, smuggling of migrants, money laundering, cybercrime, crimes against cultural and historical heritage, and other transnational security threats;

Agreed to positively evaluate the candida-tures of the three countries in the international and regional organizations;

Underlining the favorable geographical location of the three countries situated on important international transit corridors, encouraged further efforts to increase co-operation for the development of transport

infrastructure to take full advantage of their transit potential and better integration to the international transit system;

Stressed the importance of large-scale projects for increasing interconnectivity be-tween the three countries; and encouraged the full utilization of the potential present-ed by the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway that would be beneficial for the three countries, and underscored the importance of taking necessary steps for the earliest completion of Rasht-Astara railway, as well as encouraged to make use of the full capacity of the ports for the benefit of the three countries;

Recognizing internationally combined transport as one of the means of facilitating the orderly expansion of trade, underlined the need to stimulate the development of smooth, economic and efficient multimodal transport services to meet the requirements of the promotion of trilateral trade;

Expressed their willingness to enhance commercial cooperation in the field of energy;

Agreed to strengthen economic coopera-tion, to use existing potential for promotion of investment and trade, and to enhance cooperation by implementing the joint projects and programs such as in the fields of renewable energy, transport, border and customs, banking, telecommunication, indus-try, agriculture, tourism and environment;

Encouraged the establishment of a Trilat-eral Business Forum to further strengthen the economic and trade relations and create new opportunities among the business circles of the three countries; supported the im-provement of the economic and commercial cooperation between the small and medium

enterprises; emphasized the importance of cooperation among the public, private sector and academia of the three countries in the field of digital transformation;

Stated the importance of conducting tri-lateral research, development, innovation and knowledge-based technological projects, in the field of science and technology among the relevant institutions of Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey;

Underscored the importance of cooper-ation in the humanitarian sphere, including culture, education, science, health care, youth exchange, tourism and sports and expressed their readiness to initiate and promote joint projects and events in these spheres;

Agreed to encourage relevant Ministries and Agencies to enhance trilateral cooperation aimed at practical implementation of the provisions of this and previous Statements and make efforts towards their fulfillment;

Taking into account that the timetable for implementing the Trilateral Sectoral Coop-eration Action Plan will be expired up to the end of 2018, agreed to extend the timetable for another three years up to the end of 2021;

Considering the proposals exchanged among the three countries in the fields elaborated in the Trilateral SectoralCoop-eration Action Plans, agreed to determine their representatives promptly after the sixth meeting with a view to holding first sessions of subcommittees in Iran as soon as possible;

Reiterated the importance of holding regular meetings in the trilateral format to continue coordination and cooperation on regional and global issues;

Agreed to hold the next meeting in Iran.

Jahangiri calls for stronger ties with Iraq, invites Salih for visit

Istanbul trio conclude summit with joint statement

Iran FM: U.S. sanctions won’t work

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MP: Europeans determined to work with Iran

TEHRAN – Chairman of the Majlis Na-tional Security and Foreign Policy Com-

mittee says the Europeans have shown great determination to cooperate with Iran, but their ability to do so is still in question.

“The Europeans feel that if they react negatively to the participative approach of the Iranians, the Iran-Europe relations will enter a challenging atmosphere which by no means would be to their benefits,” ICANA on Tuesday quoted Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh as saying.

Falahatpisheh further said European countries regard Iran as the “island of stability” in the Middle East, which can prevent the deterioration of the situation in the region.

TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Tuesday

that Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan have common stance on regional issues and are determined to cooperate.

“Tehran, Ankara and Baku’s cooperation in developing the region, improving the living standards and also boosting peace and security in the region, which is facing many challenges, is very important,” he said during a joint press conference with Mevlut Cavusoglu and Elmar Mammadyarov, the Turkish and Azeri foreign ministers, in Istanbul.

Zarif said that regional problems should be solved through peaceful ways and based on the international law.

He also said that the three countries have many capacities to expand cooperation in various spheres.

He also praised Turkey and Azerbaijan for supporting the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, after the U.S. withdrawal in May.

‘Turkey to continue cooperation with Iran de-spite U.S. sanctions’

Cavusoglu said that Turkey will continue cooperation with Iran despite U.S. sanctions.

He said that Ankara is holding consultations with the Euro-pean countries to find ways to continue cooperation with Iran.

U.S. President Donald Trump reintroduced sanctions on Iran in August. The second wave of sanctions, which targets Iran’s oil exports and central bank, is due to start in early November.

‘Baku to expand relations with Tehran, Ankara in transportation’

Mammadyarov said that Baku seeks to expand relations with Tehran, Ankara in area of transportation.

Zarif was in Istanbul to attend sixth trilateral meeting to discuss matters of common interest.

EU’s mechanisms to be operated in few days, Zarif says

Upon arrival in Istanbul, Zarif said that the European Union’s mechanisms to allow countries to transact with Iran while avoiding U.S. sanctions will be operated in few days.

On September 25, European Union foreign policy chief

Mogherini announced that the bloc was creating a new pay-ment mechanism to allow countries to transact with Iran while avoiding U.S. sanctions.

Zarif noted that the U.S. will not reach its economic and political objectives.

The mechanism, a so-called special purpose vehicle (SPV), is designed to circumvent the sanctions, under which Washington can cut off any bank that facilitates oil transactions with Iran.

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Iran denounces killing of Shiite mourners in Nigeria

TEHRAN – Iran has strongly denounced the recent deadly incident in Nigeria in

which several Shiite mourners were killed by security forces.“We have received conflicting news about the incident,

and we are closely monitoring relevant developments and news, waiting for the different dimensions of the incident to come to light,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qa-ssemi said on Monday, according to the ministry’s website.

“Initial information about the incident shows clashes erupted between police forces and mourners which left a number of demonstrators dead and wounded. While con-demning this killing, we sympathize with the families of those killed,” he added.

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Iran rejects news of Rouhani’s mobile phone being tapped

TEHRAN – The Passive Defense Organ-ization’s Public Relations Department in

a statement dismissed as “false” recent remarks attributed to the head of the organization, according to which “Presi-dent Hassan Rouhani’s mobile phone was tapped recently.”

“Recently, some media outlets have published remarks by Brigadier General Gholamreza Jalali which were taken out of context with regard to the president’s mobile phone being tapped, which is strongly denied,” the statement read, Mehr reported on Tuesday.

It added that in the interview, General Jalali had warned that “unencrypted” phone calls made by the country’s officials while in other countries are vulnerable to being intercepted.

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‘Mechanism to save Iran-EU financial ties underway’

TEHRAN – A spokesperson with the Eu-ropean Union (EU) says a special financial

mechanism aimed to save Iran-EU financial transactions is in the process of implementation.

Speaking to Deutsche Welle on Tuesday, the spokesperson, who was not named, said the EU is determined to salvage the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, IRNA reported.

“The decision to launch such mechanism was made in the meeting of EU foreign ministers on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York,” the spokesperson said, adding that the decision was then referred to the EU member states.

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Zarif condemns terrorist attack on Pittsburgh synagogue

TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has condemned

terrorist attack on a synagogue in Pittsburgh which left 11 people dead.

“Extremism and terrorism know no race or religion, and must be condemned in all cases. The world deserves better than to have to live with weaponized demagoguery. Thoughts and prayers with victims of terrorist attack on Pittsburgh synagogue and their loved ones,” he tweeted on Monday.

A gunman burst into a busy Pittsburgh synagogue on Saturday and opened fire, killing 11 people and injuring six others. After exchanging gunfire with police, 46-year-old Robert Bowers surrendered and was taken into custody.

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Rouhnai offers condolences over Indonesia plane crash

TEHRAN – President Hassan Rouhani on Monday extended his condolences to

his Indonesian counterpart, Joko Widodo, over a passenger plane crash with 189 people on board, Press TV reported.

In his message to the Indonesian president, Rouhani said he was deeply saddened by the tragic incident, which led to the death of the country’s nationals, including a number of government officials.

The Lion Air Boeing 737 crashed into the sea on Monday as it tried to circle back to the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, from where it had taken off minutes earlier.

“U.S. support for Saudi Arabia, Israel emboldened them for atrocity”

OCTOBER 31, 2018 INTERNATIONALI N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

by staff & agenciesAmid investigations into the murder of dis-sident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the regime’s public prosecutor holds a second round of talks with Turkish officials in Is-tanbul before visiting Riyadh’s consulate, where the crime took place.

Saud al-Mojeb sat down with Istanbul’s chief prosecutor, Irfan Fidan, at the city’s main courthouse for a second time on Tuesday.

The meeting lasted around an hour. Mo-jeb and the delegation accompanying him then headed to the Saudi regime consulate in Istanbul, where Khashoggi was killed this month. Turkish broadcaster TRT reported that Mojeb had on Monday asked to be given the full findings of the Turkish investigation into Khashoggi’s death, including all images and audio recordings.

Turkish investigators, however, reject-ed the request and instead urged the Saudi regime prosecutor to reveal information about the location of Khashoggi’s body, the report added. Khashoggi, an outspoken critic of the House of Saud regime Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), vanished at Riyadh’s consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

Riyadh initially claimed that the journalist had walked out of the mission.

Later, however, it said that Khashoggi was killed accidentally in a “fist fight” with a Saudi hit squad. Most recently, Mojeb said that the killing of the Washington Post columnist was “premeditated” by Saudi operatives.

The kingdom announced the arrest of 18 Saudi suspects in the murder and the sacking of two top officials. Ankara called for the extradition of the suspects, an appeal rejected by Riyadh.

Turks receive testimonies from 18 Saudi suspects

The developments followed as the Saudi prosecutors have handed over the testimonies by the 18 suspects of the killing of Khashoggi to Turkish officials, a source in the Turkish Attorney General’s office told Al Jazeera.

The move comes after sources told Al Ja-zeera that Istanbul’s chief prosecutor’s office was left “unsatisfied” following a meeting with the Saudi regime’s top prosecutor over Khashoggi’s killing.

Trump paves way for Saudis to cover up Khashoggi’s murder: Fiancée

Meantime, Khashoggi’s fiancée has held the

House of Saud regime authorities responsible for his recent murder in Istanbul, slamming the United States president for paving the way for Riyadh to cover up the crime.

Hatice Cengiz, the fiancée of Khashog-gi, said she was disappointed with the U.S. President Donald Trump’s response to the killing, suggesting the U.S. business ties with Riyadh had influenced his approach to the case. “President Trump should help reveal the truth and ensure justice be served. He should not pave the way for a cover-up of my fiancé’s murder. Let’s not let money taint our conscience and compromise our values,” she told a memorial in London for the slain Washington Post columnist.

Cengiz said she and the Turkish nation want all of those responsible including those who gave the order to those who carried it out, from the bottom to the top to be tried and to receive the necessary punishments according to international law.

She also noted that she wanted “the role of the political leadership in this brutal killing to be brought to light” and asked the inter-national community to assist in holding “the perpetrators and their masters to account.”

The death of Khashoggi – a critic of Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mo-hammed bin Salman (MBS) – has sparked global outrage and pitched the world’s top

oil exporter into crisis.There are reports that the journalist was

about to disclose details of Saudi Arabia’s use of banned chemical weapons in its imposed war on Yemen days before he was killed.

British Sunday Express weekly reported that a close friend of Khashoggi, speaking on condition of anonymity, had told it on Saturday night that he was about to obtain “documentary evidence” from his murdered friend proving claims that Riyadh had used banned chemical weapons in its brutal ag-gression against Yemen.

Khashoggi, 59, entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 to obtain paperwork necessary for his upcoming marriage to Cengiz, a Turkish national. He did not walk out of the consulate. Cengiz first raised the alarm.

UN rights chief calls for international role in Khashoggi inquiry

Elsewhere, the United Nations human rights Chief Michelle Bachelet called for inter-national experts to take part in an independent investigation into the killing of Khashoggi, with access to evidence and witnesses.

Bachelet also urged Saudi Arabia to reveal the whereabouts of Khashoggi’s body, adding that a forensic examination and autopsy were crucial in the ongoing investigation into the “shockingly brazen crime” carried out in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Erdogan: No point in protecting culprits in Khashoggi murder

Separately, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Saudi Arabia’s chief pros-ecutor to find out who ordered the murder of Khashoggi, and not spare “certain people” in his investigation.

“Now we have to solve this case. No need to prevaricate, it makes no sense to try to protect certain people,” he told reporters in Ankara.Erdogan said the Turkish prosecutor had told his Saudi counterpart that the 18 suspects in the case could be tried in Turkey. Saudi officials also needed to reveal the identity of a local cooperator said to have been involved in Khashoggi’s disappearance, he said.

Susan Rice, the former U.S. national se-curity adviser during Obama’s second term, has lashed out at the Saudi regime’s Crown Prince MBS, in an opinion piece in the New York Times. In the op-ed, Rice said that the “brazen murder of Jamal Khashoggi raises a critical question that the Trump administra-tion plainly wants to avoid: Can the United States continue to cooperate with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman?”

“The young prince’s almost certain culpa-bility in Mr. Khashoggi’s killing underscores his extreme recklessness and immorality, while exposing him as a dangerous and unreliable partner for the United States.”

Saudi regime public prosecutor holds 2nd round of talks in Istanbul, visits Riyadh’s consulate

The House of Saud regime-led military coalition has sent 10,000 of troops to Yemen’s Hudaydah ahead of a fresh offensive against the blockaded port city, a report says.

Leading a coalition of its allies, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia invaded Yemen in March 2015 in an attempt to reinstall Yemen’s former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who resigned amid popular discontent and fled to the kingdom.

Since the onset of the imposed war, the Yemeni army, backed by fighters of the country’s popular Ansarullah (Houthi) movement, has been defending the impoverished nation against the brutal aggression. The coalition is also resolute to crush the movement as another goal in its war on Yemen, which is teetering on the edge of famine.

More than three and a half years into the war, the Saudi regime has achieved neither of its objectives. Riyadh had declared at the start of the invasion that the war would take no more than a couple of weeks.

Back in June, coalition forces, backed by armed militia loyal to Hadi, launched a full-scale offensive against the Ansarullah-held Hudaydah, which is currently under a tight siege imposed by the invaders. The so-called liberation operation, however, failed to achieve its objective, which is overrunning the vital port and defeating Ansarullah fighters, backed by those from the Popular Committees.

Citing an unnamed military official from Hadi’s so-called government, AFP reported on Tuesday that the pro-Hadi coa-lition would deploy reinforcements to the Red Sea coast ahead of a new offensive on Hudaydah “within days.”

The official further claimed that they would “secure areas liberated” from Ansarullah fighters, adding that Sudanese forces had moved in to “secure” areas around the city, through whose docks over 70 percent of Yemen’s imports used to pass.

Over the past several month, humanitarian organizations have warned that military operations against Hudaydah threaten to cut off essential supplies to millions of Yemeni people. More than 70 percent of Yemen’s imports pass through Hudaydah’s docks.

The coalition claims Ansarullah movement is using Hudaydah for weapons delivery, an allegation rejected by Ansarullah fighters.

Yemenis target Saudi base in AsirMeanwhile, Yemen’s Arabic-language al-Masirah satellite

television network, citing a military source, reported that Yemeni forces had targeted a new military base in Saudi Arabia’s south-western province of Asir with a short-range Badr-1 missile, adding that the projectile had struck the designated target with precision.

The official also said that the retaliatory missile strike had inflicted heavy human and material damage.

The aggression initially consisted of a bombing campaign, but was later coupled with a naval blockade and the deployment of ground forces to Yemen.

Jamal Khashoggi was to disclose use of chemical weapons by the Saudi regime in Yemen, a source says.

Yemen death toll five times higher than UN estimatesElsewhere, a report says the number of casualties in Yemen

remains unreported due to the media blackout imposed on the war-torn country by Saudi and Emirati invaders, putting the death toll among Yemenis at around 56,000 since early 2016 -- over five times higher than the figure reported by the United Nations.

Patrick Cockburn, an award-winning columnist for The Inde-pendent, said in a recent article that understating the number of people killed in the war on Yemen has enabled Saudi Arabia and its allies to avoid a public outcry over their offensive.

He cited a toll of 56,000 by a nonprofit conflict-research or-ganization that is five times higher than the regularly reported figure of 10,000.

“We estimate the number killed to be 56,000 civilians and combatants between January 2016 and October 2018,” said Andrea Carboni, who researches Yemen for the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED).

Cockburn said Carboni had told him that he expects a total toll of 70,000-80,000, when he completes research into the casualties by taking into account the number of victims between March 2015 -- when the Saudi regime and its allies began a war on the country -- and the end of that year.

Carboni was further quoted as saying that the number of the Yemenis being killed is increasing by more than 2,000 per month as fighting intensifies around the port city of Hudaydah.

The House of Saud cregime has finally admitted “mistakes” in a recent airstrike which killed children on a school bus in Yemen, but still insisted that the vehicle was carrying Ansarullah fighters.

Yemeni forces shoot down Saudi reconnaissance drone over Hudaydah

The Yemeni army has shot down a Saudi regime unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) as it was on a reconnaissance mission in Yemen’s western coastal province of Hudaydah.

Yemen’s Arabic-language al-Masirah satellite television net-work, citing a military source, reported that the “big” drone was shot down as it was flying in the skies north east of Durayhimi district in the province on Monday.

The report added that another Saudi regime spy drone had also been intercepted and shot down by Yemeni forces as it was flying in skies of border areas of Saudi Arabia’s southwestern region of Jizan early on Saturday.

Yemeni army forces, backed by allied fighters from Popular Committees and fighters from the Ansarullah movement, have so far managed to shoot down over a dozen Saudi regime drones over the Yemeni territories and in the skies of border areas of Saudi southern provinces.

The United Nations humanitarian chief says the war on Yemen has rendered as many as 8.4 million people in the Arab world’s already most miserable nation needful of urgent food aid.

(Source: agencies)

Saudi regime-led coalition sends 10,000 of troops to Hudaydah ahead of new

The United States government is planning to end birthright citizenship for babies of non-citizens and undocumented immigrants born on the U.S. soil, President Donald Trump said in an interview on Tuesday.

In an interview with “Axios on HBO”, Trump said he is working with legal counsel to put an end to the practice, which stipulates that citizenship is automatically granted to any person born within the U.S. territory.

Revoking birthright citizenship would lead to a court fight over whether the president has the unilateral ability to change an amendment to the Constitution. The 14th Amendment guarantees that right for all children born in the U.S. Asked about the legality of such an executive order, Trump said, “they’re saying I can do it just with an executive order”. “It’s ridiculous and it has to end ...”

It’s unclear how quickly he would act on an executive order. “We’re the only country

in the world where a person comes in, has a baby and the baby is essentially a citizen of the United States for 85 years with all of those benefits,” Trump told the Axios HBO series, which debuts on Sunday.

The first line of the 14th Amendment states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.”

Trump’s comments come ahead of the U.S. midterm elections that he has sought to focus on his hardline immigration policies.

Seeking to energize his supporters and help Republicans keep control of Congress, the U.S. president has stoked anxiety about a caravan of Central American migrants making its way to the U.S.-Mexico border.

He is dispatching additional troops and saying he’ll set up tent cities for asylum seekers.

In the final days before the November 6 midterm elections, Trump has emphasized immigration, as he seeks to counter his rival Democratic party’s campaign.

Trump believes that his campaign pledges, including his much vaunted and still-unful-filled promise to quickly build a U.S.-Mexico border wall, are still rallying cries for his base and that this latest focus will further erode the opposition support.

(Source: agencies)

Tens of thousands of supporters of Sri Lanka’s deposed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe have protested in the capital, Colombo, as political turmoil on the island enters its fifth day.

Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP) workers staged the protest on Tuesday outside his official residence, where he has remained since President Maithripala Sirisena dismissed him last week and appointed former president Mahinda Rajapaksa as his replacement.

“We are against the sacking, the people did not vote for Sirisena to act in this manner,” Wickremesinghe told sup-porters from a makeshift stage.

“We will resist what the president has done,” he said, as crowds chanted “down with the rogue PM”, referring to Rajapaksa, and “respect the mandate, recall parliament.”

Effigies of Sirisena were torn up in a symbolic protest against the president’s move, which has been described by many local newspapers as a “constitutional coup”.

Large crowds, many wearing caps in green, the UNP

party color, took part in the hurriedly arranged rally that forced the closure of several roads.

Sri Lanka was plunged into crisis on Friday when Sirisena

sacked Wickremesinghe and suspended parliament, breaking up a fragile coalition governing the South Asian country.

Parliament speaker Karu Jayasuriya has warned that the crisis could lead to a “bloodbath” on the streets unless Sirisena ends the suspension of parliament to let MPs choose between Wickremesinghe and Rajapaksa.

Wickremesinghe has demanded that parliament meet so that he can prove he has majority backing.

Some of Wickremesinghe’s removed ministers have re-fused to accept his sacking. On Sunday, former oil minister Arjuna Ranatunga attempted to enter his office, leading to violence that left two dead.

Sirisensa named a new cabinet on Monday with Rajapaksa in charge of finance. Sri Lanka is a key state in the battle for influence in South Asia between traditional ally India and China. The Chinese government is one of the few to congrat-ulate pro-Beijing Rajapaksa on becoming prime minister.

(Source: agencies)

Search teams scoured the sea off Indonesia on Tuesday for any signs of life and evidence to determine what brought down a Lion Air flight with 189 people on board.

Divers hunted for the main fuselage and deployed un-derwater beacons to trace the flight’s black box recorders in order to find out what caused one of the deadliest aviation incidents in Indonesia’s history.

The search was stopped for the night although sonar vessels and an underwater drone continued hunting for the downed airliner.

“Hopefully this morning we can find the wreckage or fuse-lage,” Soerjanto Tjahjono, the head of Indonesia’s transport safety panel, told Reuters news agency.

Lion Air’s airplane was almost brand new though it crashed shortly after take-off from the airport in Jakarta after the pilot reported he needed to return the aircraft to the ground.

The Boeing 737 was flown for the first time on August 15, and the airline said it had been certified as airworthy

before Monday’s flight by an engineer who is a specialist in Boeing models. Indonesia’s search-and-rescue agency said there was little hope of finding survivors. “[It] would be a

miracle,” spokesman Yusuf Latif said.The agency said on Tuesday that 10 intact bodies, as well

as body parts, had been recovered.Lion Air Chief Executive Edward Sirait said on Monday

the plane had encountered an unspecified “technical issue” on its previous flight, which was from the resort island of Bali to Jakarta, but that it had been “resolved according to procedure”.

“We don’t dare to say what the facts are, or are not, yet,” he told reporters. “We are also confused about the why since it was a new plane.”

The Boeing 737 MAX 8 airliner was flying from the capital to the city of Pangkal Pinang at 1,113 meters above sea level when it lost contact with air traffic controllers.

The crash was the worst airline disaster in Indonesia since an AirAsia flight plunged into the sea in December 2014, killing all 162 on board.

(Source: agencies)

U.S. President Trump plans to end birthright citizenship: Axios

Thousands rally in Colombo in support of sacked Sri Lanka PM

Lion Air crash: Investigators hunt for black-box answers

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

OCTOBER 31, 20184 E C O N O M Y

India, Russia, Iran to meet on North-South Corridor on Nov. 23

Singapore trade min. warns of ‘double whammy’ to global economy

Iran’s intl. auto part exhibition to host 180 foreign companies

Trump says he expects ‘great deal’ with China, but more tariffs if not

South Korea has asked the United States for “maximum flexibility” on its request for a waiver to prevent South Korean companies from being affected by renewed U.S. sanc-tions against Iran, the foreign ministry said.

The sanctions against Iranian crude oil exports are set to take effect on Nov. 5 as part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to force Tehran to accede to a more restrictive deal on curbing its nuclear programs.

South Korea, a U.S. ally and one of Asia’s biggest buyers of Iranian oil, has already stopped crude imports from Iran. South Korean building firms have also cancelled energy-related contracts in Iran due to fi-nancing difficulties.

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha asked for the exemption in a telephone call with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo late on Monday, the ministry said in a statement.

“Minister Kang requested the U.S. side exert maximum flexibility so that South Korea can secure an exemption to minimize the damage to our companies,” the ministry said.

Pompeo said he noted Seoul’s position and would continue discussions on the mat-ter, the ministry said.

The exemption issue is the latest sign of strain between Seoul and Washington over a range of issues, especially the enforcement of sanctions aimed at limiting North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.

South Korea and Japan have been in talks with the United States in a bid to avoid adverse impacts from the reimposition of U.S. sanc-tions on Iran. Both countries won waivers during the previous round of sanctions that ended in 2016, but Washington has adopted a more aggressive stance this time.

(Source: Reuters)

India, Russia and Iran will hold a trilat-eral meeting on the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) on No-vember 23 to make the 7,200-km-long ship, road, and rail route operational soon, an official statement said on Monday.

Union Commerce and Industry Min-ister Suresh Prabhu, in a meeting with a Russian business delegation on raising investments and business between the two countries on Saturday, said “all issues may be resolved in order to operationalize the route as early as possible”.

Prabhu informed that the corridor is an

important initiative taken by India, Rus-sia and Iran to promote transport coop-eration and to enhance connectivity with central Asian countries.

“The INSTC is the shortest multimodal transportation route linking the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf via Iran to Rus-sia and North Europe,” the Ministry of Com-merce and Industry said in the statement.

“The estimated capacity of the corridor is 20 to 30 million tons of goods per year and will reduce time and cost by 30 percent to 40 percent,” it added.

(Source: Business Standard)

Ongoing trade tensions that have hit market sentiments towards the end of the current business cycle could deal a “double whammy” to the global economy, said Singapore’s Min-ister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing.

Chan’s comments came amid an escalating trade conflict between the world’s two largest economies: The U.S. is reportedly preparing new tariffs against all remaining Chinese imports if upcoming trade talks between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping break down.

“The most important thing is whether this will lead to a global loss of confidence and investment,” Chan told CNBC’s Sri Jegarajah at the Singapore International Energy Week on Tuesday.

“And if this global loss of confidence and investment coincides with what we call the late cycle issues on the financial markets, then we might have a double whammy,” he added. “Late cycle” refers to a stage in an

economic recovery when activity stagnates and growth slows down.

Stock markets around the world have tumbled in recent weeks as investors are increasingly rattled by developments includ-ing rising interest rates, weakening global economy and waning earnings prospects.

The International Monetary Fund earlier this month cut its global growth forecasts as trade tensions between the U.S. and trad-ing partners have started to hit economic activity worldwide.

Singapore is a tiny Southeast Asian economy that is highly dependent on trade — making it vulnerable in a worsening conflict between the U.S. and China. Its exports of goods and services in 2017 were almost 200 percent of its roughly $300 billion gross domestic product, according to the World Bank.

(Source: CNBC)

TEHRAN – Over 180 foreign exhibitors and

510 domestic participants are going to participate in the 13th edition of Iran International Auto Parts Exhibition which is due to be held on November 12-15 at Tehran Permanent International Fairgrounds, ILNA reported.

So far, France, Greece, Turkey, Chi-na, Taiwan, South Korea, India, Italy and Poland are among the countries which are taking part in this year’s event.

The exhibitors will be showcasing

their latest achievements and products in a variety of areas including passenger and heavy auto spare parts, related machinery, maintenance and cleaning products, in addition to after-sales, decorative and tuning as well as techni-cal and engineering services, and etc.

Holding 12 conferences and work-shops with the presence of engineers, specialists and university professors, as well visits from several international industrial and commercial delegations have been also planned as side pro-grams for this exhibition.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he thinks there will be “a great deal” with China on trade, but warned that he has billions of dollars worth of new tariffs ready to go if a deal isn’t possible.

“I think that we will make a great deal with China and it has to be great, because they’ve drained our country,” Trump told FOX News Channel’s “The Ingraham Angle” on Monday.

Trump said in the interview he would like to make a deal now, but that China was not ready. He did not elaborate.

Bloomberg news reported on Monday that Washington was preparing to announce tariffs on all remaining Chinese imports by early December if talks next month between Trump and his counterpart Xi Jinping fail to ease the trade war.

Both Trump and Xi are expected to attend next month’s G20 summit in Buenos Aires, where they could meet.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman

Lu Kang said China and the United States have all along been in communication about exchanges at all levels, including a possible Xi-Trump meeting in Argentina, though he gave no details.

If the United States is not willing to promote win-win cooperation with China then China is fully confident in being able to continue with its reforms and develop itself, Lu added.

The United States has already imposed tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods, and China has responded with retaliatory duties on $110 billion worth of U.S. goods.

“And I have $267 billion waiting to go if we can’t make a deal,” Trump said.

Trump has long threatened to impose tariffs on all remaining Chinese imports into the United States if Beijing fails to meet U.S. demands for sweeping changes to Chinese trade, technology transfer and industrial subsidy policies. (Source: Reuters)

The euro zone economy grew less than expected in the third quarter as the public mood turned darker, with signs of distress in Italy highlight-ing concerns that the bloc’s third-ranked state is becoming one of its weakest links.

Tuesday’s data, suggesting the slowdown has further to run, will make uncomfortable reading for the European Central Bank as it moves toward ending in December the program of asset purchases it introduced in 2015 to boost inflation and economic growth.

Economists said the quarterly growth dip to 0.2 percent from 0.4 percent in the second quarter was unlikely to change those plans, though it might push back the date of the ECB’s first post-stimulus hike in interest rates.

“We expect the ECB to stick to its plans to end asset purchases this year, but the recent run of weak data suggests that the bank will stress that policy tightening will depend on the incoming figures,” Jessica Hinds, economist at Capital Economics, said.

Tuesday’s preliminary flash GDP reading from European statistics office Eurostat, which sent the euro EUR= to an intraday low against the dollar, was worse than expected.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 0.4 percent rise in the 19 countries sharing the euro. The 0.2 percent reported was the lowest growth pace in more than four years.

Eurostat does not provide national data in its flash estimates, but figures from Italy’s statistics agency ISTAT showed growth there stagnated in the third quarter, as the govern-ment pursues a war of words with Brussels

over a 2019 budget draft that breaks EU rules.“With budget discussions already tense

between Rome and Brussels, this stagnation will only add to concerns,” Bert Colijn, econo-mist at ING, said.

Quarterly growth in France, the bloc’s second biggest economy, also missed forecasts at 0.4 percent though growth accelerated, data from the INSEE statistics agency showed on Tuesday.

An estimate for Germany, the bloc’s largest economy, is not yet available but economists foresee growth is likely to have slowed there

too, although the country’s jobless total fell in October and employment hit a record high in September.

Meanwhile, inflation in Germany’s most populous regions accelerated in October to well above 2 percent, reaching the highest level in many years.

That compares with an ECB target of close to but below 2 percent, though Tuesday’s Ger-man data was not harmonized to compare with other euro zone countries and did not strip out volatile elements such as oil prices, which have

risen sharply in recent months.That suggests price pressures will not be

a major factor in shifting ECB decisions at this stage.

Confidence on the slideOf more concern to policymakers in Frank-

furt will be indications that the bloc’s economic slowdown could worsen in the final quarter.

The European Commission said on Tuesday that euro zone economic sentiment dropped in October for the tenth consecutive month.

The indicator of managers’ and consum-ers’ morale - which rose steadily in 2017 - fell to 109.8 points from 110.9 in September, its biggest dip since March though still above its long-term average.

In October the largest fall was recorded in retail services as managers held “much grimmer views on the present and expected business situation,” the Commission said, and the in-dicator of selling price expectations dropped.

Confidence in industry and services also went down, while consumer sentiment im-proved slightly.

Morale fell in Germany, France and Italy while it grew in Spain.

In Italy the downward trend began in July, the month after a eurosceptic government took office in Rome.

Outside the euro zone, Britain recorded a slight increase of economic sentiment, driven up by more optimism in retail trade and ser-vices which more than offset a fall in industry confidence.

(Source: Reuters)

COMMODITIES

CURRENCIES

STOCK MARKET

USD 42,000 rialsEUR 48,494 rials

GBP 55,053 rials

AED 11,430 rials

TEDPIX 183219.5IFX 2040.28

WTI $65.67/b

Brent $75.62/b

OPEC Basket $75.71/b

Gold $1,225.00/oz

Silver $14.49/oz

Platinium $841.40/oz

Sources: tse.ir, Ifb.ir

Source: iribnews.ir

Sources: oilprice.com, Moneymetals.com

TEHRAN — The value of trades in Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) has risen 73 percent during the

past Iranian calendar month of Mehr (September 22-October 22) from its previous month, Tasnim news agency reported on Tuesday.

Some 64.928 billion shares worth 310.327 trillion rials (about $7.388 billion) were traded through 5.250 million deals during the past month.

Number of deals in Mehr shows 43 percent rise as well. TEDPIX, the main index of TSE, also gained 27,241 points, or

17 percent, during the past month.

TEHRAN – To be hosting 483 foreign and domestic companies, the 18th Iran Interna-

tional Electricity Exhibition (IEE) is due to be opened on Friday at Tehran Permanent International Fairgrounds, IRIB reported.

As reported, some 415 domestic exhibitors along with 68 foreign companies from 18 countries including Austria, Germany, Russia, Japan, the United Kingdom, China and the United States will attend this four-day event to showcase their latest achievements and products in the electricity industry.

The exhibitors are active in various sectors of power indus-try including wire, cable, electrical equipment, automation, instrumentation systems and etc.

E C O N O M Yd e s k

E C O N O M Yd e s kN E W S I N B R I E F

TSE’s worth of trades rises 73% in a month

Intl. electricity exhibit to kick off in Tehran on Friday

South Korea asks U.S. for ‘maximum flexibility’ on Iran sanctions waiver

E N E R G Yd e s k

Mood sours as euro zone economic growth slows while Italy stagnates

Non-oil exports up 13.3% in 7 months on year

1 Foroud Asgari said 67.362 million tons of non-oil goods worth $27.229 billion were exported to the destination markets during the seven-month period of this year, IRNA reported.

The IRICA head put the country’s non-oil imports at 18.929 million tons valued at $26.303 billion in the mentioned time span, with 8.6 percent fall in weight and 11.7 percent decrease in value compared to the same period of time in the previous year.

Gas condensate, liquefied propane, low-density oils and their by-products except for gasoline, methanol and polyethylene film grade were the major exported products and corn as livestock food, auto parts, rice and soy bean were the main imported goods during the seven-month period of this year, Asgari said.

IRICA has previously put the value of Iran’s non-oil exports at $46.931 billion in the past Iranian calendar year of 1396 (ended on March 20), with 6.56 percent growth from $44.42 billion in its preceding year.

Iran’s imports of the non-oil products during the past calendar year stood at $54.302 billion, indicating 24.31 percent increase from the figure of its preceding year.

Bitcoin steady after worst day in nearly 3 weeksA day after suffering its biggest 24-hour decline in nearly three weeks, the bitcoin market has righted the ship early Tuesday.

A single bitcoin BTCUSD, +0.31% was last changing hands at $6,272.85, up 0.1% since Monday at 5 p.m. Eastern Time on the Kraken exchange.

Monday’s weakness brought the total value of all crypto-currencies back towards $200 billion, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Yellen downbeat on bitcoinSpeaking at the Canadian FinTech Forum in Montreal on

Monday, Janet Yellen, the former chairperson of the Federal Reserve, said bitcoin lacks some key components to make it a sustainable means of payment. “It has long been thought that for something to be a useful currency it needs to be a stable source of value, and bitcoin is anything but,” said Yellen, according to Kitco.com.

“It’s not used for a lot of transactions, it’s not a stable source of value and it’s not an efficient means of processing payments,” she said, according to the report.

(Source: The Market Watch)

People wearing signs that read “We want dignity for workers” (R) and “We have work but no salary” protest in front of the Italian Ministry of Labour office in Rome, Italy, October 16, 2018.

5I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

E N E R G Y

Oil prices slipped on Tuesday, depressed by concerns that the U.S.-China trade dispute will dent economic growth and by signs of rising global supply despite upcoming sanc-tions against Iran.

Benchmark Brent crude oil was down 15 cents a barrel at $77.19 by 0835 GMT. U.S. light crude was unchanged at $67.04.

Both contracts have recovered ground over the last week but are around $10 a barrel below four-year highs reached in the first week of October.

Oil has been caught in the global finan-cial market slump this month, with equities under pressure from the trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

Financial markets found some support on Tuesday from reports that U.S. President Donald Trump thinks “a great deal” with China is possible on trade.

But for now the dispute between Wash-ington and Beijing goes on and looks set to curb global economic growth and fuel demand.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday high oil prices were hurting consumers and could dent fuel demand at

a time of slowing global economic activity.“There are two downward pressures on

global oil demand growth. One is high oil prices, and in many countries they’re direct-ly related to consumer prices. The second one is global economic growth momentum slowing down,” IEA chief Fatih Birol told

an energy conference in Singapore.Consultancy JBC Energy said the oil

price weakness was “probably driven by the wider negative market sentiment amid speculation about additional U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports, should upcoming talks fail to produce the desired results”.

Oil is also under pressure from rising output by the world’s biggest producers, Russia, the United States and Saudi Ara-bia, which is helping to replenish global oil inventories after more than a year of stock draws.

Oil production from these three producers reached 33 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first time in September, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.

That’s an increase of 10 million bpd since the start of the decade and means these three producers alone now meet a third of global crude demand.

The United States is set to impose sanc-tions on Iranian crude from next week and exports from the Islamic Republic have al-ready begun to fall.

But there appears to be no significant shortage of crude. Saudi Arabia and Russia have said they will pump enough to meet demand once U.S. sanctions are imposed.

Iran’s seaborne crude exports have fallen from a 2018 peak of just over 2.5 million bpd in May to around 1.5 million bpd in September and October, Eikon data showed.

(Source: Reuters)

Higher oil prices are expected to leave the oil industry flush with cash, but the “capital discipline” mantra remains. Market watchers have wondered whether top oil executives would eschew with tight-fisted spending plans once their pockets fattened up again.

“We’re laser focused on disciplined free cash flow generation and strong execution. Discipline means, we’re not chasing higher prices by ramping up activity,” ConocoPhillips’ CEO Ryan Lance told investors on an earn-ings call. “By staying disciplined, we generate strong free cash flow, which we then allocate in a shareholder-friendly way.” He went on to stress how committed the company was to boosting the quarterly dividend and share buyback program.

Conoco beat analysts’ estimates, earning $1.36 per share in the third quarter, eight times the earnings from the $0.16 per share a year earlier. Conoco also saw soaring production in the big three shale areas – the Permian, Eagle Ford and Bakken – with output up 48 percent to 313,000 bpd. Lance said that the company still wants to “optimize” its portfolio, which includes $600 million in asset sales.

Conoco’s experience highlights an im-portant industry trend, which is prioritizing profits over growth and size. Lance pointed out that the last time earnings were this good was back in 2014. “Brent was over $100 per barrel and our production was almost 1.5 million barrels of equivalent oil per day. So

we’re as profitable today as we were then, despite prices being 25 percent lower and volumes being 20 percent lower,” Lance told investors. “So bigger isn’t always better. That’s why we’re focused on per share growth and value, not absolute volume growth.”

Norwegian oil company Equinor (formerly Statoil) echoed that sentiment. After laying out the company’s earnings, CFO Lars Christian said “you have to go all the way back to first quarter 2014 to find strong results, and then remember the oil price level above $100.” But again, that doesn’t seem to have triggered a new aggressive approach. “With the E&P

industry seeing higher oil and gas prices, now is the time we must show discipline and protect the structural improvements we have achieved over the last four years,” Christian told investors on an earnings call. Equinor, despite the improved performance, announced that it was lowering its capex guidance by $1 billion for the year.

The same words of “capital discipline” along with a focus on “capital distribution” – i.e. payouts to shareholders – are evident in just about every earnings call. This is what investors are demanding, not a return to reckless spending on megaprojects in far

flung places.However, modest spending also flies in

the face of what some analysts are asking for in the long-term. A September report from Wood Mackenzie said that the oil industry’s spending restraint could sow the seeds of a supply crunch in the 2020s. “The warning signs are there – the industry isn’t finding enough oil,” WoodMac said in its report.

The oil consultancy said that by the mid-2020s, a supply gap emerges, rising to 3 million barrels per day by 2030. By 2035, the supply gap jumps to as much as 7 mb/d. “Barring technology breakthrough beyond what we already assume, we’ll need new oil discoveries,” WoodMac concluded.

The IEA has repeatedly warned of a similar problem. The sharp downturn in spending following the market bust in 2014 has barely recovered. But, as the earnings reports indi-cate, Big Oil is now back to making money in a big way, even with spending at a fraction of pre-2014 levels.

However, profitability is not the same thing as the global oil industry having enough supply to meet demand. WoodMac and the IEA, among others, are concerned that the capital discipline mantra will lead to a supply disaster in the middle of the next decade.

The oil majors are not concerned about that right now. Investors are happy that the quarterly figures are strong again.

(Source: oilprice.com)

High oil prices are hurting consumers and could also have adverse implications for producers, the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday.

Major emerging Asian economies such as India and Indonesia have been hit hard this year by rising crude oil prices, which despite falls this month are up by around 15 percent since the start of 2018.

Fuel import costs have been pushed up further by a slide in emerging market currencies against the dollar, denting growth and even triggering protests and government fuel price controls in India.

“Many countries’ current account deficits have been affected by high oil prices,” IEA chief Fatih Birol said at an energy conference in Singapore.

“There are two downward pressures on global oil demand growth. One is high oil prices, and in many countries they’re directly related to consumer prices. The second one is global economic growth momentum slowing down.”

The effect of high oil prices will be compounded in

Southeast Asia as demand is rising fast but production is falling, resulting in the region becoming a net importer of oil, gas and coal, Birol said.

Despite the possibility of a slowdown, Birol said the general outlook for fuel consumption was for continued growth.

While the rise of electric vehicles is expected to result in peak demand for products like diesel and gasoline within coming years, a consumption boom in products such as plastic as well as fuel demand growth from aviation have triggered large-scale refinery investment into petrochemical products and high quality products like jet fuel.

“Global oil Demand will continue to grow even amid the rise of electric vehicles as they are governed by petrochemicals, aviation, among others,” he said.

LNG boomingMore so than oil, Birol said demand for liquefied natural

gas (LNG) would boom.The IEA chief said that global LNG trade could pass

500 billion cubic meters per day (bcm) by 2023, growing by a third in the coming five years.

Birol said just three countries, Qatar, Australia and the United States, would supply 60 percent of global LNG by 2023.

LNG demand is primarily driven by growth in China, where an anti-pollution program is driving a massive shift from coal to natural gas.

But demand is also expected to grow fast in Southeast Asia, where Birol said the power sector needed $50 billion of investment by 2040, more than twice the current level, to keep up with consumption.

Despite this growth potential, the LNG sector faces increasing competition from renewables and storage technology, which are cleaner than fossil fuels and becoming much cheaper.

In many countries, Birol said solar power was on track to become the cheapest source of new electricity.

(Source: Bloomberg)

The Asian sweet crude oil complex kicked off Monday on mixed sentiments, as an oversupply of condensates and an influx of Vietnamese crudes weighed down on trading outlook, while strong middle distillates and fuel oil cracks and firm freight rates lent support to other regional crude oil grades, said sources.

Last week, Asia’s sweet crude market saw activity mainly from Vietnam’s spot and term tenders, market participants were awaiting the announcement of Brunei OSPs and fresh tenders for the heavy crude grades.

“The cracks are good [for the heavy crude grades] but on the other hand, physical sentiment itself is a bit weaker than last month. The December Chim Sao result of low to mid $3s/b is lower than November, as there are a lot of spot cargoes available. China isn’t buying aggressively like they did for November loading cargoes, and typically refineries tend to keep inventories low end-December for year-end financial reporting,” a trader said.

Vietnam’s PV Oil sold December-loading Chim Sao crude at around low to mid $3s/b to Platts Dated Brent assessments, lower than the level for the November-loading barrels,

which was around $3.75/b to Platts Dated Brent.

“There is quite an ample supply of regional grades, so I feel it won’t be as strong compared to last month, but refining margins are quite good now, so it won’t collapse too much,” a trader said.

Fuel oil cracks were at multi-year highs, the December 380 CST FOB Singapore cargo crack against Dubai was at minus 71 cents/b last Friday, and it was last higher on January 27 2012, when it was minus 55 cents/b, showed S&P Global Platts data.

Conversely, ebbing strength and excess supply for crude condensate grades and naphtha kept sentiment bearish. Arbitrage barrels from the West of Suez continued to enter this region, sources said.

“There are many condensate cargoes available for October, November and December loadings -- the crack is so bad and condensate still have a long way to go to match the economy of using heavy full range naphtha,” a North Asian refiner said.

A supply overhang lingered in the Asian naphtha physical market and spot buying interest was slow, sources said. The Asian naphtha crack was tracking a weakening

Northwest Europe naphtha crack, which had plunged to fresh multi- year lows. The front-month NWE crack fell to the lowest since January 2015 to minus $7.70/b on Friday. The crack was last lower at minus $7.90/b on January 9, 2015.

Some traders were also no longer focused on trades for December barrels, having settled it earlier in the year, sources said. Sakhalin

Energy awarded four of its Sakhalin Blend grade for January arrival to Japanese and South Korean end-users at a premium of around low-mid $3s/b to the Mean of Platts Dubai assessments, CFR North Asia, sources said. In comparison, December-delivery Sakhalin Blend cargoes were heard sold at premiums of around $4.15/b to Dubai assessments. (Source: Platts)

OCTOBER 31, 2018

Oil prices slip on rising supply, trade tensions

Rosneft’s Iraqi Kurdistan oil and gas play angers Baghdad When the Iraqi autonomous region of Kurdistan went looking for someone brave enough to pump billions of dollars into developing its large oil and gas reserves, it found a man who has never been accused of lacking courage: Igor Sechin, an old friend of Russian president Vladimir Putin.

The chief executive of Rosneft, Russia’s state-owned oil company, has ignored fears of conflict, criticism from western powers and navigated a web of regional, religious and political associations to emerge as Iraqi Kurdistan’s single biggest financier. In the process he has moved a U.S. military stronghold much closer to Moscow.

Rosneft, the world’s largest publicly listed oil producer, says the investments are just good business, and have nothing to do with politics. But the Kurdistan projects will produce just 10,000 barrels of crude per day by the end of this year — only 0.2 percent of its total daily production: low on output and high on symbolism.

“Like any company, Rosneft seeks out deals that make com-mercial sense, but energy is one of Moscow’s most powerful tools and its geopolitical priorities are a major factor in Rosneft’s choice of commercial partners,” said Chris Tooke, principal analyst for Russia at GPW, a political risk consultancy. “Kurdistan is an example where Russia’s geopolitical and commercial aims go hand in hand.”

Kurdistan has long been considered a close ally of the U.S. But the recent expansion of the Kremlin-controlled oil major has given Russia a significant foothold in Erbil. This is part of a trend mirrored across the Middle East as Moscow responds to a shrinking of U.S. influence by stepping up its relations with countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Rosneft in May signed an agreement with the Kurdistan regional government to explore the potential of developing its natural gas reserves and building a gas pipeline. This could in theory carry ex-ports to Europe in one of a string of deals made between Sechin and Erbil over the past two years.

Over the past 18 months, the Russian company has paid about $3.5bn to the Kurdistan administration including: $400m to develop five exploration blocks; $1.8bn for control of the region’s export pipeline, and a $1.2 loan in pre-payment for oil produced by com-panies other than Rosneft.

While that has provided a financial lifeline to the region’s gov-ernment, it has angered the Iraqi administration in Baghdad, which says Erbil does not have the right to sign commercial deals with foreign oil companies without its blessing.

“In accordance with our constitution, only the central, Bagh-dad government has the authority to sign such contracts and so those ones are illegal,” said Iraq’s ambassador to Moscow, Haidar Mansour Hadi.

After Kurdistan held an independence referendum in September 2017 — condemned by the EU, U.S. and Turkey but not Russia — Baghdad sent troops to seize control of major Kurdish oilfields, disrupting the region’s critical oil production and exports.

That makes Rosneft’s control of the export pipeline, which pumps Kurdish crude to Ceyhan on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, a key lever in relations between Erbil and Baghdad, and places the Russian company at the center of talks between the two.

Despite the military intervention last year, and the legal war of words over his already-signed deals, Sechin doubled down in May with the gas pipeline agreement. If Rosneft were to go ahead with the pipeline, which could carry billions of cubic meters of gas to Turkey and Europe, the Russian company would have unrivalled control over the region’s energy exports.

“This is a key project in the monetization of the exploration and production opportunities Rosneft has been evaluating since signing a gas co-operation agreement with the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq,” the company said in a statement. “Following the outcomes of the integral development plan in terms of the attractiveness and efficiency of the options, Rosneft will decide on how to participate in the regional gas business.”

Kurdish natural gas — alongside Rosneft’s 30 percent stake in Egypt’s massive Zohr gasfield— also gives Sechin an opportunity to compete in the European market against domestic rival Gazprom Neft.

But analysts say that whatever the potential financial pay-offs, Rosneft’s Kurdish projects are more than just canny business deals, and that where other international oil companies see political risk, Sechin sees political opportunity.

“This is definitely part of Russia’s larger Middle East play,” said Tooke. “Uniquely for a world power, Russia has successfully built ties with a broad range of the most divisive countries in the region such as Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.”

“In Iraq, Russia is looking to leverage its strong position for a broader political role and become an indispensable player in the country, just as it has done in Syria and is looking to do in the Middle East more broadly,” he added.

(Source: Financial Times)

Big Oil won’t spend despite fat profits

High oil prices hurt consumers, dent fuel demand: IEA chief

Germany moves to bankroll LNG plant in Canada to secure gas imports to Europe The German federal government has announced its willingness to provide $1.5 billion loan guarantee to Goldboro LNG, a lique-fied natural gas plant project in Canada run by Pieridae Energy.

Earlier, Berlin also offered $3 billion loan guarantees for the project, with the total sum of loan guarantees therefore reaching $4.5 billion.

“This confirmation not only satisfies a critical condition leading to the completion of Pieridae’s acquisition of Ikkuma as contem-plated by the arrangement agreement entered into between the Company and Ikkuma on August 23, 2018, but also marks an important milestone in advancing the integrated Goldboro LNG project towards a final investment decision,” Pieridae Energy said in a statement.

The LNG plant, which is expected to have an estimated annual output of about 10 million tons, is set to be built in Nova Scotia near the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline which runs from Canada to the United States.

The German investment is aimed at ensuring that “a specified amount of liquefied natural gas (LNG) produced annually from the proposed Goldboro LNG facility over a term of twenty years will be delivered to, and be regasified in, Europe,” the company added.

At the beginning of its term, Merkel’s Cabinet has tasked itself with reducing Germany’s dependence on natural gas imports via pipelines from Russia and Norway. The new government plans “to create infrastructure for liquefied natural gas (LNG)” from scratch as a part of its energy and climate program.

According to Germany’s Economy and Energy Ministry, Merkel endorses all initiatives which support the further diversification of the gas supply — whether from different regions or the means of transporting gas, while the government strongly backs private initiatives to build LNG terminals, which Germany now lacks.

(Source: Sputnik)

Cracking margins pilot Asian sweet crude oil grades amid tepid year-end buying

By Dominique Moisi

OCTOBER 31, 20186I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

INTERNATIONAL

ساعت: امضاء سردبیر: ساعت: امضاء ادیتور: ساعت: امضاء مسئول صفحه: ساعت: 17:00 امضاء صفحه آرا:

Trump, ‘purveyor of hate speech’, not welcome in Pittsburgh, says former synagogue leader

A former president of the synagogue in Pittsburgh where 11 people were murdered on Saturday has said Donald Trump would not be welcome in the city and labelled the president a “purveyor of hate speech”.

Lynette Lederman, of the Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill, told CNN on Monday she would rely on local political leadership in the aftermath of the mass shooting and did not want the president to visit the city.

“We have people who stand by us, who believe in values – not just Jewish – but believe in values, and those are not the values of this president and I do not welcome him to Pittsburgh,” she said.

The comments followed an open letter signed by a coali-tion of local Jewish leaders and published by the Pittsburgh chapter of Bend The Arc, a progressive advocacy group, that also called for the president to avoid the city.

“President Trump, you are not welcome in Pittsburgh until you fully denounce white nationalism,” the letter states.

Trump, who labelled the shooting an “anti-Semitic”, is set to visit Pittsburgh on Tuesday, the White House confirmed on Monday afternoon. As the administration continues to face criticism over the president’s polarizing rhetoric in the aftermath of the Pittsburgh shooting and a series of at-tempted bombings against prominent Democrats and critics of Trump last week, Trump used Twitter again on Monday morning to label the media as “the true Enemy of the People”.

“There is great anger in our Country caused in part by inaccurate, and even fraudulent, reporting of the news. The Fake News Media, the true Enemy of the People, must stop the open & obvious hostility & report the news accurately & fairly,” Trump tweeted, shortly after Lederman spoke to CNN.

The 11 victims of the shooting were named as suspected gunman Robert Bowers was charged with 29 federal crimes, including 11 counts of murdering victims exercising their religious beliefs. The shooter, who traded gunfire with law enforcement officers during the massacre, was released from hospital on Monday and is expected in court later in the day.

The victims, eight men and three women, ranged in age from 54 to 97 and included a husband and wife, two broth-ers, professors, a dentist and a physician.

The Anti-Defamation League [ADL] said the shooting was the most deadly attack against Jewish people in America and came amid an increase in anti-Semitic attacks in the U.S. The ADL reported a 57% rise in reported incidents of anti-Semitic harassment and violence in 2017.

“We are seeing an environment in which anti-Semitism has moved from the margins to the mainstream as politi-

cal candidates and people in public life literally repeat the rhetoric of white supremacists,” Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL chief executive, told ABC News on Sunday.

As the faith leadership in Squirrel Hill prepared funeral arrangements for those killed, the Tree of Life rabbi Jef-frey Myers told CNN on Monday he would welcome the president to the city.

“I don’t really foist blame upon any person,” Myers said. “Hate does not know religion, race, creed political party – it’s not a political issue in any way shape or form. Hate does not know any of those things, it exists in all people.”

He added: “The president of the United States is always welcome to come. I’m a citizen, he’s my president. He’s certainly welcome.”

A number of fundraising efforts have driven financial sup-port to the grieving community. A crowd funding campaign called Muslims Unite for Pittsburgh Synagogue has raised

more than $90,000 while a fundraiser led by a graduate student in Washington had taken in nearly $545,000 by Monday morning.

Three congregations were conducting Sabbath services at Tree of Life when the attack began on Saturday morning. The shooter is accused of tearing through the building with an AR-15 assault style rifle and three handguns, shouting anti-Semitic slurs. He also appears to have posted anti-Semitic rants on social media shortly before the attack.

According to law enforcement officials speaking anony-mously to the Associated Press, the suspect purchased all of his firearms legally and was licensed to carry firearms.

The suspect, who had worked as a long-haul trucker, injured six other people, including four police officers as they exchanged gunfire. He had no previous criminal record, authorities said.

(Source: The Guardian)

Ambassy of the Republic of Cuba in Tehran

Press release from the Embassy of Cuba in the Islamic Republic of Iran, on the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States of America against Cuba.October 29, 2018

For almost 60 years, twelve U.S. administrations have imposed on Cuba the cruelest and prolonged economic, financial and commercial blockade in history. Its found-ing purpose, reflected in a report by the State Department on Foreign Affairs of the United States in 1960, has not changed until today:

“The majority of Cubans support Castro ... the only foreseeable way of internal support is through the dis-enchantment and dissatisfaction that arise from the economic malaise and the results of the materials ... we must find all possible means to weaken the economic life of Cuba “... A line of action (is) to deprive Cuba of money and supplies, to reduce financial resources and real wages, to provoke hunger, despair and the overthrow of the Government”.

The enemies of the Cuban Revolution insist on demon-strating that the blockade is a measure of bilateral “em-bargo” and that the difficulties of the island are due to the inefficiency of its socialist model and the incapacity of its leaders. Against this lie, so many times repeated, every year the world rises in support to the Cuba´s report on the damages of that policy, which already reach the amount of 933 678 million dollars.

Many in the world (friends even) think that with the restoration of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the U.S., the blockade disappeared or its perfidious actions diminished. Nothing further from the truth.

The imposition of multimillionaire fines to banking entities, states, and companies, for having operations with Cuba, is common practice of the U.S. Government. The Obama administration imposed 56 fines to U.S. and foreign entities for a value of 14 thousand 396 million 883 thousand 576 USD. The Trump government has imposed 3 fines worth 527 thousand 778 USD while it has significantly reversed the bilateral progress made with its predecessor.

Just to mention another example, in July 2017, the American International Group, an international insurance and financial services company, agreed to pay $ 148,698 to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to direct civil liability that may arise from 555 “alleged violations” of the program of the origins of said office, as regards Iran, Sudan and Cuba.

Since 1992 and uninterruptedly, 26 voting have been taken at the United Nations against the blockade. Only the U.S., Israel and some other ally, never more than four countries, have opposed or abstained from this global con-demnation. Regrettably, these resolutions of the General Assembly have not had an effect on the position of the Government of the United States, demonstrating its total disregard for the international community.

The U.S. blockade against Cuba, limits trade or aid that can be established or received by any country in the world. November 27, 2017, Investment Credit Bank of Chile, Ed-wards Bank, Bank of Chile, ITAN, BBVA, and the State Bank refused to transfer funds to Cuba for the Solidarity with Cuba movement for the recovery of damages caused by Hurricane Irma. These institutions argued that Cuba was subject to the regulations of the United States block-ade and because of this they were not allowed to carry out these transactions.

In February 2018, the Sheraton Addis Hotel, in Ethio-pia, for the indications received from its parent company in the USA, denied the reservation of rooms for a Cuban delegation visiting the country, under the pretext of the regulations of the blockade against Cuba.

In public health millionaire damages are caused by the impossibility of acquiring in the U.S. markets medicines, reagents, spare parts for diagnosis and treatment equip-ment, medical instruments and other necessary supplies for the sector. In March 2018, the Indian company Aculife refused to ship the drug levofloxacin directly to Cuba. This refusal was due to the fact that the bank that operates the account of said company in India was opposed to crediting the payments made by Cuba, since the shipping docu-ments that justified this payment had as final destination a blocked country.

In these years of struggle against the blockade, Cuba is proud of the unwavering support of the Islamic Re-public of Iran, whose people suffer in their own flesh a system of unjust and immoral sanctions, imposed by the same imperialist power that wants to make our revolutions disappear.

The Report of the Secretary General of the United Na-tions on the Blockade 2018 clearly states: Cuba and Iran are the two countries most affected by blockades imposed by the United States.

The United States of America have not achieved their historic objective of destroying the Cuban Revolution, but they have caused many shortcomings and enormous economic damage to our people, and have prevented their full development. However, the blockade is a failed policy that has not been able to yield to the Cuban people, nor prevented the island from continuing to offer its solidarity with more than 50,000 health specialists in around 66 countries on all continents. It has not managed to reduce the high health, education and social security rates enjoyed by Cubans, nor has it been able to break the unity of the people around its Revolution.

In a few days (October, 31) the world will vote again against the blockade in the United Nations. The U.S. pressures are being fierce and shameless, however we have no doubt that again, we will defeat them and the international community will raise its voice in support of Cuba.

Embassy of Cuba in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Saudi Arabia’s Western partners and allies have long hoped that the Kingdom would embrace modernization, which is why they rolled out the red carpet for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. But with the brutal murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the true nature of the Saudi regime can no longer be denied.

What should come first in international politics: values or interests? For the West, this dilemma has been thrown into sharp relief by the murder of the self-exiled Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the hands of a Saudi death squad in Turkey. Saudi Arabia, after all, is a major purchaser of Western arms, a leading oil producer. Moreover, the Kingdom is a key player in an ongoing power struggle in the Islamic world. And, until Khashoggi’s murder, it had appeared to be on a path toward serious reform.

In 1979, the Islamic Revolution that tri-umphed in Iran failed in Saudi Arabia. For two weeks in November and December of that year, a group of armed zealots seized the Grand Mosque in Mecca (Islam’s holi-est site) and called for the overthrow of the Saudi government. Ultimately, they were overpowered by the Saudi military. But the episode left the Saudi leadership far more inclined to compromise with, and even di-rectly assist extremists.

Then came June 2017, when Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) was suddenly named crown prince and heir apparent to the Saudi throne. To many observers, Saudi Arabia finally seemed to have a leader who would confront the entrenched interests that had long prevented the country from modern-izing. Western countries, and particularly the United States, had been waiting for decades to see such a shift in the Kingdom’s politics.

At first, it was hard for Western leaders not to be seduced by MBS and his ambi-tious reform agenda. Egypt had effectively opted out of the regional-influence game, and Turkey, though a member of NATO, was a difficult partner. For an American president bent on breaking from his pre-decessor’s more balanced approach to the region, MBS was a godsend.

But MBS soon showed himself to be far from perfect. He took unnecessary risks by escalating his war in Yemen, and now has a significant amount of civilian blood on his hands. He kidnapped the prime minister of Lebanon, Saad Hariri, and detained a host of wealthy Saudis in the Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh, releasing them from their forced retreat only after they had parted ways with much of their wealth.

The message of the Khashoggi murder is no less clear: Dissidents and opposition figures should know what awaits them if they continue to criticize the new regime. Dream-ing of democracy in the Arab world is fine, so long as one understands that reform will come only from the top.

Whether MBS’s behavior is driven by im-pulsiveness, immaturity, his close relationship with America’s First Family – particularly President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner – or all of the above, there can be no doubt that he has gone too far. One cannot assassinate a Washington Post columnist and expect nobody to mind. And the fact that the crime was committed within the terri-tory of a rival like Turkey only compounds the folly. After the attacks of September 11, 2001, the world is in no way ready to tolerate 15-member Saudi death squads carrying out operations abroad.

Moreover, the sheer barbarity of the mur-der was not just shocking, but also shockingly naive. It should have been obvious that the Saudi consulate in Istanbul would be wired with surveillance devices. As we now know,

Turkish intelligence was able to follow the gruesome act “live,” and then disclose it gradually to the rest of the world. The irony of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an singling out his young Saudi rival has been lost on no one: Journalists may be jailed by the hundreds in Turkey, but at least they are not dismembered!

Until now, MBS has considered himself above the law. In addition to enjoying the tacit protection of the Trump court, he knows that the world is still heavily dependent on Saudi oil. As Canada recently learned, MBS’s regime will not hesitate to play the oil card in response to criticism about its record on human rights.

But MBS was wrong to assume that he would never be challenged on that issue. The business imperative of maintaining good ties with the Kingdom still stands. Yet the ta-bles have turned: Saudi Arabia is now more dependent on the U.S. than vice versa. The growth of U.S. shale oil means that America can withstand a cut in Saudi supplies. The Saudis, on the other hand, cannot function militarily without U.S. arms. The balance of

power between the two countries has shifted decidedly in the U.S.’s favor.

As the Khashoggi spectacle has unfolded, the two biggest political losers have been MBS and Trump. For his part, MBS will now have to fight off mounting opposition within the royal family. Even if business as usual continues, his domestic opponents can now make the case that, far from modernizing his country, he is leaving it isolated and weaker than it was before he came to power.

Trump, meanwhile, must now clean up the political mess that he and his family have created for themselves by forging warm per-sonal ties with foreign despots. To be sure, MBS has nothing to do with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. But there is a pattern emerging, and no one will be surprised when Trump’s relationship with Kim blows up in his face, too.

Diplomacy is an art, not a science. It re-quires perspicacity, prudence, and, above all, experience. Trump has pursued diplomatic outcomes with a kind of sublime careless-ness. In MBS, he may have met his match.

(Source: Project Syndicate)

The folly of MBS

Until now, MBS has considered himself above the law. In addition to enjoying the tacit protection of the Trump court, he knows that the

world is still heavily dependent on Saudi oil.

“President Trump, you are not welcome in Pittsburgh until you fully denounce white nationalism,” the letter states.

Lynette Lederman says she does not want the president to visit Pittsburgh and will rely on local political leadership

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

OCTOBER 31, 2018 ANALYSIS & INTERVIEW

By Omid Shokri Kalehsar

Washington-based energy security analystBy M.A. Saki

One Belt One Road seeks prosperity for all

1 In the security field, we should commit ourselves to settling disputes and differences through dialogue. We need to join hands in the response to traditional and non-traditional threats, and oppose terrorism in all its forms. A new concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security should be fostered.

Economically, we should promote trade and investment liberalization and facilita-tion. To extend its benefits to all peoples, economic globalization needs to be more open, inclusive, and balanced. Multilateral trade system should be preserved to build an open world economy, and North-South development gap must be narrowed.

Culturally, we should respect the diversity of civilizations. The coexistence, exchange and mutual learning between civilizations

should be encouraged. Dialogue among civ-ilizations should be promoted with a view to strengthening the bond of friendship and peace.

Ecologically, we should adopt environ-ment-friendly strategy, cooperate to tackle climate change, and protect our planet for the sake of human survival.

The world peace, stability and develop-ment require extensive cooperation in good faith among nations and effective func-tioning of international establishments. Unilateral actions such as withdrawal from international organizations and regimes have caused serious concerns of the inter-national society. Recently, while provoking trade conflicts with many countries, the U.S. on various occasions made unwar-ranted accusations against China. It claims

China meddles in its internal affairs and elections, stealing American intellectual property, launching cyber-attacks against America, and bringing Debt Trap to devel-oping countries. Such remarks confuse the right and wrong and reveal deep-rooted cold-war mentality. China’s development is mainly owed to Chinese People’s hard work and mutually beneficial cooperation with countries around the world. The Chi-nese government has neither the time nor interest in meddling in U.S. internal affairs and elections.

Since the implementation of reform and opening-up policy in 1978, China has made remarkable achievements. Over the years, China has contributed around 30% of global economic growth, ranking the first in the world. In the coming five years, China

is expected to import $10 trillion of goods and service, attract $600 billion of foreign investment and make $750 billion of out-bound investment. Chinese tourists will make 700 million oversea visits. China has set up more than 80 overseas economic and trade cooperation zones with countries along the “Belt and Road”, and created 244,000 job opportunities in these countries, among which more than 130,000 jobs every year in Africa. China is resolute in opening its door wider to the world. As a major move in opening its market, the first China International Im-port Expo will be held in November 2018 in Shanghai. It’s China’s firm belief that its development and the peace and prosperi-ty of the world at large depend on an open global economy and a multilateral approach to world affairs.

1 This is perhaps the most important plan for inter-preting the reasons that led to the destruction of Iraq, and then Syria, Libya and Yemen, and Egypt, and without the destruction of these countries, there were no false pretexts for implementing this plan.

Qatar and Oman opened Israelis commercial offices in their capitals in 1996 and welcomed Israeli officials such as Isaak Rubin in 1994 in Muscat and Shimon Peres in Muscat and Doha in 1996. The states said that the invitation is in line with encouraging a peace process between the Palestinians and Israelis and providing a conducive forum for dialogue, especially since the Palestine Liberation Organization signed the Oslo accord in September 1993, followed by Jordan the Wadi Arabi Convention.

However, in October 2000, interestingly, the Sultanate of Oman took action and shut down the Israeli commercial office. Subsequently, on October 12, 2000 the Oman Foreign Ministry announced: ‘We have closed the Israeli commercial office for the sake of protection and endorsement of Pales-tinian cause, and we continue our policy on the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. A fair and comprehensive peace is accepted by the Sultanate of Oman, but with the standards that the oppressed triumphs, the sanctities are preserved, and the rights will be returned to the oppressed.’ The question here is what has changed now?

The Sultanate of Oman and Qatar have closed the Israeli business offices in protest of the Israeli incursion into the Palestinians area and their atrocities against the people of Palestine. Now, the wave of normalization of the Persian Gulf states is happening as the Israeli military carries out more and more criminal acts against people of Gaza. On the other very day Netanyahu and his wife went to Muscat, six innocent Palestinians were killed in Gaza and many Arab states are on the brink of famine and disease.

Israel declared Jerusalem as its Jewish capital, and U.S. President Donald Trump recognized it as the permanent Jewish capital of the world. Then a week later, Jason Green-blatt announced the century deal, which with it carried the coffin of the Palestinian cause and promoted the Jewish settlement.

Oman’s Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi announced, Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas had come to Muscat at the invitation of Sultan, but Oman does not mediate, as the U.S. plays a major role there, and Israel is one of the countries in the Middle East [West of Asia]. These statement suggests that the issue be more than just a normal trip; it is not unlikely that Netanyahu will return to Muscat in the coming days to open the Israeli embassy there as well as in Doha, Abu Dhabi, Manama and possibly Riyadh, because the talks are about bilateral and normalizing relations.

Millions of Arabs are fans of the Sultan of Oman, and we are too, as the country has kept itself at a neutral position

particularly in the Yemeni and Syrian wars and before those the Iraq war and kept a balanced relationship with Iran. Oman didn’t give in to the anti-Iranian plans of the U.S. So it is quite difficult to discover the reasons that led Sultan of Oman to meet with a war criminal like Benjamin Netanyahu when Palestine is faced with the heinous blockades and acts of the Zionists.

We expected that the Israeli Prime Minister would go to Riyadh in his first meeting, considering their close relations, but the meeting in Muscat has shocked us. Although I believe this trip paves the way for other travels and opening of Israeli embassies in the Arab world. The process of normalization of relations gradually begins and then ever so slowly creeps in and brings about the main change.

We do not hesitate to condemn and oppose any attempt at normalization of relations with Israel, and we blame the Palestinian authority, which opened up the door of compro-mise to other constituents. It is clear the Palestine Liberation Organization is not representative of the Palestinian people, and its stance is not supported by the Palestinians who will never surrender and will not waive their rights, even if some of their brothers would be willing to do so.

I am deeply sorrowed that some of the Persian Gulf Arab states are to normalize relations with the fascist Zionist re-gime, and hope that the Arab nations never come to accept a normalized relation with Israel as many of our brothers and sisters in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, Aljazeera, and Yemen would hurt or killed.

What is certain is that Arab nations, particularly Pal-estinians, won’t tolerate normalizing ties with Israel and resist any compromising measures with the occupied regime. They struggle to fight for independence and freedom until they establish an independent Palestinian state with Quds as its capital.

1 This comment revealed more abys-mal ignorance and I continued responding:

“Iran is not perfect. No country is. Hiz-ballah has protected Lebanon from repeated Israeli offensives and even occupations. It has no direct nuclear weapons program. Such a program has been a myth for many years. And Israel even takes dissident Jewish American captives sometimes. And NO, I take no salary as a writer.”

“We know why Iran has been sanctioned. But Iran has not on offense attacked another country in over 200 years. It also has the sec-ond largest Jewish population in the Middle East. Jews are treated far better in Iran as a minority than Arabs of whatever religion are treated west of the Jordan River, and they are not even a minority there. Duhhh.”

“It’s not Iran that is the pariah nation now. The pariah nations are Israel and Saudi Arabia and even the U.S.”

One response I received amid the verbal flurry was: “I don’t see Israel sanctioned by the U.S. for terrorism. I see Iran….” This response to my comments above demonstrat-ed extreme ignorance with the implication that any country the U.S. sanctions has to be doing wrong. I further followed up with a comment that American Jews ought to visit the West Bank and Gaza and see first-hand

for themselves the human rights abuses and war crimes perpetrated by the IDF. And I also stated that the Saudis were corrupt and cruel, that the Khashoggi murder was just one instance of such. And Khashoggi was a beloved Washington Post writer, etc. I added that I had been an editor for a bit for

Aramco Magazine and learned to despise the Saudis, and that their variant of Islam was a “bloody joke”.

At any rate, it was clear what I was dealing with: Some American Jews (and others, but not all) who had bought hook, line and sinker the Zionist and Neocon propaganda about Israel

and other Mideast countries. It was interesting that after I had posted my responses to their personal attacks, they went quiet, realizing that they were dealing with someone who knew far more than they about the Mideast, and had actually spent significant time in the region, including Israel. But the key point is that the attitudes expressed by these virulent people are so deeply entrenched that it is difficult to imagine how they can ever be relieved of their ignorance, and not just about Iran. Still, one must try when given the opportunity.

For beleaguered Iranians under U.S. eco-nomic sanctions, and for people of many other nations under sanction, it remains important to realize that many, many better-informed Americans do NOT agree with U.S. govern-ment postures even if they cannot really do much about them except vote, as during the upcoming mid-term elections to Congress on November 6th. The world will see how that goes soon enough.

Meanwhile, magine the U.S. government under Trump as the Titanic headed inexo-rably and generally towards an iceberg, a reckoning, and perhaps incapable of turning away before disaster strikes. No country has probably ever been so badly advised by ig-norant counsel and propaganda as the U.S. this century.

Uphold multilateralism and promote common prosperity

The secret behind Arabs normalizing ties with Tel Aviv

Ignorance is the bane of humanity

BOAO, HAINAN PROVINCE, CHINA — The Chinese People’s Daily hosted the 2018 Media Cooperation Forum on Belt and Road Media Forum on Oct. 29-30 in the city of Boao, Hainan Province. Over 200 people, including jour-nalists and entrepreneurs, participated in the conference. Senior journalists from all corners of the world were present, from Mexico, Argentina and Canada in South and North America up to Southernmost Easternmost countries in Asia.

The most important theme of the conference is to promote economic, cultural and civilizational interactions among the nations along the ancient Silk Road which today is called One Belt One Road or Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The BRI was first proposed by Chinese President Xi in 2013.Keynote speeches were made by Ji Bingxuan, one of the

Vice Chairmen of China’s Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, and Hainan’s vice governor Wang Ku.

Mr. Ji, who was addressing the forum under the title of “Contribution by All Benefits for All”, said the revitalization of the Silk Road is to bring “prosperity” and “connectivity” between nations. Li Baoshan, the president of People’s Daily,

another lecturer at the forum, said it is true that BRI has been proposed by China but Beijing’s policy is not to put “China first”.

Mr. Li said, “We should put aside prejudices against the initiative and revive ancient history.” All other dignitaries insisted on achieving “common prosperity”.

Hainan pilot free trade zone Mr. Wang elaborated on pilot free trade zone in Hainan

Province which he serves as vice governor. He said under the master plan Hainan is set to become

the largest free trade zone among other 11 FTZs in China.According to the decision by top Chinese authorities,

Hainan is set to become the largest hub of internation-al tourism, healthcare, research, education, modern technology, foreign banks, and foreign investment in the country.

Gifted by natural beauties, the island province of Hainan is now the window of opportunity in China. As the only tropical island province, it has distinctive tourism resources. It is home to more than 4000 plant species, of which 2000 can be used as herbal medicine. It is also habitat for wild animals including black bear and clouded leopard.

Mr. Wang said it is planned to make Hainan the best FTZ in the country by providing all financial, maritime, and aerial services.

Invitation to establish consulate in HainanThe vice governor went on to invite foreign countries to

establish consulate in the tropical island province.

7

Despite its huge oil and gas reserves, Iran has been unable to play an important role in regional and international energy market. The limitations placed on its industry, the high growth of annual domestic consumption, and the general disruptions caused to oil exports have all caused consternation among policymakers, especially in the absence of a broad, multi-tiered strategy. Iran needs to promote a smarter energy and foreign diplomacy if it wishes to increase regional cooperation and export electricity to generate the funds necessary to shift toward renewables. Any future sanctions against Iran’s energy sector would have little effect if the country increased the role of renewables in its energy basket. An improved investment climate and improved relations with neighbors would help Iran attract foreign capital and the technological know-how to achieve this goal.

Exporting electricity is better than exporting raw materials such as natural gas. At present, Iran produces a daily amount of 700-800,000 cubic meters. With the completion of five phases of the South Pars Field, the country could increase production by 150,000 cubic meters before March 2019. Its huge natural gas reserves allow Iran to use natural gas to generate electricity to export to neighbors.

According to 2018 statistics released by the Energy Ministry, Iran exported electricity to seven neighbors. In 2017, Iran ranked fourteenth among the world’s largest electricity suppliers, as well as constituting one of the countries with the lowest rates of accidents in the power sector. At present, Iran exports 12 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, while importing around 4 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. This means earnings of anywhere between $900 million and $1 billion per year. Iran is interested in drawing up long-term contracts to increase elasticity with Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq, as according to Iranian officials, these countries are also interested in boosting electricity imports from Iran. For the first time in Iran’s history, the Iranian government has recently allowed foreign companies to export part of the electricity generated in the country to attract more foreign investments in renewables,

During the period of U.S. and EU sanctions against Iran’s energy sector, Iranian oil and gas production capacity dropped dramatically, causing decision makers to reconsider renewables in the future of the country’s energy basket. Presently, renewable energy represents less than 1 percent of electricity production, along with about 6 percent coming from hydroelectric. The government has insisted, at least on paper, that boosting renewables is a priority.

Hamid Chitchian, Iran’s former energy minister, has also declared that Iran’s energy diplomacy should focus on expanding electrical cooperation with neighbors. Post-sanctions Iran must apply changes to the configuration of its electricity generation, transmission, and distribution. According to the former minister, “Iran’s main priorities for the post-sanction era include use of modern technologies, plant efficiency, smart electrical grids, reo-pened credit lines, and foreign investment in the power industry.”

Although Iran’s exports of electricity in the region outweigh its imports, the country still hasn’t realized Article 60 of its Sixth Development Plan, which declares the country’s aim to become a regional electricity hub. Article 60 of the Sixth Plan for Economic Development demands steps be taken to establish a regional electricity market from the first year of the program. Iran’s ge-ographical situation and electricity transit systems give it the perfect opportunity to connect to other markets in Russia via Azerbaijan, Europe via Turkey, and the MENA region through Iraq.

However, the active involvement of the private sector and the encouragement of foreign investors will be a pre-requisite for the construction of power plants and the development of electricity transmission networks.

From a political and security perspective, electricity exports, in contrast to conventional gas exports, could promote greater connectedness to the region and neighboring countries.

Currently, Iran has an electrical connection with all neighboring countries (except for Gulf states). In addition, the presence of expert and skilled human resources in Iran and high levels of self-reliance in the power industry and the construction of electrical equipment in the Middle East and Central Asian region are a relative advantage.

As part of the Paris agreement, Iran has voluntarily committed itself to installing the means for generating 7,500 megawatts of renewable energy by 2030. Iran has also passed new laws and regulations aiming to attract more foreign investment and technology in electricity generation.

A look at price changes applied to the country’s gas and elec-tricity exports in recent years shows that the price of gas is more dependent on the price of oil than the price of electricity, and therefore revenues from electricity exports are more stable than gas-export earnings.

Iran can and should aim to become an energy hub for the region, as it is able to receive cheap electricity from Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and other countries to export to more wealthy buyers in Turkey, Iraq, the UAE, and Pakistan, which bid for electricity at a significantly better price. According to Iranian officials, Iran’s growing energy relations with neighbors have helped it to develop the infrastructure needed to expand its electricity export destinations and put it in a position to realize its goals. However, vast improvements are needed to the transport infrastructure and connectivity of countries of the region, as well as the development of maternal industries, such as the electricity industry and energy exports.

Still, after more than a decade, Iran has not put forward any specific operational plans for improving the conditions of the country to become the hub of the region. The failure to develop this infrastructure means that renewed sanctions against Iran’s energy sector will bring major challenges. All the foreign firms once active in Iran’s oil and gas fields, as well as any foreign energy companies that have signed agreement with Iran, left the coun-try after the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear agreement. Iran signed an agreement with Turkey’s Unit International to build a number of 5,000 megawatt power plants, but progress has stalled. Iran hopes that foreign capital and technology will produce more natural gas for electricity generation and greater export elasticity with neighbors mean that it may finally get back on its feet in the energy market. Iran must decrease domestic natural gas consumption and try to renew electricity infrastructure if it wishes for any chance of success in the regional electricity market. However, the main obstacle to this will undoubtedly by foreign policy and negotiating solutions with neighbors, not to mention the interlinked issue of attracting foreign investment.

(Source: lobelog)

Iran’s regional electricity hub plan

OCTOBER 31, 20188I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

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H E A L T H

Mental health conditions on the rise among U.S. students

Probiotics: When good bacteria turn bad

As more and more people discuss mental health issues in public forums, it seems to be lifting some of the stigma surrounding the topic. New research reveals that the number of students seeking help for mental health problems has risen considerably between 2009 and 2015.

Anxiety, depression, and panic attacks are on the rise among U.S. college students, suggests a new study.

Sara Oswalt, from the University of Texas at San Antonio, is the lead author of the new study, which was published in the Journal of American College Health.

According to estimates that the scientists cite, around 26 percent of people aged 18 and above in the United States live with a mental health condition in any given year.

Moreover, it is believed that half of all serious adult psychiatric conditions — such as major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, and substance abuse disorder — start as early as the age of 14. Around three-quarters of serious mental health issues start by the age of 25.

How has the prevalence of mental health issues among young people evolved over time? Does the fact that mental health problems are discussed more openly lead to an increase in diagnosis?

New research aimed to shed some light on these questions by examining the data on almost half a million U.S. undergraduate students between the years 2009 and 2015.

Trends in 12 mental health conditions

Oswalt and her colleagues studied the trends in diagnosis and treatment for a dozen mental health conditions: “anorexia, anxiety, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorder, bulimia, depression, insomnia, obsessive-compul-sive disorder (OCD), panic attacks, pho-bia, schizophrenia, and substance abuse/addiction.”

The researchers applied statistical tools to a large dataset obtained from the Amer-ican College Health Association, looking at the use of mental health services available on campus and the willingness to use them in the future.

Overall, the study found the greatest increases in diagnoses of anxiety, depres-sion, and panic attacks. Specifically, treat-ments and diagnoses for anxiety rose by 5.6 percent between 2009 and 2015, those

for depression by 3.2 percent, and those for panic attacks by 2.8 percent.

Students are also more willing to seek help using the on-campus facilities. By the end of the study period, almost one-fifth of students said that they used their university’s mental health facilities, which represented an increase of over 4 percent from 2009.

Additionally, almost three-quarters of respondents said they would use the services in the future, which represents an increase of over 6 percent.

---------------------Universities should examine their culture

Oswalt comments on the potential mech-anisms behind the new findings, saying that they might be a combination of in-creasingly poor mental health, an increased awareness of mental health services, and the reduced stigma surrounding mental health problems.

As for what may drive the deterioration of mental health in the first place, the au-thor says, “We don’t know that the college environment is causing or even contributing to the increase in these conditions, but campuses are going to have to address it.”

“Higher education institutions want students to be successful in college, but if mental health issues aren’t adequately addressed, it will make student success more difficult to achieve,” she continues. “Universities should first examine the over-all culture surrounding mental health on their campus.”

“If the overall culture is not one that promotes health, that will need to be con-sidered before step two, which is providing support for prevention in a variety of areas. This may include sleep instruction, stress reduction, and exercise. Step three needs to be adequately staffing counseling and health centers so those in need of services can be seen.”

“If institutions don’t have counseling services, then partnering or identifying community resources is critical to sup-porting their students,” she adds.

She concludes, “Each institution will need to develop strategies that work for their culture and location, and solution-focused conversations need to happen with the high-est levels of administration to adequately implement and support these strategies.”

(Source: flipboard.com)

As the popularity of probiotics grows, scientists are turning more of their attention to these tiny particles. With the spotlight intensifying, some researchers suspect that their impact may not be beneficial for everyone.

A new study investigates the interaction between the immune system, gut bacteria, and inflammation.

In brief, probiotics are living microor-ganisms that people are now consuming as a way of influencing their gut bacteria.

The concept of people improving their intestinal health by eating live organisms is not a new one but dates back almost 100 years.

Today, however, the idea is mainstream. Grocery stores across the United States sell a range of products that contain probiotics and offer the promise of improved gut health.

Despite their growing popularity and im-pressive claims, research into the potential health benefits of probiotics is still relatively sparse and not entirely positive.

For instance, a recent study — which re-searchers did not design specifically to test the efficacy of probiotics — has uncovered some rather negative news about them.

University of Texas engineers carried out the study at the Cockrell School of Engineering in Austin, using cutting-edge, organ-on-a-chip technology.

This type of investigation allows scientists to attach human cells to microchips and, depending on the cell type they chose, watch them mimic any organ in the body.

Specifically, the scientists were interested in understanding why inflammation arose in the digestive system.

They recently published their work in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, in a study that marks the first time that an organ-on-a-chip has modeled the development of a disease.

Gut inflammationTo date, scientists have found it challeng-

ing to understand exactly why and how gut inflammation develops.

The process involves communication be-tween the epithelial cells that line the gut, the immune system, and the microbiome.

These physiological components engage in a chemical dialogue that involves a dizzying array of secretions — and deciphering the interactions is difficult.

The current investigation wanted to understand whether the organ-on-a-chip approach might help yield some answers.

Study lead Hyun Jung Kim explains why designing such a model is important:

“By making it possible to customize specific conditions in the gut, we could establish the original catalyst, or onset in-itiator, for the disease,” Kim says, adding, “If we can determine the root cause, we can more accurately determine the most appropriate treatment.

The researchers concluded that the main driver of gut inflammation is the health of the intestinal epithelium — specifically, its permeability.

The intestinal epithelium is a thin layer of cells that have a protective role — namely, to prevent toxins and bacteria from the gut leaching out into the rest of the body, where they could cause harm.

How do probiotics fit in?As part of their study, the scientists

considered the impact of probiotics. They found that so-called good bacteria might be healthful for some people but have a nega-tive health impact for others. It seems that their influence depends on the integrity of the intestinal epithelium.

“Once the gut barrier has been damaged, probiotics can be harmful just like any other bacteria that escape into the human body through a damaged intestinal barrier.”

Shin, a biomedical engineer who worked with Kim on the project, continues, “When the gut barrier is healthy, probiotics are benefi-cial. When it is compromised, however, they can cause more harm than good. Essentially, ‘good fences make good neighbors.’”

Dysfunction of the epithelial membrane — sometimes referred to as a leaky gut — ap-pears to play a role in a wide range of health conditions, including inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, obesity, food allergies, and celiac disease.

(Source: parallelstate.com)

OCTOBER 31, 2018

Common drugs that doctors prescribe to treat heart problems, arthritis, and cancer can actually pose a threat to lung health, and this problem “affects a considerable number of people.” This is the conclusion of a new review of the literature conducted by researchers from the United Kingdom.

Drug-induced interstitial lung disease affects more people than experts had thought.

Sometimes, drugs that treat one health problem can, in time, lead to another.

This is the case for many common medications that may contribute to the development of lung disease.

A new systematic review has assessed studies looking at the risks associated with 27 common drugs over time.

It found that, in more cases than previously thought, they have negative effects on lung health and can cause a condition known as drug-induced interstitial lung disease (DIILD).

Scientists from the Universities of Manchester, Leeds, and Sheffield, as well as the National Institute for Health Research Manchester Biomedical Research Centre and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer, conducted the research.

The team’s findings now appear in the Journal of Clinical Medicine.

“Doctors need to be aware and vigilant to the possible lung toxicities and harm that can be caused by some drugs,” says Dr. Nazia Chaudhuri, one of the researchers involved in this review.

“With newer drugs coming on the market this is an increasing yet under-recognized problem and we need better ways of detecting these side effects before they cause harm,” she warns.

Millions of cases diagnosed per yearThe researchers analyzed data from 6,200

participants, which they collected from 156 specialized papers. Their effort is part of a large project supported by the European Union and the Innovative Medicine Initiatives, whose purpose is to develop imaging techniques for DIILD.

Some of the symptoms of DIILD include

problems with breathing, pulmonary fibrosis (scarring), and inflammation. However, a person may not know that they face exposure to lung disease for many years after they have started taking the medication that causes the problem.

In this review, the investigators looked at 27 drugs that treat cardiovascular problems or cancer, as well as other health issues.

The drugs were: Bleomycin, Gemcitabine, Erlotinib, Gefitinib, Panitumumab, Cetuximab, Everolimus, Temsirolimus, Sirolimus, Ipilimumab, Nivolumab, Pembrolizumab, Atezolizumab, Avelumab, Durvalumab, Irinotecan, Pemetrexed, Methotrexate, Infliximab, Etanercept, Adalimumab, Golimumab, Leflunomide, Amiodarone, Nitrofurantoin, Distamycin, and Carbamazepine.

The researchers note that many of the studies that they analyzed were of poor quality. Despite this, they were able to establish that worldwide, doctors diagnose between 4.1 and 12.4 million cases of DIILD each year.

Moreover, DIILD appears to account for approximately 3–5 percent of all cases of interstitial lung disease.

Some of the papers under review reported mortality rates of more than 50 percent, and 25 percent of the total number of participants passed away due to lung-related problems.

The investigators also note that people typically treat DIILD using steroids, but their overall effect on health outcomes remains unclear.

“Though this area is not well-researched, we can say that the side effects of drugs on the lung are much more widespread than previously thought,” says study co-author Prof. John Waterton.

“We do know it affects a considerable number of people, which is why we want to develop better imaging tests to pick up any lung problems before they become serious. It’s important to stress that patients can safely continue to take their medication — but it’s also important that doctors monitor and assess them closely for side effects in the lung.”

(Source: newstrolley.com)

Common drugs lead to millions of cases of lung disease

The research found that, in more cases than previously thought, they have

negative effects on lung health and can cause a condition known as drug-induced

interstitial lung disease (DIILD).

This was the first time that surgeons have conducted the procedure in Britain, where only postnatal operations had been possible up to this point.

New research shows that sniffer dogs can diagnose malaria quickly and accurately, even when people do not exhibit any symptoms.

Dogs can pick up odors that develop on human skin due to malaria parasites.

Malaria was responsible for 445,000 global deaths in 2016, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In total, 216 million infections were registered worldwide that year.

In the United States, doctors diagnose about 1,500 cases of malaria each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Although the number of infections is relatively small, a delay in diagnosis is the primary cause of death among people with malaria in the U.S. Currently, a person’s physical symp-

toms determine diagnosis, but, ideally, the CDC recommend that laboratory tests — such as microscopic analyses of blood smears — should confirm the symptoms.

New research, however, shows that dogs can diagnose the infection quickly, accurately, and in a noninvasive way. Steven Lindsay, a public health entomologist at the Department of Biosciences at Durham University in the United Kingdom, is the lead investigator of the new study.

Lindsay summarized the findings at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) Annual Meeting, which this year took place in New Orleans, LA.

“People with malaria parasites generate distinct odors on their skin, and our study found dogs, which have an incred-ibly sensitive sense of smell, can be trained to detect these

odors even when it’s just on an article of clothing worn by an infected person.”

Dogs sniff out 70 percent of malaria casesAs the study’s lead author explains, the research began

in The Gambia, where specialists tested hundreds of school children for malaria parasites and gave them a pair of socks to wear overnight.

The researchers collected the socks the next day, sorted them according to the children’s status of malaria infection, and stored them in a freezer for several months. Lindsay and colleagues only collected socks from children who had malaria but did not develop fever, as well as children who did not have the parasite.

(Source: Medical News Today)

Dogs can sniff out malaria, study shows

Surgeons carry out spine surgery in the wombIn a condition known as spina bifida, children are born with an exposed spinal cord, which causes numerous physical and developmental issues. Usually, surgeons will operate on spina bifida after birth, but a complex in utero surgery can allow the baby to develop better while still inside the mother’s womb.

Prenatal spina bifida surgery can improve the child’s de-velopment more than procedures performed after birth.

In a United Kingdom first, a team of specialists from Uni-versity College London (UCL), University College London Hos-pitals (UCLH), and Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) performed surgeries on two different babies with spina bifida while they were still in their mothers’ wombs.

The specialists conducted the two surgeries over the sum-mer and now report that both mothers and both babies are doing well.

This was the first time that surgeons have conducted the procedure in Britain, where only postnatal operations had been possible up to this point.

Over the summer, however, the British surgeons teamed up with specialists from the University Hospitals Leuven in Belgium to make the intervention more widely available.

The U.K. experts explain that babies who receive the cor-rective intervention in utero are more likely to develop better than those who receive postnatal procedure.

“In spina bifida, the spinal canal does not close completely in the womb, leaving the spinal cord exposed from an early stage in pregnancy,” explains lead neurosurgeon Dominic Thompson, from GOSH.

“This results in changes to the brain, as well as severe per-manent damage to the nerves on the lower half of the body,” he adds, which means that the child may often need additional surgical interventions later in life.

However, tackling the problem as early as possible — ideally while the baby is still in the mother’s womb — may allow it to avoid some of these developmental problems.

A complex surgical procedureThe prenatal surgery is complex and difficult to perform,

but the British surgeons were keen to make it accessible to a larger number of people.

“Operating in the womb involves opening the uter-us, exposing the spina bi-fida without delivering the baby, closing the defect, and then repairing the uterus to leave the baby safely inside,” says lead fetal surgeon Jan Deprest, who works with both UCLH and University Hospital Leuven.

“Closure of spina bifi-da in the womb using this method is an alternative to postnatal surgery, and has been shown to improve

short and medium-term outcomes. While neither intervention is fully curative, in fetal surgery, the defect is closed earlier, which prevents damage to the spinal cord in the last third of pregnancy.”

The surgeon also notes that he and his colleagues are hard at work to see whether a specialized endoscopic procedure called fetoscopy would be useful in correcting spina bifida.

This type of intervention is minimally invasive and would allow the doctors to operate on the fetus without opening the mother’s uterus.

“We are [...] researching the minimal access (fetoscopic) technique through the GIFT-Surg Project framework and, if we can show it to have equal benefit, we will be offering this option to patients,” Deprest says.

The intervention makes a crucial differenceThe British surgeons had been working closely not just

with the Belgian specialists, but also with experts from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, where the prenatal procedure for spina bifida was first devised, and where such surgeries have taken place since 2011.

“We have been working for 3 years to bring this service to U.K. patients through the creation of a Centre for Prenatal Therapy at UCL, UCLH, and GOSH,” notes Prof. Paolo De Coppi, from the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health.

“Our resolve to offer this service was based on the findings of a large, multicenter, randomized control trial in the United States which compared prenatal closure to postnatal closure, and the observation that fetal surgery could be safely repro-duced in Europe by proper training,” he adds.

The findings of the study that Prof. De Coppi cites are con-vincing, and they point to a considerably higher rate of improve-ment in the babies that received the surgery while in the womb.

“The U.S. trial authors found that prenatal closure was associated with a 50 [percent] reduction in the need for sur-gical shunt placement in the newborn baby and a significant improvement in motor function at 30 months of age,” explains Prof. De Coppi.

“The reduction in need for shunts is particularly impor-tant,” he adds, “as long-term follow-up of children that have undergone prenatal closure in the womb suggests that brain function, mobility, and total independence were higher in nonshunted than shunted children aged 5.”

Thanks to generous funding offered by U.K. nonprofit or-ganizations, particularly GOSH Children’s Charity and UCLH Charity, the in utero procedure for spina bifida will be available free of charge for the first few expectant mothers who solicit it.

“These vital funds have provided training for the surgical team and will fund surgery for the first 10 patients,” says Prof. Donald Peebles, the UCLH clinical director for Women’s Health.

(Source: med234.com)

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

T E C H N O L O G Y OCTOBER 31, 2018

TEHRAN — Con-struction of an energy

innovation and technology center started during a ceremony on Sunday in Anzali Free Trade Zone, northern Gilan province, IRNA reported.

The vice president for science and technology Sourena Sattari said on the sidelines of the ceremony that the place is a center for supporting knowledge-based companies, startups and accelerators in the field of energy.

The center is planned to back energy management NGOs as well as holding professional exhibition in the field of energy and environment, he highlighted.

The vice presidency also facilitates transporting energy-based products

between China, Kazakhstan and Iran, he added.

There is a great capacity for improve-ment of knowledge-based companies in Anzali Free Zone, which attracts these firms from other provinces as well, he said.

Despite great capacity of Gilan pProv-ince, there is a little development in startups and knowledge-based companies in this region, Sattari lamented.

Gilan boasts of different universities and talented people which can provide great infrastructure for the innovation ecosystem, he added.

The Anzali FTZ was inaugurated in 2005. It is the only free zone in the south-ern part of the Caspian Sea, measuring 9,400 hectares, according to its website.

You having a great idea and you want to translate it into opening a business. There is one big caveat, you are short on cash. And for most aspiring entrepreneurs, getting hold of the much-needed capital is usually the biggest challenge.So how to start your own business without any money?Lack of funds, should not deter you from pursuing your entrepreneurial dreams. With confidence in your idea and a clear vision of how you are going to execute it, you can do it. Once you have that covered, getting the funds to support your dream may not be as difficult as it seems.

Opening a businessThere are tens of millions of small business in the US alone, and starting a new business to compete in this segment will require hard work and dedication. If you know how to run a business and you have taken the right steps to starting a business, money shouldn’t stop you.

Keep your present jobBeing practical is extremely important when you are toying with the idea of starting a business. You need a steady source of income before you can set up your business, so it’s advis-able to hold onto your current job. By retaining your present job, you will be more secure when you need to take risks.You will, of course, need to spend extra hours and work hard-er. But the transition from being an employee to a business owner will be far smoother as you won’t have additional expenses to worry about.

Work on your business ideaComing up with a great business idea is just the beginning of your journey as an entrepreneur. There are many more steps that you need to take before you can get started. Fleshing out your business idea is one of them, and it’s very critical to the success of your venture.Is your business idea really unique? What value will it gen-erate? Is it something your target audience really wants? Or is it something you think they’d want? Getting answers to these questions is important to determine whether or not your idea works.

Analyze your market and challengesYou have a brilliant idea that you know will definitely work, but what about your competition? Will it be difficult for a rival to copy your idea and repackage it in a better way? A potential investor will ask you this when you approach them for funding. It’s very important to understand the market you operate in and your competition.You should first look at the trends and identify challenges that your business may face. The next step is to understand how you are going to address those challenges to stay profitable.

Assess your capital needsYou require money to start your business, but how much do you really need? Without a clear idea you run the risk of coming up with an unrealistic valuation of your business, which will put off investors and get your loan application rejected.So before you start wondering how you should raise money,

you should focus on evaluating your funding requirements. How much do you need to get started? How exactly are you going to use the funds?

Explore crowdfunding platformsCrowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter have changed the way entrepreneurs are raising money to fund their new businesses. Whether you want to sell a new software tool or set up an organic noodle bar, you can get people to invest in your business.

Network with peopleWhen you don’t have money to start your business, it’s es-sential you find the right people who can help. You may attend events and trade shows where you can find potential investors. You may also join various online forums on social networking sites where you can find useful tips and resources to bring your business to life.Most venture capitalists and investors are quite active on social media, so if you can wow them with your idea you may find a great way to get started on your business dream.

Run a trialWant to be sure if your business idea is indeed unique? Run a test and find out. A pilot will give you the confidence you need to take your idea to the next level and mitigate risk.

You can start on a small scale by giving away some freebies to a few people in your target audience group to see how they respond.A small trial can give you some new insights to grow your busi-ness and identify challenges that you might have overlooked.

Gather feedbackIf you are planning to get into a completely new business, it would really help if you got a second opinion from someone who knows the market and the challenges involved.A business idea that looks good on paper may not be that attractive when you actually get into it. An expert’s opinion may help you look at things from a different perspective and gain more knowledge that you may lack.

Secure a small business loan if necessaryThere are several loan programs aimed at helping first-time entrepreneurs set up their business. The Small Business Administration (SBA) operates the loan programs offered by the U.S. government. To qualify for the loan, your business must meet some criteria such as your business must operate in the United States, your business must qualify as a small business according to SBA guidelines, you must operate for profit and you should have a good credit score.

(Source: smallbiztrends.com)

Ground broken for energy innovation, technology center in

Anzali FTZ

How to be an entrepreneur with no money

TECHNOLOGYd e s k

TECHNOLOGYd e s k

TECHNOLOGYd e s k

TEHRAN — Iran Science and Tech-nology Museum will play host to the

48th annual conference and meeting of the International Committee for Museums and Collections of Science and Technology (CIMUSET) in 2020, ISNA reported on Tuesday.

CIMUSET is composed of museum professionals from the fields of science and technology.

It is one of 26 international committees belonging to the International Council of Museums (ICOM); each devoted to a particular type of museum or a specific museum-related discipline.

CIMUSET membership is open to all people working in museums of science and technology and in science centers, working primarily to popularize and promote science and technology among children and young peo-ple all over the world.

The CIMUSET aims to carry out a program of activ-ities related to the preservation of the cultural heritage within science and technology and dissemination of knowledge within this field and to provide a forum for communication, co-operation and information exchange between museums, professional workers and others concerned with preservation of the cultural heritage within science and technology and dissemination of knowledge of this field.

The 46th CIMUSET conference was held at the In-genium, Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation in Ottawa from October 15 to 19.

Tokyo will host the annual conference in 2019 and the executive board selected Iran as the 2020 host of the event.

The other nominees for holding the 48th annual meeting and conference were China and South Korea.

Self-driving taxis to launch in London by 2021, firm says

Plans have been unveiled to launch self-driving taxis in London by 2021.

Taxi firm Addison Lee Group says it has struck an agreement with Oxbotica, an Oxford-based startup specialising in auton-omous software.

The companies plan to create digital maps of more than 250,000 miles of public roads in and around the capital.

They will include the position of every kerb, road sign, landmark and traffic light, in readiness for the deployment of autonomous cars in the city.

Addison Lee is aiming to gain a share of the autonomous vehicle technology market, which the government forecasts to be worth £28bn in the UK by 2035.

Addison chief executive Andy Boland said the company in-tended to be at the forefront of change within a transport industry anticipating the introduction of self-driving services.

He said: “Autonomous technology holds the key to many of the challenges we face in transport.

“By providing ride-sharing services, we can help address congestion, free space used for parking and improve urban air quality through zero-emission vehicles.”

Chancellor Philip Hammond has championed autonomous cars, saying that he wants “genuine driverless vehicles” on Brit-ain’s roads within three years.

The government has asked the Law Commission to carry out a detailed review of driving laws to ensure the UK is at the fore-front of the sector.

Thousands have signed our petition for an Independent Leaders’ Commission to organize election debates – have you?

Addison Lee’s announcement comes days after Sky News learned that the company? had begun talks with investment banks about a £300m refinancing deal to replace its existing debt facilities.

Such a deal would enable it to bankroll expansion plans and stand up to the likes of rivals Uber and Lyft, also looking to roll out driverless cars.

In a bid to keep up with Uber, Addison Lee has expanded rapidly into the US, snapping up rival Flyte Tyme as well as boosting its global reach by buying Tristar Worldwide, which operates in 80 countries.

Owned by US private equity firm Carlyle Group, Addison Lee was founded in Battersea, London in 1975 and has grown to become Europe’s largest private hire car service company, carrying out 10 million journeys per year.

Its pact with Oxbotica comes at a challenging time for the taxi firm, which swung to a loss last year after it was hit by investment and acquisition costs of almost £20m.

The group posted a pre-tax loss of £20.8m in the year to August 2017, compared to a profit of £10.5m the year before, attributing the fall to “intense long-term investment”, acquisition integration and reorganization, which led to £18.6m in exceptional costs.

(Source: news.sky.com)

Startups being supported on development track: official

TEHRAN — The vice presidency for science and technology paves the way for startups with

providing support and approving laws, the head of management development department of the vice presidency for science and technology Alireza Daliri said, Mehr reported on Monday.

World economy has shifted recently onto providing science and technology infrastructures and Iran is not an exception in this regard, he said.

Nowadays startups and knowledge-based companies active in different fields of innovation including biotechnology and nanotechnology are developed in the country, he added.

“We should support emerging startups with correct investment not giving loan, which make them financially weak,” he said.

He said that 15 venture capitals has been already established in Iran and there are several ones in line for beginning their work.

In early July, Daliri announced that Iran has provided 120 tril-lion rials (2.8 billion dollars) facilities for 1,400 knowledge-based companies during past five years.

He said that during the previous Iranian calendar year 1396 (March 2017-2018) knowledge-based companies received 38 trillion rials (about $905 million) facilities from banks.

It is predicted that facilities worth 50 trillion rials (about $1.2 billion) will be allocated to the companies until the end of the current Iranian calendar year, he said.

Tehran to host CIMUSET annual conference in 2020

10

A view from Iran Science and Technology Museum

The vice president for science an technology Sourena Sattari breaks ground for an energy in-novation and technology center in Anzali Free Trade Zone, northern Gilan province on Sunday

Fewer than 4,000 tigers remain in the wild. New research aims to give conservationists an improved understanding of their genetics in order to help save them.

After years of debate, scientists report in the journal Current Biology that tigers comprise six unique subspecies. One of those subspecies, the South China tiger, survives only in captivity.

The “results presented in this paper are important because they contradict the cur-rently accepted international conservation classifications for tigers,” said Uma Ramakr-ishnan, a molecular ecologist at the National Center for Biological Sciences in Bangalore, India, who was not involved in the study.

A system recently proposed by some sci-entists that would classify the world’s tigers into two subspecies would harm the world’s remaining tigers rather than benefit them, said Shu-Jin Luo, a geneticist at Peking University who led the study. Preserving what is left of tigers’ genetic diversity will require ensuring that all remaining subspecies are taken into account, she and her co-authors argue.

Genetically homogeneous “If you think that all tigers are genetically

homogeneous, you might say if you lose the Amur tiger, you still have the Bengal tiger — and that’s O.K. because they’re very similar,” Dr. Luo said. “But that’s not O.K., because now we know that tigers are not all alike.”

Dr. Luo hopes that their new findings put to rest a decade-long debate over whether tigers constitute six, five or two subspecies. In 2004, she and her colleagues first presented research that tigers constitute six living sub-species, based on partial genomic analyses. But other researchers soon challenged the findings.

The latest analysis confirmed six living subspecies: Bengal, Amur, South China, Su-

matran, Indochinese and Malayan. Scientists also believe that three additional subspecies — Caspian, Javan and Bali tigers, described in the 1930s — already have been lost to ex-tinction.

The distinction between species and

subspecies is sometimes hazy. Although two different subspecies can mate and produce viable offspring, subspecies often are sep-arated by distinct habitats, different envi-ronmental adaptations and unique genetic and morphological features. Subspecies,

many researchers believe, are evolution’s intermediary steppingstones on the path to fully formed species.

Armed with more affordable and robust genomic technologies, Dr. Luo and her col-leagues strengthened their original findings. Previously, just one complete tiger genome had been sequenced. In the new study, the researchers undertook whole-genome se-quence analysis of 32 preserved wild tiger specimens from around the world. A statistical analysis of 1.8 million DNA variants across the specimen tigers’ genomes finalized the breakdown into six distinct subspecies.

Model organisms“While genomic methods have been applied

extensively to humans and model organisms, their use to study endangered species remains under-exploited,” Dr. Ramakrishnan said.

The analysis also offered a window into the evolutionary history of tigers. Fossil ev-idence indicates that the predator evolved roughly two million years ago in Asia. The new study revealed that tiger subspecies last shared a common ancestor relatively recently, about 110,000 years ago, likely in modern-day Southeast Asia and southern China. As the climate changed, tigers expanded west to India, north to China and Siberia and south to Indonesia and Malaysia.

In the tens of thousands of years since, tigers have evolved into subspecies with distinct genomic signatures. For example, the researchers found that Sumatran tigers — which live on a single island in Indonesia, and were the first to diverge from the other subspecies — possess genes associated with smaller body sizes relative to most tigers on the mainland. This lines up with morphological observations and ecological expectations, Dr. Luo said.

(Source: The NYT)

S C I E N C EOCTOBER 31, 2018 11I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

A meticulous re-creation of a three dec-ade-old study of birds on a mountainside in Peru has given scientists a rare chance to prove how the changing climate is push-ing species out of the places they are best adapted to.

Surveys of more than 400 species of birds in 1985 and then in 2017 have found that populations of almost all had declined, as many as eight had disappeared completely, and nearly all had moved to higher elevations in what scientists call an “escalator to extinction.”

“Once you move up as far as you can go, there’s nowhere else left,” said John W. Fitzpatrick, a study author and director of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. “On this particular mountain, some ridgetop bird populations were literally wiped out.”

It’s not certain whether the birds shifted ranges because of temperature changes, or indirect impacts, such as shifts in the ranges of insects or seeds that they feed on.

Survey of birdsThese findings, published Monday in

the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, confirm what biologists had long suspected, but had few opportunities to confirm. The existence of a 1985 survey of birds on the same mountain gave sci-entists a rare and useful baseline.

Past research has documented hab-itats of birds and other species moving up in elevation or latitude in response to warming temperatures. But Mark Urban, director of the Center of Biological Risk at the University of Connecticut, who was not involved in the study said it was the first to prove what climate change models predicted: that rising temperatures will lead to local extinctions.

A “study like this where you have historical data you can go back to and compare is very rare,” said Urban. “As long as the species can disperse, you will see species marching up the mountain, until that escalator becomes a stairway to heaven.”

In 1985, Fitzpatrick established a ba-secamp alongside a river running down

a mountain slope in southeastern Peru, aiming to catalog the habitat ranges of tropical bird species that lived there. His team spent several weeks trekking up and down the Cerro de Pantiacolla, using fine nets called mist nets to catch and release birds, and keeping detailed journals of birds they caught, spotted or heard chirping in the forests.

Photos of mountain viewsTwo years ago, Fitzpatrick passed his

journals, photos and other records to Ben-jamin Freeman, a postdoctoral fellow at the Biodiversity Research Centre at the University of British Columbia. Freeman, who has been researching tropical birds for more than a decade, set out to recreate the journey in August and September of 2017. Using old photos of mountain views, his team located the same basecamp.

Freeman largely recreated Fitzpatrick’s path and methodology to see what had happened in the intervening years, a period when average mean temperatures on the mountain rose 0.76 degrees Fahrenheit (0.42 degrees Celsius). Because the moun-tain lies at the edge of a national park, the area hadn’t been disturbed.

In addition to unfurling 40-foot (12-me-ter) mist nets on the slopes, Freeman’s team placed 20 microphone boxes on the mountain to record the chirps of birds that might not easily be seen.

“We found that the bird communities were moving up the slope to reach the climate conditions to which they were originally adapted,” said Freeman, the lead author of the study. Near the top of the mountain the bird species moved higher by 321 feet (98 meters), on average.

(Source: wjla.com)

Mountain birds on ‘escalator to extinction’ as planet warms, scientists say

Climate scientists have not been properly accounting for what plants do at night, and that, it turns out, is a mistake. A new study has found that plant nutrient uptake in the absence of photosynthesis affects greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere.

Climate scientists have not been properly accounting for what plants do at night, and that, it turns out, is a mistake. A new study from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has found that plant nutrient uptake in the absence of photosynthesis affects greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere.

In a study, lead author William Riley demonstrates how to improve climate models to more accurately represent land biogeochemical dynamics. Using a new global land model they developed and integrated in DOE’s Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM), Riley and his team found that plants can uptake more carbon dioxide and soils lose less nitrous oxide than previously thought. Their global simulations imply weaker terrestrial ecosystem feedbacks with the atmosphere than current models predict.

Anthropogenic CO2 emissions“This is goodish news, with respect to

what is currently in the climate models,” said Riley, a scientist in Berkeley Lab’s Earth & Environmental Sciences Area. “But it’s not good news in general -- it’s not going to solve the problem. No matter what, plants will not keep up with anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions; it’s just that they might do better than current models suggest.”

Humans have emitted a record-setting 34 gigatons of CO2 per year, averaged over the past decade. Roughly half of that remains in the atmosphere, while the rest is absorbed by oceans and land (through photosynthesis); the latter amount, called the terrestrial carbon sink, varies year to year depending on factors such as fires, drought, land use, and weather.

Scientists are trying to understand

how increasing global carbon dioxide emissions will affect the terrestrial carbon sink, which is estimated to currently be between 0 and 11 gigatons of CO2 per year, including land-use change, with large inter-annual variability. A further complication involves terrestrial nitrous oxide, which is a powerful greenhouse gas naturally released from land and by agricultural and industrial activities. In other words, to what extent will plants be able to ameliorate increases in anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions?

Non-growing seasonThe new Berkeley Lab study found

that by not properly accounting for what plants do at night and during the non-growing season, climate models may be underestimating the terrestrial carbon sink and overestimating nitrous oxide release, the latter by 2.4 gigatons of CO2-equivalent per year.

Plants’ ability to take in carbon dioxide is limited by the availability of soil nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorus. The more abundant nutrients are, the more plants can take advantage of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide. Microbes in the soil are a factor too because they compete with plants for nutrients.

Microbes, in fact, play an important role in the carbon cycle, and interactions between plants, soil, and microbes are complex, presenting a challenge to climate scientists. Most climate models assume that plants compete for nutrients in the soil only when they’re demanding it for photosynthesis, and not, for example, at night or in non-growing seasons.

(Source: Science Daily)

Improving climate models to account for plant behavior yields ‘goodish’ news

Researchers reclassifying tigers to help save them from extinction

Scientists have found the largest deep-sea nursery, with over 1000 octopusesIn the waters off the coast of California, marine scientists are finding a whole world of cephalopod wonders: in the latest instalment, it’s a vast number of octopuses huddling over their eggs in the crevices of an extinct underwater volcano.

With an estimated over 1,000 ockies spotted, the area at the Davidson Seamount has now been confirmed as the largest deep-sea octopus nursery every discovered.

“This has never been discovered on the West Coast of the U.S., never in our sanctuary and never in the world with these numbers,” Chad King, a lead scientist on the exploration vessel Nautilus, told KQED News.

As they moved their remotely operated underwater vehicle Her-cules through the water at a depth of 3.2 kilometers (2 miles), the scientists spotted never-before-seen aggregations of Muusoctopus robustus octopuses.

An estimated 99 percent of them appeared to be brooding mothers, huddling upside down to protect the eggs they’d laid in crannies in the rock.

“We went down the eastern flank of this small hill, and that’s when - boom - we just started seeing pockets of dozens here, dozens there, dozens everywhere,” King told National Geographic.

The scale is unprecedented. Octopuses are largely known as solitary animals, and it’s rare to spot a group of them in one place (although recent evidence suggests they might not be as solitary as we thought).

Earlier this year, the discovery of a deep Pacific Ocean octopus nursery of 100 or so animals on the Dorado Outcrop off the coast of Costa Rica was huge news - not least because it provided marine scientists with a fascinating glimpse into deep-sea octopus brooding behaviors.

At the Davidson Seamount, the researchers noticed that the water seemed to ‘shimmer’ around the octopuses; it could be an indication that warmer water is seeping out from inside the volcano, although we’ll need temperature measurements to make sure that’s the case.

(Source: sciencealert.com)

Chimpanzees react faster to cooperate than make selfish choices, team findsWhen it comes to cooperation, there’s no monkey business in how some chimpanzees respond.

These primates often make decisions faster that benefits others than themselves, according to a newly published University of Michigan study.

For decades, social scientists and biologists have sought to study primates because they are humans’ closest living relatives. Chimpanzees can also be very cooperative in the wild--forming alliances with friends or hunting together in groups.

“Chimpanzees are an important comparative model for human cooperation,” said Alexandra Rosati, U-M assistant professor of psychology and anthropology.

Rosati, the study’s lead author, and colleagues at Harvard University examined how chimpanzees from the Republic of Congo think about cooperative decisions and the response time in situations involving prosocial behavior, which involves how one’s actions benefit others, such as giving time, effort or resources.

Donation task: The chimpanzee could provide food to both himself and a partner at no cost, or choose to only get food for himself. Chimpanzees were more likely to pick the prosocial option if they made a fast choice -- as though their gut reaction was to cooperate with the partner. If they took longer to decide, however, they were more likely to keep the food for themselves.

Helping task: The chimpanzee could give a partner an object that was out of reach. Individual chimpanzees that were more likely to lend a hand were also the fastest to respond to their partner’s problem. In general, this supports situations in which cooperative individuals tend to make prosocial choices faster than selfish people. (Source: eurekalert.org)

“While genomic methods have been applied extensively to humans and model organisms, their use to study endangered

species remains under-exploited,” the molecular ecologist, Dr. Uma

Ramakrishnan, says.

The darker colors in the map represent the areas with the highest carbon tetrachloride emissions. This reveals a concentration of the already-banned substance in eastern China.

The mystery source behind the continued emissions of an already-banned ozone-depleting substance is finally discovered. Instead of declining after the ban, emissions are even found to have increased in certain regions.

It was in 2010 that the production of carbon tetrachloride was banned worldwide because of its destructive properties on the Earth’s ozone layer, which protects us from harmful ultraviolet radiation. However, recent studies revealed that despite the ban, there are still about 40,000 tons of the substance still being emitted into the atmosphere every year.

The source of the emissions was a mystery to

scientists, so researchers from the University of Bristol, along with researchers from the United States, South Korea, Switzerland, and Australia

collaborated to quantify the emissions in East Asia using both ground-based and airborne atmospheric concentration data from 2010 to 2016.

Significant emissionsWhat researchers found was that there are

still ongoing significant emissions coming from eastern China which accounts for a large sum of the missing global estimates. In addition, the carbon tetrachloride emissions from East Asia were even found to be significantly larger than previously thought.

Furthermore, they also found no evidence of decrease in emissions in the region since 2010. In fact, the data even shows a slight increase in emissions from the region since 2010, as well as a new source of emissions from Shandong province in China after 2012.

Coauthor Dr. Matt Rigby notes that while their research answers a big question, there are still gaps in knowledge that need to be addressed, such as the exact industries that are responsible. In addition, it is still unknown whether the emissions were produced intentionally or inadvertently, perhaps as a byproduct of producing other chemicals such as chlorine.

“Studies such as this show the importance of continued monitoring of ozone-depleting gases. There is a temptation to see ozone depletion as a problem that has been solved. But the monitoring of man-made ozone-depleting gases in the atmosphere is essential to ensure the continued success of the phase-out of these compounds,” said lead author Dr. Mark Lunt of the University of Bristol.

(Source: techtimes.com)

Blood-sucking sand flies love munching on weed, study suggestsAn international team of scientists found that in proportion to its abundance, Cannabis sativa was consumed by sand flies much more frequently than expected, suggesting it was highly attractive to the insects.

According to a paper published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the findings could have implications for controlling the spread of diseases that sand flies — which are found across the globe — transmit.

Female sand flies suck the blood of vertebrates in order to provide the necessary protein for their eggs to mature. During this process, the flies can transmit pathogens to humans, causing diseases such as bartonellosis and leishmaniasis — which infect between 4 million and 12 million people around the world, resulting in 20,000 to 50,000 deaths annually.

In addition to sucking on blood, both females and males eat sugars from plants as a source of energy. These meals may come in the form of sugary solutions such as nectar or plant sap — which the flies can access by piercing leaves and stems with their needle-like mouthparts.

As a result, the availability of their preferred plants can influence where and when sand flies are distributed. This, con-sequently, helps researchers to identify areas that are at higher risk of infection from the diseases they transmit.

For the study — led by Ibrahim Abbasia from the Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem — the researchers used next-generation gene-se-quencing techniques to determine the types of plant meals that the flies were eating.

(Source: Newsweek)

Mystery source of already banned ozone-depleting substance discovered

By Maryam Qarehgozlou

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

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 OCTOBER 31, 2018

$35m allotted to cooling, heating systems in

underprivileged schoolsTEHRAN — The government has allocated some 1.5 trillion

rials (nearly $35 million) for equipping schools in underprivileged areas with cooling and heating sys-tems, director of schools renovation, development and equipment organization has said.

By the end of the current [Iranian calendar] year (March 20, 2019) some 10,000 classes will be ready for students, Fars news agency quoted Mehrollah Rakhshanimehr as saying on Monday.

In late July, Rakhshanimehr said that currently per capita education space per student is 5.2 per-cent while the standard space must be 8.4 percent which indicated that some 30 percent of schools are dilapidated in Iran.

Out of the 30 percent run-down schools some 12 percent should be completely rebuilt and 18 percent must be retrofitted, he said, adding that province of Khorasan Razavi, Gilan and Sistan-Baluchestan are the provinces with the highest number of old schools.

S O C I E T Yd e s k

S O C I E T Yd e s k

Once again pilgrims of different colors, race and religions set off on a long, peaceful march to show the world the over-whelming love they have for the third Shia Imam and all the virtues he stood for.

Over the past few years, solemn procession of mourners from a variety of ethnic backgrounds begin a long trek days prior to Arbaeen, the 40th days of Imam Hossein (As) martyr-dom in the battle of Karbala in 680 AD, to revisit their pledge of support to the grandson of prophet Mohammad (PBUH).

The trek symbolizes of a peaceful utopia where no one is hungry or homeless. People are giving away free food and drinks, offering their houses to the pilgrims, and pilgrims themselves are treating one another like brothers and self-lessly regardless of their social class, race, color, religion, etc.

Thousands of mawkibs, stalls providing free of charge foods, beverages, accommodation, and medicines, are set up along the way to Karbala and the holy shrines as many believe that taking care of pilgrims of Imam Hossein (AS) and serving them is a religious duty.

Arbaeen pilgrimage is a large congregation of people and not just a specific group of people, everyone is welcomed to join. Toddlers, elderlies, even people with disabilities on wheelchairs participate in the march.

Imam Hossein’s love seems to have redrawn all cultural boundaries and even after some 1400 years from his mar-tyrdom in the hands of the tyrant Umayyad forces is now a symbol of universal compassion and freedom.

While the gathering is religious in essence many nonre-ligious people also do take part in it. And that’s why despite

media blackout especially in the West now over 20 million people whose heart goes out to Imam Hossein and his loyal

companions, and in better words to peace and justice, attend one of the biggest gatherings of the world.

12

Arbaeen trek, a march towards unanimity

TEHRAN — Road traf-fic accidents death rate

in Iran increased by 1.7 percent over the first half of the current [Iranian calendar] year starting on March 21, compared to the corresponding period last year, IRIB reported on Monday.

Iran’s forensics organization recent re-port indicated that 8,841 individuals lost their lives in accidents over the aforesaid period.

Men constituted 6,864 of the deaths, the report added.

Provinces of Fars with 765 deaths, Tehran with 624 deaths and Khorasan Razavi with 611 deaths were the regions with highest number of traffic-related deaths.

On the other hand, Ilam, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, and Bushehr provinces with 70, 103 and 123 deaths were among the areas with lowest number of deaths reported.

About 6,000 of the deaths occurred in intercity roads, the report asserted.

Sadly 194,298 were injured in road crashes which shows an 8.1 percent in-crease compared to same period last year.

In the month of Shahrivar (August 23-September 22), which normally set the record high for the most number of summer trips, 1,783 died in car accidents which also shows a rise of 2.1 percent compared to the same period a year before.

2030 Agenda for Sustainable Develop-ment has set an ambitious target of halving the global number of deaths and injuries from road traffic crashes by 2020, World Health Organization (WHO) wrote on its website.

It also warns that without sustained ac-tion, road traffic crashes are predicted to become the seventh leading cause of death by 2030 and that road traffic crashes cost most countries 3% of their gross domestic product.

Worldwide more than 1.25 million peo-

ple die each year as a result of road traffic crashes. Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death among people aged between 15 and 29 years.

In early October, Emergency Medical Services director Pir Hossein Kulivand said that leading cause of death among teenag-ers aged 15 to 17 in Iran is traffic-related accidents.

He also said that since the beginning of the current [Iranian calendar] year, some 7,000 individuals were killed in traffic-re-lated accidents in the country and that road crashes are the third and fourth leading cause of death among children aged 10 to 14 and 5 to 9 years old respectively.

Moreover WHO explains that from a young age, males are more likely to be in-volved in road traffic crashes than females. About three quarters (73%) of all road traffic deaths occur among young males under the age of 25 years who are almost 3 times as likely to be killed in a road traffic crash as young females.

Speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol and other psychoactive sub-stances, nonuse of motorcycle helmets, seat-belts, and child restraints, distracted driving, unsafe road infrastructure, unsafe vehicles, inadequate post-crash care, and inadequate law enforcement of traffic laws are to blame for high number of traffic-re-lated deaths specifically in low and middle income countries.

Efforts to preserve nature are way off what is required, and a “global deal” in the mould of the Paris climate agreement is needed to bring it back from the brink, a report has warned.

Populations of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish have fallen off a cliff – dropping by 60 per cent in just over 40 years.

To combat this, WWF says there must be a dramatic re-think of the status quo, as conservationists can no longer afford to merely recommend “more of the same” nature reserves and programmes to save individual species.

In their latest Living Planet Report, the environmental group singles out overex-ploitation of the planet’s resources and the food system specifically as the biggest issues that must be addressed.

“Right now the destruction of nature is seen as the price of development, and we cannot continue like that,” Tony Juniper, WWF’s executive director told The Inde-pendent.

Familiar British animals like puffins and hedgehogs joined more exotic species like elephants, rhinos and polar bears on the list of species that have dropped in numbers massively between 1970 and 2014 – the most recent year for which data is available.

These declines have been particularly pronounced in tropical regions and fresh-water habitats. Just a quarter of the planet’s surface is free from human activity, and this is expected to shrink to a tenth by 2050.

This habitat loss, combined with poach-ing, pollution and climate change, have all contributed to a crisis that experts think can no longer be handled using conven-tional tactics.

“We are the first generation to know we are destroying our planet and the last one that can do anything about it,” said Tanya Steele, chief executive at WWF.

“The collapse of global wildlife pop-

ulations is a warning sign that nature is dying. But instead of putting the world on life support, we’re using a sticking plaster.”

However, Professor Ken Norris, director of Science at Zoological Society of London, who helped compile the report said despite the shocking figures “all hope is not lost”.

“We have an opportunity to design a new path forward that allows us to co-ex-ist sustainably with the wildlife we depend upon,” he said.

An explosion of human activity, includ-ing overfishing, deforestation and pesticide use, has been at the heart of many species’ declines.

However, the report warned that all eco-nomic activity depends on nature, with nat-ural resources estimated to provide services worth $125 trillion (£97 trillion) every year.

To preserve this value for future gener-ations, WWF called for a game-changing commitment backed by governments and businesses around the world to preserve the Earth’s biodiversity.

“We need a new international agreement, a new global deal for nature, to enable coun-tries to get at the root causes of this,” said Mr Juniper.

Though the suggestion has echoes of the Paris agreement put in place to limit global warming, Mr Juniper said such a solution for nature would have to be even more all-encompassing.

(Source: The Independent)

WWF reveals wildlife has declined 60% in 40 years

Motor vehicle fatality rate up by 1.7% in H1

Hurricane Walaka washes away Hawaii Island where endangered animals nestAn intense hurricane has wiped a remote Hawaiian island off the map, prompting fears for two endangered species which inhabit the remote spit of land.

Scientists were studying East Island before Hurricane Walaka hit, and four researchers had even planned to stay there during the storm. When the storm became too intense, they evacuated, and drone footage obtained after the storm revealed the island had disappeared.

Hurricane Walaka was one of the most intense tropical cyclones on record, but it did not directly hit any major land masses or result in any known human fatalities. Research suggests that climate change has a direct impact on hurricanes, making them longer, more frequent, and more intense.

Critically endangered Hawaiian monk seals and green sea turtles, on the other hand, may suffer from their loss of habitat. Both species had already left for the season, so the hurricane did not affect them, the Honolulu Civil Beat reported. Still, the island was an important site for sea turtles to nest and for seals to bear their young.

East Island was the largest of the French Frigate Shoals, which are small islands that continue westward off the main Hawaiian Islands. Most of the world’s green sea turtles nest in the French Frigate Shoals, and more than half of those nested on East Island, making it the area with the highest density of green sea turtles in the world. Now, the turtles will have to find elsewhere to lay their eggs.

It is too soon to say how severe the impact on the animals will be. The turtles and seals may find other, nearby areas hospitable for their offspring, but there is a limit to their resilience. Scientists plan to continue to study the endangered animals and see how they fare next year.

Scientists had known that the island was at risk of going un-derwater due to the rising tides of climate change, but they had hoped that it would last at least another few decades.

(Source: The Independent)

L E A R N E N G L I S HJob Hunting A: This just might be the start of the rest of my life!B: What happened?A: I’m in the market for a job! I went on a website with hun-dreds of job listings in the area and browsed through them until I got the names of a few employers I would like to work for. I have the resume I wrote for English class last month and a cover letter will be a piece of cake to write. I’ve even done my research and found the names of the managers so I can address the letters personally. And you know I can be charming in interviews. Goodbye my penniless days! Hello salary and a career!B: Ben, we’re fifteen. What kind of job are you looking for?A: Oh, just for a position as a gas statio attendant. You know, starting at a simple lowly job, just like all the greats before they made it big in the world.B: Uh-huh.A: But I’m just in it for the money, right? How else am I going to be able to afford to keep going to the movies? Besides, I love the smell of gasoline, don’t you?

Key vocabularyin the market: be interested in buyingjob listing: database containing an ordered array of job itemsbrowse: to search for and read hypertextemployer: a person or firm who employsresume: a summary of your academic and work historycover letter: a written document submitted with a job appli-cation explaining the applicant’s credentials and interest in the open positiona piece of cake: something is easily to be donemanager: person who manages an organization or companyaddress: to direct a speech or written statement to someonecharming: delightful; pleasant; attractiveinterview: a conversation with or questioning of a personpenniless: very poor; almost totally without moneysalary: money paid by the employer each monthcareer: profession that someone does for a long timeposition: job, occupationgas station: place where gasoline is soldattendant: a person employed to provide a servicelowly: humble or low in positiongreats: person with importance or distinction in their fieldmake it big: make a great successuh-huh: a less emphatic variant of yesgasoline: petroleum fuel

Supplementary vocabularyheadhunter: an employment recruiter, sometimes referred to as executive searchjob agency: a company that helps both employers and job ap-plicants find a positionCV: Curriculum Vitae; a summary of academic and professional history and achievementsno brainer: something that is easy or not challengingeasy as pie: something that is easy or not challenging

(Source: irlanguage.com)

12I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

OCTOBER 31, 2018 ANALYSIS & INTERVIEW

N.I.S.O.C

Vendors who intend to participate in the A/M tender are requested to send their resume & tendency letter via fax/ mail to the following address not later than 14 days after the second announcement. The applicants

should have relevant background in supplying the required goods and capability to provide a bid bond of Euro 4,563 / Rls 225,000,000 in favor of NISOC. Iranian vendors shall submit their resume Acc. to forms

Nos. 01, 02 and 03 which are available at www.shana.ir.and www.nisoc.ir

Permit No.1397/3755

TENDER NO. : 08-38-9640015

National Iranian South Oilfields Company intends to purchase the following goods

First Announcement

Invitation For Prequalification

تهران تایمز نوبت اول 97/08/9نوبت دوم 97/08/12

Public Relationswww.shana.ir www.nisoc.ir http://iets.mporg.ir

FOREIGN PURCHASING DEPT Kouy-e-Fadaeian Islam (New Site)Bldg NO 104, Ahvaz, Iran

Tel/FAX No.: +98-61 -34457437

N.I.S.O.C

Invitation For Prequalification

1397/3755

TENDER NO. : 08-38-9640015

National Iranian South Oilfields Company intends to purchase the following goods

Description UNIT Quantity. WIRE LINE, SPOOLED ON IRON REEL H2S, CO2 AND

CHLORIDE TRIM MATERIAL:SUPA-75 OR SANICRO-26 DIAMETER&LENGTH

ASSPECIFIED: REF”SANDVICK”OR OTHERSTANDARD APPROVED

EQUIVALENT SIZE 0.108 INCH X 20000 FEET.

RL 10

Vendors who intend to participate in the A/M tender are requested to send their resume & tendency letter via fax/ mail to the following address not later than 14 days after the second announcement. The applicants should have relevant background in supplying the required goods and capability to provide a bid bond of Euro 4,563 / Rls 225,000,000 in favor of NISOC. Iranian vendors shall submit their resume Acc. to forms

Nos. 01, 02 and 03 which are available at www.shana.ir.and www.nisoc.ir

FOREIGN PURCHASING DEPT

Kouy-e-Fadaeian Islam (New Site)Bldg NO 104, Ahvaz, Iran Tel/FAX No.: +98-61 -34457437

Public Relations

WWW.shana.ir

www.nisoc.ir

http://iets.mporg.ir

12/8/97نوبت دوم 9/8/97تهران تایمز : نوبت اول

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

OCTOBER 31, 2018

1 One significant caveat to any predictions on job creation is whether all of the missile defenses and radars, ships, tanks, software, bombs and other equipment listed in the full Saudi package get delivered.

Interviews with people familiar with other major defense contractors’ plans and esti-mates reflect similar dynamic as Lockheed’s and Raytheon’s plans - relatively minor ad-ditions to their U.S. workforce and more significant build-up in Saudi Arabia.

Since Trump’s trip to the Kingdom last year, little economic activity has taken place beyond Lockheed’s work on four frigates the Saudis have ordered.

The order will yield nearly 10,000 jobs in the Saudi regime ports for maintenance workers, but only 500 new U.S. jobs will be created, according to documents seen by Reuters.

Executives at the several of top U.S. de-fense companies say Riyadh had wanted much of the military equipment as a way to both develop new domestic industry and to create new jobs and local expertise as a part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s (MBS) Vision 2030 initiative to wean the country off oil dependency.

The House of Saud regime has set a goal of creating 40,000 defense industry jobs by 2030.

The arms package Trump announced in May 2017 came under renewed scrutiny after the October 2 killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi regime consulate in Istanbul.

The killing provoked international outrage and both the administration and

defense contractors have been working to prevent a backlash that could imperil what Trump has called a “tremendous order” and 500,000 jobs.

Industry executives have argued that with-out the Saudi package coming through they would have fewer orders to fill, but robust

the U.S. defense budgets, which account for the majority of their sales, coupled with a record backlog of orders suggest little risk that workers would face layoffs if the Saudi sales package failed to materialize.

Certainly, for each defense manufactur-ing job, other adjacent jobs are supported indirectly by higher demand for defense products.

But Heidi Garrett-Peltier, a research fellow at the Political Economy Research Institute, estimated that for this type of industry the highest multiplier would be just below 3.2.

Given that, 20,000 to 40,000 sustained or new jobs could generate between about 64,000 to 128,000 jobs in related industries, Reuters calculations show, bringing the total of sustained and new jobs to between 84,000 and 168,000.

In short, 500,000 jobs Trump keeps bringing up is at least three to five times higher than what one could expect from the Saudi deal, given the estimates from the companies themselves, plus the most generous use of the indirect multiplier.

By its own math, the U.S. State Depart-ment said in May 2017 that the Saudi deal could support “tens of thousands of new jobs in the United States.”

(Source: Reuters)

Israeli film dropped from Iraqi Kurdish festival competitionAuthorities in Iraq’s northern semi-autonomous Kurdistan re-gion have withdrawn an Israeli movie from the annual Duhok International Film Festival “due to regional complications and considerations.”

“Due to regional complications and considerations, Duhok International Film Festival unwillingly withdraws the film The Dive by Yona Rozenkier from the world cinema competition al-though the film was screened in the festival program,” the festival website of the festival announced in a statement.

It added, “Duhok International Film Festival deeply apologizes for this incident.”

Jury president Kristian Feigelson said in a separate statement that the withdrawal of the film, which portrays three brothers carrying out their father’s last wish, was the result of “political pressure coming officially from Baghdad.”

The Iraqi culture ministry, however, roundly denied inter-fering in the festival.

“We have not been contacted by the organizers of the festival and we have not been involved at any level in the holding of this event,” a ministry spokesman told AFP.

The Duhok International Film Festival has been held annually since 2011. It boasts a host of productions by filmmakers from all over the world, including Armenians and Iranians, but its main focus is on Kurdish cinema.

Iraq does not formally recognize Israel, and Baghdad and Tel Aviv are technically still at war.

Israel has far warmed relations with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) authorities, and was the only party to support the semi-autonomous region’s controversial secession referen-dum, which antagonized the central government in Baghdad as well as neighboring countries like Turkey and Iran.

(Source: agencies)

Russia: White Helmets begin filming fake chemical attack in SyriaRussia says it has received information showing that a West-ern-backed so-called aid group is preparing to stage a false flag chemical attack in the northwestern Syrian province of Aleppo to incriminate Damascus.

The Defense Ministry said the “White Helmets,” which according to Moscow and Damascus cooperate with Takfi-ri terrorist groups in the country, have already started the filming process for the attack, Russia’s Sputnik news agency reported on Monday.

“The Russian center for reconciliation [in Syria] received information from residents of Aleppo that they are preparing another provocation with the use of toxic agents to accuse the government forces of using chemical weapons against the local population,” said Lt. Gen. Vladimir Savchenko, the head of the center, according to the ministry.

They arrived in Aleppo from the neighboring Province of Idlib, bringing along containers holding toxic agents, he added.

The group, the official said, sought to stage artillery shellfire with the containers and also meant to provoke the Syrian mil-itary to retaliate.

The White Helmets group, projected by the West as “civil defense workers,” was founded by former British Army of-ficer James Le Mesurier in 2014. The self-styled volunteer rescue group has been repeatedly accused of acting as the media arm for Takfiri groups, and charged with staging false flag chemical attacks in a bid to prompt Western military intervention in Syria.

In April, the United States, France, and Britain launched missile strikes against multiple targets around Syria after alleging that “video evidence” provided by the White Helmets had pointed to an earlier chemical attack in the city of Douma in the country’s southwest.

Subsequent investigations showed the video had been fake.Earlier in the year, Israel transported several hundred members

of the group from southwestern Syria to Jordan overnight at the request of the U.S. and European countries, as Damascus was preparing to launch counter-terrorism operations in those areas.

U.S.-led coalition uses white phosphorus bombs against Syrian city

Meantime, Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations Bashar al-Ja’afari says the so-called international coalition led by the United States has once again used white phosphorus bombs against Hajin city in Syria’s troubled eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr.

Speaking at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, the Syrian senior diplomat further condemned the use of banned weapons by the U.S.-led coalition against the small city.

His comments came a few hours after Syria’s official news agency SANA, citing local sources, reported that earlier in the day, the so-called coalition had shelled several localities in Hajin, some 110 kilometers east of Dayr al-Zawr, with white phosphorus munitions that can maim and kill by burning to the bone.

On October 13, SANA also reported that the U.S.-led coalition, purportedly fighting the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group, dropped internationally-banned white phosphorus bombs on Hajin.

On September 8, two F-15 warplanes of the U.S. Air Force targeted the same Syrian city with white phospho-rous bombs.

In June last year, Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned that the U.S.-led coalition was deploying white phosphorous bombs in both Iraq and Syria.

(Source: Press TV)

ساعت: امضاء سردبیر: ساعت: امضاء ادیتور: ساعت: امضاء مسئول صفحه: ساعت: 19:40 امضاء صفحه آرا:

Defense firms see only hundreds of new U.S. jobs from Saudi deal

Nigerian security forces have once again opened fire on supporters of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) during an an-nual religious procession near the capital Abuja, one day after they killed nearly 20 protesters.

According to local residents and witness-es, police fired live bullets and tear gas at thousands of members of the IMN as they took part in the peaceful procession to com-memorate Arba’een, the 40th day since the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him), the third Shia Imam.

The IMN supporters were also demand-ing the immediate release of their leader, Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, while marking Arba’een. The clashes took place as police attempted to stop IMN members as they headed towards the center of Abuja. Some

reports said the protesters responded by hurling rocks at the heavily-armed security operatives in the area.

IMN sources earlier said the group will go ahead with plans for “Arba’een Symbolic Trek” and expected that more than a million would turn up for the march.

On Monday, soldiers opened fire on a protest in Abuja by IMN.

IMN protesters say the army killed at least 18 of their members in the Monday shootings, but the military has said only three people died and four soldiers were injured.

At least 10 people were killed in an attack by Nigerian security forces against Muslims on Saturday. Reports in local Nigerian media said scores of people had also been injured after Nigerian security forces opened fire on Muslim worshipers gathering for a proces-

sion in Zuba in Gwagwalada area of Abuja.Amnesty International said reports that

troops were firing live bullets at protesters were “very disturbing.” “Firing live bullets at unarmed protesters is unlawful.”

Rights groups have accused Nigeria’s military of killing more than 300 IMN sup-porters and burying them in mass graves during the 2015 confrontation, a charge the military strongly denies.

Nigeria’s crackdown on IMN followers began in December 2015, when the army attacked a religious ceremony in the city of Zaria in the northern Nigeria. Nigerian forces later raided the house of IMN leader Sheikh Zakzaky and arrested him after killing those attempting to protect the prominent Muslim cleric.

Scores of Zakzaky’s followers were de-

tained during the brutal raid by security forces on the cleric’s IMN headquarters in December 2015.

During the raid, Nigerian forces killed nearly 300 Zakzaky’s supporters, including three of his sons, and later buried them in mass graves.

Sheikh Zakzaky and his wife, who were shot and injured during the raid, were taken into custody.

A Federal High Court had ordered Zakzaky’s unconditional release in 2016, but the Nigerian government has so far refused to abide by the ruling.

A spokesman for the Islamic movement stated back in March that the government in Abuja was planning to indefinitely hold the cleric and his wife in custody.

(Source: Press TV)

Myanmar’s government has been destroying vil-lages in Rakhine State and the physical evidence of state-sponsored violence committed against the Rohingya Muslims there, a report says.

The Guardian reported on Monday that Myanmar authorities were destroying areas where thousands of Rohingya Muslims lived before either being killed or fleeing to Bangladesh amid deadly government-spon-sored violence in Rakhine.

“Bulldozers and backhoes are parked beside new, blue-roofed homes, built by a government agency chaired by state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi,” the report said, referring to Myanmar’s de facto leader.

According to the newspaper, the authorities plan to settle non-Rohingya individuals in the new homes.

Inn Din village administrator Kyaw Soe Moe said during a government-organized media tour of northern Rakhine late last month that the new homes would soon be occupied by “Rakhine, Chin, Bamar, and Hindu people from other parts of the country.”

The United Nations (UN) Independent Interna-tional Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, whose report last month called for the country’s military leaders to stand trial for “genocide” against minority Rohingya Muslims, said the purpose of the bulldozing and construction was “the removal of the Rohingya and all traces of them and their replacement with non-Rohingya.”

The Guardian further said that the construction boom also aimed to destroy the physical evidence

that could be used in a potential tribunal.Tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims were

killed, injured, arbitrarily arrested, or raped by My-anmar soldiers and Buddhist mobs mainly between November 2016 and August 2017, when many of the surviving members of the community started fleeing to Bangladesh en masse.

Doctors without Borders, (MSF/Médecins Sans Frontières), has estimated that at least 6,700 Rohingya were killed between August 25 and 24 September 2017, but less than 100 bodies have been recovered.

The UN says nearly 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar’s Rakhine State since August 2017.

Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed in January to complete a voluntary repatriation of the refugees in

two years. The repatriation, however, was delayed due to a lack of preparation as well as protests staged by Rohingya refugees against the plan to send them back to Myanmar while conditions were not safe for their return.

Kyaw Soe Moe, the administrator of Inn Din, said, “I don’t think the Muslims will come back.”

Myanmar can’t avoid accountabilityMeanwhile, a member of the UN fact-finding

mission said Myanmar’s destruction of evidence won’t help it avoid accountability as there is other evidence that crimes occurred and were systemic.

“The [land] clearance is certainly destroying evidence, including of probable graves and sites of burning bodies, but it does not prevent accounta-bility because of the great mass of other evidence,” Christopher Sidoti said.

Sidoti added that he and his colleagues had man-aged to collect sufficient witness and victim evidence to compile pre-prosecution briefs, which could one day be used by prosecutors.

The UN Human Rights Council has also created an “independent mechanism” to collect evidence — which links individuals to specific crimes — for a future tribunal.

Kingsley Abbott from the International Commis-sion of Jurists said damaging evidence is treated as a separate offence and may leave Myanmar’s leaders more vulnerable.

(Source: Press TV)

A Germany former nurse accused of killing 100 patients in his care admitted on Tuesday to the murders on the first day of his trial in the biggest serial killing case in the country’s post-war history.

Asked by the presiding judge at the court in the northern city of Oldenburg whether the charges against him were accurate, Niels Hoegel replied, “Yes.”

“What I have admitted took place,” the 41-year-old told the courtroom crowded with dozens of grieving relatives.

Hoegel has already spent nearly a decade in prison on a life term for other patient deaths, and is accused of inten-tionally administering medical overdoses to victims so he could bring them back to life at the last moment.

As the proceedings began in the northern city of Old-enburg, presiding judge Sebastian Buehrmann said the main aim of the trial was to establish the full scope of the murder spree that was allowed to go unchecked for years at two German hospitals.

“We will do our utmost to learn the truth,” he said. “It is like a house with dark rooms - we want to bring light into the darkness.”

After a minute of silence for the victims, the bearded, heavyset Hoegel listened impassively, his head lowered, as public prosecutor Daniela Schiereck-Bohlmann read out the name of each dead patient and the charges against the defendant.

Prosecutors say at least 36 patients were killed at a hos-

pital in Oldenburg where he worked, and about 64 more at a clinic in nearby Delmenhorst, between 2000 and 2005.

More than 130 bodies of patients who died on Hoegel’s watch have been exhumed, in a case investigators have called “unprecedented in Germany to our knowledge”.

One of the more than 100 co-plaintiffs in the trial, Chris-tian Marbach, said it was a scandal that Hoegel had been allowed to kill with impunity for such an extended period of time without hospital authorities or law enforcement intervening.

Caught in 2005 while injecting an un-prescribed medi-cation into a patient in Delmenhorst, Hoegel was sentenced in 2008 to seven years in prison for attempted murder.

A second trial followed in 2014-15 under pressure from alleged victims’ families, who accused prosecutors of drag-ging their feet.

He was found guilty of murder and attempted murder of five other victims and given the maximum sentence of 15 years.

It was then that Hoegel confessed to his psychiatrist at least 30 more murders committed in Delmenhorst. That prompted investigators to take a closer look at suspicious deaths in Oldenburg.

Investigators say the final toll could top 200, but fear they might never know for sure because the bodies of many potential victims were cremated.

Hoegel appears to have followed a similar procedure

each time, first injecting a medication that triggered cardiac arrest, followed by an often futile attempt at resuscitation.

Prosecutors say he was motivated by vanity, to show off his skills at saving human lives, and by simple “boredom”.

The choice of victim appears to have been entirely ran-dom, with their ages ranging from 34 to 96.

Killing in itself was never his aim, according to one psy-chologist who evaluated him.

When he managed to revive a patient, he was sated, but only for a few days, the expert said, adding: “For him, it was like a drug.”

(Source: AFP)

Nigerian police open fire on Shia mourners commemorating Arba’een

Bulldozing the past: Myanmar erasing evidence on Rohingya

German ex-nurse admits at trial to killing 100 patients

A coach? Real Madrid weigh up every small detail

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 S OCTOBER 31, 201814

Acoach from the school of Johan Cruyff, who uses rondos as his password, or a coach with the stamp of Jose Mourinho, who calls on his cavalry to play on the counter attack. A coach who admires Pep Guardiola, who strokes the ball around the pitch, or a master like Jurgen Klopp, who orders his teams to crush the opposition by pressing the ball.

A coach that defends the 4-3-3 system, a technician who opts for a 4-4-2 with a midfield wall to stop the opposition, or a manager who considers the 3-5-2 formation as non-negotiable, with three centre backs playing out from the back.

A coach that instils a military-like disci-pline, who watches over your diet and prohibits untimely trips away, who lives in Valdebebas, or an open minded trainer who doesn’t estab-lish an internal regime, who makes friends, and never compromises the team. A Spanish coach, who controls the labyrinths of LaLiga Santander, who even knows the names of the referees, or a foreigner, whether he’s Italian, Brazilian or German, who doesn’t know who Emilio Butruagueno is.

A coach with in-house experience, who knows the aches and pains of the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, who has seen videos of Jose Anto-nio Camacho and Gregorio Benito with their heads bandaged, or a coach who is alien to the organisation, who arrives with a clean outlook, who needs GPS to arrive in Spain.

A coach who has a lavish record, with several Champions League titles on the mantle, or a coach who has not won anything relevant, who has hunger in his belly, but has never managed an elite team. A coach who can form nice par-agraphs, who knows how to speak in public

and is elegant, or a low profile coach, who does not remove his tracksuit except by obligation and who has not written newspaper columns or commentated on television.

A young trainer, on social media, who uses the latest mobile phone, who holidays in Formentera with celebrities or a veteran trainer, a gentleman with grandchildren who have to call him sir, who retreats to his town

when the parties arrive.A coach who accepts a six-month con-

tract, who can adhere to the transfer situation without any problems, or a coach who wants two years, with the power to order around the dressing room and have the final say on comings and goings. Pop music or rock music, Samsung or Apple, Netflix or HBO, John Lennon or Paul McCartney, LeBron

James or Stephen Curry, meat or fish, Lewis Hamilton or Fernando Alonso, vinyl or CD, Lionel Messi or Diego Maradona. Anything goes. Why choose?

Real Madrid don’t care. If you don’t have a plan, look for another. Madrid want a coach. And to win. That is the model. For now, with Santiago Solari.

(Source: Marca)

Alli pens new six-year deal at Tottenham

Tottenham’s England midfielder Dele Alli has signed a new con-tract that will keep him at the club until 2024.

The 22-year-old joined Spurs from MK Dons for £5m in 2015 and has scored 48 goals in 153 competitive matches.

He has played in six Premier League games this season - in-cluding Monday’s loss to Manchester City - but has not scored since the opening day. “I’ve loved my time at Spurs so far,” Alli said on Instagram. “I’m very excited to see what the future holds.”

Alli signed for Spurs from his boyhood club after making his debut aged 16 in November 2012.

The attacking midfielder came on as a substitute in the 1-0 defeat to Pep Guardiola’s side having not played since September’s Carabao Cup win against Watford because of a hamstring injury.

Alli follows team-mates Harry Kane,Harry Winks,Son He-ung-min and Erik Lamela in signing new long-term contracts in recent months.

(Source: BBC)

The Court of Arbitration for Sport on Tuesday upheld an appeal by hopeful Serik Konakbayev against his exclusion from next month’s vote to elect the new president of international boxing association AIBA.

AIBA has been beset by serious financial and governance problems which have put its spot at the 2020 Olympics in jeop-ardy with the International Olympic Committee telling it to fix the current problems by next month or face an Olympic exit.

CAS ordered AIBA to include Konakbayev, an AIBA vice-pres-ident who had been banned from running against the only can-didate — interim president Gafur Rahimov — in the list of those standing for election at the next congress, on Nov. 2-3 in Moscow.

Konakbayev, a Kazakh, who also heads the Asian boxing con-federation, had been told by the AIBA election committee at the time that he had not acquired the necessary 20 letters of support from federations. CAS said the election committee had wrongly refused to consider some nominations of support for Konakbayev.

“Therefore, the Panel acknowledged that Serik Konakbayev reached the threshold of 20 nominations supporting his candi-dature for the AIBA Presidency within the relevant time limit,” it said in a statement.

“In conclusion, the CAS Panel came to the conclusion that the appeal should be upheld and that Serik Konakbayev should be allowed to participate in the election for the role of AIBA President.”

AIBA has been in turmoil for several years. Its former president Wu Ching-kuo was suspended in 2017 before stepping down over governance and finance issues and was briefly replaced by Franco Falcinelli before Uzbek businessman Rahimov became interim president in January.

(Source: Reuters)

Boxer Floyd Mayweather should step into the octagon to face Khabib Nurmagomedov in a “real fight”, says UFC president Dana White. UFC lightweight champion Nurmagomedov has suggested he could follow in Conor McGregor’s footsteps and try boxing, with Mayweather encouraging the bout.

But White wants to see the fight happen in a mixed martial arts arena. “Listen, if Mayweather wants to fight, come fight. You fight in the UFC,” White told TMZ.

“We’re not boxing again. We did that once, that’s over. You want to fight? You come fight - a real fight.”

Nurmagomedov and Mayweather’s exchange began with the Russian calling out the former five-weight world champion after defeating McGregor on the Irishman’s return to UFC earlier this month. Mayweather beat McGregor himself in August 2017 in a fight that generated more than £450m and earned the 41-year-old American £210m. The boxer told Nurmagomedov to “come into my world”, with the 30-year-old responding by saying he was keen for the bout to happen in Moscow. Nurmagomedov is currently serving a ban issued by the Nevada State Athletic Commission as it investigates the brawl that followed his world title win over McGregor. And UFC president White says he should face American lightweight Tony Ferguson on his return.

“Tony Ferguson is the right fight,” he added. “It’s the fight to make. It obviously depends on the suspension and what hap-pens - we’ll see.”

(Source: BBC)

Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson broke team-mate Steph Curry’s NBA record for three-pointers in a single game in a win over the Chicago Bulls. The 28-year-old shooting guard scored 14 three-pointers in a 52-point performance during a 149-124 victory.

Curry, 30, held the previous record of 13, achieved in November 2016 against New Orleans Pelicans.

“I was so anxious because any time there’s an NBA record at stake, you get a little nervous,” said Thompson.

“I’m just so blessed to play with the guys that I do. It was an amazing night I’ll hopefully never forget.”

Thompson gave a hint of what was to come in the opening quarter when he scored 22 points to help the reigning NBA cham-pions to a 44-28 lead. By half-time the Warriors had increased their advantage to 42 points as they led 92-50.

Thompson drew level with Curry’s record in the third quarter before breaking it with five minutes remaining, and later revealed his team-mate had encouraged him to do so.

“Before I went out for the second half, Steph just looked at the box score and said ‘go get it’,” Thompson said.

“That shows the unselfishness that’s within him.”(Source: BBC)

CAS clears Konakbayev to run for AIBA presidency

Mayweather should fight Nurmagomedov in UFC - White

Thompson breaks Curry’s NBA record

The death of Leicester City soccer club owner Vichai Srivad-dhanaprabha adds to challenges his King Power Interna-tional empire faces as its dominance of the lucrative Thai duty-free industry comes under scrutiny.

Vichai, the founder of King Power, was killed on Saturday along with four others when his helicopter crashed and exploded outside the King Power Stadium in the central England city after a Premier League match.

His death comes just weeks before Thailand plans to hold an auction for its duty-free and commercial concessions, threatening to end King Power’s near monopoly of the sector.

State-owned Airports of Thailand Pcl (AOT), which grants the concessions, may consider awarding licenses to multiple operators, analysts said. Unlisted King Power currently controls more than 90 percent of Thailand’s du-ty-free market, being a sole operator with concessions in all major airports in the country until 2020.

AOT also plans to expand Bangkok’s main airport, which will increase commercial and duty free space up for auction by around 70 percent, increasing competition among retailers.

Tourism is booming in Thailand, which received nearly 35 million visitors last year, most funneled through the airports where King Power is ubiquitous. But public debate has increased over the single duty-free operator structure.

“If there is more competition from others and this new generation of leadership (at King Power) is not as effective as Vichai’s generation, then there could be changes (in the way the licenses are granted),” a senior government official told

Reuters, declining to be named due to the sensitivity of the subject. “AOT has not been convincing enough in defending this model so it will be a tough sell for them to come up with a bidding terms or process that limits competition.”

AOT, which has said the current system is important to provide continuity, declined to comment on the bidding process. “(King Power) has a successful history in duty free retailing and the travel industry, now the question is how effective King Power can be in engaging the government other stakeholders without Vichai’s leadership, especially in upcoming auction for concessions in Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya and Samut Prakan,” said Nattabhorn Juengsan-guansit, Director at Asia Group Advisors, a government affairs consultancy.

“Winning the upcoming bid is crucial for King Power’s business and the future of Leicester football club.”

SUCCESSORWhile it is not immediately clear who will take over from

Vichai, analysts and sources say Aiyawatt, Vichai’s young-est son and chief executive officer of King Power, and his widow Aimon are most likely to run the family business. Aiyawatt’s nickname is Top.

“Top has been his father’s apprentice for more than 10 years so he must have learnt a lot of his trade,” said a politi-cian who has close ties with the Srivaddhanaprabha family.

King Power declined to comment on who will succeed Vichai as group chairman. Vichai’s four children and his wife are part of the executive team of the company.

A descendant of Chinese immigrants, Vichai founded what became the King Power empire in 1989 with a store in Bangkok selling duty free goods and souvenirs.

His business took off in 2006 when it was granted a concession at the new Suvarnabhumi Airport under the government of then Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Even after Thaksin’s ouster that year, Vichai’s close re-lationship with the royal family and a knack for winning people over helped King Power navigate political turmoil. Vichai became the country’s fifth-richest person with an estimated net worth of nearly $5 billion.

For the group, which has been expanding into sports, winning the upcoming duty-free license auction has become more crucial to get steady cash flow and fund heavy invest-ments to acquire athletes and managing staff.

(Source: Reuters)

Death of chairman adds to King Power uncertainty as Thai duty-free changes loom

The helicopter crash that killed Leicester City soccer club owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha was not caused by a police drone, Leicester-shire Police said on Monday, as investigations continue into how the accident happened.

Thai businessman Srivaddhanaprabha died along with four others when his heli-copter crashed and then exploded outside the club’s King Power Stadium on Saturday after a Premier League match against West Ham United. The Air Accidents Investiga-tion Branch (AAIB) said it had recovered the flight data recorder and would remain in the city until the end of the week before transporting the wreckage to its facilities in Farnborough. “Today, our inspectors in Farnborough will start working on the recorder, which was subject to intense heat as a result of the post-accident fire,” according to a statement from the AAIB, which investigates all civil aircraft accidents in Britain. The cause of the crash remains unclear. Leicestershire Police said on Twitter that their drone was not in flight when the helicopter left the stadium.

It came down in a car park outside the ground shortly after 1930 GMT, about an

hour after the end the match.Police named the other victims of the

crash as passengers Izabela Roza Lechow-iczas, Nursara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare, and pilot Eric Swaffer.

The Italian maker of the helicopter, Leonardo SpA, said it was ready to assist the investigation.

Vichai’s family, including his son and wife Aiyawatt and Aimon, arrived at the stadium on Monday to lay flowers among the mass of tributes already left by the club’s supporters.

Hundreds of people had queued since the morning to lay toys, scarves and bouquets to remember the much-loved owner who took over the club in 2010 and oversaw their incredible rise from the second tier to Premier League title winners in 2016.

Players and staff from the club were also at the stadium to pay their respects.

Leicester City’s first-team squad had a short training session on Monday morning but the club’s fourth round League Cup tie with Southampton, scheduled for Tuesday at the King Power, was postponed because of the accident.

(Source: Mirror)

It wasn’t an easy afternoon for Lewis Hamilton, but not even tire trouble or a great drive by Sebastian Vettel could stop him from winning his fifth drivers’ championship.

Hamilton’s success puts him in a prestigious Formula One club alongside Juan Manuel Fangio, with only sev-en-time champion Michael Schumacher ahead of him. Hamilton has now won championships in 2018, 2017, 2015, 2014 and 2008.

Max Verstappen won the race, and never looked like losing it, but all eyes were on Vettel and Hamilton. The Ferrari driver delivered a strong drive and worked hard to get into second but had to win to keep his title hopes alive.

Hamilton enjoyed a great start, nearly taking the lead at the first corner. But it quickly became clear that the Briton’s tires weren’t right and he needed two pitstops to stand even a chance of keeping up his pace. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said afterwards the team had had a very bad race, and that he was so upset with it that he didn’t say anything to Hamilton on the

radio afterwards.In the end, it mattered not. Titles are not

won in a day, and Hamilton had no problem settling for a cautious cruise in order to secure the title. Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen finished in third after Daniel Ricciardo, the man on pole, pulled up nine laps before the end.

Verstappen won his fifth career race 17.108 seconds ahead of Vettel. The Dutchman is fifth in the drivers’ championship and is considered the future of the sport.

The present though is very much about Lewis Hamilton. The first black driver in Formula One and now a five time champion, Hamilton has become one of the all-time great drivers. After an emotional congratulation from Vet-tel, Hamilton said: “It’s a very strange feeling, a very humbling experience. To complete this when Fangio did it as well, it’s a very surreal feeling.”

After that, he ran back to the Mercedes garage to embrace his teammates one by one.

(Source: DW)

Police say drone not cause of Leicester helicopter crash as black box found

Lewis Hamilton seals fifth title after finishing fourth in Mexico

S P O R T S 15I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

Iran’s Mohajerani voted best AFC Asian Cup coach

Heshmat Mohajerani from Iran has been voted for all-time best AFC Asian Cup coach.

He was chosen as the best coach by the fans, coming first with 93 percent.

Taking charge of Team Melli just a few months before Iran was to host the 1976 AFC Asian Cup, Mohajerni had an instant impact, leading the team to the title for the third time, and to date, last time in its history.

The same year, he helped the team qualify for the Olympic Games for the first time in its history, taking it past the group stage into the quarter-final, which remains its best-ever Olympic performance.

Mohajerani crowned his successes with Team Melli by taking it to the 1978 FIFA World Cup, the first time in its history.

In 1980, he led the UAE for their maiden AFC Asian Cup appearance.

Carlos Alberto Parreira (Kuwait/Saudi Arabia), Khalil Al Zayani (Saudi Arabia), Philippe Troussier (Japan), Ange Postecoglou (Australia) and Jorvan Vieira (Iraq) vied for the accolade as well.

(Source: the-afc)

Persepolis trio ones to watch at ACL Final first leg

Ahead of the first of two meetings between the best clubs in the East and West of the continent, the-AFC.com has introduced some of the key Persepolis players, who could be the ones to watch at Kashima Soccer Stadium on November 3.

Iranian giant Persepolis is set to make history on Saturday when it takes to the field in the first leg of their first-ever AFC Champions League final against Japan’s Kashima Antlers.

Jalal HosseiniPersepolis captain Jalal Hosseini has led by example throughout

their AFC Champions League campaign, marshaling a defense that conceded just three times in the group stage to advance to the last 16.

The 36-year-old has since proven that his contribution is not limited to keeping things tight at the back.

The defender’s late strike in the second leg of the Round of 16 against Al Jazira earned Persepolis an away-goals triumph, before he added another crucial goal in the quarter-final against Al Duhail to start a stunning comeback from 2-0 down to win 3-2.

Alireza BeiranvandThe 26-year-old goalkeeper rose to global fame last summer

when he produced an incredible save to deny Cristiano Ronaldo from the spot in Iran’s 1-1 draw with Portugal in the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

But followers of Iranian and Asian football will have already been familiar with Beiranvand who was part of the Naft Tehran side that reached the 2015 AFC Champions League Round of 16.

He then went on to become a key cog for Persepolis as it reached the semi-final for the first time in its history in 2017, and topped that milestone this year where his saves were crucial in taking the Tehran giant to its maiden final.

Ali AlipourAt 19, Alipour became the youngest player to score in the

Tehran derby against Esteghlal, before his big break arrived after Mehdi Taremi left the club.

The pacey striker stepped to the fore to help Persepolis claim back-to-back league titles and earn the Iranian Pro League’s top scorer award last season.

And, although he netted just once in the team’s run to the 2017 AFC Champions League semi-final, Alipour has played a vital role this season, scoring five times to lead Persepolis in continental goals.

None of his strikes were more important than winning and converting a penalty just five minutes before the final whistle in the first leg of the semi-final against Al Sadd, with the Tehran side going on to edge the Qatari by a single goal in a 2-1 aggre-gate victory.

(Source: tha-afc)

Guardiola to call sacked Lopetegui this week

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said he feels bad that Julen Lopetegui was dismissed at Real Madrid but added that “if we don’t win we will be sacked.”

“Football I know what it is, we are still here because we win games, if we don’t win we will be sacked,” Guardiola said when asked at a news conference about Lopetegui following City’s 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Monday.

Real Madrid fired Lopetegui on Monday after just four months in charge, with the ex-Spain coach paying the price following Sunday’s 5-1 humiliation against Barcelona in El Clasico.

“I’m sorry for Julen because he’s a friend of mine. He’s an exceptional person,” the ex-Barcelona boss said, adding that they have a solid relationship stemming from their playing days at the Catalan club. Guardiola, while at the helm of Bayern Mu-nich, bested Lopetegui’s Porto in the 2015 Champions League quarterfinals.

Guardiola had sustained success over Real Madrid while managing Barcelona, with 9 wins, 2 losses and 4 ties across all competitions. The two losses were in La Liga (2012) and Copa del Rey final (2011).

“I want to call him in the next few days,” Guardiola said. “It is what it is. It’s football, nobody escapes that. When you have bad results you will not continue in big, big places like Barcelona or Madrid ... I wish him all the best.”

(Source: ESPN)

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TEHRAN — Iran defeat-ed a hapless Guam 98-55

on the second day of the FIBA U18 Women’s Asian Championship at the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru, India.

On Tuesday, the Iranian team advanced to the semifinals of Division B of the FIBA U18 Women’s Asian Championship with two wins against Singapore and Guam and one defeat against host India.

Captain and forward Fatemah Ghaz-vini led Iran with 28 points, while Mia San

Nicolas scored 21 points for Guam. The top placed team from division B

gets promoted to Division A for the 2020 FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship for Women. The bottom-placed team from division A gets relegated to division B for the 2020 championships.

The FIBA U-18 Asian Championship com-prises of eight teams each, in Division A and Division B. Teams from Division A compete for the title and to secure their qualification for the 2019 FIBA U-19 World Cup.

FIBA U18 Asia Women: Iran storm past Guam

TEHRAN — Former Iran and Persepolis

coach Afshin Ghotbi will attend his former team’s clash against Kashima Antlers.

The Japanese team will host Persepolis of Iran at Kashima Stadium in the first leg of the 2018 AFC Champions League final.

The second leg will be held in Tehran’s Azadi Stadium a week later.

Ghotbi was appointed as head coach of Persepolis football team in 2007 and

helped the Reds win Iran Pro League for the second time.

One year later he took charge of Iran national football team and advanced to the 2011 AFC Asian Cup quarter-final where Team Melli were knocked out of the com-petition with a 1-0 loss to South Korea.

Ghotbi was appointed as head coach of Japanese top-flight football team Shimizu S-Pulse.

Most recently, he coached Chinese club Shijiazhuang Ever Bright.

Ex-Iran coach Ghotbi to attend Kashima Antlers v Persepolis

OCTOBER 31, 2018

Iran ready for Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup, coach says

Persepolis goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand is fully focused on helping his side win the 2018 AFC Champions League ahead of Saturday’s final first leg against Japan’s Kashima Antlers.

Beiranvand showed that in the second leg of the semi-final against Qatar’s Al Sadd.

The score was 1-1 with just four minutes to go, a goal for Al Sadd would have effectively taken them to the AFC Champions League final at the expense of Persepolis. The ball was crossed for Spanish legend Xavi, who was left with a free header from just seven yards.

Nine times out of then, this play would have resulted a goal, but as the 81,000 fans present at Azadi Stadiums fell to complete si-lence, the Persepolis goalkeeper had different ideas. Beiranvand produced an impossible reflex save to tip Xavi’s header behind and rescue his team.

That save, one of four Beiranvand made on the night, was as crucial to Persepolis reaching their first ever AFC Champions League final as Siamak Nemati’s 49th minute goal, but the 26-year-old remains grounded, playing down comparisons to Islamic Republic of Iran’s greatest goalkeepers.

“[Ahmadreza Abedzadeh and Nasser

Hejazi] are great goalkeepers that I have learned a lot from,” said Beiranvand, whose heroic performance at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia brought him to global fame, es-pecially when he saved a penalty kick from Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo.

“I can never be like them. Hejazi was a great man, known for respecting moral

values. I have always learned from him. And I like Abedzadeh a lot; his son is also my teammate in the national team.”

Beiranvand could, however, achieve a feat that none of the two greats of Iranian goalkeeping did, if he is to become the AFC Player of the Year. His performances over the past 12 months have, arguably, put him

in contention for the November award.“It would be a big honor for me and my

country if I can make it. I hope it happens, because it has always been one of my wishes in life. If I can win this award, I will enjoy it for years to come,” said the Iranian goalkeeper.

Having spent his entire career so far playing for Naft Tehran then Persepolis, Beiranvand’s performances over the year would have certainly attracted interest from Europe, where many of IR Iran’s finest foot-ballers ply their trade, but he is postponing any talk of a European switch until after the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

“After the World Cup, my concentration was only on Persepolis, because I was really concerned with the problems they had.

“I want to become AFC Champions League champion with Persepolis, then I will con-centrate on the AFC Asian Cup. I would really like to be the best goalkeeper in Asia with IR Iran in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

“After that I will have enough time to think about any offers, but as I always said, I would like to play for a big club in Europe if I leave Iran one day.”

(Source: the-afc)

Beiranvand: I want to become an ACL Champion

We have great belief, says Shoma DoiS P O R T Sd e s k

S P O R T Sd e s k

Midfielder Shoma Doi believes Kashima Antlers’ triumph over adversity has helped

the team overcome tough situations on the field ahead of Saturday’s 2018 AFC Champions League final first leg against Islamic Republic of Iran’s Persepolis.

Coming back from two goals down in a semi-final is an impressive feat in itself, but doing so twice over two legs, as Japan’s Kashima did against Korea Republic’s Suwon Samsung Bluewings, requires an impressive degree of mental resilience and self-belief - a quality needed at the highest level of the Continental game.

And, indeed, it is this quality that Japan international Doi insists has helped a battle-hardened Kashima side reach their maiden AFC Champions League final.

“Not just in the semi-finals, but throughout the past year we’ve had many tough matches,” said the 26-year-old, who was part of the side that came back from 2-0 and 3-1 deficits in the first and second legs respectively.

“In both legs against Suwon we had to come from behind

and, no matter the situation, we have great belief in what we’ve been able to do.”

“We got together during the second leg of the semi-final against Suown and we spoke about that belief in ourselves,”

he added, as Kashima roared back from conceding three goals in an eight minute spell to see out the semi-final 6-5 on aggregate.

“That really helped us overcome the adversity we faced in the match. “And I’m sure it will looking ahead to the final.”

Mental focus and belief is also a mantra echoed by Doi’s teammate Yuma Suzuki, with the physical forward playing a key role in Kashima’s run to the tournament’ climax.

“The mood in the dressing room isn’t any different from any regular time, it’s not like we have won the title yet,” said the 22-year-old. “It was just about finishing the semi-finals and then we spoke about switching our minds to the next match and doing it again.”

“I really believe this will be Kashima’s year for the AFC Champions League.

“We have never won the AFC Champions League title, so winning this Asian championship would mean a lot to everyone.”

(Source: the-afc)

TEHRAN — Iran coach Marco Octavio Simoes Barbosa (or sim-

ply Marco Octavio) says that they are well prepared for the Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup 2018.

Team Melli have been drawn in Group B along with three-time champions Russia, 2017 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup runner-ups Tahiti and the U.S.

Group A consists of the UAE (host), Brazil, Egypt and Spain.

The tournament will be held in Dubai, the UAE from Nov. 6 to 10 in two groups of four teams.

Marco Octavio will start the campaign with a match against Tahiti on Nov. 6.

“We have strong opponents in the tournament and I believe that top eight teams will participate in the event to win the title,” Octavio said in an exclusive interview with Tehran Times.

“Now, we are focusing on our first match against Tahiti. Iran held a good training camp in Portugal and our young players had the opportunity to play Portugal beach soccer clubs to gain more experience,” the Brazilian added.

“We respect all the participating teams in the competition and know that they will play in the highest level. But, we also are fully ready and well prepared for the competition,” Octavio stated.

“We are very motivated for taking part at the Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup since the com-petition is the most important beach soccer event after the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.

“Iran will hold a training camp in Rio de Ja-neiro from Jan. 24 to Feb. 3,” Octavio concluded.

TEHRAN – Three Iranian films have won

awards at the 6th Duhok International Film Festival, the organizers have announced.

“Life without Life” by Kaveh Moeinfar grabbed the Silver Leaf for best script, while it was also was honored with a special mention.

The film is about Satiar, a music teacher whose father is fighting cancer, but amid music and death, life goes on.

The New Talents Award for World Cinema was given to “Israfil” by Ida Panahandeh.

In addition, “In B6 Position”, a short film by Reza Alaei, won the special jury award in the Kurdish Short section.

The Golden Leaf Award for Best Kurdish Feature was given to “Zagros” by the Belgium-based Kurdish filmmaker, Sahim Omer Kalifa.

A selection of 151 films from over 70 countries were screened at the festival this year.

Iranian film editor Mastaneh Mohajer and her fellow screenwriter, Khosro Sina, were among the jury members of the festival, which ran in the Iraqi city from October 20 to 27.

Iranian director Mostafa Gandomkar’s “Alan” won the Golden Leaf for Best Kurdish Short Film at the Duhok festival last year.

No. 18, Bimeh Alley, Nejatollahi St., Tehran, IranP.o. Box: 14155-4843

Zip Code: 1599814713

Prayer Times Noon:11:48 Evening: 17:29 Dawn: 5:01 (tomorrow) Sunrise: 6:26 (tomorrow) OCTOBER 31, 2018

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“Run Rustam Run” wins awards at Italian, Turkish events

Henrik Ibsen’s “John Gabriel Borkman” to go on stage in Tehran

TEHRAN – Iranian director Saeid Karimi will

restage Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen’s penultimate play “John Gabriel Borkman” at Tehran’s Molavi Hall on Thursday.

The play is about a disgraced former bank manager who pads around like “a sick wolf” in the cage of his home. Jailed for years, he now sulks in his study while his aggrieved wife prowls around downstairs.

Shadi Shahali, Faezeh Amiri, Abolfazl Salahshur, Maryam Hajizadeh and Shahab Salehi are the main members of the cast for the play, which will be on stage for about two months.

Henrik Ibsen, internationally acclaimed during his lifetime and one hundred years after his death, remains among the most popular studied and produced playwrights ever.

TEHRAN – The Iranian animated

movie “Run Rustam Run” directed by Hossein Molayemi received awards at two international festivals held in Italy and Turkey last week.

The movie won the award for best animation at the Visioni Corte International Short Film Festival, which took place in the central Italian city of Latina from October 12 to 20.

“Run Rustam Run” was also named third best animation at the 12th Istanbul International Architecture and Urban Films Festival that was held from October 20 to 27.

Produced at Barfak Studio, the animated film tells the story of Rustam, a main character of Persian poet Ferdowsi’s epic masterpiece Shahnameh, who travels into the future and comes to Tehran in 2017.

LOS ANGELES (Variety) – Though James Cromwell was honored at the fourth annual Carney Awards for his work as a character actor, the industry veteran has worked as a political activist his entire career.

On the red carpet at the Eli and Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica, Calif., he candidly shared his thoughts about the current political climate.

“This is nascent fascism. We always had a turnkey, to-talitarian state — all we needed was an excuse, and all the institutions were in place to turn this into pure fascism,” Cromwell told Variety on Sunday night. “If we don’t stop [President Trump] now, then we will have a revolution for real. Then there will be blood in the streets.”

Cromwell later echoed his statement during his acceptance speech for one of the six Carney Awards given out that night.

“We’re living in very curious times, and something is coming up which is desperately important to this country and to this planet, and that is an election, in which hopefully in some measure we are going to take back our democracy,” Cromwell said. “We will have a government that represents us and not the donor class. We will cut through the corrup-tion, [and] we won’t have to do what comes next, which is either a non-violent revolution or a violent one, because this has got to end.”

Named after the late actor Art Carney, the Carney Awards recognize Hollywood’s leading character actors for their work in theater, film, and television. Joe Morton, Jessica Walter, Joe Pantoliano, Bruce Greenwood, and M. Emmet

Walsh were also honored at this year’s event.Host Patton Oswalt started the evening on a lighter note,

catering his jokes to the crowd of character actors. If they really wanted to honor character actors, he joked, they should have hosted the show in a single trailer in Palmdale at 4 a.m.

However, Oswalt also made sure to acknowledge the accomplished careers of the evening’s honorees. Of the six award recipients, past characters include a turncoat futuristic revolutionary in “Matrix,” the captain of the USS Enterprise in “Star Trek” and the iconic Lucille Bluth from “Arrested Development.”

As Lucille, Walter said she her job was to flesh out the storylines revolving around the show’s lead Jason Bateman, highlighting the importance of character actors in rounding out many of today’s popular television shows and movies.

“Webster’s dictionary says that character actors specialize in playing eccentric and unusual people. Not all supporting actors do that, but character actors do,” she told Variety. “In a lot of shows, the character actors fill out the picture.”

In between speeches were performances from pop-singer Lily Meola and jazz singer Danny Most who sang during the in memoriam. The evening concluded in a town hall discussion with all of the honorees and a cocktail party in the lobby.

DAMASCUS (Reuters) — Syria’s National Museum of Damascus opened its rich trove of antiquities to visitors again on Sunday, seven years after war forced them to close.

Only part of the museum, and its collection drawn from the civilizations that have ruled Syria over the millennia, will be reopened immediately, its deputy director Ahmad Deeb said.

“We will exhibit a group of artefacts from all periods from prehistory, the ancient east and the classical and Islamic eras in this section,” he said.

The reopening is a sign of the government’s attempts to restore normality

in the capital.A bloody army offensive this spring forced

the rebels to surrender eastern Ghouta in April, and the remaining insurgents enclaves near Damascus capitulated in the following weeks.

The fate of Syria’s ancient heritage has hung in the balance for much of the conflict, as fighting erupted in major sites such as the Old City of Aleppo and others, including the desert ruins of Palmyra.

As the insurgency began to spread in 2011, the government evacuated the museum’s collection, one of the most important in the Middle East, along with

those of provincial museums, hiding their artefacts far from the battlefield.

In Aleppo, where the museum lay near the front line, the huge ancient statues outside were too large to transport, and were boarded up in giant crates filled with cement against shrapnel damage.

“The masterpieces were hidden straight away,” said Deeb. Army trucks carried antiquities from sites across the country to stash in safety, he said. The collection of Deir al-Zor museum, isolated by fighting, was airlifted to Damascus.

In the capital, the empty museum continued to be used by the General

Directorate of Antiquities as an office, and was hit by mortar fire, but not badly damaged.

As the rebel presence around Damascus weakened in recent years, some statues were put on display to the public in the museum garden, including the Lion of Elat, a massive piece from Palmyra that was damaged by ISIS and later restored.

Other objects, recovered by the government after they were seized by insurgents or smuggled overseas, were put on display this month in the Damascus Opera House, a testament to the looting of heritage that has characterized much of the war.

Iranian films win awards at Duhok festival

A poster for “John Gabriel Borkman”, which will be directed by Saeid Karimi at Tehran’s Molavi Hall.

A poster for the Iranian animated movie “Run Rustam Run” by Hossein Molayemi.

Right to left, jury member Mastaneh Mohajer, Iranian filmmakers Kaveh Moeinfar and Ida Panahandeh and an unidentified person pose after receiving their awards at the 6th Duhok International Film Festival in Duhok, Iraq on October 27, 2018.

Turin National Museum of Cinema CEO to attend Italian neorealist films session in Tehran

TEHRAN – Sergio Toffetti, president of the National Museum of Cinema in Turin, is

scheduled to attend a session that will be organized by the Film Museum of Iran about Italian neorealist cinema.

Roberta Basano, the director of the photo archives of the Turin museum, and Italian journalist Francesca Paci will accompany Toffetti during the trip to Tehran.

Italian neorealism, a national film movement that is charac-terized by stories set among the poor and the working class, will be reviewed during a five-day session beginning on Thursday at the Film Museum of Iran.

Roberto Rossellini’s 1945 war thriller “Rome, Open City” and Vittorio De Sica’s movies “Shoeshine” (1946), “Bicycle Thieves” (1948), “Miracle in Milan” (1951) and “Umberto D.” (1952) will be screened during the program.

An exhibition of posters and stills from the Italian neorealist films will also be organized at the museum on the sidelines of the event.

Turin National Museum of Cinema president Sergio Toffetti.

“Bystander” honored at Russian festival

TEHRAN – “Bystander” by Iranian director Sheida Kashi has received a diploma at Saint

Vladimir, an international festival of cinema and TV films with spiritual and moral content in Sevastopol, Russia.

The animation received the diploma for “expanding the artistic possibilities of animation”, the organizers announced on last week.

The animation tells the story of an old man who witnesses a revolution in his country.

“Donetsk Vratarnitsa” by Natalia Batraeva from Russia received the Grand Prix of the festival, which was held from October 20 to 24.

A scene from “Bystander” by Sheida Kashi.

French couple exhibits 3,000 objects from World War OneBALMA, France (Reuters) — Vases carved out of shrapnel are displayed next to soldiers’ uniforms and a warplane fig-urine made out of the remains of a Zeppelin: welcome to the World War One-themed home of Chantal and Serge Giudice.

The two French collectors are preparing to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the war by opening up to visitors their home and the 3,000 or so objects it contains related to the 1914-1918 conflict.

The Giudices, from the town of Balma, near Toulouse in southwestern France, have been collecting the souvenirs for more than 20 years, a passion stemming from 56-year-old Chantal Giudice’s childhood.

“Instead of playing with dolls, I’ve always been surrounded by uniforms, military equipment,” she said. “That passion took me over and it has never left me since.”

Mannequins dressed in uniforms worn by soldiers and nurses during World War One are scattered around the house, in a collection that aims to recall the violence of the era, said her husband, Serge Giudice, 66.

Posters calling on troops to head to the trenches hang on the walls, next to figurines carved out by soldiers in the trenches from bullets and shells.

“With objects from the war, they succeeded in creating marvelous objects, true pieces of art,” Chantal Giudice said.

James Cromwell: There will be blood in the streets if Trump isn’t stopped

James Cromwell (AFF-USA/REX/Shutterstock)

Syria’s national museum reopens doors in Damascus