NA TION 21112WOMEN 10 SPORTS ART& CULT UREmedia.mehrnews.com/d/2016/08/15/0/2174682.pdf · desk POLITICS desk CULTURE desk TOURISM desk TEHRAN TIMES Iran’s Leading International

P O L I T I C Sd e s k


C U L T U R Ed e s k

T O U R I S Md e s k

TEHRAN TIMESIran’s Leading International Daily

Advertising Dept021 - 430 51 450Tel:[email protected]


WO

ME

N

NA

TI

ON

SP

OR

TS

AR

T&

CU

LT

UR

E

102 1 1 12A mother’s word on his son’s return from war

MP seeking constitutional amendment to allow more leeway to Iranian troops internationally

Iran’s Greco-Roman wrestler Abdevali wins bronze medal at Rio

Academy of Persian language grants honorary membership to Romanian diplomat

W W W . T E H R A N T I M E S . C O M I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

p

I L Y Iran supports intra-Yemeni political talks: advisor 2

12 Pages Price 10,000 Rials 38th year No.12625 Tuesday AUGUST 16, 2016 Mordad 26, 1395 Dhi Al Qaeda 13, 1437

Ambassador: Russia not saying Assad should stay forever or go right now

‘Erdogan is disappointed with the West’

TEHRAN — Levan Dzhagaryan, Moscow’s ambassador to Tehran, has appreciated the visit of the Turkish president to Russia, saying it marked a victory for the two countries and the regional countries as well.

Ambassador Dzhagaryan also said, “We do not say that Bashar al-Assad should stay forever or should go right now. It is the Syrians who should decide.”

The ambassador also said General Richard Shirreff, for-mer NATO’s deputy supreme allied commander in Europe, and former CIA acting director Michael Morell should un-dergo “psychotherapy” for making startling remarks.

In his new book, “2017 War with Russia,” General Shirr-eff has claimed that Russia, in order to escape encircle-ment by NATO, will seize territory in eastern Ukraine, open up a land corridor to Crimea and invade the Baltic states. In a recent interview, Morell also said U.S. policy in Syria should be to make Iran and Russia “pay a price” by arming local groups and instructing them to kill Iranian and Rus-sian personnel in the country.

“I am very worried about the health condition of this per-son (Richard Shirref) and I recommend that he see a psy-chotherapist. This holds true of the ex-CIA official whose interview was published by the CBS news agency,” Moscow’s top diplomat to Iran told the Tehran Times in his office on Thursday.

Following is the full text of the interview:

The Iranian Offshore Engineering and Construction Company (IOEC) is in talks with some renowned European companies for making joint venture in offshore projects, the IOEC managing director Abolqasem Rahmani told the Tehran Times in an exclusive interview on Monday.

“We need to improve our sites, yards and also our machinery. Therefore, we should make joint venture with some foreign companies to do so,” the official mentioned.

He also said that his company is one of the largest companies in the world in terms of offshore equipment, machin-

ery and vessels as well as manpower, noting that there are a few companies with such capabilities.

“There is no offshore company in the Middle East with a crane vessel ca-

pable of loading platforms weighing up to 4,500-5,000 tons, as we have,” the IOEC’s managing director high-lighted.

“We are also capable of laying about 2.5 kilometers of subsea pipes per day,” he added.

*** ‘Offshore industry’s great pro-gress during sanctions’

Iran’s offshore industry has experi-enced great progress over the past 10-12 years especially during the sanctions time, Rahmani said on Monday.

He made the remarks in a press conference which was held in the head-quarters of IOEC for briefing on Iran’s recent technological achievements in the offshore industry. 4

TEHRAN — About 1750 tourism infra-

structure projects are developing in Iran, the head of Iran’s Cultural Herit-age, Tourism and Handicraft Organiza-tion Masoud Soltanifar announced.

Iran welcomes foreign investors in the field of tourism industry and amongst these plan, 820 projects are hotels, he added.

Previously, Soltanifar announced that Iran will create some 140,000 job op-portunities in the field of tourism by the end of the next Iranian calendar year (March 2018).

He said that the organization has al-ready submitted some plans to create jobs in these fields to the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare.

Turkish investors will build ten hotels

in Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz, Tabriz and Mashhad, under the terms of an agree-ment with Iran signed during a Turkish delegation’s visit to Tehran in mid-May.

According to an agreement signed between CHTHO and German hospi-tality company, Steigenberger Hotel Group in late May, the company is set to build 10 hotels in different parts of Iran over the next ten years.

IOEC negotiating with European companies on offshore joint venture

Iran, Japan to jointly save Lake Urmia TEHRAN (Tasnim) — Iran plans to save the endangered Lake Urmia in northwest of the country in joint co-operation with Japanese experts, the secretary of Lake Urmia Revival Head-quarters said Monday.

At a press conference on Monday, Mo-hammad Masoud Tajrishi underlined the government’s determination to save one of the world’s largest saltwater lakes from disappearing, saying that a joint operation by Iranian and Japanese teams will be car-ried next week to that end.

He added that the teams will be tasked with reducing water loss in ar-eas surrounding the lake as much as possible, using pipes and proper water distribution network.

Tajrishi further said that the oper-ation will require farmers operating near the lake manage water consump-tion and help revive it.

As Lake Urmia is shrinking and de-serts of salt expanding, Iranian officials are trying to find ways to avert an im-minent disaster and to stop the salt lake from drying up.

One of the largest salt lakes in the world and classified as a Biosphere Re-serve by UNESCO, Lake Urmia has lost more than 60 percent of its surface over the last two decades due to drought and the damming of rivers feeding it.

The disappearance of the lake could leave behind billions of tons of salt which in turn displace millions of people and endanger the ecosystem of all surrounding areas, whose econ-omy relies on agriculture and tourism.

“Special Relativity” to compete in Zurich festival

TEHRAN — Iranian director Samaneh Zandinejad plans to stage a monologue

titled “Special Relativity” at Zurcher Theater Spektakel (ZTS), which will be held in Zurich, Switzerland from August 18 to September 4.

The 40-minute lecture performance has already secured both nominations for the ZKB Acknowledge-ment Prize and the ZKB Audience Prize, the or-ganizers have announced.

The monologue will be performed by Bahar Katu-

zi at the Rote Fabrik Foyer Hall on August 27.The ancient story of love, jealousy and pain of separation

in a scientific way is the dominate theme of the play that is named after Albert Einstein’s physical theory that explains the relationship between space and time.

The play centers on interpersonal matters and surging emotions that are allocated between fields of gravity and black holes only to be brought back to the terrestrial reality of the natural sciences with the help of Einstein’s theory.

Founded in 1980, the Zurcher Theater Spektakel has invit-ed about 40 individuals and theater companies from around the globe whose creations are marked by formal independ-ence, innovative character and artistic ambition.

S. Korea’s July Iran crude

imports jump over 285% y/y

South Korea’s crude imports from Iran rose further in July to be nearly four times the level of a year ago, and 5.9 percent higher than the previous month, after international sanctions were lifted on Tehran’s nuclear program.

Seoul brought in 1.10 million tons of Iranian crude oil last month, or 260,910 barrels per day (bpd), 285 percent above the 286,374 tons im-ported a year earlier when sanctions were imposed on Tehran, its customs office data showed on Monday.

The world’s fifth-largest crude im-porter shipped in 7.22 million tons of crude from the Middle Eastern country in the January-July period of 2016, or 248,616 bpd, versus 3.23 million tons in the same period in 2015, according to the data. That was more than dou-ble from a year ago.

Iranian oil sales may stay strong as the OPEC producer cut prices for August crude sales to Asia, the Med-iterranean and from the port of Sidi Kerir in Egypt, in a continuing effort to regain market share in these regions post-sanctions.

Hyundai Oilbank, South Korea’s small-est refiner by capacity, bought its first Iranian condensate cargoes of about 1.1 million barrels loading in June and August ahead of the start-up of its new 130,000-bpd splitter, two sources with knowledge of the matter said. 4

TEHRAN — Iran’s deputy foreign min-

ister for African and Arab affairs has hoped intensive negotiations between Tehran, Moscow, and Turkey will set the scene for a peaceful Syria, saying he

will be visiting Russia and Turkey in the near future to discuss regional develop-ments.

“We will keep exchanging views with our friends in Turkey, Russia, and other regional and international players which

can contribute to all to take a new path,” said Hossein Jaberi Ansari on Monday, speaking at a press conference after a meeting with his Russian counterpart Mikhail Bogdanov in Tehran.

2

Tehran hopes brainstorming with Russia, Turkey will end Syrian impasse

Over 1,700 tourism infrastructure projects being implemented in Iran

By Mahnaz AbdiINTERVIEW

By Negar Asadi and M.A. SakiEXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

TEHRAN — Irani-an Foreign Minister

Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday welcomed two newly-appointed am-bassadors to Tehran and gave a warm send-off to an outgoing ambassador, ISNA reported.

Australian Ambassador Ian David sub-mitted a copy of his credentials to Zarif, hailing Iran’s special position as the safest and most stable country in the region.

Zarif called on Australia’s new am-bassador to ramp up efforts to resolve the problems that Iranian immigrants face in the country.

David said he’s determined to do so under the framework of bilateral agree-ments.

In another meeting, Zarif welcomed

Yuri Ivanovic Lazarcic, the new ambas-sador to Tehran of Belarus.

The Belarusian ambassador empha-sized that he will make efforts to pro-mote economic relations between the two countries.

During the meeting, he also handed in a copy of his credentials to the Iranian foreign minister.

Zarif called for enhancement of bi-lateral ties between Iran and Belarus.

Iran’s chief diplomat also held a sepa-rate meeting with the outgoing ambassa-dor of Romania to Tehran, Cristian Teodo-rescu, giving him a warm send-off.

Zarif highlighted the constructive re-lations between the two nations, urging closer ties with Romania.

Following the signing of a nuclear pact between Iran and six world powers on Tehran’s nuclear program, foreign countries have been seeking closer ties with the Middle East powerhouse, try-ing to upgrade bilateral ties at all politi-cal and economic domains.

Zarif welcomes two ambassadors, sees off one

‘Yemeni parliament session is result of resistance, prudence’

TEHRAN — Iranian Majlis Speaker on Monday praised the Yemeni parliament

which succeeded to convene after nearly two years of clo-sure, saying it was the result of “resistance” and “prudence” by the country’s revolutionary forces.

“I am glad that Yemen’s parliament has been con-vened after two years of closure and it is the revolution-ary Yemeni officials’ prudence who (helped) convene the parliament in line with organizing the situation in their county,” Larijani said in a ceremony held to commemo-rate war prisoners.

Saudi Arabia has been bombarding Yemen for about 17 months, destroying the country’s economic infrastructure, yet the Yemenis’ resistance against invaders has reached a result, he noted.

He also said countries in the Middle East region are com-ing to their senses under the influence of the Islamic Revo-lution in Iran.

Yemen’s parliament held on Saturday its first session since the outbreak of conflict in the Arab country almost two years ago.

According to Press TV, the conflict in Yemen have killed around 10,000 people while hundreds remain displaced across the country. Most of the casualties have been caused by Saudi Arabia’s relentless air campaign against Yemen, which started in March 2015.

See page 2

iew was published by CBS news agency,” ow’s top diplomat an told the Tehran in his office on day.llowing is ull text of terview:

page 2

Teh

ran

Tim

es/M

oham

mad

Rez

a Ab

basi

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif meets Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov in Tehran on Monday.

Australian Ambassador Ian David submitted a copy of his credentials to Foreign Minister Zarif.

1 “Iran and Turkey agreed to continue negotiations. I also will visit Russia soon.”

Turkey used to be at odds with Iran and Russia over Syria. While Tehran and Mos-cow espouse Bashar al-Assad as Syria’s president, Ankara was less well-disposed toward the current Syrian government at least until before the July coup in Turkey.

However, Ankara has recently been mend-ing fences with Russia, showing more flexibil-ity to a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis.

Ansari also warned all regional and in-ternational players against prolongation of the current situation in Syria.

“The prolongation of the crisis benefits none of the regional countries and even international ones who may think the cur-rent situation is in their interest.”

“Some regional players see continua-tion of conflict and domestic confronta-tions in the region in their interest, making it difficult to reach a complete consensus, but if a consensus between the bulk of players is achieved, it paves the way for finding a way out of the deadlock.”

‘Multi-pronged effort being made’Elsewhere in his remarks, Jaberi Ansari

stressed that rather than form blocs and coalitions, Tehran sees it of paramount importance to find a common ground to build upon to halt the crisis.

“We are not necessarily seeking coali-tions, frameworks, and cliques. Iran is doing

its best to reach at a mutual understand-ing based on principles shared by other regional and international players or most of them,” the Iranian diplomat pointed out.

Elements of this common understanding will prevent fragmentation of Syria, including “keep-

ing the territorial integrity of Syria, a nationally united sovereignty, formation of a national gov-ernment, and respect for the Syrian people’s right to determine their fate,” Ansari pointed out.

“A multi-pronged effort is being made in the region as it has been the case previ-ously, of course,” he said, rejecting that the negotiations should be taken to mean talks with UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura has reached a standstill.

Regional development discussed with Russian envoy

On themes of his meeting with Bog-danov, the Iranian diplomat said, “In the meeting a range of issues related to the lat-est regional developments in western Asian and northern Africa were discussed.”

“The latest developments in Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, and Palestine were dis-cussed in the meeting.” “Iran and Russia follow a policy of peacefully resolving cur-rent regional challenges ...,” he stressed.

The Russian deputy foreign minister also talked to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday, stressing the impor-tance of closer consultation between Iran and Russia on ways to resolve the crisis in Syria.

TEHRAN — Hossein Amir-Abdollahi-an, a foreign policy advisor to the Ira-

nian parliament speaker, on Monday reiterated Tehran’s position that Iran supports political talks among the Yem-eni opposition groups without any foreign interference.

“Problems in Yemen can simply be resolved political-ly,” Amir-Abdollahian said during a meeting with a visit-ing Yemeni political delegation.

Amir-Abdollahian also condemned Saudi Arabia’s war on Yemen, praising the Yemeni people’s resist-ance against the Saudi aggression which started in March 2015.

“The Yemeni nation have defended their independ-ence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and national unity in military, economic and diplomatic areas,” he explained.

In the newest Saudi-led airstrikes on Yemen at least 10 children have been killed and 28 others injured, Sky News reported on Sunday.

A spokesman for the Paris-based Medecins Sans Frontieres said the airstrike hit a school in the northwest-ern town of Haydan in Saada province.

“We received 10 dead children and 28 wounded, all under the age of 15, who are victims of airstrikes,” the aid agency spokesman Malak Shaher said.

Amir-Abdollahian advised Saudi Arabia to stop its

war on Yemen.He also congratulated Yemenis for holding the first

session of their parliament.“Parliaments are symbol of democracy in countries

and holding the Yemeni parliament session sent the world this clear message that the political leaders and the Yemenis guard their territorial integrity and national unity,” he explained.

Holding the first session of the parliament can help expand relations of the country with the world, he said.

Amir-Abdollahian added that Iran’s parliament wel-comes expansion of ties with the Yemeni parliament.

Head of the Yemeni delegation slammed economic blockade of their country and inhuman actions being taken against the Yemeni people, especially women and the children.

He also called for expansion of parliamentary ties be-tween Iran and Yemen.

Yemen’s parliament held on Saturday its first session since the outbreak of conflict in the Arab country almost two years ago.

TEHRAN — A member of the Iranian parlia-

ment’s National Security and Foreign Poli-cy committee has called for amendments to Article 30 of the Constitution, seeking more latitude for international engage-ment of the Iranian troops.

“Under the article (Article 30 of the Constitution), the armed forces have to co-ordinate all their actions with the Foreign Ministry on foreign affairs, and this is totally wrong” said Heshmatollah Falahat-Pisheh on Monday, speaking of loopholes in the sixth five-year development plan bill.

According to Chapter 13th of the Ira-nian Constitution, which the Iranians sup-

ported in a referendum held two months after the 1979 Revolution, a council is responsible with addressing internal and external threats to the country.

The Foreign Ministry features in the body, the chapter stipulates.

“The problem with Article 30 is that the armed forces, in compliance with the Con-stitution, have important responsibilities in connection with international and foreign relations besides internal missions,” added the parliamentarian who survived an as-sassination attempt in July.

He, however, did not elaborate on what he meant by “international and for-eign relations.”

Iran has two distinctive armed forces: a regular army serving as a national defense muscle, and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) that was formed after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Beside guarding territorial borders, the forces have to take on missions world-wide to fight for the rule of the divine law.

Also, as a constitutional right, the IRGC has to protect the Islamic Republic against both internal and external threats.

“Nowhere in the world is this the case that the armed forces act in coordination with the foreign ministry when it comes to conducting intrinsic missions,” Fala-hat-Pisheh explained. “This is unaccept-

able to say that armed forces have to move forward in coordination with the foreign ministry.”

The parliamentarian said the subject was being considered at the security com-mittee of the parliament.

Ever since 1988, after almost eight years of defending the country against the Iraqi army under Saddam Hussein, the Iranian armed forces have not been engaged di-rectly on the battlefield.

However, Tehran has been backing Syria and Iraq with advisory teams in a bid to help them re-take vast swathes to their lands captured by Daesh over the past years.

1 How do you see the prospect of economic and political ties between Russia and Iran?

A: I am and have been very optimistic. Soon, it will be five years that I have been serving as Russia’s ambassa-dor to Iran and seeing that the two countries have made many efforts to expand cooperation. The two countries’ presidential-level meetings have played an important role in this respect, especially the recent meeting in Baku (August 8). We have some very important projects and we hope the projects would be implemented before the end of the year. The issue will be discussed in the future meeting of the joint economic committee.

Can it be expected that Russia will sell Sukhoi SU-30 to Iran?

A: The two countries have military cooperation, but Russia observes both Russia’ law and commitments based on the UN Security Council resolutions as we are meeting our obligations regarding S300 (S-300 surface-to-air defense system). I hope that system will be deliv-ered to Iran completely by the end of the current year.

Have any steps been taken to use “rial” and “ruble” for payments?

A: We have discussed the issue a lot. Some of the Rus-sian small banks are working on the issue and there a branch of Bank Melli Iran (The Central Bank of Iran) in Mos-cow which is, to some extent, active in this area. I think that we have many capacities far beyond the current situation.

Is there any plan to waive visa for tourists vis-iting the other country?

A: Currently, tourists face no difficulty to obtain visa. We issued 35,000 visas last year. It is not necessary for Iranian tourists to come to the embassy in person to put in a visa

request. An operator from the tourism agency can give the embassy passports and visas would be issued in a few days. There are many Iranian tourists in a city like Saint Peters-burg who have received visa without any problems.

Ali Akbar Salehi, the chief of the Atomic Ener-gy Organization of Iran, has said that his organiza-tion is waiting for presidents of the two countries to okay starting construction of two new nuclear plants in Bushehr. What are the impediments?

A: Russia sees no obstruction in this respect. Nikolai Spassky, Rosatom’s deputy head, visited Iran a few days ago and met with Salehi and Behrooz Kamalvandi, spokes-man for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. Rouhani and Putin discussed the issue during their meeting in Baku. There are some important and sensitive issues that should be resolved and I do not go into the details.

Putin has welcomed creation of a free trade zone between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Un-ion. Is it possible to imagine that a new economic and political bloc is taking shape in the region?

A: I am very upbeat about the issue. Iranian Com-munications and Information Technology Minister Mahmoud Vaezi visited Moscow and Astrakhan a few weeks ago and held talks with Minister of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission Veronica Nikishina on the issue. A delegation from the Union may take a trip to Iran this year. However, the Union has five member states, so the issue is not something bilateral.

How do you assess the visit of Turkish Presi-dent Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Russia?

A: This was a turning point in bilateral ties after Er-dogan’s written apology call to Russia. We are optimistic about the continuation of bilateral cooperation. We will continue cooperation in providing Turkey with gas and transfer gas to third countries through Turkey, because we do not trust Ukraine as transit route.

Erdogan’s trip to Russia is a victory for both countries as well as also other countries in the region.

Don’t you think that Erdogan is disappointed by the West?

A: Yes, if you follow Erdogan’s speeches, you will notice that he is disappointed with the West’s policies. In one of his speeches, he said that the U.S. must choose between Tur-key or terrorists. It is a very difficult situation for the U.S., be-cause Turkey is a key member of NATO and has a powerful army. Also, NATO needs economic and military capabilities of Turkey. We have discussed the Syrian conflict with Turkey. We expect Turkey to change its stance on Syria. 9

AUGUST 16, 2016AUGUST 16, 20162I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

h t t p : / / w w w . t e h r a n t i m e s . c o m / i n t e r n a t i o n a lN A T I O N

MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

TEHRAN — The commander of Iran’s railroad police has an-

nounced plans for the formation of a dog squad to help the forces fight drugs trafficking.

General Alireza Akbarshahi said on Monday that the railroad police is already using the canines trained by the Police Special Forces on a limited scale, Nasim reported.

Upon approval by senior commanders, the rail-road police will have its own dog squad to improve the capabilities in the war on narcotics, he said.

Train stations to use sniffer dogs to find drugs

U.S. withheld sanctions, handed out lollipop: Iranian official

TEHRAN — The director of Iran’s High Council for Human Rights

believes the United States has “handed lollipops” to Iran instead of removing the sanctions on the country.

In an interview with Tasnim published on Monday, Mohammad Javad Larijani also predicted that Iran “should be waiting for very huge American sanctions”.

He added, “The Foreign Ministry will have harsh days ahead to sue America.”

Zarif: Lebanon’s victory in 2006 war was ‘source of pride’

TEHRAN — The Iranian foreign minister has congratulated Leba-

non on the anniversary of the victory of the coun-try in a 2006 war waged by Israel, describing the triumph as a “source of pride for Muslim and free-dom-seeking nations in the world”.

In two separate letters sent to Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil and Hezbollah chief Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah on Sunday, Mohammad Jazad Zarif congratulated them as well as the Lebanese people and government on the 10th anniversary of Lebanon’s victory in the 33-day war, Press TV reported.

‘Republicans, Democrats alike still threaten Iran’

TEHRAN — The 2015 Iran nuclear deal should have curbed the long-

standing bellicose rhetoric coming from America’s Republican and Democratic political leaders toward the Islamic Republic, a Catholic website has reported.

However, the Republican and Democratic plat-forms adopted at their respective conventions last month are both more belligerent toward Iran than they were four years ago, NCR Online said in an article published on Monday.

Ahmadinejad, Qalibaf seems to run for president: ex-minister

TEHRAN — The behavior of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and

Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf implies that they are going to run for the upcoming presidential elec-tions, a former minister says.

Reza Taqipour, minister of ICT under Ahmadine-jad, told ISNA in an interview published on Monday that he may not consider Ahmadinejad’s candidacy as “expedient”, but “Qalibaf is one of the successful officials of the Islamic Republic.”

Rouhani says 250 distinguished Iranians back home in 18 monthsTEHRAN — President Hassan Rouhani has said 250 Iranians dis-

tinguished in science have returned home from foreign countries over the past 18 months.

Most of these brilliant scientific figures are now been working in the country’s knowledge-based com-panies or have established such companies, Rouhani was quoted by Eqtesad Online as saying on Monday.

Iran supports intera-Yemeni political talks: advisor

MP seeking constitutional amendment to allow more leeway to Iranian troops internationally

Ambassador: Russia not saying Assad should stay forever or go right nowEx-NATO’s Shirref and ex-CIA’s Morell should undergo ‘psychotherapy’, diplomat says




TEHRAN — The Monafeqin (hypocrites) cannot be cleansed

of their crimes, Iran’s Judiciary chief said on Mon-day in reference to a recently published voice re-cording of Hossein-Ali Montazeri.

Sadeq Amoli Larijani made request to Imam Khomeini’s household to “come to the stage and crush satanic chants,” ILNA reported.

Judiciary chief says Monafeqin cannot be cleansed







Tehran hopes brainstorming with Russia, Turkey will end Syrian impasse

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, foreign policy advisor to Iranian parliament speaker

Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari (L) meets with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov (R)

Dzhagaryan calls Erdogan’s trip to Saint Petersburg victory for Turkey, Russia

Taliban capture key district in Afghan northTaliban insurgents, seeking to force the NATO-led coalition out of Afghanistan, captured a key district in the northern province of Baghlan after days of fighting, officials said on Monday.

Fighting has escalated in Afghanistan as the Taliban insur-gency spreads from its traditional strongholds in the south and east of the country to once peaceful regions in the north.

Despite air support from U.S. and Afghan warplanes, gov-ernment troops are struggling against the resilient Taliban, with senior government officials saying the insurgents are becoming better trained and equipped.

Amir Gul Hussainkhil, deputy police chief of Baghlan, said Dahan-e-Ghori district was under siege for days and the Tali-ban managed to seize it late on Sunday as dozens of Afghan forces made “a tactical retreat”.

The district is next to the provincial capital of Pol-e-Khom-ri, which has been threatened by insurgents for months.

“Afghan forces fought for days but no help arrived and they had to retreat and the Taliban captured the district,” Hussainkhil told Reuters, adding that five Afghan police were killed.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the fighters captured the district and hoisted their white flag.

“Many Afghan and militia forces have been killed and 33 soldiers are captured,” Mujahid said in an email statement to media.

Both sides often release casualty figures without inde-pendent verification.

Baghlan borders Kunduz province, where the Taliban brief-ly captured a provincial capital last year for the first time since they were ousted by a U.S.-led operation in 2001.

In the southern province of Helmand, there has been fighting in four districts as Afghan forces hold off insurgents advancing on the provincial capital, government officials said.

In Nuristan province in the east, dozens of Taliban at-tacked Want Waygal district as Afghan forces killed 40 mili-tants during days of fighting, according to officials.

(Source: Reuters)

Republican Party launches pro-Trump campaign in IsraelThe Republican Party launched its first ever election campaign in Occupied Territories (Israel) on Monday, trying to convince skeptical American-Israeli dual citizens to cast their votes for Donald Trump.

GOP activists campaigned in Israeli cities with high concen-trations of Americans, such as Jerusalem, Modiin and Raana-na, handing out stickers and buttons with the slogan "Trump – in Israel's interest" – in Hebrew and in English.

Marc Zell, co-chairman of Republicans Overseas Israel, said about 100,000 Israelis voted in the last presidential election, with some 85 per-cent going Republican. He said the goal was to tap into many more of the poten-tial 300,000-400,000 voters in the country, particularly those who have never voted before.

"We want to convince them, through our campaign, that it is important for them to vote, that they are doing a service for Israel, kind of like doing (military) reserve duty from their own home by voting for the Republican candidate who's really got Israel's interest at heart," he said.

Trump remains a controversial candidate in Israel. He has suggested in the past that he would be more "neutral" regard-ing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and that, as president, he may scale back foreign aid, of which Israel is a major recipient.

He's also been accused of failing to disavow anti-Semitic rhetoric among his supporters and espousing an anti-immi-grant stance that is grating to many Jews.

Trump has drawn criticism from some American Jews for comments last year to a gathering of Jewish donors. He was booed after refusing to endorse Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel – a key Israeli position. Some of his other com-ments were seen by some as promoting Jewish stereotypes. He was forced to cancel a planned trip to Israel late last year after an uproar over some of his comments.

Zell insists the Israeli overseas vote is far more than sym-bolic.

"In the year 2000, we had an election where the president of the United States was decided by 537 votes in southern Florida. In Israel we had 1,500 Republican votes for George Bush in that election from southern Florida," he said. "So the impact that we could have in a close election could be very dramatic." (Source: AFP)

AUGUST 16, 2016AUGUST 16, 2016 INTERNATIONALh t t p : / / w w w . t e h r a n t i m e s . c o m / i n t e r n a t i o n a l 3I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

While agreeing that three-hour cease-fires are not enough to alleviate the hu-manitarian crises in Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov pointed out that earlier short-term truces had only helped terrorists replenish munitions and their ranks.

“The main issue is not that there’s an-yone unwilling to alleviate the humani-tarian situation, but it is of utmost impor-tance that terrorists would not be getting reinforced with militants, guns and muni-tion supplies under the humanitarian aid disguise,” Lavrov said.

The Russian FM said that Moscow and Washington had managed to enforce 48-hour or 72-hour truces in various parts of Syria before.

“The main results of those pauses was an insignificant relief in the humanitari-an situation, while terrorists added 7,000 people to their ranks, not to mention huge amounts of arms and munitions they received,” he said.

Lavrov made the remarks at a press conference following a meeting with his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Stein-meier, at Urals Federal University in Yeka-terinburg on Monday.

Steinmeier, who stressed Russia’s “spe-cial responsibility for Aleppo, especially when it comes to providing humanitarian access,” urged for a longer ceasefire in Syria’s besieged northern city.

“Aleppo residents are going through a real humanitarian catastrophe,” he said.

“The city is constantly shelled, this cannot continue. We need to have a constant humanitarian corridor.”

Lavrov noted that a plan to drop supplies from the air being discussed in the West does not appear very realistic, while stressing that such a step should be agreed upon with the official Syrian government. He added that Moscow will continue to discuss other measures, in addition to already operational human-itarian corridors, with the Syria Support Group (SSG) and the U.S.

Russia ready to provide more evidence of Ukrainian incursions into Crimea

As tensions have increased around Crimea in recent days, Lavrov said he

does not believe that raising the stakes in Russia-Ukraine relations would help reconciliation.

“I do not think we are in a situation when someone is interested in breaking diplomatic relations. These are extreme measures,” he noted.

Russia has “serious concerns” over recent developments in Ukraine, per se, Lavrov said, while proposing that both Russia and Germany unite their efforts to resolve the conflict and “synchronize steps” to implement the Minsk agree-ment, “including in political process and political reform [in Ukraine].”

‘NATO’s eastward push divides Europe’

Russian-German relations have now

hit their lowest levels since the German reunification of 1990, Lavrov said, adding that “NATO’s policy to move eastward at any cost deepens division lines in Eu-rope.”

Russia’s top diplomat said the bloc seems to be unwilling to restore dialogue with Moscow. “The Russia-NATO Council [format] is frozen. The fact that a couple of ambassadorial meetings took place changed nothing. NATO does not want to discuss restoring relations.”

He stressed that it was not Russia that had decided to break ties, adding that “our Western colleagues have admitted that it was a mistake.”

Lavrov said Russia is determined to revive dialogue, even on its own: “At the Russia-NATO Council meeting last month, we came up with specific propos-als to restore military cooperation, first of all, and to build trust in that regard.”

He was optimistic about Russia’s rela-tions with the EU.

“Europe is becoming increasingly confident that there is no alternative to normalization of relations [between Rus-sia and the EU] and reviving cooperation mechanisms,” he said.

The Russia’s foreign minister also noted that “Germany is our key partner, not only in European affairs, but also in tackling the global challenges of today, including conflict resolution, combatting international terrorism, and extremism.”

(Source: RT)

Turkey could walk away from its promise to stem the flow of illegal migrants to Europe if the European Union fails to grant Turks visa-free travel to the bloc in Octo-ber, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told a German newspaper.

His comments in Bild's Monday edition coincide with rising tension between Ankara and the West following the July 15 failed coup attempt. Turkey is incensed by what it sees as an insensitive response from Western allies to the failed putsch in which 240 people, many of them civilians, were killed.

Europe and the United States have been worried by the crackdown following the coup. Some Western gov-ernments are concerned this could affect stability in the NATO member and suspect that President Tayyip Erdo-gan is using the purges as an excuse to quash dissent.

Asked whether hundreds of thousands of refugees in Turkey would head to Europe if the EU did not grant Turks visa freedom from October, Cavusoglu told Bild: "I don't want to talk about the worst case scenario - talks with the EU are continuing but it's clear that we ei-ther apply all treaties at the same time or we put them all aside."

Visa-free access to the EU - the main reward for Ankara's collaboration in choking off an influx of mi-grants into Europe - has been subject to delays due to a dispute over Turkish anti-terrorism legislation, as well as Ankara's crackdown.

Brussels wants Turkey to soften the anti-terrorism law, which Ankara says it cannot change, given mul-tiple security threats which include ISIL terrorist group militants in neighboring Syria and Kurdish militants in its mainly Kurdish southeast.

European Commissioner Guenther Oettinger has

said he does not see the EU granting Turks visa-free travel this year due to Ankara's crackdown after the failed military coup.

Cavusoglu said treaties laid out that all Turks would get visa freedom in October, adding: "It can't be that we implement everything that is good for the EU but that Turkey gets nothing in return."

A spokesman for the European Commission de-clined to comment on the interview directly but said the EU continued to work together with Turkey in all areas of cooperation.

Thousands detainedSelim Yenel, Turkey's ambassador to the EU, said last

week that efforts were continuing to find a compro-mise with the EU on visa liberalization and he thought it would be possible to handle this in 2016.

Since the coup, more than 35,000 people have been detained, of whom 17,000 have been placed under for-mal arrest, and tens of thousands more suspended. Turkish authorities blame the failed putsch on U.S.-

based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen and his followers.Amid rising tension with the West, Turkey has sought

to normalize relations with Russia, sparking fears in the West that Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Pu-tin might use a rapprochement to exert pressure on Washington and the EU and stir tensions within NATO.

Asked if Turkey would leave NATO, Cavusoglu told Bild that while Turkey remained one of the biggest sup-porters of the 28-nation Western alliance, it was also looking at other options.

"But it's clear that we also need to cooperate with other partners on buying and selling weapon systems because some NATO partners refuse to allow us to sell air defense systems for example or to exchange infor-mation," he said.

Over the weekend, Turkey summoned Austria's charge d'affaires in Ankara over what it said it was an "indecent report" about Turkey on a news ticker at Vi-enna airport.

"Turkey allows sex with children under the age of 15," read a headline on an electronic news ticker at the airport, images circulated on social media showed.

In a statement, Turkey's foreign ministry said it was "regrettable" that an international airport at the heart of Europe was used as "a tool ... in spreading such irre-sponsible, twisted and inaccurate messages".

It said the publication of such "slandering" news re-ports were encouraged by recent comments from Aus-trian politicians.

Cavusoglu this month referred to Austria as the "capital of radical racism" after Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern suggested ending EU accession talks with Turkey.

(Source: Reuters)

Dozens of U.S. nuclear weapons stored at a Turkish air base near Syria are at risk of being captured by "terrorists or other hostile forces," a Washington think tank claimed Monday.

Critics have long been alarmed by America's estimated stockpile of about 50 nuclear bombs at Incirlik in south-ern Turkey, just 70 miles (110 kilometers) from the border with war-torn Syria.

The issue took on fresh urgency last month following the attempted coup in Turkey, in which the base's Turkish com-mander was arrested on suspicion of complicity in the plot.

"Whether the U.S. could have main-tained control of the weapons in the event of a protracted civil conflict in Turkey is an unanswerable question," said Monday's report from the Stimson Center, a nonpartisan think tank work-ing to promote peace.

Incirlik is a vital base for the U.S.-led coalition fighting the ISIL terrorist group in Iraq and Syria, with the strate-gically located facility affording drones and warplanes fast access to IS targets.

But the Pentagon in March ordered families of U.S. troops and civilian per-sonnel stationed in southern Turkey to quit the region due to security fears.

"From a security point of view, it's

a roll of the dice to continue to have approximately 50 of America's nuclear weapons stationed at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey," report co-author Laicie Heeley said.

"There are significant safeguards in place. ... But safeguards are just that, they don't eliminate risk. In the event of a coup, we can't say for certain that we would have been able to maintain control," she told AFP.

'Avoided disaster so far' -While the Pentagon does not dis-

cuss where it stores nuclear assets, the bombs are believed to be kept at Incirlik as a deterrent to Russia and to demonstrate America's commitment to

NATO, the 28-member military alliance that includes Turkey.

The Incirlik nuke issue has been the subject of renewed debate in the Unit-ed States since the coup attempt.

"While we've avoided disaster so far, we have ample evidence that the security of U.S. nuclear weapons stored in Turkey can change literally overnight," Steve An-dreasen, director for defense policy and arms control on the White House Na-tional Security Council staff from 1993 to 2001, wrote in an opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times last week.

Kori Schake, a fellow at the Califor-nia-based Hoover Institution, noted in a written debate in the New York Times

that "American nuclear forces cannot be used without codes, making the weapons impossible to set off without authorization."

"The fact that nuclear weapons are stationed in Turkey does not make them vulnerable to capture and use, even if the country were to turn hostile to the United States," she argued.

The Pentagon declined to comment on questions arising from the Stimson study.

"We do not discuss the location of strategic assets. The (Department of Defense) has taken appropriate steps to maintain the safety and security of our personnel, their families, and our facilities, and we will continue to do so," it said in a statement.

The Incirlik concerns were highlight-ed as part of a broader paper into the Pentagon's nuclear modernization pro-gram, through which the United States would spend hundreds of billions of dollars to update its atomic arsenal.

The authors argue that a particular type of bomb -- the B61 gravity bomb -- should be immediately removed from Europe, where 180 of the weapons are kept in Belgium, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and Turkey.

(Source: AFP)

Main results of Syria truces: Terrorists add 7,000 to ranks, get arms & munitions: Lavrov

Give us EU visa freedom in October or abandon migrant deal, Turkey says

U.S. nukes at Turkey base at risk of seizure: report

J U M P

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

E C O N O M Y h t t p : / / w w w . t e h r a n t i m e s . c o m / e c o n o m yAUGUST 16, AUGUST 16, 20162016

China signals growth, not political disputes, should dominate G20

Gold losing appeal for investors retreating from rally betInvestors are growing more skeptical of gold’s lasting luster. Hedge funds and other speculators cut their wa-gers on a bullion rally for the fourth time in five weeks. As traders tire, the metal’s 30-day historical volatility has dropped to the lowest since Novem-ber. Open interest is also on the de-cline.

After stunning gains to start the year, bullion has started to lose its momentum. Prices are down about 1 percent in August as the U.S. econo-my picks up steam, damping demand for a haven.

The net-long position in gold fu-tures and options fell 4.3 percent to 255,773 contracts in the week ended Aug. 9, according to Commodity Fu-tures Trading Commission data re-leased three days later. The holdings have dropped 11 percent since July 5, when they reached an all-time high of 286,921.

Bullion has retreated 2.5 percent since reaching a two-year high on July 6 on the Comex in New York to trade at $1,343.40 an ounce on Mon-day. Open interest, a tally of outstand-ing contracts in Comex futures, has

slumped 13 percent since touching a July peak.

Interest in gold has diminished as equity markets took off. The Standard & Poor ’s 500 Index of shares reached a fresh all-time high last week. Assets in SPDR Gold Shares, the world’s big-gest exchange-traded product backed by the metal, have declined in three of the past five weeks.

Higher rates cut the appeal of gold, which doesn’t pay interest or offer dividends like assets such as bonds or equities. Traders are betting that there’s a 42 percent chance the Fed will raise rates by the end of the year, up from 12 percent at the start of July.

And outside the U.S., the growth picture isn’t rosy. The Bank of England continued its second week of bond purchases after cutting interest rates for the first time in seven years, boost-ing the outlook for more stimulus from one of the world’s biggest economies. Japan and Europe also continue to embrace measures to support the economy. Bullion reached a record in 2011 amid unprecedented stimulus from the world’s central banks.

(Source: Bloomberg)

China expects next month's summit of the G20 which it is hosting will focus on boosting economic growth and other financial issues rather than disputes like the South China Sea, senior officials said on Monday.

The summit of the world's 20 biggest economies in the eastern city of Hang-zhou will be the highlight of President Xi Jinping's diplomatic agenda this year, and the government is keen to ensure it proceeds smoothly.

The September 4-5 leaders' meeting comes as clouds continue to hover over global growth prospects and worries about China's own slowing economy.

Last month's meeting of G20 policy-makers was dominated by the impact of Britain's exit from Europe and fears of rising protectionism.

Yi Gang, a vice governor of the Peo-ple's Bank of China, said the summit will focus on how to stimulate sluggish global economic growth through open, inclusive trade and the development of robust financial markets.

"We need to instil market confidence and ensure there are no competitive devaluations but rather let the market determine exchange rates," Yi told a

news briefing, adding this would be the first G20 to discuss foreign exchange markets in such detail.

The G20 will also discuss how to bet-ter monitor and respond to risks pre-sented by global capital flows, he said.

Despite increasingly protection-ist rhetoric around the world, the G20 is strongly opposed to anti-trade and anti-investment sentiment, Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao said.

"We really do need to make sure that the people, the public, benefit from economic development and growth. If people don't feel like they are ben-eficiaries of economic development, if they don't think their lot in life is improv-ing, that's when they start getting all kinds of ideas."

But meetings between Xi and the leaders of countries including the United States, Japan, South Korea and Australia are all also expected to touch upon tricky subjects such as China's in-creasingly assertive moves in the South China Sea, diplomats say.

China has refused to recognize an international court ruling over its claims there in a case brought by the Philippines. (Source: Reuters)

NE

WS

IN B

RIE

F Pharmaceutical supplier Lonza of Switzerland says it is buying InterHealth Nutraceuticals, Inc., a California-based company that makes ingre-dients for use in dietary supplements, in a deal worth up to $300 million.

InterHealth, a portfolio company of Kainos Capital, is based in Benicia, California. Lonza said Monday that the deal is expected to close in September and will have an immediate posi-tive impact on its earnings.

Lonza says InterHealth has a range of over 15 branded ingredients and the acquisition will complement its own sports nutrition, weight-loss and pet health offerings among others.

Royal Bank of Scotland would move its main office from Scotland if the nation were to split from the UK after Britain's vote to leave the European Union, although moving domicile would not mean major job losses, the head of RBS has said.

"The Royal Bank of Scotland would just be too big for the economy (...) but that's around the plaque and not about where our people (are) because we have a very big business up here in Scotland," Chief Executive Ross McEwen told the BBC in an interview.

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) sees technology companies driving a revival in new Asian listings and expects double-digit IPOs through the end of 2017 from the region, the exchange's global head of capital markets said in an interview.

New listings should start picking up pace in the next months after a slow first half of the year, said Garvis Toler, Indonesia, Hong Kong and mainland China.

NYSE is betting that technology companies that have raised billions of dollars in private markets would lead the rebound.

IOEC negotiating with European companies on offshore joint venture

NE

WS

IN B

RIE

F

Swiss Lonza buys US diet supplement supplier InterHealth

RBS says main office would move if Scotland were independent: BBC

NYSE sees double-digit Asian IPOs through 2017, with focus on tech

SNIPPETSIran’s power generation capacity reaches 75,365 MW

Quarterly GDP growth at 4.4% in Iran

Billion-dollar petchem complex project launched in Iran

Capacity of daily gasoil export from Iran stands at 20m liters

Industrial export from Iran rises 21.1% in 4 months

TEHRAN – With a new 166-meg-awatt (MW) gas power plant go-

ing operational in August, Iran’s nominal electricity generation capacity reached 75,365 MW, Tasnim news agency reported on Monday.

According to the report, having the new plant in the grid, the total capacity of the country’s gas power plants also reached 26,760 MW.

Iran's nominal power generation capacity stands at around 75,365, with 15,829 MW coming from steam power plants, 11,291 MW from hydroelectric plants and only 1,020 MW from nuclear power.

TEHRAN – According to Iran Statistics Center, the country’s

gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 4.4 percent in the first quarter of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 20, 2016),IRIB news agency re-ported on Monday.

Based on the data, during the mentioned period agriculture grew 4%, industry grew 8.8 percent and the growth rate for services sphere was 2.9 percent.

It is worth mentioning that the country’s non-oil gross domestic product growth stood at 2.9 per-cent alone.

TEHRAN – The cornerstone for a nearly $1 billion petrochemi-

cal project was laid in Kohgilouyeh-Boyer-Ahmad Province, south-west of Iran, IRNA reported on Monday.

The Gachsaran petrochemical 2 project was launched on the sidelines of president Rouhani’s visit to the southwestern province.

According to an official, the project will create 432 job opportunities and the production capacity of the complex for the first phase will be 5000 tons of formic acid and 4500 tons of methyl acetate.

TEHRAN — Iranian Deputy Oil Minister for Refining and Distri-

bution of Oil Products Abbas Kazemi said on Mon-day that the Islamic Republic enjoys the capacity to export 20 million liters of gasoil per day.

As Kazemi told Shana news agency, Iran export-ed 13.5 million liters of gasoil a day during the first three months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20- June 20, 2016), while the country has the capacity to increase its gasoil export up to 20 million liters a day.

He added that the Islamic Republic could man-age to export about 50 million liters of fuel oil in the said time span.

TEHRAN — “Exports of Iran’s in-dustrial goods, excluding those of

oil and gas condensate, witnessed a 21.1 percent hike in the first four months of the present Iranian calen-dar year (March 20- July 21, 2016),” Iranian Deputy Minister of Industry, Mining and Trade Mohsen Sale-hinia announced in a press conference on Monday.

According to him, Iran’s mining sector experi-enced a 64 percent rise in its exports and the petro-chemical sector saw a 40 percent exports increase in the mentioned time, IRNA reported.

ECONOMYd e s k

ECONOMYd e s k

ECONOMYd e s k

ECONOMYd e s k

ECONOMYd e s k

ECONOMYd e s k

1 “We have become so strong that now we can

load two 3,000-ton offshore platforms and install them in their designated spots during ten days,” the official noted.

‘Achieving deep-water seismological data analysis tech.’

Addressing the same conference, Seyed Saleh Hendi, the director for exploration in the Nation-al Iranian Oil Company, announced that Iran has achieved the technology of seismological data analysis for oil and gas exploration in deep waters.

He said that there are a limited number of com-panies in the world that have such technology and they conduct related study and analysis for other companies at a very high cost.

The official also noted, “We don’t expect any more discovery of large reserves such as Azadegan oil field [shared with Iraq] and South Pars gas field [shared with Qatar in the Persian Gulf ], while we should explore smaller deposits which is now one of our prioritized plans.”

‘5 offshore platforms to be installed by Mar. 2017’

Mohammadreza Bahari, the deputy managing director of IOEC for offshore affairs, for his part an-nounced that five offshore platforms are scheduled to be installed by the company by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2017).

He said, “We have already 27 vessels operating in the country’s waters, although we have the re-cord of 35 vessels.”

Stressing that deep-water operation is atop agenda, the official stated, “We should move more toward exploring in the waters with the depth of up

to 800-1000 meters both in terms of digging and pipe laying.”

TEHRAN — Iranian Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Ali Tayyeb-

nia, leading an economic-cultural delegation, arrived in the Chinese capital on Monday morning to co-chair the 16th meeting of Iran-China Joint Economic Committee on Tuesday and Wednesday, Mehr news agency reported.

During his stay, the Iranian minister will hold talks with some senior Chinese officials including his coun-terpart and the Chinese deputy prime minister and the two countries will sign a memorandum of under-standing (MoU) on trade and economic cooperation.

As reported, a delegation comprised of repre-sentatives from Iran’s Oil Ministry as well as economic, industrial, commercial, banking, and cultural organi-

zations, in addition to the private sector are accom-panying the finance minister in his trip to the Eastern Asian country.

Iran-China Joint Economic Committee’s previous meeting was hosted by Tehran in early 2014.

A new chapter has been opened in relations be-tween Iran and China, as the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in late January when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Tehran.

“The value of trade between the two countries would reach $600 billion in 10 years,” Rouhani said at the time.

Xi visited Iran at the head of high-ranking political and economic delegation. His trip came just one week after the nuclear deal between Iran and great powers, which China is a member, went into force.

Iranian fin. min. in Beijing to co-chair joint economic committee

Seyed Saleh Hendi (1st R), director of exploration in National Iranian Oil Company, Mohammad-Ebrahim Shafiee (2nd R), director general of Technology Department in Oil Ministry, Mohammadreza Bahari (1st L), deputy managing director of IOEC for offshore affairs, Abolqasem Rahmani (2nd L), managing director of IOEC, in a press conference in Tehran on Monday

Photo: Reza Rostami/SHANA

S. Korea’s July Iran crude imports jump over 285% y/y

1 South Korea’s crude oil imports data usually includes conden-

sate, without giving a breakdown.Overall, Asia’s No.4 economy imported 12.06 million tons of

crude last month, or 2.85 million bpd. The total was 3.9 percent lower than the 12.55 million tons imported in July last year, the customs data showed.

In the first seven months of the year, South Korea imported 83.04 million tons of crude, or 2.86 million bpd, compared with 80.01 million tons, or 2.77 million bpd, in the same period in 2015.

Final data for last month’s crude oil imports will be released by state-run Korea National Oil Corp later this month.

(Source: Reuters)

HISTORY & HERITAGEh t t p : / / w w w . t e h r a n t i m e s . c o m AUGUST 16, 2016AUGUST 16, 2016 5I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

AUGUST 16, 2016AUGUST 16, 20166I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

ADVERTISEMENTS h t t p : / / w w w . t e h r a n t i m e s . c o m

w w w . t e h r a n t i m e s . c o m

Advertising Dept:

[email protected] 51 450 430 51 405

IraniaHOMEReal EstateSH.LAVASANI

“25 years of experience”Registered & Authorized Office

Mobile: 09123103526Tel: 88888007Fax: 88675936

E-mail: [email protected]مالكين محترم: ويال و آپارتمان مبله شما

را جهت اجاره به ديپلماتها نيازمنديم

1)Fantastic Apartments 3&4 Rooms in Farmanieh - & Elahieh

Exceptional Price, F. Furnished

2) ExtraordinaryOffices 350 & 250 sq.m

Vali-e Asr, Africa, with all facilities

3) Villa in ElahieRight Price Suitable for Companies

& Consulate and Embassies Sh.lavasani 09123103526

“25 years of experience”

Since: 1969

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

Tel: 88562040 - 88562050

Since: 1969Since: 1969

s: Noo 52 Darya Noorani llB v Cr

villa in reclusive area (Velenjak)2500 sq.m with the beau�ful old trees and lush courtyard,

swimming pool, gym and tennis court Mede Shah 09372748090 - 021-22051919 - [email protected]

Fereshteh Bagh [Garden] Tower350 sq.m, 4 bedrooms, super luxury, 10 sq.m balcony, ful ly

furnished, chic and very beau�ful Babak (0912-6507011)

Apt. in Andarzgoo1st Fl., 90 sq.m, 2 bdrs, fully furn,

Pkg, nice & cozy, $1200Ms.Diba: 09128103206

Apt. in Farmanieh160 sq.m, 2 bdrs, furn, $2300

Mr.Arvin: 09128103207

Apt. in Shahrak-Qarb2nd Fl., 120 sq.m, 2 bdrs,

fully furn, renovated, 1300 USDMs.Diba: 09128103206

Apt. in Jordan130 sq.m, 2 bdrs, furn, $1700

Mr.Arvin: 09128103207

Apt. in Elahieh200 sq.m, 3 bdrs, fully furn, balcony, nice view, $2300Mr.Arvin: 09128103207

Apt. in Farmanieh2nd Fl., 110 sq.m, 2 bdrs, fully furn,

Pkg, Diplomatic, $1300Ms.Diba: 09128103206

Apt. in Farmanieh160 sq.m, 3 bdrs, fully furn, Pkg,

Cozy & Diplomatic, $1100 Ms.Diba: 09128103206

Administrative license Office in Jordan

1000 sq.m built up, open space, very nice view, Pkg lot,

$50 per sq.mMr.Arvin: 09128103207

whole Administrative license Bldg. in Jordan

5-Storey, 3200 built up in 5000 sq.m land, lobby, security, Suitable for Companies, price: reasonable

Ms.Diba: 09128103206

Administrative license Office in Vozara

300 sq.m built up, open office, Pkg lot, $40 per sq.m

Mr.Arvin: 09128103207

Administrative license Bldg. in Jordan

From 100 sq.m, to 3200 sq.m, Good access, new bldg.,

the best area, Pkg lot Ms.Diba: 09128103206

Commercial Bldg. in Vozara2nd Fl., 500 sq.m, flat, renovated,

Suitable for CompaniesMs.Diba: 09128103206

Villa in Zafranieh1200 sq.m built up in 630 sq.m land,

2 Apt., each apt. duplex, 8 rooms totally, 10 Pkg, renovated, garden,

Suitable for EmbassyPrice: $15000 NegotiableMs.Diba: 09128103206

Duplex Villa in Farmanieh500 sq.m built up in 1000 sq.m land, ,

furn, renovated, pool, nice garden, 8000 USD

Mr.Arvin: 09128103207

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

pool, garden, Pkg, renovated,Suitable for Residency & Embassy,

$15000Ms.Diba: 09128103206

Duplex Villa in Elahieh500 sq.m built up in 1000 sq.m land, 5

bdrs, unfurn, pool, $8000Mr.Arvin: 09128103207

Duplex Villa in Aqdasieh700 sq.m built up, 5 bdrs, outdoor

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

Embassy & Ambassador, $11000 Ms.Diba: 09128103206

Apt. in Jordan160 sq.m, 2 bdrs, furn, $2200

Mr.Arvin: 09128103207

Apt. in Zaferanieh2nd Fl., 350 sq.m, 4 bdrs,

fully furn, SPJ, Pkg, Diplomatic Bldg., 5000 Euro

Ms.Diba: 09128103206

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

fully furn, Pkg, 1800 USDMs.Diba: 09128103206

Apt. in Zaferanieh300 sq.m, 4 bdrs, fully furn, large

living room, $3500Mr.Arvin: 09128103207

Duplex Apt. in Farmanieh220 sq.m, 3 bdrs, furn & unfurn, nice balcony with flower boxes,

Pkg, Diplomatic, 4500 USDMs.Diba: 09128103206

Apt. in Jordan150 sq.m, 2 bdrs, furn, nice view, 2300 USD

Mr.Arvin: 09128103207

Apt. in Elahieh160 sq.m, 3 bdrs, furn, $3000

Mr.Arvin: 09128103207

N E W S I N B R I E F

WORLD ECONOMYh t t p : / / w w w . t e h r a n t i m e s . c o m / e c o n o m y AUGUST 16, AUGUST 16, 20162016 7I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

Surveys and estimates have mostly shown that the Brexit has prompted a downturn.

The Office for National Statistics will this week

publish figures giving more solid clues as to whether

that’s the case.

Here comes the Brexit-era British economy in hard numbersWeaker demand, slower growth, faster inflation -- that’s the UK economy that the Bank of England sees in its crys-tal ball after the nation voted for Brexit. Now the first hard numbers are on the way.

So far, surveys and estimates have mostly -- though not comprehensively -- shown that the June 23 decision to quit the European Union has prompted a downturn. The Office for National Statistics will this week publish figures giving more solid clues as to whether that’s the case.

If the National Institute of Economic and Social Research is right, weakness should start to appear pretty quickly. The London-based think tank estimates the economy shrank at the start of the third quarter, contracting about 0.2 percent in July alone. The BOE cut its economic forecasts by the most ever on Aug. 4, though economists say this week’s releases won’t show a dramatic deterioration just yet.

At Investec, Victoria Clarke and Chris Hare said the fig-ures will show “relatively modest post-Brexit referendum effects,” with significant changes coming down the line. For now, they expect early hints of upward price momen-tum and signs of a negative impact creeping into the la-bor market and public finances data.

BOE Chief Economist Andy Haldane said monetary policy can’t fully insulate Britain from the long-term effects of Brexit. “This is a structural shift in the UK’s economic and trading regime, whereas monetary policy can offer no more than a short-term balm,” he wrote in the Sunday Times newspaper.

The most marked and sustained impact of Brexit on markets was the exchange rate, and that’s a worry for an inflation-targeting central bank like the BOE. Releases on Tuesday will provide an insight into how fast the pound’s 12 percent decline on a trade-weighted basis is driving up consumer prices. Over the medium term, the BOE expects weaker sterling will push price growth back to its 2 percent target at a faster pace than previously envisaged.

While economists see the headline inflation rate staying at 0.5 percent in July, prices of products from cars to phones have already started creeping higher as firms pay more for imports. Producer-price figures released the same day may show any early impact on companies’ costs.

On Wednesday, the ONS will release labor-market data. Jobless claims figures will cover July, though the more de-tailed ILO report -- on key metrics such as employment and wage growth -- will be for the April-June period. The BOE forecasts unemployment will rise to 5.5 percent at the end of next year from 4.9 percent currently.

A faltering job market combined with an upswing in prices could hit a crucial part of the economy: domestic

spending. That key driver of growth has so far proved resilient. Even with consumer confidence dropping, the British Retail Consortium said that retail sales rose the most in five months in July.

But those figures were helped by discounting, and by food and drink sales as the British summer finally got un-der way. The ONS will give its take on Thursday with July retail-sales numbers that are forecast to show stagnation. June saw a 0.9 percent drop, the most this year, and a BOE survey showed household spending was starting to wane even prior to the EU vote.

The week ends with the latest snapshot of the public finances. We’re four months into the fiscal year, and new Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond is dropping heavy hints that government stimulus is on the way to back up the BOE’s monetary easing.

He’s already abandoned his predecessor George Os-borne’s plan to deliver a budget surplus by 2020 and vowed to do whatever is necessary in his year-end Autumn State-ment “to keep the economy on track.”

July is usually a good month for the public finances, with the Treasury receiving higher-than-normal receipts of in-come tax and corporation tax. Economists predict a budget surplus of 1.9 billion pounds ($2.5 billion), up from 1.2 billion pounds in July 2015.

But Brexit will likely take its toll before long. According to independent forecasts compiled by the Treasury last month, the deficit will total 129 billion pounds between April 2016 and March 2018, a third more than officials pre-dicted in March.

The BOE said this month that if the UK economy devel-ops as weakly as it predicts, policy makers will probably cut their benchmark interest rate again. We’ll see.

(Source: Bloomberg)

Oil prices firm on potential producer action to prop up marketOil prices edged up early on Monday and have risen more than 10 percent since the start of the month as speculation intensifies about potential producer action to support prices in an oversup-plied market.

International Brent crude oil futures were trading at $47.13 per barrel at 0100 GMT (09:00 p.m. EDT), up 16 cents from their last settlement, and over 10 percent above the last close in July.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $44.67 a barrel, up 18 cents from their last close.

"Oil posted another ... gain as speculation of potential produc-tion freezes by OPEC picked up pace. Saudi Arabia signaled that it is prepared to discuss stabilizing the markets at informal OPEC discussions next month," ANZ bank said on Monday.

After falling sharply from over 1,600 in 2014, before the price rout started, to a low of just 316 in late May, the U.S. oil rig count has steadily risen since then as U.S. producers have adjusted to lower prices.

(Source: Reuters)

Japan April-June GDP flat on-quarter, missing forecasts for 0.2% growthJapan's economy failed to grow on a quarterly basis during the April-June period, with gross domestic product (GDP) growth coming in at zero, missing forecasts.

On an annualized basis, GDP expanded 0.2 percent, slowing dramatically from the 1.9 percent spike in the first three months of the year.

A Reuters poll of economists had predicted an annualized in-crease of 0.7 percent and a quarterly rise of 0.2 percent.

Market reaction was muted. The benchmark Nikkei equity in-dex was down 0.2 percent in early trade; the data were released just prior to market open.

Private consumption, which makes up around 60 percent of GDP, edged up 0.2 percent on-quarter, slowing from the previ-ous quarter's 0.6 percent growth. Meanwhile, domestic demand's contribution to GDP was 0.3 percentage point.

"Japan's economy is likely to achieve a recovery driven by pri-vate demand though the government must be mindful of risks such as slowing emerging market growth and uncertainty over the fate of Britain's exit from the European Union," Reuters quoted the country's economy minister Nobuteru Ishihara as saying.

(Source: CNBC)

Tethered drone could fly 'forever’An unmanned aircraft system (UAS) developed by engineers from the University of Southampton uses a powered tether to provide unlimited flight time for drones. The developers say it could offer a more cost-effective solution for aerial monitoring and surveillance than other options on the market.

The tethered drone system was a collaboration between the team from Southampton and security firm Cardinal Secu-rity, based in Essex, who wanted to build a low-cost observation platform for both military and civilian security operations.

"It's basically a virtual mast, so you could imagine surveillance operations, rescue missions at sea or on land, surveillance of large complexes like nuclear power stations," said Dr. Stephen Prior from the University of Southampton.

According to Cardinal Security, the ability to conduct persis-tent aerial observation has long been sort after by both mili-tary and civilian security organizations. Current options include helium balloons, observation masts and free flying multi-rotor drones. But these are each limited by their physical size, height limitation, endurance and stability in strong winds.

(Source: Reuters)

Improper diet causes poor heart health in kidsChildren who eat high-calorie, low-nutrition food and avoid eating healthy are at risk of having poor heart health, a new study has suggested.

Seven key health factors and behavior are used to determine whether a child’s cardiovascular health is ideal -- not using to-bacco products, maintaining a healthy body weight, getting at least 60 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous physical activ-ity, eating a healthy diet as well as having healthy cholesterol, blood pressure and blood glucose levels.

“Engaging in these ideal health behaviors early in life can have a tremendous benefit on maintaining ideal health through-out the lifespan,” said Julia Steinberger, Researcher at the Univer-sity of Minnesota in the study published in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation.

In the study about 91 percent children scored poorly on diet measures and found that children aged between 2 to 19 years old get the bulk of their daily calories from simple carbohydrates such as sugary desserts and beverages.

Similarly, the level of physical activity was not enough to pro-tect their hearts and the effects of poor diet and physical inac-tivity affected body weight and the percentage of obesity was also high. Surprisingly, among these older children, the rate of cigarette smoking was high. (Source: Business Standard)

NEWS

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

8I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

M E D & S C I h t t p : / / w w w . t e h r a n t i m e s . c o mAUGUST 16, AUGUST 16, 20162016

The IBM chip, called TrueNorth, is built of 4,096 tiny computing cores that form about a million digital brain cells and 256 million connections. Together they act like the brain's neurons, sending short mes-sages to one another to process data.

The design, known as neuromorphic computing, marks a dramatic departure from traditional chips that run software packaged into strict sequences of instruc-tions. Neuromorphic chips are also opti-mized to get large amounts of processing done without consuming as much power as traditional chips.

Samsung has adapted TrueNorth into its Dynamic Vision Sensor that processes video imagery quite differently than tradi-tional digital cameras.

"Each pixel operates independently" and pipes up only if it needs to report a change in what it's seeing, said Eric Ryu, a vice president of research at the Sam-sung Advanced Institute of Technology. He spoke Thursday at an IBM Research event celebrating the 30th anniversary of its Al-maden lab on the outskirts of San Jose.

Digital camerasThe result is a camera that can keep

track of what's going on at a remarkable 2,000 frames of video per second. Ordinary digital cameras typically max out at 120fps.

The higher speed is useful for creating 3D maps, safety features on self-driving cars and new forms of remote controls that rec-ognize gestures.

Samsung demonstrated the chip rec-

ognizing hand gestures so a person could control a TV. It recognized hand waves, fin-ger waves, closed fists and finger pinches from about 10 feet away.

Because the chips run cool, Samsung expects to be able to stack them togeth-er into bigger groups. IBM already gangs them together into 16-chip packages that come closer to matching the scale of the roughly 86 billion neurons in a brain.

One is the Air Force Research Labora-tory, which is investigating TrueNorth for use in identifying unusual events in video, detecting computer attacks, turning print-ed text or audio into searchable data and summarizing it, and giving drones autono-my when in flight but not connected to a human controller at a distant military base.

A drone "has to able to know where it is, what to do next, where to fly next," said Qing Wu, a principal electronics engineer at the Air Force lab. "We need very power-efficient processing on board. That's where we believe IBM's TrueNorth chip can help dramatically."

(Source: CNET)

Samsung turns IBM's brain-like chip into a digital eye

The imminent launch of the world’s first quantum com-munication satellite is widely believed to herald a break-through in China’s development of quantum technology.

Mysterious and confusing, the study of minute particles smaller than atoms has been applied in fields as diverse as computer processing, lasers and nuclear technology.

China will launch the world’s first quantum communica-tion satellite in a matter of days.

Amid the intense preparations for the quantum com-munication satellite, scientists hope it can help unravel one of the strangest phenomena in quantum physics — quantum entanglement. By beaming individual entangled photons between space and ground stations, the satellite should be able to test whether the quantum’s entangle-ment property extends over the record-breaking distance.

Entangled photons“We have the technology to produce pairs of entangled

photons on the satellite,” said Pan Jianwei, academician of

Chinese Academy of Science and chief scientist of Chinese quantum communication satellite project.

One photon of an entangled pair will be beamed to a station in Delingha in northwest China’s Qinghai Province, and the other to a station in Lijiang in southwest China’s

Yunnan Province, or in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China. The distance be-tween the two ground stations is about 1,200 kilometers.

How will quantum communication change our lives, especially in the age of cyber attacks, wiretapping and in-formation leakage?

Based on the quantum phenomenon that a tiny parti-cle acts as if it’s simultaneously in two locations, quantum computing could dwarf the processing power of today’s supercomputers. In normal silicon computer chips, data is rendered in one of two states: 0 or 1. However, in quantum computers, data could exist in both states simultaneously, holding exponentially more information.

One analogy to explain the concept of quantum com-puting is that it is like being able to read all the books in a library at the same time, whereas conventional computing is like having to read them one after another.

(Source: Shanghai Daily)

China’s quantum satellite to herald new era

Samsung has adapted TrueNorth into its Dynamic Vision Sensor that processes video imagery quite

differently than traditional digital cameras.

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

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

advantage & Hospitality 24/7

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

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

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

TAJ MAHAL HOTEL

TAJ MAHAL INDIAN RESTAURANT

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

Http: //www.tajmahalhotel.ir E-mail: [email protected]

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

IOPTC Designs and Manufacture PU and 50-T Hydraulic Jack in Lorestan Prov.

New Bldg. of “Islamic Cooperatives Bank for Investment” Milad Branch Inaugurated

Bank Keshavarzi hosted the inaugu-

ral ceremony of new building of Milad Branch of “Islamic Cooperatives Bank for Investment” on Saturday August 13 in the presence of Chief Executive and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Islamic Cooperatives Bank, Chief Exec-utive of Eqtesad-e Novin (EN-Bank), a number of members of the Board and senior managers of Bank Keshavarzi as well as head of Milad Branch of Islamic Cooperatives Bank.

Currently, Islamic Cooperatives Bank

is Iraq’s second private bank with 10 branches in its important cities while Milad Branch of the Islamic Cooperatives Bank is located in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

It should be noted that the new building of the bank’s Milad Branch was inaugurated in the vicinity of Bank Kes-havarzi’s Shahr-e Ara Branch.

Considering the high volume of transactions between the two countries of Iran and Iraq, Islamic Cooperatives Bank has paved suitable way for meet-ing the banking demands of customers of the two banks, the report ended.

A 50-ton hydraulic jack and a hydraulic

Power Unit (PU) device with 20-HP en-gine were unveiled in Lorestan Province in the presence of provincial Manager of Iranian Oil Pipeline and Telecommuni-cation Company (IOPTC) for Operation Affairs.

The head of Logistics Department of the company Mehrdad Mo’ayyeriza-deh pointed to moving and increasing safety of heavy parts of construction equipment and machinery such as bull-dozer and loader as salient advantag-

es of construction of 50-ton hydraulic jack and said: “In the past, several jacks were used with high tonnage in an un-safe condition but with manufacturing and designing 50-ton hydraulic jack, all these measures are conducted in the shortest time possible.”

In the end, he pointed to the design-ing and manufacturing a hydraulic pow-er unit device with 20-HP engine power in Lorestan Province and said: “The de-vice was designed and constructed for fast opening and closing en route valves of the pipelines in emergency condition.”

ECONOMYd e s k

ECONOMYd e s k

WORLD IN FOCUSh t t p : / / w w w . t e h r a n t i m e s . c o m / i n t e r n a t i o n a l 9I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

N E W S

By staff & agenciesPolice said one person was shot at a Mil-waukee protest on Sunday and officers used an armored vehicle to retrieve the injured victim and rush the person to a hospital, as tense skirmishes erupted for a second night following the police shooting of a black man.

Some two dozen officers in riot gear confronted about 150 people who blocked an intersection near where the black man was fatally shot Saturday after-noon, and more arrived. Police moved in to try to disperse the crowd and warned of arrests after protesters threw bottles and rocks at police.

Protesters in a poor, predominantly black neighborhood of the U.S. Midwestern city of Milwaukee on Saturday fired gun-shots, hurled bricks and set a gas station on fire after a patrol officer shot dead an armed suspect there, authorities said.

Local television showed a small group of protesters running through the streets, picking up orange construction barriers and hurling them out of the way. Police tweeted three locations where they said shots were fired. There were no other re-ports of injuries at Sunday’s protests and no widespread destruction of property.

Earlier in the day, police Chief Edward Flynn said the man whose death touched off Saturday night’s rioting was shot after he turned toward an officer with a gun in

his hand.Flynn cautioned that the shooting

was still under investigation and author-ities were awaiting autopsy results, but that based on the silent video from the unidentified officer’s body camera, he “certainly appeared to be within lawful bounds.”

At the same news conference, May-or Tom Barrett said a still image pulled

from the footage clearly showed a gun in 23-year-old Sylville K. Smith’s hand as he fled a traffic stop Saturday.

“I want our community to know that,” Barrett said. But he also called for under-standing for Smith’s family.

“A young man lost his life yesterday af-ternoon,” the mayor said. “And no matter what the circumstances are, his family has to be hurting.”

Flynn declined to identify the officer who shot Smith but said he is black. The police chief said he wasn’t sure what prompted the stop but described Smith’s car as “behaving suspiciously.” The officer involved was 24 years old and has been on the force for three years, according to the department.

After watching the officer’s body cam-era footage, Flynn said the entire episode took about 25 seconds, from the start of the traffic stop until shots were fired. He said Smith ran “a few dozen feet” and turned toward the officer while holding a gun.

“It was in his hand. He was raising up with it,” the chief said. He said the officer had told Smith to drop the gun and he did not do so. It was unclear how many rounds the officer fired. Smith was hit in the chest and arm, Flynn said.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker put Wis-consin’s National Guard on standby, and 125 Guard members reported to local ar-mories to prepare for further instructions. Milwaukee police tweeted late Sunday that the National Guard had not been deployed.

Six businesses were burned in the un-rest earlier in the weekend and 17 people people were arrested, Flynn said. Four officers were hurt from flying concrete and glass, although all of them had been released from hospital.

Police cruelty cause violent protest in U.S. Milwaukee

King Salman gives bonus to Saudi troops in YemenSaudi troops involved in Riyadh’s relentless onslaught on Yemen have been given a one-month cash bonus.

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud an-nounced in an official decree that the bonus would be given to all members of the kingdom’s armed forces who are in-volved in operations against Yemen.

The decree notes that the bonus is a token of Saudi Ara-bia’s appreciation and would also be given to members of defense and interior ministries, as well as the National Guard, who are involved with the operations.

The decree was issued after Saudi Arabia’s Grand Muf-ti Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al Sheikh called on banks, businessmen and nongovernmental organizations to donate funds towards aiding Saudi border guards.

The attacks against Yemen have already been adding to the kingdom’s financial woes as it tries to deal with the plunging of oil prices and its rising army expenditure. About 10,000 people have been killed since the Saudi ag-gression began in late March 2015. Yemenis say most of the victims in the Saudi airstrikes are civilians. The attacks by Riyadh are meant to reinstate the resigned president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.

On Friday, the United Nations announced that more than 270 people have been killed and over 540 others have been wounded in Yemen over the past four months.

UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen Jamie McGol-drick said he was “deeply alarmed” by the humanitarian situation across the crisis-hit country as local media re-ports indicate that “children and women are being killed and maimed, homes being destroyed… by both ground fighting and airstrikes” carried out by Saudi warplanes par-ticularly in the capital Sana’a and the provinces of Sana’a, Ta’izz, and Hudaydah.

About 10,000 people have been killed and at least 16,000 others injured since March 26, 2015, when the regime in Ri-yadh began its deadly campaign against Yemen.

The Saudi regime defends its airstrikes on markets and clinics in Yemen, alleging that armed forces are positioned at the sites. (Source: AFP)

AUGUST 16, 2016

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has warned that nearly one million refugees from South Sudan are living under dire condition in dis-placement camps in the conflict-ridden region.

“With refugees fleeing South Sudan in their thou-sands, surrounding countries are straining under the weight of large numbers of displaced people and crit-ically underfunded operations,” the UNHCR said in a statement on Monday.

“Already there are some 930,000 refugees in the re-gion, and more are arriving daily,” the statement added.

The UN body noted that arrivals of South Sudanese fleeing their country after an outbreak of fresh fighting in the capital, Juba, had peaked at “more than 8,000 in one day” last month.

Ninety per cent of new arrivals were women and chil-dren, the agency added.

The UNHCR said despite setting up a new 100,000-ca-pacity camp at Yumbe, in northern Uganda, it urgently needs more money to accommodate nearly one million South Sudanese refugees in six countries in the region, as well as some 1.6 million people internally displaced in

the wake of fresh conflicts.Thousands of people have been killed and more than

three million forced to flee their homes in the war that started in December 2013, when South Sudan’s Presi-dent Salva Kiir sacked then Vice President Riek Machar only two years after the country seceded from Sudan.

The two sides eventually signed an agreement in Au-gust 2015 to bring the conflict to an end. As part of the deal, Machar returned to Juba in April to take up the post of vice president in a national unity government.

(Source: AP)

Nearly one million refugees from South Sudan face dire conditions: UNHCR

Indian officials say at least seven paramil-itary troops have been wounded, three critically, after assailants attacked them in Srinagar, the main city of Indian-adminis-tered Kashmir.

KK Sharma, a top official of the Central Reserve Paramilitary Force (CRPF), said the attacks came on Monday as India cel-ebrated the anniversary of its independ-ence from Britain.

Authorities have imposed a curfew in large parts of Kashmir, India’s only Mus-lim-majority state, since July 9 during a surge in violence prompted by the kill-ing of a top separatist commander a day earlier.

The first attack on Monday took place in Srinagar’s Nowhatta neighborhood when suspected separatist fighters at-tacked troops on patrol to enforce a cur-few, Sharma said.

He said the second attack occurred in

the Khanyar neighborhood.The AFP news agency quoted a CRPF

spokesman as saying that that 10 officers were wounded in the attacks.

Bhuvesh Chaudhary said seven par-amilitary personnel were injured in the Nowhatta attack and three others in the second incident.

Another security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said intermittent gunfire could be heard in the neighbor-hood and it was not yet clear how many attackers were involved.

More than 50 civilians have been killed and thousands more injured in clashes since July 9 between Kashmiri protesters and Indian security forces, in the worst vi-olence to hit the Himalayan region since 2010.

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since the end of Brit-ish colonial rule in August 1947 but both

claim the territory in full.It is the epicenter of a separatist

movement, with several armed groups fighting Indian troops and police as they seek either independence or a merger with Pakistan.

Monday’s attacks in Kashmir coincid-ed with the annual Independence Day speech by Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, from the ramparts of the Red Fort in Delhi.

Although he made no direct reference to the situation in Kashmir, he made a general appeal for youths to steer clear of violence and promised jobs for young people.

“I want to tell these youths that this country will never tolerate terrorism, this country will never tolerate terrorists and this country will never bow down to ter-rorists,” he said.

(Source: Al Jazeera)

India marks Independence Day

In a ceremony held in the Indian embassy in Tehran on Monday New Delhi’s Ambassador to Tehran, Saurabh Kumar, hoisted Tricolour as India celebrated 69th Independence Day.

One injured in ‘knife and gun attack’ in Cologne city center with suspects ‘on the run’Two men are said to be on the run in the German city of Cologne after carrying out a gun and knife attack in the early hours of Monday morning.

One person was “seriously injured” after being stabbed by the suspects, who then shot at him as he attempted to flee in his car.

According to reports, the bullets only struck the vehicle and he was taken to hospital shortly after.

Both suspects remain at large, said a police spokesman, add-ing that there was no evidence the incident was terror-related.

The incident took place on Flandrische Straße, which is near the city center, at around 4am German time.

Germany is on high alert following a spate of ‘lone wolf’ attacks in the country, some of them terror-related, which have left 15 people dead and dozens more injured.

German police officers said they found shattered glass and what appeared to be blood on the street where the at-tack took place.

There has been no confirmation as to whether the inci-dent was terror-related, though German media reports say the victim and four suspects had been arguing.

(Source: Daily Telegraph)

Turkey protests to Austria, Sweden over claimsTurkey has summoned officials from Austria and Sweden to protest against news reports and Twitter comments in the two countries relating to a Turkish Constitutional Court ruling on child abuse.

Turkey protested to Austria over a news ticker at Vienna’s airport that claimed Turkey allows sex with children under age 15. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also accused his Swedish counterpart of spreading “lies” after she called on Ankara to protect children’s rights through her Twitter ac-count.

Cavusoglu said the reports that appeared in Austria and Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom’s tweet were a reflection of the “racism, anti-Islamic and anti-Turkish (trend) in Europe.”

Turkey’s Constitutional Court last month scrapped an ar-ticle in the penal code that defined all sexual acts against children as abuse, triggering concern among children’s rights advocates that the move will lead to an increase in child sex-ual abuse cases.

The court justices voted 7-6 to uphold a local court which argued that all cases should be reviewed individually and that someone who abuses a 4-year-old should not receive the same punishment as someone who has consensual sex with a 15-year-old. The previous law remains in force for six months, giving Parliament time to enact a new law, while children’s rights advocates will seek to have the judgment reversed at the European Court of Human Rights.

Wallstrom tweeted on Sunday: “Turkish decision to allow sex with children under 15 must be reversed. Children need more protection, not less, against violence, sex abuse.”

A Foreign Ministry official said the Austrian charge d’af-faires was called to the ministry on Saturday for an official complaint about the “distorted” headline which appeared on a screen at the airport the same day. The Swedish charge d’affaires was summoned on Monday over the minister ’s tweet, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government rules. Cavusoglu said he would hold a telephone conversation with Wallstrom later on Monday to complain about the “slander and lie.”

(Source: AP)

2 We had expectations from the West regarding Syria. An ex-CIA official has recently said in an interview with CBS news agency that the Iranians and Russians in Syria should be killed. Only Terrorists say something like that.

Erdogan’s visit to Russia helps Syria and bilateral ties. Iran has welcomed improvement of relations between Russia and Turkey.

Do you see the phone conversation between British Prime Minister Theresa May and Putin an in-dication that the West is reconsidering its policies toward Russia?

A: Yes, the West is becoming more aware of the fact that the policy of pressure, threatening, and sanctions bears no results. The West exert pressure on a country in order to force it into a changed policy, but it has no effect on Rus-sia. We banned imports of some products from European countries and refused to hold any talks on the issue. We said that we wouldn’t hold talks; you have imposed sanc-tions and it is you who should decide on removal of the sanctions. However, Russia’s unilateral sanctions on the Eu-ropean countries are in place by the end of 2017.

The British prime minister had a phone talk with Pres-

ident Hassan Rouhani, as well, and I hope that the rela-tions between the two countries would be upgraded to the ambassadorial level.

Would you elaborate on Russia’s plan for Syrian crisis?A: Russia’s position is very transparent in this respect.

Nobody has the right to interfere in domestic affairs of an independent country. We see the roots of the current situation in Syria in the U.S. attack on Iraq in 2003, con-ducted without the permission of the UN Security Coun-cil. The Syrians should be helped to have a new consti-tution and to hold a free and transparent election. We do not say that Bashar al-Assad should stay forever or should go right now. It is the Syrians who should decide.

Iran and Russia hold regular consultations on Syria. Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Mikhail Bogdanov, is scheduled to take a visit to Iran on Monday and hold talks with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Jaberi Ansari.

What is your prediction of the U.S. presidential election?

A: Russia has not and will not interfere in the U.S. presidential election. We respect the U.S. people’s vote and the issue depends on the U.S. people’s will.

General Richard Shirref, who served as NA-

TO’s deputy supreme allied commander in Europe, recently claimed that a Russian attack on the Baltic states of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania was a possi-bility. A report by the Atlantic Council also claimed that Russia could invade Poland “overnight”. What is your response for such claims?

A: I am very worried about the health condition of this person and I recommend that he see a psychother-apist. This holds true of the ex-CIA official whose inter-view was published by the CBS news agency.

Some analysts say that Erdogan’s visit to Russia has unnerved some NATO members. What is your opinion about that?

A: NATO members observe some sort of discipline and should get permission from Washington, but Erdo-gan, as the president of an independent country, has made his own decisions and does not ask permission from Washington and that is the reason why some members of NATO have been unnerved.

Erdogan is incensed by the coup. We condemn coup attempts, because if you need to make a difference, you must use legal tools. You should not use force and illegal tools to replace a government.

Ambassador: Russia not saying Assad should stay forever or go right now

By Naghmeh Mizanian

W O M E Nd e s k

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

W O M E N h t t p : / / w w w . t e h r a n t i m e s . c o m / s o c i e t yAUGUST 16, 2016AUGUST 16, 201610

IN FOCUS Tehran Times/ Hossein Razzaghnejad

A Muslim woman sued six Chicago po-lice officers and the city of Chicago for religious discrimination for pulling off her hijab when she was arrested in a CTA stairwell.

Itemid “Angel” Al Matar filed her fed-eral lawsuit Thursday. She claims she was falsely arrested on July 4, during Ramadan, when she was trying to catch a train to return home and break her fast by sunset. A YouTube video of the incident shows officers tackling Al Matar while she climbed up the stairs. Al Matar says police grabbed her, “pulling at her and ripping off her hijab,” the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

According to CAIR-Chicago, police also verbally taunted her and public-ly stripped her to her underwear while she was handcuffed on the ground. Al Matar spent the night in a jail cell and was charged of multiple criminal charges including resisting arrest and reckless mis-conduct. She was later found not guilty.

(Source: Time)

Muslim woman sues Chicago

police for ripping off her hijab

Iranian women participating in the International Marshal Cup Freestyle Skating Championships held on Friday at Tehran's Enghelab Sports Complex.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

“Sometimes through a smile it can be a lot of pain, but no matter what, mothers love will keep you strong.” Auliq-Ice

A mother’s word on his son’s return from warIt was early morning on August 16, 1980. The first

group of prisoners of war were coming back home.Cheerful citizens of the city, holding colorful flowers

had congregated to welcome the prisoners of war. But that wasn’t all. Blowing their bus horn, bus driv-

ers had also joined the jolly crowd to express their hap-piness.

I was holding a picture of my son!I was more anxious than ever. Whether he is among

these people or …Two years, two months and two weeks have passed

since last I received news form my son. He left home on a summer evening promising to call me as soon as he would find a phone in the war zone. May be he has not found one yet. No letter, no message still!

From that day on, I have been waiting to see him or at least to get a message from him. I went to the battle field to find him but nobody knew about him. No one had seen him after the last day.

I sent a letter to the United Nations, asking whether my son was among the prisoners of war, but there was no answer.

From morning till night, I took to the streets looking for him in every nook and cranny in the city, thinking he had lost his memory and he couldn’t find his house direction.

I inquired about my son from every soldier I saw in the streets; but nobody knew about him.

I never believed that he was dead. My heart told me that he would be back. Yes, certainly he was alive.

When the first group of war prisoners returned home, every night, I sat before the house with the front door wide open till the sunrise, waiting for him to arrive.

Those days I was really distressed. I wished I could have hugged my son as mothers would. I sat beside the radio, carefully listening to the names of released prison-ers of that day. There was a long list but my son’s name was not among them.

My other son went to the borderlines to get news about his brother.

Finally, that good day came! His name was on the list. My daughter have run all the way from her home to ours to

show me the newspaper.“I knew he was alive”, I told my daughter.How long does it take him to get home? I can’t wait!

How come days seem much longer than before?Is he healthy? I didn’t want to see him maimed? Oh my

God, now I had to pray for him to in perfect health.He had reached Iran-Iraq border crossing. How long

would his medical checkups take? They told us he would be home after one week. Everything was prepared at home. All relatives were there to welcome him.

I wish I could see him. I wish I could hug him, smell him. Why my expectation wouldn’t end?

Finally the day came. They called us for good tid-ings on that evening and said that they would bring him home.

His father called a cameraman to record to best ever moment of our life; the return of our son. All the relatives helped me cook gourmet food for dinner and clean the house. To that day, I had not let anybody enter his room. Nobody was allowed to touch his belongings ever since he

had left his room.I was eagerly waiting for the evening to come. I was

eagerly waiting to see him.It was 11 a.m. Why had the time stopped?Somebody called me from the yard. The house door

was open. HE WAS THERE! He was standing in the front yard. He

was taking steps toward me. I wanted to come closer to him, but my feet did not help me walk. My tears did not let me see him and I ran my hands down his shoulder; and I don’t remember anything else.

When I regained consciousness, he was standing over me, looking down at me. This time I saw his pale and thin face.

I thank God he was healthy, although he was very weak.Nobody has recorded the best moment of my life. The

cameraman didn’t get there. I didn’t need any camera. The memory of that day is

stored in the deepest part of my heart, and to this day, it is still crystal clear.

Peach ice cream“A creamy, delicious Summertime treat! This recipe contains raw eggs. We recommend that pregnant women, young children, the elderly and the infirm do not consume raw eggs. “

Ingredients:6 eggs, beaten 3 1/2 cups white sugar 10 fresh peaches, pitted

and chopped 4 cups heavy cream 2 cups

half-and-half cream 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 3/4 teaspoon

Directions:In large bowl, mix together

eggs and sugar until smooth; puree peaches in blender or food processor and stir 5 cups of puree into egg mixture. Stir in cream, half-and-half, vanilla and salt and mix well.

Pour mixture into freezer canister of ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Burkini ban: Second French Riviera resort follows Cannes as mayor calls Muslim beachwear ‘unwelcome’A second French Riviera resort has announced a ban against “burkinis” as uproar continues over the prohibition in Cannes.

Lionnel Luca, the mayor of Villeneuve-Loubet, said the prohi-bition of full-body swimsuits worn by some Muslim women was

for sanitary reasons.“I was told that there was a

couple on one of our beaches where the wife was swimming fully dressed, and I considered that unacceptable for hygienic reasons and unwelcome given the general situation,” he told the AFP news agency.

“In France, one does not come to the beach dressed to display one’s religious con-victions, especially as they are false convictions that the reli-gion does not demand.”

A new local by-law states that throughout the summer, until 31 August, the burkini is banned on the region’s popular beaches.

It stipulates that only clothing that “is respectful to morality and secular principles, and in compliance with hygiene and safe-ty rules” is allowed.

It is unclear whether the rule would also apply to wetsuits or other clothing worn for swimming.

Cannes announced its decision last week, also citing “secu-larism”, while a water park in Marseille cancelled an event for women wearing burkinis after organizers received death threats.

An order issued by the mayor of Cannes, David Lisnard, claimed that swimwear ”manifesting religious affiliation in an ostentatious way, while France and its religious sites are currently the target of terrorist attacks, could create risks of trouble to public order”.

The ban has provoked strong criticism from Muslim groups and anti-discrimination organizations, who argue that women should have the freedom to dress how they wish.

France already has a controversial country-wide “burqa ban”, which outlaws full-face veils in public, and analysts have said the beach rules could worsen feelings of alienation and fuel extrem-ist propaganda.

The latest move has been interpreted as a reaction to recent terror attacks in France, including the murder of a Catholic priest by two ISIL supporters in Normandy and an attack that killed 85 people in Niece.

Writing in The Independent, Huda Jawad argued that France was imposing “fundamentalist secularism” in opposition to its values of liberté, egalité and fraternité.

“Since when was wearing a burkini, in most cases a loose fitting nylon version of a wetsuit, become an act of allegiance to terrorist movements?” she wrote, saying women’s bodies were being used “to score points in ideological wars”.

The Collective against Islamophobia in France was planning to file a lawsuit challenging the legality of the ban in Cannes.

(Source: independent.co.uk)

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

N E W S

TEHRAN — The first women-only car rally in Iran will be held on August 23-

28, Mehr News Agency reported. In addition to evaluating women’s driving skill, the rally

aims at visiting tourist sites of Iran and empowering wom-en’s driving ability, the report said.

All Iranian women holding driving license along

with a map reader are allowed to participate in the event.

The rally will start in Sa’dabad Tourism Complex in Teh-ran and will finish in the city of Zanjan passing through Alborz and Qazvin provinces.

Pavilions on women’s entrepreneurship are to be held on the sidelines of the rally in Sa’dabad Complex.

Buenos Aires (AFP) — The leading female candidate to be the next secretary-general of the United Nations, Argentine Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra, said Sunday she sees lingering sexism in the election.

The world body has never had a female leader in its 70 years. With Ban Ki-moon, the current incumbent, set to step down at the end of the year, Malcorra leads a pack of five women candidates seeking to change that.

But she told Argentine newspaper Clar-in that “there is still a biased vote against women” at the UN.

“Given equal abilities, there is always a small negative margin against women,” she said.

“When one sees that there is currently only one woman on the Security Council (Sa-mantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the UN), it is difficult to maintain a certain level of balance and equality. But maybe I’m wrong.”

In the UN’s most recent secret straw poll leading up to the election, Malcorra came in third place, behind Portugal’s former prime minister Antonio Guterres and Serbia’s former foreign minister Vuk Jeremic.

She said she was “very satisfied on a personal level” with the August 5 vote.

But she added: “Unfortunately, in general terms, women candidates do much worse than the men. That pains me, because it seems to me I have very distinguished wom-en colleagues with a lot of experience.”

Malcorra, a veteran UN insider, was Ban’s chief of staff.

She was named Argentine foreign min-

ister when conservative President Mauricio Macri took office last December.

The 15-member Security Council has so far held two straw polls to whittle down the field of 11 candidates for secretary-gener-al. More are expected in the coming weeks.

Members are facing calls to pick the first woman after eight men in the job, and to give preference to a candidate from East-ern Europe, a region that has yet to be rep-resented in the post.

Council diplomats are expecting a nom-inee to emerge in October, who will then be endorsed by the General Assembly.

The new UN secretary-general will be-gin his or her five-year term on January 1.

First all-women car rally to be held in Iran

Argentine candidate for UN chief sees sexism in vote

Susana Malcorra

S P O R T Sh t t p : / / w w w . t e h r a n t i m e s . c o m / s p o r t s AUGUST 16, 2016AUGUST 16, 2016 11I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y

Imperious Bolt completes amazing 100m trebleFor 9.81 glorious seconds on Sunday, all the ills that have dogged athletics recently were forgotten as Usain Bolt stormed to victory in the 100 meters final to become the first man to win three successive Olympic titles on the track.

The Jamaican superstar trailed arch-rival Justin Gatlin, round-ly booed by the Rio crowd for his doping past, until the 70 meter mark but then swept past the American, finding time to pat his chest as he crossed the line a meter clear.

Gatlin, the 2004 champion who came into the race with the season’s fastest time of 9.80, took second in 9.89. Cana-da’s Andre de Grasse claimed bronze in 9.91 seconds - the same finishing order as in last year’s world championships.

Victory took Bolt a step closer to his goal of winning a historic “triple-triple” com-bination of gold in the 100m, 200m and the 4x100m relay in three consecutive Olympics.

Other than the 2011 world championships, when he was disqualified for a false start, Bolt has won every other global championship individual sprint race since 2008.

That equates to five Olympic golds and seven in the world championships. Throw in two more Olympic and four world championship 4x100m relay golds and the world record in all three events and that is total and utter domination

“This is what we train for. I told you guys I was going to do it,” Bolt, 29, told reporters. “Stay tuned, two more to go.

“Somebody said I can become immortal. Two more medals to go and I can sign off. Immortal.”

Already assured of his legend status, Bolt also added to his reputation as sport’s number-one crowd pleaser as he took a leisurely circuit of the stadium, posing for pictures and shak-ing a thousand hands.

OFFICIAL RELIEFIf the fans were pleased, it is hard to imagine the relief felt by

officials of the IAAF and IOC, who must have been dreading a Gatlin victory.

The American has served two drugs bans, though he denies any deliberate wrongdoing for either, and at 34 was bidding to become the oldest 100m champion.

The Rio fans certainly showed what they thought of him as he was loudly booed as he entered the arena, and Gatlin returned the compliment by being the only finalist not to ac-knowledge the crowd.

Bolt, in contrast, brought the spectators to a fever pitch of excitement as he strolled in, smiling and waving, to chants of “Bolt, Bolt, Bolt.”

“I was surprised,” Bolt said. “It is the first time I have come into a stadium and they booed someone. It was shocking.”

It was no surprise to see Gatlin, the fastest man in the semi-fi-nals, get his usual explosive start but Bolt, who had looked much smoother out of the blocks in his semi than in Saturday’s heats, was where he needed to be.

The race followed the pattern of so many before as he eventually unraveled his long legs to gain maximum pace and though he did not hit the front until later than he might have liked, when he did he shot past Gatlin like a track cyclist coming out of a slipstream in the velodrome.

The time was a long way off his 2009 world record of 9.58 but that was never the issue at stake.

Heats for the 200 start on Tuesday with the final on Thursday.(Source: Reuters)

Lochte says he challenged armed robbers in RioRyan Lochte initially resisted a group of armed men posing as police who robbed the Olympic gold medalist and three fellow American swimmers in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Lochte said in an interview broadcast on Monday on the "Today" show.

The robbery of Lochte, Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jim-my Feigen early Sunday, as they returned in a taxi to their hotels after a night of partying, has fed concern over safety at the first Olympic Games in South America.

"We got pulled over in our taxi and these guys came out with a badge, a police badge," 32-year-old Lochte said in his first interview about the crime. "They pulled out their guns, they told the other swimmers to get down on the ground, they got down on the ground."

But Lochte, among the most successful male swimmers in Olympic history, said he initially refused.

"I was like, we didn't do anything wrong, so I'm not getting down on the ground," Lochte said in the interview conducted at a Rio beach. "And then the guy pulled out his gun, he cocked it, put it to my forehead."

At that point, Lochte said he complied. "I put my hands up, and was like, 'Whatever.'" The gunmen stole their cash and wallets, he said. They let the

swimmers keep their cell phones and credentials.Lochte released a statement on Sunday, in which he said:

"What is most important is that we are safe and unharmed." Witnesses said the four swimmers left a club hosting a French

Games delegation party early on Sunday, bought popcorn from a street vendor and then got into a taxi cab, Today reported.

Rio police have said they plan to interview the swimmers as part of their investigation into the robbery.

Lochte has won a total of 12 Olympic medals, six of which are gold, behind teammate Michael Phelps's 28 medals, 23 of them gold.

(Source: Reuters)

S P O R T Sd e s k

Former Aston Villa footballer Dalian At-kinson has died after he was shot with a Taser gun by police.

Officers were called to a home in Meadow Close, Telford in the early hours of Monday morning amid concerns “for the safety of an individual”.

West Mercia Police said the 48-year-old man - named locally as Atkinson - was giv-en medical treatment after being Tasered but died around 90 minutes later.

An ambulance spokesman said while he was being taken to Princess Royal Hos-pital in the Shropshire town he suffered a cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at hospital.

The former striker is best remem-bered for scoring Villa’s opening goal in their 1994 League Cup final win over Manchester United at Wembley.

He also won the first Premier League Goal of the Season prize for a goal against Wimbledon in the 1992/93 campaign.

Although he was never capped by

England, Atkinson did play in one B in-ternational and scored his team’s goal in a 4-1 defeat to the Republic of Ireland in Cork in 1990.

Atkinson’s other clubs included Ip-swich, Sheffield Wednesday, Real Socie-dad, Fenebahce and Manchester City.

Aston Villa have tweeted their condo-lences, saying: “RIP Dalian Atkinson. You’ll never be forgotten!”

(Source: SkySports)

Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer says he cannot understand Jose Mourinho’s decision to demote Bastian Schweinsteiger to the Manchester United reserves.

Schweinsteiger, 32, has been told he has no future at United and the for-mer Germany captain now seems set for another move only one year after arriving from Bayern.

Neuer, who played alongside Schweinsteiger for club and country, told Die Welt: “Basti is a super player.

“He’s an important man with a lot of experience who is very important for the team, so I just can’t understand this decision.”

Mourinho’s decision to demote Schweinsteiger prompted strong crit-icism from Dejan Stefanovic of world players’ union FIFPro, although Ste-fanovic has since apologised for sug-gesting the United boss should be sent to prison for his actions, saying his comments had been misinterpreted.

Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenig-ge also hit out at Mourinho, saying he “could hardly believe” the situation.

World Cup winner Schweinsteiger is reportedly attracting widespread in-terest, including from Premier League clubs, and United are said to be con-fident of selling the midfielder, who re-tired from international duty following this summer’s European Championship.

(Source: Soccernet)

Dalian Atkinson, former Aston Villa striker, dies after Taser shot

Bastian Schweinsteiger situation hard to understand - Manuel Neuer

The preparation is the The preparation is the most important: Carlos Queirozmost important: Carlos Queiroz

Iran national football team head coach Carlos Queiroz, whose team is currently in Coverciano

training camp in Italy, believes that the way teams prepared for the matches make the difference.

“We needed a training camp in order to prepare the players for the World Cup qualification matches and this camp in Italy was our only choice. Great players have been here and we’re happy that we have the chance to train in this place,” Carlos Queiroz said.

The Portuguese coach refused to answer a question whether it is late to hold this camp less than 16 days before the World Cup qual-ification match against Qatar on September 1.

“I don’t want to talk about this now, we’re going to discuss it after Team Melli official matches. For the time being I’m focused on pre-paring the team and the players. We’ve already lost a lot of time so we need get the best out of this training camp,” he added.

“We have 24 player in the camp while Ashkan Dejagah will join us in a couple of days. As you know the players who are playing in European teams are not available for this camp,” he added.

“We’re in a tough group and our biggest opponent is defi-nitely South Korea. The other teams also have the chance of qualifying for the World Cup. All teams have strength and weak-nesses but the only thing separating them is how they get pre-pared for the matches,” he added.

Carlos Queiroz men will take on newly promoted Serie B side SPAL on August 19 while they will face Serie B youth XI team four days later.

The Persians will play Qatar in the first game of 2018 World Cup qualification third round on September 1 while it has to face China five days later in Shenyang, more than 6,000 kilometer away.

Iran has been drawn in Group A of the World Cup qualification along with Uzbekistan, China, Qatar and Syria.

S P O R T Sd e s k

South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk ran the fastest single lap in history to win the Olympic 400 meters gold medal in 43.03 seconds and break Michael Johnson’s 17-year-old world record on Sunday.

Running an extraordinary race in lane eight, the 24-year-old world champion got off to a flier and was streaking clear on the back straight before upping his pace even further to better American Johnson’s 1999 mark of 43.18 seconds.

“I believed I could get the world record,” Van Niekerk told reporters. “I’ve dreamed of this medal since forever. I am blessed.”

The South African flew across the line a good five meters ahead of 2012 champion Kirani James and held his hands to his head in disbelief before being embraced by the Grenadian, who took silver in 43.76.

“I’m happy to be part of a race that made history,” James said. “We have put this sport on a pedestal.”

LaShawn Merritt of the United States, the 2008 Olympic champion, claimed bronze in 43.85, the first

time the top three had run under 44 seconds in the one-lap Olympic final.

“It was a crazy race, a great moment in history,” said

Merritt, who was unable to defend his title in London after suffering a hamstring injury in the heats.

“The world record was broken, the best man won.”American Johnson, who won back-to-back Olympic

titles in the event in 1996 and 2000 and is considered one of the greatest sprinters of all time, was dumbfound-ed by the quality of Van Niekerk’s finish.

“Oh my God! From lane eight, a world record,” John-son said on the BBC. “He took it out so quick. I have never seen anything from 200 to 400 like that.”

Van Niekerk marked himself as the leading contender for Rio when he led home Merritt and James with an exceptional run to win gold at last year’s world champi-onships in Beijing, where the podium again all ran under 44 seconds.

This year, he became the first sprinter to run the 100 below 10 seconds, 200 under 20 seconds and 400 in less than 44 seconds before deciding to concentrate on the longest distance in Brazil.

(Source: reuters)

Galatasaray forward Lukas Podolski has announced his re-tirement from international football with Germany.

Podolski said in a social media post he had informed Germany coach Joachim Low that he is retiring from the national team with immediate effect.

The 31-year-old conceded it was a difficult decision to make, saying “everything has its time and my time with the

DFB (German national federation) is over”.Podolski, who was born in Poland, has played 129

games for Germany over 12 years, scoring 48 goals and winning the World Cup two years ago.

His final cap for Germany came in the 3-0 last-16 victo-ry over Slovakia, when Podolski came off the bench in his only appearance at Euro 2016.

Podolski follows former Bayern Munich and Germany team-mate Bastian Schweinsteiger in quitting the national team after the European Championship.

The former Arsenal forward, who moved to his present club in July 2015, has also played for Inter Milan and had two spells with Cologne.

(Source: SkySports)

RIO – Saeid Abdevali from Iran claimed a bronze medal in the

category up to 75 kg at the Rio Olympics early Monday.

The Iranian Greco-Roman wrestler beat Peter Bacsi from Hungary 3-1 in the bronze medal match.

South Korean Kim Hyeonwoo also defeated Bozo Starcevic from Croatia 3-1 to win a bronze.

Russian wrestler Roman Vlasov won gold at the Rio Olympics, defeating Mark Madsen from Den-mark 5-1 in the final match.

Iranian weightlifters Kianoush Rostami and Sohrab Moradi have already won two gold medals in the prestigious event.

The 2016 Summer Olympic Games are being held in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro from August 5 until August 21.

Brilliant Van Niekerk smashes 400m world record

Lukas Podolski has announced his retirement from the Germany team

Iran’s Greco-Roman wrestler Abdevali wins bronze medal at Rio

b

No. 18, Bimeh Lane, Nejatollahi St., Tehran, IranP.o. Box: 14155-4843

Zip Code: 1599814713

I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Yh t t p : / / w w w . t e h r a n t i m e s . c o m / c u l t u r e

MIRTH, Spring, to linger in a garden fair,What more has earth to give? All ye that wait.

Hafez

Poem of the day

SINCE 1979Prayer Times

TEHRAN — Twelve artists from around the world along with

several Iranian sculptors will compete in the various sections of the 8th Tehran International Sculpture Symposium.

The artists selected from 189 applicants from 53 countries include Klaus F. Hunsicker from Germany, Alexey Kanis from Russia, Oscar Aguirre Comendador from Spain, Umit Turgay Durgun form Turkey and Francesca Bernardini from Italy.

Among the competitors are also Valerian Jikia from Georgia, Genti Tavanxhiu from Albania, Ana Maria Negara from Romania, Michael Levchenko from Ukraine, Tatsumi Sakai from Japan, Zdravko Zdravkov from Bulgaria and Emin Petrosyan from Armenia.

Organized annually by the Tehran Municipality’s Beautification Organization, the symposium seeks to help beautify the urban environment of the city and familiarize the citizens with the process of making new designs.

Mostafa Mohseni, Saeid Mahmudi, Hamidreza Sadeqzadeh, Bijan Ghoncheparvar and Mohammad Marvasti are the Iranian artists selected to compete in the event, which will be held from September 26 to October 16.

Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s “Romulus the Great” ‘Iranized’ for Tehran performance

New film explores Jacqueline Kennedy’s hand in JFK’S legacyBOSTON (AP) — How much of John F. Kennedy’s public persona was privately molded by his wife, Jacqueline?

Quite a bit, according to a new documentary, “JFK: Fact and Fable”. The film examines the role she played in reshaping the modern presidency by popularizing the Camelot image.

One little-known factoid: Jackie O. was behind the modern look of Air Force One. She persuaded the government to paint “United States of America” on the plane.

The stylish first lady, who died in 1994, also redecorated the Oval Office, giving it an elegant yet homey new feel by adding couches and easy chairs and unsealing the fireplace.

And she created the manicured Rose Garden on the grounds of the White House as it’s known today.

“Jackie Kennedy is responsible for

creating the Kennedy legacy,” says Noah Morowitz, the film’s executive producer. She devoted much of her life, he says, to “making him into the great president he so badly wanted to be.”

“While she’s long been regarded as a cultural and style trendsetter, her historical influence actually runs far deeper,” Morowitz says.

“JFK: Fact and Fable”, which premieres Friday on CuriosityStream, a nonfiction streaming platform, also explores how she set to work preserving and orchestrating the 35th president’s legacy within days of his assassination in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963. Step one was her insistence that JFK’s funeral replicate America’s farewell to Abraham Lincoln - a dictate that seemed designed to forever link the two slain presidents in the nation’s conscience.

TEHRAN — Iranian director Hassan

Hosseini said on Monday that he is staging an ‘Iranized’ version of prominent Swiss playwright Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s “Romulus the Great” at Tehran’s Mehrab Hall.

“I held talks with writer Sara Elahian and we created a comedy about power and injustice,” Hosseini told the Persian service of Honaronline.

“The story of the play entitled ‘Throne of the Dead Comedy’ has universal appeal and it is not confined to a specific place,” he added.

“The play has the same plot as ‘Romulus the Great’, but some characters with a certain relationship to [the Iranian historical period of ] the Qajars have been added to the story,” he stated.

Hosseini said that the acting of the

thespians has been caricaturized and musical compositions from the Qajar period have been selected for the play.

Mehran Shoja, Adineh Semnani, Milad Sayyadi and Hamid Seberi are main members of the cast for the play, which will be on stage until August 31.

“Romulus the Great” is about the death of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century.

TEHRAN — A ceremony to

commemorate the French Muslim artist Ivan Othenin Girard (1932-2012) will open today at Tehran’s Barg Art Gallery.

Organized by Tehran Municipality’s Beautification Organization in collaboration with Tandis Art Gallery, tar virtuoso Dariush Talai and painter Iraj Eskandari are expected to speak at the ceremony, the gallery announced in a press release.

Born in France, Ivan Othenin Girard traveled to Iran in 1962 and stayed for 20 years. He met prominent artists of his time such as Sohrab Sepehri, Bijan Jalali and Sadeq Barirani and began to teach at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Tehran.

Years later, he found an interest in Persian culture and civilization, especially the Sufi tradition, and converted to Islam.

He was also interested in Iranian

traditional music and knew some veteran musicians. In 1982 he returned to France with his Iranian wife and continued his artistic activities in his country.

He also traveled to Iran several times to visit his family, friends and students.

An exhibition of paintings and photos by the master will be on display until August 25 at the gallery located at No.13 Jamali St., off Vafamanesh Ave., in Heravi Square.

Noon:13:09 Evening: 20:11 Dawn: 4:53 (tomorrow) Sunrise: 6:25 (tomorrow)

PICTURE OF THE DAY IRNA/Marzieh Musavi

Managing Director: Ali Asgari Editor-in-Chief: Hassan Lasjerdi Editorial Dept.: Fax: (+98(21) 88808214 [email protected] Switchboard Operator: Tel: (+98 21) 43051000 Advertisements Dept.: Telefax: (+98 21) 43051450 [email protected] Public Relations Office: Tel: (+98 21) 88805807 Subscription & Distribution Dept.: Tel: (+98 21) 43051603 www.eshterak.ir Distributor: Padideh Novin Co. Tel: 88911433 Webmaster: [email protected] at: Kayhan - ISSN: 1017-94

N E W S

Guitarist Paul Reyes of the Spanish band Gypsy Kings performs with some of his fellow musicians during a concert at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall on August 14, 2016.

A R Td e s k

12 international artists to compete in Tehran sculpture symposium

A R Td e s k

A R Td e s k

Three Iranian cineastes selected for Berlin Intl. Cinefest

TEHRAN — Iranian cineastes Ali Zare’

Qanatnoi, Mohammad-Hassan Arjmandi and Alireza Salmanpur have been selected for the jury of the Berlin International Cinefest.

Short films, animations and documentaries by filmmakers from around the world will be screened during the one-day festival, which will be held on September 19.

Twenty-four other cineastes, including British screenwriter David Gilbank and U.S. actress Marlee Roberts, are also members of the jury.

N E W S I N B R I E F


“Suicide Squad” loses some luster in 2nd box-office weekend

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The colorful crew of “Suicide Squad” got duller in their second weekend in theaters, with audiences hungry for the raunchy fare of animated “Sausage Party”.

Warner Bros.’ intensely scrutinized comic book film broke records last weekend and managed to stay atop the box office with $43.8 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. But its earnings dropped a steep 67 percent from last weekend.

While not unexpected for a film of its size, a fall that large is often an indicator of poor word of mouth, said comScore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian. The DC Comics film, which cost around $175 million to produce, has earned $222.9 million domestically to date and $465.3 million worldwide.

Sony’s raunchy R-rated comedy “Sausage Party”, co-written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, debuted in second place with $33.6 million, outpacing its reported production budget of $19 million.

Tehran gallery to commemorate French artist Ivan Othenin Girard

A R Td e s k


Grandmother Le Locle (1950-1951)

Academy of Persian language grants honorary membership to Romanian diplomat

TEHRAN — Romanian Ambassador Cristian Teodorescu has been granted

an honorary membership from the Academy of Persian Language and Literature as his mission ended in Tehran on Sunday.

“The academy is proud to have Cristian Teodorescu as an honorary member and we are happy his membership took place before he leaves Iran,” Academy Director Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel said during a ceremony that the academy organized to grant Teodorescu the membership.

“We can say one of the ways to promote

language among different nations is by diplomatic activities, and diplomats who know the languagse of other countries are much more successful. We are happy that the tradition of learning Persian in Iran by diplomats is growing rapidly,” he remarked.

Haddad-Adel added that Teodorescu studied Persian language and literature at the University of Tehran (before the Islamic Revolution) and later served as an ambassador for several years.

“He lived in Iran for 22 years and learned Persian at the university and among the people. We hope after Teodorescu returns to his country, he would continue to develop the ties between the two nations and help promote Persian in his country,” he added.

For his part, the ambassador expressed his thanks and called it a great honor to be a member of the academy.

Ambassadors of Georgia, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Russia as well as several Iranian cultural and political figures attended the ceremony.

Iranian puppet shows to go on stage at Turkish festival

TEHRAN — Two Iranian puppet shows will compete in the 21st Bursa

International Theater Festival for Children and Young People, which will be held in the western Turkish city

from October 17 to 22. “A Musician Who

Performed the Moon” by director Hossein Cheraghi and “Dream of the Shoe” by Marzieh Ashrafian have been produced by the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults.

Over 15 theater troupes from around the world will perform during the festival that will also organize several review

sessions and workshops.The International Association of Theater for

Children and Young People (ASSITEJ) holds the event annually with the aim of facilitating exchange of ideas and cultural traditions for professionals involved in theater for young people.

NA TION 21112WOMEN 10 SPORTS ART& CULT UREmedia.mehrnews.com/d/2016/08/15/0/2174682.pdf · desk POLITICS desk CULTURE desk TOURISM desk TEHRAN TIMES Iran’s Leading International

Documents