Zaras welcomes visitors with its beautiful and eye-catching nature in spring.
The area is located 250 km northeast of Ahvaz and 39 km from Karun Dam 3.
Lake Urmia’s water level increases, more tourists attracted
That’s according to the head of the working group tasked with saving the lake. Mohammad Sadegh Motamedian told IRNA News Agency that the revival projects and a rise in downpours raised the level of the water.
He added that contrary to expectations, the construction of dams in the Lake Urmia basin has played a significant role in water management and supply of drinking water to people in the region.
Referring to the plans aimed at stabilizing Lake Urmia’s condition, Motamedian said in addition to the transfer of water from different basins to the lake, the climatic conditions are also effective in preserving it.
He blamed the current situation of Lake Urmia on what has happened over the past 20 years such as climate change, a decrease in downpours and huge consumption of water.
Officials declared several weeks ago that good days are back for Lake Urmia after the opening of a canal that will transmit water from Kani Sib region to the lake. This has caused an increase in the number of tourists to the region too.
UN says ready for “heartbreaking” Afghan withdrawal
UN officials are negotiating with the Afghan government in the hope that it will make exceptions to an edict this month barring local women from working for the organization, UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner told The Associated Press.
“It is fair to say that where we are right now is the entire United Nations system having to take a step back and reevaluating its ability to operate there,” Steiner said, adding, “But it’s not about negotiating fundamental principles, human rights.”
The Taliban have allowed Afghan women to engage in some work, Steiner continued, and a UN report released Tuesday shows that the country desperately needs more women working, with its economy flailing.
The Taliban takeover has been accompanied by some very modest signs of economic recovery. There has been some increase in exports, some exchange rate stabilization and less inflation. But gross domestic product, the sum of all goods and services produced within Afghanistan’s borders, is expected to be outstripped by population growth, meaning that per capita income will decline from $359 in 2022 to $345 in 2024, the report says.
Some of those economic problems are due to Taliban policies keeping most women out of the workplace, Steiner added. Those economic problems mean more need in the country, but the UN has decided that human rights are non-negotiable and it will leave in May if the Taliban do not relent.
“I think there is no other way of putting it than heartbreaking,” Steiner said, adding, “I mean, if I were to imagine the UN family not being in Afghanistan today, I have before me these images of millions of young girls, young boys, fathers, mothers, who essentially will not have enough to eat.”
A source of faint optimism is the Taliban’s allowing women to work in specific circumstances in health, education and some small businesses.
“In one sense, the de facto authorities have enabled the UN to roll out a significant humanitarian and also emergency development assistance set of activities,” Steiner continued, stating, “But they also continuously are shifting the goalposts, issuing new edicts.”
Despite initial promises of a more moderate rule than during their previous stint in power in the 1990s, the Taliban have imposed harsh measures since taking over the country in 2021 as US and NATO forces were pulling out of Afghanistan after two decades of war.
This month, the Taliban took a step further in the restrictive measures they have imposed on women and said that female Afghan staffers employed with the UN mission can no longer report for work.
“This is a very fundamental moment that we’re approaching. And obviously our hope and expectation is that there will be some common sense prevailing,” Steiner noted.
Aid agencies have been providing food, education and health care support to Afghans since the Taliban takeover and the economic collapse that followed it. No country has recognized the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, and the country’s seat at the UN is held by the former government of President Ashraf Ghani.
The 3,300 Afghans employed by the UN — 2,700 men and 600 women — have stayed home since April 12 but continue to work and will be paid, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric has stated. The UN’s 600 international staff, including 200 women, is not affected by the Taliban ban.
Landslide in Pakistan kills, injures several people
The landslide occurred early on Tuesday near Torkham, a key border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Local police officer Saleem Kalachi told Al Jazeera three people have died in the incident so far.
“This is a big landslide and evacuation process will take some time to complete. There are around 20 to 25 vehicles that were buried under the landslide,” he added.
Bilal Faizi, spokesman for the Rescue 1122 service in the province, told Al Jazeera the landslide took place before dawn after rain and thunderstorm were reported in the area.
Faizi said authorities have launched a search operation to look for people trapped under the landslide. He said there could be more than 20 vehicles, including large trucks, under the rubble.
“This is not a small landslide that can be cleaned up quickly. We have more than 60 people working here to remove the rubble. It’s like an entire mountain has collapsed,” he stated.
The Torkham crossing was closed for more than a week in February this year due to tensions between Pakistani and Afghanistani authorities following clashes along the border.
Inayat Afridi, a medical officer at a state-run hospital in Landi Kotal, a town nearly 7km (4 miles) from the landslide, told Al Jazeera an Afghan national is among those dead. He added that the hospital received at least four injured people.
“We treated two Pakistanis and two Afghans at the hospital for minor wounds while there is one dead body with us as yet,” he continued.
Iranian daily: A mere cabinet shake-up can’t end woes; people want de-escalation with West
In an article, Jomhouri-e Eslami Daily, a vocal critic of the Raisi administration, said the “improper performance” of the statesmen has had many negative consequences, “the most dangerous of which is the people’s degrading religious faith.”
It said as long as those in charge of the administration fail to revise their views of the country’s problems, they will not be able to address the issues, and that a handful of replacements and appointments in the cabinet cannot be effective enough.
The paper suggested that the people’s “overwhelming” praise of the reconciliation with Saudi Arabia means they seek de-escalation with the West, claiming that the administration has failed to take note of that wish.
President Raisi has announced a cabinet reshuffle, replacing the minister of agriculture and the head of planning and budget organization.
The country has been grappling with a range of economic woes, including sharp inflation and a decline in the value of the national currency, rial.
Aside from the tough economic sanctions in place on Iran, the administration has attributed parts of the problems to a recent wave of unrest and protests that gripped the country for months.
Footage of Russian Su-35 jet flying in Tehran fake: Iranian media
Tasnim News Agency reported on Tuesday that recently, footage has emerged on social media of what appears to be a Sukhoi-35 over the International Mehrabad Airport in western Tehran.
The video, however, turned out to be fake after its authenticity was examined, the report added.
🎥 فیلم پرواز سوخو-۳۵ در تهران ساختگی است
اخیرا فیلمی جعلی در شبکههای مجازی منتشر شده که در آن یک جنگنده سوخو-۳۵ روسی در آسمان تهران و مهرآباد در حال پرواز استhttps://t.co/udjJE0Qla5 pic.twitter.com/XnH76xaS14
— خبرگزاری تسنیم 🇮🇷 (@Tasnimnews_Fa) April 18, 2023
Last year, Iran reached a deal with Russia on the purchase of cutting-edge Sukhoi-35 warplanes.
There is speculation that a first batch of the aircraft may arrive in Iran soon.
Officials say Qatar and UAE to restore diplomatic ties, reopen embassies following Iran-Saudi detente
“At present, the activation of diplomatic ties, which will include the reopening of embassies, is under process between both countries,” a UAE official said in a statement in response to a question from Reuters.
A Persian Gulf official stated that embassies were expected to reopen with new ambassadors in their posts by mid-June. A third source added that diplomatic relations would be fully restored within weeks.
The restoration of ties comes amid a broader regional push for reconciliation with Iran and Saudi Arabia agreeing last month to re-establish relations after years of hostility.
Several Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, have moved to end a decade-long isolation of Syria, which had been boycotted over the war.
In Yemen, the Houthi movement and Saudi Arabia held a round of peace talks this week, exchanging hundreds of detainees.
In mid-2017, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt severed all ties with Qatar over accusations it supported terrorism, and was cosying up to Iran, accusations Doha denied.
Riyadh and Cairo were the first to reappoint ambassadors to Doha in 2021 after a Saudi-led deal to end the dispute, while Bahrain last week announced it would restore diplomatic ties.
All nations, with the exception of Bahrain, had restored trade and travel links with Qatar in early 2021, when the UAE had suggested resuming diplomatic ties would take time.
Relations between the UAE and Qatar warmed last year and leaders of both countries met face-to-face.
“The UAE’s foreign policy is primarily focused on building bridges, economic cooperation and regional de-escalation,” said the UAE official, who declined to be identified.
The other Persian Gulf official, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated that late last month Qatari and Emirati officials agreed to restore diplomatic ties and that Abu Dhabi has informed Doha who its envoy would be. Qatar has yet to do the same, the official added.
In the Qatari capital of Doha this week, workers were laying new sidewalks outside the consular section of the UAE embassy and palm trees appeared to have been recently planted in the garden. Across the street, another UAE embassy building seemed abandoned, its garden overgrown and upstairs windows propped open.
G7 welcomes Iran-Saudi Arabia rapprochement
“We welcome initiatives to improve bilateral relations among countries and de-escalate tensions in the region, including Iran and Saudi Arabia’s recent agreement to restore ties,” the G7 foreign ministers said in a collective statement released following their meeting in Karuizawa, Japan.
On March 10, after several days of intensive negotiations hosted by China, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to resume their diplomatic relations and reopen their embassies and diplomatic missions after seven years of estrangement.
In a joint statement after signing the agreement, Tehran and Riyadh highlighted the need to respect each others’ national sovereignty and refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of one another.
on Monday, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman said Iran and Saudi Arabia are pushing to implement their agreements on re-opening of embassies and that the missions will begin operation no later than May 9.
Nasser Kanaani stated in his weekly presser on Monday that political relations between the two sides are practically restored and they face no obstacle to re-opening of diplomatic missions.
Kaaani added that Iran and Saudi Arabia are now exchanging technical delegations on the matter.
Hamas delegation visits Saudi Arabia to mend ties
Palestinian media reported that the delegation, including Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the group abroad, Khaled Mashal, and officials Mousa Abu Marzook and Khalil al-Hayya, arrived in the Saudi city of Jeddah late on Monday.
Citing sources, the reports said the delegation will perform the Umrah pilgrimage in the final days of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
Ties between Riyadh and Hamas deteriorated in 2007, following the resistance group’s victory in the Palestinian legislative elections and clashes with the Fatah political party in the Gaza Strip.
In 2019, Saudi Arabia arrested dozens of Hamas members, claiming that they were threatening the kingdom’s rule.
Hamas leaders have in recent months sent messages that they would like to improve relations with Saudi Arabia. In turn, the kingdom has released many of Hamas detainees, including senior member Mohammad Al-Khudari.
Following the release of two Palestinians linked to Hamas back in February, the Gaza-based group expressed hope that the development would be “a prelude to opening a new page with the brothers in Saudi Arabia.”
“We affirm our keenness on positive relations with our brothers in Saudi Arabia and all brotherly countries in the service of the Palestinian cause and our Arab and Islamic nation,” it announced in a statement.
The Hamas delegation’s trip to Saudi Arabia came more than a month after Tehran and Riyadh agreed to a China-brokered reconciliation deal to resume their diplomatic ties.
Coinciding with Hamas officials’ Saudi trip, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is visiting the kingdom upon an official invitation by Riyadh.
He is expected to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday to discuss the latest developments regarding the Palestinian cause and the situation in the region, as well as the strengthening of Palestinian-Saudi relations, Wafa news agency reported.
