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Vocalist Ghorbani: Military service in IRGC behind ban on entry to US

Vocalist Ghorbani: Military service in IRGC behind ban on entry to US

In a video released on his Instagram page on Friday, Ghorbani offered a brief explanation about reports of the famed singer being detained and interrogated before boarding a flight to the US at the Toronto Airport, and eventually denied entry to the US, despite holding a relevant visa.

Ghorbani said he was asked a series of routine questions about how he acquired his visa and his planned stay in the US, suggesting that there was no detention, contrary to what has been reported.

The officers at the passport control section also asked for “comprehensive explanations,” he said.

“But in the end, the relevant officer explained that they would not allow me to pass through the passport control section because of the existing regulations and laws,” he said, attributing this to “non-coordination” between the visa issuance department in Toronto and the airport officers.

The vocalist also dismissed claims that he was a dual Canadian-Iranian national.

Iran rejects UN rights resolution as totally unacceptable and illegal

Iran's Foreign Ministry

Khatibzadeh said the drafting of the resolution by Britain and other Western governments and their repetition of unfounded claims are based on wrong and malicious information.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman referred to efforts by Western governments to continue their Irano-phobic project and defamation of the Islamic Republic. Khatibzadeh said these countries who have a long track record of gross rights violations including through arms sales to despotic and occupying regimes, have turned the issue of human rights into a tool to satisfy their political greed and achieve their political goals.

Khatibzadeh added that such immoral and unjustified moves will not only fail to help improve the human rights situation and respect for them at the global level, but it also gives rise to negative stereotyping and political libeling against nations and have caused serious damage to the real meaning of human rights.

Khatibzadeh added that the Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns the move by the British government and other drafters of this resolution that is a blatant example of abusing the lofty concepts and values of human rights for the purpose of bigoted political goals and considers it as lacking any legal value and effect.

He noted that the resolution extends the mission of the special rapporteur on Iran.

Khatibzadeh noted that the recent reports show the rapporteur acts according to the British, Zionist and US drafters of the resolution and has turned the UN’s human rights mechanisms into a tool to achieve the heinous and illegal goals of the foregoing regimes.

Khatibzadeh said those governments who themselves violate the rights of other nations have lost the moral ground to judge the human rights situation in a country and that they must be held accountable for their crimes and gross violations of human rights.

Khatibzadeh reiterated that those who drafted this resolution must first condemn the US actions in line with its economic terrorism and its move to intensify the unilateral, oppressive sanctions and their destructive impact on the access of Iranians to basic needs such as medical equipment and items during the Covid pandemic.

663 people killed in car accidents during Nowruz holidays

According to the official, this figure shows a 10 percent decrease compared to the number of road crashes last year.

Officials say the deaths and injuries include those that happened inside cities and on road outside urban areas.

Parachutists jump off Tehran’s Milad Tower to mark Islamic Republic Day

The exciting jump-offs took place on Friday, which was the Islamic Republic Day in Iran.

Forty-three years ago on, 98.2 percent of eligible Iranians voters said ‘yes’ to the replacement of the monarchical system of government with an Islamic republic in a referendum.

The historic referendum was held two months after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, which toppled the US-backed Pahlavi dynasty.

 

Female Iranian filmmakers, actresses condemn ‘sexual violence’ in cinema

Female Iranian filmmakers, actresses condemn 'sexual violence' in cinema

The statement provides some details about the ‘dire situation of women in the Iranian cinema’ and calls for the formation of an independent committee to investigate reports of harassment of female filmmakers and actresses.

The signatories of the statement condemned any ‘harassment and sexual blackmail of women’ in the workplace and demanded legal consequences for those who violate the law.

The statement also deplored what it described gender inequality in the Iranian cinema and the lack of an oversight body that would have prevented excessive demands and infringements by those who wield influence.

It demanded an end to sexual violence in the Iranian cinema. The signatories of the statement include such famous names as Niki Karimi, Hedieh Tehani, Pouran Derakhshandeh, Behnoush Tabatabaei, Taraneh Alidousti, Mitra Hajjar and many other heavy weights of the Iranian cinema.

There have been numerous allegations of sexual harassment of women in the Iranian cinema. But the accusers have not provided any tangible proof to back up their claims.

Death toll from Covid-19 hits new low in Iran

The new count, released by the ministry on Friday afternoon, showed 2,264 people had been diagnosed with the disease in the past day, pushing to total caseload to 7,164,484.

According to the figure, 315 people were hospitalized.

The new deaths also brought the total toll to 140,240 people.

The number of infection cases has witnessed a rise in the recent week as Iranian people are marking the Persian New Year with trips and family visits.

The health authorities have been pushing ahead with the countrywide inoculation campaign even during Nowruz holidays.

In the past 24 hours, 122,637 doses of vaccine have been administered, bringing the total count to 147,064,897.

FIFA rejects rumors of banning Iran from 2020 World Cup

FIFA rejects rumors of banning Iran from 2020 World Cup

In a meeting with Mirshad Majedi, the acting president of Iran’s Football Federation, Infantino made it clear that the Iranian team would not be banned from World Cup games, the IRIB reported.

The rumors were apparently circulated by some Italian media outlets, whose national team could get a chance to make its way to the World Cup in case of Iran’s exclusion.

The claims followed an incident on the sidelines of the Iran-Lebanon World Cup qualifier in the northeastern city of Mashhad on Tuesday.

A group of women, who had reportedly bought tickets to the game, were stopped outside the stadium. They were pepper-sprayed by the security guards as they protested and tried to enter by force.

The incident gave rise to protests not just among people but also the country’s sports officials and politicians.

FIFA also asked for an explanation for what happened.

The controversy prompted Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to intervene. He ordered to interior minister to launch an investigation and prepare a comprehensive report on the incident.

‘Road accidents claim 17,000 lives in Iran annually’

Iran Roads

Jafar Tashakkori Hashemi, chairman of the Civil Engineering and Transportation Commission of Tehran City Council said in an Instagram post that at least 552 people died in road accidents from March 20 to 29, amid a rise in trips during New Year holidays, in what he described as “no-return travels that decide a bitter fate for passengers and their families.”

Authorities have warned that the number is expected to rise toward the end of the two-week holidays when many hit the roads back to their hometowns.

The official said although “human errors” are blamed for 80 percent of the accidents, modern technology has come to the aid of car manufacturers to enable the vehicles to prevent fatalities in the case of such errors.

“Unfortunately, due to a lack of competition in car manufacturing and the production of low-quality vehicles in addition to unsafe roads in our country, over 17,000 people lose their lives, with the number being 20 to 30 time bigger in cases of disabilities and injuries, which mainly includes active people aging between 15 to 45.”

The figures, he said, places Iran on the list of high-risk states in terms of road traffic accidents.

Iranian singer detained, grilled by US immigration officers

Alireza Ghorbani

Alireza Ardekani, CEO of the Culture NGO in Los Angeles said Alireza Ghorbani boarded the plane but the US immigration officers removed him from the flight.

The Iranian signer was then questioned for four hours and his visa was cancelled.

CEO of the Culture NGO said Ghorbani’s visa was cancelled because he completed his military service in the IRGC in Iran three decades ago.

The US has blacklisted the IRGC as a terrorist organization.

Ghorbani obtained his visa from the US Consulate General in Toronto.

The concert was to be held at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa. Some other famous Iranian singers were to perform at the event.

Ghorbani is a dual citizen of Iran and Canada.

Iranian delegation visiting Russia for expansion of trade ties

Iran and Russia Flags

Ahmad Khani Nozari, Iran’s Deputy Minister of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare, said given that prices of oil seeds and livestock inputs are going up worldwide, Iran can meet its needs for these products by purchasing them from Russia.

Khani Nozari noted that Russia’s big market provides a good opportunity for Iranian producers to play a more active role.

He added that the visit by the Iranian delegation is aimed at expanding economic cooperation and in line with strategic agreements that were reached during President Ebrahim Raisi’s recent visit to Moscow.

According to the Iranian official, the trip means negotiation for facilitating trade and expansion of exports of Iranian-made goods to Russia at a time when the country is under heavy sanctions by the European Union and the US.