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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Before returning home on Friday, Amir-Abdollahian attended the third meeting of foreign ministers of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries in Tunxi, China.
During the gathering, the top diplomat called on Afghanistan’s neighbors to join forces and help speed up the reconstruction of the South Asian state, ravaged by two decades of US-led war.
“It is necessary that Afghanistan’s neighbors and friendly countries come up with relevant mechanisms to strengthen cooperation in the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan,” he told the meeting on Thursday.
Amir Abdollahian blamed the problems gripping Afghanistan on “the long-term occupation and misguided policies of the occupiers, mainly the United States.”
On the sidelines, Iran’s chief diplomat met with his opposite numbers from China, Russia, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Qatar, and Indonesia. He also sat down for talks with Uzbekistan’s deputy prime minister and the Taliban’s caretaker foreign minister.
Besides the Afghanistan crisis, Amir Abdollahian and the senior officials exchanged views on other topics, including the expansion of bilateral ties and major regional developments.
In separate meetings with Wang Yi, the host country’s foreign minister, and Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the three states stressed their determination to fight the US sanctions imposed on independent states.
A total of 41 donor countries pledged more than $2.44 billion toward the United Nations’ $4.4 billion appeal for humanitarian aid in Afghanistan, the world body said on Thursday, as international concerns grew over the Taliban denying girls a secondary education.
Guterres opened the high-level conference urging donors to provide unconditional funding, saying that 9 million Afghans faced famine and that families were selling children and organs to survive.
The humanitarian situation has “deteriorated alarmingly” since the Taliban takeover in August and the economy has all but collapsed, he added.
“Some 95 percent of people do not have enough to eat. Nine million people are at risk of famine. UNICEF estimates that a million severely malnourished children are on the verge of death, without immediate action,” he stated.
Guterres called for the reopening of schools for all students in Afghanistan without discrimination.
Britain, the European Union and the United States pledged funds, but along with Turkey and others voiced concerns about growing restrictions imposed by the hard-line rulers.
“This humanitarian aid, like all aid from the United States, will go directly to NGOs and the United Nations. The Taliban will not control our humanitarian funding,” said US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield, pledging $204 million.
Ahead of the drive, Britain pledged 286 million pounds ($374 million) for Afghanistan, where six of every 10 Afghans need aid, much of it food.
British minister of state Lord Ahmad noted, “While today our focus has rightly been on critical humanitarian issues, many interventions today have also raised the increasing restrictions tragically placed on Afghan people but in particular on women and girls, on the media and indeed on civil society.”
UN aid chief Martin Griffiths, speaking from Doha, Qatar, after talks with the Taliban in Kabul this week, stated, “I had the firm impression that the door for dialogue with the de facto authorities remains open, they want to find a constructive way to work with us.
“They don’t necessarily know how to work with the international community, including the complex question of girls’ education. I hope we can resolve this problem in the future,” he added.
At Indira Gandhi Children’s Hospital in Kabul he had seen tiny malnourished children and newborns sharing ventilators. The level of human suffering left him speechless, Griffiths warned.
The United Nations says funds under the appeal — three times the amount requested in 2021 — go directly to aid agencies and none are channeled through the de facto authorities.
The fire broke out when a tanker was being filled with hydrocarbons at the factory.
The head of Mahshahr’s Special Economic Zone Organization said two people were injured in the incident and one of them was admitted to a hospital for treatment.
The tanker was carrying materials that are similar to gasoline and are used in solvents and paint production industries.
The exact cause of the fire is unknown.
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