Cinemas to Open in Saudi Arabia for First Time in 35 Years

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December 11, 2017

“As the industry regulator, the General Commission for Audiovisual Media has started the process for licensing cinemas in the Kingdom,” Minister of Culture and Information Awwad bin Saleh Alawwad said in a statement on Monday.

“We expect the first cinemas to open in March 2018.”

A ban on movie theatres was made in the 1980s in response to Islamist extremism with religious hardliners arguing that cinemas were un-Islamic and corrupted morals.

“Motion pictures may broadcast shameless, immoral, atheistic or rotten films,” said the grand mufti, Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Sheikh, on his weekly television programme in January this year.

The rules on film screenings have been relaxed in recent weeks with some screenings taking place as a precursor to the official lifting of the ban, according to Gulf News.

Religious hardliners see cinemas as a threat to cultural identity.

But in the age of YouTube it is increasingly difficult to maintain the ban, artists have argued, as directors use the internet to get around the problem.

In 2013 Saudi received its first ever Academy Award nomination with Wadjda, by Saudi female director Haifaa Al Mansour.

Growing Popularity of Street Arts, Graffiti in Iran’s Bandar Abbas

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Fatemeh Askarieh

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December 11, 2017

Graffiti ranges from simple written words to elaborate wall paintings, and has existed since ancient times. In most countries, marking or painting property without the property owner’s permission is considered defacement and vandalism, which is a punishable crime.

Controversies that surround graffiti continue to create disagreement amongst city officials, law enforcement, and writers who wish to display and appreciate work in public locations.

The port city of Bandar Abbas in southern Iran is a city with many of these graffiti.

Here are IRNA’s photos of some of these artworks:

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Stanford to Establish Fellowship in Memory of Late Iranian Math Genius

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Fatemeh Askarieh

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December 11, 2017

The School of Humanities and Sciences has received an $800,000 gift from engineers and entrepreneurs Rouzbeh Yassini-Fard and Anousheh Ansari to establish the fellowship.

According to a Farsi report by ISNA, The Maryam Mirzakhani Graduate Fellowship will support graduate students in the Department of Mathematics.

Yassini and Ansari said that Mirzakhani was an inspiration to them and an embodiment of the contributions that the Iranian community has made globally throughout history across the humanities, arts and sciences.

Mirzakhani was an Iranian mathematician and a professor of mathematics at Stanford University. Her research topics included Teichmüller theory, hyperbolic geometry, ergodic theory, and symplectic geometry.

In 2014, she was honored with the Fields Medal, the most prestigious award in mathematics. Thus, she became both the first woman and the first Iranian to be honored with the award.

Mirzakhani was born on 3 May 1977 in Tehran, Iran. She attended Tehran Farzanegan School there, part of the National Organization for Development of Exceptional Talents. In 1994, she achieved the gold medal level in the International Mathematical Olympiad, the first female Iranian student to do so. In the 1995 International Mathematical Olympiad, she became the first Iranian student to achieve a perfect score and to win two gold medals.

She obtained her BSc in mathematics in 1999 from the Sharif University of Technology in Tehran. She then went to the United States for graduate work, earning her PhD in 2004 from Harvard University.

On 14 July 2017, Mirzakhani died of breast cancer at the age of 40.

Iranian Jewish MP Blasts Trump Decision on Jerusalem

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IFP Editorial Staff

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December 10, 2017

In a Sunday statement, Siamak MoreSedegh vehemently condemned the US decision to recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as the capital of Israel and said the absurd statements and performances of Trump particularly his latest decision on the oppressed nation of Palestine have opened a new chapter in the global book of obscenity.

“With its behaviours, Trump has proved that he is not committed even to the unfair rules in today’s world,” he was quoted as saying in a Farsi report by ICANA.

By accepting the oppressive decision of the occupying regime of Israel, the US has joined hands with Tel Aviv and even left behind the most extremist and racist regimes of the history.

“It goes without saying that decisions like Trump’s stance on Jerusalem al-Quds make independent states across the world … more determined in their fight against the enemies,” he said.

According to MoreSadegh, measures like Washington’s latest provocative decision will not drain the will of the nations to stand up against the hegemonic powers and Israel.

“Along with the great nation of Iran, the Jewish Iranians have vehemently slammed Trump for his shameless decision on Jerusalem al-Quds and reaffirmed their allegiance with the freedom-seekers of the world in fight against hegemonic powers and Zionists,” he concluded.

Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem al-Quds on December 6 has sparked protests in different cities across the region and the whole world. Trump announced the US will relocate its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds, recognizing the city as the Israeli regime’s capital.

Iran’s Beauties in Photos: Qom Salt Rock

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Fatemeh Askarieh

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December 10, 2017

A small lake, which is surrounded by mountains and rocks, has made the landscape more beautiful. In the second half of the year, due to the high volume of water evaporation, the lake turns into a thick layer of salt. At this time of year, the thickness of the salt on the lake reaches half a metre. There are various, unique and beautiful shapes formed in this structure that can attract many tourists.

In recent years, the capacity of the area to attract tourists has been somehow ignored, in a way that even many of Qom residents may not know such a thing exists near their hometown.

Here are the Mehr News Agency’s photos of Qom Salt Rock:

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A Look at Iranian Newspaper Front Pages on December 10

By

IFP Editorial Staff

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December 10, 2017

The issue of Jerusalem al-Quds has remained a top story in almost all Iranian newspapers on Sunday. Several papers covered the isolation of the US in a meeting of the UN Security Council, where all member states condemned Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as the Israeli regime’s capital and relocated the US embassy to the city.

Iranian papers also covered other figures’ reactions to the controversial decision, particularly the remarks made by IRGC Chief-Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari and the global protest rallies held in various parts of the world in support of Palestine.

Another top story today was the visit of UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson to Tehran and his meetings with top Iranian officials.

The above issues, as well as many more, are highlighted in the following headlines and top stories:

19 Dey:

1- US Left Alone: UN Security Council Denounces Trump’s Decision

2- Johnson Underlines Full Implementation of Iran Nuclear Deal