Baghshy are traditional musicians in the north-east of Iran who have helped classical Turkmen music to survive to this day. Their mystical music, stemming from Turkmen history and culture, uses the dutar (meaning ‘two-stringed’) as its main instrument.
The gunman, identified by US media as an alleged Daesh [ISIS] sympathizer named Omar Mateen, a US citizen of Afghan descent from Port St. Lucie, Florida, took hostages at the club and barricaded himself in the complex but was later killed by specially trained SWAT units. Daesh later claimed responsibility for the attack, according to media outlets affiliated with the terror group.
“Our hearts, thoughts, and prayers are with the victims and their families… This is a hate crime, plain and simple. We condemn it in the strongest possible terms. It violates our principles as Americans and as Muslims,” Nihad Awad, CAIR’s National Executive Director, said on Sunday.
“We will not give into hate. We will not give into fear,” he added.
Awad insisted that Daesh is an outlawed group which doesn’t represent Muslims. “You do not speak for us. You do not represent us. You are an aberration, you are an outlaw … they don’t speak for our faith. They never belonged to this beautiful faith.”
He called for unity among all Americans and warned politicians against exploiting the tragedy to score points. “And to those politicians who may try to exploit this tragedy, we ask them to respect the victims and their families. This is not the time to score points. This is not the time to exploit fear. This is the time for unity and faith.”
The remarks come after presumptive Republican presidential nominee used the attack to push ahead with his anti-Muslim rhetoric. Donald Trump said the shooting further proved [the correctness of] his xenophobic campaign.
“Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic [sic] terrorism,” he said. “I don’t want congrats, I want toughness and vigilance. We must be smart!”
Trump called to bar all Muslims from entering the United States while campaigning in primary season.
Earlier, US President Barack Obama denounced the Orlando shooting as an act of terror and hatred, and ordered the American flag lowered to half-mast to honour the victims.
“Today as Americans we grieve the brutal murder, a horrific massacre of dozens of innocent people,” Obama said during a White House address to the nation.
“Although it is early in the investigation, we know enough to say that this was an act of terror and an act of hate,” he added.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said it is investigating both domestic and international connections to the mass shooting.
The suspect allegedly called 911 moments before the attack, pledging allegiance to the terror group, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing a federal law enforcement official.
This year’s exhibition consists of various sections including: academic; children and teenagers; Quranic activities; seminaries; women, and so on.
In the international section, which is going to be held in the second week of the event, 50 scientific and artistic figures are to take part.
Experts and artists from Iraq, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Bahrain, Syria, Lebanon, Russia, Azerbaijan, Germany and Turkey are set to participate in workshops and expert meetings.
The 24th edition of International Holy Quran Exhibition will be underway until June 28.
Speaking to reporters upon his arrival in the Norwegian capital of Oslo on Sunday night, June 12, Zarif pointed to his plans for the new round of his European tour, saying that he will participate in the Oslo Forum and hold meetings with senior Norwegian officials on a range of issues, including ways to boost bilateral relations in various areas.
In his three-day visit to Norway, Zarif will deliver a speech at the Oslo Forum on Tuesday, he said, adding that on the sidelines of the international event, he will meet with Kerry and discuss US commitments under the nuclear deal between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany), known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The Iranian top diplomat also said he also plans to visit Berlin for a few hours to meet with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier and hold talks on various bilateral and regional issues.
While the JCPOA, a 159-page nuclear agreement between Iran and the Group 5+1 came into force in January, some Iranian officials have complained about the US failure to fully implement the accord.
Earlier in March, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said Americans have yet to fulfill what they were supposed to do as per the nuclear deal.
Iran still has problems in its banking transactions or in restoring its frozen assets, because Western countries and those involved in such processes are afraid of Americans, the Leader said at the time, criticizing the US for its moves to prevent Iran from taking advantage of sanctions removal.
Gushfil is a traditional sweet pastry often cooked during Ramadan across different cities of Iran. In these photos, women in Arak, Markazi province, prepare these sweets at home for people who have been fasting. The name Gushfil means ‘Elephant Ears,’ due their shape and appearance.
A court in Canada recently issued a verdict giving $13m of Iran’s non-diplomatic assets to the families of Americans who died in several attacks blamed on Iran.
In reaction to the court ruling, Kadkhodaei, also a former spokesman for Iran’s Guardian Council, published an article in Jame Jam newspaper, which is translated by IFP.
“Based on the principles of national sovereignty and the independence of countries, they should deal with their domestic affairs themselves, and in turn, not interfere with the interests of other countries,” Kadkhodaei said in his article.
Of course in very limited and exceptional cases, different countries are internationally allowed to prosecute such crimes as piracy, but such cases are very rare, Kadkhodaei noted.
Generally speaking, no state is allowed to put another state on trial in its domestic courts and issue verdicts for them, he went on to say.
The only exception to this principle was the US, which recently robbed Iran’s assets, Kadkhodaei noted, referring to a similar case of a US court ruling seizing nearly $2bn of Iran’s assets.
Canada’s recent court ruling to confiscate Iran’s property ignored the Canadian state’s qualification for such a verdict and also violated the independence and sovereignty of other states, he added.
“The move was unprecedented in the history of international law, and is not at all accepted by other countries, because accepting such moves would lead to chaos in the international system,” Kadkhodaei asserted.
[Based on such actions] One could no longer expect to have order in the international community, and from now on, states are going to take legal action against each other in their domestic courts, he noted.
“This will disrupt the international system’s stability and sustainability, and thus, such measures have no legal justification in the international community.”
The judgment by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice found Tehran responsible for financing and training Hamas and Hezbollah operatives, who purportedly carried out eight bombings or hostage-takings in Buenos Aires, Israel, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia between 1983 and 2002.
The move by Ottawa came after the US Supreme Court ruled on April 20 that Iran’s assets frozen in a bank account, which are worth around $2bn, should be turned over to American families of those killed in a 1983 bombing in Beirut and other attacks blamed on Iran. Tehran has denied any role in the attacks.
The ruling for the $13m payout does not affect Iran’s diplomatic property in Canada, but does touch non-diplomatic properties and a list of frozen bank accounts, the report added.
This is while Canadian Foreign Minister Stéphane Dion confirmed on Friday June 10 that Ottawa had started “official” talks with Tehran in an attempt to renew ties with the Islamic Republic following a lasting nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.
“Talks have started, yes, at the official level,” Dion said.
The Iranian team defeated Russia 5-3 in the final match held at The Forum, Inglewood, California and won the title.
Iran started the campaign with a 5-3 victory over Azerbaijan and routed India 8-0 in Pool B. Iran and USA split four matches apiece, but Iran held the edge on classification points, 17-15, giving them the tiebreaker.
Iran beat Russia 5-3 in the final match and finished in first place.
In the bronze medal match, Georgia defeated USA 5-3.
Russia (including the former Soviet Union) is the most decorated team with 15 titles, followed by the USA and Iran with 13 and 7 respectively.
1st Place Match
Iran 5 – Russia 3
57 kg: Hassan Rahimi (Iran) dec. Gadzhimurad Rashidov (Russia), 3-3
61 kg: Masoud Esmaeilpour (Iran) dec. Viktor Rassadin (Russia), 12-6
65 kg: Magomed Kurbanaliev (Russia) dec. Meysam Nasiri (Iran), 4-1
70 kg: Mostafa Hosseinkhani (Iran) dec. Khalil Aminov (Russia), 10-1
74 kg: Hassan Yazdani (Iran) tech. fall Khetik Tsabolov (Russia), 14-4
86 kg: Shamil Kudiiamagomedov (Russia) dec. Alireza Karimi (Iran), 6-3
97 kg: Abdusalam Gadisov (Russia) dec. Amir Mohammadi (Iran), 10-3
125 kg: Komeil Ghasemi (Iran) dec. Muradin Kushkov (Russia), 3-22016 MEN’S FREESTYLE WORLD CUP
At The Forum, Inglewood, California, June 11-12
Final Standings
1st: Iran
2nd: Russia
3rd: Georgia
4th: United States
5th: Azerbaijan
6th: Mongolia
7th: India
8th: Turkey
Here’s IFP’s translation of a report by IRNA:
Deputy Head of the Office for Blood Donor Recruitment Nima Hamoon told IRNA that over 2 million Iranians donate blood each year.
“This means that 27 Iranians out of every 1,000 give blood,” he noted.
“In developed countries, 30 to 40 people in every 1,000 donate blood, while in regional countries, the figure is 10.” Therefore, he said, Iran ranks well in comparison with the region and the world.
Women Make up Less than 10% of Donors
“According to statistics, women’s participation in blood donation is 50% in some European countries, and the average global proportion of female blood donation is 30%. The figure in Iran lags too far below the averages,” Hamoon went on to say.
“Currently, women’s participation in blood donation is less than 10% in Iran, and measures should be taken to encourage a change,” he added.
“Sometimes there are false beliefs about women’s blood donation, which discourages them from donating. For example, some think that if women donate blood, they will get anaemia,” he said.
Every year on 14 June, countries around the world celebrate World Blood Donor Day (WBDD). The event, established in 2004, serves to raise awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products, and to thank blood donors for their voluntary, life-saving gifts of blood.
The Iranian pavilion has been decorated with symbols of Iranian culture and architecture and local Iranian markets. The organizers of the Iranian pavilion told IRNA that some Iranians works created by 3-D printer are to be exhibited in La Pernamente.
By applying three-dimensional technology and being visited several times, the Iranian pavilion stood among the top five stands as ranked by the International Biennial Association.
Managing Director of the Centre for Visual Arts and the Supervisor of Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Majid Molanoruzi, and the Iranian pavilion curator Arash Ahmadi participated for the first time.
The event began at the beginning of the current Iranian year and will continue until the month of August.
The contract was signed between Arak Machine Manufacturing Company (Machin-Sazi Arak) from Iran and Jinggang Company, which is the biggest name in the Chinese iron industry.
According to Amir Hossein Rezaie, who is the manager of Arak, the value of the contract stood at $550m. The deal aims at establishing a strategic point as an oil reservoir and for oil products. At the first stage of the project, 10m barrels of oil will be stored.
The selection of Qeshm Island for the implementation of the project is due to the island’s special geographical situation, as it is close to the port city of Bandar Abbas in south of the country. The port is a very favourable spot for loading and unloading oil tankers and cargo ships.
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