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Prayer Time (Tehran)
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Dawn: 5:17
Sunrise: 6:47
Noon: 11:51
Evening: 17:15
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Weather Guide
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TUE |
WED |
Tehran: |
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High: |
11oC |
12oC |
Low: |
2oC |
2oC |
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Athens |
17 |
18 |
Ankara |
12 |
11 |
Cairo |
23 |
23 |
Copenhagen |
7 |
6 |
Frankfurt |
8 |
6 |
Karachi |
30 |
32 |
Kuwait City |
22 |
23 |
London |
8 |
11 |
Madrid |
15 |
14 |
Moscow |
2 |
1 |
New Delhi |
27 |
28 |
Paris |
9 |
11 |
Riyadh |
19 |
18 |
Rome |
18 |
16 |
Vienna |
10 |
7 |
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Identification
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Published by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA)
Address:
Iran Cultural & Press Institute, #212 Khorramshahr Avenue Tehran/Iran
Executive Editor: Amin Sabooni
Editorial Dept. Tel: 88755761-2
Editorial Dept. Fax: 88761869
Advertising Dept. Tel: 88501499, 88737250
Internet Address:
www.iran-daily.com
E-mail Address:
iran-daily@iran-daily.com
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President Rejects US, UK Hegemony
IRIB Should Meet Public Demand
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President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (c) talks to newscasters during his tour of IRIB, Nov. 20. (Fars Photo)
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TEHRAN, Nov. 20--President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed on Monday the hegemony of the US and Britain over the world.
He the remark while speaking to reporters at a press conference with Zimbabwe’s President Robert Gabriel Mugabe after the official welcome ceremony at the Presidential Office, IRNA reported.
The Iranian president called for efforts to end this hegemony.
“The media can give coverage to the fruitful talks scheduled between Iran and Zimbabwe during President Mugabe’s current visit. By disseminating the relevant news for both nations and countries, the media can convey the message of peace and friendship to the entire world,“ Ahmadinejad said.
For his part, Mugabe said the visit is not merely centered on economic issues, but that mutual historical and political ties will also be high on the agenda of talks, given the great revolutions in both countries.
“We believe that we should stand against the US and Britain, given that both consider themselves owners of the world. In this unipolar system, they consider themselves as the world leader and consider us second-grade citizens. Therefore, we should defend ourselves,“ he said.
Also on Monday, Ahmadinejad said proper and prompt dissemination of information is one of the present-day requirements.
He made the remark while speaking at a gathering of the managers and staff of the Islamic Republic Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).
The chief executive underlined the impact of Iranian developments on international equations and said the national media today play a unique role in materializing such an ideal.
Ahmadinejad, who also heads the High Council for Cultural Revolution, said drawing up plans for confronting the enemies’ cultural assaults, protection and promotion of rich Islamic culture, strengthening of national unity and building up a hopeful and cheerful public morale are among the most important tasks of the national media.
Ahmadinejad urged the need to make IRIB programs meet the demands of Iranians, stressing that they should be good enough to be presented to the international community.
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Speaker Stresses Majlis Independence
Cultural Issues Discussed With Clerics
QOM, Nov. 20--Majlis Speaker Gholamali Haddad-Adel said on Monday the Iranian Parliament has maintained its independent status while having close interaction with the executive branch.
Speaking at a meeting with Ayatollah Nouri Hamedani, a senior cleric in the holy city of Qom, the speaker said Majlis and government have amicable and constructive relations, IRNA reported.
“By maintaining close interaction with the government, the Majlis avoided falling into a hostile relationship with the executive branch,“ he said.
Accompanied by members of Majlis Presiding Board, the speaker arrived in Qom to visit the shrine of Hazrat Massoumeh (SA), the distinguished sister of Imam Reza (AS), and to meet several senior clerics.
“Majlis has taken pains not to create tension in the society and preserve the peaceful atmosphere in parliament,“ he said.
Haddad-Adel also said that Majlis has given great importance to the views of senior clerics and taking them into account in decision-making.
“In the process of passing laws, the Majlis has taken great efforts to follow the guidelines of senior clerics who are authorities in Islamic law,“ he said.
During his visit to Qom, the Majlis speaker also met with senior cleric Ayatollah Nasser Makarem-Shirazi.
Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi urged the Iranian Parliament to do more to resolve cultural issues vexing society, expressing regret that several cultural problems remain unsolved.
He warned against the spread of cultural corruption and said the enemy is trying to distance Iranian youth from their Islamic culture.
Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi underlined the need to forge close cooperation between the Majlis and government to solve the society’s cultural problems.
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Defense Minister:
America’s Mideast Policies Have Failed
TEHRAN, Nov. 20--Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar said on Monday America’s Middle East policies have failed and the US power is declining.
Addressing the annual meeting of senior managers of the Defense Ministry and its subsidiaries, Brigadier General Mohammad-Najjar noted that instability, insecurity, terror, explosions and massacres of innocent and defenseless people is a result of the US’ meddling in the region, Fars News Agency reported.
He stressed that Iran is defending its rights in the international arenas due to the backing of pious, efficient and industrious people.
He enumerated promotion of defense capabilities, export promotion of defense products, creativity and innovation, as well as research and technological development as Defense Ministry’s important achievements.
The defense minister further said the Defense Ministry is presently developing fourth generation defense industries.
Mohammad-Najjar pointed out that the Defense Ministry is working on a new plan for assessing the ministry’s performance that shapes he ministry’s managerial chart.
“This plan not only guides Defense Ministry’s managers throughout their missions, but also controls and appraises the ministry’s macro policies,“ he said.
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Gaza Suffering Massive Rights Violations
BEIT HANOUN, Occupied Palestine, Nov. 20--A senior United Nations official described Gaza as suffering ’massive’ human rights violations during a visit to the territory on Monday and urged all sides to be bold in trying to end the violence.
“The violation of human rights I think in this territory is massive,“ Louise Arbour, the UN high commissioner for human rights, told reporters during a visit to Beit Hanoun, a town the Israeli army shelled earlier this month, killing 19 civilians, Reuters reported.
“The call for protection has to be answered. We cannot continue to see civilians, who are not the authors of their own misfortune, suffer to the extent of what I see.“
Arbour, on a five-day trip to the region, spent time at the house of a family who had lost more than a dozen members in a shelling on Nov. 8, when Israel says a mistake led to the barrage of artillery shells hitting the neighborhood.
Her visit, the first she has made to the region since becoming commissioner, comes days after the UN General Assembly approved a resolution that ’deplored’ Israel’s shelling of Gaza and called for an immediate cessation of violence.
Asked what she planned to do about the rights violations, Arbour said, “I will help to keep the conscience of the many who care about what happens in this part of the world alive.
“I will speak to the Palestinian Authority about their responsibility to enforce the law, to create an environment in which people can seek protection of the law and, of course, I will also speak to the Israeli authority. We need to collectively call on leaders, political, military and militia leaders, to have the courage to break the cycle of violence to ensure the wellbeing of civilians.“
More than 350 Palestinians, almost half of them civilians according to Palestinian doctors and human rights workers, have been killed since Israel launched an offensive in Gaza in late June, following the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier.
The offensive was designed not only to try to trace the captured soldier, who was seized by militants including members of the governing Palestinian faction Hamas, but also to stop militants firing rockets into Israeli territory from Gaza.
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Ralliers Condemn Azerbaijan’s
Published Blasphemy
TEHRAN, Nov. 20--Imam Sadeq (AS) University’s Basiji (volunteer forces) students staged a rally on Sunday at Azerbaijan Republic’s Embassy to condemn the publication of blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad (AS) and Islam in a local newspaper there.
Joining the peaceful rally, students chanted slogans such as “Our war is based on faith and does not have any border“, “Christian, Muslim, battle against Zionists“ and “Salman Rushdie-incarnate must be executed“.
Addressing the demonstrators, Beitollah Jafari, Orumieh’s former MP, said the recent war crimes in Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan and Lebanon have exposed the unsavory nature of the US, Britain and Israel.
“They have targeted Muslims, hence it is incumbent upon them to stand up against such cultural aggressions,“ he said.
The former MP stated that the vigilance of Muslims is now threatening the West’s plans for monopolizing the region’s economy and oil industry. Jafari added that the anti-Islam movement fueled by Zionists and freemasons is now desperately trying to blaspheme saintly personalities as a sign of historical defiance. At the end of the rally, the demonstrators unanimously demanded an official apology from the Azerbaijan Republic and condemned those who committed such blasphemy.
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Oil Output to Reach
7m bpd by 2014
TEHRAN, Nov. 20--An official said on Monday Iran will produce 7 millions barrels of crude oil per day and 1,565 million cubic meters of gas per day by 2014.
Speaking at an oil and gas seminar themed “New Achievements in Oil and Gas World: Challenges and Opportunities“ in Tehran, Gholamhossein Nozari, deputy oil minister and head of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), underscored the need for preparing the grounds for attracting investments, IRNA reported.
“In order to attract more investments, changes have been made to buyback contracts. These changes include preparation of comprehensive development plan in buyback contracts that do not interfere with the production process, determining capital expenditure and further control over tender bids, creating a supervisory system for production in buyback contracts,“ he said.
Nozari pointed out that the categorization of oilfields and implementation of oil contracts in one, two or several phases are among the modifications made to the buyback oil and gas contracts.
“Although Iran has a potential of producing 740 billion barrels of oil per year, it only produced 137.5 billion barrels,“ he said.
Nozari announced that NIOC plans to produce 149 billion barrels in 2009 and 156 billion barrels in 2014 (or 7 million barrels per day).
“Although the industrial countries have worked hard in the field of alternative energies, the global need for crude oil and gas will continue in the coming decades,“ he said.
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Tony Blares
By Amin Sabooni
One major problem with Tony Blair is that the British prime minister has been around too long and has become a big embarrassment to what now sells as international relations.
Many Arabs and Muslims I talked to at the weekend about his new round of irresponsible statements about Iran were of the opinion that Blair could be suffering from a fresh bout of dementia.
In a television interview, the Labour boss known to many peace lovers in and outside Britain as “Tony Bliar“, “Phoney Tony“ and “King of Spin“, publicly admitted that the war he jointly engineered with George Bush was a “disaster.“
However, that admission of defeat did not stop him from blaming Tehran for all that has been going very wrong in occupied Iraq as a direct result of the Bush-Blair arrogance.
In his usual arrogant manner ever since taking office in 1997, Tony accused Iran of “supporting terrorism throughout the Middle East.“ Not totally unaware of how things could possibly improve if the Anglo-American pair see logic at the end, he went on to offer something strange. He said he had a message for Tehran and Damascus: “If you are prepared to be a part of the solution, there is a partnership available to you.“
We cannot speak for the leadership in Syria, nor do we know if or when Bashar Assad proposed any mechanism to help bring peace to the volatile Middle East. As far as Tehran is concerned, Blair, who will be remembered by posterity as a pro-war ruler obsessed with Israeli security and interests, had the wrong address once again. Those who decide foreign policy in our country do not recall ever wanting to be partners with killers of innocent Muslims like Blair or Bush.
Having said that, it deserves mention that the UK prime minister who dragged his country into the bottomless quagmire in Iraq and Afghanistan, is simply not in a position to make offers or speak on behalf of the people in our part of the world. One need not be a political scientist to understand that there is not one single country in the Muslim-Arab world that wants even impartial western rulers to speak on its behalf.
Blair -- unquestionably pro-Israel and Bush’s lapdog -- should think before he speaks.
And all that stuff about the “disaster“ in Iraq. Poor Tony seemed to be caught unaware and sections of the media insisted he was more clumsy, desperate and less in charge of himself in front of the cameras. What a pity, there was no one around to inform the embattled premier that he is a bigger disaster for his own people who are fed up of his ’poodlism’ and would love to see him leave Downing Street sooner rather than later.
For nearly three decades, Britain has never missed an opportunity to attack Iran for things it has not done. It is time that our Foreign Ministry gets out of its lethargy, takes notice of this irritant and rethinks the wisdom of keeping the UK mission open in Tehran.
Having lost its sense of proportion and oblivious to the comforting reality that London (a junior partner in all things American) is no longer considered an important player on the world scene, Blair and his minions are wasting the time of others. It would be better for world stability if they stop trying to assert themselves in the strategic region where even the self-styled supercop is crippled and can do little to turn things around.
After reelection in 2003 Blair had spoken of a ’new Britain’, foresaw a changed relationship for his country in the fast changing world, bring peace to the Middle East, fight terrorism, combat Third World poverty and climate changeÉ How much he has achieved is not very difficult to imagine.
However, what is crystal clear is the fact that like the other spin doctor and his close buddy in the White House, Blair has contributed terribly well to the death, destruction and displacement of millions of innocent Iraqis after he co-sponsored the illegal invasion and occupation of the Arab country.
One last word: If Blair and his advisors have got some historical facts mixed up regarding our neighborhood, they should be reminded that Iran did not invade Iraq in the spring of 2003. So, if there is any problem there, Blair’s Britain is undeniably a big part of it.
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