Iran’s trade with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states in the spring saw 29 percent increase, said a senior official in Iran’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance.

Majid Karimi, director-general of financial and commercial markets study office at the ministry, told IRNA on Saturday that Iran’s non-oil trade with 11 member states of the SCO reach 9.85 billion dollars in spring.

He said that Iran’s non-oil exports to those countries amounted to 5.5 billion dollars with 20 percent increase compared to the same period last year and its imports accounted to 4.35 billion dollars up by 41 percent.

China, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, and Uzbekistan topped Iran’s list of exports destinations among the SCO members this spring, according to Karimi.

He highlighted the presence of China and Russia in the SCO as the two permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and India as an emerging economy adds to the significance of Iran’s accession to the regional organization.

Karimi said that the SCO can remove the dollar and euro from transactions between member states and plan for a single currency in the future, noting that Iran has offered using insurances and financial channels.

The SCO can also adopt proper approaches on sustainable collaborations on energy, as two world’s biggest energy producers (Russia and Iran) and two world’s biggest energy consumers (China and India) are members of the organization.

Iran ‘s Health Minister Saeed Namaki has issued an emergency permit to use COV-Iran Barakat in the current vaccination of the population.

Speaking to Iranian state TV on Sunday night, Health Minister Saeed Namaki issued an emergency permit to use COV-Iran Barakat in the current vaccination of the population.

He also said that the necessary permit to use Iran-Cuba jointly produced COVID vaccine will also be issued as early as next week.

The move comes amid reports of a shortage of vaccines in Iran as the vaccination of elderly aged above 60 is underway.

This is while, Jafar Sadegh Tabrizi, Director General for PHC Network Management at the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Ministry of Health said on Sunday that the country needs 120,000,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines. He also said that a new shipment of vaccines containing a million doses will enter the country in the coming days.

Meanwhile, Head of Iran’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Dr. Mohammad-Reza Shanesaz, said Sunday the Iranian citizens who have been injected with a foreign-made coronavirus vaccine might be injected with an Iranian-made vaccine for their second dose. He assured that the Iranian and foreign-made vaccines are made in the same way and with the same quality.

The National Task Force for Fighting Coronavirus in Iran has announced that the second dose of Chinese vaccine will be distributed from Saturday and the second dose of Sputnik V will also be available.

Iranian Sputnik vaccine to be unveiled

Iran’s Health Minister Namaki informed that the Iranian version of the Sputnik Covid-19 vaccine will be unveiled on Sat.

Iranian Minister Masoud Namaki vowed that all Iranians will be vaccinated by the end of Autumn by domestically produced or imported vaccines.

The Spokesman of the Iran Food and Drug Administration (IFDA) said in mid-June that the Islamic Republic of Iran joined the club of manufacturers of coronavirus, COVID-19, vaccine.

In a tweet, Kianoush Jahanpour wrote, “Islamic Republic of Iran joined the coronavirus, COVID-19, vaccine manufacturers’ club by issuing a license for emergency use of COV-Iran Barakat; Iran, Russia, United States, China, UK, and India.”

Cuban Soberana 02 COVID-19 vaccine showing 62% efficiency

The Cuban biopharmaceutical corporation BioCubaFarma announced that the Soberana 02 vaccine against COVID-19 has an efficacy of over 60 percent.

“With only 2 doses, #Soberana02 reached 62% efficacy,” BioCubaFarma tweeted on Saturday.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel tweeted that the result has been confirmed by an independent committee with the Instituto Finlay de Vacunas, but the emergency use of the vaccine is yet to be approved by the Cuban regulatory agency CECMED, Sputnik reported.

“The efficacy of #Soberana02, in its two doses, exceeds the requirements of the World Health Organization for a vaccine candidate against #COVID19 to become an effective vaccine, which is 50%,” Diaz-Canel tweeted, adding that data on the three-shot Soberana Plus vaccine will be available soon.

Cuba has developed five promising vaccine candidates: Soberana 01, Soberana 02, Soberana Plus, Mambisa and Abdala. Over 4.3 million people have participated in trials of the Soberana 02 and Abdala vaccines, according to Cuba’s health ministry.

Head of Iran Export Confederation Mohammad Lahouti says achieving the $42 billion non-oil export target which the country has set for the current Iranian calendar year (ends on March 20, 2021) is possible considering the recent improvements in exports.

“Considering the growth of [non-oil] exports in late 1398 [previous Iranian calendar year ended on March 19] which continued in the current year, the exports are expected to grow significantly in the second half of the year, and hopefully we will achieve the foreseen target,” Lahouti told ILNA.

“Of course, we missed the first quarter of this year due to the coronavirus outbreak and the closure of borders; however, since over 80 percent of the border crossings have been reopened, the exports growth will be much higher in [the Iranian calendar month of] Khordad (May 21-June 20),” he added.

He further noted that it could also be possible for the exports to increase in the second half of the year to even exceed the $42 billion target.

Mentioning the preferential trade deal with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the official said Eurasia will be a great export opportunity this year and we have also the largest markets in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“China and India are also among our target markets; we are trying to increase our exports to China and hopefully our exports to India will return to normal levels as well.”

According to Lahouti, the Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade is targeting 15 neighboring countries for non-oil exports in the current year, and the diversity of the target markets has not changed much.

Iran to launch joint chamber office in Syria

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Export Confederation head said Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) has purchased a building in Syria and the office of Iran-Syria joint chamber of commerce in the Arab country will be opened soon.

“Naturally, by launching the Iranian Chamber of Commerce office in Syria, we can expand exports and investment in this country,” he said.

“When the Syrian market opens and conditions return to normal, we will have various plans for this country as well.”

The official noted that Syria is looking for joint investment, and Iran’s goal is to increase non-oil export to the country.

“Syria is also a good market for joint ventures, but infrastructure must be provided and protocols must be followed,” Lahouti emphasized.

Iranian acclaimed film director and screenwriter Rakhshan Bani-Etemad was picked by the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) among the women whose work contributed to the history of cinema.

Celebrating Women’s History Month (March 1-31), IMDb published a video on Twitter to take a look back at “cinematic history in salute of the pioneering women directors and their groundbreaking work,” the online entertainment database tweeted along the video that featured scenes of Bani-Etemad’s 2014 drama, Tales (Ghesseh-ha).

Born in Tehran in 1954, Bani-Etemad – who holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in film studies from the Dramatic Arts University in Tehran – is widely considered as the most important female director in Iran, titled ‘First Lady of Iranian Cinema’.

Her movies and documentaries picture social and cultural issues and complications in modern-day Iran.

The Tales – which adopts an episodic narrative – portrays the fates of seven characters of Bani-Etemad’s previous flicks.

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گزارش امروز فرانك آرتا در روزنامه شرق از مجموعه #كارستان : بنی‌اعتماد: معتقد نیستم ایده‌ها جرقه‌ای هستند که ناگهان به ذهن آدم خطور می‌کنند. طبیعتا دغدغه‌ها و موضوعاتی که پیش‌تر به دلایل مختلف ذهن را به خود مشغول کرده‌اند، زمانی بعدتر به صورت یک ایده خود را نشان می‌دهند. درواقع «کارستان» وجه دیگری از دغدغه‌های من در کارهای دیگر سینمایی و مستندم است. به همان اندازه که اعتقاد دارم در سینمای اجتماعی مستند یا داستانی پرداختن به معضلات، نارسایی‌ها، کاستی‌ها و آسیب‌ها مهم‌اند، در کنارش این ایده که خواهم گفت چطور شکل گرفت هم اهمیت دارد. زمانی فکر می‌کردم در برابر همه این نارسایی‌ها، مشکلات و معضلاتی که وجود دارد کسانی هستند که با دغدغه‌های شخصی، ولی با رویکرد بهبودبخشی وضعیت جامعه با همه موانعی که پیش‌رویشان وجود دارد سعی می‌کنند جهان خود و پیرامونشان را بهبود ببخشند. البته اینها کسانی نیستند که از اول فکر می‌کنند رسالتشان تغییر جهان است؛ ایده‌ای که فکر می‌کنم الان به اشکال مختلف در تفکرات مختلف جهان مدرن هم شکل می‌گیرد که اگر از اصلاح پیرامون خودمان شروع کنیم، جزیره‌های کوچک به اقیانوس تبدیل می‌شوند. شروع شکل‌گیری این ایده به آشنایی من با «بنیاد توسعه کارآفرینی زنان و جوانان» از طریق خانم «فیروزه صابر»، زمانی که تازه ‌تأسیس شده بود، برمی‌گردد.

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The film won the award for Best Screenplay (written by Bani-Etemad and Farid Mostafavi) at the 71st Venice International Film Festival.

It also brought Bani-Etemad the Golden Royal Bengal Tiger Award – dedicated to best film – at Kolkata International Film Festival in 2014, as well as the Special Jury Prize at Asia Pacific Screen Awards (Australia) in the same year.

Also featured in IMDb’s short video were the likes of Sofia Coppola, Jodie Foster, Meryl Streep, Chinese-American film director Lulu Wang, Sarah Polley, and Barbra Streisand.

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Rakhshan Banietemad

Rakhshan Banietemad, born in 1954 Tehran, began to make documentaries for the Iranian National Television in 1979, right after graduating from the University of Dramatic Arts, Tehran. From 1979 to 1987 she focused on making only documentaries. In 1987, she directed her first feature film Off the Limits. In 1991, she became the first woman recipient of the Best Director award for Nargess at Fajr International Film Festival in Iran. In 1995, she won the Bronze Leopard for The Blue Veiled at the Locarno Film Festival. Under the Skin of the City, her next film, was the highest grossing film in Iran in 2000. This film along with Gilaneh (2005) and Mainline (2006), garnered major awards in more than 50 film festivals.

While Banietemad’s feature films have been acclaimed and honored worldwide, her documentaries have also been successful and popular internationally. Our Times …, was the first documentary ever to be released in the movie theatres in Iran in 2002. It was also screened in highly prestigious and prominent festivals and TV channels such as IDFA, Sundance Film Festival and ARTE.

Banietemad started her work by making documentaries and has never ended the strong connection she has always had with her works. Making documentaries have been her main way of connecting with the society and social issues. Her approach and in depicting social issues has been so strong and effective that her works have always resulted in causing change in the lives of her documentaries’ characters.

In 2008, she received an honorary doctorate from University of London, in 2010, she was awarded the Prix Henri Langlois from Vincennes International Film Festival. Her latest feature film, Tales, was awarded the Best Screenplay prize in the main competition section of 2014 Venice International Film Festival.

More recently, she has joined the Academy Oscar, Writers branch in 2017.

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روز خبرنگاران واقعي مبارك ? مبارك تر وقتي امنيت حرفه اي شان تضمين شود . مبارك تر وقتي حرمت شغل مقدس شان بيشتر حفظ شود . مبارك تر وقتي عدالت اقتصادي در برابر كار پر مسئوليت شان رعايت شود. مبارك تر وقتي اهميت كار پر خطرشان در محدوديت بايد و نبايد ها ، دانسته شود . درود بر خبرنگاران واقعي و قلم به دستان مسئول و دغدغه مند كه علمداران آگاهي بخشي هستند . بازهم روز خبرنگار بر خبرنگاران واقعي مبارك باد . رخشان بني اعتماد ? ? نسیم روحانی #خبرنگار #روز_خبرنگار #رسانه #خبر

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Feature Films

• Tales (Ghesseh ha), 2014
• Heiran (producer), Director: Shalizeh Arefpour, 2009
• Mainline (Khun bazi), 2006
• Gilaneh, 2005
• Under the Skin of the City (Zir-e pust-e shahr), 2000
• Baran and the Native (Baran va bumi), part of feature-film Kish, 1998
• The May Lady (Banu-ye ordibehesht), 1997
• The Blue Veiled (Rusari abi), 1994
• Nargess, 1991
• Foreign Currency (Poul-e khareji), 1989
• Canary Yellow (Zard-e qanari), 1988
• Off the Limits (Kharej az mahdudeh), 1987

DOCUMENTARIES

• Touran Khanom, Co director, 2018
• Karestan Documentary films as follows (Artistic consultant), 2013 -17  Film 1. Poets of Life
   Film 2. Puzzleys
   Film 3. Mother of the Earth
   Film 4. MAHAK: A World She Founded
   Film 5. Friends at Work
   Film 6. Flax to Fire
• Hey, Humans (Ay, Adamha), 2016
• A Lifetime in an Hour (Yek saat az yek omr), 2015
• All My Trees (Hameh derakhtan-e man), 2015
• The Other Side of Mirrors (An sooy-e ayeneh ha), 2014
• The Mirrors Recital (Concert-e ayeneh ha), 2014
• The Concert of the Lords of Secrets (concert-e khodavandan-e asrar), 2014
• Mahak My Home (Khaneh man Mahak), a teamwork, 2014
• Keep Children in School (Bacheh ha ra dar madreseh negahdarim), a teamwork, 2012
• The Room No. 202 (Otahgh-e 202) Part of “Kahrizak 4 Views”, 2012
• See you Tomorrow Elina (Farda mibinamet Elina), 2010
• We Are Half of Iran’s Population (Ma nimi az jameiat-e Iranim), 2009
• Angels of the House of Sun (Hayat khalvate khaneh khorshid), 2009
• Second Home (producer), Director: Mahvash Sheikholeslami, 2008
• 3D Carpet (Farsh-e 3 Bodi), Part of “Iranian Carpet”, 2007
• Our Times… (Ruzegar-e ma…), 2002
• Under the Skin of the City (Zir-e pust-e shahr), 1996
• The Last Visit with Iran Daftari (Akharin didar ba Iran Daftari), 1995
• To Whom Do You Show These Films? (In filmha ra beh ki neshun midin?), 1993
• Spring to Spring (Bahar ta bahar), 1993
• The 1992 Report (Gozaresh-e 71), 1993
• Centralization (Tamarkoz), 1986
• The War Economic Planning (Tadbirha-ye eqtesadi-e jang), 1981
• Occupation of Migrant Peasants in the City (Mohajerin-e roustai dar shahr),1980
• The Culture of Consumption (Farhang-e masrafi), 1979

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رخشان بنی اعتماد داور جشنواره «وزول» فرانسه شد رخشان بنی اعتماد در جمع داوران بیست و سومین جشنواره فیلم «وزول» فرانسه حضور دارد. به گزارش «پایگاه خبری فیلم کوتاه» این جشنواره یکی از قدیمی‌ترین جشنواره‌های مربوط به سینمای آسیاست که در اروپا برگزار می‌شود. رخشان بنی اعتماد یکی از داوران بخش رقابتی اصلی جشنواره است. در همین بخش فیلم سینمایی به دنیا آمدن به کارگردانی محسن عبدالوهاب با دیگر آثار جشنواره رقابت می‌کند. ضمن اینکه جشنواره در بخش جنبی فیلم‌های گاو به کارگردانی داریوش مهرجویی و دلبران ساخته ابوالفضل جلیلی را به نمایش می‌گذارد. بیست و سومین جشنواره فیلم «وزول» 7 تا 14 فوریه در فرانسه برگزار می‌شود.

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Awards

• Diploma of Honor of Child Book Council’s, Tehran, Iran, March 2018
• Diploma of Honor of ‘Children’s Research Institute, Tehran, Iran, December 2018
• Special Cinema Section Award, 2nd  Davood Rashidi Commemorative Award, Tehran, Iran, August  2018
• Honorary Award, 7th Int’l Malatya FF (Turkey) 2017
• Honorary Golden Cyclo, 23th Vesoul Film Festival (France), 2017
• Ethics and Prayer Award for social and civilian activities (Iran), 2016
• Cinema Honorary Award, 4th Int’l Women FF (Afghanistan), 2016
• Cinema Honorary Award, 6th Int’l Crime & Punishment FF (Turkey), 2016
• Best Film, Tales, Prague Iranian FF (Chezk), 2016
• Audience Award, Tales, Gene Siskel Film Center (USA), 2015
• Best Film, Tales, London Iranian FF (UK), 2015
• Special Jury Prize, Tales, Asia Pacific Screen Awards (Australia), 2014
• Best Film, Tales, Golden Royal Bengal Tiger Award, Kolkata Int’l FF (India), 2014
• Best Screenplay prize, Tales, Venice Int’l FF (Italy), 2014
• Special Jury Prize, Kahrizak 4 views, Dubai Int’l FF (UAE), 2012
• Prix Henri Langlois, Vincennes Int’l FF (France), 2010
• Special Jury Prize, We Are Half of Iran’s Population, (WIFTS) (USA), 2009
• Special Jury Prize & Best Actress, Mainline, Dhaka Int’l FF (Pakistan), 2009
• Best Screenplay & Best Actress, Mainline, Pyongyang Int’l FF (North Korea), 2008
• Grand Jury Prize, Mainline. Int’l Women’s Film Festival (Creteil, France), 2008
• Achievement in Directing, Mainline, Asia Pacific Screen Awards (Australia), 2007
• Best Director & Best Actress, Mainline, Iran Cinema House Awards (Iran), 2007
• Best Director & Best Actress, Mainline, Fajr Int’l FF (Iran), 2007
• Best Film, Mainline, City Int’l FF (Iran), 2006
• Best Film, Mainline, Asiatica Film Mediale (Italy), 2006
• Special Jury Prize, Gilaneh, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Int’l FF (Spain), 2006
• Netpac Award, Gilaneh, Vesoul Asian Film Festival (France), 2006
• Golden Lotus Award, Iranian Women Film Directors (Iran), 2006
• Best Film & Best Actress, Gilaneh, Kara Int’l FF (Pakistan), 2005
• Artistic & Cultural Achievement Award, Kara Int’l FF (Pakistan), 2004
• Special Jury Award, Under the Skin of the City, Seattle Int’l FF (USA), 2002
• Netpac Award, Our Times…, Locarno Int’l FF (Swiss), 2002
• Netpac Award, Under the Skin of the City, Karlovy Vary Int’l FF (Chezk), 2001
• Holden Award for Best Script, Audience Award, & Cinemavvenire Award for Best Feature Film, Under the Skin of the City, Turin Int’l FF (Italy), 2001
• Special Jury Prize, Under the Skin of the City, Moscow Int’l FF (Russia), 2000
• Special Jury Award, The May Lady, Fajr Int’l FF (Iran), 1998
• Honorable Mention, FIPRESCI Award, The May Lady, Montreal Int’l FF (Canada), 1998
• Prince Claus Prize for Culture and Development (The Netherlands), 1998
• “Il Sindaco di Firenze” Peace and Freedom Award (Italy), 1998
• Best Asian Woman Director, The Blue Veiled, India Int’l FF (India), 1996
• FIPRESCI Award, The Blue Veiled, Tessaloniki Int’l FF (Greece), 1996
• Bronze Leopard, The Blue Veiled, Locarno Int’l FF (Swiss) 1995
• Best Script & Best Supporting Actress, The Blue Veiled, Fajr Int’l FF (Iran), 1994
• Best Director & Best Musical Score, Nargess, Fajr Int’l FF (Iran), 1991
• Best Supporting Actor, Canary Yellow, Fajr Int’l FF (Iran), 1988
• Best Film, Off the Limits, Comedy Int’l FF (Italy), 1987

PROFESSIONAL DISTINCTIONS

• Jury Member, Dhaka Int’l FF Bangladesh), 2020
• President of the jury, Herat Film Festival (Afghanistan), 2019
• Jury Member, Mumbai Int’l FF (India), 2018
• Jury Member, Venice Int’l FF (Italy), 2017
• Academy Oscars Member, Writers Branch, 2017
• President of the jury, Vesoul Film Festival (France), 2017
• President of the jury, Prague Iranian Film Festival (Czech), 2017
• President of the jury, Image Film Festival (Iran), 2016
• President of the jury, Cinema Verite Int’l FF (Iran), 2013
• President of the jury, Busan Int’l FF (South Korea), 2013
• Master Class, California Institute of the Arts (USA), 2013
• Jury Member, Shanghai Int’l FF (China), 2012
• Jury Member, Dubai Int’l FF (UAE), 2010
• Jury Member, Asiatic Film Mediale Festival (Italy), 2010
• Master Class, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (USA), 2010
• Jury Member, Fribourg Int’l FF (Switzerland), 2010
• Jury Member, Urban Int’l FF (Iran), 2009
• Producer, Heiran, feature-film (Iran), 2009
• Producer, Second House, documentary (Iran), 2008
• Honorary Doctorate, University of London (Iran), 2008
• Master Class, School of Oriental and African Studies, SOAS (England), 2008
• Master Class, Geneva University of Art & Design (ESBA), 2008
• Jury Member, Cinema Verite Int’l FF (Iran), 2007
• Jury Member, Women’s Film Festival (Iran), 2006
• Jury Member, Asian Cinema, Fajr Int’l FF (Iran), 2006
• Jury Member, Art University Student Festival (Iran), 2005
• Director, Sony Young Directors Film Festival (Iran), 2003
• Jury Member, Asia Pacific Film Festival (Iran), 2003
• Jury Member, Sony Young Directors Film Festival (Iran), 2002
• Jury Member, Moscow Int’l FF (Russia), 2002
• Jury Member, Cairo Int’l FF (Egypt), 2002
• Jury Member, Fajr Int’l FF (Iran), 2001
• Jury Member, Montreal Int’l FF (Canada), 2001
• Jury Member, Youth Film Festival (Iran), 2001
• Jury Member, Student Film Festival (Iran), 1999
• Jury Member, Leipzig Int’l FF (Germany), 1999
• Jury Member, Tokyo Environmental Int’l FF, (Japan), 1998
• Jury Member, New Delhi Int’l FF (India), 1998
• Jury Member, Student Film Festival (Iran), 1997
• Jury Member, Locarno Int’l FF (Swiss), 1996
• Jury Member, Turin Int’l FF (Italy), 1995
• Jury Member, Center for Iranian Film Directors (Iran), 1993
• Jury Member, Roshd Film Festival (Iran), 1992
• Jury Member, Fajr Int’l FF (Iran), 1990

KÂRÂ FILM STUDIO

KARA Film Studio is a name under which a group of professional Iranian filmmakers express their common concerns regarding humanistic, social and cultural issues through documentary films, while maintaining their own diverse and distinct vision. In KARA Film Studio, filmmakers in small or large numbers, gather together and, starting with an outline of a documentary project, complete the work in a professional manner.

KARA Film Studio operates under a number of principles: personal financing or financing through private sector; working as teams and in a workshop from development of an idea through to its completion and distribution; giving young and talented documentary filmmakers an opportunity to work with professionals and assistance with their development, due respect for the audience by maintaining high standards in the production phase, endeavor to provide improved and increased means of screening films inside and outside Iran; …
Rakhshan Banietemad and Mojtaba Mirtahmasb are the constant participants in this group.

Source: One of the most misunderstood and undervalued countries of the world, my recent trip opened my eyes to a land of hospitable people, beautiful architecture, amazing food…and very few tourists.

This guide is designed to inspire travel to Iran and give practical travel tips that are hard to find for a country so rarely visited, with the second half outlining the best ways to get to Iran using your points. Make sure to read The Essentials section at the end of this piece.

All of the following images were taken by the author and should not be reproduced without permission.

1. Meet the friendliest people in the world

Word is that Iranians are the amongst the most genuine and approachable people in the world. Is it true?

I had high expectations…and they were met. I would put Iranians in the same category as the Japanese and Americans for hospitality.

Never before in my travels had I ever been stopped on the street so many times (in a non-intrusive way) to be asked:

• Where are you from?
• What did you think of Iran before you came?
• What do you think of it now?

2. Visit the most beautiful city in the world

Big call? Probably. There are many beautiful cities in the world – Kyoto, Sydney, Paris – but Iran’s second-biggest city and main tourist drawcard Isfahan definitely deserves a spot up there.

Built on the River Zayandehrood, even with its dry desert climate it is teeming with green parks, plenty of shade on walks along the river, beautiful bridges, and historic mosques, churches and palaces. If you are going to visit one place in Iran, this is the place to go.

3. Watch the sunset over the dunes in the middle of the desert

Yazd is the gateway desert city of Iran, with day and overnight tours into the desert.

The only sound we heard whilst watching the suns rays descend over the flowing desert dunes was a light breeze carving sand into new dune formations. Truly breathtaking.

4. Eat till your heart’s content

Foodies will love Iran, with primary dishes being lamb, mutton, chicken, eggplant, lentils, cheese, yoghurt, rice, dates and pita bread. Vegetarians will be slightly more limited in choices, but it is not prohibitive.

Having said that, all breakfasts tend to be vegetarian, made up of feta cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, pita bread, yoghurt and watermelon.

Foodies of all persuasions should be sure to visit the moderately-priced vegetarian restaurant in the Iranian Artists’ Forum in Honarmandan Park (also known as Artists’ Park). The second time we went back the waiter brought us an extra course for free and two university professors at a nearby table joined us for lunch.

5. Visit some of the least tourist-filled mosques in the world

Even during the peak travel month of May, it was hard to encounter many other tourists at the majestic mosques that Iran puts a lot of effort into keeping beautiful.

Of course, be respectful of prayer times, take off your shoes and remember that there are separate areas for men and women. Be sure to check the opening times of mosques on the internet or with your accommodation so as to not be caught out by them being closed.

Mosques in Isfahan are the most expensive to get into (around $8 each), but are also the most beautiful.

6. Visit the ceremonial capital of the Persian Empire

Persepolis (literally ‘The Persian City’) brought together the 28 nations of the Persian Empire (at its peak) for ceremonies and was known as the United Nations of the empire.

Located 90 minutes east of Shiraz, choose the more reasonably-priced accommodation options in Shiraz rather than stay near the UNESCO-protected site, but avoid the midday and afternoon heat by catching a private taxi out for the 8am opening. A tour guide is highly recommended and can be organized upon arrival at the site.

7. Transport options are cheap and relatively efficient

Most transport is by road, so if looking to save money, go by bus, but we found it funny/frustrating how many times people were moved around the bus by the bus driver to make sure that women and men were not seated together. This strict policy is more the work of the government rather than the considerably liberally-minded population.

If you have a bit more money, then another option is a private driver, which will be faster and more comfortable, but you will miss out on the local bus experience.

The 10-12 hour overnight Chinese-built train between Tehran and Shiraz is highly recommended at about $25 for a seat which converts into a bed in a four-person single-sex air-conditioned compartment. Bring your own food – disappointing food on the train.

The essentials

• Safety: apart from the state execution of a prominent Saudi figure triggering protests in Tehran earlier this year, there is a reason that we rarely hear of violence and terrorist attacks in Iran compared to much more dangerous Middle Eastern countries like Turkey, Israel and Egypt. I can honestly say that I felt safer and less on-edge in Iran than in some European capitals like London, Paris and Brussels, and petty theft is quite uncommon. Of course, please take into account official government warnings and check that your travel insurance will be valid in Iran.
• Best time to go: as you would expect from a country with climatic extremes, spring (March to May) and autumn (September to October) are the best times to visit. We went in mid-May and the weather was gloriously sunny and warm-to-hot, without being oppressive.
• Money: take all the cash you may need for the trip…and then some. International cards do not work at Iranian ATMs, so take clean, relatively new US dollars, euros or pounds (not that they are worth much at the moment) to exchange at moneychangers on the street. Be sure to ask your hotel for the going rate before venturing out to change. In May 2016, it was 1 USD = 34,000 rials and 1 EUR = 38-39,000 rials. You can also pay in USD or EUR at most establishments, with change given in rials. Note that most prices are in ‘tomans’, which is one zero less than the price in rial, e.g. 1 USD = 34,000 rials = 3,400 tomans.
• Visas: Australians and New Zealanders are eligible to receive a visa on arrival at the major airports in Iran, including Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz. You must bring along a copy of your travel insurance which states the dates of coverage as well as clearly indicating it covers travel in Iran. You will be required to pay a visa fee of about €145; most EU nationals pay €75, but as Australia and NZ are allies of the US, that’s where the difference comes from. If you have dual citizenship, try to see which passport gives you a cheaper visa fee. You also need to have a confirmed hotel reservation or letter of invitation printed out, and they will call your hotel to make sure it is legitimate. You do not need hotel bookings for your whole trip, just the first night or two. Expect this process at the airport to take 1-2 hours. Most international flights arrive between midnight and 6am, which is highly inconvenient, but just breathe and be patient. As of this year, any traveller eligible for the ESTA visa waiver program for the US that has travelled to Iran in the past five years will need to apply for a tourist visa at their nearest US embassy or consulate when travelling to the US.
• Money and costs: Budget Your Trip estimates that in Iran you will spend about the same as what you would in Thailand or Mexico, half of what you would in Greece, or double what you would in India. Tehran is surprisingly pricey, especially for accommodation, but the real gems of Iran are outside the capital, so you shouldn’t be spending too much time there anyway. For basic private accommodation for two with breakfast included (always), intercity bus or train transport, mid-range restaurant meals and an attraction or two a day, we spent an average of $60 AUD/NZD per person per day over ten days.
• Drinking water: Water is surprisingly perfectly safe to drink from the tap and Iran has the widest network of public drinking fountains in streets, parks, bus stations, etc that I have seen anywhere in the world.

Mansour Jahani – Globally acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Pouran
Derakhshandeh is slated to kick off the 10th Jagran Film Festival in
India, also known as the world’s largest ‘Travelling Film Festival’
(TFF), with her latest film “Under the Smokey Roof” to be screened at
the inauguration.
Her 2013 “Hush! Girls don’t Scream” will hit the silver screen in New
Delhi on July 19.
Most of the Iranian filmmakers and film producers seek to portrait the
problems of children and women, who have been overshadowed in the
Iranian society.
The 10th edition of the Jagran Film Festival (JFF) will hold a
Retrospective of World films and celebrate the life and works of the
Iranian film director, producer, screenwriter, and researcher Pouran
Derakhshandeh. Filmmaker’s finest award-winning movies like Hush!
Girls Don’t Scream, Under the Smokey Roof, Eternal Children and Wet
Dream will be screened at the festival. Her films deal with societal
issues like child abuse and women’s rights.
Jagran Film Festival (JFF) is an initiative by the Jagran Prakashan
Group towards creating a culture of cinema appreciation and an honest
and sincere attempt create a platform that connects great content with
audiences across the country.
Last year, with over 18 towns, 400+ screenings, 18 cinema appreciation
workshops, the festival directly touched over an audience of over
55,000 people, and the media coverage of Jagran puts the reach of JFF
well beyond 50 million people across India.

In its 9th year, the Festival received great response from filmmakers
internationally having received a record number of 4500 film entries.
The Jagran Film Festival will start from Delhi, travelling through
Kanpur, Lucknow, Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna, Dehradun, Ranchi,
Jamshedpur, Bhopal, Indore, Gorakhpur, Agra, Ludhiana, Hisar, Meerut,
Raipur and finally culminates in Mumbai. This makes it geographically
the largest film festival perhaps in the world. The festival screens
films across genres from around the globe.

A unique feature of JFF is that the cast and crew of a few select films are invited to a discussion with the audience on various elements of the film to
wherever the Festival travels.

An important aspect of the festival is to generate discussions on the various aspects of Cinema and its impact on society and popular culture.
The Jagran Film Festival starts from 18th July in Delhi and will
travel through Kanpur, Lucknow, Allahabad, Varanasi, Agra, Meerut,
Dehradun, Hisar, Ludhiana, Patna, Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Gorakhpur,
Raipur, Indore, and Bhopal, across the 18 cities and finally culminate
on 29th September in Mumbai.
Several awards would be presented to the winners in several sections
including Icon of Indian Cinema, Special Contribution to Cinematic
Art, Rajnigandha Achievers Award, Best Foreign Feature Film, Best
Feature Film, Best Director Winner, Best Debut Director Winner, Best
Male Actor, Best Female Actor, Best Short Film, Best Screenplay, Best
Background Score,  Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Cinema of the
Seller (Gold), Cinema of the Seller(Silver), Cinema of the
Seller(Bronze) , Best Music Director, Best Student Film as well as
Best Documentary.

On the 971st birth anniversary of renowned Persian mathematician, poet, philosopher, and astronomer Omar Khayyam people gathered at his mausoleum in Neyshabur in northeast Iran and paid tribute to him by setting flowers on his grave.

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Who is Omar Khayyam

Lived 1048 – 1131.

Omar Khayyam’s full name was Ghiyath al-Din Abu’l-Fath Umar ibn Ibrahim Al-Nisaburi al-Khayyami. Khayyam studied philosophy at Naishapur. He lived in a time that did not make life easy for learned men unless they had the support of a ruler at one of the many courts. However Khayyam was an outstanding mathematician and astronomer and he did write several works including Problems of Arithmetic, a book on music, and one on algebra before he was 25 years old.

In the year 1072 AD, Omar Khayyam documented the most accurate year length ever calculated – a figure still accurate enough for most purposes in the modern world. Khayyam was an astronomer, astrologer, physician, philosopher, and mathematician: he made outstanding contributions in algebra. His poetry is better known in the West than any other non-Western poet.

The man himself remains something of an enigma. Different biographers have documented him as a fun-loving, wine-drinking agnostic; a closet Zoroastrian; a Sufi Muslim; an orthodox Sunni Moslem; and a follower of Ancient Greek philosophy. All agree that he was an outstanding intellectual. Advertisements

Beginnings

Omar Khayyam was born on May 18, 1048 in the great trading city of Nishapur in northern Persia. Today the city is in Iran. Omar’s father was Ebrahim Khayyami, a wealthy physician. Omar’s mother’s name is not known. Some authors have written that Omar’s father earned a living making tents because Khayyami means tent-maker. However, although many English-speakers are named Smith, it does not mean their fathers spent their days hammering hot metal on an anvil.

Omar’s family were Muslims. His father seems to have been relaxed about religion, employing a mathematician by the name of Bahmanyar bin Marzban, a devotee of the ancient Persian religion of Zoroastrianism, to tutor Omar. Bahmanyar had been a student of the great physician, scientist, and philosopher Avicenna, and he gave Omar a thorough education in science, philosophy, and mathematics. Khawjah al-Anbari taught Omar astronomy, guiding him through Ptolemy’s Almagest.

In his early teens Omar worked in his father’s surgery learning about medicine.

Omar Khayyam celebrated his eighteenth birthday in 1066. In the same year, Halley’s comet appeared in the heavens, William the Conqueror’s Norman Army invaded England, and Omar’s father Ebrahim died. A few months after Ebrahim’s death, Omar’s tutor Bahmanyar also died.

It was the end of an era in Omar Khayyam’s life. It was time to put his family’s affairs in order and move on.

Samarkand

Omar Khayyam joined one of the regular caravans making a three month journey from Nishapur to the great city of Samarkand, which is now in Uzbekistan. Samarkand was a center of scholarship, and Khayyam arrived there probably in 1068, aged 20.

In Samarkand he made contact with his father’s old friend Abu Tahir, who was governor and chief judge of the city. Tahir, observing Khayyam’s extraordinary talent with numbers, gave him a job in his office. Soon Khayyam was given a job in the king’s treasury.

While living in Samarkand, Khayyam made a major advance in algebra.

Omar Khayyam’s Contributions to Science

Algebra

At high school we learn about equations of the form ax² + bx + c = 0; these are called quadratic equations. Cubic equations are of the form ax³ + bx² + cx + d = 0. Naturally, cubic equations are harder to solve than quadratics.

Khayyam conjectured correctly that it is not possible to solve cubic equations using the traditional Ancient Greek geometrical tools of straightedge and compass. Other methods are required.

At the age of 22, in 1070, Khayyam published one of his greatest works: Treatise on Demonstration of Problems of Algebra and Balancing. In it he showed that a cubic equation can have more than one solution. He also showed how the intersections of conic sections such as parabolas and circles can be utilized to yield geometric solutions of cubic equations. Archimedes had actually started work in this field over a thousand years earlier, when he considered the specific problem of finding the ratio of the volume of one part of a sphere to another. Khayyam considered the problem in a more general, methodical way.

In the language of modern mathematics, Khayyam’s solution to the equation x³ + a²x = b features a parabola of equation x² = ay, a circle with diameter b/a², and a vertical line through the intersection point. The solution is given by the distance on the x-axis between the origin and the (red) vertical line. Image by Pieter Kuiper.

Khayyam’s solutions avoided negative coefficients and negative roots because negative numbers were not acknowledged in Islamic mathematics. (Some cultures, however, had incorporated negative numbers into mathematics – for example Brahmagupta had introduced negative numbers into Indian mathematics 400 years earlier.)

Although Khayyam’s achievement was magnificent, he was personally disappointed that he needed to utilize geometry to solve cubic equations – he had hoped to discover an algorithm using only algebra.

Treatise on Demonstration of Problems of Algebra and Balancing established Khayyam as a mathematician of the first rank, and his reputation spread quickly throughout Persia.

Following Khayyam’s breakthrough there was little significant progress on cubic equations until 1535, when Niccolo Tartaglia found general solutions for all cubic equations.

Khayyam’s algebra was not the system of letters and signs we use today. His algebra was expressed in words. So, where today we write:

Solve for x:

x² + 6 = 5x

Khayyam wrote: What is the amount of a square so that when 6 dirhams are added to it, it becomes equal to five roots of that square?

Linking Algebra and Geometry

Algebra and Geometry were successfully linked by Pierre de Fermat and René Descartes in the 1600s, resulting in the modern x-y coordinate system.

Khayyam’s work with cubics had made him certain that algebra and geometry were linked, and he cited Euclid’s Elements to support the idea:

Whoever thinks algebra is a trick in obtaining unknowns has thought it in vain. No attention should be paid to the fact that algebra and geometry are different in appearance. Algebras are geometric facts which are proved by Propositions 5 and 6 of Book 2 of Euclid’s Elements.

Length of Year

In 1073, Khayyam received an invitation to the Persian city of Isfahan, capital of the Seljuk Empire, to prepare a calendar that would work in an orderly way and be accurate forever – this was an era in which year lengths were regularly changed.

Khayyam’s invitation came from the two most powerful men in the Seljuk Empire, of which Persia was part: these were Malik Shah, Sultan of the empire, and Nizam al-Mulk, his vizier.

Khayyam recruited other talented scientists to accompany him to Isfahan in 1074. There he was paid an extraordinarily high salary and enjoyed a privileged lifestyle. Malik Shah paid Khayyam to found an observatory with an initial aim of making observations of the heavens for 30 years, during which time Saturn, the most distant planet then known, would complete an orbit.

Ptolemy’s universe – the model accepted by Omar Khayyam.

During his time in Isfahan, Khayyam measured the length of a year – to be specific the tropical year length – with remarkable accuracy and precision.

Khayyam found that 1,029,983 days made 2,820 years. This gives a tropical year length of 365.2422 days to seven significant figures. Although it has become fashionable to quote more decimal places than this, Khayyam’s input of 1,029,983 days contains seven significant figures, so it is unreasonable to quote more than this number of significant figures in the calculated year length.

Today we know that the length of a tropical year actually changes by as much as 30 minutes from year to year. The average tropical year length quoted today is 365.242189 days, which to seven significant figures is 365.2422 days – exactly the figure Khayyam arrived at almost a thousand years ago. The length of a tropical year is also increasing very slightly as time passes, although not enough between Khayyam’s era and our own to be noticeable on a scale of seven significant figures.

Malik Shah introduced Khayyam’s new calendar in the Seljuk Empire on March 15, 1079. It was used until the 20th century.

The Parallel Postulate

The 13 books of Euclid’s Elements published in about 300 BC were probably the most influential books in the entire history of mathematics. The Elements had been built on five geometric postulates – in other words five things that were assumed to be true about geometry: for example, all right angles are equal to one another.

The fifth of Euclid’s five postulates was the parallel postulate. The parallel postulate proved to be a source of puzzlement, irritation, and joy for mathematicians for millennia. The joy was usually short-lived, belonging to mathematicians who thought they had proven the postulate only to be disappointed when an error was identified in their ‘proof.’

Euclid had considered a straight line crossing two other straight lines. He looked at the situation when the interior angles (shown in the image below) add to less than 180 degrees. In these circumstances, he said that the two straight lines will eventually meet on the side of the two angles that add to less than 180 degrees.

a. When each angle is 90 degrees, the lines are parallel.
b. If one or both of the angles is less than 90 degrees, the lines will meet.

Since the time Elements was first published, mathematicians had been trying to use Euclid’s first four postulates to prove the parallel postulate. They were doomed to fail. We now know that it is impossible to prove the parallel postulate using Euclid’s other postulates.

Omar Khayyam’s attempt was interesting. In his Explanations of the Difficulties in the Postulates in Euclid’s Elements he asks his readers to consider a straight line AB:

He asks his readers to consider two equal lines that are perpendicular to AB and sees three possible arrangements, which can produce four-sided figures:

He then refutes the possibility that angles C and/or D can be anything other than right-angles and in the image above only the central option is possible. So, he believes he has proven the parallel postulate. In fact, he has not done so, all he has done is stated it in a different way.

What is interesting to historians of mathematics is that in Khayyam’s ideas – shown roughly in the images above – they can see the first glimmers of non-Euclidean geometry.

Some Personal Details and the End

Full details of Khayyam’s personal life are not known. He is believed to have married and had at least one son and one daughter.

In 1092, Malik Shah and his vizier both died – the first probably by poisoning, the second by assassination. Khayyam went into hiding during the resulting power struggle. His survival depended on lying low. He had been Malik Shah’s personal physician and become his close personal friend – which had made him enemies – and Khayyam’s poetry suggests his behavior may not have been devoutly religious – and this had also made him enemies. Khayyam actually published no poetry in his lifetime. Some of his musings would potentially have endangered his life.

After the power struggle, it took about 20 years for Khayyam to be fully rehabilitated and for him to emerge again, at 64 years of age, in the company of powerful people. However, he refused to teach. One of his poems suggests why this might be: The secrets which my book of love has bred,
Cannot be told for fear of loss of head;
Since none is fit to learn, or cares to know,
Tis better all my thoughts remain unsaid.

Omar Khayyam died at the age of 83 in his hometown of Nishapur on December 4, 1131. He was buried in a tomb whose location he had chosen in an orchard where blossom would fall twice a year.

Khayyam’s poetry was popularized in the 1800s by Edward FitzGerald’s translations in the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Khayyam became so admired in the West that in 1963 the Shah of Iran had his grave exhumed and Khayyam’s remains moved to a huge purpose-built mausoleum in Nishapur where tourists could pay homage to the great poet.

We shall end with one of Khayyam’s most famous and evocative quatrains: A Book of Verses underneath the Bough,
A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread—and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness—
And Wilderness is Paradise enow.”

Azerbaijan, Russia, Iran and India started testing the North-South Transport Corridor as part of a sports car rally.

The event is organized jointly by the Federation of Freight Forwarders of India and the sports club ‘Kalinga Motor’, said Iran’s Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, reported Trend News Agency.

Iranian entities organizing the race are the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Road Facilities, the Federation of Motorcycles and Vehicles and the Customs Board of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The 30-day rally will cover the route from extending from Shiraz, Isfahan, Tehran, Qazvin, Rasht to Astara port on Iranian territory and onward to Moscow and St. Petersburg and back again to finish in Chabahar.

Twenty trucks are participating in the competitions, one from Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan, while the rest will belong to the Indian teams. Around 39 participants are taking part in the competition.

The North-South transport corridor is designed to connect Northern Europe with India and Southeast Asia. The route will also link the railways of Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia.

In the initial stage, six million tons of cargo are planned to be transported through the corridor per year and the figure will eventually rise to 15-20 million tons.

Iran’s crude oil exports hit 2,617 mbd in April 2018, a new record since implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) back in January 2016.

The record was gained amid US President Donald Trump’s threats to pull out of the deal that was struck between Tehran and the P5+1 group of countries to curb parts of Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for eased sanctions on the OPEC member’s vital economic sectors.

The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) exported an average of 2.877 million barrels per day of crude oil and gas condensate during the month to Asian and European markets which was an unprecedented figure since implementation of the JCPOA.

Iran’s traditional oil customers, China, India, South Korea and Japan, bought over 60% of its petroleum cargoes during the month.

China and India alone imported roughly 1.4 mbd from Iran during the month.

Exports volume for Iran’s crude oil stands at two million and one hundred thousand barrels per day (mb/d) in March 2018. The figure is expected to increase in April 2018.

China and India are the largest buyers of Iranian crude, with more than one million barrels in total.

The figure is expected to reach nearly 1.3 million barrels per day in April, while China and India will maintain their position as the first and second largest oil importers of Iranian crude.

Dutch-British Shell, France Total, Italian ENI and Saras Companies, Greek Hellenic Petroleum and Spain Repsol and Hungary MOL are among Iranian oil customers in Europe.

According to the Oil Ministry’s report, Iran has also exported 400,000 barrels per day of condensates during the March with South Korea was the biggest customer with purchasing half of the amount.

South Korea has requested for more gas condensate from Iran, however, due to increased domestic consumption and its allocation to Persian Gulf Star Oil Co., there is no possibility of realizing South Korea’s demands for it. South Korea now receives about 200,000 barrels of gas condensate per day from Iran.