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iranian envoy calls on qatari minister
tehran, may 12, irna -- the iranian ambassador to qatar, mahmoud movaheddi and the qatari minister of interior sheikh abdullah bin khalifa ath-thani on sunday discussed and reviewed ways of promoting mutual ties between tehran and doha. during the meeting, movaheddi and ath-thani also mooted issues of common interest of the two countries as well as bilateral ties.
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another quake hits ardebil, neer
ardebil, may 12, irna -- an earthquake measuring 4.8 degrees on the open-ended richter scale hit the cities of ardebil and neer in this northwestern province at 08:20 hours local time (03:50 gmt) monday. the seismological base of tabriz, in east azarbaijan province, registered epicenter of the quake at sar'ein region, 25 km west of ardebil. no report has yet been received on possible loss of life or damage to property by the latest quake. many tremors with magnitude of more than four degrees have hit the ardebil region since february 28. an earthquake with intensity of 5.5 degrees jolted ardebil on february 28, claiming lives of more than 1,100 persons and injuring at least 2,600. some 11,200 houses were destroyed and nearly 60,0000 people were made homeless by the quake.
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rafsanjani may return to inspect quake-stricken cities
ashkhabad, may 12, irna -- a source close to president akbar hashemi rafsanjani said here monday that the president may cancel part of his scheduled programs here today to return to iran to personally look into the situation of the victims of the killer quake in eastern iran. a quake with a magnitude of 7.1 jolted across fours provinces of the country at noon saturday killing 2,400 persons and injuring 6,000 others in birjand and qa'en, the hardest hit areas. president rafsanjani arrived in turkmenistan sunday on an official visit from dushanbe, tajikistan, to attend the summit meeting of the economic cooperation organization (eco) scheduled to open tuesday. as the death toll of the killer quake increased, the president decided to make a brief return to iran to talk with the victims and look into their situation, said the source. president rafsanjani, in a statement from tajikistan immediately after the quake, expressed sympathy with the victims and the bereaved families of those killed in the quake and instructed executive bodies to rush to provide relief to the victims. after inspecting the devastations, rafsanjani will return to the turkmen capital to attend the eco summit.
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more messages of condolence arrive
tehran, may 12, irna -- armenian president levon ter-petrosyan in a message to iranian president akbar hashemi rafsanjani sunday expressed sorrow and sympathy for the victims of the earthquake which hit khorasan province saturday noon. ter-petrosyan also ordered armenian government agencies to immediately dispatch urgent relief aid to help the quake victims in iran. meanwhile azerbaijan president heidar aliyev in a message to president akbar hashemi rafsanjani sunday expressed the sympathy of the government and the people of azerbaijan for the quake-stricken people of qa'en and birjand. in his message, the azeri president asked for god's blessings for the deceased and patience for the survivors of the disaster. according to earlier reports, bangladesh president shahabuddin ahmed and prime minister sheikh hasina in separate messages to president akbar hashemi rafsanjani condoled the loss of lives in the disastrous earthquake in khorasan province. bangladesh television reported that shahabuddin ahmed expressed his deep shock and condolences to the president, government and the people of iran. prime minister sheikh hasina in a similar message also offered her sympathy and condolences.
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leader's representative leaves for disaster areas tehran, may 12, irna -- hojatoleslam ali ghayouri, representative of the leader of the islamic revolution, heading a delegation left here for the quake hit areas in southern khorasan, in east of iran, on monday. hojatoleslam ghayouri is to oversee the relief operations provided to the survivors of the powerful quake which hit east of iran on saturday killing 2,400 persons and injuring over 6,000 others in birjand and qa'en. meanwhile head of the natural disasters headquarters of the interior ministry rasoul zargar said in qa'en on monday that so far 4,000 tents and 15,000 blankets have been distributed among the survivors of the quake. head of khorasan construction jihad department amirian said that about 30,000 livsetocks have been killed in qa'en area inflicting over rls 7,000 million damage. so far 13 veterinary teams have been stationed in the area to prevent contagious diseases among the livestock.
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rafsanjani, niyazov hold first round of talks ashkhabad, may 12, irna -- presidents of iran and turkmenistan held their first round of talks here monday. president saparmurat niyazov of turkmenistan welcoming the iranian president as the first distinguished guest in the newly-built presidential palace, stressed that turkmens consider iranians as their dear and true friends. president akbar hashemi rafsanjani of iran also thanked the turkmen people for their sincere emotions and warm greetings. president rafsanjani arrived in turkmenistan sunday heading a high-ranking political, economic and cultural delegation. he paid a 3-day official visit to tajikistan before arriving here.
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dailies urge need for preventive measrues in quake-prone areas
tehran, may 12, irna -- three morning english language dailies in their editorials monday commented on the devastating earthquake which hit khorasan province on saturday and underlined the need for measures to minimize the extent of damage and number of casualties in earthquake-prone areas of the country. stressing that in countries like japan strong earthquakes are quite safe because precautionary measures are taken against natural disasters, 'tehran times' wrote that in quake-prone countries structure of the buildings are designed in a way to resist tremors and construction materials add to the strength and safety of the buildings. the article pointed to the 7.7 degree earthquake which claimed lives of 25,000 people in khorasan in 1978, adding that the government officials should have taken precautionary measures to prevent further disasters there. ''considering these tragic events, the government should give priority to prevention of such disasters rather than sending quick relief to the victims,'' the article remarked. it reiterated that sharing the experience of other countries and implementing infrastructure projects in the earthquake-prone areas can greatly help minimize the damage and reduce the number of casualties. another daily, 'iran news', said this is not the first time that such a disaster has happened in iran, nor is its occurance inconceivable as iran is prone to earthquakes. ''the people, officials and specialists have definite individual responsibilities in this regard,'' noted the editorial, adding, ''we should strive to take preventive measures to reduce the losses and minimize the casualties.'' efforts should be made to consider these principles when designing cities, villages, bridges and other establishments, the daily pointed out. it recommended that rural and urban buildings should be made resistant to earthquake, people must be properly prepared to face quakes and take part in relief operations and technological experience of countries such as japan should be used. moreover, it added, national plans should be devised to expedite the use of technology for preventive and preparatory programs. ''iran is believed to possess the required know-how on seismology and earthquake prevention. but mere know-how is not sufficient, as action is urgently needed,'' the article said in conclusion. ''geographically, iran is an earthquake-prone country,'' said the daily 'kayhan international', adding that scores of tremors, including a few major quakes, are registered each year. it said that as houses and public buildings in rural areas are not constructed in accordance with safety standards that have to be observed in earthquake-prone countries, the losses in human life and property are immensely great. ''it is painful to note that the saefty norms are not practiced by builders in the capital too,'' wrote the article, noting that the current house-building trend in tehran is constructing high towers without taking into consideration several imperative factors. apart from the dire consequences such huge and high structures will have for the old houses in case of a quake, various problems that such buildings create for people in the area even without the occurence of a quake should be taken into consideration, the editorial pointed out. it called on the officials to take measures to minimize the damage and losses by taking advantage of the knowledge gained in the seismological field by countries such as japan in order to build quake-resistant structures.
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ptt registered a record increase in telephone lines last year tehran, may 12, irna -- some 750,000 new telephone connections were added to the country's existing telephone network in the last iranian year (1375), ended march 20, it was announced here monday. mohammad reza sabour, director general of public relations office of the post, telegraph and telephone ministry added that as a result, the number of telephone lines installed by iran's telecommunication company was the highest in 1375 compared to the past few years. setting up of telecommunication networks at more than 2,000 villages, expansion of v-sat communication network by 70 percent, meeting a great part of the needs of telecommunication industry domestically, and establishing of regional and independent telecommunication companies throughout the country were among the major activities of the country's telecommunication company in 1375, sabour reported. he further stressed that expansion of mobile telephone network in 35 cities, planning one million mobile telephone lines, connecting 170 cities to data network, export of technical know-how, and doing research work on the latest developments in telecommunication industry were also other major achievements of the telecommunication company. hosting of a meeting of post and telecommunication ministers of the member states of the organization of the islamic conference (oic) as well as the 9th session of managing directors of economic cooperation organization (eco) member countries in 1375, were other achievements gained by the islamic republic at international forum. the ministry received a plaque from unesco in recognition of communication projects it carried out in deprived and remote areas of iran last year. sabour concluded by saying that over 3,000 telecommunication projects were inaugurated by president akbar hashemi rafsanajani throughout the country last year
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rafsanjani leaves turkmenistan for disaster areas in eastern iran
ashkhabad, may 12, irna -- president akbar hashemi rafsanjani left ashkhabad for iran's khorasan province on monday to inspect the areas hit by a killer quake on saturday. president rafsanjani arrived in turkmenistan sunday on an official visit from tajikistan to attend the summit of the economic cooperation organization (eco) scheduled to open tuesday. a quake with a magnitude of 7.1 jolted eastern iran at noon saturday killing 2,400 persons and injuring over 6,000 others in birjand and qa'en. a source close to president rafsanjani said here monday that the president canceled part of his scheduled programs in ashkhabad this morning to return to iran to personally look into the situation of the survivors of the quake. the president has been closely following the quake-related developments and the relief operations. after the death toll of the quake increased, the president decided to make a brief return to iran to talk with the survivors and look into their situation, said the source. after inspecting the devastations, rafsanjani will return to the turkmen capital to attend the eco summit, he added.
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egypt to send humanitarian aid to iran
athens, may 12, irna -- egypt is to send a planeload of relief aid to iran as part of international efforts to help the surviors of the earthquake which struck northeastern iran on saturday, cairo radio ''sawt-al arab'' reported today. the radio noted that other countries like bahrain, kuwait, germany, the u.s. have offered to send aid to iran, while france and saudi arabia have already dispatched a planc carrying releief aid to iran.
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india expresses shock at devastating quake in iran
new delhi, may 12, irna -- india has expressed shock at the heavy loss of life in the devastating earthquake around the towns of qa'en and birjand in eastern iran on saturday. a condolence message to this effect was sent last night to the iranian president, akbar hashemi rafsanjani, by the indian prime minister, i.k. gujral, from male, maldives, where he is currently attending the 9th south asian association for regional cooperation (saarc) summit, a spokesman of india's external affairs ministry told irna today. gujral has assured iran that india stands by the people of iran and is willing to render full assistance to the iranian government to provide relief to the affected people, added the spokesman.
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zavarei: foreign policy will not change with change in presidency
tehrn, may 12, irna -- head of the real estate and document registeration organization and presidential candidate seyed reza zavarei said with a change in the presidency, the foreign policy of the country will not change. in an interview with 'tehran times', printed today, zavarei said, ''according to article 110 of the constitution, the general policies of our country are determined by the leader of the islamic revolution. a new president cannot impose serious changes in foreign policy.'' developing or limiting ties with certain countries is based on the long and short-term interests of the people of the country, he told the daily. ''as we don't want others to interfere in our internal affairs, we should consider this right for others, too,''zavarei remarked. he underlined the role that media play in familiarizing people with the presidential candidates and their future programs, adding that a free television discussion on the presidential elections would enable the candidates to exchange views on different issues such as agriculture, unemployment, politics and economy. elaborating on the implementation of social justice in the country, zavarei said that the costs of development projects should be in line with national revenues and the financial ability of the people. the presidential hopeful sterssed the need for safeguarding cultural values, saying that culture guarantees the prosperity of the society
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jerry-builders of government buildings to be reprimanded
birjand, khorasan prov., may 12, irna -- any contractor of government establishments and buildings which collapsed in the killer quake of saturday, found neglecting the building codes and standards, will be reprimanded. head of the natural disasters headquarters of the interior ministry rasoul zargar made the above remark while inspecting the devastations caused by quake in eastern iran. zargar further told irna that one of the reasons behind collapse of government premises and buildings in southern khorasan province was that the contractors of these buildings did not build them quake-resistant. many government buildings in various villages of dar mian district of birjand, such as rural health centers, schools and administrative centers were flattened in the quake. according to zargar scores of houses reconstructed in 1989 also collapsed since they were not up to technical standards. over 15,500 houses were destroyed in birjand and qa'en, the epicenter of the 7.1 killer quake which hit eastern iran saturday.
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president's envoy meets with quake victims
qaen, khorasan prov., may 12, irna -- president akbar hashemi rafsanjani's special envoy, jalil besharati here monday met a group of people wounded in saturday's deadly earthquake at a city hospital. during the meeting, besharati, who is head of president's office in charge of deprived regions, paid some money to every wounded person on behalf of the president. after inspecting the quake-stricken regions, he allocated rls. 500,000 to be paid to every person who has lost a relative. following his inspection tour to quake-hit regions, besharati participated in extraordinary meetings attended by provincial and local officials. in the meetings, he was informed of the relief operations underway in the affected areas. meanwhile, a number of foreign journalists have arrived at zir-kouh and other quake-hit areas in southern khorasan province in the past two days. according to irna correspondent here, the foreign journalists were very impressed by coordinated move of people to help their quake-stricken compatriots. zir-kouh district, 85 km from qaen was worst hit in the saturday's quake. a killing earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 degrees on the richter scale rocked northeastern iran at saturday noon, killing at least 2,400 and injuring over 6,000 people. 128 villages have also been 30 to 100 percent destroyed.
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president arrives in birjand to oversee relief operations
birjand, khorasan prov., may 12, irna -- president akbar hashemi rafsanjani arrived in the quake-stricken city of birjand on monday to oversee relief operation in the area. immediately after his arrival, the president left the city for the rural areas aboard a helicopter. the leader's representative, hojatoleslam ghayuri, ministers of the interior and health, head of the interior ministry's headquarters for natural disasters, head of iranian red crescent society (ircs), governor-general of khorasan province had already arrived in the quake-hit areas to coordinate rescue operations.
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15 truck-loads of foodstuff sent to quake stricken regions
mashhad, khorasan province, may 11, irna -- the red crescent society of mashhad dispached 15 trucks laden with foodstuffs to the quake stricken areas of qaen and birjand on sunday. according to the public relations department of the red cresent society the relief aid donated by people of khorasan consisted of 15 tons of rice, 5,300 kg of grains, 4,000 kg of sugar and sugar cubes, 2,100 kg of edible oil, 4,000 canned foods, 9,000 blankets, textiles and clothes, shoes, dishes, 3,000 ovens and lamps. eight truckloads of bread along with some ambulances and water tanks were also sent to the quake stricken areas in southern khorasan province. in related news, the red crescent society of kashan has dispatched 7 trucks laden with 1,000 blankets, 2,000 canned fruits, 20 tons of rice and 10 tons of cooking oil to the region.
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iranian women hold judicial posts
vienna, may 11, irna -- iran's deputy head of judiciary hussein karimi said here on saturday that for the first in iran, iranian women has been given judicial posts to investigate cases relevant to women. karimi, speaking after conclusion of the sixth session of the u.n. commission on crime prevention and criminal justice here on sunday, said that there were women working as a member to judicial cadre of the islamic republic of iran. iranian women can finally be allowed to issue judcial verdicts, he said, adding ''since every thing in iran should have religious base, a series of expert level debates are in progress at scientific and theological centers in this regard.'' as for outcome of the un session, karimi said that the iranian delegation to the meeting had offered certain proposals on preventing mass media from insulting the personality of women and banning women's use in advertisements. he said that the iranian delegation had also drawn the attention of other participant countries to iran's experiences in setting up courts that deal with young offenders.
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de charette condoles with velayati on quake disaster in iran
tehran, may 11, irna -- french foreign minister herve de charette in a message to his iranian counterpart ali akbar velayati on sunday expressed condolence on the loss of lives caused by the quake which hit birjand in the northeastern province of iran yesterday. de charette voiced his country's readiness to extend humanitarian assistance to the victims of the deadly disaster.
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203-kg drug haul in yazd
yazd, may 11, irna -- law enforcement forces in this desert region in central iran have confiscated a total of 203 kilograms of narcotics, it was announced here on sunday. deputy director of the politico-ideological department of the local law enforcement department, hojjatoleslam seyyed hassan mir- rahimi said the drug haul included 23 kilograms of morphine which was discovered from vehicles in mehmiz region. according to the official, 145 smugglers have also been nabbed and handed over to judicial authorities. law enforcement forces in yazd have confiscated 116 kilograms of narcotics, since april 21.
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iran elected as hq. for implementation of astinfo regional projects
tehran, may 11, irna -- the 11th session of the asia-pacific scientific and technological information (astinfo) concluded its six-day work here on sunday by voting for iran as the headquarters for implementation of its projects in member countries of the economic cooperation organization (eco). astinfo is made up of iran, australia, bangladesh, china, india, indonesia, japan, the democratice people's republic of korea, south korea, laos, malaysia, mongolia, nepal, new zealand, pakistan, new guinea, philippines, sri lanka, thailand, vietnam and fiji. participants in the session also proposed expansion of cooperation between iran and the united nations educational, scientific and cultural organization (unesco) for setting up a joint fund to finance implementation of projects in asia. they also called for upgrading cooperation among members in order to speed up the data dissemination services. the session also hailrd iran's scientific information and document centre (irandoc) as a body conducting research for astinfo.
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president rafsanjani arrives in turkmen capital
ashkhabad, may 11, irna -- president hojjatoleslam akbar hashemi rafsanjani arrived in ashkhabad on sunday from the city of merv, in eastern turkmenistan, accompanied by turkmen president safar murad niyazov. among those welcoming the iranian president and his delegation at the ashkhabad airport were leading turkmen dignitaries including islamic scholars and scientists. for hours outside the airport people thronged both sides of the streets and as the motorcade of rafsanjani sped by they waived the flags of the two countries. president rafsanjani is in the turkmenistan capital to participate in the summit meeting of economic cooperation organization (eco) to be held tuesday, may 13. the iranian president and his delegation are expected to hold special talks with the turkmenistan president and other top officials to discuss the prospects of oil, gas, communications, commerce and transportation projects and other items related to the expansion of economic and political cooperation between the two nations. earlier in the day, rafsanjani was received by niyazov at the historical city of merv near the borders of iran's khorasan province. merv has a population of over 1.5 million people, a large number of whom speak persian language.
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rafsanjani inspects installations at turkmen port on river oxus
charjou (turkmenistan), may 11, irna -- president hojjatoleslam akbar hashemi rafsanjani inspected jetty installations of the turkmen port city of charjou on the river oxus. turkmen president safar murad niyazov who accompanied his guest to charjou briefed him on navigation in the oxus and the present situation of the kara kum canal which connects ashkhabad to the oxus. the oxus which rises in the mountains of northern afghanistan demarcates the afghanistan-tajikistan and afghanistan-uzbekistan borders before entering turkmenistan on its way to the aral sea. before joining the sea it also demarcates part of the turkmen-uzbek border. the river and its rich resources play a vital role for landlocked turkmenistan from the point of view of trade and passenger traffic. the width of the oxus in some places spans six kilometers, and the river serves as an important lifeline for regional states.
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155 aftershocks in quake hit birjand-qaen area
mashhad (khorasan), may 11, irna -- the seismological centre here has registered some 155 aftershocks until 15:00 hours local time today (10:30 gmt) following the devastating 7.1 degree earthquake that rocked the birjand-qaen area of khorasan province on saturday. an official in chanrge of the mashhad seismological centre said the aftershocks ranged from 2.8 to 5.5 on the open-ended richter scale. the quake has left over 2,400 people dead and several thousand others injured.
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turkmenistan tv broadcasts `iran today'
ashkhabad, may 12, irna -- with the arrival of president hojjatoleslam akbar hashemi rafsanjani of iran and his top ranking delegation here sunday, turkmenistan tv broadcast a half-an-hour program titled `iran today'. the program was aired at the peak period. `iran today' presented glimpses of tehran, isfahan, kerman, and shiraz with the commentator speaking in persian. the other portion of film depicted the activities of both men and women in islamic iran in the reconstruction and development sectors. it also showed the recreational life of iranian families in parks and playgrounds. the other part of the film presented women's active role in acquisition of knowledge from school to the higher academic level and their share in the field of manufacture and production. the program also touched on industrial products, heavy machinery manufacture, steel industry, power plants, oil, oil products, petro-chemicals, dam construction, which fully impressed the turkmenistan audience.
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german fm expresses sympathy for quake victims
tehran, may 12, irna -- german minister of foreign affairs klaus kinkel in a message to his iranian counterpart ali akbar velayati on sunday offered condolences to the bereaved families of saturday's 7.1 degree quake which jolted the birjand-qaem area of the north eastern iranian province of khorasan. according to kinkel's message the 'deadly tremblor' and the conditions of the victims and survivors has affected the minds of germans.
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turkish leaders cable condolences on birjand quake
ankara, may 12, irna -- turkish president suleyman demirel and prime minister necmettin erbakan in their messages to iranian president hojjatoleslam akbar hashemi rafsanjani and first vice-president hassan habibi expressed condolences on the death toll of the earthquake which hit the birjand-qaem area of northeastern iran on saturday. in their separate messages the turkish president and premier have offered sympathies of the turkish nation to the bereaved families of the quake.
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iran's jihad ministry to build 6 silos in turkmenistan
merv (turkmenistan), may 12, irna -- iran's construction jihad ministry launched its metal silo construction projects in merv province of turkmenistan on sunday in the presence of president hojjatoleslam akbar hashemi rafsanjani and turkmen president safar murad niyazov. the capacity of each silo is over 30,000 tons. a silo development firm affiliated to the construction jihad ministry won the international tender to build silos for the republic of turkmenistan. the six silos are expected to be built in the turkmen cities of bayram ali, yashlik, goulanki, parafat, ghezel orwat and dashauz, stated mohammad jawad irvani, deputy minister of jihad. the construction project would take about a year to finish and would cost over 16.5 million us dollars, he added. irvani said the cities were located in the important wheat belt farming areas of turkmenistan. president rafsanjani, who arrived in turkmenistan on sunday from tajikistan, also inspected the water supply and sewage construction project of merv which is being undertaken by water and sewage company of mashhad, in iran's khorasan. the company is expected to be paid over dlrs. 14.5 million.
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egyptian official: cairo-tehran economic ties could be worth dlrs 5 billion
athens, may 12, irna -- an egyptian government official said promotion of economic cooperation between the islamic republic of iran and egypt could bring big profits to both the muslim countries. "cairo and tehran could have very productive economic relations that could give a boost to the economics of the two states", mehmoud farag, head of the iranian department at the egyptian foreign ministry, told al-ahram weekly newspaper. rough estimates suggest that full economic ties between the two states could be worth dlrs 5 billion a year. according to farag, cairo could help open up the african market to tehran which could reciprocate by helping egypt find better ways into asian market. al-ahram said sources believe that the time is ripe for warmer bilateral relations, following the recent visit of iranian foreign minister ali akbar velayati to cairo. "iran is facing threats of a u.s military strike, while cairo is facing u.s attempts to politically marginalise it in the region. if the two come together, the u.s would have to reconsider its policies", one source in cairo told al-ahram. velayati visited cairo last monday to convey to the egyptian president hosni mubarak an invitation by president akbar hashemi rafsanjani to attend the 8th summit of the organization of the islamic conference (oic) scheduled to be held in tehran in december. the iranian minister described his talks with both mubarak and moussa as "very frank," and "successful." "we do believe that cooperation between islamic republic of iran and egypt should be constructive" velayati was quoted as saying. according to moussa said the areas of difference between cairo and tehran were discussed during the talks. but despite the various disagreements between cairo and tehran, there are factors that could bring the two together, noted al-ahram. as one diplomatic source told al-ahram, "neither country likes the fact that the oil-rich arab persian gulf states depend on the west for territorial security. they also believe that a rapprochement between the two nations would prompt washington to adopt a less anti-arab attitude.
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oic offers sympathy to iran quake victims
abu dhabi (uae), may 12, irna -- secretary-general of the organization of the islamic conference (oic) ezzeddin al-araqi cabled a message of condolence to iranian president akbar hashemi rafsanjani on sunday, offering his sympathy with the victims of saturday's earthquake which hit the birjand-qaen in the northeastern iranian province of khorasan. in his message cabled from the oic headquarters in jeddah, saudi arabia, al-araqi said he is sure that based on islamic solidarity oic member states would spare no effort in rushing humanitarian assistance for the quake-hit iranian people.
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16 copter sorties conducted for relief purposes
mashhad (khorasan), may 12, irna -- the commander of the army air borne division, lt. colonel isa mamdouhi told irna here sunday that over sixteen sorties were conducted to deliver relief supply of over 16 tons to the earthquake stricken areas birjand-qaen in the south of khorasan since saturday. lt. col. mamdouhi said the whirlybirds had been used in the inaccessible terrain to deliver tents, foodstuff, medicine and other essential items to the victims of the 7.1 degree earthquake, which has according to the last reports claimed over 2400 lives and injured several thousand others besides rendering tens of thousands of people homeless. the villages covered by emergency relief included khunik, gazkhak, hajiabad, hosseinabad, mohammadabad, pard kul and abiz, all in the valleys of qaen. the commander of heli division said that part of the mission had continued until 1800 hours on sunday. he added that four sorties were flown to carry top officials of the ministry of interior to assess the situation, relief workers, doctors without frontiers to offer emergency medical attention and the representatives of astan qods razavi.
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greek media give extensive coverage to quake disaster in iran
athens, may 12, irna -- greek television and radio stations, both private and state-run, sunday gave wide coverage to the earthquake disaster in northeastern iran. the quake disaster in iran dominated news reports in state-run channels et-1, et-2 and major private tv-networks like megachannel and antenna. greek media, quoting irna dispatches, said over 2,000 people have lost their lives in the quake, and that iran has officialy appealed for international help to cope with the disaster. private radio station "skai" criticised the united nations for "unprecedented delay" in sending relief aid to iran
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bahraini high ranking officials condoles iranian president
abu dhabi, may 12, irna -- the bahraini amir sheikh isa bin sulman al-khalifa in a message from manama on sunday to the iranian president hojjatoleslam akbar hashemi rafsanjani, expressed condolence on the unfortunate natural catastrophe of the earthquake which hit qaen and birjand in the northeastern iranian province of khorasan on saturday. in his message al-khalifa has prayed for the victims of the quake and offered sympthy to the bereaved member families. meanwhile, the bahraini prime minister sheikh khalifa bin sulman al-khalifa in two separate messages one to president rafsanjani and another to the first vice-president hassan habibi, extending his regret on the loss of lives inflicted by the saturday's 7.1 richter quake. also, the bahriani crown prince and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces sheikh hamad bin isa al-khalifa in a message to president rafsanjani, expressed regret on the sad incident and extended his sympthy with quake hit iranian people.