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iran, saudi arabia discuss bilateral cooperation
abu dhabi, may 21, irna -- iran's ambassador to riyadh, mohammad reza nouri shahroudi, and saudi minister of higher education, khalid ibn muhammad al-angari, discussed bilateral relations tuesday. the iranian ambassador conveyed an invitation from iran's minister of higher education mustafa moin to his saudi counterpart to visit iran. turning to friendly relations between the two muslim and neighbouring countries, he voiced tehran's readiness to expand cooperation with riyadh in higher education, research and scientific fields. the saudi minister, lauding iran's achievements in educational and scientific fields and describing tehran-riyadh cooperation beneficial to both nations and the world of islam, welcomed expansion of the bilateral ties. al-angari, also, invited the iranian higher education minister to visit saudi arabia.
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aftabgardan' publisher sentenced, its permit to be cancelled
tehran, may 21, irna -- publisher of 'aftabgardan' magazine gholamhussein karbaschi, was fined rls 20 million by the public court of tehran on monday. the magazine had published a satire titled ''firm and full support of an informant for performance of islamic republic of iran broadcasting (irib)'' in two occasions. the case was reviewed by the court on monday and the jury with a majority found karbaschi guilty. the court, in its verdict, instructed the ministry of culture and islamic guidance to revoke aftabgardan's permit. meanwhile, the special court of tehran found two writers, najafqoli habibi and ms. sediqeh vasmaqi, guilty of publishing articles offending majlis deputy mohammad javad larijani. habibi and ms. vasmaqi, instructors at tehran university, had gone beyond the limits in their critiques and analyses of minutes of larijani's talks with british deputy foreign secretary in london, said the verdict. the court fined each one rls one million on charge of calumny. they have also been given a two-month jail sentence for publishing false reports. the defendants can appeal the verdict at a higher court.
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islamic human rights commission on election complaints
tehran, may 21, irna -- the islamic human rights commission will investigate all complaints filed on election violations and publish a detailed report on the procedure. in a statement issued tuesday, the commission said that the move is aimed at preventing any possible violation both before and during the presidential elections, slated for may 23. the commission expressed hope that electorates will show greater political insight and elect the most eligible candidate.
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daily: kinshasa needs peace, stability
tehran, may 21, irna -- a morning daily here wednesday commented on the recent developments in the democratic republic of congo and said that laurent kabila has finally suceeded in overthrowing a 32-year old dictatorship to establish a new system in kinshasa. ''forces loyal to kabila took control of the zairian capital on sunday, as residents celebrated the end of a brutal dictatorship,'' said the english language 'tehran times' in its editorial. the rebellion is over, it further added, but kabila has the gigantic task of nation-building ahead. ''before embarking on nationwide elections, kabila must provide a peaceful atmosphere for reconciliation,'' the article noted, stressing that revenge and bloodshed will not help him. at this stage, what zairians need are peace and stability, it added. ''civil war has taken its toll. bloodshed and fighting should be immediately stopped,'' it recommended in conclusion.
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Iran-pakistan parliamentary ties discussed
islamabad, may 21, irna -- iran's ambassador to islamabad, mohammad mehdi akhoundzadeh and the speaker of national assembly of pakistan, illahi bakhsh soomro here wednesday reviewed further promotion of iran-pakistan parliamentary relations. the iranian diplomat said that the wise leadership of the leader of the islamic revolution, ayatollah ali khamenei and the unity of the muslim nation of iran have thwarted all plots hatched by the u.s. against the islamic revolution. referring to his previous visits to iran, soomro said that the decisive leadership of ayatollah khamenei and the unity of the iranian nation have created an excellent pattern for other nations to follow. turning to the critical situation in afghanistan, the pakistani speaker called for closer cooperation between tehran and islamabad in solving the regional problems.
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foodstuff export to earn country dlrs. 300-350m
tehran, may 21, irna -- foodstuff exports is to earn the country between dlrs. 300-350 million by the year end on march 20, 1998, industries minister mohammad-reza nematzadeh said here on wednesday. nematzadeh said at the inaugural ceremony of food and agricultural industries exhibition that the monetary value of foodstuff exported last year reached dlrs. 230 million from dlrs. 12 million at the onset of the first five-year economic, social and cultural development plan in 1989. a total of 330 iranian and 55 foreign companies from 10 countries have put on display varying kinds of foodstuff and manufactured goods on show on an area of 6,300 square meters.
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polish national education minister to visit iran soon
tehran, may 20, irna -- polish national education minister and head of tehran-warsaw parliamentary friendship group yersy wiatr in a meeting with iranian ambassador mohammad taheri in warsaw on tuesday underlined formation of parliamentary friendship groups. wiatr, welcoming an invitation extended to him by the iranian diplomat on behalf of iran's higher education minister mohammad-reza hashemi golpayegani to visit iran, expressed hope that he would pay an official visit to tehran soon. he said the visit would provide him with an opportunity to inspect scientific, educational and research centers in iran, and meet with iranian officials. taheri underlined the importance of expanding tehran-warsaw relations in cultural, scientific and educational areas.
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iran, china to manufacture locomotives
tehran, may 20, irna -- iran and china have agreed to manufacture 100 locomotives with a capacity of 4,000 horse power. the agreement was signed in the form of finance here tuesday in the presecne of iranian ministers of roads and transportation, and industries and chinese officials. the value of the agreement is about dlrs 125 million which also includes machniery, and iranian-made machinery and also transfer of technology to iran. the 100 locomotives are to be manufactured over a period of five years, at 20 locomotives a year. the project ensures transfer to iran of technical knowledge in that area.
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demolishing arab homes: an established israeli policy in occupied palestine
athens, may 20, irna -- the israeli "civil administration" in the west bank has reportedly decided to destroy as many as 500 arab homes located within area "c" which, according to the ill-fated oslo accords, is to remain under exclusive israeli control at least until the final settlement. the israeli occupation authorities claim the houses were built without "proper permits" and are located on land needed for bypass roads, or in the vicinity of army camps. however, it seems amply clear that the real motivation behind the planned "massacre of palestinian homes" is first and foremost to curtail as much as possible natural, demographic arab population growth particularly in the west bank. all indicaitons suggest that the zionist regime would be reverting to the notorious policy adopted by the late zionist prime miniser yitzhak shamir, who sought to "narrow palestinain horizons so much so that they would eventually be forced to leave their homeland" for zionist colonialists. in fact, far from upholding the "law," the established israeli policy of systematically destroying palestinians' homes is actually meant, regardless of any concocted excuses, to uproot palestinian, arab and muslim presence in palestine, a goal that has always been the essense of zionist policy toward the palestinain people. tactically, however, home demolition is primarily aimed at inflicting maximum emotional distress and pain on arab families. the extremely callous practice is routinely resorted to when a member of a given palestinian family is involved, factually or presumptively, in resistance acts against the zionist occupation, or when, as previously mentioned, the house is built without license. home demolition is, probably only second to death, the worst calamity that could befall a palestinian family. the experience is particularly overwhelming because of the symbolic status that a palestinian attaches to his or her home. the policy of destroying residential homes of arab families was adopted immediately following the end of the 1967 war. since then, thousands of arab homes have been demolished, leaving indelible scars in the hearts and minds of the innocent victims. in fact, the effects of such barbaric acts are incalculable, especially for children of the affected families who are most vulnerable and least immune to mental distress. they are likely to suffer permanent psychological and emotional disorders that will stay with them for the rest of their life. phobias, disorientation, depression and various forms of psychosis and neurosis are some of the mental and emotional disorders afflicting them. unmoved by the emotional and physical suffering inflicted to afflicted families, the israeli army actually introduced stringent restricitons on the rebuilding of destroyed homes. the utter savagery and insensitivity of this policy became even more evident as granting building permits was made ever more difficult for palestinians. particularly for those living outside the boundaries of area "a," the few towns nominally controlled by yasser arafat's palestinian authority, which doesn't exceed 2.5 percent of the total area of the west bank. faced with the all too real prospects of becoming homelss, many palestinians, especially young couples who have no where to live, often venture to build a home without obtaining the precious building permit beforehand. however, in many cases, israeli army bulldozers move swiftly to destroy the newly-constucted house and with it a family's dream of living in a home of its own. indeed, many people risk building without license only because it is extremely difficult to obtain one, due to the israeli policy of preventing demographic palestinian expansion. even for those who can get a building license, it usually takes years to actually get one, for the same reason. the manner in which home demolition is carried out is significant in itself. the operation often begins by declaring the town or village where the doomed house is located a closed military zone. then, after soldiers take position around the house, an officer would approach the head of family to inform him that he has a two-hour grace to get all belongings and furniture out. distressed and distraught, family members would then hasten to get some of their valuables out. older children would comfort younger children, as they all begin to sense an impending dissaster of some kind inflicting them. a crying wife would beg an apathetic army officer to spare the home they so laboriously built, brick by brick, and spent all their life savings on it, but to no avail, because we are "only carrying out orders." and as the deadline approaches, and all hopes of saving the home prove unrealistic, a child, returning from school and not knowing what is going on, would make a last dash into the home before the deadline in order to get his favourite story-book. then another child would make a last minute venture to get a toy he couldn't bear to see crushed. then the deadline would arrive and the commanding officer would order the family to move away. soon aftgerwards, explosives would be attached to the house columns, and when the go-ahead is given, the exposives are detonated , the home becomes rubble, and "mission brutality" is executed.
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russian fm coldoles with velayati on killer quake
tehran may 20, irna -- russian foreign minister yevgeni primakov on tuesday sent a cable of condolence to iranian foreign minister ali akbar velayati for the killer quake in khorassan province of iran on may 10 that took a toll of over 2,000 people. he said also in his message that the russian government was proceeding with relief services for quake victims in iran.
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over rls 7.5 billion allocated for quake-hit areas in bojnourd
bojnourd, khorassan prov., may 21, irna -- head of the natural catastrophes agency of bojnourd hassan movahedian said here tuesday that upwards of rls 7.550 billion had been allocated for the first phase of rehabilitation projects to be underaken in this region. in february last year, a heavy quake hit bojnourd damaging upwards of 113 of small villages near the city. meanwhile, head of construction jihad authority of mashhad, capital of khorassan province mohssen amirian said tuesday that the quake in the province earlier this month had inflicted as much as rls 111 billion damage to infrastructural facilities in the province, the bulk of it having been drinking water facilities, and power and cattle-raising facilities in over 150 villages. he said that as the result of rehabilitation projects currently under way in the province 680 kilometers of roads had been rehabilitated between those villages. the quake in the provnce on 10th. may also killed about 33,000 cattle and destroyed upwards of 70,000 square meters of facilities for cattle raising.