Islamic Republic of Iran and Qatar emphasized the need for enhancing and boosting outstanding role of women in the family unit.

Iranian Vice-President for Women and Family Affairs Ensieh Khazali met and held talks with Qatari Minister of Social Development and Family Mariam bint Ali bin Nasser Al Misnad on Tuesday on the sidelines of the 66th Session of UN Commission on Status of Women (CSW).

During the meeting, the Iranian Vice-President pointed to the recent visit of President Ebrahim Raeisi to Doha to sign several Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs).

Khazali proposed Qatari side for setting up a special Working Group for women for realizing most objectives in this respect.

Qatari diplomat welcomed the cooperation plan as proposed by Iran’s Vice-President and stressed the importance of the role of women in the family and the need for a multidimensional view of the role of women in the family.

The two sides also discussed women’s empowerment, the outstanding role of women in the family unit and children and exchanged views on new ways of educating children.

Qatari minister pointed to the cultural similarities between the two countries of Iran and Qatar in terms of the role of women in the family and highlighted the key role of women in family and childcare, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Khazali also held talks with Italy’s Minister for Equal Opportunities and Family on the vulnerability of women in calamities and the necessity for helping them.

During the talks, Khazali said Iranian women have been among those who could well help vulnerable strata in the society in critical conditions.

Khazali made the remarks while referring to the pandemic conditions when women more than others helped and supported the patients by providing face masks for them and giving cash help. / MNA/

Iran’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) witnessed a growth of 4.1% and 3.4% without oil in the first 9 months of the current Iranian calendar year of 1400 (from March 21, 2021 to Dec. 21, 2021), the Iranian Central Bank said Mon.

Iran’s total GDP registered 4.1% growth during the first 9 months of the Iranian calendar year of 1400(from March 21, 2021, to Dec. 21, 2021).

Meanwhile, the statistics released by the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), the Iranian economy grew by 3.4% without taking into account the oil exports.

Also, economic growth excluding oil was equal to 5.8% during this period.

The CBI figures showed that the “Services”, “Industries and Mines” and “Oil” sectors grew by 8.1%, 3.8% and 5.4%, respectively, compared to the same period last year, while the agriculture sector recorded negative growth of 2.5%. /MNA/

The national Iranian U18 women’s handball team became runner-up at 2022 Asian Women’s Handball Championships to qualify for the 2022 Women’s Junior World Handball Championship.

The 2022 Asian Women’s Handball finished on Monday with two matches between India and Thailand and Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

India thrashed Thai team 41-18 and the Kazakh team who hosted the Asian championships beat Uzbakistan 29-22.

At the end of the Asian championships, the teams of India, Iran and Kazakhstan ranked first to third, while Uzbekistan and Thailand ranked fourth and fifth, respectively.

With these results, the teams of India and Iran booked their places in the 2022 Women’s Junior World Handball Championship, which will be held in Slovenia from June 22 to July 3.

The Iranian girls lost their first match to Kazakhstan 30-24 while they beat India 42-37 in their second match.

Iran beat the team of Thailand 28-21 in their third match in the 2022 Asian Women’s Handball which was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan from Mar. 7 to 14. For their fourth and final match, the Iranian gild won Uzbekistan 25-21. /MNA/

 

A new species of bee discovered by a research team has been named after late Iranian mathematician “Maryam Mirzakhani”, ISNA reported on Monday.

Researchers in the Department of Plant Protection at Zabul University in recent years has focused on several groups of parasitoid bees, most of which are natural enemies of agricultural pests and are of great importance in pest biological control.

The bee family called Ichneumonids is one of the most important factors in the biological control of pests and includes more than 25,000 species worldwide, of which less than 500 species have been definitively registered in Iran.

During a four-year study, several other species of this valuable group of beneficial insects were collected and identified in different parts of east, west, and central Iran, some of which were previously unknown to the world of science.

Maryam Mirzakhani, Iranian-born genius mathematician and Stanford University professor, obtained her BSc in mathematics (1999) from Sharif University of Technology, Tehran. She then moved to the U.S. and finished a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2004.

She won a gold medal in the Hong Kong International Mathematical Olympiad, in 1994, to be the first female Iranian student to have snatched a gold medal.

In the 1995 Toronto International Mathematical Olympiad, she became the first Iranian student to win two gold medals.

In 2017, Mirzakhani, the winner of the Fields Medal, also known as the Nobel Prize of mathematics, succumbed to breast cancer at 40. /T.T/

Iran football team defeated Uzbekistan 1-0 at the CAFA U18 Women’s Championship on Friday.

Negin Zandi scored the only goal of the match in the 38th minute. Uzbekistan were reduced to 10 in the 68th minute and went down to nine 10 minutes later.

Four Central Asian teams take their first preparatory steps on the road to the 2024 AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup as Tajikistan plays host.

The tournament has brought Tajikistan, Iran, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyz Republic in the round-robin event, which will give young prospects the chance to shine on the regional stage.

“First, I would like to congratulate all Iranian people for this win. I think we could have scored four goals since Uzbekistan were reduced to nine players in the last minutes of the match,” Iran coach Maryam Azmoun said in the post-match news conference.

This tournament feature players from the age group that will compete in the opening qualification stage of AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup, which is scheduled to be held in March 2023.

All six matches will be held at Central Republican Stadium, where the action will conclude on Tuesday. /T.T/

Iran’s leading artists and literati were awarded the first Nezami international prize in Tehran on Thursday, IRNA reported.

The prize was given to calligrapher Keykhosro Khorush, miniaturist Mohammad-Baqer Aqamiri, stage director Behruz Gharibpur, and the family of the late musician Hossein Dehlavi.

Scholars and researchers Mohammad Roshan-Dashti, Mehdi Mohabati, and Abdolmajid Arfaei as well as singers Saeid Shafieiun and Kurosh Asadpur, and musician Hatam Asgari Farahi also received the award.

An honorary award was also given to the prominent Iranian singer Shahram Nazeri.

Organized by the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO, the prize aims to honor studies and works on the Persian poet Nemazi Ganjavi from around the world.

The works and studies must throw the spotlight on the significance and impacts of Nezami on the Persian language, literature, art, and culture.

The prize is scheduled to be presented annually on Nezami Day, which falls on March 12 this year.

Back in February, Iranian National Commission for UNESCO director Hojjatollah Ayyubi announced that different books on Nezami’s works have been translated across the world this year, but none of them have referred to his language and identity origin.

“Due to our negligence, different aspects of Nazemi have not been introduced among the younger generation and this negligence has caused some movements.

He noted that the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO plans to hold the Persian poet in high regard in UNESCO programs more than ever.

“According to numerous documents, the origins of Nezami’s family can be traced back to Tad, a village near the town of Tafresh” Ayyubi noted.

He said that the National Museum of Iran plans a commemorative event for Nezami, which will be followed by another cultural program in Tafresh.

Abdolmahdi Mostakin, the secretary of the prize, also said, “Different massive programs have arranged by the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO to celebrate Nezami’s works, which have inspired numerous literary, dramatic, and artistic works in Iran, the region, and the world over the past 800 years.”

“Due to his creativity and unique innovations in Persian literature and his creative imagination, several countries in the region are trying to connect themselves to the great poet,” he stated.

“Regarding his great cultural potential and his Iranian origin, Nezami can join the neighboring nations to the eternal sources of Islamic Iranian culture and develop Iran’s soft power in the global culture and civilization,” Mostakin noted.

Earlier in January, Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance announced its plan to commemorate Nezami Ganjavi in a weeklong program in March.

The program, which has been set up as a hybrid event with virtual and live meetings, begins on Esfand 21 in the Iranian calendar year (March 12), which is celebrated by Iran as Nezami Day every year.  /T.T/

The national Iranian U18 women’s handball team defeated Thailand in the 2022 Asian Women’s Handball.

The Iranian U18 female handball team beat the team of Thailand 28-21 in their third match in the 2022 Asian Women’s Handball underway in Almaty, Kazakhstan from Mar. 7 to 14.

The Iranian girls lost their first match to Kazakhstan 30-24 while they beat India 42-37 in their second match.

The 2022 Asian Women’s Handball Championship is the 16th edition of the championship which acts as the qualification tournament for the 2022 Women’s Junior World Handball Championship in Slovenia. The top two teams from the Asian championship will directly qualify for the world event. /MNA/

Several Iranian knowledge-based companies are set to participate in the 21st International Exhibition for Equipment and Technologies for Oil and Gas Industries (NEFTEGAZ) in the Russian capital of Moscow.

Head of the International Science and Technology Interaction Center of the Iranian Science and Technology Vice-Presidency Mehdi Ghalenoei announced the upcoming International Exhibition for Equipment and Technologies for Oil and Gas Industries (NEFTEGAZ) will host a number of knowledge-based companies.

The 21st NEFTEGAZ will be held in Moscow on April 18–21, 2022.

The exhibition and forum bring together the whole industry to show all new products and trends. / MNA/

The 2023 Mustafa (PBUH) Prize Award Ceremony will be held in October 2023, while the nomination for the fifth round of Mustafa (PBUH) Prize has started.

The 2023 Mustafa(pbuh) Prize Award Ceremony will be held in October 2023, during which the winners will be announced.

The winners will be among the nominees who have submitted the bests of science and technology in the Islamic world.

The Mustafa(pbuh) Prize is awarded in the four categories of Information and Communication Science and Technology, Life and Medical Science and Technology, Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, and Basic and Engineering Sciences.

In this round of the Mustafa(pbuh) Prize, a Prize is also awarded to scientists residing in the Islamic countries regardless of their religion with the aim of developing science and technology in these countries.

The nominees can only be nominated by renowned scientists and/or one of the following scientific institutions: universities and research centers, Science and technology associations and centers of excellence, academies of sciences, and science and technology parks.

The prize includes The Mustafa(pbuh) Medal, the Prize Certificate, and a special cash gift that is provided from the endowment of science and technology, and so far more than 400 benefactors from different countries as members of the Khadem Al-Mustafa­(PBUH) community have supported this scientific-cultural movement.

The deadline for nominations is August 31, 2022.

For more information about the criteria and how to submit an application, visit www.mustafaprize.org

/MNA/

Iranian documentary film ‘Tonight’s Homework’ will be screened in the Ljubljana Documentary Film Festival in Slovenia.

Directed by Ashkan Nejati and Mehran Nematollahi, the Iranian documentary film ‘Tonight’s Homework’ has made its way to the critical societal section of the Ljubljana Documentary Film Festival in Slovenia.

Following last year’s online edition, the Ljubljana Documentary Film Festival is underway in hybrid form this year to feature 22 feature-length documentaries and three shorts between 9 and 16 March

In ‘Tonight’s Homework’, Ashkan Nejati and Mehran Nematollahi, the directors of the documentary, repeat questions, asked by Iran’s prominent director Abbas Kiarostami in his 1989 film ‘Homework’, to students at a public school, including questions about homework, punishments, and dreams of the future to see how the society has changed. /MNA/