Iran national futsal team and Mohammad Nazemasharieh have been nominated for the best team and the best coach in the world in 2021 by futsalplanet.com.

Iran will compete with Argentina, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Japan, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Portugal, Slovakia, Uzbekistan and Venezuela for the accolade.

Nazemasharieh failed to lead Iran to final four of the 2021 FIFA Futsal Cup in Lithuania.

Bakhodir Akhmedov (UZB – Uzbekistan), Marián Berky (SVK- Slovakia), Bruno Garcia Formoso (ESP- Japan), Hicham Dguig (MOR – Morocco), Freddy Miguel González Barrera (VEN – Venezuela), Jorge Gomes Braz (POR – Portugal), Paulo Ricardo Figueiroa Silva “Kakà” (BRA – Kazakhstan), Ivo Krezo (BIH – Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Matías Raúl Lucuix (ARG – Argentina) are also nominated for the best coach. /MNA/

The 8th edition of Tehran’s Specialized Exhibition of Agricultural Inputs dubbed in short as “AGRICULTECH” shall be held on January 18 – 21 at Tehran International Exhibition Center.

The motto of the exhibition is “Agricultural Prosperity, Sustainable Development.”

The 8th edition of the exhibition will be held after a year of hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions.

AGRICULTECH is a specialized exhibition focused on agricultural inputs such as pesticides, fertilizer, seeds, and biological control agents. /MNA/

 

Iranian movies “19”, “Femininity” and “A Hero” will be screened in the 27th edition of the Kolkata International Film Festival in India.

“19” directed by Manijeh Hekmat and “Femininity” by Mohsen Ostad-Ali will be screened in the International section of the festival, which will take place in Kolkata from January 7 to 14.

“19” is about Mitra, a 57-year-old painter and a single woman, who goes into a coma after being infected with COVID-19. With her last breath, she begins traveling to different parts of her memories through her unconscious mind. Mitra’s spirit comes back home to pack an imaginary suitcase full of her bittersweet memories and take it away. Moments before her last trip, just like Lot’s wife, she looks back at the lives of hers, her friends and her generation… at what they have done, what they have built and what they have ruined.

“The film narrates all the doubts of my generation, the fear and the trembling we have experienced all through our lives,” Hekmat has said earlier.

“It’s my own narrative, a narrative of mine as an author, as a filmmaker, on the verge of fading. In these hard times for our world, I decided to look back to see what we have made and what we have ruined. I feel that I’m the same pillar of salt trying to open her mouth once again,” she added.

“Femininity” (“Zananegi”) follows the story of five women – Sanaz, Saedeh, Tala, Ladan and Beheshteh – each with a unique story, but one thing in common. They all live in a women’s shelter in the south-end of Tehran, either by choice or by force. But now they all aim to change their lives for better, even if it is just for a tiny bit.

“A Hero” directed by two-time Oscar winner Asghar Farhadi will compete in the Cinema International category.

The film was shortlisted earlier for the Best Picture – Non-English Language category at the 94th Oscars and the 79th Annual Golden Globe Awards.

The film, which is a co-production between Iran and France, follows Rahim, who is in prison because he was unable to pay a debt. During a two-day leave of absence from prison, he attempts to have his creditor withdraw his complaint over part of the sum owed. But things don’t go as planned. /T.T/

An Iranian technology company has developed an antigen-based rapid detection kit, which can detect the Omicron variant in less than 20 minutes, Mehr news agency reported on Thursday.

The company has developed an antigen-based N and S rapid detection kit that simultaneously detects two proteins of spike and nucleocapsid, which is the first of its kind in the world, and greatly increases the accuracy of coronavirus detection, in addition to detecting different mutants of the virus.

So far, 43 cases of omicrons have been identified in the country. Last year, as the first manufacturer of COVID-19 antigen-based diagnostic kits during the pandemic, the company was one of the top three manufacturers of this kit in the world.

By daily production of 200,000 test kits, the needs of health centers have been met nationwide.

Omicron, which has raised global fears of a surge in infections, was first detected in southern Africa earlier this month and has prompted governments across the globe to impose travel restrictions and take other measures to try and contain it.

So far, 43 cases of omicrons have been identified in the country and Tehran recorded the highest number of infections.

Iran’s health minister Bahram Einollahi said last week that the rapid spread of Omicron may pose serious threats to the country although he insisted that authorities had identified few cases infected with the variant.

Einollahi said that Iran has two “golden weeks” to expand booster vaccination coverage to more people in order to prevent a potential explosion in the number of infections with Omicron in early January. / MNA /

Iranian children Raha Taheri and Nura Mohkamkar have won awards at the World Storytelling Championship in Chennai, India.

The final session of the event, which was organized online in 2020 and also this year, was held on Sunday and Monday.

Taheri was selected as World Champion in the Senior Category 1 for children between 13 and 15.

In the semifinal, she gave her performance narrating “On Simorgh’s Wings” written by Paizeh Taheri and in the final, she narrated “Size of the World” written by Shokuh Qasemnia.

“Size of the World” is about Sara, a little girl who is offended by her mother’s words. She embarks on a journey with a big bird to discover how large the world is.

Raha Taheri also won an award in the 90-Second Story Competition of the 23rd edition of Iran’s International Storytelling Festival organized two weeks ago by the Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (IIDCYA – Kanoon), where she has been trained.

Mohkamkar was selected as 1st runner-up in the Junior Category 3 for children between 8 and 12.

She performed “First Adventure of the Shahnameh” from Persian poet Ferdowsi’s epic masterpiece the Shahnameh in the semifinal.

In final, Mohkamkar presented “The Word Collector” written by the world-renowned writer and illustrator, Sonja Wimmer.

A poetic tale about the magic of words, this delightful story invites readers of all ages to enjoy the power that positive words can have.

The story is about Luna, who is passionate about words. She loves their light and becomes tickled with laughter from them. But one day, she realizes that, little by little, the beautiful, gorgeous and fun words are disappearing from the world, so she decides it’s time to act.

Iranian boy Mohammad-Amin Yusefi was one of the finalists in the Junior Category 3, but he failed to win an award. Vaidehi Parikh from Nigeria was named World Champion in this section.

In the Junior I category for children between 3 and 4, Aiden Jithin from India was picked as World Champion, while Liam Tae Min Eom from South Korea won the title in the Junior II category for children aged between 5 and 7.

The prize for the World Champion in the Senior II section for children aged between 16 and 18 went to Mishaal Manoj KC from India, and the World Champion in the Open Category for people aged 19 and above was Chen Minghsiang from Taiwan. / T.T/

Barekat Charity Foundation, affiliated with the Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam, plans to open up 300,000 job opportunities for those residing in rural and deprived areas over the next [Iranian calendar] year (starting March 21, 2022).

The job opportunities will be achieved by launching 200,000 community-based job creation projects, Mohammad Torkamaneh, head of the Foundation, said, Mehr reported on Sunday.

The number of villages covered by the foundation’s employment activities next year will reach 20,000 villages, equivalent to 50 percent of the country’s villages, and also will include small towns with a population of less than 30,000, he explained.

Torkamaneh went on to say that “to date, 160,000 employment projects with 480,000 direct and indirect jobs in deprived areas of 10,000 villages and 550 cities in 31 provinces of the country have been put into operation.”

The Foundation is launching 80,000 job creation projects for the current year, leading to the creation of 240,000 job opportunities in deprived and rural areas of the country, which will be fully realized by the end of this year.

Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam was founded in 1989. In the Iranian calendar year, 1386 (March 2017-March 2018) Barekat Charity Foundation- the social arm of the organization- with the aim of promoting social justice was established.

Socio-economic empowerment of communities by encouraging entrepreneurship prioritizing breadwinner women, developing infrastructures such as water supply and power grids, building roads, constructing schools and increasing educational spaces, promoting health for all, granting non-repayable loans and insurance especially in less developed areas and regions most affected by 1980s war and natural disasters are of the priorities of the charity foundation. /T.T/

 

The Islamic World Science Citation Center (ISC) has listed 481 Iranian scientists among the top one percent of the highly cited scientists worldwide in 2021.

ISC is the third internationally accredited citation center established in Iran based on a resolution adopted in 2008 by the 4th Meeting of the Islamic Ministers of Higher Education (ICMHESR) in Baku, the capital of the Republic of Azerbaijan, to index, evaluate and publish scientific productions in Islamic countries.

One of the main tasks of ISC in order to introduce the most cited authors, researchers and top scientific countries in the Islamic world, is to provide the possibility of identifying and examining the influence of scientific articles of researchers and elites, ISC head Mohammad Javad Dehqani said.

In fact, the top 20 percent of researchers produce 66 percent of the world’s science, and also receive 85 percent of the world’s citations.“Developed countries have planned and invested in attracting researchers from all over the world, which makes them the largest destination for the migration of elites.

The world’s top one percent of elites produce 14 percent of the world’s science, and the same group receives 24 percent of the world’s citations. The criterion for selecting top researchers is the number of citations made to their articles.

Accordingly, researchers who have been able to achieve the highest level of international credibility based on their research are among the top 1 percent and 20 percent of researchers in the world. However, based on the principles of scientometrics, up to 20 percent of the world’s top researchers can be considered among the top elites in the world. In fact, the top 20 percent of researchers produce 66 percent of the world’s science, and also receive 85 percent of the world’s citations.

The list of highly cited researchers in the top 1 percent is a report of highly cited researchers in 22 subject areas of science in the WoS (Clarivate Analytics) Database of Basic Science Indicators over a 10-year period.

The criterion for selecting the top one percent of researchers is the number of citations made to their scientific articles. A total of 481 researchers from Iran were identified and introduced as “highly cited researchers of the top one percent”.

Some 170 scientists (about 35%) are working in the field of engineering. The field of agricultural sciences with 58 top researchers (about 12%) and the multi-disciplinary subject field with 57 scientists (about 12%) are the most influential scientific fields in the country,” he explained.

Most recently, Eight Iranian scientists have been listed among the top two percent of the scientists with the greatest impact in technology in 2021 worldwide, according to Stanford University and global indicators.

Iran’s significant contribution to world’s scientific growth

The share of Iranian articles with international participation has had significant growth of 209 percent during an eight-year period (2013-2020), becoming the Islamic world’s leading country in science diplomacy, according to the Scopus International Citation Database.

This improvement is not limited to the number of articles and the country’s share in terms of top articles (the quality) grew from 0.95 percent in 2013 to 4.28 percent in 2020, which indicates a 350 percent growth in the production of the world’s top articles, he explained.

The growth has not been limited to the field of research and has been very significant in the field of technology; for instance, the creation of 13 science and technology parks, 4,553 technology units, and 1,653 new knowledge-based companies during the last eight years could provide employment for 34,707 university graduates.

In November 2020, scientific studies and analyses extracted from the Scopus International Citation Database showed that the rate of scientific contributions of Iranian researchers to the world increased from 17 percent in 2011 to 31 percent in 2020, becoming the world’s leading country in science diplomacy with 14 percent growth.

The development of international scientific partnerships and diplomacy is one of the main policies of Iran, which is also emphasized by the country’s higher education system, Mohammad Javad Dehghani, head of the Islamic World Science Citation Center (ISC), said.

One of the most important indicators of scientific participation is the share of the latest joint international scientific findings in the total scientific publications of the country, he added. /T.T/

 

Iran national football team end the calendar year without suffering a single defeat. Dragan Skocic’s team almost booked their place at the 2022 FIFA World Cup as well.

Iran earned 12 victories and one draw in the 2021. Argentina and Algeria also are the teams who didn’t lose in the current year.

Albiceleste registered 11 wins and five draws in 2021. Lionel Messi’s Argentina also won CONMEBOL Copa America 2021. Algeria also recorded 13 wins and four draws in the 2021.

/ T.T/

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has announced the shortlists in 10 categories for the upcoming 94th Oscars ceremony.

The shortlist voting concluded on Dec. 15, and the remaining ones will move on to the official phase one voting. Nominations voting begins on Thursday, Jan. 27, and ends on Tuesday, Feb. 1. The official credits and nominees for all the films will be announced, with the rest of the Oscar nominations on Tuesday, Feb. 8, Variety reported.

Directed by Asghar Farhadi, “A Hero” will compete with “Great Freedom” (Austria), “Playground” (Belgium), “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom” (Bhutan), “Flee” (Denmark), “Compartment No. 6” (Finland), “I’m Your Man” (Germany), “Lamb” (Iceland), “The Hand of God” (Italy), “Drive My Car” (Japan), “Hive” (Kosovo), “Prayers for the Stolen” (Mexico), “The Worst Person in the World” (Norway), “Plaza Catedral” (Panama), “The Good Boss” (Spain).

Farhadi is a two-time Oscar winner for ‘A Separation’ and ‘The Salesman’. This is the fifth time he has represented Iran in the race, making him the joint-most submitted director from the country with Majid Majidi.

‘A Hero’ debuted at Cannes to strong reviews and won the festival’s Grand Prix prize in its main competition.

It tells the story of Rahim, imprisoned because unable to repay a debt. Amazon Studios has acquired US rights to the Iranian film.

Amir Jadidi, Mohsen Tanabandeh, Raana Azadivar, Fereshteh Sadr Orafai and Sarina Farhadi are among the cast members of the flick.

The film has also been screened at the 69th edition of the BFI London Film Festival in the UK, the 39th edition of the Miami International Film Festival in the US, the Film Festival Cologne in Germany, the 45th edition of the São Paulo International Film Festival in Brazil and Ajyal Film Festival in Doha, Qatar. /MNA/