The official draw of the 2020 AFC Futsal Championship was carried out on Friday and the 16 participating teams, including the defending champion Iran, knew their rivals.

Iran was drawn in Group D along with South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand.

The event will be held in Turkmenistan from February 26 to Match 8.

Iran is the most decorated team of AFC Futsal Championship with 12 titles out of 15 editions of the games. The team defeated Japan in the final of the 2018 edition to claim the trophy.

The AFC Futsal Championship is Asia’s flagship international futsal competition, also serving as the final stage of FIFA Futsal World Cup qualifying, with the top five sides in Turkmenistan to represent the Continent at Lithuania 2020. /MNA/

Some 6.7 million foreign nationals have visited Iran since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21), IRNA reported.

“Since the beginning of this year, 6.7 million foreign nationals holding visas have arrived in the country,” said Mojtaba Karimi who presides over Foreign Ministry’s visa and passport department.

He made the remarks in a two-day national conference on ecotourism which kicked off in the city of Mashhad on Wednesday.

Iran welcomed some 7.8 million foreign nationals last year, achieving 52.5 percent increase year on year. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council, Iraq was the main source of tourism for Iran in 2018, constituting 24% of all inbound visitors. Azerbaijan with (17%), Turkey (8%), Pakistan (4%) and Bahrain (2%) constituted other major sources while the remaining 46% came from the rest of the world. / MNA/

Iran’s goalball team beat Thailand at the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) Goalball Asia-Pacific Championships on Thursday.

The Iranian players beat Thailand 16-10, at their first game of the competitions, which was held at the Chiba Port Arena in Chiba, Japan.

Iran will take on South Korea on Friday.

In the men’s event, seven teams will be in action until Dec. 10, while six women teams will compete against one another.

The winners of each of the men’s and women’s competitions, if not already qualified, will secure a ticket to Tokyo 2020. / MNA/

Iranian students from Sharif University won Special Mention Award of the 11th International Conference on Software and Systems Reuse (ICSR 2019) for designing ‘MAYA: an Intelligent Elephant Social Robot’.

Elham Ranjkar, Raman Rafatnejad, Ali Amoozandeh Nobaveh, Ali Meghdari, Minoo Alemi were the prize winners from Sharif University.
The 11th International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR 2019), was held on November 26th-29th, in Madrid, Spain.
The conference organized by the Roboticslab at University Carlos III of Madrid, brought together researchers and practitioners working on the interaction between humans and intelligent robots and on the integration of robots into the fabric of our society.
Social robots are intended to coexist with humans and engage in relationships that lead them to a better quality of life. The success of these relationships relies on a positive perception of the robots that can be achieved by their behavior through AI, computational models, or robot embodiments.
ICSR2019 aimed to foster discussion on the development of innovative ideas, novel applications and relevant studies that contribute to the integration of social robots in our daily society.
The conference welcomed original contributions describing technically rigorous scientific and philosophical advances in the area of social robotics and AI: innovative ideas and concepts, new discoveries and improvements, novel applications on the latest fundamental advances in the core technologies that form the backbone of social robotics, distinguished developmental projects, as well as seminal works in aesthetic design, ethics and philosophy, studies on social impact and influence pertaining to social robotics, and its interaction and communication with human beings and its social impact on our society. /MNA/

Deputy Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade and Chief Executive of Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) Khodadad Gharibpour said that Islamic Republic of Iran will produce 28 million tons of steel by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (to end March 20, 2020).

He said that the country managed to export more than six million tons of steel in the first half of the current year (from March 21 to Sept. 22).

Given the indigenized technical knowhow and knowledge made in Iranian mines and mineral sector, Iran’s steel industry has less been unfazed as a result of US sanctions imposed against Iran, IMIDRO chief added.

IMIDRO has concluded separate contracts with reliable universities and academic centers of the country for indigenizing technical knowhow in mining sector, he said, adding, “for this purpose, IMIDRO has executed a number of 18 research projects in the first half of the current year (from March 21 to Sept. 22), showing a twofold hike as compared to the last year’s corresponding period.”

Turning to the trend of activities in the mining and mineral sector, he stated, “IMIDRO experienced a considerable growth in all mines and mining sectors, ranging from exploration, extraction to processing operations.”

He once again pointed out that the country will produce 28 million tons of steel before termination of the current year (to end March 20, 2020). / MNA/

The 5th International Conference on Bridges (5IBC2019) will be held at Amirkabir University of Technology (AUT) in mid-December in Tehran.

The 5th edition of IBC2019 will be hosted by AUT on 17-18 December 2019 with the participation of domestic and foreign experts from different countries including the USA, Italy, Australia, Malaysia, Canada, and Portugal.

It will be held in collaboration with the University of Tehran, Iran University of Science and Technology, K. N. Toosi University of Technology at AUT in Tehran.

The purpose of the conference is to provide a forum for academicians, researchers, and professional engineers working in areas of bridge design, construction, and management to review and discuss the recent practical and theoretical approaches and to exchange information leading to close collaboration and cooperation.

The conference focuses on the recent progress on bridge health monitoring, Innovative concepts and implementation of new materials, tools and technologies in practical applications /MNA/

The 36th Tehran International Short Film Festival, Iran’s major cinematic event dedicated to short films, announced the names of winners in various categories of national and international competition.

The 36th Tehran International Short Film Festival (TISFF) announced winners at national and international categories during an awarding ceremony held at Tehran’s Milad Tower on Nov. 15.

Speaking at the ceremony, Director of the Cinema Organization of Iran, Hossein Entezami, lauded the TISFF as one of the most important cinematic events in Middle East and West Asia, voicing hope that the festival could introduce great figures of talented youth to the Iranian cinema industry.

The complete list of winners in the national and international categories is:

International Section:

Special Jury Award (Fiction): The festival’s trophy and plague of honor was granted to “Ashmina”, directed by Dekel Berenson from Nepal

Second Special Jury Award (Animation): “Together”, directed by Sara Tayebzadeh from Iran

Best Fiction Film: “Super Comfort”, directed by Kirsikka Saari from Finland

The Festival Award and Trophy of Best Animation: “Untravel”, directed by Ana Nedelijkovic from Serbia.

Best Experimental Film: “Places”, directed by Claudia Barral Magaz from Spain

Best Documentary Film: “Histories of Wolves”, directed by Agnes Meng from Portugal

The 3000-Euro Grand Prix of the 36th Tehran International Film Festival went to “Brotherhood”, directed by Meryam Joobeur from Canada.

Iranian Cinema Competition:

Best Film: The festival trophy and 200-million-rials award was granted to “Aziz” directed by Seyyed Mahdi Mousavi Barzaki.

Special Jury Award (Fiction): The festival’s trophy and 150-million-rials was granted to Saeed Nejati for “Dabor”.

Best Director (Fiction): The festival trophy and 120-million-rials award was granted to Seyyed Mahdi Mousavi Barzaki for “Aziz”.

Best Director (Experimental): The festival trophy and 120-million-rials award was granted to Payam Rezai for “Earth Style”.

Special Jury Award (Experimental): The festival’s trophy, Honorary Diploma and 100-million-rials was awarded to “When a woman sits next to a flower pot, she is tired after 154 years”, directed by Shahriar Hanifeh.

Best Director (Documentary): The festival’s trophy and 100-million-rials was awarded to “Where the Wind Blows” directed by Mina Mashadi Mahdi.

Best Director (Animation): The festival’s trophy and 100-million-rials was granted to Maliheh Gholamzadeh for “Kalaf”.

Jury Member Award: The festival’s Honorary Diploma and 100-million-rials was granted to “Hungry”, directed by Zahra Rostampour.

Best Film Script: The festival’s trophy and 100-million-rials was awarded to Sonia Hadad abd Farnoush Samadi for “Exam”.

Best Research (Documentary): The festival’s trophy and 70-million-rials was granted to “Where the Wind Blows” directed by Mina Mashadi Mahdi.

Best Sound Recording: The festival’s trophy and 70-million-rials was granted to Mostafa Bahmani for “Aziz”.

Best Editing: The festival’s trophy and 70-million-rials was granted Esmaeil Alizadeh for editing “Cruelty”.

Best Cinematography: The festival’s trophy and 70-million-rials went to Masoud Amini Tirani for “Rodent”.

Best Actor: Top Iranian actress Golab Adineh and Taraneh Alidousti and actor Babak Karimi were praised for supporting the Iranian short films. Also actress Sadaf Asqari was praised for “Exam”.

Meanwhile, the honorary diploma and 50-million-rials award was granted to actress Yasaman Nasiri in “Aziz”.

Best Technical-Artistic Achievement (Animation): The honorary diploma and 50-million-rials award went to Mojtaba Mousavi for ” Mr. Deer”.

Best Music (Animation): The honorary diploma and 50-million-rials award was granted to “Homan Rad” for “Kalaf”.

Best Film with Theme of National Identity (Animation) : The honorary diploma and 50-million-rials award was awarded to Bahram Azimi the director and producer of “The Sixth String”.

Best Film with Theme of National Cohesion and Social Capital: The honorary diploma and 50-million-rials award went to Mohammad Reza Vatan Doost for “Lesek”.

Best Film with Theme of Joy and Hope for Future: The honorary diploma and 50-million-rials award went to Reza Jamali for “There Is No Place for Landing Here”.

Art & Experience Prize:

The festival Art & Experience trophy and 60-million-awar was presented to Maliheh Gholamzadeh for “Kalaf” and a plague of honor and a 30-million-award was granted to Seyyed Mahdi Mousavi Barzaki for “Aziz”.

ISFA Award:

The Iranian Short Film Association (ISFA) trophy and 20-million-award was granted to Samaneh Shojaei director of “Gray Object”.

ISFA Medal:

ISFA Medal was granted to Rohollah Akbari for “Jalil and Khalil” Documentary.

ISFA medal, a plague of appreciation and 50-million rials was also presented to Payam Rezei for “Earth Style”.

ISAF also presented the festival trophy, plague of appreciation and 100-million-rials of top audience prize to Mohammad Reza Mesbah for “Alley”.

UNICEF Trophy:

UNICEF trophy a plague of appreciation and 5d mark 4 camera was granted to Maryam Zarei for “Magarelen”.

Book and Cinema Award:

First prize: 70-million-rials was awarded to “Rubbish” by Ali Azizi.

Second prize: 50-million-rials was awarded to “Other” by Saman Hosseinpour and Ako Zand Karimi

Third Prize: 30-million-rials was awarded to “Filmorgh” by Amir Masoud Soheili.

A plague of appreciation was also awarded to “Limbo” by Touraj Heibati and “Where the Winds Blow” by Mina Mashhadi Moqadam.

Short Story for Adaptation Prize:

First Prize: 50-million-rials was granted to “Squar” by Ali Jalali

Second Prize: 30-million-rials was granted to “Guards of My Ventricle” by Roqiyeh Kabiri

Third Prize: 20-million-rials was granted to “Hebrew Form of Words” by Khosro Abbasi Khodlan

Commemorating Masoud Amini Tirani and Mahvash Sheikholeslami:

In the ceremony the top Iranian cinematography manager Masoud Amini Tirani and veteran Iranian documentary producer Mahvash Sheikholeslami were commemorated. /MNA/

A team of Iranian and Danish archaeologists and cultural heritage experts has recently discovered new traces of Iron Age occupation in a prehistorical cave, which is situated in Ilam province, western Iran.

The discovery was made during a follow-up archaeology season carried out based on an agreement previously signed between Razi University of Kermanshah and the University of Copenhagen.

Supervised by Iran’s Research Institute of Cultural Heritage & Tourism, the project was co-led by Iranian archaeologist Hojjat Darabi and Professor Tobias Richter from the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies at the University of Copenhagen.

New discoveries were made in Mar-Gurgalan [Sarab] cave that, according to Darabi, was inhabited some 50,000 years ago, IRNA reported on Wednesday.

“Preliminary results indicate that the cave was inhabited about 50,000 years ago and appears to be used both by the Neanderthals for residing and hunting, and by the early Homo sapiens,” Darabi explained.

The cave was previously excavated by Danish archaeologists in the early 1970s, however, the excavations were renewed using new scientific methods, he added.

Last year, the team probed evidence of Neolithic settlements through stratigraphy [rock layers] across Ganj Dareh, east of Kermanshah province in a project co-led by Darabi and Richter. The team managed to collect new evidence concerning how sedentism and agriculture [domestication of plants and animals] started in the region, which is situated in central Zagros mountain range.

Stone Age cave dwellers in Iran

Prof. Ezatollah Negahban (1926 – 2009), who was an Iranian archaeologist known as the father of Iranian modern archaeology, believed that caves and rock shelters were particularly attractive living places for the hunter gatherers of the early Paleolithic period and the geographic situation of the Iranian Plateau with its bordering mountain systems including the Zagros range on the west and the Alborz range on the north has meant that there were many cave sites which would have been suitable for early cave dwelling man.

“Although this multiplicity of cave habitats would seem to lend itself to the extended study of the early Stone Age hunting and gathering way of life, there has in fact been comparatively little scientific study of early cave man in Persia, possibly because of the stronger attraction to the archaeologists of the rich Neolithic remains of prehistoric agricultural settlers found throughout the country.”

In general the Zagros highlands have been subject to more Stone Age research and investigation than have the Alborz Mountains and therefore a more detailed picture of early cave dwelling life has been developed for the Zagros region where traces of cave dwellers from the Lower Paleolithic to the Middle Paleolithic, Upper Paleolithic, and Epipaleolithic periods have been found. Although other parts of Persia have been less investigated than the Zagros highlands, traces of cave dwellers have also been found at sites scattered throughout the Iranian Plateau and in the lowlands. /T.T/

Iran finished CAFA U23 Women’s Championship with heads held high. Maryam Azmoun’s team finished runners up after the team defeated Afghanistan 7-0 in their final match.

Hajar Dabbaghi completed a fine individual campaign with a final day hat-trick for Iran, while Fatemeh Geraeli, Fatemeh Shaban, Zahra Masoumi and Fatemeh Amineh Borazjani scored once each.

Iran finished the competition with 12 points from five matches, with Tuesday’s defeat to Uzbekistan the only blemish in an otherwise impressive term in Tajikistan.

The Persians defeated Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyz Republic and Afghanistan in the inaugural.

Uzbekistan won the title with 15 points after defeating hosts Tajikistan 3-0 on the final day. / T.T /

The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) have chosen Iran’s Alireza Faghani as the best Asian referee of the 2019.

Faghani, who has recently made the decision to migrate to Australia from Iran for family reasons, sits in the 12th place in the world.

With 2019 drawing closer to an end, IFFHS have named the best referee of this year.

IFFHS held the annual election to crown one man as the best official, with selected journalists and experts from 90 countries across the globe voting.

The award went to Damir Skomina, with 136 points. The Slovenian referee’s most notable achievement in 2019 was officiating the Champions League final between Liverpool and Tottenham. Skomina picked up this prize after narrowly beating out 2017 winner Felix Brych (129 points).

Skomina is no stranger to the game. He has officiated more than 530 matches, 301 of which came in the Prva Liga, 50 from the Champions League, 17 from the Europa League, and 60 being international games from the likes of the UEFA Euro and the FIFA World Cup.

A look at the 27 names who picked up points in the IFFHS Awards shows a lack of representation of Premier League referees, with only two making the top 10. They are Martin Atkinson, who comes in at ninth with 21 points, and Michael Oliver in 10th with 18 points. This could be proof that fans are right in claiming the English top-flight has the worst officials in Europe’s top-five leagues.

Asian well-known referee Ravshan Irmatov sits 17th in the list. / MNA/