70,000-year-old human settlement found in northern Iran
A group of archeologists found a human settlement in a cave in Alborz Province, west of Tehran, which dates back to 70,000 years ago.
The cave contained invaluable remains that prove human settlement, said the head of the excavation team Elham Qassidian.

Qassidian said that rock settlement found in the Sorhe area provides priceless data from the Middle Paleolithic age, IRNA reported.

She said that items discovered so far are mostly stone tools, which need more precise investigations, adding that this is the first settlement of Middle Paleolithic humans found in this area.

The other discovered items include stone tools, bones, and coal, said Saman Heydari, an archeology professor, adding that this style of tool-making can be traced back to 125,000 years ago.

Qassidian added that such settlements had already been found in the western parts of the country, like Kermanshah and Lorestan provinces, but this is the first time they are found in the southern parts of the Alborz Mountain range.

Alireza Dehqan-Mehrjui, the deputy head of the province’s Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization, said that the excavations are being done by an Iranian group in cooperation with Germany. The Neanderthal Museum of Germany is financially supporting the excavations. / ID /

The sixth edition of Kish International Exhibition of Exchange, Banking, Insurance and Privatization and the 11th International Exhibition for Presenting Iran’s Investment Opportunities, will be held in November under the title of Kish Invex 2019.

The exhibitions, scheduled for November 18-21, are focused on attracting domestic and foreign investments and exploring avenues to reach economic prosperity in under the current international circumstances.

Some 25 forums and panel discussions are embedded in the fair to create an international communication platform for exhibitors, trade associations and partners to present their latest trends and services.

Kish Invex seeks to introduce capabilities of Iranian and foreign financial institutions; to present Iran’s achievements in capital and insurance markets; to introduce modern banking and insurance services; and to enhance the competition capacities of monetary and capital markets of regional countries. / MNA/

Bahman Kiarostami’s documentary ‘Exodus’ has won the Special Jury Award at the 30th edition of New Orleans Film Festival.

The 30th edition of the Oscar-qualifying New Orleans Film Festival was held in New Orleans in the US state of Louisiana on October 16-23 and the Iranian documentary ‘Exodus’ directed by Bahman Kiarostami won the Special Jury Award.

‘Exodus’ had also received an Award of Excellence at the New Asian Currents section of the Japanese film festival.

The documentary focuses on migrant workers from Afghanistan who entered Iran illegally and now wish to go back home, and they make their case at the government center near the border. ‘Exodus’ narrates the stories of people with different family and work circumstances from Iran with a reggae lilt, according to the festival.

Bahman, son of the celebrated filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, said that he was inspired by his father in making ‘Exodus’. “The film owes a debt to Abbas Kiarostami’s ‘Homework’ and ‘First Graders’.”/MNA/

Bahman Kiarostami’s documentary ‘Exodus’ has won the Special Jury Award at the 30th edition of New Orleans Film Festival.

The 30th edition of the Oscar-qualifying New Orleans Film Festival was held in New Orleans in the US state of Louisiana on October 16-23 and the Iranian documentary ‘Exodus’ directed by Bahman Kiarostami won the Special Jury Award.

‘Exodus’ had also received an Award of Excellence at the New Asian Currents section of the Japanese film festival.

The documentary focuses on migrant workers from Afghanistan who entered Iran illegally and now wish to go back home, and they make their case at the government center near the border. ‘Exodus’ narrates the stories of people with different family and work circumstances from Iran with a reggae lilt, according to the festival.

Bahman, son of the celebrated filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, said that he was inspired by his father in making ‘Exodus’. “The film owes a debt to Abbas Kiarostami’s ‘Homework’ and ‘First Graders’.” / MNA/

Tuberculosis treatment in Iran is completely free of charge despite the fact that it costs $120 to $60,000 per patient depending on the situation’s severity, head of tuberculosis control department of Health Ministry has said.

The average cost of treating a person with TB disease increases with greater resistance, direct costs average $120 to treat drug-susceptible TB and $60,000 to treat drug-resistant TB, IRNA quoted Mahshid Nasehi as saying on Wednesday.

The number of people diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) in the country estimated at 8,713, 54 percent of which are male and 46 percent are female, she regretted, adding, about 16.3 percent of the cases suffering the disease are foreign nationals.

“However, foreign nationals infected with TB in the country accounted for 12 percent in the Iranian calendar year 1392 (March 2013-March 2014),” she said.

During the past five decades, the incidence of tuberculosis has dropped from 140 per 100,000 to 11 per 100,000 people in Iran, she highlighted.

According to Nasehi, the highest incidence of tuberculosis in the country is in the age group of 65 years and above.

“Sistan-Baluchestan and Golestan provinces have the highest prevalence of TB, respectively,” she noted.

She further concluded that tuberculosis is mostly treatable, provided that one began taking medication on time and taking the course of treatment completely.

Tuberculosis symptoms and causes

Tuberculosis is a communicable disease that is a major cause of ill health, one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide and the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent (ranking above HIV/AIDS). It is caused by the bacillus Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which is spread when people who are sick with TB expel bacteria into the air; for example, by coughing.

It typically affects the lungs (pulmonary TB) but can also affect other sites (extrapulmonary TB). About a quarter of the world’s population is infected with M. tuberculosis and thus at risk of developing TB disease. With timely diagnosis and treatment with first-line antibiotics for 6 months, most people who develop TB can be cured and onward transmission of infection curtailed.

The number of TB cases occurring each year (and thus the number of TB-related deaths) can also be driven down by reducing the prevalence of health-related risk factors for TB (e.g. smoking, diabetes and HIV infection), providing preventive treatment to people with a latent TB infection, and taking multisectoral action on broader determinants of TB infection and disease (e.g. poverty, housing quality and undernutrition).

TB in the world

According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 10.0 million (range, 9.0–11.1 million) people fell ill with TB in 2018, a number that has been relatively stable in recent years. The burden of disease varies enormously among countries, from fewer than five to more than 500 new cases per 100,000 populations per year, with the global average being around 130.

TB affects people of both sexes in all age groups but the highest-burden is in men (aged >15 years), who accounted for 57 percent of all TB cases in 2018. By comparison, women accounted for 32 percent and children (aged <15) for 11 percent. / T.T/

The 64th edition of Belgrade Book Fair, the most visited cultural event in Serbia, kicked off on Sunday with Iranian publishers attending the event.

The Iranian pavilion, organized by the country’s Cultural Fairs Institute, is showcasing over 100 books, handicrafts, maps, films and cultural brochures at the event.

Various religious, cultural and literary books such as Nahj al-Balagha, Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, Masnavi, Bustan, Conference of the Birds, Parvin E’tesami’s pomes, Rubâ’iyât of Omar Khayyâm, Anecdotes of Pious Men are being showcased by the Iranian representatives.

The 64th International Belgrade Book Fair, with a floor area of some 30,000 square meters, has drawn 500 publishing houses and thousands of visitors.

The Book Fair was opened by Milovan Vitezovic, writer and chairmen of Serbia’s association of writers together with Haitham Al-Haj Ali, president of the General Egyptian Book Organization, who represents Egypt, the guest country this year. / MNA/

Iran’s chess player Mobina Alinasab has reached the top of table of World Youth Chess Championships after beating her Indian opponent.

As the fifth round of World Youth Chess Championships in India continued in India, the young Iranian female chess player Mobina Alinasab defeated a player from the host country to reach the top of the table of the competitions with 4.5 points.

Another Iranian chess player Mohammad Amin Tabatabei drew against an Indian opponent to rank 25th on the list of the best chess players with 3 points.

Arian Gholami was the third Iranian representative who avoided competing against a player from the Zionist regime of Israel and did not continue the championships.

The U-20 World Youth Chess Championships is underway in the Indian city of Mumbai and includes six events in three age categories split between the open and the girls’ section. The event will crown six new world champions in the age categories of under-14, under-16 and under-18 in both sections, open and girls’. A total of 189 players (male and female) are taking part in the competitions, which lasts until the 25th of October.

Iranian male chess player Parham Maghsoudloo was crowned in the 2018 edition of the championships. / MNA/

Iranian Greco-Roman wrestler Pejman Poshtam won gold on Thursday at Men 77kg category of the World Military Games that are being held in China.

Poshtam defeated his Azerbaijani rival Hasan Aliyev in the finals of the Men 77kg category to wear the gold medal on Thursday, IRNA reported.

The Iranian military officer had beaten North Korean, German and Romanian wrestlers to win the category.

Also, Amin Mirzazaeh of Iran finished third to win bronze at Men 130kg Greco-Roman category.

100 military athletes from Iran are taking part in several disciplines like cycling, orienteering, wrestling, life-saving, volleyball, archery, parachuting, track, and fields.

Thousands of military athletes from member states of the International Military Sports Council, or CISM, are participating in the 10-day 7th CISM Military World Games in Wuhan, Central China’s Hubei province, in October.   / Iran Daily /

As many as six memoranda of understanding have been signed between Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan in Baku in a bid to boost technological cooperation between the knowledge-based companies of the two sides.

The MoUs are related to nanotechnology-enhanced flooring with high resistance, electronics and food flavoring.

The head of Iran National Innovation Fund, Ali Vahdat, described the signing of the six MoUs between the Iranian knowledge-based companies and their Azeri counterparts as an important event, saying “this is just the beginning. I hope the same trend will continue.”

He put the value of the contracts at over $4 million.

Vahdat also noted that a Center for Innovative Cooperation between Iran and Azerbaijan has been inaugurated in a bid to boost collaboration between the two countries’ tech companies. The center will host a permanent exhibition of Iranian knowledge-based products for a year, he added.

The Azeri side voiced the country’s readiness to expand cooperation with Iranian start-ups, the number of which currently stands at 4,700. / MNA/