A team of researchers at the Iranian National Algae Culture Collection have produced a kind of protein-rich juice out of algae with a somewhat astringent flavor.

Speaking to Mehr correspondent on Wednesday, Ali Khalili, the marketing manager at the Iranian National Algae Culture Collection (INACC), said Iran is home to one of the richest reserves in the world in terms of diversity of algae species.

He said a team of researchers at the INACC have recently used spirulina, a type of cyanobacteria which is often referred to as blue-green algae, to produce drinks.

“Spirulina is native to Mexico. We managed to mass produce it at the INACC and have now used it to make juice,” he added.

The alga is high in protein and minerals and can boost your defense against allergies, diabetes, and other conditions. It is high in vitamins and iron, too, he added.

According to him, the alga juice has an astringent flavor and is produced at the Science and Technology Park of the University of Tehran. /MNA/

Iranian film ‘Katyusha’, directed by Ali Atshani, has won the best feature and best cinematography awards at the 2019 Love International Film Festival (LIFF) in the US.

The festival’s Best Feature award went to Iranian film ‘Katyusha’, directed by Ali Atshani, while Mahmoud Atshani received the Best Cinematography award for the film.

‘Katyusha’ is about Khalil, known as Khalil Katyusha, who is a religious guy and member of Basij. He is forced to spend a couple of days with Arshia, the lousy rich boy. The different backgrounds and ideals make these two to make troubles for each other.

‘Katyusha’ was also nominated in four other categories, including Best Actor (Hadi Hejazifar), Best Supporting Actor (Ahmad Mehranfar), Best Director (Ali Atshani), and Best Screenplay (Mehdi Ali Mirzaee/ Ali Atshani)

Love International Film Festival (LIFF) focuses on bringing films and filmmakers from the international community whose work brings the world closer together and promotes love and healing through cinema. All proceeds for the 2019 LIFF will be given to the Lotus Light Children’s Charity, according to the event’s website.

The 4th edition of LIFF was held in Los Angeles, California from September 18th, 2019 through September 21st, 2019. / MNA/

Hassan Yazdani from Iran claimed a gold medal in the 2019 World Wrestling Championships on Sunday after his Indian rival Deepak Punia withdrew from the final because of injuries from previous rounds.

The Iranian freestyle wrestler, who won a gold medal at the 2016 Olympic Games, was scheduled to meet Punia in the 86kg final.

“My leg is swollen up and it is hurting. The eye is swollen too, but it happens in wrestling. I picked up both injuries during the first round. I am not fighting in the final (because of leg injury),” Deepak told Sportstar from Nur-Sultan on Sunday.

Iran’s freestyle team wrapped up the 2019 World Championships with two bronzes, one silver and one gold medal.

Alireza Karimi had won a silver in 92kg category while Younes Emami and Behnam Ehsanpour seized two bronze medals at the 70kg and 61kg, respectively.

Russia won the title with 190 points, followed by Kazakhstan (103 points) and the U.S (94 points).

Iran narrowly finished in fourth place with 93 points.The 2019 World Wrestling Championships were held in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. /  T.T/

 

Iranian actress Mahtab Keramati, the star of acclaimed movie “Mazar-i-Sharif”, has been selected as the president of the 19th Imagineindia International Film Festival, which will be held in the Spanish capital of Madrid from May 17 to 31, 2020.

She won the award best actress at the 2015 Imagineindia for her performance in “Ghosts” by acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Dariush Mehrjui.

Keramati also was named best actress at the International Film Festival of Tamilnadu in Chennai, India in 2016 for her role in director Hassan Barzideh’s drama “Mazar-i-Sharif” about Taliban terrorism in Afghanistan.

Her fellow Iranian filmmaker Mehdi Rahmani will be in company with her on the jury, which also is composed of Indian film expert Modhura Palit, Polish filmmaker Hanna Polak and Afghan actress Leena Alam.

The Jury also includes Australian producer Bridget Ikin, Indian professor Anjali Monteiro, Kazakh filmmaker Olga Korotko, British-Indian writer and director Sandhya Suri, Kazakh producer Olga Khlasheva and German producer Daniela Creutz.

Iranian director Reza Mirkarimi’s drama “Castle of Dreams” will be competing in the official section of the festival, which also features the Indian movies “Bulbul Can Sing” by Rima Das, “Aamis” by Bhaskar Hazarika and “Aadhar” by Sumon Ghosh.

“Aga’s House” by Lendita Zeqiraj from Kosovo “Summer Survivors” by Marija Kavtaradze from Lithuania and “Brotherhood” by Pavel Lungin from Russia will be screened in the official competition.

In addition, “Driving Lessons” by Iranian filmmaker Marzieh Riahi will be screened in the short films competition. / T.T /

Iranian and Austrian officials on Wednesday discussed ways to expand tourism ties through promoting sustainable ecotourism and holding a joint symposium in this regard.

“Iran and Austria can expand cooperation on exchanging tourists and professors, as the sector cannot be put under [U.S.-led] sanctions,” said Alexander Rieger, deputy head of mission of the Austrian Embassy in Tehran, addressing a news conference on International Sustainable Eco-tourism Symposium, Mehr reported.

The symposium is scheduled to be held in Tehran on September 25 and 26.

Talking on similarities that Iran and Austria have in tourism, Rieger said that the two nations can have a good cooperation in this sector without being worried about the U.S. sanctions.

He informed that a group of officials from Austria and five EU countries have visited some of Iran’s ecotourism sites to become familiar with the Iranian culture in various parts of the country, the report said.

Rieger presides over the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) and he is also head of the Austrian Cultural Forum in Tehran.

A poster for the Sustainable Eco-tourism Symposium

On July 31, 2018, and on the occasion of the Damavand Anniversary Project 2018, some 100 Austrian and Iranian mountaineers together with a group of European ambassadors jointly ascended the Mount Damavand. The two-day event marked the 175th anniversary of the first Austrian ascent of Mount Damavand by the botanist and scholar Theodor Kotschy in 1843, Mehr added.

The event sent a strong signal that Europe and Iran are making good on their promises to engage in an ever-increasing number of sectors and areas, Stefan Scholz, Vienna’s ambassador to Tehran said at the time.

“Iran is more than a country, it’s a civilization in its own right and one of the most ecologically diverse places in the world,” the Austrian ambassador had said.

“Austria stands ready to partner in further developing Iran’s great tourism potentials in a sustainable way, protecting natural resources and supporting the life and culture of mountain populations. This new sector partnership is part of Austria’s bilateral contribution to preserving and maintaining the JCPOA by bringing concrete and measurable economic benefits to the Iranian people,” he added.

Last November, the Trump administration reinstated sanctions on Iran, mainly the ones that had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal, in order to batter Iran’s economy, however, according to official data, they have so far failed to lessen foreign arrivals to the Islamic Republic.

“Nearly 7.8 million foreign nationals visited Iran over the [past Iranian calendar] year 1397 (March 2018-19) that shows a 52.5 percent increase year on year. The country hosted 5.1 million travelers in 1396 (March 2017-18),” deputy tourism chief Vali Teymouri said in April. / T.T/

Iran defeated South Korea 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-22) to book a place at the 2019 Asian Men’s Volleyball Championship at the 12,000-seater Azadi Sports Complex here on Friday.

Team Melli will meet the winners of Japan and Australia match on Saturday.

In the fourth set, the players engaged in a fight at the court.

“I am deeply ashamed of what happened in the fourth set. This victory is like a defeat for me. We didn’t play well but had positive energy. But I am sad for what happened in this match,” Iran coach Igor Kolakovic said.

“It’s for the first time in my life I saw physical challenge during a match. It can be interesting in boxing but not in volleyball. Behaviors of some of players were disappointing,” he added.

The event is a biennial international volleyball tournament organized by the Asian volleyball governing body, the Asian Volleyball Federation (AVC). The tournament is being held from Sept. 13 to 21.

Top eight teams of this tournament will qualify for the 2020 Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament, which will be held in Jiangmen, China from 7 to 12 January 2020, where the winners will qualify to the 2020 men’s Olympic volleyball tournament. / T.T/

Iranian Health Minister Saeed Namaki announced that the country is now manufacturing nearly all its needs to medicine, noting that two thirds of raw materials are also produced inside Iran.
“97% of the country’s needs to medicine is produced domestically and the remaining 3% imported drugs will also be produced in Iran in future by 1,200 knowledge-based companies,” Namaki said in a meeting with his Indonesian counterpart Nila Djuwita Farid Moeloek in Tehran on Saturday.

He also added that 67% of the raw materials needed for the country’s pharmaceutical industry are also produced in the country.

Elsewhere, Namaki underlined Iran’s enthusiasm for using Indonesia’s experience in management of natural disasters as well as treatment and pharmaceutical fields.

Iran has taken long strides in producing different types of drugs and medical equipment and exported them to many foreign states.

A recent report by the scientific and technological department of Iran’s presidential office said that the country is able to produce 97% of its needs to drugs indigenously.

in July, Iranian Vice-President for Science and Technology Sorena Sattari unveiled 8 new drugs during his visit to knowledge-based companies in Alborz province near Tehran.

The newly-developed drugs included Micro-Peltamparazole, Tamsulosin hydrochloride, Naltrexone base, Citalyptin phosphate, Peo gliatzone and other medicine.

The drugs have applications in treatment of digestive diseases and intestinal insufficiency, and will also be exported to the regional states. / F.N/

The Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) granted the Muslim World Rania Award to Saeedeh Ghods, the founder of MAHAK, a charity society dedicated to treating pediatric cancer in Iran, the public relations department of MAHAK reported.

The Muslim World Rania Award is designed to recognize and celebrate the success of selected women in impacting people’s lives on personal, organizational, national and global platforms. The recipients exemplify excellence through outstanding behavior and business undertakings based on the highest standards of integrity and social responsibility.

Fulfilling the social responsibility in the fields of employment and entrepreneurship, good reputation, cooperation with other Muslim countries, poverty alleviation and economic development of the world’s Muslims are among the features that the jury of this international award consider for the selection of the top figures.

Honored by the business and investment magazine, OIC TODAY, the awards are presented during a special ceremony that takes place in conjunction with the annual international trade event, the Muslim World Biz.

The 9th Muslim World Biz was held with the presence of more than 40 Islamic countries by Trade Exhibition and Conference of the OIC on September 4-6, 2019 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Ghods has been recognized as one of the 12 leading women in this event for providing comprehensive support for children with cancer and their families during the past 28 years and Marzieh Afkham the ambassador of Iran to Malaysia received this award on her behalf. /T.T/

The 21st Iran International Maritime & Offshore Technologies Exhibition (IRANIMEX 2019) will be held on 26-29 Nov. 2019 in Bandar Abbas, Iran.

The 21st edition of IRANIMEX will be held in the Bandar Abbas International Exhibition’s Centre with the aim of introducing scientific and industrial achievements and identifying domestic producers and suppliers to meet the supply and production needs in Iran.

Covering an area as large as 20,000 square meters, IRANIMEX 2019 will host exhibitors from Iran, the Netherlands, Belgium, China, Korea, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Turkey, Norway, Italy and the UAE.

The participants will showcase their latest technologies and services related to the marine industry. That includes onshore and offshore facilities and services such as supplying marine equipment, dredging, as well as marine transportation, marine tourism, engineering and consultation, research and training, and construction of watercrafts.

IRANIMEX has been originally formed to expand, develop and create international opportunities for Iran’s maritime and offshore technologies. IRANIMEX acts as a meeting hall for all maritime activists and offshore technologies from private and public sectors.

The exhibition is organized and supported by a multitude of organizations including the Iran’s Vice-Presidency for science & technology, Ministry of industry, mine & trade, Ministry of roads and urban development, Islamic Azad University, Iran – Norway Joint Committee of Trade, KTP Group and HEERAB.

IRANIMEX 2019 could be a great opportunity for participants to get a better knowledge of Iran’s maritime and offshore industry. The event plays a vital role in establishing new business ties between Iranian and international companies.

IRANIMEX 2018 was held on Kish Island in the presence of 18 foreign companies and 230 Iranian firms. / MNA /

Iran and Turkey will collaborate on a joint film project, which will focus on the lives of the Persian poet and mystic Molana Jalal ad-Din Rumi and Shams-i Tabrizi, the wandering sage who later became the mentor of Rumi in the 13th century CE.

Hassan Fat’hi, director of the popular Iranian TV series “The Tenth Night”, “Zero Degree Orbit” and “Shahrzad”, will direct the movie titled “Drunk on Love”, a public relations team for the movie announced on Sunday.

Palme d’Or winning actor Shahab Hosseini from Iran is due to play the role of Shams. He was named best actor for his role in Asghar Farhadi’s “The Salesman” at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016.

A cast and crew of A-list Iranian and Turkish actors will join the project in the near future.

The entire film will shot in Konya, a Turkish town that is home to the mausoleum of Rumi.

Fat’hi and Farhad Tohidi are co-writing the screenplay, and Mehran Borumand from Iran and an unnamed person from Turkey will collaborate as producers on the project.

Rumi (1207-1273) undertook one or two journeys to Syria, during one of which he met the dervish, Shams.

However, he was deeply influenced by Shams during their second visit in Konya on November 30, 1244.

For months, the two men constantly interacted, and as a result, Rumi neglected his disciples and family, who could not tolerate the close relationship.

One night in 1247, Shams disappeared forever. This experience turned Rumi into a poet. The Divan of Shams is a true translation of his experiences into poetry./T.T/