Iran is targeting dairy exports worth $1 billion in the current fiscal year (March 2017-18), Agriculture Minister Mahmoud Hojjati said.

“In the past, we used to import dairy products, chicken and wheat but today, not only do we meet the domestic demand but we’ve also turned into an exporter of these products,” he was quoted as saying by IRNA.

According to Kaveh Zargaran, chairman of Agriculture Commission of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, dairy exports earned $773 million in the last fiscal year to March 2017.

Among the exported products, yogurt topped the list with $218 million, followed by cheese with $187 million, infant formula with $129 million and cream and ice cream with $120 million. In fact, dairy products had the biggest share in Iran’s food exports last year.

Deputy Agriculture Minister Hassan Rokni said some 300,000 tons of dairy products were exported from Iran in the first three months of the current fiscal year (March 21-June 21), registering a 70% increase compared with the corresponding period of last year.

“Our main export destinations over the period were Russia and some Eurasian and European countries,” he has been quoted as saying.

Rokni has put the tonnage of last year’s exports at close to 850,000 tons.

/ Financial tribune /

The First Specialized Fruit Industry Exhibition is scheduled for August 22-25 in Tehran’s Olympic Hotel, an executive manager of the event said.

“Iranian producers as well as representatives from Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, Turkey and Qatar will participate in the exhibition. Four workshops on the role of banks, finance and insurance in the fruit industry, subsidiary industries and packaging, waste management and transportation, prices and the formation of production chains will be held on the sidelines of the event,” Majid Haj-Mohammadi was also quoted as saying by IRNA. / Financial tribune /

A portrait of Christian Ronaldo, the superstar of Real Madrid and Portugal football teams, painted by an Iranian disabled artist has grabbed the attentions of football circles across the world.

Fatemeh Hamami has painted the portrait of Ronlado with her feet due to her disability, a Farsi report by the Varzesh3 news website said.

The portrait went viral immediately after the talented artist published it on her Instagram account with most football media covering it in their news section.

The Goal website wrote the talented Iranian artist has moved the football world by her extraordinary portrait of Ronaldo.

As a devoted football fan, Fatemeh had earlier painted an incredible portrait of Iranian football legend Ali Daei. In reply, the Iranian legend visited Fatemeh personally and praised her exceptional talent in a post on his Instagram page.

Fatemeh suffers from a 85-percent physical disability. She paints with her legs. / IFP /

Iran ranked fourth in the 29th International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) winning one gold and three silver medals.

Japan won four gold medals to stand first followed by China, Russia and Iran, according to imna.ir. Taiwan, Poland, Romania, Great Britain, Australia and Italy took the 5th to 10th spots respectively.

Teams from 82 countries participated in the 29th International Olympiad in Informatics.

The event was held in Tehran from July 28 to August 4, 2017. The IOI is one of five international science Olympiads.

The primary objective of the IOI is to stimulate interest in informatics (computing science) and information technology.

UNESCO initiated and sponsored the first International Olympiad in Informatics in May 1989.  / Iran daily /

The ongoing exhibition ‘100 Works, 100 Artists,’ showcasing works by 257 contemporary artists at Tehran’s Golestan Gallery has exceeded earnings compared to its previous edition, according to the director of the venue.

It opened on July 21 and, after two weeks broke the sales record of the preceding edition, Honaronline reported.

Lunched in 1992, it is the oldest visual arts event. The first edition of the event was held with exactly one hundred artists.

Since its founding, the event has offered quality works and has focused on the economics of art. A quarter century since inception, it has been able to introduce new buyers to the art community.

“This year’s edition has made me extremely happy. The young artists managed to sell a high number of their works – almost 70% of the total sale,” gallery director Lili Golestan said.

The silver jubilee event presents various forms of art including painting, sculpture and calligraphy. The opening day generated 1.25 billion rials ($33,051) in sales.

“So far (August 1), 65 artworks have been sold,” among which a painting by modern painter, graphic designer, illustrator and print artist Mahmoud Javadipour (1920-2012) was the most expensive at 300 million rials ($7,858). For his innovations, Javadipour was granted the First Degree Art Certificate by the evaluation council of the Culture Ministry.

The next high-priced works were those by painters Nasser Oveysi, 83, Farideh Lashai (1944-2013) and Ali Taraqijah (1943-2010), ranging between 150 and 200 million rials ($3,930-$5,250).

Painter, sculptor and graphic designer Shamsoddin Ghazi, 33, is the participating artist with the highest number of works sold: four paintings and two sculptures.

Ghazi is among the young participants who are known and well established, while there also are several newcomers. Their works are often abstract with a few surreal paintings.

A Different Exhibition

“As is customary, we replaced each sold work by another work by the same artist. So, compared to what was on display on the first day, now we have a rather different exhibition,” Golestan added.

The price of paintings by celebrated artists starts from a small work by Farah Ossouli at 90 million rials ($2,380) and culminates at 900 million rials ($23,797)  for two paintings by accomplished painter, graphic designer and author Aydin Aghadashlou, 76, and Faramarz Pilaram, hung above the director’s desk. One painting by Parviz Kalantari is tagged at 800 million rials ($21,153).

There is a painting by Masoud Arabshahi, 81, and a photograph by filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami (1940-2016) showing a field and a farm, set at 15 million rials ($397).

The event offers sculptures by famous artists including sculptors Mohammad Hossein Emad, 60, and Reza Qarabaghi, 48; also by avant-garde painter, poet and sculptor Jazeh Tabatabai (1931-2008). The sculptures on sale start from 25 million rials ($661) ending at 80 million rials ($2,115).

At this edition of ‘100 Works, 100 Artists’ there is a special place for artists from the provinces, in particular Isfahan. Their works are diverse: minimalistic, figurative and abstract ranging from $397 to $1,058.

The exhibit will close August 16.  Golestan Art Gallery is located at No. 34, Kamasaei St., Darrus neighborhood. Visiting hours are from 4-8 pm.  Thursday is closed.

/ Financial tribune /

Iranian artist Mohammad Aladpoush won the Best Cameraman award at the 57th Asia-Pacific Film Festival.

He received the prestigious award for filming ‘A Tale of Love’ by Iranian filmmaker Ahmad Ramezanzadeh, IRNA reported.

The 57th Asia Pacific Film Festival (APFF) was recently held from July 28 to 30, 2017 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and with it came two victories for Malaysia’s very own actor-director Syamsul Yusof and Chiu Keng Guan-directed film, Ola Bola.

Syamsul Yusof won the Best Director award at this year’s APFF, as stated by Finas on its official Facebook, while Ola Bola won the Best Editing accolade.

Syamsul was not present at the awards ceremony to receive the award, which was instead accepted on his behalf by Pashah, who represented the Malaysian Film Producers Association.

The young director follows in the footsteps of the late Yasmin Ahmad, who in 2010 received the Best Director award through her movie Mualaf at the 54th APFF in Taipei, Taiwan.

Expressing thanks to his family and production crew, Syamsul also stated that he was grateful ‘Munafik’ was able to enter film markets outside of its home country despite its religious concept and was accepted by the juries.

Syamsul Yusof had earlier won Best Director for ‘Munafik’ at the 28th Malaysia Film Festival (FFM 28) and Anugerah Skrin 2016.

Meanwhile, the multi award-winning film Ola Bola bagged yet another award. As mentioned, the film edited by Gwyneth Lee picked up the Best Editing award at the film festival.

Vice President and Head of Astro Shaw, Najwa Abu Bakar, accepted the award and thanked the whole Ola Bola production team as well as the panels of jury for the win.

Ola Bola follows in the footsteps of Loceng Maut (Salehan Shamsuddin) and Jasmin 2 (Johari Ibrahim), which also won Best Editing at the 24th APFF in Sydney, Australia and the 31st APFF in Seoul, South Korea, respectively.

Previous Malaysian talents to have also won at the prestigious film festival include the late Tan Sri P. Ramlee (Best Actor, Anakku Sazali), A. Bakar Ali (Best Cinematography, Sumpah Orang Minyak), Khalid Salleh (Best Actor, Jogho), Sidi Oraza (Best Supporting Actor, Sayang Salmah), Khatijah Tan (Best Supporting Actress, Embun), and Maya Karin (Best Actress, Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam).

The Asia Pacific Film Festival (APFF) has been held since 1954. The first edition, originally named Southeast Asia Film Festival, was held in Tokyo. The 57th edition was supposed to have been held in Thailand in 2014 but the kssing of Thailand’s poor health back then prompted a delay which led to it finally being held in Cambodia only this year. / Iran daily /

Al-Mahdi Airborne Brigade of Special Forces who represented Iran in the International Army Games 2017 won the 4th place at the end of the competitions.

The International Army Games 2017, which will end on August 12, comprises 28 events held in Russia, China, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Kazakhstan and in the Chinese portion of the event held in Guangshui, Hubei province, Al-Mahdi Airborne Brigade of Special Forces, from the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, won the 4th place.

In the field of Suvorov attack each team used its infantry fighting vehicles to cross obstacles that engaged firing targets and finishing three rounds of individual and relay races.

China, Russia, Angola, Iran, Zimbabwe, and Venezuela vied in the competition.

In the field of Clear Sky the competition focused on man-portable air-defense system (MANPAD). Each team used their MANPADS to fire at flying targets.

China, Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Iran, and Venezuela vied in the competition. All participants used Chinese military equipment.

In the field of Safe Environment which was a competition on nuclear, biological, and chemical reconnaissance, each team searched for radioactive sources and conducted decontamination.

China, Russia, Belarus, Egypt, and Iran were the participants in the field.

Gunsmith Master was the field of competition in the maintenance section. Each team competed in the area of dismantling and repairing multiple guns. China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Iran were the participants in the field.

While these four fields were competed in Korla, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the Airborne Platoon was held in Guangsui. / Meher news /

A collection of strange sculptures by installation artist Aseman Oraee are on display at Saless Art Gallery in Tehran.

‘Existence’ (in Persian: ‘Mojoudiat’) is Oraee’s ongoing exhibition. It is a showcase of sculptures or art installations made with disparate items and materials, glued together, Honaronline reported.

Opened on July 28, the exhibition will run through August 9 at Saless Gallery located at No. 147, Karim Khan Blvd, between  Iranshahr and Mahshahr streets. Visiting hours are from 10 am-9 pm, and on Friday from 4-10 pm.

“The art installations and sculptures actually recount the story of my life,” Oraee said. “The sculptures are the outcome of my own interpretations of everyday facts.”

“As a mother, book reading is among my other routines and all are somehow reflected in the works.”

Referring to a 180 cm-tall sculpture made with a myriad of forks, she says “the fork is no more a fork. Since the day I decided to step beyond the routine life, something changed inside me and the items you see at the exhibit started to undergo transformation.”

/ Financial tribune /

Iran managed to deploy over 2.2 million barrels per day of crude oil to Asian and European markets in July.

Iran’s oil exports, which began rising following implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), have now reached stable conditions.

During sanction years, the country’s crude exports stood at one million barrels per day though the figure took an upward trend immediately after sanctions removal.

Moreover, Iran managed in regaining old markets in Europe which had been occupied by rivals during sanction years.

Accordingly, Oil Ministry of Iran has announced that volume of oil exports in July had increased by 45,000 barrels per day as compared to June.

In July, Iran managed to ship over 2.2 million barrels of crude oil to Asian and European markets. With an increase of 100,000 barrels, the country’s crude export to Asian markets reached 1.4 million barrels per day. China, South Korea, India and Japan are major Asian buyer of Iranian crude.

Capacity of Iran’s crude output has also climbed to about four million barrels per day. In the week leading to July 21st, Iran’s heavy crude oil was traded at $45.12 per barrel indicating a $1.56 rise. Price of light crude oil also rise by 1.12 dollars and reached $46.90 per barrel. Iran’s light crude oil has been traded at an average of 48.77 dollars so far in the year 2017. / Meher news /

The 2017 Anyang World Taekwondo Hanmadang wrapped up on Tuesday while the Iranian athletes managed to grab 18 gold, 11 silver and 21 bronze medals in the tournament in South Korea. Iranian athletes snatch 50 colorful medals in South Korea

The 25th championship World Taekwondo Hanmadang was attended by 1,145 male and female Taekwondo athletes from 54 countries.

In a relevant development, Iranian Wushu fighters received five gold and 2 silver medals in Eurasia martial arts competitions held in Georgia.

Iran squad with three Sanda and three Taolu fighters participated in the event. In Sanda field, Iranian athletes in – 45 kg, – 60 kg and – 56 kg weight categories bagged gold medals.

In Taolu section also Iranian athlete Yasin Fathi Moghaddam received a gold medal.

Mohammad Soleiman Pour received a gold medal in Chang chuan field, and a silver medal in Daoshu field. Iranian fighter Masih Keyhan Nejad bagged a silver medal.

The four-day Georgia international Wushu competitions were held with the attendance of Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Poland and Georgia on July 28-31 in Tbilisi, Georgia. / Irna /