Written and directed by Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Reza Golpour, the short film “The Edge” is scheduled to be screened at the Taiwan International Children’s Film Festival.

Kiana Montajebi, Mohsen Zarabadipour, Ehsan Amani, Sanam Sarmad, Shaghayegh Fattahi, and Mahdi Malek are among the cast of Golpour’s short film.

This is the first presence of “The Edge” in international film festivals.

Taiwan International Children’s Film Festival (TICFF) is a biennial event founded by Taiwan Public Television Service (PTS) in 2004, and the first film and television festival in Asia dedicated entirely to children aged 4-12.

The upcoming edition of TICFF is scheduled for April 2024 in Taipei. /MNA/

The commander of the Iranian Army Air Force said that a squadron of domestically manufactured Kowsar fighter jets will join the Iranian air force in the future.

Brigadier General Hamid Vahedi, Commander of the Air Force of the Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRIAF) made the remarks during a ceremony to commemorate the anniversary of Operation Kaman 99, carried out by the Iranian Air Force on September 22 and 23, 1980 against Saddam Ba’athist regime.

“In that operation, more than 300 planes took off and 140 of them entered the Iraqi airspace and hit their planned targets. Also, in the Al-Walid (H3) operation, the warplanes of the Air Force refueled three times to reach the farthest targets in the west of Iraq,” he said.

According to IRIAF commander, the Ba’athist regime lost more than 60 planes on the ground in the operation.

Vahedi pointed out that “Before the revolution, we could not have access to the airplanes and our technical work was limited to replacing parts, but today in the Air Force and our colleagues in the defense ministry, they have entered the field of airplane manufacturing.”

“A squadron of [domestically-made] Saeqeh aircraft was built and it is a very good aircraft. Now the construction of Kowsar aircraft as a jet predator and bomber is in the final phases and in the future a squadron of this aircraft will join the Army Air Force,” he reported.

MNA/

The head of Russia’s trade mission in Iran Rustam Zhiganshin said the first visa-free flights of tourist groups had started between Iran and Russia.

“The first visa-free flights of Iranian tourist groups between Russia and Iran have begun,” Zhiganshin said as quoted by Sputnik.

Iran and Russia signed an agreement on visa-free tourist travel in March. According to the deal, a visa-free regime is established for groups of tourists of up to 50 people entering Russia or Iran for up to 15 days.

MNA/

Iran’s Mir Mostafa Javadi gained a gold medal in the Men’s 89KG division at 2023 World Weightlifting Championships on Monday.

In a move no one had expected, Iranian weightlifter Mir Mostafa Javadi won the highly-competitive Men’s 89-Kilogram Group A division on Sep. 11 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Bar bend website reported.

It was the first time the 23-year-old made it to the 89-kilogram podium at Worlds in the snatch, clean & jerk, or Total.

Javadi walked away with gold in the clean & jerk at 215 kilograms, or 473.9 pounds, and gold in the Total, despite finishing sixth in the snatch. He also advanced from ninth to fourth position in the International Weightlifting Federation’s (IWF) official Olympics qualification leaderboards.

Leading up to the 2023 WWC in Riyadh, which runs from Sep. 4 to 17, the 89-kilogram division was widely predicted to be the most intense session of men’s weightlifting.

The roster of Group A contained multiple former and current World Champions, as well as several current world record holders. But nothing played out as it was supposed to. /MNA/

Iranian city of Isfahan is scheduled to host the 5th Mustafa Prize ceremony next month, with reports saying 150 luminaries from across the Muslim world attending the prestigious biennial event for their scientific excellence.

Hossein Rabbani, the head of Isfahan’s Elites Foundation, said the 5th Mustafa Prize ceremony will be held on October 2, when high-profile scientists in the field of Artificial Intelligence convene in Isfahan from 57 Islamic countries.

The prestigious ceremony will also host the 9th round of Science and Technology Exchange Program (STEP), which is a platform organized by Mustafa Science and Technology Foundation to expand the scientific network among the Islamic world’s scholars by holding international events and laying the groundwork for enhancing scientific synergy and cooperation.

“Awarding a prize is regarded as a way of identifying outstanding people in scientific fields and brings to the fore the existing capacities in different areas of science,” Rabbani said.

“An international award, like the Mustafa Prize, has profound impacts given its media aspect,” he said, adding that it conveys the message that the Muslim world pays attention to science and technology.

Mustafa Prize was established in 2012 as one of the symbols of scientific excellence and has been held biennially since 2015, recognizing leading researchers and scientists of the Islamic world.

The laureates are awarded $500,000, which is financed through the science and technology endowment. They will also be adorned with Mustafa Medal and Honorary Diploma.

The prize is awarded in the four categories of Information and Communication Science and Technology, Life and Medical Science and Technology, Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, and All Areas of Science and Technology.

In 2016, the Science Magazine called the prize “the Muslim Nobel.” /MNA/

Iran will construct its first research satellite in the field of navigation named “Pazhuhesh 1”, the spokesperson of the Iranian Space Agency (ISA) announced on Thursday.

“The Iranian Space Research Center intends to hold a public tender for the design, construction, and delivery of the Research Satellite ‘Pazhuhesh – 1’ in order to support the private sector”, Hossein Dalirian wrote in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Thursday.

Pazhuhesh-1 satellite will actually be a research satellite in the field of space station navigation, he added./ MNA/

According to the seventh plan, exports of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment are projected to increase annually to $1billion, the chairman of the Food and Drug Administration of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FDA) said.

With the removal of preferential currency rates for pharmaceuticals, exports in the first five months of the Iranian year (Starting from March 21, 2023) have reached 50 million dollars, Heidar Mohammadi said.

This shows a growth rate of 300 percent compared to the same period last year, he added.

According to the seventh plan, exports of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment are projected to increase annually to $1billion, he pointed out. /MNA/

Pilgrims have reached the Iraqi city of Karbala to attend the Arbaeen ceremony, which marks the fortieth day after the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hossein (AS) and his companions. (IRNA photos/ Mohammad-Mahdi Pour-Arab)

The governor of Karbala, Aqil Al-Turaihi, has predicted that the number of Arbaeen pilgrims will surpass 30 million this year, a growth of 50% compared to last year. / IRNA/

The number of foreign university students in Iran is forecast to rise from currently around 100,000 to 250,000 by the Iranian calendar year 1404 (March 2025-March 2026).

Currently, international students from 119 countries are studying in Iran, IRNA reported.

Shortening the processes of providing services to international students, such as issuing visas and residence permits, offering employment, banking, and transportation services, and benefiting from cultural advisors who are currently based in 81 countries, as well as ambassadors in different countries, are among the capacities which can be used to attract more international students.

The Ministry of Science is planning to upgrade an online system titled “Study in Iran” in order to familiarize foreign students with universities as well as the conditions and costs of living in the country.

For the time being, the system is operating in four languages Persian, English, Arabic, and Chinese, deputy science minister Hashem Dadashpour said in June.

“We plan to add three more languages, namely Russian, French, and Spanish in the next few months,” he added, IRNA reported.

The system actually plays the role of an intermediary between universities and applicants for studies in Iran, Dadashpour said, noting: “We briefly introduce the universities with the license to admit international students, and at the same time, the applicants can be connected to the desired university through special links.”

This possibility is also provided for the applicants to study in Iran to register and send the admission application while being familiarized with the cultural and academic situation in Iran, and at the same time to learn about the experiences of international students in the country, he highlighted.

Also, an exhibition will be held from November 14-19 with the aim of introducing the advantages of studying in Iran for international students, he said.

“The first section of the exhibition is related to Persian language teaching centers, and the second section is related to private institutions for attracting international students and institutions of target countries.”

“The third section is dedicated to activists who are interested in attracting international students to Iran. The fourth section is related to scientific and technological achievements of science and technology parks and knowledge-based companies, and finally, the fifth section is related to the cultures and customs of foreign countries.”

The Seventh National Development Plan (2023-2027) has obliged the Ministry of Science to increase the number of foreign nationals studying in the country.

The plan emphasizes the need to boost science diplomacy by increasing foreign students by up to 10 percent, IRNA reported.

It also highlights admitting non-Iranian scientists in research and technology education fields in universities and government institutes, as well as developing student exchange programs. /T.T/