The 30th edition of the International Holy Quran Exhibition opened at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Mosalla on Saturday. President Ebrahim Raisi, Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad-Mehdi Esmaeili, and a group of religious figures attended the opening ceremony.

Artworks and handcrafts representing Quran verses and teachings are on view at the showcase, which will run until April 18. The exhibition is organized every year during the month of Ramadan. /T.T/

Iranian drama “Left Handed” has won the award for best film at the Positively Different Short Film Festival in Athens, Greece.

Written and directed by Nasrin Mohammadpur, the film tells the story of Maryam, a 38-year-old woman who heads a family of four.

She decides to cut off her right hand while working in a poultry slaughterhouse because, in this way, she can get more money from insurance than losing her left hand to pay her debts. To this end, Maryam starts to practice with her left hand to do daily chores. However, on the appointed day, when she intends to amputate her right hand, the machine suddenly jams, and Maryam’s left hand is accidentally amputated instead of her right hand. Therefore, a new fate determines for her.

The film previously won the BNP Paribas Excellence Prize at the 2022 Seoul International Women’s Film Festival.

The Positively Different Short Film Festival announced winners last week.

“5pm Seaside” by Valentin Stejskal was selected as best Greek film.

This film follows Nikos, a solitary truck driver, who arrives on a remote beach on his 40th birthday. He is there to meet his former lover, Christos, whom he hasn’t seen since their military days.

“To Read Them Poems” by German filmmaker Alexis Chatzigiannis won the audience award.

A road trip with a truck driver and a poet leads them to a grotesque and risky poetry slam. But it’s Christmas and miracles can happen.

The Curatorial Team Award was given to “9th Floor to the Right” by Andrea Romano from France.

One evening, in his apartment in Belleville, Lorenzo is getting ready to receive Marvin for the first time, a boy he likes. Marvin shows up at the door with Thomas, a homeless man he met on the street looking to shower. Lorenzo doesn’t dare say no.

“The Positively Different Short Film Festival aims to act as a reference point for raising awareness with regards to intersectionality and discrimination, providing a safe space for co-creation and networking,” the organizers have said. /T.T/

The Persian Gulf island of Qeshm has recorded over 27,000 tourist arrivals in two days, a local official has said. On Wednesday and Thursday, over 27,000 travelers arrived on the island through Laft and Pohl piers, Mohammad Saeid Akhundi explained on Saturday.

Tourist arrivals on this island increased by 75 percent compared to the same period last year, the official added.

This increase in tourist arrivals has been attributed to the improvement of the island’s tourism infrastructure and increased promotion of its attractions, he noted.

Qeshm Island is heaven for eco-tourists as it embraces wide-ranging attractions such as the Hara marine forests and about 60 villages dotted mostly across its rocky coastlines.

The island also features geologically eye-catching canyons, hills, caves, and valleys, most of which are protected as part of the UNESCO-tagged Qeshm Island Geopark, itself a haven for nature lovers.

Many travelers to Qeshm believe that the Stars Valley or Valley of Stars is a “MUST SEE.” It is home to bizarre-shaped gorges, tall pillars, canyon-like paths, hollowed-out spaces as well as smooth and round stones, which have been formed by the wind and rain eroding the soil, rocks and stones. Locals believe that a star once fell on this area, thereby creating the rocky shapes that make it seem as if from another planet. /T.T/

More than 3,000 women heads of households have been employed under the supervision of female entrepreneurs, Ensieh Khazali, the vice president for women and family affairs, has said.

With the help of female entrepreneurs, it is possible to prevent some social harm to female heads of households, ISNA quoted Khazali as saying.

Also, female entrepreneurs are committed to supplying raw materials to women heads of households, she added.

The National Headquarters for Women and Family Affairs has approved six plans to support families and empower women and improve their status in society.

The formation of a loan guarantee fund for women heads of households was one of the plans of the National Headquarters for Women and Family Affairs.

According to official statistics, there are 3.5 million female heads of households, but according to unofficial statistics, the figure reaches more than 6 million.

The government has prioritized such families for targeting socio-economic support.

The Vice Presidency for Women and Family Affairs has released a report on the achievements of women after the 1979 Islamic Revolution in 7 areas of “education”, “health”, “employment and entrepreneurship”, “media”, “sports”, “decision-making”, and “environment, climate, and crises”.

In the field of education, the share of women in university faculty members has increased by 33.3 percent, and in medical sciences universities by 34 percent. Also, the number of female students in the country’s universities has increased by 56 percent, according to the report.

Also, illiteracy among women and girls has been nearly eradicated as the literacy rate reached 99.3 percent and the ratio of female to male students has increased by 28 percent.

The report also says that after the Islamic Revolution until the past Iranian calendar year (March 2021-March 2022), more than 9,500 female authors and 840 female publishers were active in the country.

In the field of employment and entrepreneurship, 4,200 rural women’s credit funds have been operating. Also, 2,390 women work as members of the board of directors of knowledge-based companies.

According to this report, there are 16,111 sports clubs for women in the country, and 3,302 medals have been won by female athletes in recent world events.

Moreover, 70 women have been presidents of sports committees at the provincial level, and 51 women have been presidents and heads of sports federations. Also, 88,366 women referees have participated in national and international competitions, and Iranian women have worked in 97 international seats in world sports federations.

In the field of media, the participation rate of women in the field of information technology has reached 5.31 percent, 903 women filmmakers have worked in the field of cinema and 2000 women specialists have worked behind the scenes.

Also, 114 national awards and 128 international awards have been won by female filmmakers in prominent festivals.  /T.T/

Bisotun Historical Complex is one of the most important ancient sites located in the east of Kermanshah province, in western Iran. Bisotun was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2006.

Inside the Bisotun Historical Complex, there are valuable works from the prehistoric period of Iran to the Islamic period, 28 of which have been nationally registered.

Works such as Darius the Great’s World Inscription, the Statue of Hercules, Farhad Tarash, Sarab Biston, Ilkhani Buildings, Safavid Buildings, Shekarchian (hunters) Ancient Cave, the Goodarz II’s relief and the Shah Abbasi Caravanserai are in Bisotun’s historical complex.

The Inscription of Darius the Great is one of the most authoritative historical documents in the world, which is in the Bisotun historical complex. Darius’s relief is carved 100 meters above the ground on the cliffs of Bisotun Mountain.

Iranian autmakers produced 1,347,394 vehicles in the 12 months of 1401 (March 21, 2022-2023), the statistics show, indicating a 39% growth compared to the year 1400 (March 21, 2021-2022).

Passenger automobiles (sedan, crossover and mini cross-over, hatchback etc.,) make up 87.7% of the total production of automobile manufacturers.

Trucks were in second place after passenger cars totaling 125, 507. The production of trucks by Iranian automakers witnessed a 56% increase as compared to the year 1400.

Van production saw 267% increase, showing the highest rate of car production growth in the country last year. The total production of vans by car manufacturers in 1401 (ended March 20, 2023) was 3,161 vehicles.

In 1401, 34,136 trucks and tractors were produced in the country, which indicates a 150% growth.

Also, last year, 1,391 buses, 1,118 minibusses and middle-sized buses were produced in the country, showing 88% growth and 11% growth, respectively.

According to the report, the total production of motorcycles stood above 450,000 last year, indicating an increase of 61.2% as compared to the production of 279,999 motorcycles in 1400. /MNA/

Iran’s national football team (Team Melli) played Kenya on Tuesday as their second friendly match under the leadership of the new head coach Amir Ghalenoei, defeating the African guest 2 -1.

The match began with the advantage of the Iranian team, but the tight and closed defense of Kenya caused the national team to create less dangerous situations on the Kenyan goal.

On the other side, Kenyan players showed dangerous counterattacks by using speed, and in the 15th minute, Michael Olunga missed a serious opportunity.

The first half-time of the football match ended in a 0 – 0 tie.

In the 50th minute, Olunga came off the bench to score the first goal and Kenya took a 1-0 lead.

In the 76th minute, Iran’s pressure finally paid off and Mohammad Mohebi scored with a header to make the game 1-1.

Iran’s pressure continued to score the second goal and take the lead, and in the 83rd minute, Rezaian’s cross from the left side went into the goal of the Kenyan goalkeeper Patrick Matasi, so Team Melli took a 2-1 lead and the game ended with the same result.

Team Melli, under the leadership of Ghalenoei, drew 1-1 against the Russian national football team in a friendly match in Tehran on Thursday, March 23.

Iran will participate in the 2023 CAFA Championship in June as part of the preparation for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. / MNA/

The value of trade between Iran and European Union (EU)’s member states rose five percent in January 2023, from January 2022, according to the data released by the European Union’s statistics office Eurostat.

The Eurostat put Iran-EU trade at $401 million in the first month of this year, while the figure was $381 million in the first month of the previous year.

The EU’s export to Iran rose seven percent to stand at $323 million in January 2023, while the figure was $301 million in January 2022.

The union’s monthly import from Iran fell two percent from $80 million to $78 million.

As previously announced by the Eurostat, the value of Iran’s export to the European Union’s member states rose 15 percent in 2022, as compared to the previous year.

The Eurostat’s data show that Iran exported commodities worth €1.055 billion to the union in 2022, while the figure was €922 million in 2021, IRNA reported.

The EU’s export to Iran also rose seven percent to €4.183 billion from €3.931 billion.

According to the Eurostat, the total value of trade between Iran and the European Union reached €5.238 billion in January-December 2022, while the figure was €3.931 billion in 2021.

Among European countries, Germany was Iran’s top trading partner in 2022, accounting for about 35 percent of Iran’s trade with the European Union. Germany exported €1.582 billion worth of goods to Iran while importing €278 million worth of commodities from the Islamic Republic. The country’s total trade with Iran was 1.860 billion euros.

Italy was Iran’s second trading partner with the total trade between the two countries standing at €712 million. Italy exported €551 million worth of goods to Iran while the imports stood at €161 million. /T.T/

The Ministry of Science has facilitated residence for university students from Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, and Syria. The possibility of staying during studies for students from these countries has been provided in some provinces and soon this issue will be extended to all parts of the country, IRIB quoted deputy science minister Hashem Dadashpour as saying.

Students from these countries can enter and leave the country four times per year, he added.

Obtaining a residence permit every year and the requirement to do so is one of the problems of international students, he highlighted.

In this regard, through negotiations with several countries, including Syria and Lebanon, the problem of residence during the study has been solved.

For students of other countries, including Afghanistan, a three-year residence permit is issued from the second year of their studies, and students from this country can also enter and leave Iran without any problems, he explained.

More than 100,000 foreign students from 119 countries are studying in Iranian universities, and 94 universities in the country have permission to admit foreign students.

These students are studying in different fields of science, research and technology, health and medical education, and also in the fields of humanities, Islamic sciences, Persian language, and literature, law, fundamentals of Islamic law, management fields, economics, psychology, social sciences, as well as engineering, agricultural sciences, animal sciences, and basic sciences.

The number of foreign students will double in Iranian universities in the next three years.

Iran is among the 15 successful countries in attracting international students, according to Mohammad Javad Salmanpour, the deputy head of the Organization for Student Affairs.

The education of foreign students in Iran has grown significantly compared to previous years, even last year, it has doubled, he said.

Iran has the ability and capacity to have more than 250,000 foreign students by 2026, he stated. /T.T/

Considering its several thousand years of history and its emphasis on improving lifestyle and maintaining health, Iranian traditional medicine has a rich capacity to promote self-care, especially during the holy month of Ramadan.

Following the teachings of this medical school of thought has a significant impact on preventing the occurrence of diseases and improving the health of society.

Nafiseh Hosseini Yekta, the director of the health ministry’s office for Iranian traditional medicine, says there are special measures regarding the modification of eating and drinking habits, based on the temperament of people, the temperament of different types of food, and the right time to eat and drink, that can help reduce the effects of improper nutrition on the body.

It is appropriate to start Iftar with a warm, slightly sweet, light, simple, and easy-to-digest drink, and the best option is to consume dates, honey, figs, or raisins along with a hot drink.

In addition to rapidly increasing blood sugar and eliminating weakness, it does not weaken the function of the stomach and prevents overeating.

One to one and a half hours after breaking the fast is the right time to consume fruit, and drinking natural juices, in addition to reducing the intensity of thirst, is also considered a useful source for providing minerals and vitamins needed by the body.

Consuming dry, sweet, fried and high-fat, starchy, spicy and spicy foods and consuming too much meat, as well as drinking coffee, cocoa, and strong tea, are some of the things that cause thirst and it is better to stay away from Suhoor meal.

Exercising at the peak of hunger is not recommended at all, and to prevent thirst, you should not exercise during hot hours of the day or in hot places. /T.T/