The Spokesman of the Iranian space agency announced that the construction of the Martyr Soleimani satellite constellation will be implemented with the participation of knowledge-based firms.

The Iranian Space Agency has named one of the country’s most important space projects after the name of Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani in order to honor this eminent martyr, Hossein Dalirian tweeted on Tuesday.

The Iranian Space Agency plans to implement the Martyr Soleimani project with the participation of knowledge-based companies, Dalirian said.

He also called on knowledge-based companies, that are experts in designing and manufacturing satellites and ground equipment, to participate in the implementation of this project.

Martyr Soleimani Satellite constellation will become a basic infrastructure for the country in the future, he noted.

A satellite constellation is a group of artificial satellites working together as a system.

Providing Internet of Things service for the Iranian people is one of the most important missions of the Martyr Soleimani Satellite constellation, according to the spokesman of the Iranian space agency.

The Internet of Things is used in various fields such as smart farming, transportation, monitoring of power transmission lines, environmental issues, as well as monitoring leakage of oil and gas pipelines, he said./MNA/

The national budget bill for the next Iranian calendar year 1402, which starts on March 21, has increased the health sector’s budget by 29 percent compared to the current year’s budget.

The bill has proposed a budget of 2,730 trillion rials (about $6.8 billion) for the Ministry of Health, IRNA reported.

The administration has also proposed 690 trillion rials (about $1.7 billion) as subsidies to provide medicine by health industries.

President Ebrahim Raisi submitted the administration’s draft of the national budget bill for the next Iranian calendar year 1402, which starts on March 21, to the Majlis on Wednesday.

The proposed budget amounted to about 52.616 quadrillion rials (about $131 billion), with a 40 percent rise from the current year’s budget.

The president mentioned stable economic growth, people’s livelihood, observing justice, and efficiency of the government system as the main approaches of the budget bill and stated: “In this bill, the establishment of a progress and justice fund in all provinces is foreseen so that the development credits of the provinces are paid systematically.”

Iran has one of the strongest health systems in the region and this opportunity should be used optimally in the field of health diplomacy, Health Minister Bahram Einoullahi has said.

In October 2021, World Health Organization (WHO) representative to Iran Jaffar Hussain, said that Iran’s health system can be a model for other countries in the region, especially in the field of health and the use of valuable forces such as healthcare providers.

They have also played an effective role in improving life expectancy, reducing the death of pregnant women, improving the health status and disease index in the last 40 years, etc.

The World Health Organization believes that the improvement of health indicators in the villages of Iran and the reduction of the gap between the health indicators in rural and urban areas are due to the activity of health care providers.

In June 2021, Ahmed al-Mandhari, the World Health Organization director for Eastern Mediterranean Region, said the Islamic Republic of Iran is a role model for primary health care.

For the past four decades, its PHC network has aimed to ensure that people have timely access to affordable, accessible, and acceptable essential health services, he explained.

As many as 1,693 knowledge-based companies are active in the field of health, Younes Panahi, the deputy minister of health for research and technology, has said. /T.T/

Five Iranian movies will compete in the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, which will take place from February 17 to 26 in Missoula, Montana.

“Kak Iraj” by Jamshid Farajvand, “Water, Wind, Dust, Bread” by Mehdi Zamanpur Kiasari, “Adam and Eve” by Saeed Taji Farouky, “The Dream of a Horse” by Marjan Khosravi and “Giselou” by Mohammad-Sadeq Esmaeili will be screened in different sections of the festival.

The short documentary “Kak Iraj” is about the part gardener and part artist, Kak Iraj, who makes all his tools from discarded materials. Living off the grid in a house made of stone, dirt, and old televisions he scours the land for useful detritus to maintain his impressive garden. Following him over the shifting seasons of a year Kak Iraj examines an unconventional lifestyle in a desolate and remote region of Iran.

“Water, Wind, Dust, Bread” follows two children Abolfazl and Setayesh in a remote border region of Iran as they play, work, study and struggle to support themselves.

“Adam and Eve” tells the story of a woman who seeks a divorce from her husband when his dishonesty comes to light. As she attempts to start her own farm and build her own home away from him she struggles with the strict divorce laws in Iran.

In “The Dream of a Horse”, Shahnaz, the oldest daughter of a nomad family, loves writing and her stories are inspired by her lifestyle. Her father wants to marry her off to better the family’s condition, but Shahnaz wants to pursue bigger dreams.

“Giselou” is about Zahra, whose husband abandoned her and her children 5 years ago. In order to acquire her children’s birth certificates and finalize her divorce, she is forced to go looking for her husband in Afghanistan. This film follows Zahra on a brave and harrowing journey to gain independence and secure a future for her children.

“Rooted in the heart of the mountain west, the Big Sky Film Institute nurtures and elevates non-fiction films that have the power to transform our world, our culture, our youth and ourselves,” the organizers of the Big Sky festival said. /T.T/

Ten troupes from across the world will perform during the 41st Fajr International Theater Festival, which opened in Tehran on Saturday. Iraqi director Mohammad Moayyed’s troupe performed “Mercy Shot” twice at the Main Hall of the City Theater Complex on the opening day.

Two more performances have also been arranged for Sunday at the same place.

Another Iraqi troupe with director Javad Asadi will take “Amal” on stage at Molavi Hall on Monday.

Spanish director Txema Muñoz will stage “Lumière” (“Light”) at the Chaharsu Hall of the complex on January 26.

Waiting has never been so much fun. As if it were a silent movie, Muñoz wishes for the train to arrive. When it comes, his imagination goes beyond the station he is in. A light bulb, a jacket and his backpack transport him to a magical, endearing and comical place.

A stage adaptation of Italian poet Dante Alighieri’s “The Divine Comedy” will be directed by Hafiz Khalifa from Tunisia.

The play will go on stage at Vahdat Hall on January 27.

The narrative takes as its literal subject the state of the soul after death. It presents an image of divine justice meted out as due punishment or reward, and describes Dante’s travels through hell, purgatory and heaven. Allegorically, the poem presents the soul’s journey towards God, beginning with the recognition and rejection of sin, followed by the penitent Christian life, which is then followed by the soul’s ascent to God.

Omani director Yousuf Al-Bulushi is competing at the festival with “Henna Pestle”, which will be performed at Bahdat Hall on January 28.

At the same date, Nazerzadeh Kermani Hall at the Iranshahr Theater Complex will host Jordanian director Ayad Al-Rimoni for his play “Naqoura Train”. His troupe will give one more performance the next day.

Armenian director Ara Yernjakyan, the founder and artistic director of the Yerevan State Chamber Theater, has been invited to stage William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” at the Main Hall of the City Theater Complex on January 29.

Russian writer Nikolay Mikhaylovich Karamzin’s 1792 story “Bednaya Liza” (“Poor Liza”), about a village girl who commits suicide after a tragic love affair, will be directed by his renowned compatriot Mark Rozovsky.

The most celebrated work of the Russian sentimental school will be staged at Vahdat Hall on January 30.

“Apátridas” (“Stateless”), a multimedia play divided into two monologues written by Carina Casuscelli will be staged by Brazilian director Lenerson Polonini at the Main Hall of the City Theater Complex on the same date.

It is based on female and male characters from fragments of Greek myths and tragedies.

The festival will end with an adaptation of Nikolay Gogol’s short story “The Overcoat” (“Shinel”) by a Russian troupe at the City Theater Complex on January 31.

Published in 1842, “The Overcoat” is perhaps the best-known and most influential short fiction in all of Russian literature.

Gogol’s story of government clerk Akaky Akakiyevich Bashmachkin combines a careful eye for detail with biting social satire on the banal evil of bureaucracy. /T.T/

The First International Congress for Women of Influence was held in Tehran on Friday with female guests including wives of heads of state, ministers, vice presidents, and parliamentarians from Burkina Faso, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia, Guinea, Niger, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Syria, Turkmenistan, and Armenia.

‘Women of influence’ showcase achievements

An exhibition showcasing the achievements of successful Iranian women was held on Friday on the sidelines of the First International Congress for Women of Influence.

In this exhibition, the achievements of Iranian women entrepreneurs in various fields such as electricity and electronics, medical equipment, technology, innovation centers, and home businesses were on display.

In this regard, 900 female CEOs of knowledge-based companies have been identified, 100 of them were selected as the best in the field of science and technology, and finally, the top 50 participated in this exhibition, ISNA reported.

Guests from 28 countries, including Sri Lanka, Australia, Japan, China, Thailand, Pakistan, Cameroon, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sweden, Austria, Kazakhstan, and Canada visited the exhibition.

It should be noted that the congress for women of influence was held for the first time this year at both national and international levels. Its national level was held on Tuesday, January 17, and its international level was held on Friday, January 20.

The event aimed to appreciate women of influence, support and help them grow, and promote their creativity and ideas.

Women in various sectors, including science, research, innovation, economy, healthcare, art, photography, painting, society and environment, law, and media participated in the congress.

Valuable experiences

Addressing the congress on Thursday, President Ebrahim Raisi said: “I hope that the women present in this meeting will be able to use the valuable experiences that the Islamic Republic of Iran gained after the Islamic Revolution in the field of women’s rights and attention to women in society.”

Fortunately, more than 30 percent of university professors, more than 34 percent of experts in the field of medicine and healthcare, almost 60 percent of the capacity of scientific and academic centers, as well as 30 percent of managerial positions belong to women in the country, Raisi added.

Also, the number of Iranian women who gain championships in various domestic and international sports fields is more than ever, he noted.

The president also pointed to the influential role of Iranian women in the economy and entrepreneurship, saying: “We believe that women can be effective in various scientific, economic, political, cultural, social and sports fields alongside men.”

Referring to the fact that despite claims, women’s rights are violated in many cases in Western countries, Raisi said that according to the statistics, many women are killed by the police in these countries every year just for the crime of demanding their rights.

“The reason why today the Islamic Republic of Iran is angered by these countries is because it has presented a new way of life by preserving the principles and values of the women of the society who have been able to reach high cultural, political, social and sports peaks.”

In the Islamic Republic of Iran, we have always emphasized in the laws and regulations related to women that the protection of women’s rights and the issue of family formation should be given special attention, he stressed.

Decadent Western culture

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, met with a group of prominent Iranian women on January 4, castigating the “decadent Western culture” and its crimes against women.

“On the issue of women, our stance towards the hypocritical Western claimants is a position of demand, not the defense. There was a time many years ago, when a number of students at a university asked me, ‘What do you have to say for yourself in defense of such and such a case?’ I told them, ‘I don’t have a defense. I have an attack.’ That is how it is with the issue of women. The world is to blame. When I say ‘the world’ I mean the Western world, Western philosophy, and the existing Western culture. Of course, [what I am talking about] is the modernized West. I am not concerned about the historical West.”

Ayatollah Khamenei then pointed to Islam’s view toward women. He said, “Unlike the deeply patriarchal Western capitalist system, in Islam, both men and women are prominent and have legal, intellectual, theoretical, and practical privileges. But the Westerners untruthfully attribute their inherent patriarchy to Islam.”

Plans to empower women

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.

Due to the fact that many female breadwinners could not use business loans due to the lack of a guarantor, the fund was established to help them.

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.

A plan is entitled ‘Upgrading the structure of the vice president and advisors related to the vice presidency for women and families.’

The national budget bill for the next Iranian calendar year 1402, which starts on March 21, has increased the budget for women’s affairs by over 50 percent compared to the current year’s budget.

Some 580 billion rials (about $1.5 million) have been proposed by the budget bill for the next year compared with 320 billion rials (about $800,000) for the current year. /T.T/

Following the Iranian men’s ice hockey team, the women’s team also finished runner-up at the end of the Islamic Countries Ice Hockey Championship in Tatarstan in the Russian Federation on Tuesday.

Iranian women’s national ice hockey team were beaten by the host team Tatarstan on penalty shootouts to finish second at the Islamic Countries Ice Hockey Championship in Kazan in the Russian Federation.

The Iranian men’s team also finished runner-up as well while in the men’s division, the UAE became the champion. /MNA/

Commander of Iran’s Army Air Defense Force said that the Bavar-373 defense missile system is monitoring Iran’s territory. Brigadier General Alireza Sabahifard said that only a few countries in the world make use of a similar version of the Bavar-373 defense missile system.

The commander lauded the results of tests on the system, the Bavar-373 is currently monitoring the territory of the Islamic Republic.

Iran’s defense systems are able to target a variety of targets with RCS, he further noted.

Earlier, the official said that Iran’s Air Defense Force is at the level of the world’s most up-to-date equipment in different fields. /MNA/

Iranian artist Ramin Hosseinpour was chosen as the Best Male Vocalist at the LA Music Video Awards 2022 for his video art of Sculpture.

Ramin Hosseinpour’s video art was awarded at different other international festivals as well.

Hosseinpour was the music video director, producer, composer, arranger, and electric guitar player.

The LA Music Video Awards recognizes the best music videos from the past year, celebrating the artists, directors, and collaborators.

The LA Music Video Awards celebrates the creativity, skill, and talent involved in creating a music video. /MNA/

The existence of several COVID vaccines makes the fight against the new strains easier, Shahnam Arshi, deputy director for the infectious diseases management department of the Ministry of Health, has said.

COVIRAN, Noora, PastoCovac, Fakhra, and SpikoGen are some of the vaccines made by Iranian experts.

Iran is dealing with the newly-emerged eighth wave of the pandemic, as three new strains of BQ1, XBB, and BA2, have been diagnosed recently in patients.

Within the next one to two months, the new wave of the pandemic will reach its peak, according to deputy health minister Hossein Farshidi.

The new wave is not as severe as the previous waves, but people are advised to inject the booster dose and to practice personal and social hygiene, especially avoiding gatherings and wearing masks in closed spaces that do not have proper ventilation, Arshi explained.

Currently, all entry points to the country, especially the borders, are under control and monitoring, and travelers must carry a 72-hour negative corona test, he added.

Recently, medical researchers announced that there is a risk of one of the Omicron variants in the world that is resistant to all available therapeutic antibodies, and the findings indicate that new treatments must be identified to deal with this substrain.

According to new research at a German institute, the new Omicron substrain, BQ.1.1, is resistant to all approved antibody treatments.

Omicron escapes neutralizing antibodies and causes symptomatic disease even in vaccinated or convalescent individuals due to mutations in the spike protein. This is known as an immune escape and is dangerous for high-risk populations, including the elderly and people with weak immune systems. /T.T/

The value of Iran’s non-oil export rose 19 percent from the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21,2022) up to December 31, as compared to the same period of time in the past year, data released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) show.

According to the IRICA data, Iran exported 97.843 million tons of goods valued at $43.088 billion in the mentioned period, also registering a two-percent increase in weight, IRNA reported.

Liquefied natural gas, liquefied propane, methanol, liquefied butane, and film-grade polyethylene were the main exported products in the said time span.

Major export destinations of Iranian non-oil goods were China, Iraq, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and India.

The Islamic Republic has also imported 28.18 million tons of non-oil commodities worth $44.337 billion in the first 286 days of the present year, with a 14.7-percent growth in value and a 10-percent increase in weight, year on year.

The major items of goods imported into the country in the said period include corn, rice, wheat, soybeans, sunflower seed oil, and cell phones, based on the IRICA data.

The United Arab Emirates was the top exporter to Iran in the mentioned period, followed by China, Turkey, India, and Germany.

Reportedly, the value of Iran’s non-oil trade rose 17 percent during the mentioned period, as compared to the same time span in the past year.

Iran traded more than 126 million tons of non-oil products worth over $88 billion with other countries in the mentioned period.

As previously announced by the IRICA former head, the value of Iran’s non-oil trade rose 38 percent in the past Iranian calendar year 1400 (ended on March 20, 2022), as compared to its previous year.

Alireza Moqadasi put the country’s non-oil trade at 162 million tons worth $100 billion in the past year.

He said that Iran exported 122 million tons of non-oil products worth $48 billion in the previous year, which was $14 billion (41 percent) more than the figure for the preceding year.

The country’s non-oil trade record in 1400 was reached while the toughest sanctions were imposed on Iran, but thanks to God and the efforts of entrepreneurs, producers, and the cooperation of foreign trade-related organizations, a historical record was achieved in the past year which was unprecedented in recent decades, the official has underlined. /T.T/