Foreign travel to Iran enjoys sharp increase

Sun, 10/19/2014 - 19:36

Printer-friendly version

Reports indicate a significant increase in the number of foreign tourists visiting various parts of Iran in the past 12 months.

The head of Iran’s Tourism Organization told the Associated Press that the country has seen a 35-percent increase in the number of foreign tourists, adding that visits from 4.5 million tourists have brought the country an income of 6 billion dollars.

Massoud Soltanifar added that the increase is a direct result of the 2013 presidential election and the victory of Hassan Rohani.

The new administration’s policies have made it easier for travelers to obtain a visa, adding that visitors from Europe have increased by 200 percent.

The head of the Tourism Organization said Iran expects that by 2025, it will be welcoming 20 million foreign travelers a year.

Iran has 17 Cultural Heritage sites registered with UNESCO that are popular tourist attractions.

Press TV official calls reporter’s death in Turkey “suspicious”

Press TV official calls reporter’s death in Turkey “suspicious”

Mon, 10/20/2014 - 19:27

Printer-friendly version

The head of Press TV's English Newsroom Hamidreza Emadi has announced that the death of its reporter Serena Shim in Turkey is "suspicious."

"The Turkish government is accountable to the global public opinion and to journalists as Ms. Shim's suspicious death comes right after she made a number of critical reports regarding Turkish authorities," Emadi said according to IRNA.

He stressed that Press TV reserves the right to full investigations regarding Serena Shim's death.

Serena Shim was reportedly killed on Sunday October 19 in an accident in Turkish territory near the border with Syria while covering the activities of Sunni extremist group ISIS in the region. Her videographer, the other passenger in the vehicle, was injured in the accident and is currently in hospital.

On Friday, while on air, Shim accused Turkish authorities of harassing her with false accusations. She said that she was being pursued by Turkish security officials over allegations of espionage and stressed that she has never done anything other than her duties as a conscientious reporter and journalist. She also stated that she was in fear of her life.

Serena Shim was a 30-year-old mother of two. She held Lebanese-American citizenship and had covered news for Press TV, the English language branch of Islamic Republic News Agency in Lebanon, Iraq and Ukraine.

Tags: journalists, Press TV, Serena Shim, Turkey

Court suspends rights lawyer Sotoudeh from practicing law

Court suspends rights lawyer Sotoudeh from practicing law

Sun, 10/19/2014 - 19:25

Printer-friendly version

Nasrin Sotoudeh

The Lawyer’s Disciplinary Court has suspended Nasrin Sotoudeh from practicing law for three years in an order issued on Saturday October 18.

Reza Khandan, Sotoudeh’s husband, has reported on his Facebook page that the head of the Disciplinary Court had urged Sotoudeh earlier to surrender her licence because the court was under pressure to issue a suspension order.

In August, the Disciplinary Court issued a verdict allowing Nasrin Sotoudeh to keep her licence and go on practicing law. That order reportedly drew criticism from the prosecutor’s office and Evin Court.

Nasrin Sotoudeh is a prominent human rights lawyer who was jailed on a charge of “propaganda against the regime” and went on a hunger strike on several occasions to protest the violation of her prisoner rights.

She was finally released last year along with a group of other political prisoners.

Tags: human rights, Nasrin Sotoudeh

Four arrested for acid attacks on women in Isfahan

Four arrested for acid attacks on women in Isfahan

Mon, 10/20/2014 - 17:55

Printer-friendly version

Four people suspected of throwing acid in Isfahan have been arrested, says a spokesman for Iran's Interior Ministry, and "all dimensions of the incidents" are being investigated.

IRNA reported on Monday October 20 that according to Morteza MirBagheri, there should no longer be "any concerns" regarding safety in Isfahan and the issue of acid throwing has been handled "in the best possible manner."

There has been widespread outrage in the city of Isfahan over incidents of women being attacked with acid in public spaces.

President Rohani's advisor on women's affairs Shahindokht Molaverdi has urged the Seucirty forces and the judicary to firmly pursue the issue of acid throwing. She has been quoted as saying that as these actions have no jstification under Sharia Laws, they should be met witht he swift and firm hand of the law.

Texas - Immigrant found inside washing machine

FALFURRIAS, TX - Officials say a man found hiding inside of a washing machine and four other people hiding inside of a cardboard box were undocumented immigrants trying to sneak into the U.S.

Agents along the Texas border checkpoint said a K-9 officer was alerted to a U-Haul truck last Friday night at the Falfurrias Border Patrol Station.

When border agents searched the U-Haul, they found the undocumented immigrants hiding in the washing machine and cardboard box.

The man driving the U-Haul and the woman riding with him are both U.S. citizens, ABC 22 reported .

The man and woman were arrested and the case was turned over to special agents from Homeland Security Investigations.

Falfurrias is located near Texas' southernmost point, about 90 miles south of Corpus Christi.

Palestinian girl hit by Israeli car driver dies

A Palestinian girl was killed on Sunday and her friend remained in a critical condition after an Israeli settler run them over in his car near a village near the city of Ramallah.

“The six-year-old Einas Dar Khalil was killed after she was struck by a settler vehicle while her friend Tolin Asfour was severely injured,” a medical Palestinian source told Al Arabiya News.

Khalil was hit near the West Bank town of Sinjil and was taken to Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah but she succumbed to her wounds hours later, the medics said.

Nilin Asfour, another girl who was walking with Khalil, was also hit by the Israeli car and was "seriously" injured, according to the medics.

Eyewitnesses from the village of Sinjil, which is surrounded by several Israeli settlements, said the Israeli driver run over the girls as they got off a school bus.

“My daughter and her mate got off the school bus, while the girl’s parent and I were waiting for them on the opposite side of the street,” Khalil’s mother said.

The grief-stricken mother said she saw her daughter’s body “roll several meters” on the ground.

Palestinian news Agency Ma’an said it was not immediately clear whether the incident was deliberate or an accident.

Last Update: Monday, 20 October 2014 KSA 18:03 - GMT 15:03

King Tutankhamun, an icon of Ancient Egypt (Real Picture )

King Tutankhamun, an icon of Ancient Egypt, reportedly had buck teeth, wide hips and a severe limp, digitally recreated images have shown.

In a BBC documentary which airs next Sunday, researchers found that the most famous Pharaoh may have not lived the life insinuated by his majestic golden burial mask and other historical records.

Famous for being a young king with a passion for chariot racing, researchers suggests that a club foot would have made it impossible for him to race.

A club foot

“The virtual autopsy shows the toes are divergent – in layman’s terms it’s club foot. He would have been heavily limping,” Egyptian radiologist Ashraf Selim said.

Additionally, 130 used walking canes found in his tomb support this claim, Britain's Daily Mail reported.

The revelations are the result of a “virtual autopsy,” based on more than 2,000 computer scans, along with a genetic analysis of the boy king’s family, which suggests that his parents were siblings.