** IRNA DAILY
-- Raeisi calls on SCO to confront U.S. unilateralism
Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi called on the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states to adopt new approaches so as to confront U.S. unilateralism.
Speaking at the 22nd annual meeting of the SCO’s Council of Heads of State in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Friday, Raeisi said the U.S. administration seeks to impose its intentions and internal laws on the international system and independent states, Press TV reported.
-- Leader attends Arbaeen ceremony in Tehran
Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Saturday attended a religious ceremony on the occasion of Arbaeen.
Footage aired by national TV and images released by the Leader’s website showed Ayatollah Khamenei addressing the event standing as he spoke in a steady voice to his audience sitting on the floor.
-- Karbala is the heartland of free spirits
Insurmountable grief may, and usually does, bind your tongue, sending you into catatonic states wherein you find it almost impossible to even begin to explain why you suffer. Hour upon hour, you sit wondering, silently praying for a quick end to the overwhelming pain.
Then, along comes the rituals of remembering the story of Imam Hussein (PBUH), whose brave, epic uprising in 680 A.D. remains the most honored of Shia narratives about the importance of following in the footsteps of the rightful and the just, an uprising which, though ostensibly carried out to put an end to the tyrannical reign of Yazid ibn Mu’awiya, the second Umayyad caliph, aimed much higher, becoming a perpetual reminder of the idealistic thread running through the fabric of Shia consciousness. His earthly passions, however, remain unparalleled, for he gave up on everything he had for the “right” cause. And the ultimate sacrifice he made reverberates through ages, up until our current historical moment.
** TEHRAN TIMES
-- Hand of God behind Arbaeen miracle
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Saturday hosted a mourning ceremony on the occasion of Arbaeen in the Imam Khomeini Hussainiyah.
University students from throughout the country participated in the ceremony.
At the end of the ceremony, the Leader explained that the pure, believing hearts of the young people add quality to their supplications and the sermons while increasing divine guidance.
-- Iran officially joins SCO organization By Saeed Azimi
The 22nd Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit ended on Friday with a positive note. Iran officially joined the SCO, and all the participants signed the Samarkand Declaration at the end. Iran’s full membership in the SCO was announced by the President of Uzbekistan, which was applauded by the participants. China, Russia, India, Iran, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan attended the 22nd SCO summit.
-- Iranian knowledge-based products exhibited in Venezuela
An exhibition of Iranian technological products was held in the Venezuelan capital Caracas on Wednesday. The largest and most strategic Iranian companies in the fields of the automobile industry, agriculture, medicine, medical equipment, ICT, and creative industries displayed their achievements.
** KAYHAN INTERNATIONAL
-- ‘A Miracle’: 21 Million Pilgrims Mark Arba’een
Dressed in black, 21 million pilgrims from around the world massed in the Iraqi city of Karbala on Saturday for the Arba’een commemoration.
Arbaeen marks the end of the 40-day mourning period for the 7th-century martyrdom of Imam Hussein (AS) by the forces of the Caliph Yazid.
-- Putin: 80 Russian Firms Due in Tehran
Iran Inks Docs for Permanent SCO Membership
Iran has signed the document to become a permanent member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a central Asian security body, the Iranian foreign minister said.
“By signing the document for full membership of the SCO, now Iran has entered a new stage of various economic, commercial, transit and energy cooperation,” Hussein Amir-Abdollahian wrote on social media.
-- SCO Expansion Heralds New International Order
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping looked to rally Asian leaders behind a new “international order” as they met Friday for a summit aimed at challenging Western influence.
The meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Uzbekistan brought Putin and Xi together with the leaders of SCO members India, Pakistan, and four Central Asian nations, as well as the presidents of Iran and Turkey.
9416**9417
Follow us on Twitter @IrnaEnglish