**IRAN DAILY
--Transit across Iran up 8%: Official
The secretary of Transit Development Working Group of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development Ministry announced that transit across Iran has increased eight percent during the current Iranian year (started March 21, 2022).
Amin Tarfa said on Tuesday that removing internal process obstacles which lead to delay in the transit of cargo is on agenda for his working group.
-- Iran’s motorcycle production up 80% in nine months to late December
Iran reported a major increase in its motorbike production in the nine months to late December as local manufacturers seek to ramp up exports to neighboring countries where cheap Chinese products dominate the markets. Secretary of Iran’s Association of Motorbike Industry said on Thursday that total motorcycle production in the country had reached more than 300,000 units over March-December last year, up 80% from the same period in 2021.
Bahman Zia’ Moqaddam said that annual output of motorcycles in Iran is expected to increase by more than a half year on year to reach over 400,000 units in the calendar year to late March.
-- Tang Mud Volcano: A rare natural phenomenon in Sistan and Baluchestan Province
Looking for some fun with a rare natural phenomenon in your trip to Sistan and Baluchestan Province? The extraordinary Tang Mud Volcano (also known as Gelafshan), located in Bandar-e Tang region, around 121km from Chabahar, astonishes visitors with its exceptional geological features.
How Tang Mud Volcano looks
In a vast plain, a soft volcano calls your attention confidently. As you climb up the Gelafshan you should not worry about the dangers a volcano might cause, because Gelafshan spews out no lava. As you reach the top of the hill, you will be astonished by what you behold. A muddy volcano! Don’t hesitate to touch it, or even build toys out of it. Volcano ejects grey mud playfully. You can enjoy the alternating eruption of the mud every 10 to 15 minutes, as well as smooth mud bubbles. Moreover, mud springs cascading gently around the volcano call to mind chocolate sauce flowing down a cake, iranontour.com reported.
**KAYHAN INTERNATIONAL
-- Persian Translation of ‘Lubna and Pebble’ Reaches Iranian Bookstores
Children’s picture book ‘Lubna and Pebble’ (2019) authored by writer and academic Wendy Meddour and illustrated by Daniel Egnéus has been published in Persian and is available in Iranian bookstores.
This acclaimed juvenile fiction which was listed in TIME Magazine’s Top Ten Children’s Books, has been translated into Persian by Pegah Sharafi. Tehran-based Soroush Publishing has released ‘Lubna and Pebble’ in 32 color pages.
-- Iran’s Trade With Turkey Close to $5bn
Iran and Turkey traded $4.93 billion worth of goods from the beginning of 2022 to the end of November to register a 16.24% year-on-year rise, latest data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute show.
Iran’s exports stood at $2.71 billion, up 22.3% while imports grew by 9.58% to $2.21 billion.
Bilateral trade stood at $437.93 million in November, down 14.38%, with Turkish exports at $225.59 million, up 3.08%, and Iranian exports at $212.33 million, registering a 27.44% fall.
-- Tehran Holds International Document Restoration Workshops
The National Library and Archives Organization of Iran has launched 23 international workshops to teach and publish the knowledge about restoration, protection and preservation of documents. Titled, “Pathology and Restoration of Paper Works”, the training course is aimed at students working on documents, experts of museums and archival centers. It’s the second training workshop.
It is the second training workshop held recently by the General Administration for Restoration and Conservation of the National Library and Archives Organization of Iran in Tehran.
** TEHRAN TIMES
-- Iranian minister attends event naming Nouakchott 2023 Islamic Culture Capital
Iran’s Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Mohammad-Mehdi Esmaeili, attended a meeting on Friday in Nouakchott, Mauritania to celebrate the city as the Culture Capital of the Islamic World for 2023.
In a meeting with Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, Esmaeili relayed a message to him of congratulations on behalf of President Ebrahim Raisi, and said that Iran recognizes the potential in the Islamic, Arab and African nations and welcomes any new plan to expand relations with the countries.
--Iran among world’s top agro-food exporters in 2021: FAO
Based on the data released by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Iran has been among the top exporters of agricultural products in the world during 2021, IRNA reported.
Iran was the world’s top exporter of figs in the mentioned year, exporting 8,763 tons of the product in 2021. Austria and Spain occupied the second and third places, respectively.
The Islamic Republic was also the world’s second-biggest pistachio exporter in the year under review after the U.S. The country exported 136,000 tons of pistachios to foreign destinations in the mentioned year.
-- Taq-e Bostan marks 91 years on national heritage list
On Thursday, Taq-e Bostan, a magnificent Sassanid site in western Iran that embraces extraordinary bas-relief carvings, marked the 91st anniversary of its registration on the national list for cultural heritage. Taq-e Bostan is home to incredible Persian heritage on the base of a towering cliff, featuring extraordinary reliefs of ancient victorious kings.
Last month, Kermanshah’s tourism chief said his directory was preparing to apply to UNESCO for listing a Sassanid archeological landscape on the World Heritage list.
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