** IRNA DAILY
-- Iran officially raises interest rate to 23%
The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has officially raised the cap on the interest rates that banks in the country can charge weeks after media reports suggested the government is trying to use the monetary policy instrument to contain the rising inflation.
A report by the IRIB News said the interest rate on loans given by the state and private banks in the Islamic Republic had been increased to 23% while the rate of deposits rose to 22.5%.
-- Iran’s Air Defense Force ready to counter any threat: Commander
The commander of the Iranian Army’s Air Defense Force said his forces are fully prepared to counter any threat against the country’s secure skies by making use of its state-of-the-art homegrown defense systems and radars.
Making the remarks in an address to a number of army commanders, Brigadier General Alireza Sabahi-Fard added Iran enjoys a strong deterrence thanks to the strategic goals established by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and the expertise of Iranian youths.
-- Iran present at Madrid tourism exhibition from five provinces: Deputy minister
Iranian tourism specialists are present at Fitur 2023 exhibition in Madrid, Spain, from five provinces, according to Ali Asghar Shalbafian, deputy minister of tourism.
Speaking on the sidelines of setting up Iran’s pavilion in the 43rd Fitur International Tourism Exhibition, which began on January 18 and ended on January 22, 2023, in Spain, Shalbafian said that Iran’s pavilion in this international event received a special welcome from visitors and enthusiasts who came from across the tourism industry.
** KAYHAN INTERNATIONAL
-- Exhibition Displays Iranian Cinema in Retrospect
Iran’s Cinema Museum is slated to launch an exhibition of Fajr Film Festival nostalgias.
The exhibition will launch at the Cinematograph Hall of the museum on the sidelines of the 41st edition of Fajr Film Festival.
The event includes the screening program of the first periods of the festival, administrative letters of the festival related to the year 1982, Simorgh Awards, daily bulletins related to the first periods, entrance cards to popular cinemas, cinema tickets and photos of long queues to see movies.
-- Iran Win CAFA Women’s Futsal Championship
Iran’s women’s futsal team became champions of the 2023 CAFA Women’s Futsal Championship on Monday after beating the hosts Uzbekistan.
Iran’s national women’s futsal team faced the host team of Uzbekistan in the final match of the 2023 CAFA Women’s Futsal Championship on Monday and won 5-4.
Sara Shirbeigi and Mahsa Kamali (two goals each) and Fereshte Karimi scored for Iran in the match.
-- ‘Iran’s Air Defense Force Ready to Counter Any Threat’
The commander of the Iranian Army’s Air Defense Force Brigadier General Alireza Sabahi-Fard says his forces are fully prepared to counter any threat against the country’s secure skies by making use of its state-of-the-art homegrown defense systems and radars.
Brigadier General Sabahi-Fard said Iran enjoys a strong deterrence thanks to the strategic goals established by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and the expertise of Iranian youths.
** TEHRAN TIMES
-- Fajr film festival to open as intl. lineup remains unpublicized due to “overseas war”
The 41st edition of the Fajr International Film Festival opens tomorrow as the organizers have refused to announce the international lineup in order to handle global media pressure on the entries to withdraw from the event. Speaking at a press conference on Monday, the festival president Mojtaba Amini called the global media pressure an “overseas war” launched to undermine the festival.
The festival is a major film event, which is organized every year to celebrate the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.
-- Despite sanctions, Iran’s oil output rises 140,000 bpd in 2022: EIA
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) in a recent report has put Iran’s average oil production in 2022 at 2.54 million barrels per day (bpd), 140,000 bpd more than the previous year.
Iran's oil production in 2021 was about 2.4 million bpd.
Based on the EIA report, dubbed “Short-term Energy Outlook”, the Islamic republic managed to produce 2.56 million bpd of crude oil on average in the last quarter of 2022.
-- Hegmataneh ensemble one step closer to being World Heritage
Iran has recently submitted an all-inclusive dossier on Hegmataneh ensemble and historical core of Hamedan to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization amid hopes to win a UNESCO status for the summer residence for Achaemenid kings, the deputy tourism minister has said.
In addition to Hegmetaneh, the dossier includes the historical bazaar of Hamedan, the mausoleum of Bu-Ali Sina (Avicenna), and other historical streets in this region, CHTN quoted Ali Darabi as saying on Tuesday.
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