** Iran Daily
-- Iran to become key part of Asia in getting global financial hub: Official
Asia is poised to turn into the hub for the global economy and Iran will be playing an important part in that hub, said Iran’s deputy foreign minister for economic affairs, Mehdi Safari.
Safari made the remarks in an interview with Press TV’s Insight show, saying a new Asia-centric global economic order is rapidly taking shape.
He said the Asian continent is on track to become the hub for the global economy and Iran will be one of the key components of this hub, adding that the move from uni-polarity to multi-polarity is reshaping the global economy.
-- Iran, FAO launch e-learning course on dryland management
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) launched an e-learning course that will inspire practitioners to champion transformational dryland forest management strategies in close cooperation with Iranian Ministry of Agriculture.
Organized by the Committee on Forestry Working Group on Dryland Forests and Agrosilvopastoral Systems, the course was developed through the joint efforts of the Natural Resources and Watershed Management Organization of the Ministry of Agriculture of Iran and 15 other partners.
-- Ferdows Grand Mosque symbolizes city grandeur
The Grand Mosque of Ferdows in the eastern Iranian province of South Khorasan is among the country’s historical monuments.
The mosque is situated in the southwest of Toon archaeological site.
Some researchers believe that this mosque was built during the Seljuk Dynasty in the 11th century; others, however, say it was constructed in the 7th century. The porch of the mosque is 16 meters high. The decorative brick of this porch repeats a geometric shape. There are also paintings on the stucco in the interior. The mosque has a large shabestan (prayer hall) with columns of two meters in diameter. Some 100 columns, which are as tall as 5.2 meters, hold the heavy ceiling of this shabestan.
** Kayhan International
-- UAE is Largest Customer of Iranian Rugs
The United Arab Emirates is the world’s largest buyer of Iranian hand-woven carpets.
Japan, Germany, the UK, China, Australia, India, and the United States are other major buyers.
Iran’s National Carpet Center (INCC) recently announced that the country’s hand-woven carpet production and exports rose about 10 percent in the last Iranian calendar year which ended on March 20.
-- Iranian Arabs Celebrate Qarqiyan
In the southwestern provinces of Iran, Arab communities have celebrated Garghiyan or Qarqiyan ritual for centuries with children, full of vigor and enthusiasm, leading the festivities with spirited zeal. This ritual, also present in other countries like Bahrain, Kuwait, and Iraq, is in honor of the birthday of the second Shia Imam, Imam Hassan Mojtabi (AS). It is held in the holy month of Ramadan.
Garghiyan is a lively and colorful celebration that children in the community normally attend. They put on traditional clothing as they parade through the streets after Maghrib and Isha prayers, reciting some poems and collecting treats from locals.
-- Official: Annual Exports Top $52.5bn
Iran’s deputy minister of industry, mine and trade for general industries affairs Muhammad Mehdi Baradaran has put the value of the country’s total exports in the Persian calendar year of 1401 (March 2022- March 2023) at $52.5 billion. Baradaran also put the exports value of the country a year earlier at $37.5 billion.
Speaking in the honoring ceremony of the exemplary exporters of Khorasan Razavi province on Thursday, Baradaran stated that interacting with various countries of the world, especially neighboring countries, is a top priority of the administration of President Ebrahim Raisi.
** Tehran Times
-- CIA chief frustrated over Saudi deal with Iran
CIA Director William Burns has expressed frustration to Saudi officials over the kingdom's agreement to restore ties with Iran, which was brokered by China in March, according to sources who spoke to the Wall Street Journal. Burns has told Saudi officials that the United States was caught off guard, after the kingdom agreed to a normalization deal with Iran.
During an unannounced trip to Saudi Arabia this week, Burns said Washington “felt blindsided” by its renewed diplomacy with both Iran and Syria, multiple unnamed sources told the Journal on Thursday.
-- Health sector holds 40% share of scientific articles
From some 78,000 articles published by Iranian scientists, around 40 percent, equaling 31,000 articles, are related to the health sector, Health Minister Bahram Einollahi has said. Referring to the achievements and progress made after the victory of the Islamic Revolution in various fields, especially in the field of health, he said: “One of the biggest achievements of the country after the Islamic Revolution is related to health.
Without a doubt, before the Revolution, the country was totally dependent in this field in such a way that we had to get help from them even in the smallest health and treatment issues,” IRNA quoted Einollahi as saying.
-- 400-year-old caravanserai now open to sightseers after decades of being prison
The 400-year-old caravanserai of Semnan, which served as a prison for some four decades, has opened its doors to people. A host of judicial, tourism, and local officials as well as cultural heritage advocates attended the inauguration ceremony held at the ancient caravanserai on Thursday.
Back in January, the Shah Abbasi caravanserai was handed over to the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts. After years of waiting, and upon the order of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the ancient property was finally delivered to the tourism ministry, according to Semnan’s Governor-General Seyyed Mohammadreza Hashemi. The caravanserai was at the disposal of the Prisons Organization for many years, the official said.
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