*** IRAN DAILY
--Iran FM meets UN chief, Slovenian president in Munich
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held separate meetings with UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Slovenian President Borut Pahor in Germany on Friday.
The meetings were held on the sidelines of the 58th Munich Security Conference (MSC), according to Iran’s Foreign Ministry’s official website.
Amir-Abdollahian is in Munich to attend the conference. Iran usually attends the security conference in order to discuss matters of mutual interest with other countries.
-- Japan’s top refiner mulls resuming oil imports from Iran
The top crude oil refiner in Japan declared it has plans to resume oil imports from Iran amid growing interest among Asian peers to follow the suit.
Chairman of Eneos Holdings Inc Tsutomu Sugimori said on Thursday that the Japanese refiner will consider resuming oil imports from Iran if talks between Tehran and world powers to revive a 2015 nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, are successful, Press TV wrote.
The announcement comes amid Japan’s efforts to prevent a sharp rise in fuel prices as the country fears a collapse of talks over Iran nuclear deal and rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine could impact a global market already affected by the spread of the coronavirus.
-- Handicraft workshops, exhibition launched in Gilan Province
Two handicraft workshops were launched in Bandar Anzali, northern province of Gilan, on Thursday in a ceremony attended by a number of provincial officials.
Speaking in the inaugural ceremony, Vali Jahani, head of Gilan Province’s Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization, said that generation of jobs in handicrafts sector of Gilan Province in a year designated as “Year of Production, Support and Elimination of Obstacles” by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, is among the top priorities of the organization.
*** TEHRAN TIMES
-- Iran’s Rights Official: EU Resolution Not Based on Facts
An Iranian official on Friday denounced the European Parliament’s resolution on death sentence in Iran, saying it is based on political goals that do not represent reality on the ground.
Kazem Gharibabadi, the secretary-general of Iran’s Human Rights Office, cited the fact that death sentence is used in 55 countries, encouraging European states to respect the laws and cultural variety of other countries.
According to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the death penalty is permissible in capital crimes, the Iranian official said. He said the Europeans should avoid forcing other countries to accept and implement EU standards which violated the sovereignty of those states.
-- Turkey, Iran Judo Federation Sign MoU
Judo federations of Iran and Turkey sign an MoU to set up joint practicing camps and coach improvement classes.Head of Iran Judo Federation Arash Mir-Esmaeili travelled to Turkey at the invitation of his Turkey counterpart Sezer Huysuz.
The two met on Thursday and signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation between the two national federations. They agreed to set up joint practicing camp of national judo teams soon and to improve technical level of Iranian and Turkish coaches.
-- IMIDRO: Iran’s Aluminum Output Rises 24%
Iran has reported a significant surge in aluminum output in the current calendar year as the country continues to enjoy higher activity in its metals and mining sector.
Figures published by Iran’s state-run metals and mining holding IMIDRO showed that aluminum production by major Iranian smelters had reached over 0.453 million metric tons (mt) in the 10 months to January 20.
The figure was an increase of 24% from the similar period in 2021, said the IMIDRO report.
*** KAYHAN INTERNATIONAL
-- IRGC Navy chief: Persian Gulf security is due to intelligence superiority
Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corp (IRGC) Navy said on Friday that security in the Persian Gulf is owed to intelligence superiority by Iran, highlighting preparation for defending the territorial waters and the country’s security interests.
Admiral Alireza Tangsiri made the remarks while visiting IRGC naval units in the northern Persian Gulf region to closely monitor combat readiness and capability, operations of floating, missile, forest and UAV units, as well as the latest tactics and upgraded plans.
-- Bank loans to knowledge-based companies up 127% in 10 months on year
The loans paid by the banks to the knowledge-based companies during the first ten months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2021-January 20, 2022) have been 127 percent more than the loans paid to these companies in the same period of time in the past year.
According to the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) data, Iranian banking system has paid 509.4 trillion rials (about $1.959 billion) of facilities to 1,176 knowledge-based companies during the ten-month period of this year.
-- UNWTO offers support to member states for tourism revival
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has said it provides support with member states to gain tourism revival.
“UNWTO is supporting communities as they prepare to welcome visitors back and realize the potential of tourism to kickstart recovery and drive sustainable and inclusive growth,” the UN body said in a press release. The World Tourism Organization has said it has developed technical assistance packages to help revive COVID-battered tourism businesses.
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