*** IRAN DAILY
-- Iran’s economic growth at 5.1% in nine months to December: Report
Iran’s economy grew by over 5% in the nine months to December 21, 2021, despite continued pressure on the country because of American sanctions, said a report.
The report by Fars News Agency said that Iran’s gross domestic product (GDP) reached 54,970 trillion rials over March-December last year, an increase of 5.1% against the similar period in 2020.
Citing figures from the Iranian government’s statistics agency (SCI), the report indicated that the GDP growth calculations were based on fixed prices reported in 2011 when the US dollar was worth around 120,000 Iranian rials.
Currency prices have more than doubled since then and the GDP figure reported for Iran for the March-December 2021 period is currently equal to $215.5 billion.
-- Iran raises minimum wage for workers by nearly 60%
Iran increased minimum wage payable to workers by nearly 60% as a government that came to office in August moves ahead with plans to bridge economic gaps for low-paid people in the country.
Reports published in the local media said that minimum wage payable to workers has increased to 1.393 million rials per day and 41.79 million rials ($164) per month for the calendar year starting March 21, Press TV wrote.
The figures represent an increase of 57.4% on the current Iranian year. A maximum wage payable under Iran’s labor law and regulations approved by the government will be seven times the minimum wage.
-- Cypress of Zakaria in Kerman Province registered as thousandth natural heritage of Iran
The Cypress of Zakaria, a Persian cypress tree in Soghan district of Arzuiyeh, southeastern province of Kerman, was registered as the thousandth natural heritage of the country, said director general of the province’s Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization.
Fereydoun Faali added that the ancient tree is located next to the Shrine of Imamzadeh Shahzadeh Zakaria, pointing out that the trunk of the cypress tree is very thick and its age is estimated to be around 1,500 to 1,600 years, IRNA reported.
“Registration of the Cypress of Zakaria, as the thousandth natural heritage of the country, on Iran’s National Heritage List is considered as an honor for the people of Kerman Province”, he said.
*** KAYHAN INTERNATIONAL
-- Iran Will Never Give Up Elements of National Power
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei stressed on Thursday that Iran will not give up elements of “national strength”, such as nuclear progress and regional influence.
“Regional presence gives us strategic depth and more national strength. Why should we give it up?” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
“Nuclear scientific progress is also related to meeting the needs of the country in the near future, and if we give it up, from whom and where we should ask for that in a few years?”
Reducing defensive capabilities in compliance with what the “enemy” wants is “naive and amateurish”, the Leader said. “Over time, these weak and flawed proposals have been made and all were revocable and they were revoked, and if those who wanted to cut off some arms of national strength were allowed to do so, Iran would be in great danger today.”
-- ECO Elects Iran as Rotating Head of ECO Chamber of Commerce
Iran has been elected as the rotating head of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Chamber of Commerce.
The decision was made during the organization’s 19th General Assembly online.
Turkey handed its three-year chairmanship of the ECO Chamber of Commerce to Iran during the virtual meeting.
The Economic Cooperation Organization or ECO is an Asian political and economic intergovernmental organization that was founded in 1985 in Tehran by the leaders of Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey.
-- Iran Beat India at Asian Women’s Junior Handball Championship
Iran have defeated India 42-37 in the 2022 Asian Women’s Junior Handball Championship. The Iranian team will meet Thailand on Saturday.
The 2022 Asian Women’s Junior Handball Championship has brought five teams, namely Kazakhstan, Iran, India, Uzbekistan and Thailand together in Almaty, Kazakhstan from March 7 to 14. Iran was defeated against Kazakhstan 30-24.
*** TEHRAN TIMES
-- Nezami intl. prize awarded to top Iranian artists, literati
Iran’s leading artists and literati were awarded the first Nezami international prize in Tehran on Thursday, IRNA reported. The prize was given to calligrapher Keykhosro Khorush, miniaturist Mohammad-Baqer Aqamiri, stage director Behruz Gharibpur, and the family of the late musician Hossein Dehlavi.
Scholars and researchers Mohammad Roshan-Dashti, Mehdi Mohabati, and Abdolmajid Arfaei as well as singers Saeid Shafieiun and Kurosh Asadpur, and musician Hatam Asgari Farahi also received the award.
-- Iranian transport minister visits Baku to pursue expansion of ties
Iranian Transport and Urban Development Minister Rostam Qasemi traveled to Azerbaijan on top of a high-ranking delegation on Thursday to attend the two countries’ 15th Joint Economic Committee meeting.
As reported by the portal of the ministry, Qasemi who is the co-chairman of the Iran-Azerbaijan Joint Economic Committee, met with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev on Friday. Negotiations on increasing transport cooperation as well as the volume of trade between the two countries are among the major goals of the Iranian delegation’s visit to the neighboring country.
-- JICA to install anti-seismic showcases at National Museum of Iran
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has agreed to design and install anti-seismic showcases at the vast National Museum of Iran, which is home to countless relics representing the juicy history of the Iranian plateau.
The National Museum of Iran and JICA finalized the support through an MoU signed on March 8 in a session attended by Tokyo’s ambassador to Tehran Ikawa Kazutoshi, JICA Senior Representative in Tehran Taro Azuma, and Director General of Museums and Historical-Cultural Property Morteza Adibzadeh, and Chairman of the National Committee of Iranian Museums (ICOM) Seyed Ahmad Mohit Tabatabai.
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