** IRAN DAILY
--$17.8b MoU signed to boost Iran refining capacity by 600,000 bpd
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) worth $17.8 billion was signed in the presence of Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi, First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber and Oil Minister Javad Owji on Monday to construct two refineries with a total capacity of 600,000 barrels per day.
In the framework of the MoU, the 300,000-barrel Shahid Soleimani Petro-refinery in Bandar Abbas and the 300,000-barrel Morvarid-e Makran Refinery in Jask will be constructed in southern Iranian province of Hormuzgan.
Shahid Soleimani Petro-refinery, as the largest petrochemical complex in the country, will be built with a total investment of $11.1 billion by Bank Melli Iran, Tejarat Bank, Bank Refah Kargaran, Tadbir Energy Development Group, Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company, Ahdaf Investment Company, and National Iranian Oil Products Refining and Distribution Company.
-- India renews commitment to Iranian port of Chabahar
India has vowed its commitment to development works at Iran’s port of Chabahar as a top Indian minister says the port will remain key to New Delhi’s plans to boost trade with landlocked countries in Central Asia.
India’s Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said that India would work toward building an economical, faster, shorter trade route via Chabahar with the Central Asian countries, Press TV reported.
“This will rationalize our logistics cost, which will contribute towards the trade volume between the two regions,” said Sonowal during an event called “Chabahar Day” held in the Indian city of Mumbai and attended by high-level diplomatic delegation from the Central Asia region.
-- Alam-bandi: Muharram mourning ritual in Masouleh
The people of the northern province of Gilan hold various mourning rituals for the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (PBUH), the third Imam of Shia Muslims in the holy month of Muharram, which is the first month of the lunar calendar. The ceremonies, held in various urban and rural areas, are rooted in the religious culture of the local people of the province.
In the first 10 days of Muharram, a large number of people attend mosques and Husseiniyehs (congregation halls) to hold various mourning rituals, chtn.ir reported.
The traditional rituals of Muharram have been preserved with great commitment in many cities of the province. The mourning poems are usually recited in Gilaki language in Imamzadehs, mosques and other places.
** KAYHAN INTERNATIONAL
-- Sweden Continues to Violate Detained Iranian’s Rights
Iranian citizen Hamid Nouri has said that after 18 days since a court ruling against him in Sweden he has not yet received the verdict.
Nouri said in a brief phone call with the Iranian embassy in Sweden on Sunday that he has not read the verdict of his life imprisonment, while he had only 21 days to protest.
The Swedish court reportedly held 92 hearing sessions and sentenced the Iranian national to life imprisonment 18 days ago.
Nouri has been detained in Sweden since October 2019. He spent some of the incarceration terms in solitary confinement and was deprived of the right to choose a lawyer, contact or visit with his family members, meet alleged witnesses, and even visit a doctor for his health issues.
-- Inflation Begins to Strain Finances of Young, Low-Income Americans
As high inflation forces Americans to spend more on gas and bills, young and low-income consumers are starting to feel financial pressure.
Generation Z consumers and those with low credit scores are falling behind on credit card and auto loan bills and accumulating credit card debt at a pace not seen since before the pandemic.
For instance, credit card balances for people ages 25 and younger rose by 30% in the second quarter from a year earlier, compared with an increase of just 11% among the broader population, according to a random sampling of 12.5 million U.S. credit files compiled by credit score company VantageScore. Balances for non-prime borrowers, or people with credit scores below 660, rose by nearly 25% over the same period.
-- Iran Win Two Golds on Final Day of World Taekwondo Championships
Iran claimed two gold medals and one silver on the final day of the World Taekwondo Cadet Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria on Sunday. In the men’s under-49 kg category final, Muhammadmehdi Saadati defeated Eunseok Lee of South Korea 2-0.
Bronze medals went to Dostan Nazhimkhanov of Kazakhstan and Bahadur Dostuyev of Azerbaijan. Iran claimed the last gold of the Championships in the men’s under-61kg, with Radin Zeinali victorious against Nika Gogoberidze of Georgia.
** TEHRAN TIMES
-- Iran-Taliban border clashes can be prevented
The unfamiliarity of the Taliban forces with the nuances of border issues has once again caused completely preventable clashes on the border with Iran, which has so far exercised restraint to contain the situation.
On Sunday, Afghan news media broke the news that clashes took place between the border guards of Iran and the Taliban in the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan-Baluchistan.
Iran confirmed the news and moved quickly to prevent the issue from spiraling out of control.
-- Iran U23 football team withdraw from Islamic Solidarity Games
Iran U23 football team will not participate at the 2021 Islamic Solidarity Games, Faraz Fatemi, sporting director of the team, has confirmed the news is correct.
“The Iranian clubs have previously announced their readiness to cooperate with U23 football team but they don’t release their players to join us for the friendly matches,” Fatemi said.
“We decided not to participate at the 2021 Islamic Solidarity Games. We wanted to take part at the Games to prepare our team for the 2024 Olympic Games qualification but we cannot participate in the competition with an incomplete team,” he added.
-- Mausoleum, where ‘Napoleon of Persia’ is laid to rest
Elsewhere in Iran, Nader Shah (August 1688 – 19 June 1747) might be considered someone like a historical tyrant. But here he is a national hero.
He reformed Iran’s military forces and utterly defeated Afghans in a series of brilliant victories, after which he restored Tahmasp to the Iranian throne.
Born Nader Qoli Beg, Nader created an Iranian empire that stretched from the Indus River to the Caucasus Mountains. He is widely considered one of the most powerful rulers in the history of the nation. He assumed power when a period of chaos overwhelmed Iran.
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