Headlines

* Karbaschi: Free soon?
* Dollar: Jump to 525-540 tomans
* Economy: Rial recovers as traders arrested
* Art: Tribute to Shahnameh
* Performance: Glass & Wilson do Rumi
* Soccer: New players invited
* Photo: Iran's lethal weapon
* Music: Aref's "Soltan-e Qalb-ha"

THE WEB

* ParsDance: All about Persian dance music. It has the latest real audio clips from some of the most popular Iranian pop singers. Forwarded by jafarigm@email.msn.com

Any interesting web sites you would like to suggest?
Email us at Times@iranian.com

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KARBASCHI

* Karbaschi to be freed - Paper, (AP) - Student supporters of Tehran's jailed mayor canceled a planned protest in the capital after a government-run newspaper reported Monday that the moderate politician might soon be freed. The cancellation averts, at least for the moment, a confrontation between the students and hard-line opponents of Mayor Gholamhossein Karbaschi. The hard-liners had warned the students against airing their grievances in the streets of Tehran. Karbaschi's backers are demanding his immediate release after his arrest April 4 on what they say are trumped-up corruption charges. Prosecutors have charged the mayor with embezzlement... full text

* Karbaschi's lawyer: "They won't let me see my client," (Hamshahri) ... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.

* Makhmalbaf: "I won't make any films until Karbaschi is freed," (Hamshahri)... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.

* Mohammad Reza Shajarian calls Karbaschi a "World class mayor", (Hamshahri) ... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.

* How the conservatives are trying to destroy Khatami's government, (Hamshahri)... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.

* For extensive Iranian media coverage of the Karbaschi affair go to ... NetIran's special news page

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IRAN-U.S.

* Dear Secretary Albright

This week the U.S. State Department will be reviewing its law which requires Iranians to be fingerprinted and photographed upon their entry into the U.S. It is very important that Iranian-American and Iranian immigrants make their voice heard at the State Department, and inform the secretary that this is a very humiliating process. Please sign the letter below and email to Secretary Albright at: secretary@state.gov

Thank you very much for your support

Goli Ameri
Iranian-American Republican Council (IARC)
<ameri@pop.mindspring.com>

Letter:

The Honorable Madeline Albright
Secretary of State
United States Department of State

Dear Ms. Albright:

We understand that this week the State Department will undertake reviewing the law which requires Iranian civilians to be fingerprinted and photographed on entry to the United States. The Iranian-American community urges you to change the law, which has humiliated and distressed scores of Iranians coming to the United States.

These Iranians are the relatives and friends of this nationís citizens and legal aliens, and in order to visit their families, they already have to undergo a great deal of hardship to even gain entry into the U.S. To treat them like criminals upon their arrival is a slap in the face to over 1.5 million Americans of Iranian descent and Iranian immigrants living in the United States.

We are just as concerned as you regarding the potential threats of terrorism. It seems to us, however, that once your consular offices make that judgment call, chastening these people accomplishes nothing but tarnish the goodwill the Iranian-American community harbors for this great land.

We thank you for your concern.

MAILTO:secretary@state.gov

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FEATURES

* UN: Iran tougher on Iraq smuggling, (AP) - Iran appears to be cracking down on an illegal oil smuggling operation that was projected to earn neighboring Iraq up to $120 million this year, U.N. and other sources said Monday. A U.S.-led multinational naval force patrols the Persian Gulf to intercept ships carrying Iraqi oil in violation of economic sanctions imposed after Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait, which sparked the Gulf War... full text

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NEWS

* Iran, Iraq to free all POWs within months - Tehran, (Reuters) - A senior Iranian military official expressed hope on Monday that Iran and Iraq would exchange all remaining prisoners from their 1980-88 war within months. Brigadier-General Abdollah Najafi, Iran's top official for POW affairs, said Iraq still held an unspecified number of Iranian prisoners after the release last week of 5,584 Iraqis and 319 Iranians, the Iranian news agency IRNA said... full text

* Iran starts military exercise in southern Persian Gulf, (Reuters) - Iran began nine days of military exercises in southern Persian Gulf waters on Sunday with 15,000 troops and three submarines -- marking the first time it was operating its three Russian-built submarines together. The official Iranian news agency IRNA quoted the deputy commander of the first zone of the naval forces of the army, Rear-Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, as saying the ``Ettehad'' (Unity) manoeuvres started in the Persian Gulf on Sunday morning... full text

* Earthquake kills 12 people , (AP) - Families and rescue workers abandoned their search Saturday for survivors of an earthquake that killed 12 people, flattened a dozen villages and left more than 1,500 people homeless in this remote northeastern region. Friday's magnitude-5.9 quake destroyed more than 600 homes and shook dozens of villages in an area stretching 110 miles from the cities of Birjand to Gonabad in Khorasan province. Thirty people were injured, Mohammad Abbasi, the mayor of Sarbisheh, one of the worst hit towns, told the official Islamic Republic News Agency... full text

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HUMAN RIGHTS

* Iran rejects U.N. criticism on human rights, (Reuters) - Iran has rejected a U.N. report criticising its human rights record, saying it ignored the country's religious and cultural character. The Iranian news agency IRNA on Friday quoted foreign ministry spokesman Mahmoud Mohammadi as saying the U.N. special investigator who prepared the report ``had failed to take into account the issue of diversity of cultures.'' ... full text

ECONOMY

* Rial recovers as currency traders arrested, (Reuters) - The Iranian rial recovered slightly on Monday after police arrested illegal currency traders in Tehran following a 17 percent fall in the past few days. The fall of the currency from 5,250 rials to the dollar on Saturday to a low of 6,300 rials late on Sunday followed a government decision last week to raise the exchange rate at which state banks sell dollars to travellers going abroad... full text

* Official urges Iran to lift oil output ability, (Reuters) - Iran should increase its oil production capacity to meet growing domestic demand and keep its share of the world oil market, an Iranian oil official said in remarks carried by the state news agency IRNA on Sunday. ``To have a share in meeting the world's gas and oil needs in the future and to earn more foreign exchange revenues to spur growth in its economy, Iran should boost its capacity,'' said Hojatollah Ghanimifard, director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) for international affairs... full text

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DOLLAR RATE

Jump to 525-540 tomans

* To send money to Iran, the rate is 525-540 tomans per dollar, depending on how much you wish to send.

* To send money out of Iran, the rate is 550 tomans per dollar.

Source: Sehaty Foreign Exchange, call in U.S.: 602-595-0777 or 500-288-8881. Preferntial rates for readers of The Iranian Times. Mention this code: BAJ 07

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SPORTS

* New players invited to practice with national soccer team, (Hamshahri) ... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.

"Dream Team" IRAN -- World Cup tickets now available!

Sportestan Publishing (USA)
ish@sportestan.com
Tel: 650-473-9792

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SATIRE

Cheesey politics

* Cheese and politics do mix. But keep a safe distance... click here

Got something to make us smile?
Send it to Times@iranian.com

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POETRY

* Parastoohaa-ye bahaari... a poem by Haydeh Razaghi

* Fereydoun Moshiri on CD

Fereydoun Moshiri's poetry reading last October in Berkeley, California, is now available on CD. For more information and orders, contact Radio Havaye Tazeh at: 415-673-4726.

Listen to Moshiri's reading of "Kucheh"... here's the poem's text

* Contest

Omar Khayyam Poetry Society invites you to enter our poetry contest. Prizes: First place $100, Second $75, Third $50. Winners will be announced and printed in THE IRANIAN in June 1998.

Subject: Longing places, memories, love

Format: Poems must be in English and emailed to <matteof@msn.com>. Include your name, address and phone number.

Deadline: May 10, 1998

Entry fee: $5 for up to three poems. You may send cash or check payable to R. Macroberts. Send to 1045 Walnut Grove, Rochester Hills, MI 48306, USA.

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ARTS

* On Wednesday, April 15 UCLA Center for the Performing Arts will present the premiere release of Monsters of Grace, (version 1.0) featuring scenes from a new digital opera in three dimensions by composer Philip Glass and director/designer Robert Wilson, creators of Einstein on the Beach, a landmark in 20th Century theater.... "Monsters of Grace" is scored for live amplified voices, woodwinds, keyboards, Macintosh computers, MIDI interface and custom-designed sampled Persian and other Middle-Eastern string and percussion instruments. The libretto for Monsters of Grace is based on the 13th century poetry of Jalaluddin Rumi, one of the worldÕs great poets and mystics who is credited to be the original whirling dervish... full text... Forwarded by nima@artnet.net

* The 41st San Francisco International Film Festival is scheduled from April 23 to May 7. There are two Iranian films; "Leila" by Dariush Mehrjui and "Season Five" a coproduction of Iran & France directed by Rafi Pitts. The full film guides is on line at: www.sfiff.org/fest98... For festival information, call 415-931-film.

* Iranian films in Washington DC: A festival of some recent Iranian films is planned in Washington, DC, during March/April 1998. The films are shown at the 300-seat Meyer Auditorium of the Freer Gallery. Tickets are free and can be obtained (up to two per person) on a first-come-first-served basis one hour prior to the program. Films being shown: March 8/13: Leila (Dariush Mehrjui), March 20/22: Det Means Girl (Abolfazl Jalili), March 27/29: Gabbeh (Mohsen Makhmalbaf), April 3: Beyond Fire (Kianoush Ayyari), April 5: A True Story (Jalili), April 17: The Abadanis (Kiarostami), April 26: Taste of Cherries (Kiarostami).

* "Taste of Cherry" U.S. screen schedules from the official Zeitgeist Film site... click here...Thanks to Payman Arabshahi <payman@fermi.jpl.nasa.gov>

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THE IRANIAN

Ferdowsi's Shahnameh & the
Contemporary Iranian Artist

More than a dozen artists in Iran paint their tribute to the Shahnameh1,000 years after it was completed by Ferdowsi. Compiled and designed by Yari Ostovany.. go to feature

THE IRANIAN Cover Stories

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

Lethal weapon

* Iran's lethal weapon in World Cup 98: Khodad Azizi... full image

Got any interesting photos?
Send them to Times@iranian.com

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NEED A BIOCHEMIST?

Seeking biotechnology or biostatistics position

I am a recent graduate with a master's degree in statistics. I have extensive knowledge of programming in SAS, SPSS, and MINITAB softwares in Unix, Windows, and mainframe environments. My undergraduate background is in biology and mathematics, which is why I am looking for a job in the biotechnology or biostatistics field as an entry-level employee. If there's anyone on this mailing list who is involved in the aforementioned fields or has some experience dealing with pharmaceutical companies, please email me at mazhar@students.uwf.edu. Thanks in advance.

Sincerely,

Mehran Azhar

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LETTERS

Lily Afshar: Uncommon master

I read the good review that you had for Lily Afshar and her classical guitar performances. I was hoping you would document a personal interview with her too. But I did NOT see one. Guitar is an uncommon instrument among women in general, let alone mastery of it for an Iranian woman at International level. Talking to many friends and family members we thought It would be real interesting to see what motivated her and get to know her a little bit better rather than counting her awards. Shahram Sadri <shah.sadri@amd.com>

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BOOKSTORE

Book of the week

Khaterat-e Amirteymur Kalali
Edited by Habib Ladjevardi
1997, Iranian Oral History Project
Harvard University's Center for Middle Eastern Studies
Available from Iranbooks

Memoirs of Mohammad Ebrahim Amirteymour Kalali -- also known as Sardar Nosratwas a tribal leader, Majles deputy, and cabinet minister during Reza Shah and Mohammad Reza Shah's reign.
See feature in THE IRANIAN. Click here

THE IRANIAN Bookstore

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ACADEMIC

* Iran and the Region: Past, Present and Future Relations with Its Neighbors April 24-25, 1998 Portland, Oregon, USA The Center for Iranian Research and Analysis (CIRA) will hold its 16th annual conference in association with Portland State University's Middle East Center. For more information visit the CIRA website <http://www-adm.pdx.edu/user/mesc/cira/>.

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NOSTALGIA

* Shohreh Aghdashlou and Behrooz

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MUSIC

* Aref, "Soltan-e Qalb-ha"

(Get RealAudio)

Greatest pop CDs ON SALE!

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QUOTE UNQUOTE

Extra slap

These Iranians [harassed at U.S. airports] are the relatives and friends of this nation's citizens and legal aliens, and in order to visit their families, they already have to undergo a great deal of hardship to even gain entry into the U.S. To treat them like criminals upon their arrival is a slap in the face to over 1.5 million Americans of Iranian descent and Iranian immigrants living in the United States.

Iranian-American Republican Council
"Letter to Secretray of State Madeline Albright"
April 13, 1998

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