THE IRANIAN
TIMES
Monday, March 16, 1998
Esfand 25, 1376
No. 435
Abu Saeed
Headlines
* Iran cracks down on Iraq's illegal shipments
of oil
* End of an era? "Kayhan Havaie" editor
resgins
* Report: Women in Iran in the past year
* Eid-didany = Eat 'til you're beat
* The Web: Noruz cards... here, there and everywhere!
* Lecture: "From Nezami to Puccini"
* Music: Lily Afshar's "24
Caprichos de Goya"
* Nostalgia: Googoosh's Farrah Fawcett hairdo
Index
| * Iran-U.S.:
Iraqi shipments * Features: Majlis elections * News: Kerman quake * Sports: Iran in U.S. * Economy: Khatami call * Dollar: 503 tomans * Women: 1376 report card * The press: Kayhan Havaie * Grant: "New Americans" * Film: Universities * Noruz: Tehranis ready * Darvag Theater: Noruz show |
THE WEB
* Noruz cards... here, there and everywhere!... IRNA has 180 Noruz cards which you can send electronically to anyone with an email address.... also you can find Noruz cards at Myiran.com site.
IRAN-U.S.
* Iran cracks down on Iraq's illegal shipments of oil, (Los Angeles Tiems) - In a major break for U.S. efforts to close loopholes in the economic embargo of Iraq, the government of Iran has launched a crackdown on sanctions-busting oil shipments that have earned Saddam Hussein's regime hundreds of millions of dollars over the past two years. The move is widely interpreted in Washington as a positive political gesture by Iran to the United States, according to senior U.S. officials and regional experts.... full text
* Iran moves to brush aside U.S. oil sanctions, (Reuters) - A senior Iranian oil official on Monday revealed a new string of oil and gas projects to be opened up to foreign firms who might then run the risk of running foul of U.S. trade sanctions. Mahmoud Mohaddes, exploration chief at the state-owned National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), told a petroleum conference packed with U.S and other Western executives that Iran was fully opening its doors to foreign investment in its vital oil and gas fields... full text
* Conoco says committed to business with Iran, (Reuters) - U.S. energy giant Conoco remains committed to doing business in Iran where U.S. sanctions have failed, Conoco's Chief Executive Archie Dunham said on Monday. ``We remain committed to doing business with Iran and other countries in the region,'' Dunham told an oil conference in Dubai, also attended by officials from the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC)... full text
* U.S. faces new fight over Iran with oil giant Royal Dutch/Shell, (Wall Street Journal) - March 16, 1998: The U.S. faces a new struggle over Iran with oil giant Royal Dutch/Shell Group and the landlocked Central Asian state of Turkmenistan. At issue is a 1,900-mile-long gas pipeline that Shell wants to build from Turkmenistan across Iran and into Turkey. Shell has won an exclusive mandate to market the line's planned throughput of 30 million cubic feet of gas per day in Turkey and Europe. "We've already decided that this project is feasible," Alan Weatherill, Shell's manager of the project, told executives at an international oil and gas conference in Turkmenistan. He said Shell geologists were going through Turkmenistan's gas-field data and believed it would be no problem to obtain supplies from the country's gas reserves, which by some counts are the world's fourth largest. Shell is moving aggressively into gas-fired power projects in Turkey, which the trans-Iran Turkmen gas line would help supply.
FEATURES
* Tehran by-elections to be decided in second round; pro-Khatami candidate in second place, (Hamshahri)... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.
* Majlis may eliminate run-off elections, (Hamshahri)... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.
* Papers quiz Khatami over economic cures, (Reuters) - Tehran newspapers on Monday praised President Mohammad Khatami for his frank comments on Iran's ``sick economy'' but said he should provide the people with more details on how to cure it. ``Although the president's open discussion of economic problems is commendable, he could have been even more open and consider economic problems in greater detail,'' said the daily Iran News in reaction to a Khatami interview broadcast on state television on Saturday... full text
NEWS
* Five killed, 50 injured in Kerman quake, (Reuters) - Five people were killed and 50 injured when a powerful earthquake rocked a carpet-weaving region in southeast Iran, international relief agencies and Iranian government reports said Sunday. Iranian state radio quoted the Interior Ministry's emergency headquarters as saying 15 villages had been damaged in the quake on Saturday night, which also cut off electricity and water supplies in several villages... full text
* Iran nuclear energy chief to visit Russia, (Reuters) - The head of Iran's nuclear energy programme will visit Moscow next month at the invitation of his Russian counterpart, a newspaper said on Sunday. ``Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation head Gholamreza Aghazadeh is due to leave here for Moscow next month on an official visit to Russia,'' the English-language Tehran Times newspaper said, quoting an unnamed ``informed source.'' ... full text
* Iran denies China severed nuclear cooperation, (Reuters) - Iran on Sunday denied that China had severed its nuclear cooperation with the Islamic republic, the official news agency IRNA said. ``Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Mahmoud Mohammadi here on Sunday termed as 'unsubstantiated propaganda' the recent statements by U.S. officials claiming the severance of nuclear cooperation between Iran and China,'' IRNA said... full text
* Tehran Symphony Orchestra performance on CD,(Hamshahri)... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.
ECONOMY
* Khatami calls for rehauling ``sick economy'', (Reuters) - Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, faced with growing dissatisfaction over the economy, called on Saturday for an overhaul of Iran's ``sick economy'' by boosting production and cutting dependence on oil. ``I extend my hands and seek the help of our people. I ask those to whom God has given wealth to invest and be satisfied with a just profit and to avoid over-consumption,'' Khatami said in an interview with Iranian television... full text... Hamshahri text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.
* Caviar exports: 62 million German marks, (Hamshahri)... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.
* Tehran Stock Exchange daily index
DOLLAR RATE
Unchanged at 503
* To send money to Iran, the rate is 503-510 tomans per dollar, depending on how much you wish to send.
* To send money out of Iran, the rate is 514 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
NORUZ
* Tehran gets ready to welcome Noruz tourists,(Hamshahri)... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.
* Noruz (window) shopping in Tehran,(Hamshahri)... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.
* Students will act as guides in 11 provinces during Noruz,(Hamshahri)... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.
* Noruz in Bay Area: The Persian Center in northern California invites families and friends of all generations to gather around our Haft-Sin table and begin our countdown to Persian New Year at 11:54:31 a.m.The celebration will last from 11-3 p.m. at the Cubberly Community Center 4000 Middlefield Road Palo Alto, CA. For information please call 408-260-2838 or send an email to Persian@CCnet.com. Call for children's Noruz art: In conjunction with the Persian Center's Noruz celebration in California's Bay Area, there will be a children's art exhibition. This is a wonderful opportunity for children to share their art work about Noruz. Children up to the age of 12 may submit works that relate to the theme: WHAT DOES NORUZ MEAN TO ME? First 25 submissions will be displayed at the Celebration in Palo Alto on Friday, March 20, 1998. PLEASE CONTACT HOMA HANJANI FOR MORE INFORMATION: 415-861-5714 OR EMAIL movissi@mfa.org
* All you need to know about Noruz: Persian Outpost has a special page on Noruz. It has a link to detailed information on Noruz traditions. Good read... Click here
* Noruz in Seattle: The association of Iranians in Washington state will host a celebration of Noruz, the Persian new year at the Seattle University's Campion Tower ballroom on March 22 at 6:00 PM. An unlimited buffet of delicious Persian foods and desserts will be served. Amoo Noruz will come and bring gifts for children. A fabulous Haft Seen will be on display. Also, there will be dancing, Persian music and a dance performance as well. This is a very successful annual event and tickets go fast! Tickets are on sale at most Persian stores and restaurants. Bijan Elahi <BElahi@InControl.com>
* Call for children's Noruz art: In conjunction with the Persian Center's Noruz celebration in California's Bay Area, there will be a children's art exhibition. This is a wonderful opportunity for children to share their art work about Noruz. Children up to the age of 12 may submit works that relate to the theme: WHAT DOES NORUZ MEAN TO ME? First 25 submissions will be displayed at the Celebration in Palo Alto on Friday, March 20, 1998. PLEASE CONTACT HOMA HANJANI FOR MORE INFORMATION: 415-861-5714 OR EMAIL movissi@mfa.org
* Send us news/annoucements about Noruz events in your community and we will post there here. Email to Times@iranian.com
DARVAG THEATER
Darvag's Noruz fundraiser in Berkeley
Saturday March 21, 1998 at 7pm at The UC Berkeley International House. Corner of Piedmont and Bancroft Way, Berkeley. Reservation/Information: (510) 466-5299. Traditional dinner catered by The Vault Restaurant (7:15-9 pm). Menu includes Sabzi-polo & Mahi (YEAH!!!!), Vegeterian dish, salad, tea & desert Traditional (upbeat!) music by Barbod Traditional dance by Shahrzad Dance Academy, including a rare dance performance by the memebers of Darvag theatre group!!!!! Dance until midnight to the sound of Bay Area's most popular DJ, H.K.!!!! Tickets: $30 adults, pre-show purchase $15 children (5-12) $35 purchased at the door
WOMEN
* Women in Iran in the past year: Detailed report from Hamshahri ... fulll text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.
THE PRESS
* End of an era? "Kayhan Havaie" editor resgins, (Hamshahri)... fulll text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.
GRANT
Fellowship for "New Americans"
* The Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans offers grants for up to two years of graduate study, at $20,000 each year, to 'New Americans', defined as any individual who has applied for naturalization, has been naturalized as a U.S. citizen, or is the child of two parents who are both naturalized citizens.
To be eligible, you must be at least twenty and not older than twenty-eight years of age as of Monday March 30, 1998, have a bachelor's degree or be in your final year of undergraduate study, and demonstrate the relevance of graduate education to your long-term career goals.
The deadline for completed applications is March 30, 1998. For more information contact Warren F. Ilchman at 212-333-9741, email pdsoros_fellows@sorosny.org.
THE IRANIAN
Eid-didany = Eat 'til you're beat
A very special Iranian New Year tradition
By Hamid Taghavi
During the Noruz round robin of visitations, you eat lots of nuts, fruits and pastries sitting after sitting in the course of your eid-didany, but there is no guilt afterwards. In fact, the hosts make sure there is guilt only if you don't eat. You get fatter every year until when your arteries clog up sufficiently and you drop dead. Then your family throws another big get-together with more great food -- dates, halva and chelo-kabob. (The difference between life and a funeral is that in life, first you eat and then you die, while in a funeral first somebody dies and then you eat.) You just eat your fair share to accelerate aging and contribute to the cycle of partying, dying and partying some more... Go to feature
THE IRANIAN Cover Stories
NOSTALGIA
* Googoosh's Farrah Fawcett hairdo
SPORTS
* Iran to wrestle in U.S. next month , (AP) - Iran will take part in the World Cup Freestyle Wrestling championships in the United States next month, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported Sunday. Iranian sports teams have visited the United States before, but such exchanges have been boosted by the success of the visit by U.S. wrestlers to Iran last month... full text
* National soccer players start training in France,(Hamshahri)... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.
* Hamshahri's Sports section, Monday... index 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
FILM
* First film/photo festival for universities in Iran,(Hamshahri)... full text in Persian... Get Persian fonts from Hamshahri or Payvand.
* Iranian films on International Channel: Four Iranian films are being shown on the International Channel on U.S. cable networks, starting March 1st. The movies are: Mehrjui's Sara (March 1st) Alvand's Once and for All Forouzesh's The Jar and Makhmalbaf's The Actor All have English subtitles. Go to: http://www.nima3.com/IranMedia/Norooz.htm Thanks to Pedram Missaghi <pmissagh@sdcc13.ucsd.edu>
* 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).
* "Gabbeh", "A Taste of Cherry" in Michigan: Wed. March 11th, Gabbeh, 7:00pm; Mon. April 6th, A taste of cherry, 7:00pm; at the Michigan Theater: 603 E. Liberty, Ann Arbor, MI.
* "Taste of Cherry" U.S. screen schedules from the official Zeitgeist Film site... click here...Thanks to Payman Arabshahi <payman@fermi.jpl.nasa.gov>
* Iranian film festival organized by Stanford University's Persian Students Association will run through mid-March... click here for details
SATIRE
Axcellent!
* A postcard promoting a comedy play "The Belind Date & The Vedding"... click here
Got something to make us smile?
Send it to Times@iranian.com
POETRY
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.
LETTERS
Dokhtar-e Shayesteh
Excellent! The 'Zan-e Rooz' cover with 'dokhtar-e shayesteh' ["Miss Iran 1978 finalists"] was a riot. Thanks alot. Made my weekend. Bahman Mahdavi <bahman@sover.net>
LOST & FOUND
Tehran's Advantist High School
My name is Abby Hosseini. I am looking for old friends such as Taher Saeidi, Shahriar Taj Taraghi, Ali Pakzad, Johny Minassian, Rafik Khachatourian who were at Tehran's Advantist High School during 1970-1976. Please drop me a line if you know any of these folks. Abby Hossein <abbyh@ix.netcom.com>
BOOKSTORE
Book of the week
Zanaan Saraayandeh-ye Mo'aaser -- Biography and review of the poetry of 15 women poets in 871 pagesby Parvin Shakiba. See feature in THE IRANIAN. Click here
THE IRANIAN Bookstore
EVENTS
* From Nezami to Puccini: The Foundation for Iranian Studies (FIS) Announcement of the 1998 Noruz lecture by a distinguished scholar of Iranian studies: The FIS 1998 distinguished lecturer is Professor Peter Chelkowski, Hagop Kevorkian center, New York University. The topic is "Seraching for Turandokht: From Nezami to Puccini." Time and Place: Monday, March 23, 1998, 7pm - 8:30pm Ballroom, Marvin Center The George Washington University 800 21st Street, N.W., Washington, DC. All welcome, attendance is free. G. R. Afkhami <gafkhami@pipeline.com>
* Iranian film festival organized by Stanford University's Persian Students Association will run through mid-March... click here for details
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Chadorstroika
* Women performing at the opening of a sports event in Tehran... full image
Got any interesting photos?
Send them to Times@iranian.com
MUSIC
Lily Afshar
Guitarist Lily Afshar, hailed by the Washington Post as "remarkable, impecable," is head of the guitar program at the University of Memphis. Chosen to play for Segovia in his 1986 master classes at the University of Southern California, Afshar also won top prize in the 1988 Guitar Foundation of America competition, grand prize in the 1986 Aspen Music Festival, and first prize in both the 1984 MTNA and the 1983 ASTA competitions.
The clips that will be featured here this week are from her CD, "24 Caprichos de Goya." Composed in 1961 and published in 1970, the 24 Caprichos de Goya is one of the most original and monumental works for solo guitar. The pieces are inspired by Los Caprichos (1799), a series of 80 satirical prints in etching and acquatint by Francisco Goya, one of the great figures in Spanish painting.
In today's selection, "Hilan delgado", the rapid perpetual motion suggests the witches' practice of spinning.
* Go to Lily Afshar's web site
(Get RealAudio)
Greatest pop CDs ON SALE!
QUOTE UNQUOTE
Just cooperate
The ironic thing about Noruz and eid-didany is that even though we may not have room to eat any more after our first two stops, we keep stuffing our faces because we don't want to offend our kind hosts. Who would dare say to their hosts "look, I ate four oranges and three bananas over at Ozra Khanoom's, and a few pastries over at Tahereh Khanoom's, and a few bowls full of nuts over at Alieh Khanoom's, but I don't have any room for YOUR food." We don't even try that logic. We just force feed ourselves because we know if we refused, our hosts would attack and grab us, hold us down and then stuff large pieces of fruits and pastry down our throats. So, why not just cooperate?
Hamid Taghavi
"Eid-didany
= Eat 'til you're beat"
The Iranian
March 16, 1998
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