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Prayer Time (Tehran)
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Dawn: 5:24
Sunrise: 6:48
Noon: 12:18
Evening: 17:08
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Weather Guide
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TUE |
WED |
Tehran: |
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High: |
10 oC |
7 oC |
Low: |
1 oC |
-2 oC |
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Athens |
12 |
15 |
Ankara |
-5 |
-1 |
Cairo |
14 |
18 |
Copenhagen |
6 |
4 |
Frankfurt |
7 |
7 |
Karachi |
31 |
31 |
Kuwait City |
27 |
17 |
London |
7 |
10 |
Madrid |
14 |
15 |
Moscow |
-5 |
-7 |
New Delhi |
21 |
22 |
Paris |
11 |
10 |
Riyadh |
30 |
18 |
Rome |
11 |
12 |
Vienna |
6 |
8 |
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Identification
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Published by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA)
Address:
Iran Cultural & Press Institute, #212 Khorramshahr Avenue Tehran/Iran
Executive Editor:
Editorial Dept. Tel: 88755761-2
Editorial Dept. Fax: 88761869
Advertising Dept. Tel: 88500616,88500617
Internet Address:
www.iran-daily.com
E-mail Address:
iran-daily@iran-daily.com
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Another Scientific Achievement
New Pacemaker With Atomic Battery
Compiled by Behnam Saremi
Iranian experts have taken major strides in medical research in recent years.
After a historic achievement in producing the anti-AIDS drug IMOD and the diabetic medicine Angi-Pars, now researchers at Amir-Kabir Industrial University have successfully developed a new type of cardiac pacemaker with long-life nuclear batteries.
The public relations office of the university in a statement said the new gadget was developed by its physics experts.
The pacemaker is a medical device which uses electrical impulses, delivered by electrodes containing the heart muscles, to regulate the heart beat.
Iranian researchers decided to develop the new pacemaker with long-lasting batteries because the present models last only for 5-10 years.
Head of the pacemaker innovating team, Masoumeh Mohammadian, said the atomic battery used in the new pacemaker can operate for almost 50 years without needing recharge.
The new pacemaker is in designing stage and would be produced exclusively for lab use.
On Feb. 3, scientists developed a diabetic drug known as ’Angi-Pars’ used for treating foot wounds in diabetic patients.
The achievement was seen as a matter of national pride since it was said to be the first of its kind in the world.
According to the Health Ministry Iran has published a total of 2,500 medical research papers in the current Iranian year (ends March 19).
The ministry added that Iran has moved to 29th place in global medical research and its internationally indexed articles in 2007 reached 2500.
Iran’s internationally indexed articles in medical research have increased from 300 seven years ago to 2500 in 2007.
In February 2007 Iran announced that it had produced the new herbal medicine called ’IMOD’ for curing AIDS. IMOD was developed from locally grown medicinal herbs by young Iranian scientists in 15 research centers after five years of hard work. Produced through nanotechnology, the IMOD is the fifth generation of medicines invented to combat AIDS.
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UAE Premier in Cooperation Talks
Energy, Trade High On Agenda
TEHRAN, Feb. 18--The visiting UAE Prime Minister and ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum and Vice-President Parviz Davoudi here Monday underscored the need for further expansion of bilateral relations.
Expressing satisfaction over the visit of Sheikh Mohammad, Davoudi said the two neighbors share many cultural commonalties, IRNA reported.
Such common points can and should lead to promotion of bilateral relations in all areas, he said and added that greater collaboration would benefit both sides and the region as a whole.
The Iranian vice-president welcomed Abu Dhabi’s stance regarding Iran’s civilian nuclear program.
By inviting foreign countries to participate in the construction of nuclear power plants in Iran, the Islamic Republic has once again demonstrated the peaceful nature of its nuclear activities, he said.
For his part, the UAE premier said Iran-UAE ties are a good model for other regional states to follow.
Praising Iran’s scientific progress, he said there are great potentials in both countries for further cooperation.
He reiterated that Iran’s nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Heading a high-ranking political-economic delegation the UAE official arrived in Tehran on Monday.
During his stay he will call on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other senior officials.
Economic relations, joint investment, export of electricity and avenues to boost trade are major issues on the agenda.
The ruler of Dubai is the highest UAE official to visit Iran after the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
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Qatari PM To Visit
DOHA, Qatar, Feb. 18--Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jasim bin Jaber Al-Thani said he will visit Iran by the end of this month, despite persistent US efforts to isolate the Islamic Republic because of its nuclear program.
Hamad, in an interview Sunday said he plans to meet with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who proposed closer economic and security cooperation with neighboring Arab states of the Persian Gulf at a Dec. 3 meeting in Qatar, Bloomberg.com reported.
``For many, many years we have different opinions between us and Iran but we did not see any kind of threat to us from Iran,’’ the sheikh said. ``We are seeking a normal and cordial relationship with Iran.’’
Qatar, which has the third-largest reserves of natural gas in the world, shares an offshore gas field with Iran. The tiny sheikhdom also is home to a US airbase and is the headquarters of the US Central Command.
George Bush, on a tour of the oil-producing Persian Gulf sates last month, reassured Arab allies with rhetoric and arms sales, that the US will guarantee their security against any external threat. While the US has focused on the alleged “threat Iran poses“, Hamad spoke of the virtues of friendship.
``Iran is very important country in the region, and we will live together not for long time, but for forever,’’ Hamad said before the opening of the Brookings Doha Center, a project of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy based at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
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Pakistan Votes Amid Fear
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37 More Die in Afghan Violence
KABUL, Afghanistan, Feb. 18--A suicide bomber targeting a foreign military convoy in Afghanistan killed 37 civilians in an attack near the Pakistan border on Monday, the interior ministry said.
The attack, a day after more than 100 people were killed in the deadliest suspected suicide raid since the Taliban were overthrown in 2001, comes as some western politicians call for a stronger resolve to stop Afghanistan sliding back into anarchy, Reuters reported.
“The suicide attack ... caused the killing of 37 non-combatants and wounding of 30 others,“ the ministry said in a statement in Kabul.
The attack happened on a narrow bridge in the bustling town of Spin Boldak in southern Kandahar province, a stronghold for Taliban insurgents fighting the Afghan government and its western backers.
Kandahar’s governor Assadullah Khalid told a news conference the bomber was in a car and had attacked a convoy of Canadian troops serving under NATO’s command. Four Canadians were wounded, he said. But another official from the area said two foreign soldiers also died.
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Reciprocity
By Armin Hedayati
Less than two months ago George Bush appealed to the Persian Gulf Arab states including the UAE to downgrade their cooperation and political relations with the Islamic Republic.
However that did not happen and the sheikhdoms not only did ignore his calls but embarked on further expanding their Iran ties.
Last month Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa visited Tehran. Soon after an Iranian media team led by Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini visited Manama.
And yesterday Iran hosted the UEA Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum.
Iran and the UAE lie in the strategic region and on the opposite sides of the Persian Gulf. We share similar interests and concerns about security and peace in the oil-rich region.
Though the history of the Arab state is hardly comparable to the 7,000-year history and civilization of Iran, the Iranian government has always treated the Arab neighbors in a friendly manner.
Such increasing fraternity is obvious and essential with the UAE as it hosts more than 5,000 Iranian companies and more than 10,000 university students.
As the region’s key economic powerhouse, Dubai is struggling to attract more investors to enable it emerge as the largest trade center of the strategic region. Few doubt that such an ambitious task can and will be achieved with the presence of more Iranian businesses.
Dubai is also of immense economic significance for Tehran as it is one of the largest economic partners of the Islamic state. Moreover, energy concerns are similar between the two neighbors. Economic progress and meeting energy needs are sufficient enough for the two countries to build cooperation in the interest of their peoples.
With vision and larger interests in mind, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Dubai last May as the first Iranian president.
Now Dubai’s influential ruler is in Tehran.
Reciprocal meetings are significant in that they indicate fraternal relations and go a long way in cementing economic and political ties.
Some quarters may be opposed to cordial relations between Iran and its neighbors. They could even try to intensify differences between Tehran and Abu Dhabi over the three Iranian islands of Abu Musa, Lesser Tunb and Greater Tunb.
However, ties between the two have progressed as all can see. Bush’s America is putting extra pressure on the Persian Gulf Arabs to curb trade with the Iranians because of what they stupidly like to claim the “nuclear threat.“
Media reports over the past several months indicate that the Americans have decided to disrupt banking and financial cooperation between Iran and the UAE. But they seemingly ignore one important issue: sustainable political/economic security.
Since security in the Persian Gulf is collective and among the littoral states, neither Iran nor the UAE would jeopardize their own security for the wish or desire of outsiders.
Because of its long border with the Persian Gulf states, UAE leaders see the wisdom of not sacrificing their political, economic, commercial and defense interests on the altar of US greed and political expediency.
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