A view of the International conference on Muslim women in Tehran

TEHRAN, Feb. 18--President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad here on Monday inaugurated an international conference on Muslim women.
The two-day gathering will be a venue for presenting works in the areas of spirituality, modesty, reciprocal influence of spirituality and family by 50 foreign and 800 domestic scholars, IRNA reported.
Addressing the opening session of the conference, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Iran supports the effective presence of Muslim women on the international scene.
He urged Muslim women to play a more meaningful role in major scientific and technical fields, and stressed the need for promoting the role and influence of Muslim women across the Islamic world.
Referring to the role of Iranian women after the 1979 revolution, Mottaki said they “play major roles both in the governmental and non-governmental sectors.“
Foreign participants at the meeting include delegates from Austria, Albania, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Iraq, Lebanon, Norway, South Africa, the UK and the US.
The conference aims at discussing global predicaments categorized as Spirituality and Modesty Crisis and The Instability of Family Foundations and find workable mechanisms to help stabilize and elevate the family fabric.
The conference is organized jointly by Iran’s Presidential Office for Women & Family Affairs and the Women’s Affairs Office of the Islamic Cultural Organization.

Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah

TEHRAN, Feb. 18--Commander of Islamic Revolution’s Guards Corps in a condolence letter to the Hezbollah Leader Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah on Monday said Israel would be eliminated in the near future by warriors of the Lebanese resistance movement.
“In the near future we will see the destruction of cancerous tumor Israel by the powerful and competent hands of Hezbollah fighters,“ Mohammad Ali Jafari was quoted as saying by Fars News Agency.
The IRGC chief strongly condemned the slaying of Hezbullah’s popular commander Imad Mughniyeh at the hands of the Israeli Mossad last week.
Almost all observers in and outside the Middle East believe the Israeli government was directly involved in the terror attack in Damascus.
“The martyrdom of this selfless and devoted fighter will no doubt consolidate the will of his compatriots in confronting the Zionist regime,“ the senior military officer wrote.

Mohammad Ali Jafari

Iran has officially blamed the usurper state for killing Mughnieh, and sent Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki to attend his funeral in Beirut on Thursday.
London’s Sunday Times has reported “Israeli intelligence sources“ as saying that Mossad agents had replaced the headrest of the driver’s seat in Mughiyeh’s SUV with another headrest containing a small cache of explosives.
According to a source quoted by the UK daily, Mossad chief Meir Dagan was summoned by Ehud Olmert to Beit-ul-Moqaddas on the day after the assassination, where he was “complimented by his boss“ on a job well done and told that his contract at the helm of the intelligence agency would be extended through the end of 2009.

TEHRAN, Feb. 18 -- Iranian lawmakers on Monday condemned the Danish and Dutch media for insulting sacred Islamic principles.
Some 215 lawmakers issued a statement denouncing the European media seemingly under Zionist influence for insulting Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
“We, as the representatives of the Islamic nation, condemn the satanic moves [by Danish and Dutch media] and call on President (Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad to review political and economic relations with the two countries,“ the statement said in part.
The MPs also called on the governments in Amsterdam and Copenhagen to prevent Zionists “who are opposed to the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Moses“ from achieving their goals under the pretext of promoting freedom of expression.
Danish newspapers this week in an irresponsible and coordinated attempt reprinted insulting cartoons of the Prophet of Islam and hurt the religious sentiments of a billion Muslims.
In another move, a filmmaker from the Netherlands has produced an anti-Islamic film which also has been condemned by Muslims.

ASHKHABAD, Turkmenistan, Feb 18--Turkmen police on Sunday beat up an Iranian citizen after he complained about the poor hygienic conditions in a parking lot allocated to Iranian truckers in this former Soviet republic.
Later Sunday the truck driver, 60, was transferred to a hospital in city of Qouchan, North Khorasan.
The wounded driver had initially approached one of the parking attendants and demanded those in charge do something to improve the conditions about hygienic facilities and men’s rooms, a witness said.
Other Iranian truckers present at the scene said the police arrived and threatened the driver.
“Police in Turkmenistan normally resort to intimidation and blackmail against Iranian drivers under various pretexts, and manhandle them if they refuse to pay,“ they complained.
Iran’s embassy and an official in charge of truckers’ affairs in the republic are following up the case.
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Drivers Protest
After the latest incident almost 80 Iranian truck drivers refused to unload their cargo in protest against the police misconduct.
They said they would not unload their goods “until the case of the injured driver is taken up through legal channels,“ Jaffar Arab, a spokesman for the drivers told IRNA.
He said Turkmen police “routinely discriminate against the Iranians compared to drivers from other countries, Turkey for instance.“
He confirmed that Iranian drivers often face blackmail by police when they enter Turkmen territory.