A ceremony was held in Tehran’s main cemetery on Sunday to commemorate the victims of the Ukrainian plane that was mistakenly shot down in January 2020, taking the lives of 176 passengers and crew aboard.
A ceremony was held in Tehran’s main cemetery on Sunday to commemorate the victims of the Ukrainian plane that was mistakenly shot down in January 2020, taking the lives of 176 passengers and crew aboard.
Power plants’ debts to Iran's sovereign wealth fund, known as the National Development Fund of Iran, have surpassed $950 million, the fund’s deputy for banking and credit affairs said.
“The $950-million debt is only for power plants that have already become operational and can now generate revenues,” Alireza Mirmohammad-Sadeqi was also quoted as saying by Barq News website.
The unsettled dues have accumulated over the past few years, he added, noting that Kahnouj and the Iranian copper industry’s power plants in Kerman Province and Jam power station in Bushehr Province are obliged to settle their debts by the yearend.
A total of 20 desalination projects with a processing capacity of 200,000 cubic meters of saline water will become operational by 2025, the deputy for supervision and planning at the National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company of Iran (Abfa) said.
“The plans are estimated to cost $100 million and when operational, Iran’s current desalination capacity of 450,000 cubic meters per day will reach 650,000 cm/d,” Hashem Amini was quoted as saying by IRNA.
Abfa operates 75 desalination plants in Iran’s northern and southern coastal regions, which were completed by the state-run company at a cost of $300 million, he added.
The project to supply gas to Chabahar County, Sistan-Baluchestan Province, was launched on Saturday, the gas supply coordination director of the National Iranian Gas Company said.
“The project will be carried out in two phases to provide gas for all the regions of Chabahar. The first phase includes laying 250 kilometers of transmission lines, which will be implemented with a credit of $12.5 million and in the second phase, 350 km of pipelines will be laid at a cost of $15 million,” Moslem Rahmani was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
Supplying gas to the whole city is expected to be completed by the next 18 months, he added.
Iran's trade (excluding crude oil exports) with Caspian Sea littoral states reached 5.1 million tons worth $2.76 billion during the first nine months of the current Iranian year (March 21-Dec. 21), registering a 10.04% rise in value, but a 10.73% fall in terms of weight compared with the similar period of last year, according to the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration.
Russia was Iran’s main trading partner among the Caspian states with 2.86 million tons (down 19.51%) worth $1.63 billion (down 1.75%) during the period under review. It was followed by Azerbaijan with 584,588 tons (down 9.76%) worth $533.11 million (up 26.67%), Turkmenistan with 1.03 million tons (down 0.28%) worth $358.850 million (up 35.34%) and Kazakhstan with 619,077 tons (up 29.53%) worth $239.36 million (up 40.39%).
Iran’s exports exceeded 2.99 million tons worth $1.52 billion during the period, registering a 6.24% rise in weight, but a 47.43% fall in value.
Iran’s proven iron ore reserves have currently reached 2.3 billion tons, while its total estimated reserves (proven plus probable) stand at 5 billion tons, according to Mehrdad Akbarian, the head of Iran Stone Association.
Iron ore reserves feed Iran’s burgeoning steel industry, whose production, supported by cheap energy, is on the rise, but the ever-increasing steel production will obviously deplete its reserves, according to a report published by the Persian daily Jahan-e Sanat last year.
Experts blame the output level and difficult exploitation and processing of the mineral substance for this matter. Some of the country’s open-pit iron ore reserves are already running out.
A total of 160 million tons of iron ore are needed to achieve the goal of the 20-Year Vision Plan (2005-25) of reaching 55 million tons of annual steel production. It is said that the current iron ore reserves will only meet the needs of the steel industry for the next 14 years.
“Leisure and Culture”, one of 12 groups of goods and services surveyed by the Statistical Center of Iran, registered an average annualized inflation rate of 30.4% in the ninth month of the current Iranian year (Nov. 22-Dec. 21).
The group’s month-on-month and year-on-year inflation rates reached 1.4% and 30.2% respectively.
The 12 groups of the basket of consumer goods and services surveyed by SCI include "food and beverages" with a coefficient of 26.64%, "tobacco" with 0.59%, "clothing and shoes" with 4.78%, “housing and utilities" with 35.5% (highest), "furniture, home appliances and their maintenance" with 3.93%, "health and treatment" with 7.14%, "transportation" with 9.41%, "communications" with 2.87%, "leisure and culture" with 1.65%, "education" with 1.86%, "hotels and restaurants" with 1.44% and "miscellaneous items and services" with 4.18%.
Iran’s trade with the US stood at $51.3 million during the first 11 months of 2022, registering a 37.53% rise compared with the previous year.
Latest data released by the US Census Bureau show Iran exported $11 million worth of goods to the US during the period, registering an 816.66% year-on-year rise.
Iran’s imports from the US stood at $40.3 million, up 11.63%.
The 7th International Exhibition of Agriculture and New Irrigation Systems, also known as “Iran Agri Show 2023”, opens in Tehran on Jan. 9.
Imam Khomeini International Airport, the operator of all international flights to/from Tehran, registered 35,400 flights during the first nine months of the current Iranian year (March 21-Dec. 21), indicating a 66% rise compared with the corresponding period of last year, according to Saeed Chalandari, caretaker of the airport.
The number of arrivals stood at 17,704 and departures at 17,705, he added, noting that the number of passengers, who arrived from 47 countries and departed to 26 countries during the period, stood at 5.3 million (2.61 million incoming and 2.69 million outgoing), registering an 88% year-on-year increase, IRNA reported.
The official added that passengers transported a total of 375 tons of cargo on international flights during the period, registering a 61% year-on-year rise.
The government has earned a record high of 15.63 trillion rials ($38.03 million) in departure tax during the first nine months of the current Iranian year (March 21-Dec. 21).
Tehran Stock Exchange's main index, TEDPIX, gained 37,167.71 points or 2.33% on Sunday to end at 1,635,229.22. The TSE equal-weighted index gained 2.14%.
About 19.85 billion shares worth 105.63 trillion rials ($364.3 million) changed hands for the day. Trading at TSE and over-the-counter Iran Fara Bourse starts on Saturday and ends Wednesday.
Kharazmi Investment Company led the winner’s list as its shares jumped 6.98% to 4,534 rials per share.
The Central Insurance company of Iran (CII) on Saturday granted an operating license to one more general insurance company, Farda Smart Insurance Company, to offer digital service.
In a note published on Risknews website, the CII said that it expects Farda to focus on the development of smart products with the help of advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence, and offer innovative solutions
"The company is expected to expand insurance cover in the deprived areas, create online and smart supervisory mechanisms, prevent fraud and human error, earn policyholders’ satisfaction and help the insurance industry embrace innovation," the note said.
The Central Bank of Iran said Sunday it has sacked heads of bank branches for flouting rules related to interest rates on deposits.
Las week the CBI said it was inspecting bank branches more closely to ensure they are offering interest in accordance with caps set by the Money and Credit Council (MCC).
In a press release published by IBENA, the CBI said some banks were also fined for violating the rules. It did not name names nor say which banks had been singled out.
The CBI though added that most banks are playing by the rules and that it would rigorously continue the inspections.
The First Vice-President Mohammad Mokhber at the weekend announced the Cabinet's decision to boost the capital of the Central Bank of Iran by 28.748 trillion rials ($70.8 million) from the bank’s contingency reserves.
CBI’s capital should reach 98.143 trillion rials ($241.7m) from the previous 69.395 trillion rials ($170.9 million), IBENA reported.
The measure was approved earlier at the CBI's annual board meeting in November in the presence of President Ebrahim Raisi.
Raisi had instructed the CBI and commercial lenders to concentrate on streamlining regulations, improve lending and financial discipline, facilitate interaction with other countries and enhance investment.
Domestic researchers have produced a unique hybrid mill that creates nanopowder from different substances for use in research centers and industries.
The mill has been developed by the researchers of the University of Tehran (UT), in cooperation with the Technical and Vocational University and the Materials and Energy Research Center, according to the director of UT’s Nanobiophotonics Research Laboratory.
“By simultaneously using a bullet and ultrasonic power, the hybrid mill can produce nanopowder from various ceramic and metal compounds while maintaining their properties,” Mohammad Mohammadi Masoudi was also quoted as saying as IRNA.
Nanopowders have individual particles at the nanometer scale. Due to their small sizes, these powders have extraordinarily high surface area-to-volume ratio that changes their physical-chemical properties compared with macroscale powders.
The world’s glaciers are shrinking and disappearing faster than scientists thought, with two-thirds of them projected to melt out of existence by the end of the century at current climate change trends, according to a new study.
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