Iran Focus: Tehran, Jan. 04 – A homeless man was eaten alive by wild wolves in the village of Vali-Asr, near the town of Torbat Heydariya (northeast Iran), Sunday evening. Witnesses at the scene said that they phoned emergency services for help and attempted to fight off the wolves until police arrived but failed as the police did not show up.

Iran Focus: Tehran, Jan. 04 – A demonstration was held today by over 500 nurses in Shiraz (capital of the southern Fars province in Iran).
The majority of nurses from both public and private hospitals in Shiraz took part in the demonstration which was held from day-brake in Faculty of Medicine in the University of Shiraz.

Iran Focus: Tehran, Jan. 04 – A member of Iran’s Majlis (parliament) today admitted to the systematic use of excess force by security forces against citizens. Fakhroldin Heydari, a Majlis deputy from the town of Baneh (northwest Iran) revealed that two individuals in his constituency were shot and killed by “aggressive security forces” in the past month alone and a number of others were badly wounded.

Iran Focus: Cairo, Jan. 04 – Iraq’s Defence Minister Hazem Shaalan rejected the idea of direct dialogue with Iran yesterday, saying that Iran had no interest in dialogue and only sought to destabilise Iraq. Speaking to reporters after a meeting with the Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu Al-Gaith, Shaalan also hinted that Iraq should postpone its January 30th general election if Sunni groups who have threatened to boycott the election were willing to participate in one set for a later date.

Iran Focus: Tehran, Jan. 04 – Students from the University of Tabriz (northwestern Iran) have continued their protest on campus following the dean’s decision to suspend two student union spokespersons.
The demonstration by a large number of students started Monday morning.