Iran Focus:
60 hospitals under construction being abandoned
200 students in Khorassan suffering from AIDS
Students detained in Mashad
300 Satellite dishes rounded up in Isfahan
Man sentenced to execution
Mashads 1,000 blind in desperate state
In Brief
Porous border helps Iranian smugglers
The Associated Press: Kurdish Iranians in poor border towns are taking advantage of the porous boundary with Iraq to sneak into the country for coveted items – like alcohol – to sell back home. For the past three years, Farshid Karimi has earned his living smuggling goods – and dodging border guards.
Iran will continue nuclear talks but rejects threats: Rafsanjani
AFP: Influential former president Hashemi Rafsanjani said Friday that Iran would continue talks with Europe over its nuclear activities but reject any threats aimed at depriving the country of peaceful nuclear technology. “We agree to continue negotiations within the framework of international rules but if the Europeans want to use threats, there is no more place for negotiations,” Rafsanjani said on state radio.
EU, Iran to resume nuclear talks next week
Xinhuanet: The European Union (EU) and Iran will resume nuclear talks in Paris on Nov. 5, diplomats said Thursday.
A second round of discussions between Iran and the EU trio — Britain, Germany and France — in Vienna on Wednesday failed to reach agreement but both sides described the meeting constructive.
World Bank approves loan to help reconstruction in Bam, Iran
Xinhuanet: The World Bank approved a 220-million-dollar loan Thursday to the Government of Iran for a project to help restore the living conditions of communities in the southeastern city of Bam which was struck by a powerful earthquake nearly a year ago. The four-year project, the Bam Earthquake Emergency Reconstruction Project, was prepared in response to the Government of Iran’s request to support its reconstruction efforts after the December 28, 2003 earthquake, the World Bank said in a press release.
European parliament condemns human rights abuses in Iran
AFP: The European Parliament expressed alarm Thursday at the deterioration in the area of human rights in Iran, in particular those relating to press freedom and the death penalty. “The situation in Iran with regard to the exercise of key civil rights and political freedom has deteriorated since the parliamentary elections of February this year despite commitments on the part of the government of Iran to promoting these universal values,” according to a motion passed by the parliament.
Iran stays firm on nuclear curbs
BBC: Top Iranian nuclear negotiator Hossein Mousavian has ruled out a long-term suspension of uranium enrichment.
Mr Mousavian told the BBC it was completely illogical for the international community to ask Iran to stop its enrichment activities. What was being considered was a suspension for a few months, he said.
Iran steps up confrontation with Europe on nuclear deal
The Independent: Iran yesterday stepped up its confrontation with European countries as its Supreme Leader threatened to break off negotiations over its suspect nuclear weapons programme.
Senior officials from Britain, France and Germany yesterday held negotiations in Vienna with an Iranian delegation to …
In Brief
Iran Focus:
Iranians arrested in Basra, Kirkuk
Prison riot leaves 3 dead, many wounded
Young Afghan man sentenced to execution
Over 150 protests nationwide over past month
New suppressive forces in Babol during Ramadan
3,000 workers laid off
Accidents at work leave 12 dead from burns this week
Iran Refuses Nuclear Suspension Again
Associated Press: Iran ruled out a total suspension of
uranium enrichment Wednesday as a second round of talks with European negotiators failed to produce an agreement aimed at avoiding a showdown and the possible threat of U.N. sanctions.
