TEHRAN -- Secretary-General of the International TEHRAN -- A rare United Arab Emirates-Iran joint

Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi is expected economic commission will convene in Abu Dhabi from
Tuesday to Wednesday, the Iranian Labor News Agency
to visit Iran next week to participate in an internation- reported, as Tehran seeks to bolster economic ties with
al nuclear conference and meet with Iranian officials, Persian Gulf states. This is the first meeting in 10 years
spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran for the bilateral joint economic cooperation commission,
(AEOI) Behrouz Kamalvandi said Tuesday. with Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development
The IAEA chief will take part in the International Con- Mehdi Bazrpash and Emirati Minister of Economy Ab-
dulla Bin Touq Al Marri in attendance. The UAE down-
ference of Nuclear Sciences and Technologies to be held graded its diplomatic ties with Iran after Riyadh severed
in the central city of Esfahan from May 6-8, and will meet its ties with Tehran in 2016 following the storming of the
with Muhammad Eslami, head of the AEOI. (Continued on Page 7)

VOL NO: LV 12242 TEHRAN / Est.1959 Wsdnesday, May 1, 2024, Ordibehsht 12, 1403, Shawwal 22, 1445, Price 400,000 Rials

2 6 8
Viewpoint

2Persian Gulf Peace Iran’s

Permanent Perspective

‘Free Palestine’ Banners

Campus Crackdown
Two Israeli-Linked Ships Targeted in Indian Ocean
Buried Under

Unfurled at U.S. Universities

NEW YORK (AP)
- cers in helmets and carrying ba-
trances and unfurling a Palestinian
flag out of a window in the latest es-
calation of demonstrations against
spread to college campuses nation-
wide.
Protesters on Columbia’s Man-
hattan campus locked arms in
front of Hamilton Hall early
Tuesday and carried furniture and
metal barricades to the building,
one of several that was occupied
during a 1968 civil rights and
anti-Vietnam War protest, video
footage showed. Posts on an In-
stagram page for protest organiz-
ers shortly after midnight urged
people to protect the encampment
and join them at Hamilton Hall.
A “Free Palestine” banner hung
from a window.
“An autonomous group re-
claimed Hind’s Hall, previously
known as ‘Hamilton Hall,’ in
honor of Hind Rajab, a martyr
murdered at the hands of the
genocidal Israeli regime at the
age of six years old,” CU Apart-
heid Divest posted on the social
media platform X early Tuesday.
Hamilton Hall is an academic
building that opened in 1907 and
is named after Alexander Ham-
ilton, who attended King’s Col-
lege, Columbia’s original name.
nic University, Humboldt, where
protesters have occupied two
buildings, dozens of police offi-
tons marched onto campus early
Tuesday and cleared both halls.
The university said 25 people
were arrested and there were no
injuries. The start of the sweep
was broadcast on the Facebook
page of KAEF-TV, a satellite of
KRCR-TV, until police detained
the reporter.
The university earlier an-
nounced a “hard closure,” mean-
ing that people were not permit-
ted to enter or be on campus
without authorization. At 3:24
a.m., the university’s website
posted a shelter-in-place order for
the campus.
Yale authorities on Tuesday
morning cleared a protesters’ en-
campment after students heeded
final warnings to leave, universi-
ty officials said. No arrests were
reported. Demonstrators said on
social media that they were mov-
ing their gathering to a sidewalk
area. The encampment was set up
Sunday, six days after police ar-
rested nearly 50 people, including
44 students, and took down doz-
ens of tents.
Dozens of people were arrested
Monday during protests at uni-
versities in Texas, Utah, Virginia
and New Jersey, while Columbia
said hours before the takeover of
Yemen Targets Two U.S. Destroyers in Red Sea
Yemen’s military says two U.S. destroyers were targeted in the Red Sea, along with the vessel Cyclades and
the MSC Orion in the Indian Ocean.
SANAA (Dispatches) -- Gaza.
Yemen’s fighters said they target- Portugal-flagged MSC Orion
ed two U.S. destroyers in the Red was sailing between the ports
Sea, along with the vessel Cyclades in Sines, Portugal and Salalah,
and the MSC Orion in the Indian Oman and its registered owner
Ocean, their military spokesman is Zodiac Maritime, according to
Yahya Sarea announced in a tele- LSEG data.
vised speech early on Tuesday. Zodiac is partly owned by Israe-
For months, Yemeni forces have li businessman Eyal Ofer.
conducted attacks on shipping Yemeni forces have launched
lanes, in what they say is in sup- repeated drone and missile strikes
port of Palestinians in the war in in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab
Strait and Gulf of Aden since No-
vember.
In March, Yemen’s Ansarullah
leader said the group was ex-
panding its attack area to prevent
Israel-linked ships from passing
through the Indian Ocean toward
the Cape of Good Hope.
The Yemeni forces also targeted
the Cyclades commercial vessel
as well as two U.S. destroyers in
the Red Sea, its spokesman said
in a televised address early on
Tuesday.
British maritime security firm
Ambrey reported earlier that a
Malta-flagged container ship
on Monday said it was targeted
by three missiles while en route
from Djibouti to the Saudi city
of Jeddah. The Yemenis aid the
Cyclades was on that route when
they attacked the vessel.
Ambrey assessed that the ship
was targeted due to its listed op-
erator’s ongoing trade with Israel,
it said in an advisory note.
The United States and Britain
have carried out strikes against
Yemeni targets in retaliation for
their attacks on vessels.
Yemen’s top policy-making
body on Tuesday issued a stern
warning to the United States that
any move aimed at destabilizing
the Arab country would lead to
massive chaos in the region, espe-
cially in key waterways surround-
ing Yemen.
Yemen’s Supreme Political
Council said in a statement that
consequences of any military
action by the U.S. and allies tar-
geting Yemen would spread well
beyond the borders of the Arab
country.
The council warned that launching
(Continued on Page 7)

Paris University Funds Cut

The student radio station, WK-
CR-FM, broadcast a play-by-
play of the hall’s takeover, which
occurred nearly 12 hours after
Monday’s 2 p.m. deadline for the
protesters to leave an encamp-
ment of around 120 tents or face
suspension.
University representatives
did not immediately respond
to emails requesting comment
Tuesday, but the public safety de-
partment said in a statement that
access to the campus has been
limited to students living in the
residential buildings and essential
employees, such as dining, pub-
lic safety and maintenance staff.
There was just one access point
into and out of campus.
In the X post, protesters said
they planned to remain at the hall
until the university agreed to three
demands: divestment, financial
transparency and amnesty.
Universities nationwide are
grappling with how to clear out
encampments as commencement
ceremonies approach, with some
continuing negotiations and oth-
ers turning to force and ultima-
tums that have resulted in clashes
with police. At many campuses,
including Columbia, things ap-
peared to be coming to a head.
At California State Polytech-
Hamilton Hall that it had started
suspending students. At the Uni-
versity of Texas at Austin, 79
people involved in the Monday
protest were jailed, according
to the Travis County sheriff’s
department, most charged with
criminal trespass.
Also Tuesday, police cleared an
encampment at the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill and
detained about 30 people. At the
University of Connecticut, po-
lice made arrests after protesters
refused orders to remove tents
Tuesday morning.
The nationwide campus protests
began as a response by some stu-
dents to Israel’s invasion of Gaza.
The plight of the arrested dem-
onstrators has become a central
part of protests, with students and
a growing number of faculty de-
manding amnesty for protesters.
At issue is whether the suspen-
sions and legal records will fol-
low students through their adult
lives.
The Texas protest and others,
including in Canada and Europe,
grew out of Columbia’s early
demonstrations. On Monday, stu-
dent activists defied the 2 p.m.
deadline to leave the encamp-
ment. Instead, hundreds of pro-
testers remained.
After Pro-Palestine Demos
PARIS (Dispatches) -- The
Paris region authority sparked
controversy Tuesday by tem-
porarily suspending funding
for Sciences Po, one of the
country’s most prestigious uni-
versities, after it was rocked by
tense pro-Palestinian and anti-
Israel demonstrations.
“I have decided to suspend
all regional funding for Sci-
ences Po until calm and secu-
rity have been restored at the
school,” Valerie Pecresse, the
right-wing head of the greater
Paris Ile-de-France region,
said on social media.
She took aim at “a minority
of radicalized people calling
for antisemitic hatred” and ac-
cused hard-left politicians of
seeking to exploit the tensions.
Regional support for the Par-
is-based university includes 1
million euros ($1.07 million)
earmarked for 2024, a member
of Pecresse’s team told AFP.
On Tuesday, the university’s
acting administrator, Jean
Basseres, said he regretted the
decision.
“The Ile-de-France region is
an essential partner of Scienc-
es Po, and I wish to maintain
dialogue on the position ex-
pressed by Mrs. Pecresse,” he
told French daily Le Monde in
an interview.
In an echo of tense demon-
strations rocking many top
United States universities,
students at Sciences Po have
staged a number of protests,
with some students furious
over the Israeli war and ensu-
ing humanitarian crisis in the
Gaza Strip.
France is home to the world’s
largest Jewish population after
the occupying entity of Israel
and the U.S., as well as Eu-
rope’s biggest Muslim com-
munity.
(Continued on Page 7)
ICJ Rejects German Request
to Quash Genocide Case
THE HAGUE (Dispatches) --
The International Court of Justice
(ICJ) has rejected a German re-
quest to throw out the Nicaraguan
case accusing it of facilitating Is-
rael’s genocide in Gaza, allowing
the case to proceed.
Presiding Judge Nawaf Salam,
who delivered the world court’s
decision on Tuesday, said that the
ICJ remains “deeply concerned
about the catastrophic living con-
ditions of the Palestinians in the
Gaza Strip”.
However, the court ruled by 15
to one against issuing any emer-
gency measures against Germany
over its arms exports to Israel,
arguing that the current circum-
stances did not require them.
The ICJ reminded all parties
that they are obligated to “respect
and ensure respect” to Article 1 of
the Geneva Convention.
Nicaragua brought Germany
before the ICJ for violating the
Genocide Convention and inter-
national law through its contin-
ued military and political support
of Israel.
During a two-day hearing, Ni-
caragua accused Germany of
“facilitating the commission of
genocide”, demanding the court
impose emergency measures to
halt German arms exports to Is-
rael and reinstate funding for the
UN Palestinian refugee agency
Unrwa.
The Nicaraguan case argued
that since the start of the war on
October 7, Germany has been ful-
ly aware that the Zionist regime
was violating international law
in Gaza, and that, following the
ICJ’s ruling on January 26 that
found a “plausible risk” of geno-
cide in Gaza, these violations
were tantamount to genocide.
From the start of the war, Ger-
many has justified its unwavering
support for Israel, with Federal
Chancellor Olaf Scholz saying
in parliament that, “Israel’s secu-
rity is part of Germany’s raison
d’état.”
Germany is the second largest
arms exporter to Israel, approv-
ing $354 million worth of weap-
ons exports in 2023, a tenfold in-
crease compared to the previous
year.
 2 May 1 , 2024 DOMESTIC NEWS

Iran Criticizes UN for Double Standards

Kayhan Group of Newspapers
Amid U.S. Campus Crackdown And ye dwelt in the
dwellings of men who
wronged their own
Editorial Dept. Tel.: 33911561, 33110251-9 souls; ye were clearly
Ext.: 2334, 2336, 2337 shown how We dealt
with them; and We put
Advertising Dept.: 33110251-9 Ext. 2336
forth (many) parables in
Subscription Ext.: 2322 your behoof!
Facsimile: 33114228 & 33111120 The Holy Qur’an (14-45)
Website: www.kayhan.ir/en
E-mail: kayhanintl@yahoo.com
P.O. Box: 11365/9631 PRAYER TIMINGS
Noon (Zohr) 12:01
Address: Martyr Shah Cheraghi Street, Ferdowsi Avenue,
Tehran – Islamic Republic of Iran Evening(Maghreb) 19:11
Dawn(Fajr)“ Tomorrow” 05:12

In the Name of the Most High Sunrise “Tomorrow” 03:39

Viewpoint
Navy Escorts
Ships in Gulf of
Persian Gulf Peace Iran’s Texas University policemen arrest a pro-Palestinian demonstrator at the University
of Texas in Austin, Texas, on April 29, 2024.
Aden, Atlantic
Permanent Perspective TEHRAN - Iran’s top human rael’s genocidal military campaign college president Nemat Minouche

By: Kayhan Int’l Staff Writer

rights official Kazem Gharibabadi
has criticized the United Nations
in Gaza, which has killed nearly
34,500 Palestinians and left over a
Shafik called on police to clear
protesters’ encampments.
Ocean
human rights office for leveling million displaced and starving. Despite harsh crackdowns, in- TEHRAN – Iranian Navy Com-
A couple of days ago, we celebrated the 402nd anniversary of the Iranian
navy’s resounding triumph over the Portuguese intruders who had occupied
trumped-up rights charges against So far, more than 900 people have cluding mass suspensions, evic- mander Rear Admiral Shahram
Bahrain, seized Hormuz, and for decades were terrorizing the Persian Gulf Iran while turning a blind eye to been arrested on U.S. campuses, tions from university housing, Irani has praised the Persian Gulf
coasts. U.S. violent crackdown on anti-war the Washington Post reported on and arrests, similar protests have
security, stressing that his force
Did the victory of Shah Abbas’ naval forces ensured peace and prosperity in students and academics in university Monday, highlighting that dem- sprung up across the U.S. with
escorts the country’s ships and oil
the Persian Gulf for the next four centuries? campuses. onstrations were “peaceful and footage emerging of students,
Sadly, the answer is negative. The driving out of the Portuguese and return tankers in the Gulf of Aden and
Gharibabadi, secretary of Iran’s nonviolent until law enforcement professors, and journalists being
of Bahrain to motherland Iran did not leave any permanent imprint. The re- the Atlantic Ocean to ensure their
High Council for Human Rights, showed up.” violently detained by the police on
sult is the current pathetic situation that has allowed a new breed of intruders safety.
said the Office of the United Na- On Monday, riot police used pep- campuses.
to set up the CENTCOM terrorist bases on the southern side of the Persian
tions High Commissioner for Hu- per spray and arrested about 50 Iranian Foreign Ministry spokes- “The Persian Gulf is now
Gulf. considered the most secure
The Safavid Dynasty, which with the support of the ulema and the people man Rights (OHCHR) ignores students at the University of Texas man Nasser Kanaani has also
what is unfolding in university pro-Gaza protest encampment. strongly criticized the crackdown maritime point in the world,
had transformed Iran into a powerfully stable empire for over two centuries
campuses across the U.S., but did Monday’s clashes between police by the U.S. police to break up pro- and we mainly escort our
wielding positive influence in the fields of culture, religion, art, architecture,
literature, and trade on a vast area stretching from Jabal al-Amel (present issue statements about so-called and students marked the second Palestinian protests on university ships in areas such as the
day Lebanon) on the Mediterranean shores in the west to the sultanates of the rights violations in Iran over the time in less than a week that state campuses across the United States. Gulf of Aden and the Atlantic
Deccan or Peninsular India washed by the waters of the Bay of Bengal in the same period. police were called to campus. In a post on X on Tuesday, Ka- Ocean,” Rear Admiral Irani
east, declined, along with Iranian guardianship of the Persian Gulf. “The Office of the United Nations Since the start of the Israeli war naani shared a viral image of the told reporters on the sidelines
Though Nader Shah Afshar briefly stabilized the Persian Gulf through Ira- of the Cultural and Artistic
High Commissioner for Human on Gaza on October 7, students in arrest of one of the protesting
nian presence on its southern coasts as well, the Zand and the Qajar dynasties Festival of the National Per-
that followed his short-lived rule badly neglected the importance of this vast Rights has taken no notice of what the U.S. have been protesting Is- students in the U.S., and wrote:
southern body of water for Iran’s security and independence. is happening in the U.S. but at the rael’s genocidal actions in the nar- “The Imprisonment of Freedom in sian Gulf Day on Monday.
The vacuum was exploited by colonial Britain, which after preventing any same time issued three statements row Strip, however, a new wave of America – U.S. media: At least 900 He said that the Persian
intrusion from Basra by the Ottoman Turks who had occupied Iraq, soon accusing Iran of human rights demonstrations – marked by pro- protesters have been arrested by Gulf is a symbol of Iranian
turned the Persian Gulf into a virtual second English Channel. violations, which is proof of con- testers setting up encampments on U.S. police during student protests might, emphasizing the com-
London gradually extended its illegal hold on both the Iranian and Arabian tradictions and double standards their campuses – has gripped the in the country in support of Gaza.” mitment of the Naval Force
coasts of the Persian Gulf. It penetrated deep inland to set up petty Sheikh- in the UN body’s mechanisms,” country. Students in some 20 universi- in escorting Iranian ships in
doms on its southern shores, including the placing of Bahrain under a pirate Gharibabadi said. The students are mainly calling ties across the United States have regions where enemies of the
clique. On the north it turned the Qajar weaklings in Tehran into mere vassals
before replacing them with its own slave, an illiterate soldier of obscure origin
From California to New York, Il- for their universities to disclose been protesting the Israeli regime’s Islamic Republic are present,
called Reza Khan, who was ordered to call his illegitimate regime ‘Pahlavi’. linois to Texas, the U.S. police have their investments and break finan- genocidal war against Palestinians ensuring the safety and secu-
In the 1960’s Britain, no longer a world power, handed over the Persian raided university campuses carry- cial ties with firms linked to Israel in the Gaza Strip and the U.S. gov- rity of sailors and merchants
Gulf’s control, along with its tutelage of the unrepresentative regimes of the ing and dragging students away or or businesses that are profiting off ernment’s unconditional support in fulfilling the country’s
region to the US, which through the slavish Pahlavi potentate became the shockingly slamming them. its war against Palestinians. for its ally. economic needs.
paramount power. They have even arrested pro- The protests spread across Amer- Hundreds of people have been ar- Irani said the country’s
The above is a brief background of the strategic water body on Iran’s south- fessors, like Caroline Fohlin, an ica’s most influential universities rested since the protests first erupt-
ern coast which since time immemorial to our present era (beginning from Navy had within less than
Emory University professor, in earlier this month from Columbia ed at Columbia University in New 67 days established maritime
the Babylonians in Mesopotamia and the Egypt-based Greco-Roman cartog-
Georgia, during protests over Is- University in New York, where the (Continued on Page 7) dominance in the Persian
rapher Claudius Ptolemy’s drawing of probably the first map of the known

Tehran, Riyadh Stress Developing

world), has been called “Persian” – irrespective of its classification as a ‘sea’ Gulf during the 1980-1988
or a ‘gulf’. Iran-Iraq war and cut off the
In February 1979 a new era ushered in for the Persian Gulf and the whole “economic arteries” of the
region (if not the world) with the triumph of the Islamic Revolution under the
dynamic leadership of Imam Khomeini (RA), who cleared the country of the Science, Tech Cooperation Iraqi Baathist enemy in the
region.
undesirable presence of the US.
Independent Iran made it clear that the Persian Gulf cannot and should not TEHRAN– Iranian consul Saudi universities, realizing sci- scholarships and other education- He highlighted the key
be a playground of outside forces. This brotherly advice the rulers of the litto- general Hassan Zarnegar and Pres- entific and technological coop- al and research opportunities. ports of Bandar Imam, Bush-
ral states did not heed because of their obvious lack of faith in Islamic values ident of King Abdulaziz University eration, exchanging students and Meanwhile, Yusuf Al-Aama ehr, and Khark Oil Terminal,
and solidarity. They were and are too timid to tell the destabilizing Americans Tareef Yusuf Al-Aama have under- professors, and carrying out joint stressed the importance of scien- which operated under com-
to leave for fears of being replaced through palace coups by brothers, neph- scientific projects. tific and educational cooperation
lined developing cooperation in sci- plete security provided by the
ews, and cousins, ever willing to grab power by pledging subservience to the
ence and technology fields. He also stressed Saudi students’ for developing relations between Navy, leading to significant
Great Satan.
With its earnest appeals for regional solidarity and littoral peace falling on During the meeting which was presence in Iranology and Farsi the two countries and the need to victories bestowed upon the
deaf ears, the Islamic Republic of Iran after overcoming Saddam’s 8-year held on Tuesday, Zarnegar em- language courses, as well as Ira- provide cooperation frameworks people by the armed forces.
US-dictated war and dismayed by the idiotic invitations of the unrepresented phasized establishing commu- nian universities’ readiness to ac- between the scientific institutions Praising Iran’s military ca-
regimes to the US to increase its mischievous presence in the Persian Gulf, nication between Iranian and cept Saudi students in the form of of Iran and Saudi Arabia. pabilities and numerous vic-
embarked solo on its resolve to solidify its sovereignty and security (and that
‘Iran Army Day’ Commemorated in Indonesia
tories of the country’s armed
of the region).
Thanks to the foresight of its leadership and the dedication of its people,
forces, the Navy Commander
today Iran has achieved self-sufficiency in all fields including the defence reiterated the ongoing suc-
TEHRAN – The ceremony of Fitr holidays in the southeast Iran’s defense attaché to Indone- cesses since the Sacred De-
industry and the building of a powerful navy, equipped with state-of-the-art
technology, to ensure national sovereignty as well as the “Persianness” of the
marking the Islamic Republic of Asian country. sia Colonel Movahed emphasized fense era (Iran-Iraq war), the
Persian Gulf. Iran Army Day was held in the In- In the ceremony, Iranian Am- that the Islamic Republic’s mili- latest being Operation True
Tehran very well knows that the neighbourhood will not remain forever un- donesian capital Jakarta with par- bassador to Jakarta Muham- tary doctrine has been defensive
Promise, in which the IRGC
der client rulers who sooner than later have to give way to people’s power ticipation of tens of diplomats and mad Boroujerdi appreciated Iran and decisive in the face of en-
Aerospace Force on April 14
(especially in view of the treason of the current regimes in siding with the military advisors. armed forces’ efforts in defending emies, adding that despite cruel
US-Zionist genocide in Gaza against public wishes and the blatant betrayal launched a wave of cruise and
The embassy of Iran in Jakarta the Islamic country’s sovereignty sanctions by colonial states, the
of the sanctity of al-Aqsa). hosted the ceremony on Monday and their recent retaliatory attack Iranian armed forces are among ballistic missiles and drones
In other words, the days are not far for end of the US presence or more evening, which was widely re- on the Israeli regime in response the top military powers in the re- against military targets in the
properly the CENTCOM terrorist hold on regional states and throughout
flected on Indonesian news web- to the regime’s airstrike on Iran’s gion and the world, and possess Israeli occupied territories in
West Asia, along with the cleansing of the cobweb called Israel, whose spi- retaliation for the Israeli re-
dery tentacles have reached the Persian Gulf coasts due to the treachery of
sites. It is worth mentioning that consulate in Syria, adding that the most advanced armaments.
in Iran, the army day was com- Tehran is committed to continue An exhibition of pictures of gime’s April 1 airstrike that
certain littoral regimes in allowing the Zionists to set up diplomatic and trade
missions in their capitals. memorated on April 18, but the supporting the resistance of the Iran-made weapons was also killed seven Iranian military
To sum up, Iran will never permit the enemies to pollute the Persian Gulf’s ceremony in Jakarta was delayed Palestinian people in the face of held on the sideline of the commanders and advisers in
pristine purity, its rich resources, its navigation safety, and its name. until yesterday due to Eid al- occupiers. ceremony. Syria.

A Brief History of Metaphor in
Persian Poetry (Part I)
According to Nezami, the poet is like the woman who tends to a
bride’s physical appearance before her wedding.
A significant feature of Persian po-
etry that distinguishes it from most
verse written in a European language
is that almost all of it—from the ear-
liest poems, written over a thousand
years ago, to the present day—re-
mains relatively accessible to a con-
temporary speaker of the language.
The 17th-century English poet Ed-
mund Waller bemoaned the fact that,
already, his contemporaries could no
longer easily read the works of the
14th-century poet Chaucer:
But who can hope his lines should
long
Last in a daily changing tongue…
We write in sand, our language
grows,
And like the tide our work o’er-
flows.
Chaucer his sense can only boast,
The glory of his numbers lost!
And as if to confirm Waller’s com-
plaint, it was in Waller’s lifetime that
passages from Chaucer were first
“translated” into contemporary En-
glish, by Dryden. The Persian lan-
guage, especially its literary form,
has remained far more stable over
the past millennium than is true of
most European languages. There
have been some changes of vocab-
ulary and grammar, but by Western
standards they are minor: a mod-
ern-day Iranian can read the works
of the 10th-century poet Ferdowsi
with about the same ease as a mod-
ern-day English speaker can read
those of 17th-century authors such
as Waller and Dryden; there are some
difficulties for a non-specialist in the
period, but they do not obscure what
is usually the obvious sense and rhe-
torical force of any given passage.
A side-effect of the fact that poems
from centuries ago can seem and
sound relatively “contemporary” to
the Persian reader is that such poems
Tunisia to Stage Iranian
Monodrama ‘Alaa’
TEHRAN -- Iranian monodra-
ma ‘Alaa,’ written and directed
by Muhammad Kazem-Tabar,
will be staged at the sixth Car-
thage International Monodrama
Festival in Tunisia.
Previously showcased at the
14th Daegu International Mu-
sical Festival in South Korea,
and the 41st Fajr Internation-
al Theater Festival, in Tehran,
‘Alaa’ will now be featured at
could be—and were—taken as mod-
els by poets from a much later date,
and this in turn has led to a quite ex-
traordinary continuity of poetic rhet-
oric from the earliest poems until at
least the mid-19th century, and even
beyond that period.
There is perhaps something else
at work in this rhetorical continuity:
all poetry is artificial in its language,
but poetry in English has frequent-
ly tended to aim at “language really
used by men,” as Wordsworth put it,
and when this is the case it tries, as
far as possible, to disguise its artifice;
by contrast pre-modern Persian poet-
ry tends to display, and delight in,
its artifice. To say a poem in English
sounds “artificial” is to condemn it;
the same remark about a pre-modern
Persian poem could well elicit the
response “Of course it does; it’s a
poem, isn’t it?” And so the fact that
a particular metaphor or rhetorical
trope has been used by many other
poets, and is thought of as intrinsical-
ly “poetic” rather than as colloquial,
is not so much a barrier to its contin-
ued use as a validation of it.
The poets Ayyuqi (10th–11th centu-
ries) and Nezami (12th century) both
say that the poet is like the woman
who tends to a bride’s physical ap-
pearance before her wedding; that is,
the poet uses his or her skill and arti-
fice to make the subject as dazzlingly
beautiful as possible. Other common
metaphors used by poets themselves
to describe poetry are that it is some-
thing woven, such as brocade, or a
piece of jewelry, such as a pearl neck-
lace. All three of these metaphors
emphasize the aesthetic, artificial,
fabricated, and artisanal nature of the
craft, rather than, say, its sincerity or
its truth-telling qualities as they are
foregrounded in much Western poetry
(“to hold…the mirror up to nature,” as
Shakespeare’s Hamlet says).
Courtesy: Literary Hub
the sixth edition of the Tunisian
festival.
The cast includes Marjan Aqa-
nouri, Ali Borji, and Muham-
mad-Reza Azadfard, who bring
the production to life with their
outstanding performances.
The theatrical production in-
troduces a unique blend of ro-
mance and aerial yoga move-
ments, making it a standout
performance in the festival.
Art & Culture May 1 , 2024 3
4500-Year-Old Remains
Unearthed on Pirzal Hill
TEHRAN -- Archaeologists assisted by stu-
dents at Zabul University have discovered ar-
chitectural remains of about 4500 years old in
addition to 4300-year-old objects on Pirzal hill
in Iran’s southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan
province.
Pirzal hill is located 60 km south of Zabul in
the province, which was registered in the list of
national monuments in 2007.
The hill was explored in 2023 by Zabul Uni-
versity as part of practical courses in archeol-
ogy for the students of the Faculty of Art and
Architecture.
The most important findings were an archi-
tectural structure belonging to the fourth period
of the Bronze Age (about 2500 to 2300 BC),
which included the remains of a house in the
first layer of the area. of Workshop 3 show construction in the late goods included stone containers, animals such
Hussein Sarhadi, a staff member at Zabul Uni- Bronze Age,” Sarhadi said. as cows, sheep and other necessities such as
versity, attributed the Pirzal site to the Burnt Exploration work at Workshop 3 revealed wheat. The exchange of stone objects such as
City’s fourth period. “The architecture includes pottery belonging to about 4300 years ago, figurines and marble vessels was common in
the remains of a house in the first layer. The clay objects including figurines and counting the area.
house consists of a number of rooms on the objects. “According to the surface findings, it seems
southern edge of a central courtyard,” he said. Archaeologists have also discovered objects that Pirzal is one of the biggest hills belonging
He said recent excavations indicate the exis- related to the management of goods and the lo- to the last phase of the Bronze Age of Sistan,
tence of an alley that probably connected the cal trading system, which linked the settlement whose history and quality are still considered
building to other buildings or houses. to other surrounding sites. as one of the issues discussed in the archeology
“The remains of the alley on the northern side According to archaeologists, these exchange of southeast Iran,” Sarhadi said.
Iranian Researchers Smart Glasses for Visually Impaired
TEHRAN -- A group of Irani- tual laboratory simulations and
an researchers from Islamic Azad attractive educational content
University’s Tehran branch used for students,” he added.
artificial intelligence (AI) to de- Yahyayee described the glass-
sign smart glasses which analyze es as an incomparable tool to
and find the path and obstacles help doctors and medical staff
for the blind. during operations, consulta-
“This product is a demo and tions, and diagnoses, and said,
a wearable gadget which is con- “It also creates a field for ex-
sidered as assistant smart glass- perts for easy access to informa-
es to help the users to navigate tion, remote collaboration, and
in complex environments and implementation of processes.”
accurately recognize objects In 2022, a creative product
with real-time audio capabili- was also produced by an Iranian
ties,” Alireza Yahyayee, one of company which makes the pro-
the researchers of the project, cess of accessing the pages of
special possibilities for the blind recognition, and improves their
told ANA. people, including voice descrip- daily life, it also provides inter- different websites and reading
“While this product provides their texts easier for the blind.
tions, navigation and object active educational content, vir-
‘Father of Coffee’, ‘Azazil’ to Debut on VOD Platforms
TEHRAN -- Iranian VOD Parinaz Izadyar, Maryam Za- producing ‘Heartless’ for Ira- arimi, features a star-studded
platforms are about to intro- rei, Peyman Maadi, Behrang nian VODs. cast, including Reza Kianian,
duce new additions to their line- Alavi, and Babak Hamidian The series, written by Amir Merila Zarei, Bahareh Af-
up, offering viewers a diverse are in the cast. Abbas Payam and produced shari, Bahare Kian Afshar, and
range of narratives and perfor- Kamal Tabrizi is currently by Muhammad Sadeq Mirk- Hamed Behdad.
mances.
‘Father of Coffee’, directed
by Mehran Modiri, is set to
debut on Iranian VOD plat-
forms, iFilm reported.
The comedy series, currently
in the final stages of pre-pro-
duction, follows an Irani-
an family’s journey into the
world of coffee importation,
earning them the title of the
father of Iranian coffee.
Modiri, along with Sam De-
rakhshani and Jaleh Sameti,
star in the series.
‘Mortal Wound’ gets ready
to release its third season, with
filming already completed.
Viewers can expect new
stories and characters as the
series delves deeper into the
narrative.
The third season is slated for
exclusive broadcast in the up-
coming summer.
‘Azazil’, directed by Hassan
Fathi, is another upcoming
addition to Iranian VOD plat-
forms.
The series, focusing on so-
cial and police themes, is un- May 1 is known internationally as International Workers’ Day or Labor Day to recognize the achievements
dergoing final modifications of workers.
before the release. Photo by ISNA
 May 1 , 2024

Imam Ja’far Sadeq (AS)

“Three characteristics bring about hatred, that is, hypocrisy, RIDDLES
oppression, and self-conceit.”
Dear youngsters, could you
answer the following ques-
tions.
Immortal Legacy 1. I am made by nature,
soft as silk; A puffy cloud,
Salaam dear young friends and hope you are fine by white as milk; Snow tops this
tropical crop; the dirtiest part
the Grace of Almighty God. Wish you lots of success in of a mop. What am I?
your endeavours. 2. I can go through glass
As you all know, this Saturday is the 25th of Shawwal, without breaking it. What am
I?
the doleful day on which the Prophet’s 6th Infallible 3. In many hall ways
Heir, Imam Ja’far Sadeq (AS) was martyred. He was you would stand, if not with
me in hand. What am I?
the victim of a fatal dose of poison given to him in Holy
4. If you’re looking for
Medina on the orders of the wicked caliph of the usurp- something sweet I know what
er Abbasid regime in Baghdad, Mansour Dawaniqi. to do. But if you don’t like heat
I’m not for you. What am I?
Mansour was a dirty devil, who because of his deep 5. I’ll bring out your
animosity towards the Prophet’s Immaculate Ahl al- bulls, and slow your roll. I may
Bayt created a new sect amongst the laity, mostly new even come out of your skull.
What am I?
converts or the sons and grandsons of converts, and 6. I am the word that has
named it Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jama’ah, which means three syllables and twenty six
letters. What am I?
People of (the Prophet’s) Tradition and Congregation.
This was indeed a misnomer and a divisive move to
split Muslim ranks by hoodwinking the naïve and
JOKES Answers to the questions
asked in the previous issue:
1. Soul
knaves, in view of the fact that the real upholder of the Teacher: Why have you got cotton in your ears, do you have an infection?
2. Turtle
Sunnah (practice) and Seerah (behaviour) of Prophet Student: Well you keep saying that things go in one ear and comes out from the other one, so I am 3. Mirror
Muhammad (SAWA) was the 6th divinely-designated trying to keep them it all in! 4. Valley
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Clock
leader of mankin, Imam Ja’far Sadeq (AS). 6. Neck
Parents asked college watchman: Is this a good college?
Mansour knew that the prime source of the shari’ah
Watchman: Probably the best. I did my engineering here & got campus placement.
(code of laws) of the Prophet was Imam Sadeq (AS) in Send your jokes. Heard any
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
whose famous academy of Medina, there were 4,000 Mafia Don’s son failed school exams…… jokes lately? Well, try and
scholars at its peak, studying different branches of Father: How was your exam? make us laugh too!
knowledge, including the Father of Chemistry, Jaber Son: Dad, they questioned me for 3 hours, but I told them nothing.
Don’t hesitate! Mail it to us.
Ibn Hayyan. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reporter: Have you seen any impact of Goods and Service Tax? Kayhan International address:
In order to undermine the popularity of the Prophet’s
righteous successor among the masses, the self-styled Waiter: Yes, earlier they used to click pictures of food in India. Ferdowsi St., Shahid
caliph resorted to every satanic stratagem including Now they click pictures of the bill. Shahcheraghi Alley, Tehran.
promotion of pseudo jurists, who to compensate their
lack of Islamic knowledge relied on analogy or guess-
work in religious matters. Three-Eyed Snake
The criminal founder of the city of Baghdad even im-
A carpet python with
prisoned Imam Sadeq (AS), and when all his plots failed three eyes was found
he had him removed through a fatal dose of poison. in the town of Humpty
Alas, Imam Sadeq (AS) achieved immortal martyrdom, Doo, Australia in May
but not before bequeathing the dynamic legacy of Islam 2019.
With two eyes in their
to the devotees of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt through his
typical positions, the
son and successor, Imam Musa Kazem (AS).
third eye is nestled in
Today, even though the tomb of the 6th Imam – along the center of the snakes
with that of the 2nd, 4th and 5th Imams – has been head, peering out with a
destroyed by the Wahhabi heretics in Medina, his name lidless gaze.
and fame is spread worldwide as is evident by the hun- Snakes and other reptiles are sometimes born with extra heads or
tales, but an extra eye is exceedingly uncommon.
dreds of millions of Muslims who adhere to school ju-
X-rays revealed the snake did not have an extra head fused with its
risprudence, the Fiqh al-Ja’fariyya. own. The eye sat in a third socket and was seemingly functional.

UK to Deport 6,000 Migrants
to Rwanda This Year
A British Border Force vessel carrying people believed to be mi-
grants passes by a cruise ship as it arrives at the Port of Dover
in Dover, Britain, April, 29, 2024.
LONDON (AFP) -- The UK
expects to deport nearly 6,000 mi-
grants to Rwanda this year, a se-
nior minister said Tuesday, after
the government published new de-
tails on the controversial scheme.
The figures come days after the
plan aimed at deterring migrant arriv-
als on small boats from northern Eu-
rope became law following months
of parliamentary wrangling.
Rwanda has “in principle” agreed
to accept 5,700 migrants already in
the UK, the interior ministry revealed
late Monday.
Of those, 2,143 “can be located for
detention” before being flown there,
according to the ministry.
Law enforcement agencies will find
the remainder, Health Secretary Vic-
toria Atkins said Tuesday when asked
EU Could ‘Die’, Michel Says After Macron
Charles Michel’s comments came after French President Emmanuel Macron
last Thursday declared: “Our Europe, today, is mortal and it can die.”
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) -- EU chief
Charles Michel backed French Presi-
dent Emmanuel Macron’s assessment
that the European bloc is “mortal” and
could “die” if it doesn’t face up to the
threats descending on it.
“Any democratic project, any democrat-
ic model, by nature, is mortal,” Michel told
a group of journalists in Brussels.
“But let’s be clear,” he added, “when
Emmanuel Macron said it or when I give
you this answer, this is not a pessimistic
impression.”
“I am optimistic,” he said. “We have
Global Plastic Talks End in Ottawa Without Agreement
OTTAWA (AFP) -- A fourth and
penultimate round of UN-led ne-
gotiations to solve global plastic
pollution wrapped up in Ottawa
early on Tuesday with a world-
first pact said to be within reach
by year’s end but without a cap on
the production of polymers.
For the first time in the negotia-
tions, delegates from 175 countries
and observers discussed a draft of
what is to become a global treaty on
ending the scourge of plastics that
are found everywhere from moun-
tain tops to ocean depths, as well as
within human blood and breast milk.
The current session picked up
where talks in Kenya left off five
months ago.
They also agreed to a series of con-
sultations between now and Novem-
ber, when the final round of talks is
to be held in South Korea.
The Ottawa talks saw “a massive,
monumental change in the tone and
in the energy” compared with the
previous round, Canadian parlia-
mentary secretary Julie Dabrusin
said.
about the 5,700 earmarked for depor-
tation.
“The expectation is that we remove
that group of people... by the end of
the year,” she told Sky News televi-
sion. “If somebody doesn’t report as
they should do... They will be found.”
Migrants who arrived in the UK
between January 2022 and June last
year are liable to have their asylum
claims deemed inadmissible and be
removed to Rwanda, the interior min-
istry said.
More than 57,000 people arrived on
small boats after trying to cross the
Channel during this 18-month period,
according to official statistics.
UK lawmakers last week passed the
Safety of Rwanda Bill, which com-
pels British judges to regard Rwanda
as a safe third country.
the strength, we have the tools” to handle
the challenges, he said.
The comments by Michel, the head of the
European Council representing the EU’s
27 member countries, came after Macron
last Thursday declared: “Our Europe, to-
day, is mortal and it can die.”
“It can die and this depends only on our
choices,” Macron said in a wide-ranging
speech at the Sorbonne University in Paris.
Referring to Europe’s struggle to build
defense independence as it supports
Ukraine, and industrial competition with
the United States and China, Macron said
“I’m really optimistic that we can
get to an agreement by the end of
the year... to end plastic pollution by
2040,” she said.
Dabrusin and others welcomed a
shift in the negotiations from vague
objectives to treaty language, as
well as streamlining options pre-
sented in Kenya.
However, a proposed cap on plas-
tic production did not make it into
the draft text and remains a major
sticking point.
Although there is a broad consen-
sus on the need for a treaty, envi-
ronmental activists pleading for a
cut in plastic production remain at
odds with oil-producing nations and
the plastics industry, which favors
recycling.
Ana Rocha, speaking on behalf of
Global South nations, said there had
been “a growing willingness to ad-
dress primary plastic polymers un-
der the treaty.”
This is crucial, according to envi-
ronmental groups. “You cannot end
plastic pollution if you do not reduce
the amount of plastic we produce,”
WORLD NEWS
It followed a UK Supreme Court
ruling last year that said sending mi-
grants on a one-way ticket there was
illegal.
The new law also gives decision-
makers on asylum applications the
power to disregard sections of inter-
national and domestic human rights
law.
UK opposition parties, UN agen-
cies and various rights groups have
criticized the flagship policy of Prime
Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative
government.
He said last week that deportation
flights are expected to begin within
10-12 weeks.
Britain’s prisons chief on Monday
hit out at the “unacceptable” deten-
tion conditions faced by migrants,
especially children, at an airport near
London.
“Luton (airport) was simply unable
to cope with the demands placed on
it and we were particularly concerned
to find that children were placed in
crowded holding rooms with unrelat-
ed adults,” wrote the Chief Inspector
of Prisons Charlie Taylor in a report.
Most British airports have deten-
tion centers where migrants arriving
on airplanes or those transferred from
other centers are briefly held.
More than 17,400 migrants were
placed in those centers between June
and November 2023.
Close to 3,000 people were sent
during that period to the centre at Lu-
ton airport, north of London, making
it the largest such centre in England
and Wales.
Europe is “not armed against the risks we
face” in a world where the “rules of the
game have changed”.
Both Macron and Michel held forth just
over a month before the European Union
holds elections to choose a new European
Parliament.
The vote will in turn will influence who
gets the bloc’s top jobs -- including the one
currently held by Michel -- and help deter-
mine the union’s policies in coming years.
Asked about the European Union ex-
panding eastwards, to take in countries
such as Ukraine and ones in the Balkans,
Michel stood by his call that “we must be
ready by 2030”.
“What is the alternative? If the idea is
to procrastinate for decades to come, it
means that we give a message to China, to
Russia, that this is a playground for them
in our direct neighborhood.”
Michel gave his interview to mark the
20-year anniversary of the EU’s last expan-
sion, in 2004, when it took in 10 countries.
The EU in December decided to open
adhesion negotiations with Ukraine and
Moldova, and gave candidate status to
Georgia, which earlier Bosnia had ob-
tained.
Four countries in the Western Balkans
-- North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia
and Albania -- are officially candidate
countries but their path currently remains
blocked.
Greenpeace’s Graham Forbes told
AFP.
Annual plastics production has
more than doubled in 20 years to
460 million tonnes and is on track
to triple within four decades if left
unchecked.
“This treaty will succeed or fail
based on the extent to which it ad-
dresses and reduces plastic produc-
tion. Nothing else will work if we
don’t get that right,” Forbes said.
G7 environment ministers meet-
ing in Italy had been expected on
Tuesday to commit to reducing plas-
tic production, recognizing “that
the level of plastic pollution is un-
sustainable and that its increase is
alarming,” according to the French
delegation.
Peru and Rwanda proposed in a
motion in Ottawa cutting plastic
production by 40 percent in the next
15 years, in line with Paris agree-
ment climate goals. Plastic produc-
tion is a significant driver of global
warming because most plastic is
made from fossil fuels. The motion
was defeated.
Russia: U.S. Hypocritical
Over ICC and Israel
The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
MOSCOW (Reuters) -- Russia said
on Tuesday that the United States
was being hypocritical by opposing
the International Criminal Court’s
(ICC) investigation of Israel but sup-
porting the court’s warrant for the
arrest of President Vladimir Putin.
The ICC - which can charge in-
dividuals with war crimes, crimes
against humanity and genocide - is
investigating Hamas’ Oct. 7 cross-
border attack and Israel’s devastating
military assault on Gaza, now in its
seventh month.
White House spokesperson Karine
Jean-Pierre said on Monday the Unit-
ed States did not support the ICC’s
investigation of Israel and did not be-
lieve that the court had jurisdiction.
U.S. President Joe Biden said last
year that the ICC decision to issue
an arrest warrant for Putin was jus-
tified. The United States has shared
details of alleged Russian war crimes
in Ukraine with the ICC.
Russia says the warrant against
Putin is a meaningless attempt by
the West to soil Russia’s reputation
and denies war crimes in Ukraine.
Ukraine says Russia committed war
crimes.
Russia says the West has ignored
Stoltenberg: Ukraine Has Lost
Trust in NATO After Failures
NATO chiefl Jens Stoltenberg and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky
meet, amid Russia’s attack, in Kyiv, April 29, 2024.
RZESZOW, Poland (Reuters) --
Ukraine’s trust in its NATO allies has
“taken a dent” because of delays and
failures in the delivery of arms for
the war with Russia, NATO boss Jens
Stoltenberg said.
Speaking to Reuters as he travelled
out of Ukraine by train after a day-long
visit, Stoltenberg said such failings
showed it was time to revamp the coor-
dination of military aid to Kyiv.
“We need a more robust, institution-
alized framework for our support to
ensure predictability, to ensure more
accountability and to ensure burden-
sharing,” said Stoltenberg, the secretary
general of the transatlantic military al-
liance.
As examples of NATO allies falling
short, he cited the U.S. Congress tak-
ing six months to pass a $60-billion
Ukraine aid package and European
countries delivering much less artillery
ammunition than promised.
Those shortcomings had a major im-
pact on the battlefield as Russia gained
the initiative while ammunition-starved
Ukrainian forces have been forced onto
the defensive.
“Of course, the fact that we have not
delivered what we promised has put a
dent ... into the trust,” Stoltenberg said.
May 1 , 2024
Ukraine’s crimes, a charge denied by
Kyiv.
“Washington fully supported, if not
stimulated, the issuance of ICC war-
rants against the Russian leadership,”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesper-
son Maria Zakharova said in a post
on Telegram.
But “the American political system
does not recognize the legitimacy of
this structure in relation to itself and
its satellites,” Zakharova said, adding
that such a position was intellectually
“absurd”.
The Kremlin has called the issuing
of the warrant against Putin outra-
geous and legally void, as Russia is
not a signatory to the treaty that cre-
ated the ICC.
Israel is not a member of the ICC,
while the Palestinian territories were
admitted as a member state in 2015.
Prime minister Benjamin Netanya-
hu said on Friday that any ICC deci-
sions would not affect Israel’s actions
but would set a dangerous precedent.
Israeli officials are worried that
the court could issue arrest warrants
against Netanyahu and other top of-
ficials for violations of international
humanitarian law in Gaza, Israeli me-
dia have reported.
But, after a day of talks with Ukrai-
nian President Volodymyr Zelensky and
other senior officials, he said Kyiv still
believed in its allies and it was now up
to them to deliver.
Stoltenberg, a former prime minister
of Norway, said one way to avoid future
shortfalls in military aid to Ukraine was
to give NATO a greater coordinating
role and draw up a multi-year plan that
makes clear the contributions expected
from each ally.
He has put such a proposal to NA-
TO’s 32 members and said it should be
backed by a big financial commitment.
Diplomats say 100 billion euros ($107
billion) over five years has been floated.
Western military support for Ukraine
is currently organized on an ad-hoc
basis by the U.S.-led Ukraine Defense
Contact Group, also known as the
Ramstein group.
NATO members gave the go-ahead
earlier this month for military planners
to work on Stoltenberg’s proposal but
some governments have expressed res-
ervations.
Hungary said it would oppose any-
thing that might bring NATO closer
to war and some diplomats have cast
doubt on whether a big extra financial
commitment is feasible.
5
WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Four U.S. law en-
forcement officials were killed and four others
wounded in a shootout Monday as they carried
out a warrant at a home in the southern state of
North Carolina, officials said. The wanted man
was later found dead on the property after he
shot multiple officers, and officers returned fire,
the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department
(CMPD) said in a statement, following a standoff
that lasted around three hours. The Department
of Justice confirmed that a deputy U.S. marshal
and two task force officers were killed in the inci-
dent. Five other officers were also shot, with one
from the local police force in “critical condition,”
CMPD said on social media. CMPD later an-
nounced the death of one of the injured officers,
saying in a post on X that he had “passed away
tonight from his injuries after being shot in the
line of duty this afternoon while assisting other
officers with the apprehension of a suspect.”
***
MOSCOW (Reuters) -- The Russian-backed
head of Crimea said on Tuesday that long-range
Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) were
shot down over the peninsula, which was an-
nexed by Russia in 2014. Sergei Aksyonov posted
on Telegram a photo showing what he described
as undetonated submunitions of ATACMS missiles.
Aksyonov did not specify when and how many mis-
siles had been shot down. The United States in re-
cent weeks secretly shipped long-range missiles to
Ukraine, which has so far used them twice, a U.S.
official said last week.
***
THE HAGUE (AFP) -- Ecuador’s early April
raid on Mexico’s embassy to seize a former top
Ecuadoran official crossed a line and set a dan-
gerous precedent for global diplomatic relations,
the UN’s top court heard on Tuesday. Ecuadoran
security forces stormed the Mexican embassy in
a late night raid on April 5 to arrest former vice
president Jorge Glas, who is wanted on corrup-
tion charges and had been granted asylum by
Mexico. “There are lines in international law
which should not be crossed,” Mexico’s repre-
sentative told judges at the International Court
of Justice. “Regrettably, Ecuador has crossed
that line,” Alejandro Celorio Alcantara told the
Hague-based court, where Mexico filed a case
against Quito. Quito’s rare incursion on diplo-
matic territory sparked an international outcry,
and led Mexico to break ties with Ecuador and
pull its diplomats out of the country. On Tuesday,
Celorio warned the raid by special forces -- of
which images were shown in the courtroom -- set
a “disconcerting” precedent.
***
MANADO, Indonesia (AFP) -- Indonesia’s re-
mote Mount Ruang volcano erupted several times
on Tuesday, authorities said, issuing the highest
level of alert and ordering thousands of people to
evacuate due to the threat of a tsunami from debris
sliding into the sea. Ruang, located in Indonesia’s
North Sulawesi province, erupted at around 01:15
am local time on Tuesday (1715 GMT Monday)
and then twice more that morning, the volcanol-
ogy agency said in a statement. The volcano sent a
tower of ash more than five kilometers (3.1 miles)
into the sky, it added, as well as a fiery column of
lava. The national disaster agency BNPB estimated
11,000 to 12,000 people had to be relocated from
near Ruang’s crater, spokesman Abdul Muhari told
a press conference. Images released by the agency
showed a molten red column bursting into the sky,
a large ash cloud spilling from the crater and burn-
ing embers near local houses. Indonesia, a vast ar-
chipelago nation, experiences frequent seismic and
volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific
“Ring of Fire”.
***
MANILA (AFP) -- The Philippines said the
China Coast Guard used water cannon on two of
its vessels on Tuesday, causing damage to one of
them, during a patrol near a reef off the Southeast
Asian country. Manila and Beijing have a long
history of territorial disputes in the South China
Sea, with several collisions involving Philippine
and Chinese vessels in recent months, as well
as the use of water cannon by the China Coast
Guard. The latest incident happened near the
China-controlled Scarborough Shoal, which has
long been a potential flashpoint, during a mis-
sion to resupply Filipino fishermen. China’s coast
guard said it had “expelled” two Philippine ships
from its waters near Huangyan Island, which is
the Chinese name for the shoal. China claims
almost the entire South China Sea, brushing off
rival claims from other countries, including the
Philippines, and an international ruling that its
assertion has no legal basis. Tuesday’s incident
came as the Philippines and the United States
hold a major annual military exercise that has
infuriated Beijing.
***
NAIROBI (Reuters) -- Rescuers were searching on
Tuesday for at least 91 people missing in heavy flooding
across Kenya, the interior ministry said. At least 46 peo-
ple were killed on Monday morning in a mudslide and
flash floods in Mai Mahiu town in central Kenya, the
ministry said in a situation report, an increase of one on
the previous death toll. Fifty-three more people in Mai
Mahiu were reported missing, the interior ministry said,
while the Kenya Red Cross said its tracing desk had re-
ports of 76 missing. In all, at least 169 people have died
across Kenya from heavy rains and flooding since last
month. More than 185,000 have been forced from their
homes, according to government data. Dozens more
have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced
by intense downpours in Tanzania and Burundi, with
scientists saying climate change is causing more intense
and frequent extreme weather events.
 6 May 1 , 2024
Muhammadi Named Best Goalkeeper, Abbasi
Wins MVP at Futsal Asian Cup Thailand
TEHRAN – Bagher Muham-
madi’s rock solid performances for
Iran in the AFC Futsal Asian Cup
Thailand 2024 saw him claim the
Battling Nadal Beats Cachin to Reach Madrid Open Fourth Round
MADRID (Reuters) - Rafael
Nadal survived a second set wob-
ble to defeat Pedro Cachin 6-1
6-7(5) 6-3 in the Madrid Open
third round on Monday.
Nadal, who beat 10th seed
Alex de Minaur in the second
round, held his nerve as he was
tested by the 91st-ranked Argen-
tine, who won his maiden ATP
title at the 2023 Swiss Open.
“Some moments good, some
moments not good, but I found
a way,” the 37-year-old Nadal
said.
Cachin struggled against his
powerful forehand in the first
set as the Spaniard broke twice
to take a 5-1 lead before the
match was temporarily paused
with a spectator feeling un-
Lewandowski Hat-Trick Leads Barca to 4-2 Win Over Valencia
Barcelona’s Polish forward #09 Robert Lewandowski (center) fights for the
ball with Valencia’s Spanish defender #03 Cristhian Mosquera during the
Spanish league football match between FC Barcelona and Valencia CF at the
Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Barcelona on April 29, 2024.
BARCELONA (Reuters) - day over visitors Valencia, who were
Barcelona striker Robert Lewan-
dowski scored a hat-trick in the sec-
ond half to help his side fight back to
claim a hard-fought 4-2 win on Mon-
EU Legal Adviser: Some FIFA Player
Transfer Rules May Breach EU Law
BRUSSELS (AP) — FIFA rules
on transfers can conflict with Eu-
ropean Union legislation relating
to competition and freedom of
movement because they limit possi-
bilities for players to change clubs,
and for clubs to hire, a senior EU
legal adviser said on Tuesday.
Advocate General Maciej Szpu-
nar gave his opinion after French
soccer player Lassana Diarra le-
gally challenged FIFA rules.
The Diarra case went through
FIFA judicial bodies before the
2016 election of FIFA president
Gianni Infantino, who has made
it a priority to modernize transfer
market rules.
Best Goalkeeper Award.
The custodian displayed fine
form throughout the tournament,
which saw Iran claim a record-
Spain’s Rafael Nadal looks at the ball against Argentina’s Pedro Cachin
during the third round of the 2024 ATP Tour Madrid Open tournament
tennis match at Caja Magica in Madrid on April 29, 2024.
well.
When play resumed, the five-
leading 2-1 when they were reduced
to 10 men just before the break.
With five games remaining, Bar-
ca moved back to second in LaLiga
Former France international
Diarra signed a four-year con-
tract with Lokomotiv Moscow in
2013. The deal was terminated a
year later after Diarra was unhap-
py with alleged pay cuts.
Lokomotiv Moscow applied
to the FIFA dispute resolution
chamber for compensation and
the player submitted a counter-
claim seeking compensation for
unpaid wages. The Court of Ar-
bitration for Sport found the Rus-
sian club terminated the contract
with Diarra “with just cause” and
the player was condemned to pay
10.5 million euros ($11.2 mil-
lion).
extending 13th title.
Muhammadi was also instru-
mental in the final against Thai-
land, limiting the hosts to one
goal in Iran’s 4-1 win.
Mohammadi’s teammate Saeid
Ahmad Abbasi was also named
the competition’s MVP and best
goalscorer with eight goals.
Saeid Ahmad Abbasi’s dazzling
performances saw him named the
Most Valuable Player and win
the Yili Top Scorer Award at the
event.
The forward, whose eight goals
and one assist led Iran to its 13th
title, edging out compatriot Mah-
di Karimi (five goals), Iraq’s Sa-
lim Faisal (five goals) and Tareq
Zeyad on four goals.
Ahmad Abbasi picked up the
times Madrid champion broke
again to win the set.
on 73 points as they leapfrogged
surprise package Girona, who are
third with 71.
Those two teams will meet in a
Catalonia derby on Saturday which
could decide a top-two LaLiga fin-
ish and a place in the Spanish Su-
per Cup.
Barcelona’s win postponed for
a couple of weeks Real Madrid’s
almost inevitable LaLiga title cel-
ebrations as Carlo Ancelotti’s side
sit atop the standings on 84 points.
Valencia stay eighth on 47 points,
two points behind Real Betis and
four off Real Sociedad in the battle
for a European qualifying spot.
In Barca’s first game since boss
Xavi Hernandez said he was re-
versing his decision to step down
at the end of the season, they strug-
gled on a wet surface after heavy
rain turned the match into a frantic
tussle marked by goalkeeping mis-
The former Real Madrid player
also argued that a potential deal
with Belgian club Charleroi fell
through because of the FIFA
rules, and sued FIFA and the Bel-
gian federation at a Belgian court
for damages and loss of earnings
of six million euros ($7 million).
Szpunar proposed the European
Court of Justice should reply to
the questions referred by the Bel-
gian tribunal “by finding that the
FIFA rules governing contractual
relations between players and
clubs may prove to be contrary to
the European rules on competi-
tion and freedom of movement of
persons.”
Iran’s U-23 Chess Team Runner-Up
in Asian Championship
award after helping Iran beat
Thailand in the final, having been
in sterling form throughout the
tournament.
In the final, Ahmad Abbasi add-
ed his eighth goal with a classy
finish to cap off a fine perfor-
mance.
Ahmad Abbasi opened his Thai-
land 2024 account with a brace in
Iran’s 3-1 win over Afghanistan
before scoring twice in victories TEHRAN – Iran’s under-23 sisting of Bardiya Daneshvar,
against Bahrain (5-3) and Kuwait chess team has finished second Sina Movahed, Abtin Atakhan,
(4-0). at the 2024 Asian Cities Chess Kiyan Poormousavi, and Maoud
The pivot, who plays his club Championship held in Russia. Mossadeghpour, participated in
futsal with Spanish outfit Valde- The 2024 Asian Cities Chess the event.
penas, then finished off a fine Team Championship took place The boys’ team secured sec-
counter-attacking move to score in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia ond place with 16 points, while
Iran’s fourth goal in their 6-1 win from April 20-30. the girls’ team ranked sixth with
over Kyrgyzstan in the quarter- Iran’s boy’s chess team, con- 9 points.
finals.
Spain Hire Del Bosque to
Cachin started the second on
a better note, taking a 4-1 lead
Supervise Football Federation
helped by some fine cross-court
backhands and, though Nadal
broke twice to make it 5-5, he
claimed the set in the tiebreak.
Both players broke early in the
third, which stood at 2-2, but lo-
cal favourite Nadal then broke
twice more to emerge as the
winner with the fans giving him
a standing ovation.
“Day by day... playing in front
of this crowd means everything
to me,” said the 22-times Grand
Slam champion.
Nadal next faces Czech Jiri Former Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque
Lehecka, who beat Brazil-
MADRID (AFP) – Former Spain “I believe that (Del Bosque) is the
ian qualifier Thiago Monteiro
coach Vicente del Bosque will lead the clearest representation of a good
6-4 7-6(7) to reach the fourth
committee overseeing the country’s person of great human quality and,
round. scandal-hit football federation, the above all, an example of honesty
Spanish government said Tuesday. and respect,” added Alegria.
The retired 73-year-old led La
Roja to the 2010 World Cup and
The RFEF took decisions “beyond
its remit” after Rubiales stepped
takes. 2012 European Championship ti- down in December according to a
The visitors wasted a sitter from tles, as well as taking Real Madrid report from the country’s leading
close-range through Peter Federico to two Champions League triumphs. sports court, resulting in the CSD
early and then allowed Fermin Lo- “I’m proud to announce that the creating the committee.
pez to head home from a Raphinha person presiding over the commit- World and European football
cross to put Barca in front after 22 tee and representing it... is Vicente governing bodies FIFA and UEFA
minutes. del Bosque,” said Pilar Alegria, the subsequently issued a statement ex-
minister for Education and Sports. pressing “great concern” at the situ-
But Valencia’s Hugo Duro struck
“Del Bosque will be the face and ation around the RFEF.
in the 27th, taking advantage of an
representation of Spanish football.” “FIFA and UEFA will seek ad-
error by keeper Marc-Andre ter Last week Spain’s National Sports ditional information to assess the
Stegen who tried to chip a clear- Council (CSD) created a committee extent to which the CSD’s appoint-
ance from the edge of the box but to “oversee” the federation (RFEF) ment (of the committee) ... may af-
instead gifted the ball for the strik- and try to pull it out of crisis. fect the RFEF’s obligation to man-
er to equalize into the empty net. Former president Luis Rubiales age its affairs independently and
Another mistake by Barca’s de- resigned in disgrace after forcibly without undue government interfer-
fense 11 minutes later saw Ronald kissing Women’s World Cup star ence,” they said.
Araujo bundle over Federico and Jenni Hermoso last year, while he Spain is due to host the 2030
Pepelu converted the penalty to and new president Pedro Rocha are World Cup along with Portugal and
give the visitors the lead. under investigation in a graft probe. Morocco.
Celtics Top Miami Heat to Take a 3-1 Lead in East
MIAMI (AP) — Derrick White
scored a career-high 38 points,
Jayson Tatum added 20 points and
10 rebounds, and the Boston Celt-
ics beat the Miami Heat 102-88 on
Monday night to take a 3-1 lead
in their Eastern Conference first-
round series.
Jaylen Brown scored 17 points
and Jrue Holiday had 11 for the
top-seeded Celtics, who lost Kri-
staps Porzingis in the first half
to what the team said was a right
calf injury. Boston won at Miami Boston Celtics guard Derrick White (9) dribbles as Miami Heat center
for the sixth straight time and Bam Adebayo (13) defends during the second half of Game 4 of an NBA
improved to 14-3 in their last 17 basketball first-round playoff series, Monday, April 29, 2024, in Miami.
games on the Heat’s home floor. (knee) and Terry Rozier (neck). second round on Wednesday
Bam Adebayo finished with 25 The Heat managed only 84 points when they host Game 5. The Bos-
points, 17 rebounds and five as- in Game 3 and struggled again on ton-Miami winner will meet the
sists for Miami, which had a sell- offense in Game 4. Tyler Herro Cleveland-Orlando winner in the
out crowd — including Lionel scored 19 points and Caleb Martin East semifinals; that Cavaliers-
Messi — but played again with- had 18 for the eighth-seeded Heat. Magic series won’t end until at
out injured starters Jimmy Butler The Celtics can advance to the least Friday.
 MIDDLE EAST May 1 , 2024 7
Yemen...
(Continued From Page One)

ISTANBUL (Dispatches)
McDonald’s Corporation fell short
of quarterly profit estimates for
the first time in two years amid de-
mands for a global boycott against
the fast food chain because of the
war in the Gaza Strip, the compa-
ny said Tuesday.
Despite global comparable
sales growing nearly 2% in the
first quarter, marking 13 consec-
utive quarters of positive growth,
the burger company faces head-
winds in international markets,
particularly in regions affected
by the conflict in Gaza.
“Global comparable sales in-
creased 1.9%, reflecting positive
comparable sales in the U.S. and
International Operated Markets
segment. Comparable sales in
– “The continued impact of the
A pro-Palestine protest outside a branch of McDonald’s in
Palu City, Indonesia.
the International Developmental
Licensed Markets segment were
negative as the segment contin-
ued to be impacted by the war in
the Middle East,” the company
said in a statement.
war in the Middle East more than
offset positive comparable sales
in Japan, Latin America and Eu-
rope,” it added.
The U.S. fast-food chain faces
demands for a boycott since Al-
onyal Limited, which operates
McDonald’s in Israel, gave away
thousands of free meals to Israeli
forces following attacks by Tel
Aviv against Gaza, which have
so far killed more than 34,000
people, mostly women and chil-
dren.
McDonald’s CEO Chris Kemp-
czinski said on a conference call
earlier this year that the conflict
is “weighing on its brand” and
hurting sales in Muslim-majority
countries.
a large-scale military action against Yemen will not cause any change in
the country’s staunch support for Palestine and its opposition to nearly seven
months of Israeli aggression on Gaza that has martyred 34,500 Palestinians.
Yemen has been a key element of a regional campaign targeting Israeli and
U.S. interests, which seeks an end to the brutal war on Gaza.
The Yemenis have either seized or launched drone and missile attacks on ships
linked to the Zionist regime, the U.S. or Britain that have been sailing in re-
gional waters in recent months. Attacks have also been launched from Yemen
on ports controlled by the Israeli regime since October, when Israel started its
war on Gaza.
Ansarullah has reiterated that attacks on shipping will continue until Israel
completely stops its aggression on Gaza.
The Sunday statement by Yemen came after Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar newspaper
said in a report that the U.S. was preparing a large-scale aerial offensive against
Yemen.
Paris...
(Continued From Page One)
University officials called in police to clear a protest last week. On
Monday, police broke up a student protest demanding an end to Israel’s
bombardment of Gaza at Sorbonne, another top French university.
French Higher Education Minister Sylvie Retailleau said on Tuesday
the French government had no plans to suspend funding for Sciences Po.
Speaking to broadcaster France 2, she estimated the state’s funding for
the university at 75 million euros ($80 million). She said there had been
“no antisemitic remarks” and no violence had been committed during the

Thousands Rally in Tel Aviv Demanding demonstrations.

Both Basseres and Retailleau also said there were no plans to suspend

Netanyahu’s Resignation Sciences Po’s collaboration with universities in Israel.

Critics on the left denounced Pecresse’s announcement.
ANKARA (Dispatches) – or the captives at home. Now table to reach a truce in Gaza,” tinians have since been killed “It’s shameful and an absolute scandal,” said Mathilde Panot, the head
Thousands of Israelis, including you decide, prime minister. We Foreign Minister Sameh and more than 77,600 others of hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) deputies in parliament, adding the
families of captives being held want to see you make a deci- Shoukry said during a meeting injured amid mass destruction behavior of the students was a “credit to the world and a credit to our
in Gaza, rallied in Tel Aviv on sion,” she said. of the World Economic Forum and shortages of necessities. country.”
Monday to demand that the re- Zangauker was referring to in Saudi Arabia. The Israeli war has pushed
Panot and Rima Hassan, a Franco-Palestinian activist who is running
gime reach a prisoner swap deal hardline minister Itamar Ben- Indirect talks between Israel 85% of Gaza’s population into
with the Palestinian resistance Gvir and Finance Minister and Hamas are taking place in internal displacement amid on the LFI list for European elections, were on Tuesday questioned in an
movement Hamas. Bezalel Smotrich, who oppose both Cairo and Doha aimed at acute shortages of food, clean investigation into suspected justification of “terrorism” over comments
Police were heavily deployed reaching a prisoner swap deal reaching a deal that includes water and medicine, while on the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel.
in the area, triggering clashes that stops the regime’s war on a prisoner swap, under which 60% of the enclave’s infra- Several hundred people staged a solidarity rally in support of the two
between protesters and law en- Gaza. the Israeli captives would be structure has been damaged
women on Tuesday morning.
forcement officers, the Haaretz The Israeli opposition as well released in exchange for the or destroyed, according to the
daily reported as families of the captives ac- release of Palestinians from Is- UN. “In what democracy are counter-terrorism methods used against politi-
Einav Zangauker, whose son cuse Netanyahu of hindering raeli jails. Israel stands accused of geno- cal activists, community activists and trade unionists?” Panot, 35, told
Matan is being held in Gaza, reaching a prisoner swap deal Tel Aviv believes that over cide at the International Court her supporters, who chanted “Resistance” and waved Palestinian flags.
addressed the rally, according with Hamas for his own politi- 130 Israelis are being held in of Justice (ICJ), which in Janu- “I want to tell the pro-Israeli lobby organizations behind these com-
to the Israeli Ynet news web- cal survival. Gaza, while Israel is holding ary issued an interim ruling
plaints that they will not silence us,” added 32-year-old Hassan.
site. Egypt confirmed Monday around 9,100 Palestinians in that ordered Tel Aviv to stop
“Netanyahu, you choose. It’s that there is a new proposal for its prisons. genocidal acts and take mea-
either Ben Gvir and Smotrich a truce in the blockaded Gaza Israel has waged a deadly sures to guarantee that humani- UAE ...
-- or my son. It’s very simple; Strip. military carnage on Gaza since tarian assistance is provided to (Continued From Page One)
either an extreme right cabinet “There is a proposal on the an Oct. 7. Over 34,500 Pales- civilians in Gaza.
Saudi embassy in the Islamic Republic by protesters over Ri-
Palestinian Groups Fatah, Hamas Meet in China yadh’s execution of a prominent Shia cleric.
After years of animosity on different sides of geopolitical rival-
BEIJING (Dispatches) – specify when the meeting took factions, met in Moscow earlier China has historically been ries, the UAE started re-engaging with Tehran in 2019.
Officials from rival Palestinian place. this year to discuss the potential sympathetic to the Palestinian It resulted in upgraded diplomatic ties last year between Iran and
groups Fatah and Hamas have “The two sides fully expressed formation of a unified Palestin- cause and supportive of a two- the UAE, which has business and trade ties with Tehran stretch-
held a meeting in China for talks their political will to achieve ian government. state solution to the Israel-Pal-
ing back more than a century, with Dubai emirate long being one
on potential reconciliation. reconciliation through dialogue After defeating Fatah in 2007, estine conflict.
of Iran’s main links to the outside world.
The Ministry of Foreign Af- and consultation, discussed Hamas has been the ruler in Beijing has been calling for
The ministers are expected to mainly discuss cooperation in
fairs in Beijing confirmed that many specific issues and made Gaza since 2007, when it de- an immediate ceasefire since
international trade corridors while private sector representatives
the groups’ representatives had positive progress,” he added. feated President Mahmoud Ab- the start of the Zionist regime’s
will discuss trade and investment.
met recently. The groups have “China and Palestine share a bas’ long-dominant party in par- onslaught in October. Zion-
Iran imported $20.8 billion of goods from the UAE in its last fis-
competed for years, but the Is- traditional friendship. We sup- liamentary elections and pushed ist troops have killed at least
raeli war on the Gaza Strip has port Palestinian factions in its rival out of the enclave for its 34,535 people in the Gaza Strip, cal year ending in March 2024, making the latter Iran’s top source
provoked further talks on Pales- achieving reconciliation and refusal to recognize the result of mostly women and children, of imports according to the country’s Customs body. In the same
tinian reconciliation. increasing solidarity through the vote. according to the Ministry of period, the UAE was Iran’s top third export destination, with $6.6
The two groups visited China dialogue and consultation. We Meanwhile, the Fatah-led Pal- Health in the coastal enclave. billion worth of goods exported.
to partake in an in-depth and will continue to work actively estinian Authority has limited Chinese President Xi Jinping
candid dialogue on the pros- towards that end.” autonomy in the areas it admin- has called for an “international Iran...
pect, Foreign Ministry spokes- Representatives from the two isters across the occupied West peace conference” to end the (Continued From Page 2)
man Lin Jian said. He did not groups, as well as other political Bank. war.
York. The anti-Israeli movement has now spread to other U.S. uni-
versities.
Zionist Minister Calls for ‘Utter Destruction’ of Gaza Last week, U.S. President Joe Biden signed into law a massive for-
eign funding bill that includes $17 billion in additional military aid to
AL-QUDS (Dispatches) – The Zionist raeli carnage since last October. “There are arrest warrants in The Hague Israel amid the ongoing aggression in Gaza.
regime’s far-right finance minister Beza- “It’s absurd, we are negotiating with the (ICJ), there is American pressure, there is On Tuesday Iranian lawmakers, in a statement, expressed their sup-
lel Smotrich called Tuesday for the “utter ones that should not have existed for a fear of sanctions, there are protests, and port for American and European academic communities that have held
destruction” of the cities of Rafah, Deir al- long time,” Smotrich said. there are all sorts of calculations, and you demonstrations in support of Palestine in defiance of their governments.
Balah, and Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip. The far-right minister also called for must say to your prime minister: May your Over 150 Iranian parliamentarians voiced support for the university
students and professors in the U.S. and Europe who have staged rallies
“We read: I pursue my enemies and over- striking the Hezbollah group in Lebanon. situation not be worse than theirs.”
in support of Gaza in recent weeks.
take them, I do not turn back until they are “Then, with the will of God, to eliminate More than six months into the Israeli
The Iranian lawmakers described the anti-Israeli demonstrations in
wiped out,” Smotrich, the leader of the the evils of Hezbollah in the north, with war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins,
Western countries as a move emanating from the “justice-seeking,
Religious Zionism Party, said in a circu- the will of God, and to deliver a real mes- pushing 85% of the enclave’s population
philanthropic and humanitarian nature”.
lated video on social media, using phrases sage that whoever perpetrates against the into internal displacement amid a crip- The MPs said the pro-Palestine rallies in the Western states reveal that
from the Torah. Jewish people, like these evil ones have pling blockade of food, clean water, and the mainstream media’s attempts to distort and misrepresent the realities
“No half jobs; Rafah, Deir al-Balah, and perpetrated against us, will be destroyed, medicine, according to the UN. by whitewashing the Israeli atrocities in Gaza have been futile.
Khan Younis - utter destruction,” he added. they will be annihilated, and it will echo Israel stands accused of genocide at the The solution to the Gaza crisis is a return to justice, the statement said.
His call comes amid reports of a possi- for decades and decades onwards,” he International Court of Justice. An interim More than 900 protesters have been arrested over the last 11
ble ceasefire deal between Hamas and the said. ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop days across the United States as demonstrations against Israel’s
Zionist regime in the Gaza Strip, where He called on prime minister Benjamin genocidal acts and take measures to guar- onslaught on Palestinians and the rallies for a ceasefire in Gaza
more than 34,500 Palestinians have been Netanyahu not to bow to pressure to end antee that humanitarian assistance is pro- and divestment from companies linked to the Israeli regime spread
killed and thousands injured in a brutal Is- the Gaza war. vided to civilians in Gaza. across U.S. campuses.
 Zionist Troops Kill Turkish National in Al-Quds
Thought for Today
AL-QUDS (Dispatches) – Israeli troops in Al-Quds dead a
Turkish national on Tuesday after alleged stabbing, Israeli
police said. Nothing will harm you if you practice them.
Police identified the man as a 34-year-old Turkish citizen.
The alleged stabbing reportedly wounded a Zionist police-
man. Amir al-Momeneen Ali (AS)

VOL NO: LV 12242 TEHRAN / Est.1959 Wsdnesday, May 1, 2024, Ordibehsht 12, 1403, Shawwal 22, 1445

Civil Defense: 10,000 Palestinians Netanyahu Vows Rafah Invasion

‘With or Without’ Deal

Buried Under Rubble in Gaza

GAZA (Dispatches) – There are
an estimated 10,000 Palestinians
buried under the rubble of buildings
flattened by the Zionist regime’s
strikes in the Gaza Strip, the Pales-
tinian civil defense has said.
It would take two to three years
to recover all the bodies unless dig-
ging equipment, which has been
destroyed by Israel, is urgently
replaced and allowed into the war-
ravaged strip, it added
In a press release published on
Tuesday, the civil defense also
warned of the spread of diseases
from the decomposed bodies.
It said high temperatures in the
summer will likely increase the
threat of epidemics, as heat accel-
erates decomposition of corpses.
“The General Directorate of Civil
Defense renews its appeal to all
relevant parties, led by the United
Nations and the World Health Or-
ganization… to urgently inter-
vene,” the statement read.
It added that pressure was needed
to “allow the entry of heavy equip-
ment necessary to enable our crews
to save the lives of those wounded
UNRWA: All Countries Except UK, Austria,
Switzerland Resume Funding
GENEVA (Dispatches) –
Excluding the U.S. funding deci-
sion through next March, the UN
agency for Palestinian refugees
(UNRWA) chief said on Tuesday
that all countries except the UK,
Austria, and Switzerland resumed
funding to the agency.
“The United States has clearly
indicated that they will freeze the
suspension until March 2025.
Because of congress prohibition,
the UK has not yet taken a deci-
sion,” Philippe Lazzarini told a
news conference in Geneva.
He added that no decisions
have been made by Austria and
Switzerland as well.
“So these three countries are
still suspending, all the other
countries have resumed,” he
Palestinians dig in the rubble of a collapsed building searching for
people following an Israeli air strike in Rafah, in the southern of
Gaza Strip, on 16 October 2023.
by the ongoing Israeli bombing, as
well as to extract the bodies of the
martyrs that are decomposing un-
der the rubble, and are causing a
health disaster for the population.”
After most Israeli troops pulled
out from Gaza’s populated areas on
April 7, rescuers have been able to
reach areas previously deemed in-
accessible.
They have recovered more than
said.
Regarding Italy’s suspension,
he noted that the country has
not yet contributed to the agency
since the new government took
office.
“With the announcement of
new contributions to UNRWA,
we can sustain operations until
June and aim to continue opera-
tions through August,” he added,
clarifying that $257 million is
still suspended.
Lazzarini said no evacuation
order from the city of Rafah in
the southern Gaza Strip has been
given by the Zionist regime yet
amid a likely Israeli military ca-
range.
“People have not yet been
asked to evacuate from Rafah
700 bodies found in mass graves in
al-Shifa hospital and Nasser hos-
pital, the strip’s two biggest health
facilities.
They have also launched fresh at-
tempts to remove rubble in some
areas in the northern Gaza Strip.
Using basic tools, they recovered
some decomposed corpses from
under the debris of buildings ear-
lier this week.
but there is a sense that if there is
no deal this week, this can hap-
pen at any time,” he said.
He added that there is an “ex-
traordinarily deep anxiety pre-
vailing right now in Gaza, be-
cause the question everybody
is asking is whether yes or not,
there will be a military aggres-
sion.”
Regarding the food situation,
the commissioner-general said
there is “more food” available
in the markets, but added that “it
doesn’t mean that the food is ac-
cessible” as there is no cash cir-
culating and the amount of food
is “far from enough” to reverse
“spreading hunger and looming
famine.”
Lazzarini also stressed that
However, they said their efforts
are limited due to the lack of heavy
digging machinery.
“Civil defense crews in the north-
ern Gaza governorate embarked
on these efforts, with the support
of residents and volunteers using
available simple hand tools,” they
said.
“In light of the lack of heavy
equipment such as bulldozers and
excavators, these efforts will re-
main insufficient and will not meet
the minimum requirements neces-
sary to recover the bodies of thou-
sands of martyrs.”
Palestinian officials previously
estimated there were 7,000 people
under rubble who have not been re-
covered and therefore not recorded
in the health ministry’s death toll,
which currently stands at over
34,500.
The new estimate by the civil de-
fense means the death toll could
reach at least 44,500 once all bod-
ies are recovered.
The majority of those killed and
buried under debris are children
and women.
UNRWA still has “no access” to
the north, saying: “Whenever we
ask for a convoy going from the
south to the north, our convoys
are systematically denied.”
He added that whenever per-
mission is given to deliver any-
where else in the strip, the pro-
cess is “always complicated and
very cumbersome.”
According to Lazzarini, 182
UNRWA staff members have
been killed, and more than 160
premises belonging to the agen-
cy have been damaged or totally
destroyed since Oct. 7.
Most of these premises were
sheltering displaced people, he
said, and added that more than
400 people have been killed in
these premises.
Palestinians check the bodies of victims laid out outside a hospital
morgue in Gaza City a day after an Israeli strike on the Jabalia
refugee camp on 1 November 2023.
AL-QUDS (Dispatches) – The
Zionist regime’s prime minis-
ter Benjamin Netanyahu said
on Tuesday he would launch a
ground invasion on Rafah “with
or without” a deal with the Pal-
estinian resistance movement
Hamas.
Speaking in a meeting with
families of captives, Netanyahu
said that Israel has begun the
evacuation of Palestinian civil-
ians from Rafah, according to
his office.
“We will enter Rafah and elim-
inate Hamas battalions there,
with or without a deal, to achieve
the total victory,” he said.
The remarks were made as
Israeli and Hamas negotiators
were in Egyptian-brokered talks
on a deal for a ceasefire for the
nearly seven-month-long Gaza
conflict, that will secure the re-
lease of captives.
“The idea that we will stop the
war before achieving all its ob-
jectives is out of the question,”
the head of the Zionist regime
said on Tuesday, according to a
statement from his office.
Taliban: Gunman Kills 6 Shia
Worshippers in Mosque in Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD (AP) – A
gunman stormed a mosque in
western Afghanistan, opening
fire and killing six people as they
Earlier in the day, the Israeli
military’s chief of staff Herzi
Halevi also said the military
had approved final plans for
the phased invasion of Rafah as
well as the refugee camps in the
central part of Gaza in the next
72 hours.
Rafah, situated in the Gaza
Strip’s closed southern border
with Egypt, is home to around
1.5 million Palestinians who
have been displaced due to Is-
rael’s ongoing genocidal cam-
paign in the besieged territory.
Israel had designated Rafah a
“safe zone,” but in recent months
it has been threatening a full-
scale military aggression, leav-
ing the people sheltering there
terrified with nowhere to go.
The assault has mounted fears
over a new carnage against Pal-
estinians and drawn global con-
demnations.
Hamas has already said the
movement is serious about
reaching an agreement on cease-
fire in Gaza, but will not give in
to any pressure from the United
States.
Karzai said on X. “I consider
this terrorist act against all reli-
gious and human standards.”
The United Nation Assistance

ICJ Rejects Emergency Measures Over German were praying, a Taliban official
said Tuesday.
Mission in Afghanistan also
condemned the attack, which it

Arms Exports to Israel

THE HAGUE (Dispatches) – The
International Court of Justice has ruled against
issuing emergency measures over German arms
sales to the Zionist regime as requested by Nica-
ragua, which had argued that there was a serious
risk of genocide in Gaza amid the regime’s assault
on the Palestinian territory.
“The circumstances are not such as to re-
quire the exercise of its power under the ar-
ticle 41 of the statute to indicate provisional
measures,” presiding Judge Nawaf Salam
said on Tuesday.
In a two-day hearing in April, Nicaragua
brought a case against Germany for alleg-
edly facilitating genocide by being one of
Israel’s biggest military suppliers.
Germany has denied the accusations, with
its lawyer arguing that Nicaragua’s case
was rushed, based on flimsy evidence and
should be thrown out for lack of jurisdic-
tion.
The court did not grant the German request
to throw out the case, so it can move for-
ward.
In January, the world court in The Hague
had ruled as part of a separate case brought
by South Africa that there was “a real and
imminent risk that irreparable prejudice”
will be caused to the rights of Palestinians
in Gaza under the genocide convention.
Meanwhile, American lawmakers are in the
process of drafting a bill aimed at respond-
ing to the International Criminal Court (ICC)
in case it decides to issue arrest warrants
against high-ranking Israeli officials accused
of committing war crimes in Gaza.
The legislation is being drafted in a retalia-
tory move against the ICC to prevent it from
issuing arrest warrants against Israeli offi-
cials. It could also include sanctions against
certain officials of the ICC, according to
American news outlet Axios.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-
Pierre told reporters on Monday that the
U.S. did not support the ICC investigation,
questioning the competency of the tribunal.
“We don’t believe that they have the juris-
diction,” Jean-Pierre said.
Michael McCaul, Chair of the House For-
eign Affairs Committee, also anticipated
the unveiling of a House bill that mirrors
Senator Tom Cotton’s proposal to impose
sanctions on ICC officials who are part of
inquiries targeting the US and its partners,
he told Axios.
Representative Brad Sherman also said
that the US should “think of whether we
stay a signatory” to the Rome Statute, the
treaty that established the ICC. “We have to
think about talking to some of the countries
that have ratified [the treaty] as to whether
they want to support the organization,” he
said.
Local media reports and a for-
mer president of Afghanistan
said the mosque was targeted
because it was a place of wor-
ship for the country’s Shia Mus-
lim minority.
The attack happened on Mon-
day night in the district of Gu-
zara in Herat province, said Ab-
dul Mateen Qani, a spokesman
for the Taliban Interior Ministry.
He said in a post on the social
media platform X that an inves-
tigation was underway.
No one immediately claimed
responsibility for the attack,
which also wounded another
worshipper while the attacker
fled. Local media reported that
the mosque’s imam was among
those killed.
“I strongly condemn the attack
on the Imam Zaman Mosque,”
former Afghan President Hamid
said killed and wounded at least
seven people, including a child.
It called for urgent accountabil-
ity for perpetrators and protec-
tion measures for Shia commu-
nities.
The Daesh terrorist group’s af-
filiate in Afghanistan is a major
Taliban rival and frequently tar-
gets schools, hospitals, mosques
and Shia areas throughout the
country.
The Taliban seized power in
Afghanistan in August 2021,
during the last weeks of the
chaotic departure of U.S. and
NATO troops from the country
after 20 years of war.
Despite initial promises of a
more moderate stance, the Tali-
ban gradually reimposed laws
as they did during their previous
rule of Afghanistan from 1996
to 2001.