Headlines in Iranian English-language dailies on Nov 29

According to Ashura News, quoted by the IRNA news agency

*** IRAN DAILY

-- Iran’s non-oil exports up 42% in eight months: IRICA

Figures by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) showed that non-oil exports from the country rose by 42% in value terms during March 21-November 21, to a total of $31.1 billion.
IRICA chief Mehdi Mir-Ashrafi said that petrochemicals accounted for 43% of the value and nearly a half of the weight of Iran’s exports in the eight months to November 21.

-- Iran, Mali ink mining MoU

The Iranian Mining Engineering Organization signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Chamber of Mines of Mali to develop cooperation in the sector.
The MoU was signed due to Mali’s interest in attracting investment and technology for the development of mines, as well as the readiness of Iran to process the raw materials needed by its mining industries.

-- Historical school-mosque and church in western city of Sanandaj to be turned into museums

A school-mosque and a historical church in Sanandaj in west of Iran will be turned into a “mosque-museum” and “church-museum,” respectively, according to Kurdestan Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Department.
Describing Kurdestan as one of the historical provinces of the country with many religious and cultural monuments, the head of the department, Yaqub Guylian, told IRNA that the Dar-ol-Ehsan School-Mosque and a historical church of the capital city will be turned into a “mosque-museum” and a “church-museum”.
These two monuments are among the most important cultural capacities of the western city, but their capacities for sustainable urban tourism in religious and cultural fields have not been used well yet, Guylian said.

*** KAYHAN INTERNATIONAL

-- Iran, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan Sign Gas Swap Deal

Iran, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan on Sunday signed an agreement for supply of natural gas from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan via Iran.
The trilateral gas transfer deal was signed in this Turkmen capital in the presence of presidents of the three countries and on the sidelines of the ECO regional economic summit. The deal will allow transfer of 1.5-2 billion cubic meters of gas per year from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan via Iran.

-- Iranian Athletes Win 3 Medals at World Taekwondo Women’s Open

Iranian women taekwondo players have grabbed three medals at the first edition of the World Taekwondo Women’s Open Championships in Saudi Arabia.
The Iranian female taekwondo practitioners finished the World Taekwondo Women’s Open Championships after winning three medals on Saturday.
On the last day of the World Taekwondo Women’s Open Championships on Saturday, Zahra Sheidaei of Iran in the final of under-57kg division defeated Russia’s Margarita Blizniakova to bag the gold medal for her country.

-- Iran Beat Bahrain at FIBA World Cup Qualifier

Iran have defeated Bahrain 82-66 in Group D of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023.
In the match, held in Tehran’s Azadi Hall, five players scored in double-digits for Team Melli, led by Muhammad Jamshidi who scored 21 points.
Bahrain’s Ahmed Salman scored 17 points. Iran and Bahrain will now travel to Manama, Bahrain for their second game of this first window on November 29.

*** TEHRAN TIMES

-- Air Force commander meets Navy chief on occasion of Navy Day

Air Force Commander Hamid Vahedi and his accompanying delegation met on Saturday with Navy Commander Shahram Irani to congratulate him on Navy Day, which falls on November 28.

Congratulating Navy Day, Vahedi said, "The Navy has been able to achieve significant strategic and defense progress by relying on internal capacities and trusting the capabilities of the country's elites and supporting creativity and initiatives."

The commander of the Air Force stated that certainly through unity and empathy that exist today among all the armed forces units coupled with the wise and prudent leadership of the Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief, no superpower would dare to threaten Iranian lands like those days that Saddam Hussein’s army invaded Iran in September 1980.

-- Non-oil trade rises 40% in 8 months yr/yr

The value of Iran’s non-oil trade rose 40 percent during the first eight months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-November 21), as compared to the same period of time in the past year, the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) announced.

Mehdi Mir-Ashrafi said that Iran has traded over 110.3 million tons of non-oil products worth $63.1 billion with other countries in the mentioned period. According to the IRICA head, the weight of trade in the mentioned period also grew by 43.5 percent in comparison to the figure for the previous fiscal year.

-- Cultivation of tourism in the countryside

In recent years, an increasing number of travelers are looking for something different such as spending a day in tranquil countryside, picking fresh fruits, watching rice grow, fishing by the seaside, eating traditional dishes, or even staying with locals.

To put it in other words, many urban residents tend to choose rural tourism to enjoy a slow-paced lifestyle that resembles something like ‘the Internet + countryside’.

 That is in contrast to traditional ways of travel which are made mostly through travel agencies. As tourists mature, more and more sorts of travel are welcomed by the ones who are in search of off-the-beaten routes.