Short news updates for Monday, September 17, 1397. Read the most important news from Iran and the world on the 26th day of the month of Shahrivar 97 here moment by moment.
Rare diseases in the village of Kazaz, Arak; accused of oil facilities. Residents of the 1900-person village of Kazaz Shazand, located 20 kilometers from Arak, are struggling with various cancers, skin diseases, miscarriages, and children with birth defects. According to the newspaper Iran, doctors have attributed these illnesses to living near oil and petrochemical facilities and a thermal power plant. One woman who lost her child in this village told Mohammad Masoumian, a reporter for Iran: "Doctors said his heart had not formed; as soon as I mentioned where I came from, the doctors quickly said it was due to the air pollution in your village. Many people have had this problem, and the doctors in Arak know this area. Here, you either get cancer and die, or your child is not born, or like me, you give birth to a child without a heart. Those who have children are also constantly worried because breathing here is difficult, and some children get nosebleeds." Industrial pollutants have also affected the land and animals of this village.
Agreement between Putin and Erdogan to create a buffer zone in Idlib. The presidents of Turkey and Russia agreed to create a buffer zone between rebels and government forces in Idlib to reduce civilian casualties. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who traveled to Sochi, said at a joint press conference with Vladimir Putin that the two countries would coordinate their monitoring of the buffer zone's borders. Ten days ago, Putin, Erdogan, and Hassan Rouhani held a joint meeting to discuss developments in Idlib. Turkey fears that the start of operations in Idlib by the Syrian government and its allies will send a wave of refugees to Turkey.
Jannati has resigned from the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Headquarters. The office of Ahmad Jannati, head of the Assembly of Experts, announced that he has resigned from both the Friday prayer leadership in Tehran and the presidency of the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Headquarters. This announcement came after media reports questioned the legality of Jannati's presidency of this headquarters. The state news agency IRNA reported that according to a law passed by the parliament, the head of the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Headquarters must be chosen from among the temporary Friday prayer leaders of Tehran by the Council for the Policy-Making of Friday Prayer Leaders, and Jannati has resigned from the temporary Friday prayer leadership in Tehran. Ahmad Mazani, a member of parliament and a supervisory member of the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Headquarters, said he has no accurate news about Jannati's resignation from this headquarters. Previously, no news had been published on this matter until today when Jannati's office announced his resignation. This headquarters is one of hundreds of propaganda organizations that use the country's public budget. Members of this headquarters include one of the temporary Friday prayer leaders of Tehran, the Minister of Interior, the Minister of Information, the Minister of Culture, the Minister of Education, the Minister of Science, the Minister of Industry, two members of parliament, a representative of the judiciary, the head of the state broadcasting organization, the head of the Islamic Propagation Organization, the commander of the police force, the head of the Basij Organization, the secretary of the Friday prayer leaders' headquarters, two clerics elected by the Supreme Council of Islamic Seminaries, one female cleric elected by the Supreme Council of Women’s Islamic Seminaries, and the secretary of the headquarters.
Preventing women from entering Azadi Stadium by female officers. Farhad Nikookhesal, the head of Azadi Stadium, told ISNA that "female security forces" were used to prevent women from entering to watch the Persepolis and Al-Duhail match. On the other hand, due to clashes among spectators, several people were arrested in Azadi Stadium. By the 23rd minute of this match, no goals had been exchanged between the two teams.
Macron calls for the expedited return of rejected asylum seekers. AFP reported that Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, called for the expedited process of returning asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected during a meeting with Sebastian Kurz, the Chancellor of Austria. European Union leaders will meet this week in Salzburg, Austria, to discuss migration. The right-wing Chancellor of Austria, who has a hardline stance on asylum seekers, discussed this matter with Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, on Sunday.
The possibility of "the peak of Damavand breaking off" in case of a volcanic eruption. Jalil Ghalamqash, a faculty member of the Earth Sciences Research Institute, said on Tuesday at a special meeting on the risk of Damavand volcano: "Studies conducted on this peak indicate three eruptions that occurred 25,000 years ago, and these studies also remind us that future eruptions of this volcano will be larger." According to ISNA, this researcher emphasized the need to establish a monitoring center for Damavand, stating that officials' perception of a Damavand eruption is "the release of sulfur gases," while "our main concern is the breaking off of the peak of Damavand." If the Damavand volcano erupts, according to Jalil Ghalamqash, "cities that are hundreds of kilometers away from the Damavand volcano will also not be safe from this eruption." He stated that 5.8 billion tomans are needed to establish a monitoring center for Damavand, of which less than 100 million tomans has been provided so far. According to this researcher, both those who deny the activation of this volcano and those who say this volcano has become active are not correct.
The documentary "Soldiers of the Leader" will soon be released by Radio Farda. The documentary "Soldiers of the Leader," directed by Vahid Pourastad, will soon be released on the website and visual and social media of Radio Farda.
Response of the Civil Registration Organization to the change of the last names of the children of influential families. Seyfollah Abutalebi, the spokesperson for the Civil Registration Organization of the country, in response to news about the change of last names of influential families out of fear of public opinion, told the Young Journalists Club: "Only those who have an inappropriate last name can change their last name; otherwise, requests for changing last names will not be approved." He added that if the request for changing the last name is approved, the previous last name will be recorded in the explanation section of the birth certificate.
The Czech Republic will limit the use of glyphosate herbicide. The Czech Republic will limit the use of glyphosate herbicide starting next year. Based on a study conducted by the World Health Organization, glyphosate herbicide is probably carcinogenic. Environmental groups like "Green Peace" are calling for a ban on this herbicide. However, another group of organizations has stated that there is not enough evidence to prove the carcinogenicity of this herbicide, which is widely used in agriculture.
The possibility of Instagram being filtered in Iran. Abolhasan Firouzabadi, the secretary of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace, said that Instagram might be filtered like Telegram and that "there are groups in the country that demand this." In an interview with the Young Journalists Club, he said: "If Instagram does not cooperate, it will face the same fate as Telegram; however, Instagram does not have a private citizen area, and everything is visible in it. While in Telegram, there were private citizen areas, meaning private chats and small groups that were hidden, but in Instagram, everything is visible and has more of a bulletin aspect; however, filtering Instagram is also subject to review, and the possibility I mentioned regarding Telegram applies here as well." He emphasized that the filtering of Instagram has been "proposed as a request, and alongside Telegram, there are groups in the country that are demanding the filtering of Instagram."