Archive for category: News

Iran’s men’s national junior volleyball team is set to face China for the title of the 17th Asian U20 Men’s Volleyball Championships in the Persian Gulf kingdom of Bahrain.

The two Asian powerhouses, which have already booked their tickets for the FIVB Volleyball Men’s U21 World Championship scheduled for next year in Mexico, will clash in the Bahraini capital, Manama, on Saturday.

Earlier in the day and before the final match, host nation Bahrain, will take on South Korea in the third place play-off match.

On Friday, Iran advanced to the finals after defeating host nation, Bahrain, 3-1 (25-14, 21-25, 26-24 and 25-15).

“Bahrain lost today, but they showed they are a very good team, a very strong team,” Iran’s coach, Farhad Nafarzadeh, said after the match.

Bahrain’s coach Ali Ridha admitted that a very good team defeated his, saying, “We played two very good sets. Iran has more experience than our team. They have a good team, they are taller than us – they are strong. They know when they get to 20 points how to win a set.”

China also cruised its way into the gold medal match following a competitive four-set game against South Korean opponents.

The young Chinese athletes edged past South Koreans 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 25-17 and 26-24).

The 17th Asian U20 Men’s Championship opened in Bahrain on October 17, and will wrap up on October 25.

Pool A consisted of Bahrain, the Maldives, Saudi Arabia and Thailand. Chinese Taipei, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait and Uzbekistan were in Pool B, while China, New Zealand, South Korea and Sri Lanka made up Pool C.

Iran had been drawn in Pool D along with Hong Kong, India, Qatar and Turkmenistan.

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A vice president of the European Parliament (EP) says Europe expects the UK to contribute an extra £1.7 billion to the EU budget, warning that the bloc would be “exasperated” if London tried to avoid paying.

Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, a German member of the EP and one of the parliament’s six vice presidents, made the remarks on Saturday, saying the UK must make the two-billion euro (USD 2.5-billion) budget contribution to the EU.

Brussels has been demanding that the UK pay the extra amount by December after a recalculation of the country’s national income since 1995 found that Britain’s economy has enjoyed better-than-expected performance in comparison with other European countries.

Lambsdorff said “everybody has to pay their dues,” arguing that “if you have higher GDP growth than forecast, that also means logically that you have a higher contribution to the community’s budget.”

“That is a logical consequence. That is something that everybody has signed up for,” Lambsdorff added.

The EP vice president’s comments come a day after British Prime Minister David Cameron said the UK will refuse to pay the amount, describing the union’s behavior as “appalling.”

Cameron also warned that such behavior would certainly affect Britain’s decision whether to remain in the EU.

The British prime minister is calling for a renegotiation of Britain’s EU membership terms, saying that the reforms are crucial to persuade Britain to stay in the bloc. Cameron has also vowed to hold an in-out vote on the country’s EU membership by 2017.

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The Tunisian prime minister has warned of possible terrorist attacks during the North African country’s parliamentary elections, as the government tightens security ahead of Sunday’s vote.

“We know that this [elections] will be a target (for militants) because it is unique in the region. It brings hope,” Mehdi Jomaa said on Saturday.

The Tunisian premier said the success of the country’s landmark elections may be a threat to those who oppose the country’s transition to democracy.

“They know that the success of (the elections) is a threat to them, not only in Tunisia but throughout the region,” he added.

Meanwhile, Tunisia’s Defense Minister Ghazi Jeribi has called on Tunisians to cast their ballots and “not to be afraid of the threat of terrorists who aim to stop this election.”

The country’s security forces are on high alert ahead of the key elections, in which approximately 5.2 million voters are eligible to cast their ballots.

On Friday, Tunisian police killed six Takfiri terrorists who had taken a number of people hostage in a suburban house near the capital, Tunis.

The militants, five of them women, were reportedly planning an attack to mar the country’s parliamentary elections.

More than 13,000 candidates started their official electoral campaigns around three weeks ago for the 217 seats in the country’s National Assembly.

The Islamist Ennahda Movement and the secular Nidaa Tounes Party are expected to win the majority of votes in the upcoming elections.

Authorities have warned that militants would launch a spate of attacks in an attempt to destabilize the country.

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Allama Sajid Naqvi, Chief of Shia Ulema Council, has said that takfiri terrorism including  ISIS originated from Pakistan but they were bound to fail because of Shiites rational course of action.

“Masterminds of ISIS are those who invented takfiri nasbi terrorists in Pakistan and their prime target were Shia Muslims but we defeated them by unity of Muslims and now ISIS are disgusted, condemned and isolated outfit,” he said speaking at “Ulema Conference on Protection of Azadari and Defence of Shiites,” in Karachi.

He said that those who stage rallies and public gatherings for Hazrat Usman lacked any right or justification to oppose the mourning processions and congregations.

“We need alternate policies to stop genocide against Shia Muslims in Karachi and other parts of Pakistan. We should remain vigilant during Moharram in particular and strengthen our unity to counter plots of enemies,” he urged.

The SUC officials namely Allama Arif Wahidi, Allama Baqar Najafi, Allama Shabbir Maisami, Allama Shahenshah Naqvi and Allama Jafar Subhani also spoke at the scholars’ conference.

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During a meeting with a group of eulogists from the Revolutionary Guards in Qom, Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem-Shirazi discussed the role the uprising of Imam Husayn (A) has played throughout history but warned Shi’ite mourners of the tragic impact their words can have if they insult the personalities of our Sunni brethren.

Referring to the recent celebration of the event of Mubahilah, Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi said that it is clear that the verse of Mubahilah in the Quran [3:61] refers to the lofty status of the Ahlul-Bayt (A), saying: “This is agreed upon my both Shi’ite and Sunni commentators.”

In regards to the upcoming month of Muharram, where Shi’ite Muslims mourn the martyrdom of Imam Husayn (A), the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi pointed to the narration from Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (A) wherein the sixth Imam stated: “Surely, there is a burning heat in the hearts of the believers with respect to the killing of Husayn that will never cool down!” and said: “Every year, we see this heat with our own eyes, it will never fade and will stay forever.”

His Eminence called on preachers to take proper advantage of poetry but warned them to use credible sources and authoritative books and stay away from weak narrations and falsifying history when composing poetry and also warned them from offending the dignity and lofty statuses of the Imams of the Ahul-Bayt (A), following: “Poetry should reflect the words that have been expressed by the great scholars and preachers of the Master of the Martyrs (A) and they must be identical to reality.”

Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi emphasized that mourning ceremonies and sermons be constructive and have a profound effect on the believers, saying that the event and the culture of Ashura has shaken the thrones of tyrants and oppressors. It was a major influence on Imam Khomeini (RA), who saw the victory of Islamic Revolution in the light of the revolution of Imam Husayn (A). People in their millions came out to face the unjust Shah of Iran in mass demonstrations after holding mourning ceremonies in Muharram and Safar. They were able to overthrow the evil Pahlavi monarchy because of their love for Imam Husayn (A).

He emphasized that unity between Shi’ites and Sunnis is the most important element to address blind extremism and terrorism. He added that the knowledge of the Ahlul-Bayt (A) must be propagated in a respectable manner because Takfiris want to ignite the fire of strife between Shi’ites and Sunnis. He strongly emphasized that Shi’ites must never insult the sanctities of other religions during their mourning ceremonies because the result of their insults will only lead to the shedding of Shi’ite blood in different parts of the world.

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