Mediaboss Marketing

A group of artistes from Iran have written a moving open letter to the artiste community of the world about the despairing COVID-19 pandemic in Iran, aggravated in the light of the U.S.-led Security Council sanctions. The signatories 302 as of March 28 include stalwarts of cinema such as Majid Majidi and Rakshan Banietemad, popular actor-filmmaker-writer Niki Karimi, actor Babak Karimi and Shahab Hosseini who won the best actor award at Cannes Film Festival in 2016 for Asghar Farhadis celebrated film, The Salesman.

The people of Iran are facing a crisis today; the Corona crisis you are aware of, as well as the Crisis of Unjust Imposed Sanctions you might not be aware of, the artistes letter states. There is implicit hope that their global counterparts would be able to influence public opinion and politicians so that theyd act before its too late. Iran is currently fighting the worst Corona outbreak in the Middle East.

The letter starts off by saying that artistes, no matter what their nationality, are citizens of a borderless utopia called art which exists in a world entitled culture . They strive to improve their nations with their collective works and have talent to influence people and make them understand issues. Regardless of our religious backgrounds and ideologies, using our individual tastes, styles and cultural characteristics, we all create narratives and images with our works of art; for peace over war, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil, and of course for our salvation and resurrection, the letter states.

It goes on to say that though global politics and its superpowers have created gaps to keep the artistes separated, they have become stronger and more determined in transferring their collective messages of humanity and peace to the world.

It talks of everyone, regardless of their geographic or political situation, coming face to face with a common enemy COVID-19. We are all equally vulnerable to this microscopic adversary. The salvation of one, depends on the salvation of all. Corona is not just a virus, it is a simple and historic question that is waiting for complex answers from the people and governments of the world. It then goes on to focus on the debilitating effect of the sanctions on Iran in the countrys fight against the pandemic saying that its breaths are limited by inhumane global sanctions.

Also read: Indias health diplomacy cannot ignore Iran

This crisis shall pass too, with small or catastrophic losses, but the collection of tales will remain as well. The stories of exhausted nurses dancing in contaminated hospital hallways to raise the morale of patients, as they hide their worries about the lack of medicines and basic hospital facilities; stories of physicians who havent been home in weeks and are forced to work without masks, gloves, gowns as they search for Corona victims in the hallways of the hospitals. These will all remain in the micro-historical memories of our time, and will be heard by all, sooner or later, either from us or from you all, it states.

Hoping that it will not be too late for influential and unified artistes of the world to tell the stories of the injustices towards the Iranian people, so that the powerful politicians of the world may make the right choices, it informs them that a large number of infected victims (including the elderly who are the most vulnerable) are facing shortages of medical supplies. It ends with questions posited to the artistes of the world What do you think? What do you say? And what will you do?

You have reached your limit for free articles this month.

Register to The Hindu for free and get unlimited access for 30 days.

Find mobile-friendly version of articles from the day's newspaper in one easy-to-read list.

Enjoy reading as many articles as you wish without any limitations.

A select list of articles that match your interests and tastes.

Move smoothly between articles as our pages load instantly.

A one-stop-shop for seeing the latest updates, and managing your preferences.

We brief you on the latest and most important developments, three times a day.

Not convinced? Know why you should pay for news.

*Our Digital Subscription plans do not currently include the e-paper ,crossword, iPhone, iPad mobile applications and print. Our plans enhance your reading experience.

Continued here:
Coronavirus | Iranian artistes write open letter on COVID-19 and U.S. sanctions - The Hindu

March 27, 2020, 8:57 PM

6 min read

6 min read

Iran, already struggling to fight the growing spread of novel coronavirus, is now coming to grips with an alcohol poisoning problem that has killed hundreds of people this year.

In the wake of the deaths, officials initially blamed misinformation on social media for convincing victims that drinking alcohol could protect them against coronavirus. But a change in explanation from doctors is opening eyes to a larger problem of bootleg alcohol in the country.

"The first few days we all thought patients had drunken alcohol to protect themselves of corona, as some of them claimed so," Gholam Hosein Mohebbi, head of the public relation of Imam Hospital of Ahwaz, told ABC News.

"But later we realized from their families and friends that they were mostly alcohol users who would get their alcohol from bootleggers, but this time what they had been handed over was a methanol-based drink, not their usual booze, named araq, mixed with water and ethanol," he added.

Trading and drinking alcohol is illegal in Iran, and those seeking alcoholic drinks often rely on a chain of black market dealers without knowing where and how the drinks are produced. The dealers themselves are often not sure of the source of the alcohol.

Members of firefighters wear protective face masks, amid fear of coronavirus disease, as they disinfect the streets, ahead of the Iranian New Year Nowruz, March 20, in Tehran, Iran March 18, 2020.

"One of those [who] died of poisoning in our hospital was an alcohol dealer," Mohebbi said, cautioning people not to trust anyone selling alcoholic drinks and pleading on behalf of a medical staff already overwhelmed with coronavirus infections.

At least 2,197 people have been poisoned by alcohol across the country since the first reported cases of coronavirus in early February and 244 had died as of Sunday, Tasnim News Agency reported.

Iran is already reeling from the coronavirus pandemic; it is the hardest hit country in the Middle East.

The country has an official death toll of 2,378 from 32,332 infection cases, the spokesman of the health ministry, Kianoush Jahanpour, said on Friday, according to the Iranian Students' News Agency.

The rising number of poisoning casualties alarmed other alcohol users to avoid trusting their former dealers.

"People are afraid of buying booze from their dealers," said a 29-year old student who did not want his name to be mentioned for security reasons. He lives in Ahwaz, the capital of the province of Khuzastan, which ranks second in the number of alcohol poisoning casualties. The shortage and increasing price of ethanol has led some producers to end up adding poisonous methanol to the drinks instead of drinkable ethanol, he believes.

"My friend has started making alcohol at home after he lost a friend to poisoning earlier this month," he added.

However, making alcohol at home can also be dangerous.

"If you are unfamiliar with the process, you might end up poisoning your own stuff with a minor mistake. That's why I can't trust his first products," the student said. He said he rejected his friend's invitation to a drink at his place.

"I said no, but can't stop thinking about him as he is an alcoholic and can't just quit easily, especially now with so much free time he has under quarantine," he added.

Members of Iranian Red Crescent test people with possible coronavirus COVID-19 symptoms, as police blocked Tehran to Alborz highway to check every car following ordered by the Iranian government, outside Tehran on March 26, 2020.

Mohebbi expressed his concerns about people with alcohol problems, too.

"We know that those who have alcohol problem[s] have a tough time, but it is banned in our religion. I hope they try to stop drinking at least for now," Mohebbi said.

Despite the illegality of drinking alcohol, those who are poisoned and taken to the hospital are not being prosecuted or arrested, Mohebbi emphasized.

"As medical staff, we are loyal to our duty, which is treating everyone. It doesn't matter if a patient is poisoned by alcohol or is infected by corona," he said. However, to reach the main sources of methanol contamination, police ask questions from the patients.

"Police does not pressure the patients at all. They just try to gain as much information as they can to find the source and prevent more casualties," Mohebbi said.

Go here to see the original:
Iran confronts deadly alcohol crisis in midst of dealing with coronavirus - ABC News

To the Editor:

Re Lifting Sanctions on Iran (editorial, March 26):

Two and a half years ago, my wife and I were tourists in Iran. For nearly two weeks, every day, groups of young Iranians stopped us in the street, in restaurants and at historical sites wanting to talk about their government and ours. We were astounded by their openness and forthrightness. We were amazed by how many of these young people were opposed to their leaders and were willing to say so.

The editorial correctly notes that compassion is a good foreign policy. More important, if the United States does not stand in the way of emergency funding from the International Monetary Fund, that could only encourage the young people we met to struggle to gain some power over their autocratic leaders.

Stephen GoldPhiladelphia

To the Editor:

Re Tommy John Surgery Will Sideline Mets Syndergaard for the 2020 Season (Sports, March 25):

So a 27-year-old multimillionaire who plays a game was able to get immediate surgery for a non-life-threatening injury at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Florida despite the Florida governors order prohibiting any medically unnecessary, non-urgent or nonemergency procedure. But I, an 82-year-old woman who has been waiting more than five long, painful months for a hip replacement, had her surgery canceled by the same Hospital for Special Surgery, in New York.

You report that his operation was defined as essential care by the hospital in Florida and could proceed as planned. How is this an ethical decision? Or is it based on his economic stardom?

Clearly, my agonizing wait, with no end in sight, doesnt count against an elite sports figure who commands essential care and the use of scarce resources. He can walk. I cant.

Susan AddelstonNew York

To the Editor:

Re At the Frontlines of Coronavirus, Turning to Social Media, by Helen Ouyang, M.D. (Doctors, nytimes.com, March 18):

Social media has become a pivotal communication tool in the 21st century and central to information and misinformation dissemination in the Covid-19 pandemic. While there are potential drawbacks, social media has enabled the scientific community to analyze and discuss data in nearly real time allowing for informed decision-making and multidisciplinary global research collaborations.

In our on demand society, it is vital to balance rapid dissemination of information with scientific integrity. Social media has been crucial for dispelling myths surrounding Covid-19 and building relationships between the media and experts. These relationships are critical to ensure proper context and information flowing to the public.

As the world becomes increasingly technologically sophisticated and interconnected during this time of uncertainty, scientists and the media must ensure that accurate scientific information is shared and promoted.

Krutika KuppalliCarlos Del RioJason KindrachukAngela L. RasmussenMuge CevikDr. Kuppalli is vice chair of the Global Health Committee, Infectious Diseases Society of America. Dr. Del Rio is a professor of medicine at Emory University. Dr. Kindrachuk is Canada research chair in emerging viruses, University of Manitoba. Dr. Rasmussen is associate research scientist at the Center for Infection and Immunity, Columbia Mailman School of Public Health. Dr. Cevik is clinical academic in the Division of Infection and Global Health Research, School of Medicine, University of St. Andrews.

Read the rest here:
For Better Relations With Iran - The New York Times

Iran is in terrible shape. It is among the countries worst hit by the coronavirus more than 27,000 documented cases to date. Sanctions have choked its economy. Tensions with Washington remain high and the government is incompetent.

Does that mean the United States should tighten sanctions further in the hope that the maximum pressure strategy will compel Tehran to toe Washingtons line? Or should it loosen sanctions to help Iranians and show them that Americas argument is not with the people?

The choice seems obvious. Demonstrating compassion in times of crisis is good foreign policy, and in this case it may actually help achieve the goals the Trump administration is pursuing.

Yet last week the Trump administration tightened its sanctions, blacklisting several companies around the world for significant transactions in petrochemical products with Iran. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin issued a statement stressing that the United States would continue to target those who support the Iranian regime, even as it remains committed to facilitating humanitarian trade and assistance in support of the Iranian people. He has insisted all along that sanctions do not prohibit humanitarian contributions.

Such arguments are specious in these terrible times. Iran has been overwhelmed by confirmed cases and fatalities, and theyre climbing by the day and thats according to the Iranian governments dubious numbers. The reality may be far worse. Iran has appealed to the International Monetary Fund for $5 billion in emergency funding and a long list of essential equipment ranging from gloves and masks to portable respirators. It should get all this immediately.

No, the United States and its sanctions are not responsible for the rapid spread of the coronavirus in Iran, as Iranian hard-liners have claimed, though the economic hardships from the sanctions could not have helped. Last year, before the current crisis, Human Rights Watch wrote in a report that sanctions had drastically constrained the ability of the country to finance humanitarian imports, including medicines. But the Iranian government carries primary responsibility for the plague by initially denying the outbreak and then reacting far too slowly.

The Trump administration says it has offered to help the Iranian people and to facilitate the delivery of medical supplies to Iran. But the offer is said to carry many conditions, and importers say they still have a major problem finding banks willing to maneuver through the daunting compliance processes to finance the trade.

In any case, piling on more sanctions while Iran bleeds is morally wrong and looks terrible.

Setting aside arguments over whether scuttling the Obama administrations nuclear deal with Iran and resuming sanctions made sense to begin with this editorial board argued that it did not the crisis should be treated by President Trump as a diplomatic opportunity.

On the most elemental level of humanitarian compassion, the United States should be at the forefront of offering what help it can. That may not mean sending medical supplies like respirators, which are in short supply everywhere, but at the least it should mean clearing the way for the I.M.F. loan.

The United States could also offer to send experts to help with technical assistance, a measure that would have the added benefit of providing American medical officials with experience on the coronavirus epidemic at its most devastating. The Trump administration should also loosen or lift sanctions for a limited time and offer technical assistance to Tehran.

There should not be a quid pro quo, which Mr. Trump is so fond of demanding humanitarian aid should be without strings but American generosity might be the best way of persuading Iran to release American and other foreign detainees.

Ideally, that could lead to a lowering of tensions, a reduction of attacks on American targets in Iraq by Iranian allies, and even, down the line, serious discussions on freezing Irans nuclear escalation.

Thats a lot of maybes, given a regime that has shown no inclination to back down before the United States. But if Iran refused American help or continued in its ways despite it, the sanctions would go back into place and the Islamist leaders would be hard put to convince their people that the United States was blocking humanitarian aid.

More important, theres no evidence that the maximum pressure strategy the administration has followed will achieve any of these goals. On the contrary, for the past year the Iranian government has retaliated with repeated nuclear and regional provocations in the evident conviction that this is more likely than restraint to get results.

Writing in Foreign Policy magazine, Robert Malley and Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group argued that in the current crisis, desperate hard-liners in Tehran might take even more dangerous risks.

That was the warning from Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, head of the militarys Central Command, who told Congress earlier this month that the outbreak of the virus probably makes them, in terms of decision-making, more dangerous rather than less dangerous.

Suspending sanctions, clearing the I.M.F. loan and offering help, real help, may not make the Iranian government less dangerous. But its what America should be doing as a great nation, and unlike the alternative, it does hold out the possibility of making Iran less dangerous.

Read the original:
This Coronavirus Crisis Is the Time to Ease Sanctions on Iran - The New York Times

The minister of defence and support of the Iranian Armed Forces, Brigadier Amir Hatami, announced in a statement that major defence gear will be unveiled this year, noting that the Iranian naval force will receive a DANA destroyer and a minesweeper ship, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

Hatami affirmed: We have reached full accuracy in the field of surface-to-surface missiles and will work to increase the destructive capacity of missile warheads.

He referred to Irans defensive system by stating: As far as the defensive field is concerned, we are focusing on the deterrent aspect, which depends on a certain degree of defensive force and resources, in order to be in a position where the enemy would not dare to attack our country.

Hatami added: In the past year, we tried to maintain and stabilise the situation. It was a special year for us, because we faced many fluctuations. In fact, these fluctuations started occurring since the previous year when our enemies publicly planned to destabilise the Islamic Republic of Iran. Of course, we have responded aggressively to all of their actions and the enemy has realised that it cannot challenge the proxy force of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

READ: Its time for Iran to work with world leaders to halt the coronavirus body count

Hatami asserted that the Iranian defence industry will work on optimising the impact of warheads by increasing the destructive capacity to make the missiles more effective, noting that Iran has been developing very competitive research programs to increase the missiles speed, manoeuvrability and agility.

The defence minister also touched on the cruise missiles: If Allah wills, we will have air cruise missiles, and we are seeking to reach a technology to launch cruise missiles while on the move, which we consider a major step. We will achieve our goal this year.

Hatami referred to the new accomplishments in the field of ground warfare by explaining: We have a well-trained group specialised in arming helicopters, increasing its ranges in terms of targeting armoured vehicles and optimising its ability to fly and carry out night operations.

The Iranian defence minister discussed the missile strike carried out against US forces at Ain Al-Assad airbase, which proved Irans deterrent capabilities in the face of aggression.

Iran launched an attack on 8 January on Ain al-Assad airbase in Iraq, where US soldiers are deployed, in response to a US raid that led to the death of the Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani on the third of the same month.

Read more here:
Iran's Minister of Defence: 'We will work to increase the destructive capacity of missile warheads' - Middle East Monitor