Social and Political

gatestoneinstitute.org – China has contributed to almost two decades of low inflation and economic growth that has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty in all continents. At the same time China has started to develop an appetite for playing big power. The European colonial powers of the Berlin Conference combined their quest for security abroad with democratization …

RFL/RE – Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has sent legislation to the former Soviet republic’s parliament that would impose a nationwide state of emergency in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Under Georgia’s constitution, lawmakers in Tbilisi have 24 hours to vote on whether to approve the declaration. Zurabishvili submitting the proposal to parliament just hours after Prime …

Radiofarad A physician turned “Islamic doctor” in Iran says dropping bitter gourd oil in ears in the morning before going out will prevent infection with coronavirus (COVID-19). Two more drops at night will even prevent those who have been infected from transmitting it to others, he claims. Many Iranians believe in traditional medical treatments and Islamic medicine, which under the …

Radiofarda – The governor of Aligudarz, a town in Iran’s Lorestan province says a riot in the local prison on Friday amid a coronavirus epidemic was put down by security forces. While the governor, Hamid Kashkuli claimed no prisoner escaped and the reason for the disturbance remains unknown, the coronavirus epidemic has put prisoners in grave danger and could have …

Radiofarda – Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani says a “counter-revolutionary conspiracy” has been hatched to “suspend work and economic activity” amid the coronavirus epidemic in Iran and it should be countered by “normalizing production.” He made the statement on Saturday March 21 at a meeting of the Coronavirus Control Task Force which is the body that decided to shut down schools …

Radiofarda – In a rhetorical, discursive letter addressed to the people of the United States, the Islamic Republic President Hassan Rouhani has lamented that the victims of the sanctions Washington imposed on Tehran are not the country’s political camps, but the ordinary people. Commemorating the new Persian year (Nowruz, beginning March 20), the mid-ranking cleric has called on American people …

Radiofarda – Finns have once again been ranked first in the World Happiness index, while Afghans dropped to the bottom of the global table, earlier occupied by Sudan. The clergy-dominated Iran finished at 118th, the U.S.A. 18th, and Tajikistan on 106th spot, the report says. The World Happiness Report (WHR) says it is a landmark survey of the state of global …

RFL/RE – U.S. President Donald Trump has used an annual message to Iranians and others celebrating Norouz, the Persian New Year, to call for a “brighter, freer future” for Iran. “On behalf of the United States, I extend my warmest greetings for a joyous and peace-filled Norouz,” which marks the first day of spring, Trump said in his message on March 20. …

RFL/RE – Iranians are marking a somber Norouz amid one of the world’s worst coronavirus outbreaks that has officially killed over 1,400 and spread to all of the country’s 31 provinces. Norouz, which marks the beginning of the Iranian new year, is the most important and joyous event in the country when families come together and exchange gifts. But this …

Al-Monitor – In separate speeches to mark the Persian new year, Iran’s top leaders pledged to defeat the coronavirus outbreak that’s so far claimed the lives of more than 1,400 Iranians. After canceling his annual Nowruz public address in the city of Mashhad earlier this month, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei released a video address on state TV Friday.  During …