Shabtabnews In this dark night, I have lost my way – Arise from a corner, oh you the star of guidance.

PayvandNews – Stymied in their effort to reschedule a qualifier match for soccer’s 2018 World Cup, Iranian officials are guaranteeing to uphold “religious norms” in connection with a major Shi’ite mourning festival when their national team meets South Korea this week in Tehran. They predict huge black banners covering parts of Azadi Stadium, backup players clad in black, and dirges …

PayvandNews – The U.S. Treasury is seeking to reassure banks that have been unwilling to do business with Iran, but Tehran says the effort has not gone far enough. New guidance issued over the weekend after months of complaints from Tehran clarifies that non-U.S. banks can do business with Iran in U.S. dollars, provided those transactions don’t pass through financial …

RFL/RE – A new report using UN statistics estimates there are about 700 million girls around the world who were forced to get married before the age of 18. The Save the Children report — issued on October 11 to mark International Day Of The Girl Child — said a girl under 15 is forced into marriage every seven seconds …

RFL/RE – Iran’s foreign minister has asked United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to use his “good offices” to arrange for an Iranian aircraft to evacuate victims of an attack over the weekend that killed 140 people at a funeral in Yemen. Mohammad Javad Zarif said he was shocked at the “tragic and horrific air strikes” by the Saudi-led coalition fighting …

Al-monitor  — On Sept. 28, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) announced a plan that would urge commercial banks as well as credit and finance institutions to keep deposits under a specific level or face disciplinary measures. This is the second step taken by the monetary regulator in less than a year to ensure that financial resources are not blocked …