0728 GMT: The Earthquakes. Asr-e Iran is not happy with the apology of State broadcaster IRIB for its programming "as normal" as news of Saturday's earthquakes emerged, saying it is "worse than sin".
A spokesman for IRIB said the earthquakes were an "unexpected event", and the employee who went ahead with the broadcast of a comedy programme "did not know" of the disaster.
Khabar Online jabs at IRIB through a cartoon:
0720 GMT: Putting on a Non-Aligned Show. Thomas Erdbrink of The New York Times profiles the Islamic Republic's attempt to claim leadership through its hosting of the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement at the end of August:
During a weeklong conference, followed by a leadership summit meeting, Iran says it will unfold plans to revitalize the movement and seek support for its nuclear enrichment program and its resistance to what it calls dominance by the United States.Representatives of all of the 118 member nations, among them China, India and Indonesia, will travel to Tehran for the conference, while invitations have been extended to observer states and international organizations, such as the Arab League, and Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin.
In preparation, beggars are being cleared off Tehran’s streets and the government has announced a five-day holiday for the entire capital during the summit. Major highways and the local airport will be closed off to ensure the safety and mobility of the visitors.
0530 GMT: With the official death toll from Saturday's two earthquakes in East Azerbaijan Province set at 306, attention has turned to recovery efforts in the area, much of which is remote and underdeveloped. ILNA reports that 500 villages suffered 80% to 100% damage with victims needing food and medicine.
Meanwhile, amid criticism both of the coverage and the handling of the disaster, political recovery efforts are underway. Despite complaints that he was walking away from the crisis, President Ahmadinejad has not curbed his trip to Saudi Arabia for the extraordinary meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation; however, 1st Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi toured the affected villages yesterday. In an apparent reversal of a policy announced earlier in the day, he said that Iran was ready to accept international assistance.
Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, who led the castigation of State broadcaster IRIB for not paying attention to the earthquakes, will be in East Azerbaijan today.
The most unusual revelation, however, came from Aftab, which claimed that the Government has signed a memorandum of understanding with religious seminaries to reduce risk of natural disasters using "spirituality".
Posted via email from lissping
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