payvand.com http://www.payvand.com/news News about Iran and Iranians delivered by payvand.com en-US Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:20:32 PST Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:20:32 PST http://www.payvand.com/news/09/nov/1208.html Iran has increased its pressure on student activists ahead of the national Student Day on December 7. Throughout Iran a dozen students are reported to have been jailed this week, including eight student activists arrested in Tehran on November 19. payvand.com http://www.payvand.com/news/09/nov/1208.html http://www.payvand.com/news/09/nov/1207.html Representatives of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council: Britain, France, China, the United States, Russia plus Germany, will meet in Brussels Friday to discuss Iran's latest stand on its nuclear program. payvand.com http://www.payvand.com/news/09/nov/1207.html http://www.payvand.com/news/09/nov/1214.html Gary Sick was on the staff of the National Security Council under President Jimmy Carter and a White House aide during the Iranian Revolution and the hostage crisis. Currently, he is an adjunct professor at Columbia University and the director of Gulf/2000. He is also on the board of Human Rights Watch. He is the author of All Fall Down: America's Tragic Encounter with Iran. He recently spoke at a symposium at the University of Maryland titled "Iran after the 2009 Elections." -Fariba Amini payvand.com http://www.payvand.com/news/09/nov/1214.html http://www.payvand.com/news/09/nov/1213.html Following the escalation of protests by Iran's senior ayatollahs against the regime, some members of the Qom Seminary Teachers Association (the most important organization of clerics affiliated with the regime) are planning to present a new list of "grand ayatollahs" under the supervision of Mohammad Yazdi, Ahmad Jannati and Mesbah Yazdi. -Ali Farokhi, Rooz Online payvand.com http://www.payvand.com/news/09/nov/1213.html http://www.payvand.com/news/09/nov/1210.html Iranian authorities have arbitrarily arrested another member of the leading student alumni group ADVAR, and sentenced its spokesperson to an eight-year prison term, while other detained members are being mistreated, unfairly tried and sentenced to jail terms, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reported today. payvand.com http://www.payvand.com/news/09/nov/1210.html http://www.payvand.com/news/09/nov/1209.html Amidst persistent protests against the alleged fraud in the June presidential election in Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared today that the participation of 85 percent of the Iranian population in the elections marks the end of liberal democracy. payvand.com http://www.payvand.com/news/09/nov/1209.html http://www.payvand.com/news/09/nov/1212.html Iran is to launch another research satellite, the Mesbah 2, in 2011 as part of the country's effort for an independent space program. "We have developed our capability to launch satellites," Iran's Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Reza Taqipour, told the Fars news agency on Thursday. payvand.com http://www.payvand.com/news/09/nov/1212.html http://www.payvand.com/news/09/nov/1211.html Iran is the fourth largest investor in Afghanistan. Iranian investments have been made on construction of roads and bridges, energy, agriculture and health care. payvand.com http://www.payvand.com/news/09/nov/1211.html http://payvand.com/blog/blog/2009/11/18/iran-falls-to-168-in-corruption-perception-index-2009/ Iran has fallen from 141st on the list of 180 countries to 168th â€" one of the most marked declines. Countries where the political and security environment is particularly volatile, such as Yemen, Iran and Iraq rank at the bottom of the list. These countries face the challenge of establishing solid and transparent public institutions, with appropriate mechanisms for accountability: the essential elements for preventing and fighting corruption. Where these are absent, any kind of success is very difficult. payvand.com http://payvand.com/blog/blog/2009/11/18/iran-falls-to-168-in-corruption-perception-index-2009/ http://www.payvand.com/news/09/nov/1198.html Following a short news article I read about the Academy of Motion Pictures visit to Iran, I decided to learn more about this important trip. My sense of curiosity was so heightened that I searched high and low for more information. To my surprise there were not too many news articles about what seemed to be an important mission in Iran. I immediately put my forces together and contacted The Academy who then invited me and the crew to the headquarters' office in Beverly Hills. -Parisa DeFaie payvand.com http://www.payvand.com/news/09/nov/1198.html