National Youth Organization worked out the initiative in an attempt to take advantage of numerous capabilities of state bodies, which are left unused or improperly exploited, in favor of young people.

Head of National Youth Organization unveiled that a plan for channeling governmental resources to benefit youth has been presented to the High Council of Youth. In an interview with ISNA, NYO Chief Mohammad Javad Haj Ali Akbari stated that the plan had been put on debate during the council’s first meeting.
He reiterated the organization’s view that the government faces no shortages in resources to increase social participation of young people, facilitate their marriage as well as boost activities of youth-run NGOs.
He expanded that the National Youth Organization worked out the initiative in an attempt to take advantage of numerous capabilities of state bodies, which are left unused or improperly exploited, in favor of young people.
Should the plan get the green light, the youth would be entitled to copious facilities of state entities including their halls for scientific conferences and wedding ceremonies, Haj Ali Akbari said.
The official, who is also a presidential advisor, expressed hope that youth-oriented policies and measures taken by the organization gain momentum as the administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad prioritized youth affairs.
He pointed out that issues pertaining to young girls are at the core of the organization’s activities.
Haj Ali Akbari further gave news of another plan for establishing National Youth Counseling Center with its headquarters in Tehran.
He believes that the center would serve as a base for rendering guidance to young people in employment, marriage as well as education fields.
The official said that the council’s endorsement is required for the plan’s general outlines.

The scheme for transferring Iranian students studying overseas to the University of Applied Sciences and Technology will be implemented as of next year (to start March 21), caretaker of the university told IRNA.
Hossein Bolandi expanded that in view of an agreement reached with the Science, Research and Technology Ministry, the university aims to allocate its excess capacity in various fields at associate and bachelor’s levels to those studying abroad.
He said the main purpose of the initiative was to help resolve problems of Iranians who study overseas, providing them with opportunities to study domestically.
In order to qualify for the transfer, the students need to present their latest educational degree as well as a certificate indicating education in a foreign university to the Iranian student offices abroad or Iranian embassies and representative offices for approval.
The eligible individuals should direct their inquiries or post their applications via the following email address: pazireshekharej@uast.ac.ir, he concluded.
In related news, Payam-e Nour University declared that Iranians living abroad could be admitted to international branches of the university.
According to Public Relations Office of the university, presently students from over 40 countries study at bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. levels of the international center of Payam-e Nour higher education institution.
It added that Iranians in foreign countries who are willing to study in Payam-e Nour University to preserve their Persian language skills and promote their higher education, can apply for admissions from the university’s Foreign Education Center as part-time and virtual students.
Those interested can visit www.pnu.ac.ir or call 22442041 for more information.

Close to 75 percent of last yearÕs Chaharshanbeh Souri incidents affecting schoolchildren involved eye injuries and vision impairments.

Education organizations across the country were notified of precautionary guidelines issued by the Education Ministry’s Office for Preventing Social Disorders and Managing Natural Disasters on how to keep incidents at bay on Chaharshanbeh Souri.
Announcing this, director general of the office told ISNA that in the run-up to the last Wednesday of the year, marking a national feast associated with bonfires, children and adolescents usually tend to use dangerous firecrackers and explosives to celebrate the occasion.
Mohsen Faridi recalled that 75 percent of last year’s incidents affecting schoolchildren involved eye injuries and vision impairments.
As per these guidelines and the directives issued by the Interior Ministry to raise public awareness, posters containing information on ways to reduce physical and financial losses on the Feast of Wednesday would be distributed among schools countrywide. The priority is given to schools located in the capital and other megacities, he added.
The official went on to say that the directives obligated provincial education departments to hold meetings with Special Prevention Committees and brief school principals and the executive cadre on how to reduce incidents during the last ten days of the year (March 11-21).
According to him, school principals are mandated to inform students’ parents during briefing sessions also attended by officials from Islamic Republic of Iran Police.
Press and broadcast media should also carry footages on dangers of using explosives, Faridi noted.
He further stated that students would also be educated on safety and precautionary measures during their morning recess.
Insisting that draconian actions would not bear positive results, the official suggested that schoolchildren be provided with safe recreational facilities during the period at public parks near their schools.
Iranians have celebrated the last Wednesday of Iranian calendar by jumping over bonfires since ancient times. Chaharshanbeh Souri is a pre-Spring feast. The people used to practice special rituals on the day to save themselves of evil and misfortunes and make their dreams come true.

Policies to bring down the under-one-month mortality rate have yet borne no fruits, an official with the Health Ministry stated.
Death of an annual 20,000 infants has been a recurrent nightmare of the healthcare system during the past several years, head of the ministry’s Practical Research Secretariat said.
As reported by Fars news agency, Mohsen Naqavi named the main cause of the high mortality rate as low birth weight and premature birth.
He regretted that saving the lives of the newborns requires that hospitals be equipped with advanced medical facilities such as Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) as well as special ambulances.
The ministry endeavors to provide medical centers with the highly-specialized as well as expensive devices, the official said, adding that universities of medical sciences had been obliged to follow up the issue.
Hailing the success made with regard to reducing the under-five mortality rate, Naqavi pointed that the number of death among children at one year of old dropped from 36,000 to 23,000 during the past fourteen years.
In 1970, the official recalled, about 271 under-five children per 1,000 remained alive; the figure improved to 35,000 per each 1,000 live birth at present.
He termed 10 times reduction in mortality rate among under-five children as a giant achievement.
Out of each 1,00,000 children aged fewer than five in the 1960s, 62 kids succumbed to infection of upper respiratory system; 46 to diarrhea; 12 to meningitis; nine to tuberculosis; five to measles; 2.5 to tetanus and smallpox as well as one to diphtheria, Naqavi said.
According to the official, the figures were brought down to 6.8 child deaths from respiratory system infection, 1.2 from diarrhea; 0.7 from meningitis; one from tuberculosis; 0.002 from diphtheria; while no kids had died from smallpox anymore since 2003.

Children in southwestern city of Masjed Suleiman, Khuzestan province

Businesses and homes throughout Ireland have been raided as part of an ongoing investigation into the downloading of illegal child pornography from the Internet, police said, AFP reported.
A spokesman said officers from the domestic violence and sexual assault investigation unit (DVSAIU) said the raids, known as “Operation Iron“, was an “ongoing, intelligence-led“ investigation.
The investigation that has been going on for the past 14 months and has led to private residences and business premises being searched and computer equipment seized.
“The subsequent forensic examination of the computer equipment has led to people appearing before the courts,“ the spokesman explained.
Investigators are still examining seized equipment and further prosecutions will follow, he added.
The spokesman would not give details of where the searches had been carried out or how many premises had been raided, saying only, “The raids have been nationwide with an emphasis on larger urban areas.“
He said about 10 or 12 people have already been charged in court.
Earlier, an Irish watchdog body said complaints about child pornography on the Internet had more than doubled.
Four years ago raids were also carried out in all of Ireland’s 26 counties as part of an operation, code-named “Operation Amethyst“, that was part of a crackdown on child pornography.
Those charged included a judge, a TV celebrity, a solicitor, a barrister, a teacher, a health board official, a banker, a choir master and a prominent business executive.

Japanese high school students are less interested in academic achievement and family ties than peers in the United States, China and South Korea, but more enthusiastic about comics and other entertainment, a Japanese poll said, AP reported.
The four-nation survey, published by the government-backed Japan youth Research Institute, also showed that the Japanese felt most fondly about America but least friendly toward China.
Only one-third of Japanese students cared to improve grades, sharply below the three-quarters in the other three nations. They were also least interested in receiving advanced education, with only 2.8 percent wanting doctoral degrees, compared to 15 percent in the Untied States, 23 percent in China and 9 percent in South Korea.
Japanese students were largely unmotivated by anything.
They scored lowest in nearly all 15 topics of interest, including dating, future careers, family, and community relations.
But they were “extremely interested“ in comic books, pop music and dramas--over 60 percent, compared to 22 percent in the US, 35 percent in China and 43 percent in South Korea.
In a separate set of questions about school, the Japanese students were least interested in becoming top achievers, fulfilling assignments or participating in after-school activities among the four.
Japanese students were also most reluctant to take a leadership role or speak out. Americans stood out for their desire to follow their sense of justice, while Chinese students were most supportive of school rules, the survey showed.