The vehicle is equipped with a telescoping (30 meter) mast for communication, two portable antennas and other satellite systems.

Iran Red Crescent Society launched the first Mobile Command Center for Rescue/Relief Operations in Tehran. The mobile command vehicle has been designed for use in the event of natural disasters where coordinated inter-agency resource deployment is vital, ISNA reported.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, head of Iran Red Crescent Society Massoud Khatami said the initiative is aimed at speeding up rescue and relief operations during emergencies.
Acknowledging that the government has already allocated sufficient budget to IRCS to render efficient rescue and relief services, Khatami went on, ÒEstablishment of similar centers in other provinces is a top priority for us.Ó
Also addressing the ceremony, director general of IRCS for telecom and radio communications, Mohammad Reza Hossein Zadeh, explained that the 303 Benz bus has been converted and supplied with a wide range of technical equipment to prepare it for the purpose.
ÒThe bus, which had malfunctioning mechanical and electric systems and components, was fully overhauled,Ó he stated.
ÒThe vehicle was equipped with a telescoping (30 meter) mast for communication, two portable antennas and other satellite systems. It can cover an area within a radius of one kilometer.Ó
According to Hossein Zadeh, the mobile center is also equipped with a closed-circuit surveillance camera which provides clear viewing as far as two kilometers away.
The vehicle also carries a motorcycle equipped with a first aid kit, fire extinguisher and communication systems.
The vehicle shall be rapidly deployed to mission locations to restore communications to disaster areas where the conventional and/or cellular communications infrastructure is 0.
It establishes connectivity via satellite access and provide telephony through the Voice system. The command center is meant to facilitate communications between various governmental, law enforcement, rescue/recovery, and disaster relief agencies.
The director stated that negotiations have been conducted with domestic carmaker Iran Khodro for manufacturing seat-less buses to be used as mobile command centers in other provinces.

Iran is one of the leading countries in manufacturing new biotechnology medications.

Director general of the Health MinistryÕs office for supervising drugs and narcotics said about 92 percent of the countryÕs drug supply is produced domestically, assuring the public that domestic medications are both safe and effective because all standards are observed in their production, ISNA reported.
Pointing to a rise in production of herbal medicines in the country, Mohammad Fazeli said herbal medications have been prescribed by great Iranian physicians for thousands of years and have proven harmless.
ÒOne of our policies is to promote supply of herbal drugs,Ó he noted.
He urged the public to avoid purchasing herbal medicines from unauthorized stores or vendors, Òbecause the products they sell might have been produced illegally. Fake medications are not only ineffective, but could also endanger the health of individuals as well.Ó
He said the country has achieved great achievements in biotech drugs in recent years, adding Iran is one of the leading countries in manufacturing new biotechnology medications including interferon alpha for hepatitis, interferon beta for MS, erythropoietin for dialysis patients, and G-CSF for chemotherapy.
Fazeli noted that all domestic drugs are the result of joint efforts among Iranian scientists and creditable international biotech drug manufacturers.
All domestically-manufactured drugs are approved by the Health Ministry in terms of their safety and effectiveness.
He gave assurances that domestic medications have the same effects as foreign equivalents.
Presently there are 60 drug manufacturers nationwide and close to 40 percent of the raw materials required for the industry is supplied locally, he concluded.

The rate of animal bites has grown in recent years, deputy chancellor of Hamden Medical Sciences University for healthcare and medical treatment warned.
Annually over 10 billion rials is expended on preventive measures and vaccination, Behzad Amiri told ILNA.
He noted that 35 percent of animal bites occur in cities and the rest in villages, with dog bite attacks accounting for 88.2 percent of the cases.
The official blamed public unawareness leading to delayed medical assistance for 71 percent of diseases and deaths caused by animal bites.
He continued that followed by Golestan, Ardebil and Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari provinces, Hamedan records the highest number of animal bites.
Amiri said about 1,680 rabid animals have been exterminated across the province during the current year, with the highest number reported in the cities of Malayer, Razan and Asadabad.
He recalled that about 1.09 billion rials had been expended on vaccination shots across the province last year.

Hemophilia, thalassemia, kidney and multiple sclerosis (MS) have so far been identified as special diseases in Iran.

Member of the Majlis Health and Treatment Commission said as per an agreement reached between the Ministry of Health, Treatment and Medical Education and the Ministry of Welfare and Social Security, it was decided that the subsidies on medications and treatment costs of patients with special diseases would be directly paid to insurance companies under the auspices of the Welfare Ministry, Fars news agency wrote.
Avaz Heidarpour noted, ÒThe decision was made to prevent overlapping responsibilities of various state organizations which is confusing to patients.Ó
He pointed to the absence of an explicit definition for special diseases, adding, ÒThe definition varies from country to country, depending on the viewpoints of healthcare and medical officials there.Ó
He explained that hemophilia, thalassemia, kidney and multiple sclerosis (MS) have so far been identified as special diseases in Iran.
ÒBased on statistics, there are close to 54,000 patients suffering from special diseases across the country,Ó he said, adding about 375 billion rials has been set aside to cover their medical treatment costs in the current year.
Heidarpour said the medical budget per patient is close to seven million rials per annum, while the treatment expense of each patient with special disease is at least 10 million rials annually.
The Health Commission decided to raise the budget for next year to 540 billion rials, he added.
The official complained that kidney patients do not have access to proper dialysis services, adding the commission decided to adopt necessary measures to remove the problem.
Elsewhere in his remarks, he referred to cancer patients, adding about 70 percent of individuals diagnosed with different types of cancer were identified last year.
ÒTherefore, about 60,000 new cancer cases were identified, increasing the cancer-affected population to 90,000.Ó
He regretted that in spite of huge costs associated with cancer treatment and medications, cancers are not categorized as special diseases, and cancer patients are deprived of services rendered to others.
The commission also emphasized the need for issuing smart cards for all patients with special diseases, the lawmaker stated.

A local farmer in Saravan, Sistan-Baluchestan province (Photo by Asghar Azad-Del)

Cultural centers across Tehran cityÕs 22 municipal districts are offering a series of educational courses designed to raise awareness of citizens on common legal issues under a program dubbed the ÔLaw Protector Plan.Õ
As reported by ISNA, the Education Department of Tehran MunicipalityÕs Artistic and Cultural Organization has launched the legal assistance plan in order to inform the public of their rights in various legal fields.
Fifteen experienced lawyers will provide easy-to-understand guidance on laws governing lessor-lessee relationship, labor, commerce, children, women and family.
Under the plan, jointly organized by the Judiciary, not only will experts explain the basics of legal issues to the public, but also direct counseling and guidance on legal matters will be offered at affordable rates.
The department is the first entity that has embarked on arranging law education classes for Tehrani citizens, and is distributing related brochures at subway stations, schools and cultural centers.

After six months as a virtual prisoner, Mona took the first chance she got to escape the family she waited on hand and foot as a maid without ever being paid.
"I was being threatened by madam. She said she would kill me and no one would know because my family didn't know where I was," said the 35-year-old, who spoke on condition of anonymity and did not want her country of origin in Asia made public. Mona's story is typical of many domestic workers in conservative Saudi Arabia, where oil wealth has transformed a traditional society into a nation where home help has become the standard for even low-income families.
Al-Watan newspaper recently wrote that 89 percent of Saudi households have at least one maid. The total number of domestic workers is well over one million, including Bangladeshis, Filipinos, Ethiopians, Nepalis and Sri Lankans.
But the cultural problems inherent in this great meeting of Asia and the Arabian peninsula are huge.
The Saudi press often carries stories of alleged sexual abuse and maids dying in botched efforts to escape. Some foreign embassies in Riyadh have even set up secret "safe houses" where maids can seek refuge from abusive employers while diplomats extract unpaid wages and passports--usually withheld by Saudi employers--before flying them home.
A group of runaway maids interviewed by Reuters this month recounted similar stories of violence, withheld wages and forbidden contact with the outside world. The women all agreed their problems in the workplace mainly stemmed from Saudi fears that their maids would run away to find better jobs after securing part of their salaries.

Millions of mothers, newborn babies and children die each year in Africa from preventable diseases despite promises of better healthcare by governments and donor countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) said, Reuters wrote.
Because of AIDS and armed conflicts, the health situation in many countries has not improved in recent years and in some cases has worsened, the United Nations agency said.
Calling it Africa's "silent epidemic," the WHO said African countries accounted for 19 of the 20 countries with the highest rates of maternal mortality worldwide.
It has the highest death rate worldwide for babies up to a month old, 43 per 1,000 live births or four times the rate in Europe, the WHO said in its African Regional Health Report.
While highlighting some successes, such as Uganda's AIDS program and Mali's community health centers, the report spells out the health challenges facing the 46 countries belonging to its Africa region.
"We know what the challenges are, and we know how to address them--but we also recognize that Africa's fragile health systems represent an enormous barrier," said Louis Gomes Sambo, WHO's regional director for Africa.
"African governments and their partners must make a major commitment and invest more funds to strengthen health systems," he added in a statement accompanying the report, the first WHO health snapshot of the whole region.
HIV/AIDS continues to devastate Africa, which has only 11 percent of the world's population but 60 percent of the people living with the HIV virus.
More than 90 percent of the estimated 300-500 million malaria cases that occur worldwide, mainly children under five, are in Africa.
Non-communicable diseases such as heart disease and diabetes, more usually associated with better-off countries, are also beginning to take a heavy toll.
Only 58 percent of the people living in sub-Saharan Africa have access to safe drinking water.
Nevertheless, there are some bright spots. River blindness has been all but eliminated and 33 of the 42 countries most affected by malaria have adopted the artemisinin-based combination therapy, which is the most effective, the WHO said.
Polio is close to eradication and measles deaths have declined more than 50 percent since 1999.