Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wants to defend Iran's position in person when the UN Security Council meets to discuss the controversial Iranian nuclear program, state TV reported yesterday.
"The president wants to be present at the meeting of the Security Council examining the Iranian nuclear question to defend the right of the Iranian people to master nuclear technology," it quoted government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham as saying.
"The aim of President Ahmadinejad is to defend the national and international interests of the Iranian people," he said.
The report did not specify what session and when Ahmadinejad was seeking to attend.
The five UN Security Council permanent members and Germany are currently discussing a draft resolution to tighten sanctions against Iran for its controversial nuclear fuel work.
In December, the council agreed a first set of measures penalizing Iran for its refusal to suspend sensitive uranium enrichment activities, its first ever sanctions against Iran.
Ahmadinejad has addressed the UN General Assembly in New York twice since becoming president in 2005 although he has never been present at a Security Council meeting. The US on both occasions reluctantly granted him a visa to travel to New York under its obligations as the host country of the UN.
The Iranian president last year offered to hold a televised debate with US President George W. Bush to discuss the international situation although the proposal was laughed off by the White House.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
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