Ray Irani, Occidental CEO got more than $400 million in 2006

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070407/bs_nm

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Occidental Petroleum Corp.'s chairman and chief executive took in more than $400 million in compensation last year, the company said in a filing, one of the biggest single-year payouts in U.S. corporate history.

The largest part of Ray Irani's 2006 payout was $270.2 million from the exercise of options awarded from 1997 to 2006, representing more than 7.1 million shares, according to the company's annual proxy statement, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in March.

Irani also received $93.3 million in stock and dividends from a deferred stock program when the company closed the plan in October due to increases in liability and expenses for the program, the company said.

Irani's salary in 2006 was $1.3 million and his cash bonus was $1.4 million, according to the filing. But stock and option awards and other benefits lifted his 2006 compensation to $55.6 million, the proxy said.

In the proxy, the company said that from December 1990 -- when Irani succeeded Armand Hammer as chief executive -- through 2005, the company's stock rose to about $40 a share from $9 and its total shareholder return was 699 percent.

"When you look at this, this is solid pay for performance," said Richard Kline, an Occidental spokesman. "It serves the best interest of the corporation and the best interest of the shareholder."

Occidental shares closed on Thursday at $49.95 on the New York Stock Exchange.

According to the Wall Street Journal, only a few CEOs have ever made more money in one year. In 2001, Oracle Corp. CEO Larry Ellison received $706 million from exercising stock options and in 1998, former Walt Disney Co. CEO Michael Eisner received $570 million, according to the newspaper.

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Top invention honor goes to Iran

Sun, 22 Apr 2007 22:41:45
Iran's team has won the 35th International Exhibition of Invention in Geneva with Switzerland coming second and Russia in third place.

Iranian students and scholars were awarded 52 gold medals, 11 special prizes, and two honorary doctorates at the event held from April 18 to 22, the team's head, Hassan Sadeqi said on Sunday.

45 countries contended at the exhibition and this is the greatest success Iran has ever achieved, he added.

Organized by the Swiss Federal Government and the State and City of Geneva, the event hosted more than 70,000 visitors.

Almost 1,000 totally new inventions were exhibited by industrial and commercial companies, independent researchers and inventors, universities, state organizations and institutes.

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World Record for the Iranian Girl - Leila Vaziri

Iranian-American Leila Vaziri smashes world swimming record in FINA World Championships

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3WSnzIBdL0

Source: FINA World Championships in Melbourne, 28 March, 2007

Iranian-American Leila Vaziri has followed up her championship record in the heats of the 50m backstroke with a world record in the semi finals at the 12th FINA World Championships in Melbourne.

Vaziri, who is swimming at her first world championships, clocked a time of 28.16 seconds, 0.03 of a second quicker than the existing record set by Germany's Janine Pietsch in 2005.

Pietsch swam in Vaziri's semi final but could only manage third place in a time of 28.72, behind the American and Japan's Mai Nakamura (28.59).

The semi belonged to Vaziri who swam a fantastic sprint. She launched herself off the wall with plenty of power and maintained her dominating lead ahead of Nakamura for the race's entirety.

Leila Vaziri

The 20-year-old broke the championship record on Wednesday morning in the heats and bettered her personal best time yet again in the semi finals. Everyone will be waiting to see if she can back it up again in Thursday night's final.

"It's the first time I've swum the 50m backstroke so it was unexpected, but I was ready. I missed the top eight in the 100m backstroke so I was ready to go in the 50m," she said.

Aliksandra Herasimenia of Belarus qualified second fastest for the final after winning the first semi in a time of 28.38.

The three swimmers in the middle lanes of that race - Herasimenia, Reiko Nakamura and Jing Zhao - were equal across the pool for much of the time but it was the Belarusian who took the lead.

Reiko Nakamura qualified third fastest (28.58), Mai Nakamura (28.59) fourth and Pietsch took fifth place. China's Zhao Jing was sixth (28.74) and Australian Tayliah Zimmer seventh (28.78). Another Chinese Gao Chang will take the final place in Thursday's final (28.81).

Norway honors long-standing Iranian author

OSLO -- Iranian author Simin Behbahani, a vocal women's rights advocate, has been awarded the Freedom of Expression Prize by the Norwegian Authors' Union, the organization announced Wednesday.

The prize, worth 100,000 kroner ($16,300), is handed out every year to an author who has been notable for his or her work "for freedom of expression and tolerance."

Behbahani "has fought for a number of years for freedom of expression and women's rights in her native Iran," the union said in a statement.

She is also "one of the greatest living poets of the Persian language," it said, adding that the union had invited her to travel to Oslo to collect her prize on March 17 to 18.

Susan Taslimi, Iranian actress nominated by the Social Democratic Party of Sweden for the position of Minister of Culture

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