Iran- Another rare feline struck dead by a vehicle

Wed, 12/31/2014 - 22:37

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Only two days after two rare Iranian cheetahs were killed in a road accident, another rare feline, a Persian Leopard, was struck and killed on Tuesday evening on the transit road in Golestan Forest.

This is the eighth leopard to be killed this year, and the species remains on the endangered list.

Forest rangers discovered the panther carcass, which had marks suggesting the impact from a moving vehicle.

The report indicates that the panther was still alive after the impact and was able to drag itself 300 metres away from the road.

The female leopard is estimated to have been three years old.

Environmental experts have often called for the closure of the Golestan Forest transit road, saying it is a serious hazard for wildlife. Cars traveling along the road have also caused an increase in the occurrence of forest fires in the region.

Palestinian shot dead in Gaza by Egypt border troops: medics

Friday, 2 January 2015

Egyptian soldiers firing from across the border shot dead a Palestinian man in the Gaza frontier town of Rafah on Friday, medics said, although the motive was not immediately known.

The border troops shot the 23-year-old man “in the back and the bullet settled in the heart. He died on the spot,” emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told AFP.

The shooting was confirmed by the spokesman of the interior ministry in Gaza, Iyad al-Bazm, in a message on his Facebook page.

“A Palestinian citizen, aged 23, was killed by Egyptian army fire on the Egyptian-Palestinian border and the security agencies are investigating the incident to find out the motives,” it said.

The man, whose identity was not revealed, is the first Palestinian “to have been killed in a long time” along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, according to Qudra.

On Tuesday, Egypt announced that work to double the width of a buffer zone along the Gaza border would begin next week to prevent militants infiltrating from the Palestinian enclave.

Construction of the 500-metre (546-yard) buffer zone along 10 kilometers of the border follows an October 24 suicide bombing that killed 30 Egyptian soldiers. Some 800 homes are being demolished in the process.

After that incident, Egypt declared a three-month emergency in parts of North Sinai, a remote but strategic region bordering Israel and Gaza, and closed the Rafah border crossing for two months.

Egypt reopened the crossing for two days in November and again in December, for three days, to allow people stranded in Egypt to return to the Palestinian enclave and for Gazans to leave.

The Rafah crossing is Gaza’s only gateway to the outside world not controlled by Israel.

Egypt suspects Palestinian militants of aiding jihadist attacks against its security forces that have increased since the army ousted Islamist president Mohammad Mursi last year.

The Egyptian army has also stepped up the destruction of tunnels from Gaza it says are used to smuggle arms, food and money by Palestinian militant group Hamas which controls the territory.

Cairo says it has destroyed more than 1,600 tunnels since Mursi’s ouster.

Rubio: News Senate will pass laws imposing sanctions on Iran

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is predicting that the upcoming Senate will pass laws imposing sanctions on the Iranian regime next year.

“I think we’ll have a supermajority, a veto-proof majority, to impose additional sanctions on Iran and to require the administration to come before Congress for approval of any deal that [President Barack Obama] has with Iran,” Rubio said in an interview airing on Thursday.

“I think the same is true of the Keystone pipeline, potentially.”

Rubio said he would be prepared to vote for imposing sanctions on the Iranian regime as soon as today.

He aims for a bill that would require congressional approval for sanctions and impose them “upon a failure of the [nuclear] deal” within the next six months.

Fifty-four Republicans, 44 Democrats and 2 independents will make up the new Senate after a landslide midterm election that left Republicans with a clear majority.

Pope Francis Calls for Peace in First 2015 Tweet

  

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis called Thursday for peace in his first tweet of 2015, before officiating at a mass at the Vatican dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

“How many innocent people and children suffer in the world! Lord, grant us your peace!” the Pontiff wrote on his official Twitter account.

The Pope’s account, which was created two years ago during the time of Pope Benedict XVI, is available in several languages and reached 17 million followers in December.

Note from Blogger : Iran's Human right's violation's " Violate the spirit of their people"

Iran want's to criticize the latest U.S. sanctions and talk violating the "spirit of the Nuclear talk's ," but what about the spirit of their people ? 
What about their human rights, stabbings, acid throwing on women ? What about Justice, or the arrest of suspect (s) of such nasty crimes? Iran must take their Government a step further , make the world respect them . They must start with some basic human right's laws . 

Iran says new U.S. sanctions violate spirit of nuclear talks

Wednesday, 31 December 2014

Iran criticized the latest U.S. sanctions on nine targets who Washington says have helped Tehran avoid existing sanctions or commit human rights abuses, saying they contravened the spirit of international talks on Iran's nuclear programme.

The new targets include five individuals and one entity suspected of assisting the Iranian government to buy or acquire U.S. currency, and two companies linked to human rights violations.

Iran said the U.S. move contradicted the spirit of the nuclear talks between Iran and the six powers known as "P5+1" - the United States, France, Germany, Russia, China and Britain.

"At a time negotiations are underway with P5+1, such a move raises doubts about America's intentions and violates the good will principles," foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.

"This action is for mere publicity and will have no bearing whatsoever on our commercial policies," she added.

Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen said Tuesday's move was part of efforts to enforce the existing sanctions regime and the United States did not support imposing new nuclear-related sanctions.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who leads the country's nuclear negotiating team, said on Tuesday low-level talks on its nuclear activities would resume in Geneva on Jan 15, with wide gaps remaining in their positions.

Iran says its program is peaceful; the West fears it may lead to developing nuclear weapons. Zarif has repeatedly urged the United States and its Western European allies to drop "unrealistic" demands to make it possible for the 12-year dispute to be resolved.

The "P5+1" reached a preliminary agreement with Iran last year for it to suspend its most sensitive nuclear activity. Western countries in turn eased some economic sanctions.

The two sides failed for a second time last month to meet a self-imposed deadline for ending the standoff. A preliminary accord was extended until June 30.

No US embassy in Iran for now, says Barack Obama

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama said Washington was not ready to open an embassy in Iran due to differences over nuclear policy, a position that contrasts with his new approach to Cuba.

"I never say never, but I think these things have to go in steps," Obama said in an interview with National Public Radio that aired Monday, regarding re-opening the long-shuttered US mission in Tehran.