Two Wounded in Shooting Inside Colombia’s Police HQ ( Lovers )

BOGOTA – At least two people were wounded Wednesday in a shooting inside the Bogota headquarters of Colombia’s National Police, the force said, describing the attack as a crime of passion.

The shooter, a male police officer, fired at a female officer who had been his girlfriend.

A third officer who tried to stop the assailant was also wounded.

“The first enquiries detected a romantic issue and it is under investigation by police units,” the force said in a statement.

The attacker was part of the headquarters security detail, whose members are the only people allowed to enter the building armed, police sources told Efe.

While some media outlets said the assailant shot himself after wounding the other officers, police did not confirm those accounts.

The wounded were rushed to police hospital, just down the street from the headquarters building, according to the statement, which offered no information on the victims’ condition.

Texan Gets 11 Years for Ramming Border Patrol While Trafficking Marijuana Across Rio Grande

MCALLEN, TEXAS — A Rio Grande City man is now serving a significant sentence for possessing with the intent to distribute marijuana, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson.

Issac Medina, 29, of Rio Grande City, pleaded guilty June 26, 2014.

Today, U.S. District Judge Randy Cane sentenced Medina to 135 months of federal imprisonment to be immediately followed by a four-year-term of supervised release.

On March 14, 2014, Border Patrol (BP) agents observed Medina drive his vehicle down to the Rio Grande River where it was loaded with 34 large bundles that later tested positive for marijuana. Medina then headed north at a high rate of speed. A BP agent attempted to intercept the defendant and pulled onto a road where the agent observed Medina’s vehicle come to rest. Medina began to exit but then accelerated his vehicle forward striking the agent’s vehicle head-on.

The agent, hearing Medina accelerating his engine, feared being pushed into the roadway and discharged his service weapon. At that time, Medina surrendered and was taken into custody.

Judge Crane enhanced Medina’s sentence for use of a deadly weapon (the motor vehicle), use of violence against the agent and acting in a manner creating substantial risk of serious bodily injury.

Medina has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, Border Patrol and the Pharr Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) Steven Schammel and former AUSA Juan Villescas prosecuted the case.

Graphic - Iran Tehran June 2009 New Footage of Neda Soltan's Death

The protest gathering of hundreds of teachers in Kurdistan, Iran

500 teachers of Mariwan, Kurdistan province converged along with teachers of other cities in front of the Education and Culture Office in the city of Marivan on Jan. 20th, and 21st.   
The teachers from 17 cities went on strike and protested against poor living conditions and existing security atmosphere in schools and refrained to go back to classrooms.

Tehran: people support a vendor after he clashes with police

A Basij militia attempted to prevent a vendor selling movie video CDs from doing his business. The vendor resisted the intrusion by the Basiji man which led to a clash between the two. This happened in Joumhuri Street district and nearby 30th Tir Ave on Jan. 18th. Soon other police agents and Basij and security arrived at the scene trying to arrest the vendor. The Basij agent asked police to confiscate the vendors’ property and arrest him. But a group of people at the scene and also other shop owners in this region came to the aid of the young vendor making the arrest so much more difficult. 
Eventually, the vendor collected his items and moved to another location. 

Three myths on Iran sanctions

Three 'myths' surrounding the sanctions on Iran being debated by the US Congress have been debunked by Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the Washington office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran,

Mr. Jafarzadeh said Congress is determined not to strike a bad deal with Iran in talks over the regime's nuclear program - but risks ignoring historical lessons about dealing with Tehran's mullahs.

The first myth is that more sanctions on Iran will prompt the regime to walk away from the talks, Mr Jafarzadeh said.

But he added: "Iran cannot afford to walk away because it is desperate and vulnerable. It has a genuine interest to secure the lifting of existing sanctions, which provided the initial impetus for the regime to talk. Then, too, cynics argued that sanctions would prompt Tehran to accelerate its nuclear activities.

"The regime is playing a game of attrition, aiming to weaken US resolve, win more concessions, and maintain its nuclear infrastructure. The bipartisan sanctions bill will force Tehran to consider speedy compliance."

Hassan Rouhani, president of the clerical regime’s, admitted recently that the regime's devastated economy could not endure further sanctions, especially after the recent decline in oil prices, he said.

He wrote on the Foxnews website: "The mullahs are paranoid of a disenchanted population already on edge. With rampant unemployment, inflation, and loss of oil revenues, walking away from the talks is not an option, especially if a sanctions-in-waiting bill is hovering over their head."

The second myth was that more sanctions would provoke Tehran into blaming Washington for sabotaging diplomacy and starting on a path towards war.

He added: "Even with slumping oil revenues - slashed by at least 45% - the official defense budget has jumped 30%, mostly allocated to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

"And, more money is being funnelled into Syria and Iraq to execute Tehran's designs - a budget that is twice that of all the country's publicly funded universities combined.

"If sanctions fail to force Tehran to abandon key parts of its nuclear program after over a year of negotiations, then continued talks with no additional leverage will fail as well.

"Senior US officials have repeatedly stated that even without additional sanctions the chances for reaching an agreement with Iran is less that 50 percent. So, as Iran tries to wear out western negotiators, clearly, additional leverage from Congress is necessary, not counterproductive."

The third myth was that new sanctions would strengthen hard-liners in Iran who want to sabotage a prospective deal.

He added: "This is perhaps the most enduring myth in Washington that has dangerously infected Iran policy. The idea that there are moderate elements in Iran's body politic, and the US needs to reach out to them by making more concessions is ludicrous.

"The oft-cited dichotomy between 'hard-liners' and 'moderates' in Iran badly misrepresents a system whose elements are united in their strategic objectives.

"Rouhani, himself a long-time confidant of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, was instructed by the latter to sign onto the Joint Plan of Action in November 2013. Foreign Minister Zarif told the Iranian Parliament earlier this month that he has the full trust of Khamenei to continue the negotiations.

"Experience has shown that diplomacy without leverage has never worked with dictators, especially in Tehran.

"This puts Congress on the right path. The sanctions bill can be a game-changer. It will strengthen Washington's hand while helping to peacefully arrest Tehran's advance towards the bomb. One thing is for certain: Tehran's nuclear objective is anything but a myth."

UN cannot conclude Iran’s nuclear activities are peaceful: IAEA Chief

United Nations nuclear watchdog is cannot “provide credible assurance about the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran, and therefore to conclude that all nuclear material in Iran is in peaceful activities,” the chief of the international nuclear watchdog says.

Speaking in University of Indonesia, Mr. Yukiya Amano, the director of Intrantional Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Friday: “Two of the main nuclear verification issues on the Agency’s agenda in recent years have been North Korea and Iran.”

“These are very different cases. What they have in common is the fact that these countries have failed to fully implement their safeguards agreements with the IAEA and other relevant obligations. This makes it very difficult for us to do our job effectively.”

On the case of the Iranian regime’s nuclear activities he said: “we are not in a position to provide credible assurance about the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran, and therefore to conclude that all nuclear material in Iran is in peaceful activities.”

Speaking on the IAEA in the 21st century, the director of the agency said: “2015 will be a significant year for the Iran nuclear issue. The future will depend very much on the outcome of the negotiations between the so-called E3+3 countries - China, France, Germany, Russia, Britain and the United States - and Iran.”

Amano emphasized: “In addressing the Iran nuclear issue, two things are important. First, with the cooperation of Iran, the Agency needs to clarify issues with possible military dimensions to the satisfaction of Member States. Also, Iran needs to implement the additional protocol so that the Agency can provide credible assurance about the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran.”