McCain: Shouts 'Get Out of Here You Low-life Scum' video

Iran News in Brief: 2 February 2015

Four Die, 16 Injured in Accident in Central Cuba

HAVANA – Four people were killed and 16 others injured when a truck flipped over on a highway in Sancti Spiritus, a province in central Cuba, state media reported.

The accident occurred Saturday on a road that leads to Trinidad, the capital of Sancti Spiritus, when an Agriculture Ministry truck “rolled over after hitting a bus stop,” the official AIN news agency reported.

Four men were killed and two of the 16 people injured in the accident are listed in serious condition at a hospital.

A total of 11,294 traffic accidents were registered in Cuba in 2014, leaving 746 people dead and 8,831 others injured, government figures show.

The number of accidents reported last year fell, compared to 2013, but fatalities and injuries were both up.

Traffic accidents are the No. 5 cause of death in Cuba, which has a population of 11.1 million.

The island has a traffic mortality rate of just over six per 100,000 residents.

British Climber Dies 500 Meters from Aconcagua’s Summit

BUENOS AIRES – A British mountain climber died of respiratory arrest 500 meters (1,640 feet) from the summit of Mt. Aconcagua, in western Argentina, authorities confirmed to Efe on Sunday.

Solloer Cookson, a 58-year-old Scot, died on Saturday in the Plaza Independencia zone of Aconcagua, which rises to an altitude of 6,959 meters (about 22,825 feet), said the Mendoza provincial security ministry.

The climber was ascending the mountain when he became ill and, although he was immediately taken to camp by his companions, he went into cardiac arrest and did not recover, the head of the Mendoza natural resources department, Daniel Gomez, told local media.

Cookson is the first person to die this season on Aconcagua, the highest peak in the Andes.

Syria " Sharia Law " woman executed for prostitution "

Nine Indicted for Killing U.S. Federal Agent in Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN – Nine individuals have been indicted and could face the death penalty for the February 2013 murder in Puerto Rico of a correctional officer of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Lt. Osvaldo Albarati was killed on Feb. 26, 2013, after he had confiscated cellular phones and other contraband from the accused, who were inmates at the Metropolitan Detention Center, Guaynabo, a U.S. federal prison outside San Juan, the FBI said earlier this week in a press release.

United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico Rosa Emilia Rodriguez said Friday at a press conference that the murder was the first of a U.S. federal agent on the Caribbean island.

The defendants planned the murder after the Puerto Rican correctional officer had ordered the items confiscated, the FBI said, citing the indictment.

The leader of the group was identified as Oscar Martinez Hernandez, aka “Cali,” who had been arrested in Venezuela in 2001 for drug smuggling.

The defendants could face the death penalty, Rodriguez said, although she did not indicate if she would recommend capital punishment and said the decision would be left up to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.

Puerto Rico abolished the death penalty in 1929 but federal authorities could impose that punishment since the island is a U.S. commonwealth. The executions, however, would have to be carried out off the island.

UAE blasts Iranian regime over ‘sectarian’ remark on King Abdullah’s death

United Arab Emirates has blasted the Iranian regime over the ‘sectarian’ comments made by a high ranking cleric over the death of Saudi king Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz. He said the comment ‘targets’ all Arab countries and ‘compounds Iran’s relations with’ them.

On Friday, Ahmad Jannati, the Chairman of Guardian Council, congratulated Muslims over the death of Saudi king Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz.

“We should express condolences to the Israelis and Americans and congratulation to Muslims,” He said on during the Tehran’s Friday sermon in, the state-run Mehr news agency reported.

Dr. Anwar Mohammad Gargash, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said that Jannati’s ‘attack’ on ‘King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz and on his life has sectarian overtones.’

“It targets all of us and compounds Iran’s relations with Arab countries,” the minister posted on his Twitter account.

Dr. Gargash said that mosques should not be used to target the dead.

“Mosque tribunes must not be used to spread sectarian ideologies, disrespect the dead, and interfere in the domestic affairs of others. If you cannot say a proper thing, then you should lapse into silence. King Abdullah is the pride of the Arabs,” he posted.