Soccer skills " in heels, " Ladies

Argentine Foreign Minister Says Nisman Accusations Are “Made Up”

GUATEMALA CITY – Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timerman said that accusations of a cover-up leveled by deceased Prosecutor Nisman against President Cristina Fernandez are all “made up,” after an Argentine court ratified dismissal of the case.

Timerman spoke on Thursday during a visit to Guatemala.

The case against Fernandez filed by Nisman alleged her involvement in a cover-up of links between Iran and terrorists responsible for a 1994 attack on the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association building which left 85 dead.

Nisman was found dead in his home, under circumstances still not clear, four days after filing the case and on the eve of an appearance before Congress to outline his case, which also implicated Timerman in the cover-up.

“There is nothing of the kind denounced by Nisman, all that is said is totally false. All the dialogues attributed to me do not exist; the meetings that they say happened, never happened,” said Timerman.

He insisted that the Argentine government wants to resolve the bombing case, the country’s worst terrorist attac

With Yemen strikes, Saudi stakes claim as regional powerhouse

AFP - 27 March 20 15 - The Saudi-led intervention in Yemen is aimed at marking the kingdom’s territory in the face of Iran’s rising regional influence, analysts say.
Backed by a coalition of Arab allies, Saudi Arabia launched air strikes this week against Shiite Huthi rebels who had been advancing on President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi’s stronghold of Aden in southern Yemen.
Hadi fled to Aden last month after escaping house arrest in the rebel-held capital Sanaa, which the Huthis seized last year.



Supported by the West and Sunni Gulf Arab monarchies, Hadi’s government has accused Tehran of backing the rebels in a bid to extend its influence in Yemen.
As the main powers on the opposite sides of Islam’s Sunni-Shiite divide, Saudi Arabia and Iran are vying for influence in countries across the region.
But for the Saudis, the possibility of a Tehran-backed Shiite minority seizing control of its southern neighbour was cause for enough concern to move beyond rhetoric and proxies, analysts say.
The intervention was 'a last-minute move to prevent Yemen from becoming an Iranian colony,' said Antoine Basbous, head of the Paris-based Observatory of Arab Countries.
'The kingdom had no choice but to intervene,' said London-based analyst Abdelwahab Badrkhan, adding that the intervention marked a 'revival' of Saudi influence among Gulf Arab states, who have increasingly been charting their own path.
Saudi fears of a pro-Iran Yemen are shared by its fellow Sunni Arab nations, in particular Egypt whose air force and navy are taking part in the operation.
Cairo has even said it is prepared to send troops to take part in the operation, though there has been no indication yet from Saudi Arabia of a ground offensive.
While impoverished and lacking in natural resources, Yemen is strategically located in the southwest of the Arabian Peninsula, along key shipping routes.
The Huthi advance in southern Yemen was threatening not only Aden but the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait, a vital corridor through which much of the world’s maritime trade passes.
Nearly 40 percent of global maritime trade is estimated to pass through the strait, much of it on its way to and from theSuez Canal .
Saudi analyst and writer Khaled Batarfi said the kingdom’s new ruler -- King Salman, who took over after the death of his brother King Abdullah in January -- had laid the groundwork for the intervention.
'This was the first time that King Salman faced such a challenge and found himself forced to use military force,' he said.
But 'this was not decided hastily, it was preceded by Arab coordination,' he said.

Maryam Rajavi to Arab Summit: Coalition against occupation of Yemen should be elevated to evicting Iranian regime from region

NCRI - On the eve of the Arab Summit, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, reiterated on the need for joint action and unity against the religious terrorist dictatorship ruling Iran and its export of terrorism and belligerence. She said: “The coalition against occupation of Yemen by the mercenaries of the Iranian regime was necessary and inevitable. But this legitimate and just defense should be expanded to throughout the region to Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and elsewhere. The religious dictatorship ruling Iran and its mercenaries should be evicted from these countries.”

Mrs. Rajavi drew the attention of the Arab summit to the important reality that the clerical regime’s belligerence and war-mongering in the region does not stem from its strength and prowess. Rather, it is to cover up the regime’s irreparable and acute political, social, and economic crisis that are exacerbating continuously. This regime has no choice but to retreat when faced with firmness. This is whilst, appeasement and offering concessions has only emboldened it in aggression and occupation. The velayat-e-faqih regime (rule of the clergy) is the root cause of crises in the region and the only solution is through firmness and evicting this regime from the region and its overthrow.

The Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
March 28, 2015

Iran: Seven prisoners hanged

At least seven prisoners were hanged on Thursday in a prison in the southern city of Shiraz.

The prisoners who had been arrested on drug related charges were hanged in the city’s main prison known as Adelabad prison.

The victims had been transferred to Isolation last Thursday, a day before the Iranian New Year and hanged in secret this week.

Many prisoners have been hanged secretly during the last few months in prisons across Iran.

According to a report, a group of four men also were hanged last month in a prison in the city of Maragheh, in northwestern Iran.

They were identified as Bahram Ashtari, Atef Ranjbar, Karim Sadat and Vali Najafnia.

Some 1,400 individuals have been executed in Iran under Hassan Rouhani. The victims included political prisoners, women, juvenile offenders and citizens of Afghanistan.

The U.N.'s special investigator on Iran said on March 16 that the human rights situation and repression of Iranian women and activists has worsened since Hassan Rouhani became president in 2013.

Dr. Ahmed Shaheed said in Geneva: "in my view the overall situation has worsened, as indicated by the surge in executions."

He lamented that Iran executes more people per capita than any other country in the world.

"There is a lot of concern amongst the Iranian society that the nuclear file may be casting a shadow over the human rights discussion," Shaheed told the news briefing.

Mr. Shaheed, a Muslim and former foreign minister of the Maldives, has not been allowed to visit Iran since taking up the independent post.

U.S. Senate approves sanctions amendment against Iran regime

The US Senate voted unanimously on Thursday for an amendment to a budget bill that will ease Congress' ability to re-impose sanctions against Iran if it violates a nuclear deal.

Republican Senator Mark Kirk, of Illinois, who sponsored the amendment said on Twitter: "With 100-0 vote on my Iran sanctions amendment today, Senate is speaking in a clear and unified voice against Iranian regime."

The amendment will cover the cost of imposing sanctions if Iran breaks any existing or future nuclear agreement.

Kirk indicated that the passage of this amendment "signals the Senate's strong support for the Kirk-Menendez Iran sanctions bill, which stands ready now for a full Senate vote."

Kirk is deeply skeptical of international negotiations on Iran's nuclear program. He co-authored a bill that would tighten sanctions on Tehran, which President Barack Obama has threatened to veto as a threat to delicate international negotiations.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday the senate would vote on Kirk's sanctions bill if international negotiators miss their deadline at the end of this month for reaching a framework nuclear agreement

my.

Monkey Business