Mexican Authorities Recover Stolen Radioactive Material

MEXICO CITY – A container of highly radioactive material stolen last week in the southeastern state of Tabasco was recovered intact and unopened Wednesday, Mexican authorities said.

The industrial X-ray machine containing iridium-192 was found abandoned beneath a highway overpass about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from where it was stolen, the state government said.

“In the interest of everyone’s peace of mind, I inform you that the stolen capsule of iridium-192 has been recovered,” Tabasco Gov. Arturo Nuñez said on Twitter.

The capsule was not tampered with, according to the state government.

Experts from Mexico’s CNSNS nuclear safety commission were on hand to verify “the identity and safety status of the radioactive source,” the Nuñez administration said in a statement.

The radioactive material was inside a truck stolen on April 13.

Authorities immediately issued an alert for Tabasco and the neighboring states of Campeche, Chiapas, Oaxaca and Veracruz, warning that even brief exposure to the iridium-192 could cause serious harm.

Protest gathering of 1500 workers of Rural Communication in Tehran

Approximately 1500 workers of Rural Communication in Tehran staged a protest gathering in front of Communication Company building in Tehran, on Tuesday April 21st. The workers from different provinces including; Khorasan Razavi, Hourmozgan, western Azerbaijan, Qazvin, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Gilan, Fars, Kerman, Khuzestan, Blusher, Elam and Sistan Baluchistan went to the capital to take part in a protest gathering against poor job conditions. 
Currently, more than 9,000 workers of Rural Communication Centers are at work around the country, which a great number of them have no insurance and no work contracts.

Iran News in Brief - 20 April 2015

Saudis noses will be rubbed in dirt over Yemen

US Navy deploys two more warships near Yemen as conflict escalates (video)

U.S. Will Send Additional Humanitarian Aid to Ukraine

WASHINGTON – U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden has told Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko by phone that the United States will send an additional $17.7 million in humanitarian aid to support vulnerable populations in Ukraine.

In a statement issued Monday, the White House said the aid is for food, shelter and water.

It added that the two leaders urge Russia to comply with the Minsk agreements and cease sending heavy weaponry and troops to Ukraine.

Poroshenko has said repeatedly that Kiev will reinforce its armed forces in eastern Ukraine despite the cessation of hostilities, in response to the latent threat from Russia.

Tensions along the line separating the forces have risen in recent days with accusations by both sides of truce violations, especially around Donetsk airport and the town of Shirokino on the Sea of Azov.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Kiev on Monday of breaching the peace deal with the separatists in eastern Ukraine.

IRAN: Executions in a week reaches 81

NCRI - Coincident with mass executions in the prisons of Ghezel-Hessar, Karaj and other cities, the anti-human regime of mullahs sent 16 other prisoners to the gallows in Mashhad and Birjand (northeastern Iran). Twelve of them were hanged collectively in Vakilabad prison of Mashhad on April 16, and the other four were executed in Birjand prison the following day. Thus, the number of executions from 12 to 18 April reached 81, meaning 12 executions per day.

The unprecedented increase in the wave of executions after the Lausanne nuke framework is a clear indication of the mullahs’ desperate need of creating an atmosphere of fear in the society to confront the explosive situation.

Iranian Resistance calls on Iranian brave youths to express their solidarity with the families of the executed and prisoners, and to protest against this criminal move in the country. It also underscores the need for ousting this bloodthirsty and fascist regime from the world community.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
April 20, 2015