Iran regime’s new cultural center in Kirkuk stirs concerns

The opening of a cultural and sports center by the Iranian regime in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk has sparked fears that the clerical regime is trying to gain a foothold in a city already torn by ethnic-religious tensions.

The opening of the $400,000 center is sparking a wave of criticism in this mainly Kurdish area from people who oppose Tehran’s growing interference in the affairs of Iraq.

Iran has opened five cultural centers in Iraq since 2003, including one in Baghdad which opened in June 2015, according to analysts, VOA reported.

Kamaran Kirkuky, a member of Kirkuk’s Provincial Council, told VOA that he was concerned that the center was going to be used for “other purposes.”

“Iran can’t help Iraq and Kurdistan,” he said. “We have learned from experience that Iran’s projects don’t provide anything good.”

Kirkuky said he was afraid that the Iraqi Shi’ite militia, known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), would increase their presence in Kirkuk by using the center.
“Some members of PMF would have an active role in the center. Shi’ites in general have become very active in Kirkuk recently,” Kirkuky told VOA.

Al-Arbiya TV reporting on the opening of ‘Khomeini center' said: “The center is considered to be a base for recruiting Kirkuk’s youth to join the militias affiliated with Tehran, and it is associated with the Iranian Quds Force, which is supervised by Gen. Qassem Soleimani.”

A recent report by European Iraqi Freedom Association (EIFA) said: “Iran-backed paramilitary forces which operate as criminal groups or in the guise of popular mobilization forces are today the main cause of sectarian conflicts, killing and murder, ethnic cleansing and population displacement in Iraq. They are driving the country towards internal conflict and ultimate collapse. In addition, these groups have turned into mafia-style murderers, kidnappers, robbers and drug-traffickers.”

The report added: “The popular mobilization forces are now a tool in the hands of criminal elements such as Nouri al-Maliki, Hadi Al-Ameri, and Abu-Mahdi Mohandess, who are in turn the most important agents coordinating the destruction of Iraq, fuelling sectarian war and facilitating the emergence of DAESH.”

Hasan Jumma, a writer inside Kirkuk, told VOA that opening the center was a ‘shameful’ act and was ‘rejected’ by majority of writers, intellectuals, and journalists.

Jumma said there was already a cultural and sports center in the city and there was no need for letting Iran open a center under Khomeini’s name.

“This is an act of invading Kurdistan by opening up centers, schools, and medical clinics which will increase the cultural and political influence of Iran,” Hasan said.

Muslim woman speaks out " don't blame America ".

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US Deploys 4 F-22 Raptor Fighter Jets to South Korea

SEOUL - United States Wednesday deployed four F-22 Raptor fighter jets in South Korea, in a new show of might against North Korea after a nuclear test and rocket launch by the regime of Kim Jong-un.

The fifth generation technology stealth fighters flew at low altitude over the airbase in Osan, 55 km (34 miles) south of Seoul, shortly after being sent to the Asian country, reported Yonhap news agency.

The deployment of the warplanes is an unusual action and indicates the allies' attempt to display muscle after the regime of Kim Jong-un carried out a nuclear test on Jan. 6 and on Feb. 7 launched a rocket, which is suspected to be a covert missile test.

The F-22 Raptor, a fighter jet of high strategic importance to the U.S. Army, is equipped with the most advanced technology, high ground attack capabilities and electronic warfare, and is difficult to detect on radar. 

Pakistan - Christian woman sentenced to death " for insult about Mohammed ".

Former Old Age Home Worker threw 3 Residents over the Balcony

TOKYO, Japan - A former employee of an old age home in Kawasaki in southwest Tokyo, admitted to killing three elderly residents by throwing them over the balcony while he was working at the center.

Hayato Imai, 23, was arrested Monday for throwing Tamio Ushizawa from the fourth floor "to kill him."

After his arrest, he confessed to the killing of two other elderly women, Kyodo news agency reported Tuesday.

The death of Ushizawa, 87, took place on Nov. 4, 2014, while those of the two other, aged 86 and 96 years (also thrown from a balcony of the same building), followed on Dec. 9 and Dec. 31 of that same year, respectively.

According to police investigation, Imai was in the center when the three deaths occurred and denied any involvement in the incidents till he was arrested.

Although initially the police had not associated the deaths with any criminal act, the death of the third victim had raised suspicions.

Japanese authorities began to investigate Imai in May last year, when he was detained on suspicions for having stolen $218 in cash from the room of a septuagenarian lady five months earlier, an incident over which he was fired from the facility.

An inspection carried out by local authorities had also revealed abuses against residents of the center.

Mexican Woman Who Reported Corruption in Juarez Jail Seeks Asylum in U.S.

EL PASO, Texas – A Mexican woman who said she was forced to remain locked up against her will in a Ciudad Juarez prison in a case of corruption there has applied for asylum in the United States, her attorney said.

Mariana Ibarra Moran, 21, decided to seek refuge in the U.S. because Mexican authorities would not guarantee her safety after she revealed the corruption taking place in the Juarez jail, said her attorney in El Paso, Carlos Spector.

That prison, the Social Rehabilitation Center, or Cereso, in Ciudad Juarez, will be visited Wednesday by Pope Francis.

Ibarra said she was forced to stay in the jail against her will following a conjugal visit on Feb. 6 because her former partner, Jesus Eduardo Soto Rodriguez, alias “El Lalo,” convicted of kidnapping, bribed the guards to keep her there.

“They didn’t let her go because he (Jesus Eduardo Soto Rodriguez) didn’t want them to. It was then that her family went to the press and demanded her release,” Spector told EFE. “After that, they filed a complaint about gender violence, and it was then that the nightmare began.”

The attorney said that this is the strongest case for political asylum he has seen in 25 years, since the woman is “the victim of domestic violence in the prison, in collusion with Cereso officials.”

He said the case combines all the aspects and possibilities needed to obtain political asylum in the United States, because this is a woman who has been the victim of abuse by her partner who kept her captive in jail with the consent of the authorities.

Among the woman’s other revelations, according to Spector, was the fact that inmates have access to the Internet, which allows them to continue working for organized crime from inside the prison.

The young woman decided last Wednesday to seek asylum in the United States together with her 6-month-old child, her sister and her mother, the attorney said.

The Price of Honor ( The honor killings of Amina & Sarah )