Paul Ryan Calls Trump’s Attack on Judge “Racist”

WASHINGTON – U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Ill.) said on Tuesday that the attacks made by his party’s presumptive presidential nominee, magnate Donald Trump, on a judge of Mexican heritage meet “the textbook definition of a racist comment.”

“I regret those comments that he made,” said Ryan, who – as House Speaker – is the highest-ranking elected Republican, at an event held in Washington to present a plan to fight poverty.

The Republican leader was referring to accusations made by Trump against Indiana-born Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is tasked with hearing lawsuits alleging fraud committed by the “university” bearing the magnate’s name.

Last Friday, Curiel ordered the publication of more than 1,000 pages of court documents on Trump University because of the public interest in the case, which began in 2010 in the Southern California district, based in San Diego.

In response, the billionaire accused the judge of making that decision because of his Mexican heritage, which he said was a conflict of interest on Curiel’s part because of his own plan to build a wall along the southern border with Mexico to stem the flow of illegal immigrants.

Ryan said Tuesday that “claiming a person can’t do their job because of their race is sort of like the textbook definition of a racist comment.”

“I think that should be absolutely disavowed,” said the speaker, adding that the New York real estate developer’s comments were “indefensible.”

Ryan criticized Trump last week on the same subject, albeit in a much more moderate tone.

Also last week, the Republican leader officially declared his support for Trump in the November election after much hesitation due to the billionaire’s incendiary rhetoric.

Trump’s comments about Curiel, whom he accuses of treating him unfairly in investigating the claims of fraud against Trump University, have sparked heated controversy throughout the United States.

Trump University has been depicted in court documents as an unscrupulous business that pressured poor enrollees to buy its courses in real estate purchasing, management and finance costing almost $35,000.

Japanese Woman Carrying her Children's Corpses in Car Arrested

TOKYO - Police arrested Wednesday a Japanese woman, who was traveling with the corpses of her children in the backseat of her car, on suspicion of killing them.

The 30-year-old woman is in police custody and is being interrogated by the police, who are trying to clarify the cause of death of the two children, Japanese news agency Kyodo reported.

On Tuesday evening, a relative had reported the disappearance of the mother and her two children, who are natives of the southwestern Yamaguchi prefecture.

On Wednesday morning, police officers stopped a vehicle with the license plate of the prefecture in question and discovered that the driver was the missing woman, who was traveling with the corpses of her children in the backseat.

The vehicle was found in Yame, located in a mountainous region of the Fukuoka prefecture.

The police believe the mother tried to commit suicide after killing her children, investigating sources told Japanese daily Asahi.

Mexico Intercepts 21 Migrants on U.S. Border

MEXICO CITY – Mexican marines detained 21 undocumented Latin American migrants in the northern city of Reynosa, just across the border from McAllen, Texas, officials said Tuesday.

The migrants were taken into custody Monday in a safe house where they were waiting to be shepherded across the border to the U.S., the Tamaulipas state government said.

Acting on an anonymous telephone tip, the marines went to the house and discovered the group, comprising nine Salvadorans, seven Guatemalans, four Ecuadorians and a Honduran.

Seven of the migrants are minors.

Authorities provided the migrants with medical assistance before turning them over to the immigration service for repatriation to their respective homelands, the Tamaulipas government said.

NCRI -Another 70 people arrested in Iran for attending mixed-gender party in restaurant

NCRI - The mullahs' regime on Thursday arrested more than 70 young men and women for taking part in a mixed-gender party at a restaurant in Tehran, the Iranian regime's state media reported on Friday.

The youths were arrested by the regime's police during a raid on a restaurant in the Iranian capital’s northern Farahzad district, the state-run ILNA news agency reported.

Earlier this week, the Iranian regime's suppressive state security forces (police) in Bandar Abbas, southern Iran, raided a mixed-gender party, arresting 62 people and transferring them to prison, according to state media.

The state-run Shahrvand daily wrote on June 2 that 23 men and 39 women, who were caught dancing and partying, were arrested in the raid which was carried out on Sunday, May 29.

Similar raids have been carried out in Iran in recent days.

More than two dozen young Iranian men and women were arrested last weekend by the mullahs' regime for participating in a mixed-gender party in Mashhad, north-east Iran.

The 29 youngsters were rounded up by the regime's police at a party on the evening of May 28 at a villa near the Danesh Junction in Mashhad.

The state-run Rokna news agency reported that altogether 15 young men and 14 young women were arrested at the party and were taken to the regime's court in District 6 of Mashhad on Sunday to face prosecution.

Some 35 young men and women were flogged last week for taking part in a mixed-gender party after their graduation ceremony near Qazvin, some 140 kilometers northwest of the Iranian capital Tehran, the regime's Prosecutor in the city said on May 26.

Ismaeil Sadeqi Niaraki, a notorious mullah, said a special court session was held after all the young men and women at the party were rounded up, the Mizan news agency, affiliated to the fundamentalist regime's judiciary, reported on May 26.

"After we received information that a large number of men and women were mingling in a villa in the suburbs of Qazvin ... all the participants at the party were arrested," he said.

Niaraki added that the following morning every one of those detained received 99 lashes as punishment by the so-called 'Morality Police.'

According to Niaraki, given the social significance of mixed-gender partying, "this once again required a firm response by the judiciary in quickly reviewing and implementing the law."

"Thanks God that the police questioning, investigation, court hearing, verdict and implementation of the punishment all took place in less than 24 hours," Niaraki added.

The regime’s prosecutor claimed that the judiciary would not tolerate the actions of “law-breakers who use excuses such as freedom and having fun in birthday parties and graduation ceremonies.”

He warned the youths that they should be careful about their conduct “since being arrested in mixed-gender parties and receiving sentences is a crime and would create problems for their future education and employment.”

Last month, the Iranian regime’s paramilitary Basij in north-eastern Iran broke up two mixed-gender parties within 72 hours, detaining 70 people.

The head of the fundamentalist Basij in Nishapur precinct, Ali-Akbar Hosseini, announced that his forces were alerted to a so-called “obscene party” in the city. During the raid, 14 boys and 14 girls were arrested and transferred to a local police station.

A second party was raided on May 20, leading to the arrest of over 40 participants, Hosseini told the state-run Fars news agency on May 21.

NCRI -Saudi Arabia arrests 32 over spying for Iran regime

Saudi Arabia has arrested 32 spies with links to Iran's regime in three years, according to a report on Sunday in the Saudi daily Okaz.

The spies were 30 Saudis, an Iranian, and an Afghan who were all part of espionage rings working for Iran's regime, Okaz wrote.

The 32 spies with links to the Iranian intelligence services are still on trial and the public prosecutor has recently presented his evidence against each of the suspects, the daily said.

The charges include the formation of a spy cell, which liaised and collaborated with elements of the Iranian regime's intelligence ministry to provide secret and sensitive information related to the military and that affects the national security, the territorial unity and integrity of Saudi Arabia and its armed forces.

The suspects are also accused of meeting the Iranian regime’s Supreme leader Ali Khamenei and coordinating with agents from the Iranian intelligence, according to Okaz.

Other charges include attempts to carry out acts of sabotage against economic interests and vital installations in Saudi Arabia, to undermine social peace and public order, to spread chaos, to incite sectarian strife, and to carry out hostile acts against the kingdom.

The suspects also face accusations of high treason, and attempting to recruit people working in state agencies to commit acts of espionage for the Iranian intelligence service.

According to the charges, most suspects had travelled to Iran and Lebanon where they were trained on espionage techniques including drafting coded messages.

Some of the suspects had hacked into computers to obtain sensitive information related to the internal and external security and the national economy of Saudi Arabia, Gulf News wrote on Sunday.

Others charges included supporting riots and demonstrations in Qatif in eastern Saudi Arabia, possessing weapons, forging documents and accepting bribes.

At Least 17 Killed in Attacks North of Baghdad

BAGHDAD – At least 17 people were killed, including 10 members from the Islamic State terrorist group, in attacks and clashes in the Iraqi province of Saladin, north of capital Baghdad, according to a security official.

The security official told EFE that IS fighters attacked a position of Iraqi forces on Saturday in the oil field of Ojeil, located 40 kilometers (25 miles) northeast of Tikrit, capital of the Iraqi province.

At first, the jihadists managed to control some of the government forces positions, but the troops finally managed to regain the positions after the arrival of reinforcements and support by Iraqi army aviation.

Clashes between the two sides led to the killing of 10 jihadists, destroying military equipment and seizing weapons and ammunition, while at least three soldiers were killed and another 15 wounded from the Iraqi forces.

The official added that at least four Iraqi soldiers were killed and eight wounded in a suicide attack on an army checkpoint in the Tarmiyah, on the area between Saladin and Baghdad.

Prison Fight Leaves 3 Dead, 14 Wounded in Mexico

MONTERREY, Mexico – A fight at the Topo Chico penitentiary in the northern Mexican industrial city of Monterrey left three inmates dead and 14 others wounded, officials said on Thursday.

The fight occurred at 9:24 p.m. Wednesday at the prison, where 49 inmates died in February in a fight, one of the deadliest incidents ever in a Mexican penitentiary.

The dead inmates have been identified as Eldemiro Guadalupe Gonzalez, Jesus Ledezma and Jesus Orlando Galindo, Nuevo Leon Gov. Jaime Rodriguez said in a Twitter post.

The wounded prisoners “are being treated” by doctors and five were transported to a hospital, the governor said.

“Regarding the incidents ... at Topo Chico, the investigation is ongoing after the quick actions of the Civil Force,” Rodriguez said.

The fight involved members of rival factions of the Los Zetas drug cartel, just like in February, and the inmate who instigated the clashes earlier this year was once gain involved.

The three inmates were killed with blows and sharp weapons.

The security forces regained control of the prison around midnight and officials allowed inmates’ relatives to enter and assess the men’s condition.

Representatives of different human rights groups went to Topo Chico to try to determine what sparked the fight.

The Feb. 11 fight inside the Topo Chico penitentiary started over officials’ decision to transfer dangerous inmates to other prisons.

The fight occurred in Topo Chico’s C2 and C3 cell blocks, where inmates armed with shanks, bottles, bats and sticks fought after setting fire to the food storage area, and the blaze spread to the cells housing inmates.

The Topo Chico prison riot, one of the deadliest in the past 30 years in Mexico, was brought under control with the intervention of army soldiers, marines and the Federal Police.

Federal officials are working to overhaul state prison systems, which are plagued by “impunity and corruption,” Government Secretary Miguel Angel Osorio told Radio Formula.

Topo Chico is one of Nuevo Leon’s oldest penitentiaries and houses around 3,800 inmates.