Iran - Activist in jail for nearly two months without charges

Wed, 12/17/2014 - 06:09

Printer-friendly version

Mahdieh Golroo

Iranian activist Mahdieh Golroo has been under temporary arrest since October 21 and has not been charged with any formal offence, her family and lawyer report.

Golroo, a prominent women’s rights activist, was arrested in 2009 and released after 30 months in jail. She was arrested again about two months ago after she took part in a protest in front of Parliament calling for action against acid-throwing attacks on women.

Golroo’s home was reportedly raided by security forces following her arrest and many personal belongings such as her laptop and cell phone were confiscated.

Since her arrest, Golroo has been reportedly held in solitary confinement in the IRGC ward of Evin Prison.

Her family and lawyer are unaware of the charges against her, even though two months have elapsed since her arrest.

Golroo was expelled from university for her political activities. A member of the campaign team for Mehdi Karroubi’s 2009 run for president, she was arrested that December and sentenced to two and a half years in jail for the charge of “propaganda against the regime and assembly and collusion with intent to disturb national security.”

Palestinian shot after throwing acid at settler family

JERUSALEM (AFP) -- A Palestinian threw acid at a family of Israelis picking up a hitchhiker in the West Bank Friday before being shot and wounded, residents and the army said.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said that a vehicle carrying a family of five picked up a hitchhiker near the tunnel checkpoint between Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

"A vehicle carrying a family with four girls stopped to pick up a hitchhiker" near a checkpoint outside Bethlehem and close to the Gush Etzion settlement area, an army statement said.

A Palestinian man standing next to the hitchhiker threw acid at both him and the family when the car stopped, it said.

Initially the army said the attacker was a hitchhiker but later revised its statement.

Israeli news site Ynet said three young children aged 8-10 suffered light burn wounds and a 40-year-old man suffered burns to his face and eyes.

Another Israeli civilian shot the suspect in the leg as he fled, the Israeli spokeswoman added.

The suspect was identified as Jamal Abd al-Majid Ghayatha, 45, from the village of Nahalin.

Palestinian residents said he was mentally unstable and had received treatment at a mental health clinic in Bethlehem. He had been arrested before, they added.

He was taken to Hadassa hospital for treatment.

Failure of nuclear talks would be 'West's fault', Iranian regime official declares

The head of the Iranian regime’s Human Rights Council has said if the nuclear talks fail, it will be the fault of the West.

Mohammad Javad Larijani said that world powers are grasping at ‘every opportunity’ to put pressure on Iran in their negotiations with the regime.

He said at a conference on Tuesday on the effects of sanctions on regime’s economy: "If the negotiations fail, we assume that the conduct of the other side has brought such failure about.

"We are not optimistic about the extension of talks, and believe that the other side seeks every opportunity to mount pressure on Iran, which now has taken the form of low crude oil prices, targeting Iran’s oil incomes.

"We see the lower oil prices as a contrived plan by those who are responsible for failure of nuclear talks."

But on Wednesday, the last day of the third round of talks with the American delegation in Geneva, Deputy FM and senior negotiator of the Iranian regime, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, described the talks as 'detailed and extensive'.

He said: "The talks are proceeding in a good and respectful atmosphere, but it is still too soon to make a judgement about what the final outcome will be."

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also said the talks were being conducted in a good atmosphere.

But a senior IRGC commander said world powers are trying to undermine Iran’s influence. The Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri added: "We should not keep our hopes high on the outcomes of these talks."

ISIS beheads 150 women, some of them pregnant, for refusing to marry militants

Even as the world tries to come to terms with the dastardly terrorist attack in Pakistan's Peshawar and the 'lone wolf' attack in Sydney, reports are emerging of more violence by the Islamic State. This time they have reportedly beheaded women in Iraq for not marrying militants.

The Independent quotes Iraq's Ministry of Human Rights saying in a statement, "At least 150 females, including pregnant women, were executed in Fallujah by a militant named Abu Anas Al-Libi after they refused to accept jihad marriage."

Representational image. Reuters

This comes close on the heels of the incident when the extremists shot dead at least 50 men, women and children in the Iraq.

Not just people of Iraq, Islamic State has waged war against westerners as was seen in the several beheading videos published by the terrorist group in the last few months.

They executed Peter Kassig, a US aid worker kidnapped in Syria, on 16 November 2014 as a warning to the United States. The same video showed the gruesome simultaneous beheadings of at least 18 men described as Syrian military personnel.

Islamic State-linked Jund al-Khilifa, or "Soldiers of the Caliphate," claimed to have beheaded French tourist Herve Gourdel who was abducted in Algeria. The beheading was shown in a video posted online after Paris rejected an Islamic State demand to halt air strikes in Iraq.

Before that it was David Haines, a British aid worker, freelance reporter Steven Sotloff and US freelance photojournalist James Foley.

Known for its ruthless tactics and suicide bombers, ISIS has already controlled the Iraqi city of Fallujah for eleven months, and is also arguably the most capable force fighting President Bashar al-Assad inside Syria.

Its takeover of Mosul in June had prompted the United States to voice deep concern about the "extremely serious" situation and warn the jihadist Sunni group poses "a threat to the entire region".

Note from blogger : Regarding Iran and the paramilitary Basij Force

The Basij, full name Sâzmân-e Basij-e Mostaz'afin (Persian: سازمان بسیج مستضعفین‎, "The Organization for Mobilization of the Oppressed" is a paramilitary volunteer militia established in 1979 by order of the Islamic Revolution's leader Ayatollah Khomeini. The original organization comprised the civilian volunteers whom the Ayatollah Khomeini urged to fight in the Iran–Iraq war. The force consists of young Iranians who have volunteered, often in exchange for official benefits. Currently Basij serve as an auxiliary force engaged in activities such as internal security as well as law enforcement auxiliary, the providing of social service, organizing of public religious     ceremonies, and policing of morals and the suppression of dissident gatherings. Basij is the name of the force; a basiji is an individual member.

The Basij are set up as subordinate to, receiving their orders from, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and the current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei to whom they are known for their loyalty. They have also been described as "a loosely allied group of organizations" including "many groups controlled by local clerics.They have a local organization in almost every city in Iran.

Acid attacks and stabbings continue in Iran

NCRI - The spate of acid attacks on young women and the stabbing of youths by regime-backed thugs is continuing across Iran.

Men riding on motorcycles stabbed a female and a male youth in the back in two separate incidents in Tehran on Monday, December 15.

Two motorcycle riders wearing face masks threw acid in the face of a young woman in Tehran in another horrific attack on the same day.

More than a dozen women and girls have been the victims of acid attacks in the central city of Isfahan in recent weeks, and five university students have been stabbed in
in the southern city of Jahrom.

The students identified one attacker as paramilitary Basij Force member Mohamad Beheshtifar, who was caught on a security camera close to where he attacked one victim.

Beheshtifar is the son of IRGC Colonel Jalil Beheshtifar, who heads the Basij force in Ghotbabad district, in Jahrom County, south of the city of Jahrom.

He said he was motivated to attack after one cleric said the 'killing of a Bad-Hejab (improperly veiled women) is permissible' in order to 'prevent vice'.

Earlier this month the regime’s parliament approved a bill officially putting the members of the Basij paramilitary force in charge of enforcing the dress code in Iran and harassing and repressing women and youths in public under the pretext of 'Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice'.

The law institutionalized the work of members of the Basij paramilitaries that patrol streets to enforce the dress code, interrogate couples about their relationships, and other behavior prescribed under the clerical regime’s misogynist laws

Australia- Iranian man " former spy " got boot from Iranian Government ?

NCRI - The Iranian Resistance strongly condemns the criminal hostage-taking of innocent civilians in Sidney, Australia, and expresses its solidarity with the victims’ families.

The hostage-taker, mullah Haron Monis, when arrived many years ago in Australia from Iran, had declared that he had been an advisor to the Iranian regime’s Minister of Intelligence.The cleric who used the name Manteghi Boroujerdi in Iran, had also declared he knew many secrets of the regime and had transferred much information out of Iran.

On Tuesday, December 16, the Financial Review of Australia reminded that back in 2001, in an “interview with ABC, Monis said he was an Iranian spy who was turned on by his own government… Asked why he fled Iran in 1996, Monis said he had formerly worked with Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security… ‘The Iranian regime wants to make me silent, because I have some secret information about the (Iranian) government and about their terrorist operations,’ he said at that time.”

On 5 February 2001, in a call-in message to Radio Israel Farsi service, Boroujerdi (Monis) had said: “It is time to disclose the information.”

On 8 April 2001, he made a disclosure through the same radio saying that he had discussed the blowing up of Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia with the Iranian regime’s Chief of General Command Headquarters of Armed Forces Major General Firuzabadi.

The explosion of Khobar Tower was carried out on 25 June 1996 by the terrorist Qods Force and was commanded by Ahmad Vahidi who was Defense Minister in the second term of government of Ahmadinejad.

As is the routine with the Iranian regime, in a ridiculous attempt to cover up, state-run Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with the terrorist Qods Force, brazenly claimed in an absurd lie on December 16 that the hostage-taker mullah had been among those “expelled from one of the country’s universities who later became a supporter of PMOI.”

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Iranian regime Foreign Ministry claimed: “The background and the mental and psychological condition of this individual who sought refuge in Australia two decades ago had been repeatedly discussed with the Australian authorities and his condition was perfectly clear to that country’s officials” (Iranian state TV – December 16, 2014)

Fars News Agency, affiliated with the revolutionary guards, intentionally blamed the Iranian refugees for this criminal hostage-taking act and described the hostage-taker as a hustler that “was not handed over to Iran under the pretext of being a political refugee”.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
December 16, 2014

Iraqi Air Force Airstrikes On ISIL

Indians Face Off vs. Police with Bows and Arrows Before Brazil Congress

BRASILIA – Dozens of Indians protesting against a bill proposing to alter the regulations for marking their reservations faced off against police, whom they attacked with bows and arrows, in front of the Brazilian Congress on Tuesday.

The Indians, with painted faces and festooned with feathers tried to enter the legislative headquarters but were kept back by a police cordon, resulting in several incidents that concluded without any injuries, despite the fact that the demonstrators began to use the bows and arrows they were carrying.

One of the arrows fired by the Indians hit a police officer’s shoe and split the sole, but he was not injured.

The bill that sparked the protest has been pending since 2000 in the lower house of Congress and, after being shelved for almost 12 years, it was dusted off two years ago and approved in several legislative committees.

Its most controversial aspect proposes that authority to mark new indigenous lands, which currently resides with the executive branch, would pass to Congress.

The Indians oppose that move and say that it would give more power to the large landowners and mining, lumber and other firms that operate in the Amazon region, where most of the country’s Indian reservations are located.

Those businessmen maintain tight links with lawmakers of the so-called “rural bench,” a group comprised of upper and lower house members from different parties who defend in Congress the interests of the country’s large landowners.

UFO - MOJAVE, Calif. escorted by police ? Video

Iran: Female political prisoner transferred to harsh condition prison

NCRI - The authorities in Tehran’s Evin prison have transferred a female political prisoner to a prison known for its life-threatening conditions after she protested the appalling conditions at Evin’s women’s section.

Mrs. Hakimeh Shekari has been among the Mothers of Laleh Park (Mourning Mothers), a group of Iranian women whose spouses or children were killed by government agents and held protests in Laleh Park in Tehran demanding accountability for the death, arrests and disappearances of their children.

On numerous occasions Mourning Mothers were arrested by security agents at Laleh Park. They were chased down by the police, piled into the back of police vans and carted off to prison.

Mrs. Shekari was first arrested on December 7, 2010 while attending a memorial ceremony for an anti-regime protester killed in 2009 and she was imprisoned in section 209 of Evin prison for two months after being released on bail.

She was sentenced to three years in prison by a Revolutionary Court on April 11, 2012 on the charges of “propaganda against the system” and “acting against national security”.

Located in the outskirts of Tehran, Qarchak prison has been described as hell on earth, where inmates have expressed they would rather be executed than live in those conditions.

Pakistan Police: Taliban attack school, all gunmen killed

 16 December 2014

A bloody Taliban raid on an army-run school in northwest Pakistan has ended, police said Tuesday, with all six attackers dead.

The assault on the school in the city of Peshawar killed at least 130 people, most of them students, according to officials.

Earlier, the health minister for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the restive northwestern province where the attack took place, said two other teachers were among the dead, according to AFP.

Sharif Khan, a doctor at the Lady Reading Hospital in the city of Peshawar, where the attack is still under way, said they had received the bodies. A senior police official confirmed the toll.

A Reuters journalist at the scene could hear heavy gunfire from inside the school as soldiers surrounded it. Ambulances were transporting wounded children to hospital.

"We were standing outside the school and firing suddenly started and there was chaos everywhere and the screams of children and teachers," said Jamshed Khan, a school bus driver.

Military officials said at least six armed men had entered the military-run Army Public School. About 500 students and teachers were believed to be inside. 

"Our suicide bombers have entered the school, they have instructions not to harm the children, but to target the army personnel," Taliban spokesman Muhammad Umar Khorasani told Reuters.

Revenge

Explaining the reason behind the attack, the Taliban said it was a revenge for the Pakistani military targeting their own families, a spokesman said.

“We selected the army's school for the attack because the government is targeting our families and females,” said Taliban spokesman Muhammad Umar Khorasani.

“We want them to feel the pain.”

Following the tragic event, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called the school massacre a “national tragedy” and said he was heading to Peshawar. 

RWB: Sixty-Six Journalists Killed this year

The Paris-based press freedom watchdog, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) says a total of 66 journalists have been killed while performing their duties across the world this year.

According to the report released Tuesday, Syria, where 15 journalists have been murdered, remains the most dangerous country to work in for the second year in a row.

Seven reporters died when covering events during the Middle East conflict, while six others were killed in Ukraine and four each in Iraq and Libya.

In its annual report the group says 66 reporters have been killed in connection to their work over the past year, down 7 percent on 2013.

In India in May this year, a journalist, Tarun Kumar Acharya, was killed and in Pakistan two journalists -- Irashad Mastoi and Abdul Rasool -- met a similar fate in August, the report added.

Meanwhile, the number of those kidnapped during journalistic activities has been on the rise. A total of 119 reporters were abducted this year around the world, with most cases reported in Ukraine (33), followed by Libya (29), Syria (27) and Iraq (20).

This figure is 37 percent higher than last year, when a total of 87 journalists were abducted.

The report says 178 journalists have been sentenced in 2014 due to their professional activities. A total of 29 reporters are serving jail terms in China, 28 in Eritrea, 19 in Iran, 16 in Egypt and 13 in Syria.

Struan Stevenson condemns abuses in Iran and Iraq

The president of the European Iraqi Freedom Association (EIFA) condemned Iran's meddling in Iraq and widespread abuses of human rights in both countries.

Struan Stevenson criticised the US for appeasing the Iranian regime over its human rights violations. And he praised Iranian Resistance leader Maryam Rajavi for her 'democratic and tolerant version of Islam' that can play a vital role in isolating the Iranian regime.

He told a conference to mark International Human Rights Day in Brussels: "Not every day is Human Rights Day in Iran and Iraq. For too long, the international community has remained silent towards human rights violations in Iraq and Iran.

"Maliki utilised the claim of fighting a war against terror to secure his grip on power and the West fell for it.

"When Maliki came to power, step by step his government distanced itself from Washington and got closer to Tehran. A clear indication of this was Maliki’s approach towards the main Iranian Opposition, members of the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

"3500 PMOI members had lived in Iraq for almost 25 years. But from the first day after the fall of Saddam, Tehran had conspired to massacre their arch foe and to annihilate Ashraf and in Nouri al-Maliki they found a willing tool."

"The predictable outcome materialised in the form of six brutal massacres during the years 2009 to 2013. We warned the US, UN and EU again and again that these massacres would take place. But our cries fell on deaf ears."

He added: "The PMOI and Maryam Rajavi's democratic and tolerant version of Islam, can play a vital role in isolating the Iranian regime and its twisted Islamic Ideology inside Iran."

And he said of Iraq: "It has a dreadful human rights record and now is in third place after only China and neighbouring Iran in the number of people it executes. In spite of vast oil revenues, per capita income is only $1,000 per year, making it one of the world’s poorest countries.

"The situation for women in Iraq is dire. Women are subject to rape, attack and violence. Iraq has 5 million widows and 5 million orphans, but only 120,000 receive state aid.

"The world now looks to Haider al-Abadi to take control and restore order inside Iraq. He must purge the army of Iranian mercenaries and all those that Maliki recruited under his sectarian policy, restoring patriotic officers and turning it into a professional and national army.

"The new Prime Minister should also disclose to the Iraqi people the names of those who carried out the executions, massacres, bombardment and rocket attacks against innocent people and those responsible for poverty and state corruption; all should be held accountable in the courts. He must re-establish the independence of the Judiciary, dismissing those who have turned Iraq’s justice system into a political tool wielded by Maliki. He must also arrest and hold to account the perpetrators of the six massacres at Camps Ashraf and Liberty."

Mexican Jihad's join war?

Jihadism experts said the Spanish newspaper El Mundo that a man of Mexican nationality joined the ranks of the Islamic State, his nom de guerre Abu Hudaifa to be Meksiki (Mexican, Arabic).Few details have leaked the identity of Abu Hudaifa to Meksiki, whom even his true identity is unknown.

"All we can say is that is the only Mexican enrolled in the Islamic state or at least the only one whose trail we could follow," says El Mundo, daily Veryan Khan, editorial director of TRAC (Consortium of analysis and research on terrorism , for its acronym in English).

The Mexican jihadist is not the only foreigner among the ranks of the Islamic state, which according to reports this organization has more than 15,000 foreign fighters who have traveled have joined the jihad (holy war). It is estimated that at least 184 people from Spain or Latin America in the jihadist organization

Free Dr. Stacey Addison! - American imprisoned in East Timor

Free Dr. Stacey Addison!

Angelina Brouillette

Mariposa, CA

Dr. Stacey Addison, a Portland, Oregon veterinarian is unjustly imprisoned in the South East Asian country of East Timor. While living her dream of an around the world trip Dr. Addison had the extremely bad luck to share a hired vehicle with a stranger who committed a crime. She has been imprisoned, denied due process and can be held with no charge against her for one year. What should have been a trip of a lifetime has turned into a nightmare. I've known Stacey for 15 years and I'm helping her mother bring her home with this petition. Our government and the government of East Timor must take action immediately to release Dr. Stacey Addison from her illegal imprisonment.  

On September 5th Stacey entered East Timor and shared a hired taxi from the border to the capital city of Dili with a stranger. This practice is very commonplace and usually safe. It’s like Lyft or Uber, but other people can share the car if it’s on the same route. Unknown to Stacey, the other passenger in the car was a criminal. En route he asked the driver to stop so he could pick up a package. The police were waiting, tipped off that the package contained illegal drugs. The car was surrounded by the police and everyone arrested.

After her belongings were searched, her drug test came up negative, and statements by everyone declaring they didn’t know her beyond sharing the cab were acquired, Stacey was still held for 5 days before being brought before a judge. She was given a conditional release, but told that her passport could be held for up to one year pending an investigation. Stacey found herself trapped and unable to travel back home to Portland, Oregon.

For nearly 2 months, waiting in agony and willing to cooperate, Stacey and her lawyer heard nothing from the authorities. Suddenly, on October 28th she was rearrested without a charge and taken to a women's prison.  She was told that the prosecutor had filed an appeal to have her conditional release rescinded without notifying Stacey or her lawyer. This is a violation of her Human Rights and illegal under Timorese and International law.

Stacey is not a criminal. She is a dedicated and caring veterinarian, often volunteering for causes close to her heart. Even on this trip, before these horrifying turn of events, Stacey volunteered as a vet in Peru and Ecuador. This is who Stacey is and the last place she deserves to be is in prison.

We are sharing her story in hopes you will join our friends and family in calling for her to be released and for her passport to be returned. We already have the support of both US Senators from Oregon and the media is starting to pay attention. Your support could create the momentum needed to ensure Stacey gets home. Please take a moment to sign and share our petition calling on the East Timor government to free Stacey now and return her passport.

You can also go to the Facebook page Help Stacey for more info and "like" it to show your support: https://www.facebook.com/PleaseHelpStacey 

Iran: Hundreds of nurses protest low wages and difficult work conditions

NCRI – Hundreds of Iranian nurses held a gathering on Sunday outside Hassan Rouhani’s office in Tehran to protest low salaries and difficult working conditions.

The group of 700 nurses also renewed their long demand for the implementation of the ‘Nursing Tariff Act’ that had been ratified in 2007 which limits the amount of overtime nurses can work, among other benefits.

Nurses, who came from various cities across Iran to Tehran, said large groups of nurses in their cities were distracted from attending the protest after a state institution contacted their hospitals.

The hospitals in Iran are experiencing a shortage of nurses, who leave the country on a daily basis due to low salaries.

According to international standards, there should be a minimum of two nurses per hospital bed each day, while in Iran this number is half this, according to some officials.

The shortage of nurses has forced nurses to work many hours in overtime.

The protesting nurses chanted “ignoring nurses in the country results in more and more nurse migration”.

They carried signs that read: “Five percent of the health care is taking the 95 percent of the income” and “This is injustice”.

It is estimated that some 40 nurses leave Iran every day to work in other countries making the situation in the hospitals critical.

The flow of Iranian immigrant nurses to Canada has increased. Canada is the first immigration destination for Iranian nurses with close to 50 percent, while the UAE attracts some 30 percent of immigrants.

Australia, the USA and the UK are among other major destinations for Iranian nurses.

Police storm Sydney cafe where jihadist, murder suspect held hostages

Police toting automatic weapons and lobbing flash grenades stormed a Sydney cafe early Tuesday, bringing to a dramatic end a 16-hour standoff in which a jihadist and murder suspect held an unknown number of hostages in a scene much of the world watched on television.

A series of explosions, believed to be gunshots and flash grenades, came just before 2:30 a.m. local time as several more hostages fled Lindt Chocolat Cafe, where a man identified as Man Haron Monis, an Iranian also known for sending hate mail to the families of fallen soldiers, was holed up with an unknown number of captives. The drama, which began early Monday, appeared to be coming to a dramatic resolution, as frenzied activity enveloped the scene that Australians had been watching on television for hours.

"Police and paramedics have stormed the building," the Sydney Morning Herald reported. "Dozens of continuous bangs and possibly gun shots have lit up the sky."

Several people were taken from the building on stretchers as an alarm rang and police in riot gear moved in and out of the shop, in the heart of Australia's largest city's business district. A bomb disposal robot was seen being deployed in the shop, though police said the standoff was over. It was not clear if anyone was killed or what had happened to the suspect. The handful of hostages seen fleeing as the explosions echoed through the predawn air followed escapes hours earlier by five captives.

Sydney hostages in Lindt coffee shop - terrorists #sydneysiege ( Video )

 <

SYDNEY - Possible hostages taken by people with " Arabic flag "

SYDNEY - A major police operation was underway in downtown Sydney on Monday, where several people inside a chocolate shop and cafe could be seen through the windows with their hands held in the air.

New South Wales state police would not say what was happening inside the Lindt Chocolat Cafe or whether hostages were being held. But television footage shot through the cafe's windows showed several people with their arms in the air and hands pressed against the glass.

The footage showed two people inside the cafe holding up what appeared to be a black flag with white Arabic writing on it. It was not immediately clear what the flag said. Heavily-armed officers were lined up outside the cafe.

A police spokeswoman said no injuries had been reported from the incident.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the National Security Committee of Cabinet met to be briefed on the situation.

"This is obviously a deeply concerning incident but all Australians should be reassured that our law enforcement and security agencies are well trained and equipped and are responding in a thorough and professional manner," Abbott said in a statement.

The cafe is located in Martin Place, a plaza in the heart of the city's financial and shopping district that is packed with holiday shoppers this time of year. It is home to the state premier's office, the Reserve Bank of Australia, and the headquarters of two of the nation's largest banks. The state parliament house is a few blocks away.

Streets in the area were closed, offices evacuated and the public told to stay away.

UN calls for "swift and transparent investigation" into death of Palestinian minister

•  

 Sunday, 14 December 2014 15:27

 2 0 5Share0

 1

 

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas (right) stands by the coffin during the funeral of Ziad Abu Ein in Ramallah on December 11, 2014

The UN Security Council has called for a "swift and transparent investigation" into the death of a Palestinian minister during a confrontation with Israeli soldiers.

The Palestinian leadership blamed Israel for the "killing" of 55-year-old Ziad Abu Ein, after an Israeli border policeman shoved and grabbed him by the throat during a protest in the occupied West Bank.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned “the brutal assault that led to the martyrdom” of Abu Ein, calling it “a barbaric act that cannot be tolerated or accepted," Abbas said as he announced a three-day mourning period.

A statement issued by the Security Council on Friday "encouraged the parties to ensure that a swift and transparent investigation is undertaken" into the incident.

"The members of the Security Council called on all sides to exercise maximum restraint and to refrain from steps that could further destabilise the situation."

The top United Nations human rights official also expressed his ‘deepest condolences to Ziad Abu Ein’s family and to the people of Palestine' and said the incidents that preceded the Minister’s death are disturbing and must be carefully investigated.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said in a statement. ‘I express my deepest condolences to Ziad Abu Ein’s family and to the people of Palestine. It is a terrible and deeply tragic irony that he should die in this way after taking part in a peaceful protest against illegal settlements, centred around the planting of olive trees, on Human Rights Day.’

The Minister's death came on the same day when a Palestinian boy was shot in the head by Israeli officials in the Jalazone refugee camp in the West Bank.

“This continuous stream of fatal incidents underscores the need for effective accountability measures,” said Zeid.

On Friday, during a phone call with President Abbas, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry expressed his condolences for the death of [senior Palestinian official] Ziad Abu Ein and stressed the importance of continuing peace efforts," Palestine's state-run WAFA news agency reported.

1,000-pound cow escapes slaughterhouse - Cops chase him

POCATELLO, ID - A 1,000-pound cow being prepared for slaughter jumped a 6-foot fence and bolted through the streets of Pocatello before police shot and killed it following a lengthy pursuit.

Pocatello Police Chief Scott Marchand tells the Idaho State Journal that his officers fired two shots at the heifer because it posed a safety risk.

The cow had escaped from Anderson Custom Pack, a meat processing business, on Friday afternoon.

Early in the chase, an officer shot the cow in the head but the wounded animal kept running.

The cow led police and animal control officers on a chase on foot and in vehicles through the city's north side. It rammed an animal control truck and two police cars.

The animal was eventually cornered in a residential backyard about 3 miles away, and was shot and killed by a police officer.

Killing of U.S. woman stirs niqab debate in UAE

Thursday, 4 December 2014

Some local newspapers in the UAE are pondering whether a ban on the Islamic face veil would enhance security after the stabbing of an American woman by a burqa-clad suspect seen on surveillance camera.

On Wednesday, an English-language newspaper, Gulf News, asked: “Should niqab not be worn for security reasons?”

The paper said “the stabbing death of an American school teacher by a niqab-clad assailant in a women’s restroom at an Abu Dhabi mall is drawing mixed reactions across the country as to whether or not the niqab should be worn for security reasons.”

“The niqab crime, and the niqab is a crime,” read one title by columnist Ali bin Tamim on 24.ae website, saying it is time the issue is placed on the negotiations table to discuss its validity, citing “horrendous” crime that happened in Abu Dhabi.

Also read: 

Killing of U.S. woman stirs niqab debate in UAE

Another columnist, Sami al-Riyami for Emarat Alyoum, wrote an article titled “Niqab and extremism or security and moderation.”

Riyami urged the security forces to cover this “void” in the security situation. He said crimes perpetrated by niqab-protected criminals are not only seen in the UAE but in other Muslims countries because of culprits being able to keep their identity withheld.