Parents of US black victims want justice

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The family members of unarmed black men killed by police recently have criticized the US Justice Department, demanding justice over their cases.

The parents of Michael Brown and Eric Garner once again called for federal investigation into the police fatal shooting of their sons.

“I’m here to make sure that this doesn’t happen to anyone else’s family,” Brown’s father, Michael Brown Sr., said on Thursday.

The civil rights organizations urged the Justice Department to intervene in the investigations of the police officers responsible for the deaths.

The 18-year-old Brown was shot dead by a police officer in Missouri’s Ferguson in August.

In July, Garner, 43, died of a heart attack following a confrontation with police on Staten Island, New York.

“It’s time we got justice for these heinous crimes,” Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr, said.

In an interview with Press TV last week, African-American political commentator Randy Short said the family members of black people killed by US police are offered millions of dollars to be silent and not to demand justice.

Reverend Al Sharpton’s job is to “go around and offer money. It’s almost a lottery. If a black family takes a pay off, they can get millions of dollars for being silent if they allow their family members to be murdered. So it’s a big industry,” he said.

“Groups like the Cochran Firm specialize in getting blacks to not demand full justice and freedom by taking money to be quite,” he added.

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Baghdad car bombings kill 4

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Two powerful car bomb explosions have targeted an area near a hospital in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, killing at least four people.

Reports say the car bombs went off near a hospital in the capital’s Mahmoudia suburb, leaving tens of others injured.

The explosions reportedly took place during the early hours of the morning with medical sources saying the death toll is expected to rise. 

Iraqi police are currently investigating the incident.

The attacks come as Iraqi forces backed by volunteers are fighting against Takfiri militants from the ISIL terrorist group on several fronts across the country.

The ISIL terrorists control large areas of Syria’s east and north. The group sent back its Takfiri militants into Iraq in June, seizing large parts of land straddling the border between Syria and Iraq.

Iraqi officials hold Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, and some other Persian Gulf Arab states responsible for the rise in terrorism in the country.

ISIL terrorists have been carrying out horrific acts of violence, including public decapitations and crucifixions.

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Hamas, Fatah reach partial deal

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Palestinian factions of Hamas and Fatah have made a breakthrough in direct talks to form a national unity government in the Gaza Strip.

A partial agreement on governing the Gaza Strip was reached after the two sides held talks in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on Thursday, said a Hamas official, whose name was not mentioned in the reports.

However, the official added that certain issues remain unresolved, including the salaries of former Hamas employees and the management of security forces.

The partial agreement comes as Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian national unity government, recently accused Hamas of running what he called a parallel government in Gaza.

The Israeli regime has pressured Abbas to avoid forming a unity government with Hamas. However, Abbas has so far ignored the Israeli pressure.

Palestinians say the Tel Aviv regime imposed its latest war on the besieged Gaza Strip in July to scuttle the unity government.

Some 2,140 Palestinians, mostly civilians including women, children and elderly people, were killed in the Israeli onslaught and around 11,000 others were injured.

On April 23, Hamas and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which includes Fatah, pledged to settle their differences and form a unity government. Under the long-awaited deal, Hamas and Fatah established the unity government in June.

Hamas and Fatah have been at odds since Hamas won the Palestinian parliamentary elections in January 2006. The dispute marginalized Hamas’ governance to the Palestinian territory of Gaza. Fatah, however, set up headquarters in the Palestinian territory of the West Bank.

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Kiev leader optimistic about peace plan

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Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says he is confident that his peace plan with pro-Russia fighters in the eastern part of the country will work.

Addressing a Thursday press conference for the first time since he took office in June, he said the ceasefire deal signed between his government and pro-Russians three weeks ago means the “most dangerous” part of the country’s five-month conflict has passed.

“I have no doubt that my peace plan will work. I have no doubt that the biggest, most dangerous part of the war is already behind us, thanks to the heroism of Ukrainian soldiers,” Poroshenko said.

Poroshenko’s peace plan, approved by Ukraine’s parliament last week, offers limited self-rule for the country’s east and includes local council elections to be held there in early December.

But pro-Russian groups who control the region plan to set up their own parliaments in self-organized polls scheduled for November 2.

Poroshenko expressed hope that Russia and the rest of the international community would not recognize the vote organized by the pro-Russians.

“I hope that neither Russia nor the rest of the world recognize elections called by self-proclaimed terrorist organizations in violation of Ukrainian law,” the pro-Western leader said, vowing to preserve Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

Poroshenko hopes his broad political and economic reform plan would also allow Kiev to apply for EU membership in six years’ time.

Ukraine’s mainly Russian-speaking regions in the east have witnessed deadly clashes between pro-Moscow forces and the Ukrainian army since Kiev launched military operations to silence pro-Russians in mid-April.

Violence intensified in May after the two flashpoint regions of Donetsk and Lugansk held local referendums in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine.

Kiev and its Western allies have repeatedly accused Moscow of destabilizing Ukraine by supplying arms to the pro-Russian forces fighting for control of the eastern provinces, but the Kremlin denies the accusation.

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US pursuing ‘imperialist’ goals in Syria

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The United States is pursuing the “imperialist” goal of establishing a “subservient government” in Syria under the cover of its military campaign against ISIL, says an analyst and anti-war activist.

“I think the decision to hit Syria is best understood by looking at the US overall objective, to put itself back on top of the world imperialist heap,” said Joe Isobaker of the United National Antiwar Coalition.

He made the remarks during an interview with Press TV on Thursday when asked about US goals in fighting the ISIL terrorist group, which former Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich said were taking control of oil fields and ultimately “regime change” in Syria.

Kucinich wrote in an article that the US launched airstrikes on ISIL “to wrest control of the oil from ISIS which gained its foothold directly in the region through the US, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and Jordan funding and arming ISIS’ predecessors in Syria.”

Isobaker said that US corporations were dependent on Middle East oil to maintain America’s dominance in the global economy.

“This is the seventh Muslim country bombed by the US over the last decade, these nations have in common that they are in the most oil-rich region in the world and control of the Middle East is key to the profits of US corporations and the US overall domination of the world economy,” he stated.

While taking control of Syria’s oil is a “tactical” objective, Isobaker said, “Obama’s number one objective is a subservient government, one that accepts US and Israeli dictates.”

“I certainly agree with Congressman Kucinich that no one should believe President Obama’s claim that the US is attacking ISIS because of the threat that they pose to the humanity,” he said.  

He explained that the US has no concern for humanity, citing support for the Israeli onslaught against the Gaza Strip. “Washington allowed Israel to massacre over two thousand people almost all civilians over the summer in Gaza.”

“These attacks violate international law finally and they are in fact an act of war against Syria,” Isobaker concluded.

AT/HRJ

 

New Australia law to target journalists

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The Australian Senate has passed new national security laws that could put journalists behind bars for up to 10 years for merely reporting on terrorism-related subjects, Press TV reports.

The bill proposed by the government of Prime Minister Tony Abbott was unanimously adopted by the Senate on Thursday and is to be sent to the House of Representatives for final approval.

The legislation, dubbed the National Security Legislation Amendment Bill, will give Australia’s spy agency, ASIO (Australian Security Intelligence Organization), stronger powers to access personal computers and spy on Australians overseas.

According to the anti-terrorism law, anyone – including journalists, whistleblowers and bloggers – who “recklessly” discloses “information…[that] relates to a special intelligence operation” faces up to 10 years in prison.

Analysts believe the new legislation, if adopted, would not only affect journalists who are simply trying to do their job, but seriously infringe on the privacy of all internet users in Australia.

In an interview with Press TV, Tim Anderson, a professor at the University of Sydney, criticized the new laws proposed by the Canberra administration and warned against the gradual “destruction of liberties and the expansion of the police state in Australia.”

In June this year, Peter Greste, an Australian journalist, was jailed for seven years in Egypt after being convicted of aiding the country’s Muslim Brotherhood movement, a sentence slammed as “chilling and draconian” by some Western states.

The sentence was sharply condemned by the Australia at the time. However, the new bill approved by the Senate could see the journalists in the country facing the same fate.

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Iran economy growth turns positive

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The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) says country’s economy has attained positive growth for the first time in two years.

New figures released by the CBI on Thursday show the economy expanded 4.6 percent in the first quarter of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 21, 2014).

According to the data, Iran’s agriculture, oil, mine and industry sectors posted positive growth rates of up to 8.1 percent during the period.

Iran’s economic growth rate turned positive after the country experienced months of stagflation, suffering negative economic growth combined with rising inflation rate.

In the last Persian calendar year (ended March 20, 2014) Iran’s economy shrank to -1.9 percent.

Earlier this month, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the Islamic Republic will witness an inflation rate far below 20 percent at the end of the year.

“I announce to the Iranian nation that we have fortunately left behind stagnation,” Rouhani said.

The Rouhani administration had previously envisaged a 25-percent inflation rate for the current year.

“In the energy sector, in oil and gas, we will witness a remarkable breakthrough this year,” Rouhani noted.

Iran’s inflation rate dropped to 23.2 percent in the Persian calendar month of Mordad (July 23-August 22) showing a sharp decrease compared with the 40.1-percent figure in the same period last year.

The Iranian administration has expressed its determination to reduce the existing inflation rate to a one-digit level.

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Vatican sacks bishop over scandal

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Pope Francis has sacked a conservative Paraguayan bishop for his role in covering up sex abuse of children at the hands of fellow Catholic priests.

Bishop Rogelio Ricardo Livieres Plano, a member of the conservative Opus Dei movement in Paraguay, has been dismissed by the Vatican for clashing with his fellow bishops and protecting a priest accused of inappropriate sexual behavior.

Livieres is accused of promoting an Argentine priest, Reverend Carlos Urrutigoity, whose former superior in the United States said was a “serious threat to young people.”

The bishop was given the option of resigning but turned it down, giving Francis the “onerous” decision to remove him.

The incident marks the latest in a series of sex abuse scandals involving Vatican priests in recent years.

On Wednesday, the Vatican was forced to put its former ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Josef Wesolowski, under house arrest after local media accused him of pedophilia.

Senior officials including the former pope have been also accused of trying to cover up the child sex abuse.

The Roman Catholic Church has been hit by numerous scandals in the past few years, involving allegations of covering up the sexual abuse of children by priests to protect pedophiles and the reputation of church.

More than 4,000 priests in the United States have reportedly faced sexual abuse allegations since the 1950s in cases involving more than 10,000 children.

Pope Francis has warned that there will be “no privileges” for bishops when it comes to child sex offenders. The pontiff also promised more action in response to accusations of cover-ups and excessive leniency by the Vatican.

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‘US informed ISIL of airstrikes’

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ISIL militants received warning before the US Air Force began conducting airstrikes against their hideouts in Syria, said American author Stephen Lendman.

The terrorists were given “warning that the American attacks were coming so they could easily disperse to various areas and stay out of harm’s way,” Lendman told Press TV on Thursday.

He said civilians were killed and their homes were destroyed in the air raids instead. “Mostly civilians were killed; civilian infrastructures were targeted and destroyed”.

US fighter jets bombarded ISIL-controlled oil refineries and fields in Syria, killing 19 people overnight and early Thursday. Five civilians were among the casualties, including women and children.

Lendman said that President Barack Obama has hidden the truth about the ISIL terrorists and how the US benefits from them.

“He didn’t tell the most important story the people need to know; ISIL is a valued US ally,” he pointed out. “US Special Forces and CIA operatives train its fighters at special centers set up to do it in Jordan.”

The analyst also said the US is trying to replace the Syrian government with a “stooge government.”

President Barack Obama’s “idea is to replace its (Syria) sovereign independence with a pro-western stooge government, the same policy that America pursued in Afghanistan, in Iraq, in Libya, he (Obama) wants to the same thing to Syria,” Lendman stated.

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UK embassy must not reopen: Iran MP

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A senior Iranian lawmaker slams the UK premier’s recent accusations against the Islamic Republic, urging Iran’s Foreign Ministry not to allow reopening of the British embassy in Tehran.

In his address to the UN General Assembly in New York, UK Prime Minister David Cameron claimed that “Iran’s support for terrorist organizations” needs to change.

On Thursday, Chairman of Iran’s Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Alaeddin Boroujerdi said Cameron’s recent statements show the UK government’s continued “animosity” toward the Islamic Republic.

“The [Iranian] Foreign Ministry should reconsider [its decision] to allow the British embassy to resume its activities in Tehran,” added the senior Iranian legislator.

Boroujerdi further described the so-called international coalition led by the US against the ISIL Takfiri group as a “mere political game,” stressing that London has played a major role in the emergence and consolidation of the terrorist cult.

Earlier on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham categorically rejected Cameron’s unsubstantiated allegations, saying the British government, which has been a supporter of terrorist groups, has passed an “inappropriate judgment” on Iran that has always been at the forefront of the campaign against the scourge of terrorism.

Iran and the UK officially resumed direct diplomatic ties in February after the two countries severed diplomatic relations in 2011. Tehran and London have appointed non-resident chargés d’affaires as a first step toward reopening their respective embassies.

On November 27, 2011, Iranian MPs voted by a large majority to downgrade diplomatic ties with the UK, in response to Britain’s decision to impose new anti-Iran bans.

Following the decision, hundreds of Iranian students staged a protest outside the British embassy in Tehran, pulling down the UK flag and demanding the expulsion of the British ambassador.

On November 30 of the same year, London cut off its ties with Tehran, withdrew its diplomatic staff from Iran and the Iranian embassy in London was closed.

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