Archive for category: News

Brazil’s president says public money was most likely stolen in relation to a scandal at the state-run oil company, Petrobras, Press TV reports.

Dilma Rousseff, whose political party has been implicated in an embezzlement and bribery scandal, told reporters in the capital, Brasilia, that her administration would firmly work for the recovery of the stolen funds.

“I will do my best to reimburse the country if there was misuse of public money. We want it back,” Rousseff said, while responding to the latest allegations of bribery involving Petrobras and top government officials.

Meanwhile, former director of Petrobras, Paulo Roberto Costa, recently admitted that money embezzled from the company was given to the president’s Worker’s Party in order to buy political favor.

He also claimed that some of the bribe money helped fund Rousseff’s 2010 presidential campaign.

President Rousseff was chairman of the company between 2003 and 2010, when much of the embezzlement and bribery scandal is believed to have happened.

She will take on pro-business opposition candidate, Aecio Neves, in the runoff presidential election slated for October 26.

“The eternal enemy is corruption and the idea that the president is connected to corruption is a big deal. She isn’t going to convince everyone of the contrary, but recognizing the corruption now will help her solidify her base while appealing to undecided voters,” a Brasilia resident told Press TV.

GMA/HSN/SS

Fierce clashes erupt between Kurdish fighters and the ISIL Takfiri terrorists in Syria’s strategic city of Kobani across the Turkish border.

After about two days of relative calm, the clashes took place in the northernmost part of the city as night fell on Monday.

According to reports, the Kurdish fighters had the upper hand in the battles and managed to push the militants out of some areas of the city.

US-led coalition forces also conducted occasional skirmishes and airstrikes.

The ISIL Takfiris have committed widespread acts of violence, including mass executions, abductions, torture and forcing women into slavery in the areas they have seized in Iraq and Syria.

Meanwhile, Press TV has learned that Washington has moved its base from Jordan to Turkey to train radical extremists who are fighting the Syrian government

According to a 2013 estimate, the city of Kobani, also called Ayn al-Arab, is inhabited by Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, and Armenians.

/129

At least 33 people have been killed in Iraq in a series of bombings in the capital city of Baghdad and the holy city of Karbala.

An assailant blew up his explosives among worshipers leaving a Shia mosque in a commercial area in the center of Baghdad following midday prayers on Monday.

Iraqi officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said at least 17 people lost their lives and 28 others were injured.

Hours later, three separate car bombs went off simultaneously near government offices in the Shia holy city of Karbala, killing at least 16 people and injuring 40 others.

There has been a rise in bomb attacks by the ISIL militant group in Iraq during the last week, claiming scores of lives.

On Sunday afternoon, a bomb explosion outside a Shia Muslim mosque in western Baghdad left 17 worshipers dead and dozens wounded.

The overall security situation in Iraq has worsened over the past months after the ISIL Takfiri terrorists, of whom many are foreign militants, took control of parts of the country’s northern and western regions.

According to the United Nations, at least 1,110 people were killed in acts of violence across Iraq in September.

The ISIL terrorists have been committing heinous crimes in the captured areas, including mass executions and beheading of people. They have threatened all communities, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians and Izadi Kurds.

/129

A shocking video that apparently shows a New York police officer pushing two Muslim men up against a wall just because of how they are dressed has sparked fury online.

YouTube star Adam Saleh uploaded the video to the internet after claiming he had had enough of police officers ‘racially profiling’ him when he is dressed in traditional Muslim clothing.

Adam runs a YouTube account called TrueStoryASA with his friend Sheikh Akbar where the two young men make funny and prank videos.

However, they decided to make a new video for their 650,000 subscribers after becoming frustrated at police following them when they are dressed in traditional Muslim attire.

In the three minute video, branded “messed up and cruel” by online fans of the pair, the two young men are first seen wearing western clothing and having an argument in American accents.

A police officer stands close by and appears to watch as the two play out a row that, at one point, gets physical.

Despite Adam ‘threatening’ and pushing Sheikh, the officer does nothing.

Just 20 minutes later, the two young men have changed into traditional Muslim dress and are walking past the officer again.

They again pretend to have an argument but the officer, who appears to have no clue it is the same men as earlier, instantly steps in and demands to know what is going on.

The officer, whose face is blurred throughout, asks the men what is going on, but when he is told it’s nothing, asks sternly: “What’s all the arguing about, why are you dressed like this?”

Adam and Sheikh attempt to tell the officer there is nothing going on and walk off, before the cop demands they not walk away and pushes them up against the wall.

He is then seen frisking Adam, asking: “What is this? Is it a gun? Is it a knife?”. It was a mobile phone.

Sheikh is then pushed up against the wall and searched before Adam takes off his headdress and tells the officer: “I’m the same guy as before. I came 20 minutes earlier, we hit each other and you did nothing.”

In a posting on his Twitter account, omgAdamSaleh, Adam said: “And this doesn’t just happen to me, it also happens with Muslim women wearing hijab and people with a skin color that isn’t white.

“Don’t think this is gonna stop me from wearing my Arab clothes…Ima continue to wear it and film what I want without any harm to anyone.”

Viewers immediately took to Twitter to attack the officer’s behaviour, which many claimed was depressingly familiar.

One user, adams_habibi, said: “These words literally show how intolerant that officer was, I can do nothing but shake my head”, while another called ThatAriHipster, said: “Really sad of what this world has come to this need to be stopped”.

/129

Molavi Abdul Hamid Esmaeel Zehi, Friday prayer leader in the Iranian southeastern city of Zhedan, sent a letter to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia demanding the cancellation of death sentence for Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al Nimr.

Molavi Esmaeel Zehi in this letter referred to the chaotic situation in the world of Islam and stressed unity and fraternity as the basic necessities of the Muslim community calling interaction and wisdom as the ways to achieve them.

Friday prayer leader of Zahedan, in parts of his letter addressed King Abdullah saying,” Since the enemies of Islam are in constant ambush to make the best of any situation and fuel the fire of intrigues in the Islamic countries, here on behalf of the Iranian Sunni clerics, I demand that your highness make use of the special kingdom power to cancel the death sentence for Sheikh Nimr al Nimr.”

Iranian senior cleric called this measure a reason for boosting solidarity and expansion of fraternity among Muslims and noted,” Certainly the cancelation of this sentence will be followed by several positive outcomes and will lead to expansion of unity and fraternity among Muslims.”

Nimr was sentenced to death by the Specialized Criminal Court in the Saudi capital Riyadh on charges of disturbing the kingdom’s security and making anti-government speeches.

/129