Tag Archives: Rally

Iran’s Rouhani accuses West of exploiting Sunni-Shi’ite rift, raps Israel

Iran at Palestinian Rally

By Parisa Hafezi

ANKARA (Reuters) – Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani accused Western powers of trying to exploit differences between the world’s Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims to divert attention from the Israel-Palestinian conflict, state television reported on Friday.

Rouhani’s comments came as tens of thousands of Iranians joined anti-Israel rallies across the country to express support for the Palestinians. They chanted “Death to Israel” and “Death to America” and burned the Israeli flag.

“The global arrogance (the United States and its allies) wants to create discord among Muslims … Unity is the only way to restore stability in the region,” Rouhani said.

“We stand with the dispossessed Palestinian nation.”

Opposition to Israel, which Tehran refuses to recognize, has been a cornerstone of Iranian policy since its 1979 Islamic revolution. Shi’ite Muslim Iran backs Palestinian and Lebanese militant groups who oppose peace with Israel.

“The Zionist regime (Israel) is a regional base for America and the global arrogance … Disunity and discord among Muslim and terrorist groups in the region … have diverted us from the important issue of Palestine,” Rouhani said.

Shi’ite-led Iran has repeatedly called on its Sunni Muslim rival Saudi Arabia to help improve their strained bilateral relations and work for stability in the Middle East.

Arch-rivals for regional hegemony, the two oil producers are on opposite sides in proxy battles in the region, where they back competing factions in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and Bahrain.

Ties have worsened since Riyadh’s execution in January of prominent Shi’ite cleric Nimr al-Nimr prompted attacks on the Saudi embassy in Tehran. Saudi Arabia subsequently cut all ties with Iran.

Riyadh is worried that a landmark nuclear deal reached between Iran, the United States and five other major powers in 2015 will help Tehran gain the upper hand in their regional standoff.

MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM

Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said in March that “the occupied Palestinian territories are within the range of most of the Islamic Republic’s missiles”, Iran’s state television Press TV reported.

A senior IRGC commander said Iran’s new Russian-made S-300 missile defense system would be operational by March.

“Its divisions are being delivered to Iran and the system will be operational by the end of this Iranian year,” the semi-official Tasnim quoted Amir Farzad Esmaili as saying.

Russia delivered the first part of the S-300 missile defense system to Iran in April, one of the most advanced systems of its kind that can engage multiple aircraft and ballistic missiles around 150 km (90 miles) away.

“Hezbollah has 100,000 missiles that are ready to hit Israel to liberate the occupied Palestinian territories if the Zionist regime repeats its past mistakes,” Tasnim quoted IRGC deputy head Hossein Salami as saying.

(Editing by Gareth Jones)

Protesters throw rocks, bottles at police outside Trump rally

A protester disrupts a rally with Trump and his supporters in Albuquerque

By Brendan O’Brien

(Reuters) – Protesters threw rocks and bottles at police officers who responded with pepper spray outside a rally for presidential candidate Donald Trump in Albuquerque, New Mexico, police said.

Hundreds of protesters tried to storm the convention center in New Mexico’s biggest city, knocking down barricades and throwing objects at a door and then hurling rocks and bottles at mounted police in riot gear, the Albuquerque Police Department said on Twitter on Tuesday and video posted online showed.

Several police officers were injured, the police tweeted.

Protesters chanted anti-Trump slogans, held anti-Trump signs and waved Mexican flags before the demonstration descended into chaos with some protesters standing on top of police cars.

Television footage showed officers responding by using pepper spray and smoke bombs to disperse the crowd.

Police said they made arrests both outside and inside the rally, where protesters continually interrupted Trump’s speech.

No one at the police department was immediately available for comment.

Protests have become common outside rallies for Trump, the party’s presumptive nominee, who has polarized opinion with his rhetoric against illegal immigration. He abandoned a rally in Chicago in March after clashes between his supporters and protesters.

He has accused Mexico of sending drug dealers and rapists across the U.S. border and has promised to build a wall and make Mexico pay for it.

According to CNN, his supporters chanted “build that wall” during his rally on Tuesday in Albuquerque where a little less than half of the population is Hispanic or Latino.

“Watching thugs (and) punks in Albuquerque – en route to California. They don’t even know what they are protesting,” Trump aide Dan Scavino said on Twitter.

Trump heads on Wednesday to a rally in Anaheim, California, which has a growing Latino minority.

(Editing by Louise Ireland)

Nurses To Strike Over Ebola Measures

A series of rallies and strikes took place across the United States Wednesday as nurses spoke out about what they feel are insufficient measures taken for their protection when dealing with Ebola.

National Nurses United, a California-based union, said that hospitals do not have enough hazardous materials outfits that leave no skin exposed to bodily fluids along with air purifying respirators to avoid accidental inhalation of particles.

“Inadequate preparedness for Ebola symbolizes the erosion of patient care standards generally,” National Nurses United spokesman Charles Idelson told Reuters on Tuesday.

Strikes began early in California on Tuesday with over 20,000 nurses taking part in the protests.

Over 100,000 joined the protests on Wednesday including a group that held a vigil outside the White House.

Two nurses who attended to Thomas Eric Duncan in Dallas became infected with the virus and hospital workers told media outlets there were times the nurses did not have adequate protection.

Fifth Grade Football Team Stands Up To Bullying

A group of fifth grade football players decided enough was enough when they heard their waterboy was being bullied at school.

The waterboy, Danny Keefe, attends first grade.  He had a brain hemorrhage after he was born that hampers his ability to speak.  He likes to wear a suit and tie to school every day and it was a subject of derision from classmates.

The players on the fifth grade football team at Mitchell Elementary School heard that classmates were bullying Danny.  Instead of just acting like it didn’t happen and focusing on sports, the team took a completely different tact.

The entire team dressed up one day in suits and ties and rallied around Danny all day.

“He’s such a good person. He doesn’t let it bother him. He goes on with his day. He’s a 6-year-old kid. We should all respect that,” quarterback Tommy Cooney, 11, told WCVB.  He organized what he called “Danny Appreciation Day.”

One player said it was much more than just a one day rally.

“The coach calls us a band of brothers,” 11-year-old Jimmy Peterson said.  “He’s one of us.”

Iran Groups Planning “Grand Day of Death to America”

Iranian groups are planning a massive rally to celebrate the 24th anniversary of the storming of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran called the “Grand Day of Death to America.”

A new government bureaucratic group called the Death to the U.S. Committee is reportedly organizing the rally according to Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri.

“The crimes of U.S. leaders and international Zionism in dealing with Iran’s great nation will never be erased from public memories and minds,” Jazayeri said.

The New York Times reports the event will include the awarding of the First Major International Award of ‘Down With America.’ The award will be given for the best anti-American picture, poster, song, video or caricature. The winner of the award could receive up to $4,000.

The rally by hard-liners is seen as a response to recent reports that new President Hassan Rouhani is taking a more moderate position with the United States.