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[17 Dec 2012] Pakistan ranked 7 in list of 178 most heavily armed countries - English

Press TV has conducted an interview with William Beeman, professor with the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, about the issue of the US postponement of a major conference on banning nuclear arms in the Middle East.

What follows is an approximate transcription of a Press TV interview with Bill Beeman, a professor with the University of Minnesota, regarding the Bahraini regime forces\' crackdown on protesters mourning the killing of a 17-year-old youth by government troops.

Angela Merkel has been heavily criticised after appearing to make a Palestinian refugee cry by telling her she could not stop her family\\\'s possible deportation. The girl was among a group of school pupils gathered in the city of Rostock on Wednesday for an appearance by the German Chancellor.

The US Role in Haiti-s Food RiotsAs people around the world continue to protest the soaring prices of basic food items the World Food Program has described the crisis as a silent tsunami. The head of the Food and Agriculture Organization blamed the current global food crisis on -inappropriate- policy decisions over the past two decades. Nowhere is this more clear than in Haiti where hungry people are rioting in the streets because they cannot afford to buy rice. Haiti imports most of its rice from the United States which in turn remains heavily subsidized. We speak with human rights lawyer Bill Quigley.

The United States is slowly turning into a 'police state' and people are being controlled more and more by police state apparatus, an American peace activist says. "We have to go through full body X-ray machines to get on flights," Cindy Sheehan told Press TV's US desk on Monday. On Tuesday morning, over a dozen SWAT -- Special Weapons and Tactics -- officers broke into a house in California and detained a man, handcuffed him, put him and his three children, aged 3, 7 and 11, in a cruiser and commenced to search his house, she said. The man was questioned for hours, all because of his ex-wife's overdue student loans. Sheehan described the incident as “oppressive.” "Of course we have seen such [incidents]. When we had a demo at the G-20, the last one was in Pittsburg, and there were more heavily armed police officers… I myself was there. I got tear gassed, I got shot at with rubber bullets, chased by the police just for exercising our freedom of speech!" "The most damning thing that shows that the United States is in the process of [a] police state is the recent passage of the USA Patriot Act which basically makes the Constitution of the United States null and void," said Sheehan. A SWAT team is an elite tactical unit in various national law enforcement departments. They are trained to perform high-risk operations that fall outside of the abilities of regular officers. The first SWAT team in the US was established in the Los Angeles Police Department in 1968.

It started last month with one encampment outside Saint Paul's Cathedral. Next came the expansion to Finsbury Square, a smaller but similarly active protest camp. Now, Occupy London have unveiled their latest base, and this time they mean business. At four storeys high and taking up almost half a street, this is the third of the Occupy London movement's locations, coming complete with a fully functional conference room and a five hundred seat auditorium. More significantly, this building is owned by the Swiss bank UBS, who themselves are no strangers to controversy. In two thousand and seven, they were accused of heavily profiting from a controversial mortgage scheme in which thousands of British pensioners lost a total of around one billion pounds. They bought the troubled mortgages from another bank. At the time they said that it was an “entirely usual” transaction. It was bailed out by the Swiss government just one year later. This building is one of its assets, and it's worth over fifty four million pounds. Occupy London want to hold educational workshops and community events here. They've named their new space “The bank of ideas”, this concept was explained to us by one occupier. After weeks of being told that their protest was going nowhere, those within the Occupy movement are seeing this as proof that they aren't giving up any time soon. They plan on hosting a conference of worldwide occupy movements inside. Officially the building is now a 'legal squat', meaning that police are powerless to remove the activists from the building without first consulting the courts. The City of London has already started legal action against the Saint Pauls cathedral protest camp. Although this is a private building and in a different part of London, its owners are likely to start taking steps to launch their own case against the protesters. UBS bank today said that they were taking “appropriate action”. In the meantime, Occupy London is likely to squeeze as many events as it can into their limited occupancy time to take full advantage of their new found space.

Iran's Secretary General of the High Council for Human Rights, Mohammad Javad Larijani has said that the recent claims by the International Atomic Energy Agency against Tehran are “laughable.” In his November 8 report on Iran's nuclear program, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano claimed that Iran had engaged in activities related to developing nuclear weapons before 2003, adding that these activities “may still be ongoing.” Based on the report, which Iran has called "unfounded and unbalanced," the IAEA Board of Governors on Friday passed a new resolution on the Islamic Republic's nuclear activities. The resolution voices "deep and increasing concern" over Tehran's nuclear program and also calls for Iran and the IAEA to intensify dialogue to resolve the dispute over the issue. Larijani made the remarks in a heated television debate aired on the American channel MSNBC. US president of the Council on Foreign Relations, Dr. Richard Haass, Mike Barnicle and John Mitchun were the other guests on the television debate. What follows is a rough transcription of the interview: MSNBC: Let's go to the heart of the matter when it comes to Iran, the headlines of the past week, the IAEA report found evidence of nuclear weapons program in Iran and you are quoted as saying that is “quite laughable.” Why sir? Larijani: The reason is very simple. There is no single evidence in that. These allegations which is aired again is based on a document which was put to us four years ago based on a laptop somewhere found by United States authorities. And at that time, four years ago, it has been discussed with the agency and the conclusion was that none of these allegations could be verified. So by a letter it has been closed- the whole issue. Then again it has been renewed and [let me] just give you an example. A good part of this so-called document which is on the laptop, for example lecture notes that somebody presented in Brussels or at some universities. Some of them are parts of some textbook as put together with pictures, formulas, so it is totally inconclusive. MSNBC: Let's back up. Before I send this to Richard Haass- are you saying it doesn't exist? There is no nuclear program? Larijani: Well we have a very extensive nuclear program but not to the direction of producing arms. Our nuclear project is very extensive, very advanced. We are number one in the Middle East but we are not pursuing the nuclear armament for two basic reasons. Number one there is a Fatwa by Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader and it is against the Islamic jurisprudence to build and use mass destructing weapons. It is Haram we call it, unlawful. And secondly, it doesn't add to our security. It is more liability than asset for us. Our military muscle is strong enough to repel or to deter any imminent threat and this is basically very important achievement. MSNBC: Richard Haass, put this into perspective for us. What the reports were saying and what this gentleman is saying. Haass: Well quite frankly it is impossible to take the Iranian denial seriously. They are preposterous. The International Atomic Energy Agency taking information from all the member states in the United Nations have put together a comprehensive and extraordinarily damning report. And what there is, is a pattern, not a single incident, a pattern over years of Iranian program to move in the direction of developing nuclear weapons. We see a procurement mechanism to gain access to all sorts of equipment, we see all sorts of undeclared efforts to produce nuclear material now up to 20 percent well on its way to what it needs to produce a weapon, most important there is now serious evidence about the Iranian testing of the implosive device that would actually be the heart of the nuclear weapon. So the idea that the Iranians have all these underground and undeclared facilities, that they have been misleading the International Atomic Energy Agency for years, the idea they're doing this- this oil rich country in order to produce electricity? If you believe that you seriously have to believe in the tooth fairy. MSNBC: Sir this doesn't sound like preposterous, little pieces of information that were roaming together randomly. Larijani: Well the whole scenes of allegation is produced and initiated by the United States. It seems there is a good machinery to produce perpetual allegation against Iran, it is not only one case. I am telling you exactly that there are no secret programs in our nuclear program and development. Iran's transparency is far ahead of United States, far ahead of UK, far ahead of France and incomparable to Israel which is a renegade state in the sense of NPT. Barnicle: So you allow inspectors to just come into Iran. Larijani: The inspectors are coming to Iran periodically, the cameras are there 24 hours. This is quite obvious. Haass: But the whole concept the way this works, just when you talk about inspectors, let's just be clear, I am sure if everyone watching this will understand, the entire international nuclear inspection effort depends upon the willingness of the country in question to cooperate fully. This is a gentlemen's agreement. They declare their facilities that are involved in the nuclear business then the inspectors come in and look at them. If they do not declare facilities the inspectors don't give a chance and the problem is this is a gentlemen's agreement in a world where not every country is a gentleman. So Iran quite frankly has undeclared facilities and undeclared programs which the inspectors had not had access to and the reason we only know about it is that member states, not simply the United States sir, but many, many member states of the United Nations have provided independent information to the International Atomic Energy Agency, which by the way you know and I know is not controlled by the United States. We have fundamental differences with this agency over the years including over Iraq. We had fundamental differences and we've also had differences over Iran where we the United States felt, this agency was not being nearly tough enough. So now they have come in with an extraordinarily damning report and Iranian officials can dismiss it. MSNBC: So if this is a gentlemen's agreement, the gentlemen certainly don't agree and sir, you seem very confident and almost as if it's funny it's interesting because we interviewed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about this about a year ago, off camera, and he too seemed very comfortable about his position which is similar to yours. And if you are so comfortable with your position about the lack of nuclear armament and the facilities that the IAEA is talking about, why not let inspectors completely come in? Open the door let them come in and see what you have. Larijani: Well the mechanism that the gentleman addressed is not complete because first of all there is no single secret installment or activity which is concealed from the agency. Secondly, two years ago we asked the agency tell us all the questions you have and he managed to put to us six groups of questions. The questions were raised by themselves not dictated by us. So one by one groups of inspectors came to Iran and we cleared them up and there is official letters from them this group has been finished then we moved to another one. Well it doesn't make sense that every morning somebody says we guess there is some secret things done there. There should be foundation for this allegation. What do you mean the door should be open? They should ask where do you want to inspect? Did they want to inspect my bedroom or other places? I mean it doesn't make sense. Barnicle: A few moments ago when you mentioned the nuclear programs of other nations I detected a definite edge in your voice when you mentioned the state of Israel. Do you fear an attack from the state of Israel on your nuclear facilities? Larijani: Well I am beyond the fear. What is the difference between us and Israel? Israel has a bomb, not a member of NPT; it doesn't disclose anything to agency, nothing wrong with it. You see what the double standard is in here. We are member of NPT, they periodically come to Iran, their cameras are there, we don't have the weapon then the whole pressure is put on us. No, not at all. We don't fear any attack from anyone. We take it serious in our calculation but we don't fear. There is a difference between that. Mitchum: Given your tone again Sir when you talk about Israel, just a second ago why shouldn't we suspect that there would be ambitions for Iran to join the club of which Israel is a part with the nuclear arms? Larijani: We are very advanced in the nuclear technology which is a matter of pride for us and that gentleman mentioned that we have plenty of gas and oil with all good calculations, the age of this is up to 20-25 period, 25 years from now. It means that if we don't have it, then we should beg in front of the Western countries to light our houses and we know how bad they are treating us in this area. We are right now very happy that we have the first power plant, we know how to make the fuel. We already have more than 25 percent share of sodalite and erudite they don't give us a bit of this fuel that we need, even the twenty percent that we needed for Tehran. Haass: It's important to keep in mind we are not talking about an established democracy that treats its own people with respect, we are talking about a country also that is the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world. So this is obvious and understandable concern about what Iran is doing. Larijani: In terms of record I think United States of America is the largest and the greatest country supporting terrorism. The records of terrorist activity which is supported by the tax money of these people is enormous, I can go one by one. Barnicle: Wait a minute. This is a free country. And part of our gift is we have the liberty and the freedom to say anything and to sound foolish, to sound absurd, to sound smart. That's absurd saying that America is the biggest terrorist nation in the world. My question to you Sir is, you seem like a really nice guy, alright, why doesn't your country be a better neighbor? Larijani: We have fantastic relations with all of our neighbors... Barnicle: Really? [laughing] Larijani: Definitely, but the policy of demonizing Iran, a very important policy which is pursued in the region- well it has its own benefit. Barnicle But it's just in little things, like the American tourists cross the border, supposedly cross the border, you grab them, you scoop them, you hold them for months on end. Why? Larijani: This is a very simple question I answered before; suppose the security of your people... Barnicle You're here... Larijani: No, I'm here with visa- It's quite different. [Suppose] The security of the United States' people, on a patrol with Mexico elsewhere they pick 3 Iranians and ask them why are you here? They say well we are just walking in the desert. Well, with the whole hostility and suspicion which is between the two countries, you are in here to blow up somewhere definitely they will be put into jail for years if not in Guantanamo, they bring them somewhere else. It took a lot of time that we convince- I was working on this case because they were like me from ... Berkeley. I talked with their families, managed to contact between them and their families when they were arrested- for their families to come to Iran to take the suspicion away. This is very natural for security of people to suspect a cross bordering which is in the most volatile regional area of Iran- in which there is daily shooting over there. Barnicle Ok. They're going to blow up the desert. What is the root? What do you think is the root of Iranian paranoia towards the United States and towards many of its neighbors? What is the root of this paranoia? Is it the fear that we find out about your nuclear program? Larijani: We don't have any paranoia about our neighbors. We are very suspicious of American paranoia with us. The question is what is wrong with Iran that this persistent hostility... Barnicle: You have a track record of international terrorism. Larijani: This is not true. We are ourselves the victim of international terrorism- terrorism in the area. Let me ask you, who was helping Al-Qaida and Taliban for years while we were at war with them in Afghanistan? The United States of America. The money from the United States was pouring to Al-Qaida and Taliban- the idea was we should curb Iran by another religious front. Is it correct? Haass: No it's not correct. The United States did support the Mujahidin; obviously in order to get rid of the Soviet... to say that the United States supported Al-Qaida is again preposterous- the fact is that Iran is supporting terrorism in Lebanon, it's supporting groups like Hezbollah, groups like Hamas; it is involved in Iraq; it is involved in Afghanistan. Iran has basically become a regional power that is trying to destabilize many countries, trying to make them in some ways heavily influenced by Tehran and that is simply a fact of life- which again is one of the reasons the world is so concerned about Iranian nuclear program. How do we know Iran will not become even more aggressive? How do we know that nuclear materials will not end in the hands of a group like Hezbollah? What do we see about Iran's track record that would lead us to believe that Iran in any way would be responsible with nuclear material? This is a genuine concern and if you dismiss it as laughable Sir you are seriously underestimating not simply the American, not simply the Israeli, but I would suggest the world's concern over the direction your government is heading. Larijani: The disastrous thing is the blind policy of the United States in supporting carte blanche renegade Israel which is the source of all tension in the region. If you call Hezbollah and Hamas terrorist groups- they are fighting to be given the permission to live. What about Israel? Israel is involved in government sponsored terrorism. Kills anybody who thinks that it's not correct and deprives millions of people from basic tenures of life. 60 years of atrocity in that area is supported carte blanche by the US, this is even against the basic interests of that nation- they don't know it. Mitchum:Sir do you recognize the right of Israel to exist? Larijani: We recognize the rights of Jews, Christians and Muslims to live together in peace and tranquility- to create a racist regime in the middle of a land put the others out is like creating a small colony for the blacks and leave the rest for the whites. Mitchum: Thank you for the answer. Barnicle: The answer is no. Larijani: No, the answer is not no. We respect any decision by Palestinians. We are not in a position to tell them what kind of state they [should] have. But they should be given the chance to decide. MSNBC:This has been fascinating and a great picture window into the choices that Americans make when they're choosing their president and also a sense of what our Secretary of State and what our diplomats have to confront in dealing with when they're going out into the world and working with other countries. It is extremely complicated and often conversations feel like they're going in circles because it's very hard to develop a common understanding or even a place where you can start engaging and I think this was an example of that. Mohammad Javad Larijani, thank you for coming on the show this morning.

[28 June 2012] Covert war waged against Syria - News Analysis - English Tensions are as high as ever as high on the Turkish Syrian border as Ankara is heavily increasing its troops along its southern frontiers. This week Turkey threatened Syria with an appropriate retaliation after the Syrian forces shot down a Turkish fighter jet. Syria says it has downed the plane after violation of its airspace, Turkey claims otherwise.

[17 August 2012] نماز جنازہ شہدائے سانحہ القدس کراچی Explosion kills one, injures 20 in Quds Day rally in Pakistan At least one person has been killed and 20 others have been injured in a bomb explosion during a rally marking international Quds Day in Pakistan’s southern city of Karachi, Press TV reports. According to local sources, the incident took place in Safari Park area of Karachi on Friday. Pakistani officials told Press TV that the bomb detonated after unknown gunmen opened fire on the demonstrators on the Quds Day. The blast came one day after gunmen dragged 20 Shia Muslim travelers off a bus and killed them at point blank range in northwestern district of Mansehra. Several others were injured during the attack on Thursday. The victims were going from Rawalpindi to Gilgit -- a heavily-Shia-populated area. In 1979, Imam Khomeini, the late founder of the Islamic Republic, designated the last Friday of the lunar month of Ramadan as the International Quds Day, during which Muslims across the world hold rallies to show their solidarity with Palestinians.

[28 Nov 2012] Western media ignore Saudi unrests: Hisham Tillawi - English

[22 Jan 2013] Indian army brutally suppressing Kashmir uprising - English

[22 Feb 2013] Arrest of armed men fuels security concerns in Tunisia - English

The Indian economy is facing further trouble. There is a financial crunch in the global markets. This will dry up the foreign investments in the country. Rising interest rates in United States has triggered the crisis. Investors are selling-off in the Asian stock markets. They have already withdrawn heavily from Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines. Indian rupee too has already depreciated by 8% in the last few weeks and that is going to push inflation. The country imports most of it crude oil requirement. Oil is its single biggest import commodity. The retail prices of petrol and Diesel has been increased. Gold is another major import component. Sanjay Sethi, Press TV, New Delhi

President Mohamed Morsi has appointed new governors for 17 provinces in the country. Seven of the new governors are members of the Muslim Brotherhood. Army and police officials are also among the new appointees. Yet, the move has sparked criticism across the country ahead of the June thirtieth anniversary of Morsi\'s taking office. Opposition figure Amr Moussa and member of the National Salvation Front has heavily slammed the appointments saying that they further add to the tensions prior to the planned June 30th protests.

A car bomb rocked the central Mezzeh district of the Syrian capital Damascus killing and injuring a number of civilians. A three-year-old child was also among the people killed there. The explosion, which happened in the heavily populated al-Madraseh neighborhood, also caused material damage to the shops and apartments. Residents of this often-targeted neighborhood say armed men frequently attack them because they support resistance against the Israeli enemy. Elsewhere in the Rukn al-Deen neighborhood in north Damascus several bombers attacked a police station leaving several people dead, many of them the terrorists. Also, the insurgents attacked a criminal security branch in Bab Musalla in southwest Damascus. Authorities say at least 11 people died in the two attacks. Mohamad Ali, Press TV, Damascus

Mohamed Morsi, was elected with a little over 51 % but with many Egyptians hoping that the change will bring positive developments in the country that was ruled with an iron grip for 30 years. Today, one year on, the support for Morsi is dwindling down with polls placing public approval ratings to his performance at 28%. Many Egyptians are dismayed over economic hardships in the form of surge in prices, high inflation as well as power cuts and gas shortages. Many also heavily criticize the presidency and the Muslim Brotherhood, the organization the president hails from for failing to bridge the divide between Islamists who now have power and the secular opposition. Karim Gamal el-Deen, Press TV, Cairo

A new investigation indicates that immigration officials in Thailand have sold hundreds of Rohingya Muslims to human traffickers. The report says Myanmar\'s Rohingyas who fled oppression in their home country, have been secretly transported across southern Thailand. They were held hostage for ransom in a series of heavily-guarded camps near Thailand\'s border with Malaysia. Detainees who couldn\'t pay ransom have been sold to some shipping companies and farms. Some survivors who were interviewed by reporters said a number of detainees were killed by traffickers or died from dehydration or diseases. Thailand\'s second-highest-ranking policeman has also admitted that Thai officials might have profited from the smuggling because that meant removing the refugees from detention centers in Thailand.

Armed men have bombed a major oil pipeline in northern Iraq. Officials say the blasts caused a fire and stopped the oil pumping from Salaheddin province to the Turkish port of Jeyhan. They also say that the fire is contained and repairing is underway. Pipelines in Iraq frequently come under attack by militants. The Arab country is heavily dependent on oil export and it aims to increase its production capacity.

Reports from Syria say Kurdish fighters have managed to recapture a key town in the country\'s north-east. Press TV sources say the Kurdish People\'s Protection Units, known as YPG, have regained control of Tall Hamis town near the Turkish border. The Kurdish fighters retook the town following fierce fighting with the Al-Qaeda linked militants, who were heavily occupying the area. Reports say the YPG forces have also advanced in al-Husseinia village which is located near Tal Hamis. The victory is not the first for the YPG, as the group has previously taken control over several areas in the region.

Patients and doctors have protested inside Gaza\'s Shifa hospital as they marked the World Cancer Day. The number of cancer cases has been on the rise in recent years following two Israeli wars on the blockaded coastal strip. An average of one thousand cancer cases has been recorded annually among Gazans for the last two years. The Gaza Health Ministry says the Israeli regime\'s use of internationally banned weapons has sharply increased the number of cancer cases. During the 22-day Israeli war at the turn of 2009, Norwegian Doctor Mads Fredrik Gilbert who volunteered at Gaza\'s Shifa hospital said that some victims had traces of depleted uranium in their wounds. The majority of Israeli high-tech weapons contain depleted uranium. Most cancer patients lived in areas that were heavily bombarded by Israeli forces during the last two Israeli wars. Lack of medicines as well as cancer patients\' inability to receive treatment abroad due to closure of crossings by both Israel and the Egyptian military is putting their lives at grave risk. Experts have said that Israeli forces used internationally banned weapons like White Phosphorous and weapons containing depleted uranium against the civilian population of Gaza. Experts say such weapons are carcinogenic.

Iraq\'s Defense Minister says the army along with Sunni tribesmen were able to gain full control of the city of Al-Bu Ali Jasim in Iraq\'s Northern Anbar province. Fierce clashes have been underway between Iraqi security forces and militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant there since late December. The Defense Ministry has issued a statement saying that Sunni tribesmen were a big help in the equation. Meanwhile, Iraq\'s capital Baghdad has been plagued with car bombs. The bombs have targeted heavily-populated areas and have killed at least 70 civilians this week alone. The Iraqi army has also claimed gains in the city of Sulaiman Bek. But the number of refugees from areas attacked by the militants keeps increasing with the UNHCR saying that over 300,000 refugees have fled the city of Fallujah and Ramadi in the Anbar province

[01 Apr 2014] Lebanese army is implementing a security plan to end violence in Tripoli - English

[02 Dec 2014] Current Situation in Libya - English