[03 Nov 2013] US to give another $488mn in military aid to Israel - English
In the US, the House Armed Services Committee has approved an additional funding in military aid to Israel. The committee has approved that nearly...
In the US, the House Armed Services Committee has approved an additional funding in military aid to Israel. The committee has approved that nearly half a billion dollars be given to Israel this year. The approval has not yet been finalized but, it\'s expected to get the final okay by the House Appropriations Committee and Senate. The money is in addition to over three billion dollars in military aid that Washington is already planning to send to Tel Aviv in the coming fiscal year. This comes as the US government has made cuts in food assistance program. The cuts have forced nearly forty-eight million Americans to see their food stamps slashed.
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[17 Nov 2013] Syrian refugees pour into Lebanon over two days as...
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports that around one thousand families have fled from a battle in central Syria to the...
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports that around one thousand families have fled from a battle in central Syria to the Lebanese border town of Arsal.
The UNHCR says the families were forced to walk more than 30 kilometers to reach safety. The refugees have reportedly fled from the strategic al-Qalamoun area in the north-east of Damascus. The Syrian army is fighting militants there to cut supply lines to insurgent-held areas near Damascus. Activists say fighting has intensified in the mountainous region. Lebanese officials say around 1-point-4 million Syrians have taken refuge in their country so far.
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[25 Nov 2013] Shares in French automakers Peugeot, Renault soar on Iran...
Shares in French automakers PSA Peugeot Citroen and Renault have soared after the landmark nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1.
Shares in...
Shares in French automakers PSA Peugeot Citroen and Renault have soared after the landmark nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1.
Shares in Peugeot jumped nearly 4.5 percent while Renault shares rose to above one-percent in afternoon trade on Monday. The nuclear deal signed early Sunday fuels expectations that the two French car makers could quickly re-enter the Iranian market. Iran used to be Peugeot\'s second-biggest market in car sales volumes before Western sanctions against Tehran were toughened. Last year, the car-maker halted sales to Iran to comply with the sanctions, costing it nearly 10 percent of its global vehicle deliveries. Renault announced a nearly 700 million-dollar write-down because of damage to its business in Iran.
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[25 Nov 2013] Angola becomes first country to ban Islam - English
-- Update: Angola govt. denies it banned Islam, destroyed mosques (01:40 GMT)
Angola has banned Islam, claiming that it clashes with its...
-- Update: Angola govt. denies it banned Islam, destroyed mosques (01:40 GMT)
Angola has banned Islam, claiming that it clashes with its customs and state religion.
The Angolan government says Islam is not a religion but a sect, and as part of the ban, all mosques will be destroyed in the Christian-majority country. According to the Islamic Community of Angola, there are more than eighty mosques and about half a million Muslims in the country, and the number is growing. Angola\'s culture ministry says the houses of worship of other faiths which have not been legalized will also be demolished. Angola is the first country in the world to ban Islam.
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[26 Nov 2013] Under the Geneva deal the western countries have agreed to...
Under the Geneva deal between Iran and five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany, the western countries have...
Under the Geneva deal between Iran and five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany, the western countries have agreed to ease sanctions on Iran in response to Tehran\'s confidence-building move to continue its nuclear energy program at a lower level. But, there are different accounts of the exact timing of the partial sanctions removal.
The U-S says Iran will see up to seven-billion-dollars worth of its frozen assets un-blocked. Out of this amount, Washington is expected to un-freeze some four-point-two billion dollars in oil revenue frozen in foreign banks. But, some remaining 40 billion dollars of Iran\'s oil export money will remain frozen. This is the amount Iran obtained through selling its oil under U-S and E-U sanctions imposed in early 20-12. Iran could also access another four-hundred-million dollars for educational purposes, such as the transfer of university tuition fees. France\'s Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius says this could happen in December. But British Foreign Secretary William Hague, as well as the spokesman for E-U\'s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, say they expect the sanctions easing to be completed in January.
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[28 Nov 2013] Sanctions gave Iran producers chance to meet the market...
Iran\'s automotive industry is the second most active in the country after oil and gas, the country passed the one million mark in production in...
Iran\'s automotive industry is the second most active in the country after oil and gas, the country passed the one million mark in production in 2007. Iran is one of the biggest manufactures of automobiles and automotive parts in the Middle East, in an expo held in Tehran, they showcased their latest advancements.
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[29 Nov 2013] The United Nations warns of the worsening situation of...
The United Nations is warning about the dreadful and cruel condition of Syrian refugee children who have fled the conflict at home country....
The United Nations is warning about the dreadful and cruel condition of Syrian refugee children who have fled the conflict at home country.
According to the U-N refugee agency, the U-N-H-C-R, hundreds of thousands of Syrian children, already traumatised by war, are facing a catastrophic life in exile. The report is the result of the testimonies of refugee children across Jordan and Lebanon, gathered over four months. It says many of these kids are without education and forced to work long hours for low pay. Now more than a million Syrian children are refugees, most of them in neighboring countries.
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[09 Dec 2013] World largest gingerbread house built in US - English
That well known candy-house in the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale has captured the imagination of many of us when we were children. And now the...
That well known candy-house in the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale has captured the imagination of many of us when we were children. And now the world\'s largest-ever gingerbread house is bringing back those memories.
The tasty house is located in the US state of Texas and it\'s nearly the size of a tennis court. And of course it has an edible exterior. This house was built by a group of volunteers, all in the name of charity. And now it holds the Guinness World Record for the world\'s largest gingerbread house. The group used thousands of pounds of sugar, eggs, butter, flour and other ingredients, as well as 23 thousand pieces of hard candy, decorating the outside of the house. But you might want to think twice before grabbing a bite as the structure packs in a staggering 36 million calories. Better to look, and not touch!
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*FULL SPEECH* Leader Ayatollah Khamenei addressing to commanders of the...
The Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says Iran will not back down an iota from its rights and will never give in to...
The Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says Iran will not back down an iota from its rights and will never give in to pressure. Ayatollah Khamenei said the rights of the nation including its nuclear rights must be recognized. The leader expressed his support for the Iranian government and officials including the nuclear negotiating team. Ayatollah Khamenei also said he will not get involved with the details of the negotiations between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany. But he said there are red lines and limitations that the Iranian negotiators will have to heed. Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks in an address to commanders and members of the Basij volunteer force in Tehran.
Supreme Leader\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Speech in Meeting with Basij Commanders Print
20/11/2013
Supreme Leader\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Speech in Meeting with Basij CommandersThe following is the full text of the speech delivered on November 20, 2013 by Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting with fifty thousand Basij commanders. The meeting was held at the Musalah in Tehran.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and greetings be upon our Master and Prophet, Ab-al Qassem al-Mustafa Muhammad and upon his immaculate, pure and chosen household, especially the one remaining with Allah on earth.
Greetings be upon you Abi Abdullah and upon those who laid down their lives for you. I will send you God\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s eternal greetings as long as I live and as long as night and day prevail. May God not make this prayer my last covenant with you. Greetings be upon Hussein, upon Ali ibn al-Hussein, upon the children of Hussein and upon the companions of Hussein - those who laid down their lives for Hussein (a.s.).
This meeting is a very important meeting. Basij is the manifestation of the greatness of our nation and the domestic capability of our country. This meeting is the meeting of commanders. You tens of thousands of commanders of Basij have gathered in this place and one can guess from this large gathering how glorious Basij is. You are a source of satisfaction, hope and trust for the supporters of the Islamic Republic, the Revolution and the country and you are a source of intimidation and fear for the ill-wishers, enemies and those who bear a grudge [against the Revolution and the Islamic Republic].
The coincidence of Basij Week with these days, which are the days of the great epic of the history of Islam, is a good and valuable occasion. What I mean by this great epic is the epic created by Zaynab al-Kubra (s.a.) which complements the epic of Ashura. The epic that Zaynab al-Kubra (s.a.) created revived and preserved the epic of Ashura. The greatness of what Zaynab al-Kubra (s.a.) did, cannot be compared to other great events in history. It should only be compared to the event of Ashura itself and truly, these two events complete one another.
This great personality and this great lady of Islam and all of humanity managed to stand firm in the face of the great mountain of hardships and there was not even a tremble in her voice because of all these events. She stood firm like a glorious mountain peak both in the face of enemies and in the face of hardships and bitter events. She became a lesson, a role model, a leader and a pioneer.
At the bazaar of Kufa, while she was held captive, she made this astonishing speech: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Oh people of Kufa, who are treacherous and disloyal, do you cry for us? May your tears not dry and may your moans not stop. You are like a woman who loosens her threads after she pulls them together\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [al-Ihtijaj, Volume 2, page 303]. The words are as firm as steel and the meaning flows like a river and it influences hearts and souls. In such conditions, Zaynab al-Kubra delivered a speech, which was like the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.), and she shook hearts and souls and she shook history with these words. This speech became eternal in history. It was delivered in front of the people while she was held captive.
After that, she delivered a speech in front of Ibn Ziad in Kufa and a few weeks later, she spoke in front of Yazid with such strength that it both humiliated the enemy and the hardships which the enemy had imposed. She said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Do you foolishly think that you can defeat, suppress and humiliate the household of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.)?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Honor belongs to Allah and His Messenger, and to the believers\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 63: 8]. Zaynab al-Kubra is the manifestation of dignity, as Hussein ibn Ali (a.s.) was the manifestation of dignity in Karbala on the day of Ashura.
The way she looks at events is different from the way other people look at those events. Despite all those hardships, when the enemy wants to taunt her, she says, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"I did not see anything except for beauty\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [Lohuf, page 160]. She said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"What I saw was beautiful. It was martyrdom. Although it was difficult, it was in the way of God and it was done for preserving Islam. It was the creation of an epic in history so that Islamic Ummah knows what it should do and how it should move forward and stand firm\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". This is a great achievement made by the epic of Zaynab (s.a.). This is the dignity of God\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s saint. Zaynab al-Kubra (s.a.) is one of God\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s saints. Her dignity is the dignity of Islam and she made Islam and the Holy Quran valuable.
Of course, we are not as aspirational and determined as Zaynab al-Kubra (s.a.) and therefore we cannot say that the behavior of this great lady is our model. We are too inferior to say such things, but anyway, our movement should be in line with the movement of Zaynab (s.a.). Our efforts should be focused on bringing dignity for Islam, the Islamic community and the entire humanity. This is the same responsibility that Allah the Exalted has entrusted to prophets through Islamic obligations and rules.
In the first part of my speech, what I want to briefly discuss with you dear basijis and dear youth is that one of the factors which brought about this spirit and this patience in Zaynab al-Kubra (s.a.) and other divine saints - who moved forward with such spirit and patience - is sincerity and honesty. It is very important to honor our promises to Allah the Exalted and to devote our hearts to the path of God in a sincere way.
In the Holy Quran, this sincerity is necessary for divine prophets as well: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"And remember We took from the prophets their covenant, as We did from you, from Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus the son of Mary: We took from them a solemn covenant, that (Allah) may question the custodians of Truth concerning the Truth they (were charged with)\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 33: 7-8]. God says that this covenant is very firm and serious. In the phrase \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Leyasala\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" lam signifies results and consequences. The result of this covenant is that these great prophets will be questioned about their sincerity in this covenant. That is to say, our Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) and other great prophets should prove before God the level of their sincerity concerning the conditions of this covenant. This part is related to prophets.
God also says to ordinary people and believers: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Among the Believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah: of them some have completed their vow (fully), and some (still) wait: but they have never changed (their determination) in the least, that Allah may reward the men of Truth for their Truth, and punish the Hypocrites if that be His Will\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 33: 23-24]. When addressing great prophets, God referred to unbelievers as the opposite of honest individuals: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"And He has prepared for the unbelievers a grievous Penalty\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 33: 8]. And when addressing these believers, He referred to hypocrites as the opposite of honest individuals and there are important points in this comparison. You and I will be questioned about our promise to God. We have a covenant with God. In the holy ayah \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Among the Believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\", the pledge that believers made to God and that was honored by them is the same as another ayah in this holy sura: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"And yet they had already covenanted with Allah not to turn their backs\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 33: 15].
All of us should pay attention to such points. Believers promised Allah the Exalted not to escape in the face of the enemy and not to turn their backs. The Holy Quran stresses that abandoning one\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s positions and retreating in the face of the enemy are among the things which should not be done. One should stand up against the enemy in any military, political and economic war and in any arena which is a test of strength. Your determination should overcome the enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s determination. Your willpower should overcome the enemy\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s willpower. This can be done and this is possible. From the viewpoint of the Holy Quran and Islam, running away and retreating from the enemy are forbidden in any arena of jihad and confrontation.
When we used the phrase \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"heroic flexibility\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\", some people defined it as abandoning the ideals and the goals of the Islamic Republic. Some of the enemies too used it to accuse the Islamic Republic of betraying its principles. These interpretations were wrong and they misunderstood this phrase. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Heroic flexibility\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" means an artful maneuver for reaching one\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s goal. It means that the followers of God\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s path - any divine path - should utilize different methods, in any way possible, in order to reach their goal and this should be done whenever they move towards the different ideals of Islam. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"If any do turn his back to them on such a day - unless it be in a stratagem of war, or to retreat to a troop (of his own)- he draws on himself the wrath of Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 8: 16].
Like the arena of war, any movement - whether forward or backward - should be launched in order to reach one\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s predetermined goals. There are certain goals and at each stage, the Islamic government pursues one of these goals in order to make progress, achieve transcendence and create the great Islamic civilization. The Islamic government should try to achieve this goal at this stage. Of course, there are certain stages and phases to reach these goals. Experts, intellectuals and officials in charge of this are identifying these phases and goals and, as a result, our collective movement will begin. Everyone should try to make any movement, at any stage, reach its goal. This is a proper system which is based on logical and rational measures. All activists in the arena of politics and macromanagement of the country should always keep this in mind. All the people and you dear basijis too - who are activists in the arena of Basij - should always keep this in mind.
Well, when we say that we want to move forward, does this mean that the Islamic government is warmongering? Does this mean that the Islamic government wants to confront all nations and all countries in the world? Sometimes one hears that the enemies of the Iranian nation - specifically the najis-mouthed dirty dog of the region, the Zionist regime - move their jaws to say that Iran is a threat for the entire world. This is the claim of the enemy, but this is exactly the opposite of Islamic principles. On the contrary, those evil and malevolent forces - including the fake Zionist regime and some of its supporters - that show nothing except for malevolence, are a threat for the entire world.
The lesson that the Islamic government learned from the Holy Quran, the Holy Prophet of Islam (s.w.a.) and the Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) is a different lesson: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Allah commands justice and the doing of good\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 16: 90]. Allah the Exalted invites us to administer justice and do good. The commander of the Faithful (a.s.) said that we should be kind to everyone because \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Those who have the same religion as you have, they are brothers to you, and those who have religions other than that of yours, they are human beings like you\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [Nahjul Balaghah, Letter 53]. People are either your Islamic brothers or human beings like you. This is the logic of Islam. We want to render services and show kindness to everyone. We want to establish a friendly and kind relationship with all human beings and all nations. We even have no enmity with the American people despite the fact that the government of America is an arrogant, hostile and evil government which bears a grudge against the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic. The American people are like other peoples.
What the Islamic Republic is opposed to is arrogance. The hostility of the Islamic Republic is oriented towards global arrogance. We are opposed to and fight against arrogance. Arrogance is a Quranic word and it has been used in the Holy Quran to refer to people like Pharaoh and the groups of people who are ill-wishers and who are opposed to truth. Arrogance existed in the past as well and it has continued to prevail until the present time. In all eras, arrogance has had the same structure. Of course, it has used different methods and tactics in different eras. There is arrogance today as well and it is led by the United States of America.
We should know arrogance and its characteristics. We should know the methods and the orientation of arrogance so that we can organize our behavior in the face of arrogance. We are opposed to unreasonable behavior in all arenas. We believe that we should move forward with wisdom and acumen in all arenas, in all collective and individual orientations and in all plans. If we do not know the scene, if we do not know our friends and our enemies, if we do not know imperialism and arrogance in the present time, then how can we move forward with wisdom and acumen? How can we make accurate plans? Therefore, we should know these things.
What I am saying about arrogance is a few examples regarding the behavior of today\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s global arrogance in the world. In many of these examples and cases, today\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s arrogance shares the characteristics of arrogance in previous centuries and previous eras. One of the characteristics of arrogance is egotism. When arrogant groups - those people who have taken everything in their hands as the highest-ranking individuals in a country, in a group of countries or in a global system - consider themselves to be superior to other people, when they regard themselves as the pivot, when they place everyone, except for themselves, on the periphery, then a wrong and dangerous equation will be formed in global interactions.
When arrogance views itself as superior and as the pivot and core [of everything], then the result will be that it grants itself the right to interfere in the affairs of other people and other nations. If arrogance considers something to be a value and if other people do not, this will grant it the right to interfere in their affairs and bully and pressure them. This egotism makes them claim to be the guardian of nations and to be responsible for global management. It also makes them consider themselves to be the boss of all the people in the world.
As you can hear, American officials and politicians speak about the government of America as if it were the leader of all countries. They say that they cannot let this be done. They say, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"We cannot allow this person to be or not to be in charge\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". They speak about our region in a way that it seems they are the owners of this region. They speak about the Zionist regime in a way that it seems regional nations have to accept this imposed and fake regime. They behave towards independent nations and governments as if they did not have the right to live. This egotism and this attitude of considering oneself to have a special position among all people, all nations and all human beings is the main foundation on which arrogance has been built and this is its biggest problem.
This egotism will lead to another characteristic and another criterion for arrogance which is the tendency to ignore other people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s rights. They neither accept truth nor the rights of other nations. They do not at all acknowledge other people\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s rights. In international negotiations, someone says something which is right, but America does not accept it. It tries to deny such rights with different methods and it does not accept truth. This has happened many times. In the present time, one of the examples of this behavior is our current issues related to nuclear activities and industries. Imagine that someone says something which is true. If one is fair, reasonable and rational, he should give up when he faces the truth. But arrogance does not give up. It hears the truth, but it does not accept it. This is one of its characteristics. It does not acknowledge the rights of other nations either. It does not acknowledge the right of a people to choose, to do what they want and to adopt those economic and political measures which they want. They believe in imposing things on other nations.
Another characteristic of colonialism and arrogance is that it condones crimes against nations and the entire humanity and that it is indifferent towards such crimes. This is one of the greatest disasters of arrogance in modern times. Modern times means the era of scientific progress and the era of the emergence of dangerous weapons. When these weapons became available to arrogant powers, they created a disaster for all nations. They do not attach any value on the lives of individuals - those individuals who do not follow, obey and surrender to them.
There are many examples in this regard. One example is the behavior of arrogant powers towards Native Americans - those people whose financial and natural resources, whose geography and whose entire properties are in the hands of non-natives now. Well, there were native people in America. Their behavior towards these Native Americans was so violent and so disgusting that it is one of the darkest points in the history of modern America. The Americans themselves have written many things about the massacres that took place and the pressures that they exerted. The same thing was done by the English in Australia. The English hunted people, for pleasure, like animals and like kangaroos. They did not attach any value on the lives of human beings. This is only one example. There are hundreds of examples which have been recorded in their own history books.
Another example is the nuclear bombardment that was launched in the year 1945 of the Christian calendar - that it to say, the year 1324 of the Hijri calendar - when the Americans destroyed two Japanese cities and, as a result, hundreds of thousands of people were killed. Over the course of time, the number of people who suffered from deformities and different diseases because of nuclear radiations was several times larger than this and these problems have persisted until the present time. They did not have any cogent reason for this - I will refer to this later on. They easily dropped these bombs. Until now, atomic bombs have been used twice and both times, they were used by the Americans who consider themselves to be the main responsible party for the nuclear issues of other countries.
They like to forget these events, but it is not forgettable. All these lives were destroyed, but it was not at all important to them. For arrogance, the lives of human beings have no value and it is easy for arrogant regimes to commit crimes. They massacred the people in Vietnam. In Iraq, their security services and their mercenary security agencies - such as Blackwater which I referred to in the year 1390 - committed certain crimes. They are still committing crimes in Pakistan with their drones. In Afghanistan, they conduct a number of bombardments and they commit crimes. They are not afraid of committing crimes in each area they can get their hands on and in each area their interests dictate. These crimes include murder and torture. The Guantanamo prison - which belongs to the Americans - still has prisoners. It is 10, 11 years now that they have been arresting a number of people from different countries and putting them in this prison on different charges. They have been keeping them in this prison without any trial and with extremely difficult conditions and they have been torturing them. In Iraq, the Abu Ghraib prison was one of the American prisons. In this prison, they used to torture and set dogs on prisoners.
Looting the vital resources of other nations is easy for them. Capturing and enslaving Africans is one of the tragic events in history which American imperialism and other such regimes do not like to be reviewed. They do not like the issue of enslaving the people of Africa to be reflected on. They used to sail ships from the Atlantic Ocean and anchor them on the coast of West African countries such as Gambia and other countries in this continent. Then, they used to go and capture hundreds of thousands of men and women and old and young people with guns and other weapons which were not available to people at that time. While these people were in difficult conditions, they were taken to America on such ships for slavery. They captivated free people who were living in their houses and in their own cities. In the present time, the black people who live in America are the descendents of those slaves. For several centuries, the Americans exerted such an eccentric pressure and there are many books in this regard such as the book \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Roots\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" written by Alexander Haley. This book is a very valuable book for showing part of these crimes. How can today\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s modern man forget such events? Despite all these crimes, the white people continue to discriminate against blacks in America.
Another characteristic of arrogance is deception and hypocritical behavior. You should pay attention to this issue. They try to justify the crimes which were referred to and they try to show that they were rendering services by committing these crimes. Global arrogance, which intends to dominate all nations, is frequently using this method in its entire life: the method of justifying crimes and taking on the appearance of rendering services. When the Americans want to apologize for their attack on Japan - that is to say, the two bombs which exploded in Hiroshima and Nagasaki - they say, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Although tens of thousands or perhaps hundreds of thousands of people were killed by the two bombs that we dropped on these two cities, this was the cost of ending World War II. If we the Americans had not dropped these bombs, the war would have continued. If we had not done this, then two million people - instead of the 200 thousand people who were killed as a result of these bombs - would have been killed. Therefore, we rendered a service by dropping these bombs\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\".
Notice that this is a statement which the Americans make in their official propaganda. Now, around 65 years have passed from that day, but they have repeatedly said this. This is one of the deceptive and hypocritical statements and one of the elaborate lies that is not made and told by anyone except arrogant regimes. These bombs were dropped on and exploded in these two cities in the summer of the year 1945 of the Christian calendar and this crime was committed in that year. This was while four months before that - that is to say, in the early spring of 1945 - Hitler, who was the primary warmonger, had committed suicide. Moreover, Mussolini - the president of Italy at that time, who was the second important element in the war - had been arrested and the war was practically over. Japan too, which was the third important element in the war, had announced that it was ready to surrender. Therefore, there was practically no war, but these bombs were dropped anyway. Why? It is because these bombs had been built and they must have been tested somewhere. Certain weapons had been built and they must have been tested somewhere. Where should they test them now? The best option was to drop these bombs on the innocent people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with the excuse of war so that it becomes clear whether these bombs work properly or not. Such is their deceit.
They claim to be the supporters of human rights, but they target the Iranian passenger plane in the air and they kill about three hundred passengers who are unaware of this. Moreover, they do not apologize and they award a medal to the person who commits this crime. You have heard that in recent weeks, the Americans - from the President to lower-ranking politicians - have created uproar about the use of chemical weapons in Syria. They accused the Syrian government of using chemical weapons. I do not want to judge who has used these weapons. Of course, evidence shows that terrorist groups have used them, but anyway, they said that the Syrian government has used such weapons. They created uproar about this and they said that the use of chemical weapons is our red line. American officials said this 10 times or more. But not only did the government and the regime of the United States of America not express any opposition to Saddam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s use of chemical weapons during its criminal attacks on Iran, but it also provided him with 500 tons of hazardous and lethal chemicals which could be turned into mustard gas.
Many of our dear youth of those times are still suffering from the effects of those chemicals and it is several years that they have been suffering from various diseases. The Americans helped Saddam to be equipped with such chemicals. Of course, he had bought such chemicals from other countries as well, but it was America that provided Saddam with 500 tons of lethal chemicals - which could turn into mustard gas - and that helped him to use it. After that, when the United Nations Security Council decided to issue a resolution against Saddam, it was America that prevented this. This is the meaning of hypocritical behavior. On the issue of Syria, the use of chemical weapons is a red line, but on the issue of Iran, it can be allowed and supported. This is because on this issue, chemical weapons are used against an independent Islamic government and against a nation which does not want to give in to America.
These are some of the characteristics of arrogance. Of course, the characteristics of arrogance are more than these. Arrogant powers wage wars, create discord and confront independent governments. They even confront their own people when the interests of specific groups dictate so. During the war that Saddam waged against Iran, they offered all kinds of help - which was possible for them - to Saddam. I referred to the case of chemicals, but they also gave him secret information about Iran. After the war, when the head of intelligence services of Saddam was interviewed, he said, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"I used to go to the U.S. embassy in Baghdad three times a week and they gave me a sealed package in which all satellite information about the movements of the Iranian Armed Forces existed and therefore, we knew where they were\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". They offered such kinds of help to Saddam.
The Islamic government is opposed to such arrogance. The Islamic government is not opposed to people and nations. It is not opposed to human beings. Rather, it is opposed to arrogance. This opposition has existed since the time of Abraham - God\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Friend - Noah, the Holy Prophet of Islam and other great prophets and it has continued until today. Since that time, the camp of right has confronted arrogance. Why is that? Why does today\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Islamic government confront arrogance? It is because arrogance with the characteristics that I described cannot tolerate an Islamic government such as the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is because the Islamic Republic of Iran was formed on the basis of opposition to arrogance. The Revolution was carried out in Iran in opposition to arrogance and the agents of arrogance. It was formed on the basis of this opposition. It grew, it became strong and it challenged the logic of arrogance on the basis of this opposition. Arrogance cannot tolerate this unless it is frustrated.
The Iranian people, the Iranian youth, the Iranian activists and those Iranians who believe in their homeland and their country for any reason - even if it may be a non-Islamic reason - should do something to make the enemy hopeless. The enemy should become hopeless. It is very difficult for global arrogance and for the government of the United States of America in the present time to see that in this sensitive region - in West Asia, which is the one of the most sensitive regions in the world in terms of politics and economy and which influences the entire world - a country, a government and a people have emerged who do not consider themselves to be dependent on and to be the followers of this self-proclaimed superpower. This Islamic government is independent and despite the strong opposition that it is faced with, it overcomes all problems and hardships. As the Americans themselves admit, this government is challenging the influence of America in the region and it is extending its own influence.
This Islamic government is becoming a role model for regional nations and this is very difficult for the Americans to tolerate. The Americans want to say that the lives of all nations depend on America. Now a people have emerged who not only are not dependent on America, but who also have not been influenced by all these hostilities. From the first day, the Americans did whatever they could, but it was not effective. These people have achieved growth and they have become stronger on a daily basis.
The hostilities that the government of the United States of America has shown against the Islamic Republic happened during the time of different presidents, but all of these hostilities are of the same nature. All of these hostilities are the same. Therefore, no one should say that such and such a plot was hatched during the time of such and such a president and this plot has not been hatched during the time of the current President of America. This is not the case. All of these presidents behave in the same way. First, they provoked ethnicities in Iran, then they launched a coup d\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'état and after that, they made Iraq attack us. The next thing that they did was to help our enemy - which was the regime of Saddam - in his war against us and after the war, they imposed sanctions on us. Then, they provoked all media networks in the world and they made them align themselves against the Islamic Republic. All of these things have been done during the time of different presidents of America and now too, these things are being done.
In the fitna of the year 1388 - during the term of the current President of America - one of the social networks, which could be used to further the goals of fitna and those who provoked the fitna, needed to fix some technical problems. The government of America asked this network to delay fixing these technical problems because they hoped to overthrow the Islamic Republic with the help of media activities and networks such as Facebook, Twitter and other such networks. They had these foolish delusions. Therefore, they did not let this network fix its technical problems and they said that it should delay it and attend to this task which is more important.
They used all kinds of tools against the Islamic Republic and sanctions are one of these tools. From their viewpoint, this tool is enough for defeating the Islamic Republic. Their mistake is that they do not know the Iranian nation. Their mistake is that they do not know the element of faith and unity among our people. Their mistake is that they did not learn a lesson from their past mistakes. Therefore, they hope that they can bring the people of Iran to their knees by imposing sanctions, exerting pressures and other such measures. Of course, they are making a mistake. The permanent experience of the Islamic Republic during the past 35 years shows that the only way to get rid of the interference of the enemy is national power and national resistance. This is the only factor which can make the enemy retreat. Of course, the enemy is the enemy. He uses all kinds of tools. As I said, he has used and is using sanctions. We should know what it is that can help us achieve our goal.
I would like to say a few things about Basij and after that, I would like to briefly speak about the current issues regarding our foreign policies. As I said, Basij is a source of dignity for the country and the Islamic Republic. Why? It is because the meaning of Basij is the presence of all the people in arenas of fundamental activities for the sake of the people and the country. Any government that has people by its side and any country in which the people show their presence and move towards a specific direction, will definitely achieve victory. This is completely clear. Countries receive a blow and they are defeated whenever the people are not present on the scene or whenever they do not have unity of action. Whenever the people are present on the scene and whenever there is unity among them, victory and progress will be certain. Basij is the example of such presence. Basij is the manifestation of the presence of the people on the scene and the unity of the people. We should adopt such an outlook towards Basij.
On the issue of sincerity, which I referred to in the beginning of my speech, Basij has emerged victorious out of the test of sincerity. Basij was put to this test during the imposed war and the Sacred Defense Era which was a time when the country was in difficult conditions. Also, during the different events that took place after the Sacred Defense Era until the present time, Basij has emerged victorious out of the test of sincerity. The Basij organization has shown that it enjoys sincerity. Of course, in my opinion, Basij is not confined to this number of people who are active in the Basij organization. There are many people whose hearts are with you. They praise and respect you and they appreciate your value. These people are not active in the Basij organization, but they are basijis as well. In my opinion, those people who believe in and respect your values and who respect your efforts, your services and your jihad are basijis as well. Being present on the scene is one of the most important tasks.
Moreover, the capabilities of Basij help us solve problems. Fortunately, today inside the organization of Basij, there are many scientific, artistic, social and political personalities and there are many social activists and people who can influence the people. Until today, Basij has represented a group of people who have been achieving growth and transcendence on a daily basis and it should act in the same way from now on too.
What I recommend is that we should increase the capabilities of Basij. There are certain prerequisites for this: moral, behavioral and practical prerequisites. Moral prerequisites means that we should build and develop Islamic virtues in our hearts and souls. A number of these virtues are patience, forgiveness, fortitude, self-control and humility. We should strengthen these characteristics in ourselves. Behavioral prerequisites means that we should utilize these virtues when we interact with the people, the environment, society and human beings in general. Imam Sadiq (peace and greetings be upon him) used to say to his companions, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"You should act in a way that whenever people see you, they say, ‘These people are the companions of Imam Sadiq. God\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mercy be upon Imam Sadiq. You should make us be proud of you\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [al-Kafi, Volume 2, page 233]. Each and every one of you dear basijis, you dear youth with your pure and enlightened hearts and souls should behave towards all the people - as I said, many of the people are basijis in the real sense of the word - in a way that they say, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"These people are students of the Islamic government. They are a source of respect for the Islamic government and the Islamic Republic\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\".
And practical, jihadi and social prerequisites are the tasks that should be carried out. That is to say, we should strengthen these virtues in ourselves. It means that we should behave in a kind, diligent and praiseworthy way towards the [social] environment. It means that we should act in a serious way in all arenas including the arena of science, the arena of social services, the arena of work, the arena of politics and the arena of production. Wherever you are, you should work in a serious way without any feeling of tiredness and any laziness. We should work. This great group of basijis - tens of thousands of people from this great group are present in this meeting - can move the country towards positive paths in the real sense of word. This group of people can be a source of solidity and stability. It can be a source of grandeur for the Islamic Republic and thankfully it is playing such a role today. Today, Basij is a source of grandeur and honor for the Islamic Republic.
I would like to raise a point about the recent contentions over the arena of foreign policies, our nuclear issues, the current negotiations and other such things. First of all, I insist on supporting the officials who are in charge of this. I support all administrations and all officials - whether officials in charge of domestic affairs or officials in charge of foreign affairs - and this is our responsibility. I myself have been an executive official. I have been in the middle of the arena and I felt with all my heart the difficulty of the work. I know that the responsibility of managing the country is difficult. Therefore, these officials need help and I help and support them. This is one part of the issue which is clear. On the other hand, I also insist on establishing the rights of the Iranian nation including the issue of our nuclear rights. We insist that these officials should not even take one step back on the rights of the Iranian nation. Of course, we do not interfere in the details of these negotiations. There are certain red lines and limits in this regard. These limits should be observed. We have said this to officials in charge and it is their responsibility to observe these limits. They should not be afraid of the fuss that the enemies and opponents make. They should show no fear in the face of such fuss and uproar.
Everyone should know that primarily, the sanctions which have been imposed on the Iranian nation result from the arrogant grudge of America. The grudge that the Americans bear against us is like the grudge of a camel. They want to exert pressures on the Iranian nation in the hope that they can perhaps make the Iranian nation surrender. They are making a mistake because the Iranian nation will not surrender to anyone under pressure. You Americans have failed to know the people of Iran. They are a people who can, by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, endure these pressures and who will turn these threats and pressures into an opportunity. By Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, the Iranian nation will do this.
We have had certain weak points in the area of economic decisions and plans. These weak points have made the enemy feel that he can create a rift. This is an opportunity for us to know and eliminate these weak points and, by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, we will eliminate them. The Americans should know and I think they know that sanctions do not work. The reason why we say they themselves know that sanctions do not work is the military threats they issue. Well, if sanctions can serve the purpose, then why do they issue military threats? This shows that sanctions have not served the purpose and that they do not work. They have to issue military sanctions. Of course, the act of issuing military threats is a very disgusting and despicable act. Instead of issuing military threats against different countries, you Americans should go and improve your own devastated economy. You should do something so that your government will not be shut down for 15, 16 days. You should go and pay your debts. You should think of improving your own economy.
As I said, the Americans should know that the Iranian nation behaves in a brotherly way towards all nations: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Those who have the same religion as you have, they are brothers to you, and those who have religions other than that of yours, they are human beings like you\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". The people of Iran respect other nations, but they behave towards transgressors in a way that they become regretful. They slap transgressots across the face in a way that they will never forget. The Americans consider themselves responsible for saying something in support of the Zionist regime and the capitalist Zionists and this is a source of weakness and humiliation for them. In fact, the Zionist regime is a regime whose foundations are extremely shaky. The Zionist regime is doomed to destruction. It is a regime which is imposed [on regional nations] and it has been formed on the basis of bullying. Any phenomenon and any organism which has come into being by use of force cannot survive and this regime cannot survive either. The support of the Americans - who are indebted to Zionist capitalists - for the wretched Zionist regime is a source of disgrace for them. Unfortunately, a number of European countries flatter this regime. These Europeans go and flatter these creatures who do not deserve to be called human beings and they humiliate themselves and their people in front of these creatures. The leaders of the Zionist regime are really like wild animals and one cannot call them human beings.
One day in Europe, the French nation gained a good political reputation because the president of France in those days did not allow England to enter the European Community due to the fact that England was dependent on America. This became a source of dignity for France. On that day, the dignity of the French government increased because it stood up against America and because it did not let England - which was dependent on America - enter the European Community. A people achieve dignity in such a way. Today, the politicians of this country [France] go and humble themselves not only before America, but also before these damned and dirty Zionists. This is a source of humiliation for the French nation. Of course, the people of France themselves should find a cure for this problem.
I would like to speak to you dear youth about a few things. You youth should know that without a doubt, the bright and promising future of this country and the Islamic Republic belongs to you. You will manage to help your country and your people reach the peak of glory. By Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, you will be able to build a perfect model of the modern Islamic civilization in this country. In order to carry out these great tasks, you should promote and strengthen - as much as you can - religion, piety, morality and purity of soul among yourselves. Today\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s youth need religion, piety, science, enthusiasm, trustworthiness, morality, social services and physical exercise. These are the things which today\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s youth need and by Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s favor, you dear basijis will succeed in doing this.
Dear God, by the blessedness of Muhammad (s.w.a.) and his household (a.s.), bestow Your blessings on these people and on all the basijis of our country. Dear God, make the Iranian nation conquer the peaks of honor on a daily basis. Dear God, by the blessedness of Muhammad (s.w.a.) and his household (a.s.), make the immaculate soul of Imam satisfied with us and with these people. Dear God, make the pure souls of martyrs satisfied and pleased with us. Dear God, by the blessedness of Muhammad (s.w.a.) and his household (a.s.), make the holy heart of the Imam of the Age satisfied and pleased with us and hasten the re-appearance of this great Imam. Make us be among his companions and his accompanying mujahids and make us be martyrs by his side.
Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings.
Source: http://english.khamenei.ir//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1839&Itemid=4
81m:31s
58997
[12 Dec 2013] American who vanished in Iran was CIA agent: AP - English
An investigation by the Associated Press has found that an American who went missing in southern Iran seven years ago was a CIA agent.
Robert...
An investigation by the Associated Press has found that an American who went missing in southern Iran seven years ago was a CIA agent.
Robert Levinson vanished during a visit to Kish island in March 2007. The US government said he was on a business trip when he disappeared. But the findings of the AP investigation show the CIA sent Levinson to Iran on a spying mission and later paid his family 2.5 million dollars to head off a revealing lawsuit. Tehran has repeatedly said it has no information about the whereabouts of Levinson but is ready to help locate him on humanitarian grounds.
0m:35s
6241
[15 Dec 2013] Afghanistan street children struggle to feed families -...
Afghanistan is grappling with serious economic and social woes over a decade after a US led invasion of the country. The government has also been...
Afghanistan is grappling with serious economic and social woes over a decade after a US led invasion of the country. The government has also been criticized for failing to deal with these problems. The economic plight has forced a large number of Afghan children to work on the streets to try to feed their families.
Kabul has a population of around six million people. Among them are around 600,000 street children who live in tough conditions. Most of them belong to fatherless families. These families depend on their children to try to find a way to survive. Umar is one of those children who have to work. A US night time air raid on their village in Kapisa province left Umar\\\'s father dead. Soon after the family lost its breadwinner, Umar left his village for Kabul. Now he lives with his uncle\\\'s family. But as his uncle is a simple shoe maker, Umer has to work too. For Umar it\\\'s a constant struggle to feed himself and send some money back to his family in Kapisa every month. Afghan president Hamid Karzai expressed his concern about the living conditions of street children in a recent address on the Afghan National Radio. Karzai asked International organizations including UNICEF to pay more attention to the issue. But some experts are pointing the finger at the afghan government and western countries for failing to do much. Today\\\'s children are the men of Afghanistan\\\'s future. But what many afghans are asking is how these poor street children who are not receiving any education will play a positive role in Afghanistan\\\'s future.
2m:10s
7529
[22 Dec 2013] Millions of Shia Muslims head to Iraqi city of Karbala -...
Millions of Shia Muslims from across the world have flocked to Iraq\'s holy city of Karbala to hold mourning ceremonies marking Arba\'een....
Millions of Shia Muslims from across the world have flocked to Iraq\'s holy city of Karbala to hold mourning ceremonies marking Arba\'een.
Arba\'een marks the 40th day since the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein, Prophet Mohammed\'s grandson and the third Shia imam. Security is tight in Karbala and other cities across Iraq. Authorities estimate that some 15 million people have braved the cold and deadly violence to attend Arba\'een ceremonies. Dozens of pilgrims have so far lost their lives in multiple terrorist attacks in recent days.
1m:5s
7287
[22 Dec 2013] Terrorist attacks continue to kill people in Syria - English
Terrorist attacks continue to kill people in Syria. The International Committee of the Red Cross has said in a report that the conflict has left...
Terrorist attacks continue to kill people in Syria. The International Committee of the Red Cross has said in a report that the conflict has left half a million people wounded. The recent defeats suffered by foreign-backed insurgents have apparently prompted their western supporters to try and end the deadlock in syria through diplomacy. But are they serious about ending the war in the first place?
2m:52s
6386
[24 Dec 2013] UNHCR: 20 Percent of people living in Lebanon are refugees...
The United Nations says one out of five people living in Lebanon are refugees who have fled the conflict in neighboring Syria.
The Office of the...
The United Nations says one out of five people living in Lebanon are refugees who have fled the conflict in neighboring Syria.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees announced the number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon has surpassed the eight hundred and 48 thousand mark. The Office of the UNHCR also said about seven hundred and 93 thousand have registered as refugees. The Lebanese authorities say the exact number could be even higher since many of the Syrian refugees are unregistered and undocumented migrants. Lebanon has refused to set up official camps for refugees from Syria. Many live in hundreds of unofficial tent settlements on its northern and eastern peripheries. Lebanon currently hosts the highest number of refugees from Syria. More than a million other Syrians have fled to Jordan and Turkey.
3m:23s
7069
[02 Jan 2014] Iran enacts new legislation to protect Iranians outside of...
New legislation to support Iranians imprisoned outside of Iran. According to Iranian Foreign Ministry officials, there are around four million...
New legislation to support Iranians imprisoned outside of Iran. According to Iranian Foreign Ministry officials, there are around four million Iranian living outside of the country out of which less than one percent, 3300 are imprisoned in different countries. These are prisoners that have reported their status to Iranian embassies. Officials say that Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Iraq are countries with most Iranian prisoners.
Officials say some Iranians are imprisoned for political issues such acting against unilateral sanctions imposed by the West against Iran. Shahrzad Mirgholikhan was imprisoned in the United States for 58 months for similar charges she says were committed by her former husband. She says she was already tried and charged in Vienna by US authorities. Director General of Office of Iranians Abroad of Iran Foreign Ministry Seyyed Kazem Sajadi, talked about the number of freed Iranian prisoners Iran has bilateral agreement with Turkey, Syria, Thailand, Azerbaijan, and Afghanistan to transfer Iranian prisoners so they can serve their sentences inside the country. Tajikistan, Algeria, Ukraine, Kuwait, India have signed similar agreements with Iran yet the agreement has not become effective yet.
2m:25s
6010
[02 Jan 2014] Iran covered in black for eighth Imam martyrdom...
During the last ten days of the lunar month of Safar, millions of Shia Muslims travel o the holy city of Mashhad in the north east of Iran. In...
During the last ten days of the lunar month of Safar, millions of Shia Muslims travel o the holy city of Mashhad in the north east of Iran. In these days, the mourners hold magnificent ceremonies for the departure anniversary of Prophet Mohammad and the martyrdom anniversary of the second Imam of the Shias, Imam Hassan Mujtaba peace be upon them. But the mourning ceremonies reach their peaks on the last day of the lunar month. Iranian Shia Muslims love all their Imams, but they have a special devotion to Imam Reza.
On Thursday, the cold weather didn\\\\\\\'t prevent the lovers to go to Mashhad for offering their sincerity. An estimated three million of pilgrims were in his holy shrine to condole these tragic days to the holy presence of Imam Reza. Different ceremonies were held such as chest beating. But those who could not travel to Mashhad, gathered at local mosques and other religious centers in their own cities in commemoration of the event. In Tehran, Imam zadeh Saleh\\\\\\\'s shrine were full of mourners on a snowy day. People from across the capital went to north of Tehran to attend the ceremony. The eighth Imam of Shia Islam, Imam Reza was martyred after being poisoned by the Abbasid Caliph Ma\\\\\\\'mun in the year 818 AD and his holy body was buried in an area, today, known as Mashhad-o-Reza dubbed the place where Reza was martyred.
2m:14s
7362
[05 Jan 2014] Egyptians protest against military coup after Muslim...
Tension is still running high in Egypt. More demonstrations have been held in the cities of Giza and Alexandria.
Protesters in the two cities...
Tension is still running high in Egypt. More demonstrations have been held in the cities of Giza and Alexandria.
Protesters in the two cities chanted slogans denouncing last year\'s military coup. In Alexandria, an angry crowd torched a vehicle after police targeted them. Some of the protesters also gathered at the journalists\' union and burned copies of government newspapers in a show of discontent over the curbs on freedom of expression. Muslim Brotherhood supporters have been staging almost daily protests to demand the reinstatement of ousted president Mohamed Morsi. Friday\'s demonstrations turned violent after security forces clashed with protesters in major cities. At least 17 protesters were killed and dozens injured. Meanwhile, the army-installed government pledged to confront the Muslim Brotherhood with full force after the group called for a million-man march on Wednesday.
4m:23s
6677
[19 Jan 2014] Exclusive: Food aid reaches Damascus Palestinian refugee...
This is al-Yarmouk camp, which is home to Palestinian refugees living in the Syrian capital Damascus. Around a million Palestinians had lived there...
This is al-Yarmouk camp, which is home to Palestinian refugees living in the Syrian capital Damascus. Around a million Palestinians had lived there before the camp was fallen into the hands of foreign-backed militants nearly two years ago. Now, it\'s home to only ten thousand Palestinians.
Efforts to provide the Palestinian refugees with food have failed for several times in the past. This happened due to the fighting between the army and insurgents as well as attacks by the militants on aid convoys.
1m:53s
6098
[02 Feb 2014] Iran taking UK company to High Court over non-delivered...
Iran is taking a government-owned British company to the High Court over purchased weaponry that was never delivered.
According to a report by The...
Iran is taking a government-owned British company to the High Court over purchased weaponry that was never delivered.
According to a report by The Independent, Tehran is pushing for six hundred fifty seven million dollars in compensation. The dispute goes back to 35 years ago when the deposed Shah of Iran paid the International Military Services 1 billion dollars for Chieftain battle tanks and repair vehicles. The arsenal was, however, not fully delivered, as a result of the 19-79 Islamic Revolution. A spokesman for the British Ministry of Defense has said that they hope a settlement could be reached before legal proceedings begin. He also said no money will be paid to Iran while the EU sanctions remain in place. The European Union Council has already suspended part of the sanctions following the interim nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers in November 2013.
5m:39s
5600
[02 Feb 2014] Yemenis angered by LNG contract with France - English
A group of youth revolutionaries, lawyers and rights activist have rallied in the Yemeni capital Sana\'a condemning the purchase of Yemeni...
A group of youth revolutionaries, lawyers and rights activist have rallied in the Yemeni capital Sana\'a condemning the purchase of Yemeni Liquefied Natural Gas by France way below the international price market.
The protesters slammed the French company, TOTAL for depriving Yemen of full and fair compensation for its L-N-G sales. Yemeni protesters called for an immediate end to the L-N-G contract between their country and TOTAL. For the past 19 years the French giant has been purchasing L-N-G for 3 dollars per million BTU. Reports say that\'s 11 dollars less than the average international market price of L-N-G sales.
1m:51s
5839
[20 Feb 2014] Polls close in constituent assembly vote in Libya - English
Polls close in Libya as voters take to the ballot boxes to elect a constituent assembly that will draft a new constitution.
A low turnout...
Polls close in Libya as voters take to the ballot boxes to elect a constituent assembly that will draft a new constitution.
A low turnout reflected voter mistrust of politicians as chaos prevails across the country since Muammar Gaddafi\'s downfall in 2011. The election committee says only 360,000 of the one million registered voters had cast their ballots. The 60-member constitutional committee will have 120 days to draft the charter.
0m:34s
4956
How to Make a Woven Vase Out of a Soda Bottle - English
Watch more Great Craft Ideas videos:
Use a plastic soda bottle to make a vase that, if you didn\'t know better, you\'d swear it was made out of...
Watch more Great Craft Ideas videos:
Use a plastic soda bottle to make a vase that, if you didn\'t know better, you\'d swear it was made out of crystal.
Step 1: Cut off the top
Cut off the top of the bottle, at the top of the bottle\'s smooth section, to make an even edge about 3 inches above where the fluted rim will be.
Tip
Use a green bottle for accented color.
Step 2: Cut strips
Wrap the measuring tape around the bottle, mark and cut evenly-spaced strips down from the top of the bottle, about 3 inches long. Then cut the strips in half once, and in half again, so that you have thin, even strips all the way around the bottle.
Step 3: Bend the strips
Carefully bend the strips outward, making a level edge around the top of the bottle. Turn the bottle upside down and press it against a flat surface to make sure the rim is even.
Tip
Make sure the creases are regularized for a symmetrical vase.
Step 4: Weave the rim
Weave one strip over the one next to it and then under the following two, creasing it so that its tip is at the base of the third strip.
Step 5: Bend and crease the next one
Bend and crease the strip you wove over with the first strip, and fold it over the next two and under the following one.
Step 6: Bend and crease the third strip
Bend and crease the third strip the same way as the first one -- over one and under two.
Step 7: Keep bending
Continue weaving the strips in this alternating pattern until only three strips are left. Tuck each of the last three under the next strip until they\'re tucked in completely.
Step 8: Add weight
Add marbles, beach glass, or stones to your vase to weigh it down so that it doesn\'t fall over. And when you get tired of your vase or want to redecorate, simply recycle it.
Did You Know?
Americans use 4 million plastic bottles every hour.
2m:11s
5491
[24 Feb 2014] Facebook suspends PressTV\\\'s page over Nasrallah...
Facebook has blocked Press TV from posting on the popular social networking site for 12 hours. This, after Press TV published photos of Sayyed...
Facebook has blocked Press TV from posting on the popular social networking site for 12 hours. This, after Press TV published photos of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanon\\\'s resistance movement Hezbollah.
Press TV\\\'s Facebook page has around 1.3 million likes. It is regarded as one of the fastest-growing Facebook pages among international news channels. The social network has cited its Community Standards for the temporary suspension. However, Press TV\\\'s multimedia team found no credible reasons why its page should be blocked. While the channel cannot post on Facebook until 04:30 AM GMT Tuesday, it could still get likes and comments by its viewers.
0m:41s
12023
Supreme Leader Speech in Meeting with Hajj Officials - Sayed Ali...
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
First of all, I would like to welcome all the dear brothers and sisters and the glorious...
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
First of all, I would like to welcome all the dear brothers and sisters and the glorious officials who render many services in one of the outstanding arenas of the Islamic community - that is to say, the arena of hajj and visiting the House of God and the enlightened city of Madina. I hope that you will benefit from this great achievement in the hereafter. I hope that your actions and efforts in this auspicious arena will be so sincere that your performance sheet in the hereafter shines, like the sun, with the light of purity and sincerity. I express my gratitude to the honorable gentlemen for the efforts that they have made in the arena of hajj. The things that they have done - whether in cultural, spiritual, moral and educational areas or in practical and organizational areas - should really be appreciated.
What is important is that we should know hajj is one of the strong points of the holy religion of Islam. Although there are not a few strong points in Islamic sharia, hajj plays an outstanding role because of the characteristics which it enjoys and which we are more or less familiar with. In fact, we can say that hajj is a source of power for the Islamic community and the Islamic Ummah. The day when we Muslims from different countries and with different denominations manage to achieve intellectual growth so much so that we can form the Islamic Ummah in the real sense of the word - unfortunately, we Muslims have not managed to achieve this moral, political and intellectual growth until today - and the day when we Muslims from eastern parts to western parts of the world of Islam manage to form one single ummah although we may have different governments, we understand how hajj can be a source of power, strength, transcendence and dignity for this Islamic Ummah.
Today, the Islamic Republic should adopt such an outlook towards hajj. It should regard hajj as a means of power. What kind of power? By power, do we mean materialistic, political, military power or soft power such as cultural or linguistic power? The answer is no. The power of hajj is far beyond this. As well as showing the political and cultural power of the Islamic government, hajj provides a source of spiritual power. That is to say, it builds human beings from the inside, prepares them to overcome difficult obstacles and opens their eyes to realities which cannot be seen and felt without being present in the arena of hajj. By performing hajj rituals, one can understand a number of spiritual and educational realities of Islam. Hajj plays such a role.
One of the requirements of hajj is that hajj pilgrims should behave in a brotherly - in the real sense of the word - way towards one another in the arena of hajj and this great Islamic obligation. They should not look at one another as outsiders and enemies. They should see themselves as people who are moving towards one goal, who pursue one thing, who revolve around one pivot.
Allah the Exalted says, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Let there be no obscenity, no wickedness and no quarreling in the Hajj.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 2: 197] The meaning of \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"no quarreling\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" is not that we should not quarrel with the enemy. On the contrary, hajj is the manifestation of quarreling with the enemy. Some narrow-minded and pessimistic people say, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"There should be ‘no quarreling\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' during hajj pilgrimage. Why do you hold a detestation ceremony during hajj pilgrimage?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" The enmity which is reflected in this ceremony means enmity towards polytheism and atheism. This is one of the most fundamental principles of Islamic life. The kind of enmity which should not exist in hajj pilgrimage is enmity between brothers and believers and enmity between people who believe in monotheism. This enmity should not exist. Not only should we Muslims express in words that we have no enmity towards one another, but also we should feel this from the bottom of our hearts.
This is the exact opposite of what the enemies of Islam are trying to do in the Islamic community. You should pay attention to this. The existence of differences between Islamic denominations and between Shia and Sunni Muslims will not create any problem as long as these differences are confined to ideological differences. One person may believe in something and another person may believe in something else. Problems arise when these ideological differences lead to behavioral differences, confrontation, hostility and enmity. The enemies of the world of Islam are after creating such a situation and hatching such a plot.
They have properly understood that the Zionist regime can breathe easily if Islamic denominations in the world of Islam start confronting and fighting with one another. They have understood this truth perfectly and properly. On the one hand, they form groups which engage in takfirism - not only do these groups anathematize and curse Shia Muslims, but they also anathematize Sunni denominations - and on the other hand, they hire a number of mercenaries to add fuel to the fire of discord. You know and have heard about this plot. They provide these groups and mercenaries with different means of mass communication. Where do they do this? They do this in America and London. The kind of Shia Islam which is promoted from London and America is useless for Shia Muslims.
Shia leaders - particularly the leaders who emerged after the victory of the Islamic Revolution - our Imam and other leaders placed great emphasis on preserving the unity of the Islamic Ummah and behaving in a brotherly way towards Muslims. This is while a number of people - who interfere in the affairs of Muslims for no reason - are after fueling the fire of discord. This is the thing which the enemy wants. This is the thing which the enemies of Islam - who are neither Shia nor Sunni - like to pursue. We should understand this condition properly and we should pay attention to it.
Another important point is that Muslims should share and exchange their original Islamic cultures and their Islamic experiences with one another. This is another strong point of hajj and another source of power for it. We may have heard different things about such and such an Islamic country. But, hearing is different from sitting and talking directly to an individual from an Islamic country. This individual can also compare what he has heard about our dear Islamic Iran with what he sees in you and hears from you. This way, he can discover the truth about Iran.
There are an enormous number of propaganda campaigns against the Islamic Republic. There are a large and surprising number of media networks who propagandize against the Islamic Republic with different methods. When a young individual from such and such an African, Asian, Arab or non-Arab country goes on the Internet, watches such and such an international channel or reads such and such an international newspaper, how can he or she understand that what such media networks say is false? Your presence in hajj and in this international arena gives you the opportunity to reveal the truth not only in words but also in action. It helps you to speak the truth about Shia Islam, the Islamic Revolution and the events which are happening today.
Another important and crucial point about hajj is the thing which I referred to earlier: strengthening spirituality in our hearts and souls. My dear ones, we can put up a resistance in the arenas of jihad for the sake of God only if our hearts are filled with faith in God and reliance on Allah the Exalted. It is not possible to move forward without spirituality. It is not possible to take difficult paths without a strong faith. Without reliance on Allah the Exalted, it is not possible to ignore the superficial power of powerful countries and see the real power. Reliance on God, faith and belief in God\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s promises are necessary. These things can be achieved in hajj. When people go on hajj pilgrimage they \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Witness the benefits (provided) for them.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" [The Holy Quran, 22: 28] These benefits are not only material benefits. There are otherworldly, spiritual and psychological benefits as well as material benefits in hajj pilgrimage. This is the significance of hajj.
Well, today you can see that besides creating intellectual, psychological and ideological discord among Muslims throughout the world of Islam, the enemies fuel the fire of war as well. See how they fuel the fire of war in our neighboring countries with the pretext of Shia and Sunni differences. They do this in different ways in our neighboring countries such as Pakistan, Iraq, Syria and Bahrain. Even when the problem is not about Shia and Sunni, they say that it has occurred because of Shia and Sunni differences. I have given many examples in this regard. The enemies are prepared to set the region on fire for their own political interests. Superpowers are like this. They are not afraid that an explosion may take place in such and such a neighborhood of an Iraqi city and they are not afraid that 50 people may be killed in this explosion. They are not afraid that certain events may happen in Syria, Egypt or other countries which may turn them into a ruin. Superpowers - such as America and countries like America - do such things for their own illegitimate interests. We hope that the Americans are serious about their new outlook on Syria. We hope that it is not another political game.
It is several weeks that they have been threatening the region to wage a war and create a serious conflict for the sake of the interests which they have defined for themselves. And they consider it legitimate to defend these interests no matter if they jeopardize the interests of ten other countries and nations. They are such people. They do not care about justice and the interests of human beings. They refer to such interests as national interests, but these are not really their national interests. Rather, these are the interests of the Zionists and the enemies of humanity. These are the interests of capitalists who have proved during the last 70, 80 years that they are not committed to any human principle and value. But they call it national interests and they are prepared to fuel all kinds of wars and fitnas for the sake of these proclaimed national interests.
It is several weeks that they have been trying to cause great controversy by threatening the region with a war and bombardment. Well, if they are serious about their recent outlook, this means that they have turned back from the wrong path which they have been taking during the last few weeks. We hope that they are serious. This is the condition of the region and the world.
The Islamic Republic takes a look at all these issues with open eyes and with its full attention. What we have understood is that as a nation with a total population of 70, 80 million people and with a sensitive geographical location in the world, we should strengthen our position by adopting the right outlook and by benefiting from our Islamic power. We should let the entire humanity see our lofty and human goals which have originated from Islam and we should invite all human beings to cherish the gift which Islam has offered to human beings. This is our responsibility. I have repeatedly said that strengthening the country from the inside is possible primarily with firm faith, unity of the people, appropriate actions by the officials of the country, cooperation between the people and officials and reliance on Allah the Exalted. That is to say, we should benefit from rationality, spirituality, reliance on God and diligence. Undoubtedly, this will influence the conditions of the region as it has influenced the region so far.
I hope that what Islam wants for the Islamic Republic, people throughout the world, Muslims and non-Muslims will be achieved with your presence in different arenas - including your presence in the arena of hajj which manifests your rationality and your clear outlook. I hope that your presence in such arenas will bring about communal happiness.
I ask all of you to pray for us. I hope that this year you will experience a good hajj pilgrimage and I hope that you, all Iranian hajj pilgrims and all the pilgrims who visit the House of God from throughout the world will benefit from divine blessings and mercy. I hope that your hajj pilgrimage will be accepted by God.
Greetings be upon you and Allah\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mercy and blessings
12m:37s
37595
(Documentary) Gaza Suffering 3 - English
Years has passed since the Israeli military launched missile and ground attacks on Gaza, which Israel called Operation Cast Lead. According to the...
Years has passed since the Israeli military launched missile and ground attacks on Gaza, which Israel called Operation Cast Lead. According to the UN, 1,383 Palestinians died as a result, including 333 children.
And what of the survivors? For the 1.7 million living in the tiny Gaza Strip, life has become increasingly desperate because of Israel\'s continuing blockade, backed by Egypt and with no effective challenge from governments around the world. The blockade has brought electricity cuts of 16 hours a day, The electricity shortages have severely affected almost all essential services, including health, water, sanitation and schooling. Many houses have been burnt in blazes caused by unattended candles or circuited house electric generators. Solid waste disposal is severely disrupted due to fuel shortages and with waste plants and water refineries not operational, people have to drink highly toxic water either salinated or mixed with sewage.
Amidst all the limitations, Gazans struggle to survive and thus innovation has become their answer to imposed embargo.
27m:13s
5300
(Documentary) Gaza Suffering 7 - English
Years has passed since the Israeli military launched missile and ground attacks on Gaza, which Israel called Operation Cast Lead. According to the...
Years has passed since the Israeli military launched missile and ground attacks on Gaza, which Israel called Operation Cast Lead. According to the UN, 1,383 Palestinians died as a result, including 333 children.
And what of the survivors? For the 1.7 million living in the tiny Gaza Strip, life has become increasingly desperate because of Israel\'s continuing blockade, backed by Egypt and with no effective challenge from governments around the world. The blockade has brought electricity cuts of 16 hours a day, The electricity shortages have severely affected almost all essential services, including health, water, sanitation and schooling. Many houses have been burnt in blazes caused by unattended candles or circuited house electric generators. Solid waste disposal is severely disrupted due to fuel shortages and with waste plants and water refineries not operational, people have to drink highly toxic water either salinated or mixed with sewage.
Amidst all the limitations, Gazans struggle to survive and thus innovation has become their answer to imposed embargo.
27m:13s
5754
(Documentary) Gaza Suffering 5 - English
Years has passed since the Israeli military launched missile and ground attacks on Gaza, which Israel called Operation Cast Lead. According to the...
Years has passed since the Israeli military launched missile and ground attacks on Gaza, which Israel called Operation Cast Lead. According to the UN, 1,383 Palestinians died as a result, including 333 children.
And what of the survivors? For the 1.7 million living in the tiny Gaza Strip, life has become increasingly desperate because of Israel\'s continuing blockade, backed by Egypt and with no effective challenge from governments around the world. The blockade has brought electricity cuts of 16 hours a day, The electricity shortages have severely affected almost all essential services, including health, water, sanitation and schooling. Many houses have been burnt in blazes caused by unattended candles or circuited house electric generators. Solid waste disposal is severely disrupted due to fuel shortages and with waste plants and water refineries not operational, people have to drink highly toxic water either salinated or mixed with sewage.
Amidst all the limitations, Gazans struggle to survive and thus innovation has become their answer to imposed embargo.
27m:18s
5300