TEHRAN (Iran News) CBS News reported Sunday, citing the spokesperson, that Maduro and Flores will appear at the Manhattan federal court in New York at 12 pm on Monday, two days after they were abducted in a US military aggression against Venezuela.

Maduro and Flores were transferred to New York late Saturday and are being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. They were accused of drug trafficking and cooperation with terrorist gangs, allegations Maduro has denied.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement that the operation to abduct Maduro required months of coordination, meticulous planning and flawless execution across various parts of the federal government.

“They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts,” Bondi said.

The charges against Maduro appear to be the same as those that were filed in a 2020 indictment of the South American leader and several key aides.

The indictment, prepared by New York US Attorney Jay Clayton, claims, “For over 25 years, leaders of Venezuela have abused their positions of public trust and corrupted once-legitimate institutions to import tons of cocaine into the United States.”

It alleged that Maduro “is at the forefront of that corruption and has partnered with his co-conspirators to use his illegally obtained authority and the institutions he corroded to transport thousands of tons of cocaine to the United States.”

Maduro and Flores were transferred to New York late Saturday and are being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. They were accused of drug trafficking and cooperation with terrorist gangs, allegations Maduro has denied.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement that the operation to abduct Maduro required months of coordination, meticulous planning and flawless execution across various parts of the federal government.

“They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts,” Bondi said.

The charges against Maduro appear to be the same as those that were filed in a 2020 indictment of the South American leader and several key aides.

The indictment, prepared by New York US Attorney Jay Clayton, claims, “For over 25 years, leaders of Venezuela have abused their positions of public trust and corrupted once-legitimate institutions to import tons of cocaine into the United States.”

The post Maduro and his wife to appear in New York federal court on Monday appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Opening the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Mukhtar Tileuberdi noted the importance of the upcoming CICA Summit, which will launch the transformation of the Forum into a full-fledged international organization, and expressed gratitude to the member states for supporting this initiative.

The participants discussed the final documents planned for adoption at the upcoming Summit, including the draft of the main final document of the Summit, the Regulations on the CICA Foundation, the statements of the leaders of the CICA member states on cooperation in the field of secure use of information and communication technologies, the CICA Action Plan for the Implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, etc.

In addition, an exchange of views took place on the prospects for further institutional development of the CICA and practical steps to advance the transformation process of the organization.

During the event, the Executive Director of the CICA Secretariat, Kairat Sarybay, informed the participants about the main organizational and protocol issues of the upcoming Summit.

The participants agreed to continue active joint work within the framework of the Forum in order to successfully conduct the 6th CICA Summit.

During the meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the heads of the foreign ministries of the CSTO member states exchanged views on topical issues on the international agenda, reviewed a wide range of current activities and discussed the further development of the Organization.

The ministers also discussed the engagement of the CSTO member states within the framework of the implementation of the parties’ priorities outlined in the agenda of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, as well as collaboration on the adoption of the UN General Assembly resolution on cooperation between the UN and the CSTO.

The post New York Hosts Informal Ministerial Meeting of CICA, CSTO Council of Foreign Ministers appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Prior to his visit, Raisi met with the Leader of the Islamic Revolution on Sunday. The meeting with the Leader took place a day after he returned from Uzbekistan, the host of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in the current year.

During the meeting, the president briefed the Leader regarding the meetings and agreements at the SCO summit, as well as the plans for the New York visit.

Ayatollah Khamenei expressed his satisfaction with the briefing and measures taken to activate economic and political diplomacy in Uzbekistan and wished success for the president on his trip to New York.

In an interview with Al Jazeera on Thursday while he was in Uzbekistan, Raisi said he is traveling to New York to “secure the interests of the Iranian nation and to try to (help) realize (a) just international order through economic multilateralism.”

During the trip, in addition to his speech at the UN General Assembly, the president is scheduled to meet and discuss with a number of heads of state.

Meanwhile, Ali Bagheri Kani, the Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs and Iran’s chief negotiator in the JCPOA revival talks in Vienna, will accompany the president during his trip to the U.S., and advisor to the Iranian negotiating team has said.

“As Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Dr. Ali Bagheri will be accompanying the President, it will be a good opportunity for the E3/EU to push the U.S. to meaningfully resolve the few remaining issues. By stonewalling & foot-dragging the U.S. will needlessly make winter more painful,” Seyyed Mohammad Marandi tweeted on Sunday.

Iran is on the belief that the 2015 nuclear deal cannot be restored unless the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) puts an end to the endless claims against Iran’s Safeguards file.

In this regard, Raisi told Al Jazeera, “Removal of sanctions should be accompanied with the resolution of safeguards. There are some political and baseless accusations against Islamic Republic of Iran when it comes to safeguard issues, so, we should finalize these safeguard issues.”

Another issue that Iran is genuinely concerned about is the issue of economic guarantees that the U.S. must give Iran in order to fully enjoy the economic benefits of the JCPOA.

In line with Iran’s insistence on obtaining the necessary guarantees, the president told Al Jazeera, “Regarding the guarantees, if we have the trustworthy guarantees, and we have the lasting removal of the sanctions, not temporary removal of sanctions, and if there is a lasting solution for the safeguard issues, for sure it is possible to reach agreement.”

The post Raisi departs for New York to attend UN General Assembly appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Ali Bahadori-Jahromi said that the preparatory planning has been done for the President’s attendance in the UN General Assembly which will open on September 13.

Asked about the issue of Iran’s share of water rights to transboundary rivers, Bahadori-Jahromi said that the administration was following up the case, as the energy minister would travel to Afghanistan to discuss Iran’s share of Helmand waters.

He noted that the Afghan side has accepted Iran’s rights, but they disagree on the amount of inflow to Iranian soils.

He also said that energy minister will go to Afghanistan to follow up on Iran’s Hirmand water rights.

Attending his weekly press briefing on Tuesday, Bahadori-Jahromi highlighted that a report on the matter was presented in the cabinet meeting and Minister of Energy Ali Akbar Mehrabian would soon visit Afghanistan, one of the most important parts of which is to pursue Iran’s Hirmand water rights and realize it.

Referring to Iran’s water supply from the Aras River, he also pointed out that in the case of Aras River water rights, the same report was presented in the cabinet meeting, and it was also raised in the conversation between the Iranian and Turkish presidents.

He added that the Turkish side has agreed to hold a ministerial-level meeting on the matter and the Iranian administration insists on pursuing the same path.

The spokesman also said that the administration established the Fund for Natural Disasters Insurance for compensating the recent floods’ damage.

He added that the government would compensate for the recent floods’ damage to the country through the Fund for Natural Disasters Insurance.

Bahadori-Jahromi said that the new method for compensation of floods damages following the establishment of the Natural Disasters Insurance Fund government would pursue the traditional way of allocating capital to each flood-hit province.

Twenty thousand residential buildings were destroyed, out of which, 12000 houses need repairing while 7000 should be rebuilt completely.

Most of the agreements signed between Iran and other countries in the era of President Raisi’s administration, including the regional countries, are either fully implemented or in the process of implementation.

Bahadori Jahromi referred to Iran’s gas swap agreement signed last year with Turkmenistan and the Republic of Azerbaijan and said that the contract was fully implemented the contract sum doubled for the following year.

In December of last year, on the sidelines of the ECO summit, Iran, Turkmenistan, and the Republic of Azerbaijan agreed to swap 1.5 to 2 billion cubic meters of Turkmen gas annually for the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The government’s spokesman noted that the expedition of the agreements’ implementation was of the administration’s priorities.

In response to a question on the implementation of the 25-year agreement between Iran and China, he said that in their 60-minute phone talk President Ebrahim Raisi and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping expressed satisfaction with the progress of the implementation of the document.

The government spokesman stated that the 25-year document of cooperation between Iran and China is progressing promisingly in the commercial, economic, infrastructure, and energy fields.

He pointed out that in the first four months of the year, the exports to China grew by 27% compared to the same period last year (2021), with the foreign trade with China growing by 43%.

Bahadori-Jahromi also said: “10 memoranda of understanding have been inked in various sectors in order to speed up the implementation of the 25-year document”.

He concluded: “Our exports to China have grown by 58%, including in the agricultural sector by 48%.”

The post President Raisi to Attend UNGA in New York appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Amir-Abdollahian held about 50 meetings with counterparts and officials from international institutions on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly meeting.

His meetings were so intense and frequent that he himself told IRNA before leaving New York that “indeed, if it were possible for me to stay in New York for another two or three days, some of the meetings will still be scheduled. I would not be able to make these appointments due to time constraints, and we followed up on some of them over the phone and on the sidelines of the meeting.”

Although the Covid-19 imposed restrictions on the presence and number of foreign delegations, it was a good opportunity for many officials to have their own consultations.

Many countries wanted to hear about the policy of the new Iranian administration from its chief diplomat in order to regulate their relations on that basis and then decide.

The 57-year-old foreign minister, who is known for his kindness and sobriety in words and behavior, treated all his counterparts and international officials with tenderness, eloquence and great patience.

Sometimes his appointments were longer than the scheduled time; sometimes he had to take a short break after a few appointments, or his visits continued uninterruptedly until late at night.

Amir-Abdollahian was sometimes invited to meet with his counterparts at the residence of ambassadors to the United Nations; sometimes the meetings took place at the United Nations and sometimes at the hotel where he was staying. He preferred to walk to nearby places.

He even had meetings in the last hours of his stay in New York with the foreign ministers of Iraq and Algeria. The meeting with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein began with warmth and diplomatic jokes.

The new Iranian Foreign Minister was accompanied in the meetings by Majid Takht Ravanchi, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Saeed Khatibzadeh, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and other diplomats.

This year, the corridors, like the UN compound, were filled with security officers.  Police were closely monitoring the security situation as well as health protocols due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

According to Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian, the discussions with foreign dignitaries revolved around several important issues. The most important point at the talks was the need to develop international trade and economic cooperation.

Another serious topic was about how to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). This issue was raised in meetings with the UN Secretary-General, a number of European foreign ministers – including those from France, Germany and Britain – and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

The minister also said that he explicitly complained about the behavior of Washington, especially in a closed meeting with directors of American think tanks and professors of international relations in the United States.

Amir-Abdollahian said Iran would judge the United States on the basis of its behavior and not words. He noted the conflicting messages, which are transmitted to Iran through media or diplomatic channels, would not be the criterion for Iran’s final decision.

In addition to meeting with the President of Iraq and director of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) , Amir-Abdollahian also met with his counterparts from Spain, Ireland, Belarus, Venezuela, Syria, Britain, Namibia, Turkey and Hungary on the anniversary of the Durban Declaration.

In addition to meeting with UN General Assembly President Abdullah Shahid and UN Special Envoy for Syria, he met with counterparts from Italy, Denmark, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Nigeria, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Singapore, Ivory Coast, Indonesia, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Sweden, and Belgium.

The top diplomat also met separately with the American media and think tanks to explain about the Iranian government’s new policies and approaches, as well as to hear their views and answer questions.

Amir-Abdollahian and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres discussed issues of mutual interest, including the JCPOA and regional issues including Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria and Palestine.

In the meeting with the Iranian Foreign Minister, Guterres pointed to the principled position of the United Nations in rejecting the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, said that he has always supported the nuclear agreement.

The UN chief also called Iran’s position on Afghanistan “principled” and said an inclusive government should be formed in Afghanistan so that all groups have a voice in the government.

Recalling that UN consultations and cooperation with Iran on regional issues such as the Yemen crisis, the Secretary-General said that the UN welcomes broader cooperation with the Islamic Republic.

In the meeting with the UN chief, Amir-Abdollahian also said: “The United States uses sanctions and terrorism against nations for its political goals, the most obvious example of which was the cowardly assassination of General Soleimani.”

Stressing that the united voice of the United Nations is necessary in the face of such heinous acts, the Foreign Minister stated: “Of course, Iran is pursuing the issue at national and international levels to bring the perpetrators of the assassination of General Soleimani and his companions to justice.” He suggested the UN can play a significant role in this respect.

In his meeting with UN General Assembly President Abdullah Shahid, Amir-Abdollahian said terrorism has spread all across the world.

The top Iranian diplomat said the United States is one of the most visible manifestations of such a terrorism.

The assassination of Major General Qassem Soleimani by the United States on the Iraqi soil is the most concrete example of terrorism, Iran’s foreign minister said.

Donald Trump ordered the assassination of General Soleimani, a legendary anti-terror commander, near Baghdad’s international airport in early January 2020.

FM asks UN to strengthen unilateralism 

Pointing to the constructive role of the Islamic Republic in collaborating with regional governments to confront terrorism in Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan, the foreign minister noted that Tehran expects the UN General Assembly to strengthen multilateralism in the face of the U.S. unilateralism and disrespect for international law.

“Sanctions have become a terrorist tool against nations, and the General Assembly is expected to confront U.S. unilateralism and lawlessness by strengthening multilateralism,” the chief diplomat remarked.

He lamented that the United States, despite its rhetoric, has spread economic terrorism to medical terrorism, and stressed the need for a serious response from the international community to such act.

Abdullah Shahid described multilateralism as the only path forward, arguing that the UN is the best mechanism to enhance multilateralism.

He called the United Nations and the General Assembly the best mechanism ever built on multilateralism, and stressed that the General Assembly would do its utmost to succeed in its missions.

Economic diplomacy of Raisi administration

Proposals for a new round of joint cooperation commissions between countries, even with non-neighboring countries, and regional issues such as Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria featured high in most of the foreign ministers’ talks at the UN.

Examining the volume of economic and trade exchanges between Iran and other countries, promoting trade relations, presence of leading Iranian knowledge-based companies in other countries, strengthening the private sector and facilitating travel between countries were other topics discussed by the foreign minister with other countries.

The new Iranian administration’s interest in establishing balanced relations with various countries, including Europeans, and emphasizing the expansion of cooperation in various fields such as environment, renewable energy, medicine, veterinary and healthcare were other topics.

“I am very optimistic that the future is bright,” Amir-Abdollahian told IRNA in New York, noting that economic relations would strengthen and move forward at a good pace, and “we will see its effects inside the country.”

Also, in his talks with counterparts from neighboring and regional countries, he said: “In the talks we had with the countries of the region …, I felt that a new atmosphere has been created. The countries of the region tend to work with more motivation than in the past with a new administration and a new approach in which its neighbors are prioritized.

Therefore, I think there are new opportunities for us and the countries of the region.”

Referring to the visit of President Ebrahim Raisi to Tajikistan and Iran’s membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, he said: “In neighboring countries, they feel that the slogan and approach of the new Iranian administration to its neighbors is real, and part of it has been implemented by the president, and they are interested in developing their relations with Iran.”

The foreign minister said that the Iranian private sector was ready to set up a business center in Bishkek. In addition to the business sector, leading Iranian knowledge-based companies could also be located in the center, he said.

Meeting with his German counterpart on JCPOA 

In a meeting with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, Amir-Abdollahian discussed the foreign policy priorities of the new Iranian administration, the JCPOA and the continuation of the Vienna talks. He stressed that the talks should have tangible outcomes.

“The Iranian people rightly expect that the economic benefits of the JCPOA, which have not been realized due to the negligence of the other parties, would be guaranteed this time.”

Iran has announced that that nuclear talks for reviving the JCPOA will be resumed soon. However, it has been insisting that the talks must lead to tangible results.

“The United States should know that all trade-offs were made once in the JCPOA negotiations, and therefore the Vienna talks are not for a new agreement but to ensure the full and guaranteed return of the United States to its obligations under the JCPOA and Resolution 2231. Unfortunately, what we witness in the policies of the current U.S. administration is the continuation of the Trump administration’s approach to imposing illegal sanctions.”

The new foreign minister called various European excuses for not fulfilling their obligations “unacceptable” and suggested that the other sides should come to Vienna with the necessary flexibility and understanding of the new condition created by the new administration in Iran.

In a meeting with his German counterpart, he announced Tehran’s readiness to design relations independent of the JCPOA, and said that Iran-Germany economic and trade relations were not satisfactory at all and that it was necessary to find a way to improve them.

The German Foreign Minister, for his part, said that Berlin is committed to the Iran nuclear deal and will make every effort to preserve and revive it.
Welcoming the Iran-IAEA agreement and the IAEA Director-General Grossi’s visit to Tehran, Maas stressed the need for all parties to work for the success of the Vienna talks.

Such approach toward the JCPOA must change

Amir-Abdollahian’s talks his new British counterpart Liz Truss also focused on bilateral issues, the JCPOA and the situation in Afghanistan.
Stating that a reconstruction of bilateral relations requires serious measures, the Iranian side stressed the need for a repayment of Britain’s four-decade-long debt to Iran.

Amir-Abdollahian also said Iran has just heard promises by the Europeans to keep the JCPOA alive, but has not seen anything in action. “Unfortunately, Britain is also part of this inaction and this approach must change.”

Iran’s foreign minister stressed that Britain needs to pay attention to the fact that fulfilling its obligations is the only way to rebuild relations, and that Tehran will respond appropriately to any positive and constructive step.

Pursuing the issue of Iranian nationals detained by certain Western countries as well as the issue of prisoners who hold dual nationality featured in the meeting between the new Iranian and British foreign ministers.

The British Foreign Secretary also stated that her country is ready to repay its debts to Iran.

Referring to the nuclear deal, Truss said now the main issue is the time to start the negotiations to revive it.

The post An overview of Amir Abdollahian ’s intensive talks in New York appeared first on Iran News Daily.

An unproved charge, that the West Asian countries have paid its price for it, is attributed to September 11, 2001 event.

IRAN NEWS POLITICAL DESK

In fact, if Al-Qaeda was behind this scenario, Saudi Arabia’s rulers should have paid its price so that not only they did not pay, but also they paved the ground for presence of the U.S. Army in the region.

It was an incident where the U.S. guile is seen, and most individuals and international communities have casted doubt on it as the U.S. claims that the extremist group Al-Qaeda with financial support of Saudis has masterminded the attack and they are trying to cover up the role of Saudi government in order to milk more this milk cow. So the plot was carried out in the morning of September 11, 2001 when 19 Al-Qaeda forces hijacked four American passenger planes.

The first plane crashed the northern part of the World Trade Center building at 08:45 a.m. and then the second plane hit the southern side of the building at 09:03 a.m. Immediately after the second plane crashed the building, the U.S. government ordered the closure of New York airports and imposed curfew in the tunnels and bridges of the city.

The then U.S. President George Bush who was in Florida officially announced that the U.S. was attacked and flew to one of the U.S. military centers. One of the hijacked planes hit the Pentagon in Washington D.C. at 09:43. This attack caused the government to order immediate evacuation of the White House.

The southern building collapsed at 10:05 almost one hour after the being hit by the plane. At 10:10 the west side of the Pentagon collapsed. At the same time the fourth plane crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

This attack made the government officials order evacuation of the United Nations, Department of State and Department of Justice buildings and later the World Bank building. The northern building of the Twin Towers collapsed at 10:28. After this collapse, all government federal buildings were closed and evacuated in Washington. Israel also closed down its diplomatic centers worldwide. All government center in New York were closed and the then New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani who is mistress of the MKO group (Iranian terrorist Group) urged citizens not to leave their residences.

International airports of Los Angeles and San Francisco were almost completely evacuated and closed. At 13:04, U.S. President Bush while he was at the Barksdale Air Force Base announced that the U.S. forces were on full alert in all over the world, emphasizing that elements behind this crime will be harshly punished.

At 13:44 the Pentagon announced that five warships and two aircraft carriers were in charge of protecting the security of eastern coasts of the U.S. It also ordered the ban on commercial flights all over the U.S. until Wednesday.

The fire resulted from the attack swept the Building No. 7 of the World Trade Center at 16:10. The New York stock market, The Wall Street, was forced to shut down. At 16:30, U.S. President Bush flew from Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska to Washington. The building No. 7 of the 47-story World Trade Center tower collapsed at 17:20. President Bush and his wife under tight security returned to the White House at 18:54. The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center collapsed completely in two hours. At 16:00, CNN TV channel reported that the U.S. officials would probably blame the Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden for this terrorist attack.

Al-Qaeda was and is still a group which was formed by Bin Laden during the Soviet Union troops’ withdrawal from Afghanistan in order to conquer Afghanistan as their ruling realm. Al-Qaeda in 1988 and in a fatwa (religious order) announced that it is the duty of any Muslim to kill Americans in any part of the world. Bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Ahmed Rafia Taha, Mir Hamza and Fazl al-Rahman seemed to be the leaders of Al-Qaeda at that time.

According to the claims of the Americans, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, a senior member of Al-Qaeda, was one of the masterminds of the 9/11 terrorist attack.

Iran’s former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad several times during his speeches at the UN General Assembly attributed the 9/11 attack to the U.S, and called for forming a fact-finding committee. He also in his speech said: “9/11 is actually a pre-planned game for inciting the human community sentiments and for finding a pretext to attack at the Islamic region and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, and it has led to killing of one million innocent people in these regions.”

Among the different assumptions and analyses on the 9/11 event, activists in analyzing the role of Freemasonry’s role in today’s world have some views. They believe that 9/11 event had been planned years before being taken place. To prove their views, they point to the existing ambiguities in reporting the accident that the Twin Towers disaster and deaths of thousands of people was not actually carried out by Bin Laden’s men but it was done by the U.S., Freemasonries and Jews.

To proof this claim, they say it is enough only to fold a one-dollar note to see the picture of Twin Towers after being hit by Boeing planes.

 By: Hamid Reza Naghashian

The post September 11 Scenario Turns 19 appeared first on Iran News Daily.

The incident started late Saturday night when officers responded to a complaint about a stolen vehicle in Syracuse, in upstate New York.

When they arrived at the scene, they found hundreds of people in the street. People began running toward the officers saying that someone was shooting, Syracuse Police Chief Kenton Buckner said. The officers did not hear any gunshots, CNN reported.

It’s unclear what type of gathering it was. Officers found nine gunshot victims on the scene — one of whom is listed in critical condition and the other eight have injuries are not considered life-threatening. The victims were between ages 17 and 53.

Buckner said police don’t have any suspect information and no one is in custody.

“I believe we have two or three different scenes, so I don’t know which location contributed to what victims,” Buckner said.

Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh said he’s not aware of any city approvals issued for the gathering. “We wouldn’t issue approvals for a gathering of this size. So, we’re going to have to look into how it came to be,” he added.

Surrounding law enforcement agencies from the state, county, and other towns and villages responded to the scene.

The post ۹ Shot at Gathering in Upstate New York appeared first on Iran News Daily.

According To Iran News, New Yorkers stayed on the streets of New York City Thursday for another day of protests spurred by the death of George Floyd, including at a memorial service at the site where police used batons against demonstrators who were out past the city-imposed curfew the night before.

“You are not alone,” the large crowd at Brooklyn’s Cadman Plaza chanted before an emotional Terrence Floyd, wearing a mask and a T-shirt bearing his brother’s likeness, thanked them for their support of his brother, killed by Minneapolis police.

“I thank God for you all showing love to my brother,” he said, AP reported.

Of the demonstrations that have engulfed the city and the nation, and the violence that has taken place, he said, “I’m proud of the protests but I’m not proud of the destruction. My brother wasn’t about that. The Floyds are a God-fearing family.”

“Power to the people, all of us,” he said.

The memorial was part of a day of demonstrations around the city that once again continued past the city’s imposed curfew of 8 p.m., even as Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio sought to deflect criticism over harsh tactics from police enforcing it.

After curfew time, thousands of protesters were out, and so were police. In some places, they watched but didn’t immediately move in, while in others, they made orderly arrests without the batons and riot gear of previous nights.

Miguel Fernandes said there were “a lot more nights to go” of marching because protesters hadn’t got what they wanted.

“We’re still waiting for a conviction. We still haven’t gotten it,” Fernandes said. “All they’re doing is putting in charges. The system is not doing anything to make these guys pay for what they did.”

As darkness fell, cries of “George Floyd” and “No justice, no peace” continued to come from protesters, even as crowds shrank.

“It’s energetic,” said Kenyata Taylor. “It’s great to be alive, it’s history right now.

Demonstrators had been in Cadman Plaza, the site of Floyd’s memorial, on Wednesday night, when videos were taken of officers using batons and pepper spray on protesters who remained there after the curfew.

Both Democrats said they had not seen the widely shared videos, but later Cuomo tweeted that he was asking the state attorney general to investigate the incidents as part of her ongoing look into police tactics during the protests.

“Peaceful protest is a sacred American right,” Cuomo tweeted. “No peaceful protestor deserves to be hit with a baton and no self-respecting police officer would defend that.”

De Blasio spoke at the memorial, with the crowd booing and heckling from the moment he arrived, shouting over him as he urged that Floyd’s death not be in vain.

“We have too much to change in this city and this country,” the mayor said.

Even some of the speakers took shots at the mayor, criticizing his management of the NYPD and his administration’s response to the coronavirus.

Earlier, de Blasio said police have used “a lot of restraint” overall and added, “but if there’s anything that needs to be reviewed, it will be.”

NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea defended his officers and the department’s overall use of force.

The governor and mayor said protesters should abide by the 8 p.m. curfew put in place earlier this week to deter the violence, vandalism and destruction that followed protests Sunday and Monday nights.

Buffalo also enforced an 8 p.m. curfew Thursday night. Video from WBFO showed a Buffalo police officer appearing to shove a man who walked up to police clearing Niagara Square. The man falls straight backward and hits his head on the pavement, with blood leaking out as officers walk past.

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said the unidentified man is 75 years old, and in “stable but serious” condition at a hospital, according to a statement released late Thursday in which the mayor said he was “deeply disturbed” by the video.

Buffalo police initially said in a statement that a person “was injured when he tripped & fell,” WIVB-TV reported, but Capt. Jeff Rinaldo later told the TV station that an internal affairs investigation was opened. Police Commissioner Byron Lockwood suspended two officers late Thursday, the mayor’s statement said.

Cuomo tweeted that the incident caught on video was “wholly unjustified and utterly disgraceful,” endorsing the officers’ suspension. The state attorney general’s office tweeted that they were aware of the video.

Calls and emails to Buffalo police from The Associated Press seeking comment weren’t immediately returned.

New York City’s first citywide curfew in decades is set to remain in effect through at least Sunday, with the city planning to lift it at the same time it enters the first phase of reopening after more than two months of shutdowns because of the coronavirus.

Wednesday night unfolded without the vandalism and smash-and-grab sprees that forced merchants around the city to board their stores up preemptively, but police said a man ambushed officers on an anti-looting patrol in Brooklyn shortly before midnight, stabbing him in the neck. The attacker was shot by responding officers and was in critical condition.

Two officers suffered gunshot wounds to their hands in the chaos, but all three wounded officers were expected to recover.

The post ‘Power to the People’: George Floyd’s Brother Talks at NYC Memorial appeared first on Iran News Daily.

According To Iran News, More than 40 protesters were arrested in New York City after clashing with police over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis earlier this week.

The Justice for George Floyd protests started Thursday evening, with crowds of people gathering in Manhattan’s Union Square chanting different refrains against police violence, including “I can’t breathe” — the words Floyd said while he was handcuffed and pinned to the ground for almost 10 minutes, the officer’s knee on the back of his neck.

The phrase became a rallying cry after Eric Garner said it repeatedly while being taken down in a chokehold by NYPD officers on Staten Island in 2014. There were references to Garner and even Rodney King during the protest Thursday.

Around 4:15 p.m., a scuffle broke out involving some pushing and shoving between demonstrators and police, who were trying to keep the streets cleared for traffic and the crowd contained to inside the square. About 30 minutes later, another shoving match broke out. As tensions between protesters and police continued to rise, a third fight broke out after 5 p.m., more intense and aggressive than the previous two.

The protest was the latest example of the department’s struggles to enforce the state’s emergency coronavirus regulations, which prohibit the assembly of more than 10 people and require people to wear masks and stay at least six feet apart. Some protesters appeared to have masks on while others did not, but the tight grouping at the park did not allow for any sort of social distancing at a time when the city’s COVID-19 case count continues to rise. NYC is the only area in the state that still remains on a full shutdown under Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s PAUSE order.

Some demonstrations at Union Square ended around 5:30 p.m., with police giving chase to some members of the crowd while attempting to keep Broadway clear. However, there were still some protests continuing throughout the streets of Lower Manhattan as the night wore on, with protesters throwing objects. All were said to be under control, according to police.

A total of 40 people had been arrested throughout the night, the NYPD said.

Earlier on Thursday, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted that Floyd was “murdered in broad daylight,” adding, “If George was white, he would be alive right now.”

Another rally in the #JusticeforGeorgeFloyd movement is planned for Friday in Foley Square at 4 p.m.

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The media disputes among state governors of the U.S. in facing with the management of the U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House in his ways of dealing with the Coronavirus crisis in New York and Washington are totally different.

IRAN NEWS POLITICAL DESK

In the past five decades, the U.S. economy has been deeply rooted in New York and today, that very economy has inflicted the most damages on the West’s economy after the outbreak of the Coronavirus. Just some two weeks ago, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its report forcasted that the U.S. economy would shrink by 6% in 2020. In other words, the U.S. inevitably would withdraw the dominance of its national currency dollar in the world. In the IMF report, it has also been noted that European Union economy would also shrink by 7.5 percent and actually the West, in a deep and serious challenge with the Coronavirus, will be in economic decline, and New York is the capital of this challenge and decline.

The IMF report also forecasted that China’s economic growth will be one percent in 2020. It means the gap between economic growths of China and both Europe and the U.S. will be some 8 percent in just one year. It actually means that the hub of bourses and banking sector of the Wall Street have turned into the capital city of the Coronavirus in the world and this stunning pandemic can push all the West into an economic abyss.

This concern has also forced French President Emmanuel Macron to outspokenly say that in upcoming months it would be determined whether EU as a big economic and political project would collapse or it would challenge with the crisis to overcome it.

The concern about the collapse in New York is several times more than Europe but it has not become media headlines. Of course this concern can be seen apparently in the faces of American people and the U.S. media anchors.

Last week acclaimed American actor Robert De Niro in one of the most popular programs, The Late Show, launched a scathing attack on the performance of Trump’s Administration and mostly the White House regarding the management of the Coronavirus crisis. In his video interview and during his chat with the program’s anchor Stephen Colbert, he shared his COVID-19 experience and what he did in the lockdown phase and his dissatisfaction with the government’s services regarding the virus. De Niro reports that he doesn’t watch a whole lot of movies anymore, but he’s glued to the news. And these days, who isn’t? It feels like it’s been up-to-the-minute news updates for four non-stop years – and even more so now. He added it’s a lot of reading scripts, a bit of working out and “trying to stay alive.” The Irishman’ actor also explained that he has been lifting weights “to keep bone mass strong” and doing a lot of cardio and other routine exercises such as using a treadmill to be ready for his next  which will be a Coronavirus-themed movie where he is to play the role current New York governor Andrew Cuomo.

In his interview he strongly defended the performance of Cuomo and slammed Trump Administration’s in dealing with the Coronavirus crisis. On Cuomo’s performance, De Niro said, “Cuomo… he’s doing what a president should do.” Calling the pandemic “a national tragedy,” the actor expressed his disappointment in the current administration’s attempts to control the coronavirus outbreak.

De Niro who has acted in acclaimed movies like Raging Bull and Taxi Driver is popular among the American people as the cultural statue. On the central government, he labelled the U.S. President “an idiot” who largely ignored many of the warning signs. It’s all about him getting re-elected. I have no words for it anymore. I’m nonplussed. Dumbfounded …,” he added.

These remarks are like what French President Macron have made implicitly and they reveal the decayed root of American economy in facing of  New York as the center of country’s economy and Washington as the center of political management of the country.

Today Coronavirus pandemic in the world has turned into dominance of economic misery influence in different levels and with what I elaborated, New York City is considered as the capital of this crisis.

 By: Hamid Reza Naghashian

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