Iranian protests: World is watching response, US warns
December 30, 2017 by admin
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The US says “the world is watching” how Iranian authorities respond to anti-government protests that have broken out in several cities.
A White House statement said Iranians were fed up with “the regime’s corruption and its squandering of the nation’s wealth to fund terrorism”.
The US State Department condemned the arrests of dozens of protesters.
Thousands of people are said to have joined demonstrations in the cities of Kermanshah, Rasht, Isfahan and Qom.
The protests spread to the capital, Tehran, on Friday and social media footage showed a heavy police presence there.
It is the biggest display of public dissent since huge pro-reform rallies in 2009.
“The Iranian government should respect their people’s rights, including their right to express themselves. The world is watching,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Twitter.
The US State Department urged all nations “to publicly support the Iranian people and their demands for basic rights and an end to corruption”.
What is Iran saying about the protests?
First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri has suggested that government opponents are behind the protests, according to comments reported by state broadcaster IRIB.
He said: “Some incidents in the country these days are on the pretext of economic problems, but it seems there is something else behind them. They think by doing this they harm the government, but it will be others who ride the wave.”
Footage posted on social media showed street protests in Kermanshah
Earlier, Fars news agency reported that protesters in Kermanshah had destroyed some public property and were dispersed.
The governor-general of Tehran said that any such gatherings would be firmly dealt with by the police, who are out in force on the main roads.
Officials in Mashhad said the protest was organised by “counter-revolutionary elements”, and video online showed police using water cannon.
Meanwhile state TV said rallies were due to take place on Saturday to commemorate 2009 demonstrations held in support of the then conservative government of Mahmud Ahmedinejad.
Those demonstrations were in response to protests by reformists over a disputed election which returned Mr Ahmedinejad to power.
How did the demonstrations begin?
The current protests started in the north-eastern city of Mashhad – the country’s second most-populous – on Thursday.
People there took to the streets to express anger at the government over high prices, and vented their fury against President Hassan Rouhani. Fifty-two people were arrested for chanting “harsh slogans”.
The protests spread to other cities in the north-east, and some developed into broader demonstrations against the authorities, calling for the release of political prisoners and an end to police beatings.
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President Hassan Rouhani is blamed by many for the poor state of the economy
On Friday, despite warnings from authorities, the demonstrations spread further to some of the biggest cities in the country.
They represent the most serious and widespread expression of public discontent in Iran since 2009, correspondents say.
What is behind the unrest?
The protests were initially against economic conditions and corruption but appear to have turned political.
Slogans have been chanted against not just Mr Rouhani but Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and clerical rule in general.
Demonstrators were reportedly heard yelling slogans like “The people are begging, the clerics act like God”. Protests have even been held in Qom, a holy city home to powerful clerics.
There is also anger at Iran’s interventions abroad. In Mashhad, some chanted “not Gaza, not Lebanon, my life for Iran”, a reference to what protesters say is the administration’s focus on foreign rather than domestic issues.
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Other demonstrators chanted “leave Syria, think about us” in videos posted online. Iran is a key provider of military support to the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
It is also accused of providing arms to Houthi rebels fighting a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, which it denies, and is an ally of Lebanon’s powerful Shia movement Hezbollah.
Are the protests growing?
There have been calls on social media for protests up and down the country, despite warnings from the government against illegal gatherings.
Demonstrations of varying sizes are reported to have occurred in at least seven cities.
Overall, the numbers said to be taking part range from a less than 100 in some places to thousands in others – but demonstrations do not appear to be taking place on a massive scale.
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At least two dead, including shooter, in workplace gunfire in Long Beach
December 30, 2017 by admin
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A workplace shooting just before 2:30 p.m. in a quiet neighborhood of Long Beach on Friday left two men dead, including the shooter, officials said.
Long Beach police said they went to a law office in the Bixby Knolls neighborhood amid reports of an active shooter at large. They said they found multiple casualties but it was no longer considered an active shooting scene.
Authorities said the gunman died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and did not engage with police. Police found a weapon at the scene.
Two men died inside the law office, in the 300 block of San Antonio Drive, said Long Beach Police Department Sgt. Brad Johnson.
A third victim took himself to a hospital; he was listed as stable and is expected to survive. Johnson said all three men were employees of the law firm.
Long Beach City Councilman Al Austin, who was briefed by police, said the shooter — a former employee at the law offices of Larry H. Parker — killed one person and then himself. Austin represents the Bixby Knolls area.
Johnson, however, would not say whether the shooter was a former employee and would not specify which law office the man worked for.
The area was blocked off by police and fire crews. Several ambulances were on the scene.
The building’s windows were decorated with Christmas displays featuring candy canes and Santa Claus.
Joy Wilson said she had heard police sirens outside her home, about a block away from the shootings, and walked outside. There she saw about two dozen people running down San Antonio Drive, “looking like they were trying to get away.”
“They were definitely panicking,” Wilson said, standing near the police tape, helicopters buzzing overhead.
Police were there with assault rifles and technical gear.
“Something bad was happening,” she said. “They were moving.”
Residents said they were stunned by the violence.
“This is a very safe area,” said Agnes, 40, who lives in a nearby apartment and did not want to give her last name. She had strolled to Trader Joe’s when she came upon the crush of police cars and helicopters flying overhead.
“Everything was always fine. We have good neighbors — that is why I am in shock.”
Kelly Bray, 61, who lives in an apartment around the corner from where the shooting occurred, said he was on his way home when he saw the police helicopters.
“When you see helicopters over your home, and they’re police helicopters, that’s a bad sign,” he said.
He called his two sons, who were at the apartment, and told them not to leave. Then he walked up to the scene, where he saw dozens of police officers, some wearing body armor and helmets and carrying shotguns and M16s.
He saw paramedics staging at the nearby 7-Eleven and two police teams form on either side of San Antonio and approach the law office in a “conga line.” Other officers were crouched behind police cars on San Antonio, guns drawn.
Police then made him and others vacate the area.
“Nothing like this happens here,” he said.
UPDATES:
6:25 p.m.: This article was updated with additional information about the shooting, including from witness accounts.
5:10 p.m.: This article was updated with a quote from a city councilman.
4 p.m.: This article was updated with the death of a gunman.
This article was originally published at 3:22 p.m.