Haitian Prime Minister Max Bellerive has criticized a group of Americans who allegedly abducted more than 30 children during the post-quake mayhem.

Haitian police detained 10 members of a US charity group, called ‘New Life Children’s Refuge’, when they were trying to cross into the Dominican Republic with 33 children without the proper papers.

The children, who range in age from two months to 14 years, all have family members that survived the devastating January 12 earthquake.

“It is clear now that they were trying to cross the border without papers. It is clear now that some of the children have live parents,” Bellerive told the Associated Press on Monday.

“And it is clear now that they knew what they were doing was wrong,” he added.

However, the head of the Idaho-based group, Laura Silsby said they were “just trying to do the right thing,” admitting she had not obtained the required passports, birth certificates and adoption certificates for the children.

Bellerive also said that Haiti is open to having the Americans tried in the US, since the quake demolished most government buildings, including Haiti’s courts.

In response, US State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the case remains firmly in Haitian hands for now.

“Once we know all the facts, we will determine what the appropriate course is, but the judgment is really up to the Haitian government,” he said.

Haitian officials insist on prosecution to help deter child trafficking, which many fear will flourish in the chaos caused by the incident.

In a meeting today with thousands of students and families of martyrs, Imam Khamenei the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution described the US as a truly arrogant power. The meeting was held on the occasion of Aban 13th, the national day for opposing the global arrogance.

His Eminence said that the Iranian nation will not be deceived by the so-called conciliatory tone of the US as long as it maintains its arrogant attitude and continues to threaten other countries.

Imam Khamenei said that the Iranian nation will by no means give up its rights and independence and will continue to safeguard its national interests.

Imam Ali Khamenei further touched on the prerequisites for true, logical, and firm resistance. He said: “Motivation that is rooted in faith is a necessary factor for putting up such resistance because nations cannot be forced to mount resistance in difficult circumstances.”

Imam Khamenei referred to insight as the second prerequisite for mounting true, logical, and firm resistance and reiterated: “The current situation of the world and the unique and exceptional position of the Islamic Republic in the world is the reason behind stressing insight because in the current situation every movement requires public insight.”

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution said that knowing the arrogant powers is a prerequisite for resisting against them, further adding: “Arrogant powers are the powers which interfere in other countries’ internal affairs using their military, financial and propaganda facilities. They interfere in other countries’ affairs as if they own them.”

Imam Khamenei referred to the US actions in different countries of the world, particularly in Islamic countries, and described the US as a truly arrogant power. He added: “After the victory of the Islamic Revolution when the Iranian nation proved its power by overthrowing the corrupt and dependent Pahlavi regime, the US government started to hatch plots against the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic instead of apologizing to the Iranian nation and making up for the harmful blows which they had dealt to the Iranian nation. The US embassy was then turned into a center for espionage and hatching plots against the Islamic Republic.”

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution said that the US has so far done everything in its power against the Iranian nation and stated: “The result of such confrontation has been the increasing progress of the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic as well as the increasing power of the country and the Islamic system.”

Imam Khamenei further referred to some of the recent so-called conciliatory remarks by the American officials and said: “Whenever the US officials have put on a so-called friendly smile, we have found out after careful analysis that they have evil intentions behind that smile and that their intentions have not changed.”

Elsewhere, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution referred to the apparently pleasing remarks and constant messages of the American President for engaging in negotiations with Iran and solving the current problems. His Eminence said: “From the beginning, the stance of the Islamic Republic was to avoid acting in a judgmental manner and to wait for the practical manifestations of the US president’s slogan of change. But so far, what has been observed in practice has been contrary to what was said before.”

Imam Khamenei also referred to his new-year remarks in Mashhad, when he said “if the hand that is extended to Iran is an iron hand covered with a velvet glove, the Islamic Republic will not extend its hand” and stated: “On the one hand, the American officials talk of negotiation. But on the other hand, they continue their threats, saying that the negotiations should produce their desired result, or they will show certain reactions.”

He said that this is the type of relationship which Imam Khomeini (r.a.) rejected.

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution said: “When there were only two superpowers in the world who agreed on the issue of opposing the Islamic Republic, the Iranian nation stood up to them and brought them to their knees. This should be a lesson for the Americans because they are not the power they once were. And the Islamic Republic has got even stronger since that time.”

Imam Khamenei said that the Iranian nation is seeking to gain independence and freedom and to achieve progress in science and technology. He stated that the Iranian nation will bring to its knees any power that intends to encroach on its rights.

He said that the US government will become a government like other governments for the Islamic Republic if it abandons its arrogant attitude and stops interfering in other countries’ affairs. “But as long as they are planning to regain power in Iran and dominate our country, they will not be able to make the Iranian nation retreat,” he noted.

Imam Khamenei said that the post-election events should not create any hope for the Americans because “the Islamic Republic is a strongly-rooted system and the Islamic Republic has managed to overcome even more difficult problems”.

Imam Khamenei further stressed: “The Americans should know that the few people who are confronting the Islamic Republic, whether with wicked intentions or with bad intentions which are accompanied by naivety, cannot roll out the red carpet for the Americans because the Iranian nation is standing firm in this regard.”

In another part of his speech, Imam Khamenei said that the country and its future belong to the youth and said that the country should be protected by relying on strong determination which is rooted in faith. He added that genuine power can be gained through gaining knowledge and doing research.

Imam Khamenei said gaining knowledge should be integrated with religious motivation in order to gain genuine power. He further stressed that the superpowers and their followers inside the country have no option but to retreat when faced with a faithful and determined nation.

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Imam Ali Khamenei has said that the Iranian nation will not be deceived by deceptive conciliatory positions adopted by the United States.

“The Iranian nation will not be deceived by ostensibly conciliatory remarks and will never comprise on its independence, freedom, national interests, and rights,” he said in a meeting with students in Tehran on Tuesday.

He made the remarks a day before the anniversary of the seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran, which occurred on November 4, 1979.

“Every time the Americans smiled (at Iran)… it turned out that they were also holding a dagger behind their backs, and their intention has not changed,” he stated.

“If the country’s officials are intelligent, experienced, and concerned about national interests, they will not be tricked by these smiles,” he said.

The United States should not pin its hopes on certain incidents that occurred after the June 12 presidential election because the Islamic Republic of Iran has deep roots, and the Islamic system can weather much heavier storms, the Supreme Leader stated.

Commenting on U.S. President Barack Obama’s New Year message to Iran in March, he said, “The Islamic Republic of Iran decided from the very beginning not to prejudge and to (wait and) see if the slogan of change was put into practice, but in this period, whatever was done was the opposite of what was said,” he added.

Imam Khamenei said that in the struggle against the global arrogance, the motivation inspired by faith is the main tool since no one can force a nation to resist in difficult situations.

Arrogance means that a power or certain powers interfere in other countries’ internal affairs through their financial, military, and propaganda apparatuses as if they own these countries, he added.

Soon after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, instead of apologizing to the Iranian nation and compensating for the damage it had done to the country, the U.S. began conspiring against the Iranian nation and the Islamic system, he said.

And the U.S. embassy in Tehran was turned into a center for espionage activities and conspiring against Iran, he noted.

In the struggle against the global arrogance, the younger generation is not less motivated than the generation of the Islamic Revolution, and it is necessary to make a distinction between a few revolutionaries who are regretful about their past and the rest of the nation and the youth, he observed.

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Imam Ali Khamenei Tuesday appreciated the resistance shown by the Iranian nation in the face of difficulties, and cautioned the US not to count on the post-election events in Iran as a means or platform for staging its plots against the Iranians.

“The Americans should not pin hope on some post-election issues and frenzies as the Islamic Republic of Iran is more profound and rooted than what they think and the Islamic Republic has surmounted much harder events than these issues,” Imam Khamenei stressed, addressing the students, pupils and the families of Iranian martyrs here in Tehran.

Referring to the US plots against Iran during the last 30 years after the Islamic Revolution, he underlined, “As long as the US administration maintains its arrogant spirit and threats, the Iranian nation will not be deceived by the fake conciliatory face of the US administration and will not give up its independence, freedom, national interests and rights at all.”

The Iranian Leader also reiterated that the US has done everything within its possibilities against the Iranian nation, and added this confrontation resulted in the further prosperity of the Iranian nation, progress of the Islamic Republic and increasing power of Iran and the Islamic Republic.

He underlined that the Iranian nation is seeking independence, freedom, national interests and progress in science and technology, and said if any country wants to disregard the Iranian nation’s rights, the people will stand against it with maximum power and will bring it to its knees.

A majority of Americans believe the US is headed down the wrong track, according to a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll conducted Oct. 22-25.

Fifty-two percent say the country is on the wrong track compared to 36 percent who say it is headed in the right direction with 9 percent saying conditions are mixed and 3 percent undecided.

While there have been pluralities saying America is on the wrong track in four of the previous five polls during Obama’s presidency.

In April 43 percent said things were on the right track and an equal number said they were going in the opposite direction.

The approval ratio for his handling of the economy has dipped from 51 in September to 47 percent in October. Forty-nine percent are very dissatisfied with the state of the economy and another 31 percent are somewhat dissatisfied.

Sixty-four percent don’t see the improvement in the stock market as real evidence the economy is improving.

On health care, 42 percent say the reform plan Obama is pushing is a bad idea, 38 percent say it’s a good idea and 16 percent have no opinion, with another 4 percent unsure.

Revelations by the brother of Jundallah leader Abdolmalek Rigi indicate that the US has promised the anti-Iran terrorist group a safe haven in Pakistan.

In a recent interview with Press TV, Abdulhamid Rigi, who is in Iran’s custody, claimed he had visited the US Embassy in Pakistan, asking the Americans to cooperate with the terrorist group.

“The most important issue that I raised was Jundallah’s security in Pakistan,” he said.

The Pakistan-based Jundallah has claimed responsibility for several deadly attacks in Iran, killing dozens of civilians and government and military officials.

The latest terror act carried out by the group killed at least 40 people, including top Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) commanders, in southeastern Iran.

According to Abdulhamid Rigi, the group is backed by the US.

“I told the Americans that we needed support from the media, newspapers, radios and satellite channels to get our message across to the Baluch around the world,” he said.

According to him, the Pakistani government knows about the whereabouts of the Jundallah terror group.

“It is impossible to believe that Pakistan is unaware of Jundallah’s presence on its soil,” he said. “Pakistan is a perfect haven for Jundallah.”

Eight new fatalities Tuesday made October the deadliest month yet for US forces in Afghanistan, as President Barack Obama announced a key meeting with army chiefs to discuss his troop decision.

The latest attacks, which were claimed by the Taliban, came the day after 14 US soldiers died in helicopter crashes, piling pressure on Obama as he mulls sending tens of thousands more troops.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama had summoned the Joint Chiefs of Staff to a meeting on Friday to get their input as he winds down a review before making his decision on troop levels.

So far this year, 445 foreign soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan, according to an AFP tally based on that kept by the independent website icasualties.org. Of those, 277 were Americans.

One of six American live in poverty, a new report finds, leading to the implication that the US poverty level is even worse than first believed.

The National Academy of Science (NAS) formula calculates the poverty rate to be at 15.8 percent, or nearly 1 in 6 Americans, according to new estimates released this week. That’s higher than the 13.2 percent, or 39.8 million, figure made available recently under the original US government formula, the Associated Press reports.

That government formula was created in 1955 and does not factor in the rising costs of medical care, transportation, child care or the geographical variations of living. Nor does it consider the non-cash governmental aid when calculating income.

According to the revised NAS formula, nearly 18.7 percent of Americans, 65 and older, or nearly 7.1 million, live in poverty, compared to the 9.7 percent, or 3.7 million figure, under the traditional formula. Approximately 14.3 percent of people 18 to 64, or 27 million, live in poverty in the US, compared to 11.7 percent under the traditional calculations. Many of the new poor are the low-income, working people with transportation and child-care costs.

Food stamp assistance is currently at an all-time high of about 36 million.