Turkey ( 100 plainclothes police to catch man beating women in Istanbul )

Heavy Police Presence In Samatya After Attacks On Armenians

• From: Mihran Keheyian <mkeheyian@gmail.com>
• Date: Sat, 26 Jan 2013 16:22:57 +0400 (AMT)

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HEAVY POLICE PRESENCE IN SAMATYA AFTER ATTACKS ON ARMENIANS

http://www.armenianweekly.com/2013/01/25/heavy-police-presence-in-samatya-after-attacks-on-armenians/
January 25, 2013

ISTANBUL, Turkey (A.W.)-The Armenian neighborhood of Samatya in
Istanbul is now under heavy police patrol after a series of attacks
against elderly Armenian women in recent weeks, the Armenian Weekly
has learned from activists and sources in Samatya.

Agos headline: Turkey Silent as Attacks Continue The Istanbul Aksaray
Police department has announced that there are 20 police patrols in
the neighborhood, and around 100 plainclothes policemen have also
been dispatched to Samatya.

Police has also announced that one person might be behind all recent
attacks, while activists the Weekly has communicated with question
that scenario.

The Samatya area is home to many Armenians. The community is weary of these attacks, and calls for caution have been made. Agos: Turkey Silent as Attacks Continue


The front page headline in this week's issue of Agos, the Turkish Armenian newspaper founded by Hrant Dink, reads "Turkey Silent, Attacks Continue" (see photo). On Sunday, Jan. 27, The Istanbul branch of the Human Rights Association, Nor Zartonk (young Armenians' socialist initiative) and AKADER (Antolian Peoples' Culture association) will hold a rally in Samatya in solidarity with the Armenian community there. In recent days, a few media outlets and politicians have broken the silence on the issue, while overall, Turkey remains silent. One murder, at least three other attacks in recent weeks In recent weeks, there have been several attacks against Armenians in Istanbul, mostly in Samatya. In early December an Armenian woman was attacked and robbed; while months earlier an Armenian woman was attacked by a taxi driver and called an infidel.

On Jan. 6, three assailants tried to kidnap an elderly Armenian woman, according to Turkish sources. The attempt failed. According to human rights activists, the common thread that runs through all of these crimes is not just their being motivated by hate or being committed in an environment that breeds intolerance against Armenians, but also the efforts of the authorities to play them down. The Armenian Weekly will continue following up on this issue.

Turkey ( 2 Armenian women attacked in Istanbul in Past 24 Hours )

TWO ARMENIAN WOMEN ATTACKED IN ISTANBUL IN PAST 24 HOURS

http://www.armenianweekly.com/2013/01/23/breaking-news-two-armenian-women-attacked-in-istanbul-in-past-24-hours/
January 23, 2013

Second attack not confirmed independently

ISTANBUL, Turkey-Two elderly Armenian women were attacked in
Istanbul's Samatya district on Jan 22 and 23, less than a month after
an 84-year-old Armenian woman was brutally murdered in Istanbul,
raising the number of violent attacks against elderly Armenian women
to at least four in recent months.


Two elderly Armenian women were attacked in Istanbul's Samatya district
on Jan 22 and 23.

The Jan. 22 attack happened around 5 p.m. when the victim, 83-year-old
Sultan Aykar was about to enter her ground-floor apartment. She then
saw the intruder and, frightened, she fell. The attacker proceeded to
kick her. Hearing her screams, neighbors came down, scaring off the
masked man, reported Bianet. The neighbors described the attacker as
a male between the ages of 35 and 40, with gray hair, and dressed in
black. During the attack, Aykar suffered damage to her eye. She has
now lost sight in that eye, despite surgery on Jan. 23. The victim's
daughter, Menzar Etik, said her mother did not have any enemies, as
she was a quiet woman. Etik did not believe the attacker's intention
was robbery, as the attacker did not attempt to steal her purse,
and there was nothing more than a broken TV in her apartment.

Today (Jan. 23), another attack was reported on yet another elderly
Armenian woman. The attack happened on the street, near the Samatya
High School, sources reported. The two assailants ran away. The victim
was covered with blood. Shortly thereafter, she disappeared.

Community members and plainclothes policemen have been unable to find
or identify the woman.

The Armenian Weekly could not independently confirm the report on
today's attack.

In turn, Agos editor Rober Koptas told the Weekly, "We spoke to
churchmen, taghagans, shopkeepers, police, and lots of people but
none of them confirmed it."

The Samatya area is home to many Armenians. The community is weary
of these attacks, and calls for caution have been made.

In recent years, there have been several attacks against Armenians
in Turkey. In early December another Armenian woman was attacked and
robbed; while months earlier an Armenian woman was attacked by a taxi
driver and called an infidel.

On Jan. 6, three assailants tried to kidnap an elderly Armenian woman,
according to Turkish sources. The attempt failed.

According to human rights activists, the common thread that runs
through all of these crimes is not just their being motivated by hate
or being committed in an environment that breeds intolerance against
Armenians, but also the efforts of the authorities to play them down
and cover them up.

The Armenian Weekly will continue following up on this issue.

Britain ( Husband and wife got DNA testing - All 4 kids look different ) Nice story

 

26/01/2013 12:51:00 // News | General | Black father and white mother, and their four children who all look completely different from each other

0Google +0

 

Tess and Chris Giddings knew when they started a family they would be making an inevitable contribution to multicultural Britain.What they didn’t expect was that they’d start their own melting pot.
For the children produced by the blue-eyed blonde and her black-skinned husband cover just about every spectrum of the inter-racial rainbow.
Or, as Chris proudly describes it: ‘We’re like a box of chocolates – dark ones, brown ones and white ones.’ The couple’s remarkable brood includes a daughter who shares mum’s fair skin and eye colour; her golden complexioned sister; their olive-skinned big brother; and the latest arrival, a button-nosed, black baby boy who looks just like dad.
Precisely how they ended up with four such different children is doubtless of great interest to geneticists, but it came as a surprise to Tess, a former model, and Chris, a store supervisor.
At one stage they even wondered whether daughter Amiah, the palest on the Giddings family colour chart, might have been switched at birth with another child at Colchester General Hospital.
Yet the couple’s attitude to rainbow family life is refreshingly black and white.
‘We couldn’t care less what colour they are,’ said Tess, 24. ‘They are a great joy to us and we couldn’t be happier.’
After their first child, Jacob, now six, was born at Southend General Hospital in Essex, Tess and Chris, from Colchester, watched him develop into a perfect blend of his parents – with olive skin, blue eyes, and soft, curly brown hair.Savannah, now four, was born at the same hospital and looked almost identical to her big brother as a baby, but is growing up with slightly paler skin and lighter hair.
Then along came Amiah. ‘When she was born we only got a quick glimpse of her because her blood sugar level was so low, and she was whisked away for treatment before a wristband could be put on her,’ said Tess.
‘When she came back an hour or so later, and I got a proper look at her, I couldn’t believe how white she was.
‘I said to Chris: “Do you think they’ve given us the wrong baby?” Chris never for one moment thought I’d cheated on him. He was my first boyfriend, we’re happily married and there was never any doubt about that.

'It's so nice having children who are all a bit different. They are all gorgeous and we love them all the same', said Tess Giddings

‘The question was: was she switched? We knew it was unlikely but you do hear about it. ‘People kept coming up to me in the street asking if my children had different fathers. I’d never ask anyone that, but people were very blatant.’ To rule out any doubt about a hospital mix-up, the couple agreed to a DNA test. It proved Amiah was 100 per cent Giddings. But baby Zion was about to make the mix even more diverse.
He was born a year ago with dark skin, black curly hair and brown eyes. ‘When we first saw him, Chris nearly fell over,’ said Tess.
‘He took one look at him in the delivery room and said: “Oh my god, he’s black!” The midwife just stared at him in astonishment and said: “You do know you’re a black man, don’t you?”
‘We were laughing and Chris said: “You don’t understand – I have one child who is completely white!”.’

Chris, 33, was born in Britain two years after his parents emigrated from Nairobi, Kenya.
Tess said: ‘Zion has got darker and is the only one with brown eyes. He has completely got Chris’s genes, whereas Amiah has got whiter. She has straight, blonde hair and light blue eyes.
‘It’s so nice having children who are all a bit different. They are all gorgeous and we love them all the same.’
Aside from an occasional raised eyebrow, the family has never encountered racism.
‘Thankfully, most people are colour blind these days,’ added Tess. ‘Our children are living proof of that.’
DailyMail

Mexico Border ( Agua Prieta- across from douglas az -Man tortured and hanged from bridge)

Man tortured, hanged from bridge in Agua Prieta

 

2013-01-28T16:04:00ZMan tortured, hanged from bridge in Agua PrietaArizona Daily StarArizona Daily Star

3 hours ago • Arizona Daily Star

A man between 25 and 30 years old who showed signs of torture was found hanging from a bridge in Agua Prieta, Sonora Saturday night, according to Mexican media reports.
The man had not been identified by Monday afternoon, but he was described as thin and about 5 feet 6 inches tall, according to El Diario de Sonora.
The man had been severely beaten, the office of the attorney general in Sonora says. An empty purple handbag was found around the man’s neck, Radio Xeny reported.
The investigation is ongoing.

Iran news ( Northwestern Iran Crack Dealer Hung in the prison of Mianeh ) 890 grams of crack

One prisoner was hanged in northwestern Iran

Monday 28 January 2013

[English] [فارسى]

Iran Human Rights, January 28: One prisoner was hanged in the prison of Mianeh (northwestern Iran) reported the official Iranian news agency IRNA today.
The prisoner who was not identified by name was convicted of selling 890 grams of crack. He was also sentenced to pay 3 million rials for being a drug addict, said the report.

TURKEY Istanbul ( American Woman Missing - Possible Abduction or foul play ) Sarai Sierra

NEW YORK (AP) — Relatives of a missing New York City woman who disappeared during a vacation to Turkey, her first trip outside the U.S., are heading to Istanbul to look for her, her brother said Sunday.

Sarai Sierra's family was last in touch with her on Monday, the day she was supposed to start her journey home. The 33-year-old mother of two had been in Turkey on her own since Jan. 7.

Her brother David Jimenez told The Associated Press that he and Sierra's husband, Steven, were planning to leave for Turkey on Sunday night. He said he had no return date planned.

"I don't want to come home without my sister," he said.

Sierra planned to head to the Galata Bridge, a well-known tourist destination that spans the Golden Horn waterway, to take some photographs, said her mother, Betzaida Jimenez. Her daughter then supposed to begin traveling home and was scheduled to arrive in New York City on Tuesday afternoon.
Sierra's father went to pick her up at the airport and "waited there for hours" with no sign of his daughter, Jimenez said.
Sierra had planned to go on the trip with a friend but ended up going by herself when the friend couldn't make it. She was looking forward to exploring her hobby of photography, her family said.
"I was nervous. I didn't want my daughter to go," Jimenez said, but the trip had passed smoothly with Sierra in regular contact with her family and friends through text messaging and phone calls.

"She would always call and let us know, 'This is what I did today,'" Jimenez said.

When she didn't show up in New York City, her husband called the place where she had been staying, David Jimenez said. The owner of the hostel checked her room and saw that her passport, equipment chargers and other items were still there.
"It looked like she was just stepping out," he said.

The family has been in touch with authorities in their efforts to find her. No one was available to comment after hours Sunday at Istanbul police headquarters. Crime in Turkey is generally low and Istanbul is a relatively safe city for travelers, though there are areas where women would be advised to avoid going alone at night. The Galata and the nearby Galata Bridge areas have been gentrified and are home to fish restaurants, cafes and boutiques.

Sierra's children, ages 11 and 9, do not know their mother is missing, her brother said. Betzaida Jimenez said the situation has "been a nightmare."
"I'm forcing myself to get up because I have to get up," she said.
But she said the tight-knit family was holding onto their faith.

"We're praying and trusting God that she's safe somewhere and we're going to find her," she said.

___

Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed to this report. Follow Deepti Hajela at www.twitter.com/dhajela

Japan ( 115 high school girls arrested for giving "rub down" ) Massage

17 'relaxation' establishments raided; 76 high school girls in custody

CrimeJan. 28, 2013 - 01:50PM JST( 38 )

TOKYO —

Police in Tokyo on Sunday conducted simultaneous raids on 17 establishments in Tokyo for using high school girls to perform “relaxation services.” Police said 115 girls aged between 16 and 22 were taken out of the establishments. Of those, 76 were younger than 18 and were taken into custody, according to a TBS report on Monday.
The establishments, known as “JK rifure,” which is a contraction of the Japanese for “high school girl massage,” allow customers to receive massages from high school girls and to sleep next to them in private rooms. Police say such establishments, with names like “sweet jewel,” have been appearing at a rapid rate across the country, with around 80 having now opened in the center of Tokyo, most of them in Akihabara.
TBS said that police raids revealed that some establishments had been knowingly breaking the law by employing girls under the age of 18. Police say that dozens of young girls were taken into care in the raids.
According to police, many of the girls said they were introduced to the job by their friends who said they could earn up to 20,000 yen a day, TBS reported