MONTERREY, Mexico ( Journalist Missing in Northern Mexico- Jose Gerardo Padilla was beaten a few months ago )

Journalist Missing in Northern Mexico

MONTERREY, Mexico – A radio and television announcer in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila is missing, state officials said.

Jose Gerardo Padilla Blanquet disappeared Tuesday in Saltillo, the capital of Coahuila, state security spokesman Jesus Carranza told Efe.

Padilla Blanquet’s friends and co-workers reported on social-networking sites that he was missing, Carranza said.

The journalist’s family filed a missing persons report on Wednesday, Carranza said.

Padilla Blanquet works for Radio Grande de Coahuila, whose director has received threats on numerous occasions and was beaten a few months ago.

State prosecutors are investigating Padilla Blanquet’s disappearance, Coahuila Public Safety Secretary Jose Gerardo Villarreal told the press.

“The deputy prosecutor’s office for investigating and finding missing persons immediately established a search protocol to try to locate him and we are fully supporting them in everything needed,” Villarreal said.

The mutilated body of Daniel Alejandro Martinez, a photographer for Mexico’s La Vanguardia newspaper, was found last week along with that of another young man in Saltillo.

The dismembered bodies of the 22-year-old Martinez and 23-year-old Julian Alejandro Zamora Gracia were found on April 24 in Los Arcos, a neighborhood in the southern section of Saltillo, the Coahuila state Attorney General’s Office said.

Media and press rights groups staged a protest Sunday in Mexico City and several other cities to call for an end to attacks on journalists and pressure officials to clear up crimes against members of the media.

An International Press Institute, or IPI, and World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers, or WAN-IFRA, delegation visited Mexico in February and called for more protection for journalists.

Both the IPI and Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, ranked Mexico as the fourth most dangerous country in the world for journalists in 2012, trailing only Syria, Somalia and Pakistan.

More than 80 journalists have been murdered and 18 others have been reported missing since 2005 in Mexico, the Mexican National Human Rights Commission, or CNDH, said in a report released in December.

Some 658 complaints were received from members of the news media from Jan. 1, 2005, to Nov. 30, 2012, the rights body said.

The war on drugs launched by former President Felipe Calderon, who was in office from 2006 to 2012, left about 70,000 people dead, or an average of 32 per day, in Mexico, officials say. EFE

Syria ( " Massacre " in a Sunni village near the Mediterranean coast )

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria's main opposition group on Friday accused President Bashar Assad's regime of committing a "large-scale massacre" in a Sunni village near the Mediterranean coast in which activists say at least 50 were killed with guns, knives and blunt objects.

 

The killings in Bayda reflect the sectarian overtones of Syria's civil war. Tucked in the mountains outside the Mediterranean coastal city of Banias, the village is primarily inhabited by Sunni Muslims, who dominate the country's rebel movement. But it is located in the heartland of Assad's Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam that is the backbone of the regime.

In amateur video purportedly taken after the killings, the bodies of at least seven men and boys are seen strewn in pools of blood on the pavement in front of a house as women weep around them.
"Don't sleep, don't move," one woman sobs, leaning over to touch one of the men, who appeared already dead. The video appears genuine and consistent with reporting by The Associated Press from the area.

MEXICO ( Media afraid to Talk - Might get Killed - Drug Wars ) See Video

Mexican Media Fearful of Reporting on Drug War

Thursday, May 2, 2013 | Borderland Beat ReporterBuggs

The United States has spent more than $1 billion supporting a war on drug cartels in Mexico.

But as US president Barack Obama heads to Mexico, the situation is still so desperate in some areas that local media are afraid to talk about it.Al Jazeera's Adam Raney reports from Reynosa in Mexico, near the US border.



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MEXICO CITY ( President Obama and Mexican President Pena Nieto Meet - And talk about violence in Mexico)

Obama and Peña Nieto Reaffirm Joint Cooperation
Obama said at a joint press conference after his meeting with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto that the two leaders agreed to continue the countries’ tight security coordination

MEXICO CITY – U.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday that he supports the Mexican government’s efforts to reduce violence in this country and emphasized that the bilateral relationship is “dynamic.”

Obama said at a joint press conference after his meeting with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto that the two leaders agreed to continue the countries’ tight security coordination.

He also promised “strong cooperation” from the U.S. as Mexico moves to reduce internal violence, particularly as it relates to organized crime, adding that Washington will work to “meet our responsibilities to reduce the demand for illegal drugs and reduce the southbound flow of guns and cash.”

For his part, Peña Nieto said that “the new strategy in the area of security in our country has a clear intent: fighting organized crime of whatever kind,” whether it be drug trafficking, kidnapping, extortion or anything else.

He also said that he had agreed with Obama to take joint measures to create a “more secure border,” albeit one that facilitates the passage of persons and goods.

Obama thanked Peña Nieto and the Mexican people in Spanish for their hospitality and he went on to express his support for the reforms undertaken by the Mexican leader’s government.

“What I have been impressed with is the president’s boldness in his reform agenda,” Obama said. “He’s tackling big issues, and that’s what the times demand. We live in a world that’s changing rapidly. ... We can’t be flat-footed as the world advances.”

If Mexico is successful in that effort, that will be good for the United States, the U.S. leader emphasized.

Obama and Peña Nieto, in a joint statement issued after their meeting, announced the creation of a high-level economic dialogue – the first meeting of which will take place this year – to promote competitiveness, productivity and connectivity, along with fostering economic growth and innovation.

“As Mexico works to become more competitive, you’ve got a strong partner in the United States because our success is shared,” Obama said, noting that annual bilateral trade now exceeds $500 billion.

The United States is Mexico’s largest customer and Mexico is the second-largest market for U.S. exports.

The two presidents also reconfirmed their commitment to concluding the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) with Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.

With regard to immigration reform, Obama said that he is “optimistic” that the U.S. Congress will pass a comprehensive reform package. “If we’re going to get that done, now is the time to do it,” he said.

The majority of foreign-born immigrants in the United States are Mexicans, and many of them are undocumented.

The two leaders also spoke about the importance of working together with Canada with an eye toward making North America the world’s most dynamic and competitive region.

Obama and Peña Nieto also concluded agreements in the educational area and reaffirmed their commitment to act as jointly responsible partners in the area of public safety.

Obama arrived in Mexico on Thursday on an official visit that will focus on economic issues.

After his meeting with Peña Nieto, he returned to a hotel in the exclusive Polanco neighborhood, where he is scheduled to meet with local U.S. Embassy personnel and on Thursday evening Obama will attend a dinner in his honor hosted by the Mexican president. EFE

New Delhi ( 22 year-old woman gangraped by two brother in law's -And three other men )

New Delhi: A 22-year-old woman accused five people, including two of her brothers-in-law, of raping her in south Delhi, police said on Wednesday.
In her complaint to police, the young woman alleged that she was gangraped by the five men late Tuesday night. The three others involved in the crime were friends of her brothers-in-laws, police said. The accused have all been arrested.
According to the woman, a resident of RK Puram, the men came to meet her husband for some personal work on Tuesday night. The woman said her husband was not at home at the time, but when she returned to her house, she found the men drinking alcohol there.

Women protest the 16 December Delhi gangrape. AP

“She left to go elsewhere, but the men overpowered her and took her to an empty plot,” a police official said, quoting victim’s complaint.
“They snatched her bag and took turns to rape her. The woman somehow fled and sought help from a passerby who made a call to the police control room,” the official said.
“She was rushed to AIIMS Trauma Centre for medical examination. Her medical examination confirmed gangrape,” the officer said, quoting the woman’s complaint. On the basis of her statement, the police officer said, a case of gangrape was registered.
The accused were arrested after late-night raids, and presented before a magistrate who sent the five to judicial custody for 14 days, the officer said.

SIOUX FALLS ( Man tries to extort Indian Tribe- James Czywczynski wants 4.9 million for Wounded Knee property)

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A small patch of prairie sits largely unnoticed off a desolate road in southwestern South Dakota, tucked amid gently rolling hills and surrounded by dilapidated structures and hundreds of gravesites — many belonging to Native Americans massacred more than a century earlier.

The assessed value of the property: less than $14,000. The seller's asking price: $4.9 million.

Tribal members say the man who owns a piece of the Wounded Knee National Historic Landmark on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is trying to profit from their suffering. It was there, on Dec. 29, 1890, that 300 Native American men, women and children were killed by the 7th Cavalry in the final battle of the American Indian Wars.

James Czywczynski, whose family has owned the property since 1968, is trying to sell the 40-acre fraction of the historic landmark and another 40-acre parcel for $4.9 million. He had given the Oglala Sioux Tribe until Wednesday to agree to the price, after which he said he'd open it up to outside investors.

Oglala Sioux tribal president Bryan Brewer told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the tribe does not have the money to buy the land and that, even if it did, tribal members shouldn't have to buy back something that is theirs.
"We are hoping no one will buy this land. And I'd like to tell investors that if someone thinks they can go down there and commercialize this, it will never happen. We will not allow it," he said.
Czywczynski did not return repeated calls from The Associated Press by Wednesday evening to see whether outside investors are now able to bid for the land. Earlier this month he told the AP he had three offers from West Coast-based investment groups interested in buying the land for the original asking price.
The ultimatum has caused anger among many tribal members and descendants of the massacre victims.
"I know we are at the 11th hour, but selling this massacre site and using the victims as a selling pitch is, for lack of a better word, it's grotesque," said Nathan Blindman, 56, whose grandfather was 10 when he survived the massacre. "To use the murdered children, the murdered teenagers, the unborn, women screaming and running for their lives, using that as a selling pitch ... that has got to be the most barbaric thing ever to use as a selling pitch."
Czywczynski acknowledges the historical significance adds value to each parcel of land, which have each been appraised at less than $7,000 apiece, according to records reviewed by the AP.

Besides its proximity to the burial grounds, the land includes the site of a former trading post burned down during the 1973 Wounded Knee uprising, in which hundreds of American Indian Movement protesters occupied the town built at the massacre site. The 71-day standoff that left two tribal members dead and a federal agent seriously wounded is credited with raising awareness about Native American struggles and giving rise to a wider protest movement that lasted the rest of the decade.

The land sits on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, home to the Oglala Sioux Tribe, but many of the descendants of the massacre victims and survivors are members of several different Lakota tribes, said Joseph Brings Plenty, a former chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and a traditional chief.
Brings Plenty said the tribes are not in a position to pay millions of dollars for the land. Although tribal members are not opposed to development that would preserve, beautify or better educate the public about the land and its history, they are opposed to commercialization, he said.
"You don't go and dance on grandma and grandpa's grave to turn a hefty dollar sign," he said.
Tribal members and descendants have reached out to President Barack Obama to make the site a National Monument, which would better guard it against development and commercialization, Brings Plenty said.
But even if an outside investor buys the land with intent to develop, there will be obstacles, said Craig Dillon, an Oglala Sioux Tribal Council member. The tribe could pass new laws preventing the buyer from actually building at the site.
"Whoever buys that is still going to have to deal with the tribe," Dillon said. "Access is going to be an issue. Development is going to be an issue. I'm not threatening anybody, but my tone is be aware you have to deal with the tribe if you purchase it."
There are nearly 2,500 national historic landmarks across the country, with the vast majority of them owned by private landowners, said Don Stevens, chief of the History and National Register Program in the Midwest Region for the National Park Service.
"We advocate for preservation and we always express concern about potential harm for their care," Stevens said, adding that the NPS does not have any legal authority.
Still, a site can lose its designation if it does not retain its physical integrity, he said. One example is Soldier Field in Chicago, which lost the designation when it was remodeled a decade ago because it changed its physical character.
As for the Wounded Knee site, Stevens said any development could potentially affect the Historic Landmark designation.
"Certainly you would hear a hue and cry about that type of thing," he said. "And certainly if we saw something going up, we'd express our concern, even if we don't have a legal jurisdiction to intercede, we'd express our concern."

Boston Bombing ( New suspects and their car with the " Terrorista # 1 plate " )

Boston.com The two men, Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev, came to America from the Central Asian Muslim nation to study at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, where Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was also enrolled. The law enforcement official did not release the name of the third person arrested.

Tazhayakov (left), the 19-year-old Kadyrbayev (middle), and Marathon bomber Tsarnaev together in Times Square: (checking out potential bombing spots?)

The Boston police Web page said that three additional “suspects” had been taken into custody. It emphasized that there was no threat to public safety. Harlan J. Protass, a criminal lawyer from New York who is representing Tazhayakov, confirmed today that Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev were taken into custody.

Kadyrbayev’s car license plate reads ‘TERRORISTA # 1′:

Close-up of plate