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MEAN STREETS MEDIA
Monday, February 24, 2014
MOSCOW ( Russian riot police detained over a hundred protesters on Monday )
MOSCOW: Russian riot police detained over a hundred protesters on Monday at a Moscow courthouse where seven opponents of President Vladimir Putin were jailed from two and a half to four years over a demonstration that turned violent.
The protesters, who blame police for the violence in central Moscow in 2012, demanded the release of the defendants and shouted “shame” and “Maidan” — a reference to the Kiev square that has been the focus of protests that brought the overthrow of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich.
Among those detained were two members of the punk protest band Pussy Riot, released in December near the end of two-year sentences for their own anti-Putin protest in Moscow’s main cathedral in 2012. Alexei Navalny, who emerged from a wave of protests that year as the top opposition leader, was also held.
Relatives and lawyers of the seven said they believed the upheaval in neighboring Ukraine, where police were among the dead in a conflict the Kremlin blames on opposition leaders and the West, had prompted the court to impose prison sentences as a signal that such actions would not be tolerated in Russia.
A Russian state TV news show host linked the trial with the events in Ukraine in a broadcast on Sunday, saying the bloodshed that killed at least 82 people in Kiev last week had started with actions similar to the 2012 anti-Putin protest.
Defense lawyer Dmitry Agranovsky said he would appeal his client Yaroslav Belousov’s two-and-a-half-year prison sentence.
“These sentences are cruel and wrong. They were handed down because of the political situation...We hope our appeal will show that they made a mistake and the defendants won’t have to answer for the Maidan.” An eighth defendant was given a suspended sentence that allows her to avoid jail, but the rulings caused outrage among Kremlin critics who see the prisoners as victims of a clampdown on dissent during Putin’s third term as president.
Opposition activists said more than 230 people were detained by riot police grabbing protesters and dragging them to waiting buses. Police put the figure at more than 100.
The judge on Friday had found the defendants guilty of rioting and attacking police at a protest on May 6, 2012, the day before Putin, in power since 2000, returned to the presidency after a stint as prime minister.
The defendants — seven men and a woman, most of them in their 20s — blame police for the clashes that erupted and pleaded not guilty. The men have been in custody since 2012.
The protesters, who blame police for the violence in central Moscow in 2012, demanded the release of the defendants and shouted “shame” and “Maidan” — a reference to the Kiev square that has been the focus of protests that brought the overthrow of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich.
Among those detained were two members of the punk protest band Pussy Riot, released in December near the end of two-year sentences for their own anti-Putin protest in Moscow’s main cathedral in 2012. Alexei Navalny, who emerged from a wave of protests that year as the top opposition leader, was also held.
Relatives and lawyers of the seven said they believed the upheaval in neighboring Ukraine, where police were among the dead in a conflict the Kremlin blames on opposition leaders and the West, had prompted the court to impose prison sentences as a signal that such actions would not be tolerated in Russia.
A Russian state TV news show host linked the trial with the events in Ukraine in a broadcast on Sunday, saying the bloodshed that killed at least 82 people in Kiev last week had started with actions similar to the 2012 anti-Putin protest.
Defense lawyer Dmitry Agranovsky said he would appeal his client Yaroslav Belousov’s two-and-a-half-year prison sentence.
“These sentences are cruel and wrong. They were handed down because of the political situation...We hope our appeal will show that they made a mistake and the defendants won’t have to answer for the Maidan.” An eighth defendant was given a suspended sentence that allows her to avoid jail, but the rulings caused outrage among Kremlin critics who see the prisoners as victims of a clampdown on dissent during Putin’s third term as president.
Opposition activists said more than 230 people were detained by riot police grabbing protesters and dragging them to waiting buses. Police put the figure at more than 100.
The judge on Friday had found the defendants guilty of rioting and attacking police at a protest on May 6, 2012, the day before Putin, in power since 2000, returned to the presidency after a stint as prime minister.
The defendants — seven men and a woman, most of them in their 20s — blame police for the clashes that erupted and pleaded not guilty. The men have been in custody since 2012.
Pakistan ( Taliban rejected an offer to swap their guns for cricket bats and play a match )
MIRANSHAH: The Pakistani Taleban on Monday rejected an offer to swap their guns for cricket bats and play a match for peace, saying the sport was responsible for turning youth away from jihad.
The militant group were responding to a call made earlier in the day by a top Pakistani minister who offered to host a match with the militants to revive stalled peace talks in comments which provoked derision on social media.
Pakistan’s government entered into a formal dialogue with the Taleban earlier this month, but the process faltered after the militants executed 23 kidnapped soldiers.
The military has retaliated with a series of airstrikes in the tribal areas that border Afghanistan and are home to the Taleban’s top leadership, killing dozens.
With talks on a sticky wicket, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said Monday that cricket could offer hope.
“I have information that the Taleban keep an interest in cricket. So if this message can go through to them, we can have a cricket match with them which can have a better result,” he told reporters in Islamabad following an exhibition game. “The Taleban follow the Pakistan cricket team with keen interest so this can be a platform.”
But speaking to AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location, Taleban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said his group would refuse to play ball. “These secular people want to distance our youth from jihad and Islamic teachings through cricket. We are strongly against cricket and dislike it,” he said.
Reaction to the minister’s suggestion that the Taleban could be tempted into talks through cricket was also overwhelmingly negative on Twitter, which is used mainly by the country’s English-speaking elite. In a reference to bloody toll inflicted by the Taleban on Pakistan’s forces over the years, one user called @MidhatZ, said: “Cricket on a red pitch and may be they could bowl with our soldiers heads?”
Another user, @kursed suggested the minister “should invite the families of those beheaded” by the Taleban to the match.
Meanwhile, unknown gunmen killed a senior commander of the Pakistani Taleban who had a government bounty on his head on Monday.
Asmatullah Shaheen, who was believed to be in his mid-40s and was a former interim chief of Pakistan’s Taleban, had a ($95,000) bounty payable for his death.
“Unknown attackers opened fire on Asmatullah Shaheen’s car. He along with three associates died on the spot,” a security official in Miranshah told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The militant group were responding to a call made earlier in the day by a top Pakistani minister who offered to host a match with the militants to revive stalled peace talks in comments which provoked derision on social media.
Pakistan’s government entered into a formal dialogue with the Taleban earlier this month, but the process faltered after the militants executed 23 kidnapped soldiers.
The military has retaliated with a series of airstrikes in the tribal areas that border Afghanistan and are home to the Taleban’s top leadership, killing dozens.
With talks on a sticky wicket, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said Monday that cricket could offer hope.
“I have information that the Taleban keep an interest in cricket. So if this message can go through to them, we can have a cricket match with them which can have a better result,” he told reporters in Islamabad following an exhibition game. “The Taleban follow the Pakistan cricket team with keen interest so this can be a platform.”
But speaking to AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location, Taleban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said his group would refuse to play ball. “These secular people want to distance our youth from jihad and Islamic teachings through cricket. We are strongly against cricket and dislike it,” he said.
Reaction to the minister’s suggestion that the Taleban could be tempted into talks through cricket was also overwhelmingly negative on Twitter, which is used mainly by the country’s English-speaking elite. In a reference to bloody toll inflicted by the Taleban on Pakistan’s forces over the years, one user called @MidhatZ, said: “Cricket on a red pitch and may be they could bowl with our soldiers heads?”
Another user, @kursed suggested the minister “should invite the families of those beheaded” by the Taleban to the match.
Meanwhile, unknown gunmen killed a senior commander of the Pakistani Taleban who had a government bounty on his head on Monday.
Asmatullah Shaheen, who was believed to be in his mid-40s and was a former interim chief of Pakistan’s Taleban, had a ($95,000) bounty payable for his death.
“Unknown attackers opened fire on Asmatullah Shaheen’s car. He along with three associates died on the spot,” a security official in Miranshah told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Morocco ( A Snake Charmer in Marrakech Dies from Snakebite )
Casablanca- Snakes are bewitching creatures to watch, but they can also be the cause of unforeseen tragedies. A snake charmer in Marrakech lost his life on Friday after he was bitten by one of his snakes.
A Moroccan snake charmer lost his life last Friday in Marrakech at Mamounia Hospital after he was bitten by a snake he was charming in the red city’s famous Jama El Fna Square.
The snake charmer had reportedly attempted to save himself traditionally by just trying to suck the poison out of his vein using his mouth. That method did not work eventually.
As the snake charmer felt acute dizziness, he asked his friend to take him on his motorcycle to Mamounia Hospital, where he died afterwards.
Trusted sources from Jama El Fna told MWN that the performer’s body would be autopsied to verify the cause of his death.
The sad incident has stirred a debate among Marrakech residents, as well as Moroccans from other cities who visit Jamaa El Fna especially to enjoy the memorizing performances of snake charmers.
To what extent are safety standards respected by all performers in Jamaa El Fnaa? Can we still enjoy traditional performances there without recalling incidents like these?
© Morocco World News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten or redistributed
Saturday, February 22, 2014
India ( Pakistani prisoner arrested for trespassing found hanging in jail cell )
SRINAGAR, India: A Pakistani prisoner who was arrested by authorities in India for trespassing more than two years ago has been found hanging inside a jail in Indian Kashmir, an official said Saturday.
Showkat Ali, 42, a resident of Sialkot in Pakistan, had been lodged in a jail in Amphala, about 300 kilometers (186 miles) from the region’s main city of Srinagar, since December 2011.
He was arrested on charges of illegally crossing the de facto border between the two rival countries.
“An inmate informed the jail authorities last (Friday) night that Showkat was hanging from the grill of a toilet in the barracks,” jail superintendent Harish Kotwal told AFP.
“He was hanging by a scarf and after he was brought down, the jail doctor declared him dead,” Kotwal said.
The incident will be investigated by a magistrate and formalities for handing over his body to Pakistani authorities have begun, another police officer said.
Last May, a Pakistani prisoner died of his injuries after he was savagely beaten by fellow convicts in another jail in Indian Kashmir, leading to calls for an international probe into his death.
His death followed a similar assault on Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail. A high profile convict, Singh had been on the death row for more than 21 years.
India and Pakistan frequently arrest rival citizens for trespassing and many of them languish in jail for years even after serving their term as poor diplomatic ties mean fulfilling official requirements can take a long time.
Showkat Ali, 42, a resident of Sialkot in Pakistan, had been lodged in a jail in Amphala, about 300 kilometers (186 miles) from the region’s main city of Srinagar, since December 2011.
He was arrested on charges of illegally crossing the de facto border between the two rival countries.
“An inmate informed the jail authorities last (Friday) night that Showkat was hanging from the grill of a toilet in the barracks,” jail superintendent Harish Kotwal told AFP.
“He was hanging by a scarf and after he was brought down, the jail doctor declared him dead,” Kotwal said.
The incident will be investigated by a magistrate and formalities for handing over his body to Pakistani authorities have begun, another police officer said.
Last May, a Pakistani prisoner died of his injuries after he was savagely beaten by fellow convicts in another jail in Indian Kashmir, leading to calls for an international probe into his death.
His death followed a similar assault on Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail. A high profile convict, Singh had been on the death row for more than 21 years.
India and Pakistan frequently arrest rival citizens for trespassing and many of them languish in jail for years even after serving their term as poor diplomatic ties mean fulfilling official requirements can take a long time.
Mexico ( Photo of " El Chapo" Guzman who was captured on friday )
. Legislators of different parties confirmed and celebrated the capture of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman on Friday at a hotel in Mazatlan, Sinaloa through Twitter.
PAN senator Javier Lozano confirmed the information and sent a greeting to the national agencies that participated in his capture. Meanwhile PRD deputy Fernando Zárate be asked to confirm this information is find a way to protect the family of Guzman to a possible increase in violence against them.
Read more: http://www.elblogdelnarco.info/2014/02/fotos-exclusiva-de-el-chapo-guzman.html # ixzz2u6h5T7Hd
Follow us: @ MundoNarco on Twitter
PAN senator Javier Lozano confirmed the information and sent a greeting to the national agencies that participated in his capture. Meanwhile PRD deputy Fernando Zárate be asked to confirm this information is find a way to protect the family of Guzman to a possible increase in violence against them.
Read more: http://www.elblogdelnarco.info/2014/02/fotos-exclusiva-de-el-chapo-guzman.html # ixzz2u6h5T7Hd
Follow us: @ MundoNarco on Twitter
Friday, February 21, 2014
Mexico ( 15 Bodies Found in Western Mexico )
MEXICO CITY – A clandestine grave near the western Mexican metropolis of Guadalajara holds at least 15 bodies, the Jalisco state Attorney General’s Office said Friday.The grave lies 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from the intersection of two highways in the Guadalajara suburb of Tlajomulco de Zuñiga, the AG’s office said in a statement.
Authorities found the clandestine burial site thanks to information that emerged following the arrest of Geronimo Ibarra Alcaraz, 23, a suspected drug trafficker.
The bodies were taken to the state medical examiner’s office in Guadalajara, Jalisco’s capital, for autopsies and identification.
The arrest of Ibarra also led police to a safe house in Tlajomulco where they found 1.5 tons of marijuana, 39 kilos of methamphetamine, weapons and bulletproof vests, the AG’s office said.
Ibarra is being held without bail while federal authorities seek to determine which criminal outfit he worked for, the statement said.
The Jalisco Nueva Generacion cartel is currently battling a group known as La Resistencia for control of the illegal drug trade in the western state, authorities say.
La Resistencia is thought to be allied with Los Zetas, the most violent of Mexico’s cartels
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