TBILISI ( Former prime minister Vano Merabishvili gets five and a half years in prison )

TBILISI: A court in Georgia on Monday sentenced former prime minister Vano Merabishvili to five and a half years in prison for embezzlement in a case his lawyer and allies denounced as political persecution.
The court found Merabishvili, who headed the government of ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili, guilty of giving fictitious jobs to activists who were involved in his party’s losing parliamentary election campaign in 2012.


Judge Natia Barbakadze also issued a $27,000 fine to Merabishvili’s co-defendant, former health minister Zurab Chiaberashvili.
Merabishvili, who has been in pretrial detention since May 2013, had served as secretary general of Saakashvili’s United National Movement (UNM) party, which was defeated by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili’s Georgian Dream coalition.
“We will appeal the illegal verdict,” Merabishvili’s lawyer Otar Kakhidze told AFP, accusing the judge of acting under pressure from the prosecutor’s office.
“This is nothing but political persecution aimed at destroying the main opposition party in Georgia,” he said.
UNM’s foreign secretary and the former security adviser to Saakashvili, Giga Bokeria, said the verdict “destroys political culture in Georgia as political opponents, opposition leaders are being jailed for political reasons.”
“It’s a very bad day not only for justice, but also for democratic tradition in Georgia,” Bokeria told journalists.
“The current government — which ordered the verdict — will pay a high political price.”
Dozens of Saakashvili’s allies have been placed under investigation for corruption and abuse of office charges since the end of the former president’s 10-year stay in power, which included a politically damaging 2008 war with neighbor Russia.
Western officials have expressed concern over any investigations that could be perceived as being politically motivated, but the Georgian Dream government has repeatedly rejected any political motives behind the prosecutions.
Ivanishvili, whose net worth was valued at $5.3 billion by Forbes magazine last year, became Georgia’s prime minister after the 2012 parliamentary election, but stepped down in November in favor of his hand-picked ally, 31-year-old Irakli Garibashvili.
But Ivanishvili is still believed to wield massive influence over Georgia’s politics.
Russia has expressed hope that it can launch a political dialogue with the new Georgian government after breaking off all contacts with Saakashvili’s team in 2008.
Merabishvili, 45, is one of Saakashvili’s closest allies who served as his interior minister and was appointed as PM just ahead of October 2012 elections.
Accused by critics of using disproportionate force against mass anti-government rallies in 2007 and 2009, Saakashvili led all-out anti-graft and anti-crime campaigns that transformed Georgia’s once highly corrupt police force and saw a dramatic drop in crime rates.
After last year’s presidential election, Saakashvili left Georgia and now resides in the United States where he teaches at Tufts University.
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MANILA ( Internet Child porn operation " Based in a Philippine school " )

MANILA: Government agents raided an Internet child porn operation based in a Philippine school and arrested its president and eight other people, investigators said Tuesday.
The suspects used a room at the Mountaintop Christian Academy to post online images and video of children and adults for foreign consumption, said Ronald Aguto, cybercrime investigation head in the National Bureau of Investigation.


Authorities were still investigating, but Aguto said it didn’t appear that children at the school were being abused and that the operators were uploading pre-recorded images and video stored.
The school had 2,000 elementary and high school students, Aguto added. Its license was revoked in 2006 for unknown reasons but it had remained open.
Puring Martinez, the arrested president and owner of the private school, told GMA television network she rented out the room to the Internet site operators to augment the income of the school because fees paid by students were not enough to cover costs.
She said she was aware that the Internet links sold can only be opened by a foreigner who will use his card and that the links lead to “naughty” materials.
Martinez’ son, Tom, said the school had only 260 preschool, elementary and high school pupils, and that their permit to operate was valid. It was not clear why there was a discrepancy with the NBI information.
He said the Internet operation was owned by an American from Tennessee, who rented two rooms for 40,000 pesos ($900) in a bungalow separate from the classrooms but within the school compound. All of the suspects arrested are Filipino, and the American’s whereabouts were not clear.
The raid shows the extent of the task facing Philippine authorities in cracking down on child pornographers, who exploit weak law enforcement and increasing broadband Internet penetration to base operations in the country.
Gilbert Sosa, director of the national police’s Anti-Cybercrime Group, said last month the Philippines was one of the top 10 sources of child pornography in the world, and that police have been cooperating with other countries to crack down on it.
Two other Internet porn operations in Quezon city were raided Monday night. At least 22 people were arrested in those two raids and more than two dozen computers seized.
Aguto said they have yet to conduct a forensic investigation on the seized computers, but based on what they have gathered so far, the suspects will be charged with violating laws against child pornography and obscene publication of adult pornographic images.
More than 40 computers were seized as evidence during the raid late Monday at the school in Metropolitan Manila’s Muntinlupa city.
“It was like a computer lab inside the school,” Aguto said in a telephone interview. “Even during daytime, when the pupils were there, they were using it for this kind of offense.”
He said the site operators worked day and night, chatting online with clients and pretending to be women or girls depending on what the client wanted. They would then upload pictures and pre-recorded video of a nude girl or woman they claim to be.
Last month, Britain’s National Crime Agency said child abuse investigators in Britain, the US and Australia had dismantled an organized crime group that streamed footage of child sexual abuse. The ring abused impoverished children as young as 6, the agency said. Authorities made 29 arrests, including 11 people in the Philippines who had facilitated the crime. Some were members of the children’s families.

BANGKOK ( 3 dead after " anti-government protest " 57 injured )

BANGKOK: Hundreds of riot police attempted to clear out anti-government protest sites around Thailand’s capital on Tuesday, triggering clashes that left three people dead and 57 others injured.
Multiple gunshots were heard near the prime minister’s offices, where riot police had started to remove protesters and dismantle a makeshift stage, but it wasn’t clear who was firing.


Erawan emergency medical services said a male civilian died from a head wound and a police officer received a fatal chest wound. It also said another man died, but didn’t have further details. It said 57 others were injured in the clashes.
Department of Special Investigation chief Tharit Pengdit told a news conference that the protesters had launched grenades at the police. Police later withdrew.
In another blow to the government, the state anti-corruption agency charged Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Tuesday with improperly handling an expensive rice subsidy scheme, putting her in jeopardy of being impeached.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission said Yingluck’s government proceeded with the scheme despite advice from experts that it was potentially wasteful and prone to corruption. The government has been months late in making payments to farmers for the rice they pledged to sell at above-market prices.

The commission said Yingluck has been called to formerly hear the charges on Feb. 27. If it decides to submit the case to the Senate for possible impeachment, Yingluck will immediately be suspended from performing her official duties pending a Senate trial.
Yingluck’s elected government has been attempting to avoid violence to keep the military from stepping in. Thailand has been wracked by political unrest since 2006, when Yingluck’s brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was ousted by a military coup after being accused of corruption and abuse of power. Since then, his supporters and opponents have vied for power, sometimes violently.
Tuesday’s violence erupted after police moved into several locations around the city to detain and remove protesters who have been camped out for weeks to press for Yingluck’s resignation. The protesters want the formation of an unelected people’s council to implement reforms to end corruption and keep the Shinawatra family permanently out of politics.
They have blocked access to government offices since late last year and occupied key intersections around Bangkok for about a month. Until now, the police had refrained from dispersing them for fear of unleashing violence.
But on Monday, the government’s special security command center announced it would reclaim five protest sites around the city for public use, a move made possible under a state of emergency declared in January. Thousands of police officers, including armed anti-riot squads, were deployed across the city Tuesday in an operation the government called “Peace for Bangkok.”
Earlier Tuesday, 144 protesters near the Energy Ministry in the northern part of the city were peacefully detained and herded onto police trucks to be taken away for questioning, Tharit said.
Transport Minister Chadchart Sittipunt told The Associated Press the protesters hijacked two of the city’s public buses and used them to block a rally site at the Interior Ministry near the Grand Palace.
The operations came a day before the Civil Court is to rule on the government’s invocation of the emergency decree, which allows authorities to exercise wide powers to detain protesters and hold them in custody for 30 days without charges.
If the decree is struck down by the court, the government will be forced to dismantle the special security command center it had set up to enforce the emergency measures.
Since the protests began in November, at least 14 people have been killed and hundreds injured.

Saudi Arabia ( blamed Bashar Assad’s regime on Monday for the failure of the recent Geneva II peace talks )

 

Saudi Arabia, a supporter of the Syrian opposition, blamed Bashar Assad’s regime on Monday for the failure of the recent Geneva II peace talks held in Switzerland.
A second round of US and Russian-backed peace talks between regime representatives and the opposition broke down on Saturday in the Swiss city. No date has been set for a third round.
The Council of Ministers, chaired by Second Deputy Premier Prince Muqrin, “regretted the failure of the Geneva II talks to reach tangible results,” SPA reported quoting Health Minister and Acting Information Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah.


Saudi Arabia “holds the (Syrian) regime responsible for this failure, caused by its intransigence,” the Cabinet said, accusing the regime’s delegation of working to “derail the conference.”
Saudi Arabia is a major backer of the Syrian rebels in a conflict that is estimated to have killed more than 140,000 people since it erupted in March 2011.
The Cabinet wished success for Crown Prince Salman during his current visits to Pakistan, Japan, India, and the Maldives, adding that the royal visits were in continuation of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s approach to promote contacts with world leaders.
The Cabinet praised the Prince Sultan Qur’an and Sunnah Competition for ASEAN and Pacific Countries in Jakarta, while thanking Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for patronizing it closing ceremony.
The Cabinet also expressed its thanks for the guests of the National Heritage and Culture Festival in Janadriyah for their appreciation of the Kingdom for giving an opportunity to writers and intellectuals to present their views through its cultural programs.
It also reviewed the first conference of business schools of GCC universities, whose opening was patronized by Prince Muqrin, and said it would contribute to the process of integration and promotion of joint GCC action.
The Cabinet emphasized the Kingdom’s distinguished relations with Lebanon, expressing hope that the formation of the new Lebanese government headed by Tammam Salam would boost the country’s stability and prosperity.
The Cabinet endorsed an agreement with the World Assembly of Muslim Youth for hosting its headquarters in Riyadh.
It also approved the statute of the Arab Union for Natural Reserves, which was passed by the Arab League Ministerial Council on March 10, 2012.
The Cabinet approved a new system to ensure transparency, accountability and verification of the effectiveness of government agencies in the use of funds allocated to them and achieve the best results for each expenditure.
It authorized the minister of housing to sign a cooperation agreement with South Korea. It appointed Abdulmohsen Al-Faris, Abdullah Al-Fawzan, and Ibrahim Balghunaim members of Technical and Vocational Training Corporation’s board for three years, representing the private sector. It also renewed Samir Al-Tebayeb’s membership to the board.
The Cabinet appointed Talal bin Abduljalil Barri ambassador, Saleh bin Abdulkarim Al-Sheiha minister plenipotentiary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Abdullah bin Moussa Al-Tayer undersecretary for educational affairs at the Ministry of Higher Education; Mutlaq bin Dughaim Al-Khamaali director-general of health in the Riyadh region; Abdulaziz bin Othman Al-Shabanat adviser at the Ministry of Civil Service; and Abdullatif bin Mohammed Al-Asheikh legal adviser at the Supreme Judiciary Council

Charcas ( Investigate the fatal accident where five miners died in Charcas.)

Charcas , SLP . - The state Department of Labor and Social Welfare has been in constant contact and coordination with its federal counterpart, to support technical and operational way the actions and responsibilities to investigate the fatal accident where five miners died in Charcas.

Coordination with the federal agency inspections are performed within the mine safety and health .
Has ensured that they receive psychological care to the families of the victims , in addition to receiving the compensation awarded to them by law.
Onsite investigation is underway concerning security measures unfortunate accident .
The authorities , union and Grupo Mexico Own IMMSA , together with the respective governing bodies , Registrar General from San Luis Potosi State , CAVID , Civil Protection, the delegation of the Federal and State STPS STPS , are already meeting together , in all aspects the mishap .
Competition and respective authorities will be responsible for manifest and make known the facts in order to avoid speculation about it , because this fact is very sad and unfortunately affected families.

San Luis Potosí ( Man arrested for beating his wife )

San Luis Potosí, SLP -. Responding to an emergency call municipal police arrested a man hitting a woman about 30 years old.

  Around 02:30 hours, in the streets of Avenida Kukulkan and Morales Saucito, passersby noticed the aggression, so they called for help to the emergency.

 When she entered the police station of the law enforcement officers they arrested a subject who said he assaulted his wife.

  The woman, who declined to provide his generals, was invited to file the complaint.

Mexico ( Michoacán " Self Defense group " stands their ground ) Cartel Wars

Thursday marked one month of the announcement of the federal intervention in Michoacán to regain control in the state, after nearly a year of violence resulting from clashes between self-defense groups and organized crime.


This is what you must know to understand this conflict:

1. What happens in Michoacan?

The state in western Mexico, with a population of over 4.3 million inhabitants live for a year an increase in violence, clashes between suspected criminals and authorities, and increasing civilian groups who identify themselves as paramilitaries.


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