Politkovskaya murder: Russian ex-policeman arrested

A spokesman for Russia's investigative unit said Lt Col Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov was suspected of organising her murder.

The man suspected of fatally shooting her, Rustam Makhmudov, was arrested in May in his native Chechnya.

No one has been arrested for ordering the murder of Politkovskaya, an outspoken critic of the Kremlin.

Lt Col Pavlyuchenkov was paid "by a person whose identity is still unknown" to organise the killing, Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

He formed a group to carry out the killing and provided the gunman with a weapon, Mr Markin said.

Anna Politkovskaya was an investigative journalist who wrote highly critical reports of the Kremlin and of Russian military actions in Chechnya. She was also critical of the pro-Moscow authorities in the southern Russian republic.

On 7 October 2006, she was found shot dead in a lift at her block of flats. The 48-year-old was working for a small-circulation Russian newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, known for its fierce attacks on the country's authorities.

Rustam Makhmudov was arrested in Chechnya in May, suspected of being the trigger man.

His two brothers, Dzhabrail and Ibragim, have been accused of acting as drivers at the scene of the crime while former police officer Sergei Khadzhikurbanov has been accused of providing logistical support.

All three men were tried and acquitted for lack of evidence in 2009 but the verdict was overturned by Russia's supreme court, which ordered them to be retried.

Nigeria to probe 'army abuses' in Boko Haram crackdown

                    

Defence Minister Bello Mohammed's move came after a woman was shot dead on Wednesday in clashes between soldiers and suspected members of Boko Haram.
Rights groups have accused the army of carrying out other unlawful killings.
Fighting around Maiduguri has intensified in recent weeks, causing thousands of people to flee the area.

'Bad eggs'

Mr Mohammed said the army was "doing a very good job" in protecting the lives and property of Nigerians in Maiduguri and throughout Borno state.
"However, a few bad eggs amongst them sometimes overreact to situations and create discontent amongst the civilian population thereby dragging the name of the military to disrepute," he said in a statement.

He has asked to army to "investigate all incidents of military misconduct against law abiding citizens".

Amnesty International has said soldiers in the Joint Task Force (JTF) sent to Borno have been responsible for at last 23 deaths and for burning a market.
Riots broke out on Wednesday after the killing of the woman in the northern town of Biu in Born state and a church was set on fire.
According to newspaper reports she was holding her young child at the time.
Mr Mohammed has ordered the military to thoroughly investigate the incident.
Boko Haram - which roughly translates as "Western education is forbidden" - has carried out a wave of killings and bombings in Nigeria in their attempt to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state.
In the last few months the military presence in Nigeria's north-east has been steadily increased as the government tries to force an end to the Islamist group Boko Haram's armed uprising, the BBC's Jonah Fisher reports from Lagos.
But the army's conduct has alienated the local community, he says.
Many residents of Maiduguri are now more scared of the army than they are of Boko Haram.
A month ago a group of elders called on the soldiers to pull out.
Last month, Borno state Governor Kashim Shettima admitted that the army had been guilty of excesses in Maiduguri.Next week a committee is due to report back to Nigeria's president on the security situation in Borno state and the prospects for opening negotiations with Boko Haram.

Madrid closing the gap on Barca

While FC Barcelona answered every footballing question asked of it last season, the inquiry it currently faces is one known to and hated by almost every schoolchild who ever wrote an essay on returning from vacations.
"What did you do in your summer holidays?" catches out the dull of mind, the reluctant students who wish they were still swimming, relaxing or sleeping in, and those who just aren't back into the swing of things.
So it may be when Pep Guardiola's side is asked by Real Madrid to demonstrate at the Santiago Bernabéu on Sunday night how it spent the weeks in June, July and early August. Whether the markedly different ways in which the two clubs have approached the summer has closed the slight gap evident between Barcelona's taillights and Madrid's closing headlights last season remains to be seen.
But let's just say there is a great deal about how the challengers have planned and acted that the champions would like to have emulated. Frankly, Sunday night's game just sits up and begs to be Madrid's first home win over Barça since before Guardiola became the Catalans' coach. (In fact, since May 2008.)

Why? Well, there are a host of reasons, and if Barcelona manages to contain or beat Real Madrid this time and then seal a Supercopa win next week at the Camp Nou, the Madridistas might as well pack up, go home and start getting into Formula One racing or basketball instead.
The first key difference between the clubs is that while Barça's money men have dragged out their long, protracted seduction of midfielder Cesc Fabregas (away from Arsenal) all summer, they have -- in my view -- done damage to the player and his immediate prospects, while Madrid acted with purpose and speed in various dealings.
OK, Barça has completed the purchase of a real jack-in-the-box player in Alexis Sanchez, and he will give Guardiola and the Camp Nou fans loads of enjoyment once the Chilean finds his feet in La Liga.

ut Madrid has stormed in, signing Hamit Altintop, Nuri Sahin, José Callejón, Rafa Varane and Fabio Coentrao. And don't be fooled -- this is not a "never mind the quality, feel the width" argument. Not only has manager José Mourinho added some decent talent, he has been able to give the majority of his new signings some proper game time in Real's highly impressive tour of the U.S., England and China.Around the time that Los Blancos were adding swagger to the muscular nature of their summer, beating Tianjin Teda 6-0, Barça was finally registering a win, over Club América in Dallas. Yet that followed an interesting and predictable defeat to Manchester United, plus a good old hammering from Chivas de Guadalajara.
Much more surprisingly, Barça's tour has looked clumsy and tiring, and has also lacked game time for some key footballers. For example, the images of Barça turning up to practice on some green space in Washington and then getting moved on by the cops might have looked amusing to the neutral supporter, but it wasn't a joke for Barça.
Somehow they didn't realize that a workout in President's Park near the Ellipse might need forward planning and permission, and so they were chased off by a park patrolman. Guardiola is a perfectionist, and his face as the players returned to the hotel, stuck at the lights on the corner of Constitution Avenue and 17th Street, was a picture.
A couple of days later, a morning training session had to be rescheduled because of suffocating heat -- something that happened twice more on the U.S. tour. During the recuperation sessions, Guardiola's players looked tired and seemed lacking in sharpness. Key men like defenders Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique, along with midfield maestro Xavi, have all been seeking full fitness for one injury reason or another.

There have been mini-successes, like young midfielder Thiago's goals; Seydou Keita's eager, powerful fitness; and flashes of play from attackers David Villa and Andres Iniesta. But Leo Messi, Javi Mascherano and Alexis Sanchez took no part in the tour. And don't even ask about the Fabregas situation. If he isn't captured, then it will be a major letdown and embarrassment for the European champions. Even if he is signed, he will arrive without a proper preseason behind him, either with Barça or Arsenal, having not appeared in any exhibition matches with the Gunners.
Just before departing for Cataluña, Guardiola used a tart phrase that told you everything he thought about his situation: "Once upon a time we used to do preseason training ... now we need to go on world tours."
Barça is deeply in debt, and this type of tour pays fat fees, enhances the brand and is premium territory for some of Barcelona's key sponsors. The club should come out of the tour at least $6 million up. That's fine. But Guardiola prefers order, fitness, concentration, moderate northern European temperatures and a proper preparation for the test of fire that opens his club's season.
"We have left it a little bit tight to be in form for the Supercopa," Guardiola said during the week. Perhaps he might like to reflect on his decision to be the last of La Liga's teams to return to training -- by a week.
However, if Barcelona's stars benefit from the extra rest when the big prizes are handed out in May, then it's hats off to Pep.

ARIZONA GOVERNOR APPEALS IMMIGRATION LAW TO SUPREME CUORT

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer filed an appeal Wednesday with the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that put on hold key parts of the state's immigration enforcement law.

The appeal comes as Brewer faced a deadline for contesting a district court's decision that, among other things, barred police from enforcing a requirement that police while enforcing other laws to question the immigration status of those they suspect are in the country illegally.

Brewer lost her first appeal in April when a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected her request to overturn the decision. The nation's highest court has discretion on whether to hear her appeal.

Her lawyers ask the court to hear her appeal and argued that Arizona bears the brunt of America's border problems and that the 9th Circuit's decision conflicts with Supreme Court precedents.

"For too long the federal government has turned a blind eye as this problem has manifested itself in the form of drop houses in our neighborhoods and crime in our communities," Brewer said in a written statement. "(The law) was Arizona's way of saying that we won't wait patiently for federal action any longer. If the federal government won't enforce its immigration laws, we will."

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to request for comment.

The federal government, which sued Arizona in a bid to invalidate the law, has argued the law intrudes on its exclusive authority to regulate immigration, disrupts relations between the U.S. and Mexico, hinders cooperation between state and federal officials and burdens legal immigrants.

Less than a day before the law was to take effect in July 2010, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton blocked key provisions from going into effect, including also a requirement that immigrants get and carry registration papers.

But Bolton allowed other parts, such as a ban on obstructing traffic while seeking or offering day-labor services on streets.

The law was passed in April 2010 amid years of complaints that the federal government hasn't done enough to assist Arizona, the nation's busiest illegal entry point, with border security. The legislation inspired protests, led to lawsuits seeking to overturn the law and a debate about whether the law would lead to racial profiling.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/08/10/arizona-governor-has-until-end-day-to-appeal-immigration-law-to-supreme-court/#ixzz1UkEiHrDT