Alleged Jamaica drug lord Coke pleads not guilty

Suspected Jamaican drug lord Christopher "Dudus" Coke has pleaded not guilty to US charges of drug and gun-trafficking.

Mr Coke, 41, entered the plea in a New York court after being extradited from Jamaica on Thursday.

Mr Coke waived his rights to challenge the extradition. If convicted, he faces life in prison.

Attempts to capture him in May led to clashes in which scores of people died. He was finally detained on Tuesday.

'Community leader'

Mr Coke entered the plea at Manhattan federal court on Friday.

"As I understand, you are pleading not guilty at this time. That is what your lawyer said," Judge Robert Patterson was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.

Mr Coke's lawyer Russel Newfeld replied: "Yes, that is right."

The judge then ordered that Mr Coke be remanded in custody, before he set a new hearing for 28 June to decide whether he should be jailed indefinitely pending trial, the AFP news agency reports.

On Thursday, Mr Coke made a brief appearance before a Jamaican judge in Kingston to announce that he was waiving his rights to challenge the extradition. He was later flown to the US.

Mr Coke said he believed he could win the case in the Jamaican courts.

But he added that he would go to the US to stand trial for the sake of his family, the people of Tivoli in west Kingston and Jamaica.

The US justice department says Mr Coke is one of the world's most dangerous drug lords, but his supporters say he is a community leader.

Tivoli Gardens clashes

Mr Coke is accused of being the leader of the notorious Shower Posse, which US prosecutors say operates an international drug and gun smuggling network.

They say that Mr Coke conspired to distribute cocaine and marijuana throughout the eastern United States for more than 15 years.

The Shower Posse is also blamed for numerous murders.

The pursuit of Mr Coke has shed light on the links between politicians and gang leaders in Jamaica.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding is said to have relied on Mr Coke to turn out the vote at election time in the Tivoli Gardens district he represents in parliament, and which the Shower Posse controls.

When Mr Coke was first indicted in the US last August, Mr Golding initially fought the extradition, arguing that it was based on flawed evidence.

But after months of delays and amid growing local and international criticism, he agreed to extradite the suspect and signed an arrest warrant in May.

However, gunmen loyal to Mr Coke in Tivoli Gardens barricaded the streets and mounted attacks against the police.

A state of emergency was declared and more than 70 people were killed in four days of gun battles, during which Mr Coke was able to escape. The security forces have since been accused of using excessive force.

 

Cartoon controversy

The ban on Facebook was lifted after about two weeks, when the site blocked access to the page, called Everybody Draw Muhammad.

The Draw Muhammad page on Facebook sparked protests in Pakistan

Facebook itself is not on the new list of websites to be monitored. A number of links from YouTube will be blocked but not the main site itself.

Many Muslims regard depictions of Muhammad, even favourable ones, as blasphemous.

In 2007, the government banned YouTube, allegedly to block material offensive to the government of Pervez Musharraf.

The action led to widespread disruption of access to the site for several hours. The ban was later lifted.

 

Pakistan to monitor Google and Yahoo for 'blasphemy'

Pakistan will start monitoring seven major websites, including Google and Yahoo, for content it deems offensive to Muslims.

YouTube, Amazon, MSN, Hotmail and Bing will also come under scrutiny, while 17 less well-known sites will be blocked.

Officials will monitor the sites and block links deemed inappropriate.

In May, Pakistan banned access to Facebook after the social network hosted a "blasphemous" competition to draw the prophet Muhammad.

The new action will see Pakistani authorities monitor content published on the seven sites, blocking individual pages if content is judged to be offensive.

Telecoms official Khurram Mehran said links would be blocked without disturbing the main website.

 

US sanctions inapplicable on Pak-Iran gas pipeline: Shakri

KARACHI: Irani Ambassador in Pakistan Mashallah Shakeri Friday said the sanctions placed on Iran by the US will not affect Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project which was signed much before the fresh restrictions.

Talking to Geo News, the Irani Ambassador said China, Turkey and European Union have signed several accords with Iran in energy sector and ruled out their being affected by the fresh round of US sanctions on the energy rich country.

Shakeri said with India onboard, the gas pipeline project was originally to cost 60 billion dollars. The laying of the gas pipeline within Pakistan may cost it 1.6 billion dollars.

He said a discussion of obtainment of financial assistance from international institutions is a bit pre-mature at this time.

Russia denounces US sanctions on Iran

BRUSSELS: Russia's envoy to the European Union slammed Friday unilateral US and EU sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme, warning the measures should not hit Russian business interests.

"We do not support them. We think they are totally wrong in substance and in tactics," ambassador Vladimir Chizhov told reporters in Brussels.

The United States and European Union angered Russia last week when they imposed sanctions on Iran's oil and gas sector, measures that went beyond a fourth set of UN sanctions which Moscow supported.

"The sanctions contained in (UN Security Council) Resolution 1929 are clever sanctions, the follow-on measures by the European Union are not," Chizhov said.

He charged: "If you want to dissuade Iran from pursuing a nuclear programme ... then why the hell are you banning the supply of equipment for the oil and gas industry?"

The sanctions will "certainly hinder" diplomatic efforts to convince Iran to halt its nuclear activities because Iranian officials "will immediately sense a difference of views" among world powers, he said.

Russia is also concerned about any interference with Russian business interests in Iran, the envoy said.

"We will certainly not accept any infringement of the rights and of the activities of Russian companies on the basis of those unilateral decisions," he said.

Russian cooperation with the EU on the Iran nuclear issue could be affected by the sanctions, he said.

"As far as our cooperation with the EU, that will certainly depend on the degree to which the EU will be taking into consideration our sensitivities regarding the interests of Russian companies involved," Chizhov said.

The United States, EU and Israel fear that Iran's nuclear activities are aimed at building an atomic bomb, but Tehran insists it is merely a civilian energy

17 websites blocked for blasphemous content

ISLAMABAD: Lahore High Court's Bahawalpur Bench has ordered to block 17 websites for carrying blasphemous content. The bench also ordered to monitor seven websites including Yahoo, Youtube etc. Later, the government ordered the monitoring of major websites including Google, Yahoo and YouTube for "anti-Islam content" on Friday, an official said. "The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has received orders from the ministry of information technology to monitor these websites, which are being implemented," a spokesman for the authority said. PTA officials have been summoned on June 28 in this regard.

 

India urged to keep confidence in Pakistan's judiciary

ISLAMABAD: The interior ministers of Pakistan and India agreed to hold further discussion on security issues after their meeting on Friday, which the Interior Minister Rehman Malik described as a "good beginning".

Interior Minister Malik told Chidambaram that the judiciary is independent here in Pakistan and India should keep confidence in it as Pakistan does in Indian judicial system.

He was of the view that the magistrate who recorded Ajmal Kasab's statement may testify this here in Pakistan.

Chidambaram, who is visiting Pakistan for Saarc Interior Minister's Conference on Saturday, discussed issues related to militancy and ongoing Mumbai attacks investigations, soon after his arrival in Islamabad.

The meeting between Interior Minister Rehman Malik and his Indian counterpart P. Chidambaram took place a day after the nations' top diplomats expressed optimism that relations between the two nuclear rivals would improve.

"Talks were held in a very good atmosphere and good topics were discussed. I can only say that there is a good message for the people of Pakistan and India, that there has been a very good beginning," Malik said after the meeting.

India made no immediate comments after the meeting, which was due to continue on Saturday.

Speaking to reporters before the meeting, Malik said he would share with his Indian counterpart "credible evidence" Pakistan had collected against suspects under trial in Pakistan for involvement in the Mumbai attacks.

"I said that it should be change of heart rather than dossiers," he told a questioner, referring to the information India had provided Pakistan about its own investigation into the Mumbai attack.