Gunmen storm party, kill 13
Massacre of students in Mexico possibly a mistake
MEXICO CITY–Armed men stormed a party in a violent Mexican border city, killing 13 high school and college students in what witnesses thought was an attack prompted by false information.
The deaths in Ciudad Juarez were part of a total of 24 people killed across Mexico since Saturday in violence caused by turf battles between powerful drug cartels.
About two dozen teens and young adults were hospitalized following the late Saturday assault in Ciudad Juarez, one of the deadliest cities in the world, located across the border from El Paso, Texas.
Grieving witnesses and family members said they thought the victims, mostly residents of the housing complex where the attack occurred, had no ties to drug traffickers.
“It must have been a huge mistake,” said Martha Lujan, who lives at the housing complex.
The young adults had gathered to watch a boxing match, Lujan said, when two trucks pulled up loaded with armed men who opened fire.
A witness said he was just outside when the gunfire broke out. Hector, who only gave his first name because he feared retaliation, said the party was an innocuous gathering of friends who must have been targeted incorrectly.
“I think there was some confusion,” he said. “We’re seeking justice.”
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Ciudad Juarez, a city of 1.3 million people, is home to several drug cartel bosses who are battling for turf as thousands of troops and federal police try to stop them. More than 2,250 people were killed there last year alone.
On Sunday morning in the border town of Nogales, just south of Arizona, state police found three bodies burned inside an abandoned vehicle in what appeared to be an execution, officials said.
Also early Sunday, three women and two men, all identified as Mexican citizens, were killed while driving in their van with California license plates near the western Mexican city of Navolato. The bodies of the five victims were riddled with bullets, said the attorney general’s office for the state of Sinaloa, where Navolato is located.
Quake jolts southwestern China
BEIJING — A woman stands next to the rubble of her collapsed home in Suining after a moderate earthquake jolted southwestern China on Sunday. One person was killed and 12 others were injured, officials said. More than 200 houses in Sichuan province were damaged or destroyed by the 5.2 magnitude quake. Sichuan province is still rebuilding from a magnitude 7.9 quake that struck in May 2008, leaving almost 90,000 people dead or missing.
WORLD
Pakistan checks reports that Taliban leader died
ISLAMABAD– The Pakistani government was investigating reports Sunday that Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud died from injuries he suffered in a U.S. drone missile strike launched in mid-January after he helped orchestrate a deadly bombing against the CIA in Afghanistan.
Mehsud’s predecessor was killed in a missile strike less than six months ago, and inflicting another blow to the militant group’s leadership would be an important success for Pakistan and the U.S.
The U.S. unleashed more than a dozen drone strikes in the month following the Dec. 30 suicide bombing against the CIA.
Yemen rejects rebel offer
SANA, Yemen– Yemen’s government on Sunday rejected a cease-fire offer from the country’s northern rebels and issued a fresh demand calling on the militants to pledge not to attack neighboring Saudi Arabia.
After more than five years of sporadic fighting with the rebels, Yemen has come under international pressure to quickly end the conflict.
Yemen’s Supreme Defense Council on Sunday said the rebels must first begin complying with the government’s original cease-fire conditions from September, which demanded the militants disarm, release captured soldiers and property, remove roadblocks, withdraw from strategic positions and abide by the constitution. The government added a sixth condition Sunday — the militants must also vow not to attack Saudi Arabia.
Davos conference ends
DAVOS, Switzerland– The world’s foremost gathering of business and government leaders wrapped up a five-day meeting Sunday with widespread agreement that a fragile recovery is under way but no consensus on what’s going to spur job growth and prevent another global economic meltdown.
In the group of big egos and power players attending the annual World Economic Forum, there was even some humility and a realization that overcoming the first global financial crisis is uncharted territory.
The gathering of some 2,500 VIPs in this Swiss alpine resort saw much debate on whether more regulation is needed for the financial industry and how to lower global unemployment and find ways to ensure the nascent recovery is kept on course through 2010.
Russian activists detained
MOSCOW — Russian police broke up anti-Kremlin protests in Moscow and St. Petersburg on Sunday, and detained more than 100 demonstrators, including several opposition leaders.
In Moscow, several hundred demonstrators gathered in a central square, defying a ban imposed by authorities. The protesters said their rally was banned in violation of the Russian Constitution’s guarantee of the right to gather.
They denounced the policies of President Dmitry Medvedev and his predecessor Vladimir Putin, Russia’s powerful prime minister.
Police quickly dispersed a similar rally in St. Petersburg, detaining most of several dozen protesters who gathered downtown. Some of the demonstrators were beaten with truncheons.
NATION
Sen.-elect Scott Brownsays he is pro-choice
WASHINGTON– Republican Sen.-elect Scott Brown of Massachusetts says he opposes federal funding for abortions, but thinks women should have the right to choose whether to have one.
Brown told ABC’s “This Week” in comments aired Sunday that he disagrees with his party’s position that the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion should be overturned.
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Brown says the abortion question is one that’s best handled by a woman, her family and her doctor. He also says more effort needs to go into reducing the number of abortions in the U.S.
Brown has said the GOP shouldn’t take his vote for granted on every issue. He says he’s fiscally conservative but more moderate on social issues.
THE NEWSMAKER
The unusual is called par for the course
White House adviser David Axelrod said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that “in this weird political season, we have become accustomed to unusual outbursts” in the House during presidential speeches.
Last week, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Jr. joined Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., as audience members who received attention for reactions to a speech by President Barack Obama.