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. They denounced the policies of President Dmitry Medvedev and his predecessor and mentor Vladimir Putin, who continues to wield broad powers as Russia’s powerful prime minister.
Protesters shouted “Shame!” and “Down with Putin!” as Moscow police in riot gear pushed them into buses.
Police quickly dispersed a similar rally in St. Petersburg, detaining most of several dozen protesters who gathered on a downtown Nevsky Prospect. Some of the demonstrators were beaten with truncheons.
Pakistan: Taliban leader in CIA bombing believed dead
The Pakistani Taliban leader tied to the Dec. 30 bombing of a CIA encampment in Afghanistan is believed to have died from injuries sustained in a U.S. missile strike in mid-January, Western military officials said Sunday. The Pakistani Taliban on Sunday denied Hakimullah Mehsud was dead, calling it “a total lie.” Mehsud has been reported killed several times before. Eight CIA employees were among the 63 people killed in the December attack.
Mexico: Teen on sailing quest to stop in Mexico
A 16-year-old Thousand Oaks, Calif., girl on a mission to become the youngest person to sail around the world alone says she is taking a pit stop in Mexico to deal with an electricity problem. On her blog, Abby Sunderland wrote Saturday she’s headed for Cabo San Lucas to add a new battery or two because solar panels and wind generators aren’t keeping up with her energy needs. She set sail Jan. 23 in her 40-foot craft called Wild Eyes and plans to be at sea for five or six months.
13 students killed at party in Mexico border town
Armed men stormed a party in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez, killing 13 high school and college students in what witnesses thought was an attack prompted by false information. Nearly 25 people have been killed in Mexico since Saturday in ongoing turf battles between drug cartels. The young adults had gathered to watch a boxing match, said Martha Lujan, who lives at the housing complex where the gathering was, when two trucks pulled up loaded with armed men who opened fire. “It must have been a huge mistake,” Lujan said.
D.C.: Sen.-elect Brown says he supports abortion rights
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” that he disagrees with his party’s position that the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion should be overturned. Brown said the abortion question is one that’s best handled by a woman, her family and her doctor. Brown recently won the Senate seat long held by liberal Democrat Edward Kennedy, who died last summer.
From Herald news services
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