Ukrainian Paralympic soccer team wins European title
The Ukrainian national team has won the Cerebral Palsy European Soccer Championships and will thus vie in the 14th Summer Paralympics scheduled for 2012 in London, reports the press service of the National Paralympic Committee of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian national team met Saturday with its traditional Russian adversary and beat it 9:8 (with the traditional penalty kicks), winning the European Paralympic title. None of the organizers had expected this final match to last so long. In the first half the Russian team scored only minutes before the referee’s whistle, the Ukrainians got even in the second half: 1:1, then two additional 10-minute halves didn’t change the score. Finally, penalty kicks (eight on the Ukrainian and seven on the Russian side) named the European champion.
The open Cerebral Palsy European Soccer Championships, held in Glasgow, Scotland, involved nine European Paralympic national teams from Scotland, Russia, the Netherlands, Spain, Denmark, Ireland, Ukraine, England, and the one from Australia. Traditionally, the Russian, Ukrainian, Dutch, and Irish teams were the favorites. Most teams had new players, totaling 67.
Mexican authorities arrest influential drug baron
Mexican prosecutors have announced the arrest of Edgar Valdez, one of the country’s most influential drug barons. The 37-year-old Valdez, a US citizen, was apprehended in central Mexico. The US Justice Department had posted a 2-million-dollar reward for information leading to his capture. Valdez was known under the nicknames El Comandante and El Guero, although he was most often called La Barbie for his pale complexion and green eyes. The name of Valdez has been associated with the large Beltran Leyva drug cartel. He is being accused of, among other things, trafficking thousands of kilos of cocaine to the US East Coast from 2004 to 2006. A few weeks ago Mexican police found four headless bodies hanging from a bridge in Cuernavaca. The heads were found nearby with a message that whoever supports Edgar Valdez will meet the same fate. By all accounts, the arrest of Valdez will be seen as a new success in the war that Mexico’s Pre-sident Felipe Calderon declared on drug cartels. Coming to power in 2006, Calderon stationed military units in various parts of the country to fight drug dealers. Last July Mexican secret police killed Ignacio Coronel, a top figure in the Sinaloa drug cartel and “the right hand” of the powerful drug baron Joaquin Guzman. Some reports suggest that the war against drugs in Mexico has claimed about 25,000 human lives since December 2006.
Iranian newspaper abuses Sarkozy’s wife
The Iranian newspaper Kayhan alled France’s first lady a “prostitute” after the French president’s wife had criticized Iran’s government for sentencing a woman to death by stoning. Carla Bruni and Nicolas Sarkozy are taking part in the international campaign to save the life of Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani, a 43-year-old mother of two, accused of committing adultery and assisting in the murder of her husband. In an open letter to Ashtiani, Bruni expressed her sympathy and support. Demonstrations in a number of French cities in support of Ashtiani were held, while the French government has called on the European Union to threaten Iran with new sanctions. According to Iranian officials, Ashtiani’s death sentence is being reviewed by a court but may still be carried out. The state-owned Kayhan, which took the liberty of insulting the French president’s wife, is a mouthpiece of the conservative Islamist regime. In the opinion of the Iranian state television, Bruni “is trying to justify her own immorality” by criticizing the country’s authorities.






