Mexican journalist shot dead
Mexico City, July 1 : A Mexican journalist was shot dead in a bar in the state of Quintana Roo, the eight such murder case this year.
Jose Guadalupe Chan Dzib was a well-known journalist in southeastern Mexico who had worked in several newspapers and was presently working as a crime reporter for Playa News, an online newspaper based in the resort town of Playa del Carmen, reports Efe news.
Authorities said on Saturday that it had launched an investigation into the murder that took place in the town of Felipe Carrillo Puerto on Friday night to find those responsible and to determine if the murder was linked to Chan Dzib's activities as a journalist.
The Quintana Roo State Commission on Human Right issued a statement condemning the murder and sending condolences to the journalist's family members.
The Commission said that it had contacted news media representatives to pass the case on to Mexico's national protection agency for journalists and human rights activists.
The Commission added that it had received four complaints against public officials regarding attacks against journalists, mainly in Cancun and Playa del Carmen.
The Federal Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists has recorded 139 murders of journalists since 2001 in Mexico until Chan's death, most in the last decade.
Mexico is now widely considered to be one of the most dangerous countries for a journalist.
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Lebanon pager blasts: Police verify Keralite's background; BJP leader demands his protection
Wayanad (Kerala) (PTI): Amid reports linking Rinson Jose, a Kerala native settled in Norway, to the probe into recent pager blasts in Lebanon, the Kerala police on Sunday confirmed a background check on his family, while a BJP leader referred to him as a "son of our nation" and demanded "protection."
"There is no case or investigation. Our special branch officials have carried out a background check. There is nothing new in it; such checks are conducted whenever similar news reports emerge," a police officer told PTI.
Another police official said that a "precautionary patrol" has been launched in the area near Mananthavady where his family resides following the reports. He said that his family has not requested police protection.
Rinson, who went abroad for a job a decade ago, is now a Norwegian citizen.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Sandeep G Varier called for protection for Rinson and his family.
"He is the son of our nation. He is a Malayali. At any cost, we must provide protection to Rinson and his family," Varier, a state committee member of the BJP, said in a Facebook post.
A relative of Rinson has said that he learned about the incident through the media.
His maternal uncle, Thankachan, said, "He grew up here in Wayanad and studied both here and outside Kerala. After completing his MBA, he left India 10 years ago. He had been studying abroad before joining a company. As far as we know, he is currently working for a company in Norway."
Rinson last visited Kerala in November of last year and left in January.
"We are not sure whether he runs his own business in Norway. His wife also works in Norway," Thankachan had told the media.
He said Rinson had called them two or three days before the news reports about him emerged.
"We are 100 per cent certain that he would not commit any wrongdoing," Thankachen had said.
He also appealed to the media not to put the family in a difficult position.
Asked about reports concerning a shell company being investigated by Norwegian authorities in connection with the Pager blasts, Thankachan responded, "Sorry, I have no information about that."
A neighbour of Rinson's family added, "There is nothing bad to say about him or his family. To us, their reputation is spotless.
