Pussy Riot members go on trial in Moscow - BBC News
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, has said the act amounted to blasphemy
Three members of Russian punk protest group Pussy Riot have gone on trial, in a case that has divided Russia and inflamed the religious establishment.
They were taken into custody in February after singing a song protesting against President Vladimir Putin in Moscow's main cathedral.
The song outraged the Russian Orthodox Church. It accused them of blasphemy.
Supporters say the case reflects the state's growing intolerance of government opponents.
At the start of the trial, the three women, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich, were led into court in handcuffs, and locked into a cage of bullet-proof glass.
In court, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova said they would not plead guilty, but that did not mean they were not prepared to apologise for the pain their performance in the cathedral had caused.
They each stood up and answered a series of questions from the judge in turn, which included their educational level, citizenship and the birth dates of their children.
At the scene
We watched as the three young women were led down the concrete stairs and into the courtroom.
Their handcuffs were only removed once they were locked inside the bullet-proof cage.
As so often in this case, they were smiling despite their imprisonment. But their relatives sitting only a couple of metres away looked nervous.
The women are facing the charge of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred or hostility and could face up to seven years in prison.
In an interview with UK newspaper The Times, which was also broadcast on Russian TV, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has said it is up to the court to decide whether the women have committed a crime.
"This case is a high-profile one because it really is about our understanding of the rights and freedoms of an individual.
"However, there will always be differences in the perception of what is permitted and what is not permitted from a moral point of view and of where moral misdemeanours transform into criminal offences."
Bail deniedThe women caused outrage when they stormed on to the altar of Christ the Saviour Cathedral, and sang an obscenity-laced song that implored the Virgin Mary to "throw Putin out".
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, has said the act amounted to blasphemy.
The case has divided Russia, with many feeling the women have been too harshly treated, and are being made an example of as part of attempts to clamp down on the opposition, the BBC's Daniel Sandford reports from the court.
Two of the women have young children, and all three have repeatedly been denied requests to be given bail while awaiting trial.
Pussy Riot made headlines around the world late last year when footage of their controversial public performances at Moscow landmarks such as Red Square attracted millions of viewers on the internet.
More than 100 prominent Russian actors, directors and musicians have urged the authorities to release the three.
Western musicians such as Sting and the Red Hot Chili Peppers have also criticised the women's arrest.
Activists have said the case indicates that President Putin, now serving a third term in office, is not heeding calls for him to be more tolerant of political opponents.
FOREX-Euro slips on profit-taking as ECB action awaited - Reuters
* Euro pulls back from three-week high hit on Friday
* Expectations grow for ECB action
* But traders wary of the scope for disappointment
* Policy decisions due this week in euro zone, U.S., UK
LONDON, July 30 (Reuters) - The euro slipped on Monday, with traders taking profit on the gains enjoyed late last week due to growing expectations the European Central Bank will launch fresh action to tackle the euro zone's debt crisis.
Some in the market speculate that the ECB may reactivate its bond-buying programme to help cut Spanish and Italian borrowing costs, but traders were aware Germany has repeated its opposition to this and nervous of the scope for disappointment.
The central bank meets on Thursday. Talk of policy action intensified after president Mario Draghi said last week the bank would do whatever it took to save the euro, a message echoed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande.
But German Economy Minister Philipp Roesler warned the ECB about any large-scale government bond purchases.
The euro was down 0.2 percent at $1.2287, retreating from a three-week high of $1.2390 hit on Friday. but still holding more than two cents above a two-year low of $1.2042 hit last Tuesday on trading platform EBS.
"Draghi has to put some action behind his words last week ... The bias is towards disappointment and that's what's creeping into markets now," said Niels Christensen, currency strategist at Nordea in Copenhagen.
"The value we saw last week in euro/dollar is fragile."
Markets will keep an eye on U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who will meet German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and Draghi on Monday.
The U.S. Treasury said Geithner and the officials will discuss the U.S., European and global economies.
Markets were bracing for a busy week, with central bank decision due in the United States and UK as well as Europe, in addition to key U.S. jobs data on Friday.
ACTION AWAITED
Before the ECB meeting, analysts said euro losses were likely to be limited.
"Clearly, if nothing is announced that would be a massive disappointment... But there is an expectation that we're going to see something meaningful on Thursday," said Callum Henderson, global head of FX research for Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore.
But he said the euro's failure on Friday to close above a key technical level near $1.2325 was weighing on the currency.
The euro fell 0.6 percent to 96.12 yen, though it remained above last week's low of 94.12 yen, its lowest level against the Japanese currency in more than 11-1/2 years.
Daisuke Karakama, market economist for Mizuho Corporate Bank in Tokyo, said the euro might initially rise to around $1.25 and 100 yen if the ECB resumed bond purchases but said these levels "should be seen as a golden opportunity to sell into".
"Unless progress is made toward fiscal consolidation in Spain, the SMP (the ECB's bond buying programme) won't make everything OK," Karakama said.
Growth-linked and higher-yielding currencies have also gained strongly since last week on the improved willingness to take on risk in financial markets.
The Australian dollar was down 0.1 percent at $1.0467, having reached a four-month high around $1.0498 in early Asian trade on Monday, within a whisker of the psychologically key $1.0500 level.
The Swedish crown also came close to a 12-year high against the euro after data showed the Swedish economy grew much more than expected in the second quarter.
The euro fell nearly 1 percent to 8.3845 crowns, very close to its recent low of 8.3840.
The dollar was steady at 82.796 against a basket of major currencies, above a 3-week low of 82.343 hit on Friday.
Against the yen, the dollar eased 0.2 percent to 78.25 yen .
Plan B scores second number one album - BBC News
Plan B has gone straight to the top of the UK album chart with Ill Manors, the soundtrack to his directorial film debut of the same name.
It is the London rapper's second number one album following his 2010 hit The Defamation of Strickland Banks.
The record beat US rockers Gaslight Anthem's fourth album, Handwritten, which entered the chart at two.
Last week's number one, Sir Elton John's Good Morning To The Night, fell nine places to number 10.
The next highest new entry was Jennifer Lopez's greatest hits collection, Dance Again - The Hits, at four.
Joss Stone's The Soul Sessions - Volume 2 was the only other new entry in the top 10.
The highest climber was Hans Zimmer's soundtrack to The Dark Knight Rises, which rose from 36 to 19.
Meanwhile, an album containing music from the London 2012 opening ceremony has sold more than 10,000 copies within 24 hours of going on sale.
The compilation, named Isles of Wonder, includes music which featured in Friday night's event with tracks from Dizzee Rascal, Emeli Sande, Arctic Monkeys, David Bowie and U2.
The Official Charts Company said sales from Friday and Saturday earned it the number five spot in this week's compilation albums chart.
In the singles chart, Florence and the Machine held on to the number one spot for a third week with Spectrum.
Maroon 5 also remained at two with Payphone, while Stooshie's Black Heart rose two places to three.
Teen singer Conor Maynard was the highest new entry at four with Vegas Girl, while Karmin's Brokenhearted made its debut at six.
0 Responses to "Pussy Riot members go on trial in Moscow - BBC News"
Post a Comment