Odds and ends

• Penultimos Dias links to video of protests by Pakistani medical students in Jaguey Grande, Matanzas that resulted in deployment of anti-riot units. The video was shown on MegaTV’s Maria Elvira Live program in Miami. Ernesto also digs up this link to a petition (in English) that these same students apparently wrote last September complaining respectfully about the conditions under which they live and study – including a lack of normal Internet access. Herald story here.

• In baseball: The Nationals brought up pitcher Yuniesky Maya, 29, and he took a loss to the Mets in his first outing….Aroldis Chapman, brought up by the Reds as a reliever, is dazzling. This column from MLB.com includes video of his “cartoon-like slider” and says Chapman’s debut “puts a greater emphasis on the remaining talent” in Cuba….And Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez ended his minor league assignment and went home upon learning that the Nats were not going to bring him up to the majors this month.

• The magazine Poder360 looks at TV Marti, and follies such as the news crew arriving late to the Obama inauguration. Meanwhile, director Pedro Roig has resigned, giving President Obama an opportunity to name his own Cuba broadcasting chief.

• The Calle Ocho of the north, Bergenline Avenue in Union City, New Jersey, profiled in the Wall Street Journal.