Two employees of a Mexico City bar are under arrest in connection with the death of Malcolm Shabazz, the grandson of slain political activist Malcolm X.

Mexico AG

Manuel Alejandro Perez de Jesus

Shabazz, 28, reportedly got into an altercation last week at the bar over a disputed $1,200 tab.

Mexico prosecutors, in a statement translated by NBC News, said David Hernandez Cruz and Manuel Alejandro Pérez de Jesús, waiters at a bar called The Palace Club, were "likely responsible" for Shabazz's death.

Shabazz was found severely beaten early on Thursday morning after a night of drinking in the city.

According to Reuters, Shabazz was in Mexico City to visit Miguel Suarez, an immigrant activist recently deported from the United States.

Mexico AG

David Hernndez Cruz

The two had visited a run-down neighborhood around Plaza Garibaldi, a tourist area where musicians play Mariachi music on the streets, which are lined with strip clubs, dive bars and bordellos, Reuters reported. Mexican prosecutors described the area as Tepito, a working-class enclave.

At some point, the men met up with two women, aged 20 and 25, and entered The Palace, an establishment prosecutors described as a “place of entertainment” where they drank and socialized, Mexican officials said.

At about 3 a.m., the two waiters demand payment and a dispute erupted over the amount of the bill. After failing to reach a settlement, Shabazz was beaten and robbed, prosecutors said.

He died in a hospital early Thursday. Prosecutors said Shabazz died of injuries that included organ damage, head trauma and rib fractures. 

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Malcolm Shabazz shown as a 14-year-old at Family Court in Yonkers, N.Y., in 1999.

Shabazz's death matched his turbulent upbringing. His mother was accused of trying to kill Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who some thought was responsible for Malcolm X's assassination.

He then went to live with his grandmother. But on June 1, 1997, at age 12 he set fire to his grandmother's Yonkers, N.Y., apartment. She died later that month from injuries sustained in the blaze. He spent 18 months in juvenile detention after pleading guilty to manslaughter and arson.

He later spent time in prison for attempted robbery. 

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Related:

Malcolm Shabazz, grandson of Malcolm X, slain in Mexico

Editor's note: This story includes a clarification.

President Muhammed Morsi, often criticized by young Egyptians for a lack of democratic reforms, on Wednesday took to the social-media site Twitter to request questions from youth.

A post on the Egyptian presidency's official English-language Twitter account read: "The President's account @MuhammadMorsi will receive questions tonight (9-9:30) & President Morsy will respond via Twitter tomorrow morning."

According to an NBC News translation, Morsi's original Arabic tweet read: "My youth I'm happy and honored to receive your questions today from nine o'clock until nine-thirty. The mechanism to ask questions (link)"

According to Morsi’s official Facebook page, the Q&A was so that Morsi could directly communicate with young people.

Morsi’s spokesman said the president would answer the questions on Thursday. It was unclear if he would respond publicly or directly to the person posting the tweet.

Some Twitter users complained that many of the tweets were jokes. Other tweets to Morsi, whose official handle is @MuhammadMorsi, asked for personal meetings and even for results of official investigations into violence.

According to The Associated Press, youth groups have said that Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood did not officially join the uprising against former ousted leader Hosni Mubarak's regime until it became clear that its momentum was irreversible.

Other world leaders, including President Barack Obama, have used social media to communicate directly with citizens.

This story was originally published on Wed Apr 10, 2013 6:49 PM EDT

Looking to kickstart long-stalled peace talks while traveling in the Middle East, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he will first work on breaking down mistrust between Palestinians and Israelis but so far refuses to publicly offer any specific details of any fresh, or modified, peace plan.

After meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday, Kerry spent Monday — Israel’s Holocaust memorial day — first laying down a red, white and blue wreath at Yad Vashem, the official monument for the 6 million Jews murdered during World War II. He then met with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Israeli President Shimon Peres.

Kerry hinted at only a broad outline of his strategy to revive peace negotiations.

“There are reasons that mistrust has built up," Kerry said on Monday. “I am convinced that we can break that down, but I'm not going to do it under guidelines or time limits.”

Kerry, who said he's already begun discussions surrounding mistrust issues between Palestinians and Jews, said he would explore “what that process ought to be appropriately that satisfies needs.”

He also mentioned economic issues as critical to “changing perceptions and realities on the ground” and creating momentum for peace.

In remarks with Peres on Monday, Kerry said he believes peace is possible.

“I am convinced there is a road forward,” Kerry said. “And I look forward to the discussions with your leaders and yourself regarding how that road could be sort of reignited, if you will, once again setting out on that path.”

Peres noted "a new sense of optimism, of hope."

"My dear friend, there is a new wind of peace blowing through the Middle East," Peres said.

At a dinner Kerry met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

Kerry is attempting to break loose a 4½-year stalemate between the Israelis and Palestinians during which there has been intense fighting and the two sides have rarely talked peace. Kerry was making his third trip to the region in two weeks.

Palestinian and Arab officials have pointed to a revival, with modifications, of a 2002 Arab Peace Initiative that offered a comprehensive peace with Israel in exchange for a pullout from territories captured in the 1967 Mideast war – the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights – that Israel says is unacceptable. 

The Palestinian officials, The Associated Press reported, say Kerry is seeking greater Arab-Israeli security commitments and softer language on borders as part of the plan.

A senior State Department official, however, denied to the AP that Kerry was proposing changes to the plan, and Kerry gave no hint of specific proposals on Monday.

The annual Holocaust remembrance is a solemn day in Israel in which restaurants, cafes and theaters shut down. Radio and TV stations air documentaries about the Holocaust as well as interviews with survivors and somber music. A two-minute siren was sounded earlier in the day to honor victims.

President Barack Obama, who visited Yad Vashem on his trip to Israel last month, issued a statement saying the day offered a chance to remember the "beautiful lives lost" and to "pay tribute to all those who resisted the Nazis' heinous acts and all those who survived." 

Kerry said the wailing of the sirens in the morning "had a profound impact on me. It was impressive."

NBC News' Catherine Chomiak and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Related: New interest in old Mideast peace plan