Venezuela on Tuesday deported three suspected drug smugglers wanted in the United States, Canada and Colombia

 

Venezuela on Tuesday deported three suspected drug smugglers wanted in the United States, Canada and Colombia, touting the moves as proof the government of President Hugo Chavez is making strides in fighting trafficking. Those deported include Luc Letourneau, a Canadian wanted in his homeland on drug trafficking charges, Oscar Martinez Hernandez, an American wanted in Puerto Rico on charges including cocaine and heroin smuggling, and Colombian Adalberto Bernal Arboleda.Arboleda, known by his nickname “El Cali,” faces drug smuggling charges in Colombia and the United States. Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami trumpeted the deportations as evidence Venezuela is cracking down on drug trafficking. Venezuela is a major hub for gangs that smuggle Colombian cocaine to the United States and Europe, and U.S. officials have accused Chavez’s government of being lax in anti-drug efforts. Last year, President Barack Obama’s administration classified Venezuela as a country that has “failed demonstrably” to effectively fight drug trafficking. El Aissami dismissed that accusation, accusing U.S. officials of “defaming” Venezuela’s counter-drug efforts. Letourneau, 53, was captured in May on Margarita Island, a popular tourist destination. At the time of his arrest, Letourneau was planning to smuggle 110 pounds (50 kilograms) of cocaine into Canada, El Aissami said. Hernandez, a 44-year-old man who was nabbed by police on Jan. 4 in the western city of Maracaibo, faces numerous criminal charges ranging from drug trafficking to illegal possession of firearms and explosives. Arboleda was captured in the town of Mariara, in central Carabobo state, on Jan. 11. U.S.-Venezuelan counter-drug cooperation has been sharply scaled back since 2005, when Chavez suspended cooperation with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and accused it of being a front for espionage.

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Rapist TV psychic Martin Smith found hanged in cell

 

A convicted paedophile, whose partner is accused of murdering their children in Spain, has been found hanged in his cell at HMP Manchester. Former TV psychic Martin Smith, 46, originally from North Shields, was jailed for 16 years in March 2011 for raping a girl aged under 16 in Cumbria. His partner Lianne Smith is in custody accused of murdering their two children in Lloret de Mar, Spain. Greater Manchester Police said his death was not thought to be suspicious. A spokesman said his body was found in his cell on Monday evening. Smith, who appeared on television as a medium five years ago on the Living Channel's Most Haunted programme, was extradited to the UK from Spain in spring 2010. After his return his daughter Rebecca, five, and Daniel, 11 months, were found dead in a hotel in Catalonia, north-east Spain. The couple, who share the same name but are not related, left the UK for Spain with Rebecca while Daniel was born in Spain. Smith was convicted at Manchester Crown Court of 11 counts of rape, attempted rape and indecent assault on his victim over a period of 10 years. His trial was told he used hypnotism and violence to groom and sexually abuse his victim. A Prison Service spokesman said the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman was investigating his death. No date has been set yet for Lianne Smith's murder trial in Spain, a spokeswoman for the Catalonia judiciary said.

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Gang killings review welcomed by barrister

 

A top Bradford barrister has welcomed proposals to simplify the law on gang-related killings. Stephen Wood, who is based at the Broadway barristers’ chambers, said there were miscarriages of justice due to the complexities of the ‘joint enterprise’ rule, which allows groups or gangs to be charged with murder, even if only one person delivers the fatal blow. MPs on the Commons Justice Select Committee last week said a new, less complex law on such killings was needed to ensure justice for victims and defendants. A change in the law would also cut the number of appeals, the committee said. It claimed the law surrounding gang murder cases was now so complicated juries might find it impossible to understand how to reach the right verdict.

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Former Hells Angels leader sues wrong government for seizing home

 

The former leader of the Manitoba Hells Angels says he's been the victim of a crime — the government allegedly stole his house. Ernie Dew has filed a unique civil lawsuit, claiming his property in St. Andrews, Man., was illegally seized and sold following his arrest on drug charges. Dew, 53, seeks unspecified financial damages. "The government has misused and/or exceeded the power of its public office," says a statement of claim filed in Court of Queen's Bench. "This was a reckless, wanton and egregious disregard of his rights." There's just one small problem with Dew's lawsuit, which was specifically filed against the provincial government. "It wasn't us that seized his house," a provincial spokesperson told the Winnipeg Free Press Tuesday afternoon. It was the federal government who took action, meaning Dew's lawsuit will likely fall quickly. He would have the option of re-filing it and naming Ottawa in the lawsuit. The provincial government did seize the Hells Angels clubhouse two years ago, which the spokesman said may have left Dew confused. But they had absolutely no role in the seizing of his property. Dew, 52, was convicted at trial last year of cocaine trafficking and possession of goods obtained by crime stemming from a 2006 arrest. He is to be sentenced on Jan. 18. However, Dew was acquitted of another drug-related offence that specifically involved selling his home. Dew claims — wrongly, as it turns out — the provincial government's criminal forfeiture unit jumped the gun by taking possession of his property under proceeds of crime legislation. "This was misfeasance of public office," Dew claims. He says the government is guilty of "conversion, trespass to chattels, unjust enrichment, misfeasance of public office and negligence," Dew never denied getting involved in several illegal transactions, but offered a unique explanation for his actions at trial. He claimed he only agreed to sell drugs to his friend, Franco Atanasovic, because the man said he was deep in debt and desperate for money to pay back several people who were after him. Atanasovic was working at the time as a police agent and helped capture the deals on audio and video. Dew insists he never made a cent from the transactions and was simply acting as a middle man between Atanasovic and the drug supplier — and a peacemaker between those looking to collect from Atanasovic. Dew said Atanasovic was in trouble and began pestering him at work, eventually convincing him to set up three different drug deals. The deals were done at Dew's workplace, while a fourth one allegedly happened at his home just north of Winnipeg. Dew always insisted he had nothing to do with that one, which he was ultimately found not guilty of and which is now the subject of his lawsuit. The judge found Dew was away hunting at the time a kilogram of cocaine was exchanged between Hells associate Jerome Labossiere and Dew's wife, Vera. Both Labossiere and Dew's wife ultimately pleaded guilty for their roles in that transaction. "My house would be the last place I'd do a drug deal. That would be grounds to have my home seized. I've seen it happen before," Dew told court.

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A young member of the Native Syndicate street gang will spend the next eight months behind bars after beating a stranger unconscious with a fence post

 

A young member of the Native Syndicate street gang will spend the next eight months behind bars after beating a stranger unconscious with a fence post in an apparently unmotivated attack. The youth, 14, was handed a sentence of 18 months of secure custody and supervision under the Youth Criminal Justice Act last week after admitting responsibility for an unprovoked summertime attack at a children’s park near Spence Street and Cumberland Avenue. Judge Heather Pullan credited the teen with six months of time already served, meaning he has eight months of jail left to be followed by a period of community supervision and probation. Details of the July 8, 2011 attack were described in court by the Crown as “gratuitous violence against complete strangers.” Prosecutor Sheila Seesahai said the boy approached a group of youths drinking in the park and started attacking them after striking up a short conversation over a “gang scarf.” While two youths managed to escape relatively uninjured, the teen pounced on a 15-year-old boy, knocked him down and repeatedly hit him in the head with the fence picket. “He hit the victim so hard that it shattered … the police just find pieces of it,” Seesahai said. Someone called 911 to report a “bludgeoning,” and officers arrived to find the victim passed out and bleeding from the face, court heard. His attacker was arrested not far from the scene. The youth was granted two shots at bail after his arrest but breached each time, Seesahai said. Since being in custody, he’s had to be transferred to a maximum-security youth lockup twice because of his behaviour, Pullan was told. The teen suffers from impulse issues and has had negative family influences, his lawyer told court. The youth said he “kind of felt bad for the people that I hurt.” “I’m sick and tired of the cockamamie in and out of this place,” he said. Pullan said she recognized the teen came from difficult circumstances, but it didn’t excuse his actions. “It’s not all about you,” said Pullan. “In the end, it’s about protection of the public.”

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Police investigating three murders arrested 43 feuding New York gang members

 

Police investigating three murders arrested 43 feuding New York gang members on Thursday based on evidence collected from monitoring what the gang members were saying about the cases on Twitter and Facebook, authorities said. The 25 accused members of the Wave Gang and 18 accused members of rival Hoodstarz have been terrorizing streets in Brooklyn with shootouts that led to the killing of three people and wounding of several others, New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. The gang members, ages 15 to 21, bragged about the shootings on the social media sites Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, he said. "By linking their postings and boastings to active cases and other crimes, these officers were able to build their case," Kelly said. Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes said authorities will next be going after gangs in other Brooklyn neighborhoods. "We know who you are. We know how you operate," he said. "Make no mistake about it. We're coming after you next." Hynes said the feud that started in August between Wave Gang and Hoodstarz resulted in the death of an innocent bystander, and the wounded included a 9-year-old boy and his father. Wave Gang members often robbed 13- and 14-year-olds by threatening to steal their bikes and electronics to intimidate them into joining their gangs, Hynes said. The 43 gang members were indicted on Thursday on charges including murder, assault, reckless endangerment, robbery and weapon possession, with potential sentences ranging from a year to life in prison.

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The Abu Dhabi General Prosecution for Public Funds has ordered the detention of two Europeans and other individuals on charges of embezzlement and fraud.

 

 A year ago, the suspects are alleged to have started a fake project selling properties in the United Kingdom at competitive prices. They allegedly targeted UAE investors. Investigations have since revealed that the company does not have a real estate licence and that the accused defrauded 40 investors. The General Prosecution seized around Dh3 million the suspects allegedly swindled from their victims, in addition to Dh100,000 found while inspecting the fake company. Another Dh250,000 in the firm's account was also confiscated. Article continues below The central bank has been asked to give a report on all the transactions carried out by the company. The means of information technology used by the defendants for the management of their operations have been identified by authorities, with Interpol being asked to arrest the other defendants in the case. An official in the Attorney-General's office urged investors in the UAE to be on their guard and to ensure the companies they deal with are authorised to carry out real estate activities in the country.

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Asil Nadir faces £34m theft charges in biggest ever fraud trial

 

The biggest ever British fraud trial begins today when Turkish-Cypriot tycoon Asil Nadir stands up at the Old Bailey to face £34million theft charges. He is accused of 13 counts of theft dating back to the 1980s from Polly Peck, his failed business empire that folded in 1990 under the weight of its £1.3billion debt. When he joined Polly Peck in the early 1980s it was an ailing textiles firm which he transformed into a FTSE 100 conglomerate that housed the Del Monte fruit business and the Sansui electronics firm. On trial: The SFO alleges that Nadir transferred millions out of Polly Peck in the years preceding its collapse Following the collapse he jumped a £3million bail and fled in 1993 to Cyprus, which has no extraditions treaty with the UK, but returned in August 2010 stating he wanted to clear his name. Nadir has argued in the past that there was a grave abuse of process in the case brought against him by the Serious Fraud Office. For years he has alleged that the police and the SFO placed the judge in his case under improper pressure, made false allegations of corruption against him and his advisers and seized documents necessary for his defence. The 70-year old has pleaded not guilty to the 13 charges, which include theft of £33.1million and £2.5million from the company between 1987 and 1990. Under Nadir’s leadership the firm’s market value ballooned from £300,000 to £1.7billion, and an investment of £1,000 from the late 1970s would have been worth £1million at its peak. The SFO alleges that Nadir transferred millions out of Polly Peck in the years preceding its collapse. Its demise hit pension funds and small shareholders. The case is due to last at least four months. Nadir’s fall embarrassed John Major’s Conservative government after it emerged that a Tory minister, Michael Mates, had given Nadir a watch engraved ‘Don’t let the buggers get you down’. Mates, the minister of state for Northern Ireland, resigned over his links to the businessman. Nadir was a major donor to the Tories, pouring more than £1million into party coffers between 1986 and 1990. He was a regular guest in Mrs Thatcher’s Downing Street, and was consulted on overseas development and Middle Eastern trade.

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No one calls him Sir Allen Stanford anymore. He is inmate number 35017-183.

 

On Monday, the Texas financier heads to court in Houston to battle charges that he operated a $7 billion Ponzi scheme from Stanford International Bank Ltd, his offshore bank on the Caribbean island of Antigua. By all accounts, his was a life of luxury, filled with private jets, yachts, mansions and the sport of cricket. Deemed a flight risk in June 2009 by a federal judge, the 6-foot billionaire has been in jail, sporting prison-issue green and orange jumpsuits and shackles instead of the dark, tailor-made suits he once ordered in bulk. Stanford, a native Texan who was knighted by the government of Antigua in 2006, is accused of misleading investors about certificates of deposit (CDs) issued by his offshore bank, in one of the biggest white collar fraud cases since Bernard Madoff. The CDs were touted as safe, with funds "generally invested in investment grade bonds, securities and foreign currency deposit," according to literature distributed by Stanford's brokerage firm. Instead, prosecutors allege, Stanford invested CD proceeds in illiquid pet-project investments that included Caribbean real estate, a Cowboys and Indians magazine and a pawn shop operator. He also loaned more than $2 billion to himself. The alleged Ponzi scheme started to unravel in late 2008 as the financial crisis deepened and more and more investors asked for redemptions, a situation that left Stanford scrambling for cash. Prosecutors will likely rely heavily on the testimony of the firm's former Chief Financial Officer James Davis, who pleaded guilty in August 2009 and has been cooperating with the government. The two men were college roommates at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. In past interviews, Stanford has blamed Davis, a theme that is likely to be repeated by the defense at trial. "I didn't oversee anything in the investment portfolio, that was the CFO's responsibility," Stanford told Reuters in a 2009 interview. "The CFO had investment committees, the chief investment officer reports to him." Stanford, 61, has pleaded not guilty to 14 criminal counts of fraud, obstruction of a federal investigation and conspiracy to launder money. Among the alleged crimes prosecutors expect to prove to the Houston jury is that Stanford was involved in falsifying financial statements and made false statements about Stanford International Bank's financial condition. PAUPER IN LOVE Stanford's health has declined since his arrest. He was injured in a jailhouse brawl in 2009 and suffered from an addiction to a powerful anti-anxiety medication. He has hepatitis B and cirrhosis of the liver, and, if convicted, will likely spend he rest of his life in prison. The SEC seized all of Stanford's assets in February 2009 after filing a civil lawsuit. His lawyer at the time, Dick DeGuerin, said the government's action did not even leave enough money for his client to buy underwear. Once No. 205 on Forbes' list of richest Americans, Stanford's defense is paid for with U.S. tax dollars and his 81-year-old mother is struggling to help. "I've maxed out my credit cards and I'm on my last few thousand dollars of savings," said Sammie Stanford. She even had to do a reverse mortgage on her home "to get some extra cash," she said in December after a court hearing. After his arrest, Stanford had a bevy of women, four of whom are mothers of his six children, attend his court hearings. He had a "fiancee" half his age even though he remains legally married. Stanford lavished the women in his life with trips on private jets, luxury homes and, in one instance, spousal support payments of $100,000 per month, according to court documents. His oldest daughter, Randi, lived in a luxury Houston high-rise paid for by her father, for whom she worked. Court records from a 2007 paternity case, that was settled, showed Stanford also paid about $150,000 a year in child support for two other children who lived with their mother in a $10 million house in Florida. But now, in addition to losing his fortune, Stanford has only the support of his parents and family and not the harem of loyalists seen earlier. Only his mother lasted through the entire three days of testimony last month at a hearing in which Stanford was judged competent to stand trial. The man who once ran a business with operations in 140 countries has different priorities now. In a recent court hearing he could be heard complaining about being served a peanut butter sandwich on stale bread.

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Spain's fast rail forestalled problems for farms

 

On a crisp Saturday morning last fall, Luis Valciente and Mercedes Martin enjoyed the quiet of their farm about 20 miles northeast of Seville. The retired husband and wife bought their patch of land in 1987, several years before Spain's first high-speed trains started running between Madrid and Seville. "It's very tranquil, which is what we like after all these years," Martin said through an interpreter. Without warning, a loud "swoosh" briefly interrupted the couple. It was one of Spain's AVE high-speed trains rushing on tracks about 100 feet from the rear of the couple's modest home. Within seconds, the noise subsided and the couple resumed their chat. To train passengers, the Valciente farm is little more than a blur about 10 minutes before they get to Seville, the southern terminus for the trains. Each arrival sends fresh activity through the station and a surge of cabs, cars and pedestrians onto the streets near the historic city's commercial center. Nearby restaurants, shops and rental-car agencies vie for attention from the arrivals. Spain's system connects urban centers and smaller provincial capitals while crossing fertile agricultural regions, much like California's planned high-speed rail system. In the countryside, Barcelona transportation engineer Andreu Ulied said, the Spanish government went to great lengths and expense to minimize the effect on farms. It skirted farmland where it could, built frequent overpasses and underpasses, and generously compensated owners who lost property to the project. In larger Spanish cities such as Madrid, Seville, Valencia, Cordova and Barcelona, stations for high-speed trains are in developed, central-city commercial districts. In Barcelona, preservationists' fears of a train tunnel under the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia forced extensive engineering measures to avoid damaging the iconic church. Most merchants near the stations say high-speed rail is good for commerce, but they are unsure whether it has directly helped their stores and restaurants. Ulied, economist Germà Bel and others say the prospects for economic gains by high-speed rail cities are murky at best, and at worst could bleed commerce from smaller cities between larger destinations. Valciente and Martin, who are in their 70s, tend to fruit trees and corn on their 6½-acre farm. The AVE trains speed by the farmstead several times an hour, "and it hasn't affected us at all," Valciente said. "We don't even feel them," Martin added. The trains create no wind turbulence, she said, and are less bothersome than slower, regional commuter trains. Conventional trains were there when Valciente bought the farm, but he doesn't think AVE trains affected his property value, and if neighbors have complaints, he hasn't heard them. High-speed rail raised little opposition from the agriculture industry. That experience stands in contrast to the objections by farmers in the San Joaquin Valley, where faith in the state rail authority and the economy are in short supply. Growers and ranchers say they fear losing farmland and homes, and worry the tracks will keep them from moving across their land. They also doubt they'll be fairly compensated for their property or troubles. Spanish officials worked with farmers to head off concerns, said Pedro Pérez del Campo, environmental policy director for ADIF, the government-owned company that runs the system. "It's in our interest to make it easier for the farmers," he said, noting the priority is to ensure farmers with divided property can reach all of the land. "About every 500 meters, there is the ability to pass from one side of the rail to the other. We are obligated that if the rails were to cross your property, we have to give you the ability to cross."

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Spain workers lose bridge holidays in debt crisis austerity move

 

Considering how many of his friends are unemployed, electrician Javier Ramirez felt like he'd hit the jackpot when his company scored a contract for government buildings here in Spain's sprawling capital. He gets paid by the hour, and rewiring 250-year-old marble halls is a formidable job that should feed his family for years. The problem is, Ramirez worked only about half of last month, and the time off wasn't his choice. It was courtesy of Spain's slate of religious and municipal holidays — a generous 14 per year, 40% more than in the United States — and a beloved little tradition called the puente, or "bridge." Puentes result when a holiday falls on a Tuesday or Thursday and, to make a long weekend, workers take off the Monday or Friday in between. Many employers tacitly acquiesce to an extra vacation day, and some close their offices altogether. Along with the siesta and three-hour lunches, puentes are one of the delicious little time-wasters that have the Spaniards thumbing their noses at more rigid schedules in northern Europe, efficiency be damned. But Europe's debt crisis has decimated Spain's workforce, and unemployment here tops 23%. Now, with northern leaders increasingly scolding the "layabouts" of the south, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy says the puentes are something Spain can no longer afford. So, in a nearly $20-billion package of spending cuts and tax increases passed by the parliament this month, Rajoy took aim at the puentes. Starting this year, most holidays that fall midweek will be moved to Monday, limiting workers to a three-day weekend. A few holidays, such as Christmas and New Year's Day, will still be celebrated on fixed dates, but other fiestas that many Spaniards hold dear — the Day of the Blessed Virgin's Immaculate Conception, or the slightly more obscure Festival of St. Mary of the Head, to name just two — will be celebrated on Mondays, in much the same way Americans celebrate Labor Day or Memorial Day. It's too early to put a dollar figure on the potential savings, or to know how many Spaniards might take a vacation day in defiance or out of habit, and create a four-day weekend where they always had one. But the move could significantly boost productivity and outweigh potential losses for hotels, which benefit from domestic tourism with longer weekends, said Gayle Allard, an economist at Madrid's IE Business School who previously worked in Spain's banking sector. "We had problems being on the same schedule with other financial centers. Spaniards were working their traditional day, with the long lunch, and then they stay late at night," Allard said. "If they could kind of align working hours, drop the idea of the siesta and get rid of the puentes, it might actually be beneficial for Spaniards to work a more compact day and week, more similar to European hours." Many Spaniards lucky enough to have jobs these days are underemployed — law graduates working in restaurants, for example. And with a hiring freeze on public jobs, more and more Spaniards are working for hourly pay, with no benefits or job security. They're the ones who lose money on the puentes, among them electrician Ramirez, who doesn't get paid for time off. "I don't really want that relaxing day; I prefer to work," the 36-year-old said as he lined up to go through security early one recent morning to work at the Ministry of Public Works building in downtown Madrid. "I want to take my vacation when I want. So the puente, for me, it's an annoying thing." But for salaried workers, it's a different story. "The change doesn't really affect us office workers, because if we want a long weekend, we've still got plenty of vacation days," said Juan Carlos Yebra, a 38-year-old Web designer in Madrid. "But the puente is definitely a tradition here. Outside Spain, I have a feeling we might be famous for this," he said, laughing. "My co-worker, for example, is from England, and she's constantly saying, 'You're always on vacation!'"

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Spain’s economy contracted in the fourth quarter and will shrink 1.5 percent this year,

 

Spain’s economy contracted in the fourth quarter and will shrink 1.5 percent this year, the Bank of Spain estimated, undermining government efforts to cut the budget deficit amid the second recession in two years. Gross domestic product fell 0.3 percent in the quarter, the most in two years, and grew 0.3 percent from a year earlier, the Madrid-based Bank of Spain said today in its monthly bulletin. Economic output may decline this year as unemployment reaches 23.4 percent, returning to growth of 0.2 percent in 2013, the central bank said. The forecasts are based on the premise that the government will adopt additional austerity measures to meet its budget goals “strictly.” Spain’s new government, in power since Dec. 21, is aiming to reduce the budget deficit by about half this year even as the economy slumps. Spain is already in a recession, Budget Minister Cristobal Montoro said on Jan. 18. Credit is shrinking at a record pace and the country has the highest unemployment in the European Union at 22.9 percent. “It’s going to be very difficult to meet the target but it all depends on what measures the government takes,” Jose Luis Martinez, a strategist for Spain at Citigroup Inc. in Madrid, said in a telephone interview. “The important thing is that brave steps are taken to allow for a stronger recovery.”

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Birmingham murders: Second man arrested

 

A second man has been arrested on suspicion of murder over the death of a couple in Birmingham. The 41-year old is being questioned over the murder of Carole, 58, and Avtar Singh-Kolar, 62, who were found dead at their home in Handsworth Wood. Post-mortem tests confirmed the couple died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head and that both had been struck a number of times. A 24-year-old man arrested on Friday in Birmingham remains in custody. The couple's bodies were discovered on Wednesday by their son, Jason, a serving police officer.

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Man arrested on suspicion of murder

 

24-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder over the death of a couple in Birmingham. Carole, 58, and Avtar Singh-Kolar, 62, were found dead at their home in Handsworth Wood on Wednesday. Post-mortem tests confirmed the couple died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head and that both had been struck a number of times. Their bodies were discovered by their son, Jason, who is an officer with West Midlands Police. Officers arrested the man at a house in the city on Friday night. He has been taken to a police station in the West Midlands where he is being questioned on suspicion of murder. Det Supt Richard Baker, who is leading a team of more than 60 officers assigned to the case, said: "This was a horrendous attack. "We continue to follow a number of lines of enquiry and we thank those who have called us so far. We encourage anyone with information to speak to us no matter how insignificant they feel the detail is." Crimestoppers said the double murder was a "vile crime" and has put up a £10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible. 'Special people' The couple had four children and eight grandchildren. At an emotional press conference on Thursday, two of the children made a desperate plea for help to catch their killers. Daughter Michelle Kirwan, 39, described them as "the sweetest, kindest people that I have ever met". She said: "Our hearts are broken forever and our lives will never be the same." Detectives have said they are looking into a number of lines of inquiry, including a rise in burglaries and gold thefts in the area. Speaking earlier this week, Mr Baker said a possible link between Jason Kolar's position with the force and his parents' death was "not a significant line of inquiry".

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Royal Navy captures 13 Somali pirates

 

The Royal Navy has captured 13 Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean, the Ministry of Defence says. RFA Fort Victoria and a US Navy vessel intercepted the pirates' boat, which had refused to stop despite warning shots from a Royal Navy helicopter. Royal Marines in speedboats approached the vessel and boarded it, capturing 13 pirates and seizing weapons. Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said the UK troops, part of a Nato-led force, could be "proud" of the success. "The Royal Navy and Royal Marines are playing a crucial role in securing and protecting international sea lanes that are vital to global trade," the minister said. The dhow was identified as a known pirated vessel operating in Indian Ocean shipping lanes Capt Gerry Northwood, who leads the counter-piracy operation on RFA Fort Victoria, said: "This firm and positive action will also send a clear message to other Somali pirates that we will not tolerate their attacks on international shipping." The operation was carried out around dawn on Friday. Capt Shaun Jones RFA, commanding officer on RFA Fort Victoria, said: "To manoeuvre such a large ship at speed in close vicinity of a nimble dhow takes extreme concentration and skill; my team were never found wanting. "The 13 Somalis certainly found Friday 13th unlucky for them.

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Child benefit cut will go ahead, says Osborne

 

Chancellor George Osborne has said child benefit for higher rate taxpayers will be removed, after ministers' hints the policy could be made "fairer". But he said he would set out in the next months how the policy would be implemented. David Cameron acknowledged there was an issue with the £42,475-a-year threshold - amid criticism the changes unfairly hit single earner families. Labour said the policy was "unravelling already" and was an "utter shambles".

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