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...

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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,...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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....

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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...

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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...

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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....

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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 shamble...

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