Drug gangs report blasting UK cities as dangerous

 

 Comment By Professor Alan Stevens Drug gangs report blasting UK cities as dangerous is too confusing The problems are nowhere near as deep in Manchester or Liverpool as they are in Rio de Janeiro – or even San Francisco A masked municipal policeman stands outside a shopping mall in MexicoAP On one hand it is right to state that there are communities in British cities suffering from social exclusion and marginalisation and that this contributes to their drug and crime problems. But on the other, these ­problems are nowhere near as deep in Manchester or Liverpool as they are in Rio de Janeiro or Ciudad Juarez – or even San Francisco or Los Angeles. The problem with the INCB report is that the wording is unclear. It gives the impression that its comments on no-go areas could apply equally to all of these cities. But it should have been more careful in specifying which ones it was referring to. The cities in Central and South America have more extreme ­problems which come from bigger social inequalities. They are dramatically more affected by crime and health problems. For example, in the past few years in Rio there have been repeated attempts to crack down on the areas controlled by violent drug markets. For a while these places were no-go zones. But authorities have acted in a militaristic fashion in the past year as they prepare for the World Cup.

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British cities are becoming no-go areas where drugs gangs are effectively in control

British cities are becoming no-go areas where drugs gangs are effectively in control, a United Nations drugs chief said yesterday. Professor Hamid Ghodse, president of the UN’s International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), said there was “a vicious cycle of social exclusion and drugs problems and fractured communities” in cities such as Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester. The development of “no-go areas” was being fuelled by threats such as social inequality, migration and celebrities normalising drug abuse, he warned. Helping marginalised communities with drugs problems “must be a priority”, he said. “We are looking at social cohesion, the social disintegration and illegal drugs. “In many societies around the world, whether developed or developing, there are communities within the societies which develop which become no-go areas. “Drug traffickers, organised crime, drug users, they take over. They will get the sort of governance of those areas.” Prof Ghodse called for such communities to be offered drug abuse prevention programmes, treatment and rehabilitation services, and the same levels of educational, employment and recreational opportunities as in the wider society. The INCB’s annual report for 2011 found persistent social inequality, migration, emerging cultures of excess and a shift in traditional values were some of the key threats to social cohesion. As the gap between rich and poor widens, and “faced with a future with limited opportunities, individuals within these communities may increasingly become disengaged from the wider society and become involved in a range of personally and socially harmful behaviours, including drug abuse and drug dealing,” it said.

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Son-in-law of King Juan Carlos of Spain admits he defied orders in corruption trial

 

The Duke of Palma, the husband of the King's youngest daughter Cristina, appeared in court in Majorca over the weekend, subpoenaed to give evidence in a case that has turned the spotlight on Spain's royal family. The Duke, a former Olympic handball medallist who received the title when he married in 1997, has stirred latent antimonarchist sentiments in Spain with the suggestion that he used his royal influence to feather his own nest. The Duke, 44, is implicated in a case that alleges the embezzlement of public funds through the Noos Institute, a non-profit organisation that arranged sporting and cultural events for the regional governments of Valencia and the Balearics, and which the Duke was chairman of between 2002 to 2006. Prosecutors believe up to 5.8 million euros could have misappropriated and have uncovered evidence of funds being squirrelled away to offshore accounts in Belize, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom. Under intense questioning the Duke conceded the King had ordered him to stand down as chairman of the Noos Institute in 2006, shortly after questions were raised over a 1.2 million euro (£1m) contract from the Balearic government.

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Police uncover 'serious and organised' criminality in £63m scam to breach European fishing quotas

An inquiry into the UK's largest fishing scandal has uncovered "serious and organised" criminality by Scottish trawlermen and fish processors in an elaborate scam to illegally sell nearly £63m of undeclared fish.

Three large fish factories and 27 skippers have pleaded guilty to sophisticated and lucrative schemes to breach EU fishing quotas, in what one senior police officer described as "industrial level" deception.

They went to extraordinary lengths to conceal their illegally caught fish, installing underground pipelines, secret weighing machines and extra conveyor belts and computers to allow them to land 170,000 tonnes above their EU quota of mackerel and herring between 2002 and 2005.

The extent of the "black landings" scandal emerged as 17 skippers and one of the three factories were given fines totalling nearly £1m at the high court in Glasgow on Friday, after admitting repeated breaches of the Sea Fishing (Enforcement of Community Control Measures) (Scotland) Order 2000. Another six skippers pleaded guilty at the same hearing to landing undeclared fish worth nearly £7m at Lerwick, in the Shetlands, and Peterhead, Aberdeenshire.

Four skippers pleaded guilty in January and a further four in the ring, who can't be named for legal reasons, are still to be prosecuted.

Judge Lord Turnbull, told the 17 skippers sentenced on Friday they were guilty of a "cynical and sophisticated" operation, which brought embarrassment and shameon them and their families. "The motivation was purely financial," he said. "Those who were already making a good living saw this as a way more income could be generated and were prepared to participate in deliberate lies and falsehoods."

Once the illegally caught fish had been sneaked past Government inspectors, it was put on sale in the Lerwick and Peterhead markets, where it was sold to wholesalers and fishmongers as if it had been legally landed, in defiance of strict EU regulations designed to protectEurope's fish stocks from over-fishing.

The Guardian can reveal that the illegally landed fish was sold with the knowledge of the government-funded industry marketing authority Seafish, which took a £2.58 levy for every tonne of over-quota mackerel and herring. That earned it £434,000 in fees before the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency, now part of Marine Scotland, raided two factories in September 2005.

The headquarters of Seafish in Edinburgh were raided by police and documents seized in 2008, but five months later prosecutors decided not to take any further action. It is thought the Crown Office, the Scottish prosecution body, believed there was no evidence that could lead to the agency being accused of involvement in the scam.

With a series of court cases stretching back to 2010, the scandal has implicated more than half the Scottish mackerel and herring fleet active at that time. It is understood that the true value of the illegal landings linked to the factories involved is closer to £100m, but prosecutors decided to pursue just £63m of landings.

How one Peterhead factory sidestepped the rules. Source: Guardian graphics

Prosecutors have also confiscated £3.1m from 17 skippers who landed catches in Lerwick, and against two of the three firms so far convicted, under proceedings of crime legislation introduced to tackle serious criminal gangs and drugs lords. The largest confiscation order, £425,9000, was against Hamish Slater, the skipper of the trawler Enterprise from Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, who admitted landing £3,980,000 worth of undeclared fish. A number of skippers landed fish worth more than £2m.

At Shetland Catch in Lerwick, one of Europe's largest fish processors, the company installed a duplicate conveyor belt when its new factory was built, fitting a secret weight-reading device in the loft and a computer in an engineer's workshop "a considerable distance" from the factory floor.

In its processing plant at Peterhead, north of Aberdeen, Fresh Catch installed an underground pipe to divert fish to secret weighing devices, which used remotely operated pneumatic valves. It built a secret storage room, and operated the clandestine machinery from a hut known to workers as the Wendy House, disguised with fake "Danger: high voltage" signs on its door.

A second factory in the town, Alexander Buchan, which has since closed, fitted a secret scale and conveyor belt, which allowed up to 70% of a boat's catch to go undeclared. It printed a guidance manual showing its staff how to handle undeclared landings, and its staff misled trading standards officers about its purpose.

Detective Superintendent Gordon Gibson, of Grampian police, the senior investigating officer in Operation Trawler, said: "Make no bones about it: it was serious, it was organised and it was criminal. The element of preparation involved was significant, given the methods and means that all these individuals went to.

"Was I surprised? Absolutely. I was surprised at the levels they had gone to disguise their criminal conduct."

An industry source admitted: "This wasn't casual or by accident. It was organised, it was systematic, it was deception. No one disagrees with that."

In a further penalty, which is thought to have cost the convicted skippers millions, the European commission cut the quotas soon after the scandal was reported to Brussels by the UK government in 2005, calling it a "quota payback".

Although none of the trawlermen have been banned from fishing, their quotas were cut by more than 116,000 tonnes of mackerel and nearly 47,000 tonnes of herring over a seven-year period. That payback will end next year.

One source with detailed knowledge of the case said this had damaging consequences for skippers and crews involved, as the market value of mackerel and herring since 2005 had been as much as double the price 10 years ago.

The convictions follow a complex, 10-year investigation involving forensic accountants from KPMG, who analysed the paperwork for thousands of landings, a core team of 25 detectives and support staff from Grampian and Northern police, four British sea fishery officers with Marine Scotland, the Home Office Holmes police computer system, money laundering experts with the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, and specialist prosecutors at the Crown Office.

Operation Trawler has brought to an end a practice which was once endemic in the British fishing industry, but has been made extremely difficult by hi-tech monitoring and tracking of every registered trawler at sea, and much tighter controls on landings at processing firms.

The skippers and firms involved have refused to discuss their convictions; Shetland Catch is still facing confiscation proceedings. But sources with detailed knowledge of the scandal have admitted the practice was widespread within the pelagic fishing industry. Lawyers for one of the convicted men, George Anderson, 55, from Whalsay, Shetland, claimed this year that he evaded the controls because he believed that discarding under-sized fish was "repugnant".

"Black landings" are still common practice across the EU, and prosecutions still take place. In Lerwick and Peterhead, some insist that the undeclared landings, which helped many of the skippers and their crews enjoy comparatively luxurious lifestyles, were well-known within the industry and among regulators.

Asked about its knowledge of the illegal landings, Seafish told the Guardian it was legally required to take the levy, and insisted it had tipped off the authorities to the over-quota landings. However, one source said that the issue was discussed in board meetings, "but the Seafish line was that we weren't a fishery protection agency, our job was to take a levy on every tonne landed."

He added: "They were totally aware they were getting a levy on quota and over-quota fish."

The source denied it was serious and organised crime: the skippers involved paid income tax and business taxes alongside the Seafish levy on all their illegal landings, largely because the over-quota fish was sold in the fish markets as if it were legally declared. Fraud charges were dropped by prosecutors at an early stage, he said.

But he added: "There is nobody defending this. It was morally wrong; it was ecologically wrong and sustainably wrong. There is no excuse.

"A lot of the skippers are saying, 'What we did wasn't right; it was wrong. We really want to draw a line under this and move forward.'"

He said the scandal had the effect of transforming Scotland's pelagic fishing industry into one of the most sustainable in the world: after the raids, the mackerel and herring fleet introduced very strict monitoring and quota management. Since 2008, its fisheries have won a prized Marine Stewardship Council eco-label, and are now the largest in Europe with MSC certification.

But the "black landings" scandal is coming back to haunt the industry. It is expected to lose its MSC accreditation later this year after a bitter dispute with the Faroe Islands and Iceland: both countries have claimed much larger mackerel quotas than is sustainable for the north-east Atlantic stocks, in breach of MSC rules. The Faroese in particular believe the over-quota prosecutions puts the Scottish industry's credibility in severe doubt.

"It's not a proud moment for what is a very proud industry," one senior figure conceded.

Richard Lochhead, the Scottish agriculture secretary, said the convicted were guilty of appalling behaviour. "These illegal activities are a stark and shameful reminder of the culture that existed in some sectors of the fishing industry in past years," he said.

"Thankfully, there has been seismic change in the attitude and behaviour of the fishing fleet, which can only be good thing in securing a viable future for the industry."

Dr Mireille Thom, a senior marine policy officer for the conservation group WWF Scotland, said: "Deliberately ignoring quota rules by landing 'black fish' isn't a victimless offence. Such landings not only undermine the conservation of fish stocks and the fortune of the fleets that fish them, they also distort competition by depressing fish prices. In short, they threaten the public good for the benefit of a few."

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A glamorous French politician is set to become France’s first ever ‘MP for Britain’ to represent more than 100,000 Gallic expats living in the UK.

A glamorous French politician is set to become France’s first ever ‘MP for Britain’ to represent more than 100,000 Gallic expats living in the UK.

Emmanuelle Savarit, 39, is leading the race to be elected to France’s newest overseas constituency - based in London’s well-heeled Kensington.

The member of Nicolas Sarkozy’s conservative UMP party is the clear frontrunner among five hopefuls vying for the seat of northern Europe.

Hopeful: Emmanuelle Savarit, 39, is leading the race to be elected to France's newest overseas constituency - based in London's well-heeled Kensington

The radical plans to create 11 foreign constituencies to represent French abroad were approved by the Paris parliament three years ago.

 

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Britain is part of the northern Europe constituency, which also includes the Irish Republic, Scandinavia and the Baltic states.

But within the new seat, 113,655 French voters are registered in the UK, compared with 27,076 in all the other countries put together.

Divorced mother-of-two Ms Savarit’s main rival is equally glamorous 36-year-old socialist Axelle Lemaire, a London-based lawyer.

Competition: Divorced mother-of-two Ms Savarit's main rival is 36-year-old socialist Axelle Lemaire, a London-based lawyer

But the French media predict the right-winger’s victory will be ensured by wealthy expats based mainly in west London when the first election takes place in June.

Ms Savarit, who has a doctorate in Psychology, describes herself
on her campaign website as ‘a tough cookie’, but adds: 'That’s not necessarily a fault when you’re in politics.'

The new foreign constituencies are the brainchild of former French interior affairs minister Alain Marlaix.

Vital: The importance of the French expat vote was highlighted when President Sarkozy came to London to give a speech to thousands of French voters ahead of his 2007 election campaign

He said: 'This is the first time in any country in the world that something like this had been done.

'The new overseas MPs will have identical status to any other MP based in France, and vote in parliament in Paris.

'They will be elected in the same way and speak for the French expatriates they represent.'

Government advisor Herve Fabre-Aubrespy, who is overseeing the new constituencies, said: 'It is a challenge for us, because nothing similar has ever been done anywhere.

'No one has carved the world up into constituencies in this way.'

The new constituencies are part of a larger parliamentary shake-up, with seats being merged or enlarged across France so that the total number of 577 MPs still remains the same.

The importance of the French expat vote was highlighted when President Sarkozy came to London to give a speech to thousands of French voters ahead of his 2007 election campaign.

But French socialists have claimed the new overseas seats are ‘closet gerrymandering’ - where constituencies are created to the benefit of the ruling party.

A socialists’ spokesman said: 'Studies show French people living abroad are more likely to vote for a centre-right party than a left wing one.
'This is being proposed as something that is good for French expatriates, but in fact it is just a way for the government to give itself another 11 safe seats.'

Six of the 11 new constituencies will be in Europe, but others are based in Canada and the US, central and South America, the Middle East, Arica and Asia, representing more than million French people living abroad.

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Italian Wives ban their husbands from visiting Italian cafe where busty barmaid serves up drinks in skimpy outfits

After eight years running a bar, Laura Maggi suddenly found men beating a path to her door.

Not for the quality of her coffee  and aperitifs, but because she had started appearing for work in highly revealing outfits.

Hundreds of male customers flocked there day and night, leaving their cars double parked in the surrounding streets.

Congestion became such a problem that the lady mayor announced she was considering an emergency bylaw to limit traffic in the area.

Causing controversy: Laura Maggi, 34, who runs a bar called Le Cafe, has dominated newspapers and TV chat shows, after pictures of her dressed in barely anything appeared on the internet

 

Pulling more than a pint: The women folk of Bagnolo Mella, near Brescia, which is where Manchester City ace Mario Balotelli is from, are up in arms and said that they had banned their partners from going to Le Cafe

 

Main attraction: On the walls of Le Cafe there are pictures of Laura, dressed in a bikini on holiday - while in other snaps she is wrapped in an American Stars and Stripes flag. Yet more pictures of her, semi-naked, have been turned into a calendar

You're not going anywhere: Bagnolo's mayor Cristina Almici has also banned her husband from going to Laura's bar and said: 'We have received several complaints from women in the town about the bar'

Now women in the small northern Italian town of Bagnolo Mella have declared Le Cafe out of bounds to their menfolk – and 34-year-old Miss Maggi has become a national celebrity.

Yesterday she was a guest on the Italian equivalent of This Morning and said: ‘I don’t see what the problem is – it’s just a bit of harmless fun. 

‘If the guys come here what can I do?

'I know I have upset the women but that’s not my problem.

'It’s not my fault if guys want to come and have a drink in my bar.’

She added that some customers were travelling up to 70 miles just to have a coffee in her bar.

On the walls of Le Cafe are pictures of Miss Maggi in a bikini on holiday. 

She has 5,000 new friends on Facebook while a local poll found that 46 per cent of respondents said partners of her male customers should be ‘asking themselves why their partners prefer Laura to them’.

Several wives from the town have been on TV to complain. One said: ‘It is outrageous and should not be allowed.

 

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‘This town is quiet and respectable. Now we are known across the whole country because of the little amount of clothing this barmaid is wearing to serve drinks. 

‘The women in town are not very happy and we have complained to the council.’

Enjoyment: 'I don't see what the problem is - it's just a bit of harmless fun. I like to dress in an attractive way and I like to have fun,' Laura said on an Italian TV show

 

Selling point: 'If the guys come here, what can I do? I know I have upset the women but that's not my problem,' said the bar owner

Bagnolo’s mayor Cristina Almici said: ‘We have received several complaints from women about the bar and we are looking at what we can do with regard to public order.

‘There has been a huge influx of traffic into the town since the news of Laura started to spread and this has led to incidents of bad parking and some minor acts of vandalism.

‘We can’t stop people from going to her bar and I know it is very popular with men in the town – personally I don’t see any problem with how she looks or dresses. 

'If anything, it’s the men who go there who have a problem.’

She added, however: ‘My husband is certainly not allowed to go there.’

Crowd pleaser: 'People have been turning up from 70 miles away just to have a drink here,' says the proud bar lady

No blame: 'It's not my fault if guys want to come and have a drink in my bar,' says the owner 

Quiet town of Bagnolo Mella: An online poll in the local Brescia newspaper asked readers what their opinion was and the majority, 46%, said that women should be 'asking themselves why their partners prefer Laura to them'

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Estonian gangsters netted a quarter of a million pounds worth of designer watches from a jewellers in Newcastle city centre.

Members of an Eastern European gang who flew around the continent for armed robbery day trips were today jailed for a £250,000 raid on a UK jewellers.

In a daring smash and grab attack lasting just 31 seconds, three Estonian gangsters netted a quarter of a million pounds worth of designer watches from a jewellers in Newcastle city centre.

Convicted murderer Marek Viidemann and his accomplice Sander Sarik smashed display cabinets with hammers, while Raido Ragga held staff at gunpoint to stop them raising the alarm.

Daring: The Estonian budget-airline bandits pictured on security camera during their raid on Berry's jewellers in Newcastle city centre

The trio were part of a wider gang targeting jewellers around Europe, whose members were bought flights by crime bosses in Estonia and ordered to carry out the robberies.

Gangsters who owed money to organised crime were recruited to carry out the robberies on day trips to their destinations around the UK and elsewhere.

They would fly back to eastern Europe the next day while the stolen goods would be shipped separately.

 

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Jailing Viidemann for 10 years, Judge Brian Forster, at Newcastle Crown Court, told him: 'You were part of an international crime gang.

'You were willing to cause terror and fear and your purpose was to get as much as you could as quickly as you could and then leave the country.

'This was a daring and terrifying robbery and was carried out without regard to those who work in the shop.

'The courts will protect the citizens of Newcastle from anyone who thinks they can come and prey upon them.'

Fast: In just over 30 seconds, the gang swiped a quarter of a million pound worth of watches from the jewellers, as terrified staff were held at gunpoint

Viidemann, Sarik and Ragga struck at Berry’s jewellers, on Grey Street, Newcastle, at around 10am on August 20, 2008.

Convicted killer: Marek Viidemann, 35, was jailed for 10 years at Newcastle Crown Court for his part in the raid

Ragga went in brandishing a handgun while Viidemann and Sarik used hammers to get to the valuables.

Mark Simpson, prosecuting, said: 'The gunman pointed the handgun at staff and told them to get down.

'The others smashed the display cabinets and took 31 watches and the best makes were targeted.'

After just 31 seconds in the store they were gone, removing clothing and gloves as they left the scene.

Police recovered the clothes that had been left behind and found Viidemann’s DNA on them. Some of the stolen watches were later found on a coach in Dover.

Viidemann, 35, fled the country and ended up back in Estonia. He was finally detained on a European arrest warrant in his home city of Tallinn, the Estonian capital, last October.

Ragga, 26, and Sarik, 22, went on to carry out robberies at other Berry’s stores in Chester and Windsor. They were both jailed for 11 years at earlier hearings elsewhere.

Too late: Police outside the high-class jewellers after the robbery

The court heard Viidemann had a conviction in his homeland for aggravated murder for gain and robbery, for which he was jailed for 10 years in 1998.

In that offence he and four others beat a man to death to steal from him.

Judge Forster asked how he had got into this country, but prosecutors did not know. The Border Agency will be informed of his latest conviction.

Andrew Rutter, defending Viidemann, said: 'His involvement in this robbery came about because he had fallen on hard times in Estonia.

'It was not his scheme but he accepts he lent himself to it.'

Members of the organised crime gang have struck across Europe and five other robbers have previously been jailed for a total of more than 55 years.

The ring was linked to at least 150 armed robberies across the UK and Europe.

Jewellers were targeted in places including Leeds, Manchester, the West Midlands, London, Cheshire and Newcastle, while they also carried out raids in Germany, Sweden, Italy and Finland.

Detectives from Monaco even flew to Britain to quiz a member of the gang over a $75,000 raid on a Monte Carlo jewellers.

Police believed the gang stole watches worth more than £1million in total, few of which were ever recovered.

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American 'illegals' in Mexico

 

When Jessica departed the US early in 2011, she left a country where illegal immigration is rarely off the political agenda. Little did she imagine she herself would become an 'alien' - in Mexico. She came to Puerto Vallarta, a tourist resort on the Pacific coast, to work legally for a Mexican company. She took a second job to earn extra money, first in an internet cafe and then a restaurant. Fines for overstayers But her employers - also Americans - never filled in the paperwork to make her second job legal. "I insisted, but they told me it wasn't necessary, that they would pay me in cash every night and it was fine," she tells the BBC. "It was clearly illegal for me to work there, but I did not take the authorities in Mexico seriously. My employers then found themselves in legal trouble and I feared I could face deportation, so I quit." Continue reading the main story Mexico City's bike revolution One Square Mile of Mexico Working Lives Mexico A Mexican footballing triumph Mexico's 2012 challenges Country profile: Mexico More from Mexico Direct Last year about 1,000 US citizens were questioned over irregularities in their immigration status, according to Mexican authorities. They face a modest fine - up to $50 - if officials find them working without a permit or living in Mexico without proper documents. Those who lose their visas or are asked to leave the country and then discovered to be overstaying are fined up to $400. But the National Migration Institute in Mexico has no idea just how many Americans are living or working illegally in Mexico. There are no advocacy groups defending American aliens in Mexico. Mexican politicians haven't raised it as a major issue - a far cry from the controversy around illegal migration on the other side of the border. With thousands of people from Central America crossing into Mexico illegally every year, and the threat from drug gangs and human traffickers on their way to the US, the presence of undocumented Americans is considered little more than a minor issue for Mexico's immigration services. Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote No one really knows how many of them there are in Mexico.” Monica Mora National Institute of Anthropology and History Some are Americans tourists who decide to extend their stay in Mexico without notifying the authorities, or students who wish to earn extra money teaching English in Mexico City. Others just fall in love with the Latin American lifestyle. "No one really knows how many of them there are in Mexico. They are usually people who live for a while in Mexico and then return home. They do not stay indefinitely," says Monica Mora, an expert on American migration in Mexico. "Nowadays most Americans live legally in Mexico, working as employees of multinational companies for a couple of years here, but also retirees and students," says Mrs Mora, who is a researcher at the National Institute of Anthropology and History. Constant flow According to the last Mexican census (2010), more than 738,000 people born in the United States now live in Mexico. Some 60,000 of them are living in the country indefinitely, mostly in Baja California in the northwest of the country and in Mexico City. The rest are temporary visitors and legal employees of international companies. Most American visitors stay within the rules - but officials say thousands overstay Tropical weather, the cheaper cost of living and an exotic atmosphere a few hours from home have drawn curious Americans to Mexico since World War II. They are now the largest foreign group in Mexico, according to official records. Elaine Levin, an expert on international migration, was one of thousands of Americans who emigrated to Mexico 40 years ago. She came legally and now has Mexican nationality. She says the comfortable life of Americans in Mexico contrasts with the persecution and harsh immigration legislation Mexicans have to face in the US. Retirees' favourite "There havn't been any integration issues here because this has always been part of Mexico's history. Even the ancestors of a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination, Mitt Romney, came to Mexico as immigrants," she tells the BBC. Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote After my experience here I have come to support more illegal immigration” Jenny American overstayer "In fact, Mexico treats 'gringos' much better that the US does Mexicans," Mrs Levin says. There is little public debate about the issue - many Mexicans would be surprised that an American would want to come here and live illegally. The coasts of the Baja California peninsula, the idyllic town of San Miguel de Allende in central Mexico, and villages around Lake Chapala (by the Pacific coast) are favourite spots for retired Americans who come to spend their last years - and their life savings - in Mexico. "It's still to be seen whether the news reports about the drug violence from American networks will have an effect on this," Mrs Levin says. "Some people might think twice before going to some areas, but that hasn't happened yet," she adds. Even though US tourist numbers dropped 6% last year, towns like San Miguel de Allende are still full of American-run businesses and home owners from the US. Warm weather and an exotic lifestyle tempt some Americans south of the border Some Americans in Mexico are beginning to see a different side of the immigration debate. "I used to live in a large Mexican community, in Chicago. I always knew some of them were illegal and wondered how they could get away with it," Jessica says. She's now legally entitled to stay in the country and is living in Mexico City. "After my experience here I have come to support more illegal immigration. At the end of the day I would imagine most illegals have good intentions, working to support their family, wanting a new life," she says. "I don't think we should make it so hard for people to get that. Isn't that what America is all about anyway, freedom?"

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Spain's banking sector set to shrink to about 10 lenders

This year, Spain’s banking sector looks set to shrink to about 10 lenders from more than 40 before the economic crisis, as the government forces banks to recognise steep losses from a housing crash. Small and medium-sized banks will scramble to join forces to meet capital requirements implicit in a new law demanding lenders write down up to 80 per cent of the book value of real estate assets on their balance sheets.  Click here for Cloud Computing     Also Read   Related Stories News Now - 24-hr deadline for Kingfisher to submit revised schedule - Kingfisher assures to restore normal schedule in 5-7 days - Indian banks eye assets of European counterparts - It is time to take money off the table: Jim Walker - Swiss solicits tourists from India amidst EU crisis - Abheek Barua & Shivom Chakravarti: Risk-on in a sweet spot Particular focus would rest on the country’s fourth-largest bank by market value, Bankia. Fears persist over its ability to fund losses from its heavy exposure to the property sector. Only a handful of banks — international leaders Santander and BBVA, domestic lender CaixaBank and Basque Country savings bank Kutxa — are considered strong enough to remain independent and cover capital holes with their own profits. Bankia has insisted it does not plan a link-up with Barcelona-based counterpart CaixaBank, but market sources say it would be hard for the bank to go it alone. "It’s true there were overtures towards CaixaBank, but that has gone cold. It seems CaixaBank is the only one interested in Bankia. BBVA and Santander do not seem up for it," said one banking source. Another expressed doubt Bankia could deal alone, with Euro 3 billion of capital needs with annual net operating profits of Euro 1.67 billion and with its parent company BFA still owing Euro 4.1 billion of state loans given out last year. "The numbers simply don’t add up," the second banking source said. If Bankia opts for a tie-up, it could win more time to write down losses related to real estate. The government has given banks one year to write down losses, but would extend it to two years for lenders involved in a merger process.

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teenagers barricade themselves in ski chalet in France

Two Norfolk teenagers are among a group of people who have barricaded themselves into a luxury ski chalet in France because they say they have been unfairly dismissed from their jobs without any pay, Angus Briggs, from Newmarket Road, in Norwich, and Paddy Bartram, from East Tuddenham, had thought they had landed the perfect gap-year jobs when they were employed by Skithe3v to work as chalet hosts at the company’s resort in the Three Valleys area of France. But after working for just two weeks they said they received an email saying their services were no longer required and that they needed to leave the site by the following day. They were also told they would not be receiving any pay. A number of other staff members were also suddenly dismissed, and together they have barricaded themselves in Skithe3v’s Chalet Georgina, just outside Les Menuires, in protest. They have dubbed themselves the Les Menuires 7 and say they will not move until they receive the wages they are owed. Speaking from the chalet, 19-year-old Angus said: “We came out here a couple of weeks ago and we thought we would be doing the chalet hosting job until the end of the season. “As chalet hosts we had been hosting the guests, preparing some meals, and cleaning, and we had done this for two weeks. “But on Monday we were sent an email saying we were being let go, and others were too. “We are both owed about £200 each. “We are quite frustrated - when you do a job you expect to be paid.” He said they would not vacate the chalet until they are paid. “We are making a very peaceful protest,” he added. “We are maintaining the chalet and keeping it tidy and in perfect order. All we are asking is that we get the money we are owed - we will leave the chalet in immaculate condition.” Eighteen-year-old Paddy added: “I was really pleased to get this job and looking forward to it for ages. “I had wanted to do a ski season for several years and it seemed like the perfect job. “But they worked us far more than our working hours and it turns out they were just trying to exploit us,” Angus and Paddy said since Les Menuires 7 started their protest they had received support from people living nearby and also online through Twitter and Facebook. A woman who lives in the Les Menuires area said: “Everybody is talking about what is going at the chalet. It is huge news over here. There is a lot of support for them.” When the Evening News contacted Skithe3v, which has a base in Hanover Road, London, a spokesman said he was unable to comment because the situation was in the hands of the company’s legal team.

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France reporter Edith Bouvier asks for Syria evacuation

 

The French journalist who was wounded in an attack on the Syrian city of Homs on Wednesday has asked to be evacuated from Syria quickly, saying she needs urgent medical attention. Edith Bouvier was injured in the attack that killed journalists Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik in the Baba Amr suburb. In a video posted online by opposition activists, Ms Bouvier says she has a broken femur and urgently needs an operation. She asks to be evacuated to Lebanon. There is growing pressure on Damascus to give access to civilians trapped by the onslaught. 'Very difficult' In the video, Ms Bouvier praises the doctors who have been treating her and says they are doing what they can. Photojournalist William Daniels, who is also French, appears alongside her and says she has not lost her smile. He was also caught up in the attack but says he was not injured. William Daniels says he was fortunate not to be injured Mr Daniels appeals to the French authorities to help them as soon as possible, as conditions "are very difficult". There is no electricity and not much to eat, he says, adding that they need to get out as quickly as possible using medically equipped transportation. The US, Europe and Arab countries plan to challenge President Bashar al-Assad to provide humanitarian access within days to the worst affected areas. They plan to present their ultimatum at Friday's international conference on Syria in Tunisia. Russia and China have said they will not attend the conference. The two countries have faced Western and Arab criticism for blocking a UN Security Council resolution that would have backed an Arab League peace plan for Syria. Meanwhile, a United Nations panel has drawn up a confidential list of Syrian military officials - believed to include President Assad - who could face investigation for crimes against humanity. It says these include shooting unarmed women and children, shelling civilian areas and torturing the wounded.

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Indonesia moves foreigners out of riot-hit prison

 

Indonesia started moving foreign inmates, women and children out of an overcrowded prison on Bali island Thursday after two days of rioting, officials said, as troops backed by water canons and armored vehicles surrounded the tense facility. Schapelle Corby and several other Australians serving time for drug trafficking balked at the transfer because of the difficulty adjusting to a new place, said Bambang Krisbanu, a security official at the justice ministry. He said evacuations would be voluntary, but other officials later said the evacuations would apply to all those selected — about 60 foreigners, 120 women and 13 children. The violence that erupted late Tuesday at the Kerobokan jail — which houses more than 1,000 drug traffickers, sex offenders and other violent criminals — was triggered by the stabbing of an inmate during a brawl a week ago. The prisoners blamed lax security for allowing a knife into the prison. By Wednesday night, the inmates had chased away all 13 guards and seized full control of the compound, said Beny Arjanto, the local police chief. Some climbed to the top of the watch tower and started throwing rocks and a Molotov cocktail at more than 500 soldiers and police stationed outside. Others tried to break down the front gates. Troops responded by firing tear gas and shots in the air. Others stormed the facility, but they were forced back out 10 minutes later, said Arjanto. A few inmates have been injured, he said, but none of them seriously. The decision to relocate foreigners, women and children to another prison was made as it became clear Thursday that tensions were not going to ease anytime soon. "We want to evacuate them immediately for their own safety," said Col. Wing Handoko, a military spokesman. "We need to make sure they aren't used by other prisoners to get international attention or as bargaining chips for their demands. "We don't want them to be taken hostage." Though he would not say exactly where they would go, another police officer told The Associated Press they were heading for Klungkung, a jail about 40 miles (70 kilometers) away. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to speak to the media. The Kerobokan prison about 20 minutes from Bali's international airport was built for around 300 prisoners but houses more than three times that. Of the 60 or so foreigners, 12 are Australians and one is American, said Anang Khuzairi, a prison official. The most famous is Corby, a former beauty school student serving a 20-year sentence for smuggling 9 pounds (4.2 kilograms) of marijuana into Bali. Her case garnered intense interest in Australia, where many people believe she was innocent. Krisbanu said she and the other Australian inmates insisted they did not want to be moved. However, minister justice Amir Syamsuddin who is in Bali overseeing the operation, has requested evacuation of all foreigners, women and children, Handoko said. He added that so far 31 inmates, 14 of them foreigners have been moved by Thursday evening. "Most of the foreigners rejected, but we forced them due to the minister's request," Handoko said. No further information was available on the 13 inmates who are younger than 18.

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Forces open fire on Kerobokan jail, which houses Schapelle Corby and the Bali Nine

 

INMATES at an Indonesian prison in Bali, which holds 12 Australians, have taken over the jail again after a second night of riots. Some 400 heavily armed police and military forces were gathered outside the overcrowded Kerobokan prison, which holds 1,000 inmates, including 12 Australians convicted of drug smuggling. "The prisoners took over the prison again, which forced security personnel to fire warning shots into the air," provincial military command spokesman Wing Handoko told AFP. "The rioters wanted their friends being treated in the hospital to be taken back because they were afraid they would be mistreated by security forces," he added. An AFP reporter heard three minutes of continuous gunfire, but it was not clear if there were any casualties. A flaming torch made of rags wrapped around a pole was flung from inside the prison and landed near a television vehicle, but was extinguished before the fire could spread.  Riots continue in Kerobokan prison The prison was without light because electricity, cut off during Tuesday's rioting, still had not been restored by authorities. "There are 51 foreign prisoners from 17 countries at the prison. We will give them special security if the situation warrants," Handoko said before the shooting. It was not clear whether the most recent riot was close to the wing where Australian or other foreign prisoners are housed. Shouting and the rattling of the prison's inner gates were heard before police opened fire, but after the shooting silence and darkness descended upon the jail with inmates and security forces in a tense stand-off. Heavily armed forces had stormed the prison early Wednesday to regain control after inmates took over the prison during a night of arson and stone-throwing. All 12 Australian prisoners at Kerobokan, including two on death row and six serving life sentences, were safe after that trouble, Australia's foreign ministry said after Indonesian police had regained control of the facility. Some 100 heavily armed police and military had stormed the jail on the holiday island at around dawn on Wednesday, firing volleys of rubber bullets. Officials said they intervened after attempts to negotiate with the rioting prisoners had failed, and after some inmates managed to get hold of firearms. Three inmates had been injured in the legs, and a police officer was lightly hurt, police said. Among the Australians at the jail are convicted drug trafficker Schapelle Corby and a group known as the "Bali Nine", who were caught attempting to smuggle drugs from Bali. Up to 1,000 armed security forces backed by armoured vehicles and water cannon were stationed Wednesday morning outside the jail, which is in a suburban area of Bali seven kilometres from the tourism hub of Kuta beach. But police said the situation had returned to normal by late afternoon, and that only about 30 armed personnel had remained outside. Police and local reports said Tuesday's trouble began when one inmate stabbed another prisoner on Sunday, touching off reprisals that erupted into a full-blown riot. Prisoners began trashing cells and throwing stones at the guards who were forced to abandon the jail - built for just 300 inmates but now housing more than three times that many prisoners, both male and female. Police said the inmates were in charge for more than seven hours - from around 11pm Tuesday until 6.45am the following morning. Prison staff said the jail's registration office, including the files of prisoners, was destroyed in a blaze. After the rioting Tuesday, Michael Chan whose brother Andrew Chan is one of the Bali Nine, said he was worried about his brother given that during a previous riot "things got pretty bad, and they were in lockdown for a couple of days". Corby's family said she was well, with the women's wing of the prison untouched by the violence. There have been a number of riots at the jail in recent years, including one triggered by a police drug raid in June. It is one of Indonesia's most notorious prisons, with a combustible mix of inmates including convicted murderers, sex offenders and others guilty of violent crimes.

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Sweden's Chicago grapples with deadly wave of shootings

A wave of execution-style shootings and a police station bombing in Sweden's third largest city have sparked fears that gangster violence is taking hold in a Nordic country widely seen as one of the world's safest places. Only minutes into the new year, a 15-year-old was found with gunshots to his chest and one to his head outside an apartment block in one of Malmo's poorest and most troubled districts, where firefighters have occasionally sought police protection. Eight killings have occurred across the city since a 36-year-old with links to organised crime was gunned down in a parking lot in May last year. The latest victim, a 48-year-old man, was found shot in a car at the end of January. None of the murders have been solved, and now some newspapers are calling Malmo "Sweden's Chicago". "Why don't police have better control?" national daily Svenska Dagbladet asked in an opinion piece, suggesting Malmo look to New York which slashed its crime rates in recent decades. For their part, police refuse to reach the conclusion that the bomb at the police station and the killings were definitely linked, which would gangland violence is out of control. "We believe it's linked to the prevalence of weapons. It is big. But I can't say why we have a larger share here than in Stockholm," Hans Nordin, Deputy Chief Commissioner of Police in the Skane region of southern Sweden, told Reuters. With a population of just 300,000, Malmo is one of Sweden's roughest cities, long a base for smugglers because of its proximity to Denmark, with which it has been connected by a bridge since July 2000. Roughly 40 percent of Malmo's population are first- or second-generation immigrants and one in three is unemployed, compared with a national rate under nine percent. Among young immigrants, the rate is nearly 40 percent. Formerly a prosperous industrial town, much of the old industry has declined and jobs have vanished. Gangs took root here decades ago, starting with motorcycle groups and increasingly dominated by immigrants, at first thanks to an influx in the 1990s of refugees of Balkan wars and then, over the past 20 years, immigrants from the Middle East, Africa and eastern Europe. SHAKING SWEDEN Along with the July 2011 killings of 77 people in Norway by right-wing fanatic Anders Breivik, the city's problems have helped to shatter the cherished image of Sweden as a refuge of safety and peace, sparking a national media debate, soul-searching throughout Sweden and street protests. Dozens of police reinforcements sent in this year are still in the city. "I'm thinking of leaving Malmo because it is getting more and more dangerous," said Henrik Hammar, 28, who stocks shelves at a grocery store and was awakened when a small bomb exploded at the police station in his neighbourhood at the end of January, close to where the latest victim was found. "When it comes to shooting, we are used to that in Malmo. But not bombs," Hammar said outside the police station with a shattered window and a hole torn in its brick wall. The bombing happened in Fosie district, a centre of the violence. The wave of killings since May is not the first to shake Malmo. Peter Mangs was arrested in 2010 on suspicion of three murders and 13 attempted murders over a seven-year period, a string of shootings on Malmo's streets targeting immigrants. Luciano Astudillo, a Chilean-born former MP who was moved by the New Year's Day shooting to launch a campaign to say "Enough is enough," compared the crime wave to the violence that plagues Mexican border towns. "We have the same problem here as in the north of Mexico though on a smaller scale," he said, pointing to the drug and weapons smuggling that pass through Malmo from Denmark on their way to the rest of Scandinavia. "So it is logical for the gangs to gather here and fight each other," he said. Astudillo said he hopes the protests he has helped lead, including a street demonstration by more than 6,000 people on January 6, will make politicians notice what is happening. "I don't think murders will become more and more frequent in the near future, but there is nothing that indicates things will improve a bit longer-term," said Tobias Barkman, a crime reporter at regional daily Sydsvenska Dagbladet. "Society has fallen behind - with regards to the police and to the social situation. It's hard to see any rays of hope."

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Violent gangs are deeply entrenched in Spanish Town, just west of Kingston, and in some residential sections of the northwestern parish of St. James, which includes the resort city of Montego Bay.

 

 Fighting between the gangs for control of drug trafficking and extortion rackets has long been blamed for the majority of Jamaica’s homicides. Police Commissioner Owen Ellington said at a news conference with Bunting that much of the security forces’ resources are now focused on trying to contain 42 active gang conflicts. Ellington told reporters that the Shower Posse gang, which was controlled by convicted drug kingpin Christopher “Dudus” Coke from his slum stronghold of Tivoli Gardens, has been significantly hobbled since his capture in June 2010 but remains an active gang in West Kingston. Bunting said Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller’s nearly two-month-old government intends to fast-track anti-gang legislation and is crafting a new security policy meant to reduce crime to “First World levels” by 2017, when he hopes to have a maximum of just 321 killings. A U.N. study on the Caribbean released earlier this month said Jamaica has had the world’s third-highest murder rate over the past decade, with about 60 murders per 100,000 inhabitants. Jamaica loses some $529 million a year due to crime, according to the report. Last year, Jamaica had 1,125 slayings, a roughly 22 percent drop from the 1,442 killings in 2010. A record 1,683 people were killed in 2009. Bunting said a major goal is to target gang kingpins and facilitators for organized criminal networks, not the people lower down the chain. Many of those arrested in previous years have been underlings who had little connection to gang leadership. Such workers are easily replaced. “We don’t always want to be chasing out the symptoms, we want to get to the infection,” he told reporters at the prime minister’s offices. Bunting intends to create a task force to identify and arrest crime facilitators, such as accountants, real estate brokers, lawyers and corrupt public officials. He also hopes to give courts greater power to seize their assets. He also said Jamaican society must undergo “mental reconditioning” to encourage more people to report crimes. Those who live in Jamaica’s slums are deeply distrustful of the police and authorities, and an anti-informant culture is widespread.

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