The Italian mafia since 1991...[ 2625 ]

Three bln euros seized from Italian mafia since 1991

Italian police//© RIA Novosti. Rusalina Dmitrieva//20:20 09/01/2012

MOSCOW, January 9 (RIA Novosti)

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Italy's Anti-Mafia Directorate (DIA) has seized three billion euros in assets from the Neapolitan Camorra crime syndicate since the DIA was set up in 1991, the Ansa news agency reported on Monday.

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Italian authorities said last year the DIA seized more than 380 million euros and confiscated another 137 million from the Naples mob.

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It arrested 112 suspects and set up probes on 341 companies, they added.

Iran : American sentenced to death...[ 2624 ]

Iran sentences American to death in spy case

By the CNN Wire Staff

January 9, 2012 -- Updated 1131 GMT (1931 HKT)

A grab taken from Iranian state TV on December 18, 2011 shows one of several photos of Amir Mirza Hekmati.

(CNN) -- American Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, on trial in Iran for espionage, has been sentenced to death nearly five months after he was arrested, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported Monday.
A court convicted Hekmati of "working for an enemy country ... for membership in the CIA and also for his efforts to accuse Iran of involvement in terrorism," according to Fars.
Ahead of the verdict, his family and the United States denied the accusations against him.
"We are deeply concerned that Amir is not receiving a fair trial and has not been afforded due process," a family statement released last week said. "We have struggled to provide Amir with an attorney in Iran. We have sought to hire at least 10 different attorneys in Tehran to no avail."
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The family said their son was being represented by a government-appointment lawyer.
"Under any standard, this is not acceptable due process of law," the statement said. " We will not stop hoping and praying for justice, for peaceful dialogue with Iran, and for Amir's safe return home."

 

American accused of spying in Iran

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 Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine, was arrested in August while visiting his grandmother and other relatives, his family in Michigan said last month.

The Hekmatis said their son served in the Marines from 2001 to 2005. Later, he started his own linguistics company and contracted his services to the military as well as civilian businesses.
His military contracts included cultural competency training. He worked with troops at military bases to promote understanding of, and positive communication, with people of other cultures, his family said.
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Fars reported that Hekmati said he worked for the U.S. Army for four years and later the CIA, where he was sent to Afghanistan and had access to secret documents.
Hekmati was supposed to give his information to the Iranians in two parts -- the first part for free, and if they liked it he would ask for $500,000 for the second part, the news agency said.
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Hekmati said he was to get a receipt from the intelligence ministry for the money, Fars reported. The judge speculated whether the receipt would later be used as evidence linking Iran to terrorist activities, the news agency said.
If Iran had paid, Hekmati told the judge, he would have kept the money and lived in Iran, according to Fars.
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CNN's Azadeh Ansari and Shirzad Bozorgmehr contributed to this report.

The ship"Rena" has split in two, ..[ 2623 ]

Ship grounded off the coast of New Zealand splits in two

By the CNN Wire Staff

January 8, 2012 -- Updated 0526 GMT (1326 HKT)

In this handout provided by Maritime New Zealand, MV Rena is seen in two pieces after overnight bad weather pounded the vessel, on January 8, 2012 in Tauranga, New Zealand.

(CNN) -- A cargo ship that ran aground on a reef off the coast of New Zealand last year has split in two, spewing debris and triggering the possibility of a new oil spill, officials said Sunday.

Hundreds of tonnes of oil have already leaked from the ship, leading New Zealand's environment minister, Nick Smith, to call the spill the country's most significant maritime environmental disaster.

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The sections of the ship, which are about 20 to 30 meters (65 to 98 feet) apart now, remain on the Astrolabe Reef.

The Rena, a Liberian-flagged vessel, struck the Astrolabe Reef, about 12 nautical miles off the city of Tauranga, on the North Island, in October.

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"While reports at this stage indicate there has not been a significant release of oil, with the Rena in its current fragile state, a further release is likely. While it is unknown at this stage exactly how much oil may be released, teams have been mobilised and will be ready to respond to anything that may come ashore. 

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The wildlife response had also been increased to help deal with any affected wildlife," Maritime New Zealand officials said in a statement.

Bad weather, which caused the ship to break, is expected to continue for the next three to four days, the agency said.

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At least 23 containers from the ship have been confirmed lost as a result of the split, while another seven are thought to be in the water, officials said. Debris surrounds the wreck.

Annual wages of Belgian.government ..[ 2622 ],

New Belgian govt. raises its own wages by 8% - paper

New Belgian govt. raises its own wages by 8%

© flickr.com/ fdecomite

 08/01/2012., 14:19

BRUSSELS, January 8 (RIA Novosti)

The new government in Belgium raised its own wages by 8% contrary to promises of 5% cuts under the spending cuts plan, the Het Nieuwsblad op Zondag paper said on Sunday. 

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The ministers’ new wages were approved at a cabinet session on December 16.

Therefore annual wages of Belgian deputy prime ministers have been increased from 224,000 euros to 248,000 pretax, ministers’ salaries from 220,000 to 238,000 euros and state secretaries’ from 210,000 to 227,000 euros.

The paper did not cite the figures for the premier.

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Belgian nationalists have already expressed their anger at the new move. Ben Weyts of the New Flemish Alliance opposition party said “ministers are only enriching themselves at a time when others have to save.”

On Saturday, the Belgian government decided to freeze about a billion euros of budget expenses for a few months after the European Commission refused to approve the Belgian 2012 budget.

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The commission disagreed with the Belgian government calculations that the budget deficit would be 2.8 % GDP with 0.8 % economic growth. According to the commission, the budget deficit would reach 3.1% given such growth rate, which is above the 3% margin set by the EU’s Stability and Growth Pact.

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The European Commission has asked the Belgian government to find 1.2-2 billion euros to cover the budget deficit by January 9.

Russia'w concern about H.Mubarak...[ 2621]

Russia calls for restraint when sentencing Egyptian ex-president

Topic: Political crisis in Egypt

Ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is wheeled on a stretcher into court for his murder trial in Cairo on January 5, 2012/© AFP/ STR

MOSCOW, January 7 (RIA Novosti)

Multimedia

• “Not guilty” pleads Egypt’s former president on murder charges

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday it was concerned about the calls of the prosecutor at the trial of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to sentence the former leader to death by hanging.

The trial of the ex-president, his two sons and a number of ex-heads of law enforcement agencies in Cairo, Egypt, resumed last week.

"The judicial review in Cairo continues. However, such messages are met with concern in Moscow. We realize that we are talking about the internal affairs of an ally and friend, Egypt, but we hope that the final decisions will be made in accordance with the standards of international law", said the Foreign Ministry of Russia.

"We hope Mr. Mubarak's old age, 83 years, and ill health will be taken into account. Furthermore, he chose to relinquish power to avoid additional casualties among innocent people," added the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Mubarak and Egypt's Ministry of Interior of the former government are accused of involvement in the shooting of peaceful protesters during the uprising in early 2011.

In the days of the revolt in Egypt, about 850 people were killed and several thousand were injured.