BBC News - Journalist Sokratis Giolias gunned down in Greece

BBC News - Journalist Sokratis Giolias gunned down in Greece: "Greek investigative journalist has been shot dead outside his home in Athens in an attack linked by police to leftist militants.
Sokratis Giolias, 37, was shot more than 15 times in the Athens neighbourhood of Ilioupoli.
According to colleagues, he had been about to publish the results of an investigation into corruption.
Police said ballistics tests tied the killers' guns to previous attacks by the Sect of Revolutionaries.
They had initially discounted the idea that leftist militants might have killed Mr Giolias."

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loaded sawn-off shotgun hidden in his wardrobe Justin Jack's has been jailed for five years.

loaded sawn-off shotgun hidden in his wardrobe Justin Jack's has been jailed for five years.

The weapon was found at Justin Jack's home in Hogan Gardens, Top Valley, during a police raid on 28 May.

Nottingham Crown Court heard the 30-year-old admit being in possession of a prohibited weapon.

Police said the raid was part of Operation Vanguard - a crackdown on drug and gun crime - and should serve as a warning to all criminals.

The court was told Jack had shotgun pellets and gunpowder in his jeans' pockets when arrested.

'Serious threat'

Officers found the double-barrelled shotgun, which was loaded with two cartridges, hidden between some clothes.

Also in the wardrobe was a bag containing 24 shotgun cartridges.

Det Sgt Mike Allen said: "Clearly people who carry firearms pose a serious threat to our community and today's lengthy sentence, should serve as a warning to others that the police, nor the courts will tolerate gun crime.

"This case also shows that anyone who claims to possess an illegal gun to protect themselves, will face exactly the same punishment as any other firearms offender."

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cops gave permission for a movie gun battle in London -- then later declared it a crime scene when a member of the public found bullet casings

Keystone cops gave permission for a movie gun battle in London -- then later declared it a crime scene when a member of the public found bullet casings, The U.K. Sun reported.

Amazingly, they failed to link the incident to a film crew who hours earlier fired 1,700 blank rounds for a scene in gang flick "The Veteran," starring Toby Kebbell, 28, as a soldier who turns to crime.

Two cops were present during three days of action, then production staff swept up the empty shells. But next morning, police were alerted to suspected gun activity on the Heygate housing project in Elephant and Castle, south London.

Forensic experts combed the streets and found some bullet casings, but it was not until the next day that tests revealed they were blanks.

"It is astonishing the police could not tie the two together," said a spokesman for entertainment rental firm Foxtrot, which supplied guns for the filming.

He said cops even suggested the firm could be charged with wasting police time.

A police spokesman said the casings were "confirmed to be blanks" and inquiries were ongoing.

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police are actively targeting a little more than one in 10 (11%) of some 6,000 crime gangs who have 38,000 members and cost the economy

police are actively targeting a little more than one in 10 (11%) of some 6,000 crime gangs who have 38,000 members and cost the economy more than £40 billion annually.

Sir Paul called on the Government to set a clear national strategy for tackling organised crime and said police should copy the template set by counter-terrorism work to bring down networks.

Speaking at the annual John Harris Memorial Lecture, in central London, he said the popular view is that the "long arm of the law" will catch up with persistent lawbreakers in the end.

Sir Paul said: "Regrettably, in recent times, some criminals are learning that the reach of criminal justice does not always extend that far and in many ways does not include them and will often be restricted by artificial and self-imposed police boundaries.

"They have learnt that if they become sufficiently organised and sophisticated - and by definition they often are - then our reach is no greater than our ambition, and our ambition has been less than it should have been in recent years."

Police work to tackle top crime barons profiting from drug smuggling, people trafficking, massive financial fraud and counterfeiting has been repeatedly questioned in recent years.

Sir Paul said work was inadequate in a review commissioned in 2003 and Sir Denis O'Connor, HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary, followed up in 2005 with a report that recommended merging some forces to bridge the gap.

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Marius Sabaliauskas was jailed for five years, Vythutas Lauresevicius for six and Arenidas Petrauskas for two and a half years at Canterbury Crown Cou

Three men have been jailed after admitting stealing to order top-of-the range cars with a total value estimated at £317,000.

The thefts, between September and December 2009, took place in Kent, south London and southern England.

Marius Sabaliauskas was jailed for five years, Vythutas Lauresevicius for six and Arenidas Petrauskas for two and a half years at Canterbury Crown Court.

Police said the men were part of a "Lithuanian crime group".

The stolen cars included a Porsche 911, two Mercedes Benz, two BMWs and an Audi Q7.

'Tip of iceberg'
There was also a Mercedes S320 and a Range Rover.

The court was told the three men broke into homes where the cars were parked outside and stole the keys.

Most of the burglaries were committed while the occupants were asleep.

The trio was caught after a Kent police surveillance operation which ended in their arrest after a car chase following a burglary in Whitstable on 7 December.

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Police pursue car thief Vythutas Lauresevicius along the A2 in Kent
Other offences took place in Walderslade, Kent; Benfleet and Doddinghurst, Essex; Coulsdon, south east London; Hertford, Reading, Berkshire and Cambridge.

"These three men were part of a Lithuanian crime group who are responsible for a significant number of burglaries in the south of England," said Det Insp Eddie Fox.

"These convictions are the tip of the iceberg.

"Members of their gang trawl the region looking for good quality cars on driveways of homes, with them or others returning later to steal them.

"There can be no doubt that they came to England with the sole intention of committing crime.

"Householders are urged to review their home's security and ensure that car keys are not left in a place where they can be easily found by intruders."

Sabaliauskas, 31, and Petrauskas, 29, each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle and conspiracy to steal.

Lairesvicius, 22, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle, conspiracy to steal and aggravated vehicle taking.

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Cuba agrees to biggest prisoner release in a decade | World news | The Guardian

Cuba agrees to biggest prisoner release in a decade | World news | The Guardian: "Cuba agreed today to the biggest mass release of political prisoners in more than a decade, following a meeting between President Raúl Castro and Spain's foreign minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos.
The Roman Catholic church in Cuba said the government had agreed to free 47 political prisoners and allow them to leave the country.
In a statement, issued by the office of the archbishop of Havana, Cardinal Jaime Ortega, said that those who had been offered freedom were members of a group of 75 leading political opposition activists, community organisers and journalists who report on Cuba in defiance of state controls on media. They were rounded up in a crackdown on dissent in March 2003.
Some 54 of those have remained behind bars, most of them serving lengthy prison sentences on charges of conspiring with Washington to destabilise Cuba's political system."

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Fatal stabbing of boy 'was planned' - UK News - MSN News UK

Fatal stabbing of boy 'was planned' -  UK News - MSN News UK: "15-year-old boy has been stabbed to death in a planned attack by suspected rival gang members as he arrived at school.
Zac Olumegbon, from Brixton Hill, south London, was ambushed by four young men at the gates of Park Campus School in nearby West Norwood.
Four people were arrested in connection with the incident, in which a second teenager, believed to be 14 years old, was also stabbed in the arm.
A local shopkeeper described how Zac fell into the arms of a teacher after the attack. Saima Sadfdar, who runs a convenience shop, said: 'She had her hands open but it was too late and he collapsed in her arms.'
Police believe four black males arrived in a car before the attack and a confrontation took place outside the school involving the two victims and the suspects."

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Three prison guards indicted for smuggling sham cocaine to West Palm Beach

Three prison guards indicted for smuggling sham cocaine to West Palm Beach: "Three state prison guards smuggled sham cocaine from Miami to West Palm Beach in return for $5,000 payments from undercover FBI agents, federal prosecutors said today.
Dameyenoe Francis, Jerry Thicklin and Derrick Jackson each were indicted on one count of conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute and one county of attempting to possess cocaine with intent to distribute it, according to a statement by the U.S. Attorney's Office."

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