Egyptian officials' assets to be traced by Serious Organised Crime Agency

Egyptian officials' assets to be traced by Serious Organised Crime Agency | World news | The Guardian: "Officers from Britain's Serious Organised Crime Agency are expected to begin tracing the bank accounts of Hosni Mubarak's cabinet after the Egyptian government made a formal request for a freeze on the assets of the ousted president and his former colleagues.

The foreign secretary, William Hague, said Soca would take charge of the hunt for accounts in London, although the timing and extent of the investigation would be decided by EU finance ministers following discussions in Brussels. Hague said UK rules prevented the police from freezing bank accounts without 'evidence of illegality or misuse of state assets'. He said if evidence became available, the government would take 'firm and prompt action'.

Egypt's state prosecutor meanwhile launched corruption investigations against three former government ministers and a member of parliament from Egypt's ruling National Democratic party. They are the former minister of commerce, Muhammad Rachid, the former tourism minister, Zoheir Garranah, the former housing minister Ahmed Maghrabi, and member of parliament Ahmed Ezz."

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Crime gangs may be fighting with guns on Sydney's streets

Crime gangs may be fighting with guns on Sydney's streets but the city isn't a crime capital like New York or Los Angeles, NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione says.

Speaking after two shootings in western Sydney, Mr Scipione said it was important to remember that gun crime trends in the state had been falling.

"This isn't a place like Los Angeles or New York, if you look at the gun crimes, the number of homicides in those place," Mr Scipione told reporters on Tuesday.

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He cited figures showing there were 513 crimes involving any type of gun in the year to September 2010, down from 1,128 offences in 2004.

Most events were related to drugs, personal matters or organised crime.

"My greatest concern is the propensity of organised crime to rely on the use of a firearm to resolve an issue seems to be increasing," Mr Scipione said.

A search of AAP news archives shows that in the six months to February 15 this year, there were 24 shootings - an average of one a week - and mainly in western Sydney.

Many of the shootings resulted in leg wounds and this week there have been two separate shootings in western Sydney, putting four men in hospital.

The issue became political on Tuesday, as the coalition promised an extra $20 million for hi-tech equipment for police, if it wins the March 26 state election.

Premier Kristina Keneally said gun crime was falling and vowed police would clamp down on bad behaviour by a small number of individuals.

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WOMAN had a gun pulled on her and was told she would be killed as thieves carjacked her Maserati in broad daylight

Concerns that gun crime in Sydney is on the rise: "WOMAN had a gun pulled on her and was told she would be killed as thieves carjacked her Maserati in broad daylight yesterday, just hours after police sought to allay concerns about gun crime being rife in Sydney.

Two men in a red Holden swerved in front of the 35-year-old mother's car at 1.30pm after she turned off the City West Link at Haberfield, forcing her to stop.

One man armed with a gun then walked up to her silver 2009 Maserati Quattroporte, which cost $300,000, and told her: ''Get out or I will kill you.''"

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No funds for coastal train expansion | Costa del Sol | News | The Largest English Language Newspapers in Spain

Euro Weekly News | No funds for coastal train expansion | Costa del Sol | News | The Largest English Language Newspapers in Spain: "Costa del Sol residents have waited for a train service that would one day be provided from Malaga to Marbella and Estepona. For the first time the Junta de Andalucia has admitted that it is having problems finding money to fund the project, estimated at €4 billion.

Councillor for Public Works, Josefina Cruz, said that more private investors are needed, as well as the creation of a joint society which can present the project and request funding, from bodies such as the European Investment Bank.

Cruz said the authorities were well aware of the importance of creating the rail connection."

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WikiLeaks' Julian Assange Likes to Make Banks 'Squirm' - Deal Journal - WSJ

WikiLeaks' Julian Assange Likes to Make Banks 'Squirm' - Deal Journal - WSJ: "Last night, a “60 Minutes” interview with Julian Assange, the man behind WikiLeaks, tackled the question of whether the anti-secrecy organization is turning its Klieg light to Wall Street.

Assange was asked about the speculation that WikiLeaks has a cache of internal Bank of America documents.

“I won’t make any comment in relation to that upcoming publication,” Assange said.

There would be a “process of elimination” if we “denied some [banks] and admitted others,” he said. “I think it’s great to have all these banks squirming thinking maybe it’s them,” Assange said."

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Four Spanish Savings Banks To Transfer Financial Operations - WSJ.com

Four Spanish Savings Banks To Transfer Financial Operations - WSJ.com: "Four Spanish savings banks said Monday they have decided to transfer their financial operations to Banco Mare Nostrum"

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