A round-up of today's other stories in brief
€1.5bn worth of assets seized as Mafia's bid to 'go green' thwarted
SICILY – Mafia-linked assets worth €1.46 billion, the biggest mob haul ever, were seized in an operation in Italy yesterday, showing the crime group was trying to “go green” by laundering money through alternative energy companies.
Investigators said the assets included more than 40 companies, hundreds of parcels of land, buildings, factories, bank accounts, stocks, fast cars and luxury yachts.
At the centre of the investigation was Sicilian businessman Vito Nicastri (54), a man known as the “Lord of the Wind” because of his vast holdings in alternative energy concerns, mostly wind farms. Senator Costantino Garraffa, a member of the parliamentary anti-Mafia committee, said the Mafia was trying to break into the “new economy” of alternative energy as it sought to launder money from drugs and other rackets.
High security alert for Mexico parties
MEXICO – Heavily-armed agents are being deployed to Mexico City for celebrations of the bicentennial of the country's independence.
The celebrations mark the 1810 uprising that paved the way for the end of Spanish rule in 1821.
However, security is high in many regions, with some towns and cities cancelling or cutting back festivities amid fears of drug cartel violence.
More than 100,000 people are expected at the Mexico City events, guarded by more than 14,000 police officers, including snipers on rooftops.
The cost of the celebrations, estimated at $230 million, has caused concern among many Mexicans. – (AP)
BP boss defends safety record
LONDON – Embattled BP boss Tony Hayward defended the firm's safety record tonight as he was grilled by a committee of MPs over the implications of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
The outgoing BP chief said recent criticisms had not exposed "any fundamental weakness" in the company's operations in UK waters.
Mr Hayward spoke out as he was quizzed by the Energy and Climate Change Committee, which is investigating the implications of the oil spill for offshore drilling in the UK. In his first UK appearance since the explosion, he said it had been personally "devastating" because he had made safety the firm's top priority.