Police seize 11m in fake euro in Bogota
AMSTERDAM- Police have seized fake euro banknotes with a face value of more than €11 million in Colombia, the largest seizure of counterfeit euro outside Europe to date, European police agency Europol said yesterday.
Colombian and European police raided a clandestine print shop in the capital, Bogota, on Thursday, where counterfeits of €200 and €500 notes were being made.
The person running the print shop was arrested and the fake notes were seized, Europol said. It added that the bank notes were of good quality and were intended for distribution in Europe.
The European Central Bank (ECB) said in July that the amount of fake euro banknotes was on the rise, with the amount seized jumping more than 15 per cent in the first six months of 2008. It said most were bogus €50 and €20 notes.
The ECB has faced criticism in the past that the continued production of €500 notes is helping criminals to launder money. - (Reuters)
Russia bans US poultry imports
MOSCOW- Russia, the biggest market for US poultry exporters, will ban imports from 19 producers in the US and warned yesterday that another 29 suppliers face a possible ban on health and safety grounds.
The ban will take effect from Monday and includes three plants belonging to US meat giant Tyson Foods, Russia's animal and plant health watchdog said - a day after Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin first spoke of the measures. - (Reuters)
Hizbullah hands over gunman
BEIRUT - Lebanon's Hizbullah turned over to the authorities yesterday one of its gunmen who shot at an army helicopter and killed its pilot, security sources said.
The incident occurred on Thursday over the Iqlim al-Touffah region, an area controlled by Hizbullah.
Lebanon's As-Safir newspaper reported that Hizbullah gunmen had targeted the aircraft because they thought it was Israeli.
It said the helicopter had landed and taken off again in a training drill. Hizbullah gunmen "thought that there was an Israeli landing attempt [ under way] and opened fire in the direction of the helicopter, hitting it".
Hizbullah said it would co-operate fully with an investigation into the incident, which it described as "tragic and painful". - (Reuters)
Canada edges towards election
OTTAWA - Canada appeared to move a step closer to a general election yesterday as a key opposition leader, Gilles Duceppe of Bloc Québécois, indicated to Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper that he had no confidence in the minority government.
Despite a new poll showing the Conservatives slightly behind the main opposition Liberal Party, Mr Harper's team seemed to be setting the stage for an October 14th election. - (Reuters)