Gunmen aboard a speedboat attacked a security vessel

Gunmen aboard a speedboat attacked a security vessel as it travelled to a major oil industry port in Nigeria's Niger Delta, killing a Nigerian sailor, security sources said on Thursday.Around 15 unknown gunmen attacked the vessel late on Wednesday as it travelled along the Bonny river towards Onne, a port used to supply oil industry contractors and ships that service the offshore sector."The vessel was on its way to Onne when armed men attacked," one of the security sources, who works in the oil industry, said. Further details were not immediately available.Onne lies close to Bonny Island, home to a 400,000 barrel-per-day oil export terminal operated by Royal Dutch Shell and to the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) plant which exports 22 million tonnes per year of compressed gas.Nigeria, an OPEC member, is the world's eighth-biggest exporter of crude oil and disruptions to supply due to violence in the Delta have been one of the causes of the rise of world oil prices to more than $100 a barrel.The Delta, home to Africa's biggest oil industry which exports around 2.1 million barrels per day, is frequently hit by abductions for ransom, armed robberies and crude oil smuggling.The world's biggest seafaring union said in February it wanted Nigerian waters declared a war zone because of a rise in attacks and kidnapping on merchant shipping.Oil companies have been struggling to cope with a wave of violence in the vast wetlands, fuelled by poverty, corruption and lawlessness.The latest round of unrest began in early 2006 when the MEND, a new rebel coalition, blew up oil facilities and abducted dozens of foreign workers in a series of raids.

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Daniel Bailey has been told to pay up £194,370 by a court. If he fails to hand over the money within six months, he will face a three-year jail term.

Daniel Bailey (35) avoided prison when he received a 26-week suspended sentence after pleading guilty to producing cannabis. But following a separate investigation into his finances by police, he has been told to pay up £194,370 by a court. If he fails to hand over the money within six months, he will face a three-year jail term.During a hearing brought by police under the Proceeds of Crime Act, Lincoln Crown Court was told officers swooped on Bailey's home, near Spalding, on August 5, 2005. They searched the property and found 22 cannabis plants growing among the flowers in his back garden.More cannabis seedlings were discovered in a shed, and two small lumps of the drug were seized in the house.Bailey was subsequently convicted of production of cannabis, which triggered the probe into his financial affairs.The further enquiries showed that in the six years before his arrest, Bailey had claimed incapacity benefit and income support to the tune of more than £21,000, to which he was...

Vanessa and Juan Bedoya, Meneses and Rodriguez-Jimenez are being held in DuPage County Jail in lieu of $1 million bond each.

Vanessa Bedoya, 37, and Juan Bedoya, 38, both of the 1400 block of Green Oak Trail, Aurora, were charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.Juan Meneses, 32, and Gonzalo Rodriguez-Jimenez, 38, both of the 800 block of Amli Court, Aurora, were charged with unlawful delivery of a controlled substance, the Kane County state's attorney's office said.According to prosecutors, on March 25, Rodriguez-Jimenez and Meneses delivered more than 900 grams of cocaineto another unnamed person. Later, more than 900 grams of cocaine were recovered from Juan and Vanessa Bedoya, who are married. The cocaine was recovered at the home of Francisco Bedoya, 36, also of the 1400 block of Green Oak Trail, Aurora. In addition, more than 900 grams of cocaine was recovered in the home of Juan and Vanessa Bedoya, prosecutors said. Officers searched three Aurora homes Tuesday and found 15 kilograms of cocaine, worth about $4.5 million, along with $50,000 in cash and two vehicle...

Philip Doo (52), Christopher Wiggins (42) and David Mufford (44) were brought before a special sitting of Clonakilty District Court on Saturday night

Philip Doo (52), Christopher Wiggins (42) and David Mufford (44) were brought before a special sitting of Clonakilty District Court on Saturday night amid tight security. A force of up to 30 gardaí, including detectives armed with Uzi submachine guns, surrounded the courthouse.The three men, all from Britain, were charged that on November 5th, 2008, on the vessel Dances with Waves , a ship not registered in any country or territory, they had possession of cocaine knowing it was intended to be imported illegally.The offence, which is contrary to Section 34 (2) (4) of the Criminal Justice Drugs Trafficking Act 1994, carries a maximum penalty upon conviction at Circuit Court level of a a fine or seven years in jail or both. Det Garda Ronan Cowley of the Garda National Drugs Unit gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution in relation to Mr Doo, of Rocklands House, Higher Manor Road, Brixham, Devon, and told the court that Mr Doo did not wish to reply to the charge after caution.Det Garda ...

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