A round-up of today's other world news in brief ...
Sicilian Mafia boss arrested in Venezuela
ROME – A senior Sicilian Mafia boss on Italy’s list of 30 most dangerous men has been arrested in Venezuela, the Italian interior ministry said yesterday.
On the run since 2001 for Mafia links and drug trafficking, Salvatore Miceli (63) was arrested in Caracas during the night by Italian police and Interpol agents.
“The capture of boss Miceli is a big blow to the Cosa Nostra,” said Giuseppe Luma, a former head of Italy’s anti-Mafia parliamentary commission, referring to the Sicilian Mafia. – (Reuters)
Russia ‘spying’ on German firms
BERLIN – Russian spies are targeting the German energy sector to help Russian firms gain commercial advantages, according to the head of Germany’s domestic counter-espionage unit.
“The Russian intelligence services, keeping up with their government’s changing information needs, have intensified efforts in recent years to investigate German firms illegally,” Burkhard Even told Die Welt am Sonntag newspaper yesterday. – (Reuters)
Georgia bomb kills ambulance driver
TBILISI – An explosion near Georgia’s de facto border with breakaway Abkhazia killed an ambulance driver and wounded a medic on patrol with EU monitors yesterday, according to the Georgian interior ministry. – (Reuters)
Helicopter crash kills seven
PARIS – Seven people, including six employees of an amusement park, were killed when a helicopter crashed in eastern France on Saturday night. The incident happened near the small town of Bregnier-Cordon. – (Reuters)