A federal judge has upheld a verdict that strips a Pennsylvania family of their grandfather’s gold coins, worth an estimated $80 million, and has ordered ownership transferred to the US government. Judge Legrome Davis of the Eastern District Court of Pennsylvania affirmed a 2011 jury decision that a box of 1933 Saint-Gaudens double eagle coins discovered by the family of Israel Switt, a deceased... 

As the economic and financial systems of the world rapidly approach the real possibility of total collapse, signs of what we can expect on a mass scale in the near future are beginning to appear throughout Europe. In Spain, a country that just a few years ago was heralded as a shining example of real estate entrepreneurship, international tourism and a rising middle class, the situation is so bad... 

The separatist Parti Quebecois has won Quebec’s regional elections and will form a new government there, once again raising the possibility of a referendum on independence being held in Canada’s French-speaking province. Canadian Broadcasting Corp and the Canadian Press reported that Parti Quebecois (PQ) won or were leading in nearly 60 districts, just short of the 63 needed for a majority government. The... 

In June of 2012, Eric Bloom, former chief executive, and Charles Mosely, head trader of Sentinel Management Group (SMG) were indicted for stealing $500 million in customer secured funds. Both Mosely and Bloom were accused of “exposing” customer segregated funds “to a portfolio of highly risky derivatives.” These customer funds were used to “back up personal investments” which were part... 

South African workers arrested after a shooting at a platinum mine have been charged with killing 34 of their colleagues, despite confirmation that police committed the murders. The officers, who did not deny using guns, face no charges. ­The Lonmin platinum mine in Marikana, in the country’s North West province, made headlines on August 16, when protesters, who demanded their wages be raised... 

Afghan citizens Taliban radicals have reportedly beheaded 17 civilians, including 2 women, in Southern Afghanistan. Local authorities say the dead were executed for attending a party where unrelated men and women were present. ­The attack happened during a celebration near the Musa Qala district, about 75km north of the capital of Helmand province, Lashkar Gah, said district governor Nimatullah. The... 

People from the Roma community walk outside their camp in Evry, near Paris, with their belongings after being expelled by French police on August 27, 2012. Police in France have dismantled a Roma camp near the capital, Paris, expelling 70 people, including 19 children, from their shelter. Local police moved in the encampment in the suburb of Evry early Monday in a bid to remove the people from the... 

West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority A US veteran is facing charges of terrorism after being arrested for trying to get some exercise. That’s William Alemar’s story, at least, who was detained this week after jogging in full military fatigues in public while carrying a training rifle. Authorities have charged 23-year-old Army National Guardsman and Iraq war veteran William... 

New Zealanders are moving to Australia in their tens of thousands. Australia is facing a flood of economic refugees. But the big numbers aren’t from the north, they are from the across the Tasman, where Statistics New Zealand yesterday announced the biggest exodus to Australia on record. An extraordinary 53,900 New Zealanders moved to Australia in the year to July – around the entire population... 

Kenyan troops patrol in Somalia. Kenyan troops have killed 73 al-Shabab militants in southern Somalia and seized 40 guns as Kenyan troops and African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces intensify their military offensive against the insurgents. The spokesman for the Kenyan Defense Forces (KDF), Major Emmanuel Chirchir, said two Kenyan soldiers were also killed in the battle, which occurred in... 

Rwandan President Paul Kagame Rights groups have called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate Rwandan President Paul Kagame for alleged war crimes for backing rebels in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. On Friday, some Rwandan and Congolese groups congregated outside the court in The Hague, the Netherlands, with banners reading “Kagame Assassin,” and “Freedom... 

South African policemen turn guns on dead bodies of miners. South African riot police opened fire on striking miners armed with machetes and sticks at Lonmin’s Marikana platinum mine, killing 34 men in the deadliest episode of a week of union violence. Heavily armed officers backed by armored vehicles were laying out barbed wire barricades when they were outflanked by some of the estimated... 

Former money manager Ann Barnhardt, who in November of 2011 made the decision to cease operations of her brokerage firm and return funds to her customers citing “systemic” problems within the entire financial industry, has issued a new warning about the stability of US banks and the safety of individual deposit accounts. The warning, stemming from a recent federal appeals court ruling surrounding... 

France declares war on illegal migrants. Riot police smash camps and hundreds rounded up for deportation as Socialists take on gipsies. French police were yesterday breaking up gipsy camps and deporting illegal immigrants found in them. Dozens of officers in riot gear descended on a settlement near Lille shortly after dawn to oversee the evacuation of some 200 Roma living in mobile homes. One hundred... 

A migrant holds his papers ready for the ID-check, which has been instigated following an estimated 100,000 illegal immigrants slipping into Greece each year. Greek authorities have this week begun one of the country’s biggest crackdowns yet on illegal immigrants; they have so far deployed some 4,500 police around Athens and have detained more than 7,000 immigrants in less than 72 hours, the...