Al menos 141 presos se escapan de una prisión mexicana cerca de EEUU

Al menos 141 presos se escaparon este viernes por la puerta principalde un penal en una ciudad del norte de México, fronteriza con Estados Unidos, en el hecho más reciente que muestra la inseguridad de las prisiones en medio de la guerra contra el narcotráfico. Algunos medios locales informan de la fuga de hasta 191 reos.

Los prisioneros escaparon, formados en fila, de una prisión estatal en la norteña ciudad mexicana de Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, dijeron dos fuentes de la policía del estado.

"Salieron por la puerta principal, lo que señala la complicidad de los custodios", dijo una fuente de la policía que se negó a dar su nombre por razones de seguridad. "Un alto número escaparon, pero todavía estamos revisando las listas de la cárcel para ver realmente cuántos son", agregó.

En septiembre, 85 prisioneros escaparon del penal de Reynosa, también en Tamaulipas, donde el cártel del Golfo y su ex brazo armado libran sangrientas batallas, tienen aterrorizados a pueblos enteros y sobornan a autoridades.

Según las informaciones, muchos de los prisioneros cumplían condena por delitos relacionados con el narcotráfico. Un portavoz de la Procuraduría General de la República confirmó la fuga, pero no pudo dar detalles. Soldados y policías federales mantenían rodeada la prisión, que fue construida en el 2000.

La fuga siguió a una ola de violencia en el norte de México, que incluye ejecuciones y enfrentamientos entre cárteles rivales y contra fuerzas de seguridad, subrayando los retos que el Gobierno del presidente Felipe Calderón enfrenta en su ofensiva contra los narcotraficantes.

Calderón ha desplegado, en los cuatro años que lleva de gobierno, a decenas de miles de militares y policías federales en variosestados para enfrentar a los cárteles.

Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán, jefe del cártel de Sinaloa y uno de los capos más buscados en México, escapó en el 2001 de una prisión de alta seguridad escondido en un carrito de lavandería.

La crisis de sobrepoblación de las prisiones se ha agudizado a medida que más narcotraficantes caen tras las rejas y provocan motines y fugas, mientras que autoridades no han logrado controlar la corrupción dentro de las cárceles. El Mundo

Los herederos del cómplice de Madoff pagarán 7.200 millones de dólares a las víctimas

Los herederos del multimillonario estadounidense Jeffry Picower,descrito como el mayor beneficiario del fraude de Bernard Madoff y amigo personal de éste desde hace décadas, pagarán 7.200 millones de dólares (5.472 millones de euros) a las víctimas del fraude, según recoge el diario estadounidense 'The Wall Street Journal', que cita a fuentes cercanas al proceso. Picower falleció en 2009 en el fondo de la piscina de su mansión, tras sufrir un ataque al corazón.

El acuerdo alcanzado por la viuda del inversor, Barbara Picower, con el administrador judicial de los bienes de Madoff y las fiscales generales de Manhattan, es el mayor alcanzado en relación con la trama de Madoff yequivale a cuatro veces la cantidad de dinero recuperado hasta la fecha.

En concreto, este acuerdo establece que 5.000 millones de dólares (3.800 millones de euros) serán entregados a Irving Picard, el administrador de la liquidación de las sociedades y los bienes de Bernard L. Madoff, y los 2.200 millones de dólares (1.672 millones de euros) restantes a la oficina del fiscal general de Manhattan a través del embargo de los beneficios obtenidos con la inversión. El acuerdo deber ser ahora aprobado por los jueces de la Corte de Distrito de EE.UU. y por el tribunal federal de quiebras.

Picower, de 67 años, había sido acusado por las autoridades como presunto cómplice en la trama del fraude perpetrado por Madoff, así como por haber obtenido un total de 7.200 millones de dólares (5.472 millones de euros).

El año de su muerte había sido incluido en la lista 'Forbes' como uno de los 400 hombres más ricos de Estados Unidos. Picower y su esposa Bárbara eran amigos de Madoff, que cumple una pena de 150 años de cárcel tras ser declarado culpable del mayor fraude de la historia.

Todos los fondos recaudados con el tiempo irán a parar al liquidador de Madoff, que hasta el momento ha recaudado alrededor de 10.000 millones de dólares (7.600 millones de euros) para las víctimas, quienes, según Picard, perdieron 20.000 millones de dólares (15.200 millones de euros) durante el fraude.

"El fiduciario, como resultado del acuerdo de hoy, está en posición de distribuir aproximadamente el 50% de las reclamaciones aceptadas en el proceso de liquidación", afirmó el abogado de Picard, David Sheehan, quien destacó que la viuda de Picower es "digna de elogio" por devolver "cada centavo" que ganó su marido con el fraude de Madoff.

A principios de este mes, la familia de Carl Shapiro, otro viejo amigo de Madoff, alcanzó un acuerdo similar por valor de 625 millones de dólares (475 millones de euros). Shapiro, que fue empresario textil de moda femenina, tenía cuentas con Madoff desde 1961 en su nombre y en nombre de varios familiares. El Mundo

US envoy Bill Richardson warns of Korea tinderbox

An unofficial US envoy visiting North Korea has warned that the situation on the peninsula is a "tinderbox".

The envoy, Bill Richardson, made the comments after talks with officials in Pyongyang, whom he asked to exercise "extreme restraint".

He said he had urged them to let South Korea go ahead with planned live-firing exercises on an island which was shelled by the North last month.

Pyongyang has been threatening to strike back if the drill goes ahead.

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson is visiting Pyongyang in a private capacity, but he has in the past acted as a go-between with North Korea - with whom the US has no formal diplomatic ties.

He told CNN he had made "a little headway" in his talks with North Korean officials.

"I am urging them extreme restraint... Let's cool things down. No response. Let the exercises take place," he said.

"My sense from the North Koreans is they are trying to find ways to tamp this down. Maybe that will continue today, that's my hope," he said.

He suggested that the two sides consider holding a summit to seek ways of avoiding future confrontation.

"Right now this is a tinderbox. What we need to do right now is not just tamp things down, but look at steps that can be taken by the North Koreans, especially such as perhaps allowing the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) to come in and look at the nuclear arsenal". BBC News

Soyuz capsule docks with International Space Station

A Russian Soyuz spacecraft has docked with the International Space Station, delivering three new astronauts for the orbiting laboratory.

The Soyuz blasted off from Kazakhstan on Wednesday carrying Catherine Coleman of the US, Russian Dmitry Kondratyev and Italian Paolo Nespoli.

The docking took place 220 miles (355km) above West Africa.

Two Russians and one American are already are on board the ISS, giving a total crew of six.

After 2011, the Soyuz will be the only vehicle able to transport crews to the ISS.

The US has only two more space shuttle flights scheduled before retiring its shuttle programme next year. BBC News

Venezuela parliament gives Hugo Chavez more powers

Venezuela's parliament has granted President Hugo Chavez special powers to deal with the aftermath of devastating floods.

Mr Chavez will be able to pass laws by decree, without needing the support of congress, for 18 months.

His critics say the move will turn the country into a near-dictatorship.

They accuse him of taking advantage of the floods to strengthen his grip on power before a new congress is sworn in in January.

This is the fourth time Mr Chavez has been given such authority since he came to office almost 12 years ago.

He had asked to able to rule by decree for a year to address the emergency caused by floods and landslides that have killed around 40 people and left 140,000 homeless.

But the National Assembly extended the period to 18 months.

The head of the Assembly, Cilia Flores, said lawmakers were responding to the demands of flood victims.

"So that they can have their streets, their highways, public services, electricity, everything to live in dignity, we are going to hear their proposals and concerns," she said.

Mr Chavez says he has already drawn up "a battery" of 20 new laws which he will pass by decree.

They include measures to raise value-added tax to fund reconstruction and build thousands of homes for flood victims. BBC News

Madoff beneficiary Barbara Picower to return $7bn

The widow of a businessman who had been the single-largest beneficiary of Bernard Madoff's colossal Ponzi scheme has agreed to return $7.2bn (£4.5bn).

Barbara Picower said Madoff's fraud was "deplorable" and promised to return money accrued over 35 years of investing with Madoff.

The trustee recovering Madoff's bogus profits filed court paper's on Friday formalising the settlement.

Florida businessman Jeffry Picower drowned after a heart attack in 2009.

US Attorney Preet Bharara called the settlement a "game changer" for Madoff's victims, many of whom lost their life savings.

The $7bn amounts to about one-third of the money investors' lost in the scandal. BBC News

Heavy snow sparks travel chaos in northern Europe

(CNN) -- A blast of harsh winter weather socked Europe Friday, causing travel chaos and sending temperatures into the deep-freeze.

From Northern Ireland to Bulgaria, blizzard conditions left airports with heavy delays or shut them entirely. In Belgium, truck drivers were forced to spend a freezing night in their cabs when authorities banned trucks over seven tons from travelling on icy roads.

At London's Heathrow Airport, snow caused the cancellation of many short-haul flights. These cancellations sparked a domino-effect that left passenger aircraft unable to get to the gates, prompting further delays. Hundreds of passengers who did manage to land were still unable to claim their luggage after baggage-handlers ended their shifts.

Meteorologists say the cold weather is caused by a negative phase of the Arctic Oscillation, which means that cold Arctic air is flowing into southern latitudes that are normally much warmer.

Forecasters don't expect conditions to change anytime soon. The next wave of snowy weather is expected to bring up to 20 centimeters to some parts of the U.K., with London expected to receive 5-10 centimeters of snow.

The weather system will move across France and Germany on Saturday night and Sunday. Below-normal temperatures are expected to continue in northern Europe into the beginning of next week. CNN

Victim slams '40-Year-Old Virgin' actor who repeatedly stabbed her

(CNN) -- A California woman stabbed repeatedly by her then-boyfriend, a comedic Hollywood actor, on Friday described his courtroom antics explaining his violence as "very surreal and bizarre" -- and, above all, insincere.

"In his testimony, he stated that it was the knife that did it, and he stated this repeatedly," Kendra Beebe told HLN's Jane Velez-Mitchell. "In fact it wasn't the knife that stabbed me 23 times. It was Shelley Malil".

One day earlier, San Diego, California, County Superior Court Judge Harry Elias sentenced Malil to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Five years ago, the actor was cracking up audiences as an electronics store clerk in "The 40-Year-Old Virgin." But in August 2008, he was arrested in North County, California and charged with stabbing Beebe.

Earlier this fall, a California jury found him guilty of premeditated attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon. He was found not guilty of burglary.

Malil received near the maximum sentence for his convictions. But his former girlfriend said that, while she was pleased with the jury's verdict, she still doesn't think the punishment was severe enough. CNN

Obama signs tax deal into law

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama signed an $858 billion tax bill into law Friday, saying, "this is progress, and that's what (the American people) sent us here to achieve".

"We are here with good news for the American people this holiday season," he said. "By a wide margin, both houses of Congress passed a package of tax relief that will protect the middle class, that will grow our economy and will create jobs for the American people".

Obama was flanked on stage by both Democrats and Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who was instrumental in getting the bipartisan legislation passed. Incoming House Speaker John Boehner, however, did not attend the signing.

"Candidly speaking, there are some elements in this legislation that I don't like. There are some elements that members of my party don't like. There are some elements that Republicans here today don't like. That's the nature of compromise".

With Obama's signature, states can begin to reinstate unemployment benefits, so that people "will get them in time for Christmas," he said.

"Not only will middle class Americans avoid a tax increase, but tens of millions of Americans will start the New Year off right by opening their first paycheck to see that it's actually larger than the one they get right now. CNN

Drone crash in El Paso under investigation

(CNN) -- Federal authorities were investigating Friday the circumstances of a drone that crashed in El Paso, Texas, this week, which U.S. officials said originated in Mexico.

Mexican Attorney General spokeswoman Rocio Torres denied her country's involvement with the drone Friday, but later in the day, another Mexican official said the drone was being operated by the Ministry of Public Security and was following a target at the time of the mechanical malfunction.

The Mexican official did not know the nature of the surveillance but said "we know they were following a target". He did not know how the malfunction affected that operation, if at all.

Ricardo Alday, a spokesman for the Mexican Embassy in the United States, also said the drone belonged to Mexico and was part of an operation in coordination with the U.S. government.

"It was flying on the Mexican side of the border when it had a mechanical malfunction," Alday said. "It is my understanding both Mexican and U.S. authorities were fully cognizant of what was going on in the area".

Alday said the drone malfunctioned, entered U.S. airspace and landed in El Paso. CNN

Blatter apologizes for Qatar World Cup gay remarks

(CNN) -- FIFA president Sepp Blatter has apologized for his remarks about gay fans attending the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Blatter was heavily criticized for saying they should "refrain from sexual activity" if they go to Qatar because homosexuality is illegal in the emirate.

"It was not my intention and never will be my intention to go into any discrimination," he told a press conference in Abu Dhabi Friday.

"If somebody feels hurt, then I regret and present apologies," added Blatter.

The original remarks were made Monday in Johannesburg and the 74-year-old was quick to add that "in football we have no boundaries. CNN

Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrested on battery charge

(CNN) -- Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. was arrested at a Las Vegas casino on a misdemeanor battery charge after he allegedly assaulted a security guard at his housing complex, a police official said Friday.

Mayweather was arrested just before midnight Thursday, police spokeswoman Barbara Morgan said.

He was released from the Clark County Detention Center on Friday, police said, and is expected to appear in court Tuesday, according to Clark County court spokeswoman Jillian Prieto.

Mayweather's legal representation declined to comment.

He last fought in May, beating Shane Mosley, but has since been embroiled in domestic violence claims from his former girlfriend. He faces criminal charges in court in January.

Mayweather is represented by Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions but has been linked with legendary entrepreneur Don King. CNN

WikiLeaks: Mozambique cables provoke backlash

(CNN) -- The U.S. diplomatic cables obtained and released by WikiLeaks frequently rely on unnamed sources for delicate information. But one such source -- a businessman in Mozambique -- has furiously denied making remarks about high-level corruption attributed to him by a U.S. diplomat.

A cable dated January 2010 sent by then Charge d'Affaires Todd Chapman at the U.S. Embassy covered allegations about officials enabling drug trafficking by accepting bribes. They were based on a source who said he had "personally seen" one senior official [who is named in the cable] "receiving pay-offs quite openly".

But now that source insists such words never left his mouth.

"I feel I have been used. This is all Todd Chapman's own agenda. He obviously imagined I would never read what he had written," the source told the state-run Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique (AIM).

Several current and former officials came under attack in the cable in question. Chapman wrote that his source had told him the country's ruling party, FRELIMO, "brazenly squeezes the business community for kickbacks".

The source also supposedly called the country's president a "vicious scorpion who will sting you," and said FRELIMO and an alleged drug lord had their own clearing agent at a port. CNN

Asylum seekers hold sit-in outside Australian detention center

(CNN) -- Dozens of people seeking asylum in Australia after their boat crashed into cliffs along Christmas Island took part in two separate protests on the soil of their prospective home country, a spokesman for the Department of Immigration and Citizenship said Friday.

The demonstrators were protesting the conditions in their detention camp and claiming that the Australian Navy didn't do enough to save the lives of fellow asylum seekers. At least 28 people were killed when the boat smashed against rocks off the coast of the isolated Australian territory in the Indian Ocean, 1,600 miles northwest of Perth.

In the first protest, which started around 5 p.m., about 50 detainees in the Christmas Island Detention Center took issue with the lack of air conditioning in the compound, a result of a power outage across the island, Department of Immigration spokesman Steve Pivetta said.

In the second demonstration, as many as 70 protesters left the detention center and began a peaceful sit-in on the road out front to raise awareness of their fatal boat journey, Pivetta said. The detention facility is not a jail, so the detainees are free to walk outside. CNN

EU leaders commit to bail-out fund

(FT) -- European heads of government vowed on Friday that the eurozone's bail-out fund would always have enough financial wherewithal to rescue any faltering country, but the leaders stopped short of saying they would increase its size.

The promise, contained in their summit communiqué after two days of meetings, was the most explicit commitment to date by European Union leaders about their willingness to back a bail-out of even larger eurozone economies such as Spain and Italy, should those countries get cut off from the financial markets.

But their unwillingness to enlarge the fund, which had been proposed by some EU finance ministers, was a sign that they believed setting a new, higher limit would only lead bond traders to assume EU leaders believed a Spanish or Italian bail-out was inevitable.

The commitment came on the same day Moody's cut Ireland's credit rating five levels and said the outlook for Irish debt was "negative". The downgrade was expected following last month's €85 billion ($112 billion) Irish bail-out, but the severity of cut was more than anticipated.

At the summit, Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, called the downgrade "surprising" but used the opportunity to yet again criticize Dublin for maintaining low corporate taxes as Ireland struggled to cut debt drastically as part of the bail-out deal.

European leaders assiduously avoided discussions on the next steps they would take to tackle the crisis at the summit. Despite criticisms that the EU needed to take quick, system-wide action, officials said a summit debate over economic issues largely focused on Portugal and Spain's austerity measures.

But Jean-Claude Trichet, the European Central Bank president who has been one of the most vocal advocates for more aggressive EU action, used the Thursday evening discussion to scold leaders for their handling of the crisis and prod them into a more determined response that would calm financial markets.

According to people briefed on the debate, Mr Trichet distributed a chart showing how the cost of insuring against default on EU debt had soared after the last summit meeting at the end of October, where eurozone leaders spooked financial markets by raising the prospect of private investors being hit harder in future EU bail-outs. CNN

U.S. monitoring kidnapping case against citizen in Haiti

(CNN) -- The U.S. is keeping close watch on the case of an American relief worker jailed in Haiti under suspicion of kidnapping a 15-month-old boy, the State Department said Friday, but it remains unclear whether the U.S. is working for Paul Waggoner's release.

"We have monitored his court appearances and continue to track the case closely," said P.J. Crowley, spokesman for the State Department.

A Haitian judge concluded after a hearing Wednesday that sufficient evidence exists to hold Waggoner while investigators evaluate a man's complaint that the American kidnapped his critically ill son from a hospital, according to Jon Piechowski, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Haiti.

Waggoner is the co-founder of Materials Management Relief Corps, a humanitarian organization that seeks to provide logistical support to medical workers in Haiti, where a major earthquake caused extensive damage in January.

Waggoner was working at the Haitian Community Hospital in Petionville in February when a Haitian man sought treatment for his 15-month-old son.

Accounts differ as to what happened next, but the father believes the child survived and that Waggoner kidnapped him, Piechowski said.

Waggoner's supporters, including two physicians, have said the child died, and his body was cremated because the father would not claim the remains.

Dr. Kenneth Adams, a volunteer physician on staff at the Haitian Community Hospital, said he was present when the child's father returned to see his son and "witnessed as the father looked at the baby for several minutes, waiting for the baby to breathe". CNN

Top U.S. spy pulled from Pakistan after terror threats

Washington (CNN) -- The CIA has recalled its top spy in Pakistan out of concern for his safety after terrorist threats against him, a U.S. intelligence official said.

The station chief, the highest-ranking U.S. intelligence officer in Pakistan, operates covertly and his identity is considered classified. He had recently been named in a lawsuit filed by a Pakistani man seeking $500 million for the death of his son and brother, who the man alleges were killed in a U.S. drone strike. The spy's name then appeared in Pakistani media stories about the lawsuit.

The threats "were of such a serious nature that it would be imprudent not to act," the intelligence official said, describing the decision to pull him from the country.

A spokesman for the CIA declined to speak about any details of the situation in Pakistan but said in general that protecting CIA personnel is a top priority.

"Our station chiefs routinely encounter major risk as they work to keep America safe, and they've been targeted by terrorists in the past," CIA spokesman George Little said. "Their security is obviously a top priority for the CIA, especially when there's an imminent threat".

The station chief oversees all intelligence operations in Pakistan including managing the drone program, which the U.S. government does not publicly acknowedge, and coordinates with the country's intelligence office. CNN

Zimbabwe's president threatens 'revenge' against Western companies

Mutare, Zimbabwe (CNN) -- Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe threatened Friday to seize all Western-owned investments in the country unless their governments remove targeted sanctions imposed on him and his senior ZANU-PF party members.

The 86-year-old former guerrilla leader spoke at his party conference in Murare.

"This conference must come with a real program, a solid program of how we decide to fight sanctions," Mugabe said. "What is our anti-sanctions program? We have been too far too good for malicious people for countries which seek to destroy us. Why should we continue to have 400 British companies here operating freely with Britain benefiting from us?"

The 86-year-old former guerrilla leader said that "the time has come for ... revenge" and suggested that Zimbabwe's Indigenization and Economic Empowerment Act -- which gives foreign companies five years to submit plans for transferring 51% of their investments to black Zimbabweans -- did not go far enough.

"We can start with that 51%. In some cases, we must read the riot act to the British and others and say them, 'This is only 51% we have taken. Unless you remove sanctions, we will go 100%,' if they insist the sanctions must remain," he said.

In 2002, the European Union and the United States imposed targeted sanctions on Mugabe and some senior party members after rampant reports of human rights violations and stifling of the opposition. Mugabe blames the sanctions for his country's woes, which include an unemployment rate of more than 90% and an inflation rate of 231,000,000%.

Zimbabwe's Indigenization and Economic Empowerment Act was passed by a ZANU-PF-controlled parliament and put into effect this year. It has been the subject of considerable criticism, particularly from opposition leader and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change.

Mugabe has held power since Zimbabwe became independent in 1980. A 2008 election resulted in a runoff between Mugabe and Tsvangirai. Movement for Democratic Change, charging fraud in the election, eventually pulled out, and Mugabe was declared the winner. CNN

U.S. threatens sanctions against Ivory Coast president

United Nations (CNN) -- The U.S. is prepared to impose "targeted sanctions" on Ivory Coast's incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo, the State Department said Friday.

"From the United States' standpoint, time is running out." spokesman P.J. Crowley said at a briefing.

The sanctions, according to Crowley, would target "President Gbagbo, his immediate family and his inner circle, should he continue to illegitimately cling to power".

Violence has broken out between supporters of Gbagbo and of Alassane Ouattara, the internationally supported winner of the November runoff. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Gbagbo's efforts to maintain his office "cannot be allowed to stand". CNN