From the AP (via Yahoo News): The world’s most comprehensive legalized heroin program became permanent Sunday with overwhelming approval from Swiss voters who simultaneously rejected the decriminalization of marijuana. The heroin program, started in 1994, is offered in 23 centers across Switzerland. It has helped eliminate scenes of large groups of drug users shooting up openly in [...]

The United Kingdom is facing an increase in poaching as more and more people are killing animals and other forms of meats due to the rising costs of food. From the Independent: Police in rural areas across Britain are reporting a dramatic increase in poaching, as the rise in food prices and the reality of recession increases [...]

Loan sharks in Italy are booming with business as people take out loans at high rates to deal with the economic downturn. From the Chicago Tribune: The worldwide economic downturn has opened the door for loan sharks to burrow ever deeper into Italy’s vulnerable economy by preying on businesses that need quick cash and credit, according to [...]

New laws proposed by UK officials aims to strengthen the countries anti-corruption laws. From the AP (via Google News): Employers who turn a blind eye to corruption face up to 10 years in jail as part of a radical overhaul of Britain’s bribery laws proposed by the British Law Commission on Thursday. The commission, the government’s law reform [...]

A new law in the United Kingdom would give out stronger penalties to men who knowingly have sex with women were are trafficked. From the Guardian: New prostitution laws to be set out today will mean a plea of ignorance is no defence for men facing prosecution for buying sex from a woman who has been trafficked [...]

Users of cocaine are destroying the rainforest, according to law enforcement officials. From the Guardian: Four square metres of rainforest are destroyed for every gram of cocaine snorted in the UK, a conference of senior police officers as told yesterday. Francisco Santos Calderón, the vice-president of Colombia, appealed to British users of the class A drug to consider [...]

According to a business group in Italy, the Mafia is the biggest business in Italy. From ABC News: Organized crime is the biggest business in Italy, according to the latest study by the country’s shopkeepers association, Confesercenti. That Italy’s mafias do a booming business, particularly the drug-related variety, is common knowledge. But the effect on the country’s legitimate [...]

Russia’s plan to build a city dedicated to gambling is hitting a snag due to the global financial crisis, leading some to worry that a black market in illegal gambling could emerge. From USA Today: Russia’s grandiose scheme to build a Las Vegas from scratch in 18 months is turning into a sour bet because of the [...]

France’s Senate has passed a three strikes law would cut off Internet access for people who continue to download unlicensed music. From the Hollywood Reporter: France is on a collision course with the EU after the French Senate overwhelmingly voted for an Internet piracy law that directly contradicts European Parliament legislation. The Senate’s “three strikes” or “graduated response” [...]

Counterfeit drugs are being smuggled into the United Kingdom, jeopardizing the lives of millions of patients. From the Independent: Packets of fake pills are being smuggled into high-street chemists and sold as real medicines that prevent heart attacks or fight cancer, putting the lives of millions of British patients at risk. Criminal gangs that cut their teeth [...]