Latest news with #Wikipedia
Sunday World
5 hours ago
- Sunday World
Notorious British drug trafficker Brian Charrington dies on Costa Blanca
The 68-year-old was waiting to hear whether he had to start a prison sentence in Spain over a 2013 cocaine seizure A notorious British drug trafficker with his own Wikipedia page has died on the Costa Blanca. Brian Charrington, an ex-associate of former international cocaine baron Curtis Warren, passed away in the early hours of yesterday morning at Marina Baixa Hospital in Villajoyosa near Benidorm. The 68-year-old was waiting to hear whether he had to start a prison sentence in Spain over a 2013 cocaine seizure. His defence lawyer had requested the suspension of the eight year jail term on health grounds. Charrington started out as a car dealer in Middlesborough but went on to own a Rolls Royce, Bentley, private jet and fleet of yachts thanks to his international drugs empire. In 2011 his fortune was put at £20 million. In the eighties he teamed up with Curtis Warren, whose personal fortune was so large he appeared on the Sunday Times Rich List, to import cocaine to the UK from Venezuela. The pair were arrested in early 1992 after a shipment of more than 900 kilos of cocaine sealed inside lead ingots in steel boxes was discovered. The subsequent trial collapsed after it transpired Charrington was a police informant for the North-East Regional Crime Squad. Britain's security forces went on to re-home him in Australia but his visa was revoked shortly after his arrival. He went on to build up links with north African drug dealers after relocating to Spain and laundered millions of pounds from a fortified villa on Spain's Costa Blanca which he used to bring hashish from Morocco across the border. He was acquitted in two drugs trials in the UK before being extradited to Germany and sentenced to seven years jail in 2003 for conspiracy to smuggle cocaine into the country. Charrington was extradited to France following his release in 2006 to serve a two year prison term over the discovery of 650 kilos of hashish found on his yacht in the English channel in 1995. In 2004 he lost a civil suit against the Assets Recovery Agency over more than £2 million found in his loft which he and Curtis Warren disputed the ownership of. The civil recovery order against him and Warren was described at the time as the largest of its kind. Spanish police described Charrington after his 2013 arrest in Spain as "one of the ten most investigated criminals" by European police forces and "leader of an international gang of drug smugglers." Spanish police held Charrington in 2013 along with a number of other people including his French girlfriend Isabelle Robert and son Ray after a long-running investigation sparked by a tip-off from French police that he and Robert were smuggling cocaine into Europe from Venezuela. Their luxury villas in Calpe near Benidorm on the Costa Blanca were among a number of homes raided by police on July 4 2013. Brian Charrington News in 90 Seconds - July 23rd In a subsequent indictment in which prosecutors initially demanded an 18-year prison sentence for Charrington, they claimed he tried to erase information he had chalked on a blackboard in his office about amounts of cocaine and sale prices during the raid on his home. Police revealed at the time of the operation they had seized 220 kilos of cocaine worth £10 million at another apartment in Albir near Benidorm, said to have been smuggled into Spain through the nearby port of Altea. Britain's Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), Venezuelan police and a regional 18-member-state police organisation called Ameripol set up to fight drug trafficking, were also involved. Drug lord Charrington's original 2018 trial and conviction following the 2013 drug bust was quashed by Spain's Supreme Court over impartiality issues and a second trial had to be held. That resulted in an eight year five month prison sentence for the Brit criminal which his lawyers were trying to get him exempted from serving because of his poor health. The Spanish courts had yet to rule on Charrington's lawyer's request when he passed away. One of Brian's three grown-up children wrote on social media late last night: 'Rest in peace Dad.' The Brit criminal is understood to have been admitted to hospital shortly before his death.
Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Notorious Brit 'Wikipedia Narco' dies in Spain as family remembers 'crazy b***tard'
Brian Charrington, the infamous 'Teflon Don', was also known as the 'Wikipedia Narco' in Spain as he updated and corrected his own listing on the online encyclopedia A notorious British drug baron nicknamed "Teflon Don" because of his ability to evade justice has died in Spain. Brian Charrington was also known as the "Wikipedia Narco" in Spain as he updated and corrected his own online behind bars. He died in hospital in Spain after suffering a heart attack. He also had a lung condition possibly linked to his exposure to asbestos early in his working life, his family said today. His villa in Calpe, near Benidorm, was raided by police in 2013. He bought a Rolls-Royce, Bentley and a fleet of yachts from the proceeds of his crime. In 2011 his fortune was estimated at £20m. But he had spent many years behind bars, and at the time of his death he was waiting to see if he would have to serve time on a historic case, according to sources on his native Teesside. His son, also called Brian, announced his father's death in a Facebook post which received hundreds of messages of condolence. His dad, a former car dealer from Middlesbrough, worked with Colombia's most fearsome drug networks and UK gangsters including Curtis Warren. He had been sentenced to 15 years behind bars in 2018, but that was later reduced on appeal. His life story was straight out of a Netflix series. It involved huge quantities of cocaine, cash and court cases that once earned him the nickname "Teflon Don" because of his ability to escape prosecution. Brian had three children, Brian Junior, 48, Danny, 44, and Ray, 38. Brian Jnr told the Mirror: "He was a crazy b***tard. I cannot think of anything else to say really. He was just crazy." His role as a police informer was revealed at a trial in the 1990s which resulted in the collapse of the case against him. But Brian jnr added: "Those who knew him, knew that he was not really an informer. He never hid where he lived - he would not have been there if he had been an informer. "He had inside information at times, but he did not give information to the police." He lived for years in Spain, where he apparently kept crocodiles in his swimming pool. He was found guilty of a plot to import nearly 200 kilos of cocaine into Spain from South America in 2018. He was ordered by the court to pay more than £27m - 31 million euros - in fines. Spanish media referred to Charrington as "el narco de la Wikipedia" as he updated his own Wikipedia page with detailed information about his international criminal career. When Charrington was arrested in 2013, Spanish police said he was one of Europe's 10 most-wanted criminals. He was also thought to be one of Britain's richest. Customs officers suspected Charrington was flying to South America with Curtis Warren in the early 1990s. They met senior representatives of Colombia's Cali Cartel, a feared cocaine export operation featured in the 'Narcos' Netflix TV series. Charrington was arrested as his private plane touched down at Teesside in June 1992. When police raided his home in Nunthorpe they found 12 holdalls in his loft containing £1.7m in cash with traces of drugs. Charrington and Warren were both charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and set for a trial at Newcastle Crown Court in 1993. The case against the two men collapsed due to Charrington's role as a police informer. Warren, who walked free from court, is famously rumoured to have taunted a customs officer with the words: "Now I'm off to spend my £85m share and there's nothing you can do about it." He later denied he had said those words, but the boast added to his reputation for being 'cocky'.
Telegraph
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Wikipedia threatens to limit UK access to website
Wikipedia could be forced to limit access in the UK unless crucial elements of Britain's online safety rules are changed, the High Court has been told. Lawyers for the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organisation which helps run the online encyclopaedia, warned it could be required to introduce a 'quota-based' system for UK visitors if it is classified as a 'category one' service under the Online Safety Act. Services falling under this designation are subject to the strictest duties under the digital laws, which are intended to stop children accessing harmful online material and prevent the spread of illegal posts. To stay outside the scope of the regulation, Wikipedia could cap visitor numbers from the UK so it does not qualify as a 'category one' site, which are defined as those with seven million users. This would make it harder for British users to access the site when they wanted. The foundation has launched a legal challenge against Peter Kyle, the Technology Secretary, over the rules, warning they threaten to hit Wikipedia with strict regulations intended for social media giants such as Facebook and TikTok. In a filing with the High Court, Wikimedia's lawyers said such a designation would 'cripple the vital exchange of encyclopaedic information on Wikipedia', either by limiting the 'availability and functionality of Wikipedia in the UK' or by 'fundamentally changing the way in which the encyclopaedia works'. Rupert Paines, a lawyer acting for the group, told the court the rules risked 'very severe impacts' for Wikipedia and could reduce articles to 'gibberish'. The measures could also 'render it unavailable to many who wish to use it', he added, even though Wikipedia is a 'world away' from being a social network that the laws were intended to regulate. Under the category, Wikipedia has claimed it could be required to verify the identities of its anonymous volunteer moderators who edit entries. Non-verified users would no longer be able to alter posts, creating a risk that articles with fake news remain online unchecked. It also claimed the rules could also force Wikipedia to restrict access to UK users, in order to prevent the website from falling foul of the toughest measures. Alongside having more than seven million users, the 'category one' threshold says sites must also have algorithms which recommend content and allow posts to be shared or forwarded to others. The foundation argued Wikipedia would fall under these restrictions even though Ofcom, the digital regulator, had initially failed to identify it as within the scope of the rules. While Wikipedia is not a social network, its lawyers said it still used recommendation algorithms, such as a system that identifies new articles for editing. They added it also had systems that allowed its users to share or forward pages. In order to avoid the rules, Wikimedia's lawyers told the court the site could be forced to withhold access in the UK to some visitors. They wrote: '[Wikimedia] must weigh imposing a quota-based system for Wikipedia in the UK, depressing average monthly UK users below the Cat1 user number conditions.' Such a decision would 'deprive many of Wikipedia's UK users of access to the encyclopaedia as and when they want it', its lawyers wrote. The Online Safety Act threatens technology companies that fail in their duties with fines of £18m or up to 10pc of their global turnover. The Government has argued Wikipedia's concerns are 'hypothetical' and its potential inclusion under the regulations would be 'appropriate' if it meets the thresholds. Its inclusion under the rules is a matter for Ofcom, according to the Government's lawyers, and has not been confirmed.
Hamilton Spectator
a day ago
- Hamilton Spectator
These Toronto students have 100% averages. Born just as the iPhone came out, here's how technology shaped their studies
Born just as the first iPhone launched, the Class of 2025 has also never known a world without YouTube, Facebook or Twitter. Yet despite growing up with ever-present distraction, four Toronto students have graduated with 100 per cent averages — a testament to discipline and smarts, but also to an ability to navigate the digital world that shaped them. Sheena Qin, Andrew Peng, Sowmya Ramanan and Safiya Vohra-Bangi are the Toronto District School Board's top scholars, besting 22,400 of their Grade 12 peers. Each earned perfect marks in advanced functions, calculus, chemistry, biology, physics and at least one other course. In English they scored above 97 per cent. Qin, Peng and Ramanan, all friends from Bloor Collegiate Institute downtown, were enrolled in TOPS, an enriched math and sciences program. 'Grades didn't directly bring us together,' said Qin, 'but we're all people who like STEM and work hard.' They will all study computer science in September, with Qin and Peng off to the University of Toronto and Ramanan to the University of Waterloo. Vohra-Bangi, who graduated from Cedarbrae Collegiate Institute in Scarborough, will study engineering at U of T. Raised on touchscreens, hashtags and endless scrolling, their lives have spanned social media's rise and, more recently, the arrival of ChatGPT. The Star spoke with them about the tech they rely on, the habits that help them focus, and whether cellphones have been truly banned from Ontario classrooms . Andrew Peng , 18 Andrew Peng What digital tools helped you learn? I'm a curious person and often get lost down Wikipedia rabbit holes. It's an easy way to get a lot of niche information that otherwise would be quite difficult to access. With distraction a touch away, how do you maintain focus? I tend to not get distracted easily. I have a relatively high level in piano, the Royal Conservatory of Music, ARCT, so that means I spent a lot of time playing piano when I was a kid. You have to be disciplined and not distracted to reach that level. What about free time? When I was a kid, I played games until my tablet was out of battery. But now, I don't really play games. I do competitive programming or research. I like to go on runs and bike rides. Have you had to limit tech use? No. But I must say that my study strategies are probably not the best. Sometimes I take a 'due' date to be the 'do' date and then I have to speed through it. I can somehow pressure myself into focusing. How has AI impacted your education? I use it as a tool to greatly boost my efficiency. ChatGPT is basically a search engine on steroids. Instead of me needing to scour a bunch of forums, websites or research papers, ChatGPT just does it for me. And it can do other things well, like formatting a formal email. How would you describe learning in the digital era? In two words: efficiency and laziness. How effective was the new cellphone ban in the classroom? That's the official policy, but 90 per cent of my teachers didn't follow it, which I believe is the correct decision. If you can manage the usage of technology then it makes learning much more efficient. You shouldn't ban it for 100 per cent of the people just because five per cent abuse it. What is your relationship to failure considering your average is perfect? My motto in life is I just try my best. I'm not striving for perfection. So even if I fail, I don't get sad or give up since I know there is nothing I could change about it. Sheena Qin , 18 Sheena Qin With distraction a touch away, how do you maintain focus? For STEM subjects, especially, I try to do as much of the homework in class as possible, and I try to go to libraries because I want to establish certain spaces as a workspace to feel less distracted. I also try to turn the distraction into something good: me and my friends use (voice, video, text platform) Discord to communicate, but a lot of times we'll sit in Discord and talk about what we're studying so we learn from each other. What about free time? I like to play a lot of video games, like Pokemon or Civilization VI or Genshin Impact. How has AI impacted your education? In English, instead of giving us an essay to write at home, the teacher had us write it in class, with pen and paper. What technology is school not addressing? AI isn't ever going to disappear. So I think (schools should) teach us how to use it properly. Also, I feel like the computer science curriculum could be enriched because now it's relatively easy to self-learn it all. How would you describe learning in the digital era? The process of getting something or writing your ideas down is simpler, but the thinking is still there. How effective was the new cellphone ban in the classroom? Most teachers didn't really care, as long as you were not using it the entire time. I would use (my phone) to play (game-based learning platform) Kahoot! or take pictures of a lesson if I couldn't write it down fast enough. What is your relationship to failure considering your average is perfect? It doesn't feel good, obviously, but maybe it was just down to chance. Maybe this job just had too many applicants. I try not to dwell on it. Sowmya Ramanan , 17 Sowmya Ramanan What digital tools helped you learn? I do a lot of practice quizzes online. I also use Quizlet for flashcards to help me study. It helps me review the subjects and make sure knowledge is being reinforced. With distraction a touch away, how do you maintain focus? I put time limits on all my social media apps, otherwise I do find I get pretty distracted by them. I'll set a one-hour limit, mainly for Discord. What about free time? I watch YouTube videos, pretty random ones. I play the piano and swim, (and did) badminton for a little while. I learned how to solve Rubik's Cube. What's the digital tool or app you can't do without? Discord. It's the main way I talk to my friends. But also to collaborate — hopping on calls and sharing worksheets and hearing other people's ideas on how they would solve things. I don't think I would have gotten a hundred per cent without that. How has AI impacted your education? I found it very helpful. It takes a bunch of the info from the internet and summarizes it and it can answer really specific questions — rather than reading through a bunch of websites, which I could do, but it would just take a lot longer. And I can also ask it for a source so I can be sure that it's not completely false. I'm able to ask a lot of follow-up questions. It's very quick and efficient. How effective was the new cellphone ban in the classroom? I had one teacher who was very strict, and others weren't as strict. In that one class ... it definitely helped me stay on track and focused. Do you use any analog techniques? Writing it out helps (for memorization), not all my notes, but sort of like a mind-dump of key concepts. What is your relationship to failure considering your average is perfect? One of the failures I've had is not finding a job. It was very disappointing. Both inside and outside of school, (failure makes me) work harder, to make sure I get better. Safiya Vohra-Bangi, 17 Safiya Vohra-Bangi What digital tools helped you learn? If I don't understand something, I'll watch a YouTube video. Let's say your teacher glazes over a topic and you want to learn more, then I'll ask one of the AI tools to explain it. And before a test, you can ask it to make you a practice quiz. What about free time? I do calligraphy. I started when I was in Grade 6 because I started bullet journaling and I just loved it. I also play recreational hockey sometimes, hang out with my friends a lot and watch Netflix. Have you had to limit tech use? In the last semester of Grade 12, I took computer science, calculus, chemistry and physics. So I tried to delete Instagram for a few months, but I would still get distracted by other stuff. What's the digital tool or app you can't do without? I think I could live without any of them. iMessage doesn't count, right? What technology is school not addressing? They should incorporate technology more in the curriculum. Coding would also be a really useful class that everybody should take, just to understand algorithms. It would open up your mind. How would you describe learning in the digital era? It's a lot quicker. Knowledge is a lot more accessible. What is your relationship to failure considering your average is perfect? Academia is not the only way to experience failure. You can experience failure in friends sometimes, not for me personally, but you can. And with sports or at competition or maybe you don't get a job. If you're a high achiever, maybe you'll be hit a little bit harder by it, you might be a little bit more sensitive to it. And even if you try really hard, sometimes something's just not for you; it's just not your thing. These Q&As were edited for clarity and length. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
The right to disarm
'Further to Craig Forbes' piece about political chew toys [C8]. I recently found a Donald Trump squeaky dog toy,' reveals Jonathan Vincent of Emu Heights. 'My puppy loved it, but within five minutes she had removed both his arms. This silenced Trump's squeak [Result! – Granny], and the disarmament is great for world peace.' 'My siblings and I learnt about antimacassars [C8] very early in life,' says David Pigott of North Parramatta. 'The letter 'A' was my mum's favourite when playing I Spy with my Little Eye.' Warren Menteith of Bali describes the antimacassar as 'a classic marketing ploy. Create the problem so you can flog the solution'. He also explains that 'Macassar, the capital of Sulawesi (Celebes) gave its name to this item. It seems long before Brylcreem and other pomades, ebony oil from Makassar was the top-selling product.' While well aware that former PM Bob Hawke was a bit of a ladies man, Ron Besdansky of Northbridge was still taken aback when viewing Wikipedia 's Born on This Day page: 1929 – Hazel Hawke, Australian social worker and pianist, 23rd Spouse of the Prime Minister of Australia (died 2013). Jeff Stanton of Strathfield has a decidedly European take on signalling (C8) when he says: 'using indicators is seen by many as providing information to the enemy'. 'Mishaps really do come in threes,' reckons Viv Mackenzie of Port Hacking. 'A friend should be enjoying the best snow in ages. However, she has been hospitalised with asthma, her husband has come down with COVID and another member of the party has broken a knee. Otherwise, everyone else is having a great time.' Generational talent Greg Leisner of Blackhead writes: 'I'm of an age now where the only comfortable shoes are expensive stretchy sneaker types (black for weddings and funerals) but resist the pejorative term 'Boomer', and I am proposing that we be called the INDY generation. As in, 'I'm Not Dead Yet', any thoughts?' Column 8's recent Coldplaygate (C8) headline got Richard Jary of Waitara thinking: 'Perhaps at 61, I'm too young to remember, but why does every scandal now have to be somethinggate? What did they call scandals before Watergate?' 'I purchased a mood lamp which soon put me in a bad mood as it required an app to set it up,' laments Susan McLaren of Windradyne. 'This 'free' app was soon asking for my credit card details.'
