• How do you spot a fake pound coin

    / By Armoured Cars / In London

    The number of fake £1 coins in circulation now stands at more than 30 million, according to the Royal Mint. How do you know if you've been given one?

    That £1 coin in your pocket could be worthless.

    The number of fake pound coins in circulation has doubled in the past five years and one in every 50 is now counterfeit.

    It's illegal to make or use counterfeited coins and the Royal Mint says people must hand them in if they think they have one. But how can you tell?

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  • President Rousseff shocked by police car death

    / By Armoured Cars / In Brazil

    Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has offered her condolences and said the nation was "shocked" after a woman died when dragged by a police car along one of Rio de Janeiro's busiest roads.

    Mother-of-four Claudia da Silva Ferreira, 38, had been hurt in a shoot-out in the shanty-town where she lived.

    Policemen threw her into their patrol car's boot, which opened by accident when it drove off.

    Relatives said Ms Ferreira had been "treated like a criminal".

    She was dragged for more than 300 metres (1,000ft) before the car stopped at a red light.

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  • South Africa expels Rwandan diplomats

    / By Armoured Cars / In rwanda

    South Africa has expelled three Rwandan diplomats in connection with an attack on the home of an exiled Rwandan dissident, diplomatic sources say.

    Rwanda responded by ordering out six South African envoys, officials said.

    The moves come after armed men raided the Johannesburg home of Kayumba Nyamwasa, a Rwandan former chief of staff, earlier this week.

    Lt Gen Nyamwasa, an exiled critic of Rwandan President Paul Kagame, was not at home.

    However, the property was ransacked and a computer and some documents were taken.

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  • The child refugee who built business empire - Ashish Thakkar

    / By Armoured Cars / In Uganda

    While many successful entrepreneurs have come from difficult backgrounds, few have faced the horrors that Ashish Thakkar and his family went through.

    Mr Thakkar, who today is the founder and boss of the pan-African Mara Group conglomerate, was 12 years old when he and his parents and sister fled the Rwandan genocide in 1994.

    After sheltering with more than 1,200 other terrified people at a hotel in Rwanda's capital (the one at the centre of the 2004 film Hotel Rwanda, the Hollywood movie about the genocide), they were able to get on a flight out of the country.

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  • China urges Malaysia to intensify search for flight MH370

    / By Armoured Cars / In malaysia

    China has urged Malaysia to "step up its efforts" in the search for the Malaysia Airlines passenger plane that disappeared on Saturday.

    Malaysia said it was widening the hunt, after days of searching found no trace of the plane or the 239 people on board - most of whom were Chinese.

    Rescue teams from nine countries will now scour areas stretching from the Malacca Strait to the South China Sea.

    Beijing-bound flight MH370 vanished shortly after it left Kuala Lumpur.

    Relatives of the missing passengers have been told to prepare for the worst.

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  • Assad forces now using starvation as weapon of war in Syria

    / By Armoured Cars / In security

    Starvation tactics against civilians are being used as a weapon of war by the Syrian government, the human rights group Amnesty International says.

    A new report says at least 128 refugees have died at the besieged Yarmouk camp in Damascus as a result.

    It says thousands of people still trapped there face a "catastrophic humanitarian crisis".

    Amnesty says families have been forced to forage for food in the streets - risking being killed by snipers.

    There were reports of fresh fighting on the edge of the camp last week.

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  • UK economy set to hit pre-recession peak by summer

    / By Armoured Cars / In security

    The size of the overall UK economy will this summer overtake the peak level it was at before the 2008 financial crisis, a business lobby group says.

    The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) thinks the second quarter, starting in April, will see GDP exceed the level seen at the start of 2008.

    In upgraded forecasts, it estimates economic growth will be 2.8% this year - up from its earlier estimate of 2.7%.

    But it also warns of an "unacceptably high" level of youth unemployment.

    Sunny Predictions

    "Our economic recovery is gaining momentum," said BCC director general John Longworth.

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  • Mexico drug lord Nazario Moreno killed 'Again'

    / By Armoured Cars / In Mexico

    Officials in Mexico say that they have killed a drug lord who was reported to have been shot dead three years ago.

    Nazario Moreno, known as El Mas Loco - The Craziest One - was the founder of the La Familia cartel and regarded as the spiritual leader of its offshoot, the brutal Knights Templar.

    His death was first announced after a 2010 shootout, but no body was found and he was reportedly seen alive since.

    Police said he was finally tracked down and shot dead in Michoacan state.

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  • Many dead in Bujumbura, Burundi floods

    / By Armoured Cars / In security @es

    At least 50 people are reported to have died after floods and landslides hit the Burundi capital, Bujumbura.

    The BBC's Cyiriaque Muhawenayo in the city says it is not yet possible to give accurate figures because bodies may be hidden in the mud or under debris.

    One man said he had lost nine relatives.

    Our correspondent says the main hospital's morgue is full, and that people are being treated outside.

    Water and mud flooding down from hills outside the city have washed away hundreds of houses, according to police.

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  • Many dead in Bujumbura, Burundi floods

    / By Armoured Cars / In security

    At least 50 people are reported to have died after floods and landslides hit the Burundi capital, Bujumbura.

    The BBC's Cyiriaque Muhawenayo in the city says it is not yet possible to give accurate figures because bodies may be hidden in the mud or under debris.

    One man said he had lost nine relatives.

    Our correspondent says the main hospital's morgue is full, and that people are being treated outside.

    Water and mud flooding down from hills outside the city have washed away hundreds of houses, according to police.

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