Mystery surrounds discovery at drug lord's former mansion

Workers carrying out the demolition of the mansion in Miami Beach that belonged to drug trafficker Pablo Escobar found a metal safe under the house’s foundations on Monday.
The safe is approximately 2 feet wide by 2 feet long and weighs about 600 pounds. The box is locked, and its contents are unknown.
The owners of the mansion had previously found a hole where another safe was believed to have been hidden. But that safe was stolen in the last 30 days, and there is currently a police investigation into its disappearance.
Christian de Berdouare, entrepreneur and founder of the restaurant chain Chicken Kitchen, currently owns the property with his wife, television journalist Jennifer Valoppi.
The safe found on Monday will be taken to a bank, where it will stay for an indefinite amount of time before the property owners decide to unlock it. They plan to open it once they finish a documentary currently being made on the history of the mansion.

Pablo Escobar

Pablo Escobar. Born in 1949 in Antioquia, Colombia, he became the leader of the powerful Medellin drugs cartel
During the cartel's heyday he was thought to be among the world's 10 richest people
Many of his properties had hidden stashes of cash and jewellery
His Medellin drugs cartel was accused of being behind up to 80% of all the cocaine shipped to the US
Killed on a Medellin rooftop during a shoot-out as he was trying to flee from the police on 2 December 1993

'No progress on African corruption' says Transparency International (TI)

Africa is widely considered among the world's most corrupt places, a factor seen as contributing to the stunted development and impoverishment of many African states. Transparency International (TI) says it has seen no improvement in powerhouses Nigeria and South Africa.

Of the ten countries considered most corrupt in the world, six are in sub-Saharan Africa, according to Transparency International, a leading global watchdog on corruption.

Its corruption index puts Somalia and North Korea at the top of the list of the world's most corrupt countries.
The annual index looks at factors such as the prevalence of bribery and the perception that government officials go unpunished for corruption.

The countries where public sector corruption is perceived highest

1. Somalia and North Korea
2. Afghanistan
3. Sudan
4. South Sudan
5. Angola
6. Libya
7. Iraq
8. Venezuela
9. Guinea-Bissau
10. Haiti

The countries where public sector corruption is perceived lowest

1. Denmark
2. Finland
3. Sweden
4. New Zealand
5. Netherlands
6. Norway
7. Switzerland
8. Singapore
9. Canada
10. Luxembourg and UK
Source: Transparency International

French Minister Christiane Taubira resigns amid terror row

One of France’s most progressive government ministers has resigned amid a row over new counter-terrorism legislation.

French Justice Minister Christiane Taubira has stepped down from her job, shortly before plans to strip people convicted of terrorism of their citizenship go before parliament.

Taubira was known to disagree with the controversial proposals, a BBC report has said. 

The citizenship plans were put forward after the 13 November Paris attacks in which 130 people were murdered.

"Sometimes staying on is resisting, sometimes resisting means leaving," she tweeted. In December 2015, she criticized the government’s plan, proposed in the wake of the November 13 attacks on Paris, saying that it "would not help the fight against terrorism in any way," the BBC reports.

Taubira, one of France's few senior black politicians, has been replaced by Jean-Jacques Urvoas who is seen as a supporter of the constitutional change and an ally of Prime Minister Manuel Valls.

Born in French Guiana, Taubira, 63, has suffered racist taunts from the far-right during her time as justice minister. She has been replaced by Jean-Jacques Urvoas, who is thought to view the plans more favorably.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic's big pay rise

There are good days, and then there are getting-a-massive-pay-rise days.
So Paris St-Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is probably in a very, very good mood today as he has been handed a €700,000 euros monthly pay rise.
The 34-year-old Swede, who has scored 127 goals in 156 games since joining them in 2012, now gets €1.5 million a month before tax under the performance-based hike agreed late last year.
Ibrahimovic will also get big bonus payments for winning the Champions league, the French league title and ending the season with the highest combined total of goals scored and goal assists.