Head of the 2010 local organising committee (LOC) Danny Jordaan described as "stupid" people who questioned South Africa's security measures for the World Cup after Friday's attack on the Togolese soccer team. "It doesn't make sense. If a bomb went off in Spain, do you think I should call England to ask about what the impact is on the Olympics England is organising? I think if something happens in France, you'll know it happened in France, not elsewhere," the LOC head... (GunPolicy.org)

A firearms database has linked more than 350 guns with crimes in its first year of operation in England and Wales. The National Ballistics Intelligence Service (Nabis) works by combining advanced forensic technology and police intelligence information. It has played a key role in prosecuting "armourers", including Paul Alexander, who was jailed indefinitely last year. Nabis says guns are becoming difficult to obtain - meaning rival gangs must sometimes use the same... (GunPolicy.org)

SOMERVILLE, New.Jersey - Former NBA star Jayson Williams, his personal life in shambles, took responsibility for accidentally shooting his limousine driver to death eight years ago by pleading guilty Monday to assault and agreeing to serve at least 18 months in prison. Williams was awaiting retrial on a reckless manslaughter count but pleaded guilty to the lesser aggravated assault count for the 2002 death of Costas Christofi. Williams remained poised during the... (GunPolicy.org)

MADISON, Wisconsin - A passenger inadvertently carried shotgun shells onto a Dallas-bound Midwest Airlines plane at Milwaukee's airport on Monday before he realized his mistake and alerted flight attendants, authorities said. The man, who was not identified, did not mean any harm, saying he had forgotten that the ammunition was in his carryon bags when he boarded the flight, Transportation Security Administration spokesman Jim Fotenos said. TSA agents turned the... (GunPolicy.org)

Francistown — A Botswana Defence Force (BDF) soldier, who allegedly shot and wounded his girlfriend and her mother, appeared briefly before Chief Magistrate Mokwadi Gabanagae on two counts of attempted murder on Friday afternoon. He was charged with the attempted murder of Nametsegang Stewart and her mother, Cecilia Mphathiwa last Tuesday. Tonota police station said that Batsile Kesupile, 35, a lance corporal based at Area S BDF camp, was brought in by his... (GunPolicy.org)

Pretoria — The dispossession of illegal and unwanted legal firearms during the new firearms amnesty period will significantly help in the fight against crime, says Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa. Addressing reporters on Monday on the firearms amnesty period which kicked off today and will end on 11 April, Mthethwa said the reduction of the number of firearms in circulation was an important part of the police's strategy to combat violent crime. "What prompted us to... (GunPolicy.org)

MANILA - POLICEMEN and soldiers were among 47 people arrested for illegally carrying guns in the Philippines on the first day of a firearms ban imposed ahead of national elections, authorities said on Monday. National police deputy director general Jefferson Soriano said tens of thousands of officers had been deployed to man 3,500 checkpoints set up across the country on Sunday to enforce the ban on the unauthorised carrying of weapons. The ban is introduced ahead of... (GunPolicy.org)

With thousands of illegal firearms in circulation around the country, contributing to the high rate of serious and violent crimes, most political parties have welcomed the four-month gun amnesty that begins today, saying it will spur people with illegal firearms to surrender their weapons. The amnesty runs until April 11 and allows people to hand in illegal, unregistered firearms at any police station, without fear of prosecution. IFP spokesperson Velaphi Ndlovu said... (GunPolicy.org)

Auburn Hills — Marvin "Bad News" Barnes played for Pistons teams in the early 1970s nicknamed the "Detroit Hoodlums" because at least four players routinely brought guns into the dressing room for protection. They weren't afraid of teammates, but wanted to protect themselves from the streets of downtown Detroit, which had a bad reputation for crime. Barnes told aol.com he carried an unregistered .45-caliber pistol and .38 snub-nosed revolver. "If the .45 jammed, I... (GunPolicy.org)

The Brazilian government has launched a new disarmament campaign, according to the interim justice minister Luis Paulo Barreto, Agencia Brasil reports. The Justice Ministry has also released data on a campaign to register firearms that ended on 31 December. The campaign saw 1.2 million arms registered last year and 14,544 arms handed over to the police in return for compensation. Anyone found with a weapon that has not been registered faces the risk of a three-year jail... (GunPolicy.org)

A RUGBY club captain was arrested in front of team-mates after police found a stash of guns in his home. Scottish Hydro Caledonia League 1 player Cameron Kennedy had left the weapons lying about in his house, with the door wide open. Acting Tayside chief constable Justine Curran told Kennedy: "I am no longer satisfied that you can be permitted to possess firearms and shotguns without danger to the public safety." At Perth Sheriff Court, Kennedy, who has been Crieff... (GunPolicy.org)