Business Pivot Point

A senior Spanish prosecutor told the US Embassy in Madrid that Russia, Belarus and Chechnya had become virtual “mafia states”, new disclosures of classified material by Wikileaks show.

A cable also questions whether Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is implicated in the Russian mafia.

Another reveals that a powerful Ukrainian businessman told US officials he had ties to Russian organised crime.

The documents are among hundreds being released by the whistle-blower website.

Voters in Japan’s Okinawa are to elect a governor in a poll closely linked to the future of a controversial US military base relocation plan.

Incumbent Hirokazu Nakaima faces a tough challenge from Mayor Yoichi Iha.

Both say they oppose moving Futenma airbase to northern Okinawa, but Mr Iha is seen as the more staunch opponent.

The election matters because it is the governor who can approve or veto the plan, which has severely strained ties between Tokyo and Washington.

An American nuclear scientist says he was shown a vast new nuclear facility when he visited North Korea last week.

Dr Siegfried Hecker said he had been shown hundreds of centrifuges for enriching uranium, which can be used for making nuclear weapons.

The Stanford University scientist was stunned at how sophisticated the new plant was, he told The New York Times.

When international weapons inspectors were expelled from North Korea in 2009, the plant did not exist, officials say.

Catholic reformers and groups working to combat HIV have welcomed remarks by Pope Benedict that the use of condoms might not always be wrong.

The Pope said their use might be justified on a case by case basis to prevent the spread of HIV/Aids.

The remarks, due to be published in a book next week, mark a softening of his previously hard line against condoms in the battle against HIV, analysts say.

The Vatican has long opposed condoms as an artificial form of contraception.

If we initiate on taking statistics of people who have borrowed money from individual or financial institutions, then we may find very few cases who have not borrowed at all. Atleast 95% of us acquire loans from banks and other financial institutions either to purchase our dream house, to get our dream car or any other product that we desire to own. There are various customized loans like the home loan, auto loan, consumer loans and general personal loans for personal expenditure.

While it is possible for us to avail more than one loan from same or different financial institutions, it is very important that we streamline the repayments. There is a good possibility of messing up with the repayment schedules hence it is very essential to keep good debt management in order to keep our credit rating high and credibility good. There are some agencies which may or may not be a part of any financial institutions that can help borrowers who are suffering from poor debt management to consolidate or streamline their debt repayment schedules. While they may not always mediate with the financial institutions for reduction of debt amount, they may help work out a better and efficient repayment model.

Police have arrested 33 people during protests on the metro system in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.

They said they were protesting about the poor service of the underground network, which commuter groups say has deteriorated rapidly in recent months.

Police said the passengers prevented a train from leaving a station, and accused them of sabotage.

Last month, the government appointed a new head of the metro system to try to tackle the network’s problems.

The UN Security Council has received a controversial report on violations of the Darfur weapons embargo, after weeks of delays due to objections by China.

The confidential report, which was leaked, says Chinese bullets have been found in Sudan’s conflict-torn region.

The document does not say Beijing is necessarily responsible.

But it suggests China is not doing enough to ensure arms it sells to Khartoum do not end up in Darfur. The Chinese have criticised the report.

They say it is vaguely worded and full of flaws.

Taliban militants have attacked a Nato military outpost near the airport in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad.

The Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said the attack on its forward operating base in Nangahar province lasted two hours.

Eight militants, one of whom was wearing a suicide belt, died. The Taliban said it was behind the assault.

Later, two policemen and six civilians were killed by a bomb on a motorbike in Kunduz province, local officials said.

Another 18 people were wounded in the attack on a crowded market, which appeared to target a local militia leader in Emam Sehab district.

It is better to be safe than to be sorry. It is better to have checked out the people whom you want to employ before employing them rather then having employed them without checking and feeling sorry later on.

Why this long prelude is necessary? The industry scenario across the globe is reviving. A lot of companies are employing people in droves. I am sure you are also one of the people who is looking out for employees in large numbers. And, a lot of times, the companies are in a hurry. They are also afraid that if they don’t get the right guys first, some others will get them. But, in this hurry, they can end up making mistakes.

Like them, you might also end up making mistakes when you hire people. You might end up employing the wrong people. Not just in terms of fit to the company but also from a security point of view. Suppose you end up employing a terrorist? A known sex offender? A criminal who has a record?

The scenario itself is frightening. But, is there a method to avoid this?

Yes. There is. You can now easily do a quick Background Check without spending too much. One can check all the key points about the people who come to you. It is easy to check all the key points which would be there in an offender’s record. One can easily also do a Criminal Background Check if required. One can check whether one has a criminal record. One can check whether one is a sex offender. One can check whether one has been involved in some kind of police record. Even a parking ticket can be checked out.

Once you have checked out the people who are gong to be therein your company, at least from a police and criminal record perspective, one can really breach easy.

President Barack Obama has said initial examinations of two suspicious packages bound for the US show they appeared to have contained explosive materials.

He said the packages, found in the UK and Dubai on two overnight cargo planes from Yemen, were destined for Jewish places of worship in Chicago.

Security alerts are under way in the US, UK and Middle East.

The White House later said Saudi Arabia had provided information that helped identify the threat.