National Transitional Council official Abdel Majid Mlegta said that Gaddafi was captured and wounded in both legs at dawn on Thursday as he tried to flee in a convoy which Nato warplanes attacked. Gaddafi was shot in both legs and "also hit in his head", the official said. "There was a lot of firing against his group and he died." There was no independent confirmation of his remarks. In the early hours of the morning, at least five cars carrying loyalist fighters attempted to escape the city. Libyan rebels then moved into the city's Number Two residential neighbourhood, which was the last pocket of pro-Gaddafi resistance left in the war-torn country. "Sirte has been liberated. There are no Gaddafi forces any more," said Col Yunus Al Abdali, head of operations in the eastern half of the city. "We are now chasing his fighters who are trying to run away." However, there were reports that Gaddafi loyalists had ditched their military uniforms and were firing indiscriminately at civilians. The final assault on the remaining pro-Gaddafi positions began around 8am (7am GMT) on Thursday and was over after about 90 minutes. Civilians, whose city has been under siege since Gaddafi was removed from power at the end of August, were making their way to the centre to celebrate. The Telegraph, witnessing scenes in the centre of the city said there were scenes of relief, jubilation and intense celebratory gunfire among National Transitional Council (NTC) forces. The new national flag was raised above a large utilities building in the Mediterranean city, which had been under siege for nearly two months. A rebel commander confirmed that loyalist fighters in the city had been rounded up. "This is the last day of the fight," Lieutenant Colonel Hussein Abdel Salam of the Misurata Brigade told AFP. The fate of the city has become entwined with the immediate political future of Libya after the National Transitional Council said a full interim government could not be named until Sirte had fallen.

 

Spain was one of the first countries to start to lay down laws relating to old non-registered pay-as-you-go SIM cards for anti-terrorism reasons i.e. you MUST tell the authorities your name and address and get a new SIM if you had one of the old anonymous ones. Following on from this "mobile legality" theme, news this week bubbles of Sybase subsidiary company Sybase 365 working with Spanish mobile operator Yoigo. The two firms have joined forces to offer registered SMS, a new service allowing companies to send customers confirmation text messages with the same legal standing as registered mail. According to Sybase, "Officially certified by the Spanish Real Casa de la Moneda (The Royal Mint of Spain) the Sybase 365 and Yoigo service recognises an SMS confirmation as legal proof of delivery of important documents and information. These certificates can then be used as evidence in judicial proceedings in Spain for enterprises wishing to demonstrate correspondence with their customers. This will enable companies and their customers to resolve disputes in a timely manner, avoiding the cost of court proceedings." With registered SMS, financial institutions, utility companies and enterprises will be able to use SMS where previously they would have used registered mail. Developers working to build in legally approved services into mobile (or desktop for that matter) applications should perhaps take note of Sybase 365's suggestion that an SMS provides a number of advantages over registered mail including five times better response rate over traditional mail and is read 288 times faster than email. "No other communication medium has the ability to reach more people than SMS, said Howard Stevens, senior vice president, global telco and international operations, Sybase 365. "Consumer acceptance and enterprise adoption of the mobile channel is fuelling the growth in volume, availability and sophistication of mobile services and the registered SMS services we're launching confirms this trend."

Celebrities and millionaires living on one of Britain’s most exclusive estates have become the targets of a crime wave.

A diplomat’s wife and son became the latest victims after they were tied up and held at gunpoint during a £100,000 robbery.

St George’s Hill in Surrey has been dubbed the British ‘Beverly Hills’ and is home to Russian oil tycoons, hedge fund managers and City financiers.

Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty and Chelsea footballer Didier Drogba are also residents.

The estate is hidden behind security gates and guarded around the clock by security guards and CCTV cameras.

But that has failed to protect the residents from falling foul of a string of crimes since April.

Police have warned them to be on their guard after the latest incident last month was a gunpoint £100,000 robbery in which a diplomat’s wife and son were tied up.

One resident said homeowners, who paid up to £10million for the privilege, are ‘living in fear’ of becoming the next victim.

The neighbourhood, a favourite with Russian oil tycoons, hedge fund traders and City financiers, has been dubbed the British ‘Beverley Hills’.

Among the high-profile names to own a home there are Dragons’ Den star Theo Paphitis, Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty and Chelsea footballer Didier Drogba.

Other include Scottish TV actress Hannah Gordon, former Chelsea player Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and the BSkyB chief executive Jeremy Darroch.

While former residents on the 420-home estate include Ringo Starr, Kate Winslet, Cliff Richard, Jenson Button and Sir Elton John.

Surrey Police admitted the tranquil Weybridge neighbourhood, known as ‘The Hill’ to locals, has been hit by a string of crimes since April.

They included two violent robberies, a burglary, two thefts, the theft of a car, vandalism and a violent attack.

Detectives are still hunting the masked gunman behind the terrifying robbery where the victims were tied up and threatened with a sawn-off shotgun.

The woman, aged in her 30s, and her teenage son escaped unhurt as he made off with cash and jewellery worth £100,000.

Police suspect their attacker may have had an accomplice in a car outside but the pair managed to dodge security on the estate.

One local, who did not want to be named, said all householders had been warned about the recent crimes and been told to ‘be vigilant’.

He said: ‘There has been a lot of talk about the crime rate in the past six months.

‘Although it might not seem particularly high compared to most of the country, the simple fact is that people pay a lot of money to live here and do not expect to be living in fear.

‘There are private security guards, CCTV cameras, barriers and all sorts, so this kind of thing is very out of the ordinary for people who live here.

‘We have been told to be vigilant and to report any suspicious behaviour to the police and to the security team here.’

Elmbridge councillor Peter Harman said: ‘They’ve got their own security on the estate and they have cameras that monitor traffic going in and out, and all the cars are recorded, so it should be easy to trace people.’

The residents’ association boasts it is a ‘unique location’ for successful high achievers looking for a ‘secure and private location.’

Each house is required to have ‘at least’ one acre of land and boundaries cannot be marked by fences or walls, only hedges and bushes.

The 964-acre estate boasts its own golf club and 15 tennis courts, four squash courts, state-of-the-art gym, 20m swimming pool and sauna, bar and restaurants and its own beauty spa.

According to estate agents Savills, the the area is ‘internationally renowned as one of the most sought-after private estates in England.’

But it is not the first time the estate has had problems with unwanted intruders and people ignoring the law.

In May, peace at the gated community was punctured when squatters moved into an empty property 200 yards from the members-only tennis club that forms its social hub.

Residents were sent a letter saying those responsible were ‘known to police’ and they should be on their guard.

But the unwelcome neighbours managed to stay for several weeks at the £3million empty property which was at the centre of a long-running legal dispute.

A Surrey Police spokesman confirmed the crimes took and said officers continue to appeal for witnesses over the armed robbery.

A spokesman for St George’s Hill Residents’ Association declined to comment.

 

Another day, another downgrade. Reduced to surviving on two pints of lager and pack of crisps at recent Christmas parties, misery was heaped on Royal Bank of Scotland's highly-paid investment bankers on Friday as they were told that they would have to fund this year's bash entirely out of their own pocket.

 

6,000 Britons who hold money in the Swiss arm of HSBC will soon receive a letter telling them that they need to own up to unpaid tax. The bank is acting on information received last year under a tax treaty. This revealed that more than 6,000 individuals, companies, trusts and other bodies held accounts and investments with HSBC Geneva. HMRC has already begun criminal and serious fraud investigations into more than 500 individuals and organisations holding these accounts. HMRC will shortly be writing to those who have not yet come forward, or are not under investigation. They will be offered a chance to contact HMRC and disclose all their tax liabilities, HMRC said. Fines of up to 200 per cent of any tax may, in certain circumstances, be imposed on people not coming forwards during this window for disclosure. "This is not an amnesty. There are no special rates of penalty or interest for those who come forward voluntarily," said HMRC's Dave Hartnett. "This is an opportunity for those who have made errors in past returns to correct them. The net is closing on offshore evaders. Don't wait for HMRC to contact you."

 

former chief of the National Police in Ronda claims that he was accused in the police corruption case because people wanted to “bring him down”. Nine people are accused in the case which is currently being tried in Malaga. They include three other National Police officers and a Guardia Civil. The hearing was initially planned in March last year but was suspended after the defence for one of the accused asked to know the identity of some of the protected witnesses to carry out tests. This was agreed, but the trial was postponed on two other occasions. There are 60 witnesses, many whose identities are protected. Malaga Public Prosecutor is asking for a total of 39 years for the five officers who allegedly failed to investigate prostitution and drugs sales at brothels in the area from which they are accused of demanding money and sex in exchange for not going ahead with deportation orders for the illegal immigrants working there between 2003 and 2007. Three club managers were charged with prostitution, and another man who allegedly accompanied the officer with influence peddling. He is said to have boasted about his relationship with the police and an affair with the local judge. The Internal Affairs investigation led to the arrests of the officers and the other people between February and May 2007. The former National Police chief visited the brothels and, like the others, allegedly had drinks and sexual favours which he never paid for, and was also accused of helping an illegal immigrant who worked in a care home in exchange for sex. The prosecution believes that another one of the National Police rented a house to one of the brothel owners for the girls to stay in and tipped them off about possible raids. The former police chief claims in court that the whole case is a set-up organized by people he had arrested or had problems with in the past, including other officers, and says he never failed in his duty, nor abused his position to obtain sex or anything else. He does admit to having had a consenting relationship with a protected witness who he claims demanded money from him and went to his wife after they split up. He says he regrets this, but that it was the only thing he has done wrong.

 

34 year old British man has been arrested at the Los Rodeos Tenerife North Airport after found to be carrying 75 capsules of heroin inside his body. News has just been released of the arrest which took place last Wednesday afternoon, and a statement from the Guardia Civil says the total weight of the drug recovered was 913 grams. Apparently when stopped by customs officials on arrival from the Spanish mainland, suspicions were raised when the Briton was unable to give a clear explanation as to the reason for his visit to Tenerife. The man, who has not been named in reports, was subjected to medical and police surveillance in the Canaries Universitario Hospital until all the capsules had been passed. That was checked by x-ray.

area has been prepared next to the Guadalhorce river

 

Ten months after introducing new restrictions on prostitution in Málaga, prohibiting the offering of services less than 200m from shops or homes, the PP controlled City Hall has now set up a special space where woman and men can carry out the oldest profession in the world without being fined.

Some are calling the idea a ‘follódromo’, and it reminds others of the late Marbella Mayor, Jesús Gil’s intention to establish a ‘Putódromo’ in Marbella.

The area chosen is next to the Guadalhorce river, and over the last few weeks the Ayuntamiento has levelled the ground and installed a dozen or so lampposts. 

Several non-governmental organisations have already criticised the plan, considering that it will expose the prostitutes to robberies and aggressions, but the prostitutes think it is the only way for them to avoid the actions of the police and fines of 700 €.

Sandra Vicente, from the Commission to Investigate Domestic Violence against Women, is reported in El País as saying
‘The problem is the Town Halls are taking it for granted that prostitution is legal. Most of the laws penalise the women who are in the street, but do not specifically mention prostitution’.

 

British warship chased a Spanish customs vessel out of British territorial waters at Gibraltar, a spokesman for the British military command in the contested territory said Wednesday. The frigate HMS Argyll was leaving Gibraltar on Tuesday on deployment to the Middle East when it spotted the Spanish ship in British waters off the territory, the spokesman at the British military command said. "Argyll turned and followed the customs vessel round Europa Point and into the Bay where the customs vessel exited British Gibraltar's territorial waters," he said. The Spanish vessel, a large corvette-type vessel named "Fulmar", then sailed to the Spanish port of Algeciras on the other side of the bay, he added. It was the latest in a series of maritime face-offs in the waters off Gibraltar, which is strategically placed at the western entrance of the Mediterranean. In April Gibraltar police charged one of its boats was damaged in a clash with Spanish police vessels that illegally entered its waters in pursuit of alleged drug traffickers. Britain claims a strip of three nautical miles (5.5 kilometres) surrounding Gibraltar as its territorial waters. But Spain does not recognise any waters off Gibraltar as belonging to the territory apart from its ports. Spain ceded Gibraltar to Britain in 1713 under the Treaty of Utrecht but has long argued that it should be returned to Spanish sovereignty. Britain has said it will not renounce sovereignty against the wishes of Gibraltarians.

 

Sicilian TV station that campaigns against the Mafia, Telejato, is among hundreds of channels threatened with closure due to a change in the law. Partinico is a pretty nondescript little town - a handful of baroque churches, a couple of elegant palazzos and a lot of ugly concrete in between. If it were not for the fact that it is in the so-called "Mafia Bermuda Triangle", perhaps nobody outside the province of Palermo would have heard of it. As it is, like Corleone, it is a name that prompts Italians to raise an eyebrow and suck in their breath when you tell them you are planning to visit. Discreet entrance My point of departure is San Giuseppe Jato, another former Mafia stronghold. Continue reading the main story From Our Own Correspondent Broadcast on Saturdays at 1130 BST on BBC Radio 4 and weekdays on BBC World Service Listen to the BBC Radio 4 version Download the podcast Listen to the BBC World Service version Explore the archive Having just visited a vineyard on land confiscated from an infamous jailed boss, I decide to try my luck with the only direct bus of the day to Partinico. I do what the traffic warden advises and wave it down in the middle of the road, just in front of the toy shop. After a picturesque journey through the Jato Valley, I alight an hour later at my destination, a town where the mountains rise up above the church steeples and illegal attic extensions. I find the block of flats which is home to Telejato without too much difficulty. It is on a quiet side street away from the bustle of the main road. The building number seems right but there is no sign or any directions to the TV station inside. I conclude that the best way to find Pino Maniaci is to follow my nose. As I climb the staircase, the smell of cigarette smoke gets stronger. I follow the aroma up to the second floor, through an unlocked door and into the newsroom. Pino Maniaci's daughter Letizia is the station's main reporter It is 13:20 and they go live at 14:00. Pino, his daughter and a couple of volunteer journalists are putting together the bulletin. When I come in, he turns towards me, cigarette between his lips. After the briefest of greetings he says, "We're on air soon so sit down and don't break my balls." His daughter looks up and grins. "Don't worry, that's how he talks to everyone," she says. Indeed Pino Maniaci, when not inhaling smoke, is invariably exhaling expletives. Unable to sit still and not wishing to be a ball-breaker, I nose around the small converted apartment. You can tell by the pictures, tributes and cuttings on the walls, just how proud Pino is of Telejato. Courage He has turned a tiny local TV station into one of Sicily's most powerful anti-Mafia voices. Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote With his Groucho Marx-style moustache and Chico Marx-style accent, he boasts that even the Mafia watch Telejato” He says nearly all the locals watch it. In the heart of Cosa Nostra territory, he was the first journalist to dare to give the full names of arrested mafiosi. Before him, nobody published more than initials for fear of reprisals. Pino, his family and a small team of volunteers put together a daily news show, which is dominated by Mafia and corruption stories. "We're always first on the scene," he tells me. "Even international channels like CNN call and ask to use our footage." The station works closely with the various police forces, including the Catturandi di Palermo - a special squad that hunts mafiosi in hiding. "Wherever we show up, they're there. Wherever they show up, we're there." Pino's childlike bravado conceals his genuine courage. With his Groucho Marx-style moustache and Chico Marx-style accent, he boasts that even the Mafia watch Telejato. "We were the only ones to interview the brother of Bernardo Provenzano, one of the biggest Mafia bosses," he tells me. With a gleeful twinkle, Pino continues, "We even discovered that Provenzano himself had an aerial specially positioned to pick up our signal. If you listen to the police wire taps, you can hear our signature tune!" Murder attempt Telejato has a motto: "They consider themselves men of honour. For us, dishonouring them is a question of honour." Pino uses derision as both weapon and shield, but he admits he is scared, especially for his family. "I smoke three packets a day and always joke that it's just as well the biggest room in our tiny station is the bathroom!" Living under police escort, he has suffered countless attacks - slashed tyres, severed brake cables, burnt-out cars, windscreens shattered by gunshots. "They even tried to bump me off!" he chuckles, describing a failed attempt to strangle him, which left him with four fractured ribs, a broken leg, a black eye and several broken teeth. At 17:00, it is time for me to head for the station to catch a train up to Palermo. Pino refuses to let me go without showing me some true Sicilian hospitality. Police escort in tow, we go to a nearby coffee bar. Everyone, including the officers, gets an espresso and Pino insists I taste a cannolo, the island's famous ricotta-filled pastry. "I have to keep Telejato going," says Pino between mouthfuls, "so that one day Sicily will be more famous for these than for the Mafia."

 

 Anthony Kearney, 46, and 44-year-old Donna McCafferty admitted claiming housing benefit when they had more than £330,000 in offshore accounts. Kearney was jailed for two years in 2008 and McCafferty was given 250 hours community service. At Glasgow Sheriff Court, confiscation orders totalling £943,366 were granted. Kearney and McCafferty were tracked down in the Costa Blanca town of Benissa in November 2008 after being featured in a Crimestoppers appeal to catch on-the-run British suspects. Fraud probe Kearney was later jailed for two years and McCafferty was given 250 hours community service. The couple, who have a son together, admitted committing benefit fraud by claiming housing benefit when they had more than £330,000 in offshore accounts. Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote This case should also be a warning to those who think that targeting public funds...is an easy way to make money” Lesley Thomson QC Solicitor General Kearney also claimed for almost £23,000 in income support and pocketed more than £10,000 from credit card frauds. They went on the run after a money laundering investigation was launched against them in May 2004. At Glasgow Sheriff Court, a confiscation order for £930,362 was made against Kearney, and a confiscation order for £13,003 was made against McCafferty. Solicitor General, Lesley Thomson QC, said: "Anthony Kearney and Donna McCafferty lied about their circumstances to rob the public purse of thousands of pounds in benefit fraud before fleeing to Spain to try and escape justice. "They were arrested on an international warrant within 24 hours of a Crimestoppers' appeal - which featured them on a "most-wanted" list - and extradited back to Scotland. "This case should also be a warning to those who think that targeting public funds through criminal enterprise is an easy way to make money, and a reminder that the proceeds of crime legislation covers a wide range of offences where there has been financial benefit." Minister for Welfare Reform Lord Freud said benefit thieves were costing the taxpayer almost £1bn per year. "This money should be going to the people who need it most and not lining the pockets of criminals sunning themselves overseas," he said. "In addition to the sentence imposed by the court, the department always seeks to recover the money falsely obtained, to ensure that cheats do not benefit from their criminal activities."

The England and Manchester United star will now be saddled with paying the estimated £500,000 legal bills incurred by the Sunday Mirror in defence of the lawsuit.

Ferdinand sued the newspaper for misuse of private information after they published details of his 13-year relationship with interior designer Carly Storey, who accepted £16,000 for telling the tale of her liaisons with the defender.

But Mr Justice Nicol dismissed the case at London's high court on Thursday, and refused Ferdinand's legal team permission to appeal.

"Overall, in my judgment, the balancing exercise favours the defendant's right of freedom of expression over the claimant's right of privacy," he said.

The judge was not swayed by Ferdinand's claims that he had not tried to meet Storey after being made England captain, despite claims in the newspaper that he had snuck Storey into the team hotel.

"I did not find this answer persuasive. In his evidence the claimant said that (Fabio) Capello had told him to be professional, not only on the pitch but 'around the hotel'," the judge said.

"In the past, the Claimant (Ferdinand) had not behaved in a professional manner around the hotels into which he had tried to sneak Ms Storey.

"Whether or not he had done that in the few weeks since he had been made the permanent captain of England, his relative recent past failings could legitimately be used to call into question his suitability for the role."

Former England captain Ferdinand, who has three children with wife Rebecca, had told the judge at an earlier hearing that, "I do not see why I should not be entitled to a private life just because I am a famous footballer."

Sunday Mirror editor Tina Weaver hailed the judge's decision.

"The Sunday Mirror is very pleased that the court has rejected Rio Ferdinand's privacy claim," she said.

"The judge found that there was a justified public interest in reporting the off-pitch behaviour of the then England captain and discussion of his suitability for such an important and ambassadorial role representing the country.

"We are pleased the judge ruled that Mr Ferdinand had perpetuated a misleading public image and the Sunday Mirror was entitled to correct this impression.

"There has never been greater scrutiny of the media than now, and we applaud this ruling in recognising the important role a free press has to play in a democratic society."

 

Alberto Alvarez was in charge of back stage during Jackson's final rehearsal on June 24, 2009. He described Jackson as "happy and in good spirits" during the performance. "He was doing very well for the most part," he told the Los Angeles court. He explained that he later drove Jackson back to his rented Holmby Hills home and saw Dr Murray's car parked there. He said the last time he saw Jackson alive was when he said "good night" to the singer. Mr Alvarez was the first person who went into Jackson's bedroom after Dr Murray telephoned for help as he was trying to resuscitate the singer. He said Jackson was lying on his back, with his hands extended out to his side, and his eyes and mouth open. "When I came into the room, Dr Murray said 'Alberto, hurry, we have to get to hospital, we have to get an ambulance'." Jackson's logistics director Alberto Alvarez He then described how Jackson's children Paris and Prince entered the room behind him. "Paris screamed out 'Daddy' and she was crying. "Dr Murray said to me 'Don't let them see their dad like this see'. "I ushered the children out and told them 'Don't worry, we will take care of it, everything is going to be OK'." Mr Alvarez asked what had happened, to which Dr Murray replied: "He had a bad reaction". Two paramedics who tried to save Jackson's life are also due to give evidence on day three of the trial. Martin Blount and Richard Senneff are expected to say that Jackson already appeared to be dead when they arrived at his home on June 25, 2009. The court will also hear from another key witness - Jackson's personal chef Kai Chase. Sky's US correspondent Greg Milam, who is at the court, said: "There are fewer demonstrators, fans of Michael Jackson, and supporters of Dr Murray here today - but they are still being very vocal in their support of both sides in the case." On Wednesday, Jackson's security chief revealed how the star's children crumpled in shock, as they saw their apparently dead father being given heart massage in his bedroom. The court also heard that Dr Conrad Murray, accused of involuntary manslaughter over Jackson's death two years ago, asked aides if any of them knew how to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). "Paris was on the ground balled up crying, and Prince was standing there, and he just had a real shocked, you know just slowly crying type of look on his face," bodyguard Faheem Muhammad, referring to two of Jackson's three children, said. "I went and gathered them together, and I kind of talked to them for a second, got the nanny... and we walked downstairs and put them in a different location," he said. He was describing the scene after he was called up to the master bedroom of Jackson's rented Los Angeles mansion where the star died after an overdose of a powerful sedative. The defence team for the doctor insists Jackson self-administered other sedatives, prompting the overdose while his physician was outside the bedroom. Dr Murray, 58, faces up to four years in jail if convicted of involuntary manslaughter for administering the overdose of Propofol.

 

Dutch authorities say raids have been conducted in seven countries in connection with an alleged $200 million investment fraud scheme, and four men have been arrested. The country's financial crime prosecutors say they suspect hundreds of investors were conned into fraudulent investments in U.S. life insurance policies by a firm called Quality Investments BV. Prosecutors said Wednesday four Dutch men have been arrested, two in the Netherlands and one each in Switzerland and Turkey. Raids were also conducted in Spain, Dubai, England and the United States, in which millions of euros in assets were seized in hopes of recovering some money for duped investors.

 

FALKLANDS war veteran went on a lavish £1million spending spree after ripping off two gangsters. Ex-Royal Navy officer Dean Priestley had been asked by the crooks to drive the used notes across the Channel to Spain. But instead of sticking to the plan the 47-year-old went on the run and set about leading a life of luxury for six months. Advertisement >> Priestley splashed out on holidays, homes, cars, boats and jewellery as he hid from the villains who put out a hit on him. A court heard the furious crooks, known only as Mull and Steve, vowed to spend £5million hunting him down. The extraordinary case emerged as wife Derry, 48, was convicted of conspiracy to launder money. Her husband was jailed for three and a half years earlier this year after pleading guilty to conspiring to convert criminal property. Detective Constable Graham Duncan said: “This is the first case I have come across in 25 years of someone who allegedly stole £1million from criminals and has not given it back. “Dean Priestley was spending money like it was going out of fashion. He has shown a brass neck to the criminals he stole money from and shown no remorse.” Dad-of-two Priestley fled his £900,000 home in a water mill in Bielby, East Yorks, after stealing the cash. He called his wife to say: “I’ve done something really bad. I’m going to have to stay away for a long time.” He opened bank accounts in his privately-educated son’s names before depositing thousands of pounds in stolen cash. Priestley quickly splashed out on a luxury £230,000 Sealine S48 motor cruiser on Lake Windermere to hide from the villains. He also bought a £162,000 stone cottage for son Nathan, a semi-pro rugby player, in Wilsden, Bradford. He blew £20,000 on a Land Rover Defender 90 to drive between Lake District marinas and two £23,000 Audi A3s for cash from showroom dealers. He soon traded in one of the Audis, swapping it for a £32,000 black BMW 630 cabriolet picked out by his wife. At the time, Priestley was also being hunted by the police as he was wanted for extradition to France after being convicted in his absence of cannabis smuggling in his lorry. Wife Derry told Hull crown court she was threatened by two men from Manchester’s underworld to tell them where her husband was. She was told to take his birth and medical certificates to them just before they attacked his two sons with spray paint and an iron bar at their home. She said: “I got very depressed and suicidal. I was very low for a long time. I fled my home.” She remained in contact with her husband by mobile phone and made repeated visits to the Lake District to see him. The court heard Priestley bought a £5,000 diamond and 18 carat gold pendant from a jeweller for his wife’s birthday. He then paid for holidays to Spain, Amsterdam and a £4,000 trip to Australia. He even roped in his nephews, paying them £1,000 for every £10,000 they could put into banks. Mrs Priestley stopped using her Range Rover after finding a tracking device put on it by the Manchester criminals. It was Mrs Priestley’s call to the police saying the gangsters had told her that her husband had stolen £1million which started the investigation. Twice-married Mrs Priestley denied joining him when he ran up credit card bills on shopping trips. Prosecutor Timothy Capstick said her husband’s empire came crashing down when he was arrested by police coming out of a Leeds Hotel. They knew criminals had put a price on his head. The jury took less than 60 minutes to find Derry Priestley guilty. As well as the money laundering charge, she was also convicted of attempting to convert criminal property and converting criminal property. She will be sentenced at a later date. Her luxury home in Bielby, which the family had a mortgage on, has since been repossessed and sold on. Dean Priestley along with sons James, 23, Nathan, 22, and nephews Simon Taylor, 35, and Christopher Taylor, 32, all pleaded guilty to conspiring to convert criminal property before the start of their trial in March. His sons and nephews got suspended prison sentences. Priestley now faces an assets recovery hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act to seize any criminal cash he has left.

 

The European Union's executive branch proposed Friday that national borders in Europe's visa-free travel zone be controlled by officials in Brussels, the EU capital, rather than by individual governments -- a plan already opposed by Germany, France and Spain. The proposal by the European Commission follows a call for stronger economic governance within the area that uses the euro currency, and reflects a push toward more centralized decision-making to protect the European Union's two proudest achievements, the free movement of both people and capital. It is unclear at this point whether either of those achievements will survive, said Paul de Grauwe, an economics professor and EU expert at the Catholic University of Leuven, in Belgium. "I would say we are at a road, and suddenly there is a bifurcation and we have to make choice," de Grauwe said. "One road is more integration to save the project, to save the Schengen zone and the monetary union. But there is a lot of opposition. It's also possible that we take the other road, no further integration, and then we risk the collapse of these two experiments." In June, EU leaders agreed to set up new rules underpinning the principle of free travel throughout much of the continent after Italy, Denmark and France all took action to roll back visa-free travel. Most of the details of the proposed centralized governance of the 25-country Schengen zone -- named for the town in Luxembourg where the visa-free treaty was negotiated in 1985 -- had already emerged. National governments would retain the right to re-institute border checks in unforeseen emergencies that threaten public order or internal security, but only for five days. Beyond that, approval of the European Commission and a committee of technical experts from the Schengen countries would be needed. And as a last resort, if a country failed persistently to adequately police the Schengen zone's external borders despite help from EU headquarters, the commission with the consent of the committee could impose checks along that country's borders with other Schengen countries. "It is a common European project," EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said of the visa-free zone. "We need to work jointly on joint projects to defend them." But there has long been a push and pull between officials who believe the European project can only work with greater integration and those opposed to the weakening of national sovereignty. Even before the Schengen proposal was unveiled Friday, it met with opposition from Germany, France and Spain, who said border control, public order and internal security were matters for national governments, not EU headquarters. Given that opposition, it is unclear whether the proposal in its current form will take effect. Meanwhile, plans to admit two more EU countries -- Romania and Bulgaria -- to the Schengen visa-free zone hit a snag Friday when Dutch Immigration Minister Gerd Leers said his country plans to block their entry. Approval of new Schengen countries must be unanimous. "The trust isn't there," said Leers' spokeswoman, Elaine de Boer. She said Leers "wants to see more work in the fight against corruption" in both countries. Bulgaria's President Georgi Parvanov insisted his country was being unfairly singled out despite meeting the criteria set out by the 17-member bloc for joining the visa-free zone. "I don't think it is right to use any other criteria in solving this matter," he said at a meeting with foreign ambassadors in the capital Sofia.

Latin American Herald Tribune - Spain, Mexico Pledge Cooperation Against Organized Crime: "Spain’s King Juan Carlos and Mexican President Felipe Calderon explored on Friday the perspectives for increased bilateral collaboration in a number of fields, with particular attention to cooperating against organized crime.

Juan Carlos and Calderon presided over the traditional lunch that brings Spanish and Mexican leaders together each year on the occasion of the Ibero-American Summit, although this time Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is absent from the Mar del Plata event in order to work out from Madrid the latest economic measures to be taken.

But Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez and Education Minister Angel Gabilondo attended the lunch together with the king, while the Mexican president was accompanied by his foreign minister, Patricia Espinosa, and Economy Secretary Bruno Ferrari."

The threat of dictatorship in Spain: "The decision by the Spanish government to use the army to seize airport control towers so as to defeat a wildcat strike by air traffic controllers is a warning to the entire working class.
The government of Prime Minister José Luis Zapatero of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) has handed broad powers to the military by imposing a “state of alert,” nullifying basic democratic rights. The action exposes the thoroughly rightwing character of this “socialist” government. In its determination to impose the will of the financial aristocracy, it is taking measures that have not been seen since the end of the fascist regime of General Franco in 1975."

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Criminals pretending to be bank account holders have been sending forged documents to bank branches instructing them to transfer funds to other jurisdictions.
Commercial bank customers have been targeted in the past five months, including several charitable organisations and companies that have international business.
A garda investigation has assisted in the recovery of €160,000 taken from the account of a well-known charity in September.
It also prevented attempts to steal up to the region of €1.3m during the month of September alone.
A garda operation on 13 October led to the discovery of high-spec items of equipment used to manufacture counterfeit credit cards, and numerous business cheques and cheque books.
The cheques and cheque books appear to have been stolen from the postal system in Ireland and the UK, gardaí say.
Arrests were also made in the Drogheda and Galway searches.
A 32-year-old was before Drogheda District Court this morning.
Michael Tuzuka of Park Square, Grange Rath, Drogheda, was charged with possession of counterfeiting equipment, handling stolen property and theft and attempted theft.
Two other people arrested were released without charge and a file will be sent to the DPP.
The investigation is ongoing.

Drugs with an estimated street value of more than £3 million have been recovered in a raid, police have said.
Officers raided an industrial unit in Nuneaton Street, in the east end of Glasgow, on Thursday as part of ongoing operations to tackle serious and organised crime.
They recovered a large quantity of drugs, believed to be heroin, cannabis and other controlled drugs, worth £3.35 million.

France: Protests against pension reform over the past month resulted in canceled flights and trains and the closure of the Eiffel Tower. The government refuses to back down from increasing the retirement age from 60 to 62, and some unions declared open-ended strikes that could continue weeks. Travel to and within France may be disrupted at any time for the foreseeable future.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/10/15/TR891FS71V.DTL#ixzz12W5SMIvT

In an action that could put him behind bars, actor Sean Connery declined to appear in a Spanish court Friday as requested by the judge investigating an allegedly shady real estate deal involving property the actor used to own in Costa Del Sol.

In a letter, the 80-year-old actor told the judge he cannot travel to Spain because of his age and unspecified health issues. Sean Connery and Micheline Roquebrune’ fight in the Goldfinger case, the Costa del Sol development deal of Casa Malibu, has taken an unlikely turn. Sean Connery is now ignoring summons to appear, claiming he is too old to travel. Yet, as the Telegraph reports, Sean Connery was not too old in June to fly to the Edinburgh Film Festival (and even dance for the cameras during a news briefing), and he was not too old to fly to New York in April.

The couple have been ordered to appear in a case dubbed the “Goldfinger” case. There are no beautiful ladies in this case, just beautiful real estate. And while the case has sparked international news coverage, the logic of the case remains baffling to U.S. fans. Connery, himself, is equally baffled why he is being bothered over real estate dealings for a former property.

Sean Connery and his wife bought Casa Malibu in 1975 after their wedding, 11 years after Goldfinger. Richard Burton, Michael Caine, Omar Shariff and George Best were among their guests at the famed home.

Then in 1999, the couple sold the property for £5.5 million. The developer tore down their house, and built 70 flats, eventually sold for £45 million. Investigators have since claimed there were
irregularities in the reclassification of the land by the buyer. Police raided the officer of Connery’s local attorney Diaz-Basten & Truan. Multiple local officials are under investigation. Connery now lives in the Bahamas and has an NYC apartment on the Upper East Side, reports the Telegraph.

A “court worker” issues the following news statement to the Daily Mirror that “Mr Connery has informed the court in writing he won’t be coming today. He has cited health reasons and his advanced age and said he has not been able to prepare the journey in time. The court is now considering its next move. The emission of an international arrest warrant is a possibility but a remote one. The most likely scenario is that the investigating magistrate will make a formal request through a rogatory commission to question Sir Sean at his home. The logistics of this will become clearer next week. It could be that a delegation goes to the Bahamas to quiz him. The other option would be that a team based locally is tasked to interview him.”

Connery’s wife has said of the matter “We have nothing to do with this. We sold the property and that is it.” Connery and his wife have not been charged with any crime. But prosecutors claim tax evasion and money-laundering operations were at play with their lawyers and local council of



Connery and his wife, Micheline Roquebrune, had been summoned to testify on Friday. They have not been charged with a crime in the affair known in Spain as the "Goldfinger Case" in reference to Connery's turn as 007 agent James Bond.

The official said the magistrate, who earlier this year had threatened to issue an international arrest warrant against actor, will decide next week how to proceed. His options include sending Spanish officials to question Connery personally, the official said, although he said he did not know where Connery is now. The actor owns a home in the Bahamas and an apartment in New York..

The court official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with court rules.

The probe involves a beachfront mansion near Marbella that Connery used to own and nearby land which was allegedly rezoned to allow condominiums to be built. The court official declined to give details but Spanish news reports says the judge is probing possible tax evasion in the land project.

For 20 years Connery vacationed at his lavish property, Malibu, before selling it in 1998.

Marbella was once synonymous with glitz but in more recent years has been tarnished by corruption.

In 2006 the Spanish government took the unprecedented step of dissolving the entire Marbella city council amid a scandal in which city officials were accused of accepting bribes and other favors in exchange for granting building permits during a nationwide real estate boom that largely fueled Spain's economy but has since collapsed.

A total of 95 people went on trial in that case last month, although the case involving Connery and others is separate.

TWO IRISH CITIZENS are among a group of people arrested by Spanish police in Ibiza in a major drugs operation.
The operation is being jointly run by Spanish and British police, and has resulted in the discovery of around 38,000 ecstasy tablets and 4kg of cocaine, as well as other drugs.
Police also recovered around €56,000.
Fourteen men and 11 women have been arrested, including two Irish and 20 British people.
The nationalities of the other people arrested include Spain, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
The drug racket is believed to have been run from Britain, and local police are saying that they have successfully broken the most powerful drugs ring on the island.
The chief of the European operations of the UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) said that “every level of a gang that was responsible for supplying and distributing a vast quantity of drugs to Ibiza” has been taken out by the arrests.
Police also said that students had been acting as mules for the gang by bringing drugs to the island packed in their suitcases. Nightclub employees are believed to be among those arrested.

Criminals pretending to be bank account holders have been sending forged documents to bank branches instructing them to transfer funds to other jurisdictions.
Commercial bank customers have been targeted in the past five months, including several charitable organisations and companies that have international business.
A garda investigation has assisted in the recovery of €160,000 taken from the account of a well-known charity in September.
It also prevented attempts to steal up to the region of €1.3m during the month of September alone.
A garda operation on 13 October led to the discovery of high-spec items of equipment used to manufacture counterfeit credit cards, and numerous business cheques and cheque books.
The cheques and cheque books appear to have been stolen from the postal system in Ireland and the UK, gardaí say.
Arrests were also made in the Drogheda and Galway searches.
A 32-year-old was before Drogheda District Court this morning.
Michael Tuzuka of Park Square, Grange Rath, Drogheda, was charged with possession of counterfeiting equipment, handling stolen property and theft and attempted theft.
Two other people arrested were released without charge and a file will be sent to the DPP.
The investigation is ongoing.

Two fugitive chiefs of criminal gangs are suspected of paying more than 200,000 euros (280,000 dollars) to football fans whose violent riots forced the cancellation of Serbia's Euro 2012 qualifying match, a Serbian newspaper reported on Saturday.
"More than 200,000 euros had been paid to more than 60 hooligans for the organisation, trip, getting equipment and rioting due to which the match in Genoa was not played," the pro-government Politika daily said, quoting a source close to the investigation.
According to the newspaper, police are following a lead that the riots were ordered by two chiefs of separate criminal gangs -- a cocaine dealer also suspected for money laundering and one believed to head a criminal organisation linked with a number of murders, robberies and violent behaviour.
It was likely that the two, "despite being in a financial dispute with each other, financed the riots because both have interest in creating chaos in the state" of Serbia, the unnamed source told Politika.
Police have also been following a lead that people dissatisfied with the Football Federation of Serbia had been behind the riots, but the source said this was being treated as less likely.
The match in Genoa was aborted on Tuesday just six minutes into play due to Serbian fans throwing flares onto the pitch and at rival Italy supporters.
Police in Italy made 17 arrests and 16 people were hospitalised after the clashes in Genoa. The injured included two policemen.
Serbian police have detained 35 football fans on their way back from Genoa in northern Italy.
Interior Minister Ivica Dacic promised a thorough police probe into the incidents.
Serbia has stepped up the fight against organised crime in a bid to meet conditions for membership in the European Union.

Venezuela's Attorney General Luisa Ortega Díaz said that the Attorney General Office requested the 19th Control Court of the Caracas Metropolitan Area (AMC) the initiation of proceedings to extradite Army Major General Néstor González González.

She said that it is of public knowledge that Gen. González González will be in Spain on November 15.

Gen. González González is being investigated in connection with the alleged crime of civil rebellion, following the events of April 2002.

Ortega Díaz said that as Gen. González González will be in Spain on November 15, "we, as the Venezuelan institution guarantor of legality, and pursuant to the extradition treaty between the two countries, request (Spain) to extradite the aforementioned citizen, who is wanted in Venezuela."

Gibraltar bank account supposed to hold the company’s cash in fact had a balance of less than nine Euros and no credit facility.
Two senior executives at a prominent Gibraltar law firm, brothers Benjamin and Solomon Marrache, appeared before the Magistrates Court yesterday charged with false accounting in respect of E1.8m of client money.The two men were arrested on Tuesday and spent the night in police cells before being ferried to court in a police van.
The two Marrache brothers were ushered by police through a side entrance to Central Police station just before 10am and appeared before the magistrate in a crowded courthouse a short while later.Attorney General Ricky Rhoda, appearing for the Crown, urged the magistrate to impose stringent bail conditions for fear that the two men might flee the jurisdiction.Keith Azopardi, the defence lawyer representing the Marrache brothers together with Samantha Sacramento, said there was no risk of them leaving Gibraltar because both were of previous good character and had strong family ties here.Stipendiary Magistrate Charles Pitto granted bail but set tough conditions on each defendant, in the form of two sureties to the value of £300,000 for each brother. The court also set a further financial condition of £150,000 in their own recognizance for each defendant.In simple terms, failure to appear at future court hearings could cost the defendants and their guarantors up to £900,000 in total.
Both men also had to hand in their travel documents and agree to reside at their respective family homes, as well as report twice weekly to police.By the end of the day yesterday, a number of persons had stepped up to provide £600,000 in sureties for the release of the two men.At an hour-long hearing in the evening, Mr Pitto questioned the guarantors closely but accepted the sureties. The two brothers were released from custody later that evening.Yesterday’s developments in court were the opening shots in what will undoubtedly develop into a lengthy and complex case.

Mr Rhoda said the sums of money involved “could be quite substantial”.
He said the two men were currently facing “holding charges” and that more charges could follow at a later stage. The Attorney General also said there could be further arrests as a result of an ongoing police investigation.Earlier this week police raided several commercial and residential properties linked to Marrache & Co and seized documents and computers.Prosecutors allege that in January this year, the brothers falsified documents to conceal a shortfall of E1.8m of funds belonging to a company called Portino Comercio Internacional. One document, a letter signed by Solomon Marrache, purported to show that the money was held by the brothers on the client’s behalf. Another document, a letter signed by Benjamin Marrache, purported to give authority to Natwest bank to transfer the client’s money to a bank in Ireland.
But prosecutors said that the Gibraltar bank account supposed to hold the company’s cash in fact had a balance of less than nine Euros and no credit facility.

Work inspectors in the province of Málaga found some 2,000 people working without a contract last year, and nearly 500 of them were also collecting unemployment pay.
Shops and the hostelry business were most controlled by the inspectors in the province last year, and their work recovered 12 million € additional income for Social Security.The numbers are four times higher than those seen in 2008 as the number of work inspections is stepped up.

Spanish Ministry of the Interior has announced plans to reduce the number of foreign prisoners being held in Spanish jails. They want to try to get prisoners to serve their time in the jails of their country of origin.In Spain there are 27,091 foreigner prisoners from 110 countries currently, 242% more than in 2000. The numbers include Cataluña where responsibility for prisons has been devolved to the region.A statement from the Ministry for the Interior said that ‘foreigners are not to blame for the overcrowding in Spanish jails’ noting that the number of foreign prisoners only increased by 3% last year, but even so Spain has one of the highest percentages of foreign prisoners in Europe at 35%.The law already allows for a foreign prisoner to apply to be transferred to his or her home country if he or she wishes, and last year 580 made the application of which 249 have been repatriated. However many do not make the application as conditions in Spanish jails are generally good.If the prison sentence is less than six years and the criminal has not legal residence in Spain he can be extradited instead of going to prison, and under that rule more than 900 foreign criminals were expelled from the country last year.

Socialist Mayor of Cártama, José Garrido, has been indicted on charges of perversion of the course of justice. He is accused by the Prosecutors’ Office of having deliberately let an order expire against a local resident who had built a home on non-buildable land.The case is being investigated by Instruction Court 5 in Málaga and refers to December 2005 when the Town Hall inspectors noted the house being built on rustic land. There was an initial fine and the site was taped up, but the citizen continued to build despite several visits from municipal technicians in January, March, April and May 2006. Work was still continuing in February 2007, and in October 2008 , SEPRONA, the Environmental Division of the Guardia Civil asked the Ayuntamiento for details of the sanction imposed. That sanction expired in December of that year, and now the Mayor faces charges.The Mayor contends that competences in the case are unclear, and said he has done nothing wrong as no irregular licence was issued by the council. He also noted the lack of resources to carry out any demolitions saying that there are more than 2,000 similar cases currently outstanding. The house concerned in the case currently remains standing.

Date for the start of the court cases for the ‘Malaya’ corruption scandal and the ‘Ballena Blanca’ money laundering affair could coincide and that it causing differences between the Málaga Provincial Court and the Anti Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. Final start dates for both cases are still to be set, but they could coincide according to the President of the Provincial Court, Francisco Javier Arroyo. That would cause serious problems for the prosecutor, Juan Carlos López Caballero, who has instructed both cases, and the Chief Prosecutor, Antonio Morales, has concluded that ‘in common sense both cases cannot coincide’.Ballena Blanca was set to start at the end of March, while Malaya could start at the end of May, but with the first expected to last six months and the second a year an overlap is likely. Ballena Blanca has to deal with 19 accused and some 80,000 sheets of evidence, while Malaya has 103 accused and the court summary is 90,000 sheets long.
Antonio Morales considers that the Malaya case should wait until after Ballena Blanca has been completed and has told Diario Sur that he does not understand the hurry.To add to the problems there is a third case, ‘Minutas’ which already has a fixed date of April 6 to June 4 where here the prosecutor, Francisco Jiménez Villarejo, also belongs to the same anti-corruption department.

Two Latin American boys aged 14 and 16 have been charged with the murder of the 71 year old British pensioner Peter Cockshutt who was found dead in his home in Arona on the Costa del Silencio, on Tenerife, after what is thought to have been a burglary gone wrong. One of the boys was arrested on Tuesday afternoon, the other on
Tuesday night.The British man, who comes from Brandesburton, near Beverley in East Yorkshire was stabbed twice in the chest and once in the leg. His body was found by a friend on Monday.The two boys are also accused or robbery and both will appear before the judge shortly, and are being held in Guardia Civil custody. An autopsy has been carried out on the victim, but the results have not yet been made public.
It’s understood the two boys have confessed to the crime, and reporting restrictions have been introduced in the case.

Brits are the largest group, making up 16 percent of the total number of operations being carried outForeign patients now make up 42% of the activity in the operating theatres at the District Hospital in Torrevieja. The largest group is the British, who made up 16% of the 22,640 operations carried out in the hospital in 2009. It shows the high numbers of British tourists in the area, and the number who live in the town for at least part of the year, many of them aged over 65. Britons make up 10% of the padron census in the 12 municipalities serviced by the hospital.
Next group, but with no more than 5% of the total, come the Germans, then the Norwegians and Moroccans.The numbers come amid increasing concerns in the Spanish press about the costs of providing care to ‘health tourists’, and claims that Spain is not getting all the costs of such operations reimbursed in full.

price of resale property in Spain increased in January for the first time in 24 months, according to the real estate portal fotocasa.es. Prices rose by 0.6% on average, with the regions of Cataluña, and La Rioja seeing the greatest recovery in price at 4.6% and 4.5%. Prices also rose in the regions of Comunidad Valenciana (2,2%), Asturias (2%), Baleares (1,9%), Aragón (1,4%), Galicia (0,9%) and Madrid (0,7%).It takes the average price of per square metre for resale property to 2,366 €.

Baltasar Garzón, is to appeal against the Supreme Court case which accused him of adopting resolutions which were allegedly a perversion of the course of justice, by starting to investigate the disappearances of people during the Franco years in Spain.Garzón has said that the Supreme Court case is ‘unsustainable and incomprehensible’ and he has accused the Judge Luciano Varela of using ‘depreciatory arguments’ with no legal base. Garzón has called for international experts who have judged similar crimes to be brought in. Garzón says that Varela has ‘a preconceived idea which stops him analysing the facts objectively’.Garzón also faces a second case where he is accused of not declaring additional income obtained allegedly from the Banco Santander when he was on a sabbatical year in New York.
Meanwhile the Prosecutors Office has said it does not support the accusations being made against the judge and they will be sending their considerations to the CGPJ, despite the fact that the General Council for Judicial Power, the body which oversees the judiciary, started the procedures on Tuesday to suspend the judge.
The Attorney General, Cándido Conde-Pumpido, has said that, in principle, he can see no criminal behaviour which will allow the accusations being made against the judge to be justified.The group ‘Judges for Democracy’ has also expressed its ‘deepest concern’ about the decision of Varela to proceed against Garzón who they do not consider at fault.

Five Ecuadorians have been arrested on Mallorca in connection with the discovery of the body of a 35 year old Bolivian woman.The woman was reported missing last November, and her chopped up body was found on waste land in Campos, Mallorca, the day after the first three people were arrested this week. Paul Gregory R.C., aged 41; Norma del Rocio V.S., aged 39, and Luis Rodrigo Q.Q. who is said to have been the main author of the killing and who is aged 43. Two further arrests were made on Wednesday and further detentions have not been ruled out in the case.

one million Britons living in Spain some 74 per cent revealed that repatriation is now a distinct possibility, according to a study undertaken by Moneycorp.Some 37 per cent of those surveyed admitted that they were already looking into returning to the British Isles.The house market crash has seen the value of homes on the Costa del Sol crash to below 65 per cent their original asking price.

“Brits living in Spain are particularly affected by the struggling property market with many owning holiday homes and letting out their Spanish properties.”
Add the plummeting pound and limited job opportunities, the survey has fuelled fears that there could be a widespread exodus.
“Brits living in Europe are feeling the effects of the weak pound as they are more likely to be reliant on income from their British property, UK pension and other regular sources of funds,” said David Kerns, Head of Private Clients at Moneycorp.
“Brits living in Spain are particularly affected by the struggling property market with many owning holiday homes and letting out their Spanish properties.”

Meanwhile, the survey also revealed that more than a third of expatriates in Italy, Germany and France are also mulling over moving back to the UK.Kerns added: “Our research shows that British expats have had a tough time and the findings reveal that no country has escaped unharmed from the economic downturn.”
The survey interviewed 250 Europe-based UK expatriates and was conducted from October to November 2009.

Margarite Auken, Danish MEP for the Green party and author of the controversial "Auken Report", which recommended EU sanctions against Spain if it did not act on illegal building and urban abuse, demanded yesterday in open parliamentary session that the EU ask for an official report from Madrid on how it will protected property rights for people who have purchased illegal homes.
The question, directed to the President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek, coincided with the appearance in front of the EU Parliament of Spanish President Zapatero, who was in Brussels to explain the six month Spanish programme for the EU. Spain took over the rotating presidency of the EU on the 1st of January 2010.
During her question, Ms Auken referred to the "worrying facts" revealed by her report. The Auken Report was approved by the EU in March 2009. "Spain has permitted a culture of endemic corruption to build up around construction" she said.It revealed to the EU the wide range of issues in Spain that has permitted the construction of hundreds of thousands of homes without any permits whatsoever.President Buzek did not reply immediately to the question, but is expected to give a response in the next few days."Many Spanish citizens feel that they must quietly accept fraud and corruption from building companies who can expel them from their homes without any compensation" said Ms Auken.Ms Auken pointed out that the Spanish government has so far refused to give an official reply to the Auken report and so she believes the time has come for the EU to officially demand a reply to the report.The report recommends EU sanctions against Spain if it does not act to tackle urban abuse and property instability in the region.

Willie Meyers, the Izquierda Unida MEP for Andalucia, also used the opportunity to attack the Spanish government for urban abuse.

The Reader recently had an exclusive interview with Mr Meyers when he visited Almeria during a fact finding mission on urban abuse in the province (An interview with MEP Willie Meyers ) where he explained his horror at what he had discovered.Mr Meyers's office has sent an official request to a number of Spanish departments within the Junta de Andalucia and the Spanish government to ask what, if any, notice they have taken of the Auken report.Mr Meyers has also bought the specific example of the Almanzora Valley to the attention of interested parliamentary groups within the EU.Meyer's office released a statement saying "he condemned the many examples of urban abuse produced by rampant and uncontrolled development over the last few years" and saying that innocent home owners must be protected at all costs.Meanwhile, Michael Cashman MEP, has written an open letter to Prime Minister Zapatero. Mr Cashman was one of the MEPs who asked for a European Parliamentary resolution to get Spain to put its house in order given the enormous number of petitions and complaints about building, environmental and urban abuses it had received. According to Mr Cashman there have been over 15,000 petitions as well as a daily flood of letters on this matter.

Many councils in Malaga fear tens of thousands of unregistered residents live in certain municipalities: in the case of Marbella, with an electoral roll of 140,000 people from 137 different nationalities, it is thought a further 100,000 people live without registering.
The failure to register means councils are losing money, as the Spanish state gives subsidies to each municipality based on the size of its electoral roll.
Marbella tourism councillor, José Luis Hernández, said: “The fact both Spanish and foreign residents fail to register on the electoral roll here helps to collapse our public services. It is because of this that we have half the police, hospitals, courts, schools and taxis that we really need for a town of this size.”

2 hours from Spain’s Costa del Sol are the snowy peaks of the Sierra Nevada , Europe’s Southern-most ski resort.December saw the heaviest rain for 50 years fall on the Costa del Sol, officially ending five years of drought in the region and filling the reservoirs to capacity. Although it meant a wet Christmas for Costa del Sol residents, it has led to wonderful conditions in the nearby mountains with the resort management, Cetursa SA, announcing an impressive 3 metres of snow cover over the ski terrain. They are working hard to piste the new snow and hope to have all the runs open soon. To find out the latest information on the state of the pistes visit the British Ski Centre website.If you want to enjoy both the skiing and the warmth of the seaside, you should consider basing yourself on the Costa del Sol and taking a day trip up to the mountains. Alternatively, you could do a two centre holiday and stay in the mountains for one night (be warned the accommodation is expensive) and then move down to the Costa del Sol to relax before heading home.

Buried beneath shells, rocks and sand, for 2,600 years, while the construction boom has been completely changing the surrounding landscape, a treasure of incalculable value has lain just off La Manga. 26 centuries later, archaeologists from eleven countries are bringing these antique objects to the light of day once again. The find appears to be the cargo of a commercial ship carrying ivory from African elephants, amber and lots of ceramic objects. The find has been kept secret for the past three years by the team of divers led by the Spaniard Juan Pinedo Reyes and the American Mark Edward Polzer. The recovery project is being financed by National Geographic, who have reached an agreement with the Spanish Minister of Culture, the Institute of Nautical Archaeology and the University A&M of Texas. The recovery is taking place around Grosa Island and El Farallon Island, just off La Manga. Over the last three years 1,400 objects have been collected. Even some of the wood from the bottom of the ship has survived since the 7th Century before Christ (620 BC), and has been recovered. It is believed the vessel measured approximately 15 metres long.

The find has been described as one of the most important of all archaeological discoveries. The Ivory tusks measure between 70 and 150 centimetres, with Phoenician writing inscribed. They have come from a race of elephants which are now believed to be extinct. There are also copper ingots and stones containing silver and lead. Ceramic pots which were used for transporting fish and oil have been found too, as well as plates, bowls, combs, ivory knife handles, bronze needles and chandeliers.

It is believed the ship crashed into rocks off the island, which are just a metre and a half below the surface. The ship would have set sail from Cadiz, and was probably heading towards Guardamar to a factory there, or to deliver items to a prince living in the area.

"Most countries in the European Union offer universal health coverage for their citizens. And when a citizen from one EU country travels to, or lives in another one, they also are covered. But now Spain is complaining" about the rule, "as more and more northern Europeans choose to retire along its Mediterranean coast." NPR likens the situation along Spain's Costa del Sol to that of Florida, where many U.S. seniors with costly health problems retire (Socolovsky, 1/19). SiMAP union, representing public health doctors in Spain, said non-Spanish EU nationals in Alicante, which has a large British expat community, account for 15-20 per cent of hospital admissions. Criticism is not directed at those who register their residency status and pay taxes, but at expats in the black economy who expect to get treatment by producing a European Health Insurance Card (Ehic), which is designed for the emergency care of holidaymakers. many thousands of Britons who regularly flip between homes in Britain and Iberia are also thought to arrange trips according to where they may get the best treatment, or jump waiting lists. Politicians have been concerned about healthcare "freeloaders" for several years, but Spanish doctors have been more muted. They have to decide what is "emergency" treatment and what isn't and, according to anecdotal reports, have tended to take the patient's word.
But Spain's health budget is as much under pressure as the NHS and the SiMAP move reflects fears among Spanish doctors of further belt-tightening. Cutbacks are bound to raise questions about the availability of resources for patients. The Spanish regions – which are autonomous in matters of health provision – have moved to prevent foreign nationals exploiting "free" healthcare. The last to take this step was Valencia. Two months ago, it introduced measures by which expatriates below retirement age and not registered as employed would no longer get free access.
They are now paying a €90 (£80) monthly tax, which will cease once they reach retirement age. The move brings Valencia into line with the rest of Spain – and France, where President Sarkozy took similar steps in 2007. But thousands of British men under 65 and women under 60 are still thought to be working unregistered in Valencia, the Costa del Sol and other expat

The Bishop of Málaga, Jesús Catalá, has called on the people of the city to stop calling the Cathedral ‘La Manquita’.The popular name translates as ‘The Cripple’ as comes as the second right hand tower of the building was never completed because of a lack of money in 1782. The money put aside to finish the Cathedral was spent elsewhere, building the roads to Vélez-Málaga and Antequera. The Bishop has now said that many other parts of the Cathedral were not completed either, not just the tower, and so he considers the name inappropriate. He has now called for a report to be drawn up on finally completing the building. The report will be ready in the first quarter of next year, when it will be presented to the Junta de Andalucía as the start of the process to look for funding.

Guardia Civil investigation has led to the arrest of 15 people across the country, including an employee at a juvenile care centre, for allegedly swapping child pornography images online. Another four people have been questioned as suspects in the case.The investigation began after a member of the public contacted local police in Pamplona to inform officers that a music file he had downloaded from the Internet turned out to be a file containing child pornography. The enquiries into the case were passed on to the Civil Guard, who EFE reports have seized thousands of images in the 21 property searches which took place.The items impounded include 60 computers, 24 mobile phones, 160 hard discs, and more than 1,000 CDs. The paedophile content found is understood to be the equivalent of 12 terabytes – more than 12 million megabytes

Socialist Mayor of Estepona, David Valadez, has been indicted on real estate irregularities. The Mayor, who was elected himself to replace the previous Mayor, Antonio Barientos, who is implicated in the Astapa corruption case based in the Town Hall, said that he was relaxed about the news and that he had always acted strictly within the law.It’s understood the new charges come in connection with a house built on rustic land by his chief of staff, Luciano Sánchez. The allegations are failure to pursue planning crimes and perversion of the course of justice.
Reports indicate the municipal surveyor, José Antonio Molina, is also a suspect in the caseIt follows a complaint presented to the Málaga prosecution service by the former Partido Estepona councillor, Juan Manuel Rodríguez, concerning a 115 square metre property built on land which Sánchez and his wife inherited in la Loma de la Pontezuela in 2004. He is reported to have declared when registering the property as a new build in 2007 that it had been built more than 5 years previously, with a certificate to that end issued by José Antonio Molina.El Mundo however reports that National Geographic Institute aerial images taken of the area in 2004 show there to be no construction on the site.El País reports on Thursday however that the Mayor started legal action against the illegal property a month before the complaint was presented by the prosecution service.The case is under investigation by Court No. 4 in Estepona.

100 or so of the hundreds of clients affected by the collapse of the Trampolin Hills golf resort in Campos del Río gathered at the site on Saturday in a protest to demand their money back and for those responsible to be sent to prison. The first of the more than 2,500 units planned at the resort were sold four years ago, but none were ever completed.It’s affected clients in Spain, the UK and Ireland, amongst other countries, and it’s understood from La Opinión de Murcia that a group of those affected have made a formal request in writing to a court in Mula to ask that the two owners – Antonio Martínez and Rafael Aguilera – be imprisoned for fraud amounting to 60 million €. Joaquín Guzmán, a lawyer who represents many of the investors concerned, said he believes the two owners could attempt to flee Spain or to destroy evidence.The company is now in administration, but sources at the Grupo Trampolín told the newspaper that they believe the project will still go ahead. They said a way will be sought to pay those who want their money back, but have proposed to some of the purchasers the idea of forming a cooperative to allow the urbanisation to be built. There was no indication of the response to their proposal.
Trampolín Hills was recently fined the amount of 350,000 € for failing to put in place a bank guarantee for their investors. Such a guarantee is required under Spanish law to cover refunds for unfinished properties.

Frankie Weber was in prison on the Costa del Sol last night accused of three attempted murders.Frankie Weber, 25, from London, is alleged to have fled to Gibraltar after stabbing three Spaniards in a street fight in Marbella.
He was returned to Spain where he now faces trial. Spanish police said the wounded were only saved by swift action by medics.25 year old Martial Arts expert is wanted in connection with the stabbing of three people in a street fight in Marbella
A British man has been extradited from Gibraltar to Spain to face charges of three attempted homicides.The 25 year old is accused of trying to carry out the homicides in Marbella, and the extradition comes as a result of a request made by Instruction Court Two in the town. The court has now ordered the suspect to be held in prison on remand.The case dates back to the early hours of January 24 this year when Spanish National Police were called to a fight in the Plaza de los Olivos in Marbella, which resulted in one very serious stabbing and two more suffering serious stab wounds. The most seriously hurt has had to undergo several surgeries. Police found many large knives at the suspect’s home and established that he had fled to Gibraltar. The agents from the UDEV Specialist Violent Crime Unit describe the suspect, who is an expert in martial arts, as ‘very dangerous’. They say a 30cm long machete was found in a nearby rubbish bin shortly after the aggression, which they believe he dumped during his escape.