Mercadona Rocked As Own Label Linked To Canine Deaths

 

Mercadona is in the middle of a public relations disaster after its ‘Compy’ own label dog food brand was linked to the deaths of several pets across Spain, after having caused kidney failure in the animals. . The deaths were initially recorded by pet owners in Andalucia, Murcia and Alicante, but new reports have claimed that similar cases have been found along the Costa del Sol. Several pet owners insisted that the deaths were caused after their pets ate the own label product, and following intense pressure, Mercadona has removed two variants of the ‘Compy’ range from select stores. The chain said it is now studying whether there indeed is a connection between the product and the deaths. It would not comment on whether the problem was caused by a recent shift in packaging of the product from tins to cartons. Mercadona added: “At this stage we have only removed the product as a precaution and we are waiting for the results of the analysis. We do not know with any certainty if the food is to blame”.

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Jurors convict two men of first-degree murder in shooting death near Delray Beach

 

A jury convicted two men of first-degree murder Tuesday in connection with the 2007 shooting death of John Blazevige, whose body was found outside his still idling pick-up truck near Delray Beach. It took three days for jurors to return the verdicts against Michael Marquardt and Louis Baccari at the end of the week-long trial. At times they seemed entrenched into two separate camps, but in the end they made the unanimous decision to return the convictions on murder and armed robbery for each man. "We were surprised, and disappointed," Baccari's defense attorney Andrew Strecker said. "We thought for sure it would have been a hung jury." More puzzling, Strecker said, were the jury's findings in their verdict. For example, they found that Baccari, the alleged triggerman, had not used a firearm during the robbery of Blazevige, but they convicted him of armed robbery anyhow. Prosecutors Sherri Collins and Aaron Papero built their case largely on the testimony of Antonio Bussey, who deputies originally said was responsible for the killing. His DNA was found on the murder weapon, but he told deputies that Marquardt had made him touch the gun after Baccari shot Blazevige during a bad drug deal, telling him that they were "all in it together." Bussey made a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for a 21-year sentence. Hours before they returned the verdicts Tuesday, jurors asked to hear Bussey's testimony again. Baccari's and Marquardt's attorneys Strecker and Scott Skier asked Circuit Judge Jeffrey Colbath to also allow jurors to hear their entire cross examinations of Bussey, but the judge ruled that jurors only needed to hear a small portion of it. Colbath also denied defense attorneys' subsequent requests for a mistrial. Baccari's relatives outside the courtroom described him as a warm-hearted person and said they were convinced there was no way he would ever harm Blazevige, who had been his longtime friend and formerly lived in West Palm Beach. Prosecutors had said that Blazevige was addicted to prescription drugs and had met Baccari, Marquardt and Bussey to buy pills when he was killed. But defense attorneys, along with Baccari's family, say Bussey made a deal with prosecutors even though he knew he was the one who killed Blazevige in order to avoid the life sentences both Baccari and Marquardt will now inevitably receive as result of their convictions. Colbath set sentencing for Marquart, a landscape company owner who lived in Boynton Beach, and Baccari for April 2.

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Drug gangs report blasting UK cities as dangerous

 

 Comment By Professor Alan Stevens Drug gangs report blasting UK cities as dangerous is too confusing The problems are nowhere near as deep in Manchester or Liverpool as they are in Rio de Janeiro – or even San Francisco A masked municipal policeman stands outside a shopping mall in MexicoAP On one hand it is right to state that there are communities in British cities suffering from social exclusion and marginalisation and that this contributes to their drug and crime problems. But on the other, these ­problems are nowhere near as deep in Manchester or Liverpool as they are in Rio de Janeiro or Ciudad Juarez – or even San Francisco or Los Angeles. The problem with the INCB report is that the wording is unclear. It gives the impression that its comments on no-go areas could apply equally to all of these cities. But it should have been more careful in specifying which ones it was referring to. The cities in Central and South America have more extreme ­problems which come from bigger social inequalities. They are dramatically more affected by crime and health problems. For example, in the past few years in Rio there have been repeated attempts to crack down on the areas controlled by violent drug markets. For a while these places were no-go zones. But authorities have acted in a militaristic fashion in the past year as they prepare for the World Cup.

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British cities are becoming no-go areas where drugs gangs are effectively in control

British cities are becoming no-go areas where drugs gangs are effectively in control, a United Nations drugs chief said yesterday. Professor Hamid Ghodse, president of the UN’s International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), said there was “a vicious cycle of social exclusion and drugs problems and fractured communities” in cities such as Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester. The development of “no-go areas” was being fuelled by threats such as social inequality, migration and celebrities normalising drug abuse, he warned. Helping marginalised communities with drugs problems “must be a priority”, he said. “We are looking at social cohesion, the social disintegration and illegal drugs. “In many societies around the world, whether developed or developing, there are communities within the societies which develop which become no-go areas. “Drug traffickers, organised crime, drug users, they take over. They will get the sort of governance of those areas.” Prof Ghodse called for such communities to be offered drug abuse prevention programmes, treatment and rehabilitation services, and the same levels of educational, employment and recreational opportunities as in the wider society. The INCB’s annual report for 2011 found persistent social inequality, migration, emerging cultures of excess and a shift in traditional values were some of the key threats to social cohesion. As the gap between rich and poor widens, and “faced with a future with limited opportunities, individuals within these communities may increasingly become disengaged from the wider society and become involved in a range of personally and socially harmful behaviours, including drug abuse and drug dealing,” it said.

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Britain’s biggest international criminals has walked free from court despite been accused of attempting to smuggle £80 million worth of cocaine into the U.K.

A man who was named one of the Britain’s biggest international criminals has walked free from court despite been accused of attempting to smuggle £80 million worth of cocaine into the U.K.

Jamie Dempsey, 33, was suspected of plotting to flood London and the south-east with 299kg (660lb) of high-purity cocaine in 2009.

He appeared on a ‘most wanted’ list of crooks hiding in the Costa Del Sol - nicknamed ‘Costa Del Crime’ - and even featured on BBC’s Crimewatch programme.

Freed: Jamie Dempsey, centre, leaves court with his friends and family after being acquitted of his involvement in an £80m euro cocaine empire

Speaking outside of court after being cleared of any wrongdoing, Dempsey said: 'I’m just relieved the nightmare is over.

'I couldn’t be further from being a criminal - I’m just a penniless plumber from Essex.

 

 

 

'I was in Marbella at my parent’s house when I was arrested - the police simply got the wrong man, it was a case of mistaken identity but I don’t want to say any more.

'My face has been all over the TV and the newspapers, my friends and family have been put through hell.h

'I just want to have a good meal and get on with my life.'

Hiding place: Dempsey was cuffed in Benhavis, a mountain village near Marbella in Spain in a police operation that cost £1m

A two-year investigation, costing over £1million pounds, was launched to track Dempsey who was believed to be evading capture in Spain.

Officers from the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) finally arrested him with the help of the Spanish police in Benhavis, Marbella, last May following a tip-off from the public.

His capture was hailed as a 'great result' but on Monday he was dramatically cleared of conspiracy to supply cocaine after a four-week trial.

Last May police named Dempsey as a suspected drug lord living the high life in the Costa Del Sol.

But a jury of five men and four women took nine-and-a-half hours to find him not guilty.

Judge Michael Pert ordered the court to be cleared after Dempsey’s family erupted into cheers after the verdict was read out. 

Jailed: Fernando Hurtado, left, and John Esqulant, right, were both sentenced to 28 years behind bars

Speaking outside Leicester Crown Court his sister Natalie Dempsey, 24, said: 'We are just happy he’s coming home.

'Our family has been torn apart because of this. We’re going to give him a proper Essex home coming.

'The champagne will be flowing in Chigwell when he comes home. He doesn’t normally drink or smoke but he’ll want to party hard after all this.

'The police got the wrong man but they didn’t care. They just wanted to arrest someone in the Costa Del Sol and send them down.'

Last year three people arrested in the same police ‘sting’ operation as Dempsey were jailed for a total of 55 years.

Taxi driver John Esqulant and Colombian Fernando Hurtado were each jailed for 23 years at the same court after they were convicted of conspiracy to supply cocaine.

Part-time model and promising footballer Frank Stedman was jailed for nine years after admitting the same offence.

The sting operation began in March 2009 when officers posed as criminals who could arrange delivery of the drugs.

Three Soca agents met 41-year-old Hurtado, from Woking, Surrey, at a site in Waltham Abbey, Essex, to organise the delivery.

Two weeks later, Stedman, 26, of North Weald, Essex, paid the officers £320,800 in cash as part-payment for the drugs.

Shortly after the handover in April, armed officers stopped the van containing the Class A drug near an industrial estate in Markfield, Leics.

Esqulant, 52, of Theydon Bois, Essex, and Hurtado were arrested the same day while Stedman was brought in as he stepped off a flight at Heathrow airport in June 2010.

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Spanish government will try and secure the 'gold on the Rock'

 

With the Odyssey gold back in Spain, the Spanish keep referring to more gold that remained in Gibraltar. It is being reported in Spain that the Spanish government will try and secure the 'gold on the Rock' through what they term a European order. They say that although Gibraltar likes to play a dual role, it is in fact part of the UK and thus Madrid is knocking on the UK's door to get them to urge Gibraltar to hand over the gold. Bilateral talks are said to be taking place. It is said that there are 59 artefacts still in Gibraltar, apparently stored by Odyssey. A Spanish heritage official was critical of the way the Oddysey gold left for the USA via Gibraltar,which is a joint sovereignty airport, adding that it was far from being dignified. This happened in 2007, a year after the signing of the Cordoba Agreement. The British Embassy in Madrid has confirmed that it is in touch with the Spanish foeign ministry, saying it was not clear if part of the consignment was in Gibraltar. Two military planes laden with 17 tons of silver and gold coins from a Spanish warship that sank during a 1804 gunbattle with the British is now back in Spain. It followed a 5-year legal battle between the Spanish and the American Odyssey company. On Thursday the Peruvian government made an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to block transfer of the treasure to give it more time to lodge its claim as the rightful owner of the gold. Peru says the gold and silver was mined, refined and minted in that country, which at the time was part of the Spanish empire. But the appeal obviously arrived too late, as the gold was flown to Madrid by the two Spanish military aircraft.

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Tarragona village wants to grow marihuana to get out of the recession

 

village in Tarragona has come up with a way to beat the recession. They propose to plant marihuana. A smokers’ club in the village of Rasquera and say the plantation would create jobs. They say they will not sell it, rather it will be for the use of the club members and also for ‘therapeutic ends’. A cannabis association in Barcelona that uses the drug for therapeutic reasons has offered to pay 36,000 € to the club and sign a deal with the Town Hall, and then promises to pay 550,000 € a year each July for the land rental, legal and judicial costs, and security which make up the project, noting the Town Hall won’t have to pay a penny. For now the local Town Hall is to hold a meeting and vote on Wednesday to decide on what to do; they have requested a report to see if the idea is legal or not. The Mayor of Rasquera, Bernat Pellisa, told the EFE news agency that they are studying the proposal which he said was ‘developed and an opportunity, and certainly not frivolous’. There are about 1,000 inhabitants in the village, and while they admit they could never have imagined it, the crisis is such they say they are prepared to grow whatever is needed.

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Renounce your British Citizenship?

Britain ignores its citizens who live abroad. James Preston, a businessman in Spain angrily declares he will renounce his British citizenship. Yet he feels sick at feeling forced to do so. Why does he do it? He is denied representation at Westminster (the vote!) because he has lived outside of Britain for more than 15 years. He has fought before the High Court his demand to be represented as a Citizen in the British seat of power – the Parliament at Westminster. His case and his appeal have been rejected. James Preston resents having the door slammed in his face. Britain denies him the basic democratic right of representation. He writes “We have concluded, therefore, that the contract between the State and my wife and I – the citizens – has been broken. We moved to Spain, an EU country, to represent British interests and find work, and not continue to claim unemployment benefit.” James Preston in his despair, intends to renounce his British citizenship and take out Spanish citizenship. Britain, in this, acts as a dictator State which regards the citizen abroad as ‘subjects’ and not as free people with democratic rights. The Government of Britain will not listen to the citizens abroad but still expects their obedience to the laws of Britain. These are strong words but are they not true? James Preston, is undoubtedly proud of his British (English) Ancestry which he can trace back for over 400 years. He left Britain in 1995. He was then unemployed but found work with a British company in Madrid, and has worked for British companies ever since. He stills considers his soul is British, but in Spain you cannot hold dual citizenship. Because Britain will not grant him representation in Parliament he therefore feels that he has no alternative but to turn his back on Britain. But still the clammy mechanical claw of British bureaucracy might well hold claim on his estate at his death. British Tax Law could still claim to his dying day that he is ‘domiciled in Britain’, because it says he will retain his British domicile of birth! You may think this outrageous and you are right to think so. It is difficult to cut yourself loose from the British State if you are born British. The fact that his children are educated in Britain, and extraordinarily, the very fact that he has taken a case before the High Court in London to claim the right to vote displays in the eyes of the Revenue his ‘attachment’ to Britain. It is incredible but true that for these reasons the estate he leaves could well be subject to taxation by the British State, even though he would die a Spanish citizen. Mr. Preston also tells me that his children do not have full British Citizenship but are considered as 'Spanish of British descent' because they were born in Spain. If they had been born in the UK they would be fully British. If they then marry British spouses and have children born outside of Britain, his grandchildren would not be British citizens at all. But if they were born in the UK they would be British. It is a crazy stupid mixed up world. It is the last straw that, after having been insultingly refused the right to Representation, Britain could still claim a pound (£) of ‘flesh’. It beggars belief that Britain, claiming to lead the world in Democracy so treats its own citizens who dare to live abroad. It cannot desire, can it, that every British Citizen living abroad should renounce their citizenship? Should not Britain be proud of us who live abroad? To our neighbours we are the image of Britain. Why are we ignored by our own country? We want to be ambassadors for Britain, but Britain does not want us – except perhaps our money.

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Prison and no bail for Moroccan man who planned to poison tourist complexes in Spain

37 year old Moroccan man who was arrested in La Línea de la Concepción because of alleged links to Al Qaeda has been ordered to prison without bail. Police now believe that Abdellatif Aoulad Chilba, who is married to a Spanish woman, was planning to poison the water in tourist complexes in the area. It has been revealed that a phone call he made to his wife, who lives in Girona, on the 12th of this month, sounded as if it was a goodbye. National Court judge, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, has charged him with belonging to a terrorist organisation and for conspiracy to carry out a terrorist act. The Moroccan had expressed his wish to carry out such an attack against the ‘infidels’ in several internet forums which were also being used to recruit new members for different Islamic cells. It was on one such forum that he asked for the formula for a mortal venom. One person responded with how to produce a botulism toxin.

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Spain and Morocco to establish joint police stations in Tangiers and Algeciras

 

Spain and Morocco have agreed to open joint commissioners’ offices in Tangiers and Algeciras from May. The interior ministers from both countries gave the announcement on Tuesday in Rabat. Jorge Fernández Díaz and his Moroccan counterpart, Mohand Lanser, did little detail about the composition of these ‘centres of police cooperation’. Morocco is the first country outside the EU with which Spain has come to such an arrangement. There are already similar offices established with France and Portugal. The talks between the interior ministers today centred on illegal immigration, organised crime and drug trafficking. Fernández Díaz underlined the ‘support’ of the Spanish Government for the process of ‘political and democratic reforms which are being brought in by King Mohamed VI’ in Morocco, and described them as ‘an example for the Arab world and many other countries’.

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Four members of 'Anonymous' arrested in Spain

 

National Police has arrested four members of the Anonymous collective in Spain as part of an international operation against cyber-crime. Two of them are currently in prison thought to be behind DDos attacks, and the other two have been released. They are allegedly linked to attacks on the UPyD webpage, as well as for revealing personal data from the GEOS security personnel. A man known as ‘Thunder’ or ‘Pacotron’ was F.J.B.D. arrested in Málaga, J.M.L.G. known as ‘Troy’ was arrested in Madrid, J.I.P.S was also arrested in Madrid with a 16 year old close collaborator, J.M.L.G. thought to be part of the international hacking group known as ‘Sector 404’. 25 computers have been impounded along with hard discs and other storage devices, following four searches in Spain and these are now being analysed. The case has resulted in two servers being blocked in Bulgaria and the Czech Republic and has developed with the help of Interpol.

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Search for a lorry driver after man and his niece are found dead in Zafra

The Guardia Civil are searching for a lorry driver following a double homicide in Zafra, which they consider was the settling of scores. The family of the man shot dead, a businessman Manuel Borallo, along with his niece, Verónica Gordillo, say that the crime could have been committed by a lorry driver from Algeciras whose whereabouts are now unknown. It’s thought however that he could have been in Zafra when the crime was committed in an industrial estate on Monday. The dead businessman had denounced the lorry driver to the Guardia Civil previously for using his company’s name without permission and also for using lorries with no ITV test or insurance. It seems the lorry driver had travelled to Zafra on Monday to ask for explanations. The only thing the family know is they were talking by phone with the niece, Veronica, when some bangs were heard and the line went dead. They say the last thing she said was she had to go because the man had come to see the papers. An autopsy is being carried out on the two bodies in the Anatomic Forensic Institute in Badajoz.

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Son-in-law of King Juan Carlos of Spain admits he defied orders in corruption trial

 

The Duke of Palma, the husband of the King's youngest daughter Cristina, appeared in court in Majorca over the weekend, subpoenaed to give evidence in a case that has turned the spotlight on Spain's royal family. The Duke, a former Olympic handball medallist who received the title when he married in 1997, has stirred latent antimonarchist sentiments in Spain with the suggestion that he used his royal influence to feather his own nest. The Duke, 44, is implicated in a case that alleges the embezzlement of public funds through the Noos Institute, a non-profit organisation that arranged sporting and cultural events for the regional governments of Valencia and the Balearics, and which the Duke was chairman of between 2002 to 2006. Prosecutors believe up to 5.8 million euros could have misappropriated and have uncovered evidence of funds being squirrelled away to offshore accounts in Belize, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom. Under intense questioning the Duke conceded the King had ordered him to stand down as chairman of the Noos Institute in 2006, shortly after questions were raised over a 1.2 million euro (£1m) contract from the Balearic government.

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Sacha Baron Cohen pulls Oscar stunt for The Dictator

 

Sacha Baron Cohen was escorted off the Oscars red carpet after a publicity stunt for his new film, The Dictator. The British comedian arrived in character as a middle eastern leader and claimed to be carrying the ashes of former North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il. In an interview with US TV host Ryan Seacrest, he said it was Kim's dying wish "to be sprinkled over the red carpet and over Halle Berry's chest". He then tipped the urn over the host, covering his tuxedo in white dust. Baron Cohen, who is known for outrageous publicity stunts in films like Borat and Bruno, was bundled off the red carpet by security guards. Turning to the camera, Seacrest said: "Anything can happen and it most certainly did, all over my lapel.'' Baron Cohen's film is expected to be released in March. He was invited to the Oscars as a cast member of Martin Scorsese's multiple award nominee Hugo. There had been reports during the week that he had been forbidden to attend the ceremony after asking to arrive in character as Admiral General Aladeen - which the Academy denied. In response, the comedian posted a statement to General Aladeen's Twitter account. "VICTORY IS OURS! Today the Mighty Nation of Wadiya triumphed over the Zionist snakes of Hollywood. "Evil and all those who made Satan their protector were vanquished and driven into the Pacific Sea. What I am trying to say here is that the Academy have surrendered and sent over two tickets and a parking pass! TODAY OSCAR, TOMORROW OBAMA!" After the red carpet stunt, Moneyball actor Jonah Hill, who was up for best supporting actor, said: "I guess the Oscars isn't the best place to sell your movie. I think he's a funny guy, though." "Ryan's mouth dropped open on live TV," laughed Jackie Collins. "But that's what makes live TV good. "I don't think Ryan was very pleased, but I don't think I'd be very pleased." Piers Morgan commented it was "just another day in Hollywood". 30 Rock actress Tina Fey saw the funny side, and crossed herself over the ashes as she walked past. Speaking to BBC Radio 5 live, US chat show host Jay Leno said, "only in Hollywood does that dictator override Libya" as a major news story. "And somehow that's more shocking. "It's certainly worse than anything Gadaffi or Assad could possibly have done." Comedian Steve Martin said: "I love Sacha Baron Cohen", and joked that the red carpet shouldn't be sacred ground. "It should be 12% respect, 23% levity and 13% joy," he said. It is not the first time Baron Cohen has used industry events to promote his movies.

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Putin assassination plot foiled: Russian officials

 

Ukrainian security services have thwarted a plot to kill Russian PM Vladimir Putin, Russian officials say. Two suspects were detained in the Ukrainian port of Odessa, Russia's state-owned Channel One TV reports. The arrested men were both shown on TV admitting their involvement in the plot, after an explosion at a flat in January in which one suspect died. Ukrainian security officials have refused to confirm the arrests were part of a plot to assassinate Mr Putin. But the Russian prime minister's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, told the BBC that the report was correct: "this was absolutely a plot to kill the prime minister." The attack was to happen after next Sunday's presidential vote, the report said. Mr Putin is expected to win the election and get a third term as president. The BBC's Daniel Sandford in Moscow said the two men were both shown on Russian TV, one being interrogated and the other giving an interview. Continue reading the main story Analysis Daniel Sandford BBC News, Moscow The Ukrainian security services have told the BBC that they did arrest some people in January after an apartment explosion. But when we asked them if it was part of a plot to assassinate Mr Putin, spokeswoman Maryna Ostapenko said she did not know what to say. She would not go on the record to confirm that this was part of a plot to kill Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. So it goes back only to the very detailed Russian Channel One report which even interviewed one of the suspects. But at this stage the Ukrainian authorities do not confirm that these men are being held in any way in connection with an assassination plot. In the footage, both admit plotting to attack Mr Putin. One, identified by Ria Novosti as Ilya Pyanzin, said he had been hired by Chechen militant leader Doku Umarov to carry out the killing and also by Ruslan Madayev, the suspect who died in the Odessa explosion. The other suspect was named by Channel One as Adam Osmayev, said to have been on an international wanted list since 2007. The plotters were planning to plant mines on Kutuzovsky Avenue in Moscow, used by Mr Putin on a daily basis, the report said. Russian media report that Mr Pyanzin was arrested in the Odessa flat where the explosion happened. He told police that he and Madayev had flown to Ukraine from the United Arab Emirates via Turkey, with precise instructions from representatives of Doku Umarov. According to the reports, details of the plot were found on laptops in the flat, along with a video showing Mr Putin's motorcade. Mr Osmayev was reported to be the local fixer in Odessa and the instructor for the plotters, and had lived for a long time in London.

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You can buy a Kalashnikov for a hundred euros on the back streets of Athens

"You can buy a Kalashnikov for a hundred euros on the back streets of Athens and people are doing so to guard their property," Mr Chrysanthopoulos told me from his home outside the capital yesterday. Thanks to the disastrous euro, his country is sliding remorselessly towards bankruptcy and disintegration. Modern Greece is an economic corpse, kept on life support by Germany and France, who fear the euro will be destroyed if they admit the truth. Last week's £110BILLION bailout was not aimed at rescuing the Greek people. It was to save the euro from total collapse. Yet the country seems doomed to another historic crisis as disastrous as the German occupation, a bloody civil war and years of military rule. "What we risk today is anarchy, the collapse of society and a breakdown in law and order," says Mr Chrysanthopoulos, 66. "We have more than 20,000 homeless families in Athens alone. "There are food lines for the hungry, which have not been seen since the Second World War. "Penniless pensioners are begging in the streets. People are bartering for essentials, living hand to mouth." Sooner or later they will be thrown out of the euro — the greatest peacetime catastrophe in the history of Europe. Hatred seethes against Germany, which in 1942 reduced Greece to starvation and slavery during its brutal Nazi occupation. A Greek radio station has just been fined for describing German Chancellor Angela Merkel as a "dirty Berlin slut". Nazi resistance fighter Manolis Glezos, now 89, says Germany plundered Greece for the equivalent of £138billion in the 1940s. "They grab us by the throat for the debt — let's do the same to them for the reparations," he says. Germans hit back, branding the Greeks "idle swindlers". They claim nobody pays tax because bandit politicians steal their money. The insults are fuelling precisely the nationalistic antagonism that sowed the seeds for two world wars — and which the EU was created to eliminate forever. Germany and France, who must accept the blame for allowing Greece into the euro at all, are terrified of contagion. So they are forcing this humiliated nation to slash pay and pensions to starvation levels. Last week's costly bailout has bought time — and the fantasy of an orderly default. Mr Chrysanthopoulos feels betrayed by the euro currency con. But he is not alone. Charles Kennedy, the Lib Dems' fervently pro-euro ex-leader, last week admitted: "I was wrong." His successor, the made-in-Brussels Nick Clegg, admits he would no longer join the euro. Two former editors of the fanatically pro-Brussels Financial Times confess they backed the wrong horse. Ex-EU Commissioner Frits Bolkestein admits: "The euro has failed." We will never hear honesty like that from Ken Clarke and Michael Heseltine, who lost the Tories three elections by stoking the row over Europe. But unlike Mr Chrysanthopoulos, they will probably die comfortably in their beds without witnessing the hideous consequences. Greek instability risks spilling over to fragile ex-fascist regimes Spain and Portugal. If it does, we can only hope it doesn't bring chaos to Italy — then to France. People will take only so much belt-tightening austerity. More revolutions have been triggered by oppressive taxes than anything else. The drive for ever closer political and economic union and the end of national rivalry was aimed at ending war in Europe. We must pray the arrogant fools who launched this undemocratic juggernaut do not achieve precisely the opposite.

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TONY Adams has been compared to TV gangster Tony Soprano, and his gang are rumoured to be responsible for 25 murders.

 

 When he appeared in court last November, he gave his address as the cottage in Barnet. Land Registry documents confirm the property is owned by Cole, 31. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by the player, who has a multi-million-pound property investment portfolio. Adams, once said to be worth £150 million, headed a notorious North London crime gang nicknamed the A-team or Adams Family. He bought a yacht and sent his daughter to a private school. But in 2007 he was jailed for seven years — for money laundering his own wages — after an undercover operation by MI5 and the Serious Organised Crime Agency. Just like Chicago mobster Al Capone, he had escaped justice for years before finally being nailed for tax evasion. Officers spent 21 months and £10 million eavesdropping on Adams. During the probe his accountant was killed in a drive-by shooting, and a hitman was reputedly buried in the foundations of London's O2 Arena. A search of Adams' £1million former home uncovered £700,000 worth of stolen goods. Adams was released in 2010 after serving half his sentence. But last year he was sent back to do the rest of his time after he defied a financial reporting order and failed to declare luxury purchases including a £7,500 facelift. His earliest release date is now December 2013.

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ENVELOPES full of cash, drug habits funded by EU grants and police taking payments to legalise prostitutes – you name it, it has happened in Spain.

 

 Add to those a snail-paced justice system and, a law society in Malaga that fails to scrutinize bent lawyers, and things start to look distinctly cloudy. Consider too that last week Spain’s top anti-corruption lawyer, Baltasar Garzon, was suspended from his post for illegally tapping the phones of lawyers, and most will come to the same conclusion. “Yes, corruption is certainly endemic in Spain,” says Gwilym Rhys-Jones, an Estepona-based financial expert. “Sadly there is a tradition of it and it became institutionalised since the late 1980s as nobody was dealing with it from the top down.” There is certainly nowhere better to highlight the problem than here on the Costa del Sol, where in Marbella for over two decades you could only get anything done if you were prepared to pay for it. Under the current Malaya corruption trial, centred around Marbella Town Hall, which has been going for over a year. Over a hundred councillors, mayors, businessmen and civil servants are currently on trial for taking backhanders totalling up to 2.4 billion euros. And sadly, the same state of affairs was taking place at hundreds of town halls around the country, with a central government apparently prepared to turn a blind eye. It led to hotels and golf courses being built in national parks, developments installed in river flood plains and hundreds of thousands of illegal – and unsellable – homes around the country. It comes as no surprise then that Transparency International has listed Spain as more corrupt than Uruguay, Chile and Qatar, and almost on a par with of Botswana – quite a feat for the fourth richest nation in the European Union. And while some might like to point the finger at the right or the left, the range of cases shows that bending the rules for personal gain goes right across the spectrum. The Conservative PP party has often been in the spotlight – most recently thanks to the Gurtel case, in Valencia – but the PSOE socialist party, particularly with the ERE pension scandal in Andalucia, certainly takes some beating. Even the royal family may have dipped its toes in the murky waters, with King Juan Carlos’ son-in-law about to stand trial for a misuse of public funds and embezzlement. So where did it all begin? Franco regarded it as the ‘necessary lubrication for the system’, according to historian Stanley Payne. While central government appears to be largely free of endemic corruption, in the regions it is quite a different story. In Andalucia, for example, UGT trade union leader Manuel Pastrana believes as many as 75 per cent of the region’s town halls are corrupt. This is partly down to the fact that much of Spain’s corruption is linked to illegal planning, which is said to be more profitable than drug dealing – mainly because tourism is the biggest earner on the Costa del Sol. It’s a simple tale, and sadly all too common. Developers purchase non-urban, rural land for knock-down prices, then pay corrupt town hall mayors to reclassify the land as available to develop. This leaves the developers to build whatever they like – and it is arrangements like this that explain the illegal 411-bedroom Algarrobico hotel in Almeria’s Cabo de Gata natural park – which will thankfully be demolished any day now. The question is, why are so many mayors and councillors tempted to the dark side, considering the possible environmental and criminal consequences? Aside from describing Spain as having the ‘slowest justice system in the known world’, investigator Rhys-Jones argues that it is human nature to be tempted by money once it’s dangled in front of you. “When people see a massive amount of money, they can’t help but steal it. It’s human nature,” he says, using the unscrupulous former Marbella mayor Jesus Gil as his example. Jesus Gil was described as the bad apple that spoilt Marbella’s bunch “Gil was a crook, but he started out with good intentions. Marbella was a mess in the 1980s. Property wasn’t selling. It was a dump filled with drugs and hookers. So Gil started a political party, the GAL, to try and sort it out.” But this apparent do-gooder turned resident evil, with many describing Gil – who was convicted in 2002 – as being the bad apple that spoiled Marbella’s bunch. Either way his legacy was a disaster and has led to the following three mayors – as well as his main cohort, planning boss Juan Antonio Roca, who became the svengali of the operation – all facing prison. Much of the corruption comes down to backgrounds and a lack of education, believes Marbella-based lawyer Antonio Flores. “A lot of mayors have previously had rural-based jobs, without the ability to make any money,” he explains. “The moment they have responsibility, the temptation to make money becomes too great. After four years in power, they’ll often have to go back to their tractors,” he says. A classic example of a rags-to-riches mayor is Julian Munoz, also heavily implicated in the Malaya case, who worked as a waiter before running Marbella Town Hall in 2002. Roca, too, had been on the dole before going on to pilfer 30 million euros. Planning boss Juan Antonio Roca, the main man in the Malaya case Flores compares town hall councillors with more prominent politicians in central government who are less reliant on get-rich-quick methods: “It’s not so difficult to get another job when you’re in a higher political position,” he says. The good news is that most commentators agree that corruption in Spain is on its way out. “The Malaya case was where the mentality changed,” estimates Flores. “It was a turning point for corruption and the Marbella run by thugs completely collapsed when they were all arrested. “As Spain becomes more civilised, we are slowly getting rid of corruption,” he continues. “But it has definitely not gone completely,” argues Rhys Jones. “That will take quite a few more decades.” As for shamed Judge Garzon, opinion remains firmly divided on whether he too was a man who let power corrupt him… or whether he has been silenced by a country whose corruption will be harder to iron out than some may hope. Big cases Malaya Planning chief Juan Antonio Roca is at the heart of this 2.4 billion euro scandal in Marbella. The unelected Roca operated a cash-for-permissions scheme, which saw over 18,000 homes built illegally. Gurtel Businessman Francisco Correa gave money to PP bosses in Valencia in return for lucrative contracts with the regional government. ERE The Junta is being investigated in a 647m euro retirement scandal, where posts were created in non-existent companies in order to defraud public funds. Ballena Blanca One of the largest money laundering cases in Europe, with 21 people accused of investing proceeds from drug trafficking and prostitution in property via over a thousand companies.

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EU clampdown on unregulated financial advisers in Spain

 

The European Commission is to consider setting up an ombudsman to help expat victims reclaim against unregistered financial firms. It comes after a local pressure group, that represents over 1,000 victims, sent a dossier of information to Brussels. The Costa del Sol Action Group demanded action against the advisers who, it claims, have lost their clients over €120 million (£102 million). “It is good news as something has to be done about this bunch of rogues,” said group founder David Klein. “The current Spanish regulatory system is totally inadequate and ineffective. Dealing with the authorities is a constant game of ping-pong. Anyone can come to Spain and be a financial adviser; they could have been selling fish before they came here for all anyone knows." This situation could soon be coming to an end, after the European Commission confirmed it was to begin "a preliminary investigation of the problem". Foreign Office plans evacuation of expats 18 Dec 2011 It has asked for more information and the action group has called on all victims to write to the European Parliament outlining their experience. “This problem is causing untold stress and heartache in the expatriate community and it cannot be allowed to continue,” explained Klein. The European Commission is to study how investors would be able to make an official complaint against Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs). At present, there is no effective means for victims to make a complaint against product providers who work with unregistered IFAs. The group was also highly critical of the local media for its willingness to accept adverts from unregulated financial firms in a bid to maximise advertising revenue. To highlight the problem, the group included testimonials by members who were allegedly defrauded by one specialist investment brokerage, which it claims is "not regulated or registered". It said the company was able to trade, "collecting unsuspecting clients who are soon relieved of their money". One Costa del Sol-based financial adviser, Richard Alexander, said he was pleased with the EU’s response. “Bring on the review,” he said. “I have seen too many sad stories of people being turned over, badly advised or grossly over-charged by unregulated independent financial advisors in Spain. "It is entirely possible to provide professional, quality advice without the client losing out.”

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Labour MP Eric Joyce suspended after 'head-butting' Tory Stuart Andrew in House of Commons bar

 

The 51-year-old remains MP for Falkirk but cannot take the Labour whip in the Commons until the conclusion of the police investigation. 'This is an extremely serious incident,' a Labour party spokesperson said. 'We have suspended Eric Joyce pending the results of the police investigation.' Mr Joyce is said to have been arrested after the incident involving Tory MP Stuart Andrew at the Strangers bar, which is reserved for MPs and their guests, in the House of Commons before 11pm yesterday. 'We were called at approximately 10.50pm last night to reports of a disturbance at a bar within the House of Commons,' a statement from the Metropolitan police said. 'A man aged in his 50s was arrested by officers on suspicion of assault. He remains in custody in a central London police station. Inquiries are continuing.' Reports said Mr Andrew, the 40-year-old Tory MP for Pudsey, intended to press charges against Mr Joyce over the incident. An eyewitness who did not wish to be named told the website PoliticsHome that Mr Joyce 'just started lashing out at people' after complaining the bar was 'full of Tories'. Speaking in the Commons after news of Mr Joyce's arrest, Speaker John Bercow said: 'Members will be aware of reports of a serious incident in the House last night. I have been informed by the Serjeant at Arms that the honourable member for Falkirk has been detained in police custody. 'The matter is being investigated. I take this matter very seriously, as do the House authorities. I would ask that no further reference should be made to these reports in the chamber today.' Mr Joyce, MP for Falkirk since December 2000, served in the Army Education Corps before pursuing a career in politics. In 2009 he quit as parliamentary private secretary to defence secretary Bob Ainsworth due to concerns of the war in Afghanistan. A year later he resigned as shadow secretary of state for Northern Ireland for pleading guilty to failing to provide a breath test. Labour MP Paul Farrelly was involved in a brawl in an unrelated incident at another Commons bar in 2010. The MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme 'wrested' a man to the floor in 'self-defence after an altercation at a karaoke party in parliament's Sports and Social Club.

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Foreign and female inmates to be evacuated from Bali's Kerobokan prison

 

FOREIGN inmates including the 12 Australians held at Bali's notorious Kerobokan jail are set to be moved later today amid fears they could be targeted in ongoing unrest at the prison. Prison guards and police have again been forced to retreat to the streets outside the jail following a second night of unrest in the wake of a rampage by inmates on Tuesday night during which sections of the jail were destroyed by fire. About 400 armed police and soldiers remain stationed outside the jail amid a tense stand-off with prisoners. Indonesian Justice and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin has also been dispatched from Jakarta and is expected to visit the jail later today. The ongoing tension has prompted authorities to prepare for a mass evacuation of the jail, which has been without electricity since the riot broke out at about 11pm local time (2am AEDT) on Tuesday.  Riots continue in Kerobokan prison Buses have been moved to Kerobokan to prepare for the evacuation, which could take place at about 1pm. It's understood that the 60 foreign prisoners will be taken to a detention facility at Klungkung, a drive of about two hours from Kerobokan. Kerobokan governor Bowo Nariwono has confirmed the plan but said details were still being worked out. ''There's a plan to make them safe,'' Mr Nariwono said. The overcrowded jail houses more than 1000 male and female inmates, including the Gold Coast's Schapelle Corby and members of the so-called Bali Nine drug trafficking group. One of the Australian prisoners, Graeme Michael Pollock, was due to be sentenced today in relation to drugs charges. His hearing has now been postponed. The evacuation plan emerged as authorities voiced concerns for the safety of the foreigners inside the jail after a second night of unrest. Provincial military command spokesman Wing Handoko told AFP that authorities were still working out the details of the evacuation. ''We don't want to take chances, just in case the foreigners become a target of the prisoners' anger,'' he said. Authorities were forced out of the prison again last night after having initially wrested control of the jail back from prisoners earlier in the day. ''The prisoners took over the prison again, which forced security personnel to fire warning shots into the air,'' Mr Handoko said. Prisoners responded to the warning shots by throwing flaming missiles onto the street outside the jail. It is understood that they have demanded that the three prisoners shot in the leg with rubber bullets and removed from the jail yesterday be returned. The prison has been sealed off with about 400 armed police and soldiers, equipped with water cannons, stationed outside. Prisoners began rioting on Tuesday night after days of simmering tensions following the stabbing on Sunday of one prisoner by three inmates from a rival drug gang. Police were called in at about 4pm on Sunday to quell a mob of prisoners that had attacked those believed to be responsible for the stabbing.

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Confusion surrounds Australian prisoners held in Bali riot jail

 

Confusion surrounds Australian prisoners held in Bali riot jail Scott Rush, is escorted by two policemen after being moved out from Kerobokan prison in Denpasar.  BALI nine drug mule Scott Rush was evacuated from the fire-damaged Kerobokan prison late yesterday after a day of confusion and posturing. Prison authorities in Bali backed down from a threat to forcibly move 1015 prisoners from the jail in urban Denpasar, and by late last night had moved a small fraction of that. The fate of the other 11 Australians housed in the prison is unknown, as police were gearing up to move more people out. Last night, drug smugglers Schapelle Corby and the rest of the Bali nine were still inside.

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Juan Antonio Roca has face to face showdown in court with Marisol Yagüe

A face to face declaration in the Malaya case in Málaga on Wednesday brought sparks between the ex Marbella Town Hall real estate assessor, Juan Antonio Roca, and the ex Mayor of Marbella, Marisol Yagüe. Roca said to Yagüe – ‘Darling, I deeply lament disagreeing, but I did give you money’. To that Yagüe said ‘You are looking for a way out of jail’. The conversation between the two came after she denied to the prosecutor that she had received envelopes, in the form of backhanders, from Roca. Judge José Godino then ordered a face to face ‘careo’ between the two which lasted just over a minute. ‘When did I ask you for money, Juan Antonio?’ she spat ‘I paid you always on the orders of Jesús Gil’, he replied, adding that the payment was for ‘maintaining cohesion’ in the three way government of which she was Mayor. The payments to Yagüe and the rest of the councillors took place between January 2004 and 2006, according to Roca’s own notes, which he has collaborated repeatedly in court. He says the ex Mayor received 1.8 million €. Yagüe told the court that Roca knows she loves him a lot, and that she wants him to get out of jail, ‘but it is not as he says’, she said, looking directly into his eye and grabbing his forearm. She also denied that he had supplied funds for the purchase of a luxury flat in Madrid in the Argüelles district. She faces 20 years in prison and a 3.8 million € fine in the case on charge of bribery, perversion of the course of justice, fraud and the misuse of public funds. The questioning continues on March 5.

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Libyan land being freed for development in Marbella

 

A large real estate project which the Libyan Arab Foreign Bank wanted to place in Marbella is back on the road. The project was frozen because of the death of Muamar El Gaddafi, but now the lawyers for the development say it is active again. The lawyer Ignacio Pérez de Vargas said the plans are for 1,915 homes, a golf course and a congress hall to be built in La Resinera, the finca owned by the Libyan in Benahavís which stretches to 6,900 hectares across the municipalities of Benahavis, Estepona, Pujerra and Júzcar. Part of this is in the Sierra de las Nieves, declared a Biosphere Reserve, but the PGOU urban plans shows 500 hectares which can be built on in Benahavís. Construction could start as early as December. The Spanish Government blocked all the assets owned by the Libyan Government in Spain, or related to Gadaffi, when the fighting started in Libya. There is another plot in Nerja also owned, as nearly all the Libyan assets, by the Libyan Foreign Bank. Now the politicians and ambassadors of the two countries have been talking, and the Libyan Ambassador commented ‘Soon we will know what is going to happen to our properties in Spain. We have asked for meetings to find out what we can do with them. Now we will try to complete the arrangements so the projects we initially had in mind can go ahead.

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Ex Marbella Mayor, Isabel García Marcos, found guilty of corruption

 

The ex Mayor of Marbella, Isabel García Marcos, has been handed down her first conviction for real estate corruption. Penal Court 10 in Málaga fined her 3,600 € and banned her from holding public office for ten years. Three other ex councillors were given the same sentence, José Jaén and Carmen Revilla among them, and another 11 ex-councillors were given a year’s prison sentence and a ten year ban. These include Julián Muñoz, Rafael González and Marisa Alcalá. José Luis Fernández Garrosa, Alberto García Muñoz and Pedro Reñones were all given nine month prison sentences and a nine month ban from office. The case relates to April 2002 and a licence for the construction of 20 luxury villas on a plot of land in Trapiche.

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Inmate Massacre Highlights Mexico Jail Corruption

 

Nine guards have confessed to helping Zetas drug gangsters escape from prison before other Zetas slaughtered 44 rival inmates, a state official said late Monday, underlining the enormous corruption inside Mexico's overcrowded, underfunded prisons. The top officials and as many as 18 guards at the Apodaca prison in northern Mexico had been detained under suspicion that they may have helped 30 Zetas escape during the confusion of a riot early Sunday in which 44 members of the rival Gulf cartel were bludgeoned and knifed to death. Nuevo Leon state public security spokesman Jorge Domene Zambrano said nine of the guards confessed to aiding the escape. He said it appeared the breakout happened before the deadly fight. The massacre in this northern state was one of the worst prison killings in Mexico in at least a quarter-century and exposed another weak institution that President Felipe Calderon is relying on to fight his drug war. Mexico has only six federal prisons, and so sends many of its dangerous cartel suspects and inmates to ill-prepared, overcrowded state penitentiaries. Drug trafficking, weapons possession and money laundering are all considered federal crimes in Mexico. "The Mexican prison system has collapsed," said Raul Benitez, a professor at Mexico's National Autonomous University who studies security issues. "The prisons in some states are controlled by organized crime." AP A child yells out for her father as she... View Full Caption An increase in organized crime, extortion, drug trafficking and kidnapping has swelled Mexico's prison population almost 50 percent since 2000. But the government has built no new federal prisons since Calderon launched an offensive against drug cartels when he took office in late 2006, leaving existing jails overcrowded. Calderon's administration has renovated three existing state prisons to use as federal lockups. Built to hold about 185,000 inmates, the prison system nationwide now holds more than 45,000 above that capacity, according to figures from the National Public Safety System. Of the 47,000 federal inmates in the country, about 29,000 are held in state prisons. That has drawn complaints from Nuevo Leon Gov. Rodrigo Medina and other state governors, who say their jails aren't equipped to hold members of powerful and highly organized drug cartels. The federal government counters that none of the escapes or mass killings have occurred at federal lockups, and it cites corruption on the state level, not overcrowding, as the main cause of the deaths and escapes. "The constant element has been corruption in the control processes" at the prisons, said Patricio Patino, assistant secretary for the penitentiary system. Prison employees say guards are underpaid, making them more likely to take bribes. And even honest guards are vulnerable to coercion: Many live in neighborhoods where street gangs and drug cartels are active, making it easy to target their families with threats. The same can be said for Mexico's municipal police forces, another weak flank in Calderon's attack on organized crime. Thousands of local officers — often, entire forces at a time — have been fired, detained or placed under investigation for aiding drug gangs. "Yesterday, Apodaca, tomorrow, any other (prison)," columnist Carlos Puig wrote in the newspaper Milenio.

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Hospitalised, robbed, arrested – new TV series follows consular staff as they help Brits in distress

 

How the staff of British Consulates in Spain help citizens in distress is to be highlighted in a new TV documentary series to be broadcast next month on the UK’s Channel 4.UK in Spain The new TV series, filmed last summer, reveals how consular staff come to the rescue of Britons who find themselves in trouble. From helping victims of crime to advising Brits arrested by the police, the series also follows consular staff as they visit holidaymakers who end up in hospital and meet expat residents to hear their property concerns. In a three part series, ‘Our Man In…’, provides unprecedented access to the work of British consular staff. It will be shown on the UK’s Channel 4 on Thursdays 1st, 8th and 15th March at 22.00 GMT (23.00 CET). The first programme features Mallorca and Ibiza, the second follows the team in Alicante and the third covers Tenerife and Barcelona. “The series shows the hard work and professionalism of our staff in helping British expats and holidaymakers as well as highlighting the serious issues that Brits can face abroad”, says Paul Rodwell, British Consul in Alicante. “Some of the less serious cases can be avoided and I would encourage people to read our travel advice and have a look at the information we have on our ukinspain website.” The series reveals the consequences of failing to prepare properly for a holiday. Even if you’re staying with friends and family, travelling without insurance could cost you many thousands of pounds if you’re injured abroad. “Losing your passport will cost you time and money”, says Paul Rodwell. “And without an EHIC health card, you’ll find it harder to get medical care. By taking a few simple precautions, you can avoid a dream holiday turning into a nightmare.” The programme in Alicante, about life on the costas, shows the pro-active face of the consulate, with staff seeking out Brits caught up in a forest fire, organising outreach events to hear residents’ property concerns, and working with local police to manage an invasion of Scottish football fans for a big game against Spain. On the party island of Ibiza, consular staff tackle the fall-out from a new drug on club scene - the so-called 'pink pill'. A young tourist is found lost, nearly naked, and unable to recall anything but his name. Then the Brit dealers who supply the pills also need help after they're arrested. In Mallorca, staff deal with a young Brit who's been tasered by overzealous police. A holidaymaker from Essex has been run over by a drunk driver, and lies seriously injured in hospital. And a Lancashire couple's holiday is transformed by the arrival, nine weeks early, of their tiny baby son. In Barcelona and Tenerife, crime has its effects on visitors and on the workload of the Consulates. Street robberies and stolen passports lead to inconvenience, distress and unexpected costs for holidaymakers. Meanwhile consular staff are also busy helping some of the people who need it most – expat prisoners & homeless Brits who simply want to go home. ‘Our Man In…’ was filmed mainly in August and September last year and is produced by Screenchannel Television, a London-based independent production company. The executive producers are Emma Barker, a former commissioning editor and controller at ITV, and Peter Lowe, a former executive producer and programme editor at BBC Television and controller at Carlton Television.

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No date set for Málaga's second prison to come into service

Construction appears to be funded, but the problem is how to find the money for the staffThe entrance to the Alhaurin prison  There is concern over when a new prison being built in Archidona, Málaga will be able to accept inmates. 70% of the construction, which is budgeted at 117 million, has been done, and there is a date of the end of this year or the start of next for completion. However to start accepting inmates the prison has to employ some 600 people, and there has been no advertising of any jobs as yet. Union CCOO think the new Director of Prisons, Ángel Yuste, wants to delay the reception of the installations as long as possible as there is no money, and noting that the maintenance of the facility could be more than five million a year. The new prison will have 1,008 cells. We will probably better know if there is funding to open the prison after we have seen the State Budget for 2012 which the PP is to reveal next month. Thankfully the prison population has fallen slightly, falling by 1.6% in Andalucia in 2010. The latest figures show 17,215 inmates in 9,445 cells. At Málaga’s prison in Alhaurín de la Torre which was designed for some 1,000 prisoners, it is now holding 1,400, and has held as many as 1,900 inmates at times in the past.

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Piranha Women who trap well-off men are pure myth

 

The dangers of daily life for modern men are manifold, it seems. Alongside transfats in foods and oestrogen in drinking water, they must also beware 'Piranha Women'. Or so says divorce lawyer Diane Benussi. In her daily life overseeing the unraveling of families' personal lives, she claims to have observed a new breed of avaricious woman. This lady, according to Ms Benussi, is manipulative and devious to the core -- a romantic mercenary in a mini-skirt. Increasingly, Ms Benussi observed to a tabloid newspaper, beautiful young women, disinclined to make an honest living, are targeting vulnerable wealthy men in a bid to win a share of their assets. Their weapon of choice is their fertility. They lure unsuspecting gentlemen into unprotected sex and then fall pregnant, using the resulting progeny as a siphon on the unsuspecting man's bank account. Poor love. As anyone knows, well-off men in middle age represent one of society's most vulnerable minorities. Not only that, but they are, apparently, completely incapable of taking care of something as simple as contraception. I don't know about you, but personally, in my three decades on earth, I've never met a Piranha Woman. This pantomime trope of a scheming madam who uses sex purely as strategy exists for me only in fairytale. There are women, sure, who find an affluent man who can prove his worth as a provider and an alpha male attractive. But I don't know a single female who has used her womb as a honey trap in order to save herself the bother of buying lottery tickets. I have, on the other hand, met plenty of men who are convinced that they must protect themselves against female strategy and acquisitiveness. One, whom I dated briefly in college, told me outright one evening that he knew as a successful, ambitious guy (at this point he was still a student) he had to beware the advances of ladies with alluring eyes and sinister agendas. His mother, he informed me gravely, had warned him that he was exactly the kind of man that women would try and become pregnant by. Thus, he must be extra careful with contraception. Needless to say, that comment was turn off enough to have me on the next bus home to my own bed. Contrary to what he and his mother thought, I was rather less convinced than they were of the value of his precious sperm. It's possible, of course, that there are a few Piranha Women out there. But I'd guess that they are an extremely rare species. There's a cultural precedent for this belief, of course. (Not to mention a great history of paranoia on the part of many men about the dark arts of female sexuality). That precedent is called a WAG. In an era when we have become more than familiar with women winning fame, wealth, and cultural influence on the strength of their association with rich men, it's not a far stretch to create the myth of the Piranha. We know well that the WAG seeks out partnerships with wealthy footballers, within which a transactional trade-off of beauty for lifestyle and luxury is transparently part of the deal. The notional Piranha simply takes this a step further, by, we are told, using her sex appeal to cut out the romance and go straight for the cash, by way of a baby. This, says Ms Benussi, has become an accepted way for a woman to make a living. One could argue that, as a divorce lawyer, she's likely to know. But I don't believe it. There's a huge leap between falling in love with a fit, rich, attractive young footballer and seducing a wealthy singleton with middle-aged spread to get straight to his bank balance. Sure, there are plenty of women who consider affluence to be an attractive attribute in a man. It bespeaks success, competence and a certain capacity for influence and agency in the world -- all sexy qualities, let's be honest. But outside of a pure sex-for-money transaction -- from which, for most women unlucky enough to have to resort to it, pregnancy as a result is usually the least desirable outcome -- I have never met a woman myself who would put it above sexual desire and a genuine emotional bond. The invention of the storybook villain Piranha Woman seems suspiciously like dredging up bitter old cliches in order to further divide the genders around issues of separation and divorce. Relationships are rarely so simple. And perpetuating these kind of tropes and stereotypes serves no one except the divorce lawyers.

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Gangster Domenyk Noonan set to be told: You’re staying in jail

 

Probation chiefs are set to oppose gangster Domenyk Noonan’s latest bid for freedom, we have learned. The 47-year-old is currently behind bars in Strangeways awaiting a parole hearing. He was arrested amid the August disorder in Manchester last year and recalled to prison – even though an investigation into whether he was a riot ringleader was dropped. Now we can reveal the Probation Service will recommend Noonan, originally from Moston, remains behind bars at the hearing later this month. They will present a report to the parole board into the risks he poses if released. It is understood the report will include a reference to a new documentary – called A Very British Gangster II – which was released earlier this month. The film is the work of investigative journalist Donal MacIntyre, who spent weeks filming Noonan before his arrest in August. The Probation Service is believed to be concerned the film may glorify Noonan’s past, despite his claims he has found God and is a changed man. The film is a sequel to the A Very British Gangster, which featured Noonan and his brother Dessie – later murdered by a drugs dealer. The original caused fury inside Greater Manchester Police, which failed in a court bid to ban it. Mr MacIntyre insists the follow-up focuses on fatherhood rather than Noonan himself. He strenuously denied it glorified crime, adding: "It’s an important, serious film. "I come from a journalistic and documentary perspective. It reports the world as we see it. We don’t give value judgements." Noonan, speaking from Strangeways, said: "I want to let people know I’ve changed my life around. I haven’t been in any trouble yet I’m still in prison." Noonan, who changed his name to Lattlay-Fottfoy, was locked up in 2005 after a gun was found in his car. He was released on licence in 2010 but has been recalled to prison on a number of occasions. In August he was arrested on conspiracy to commit violent disorder. The case was dropped but he remains behind bars under the terms of his early release licence, which expires in 2014. A spokesman for Greater Manchester Probation Trust said: "If an offender is determined not to change their behaviour then they will be recalled to custody should they breach the terms of their licence."

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Spain Coaxes Banks to Merge With Extra Time to Purge Losses

 

Spain’s new government gave banks an extra year to recognize losses if they agree to merge, as it tries to overhaul the financial industry crippled by the collapse of the nation’s property boom four years ago. Banks have a year to make 50 billion euros ($66 billion) of provisions against real-estate assets, according to a decree passed by the Cabinet today. If they agree by the end of May to merge, they get a further 12 months to take the charges and can tap the state’s bank-bailout facility for funds. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, in power since December, is trying to restore the flow of credit to Spain’s shrinking economy and improve confidence in lenders saddled with 175 billion euros of troubled real-estate assets. The government wants to remove doubts about the way assets are valued to enhance banks’ access to financing while shrinking the oversized industry. “By improving the transparency and the perception of strength of Spanish banks, they will be able to finance themselves better, and that is going to allow them to make loans,” Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said late yesterday in Madrid.

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