Sarkozy pledges to fast-track eurozone rescue as slump fears grow

 French president Nicolas Sarkozy is to hold urgent talks in Germany with chancellor Angela Merkel on speeding up the rescue plan for the euro. Sarkozy said on Friday the talks would take place within days as uncertainty about the eurozone's stability and worries about deepening recession returned to European markets. Declaring after talks with Greek premier George Papandreou that "a failure of Greece would be a failure for all of Europe", the French president praised Athens for its determination to meet its commitments and said: "There...

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Rio hit with £500k bill after losing court battle

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...

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UK pressure group set up to help Spanish property victims

 While there are similar groups already in existence in Spain, this group is the first of its kind in the UK and aims to raise awareness and pressure the UK Government and MEPs into taking action. Many thousands of Britons are believed to have bought property in Spain and through the actions of various levels of Spanish government, property developers and banks, find themselves unable to enjoy the rights to these properties. The Protection of Property Purchased in Europe (POPPIE) is run by husband and wife team Chris and Angela Beattie, who...

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Treasure hunters eye huge shipwreck haul

 When the SS Gairsoppa was torpedoed by a German U-boat, it took its huge silver cargo to a watery grave. Seventy years later, US divers said they are working to recover what may well be the biggest shipwreck haul ever. Florida-based Odyssey Marine Exploration on Monday confirmed the identity and location of the Gairsoppa and cited official documents indicating the ship was carrying some 219 tons of silver coins and bullion when it sank in 1941 in the North Atlantic some 490km off the Irish coast. That's worth about $200m today, which...

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El Hierro prepares for a possible volcanic eruption

 Canary Island of El Hierro is preparing for a possible volcanic eruption as the Canaries have lifted the alert level to yellow for the first time in the recent history of the archipelago following a group of ever-stronger earthquakes. Saturday night saw a 3.4 quake among a total of 48 seen over the weekend. The fear is that there could be a possible volcanic eruption on the island of El Hierro, but the Councillor for Security, María del Carmen Morales, called for calm. ‘These seismic movements are normal given that we are on a yellow alert...

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Canadian gold diggers look to Coruña

 Canadian company, Edgewater Exploration, are to reopen an old gold mine in Coruña and say they will employ 100 people in Cabanas de Bergantiños in the efforts to extract a million ounces of the metal. An ounce of gold is currently 1,800 € on the market. The Las Médulas mines have a long and distinguished past, and were responsible for ten percent of the Roman empire, as 96,000 kilos of gold was taken over 250 years as the Romans used thousands of slaves to find the metal. The new gold fever is the first in the area for 2,000 years. Despite...

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Two British swimmers cross the Strait

 British swimmers, Edward Thedore Cox and Frazer Lloyd-Jones managed to swim across the Strait of Gibraltar on Saturday. A third Briton, Richard Woodrup Skelhorn, had to abandon his attempt halfway, being unable to keep up with the other two. The two successful swimmers, both aged 34, left La Isla de Tarifa at 0910 and arrived at Punta Almansa at 1357, helped by calm seas and weak westerly winds. A Moroccan police patrol inspected the documentation of the participants without any problem on their arrival on the Moroccan coa...

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Arrested man admits to killings on the Costa del Sol

 An alleged serial killer, who has been operating on the Costa del Sol and who is believed to be responsible for the deaths of two women, has been arrested. The crimes were on August 11 and September 10 in Calahonda and San Pedro de Alcántara, and in both cases the women had Spanish nationality but were of Latin American origin, and both were stabbed. Preliminary reports from the autopsies show certain similarities between the crimes. The 42 year old man, who has been revealed to be a foreigner although his nationality has not been announced,...

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Saudi women given right to vote

 Saudi Arabia will allow women to stand for election and vote, the king announced on Sunday, in a significant policy shift in the conservative Islamic kingdowm. In a five-minute speech, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud said women will also take part in the next session of the unelected, advisory Shura Council, which vets legislation but has no binding powers. "Because we refuse to marginalise women in society in all roles that comply with sharia, we have decided, after deliberation with our senior ulama (clerics) and others... to involve...

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Alexa Chung range a hit

 Alexa Chung's latest range for Madewell caused the retailer's website to crash. The British beauty announced her partnership with the label last year, creating a line that was popular amongst fashionistas. Alexa launched her second collection with the US brand yesterday and celebrated with a star-studded bash in Los Angeles. The 27-year-old star tweeted her excitement before the party. "It's my Madewell collection launch party tonight in...

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Ex-Royal Navy officer Dean Priestley, 47, spent £477,000 in just six months

Jailed: Ex-Royal Navy officer Dean Priestley stole £1million from a criminal gang who had asked him to smuggle the money into SpainA Falklands veteran went on an international spending spree after stealing £1million from criminals who had asked him to smuggle the money into Spain.Ex-Royal Navy officer Dean Priestley, 47, spent £477,000 in just six months on luxury items including a house, four cars, three overseas holidays and a diamond pendant for...

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This is the buff soldier who exchanged numbers with Cheryl Cole.

Andy Baker plans to meet up with the former X Factor judge after the pair met during her morale-boosting trip to Afghanistan.The pair were introduced at an award presentation at Camp Bastion and met again a barracks dinner.New man? Soldier Andy Baker caught Cheryl Cole's eye during her moral-boosting trip to Afghanistan and he hopes to take her out for dinnerThey posed for several photos together and once Cheryl returned home, she said she planned...

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Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas makes UN statehood bid

 Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has submitted his bid to the UN for recognition of a Palestinian state. To rapturous applause in the General Assembly, he urged the Security Council to back a state with pre-1967 borders. He said the Palestinians had entered negotiations with Israel with sincere intentions, but blamed the building of Jewish settlements for their failure. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said he was reaching out to Palestinians...

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Europe leaves Bulgaria, Romania out in Schengen cold

 Europe left Bulgaria and Romania out in the cold Thursday, when Finland and the Netherlands blocked their entry into the passport-free Schengen travel area. The Dutch and the Finns refused to let them in, at a meeting of EU interior ministers dogged by concerns about illegal migration, citing poor progress in the fight against corruption and organised crime. "Two member states today made it impossible for us to make a decision on Schengen enlargement," Polish Interior Minister Jerzy Miller, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency,...

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French court fines women for wearing veils

 France's fines on women for wearing the full-face covering niqab veil, imposed for the first time by a court on Thursday, are a "travesty of justice," Amnesty International says. Police have issued several on-the-spot fines since the ban came into force in April but the hearing saw the first two court-issued fines, and the Muslim women vowed to appeal their case all the way to the European Court of Human Rights. "This is a travesty of justice...

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Elizabeth Taylor's designer clothes to be auctioned

 Designer clothes owned by Hollywood legend and fashion icon Elizabeth Taylor, including haute couture by Chanel, Yves St. Laurent and Dior, will be sold at auction in New York, Christie's said on Wednesday. The silk chiffon dress that the Academy Award winning actress wore for her first wedding to actor Richard Burton will be among the nearly 400 times included in the four-day series of sales in December. "One of the many great treasures...

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Ernest Hemingway’s final visits to Spain are remembered at a new exhibition in Rioja.

Ernest Hemingway’s final visits to Spain are remembered at a new exhibition in Rioja.Hosted and created by Bodegas Paternina at its Conde de los Andes winery in Ollauri, the exhibition entitled “Tinta, Sangre y Vino” – “Ink, Blood and Wine” – celebrates the writer’s visit to the winery 55 years ago and marks 50 years since his death.However, the exhibition does not focus solely on Hemingway’s visit to Paternina in 1956.Making use of never-before-seen...

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Halle Berry taken to hospital after breaking her foot on set of new movie

 Halle Berry broke her foot while in Spain today. The actress, who is in the country filming scenes for Cloud Atlas, injured herself after a simple misstep on property where she is staying, according to TMZ. She is understood to have been taken to hospital where her foot was put into a cast and she later left in a wheelchair. The accident has put her film bosses in a spin however, with sources saying they plan to shoot around her injury by shooting her from the waist up and using a stunt double. Berry is in Spain after shooting scenes...

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A top surfer has been killed after a quick and brutal shark attack on the French-owned island of Reunion.

   Mathieu Schiller, 32, was dragged off his surfboard on Boucan Canot beach in the Indian Ocean by a man-eating tiger shark and quickly killed in an attack that lasted less than 30 seconds.Schiller, who was a European team body boarding champion in 1995, was one of a large group surfing in the area when the attack happened.Fellow surfers searched for the Frenchman's body but police later said it had been carried away by the waves."There...

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former X Factor judge and Girls Aloud singer said she would consider becoming a fashion designer and launch her own range.

Is Cheryl Cole the new Victoria Beckham? (Picture: PA)The former X Factor judge and Girls Aloud singer said she would consider becoming a fashion designer  and launch her own range. Asked by The Guardian if she'd like her own fashion collection, she replied: 'Do you know what? I wouldn't rule it out, actually. I have loved designing these shoes. I haven't enjoyed a project so much in a long time. So, yes, it might be the start of something.' Chezza...

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Brit Designers Shine At London Fashion Week

"The truth is that all the ideas come out of here," he said."Before they used to be picked up by every other designer from around the world, diluted and communicated to other parts of the world and other people were making the money. Models display creations by British born designer Osman "Maybe now it is becoming a lot more important."I think Burberry, in a way, bringing their shows back to England has been very important because they...

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Cheryl Cole 'Falls For Hunky Soldier' In Afghanistan | Cheryl Cole

 It seems Cheryl Cole has finally put her failed marriage to footballer Ashley Cole behind her, after apparently falling for a "gorgeous" solider in Afghanistan. The Girls Aloud beauty, who visited Camp Bastion in Helmand Province to boost troops morale, claims to have swapped numbers with the hunky young corporal after taking a shine to him during her trip last week. Chezza confessed to The Mirror: "Not only are the soldiers incredibly brave, a few were also incredibly cute. I actually came back with a phone number from one lad." "He started...

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Celebrity Cruises Taps Top Chef to Join Culinary Team

 Known for its culinary leadership and commitment to offering guests a modern, luxurious experience during their precious vacation time, Celebrity Cruises has expanded its already robust culinary talent by naming 2010 James Beard Foundation "Rising Star Chef" nominee and 2007 "Rising Star Chef of American Cuisine" John Suley as its director of Culinary Operations. Tapped by Celebrity's charismatic Vice President of Culinary Operations Jacques Van Staden – himself a James Beard-nominated Master Chef – Suley is widely regarded as one of the...

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Who needs The X Factor when you have your own shoe line?

Credit: Mike Marsland/WireImage.com Cheryl Cole was all smiles at the Olivier National Theatre in London on Monday night, where the ousted X Factor judge was celebrating her newest venture -- fabulous footwear! To celebrate her partnership with U.K. fashion website, Stylistpick.com, the 28-year-old Brit showed off her amazing figure through the sexy cutouts in her scarlet mini dress. She styled her hair into a voluminous...

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Briton dies in Cannes after brawl 'over cost of drinks at lapdancing club'

 Thirty-seven-year-old Lee Elton Fischer, a trade delegate from London, was visiting the French Riviera city, home of the world-famous Cannes Film Festival, with two friends. It has been claimed that Mr Fischer sparked a fight in the belief that he had been 'ripped off' during a night out with colleagues on Sunday. A spokesperson for the local police confirmed that Mr Fischer appeared to have been hit several times in the face, before dying after his head struck the pavement. Police have arrested three French nationals in connection with...

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Brits arrested for drug trafficking on the Baleares

  The Organised Crime Squad ECO of the Guardia Civil based on Mallorca completed the second part of an operation against drug trafficking on Sunday. The first part of the operation had been started at the end of August. At that time ten Britons were arrested and on Sunday the ECO agents picked up another ten youngsters of the same nationality. Judicial sources say that seven of the ten were sent to prison in Eivissa, on remand, while two...

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Marrakesh bomb trial to resume

 The trial in Morocco of nine suspects in a bomb attack in April that killed 17 people, mainly European tourists, is set to resume on Thursday with bereaved relatives in attendance. The main suspect, 25-year-old Adil El-Atmani, and his accomplices face the death penalty if proven guilty. The trial opened on June 30 but was then adjourned to August 18 and further postponed to September 22 in order to allow the plaintiffs to prepare their case. "So far the trial is taking place in normal conditions. The judicial guarantees are there and personally,...

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Gadhafi spotted as rebels capture parts of south Libya town

 Fugitive Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi was spotted in the southern city of Sabha a few days ago, the regional daily Asharq al-Awsat reported on Tuesday, citing an eyewitness. The witness claimed that Gadhafi was living in the city, located around 750 kilometers south of the capital Tripoli. Anti-Gadhafi fighters firing a cannon near Sirte, the hometown of deposed leader Muammar Gadhafi, September 17, 2011. Photo by: Reuters Gadhafi's...

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Charlie Sheen to pocket $25 million from settlement over ‘Men’ firing

Washington: Looks like Charlie Sheen is close to settling his 100-million-dollars legal dispute with Warner Bros. over his firing from the hit sitcom ‘Two and a Half Men’.   A person familiar with the talks, has revealed that the studio is wrapping up a deal to end the litigation.According to The Los Angeles Times, Sheen is expected to receive about 25 million dollars from the Hollywood studio. The figure represents Sheen’s participation...

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The 47 year-old operated the Black Beauties escort agency and worked under the name “Miss Whiplash” or “Mistress Pain”.

The former madam supplied prostitutes to wealthy clients, charging more than £350 an hour for sex sessions that specialised in sado-masochism.The 47 year-old operated the Black Beauties escort agency and worked under the name “Miss Whiplash” or “Mistress Pain”.She became madam of her own high-class escort agency, located in the wealthy south-west London area of Chelsea, just a few years after being a teenage runaway.In the early 1980s, she moved...

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Strauss-Kahn admits making pass at author Tristane Banon

 DOMINIQUE Strauss-Kahn told police he made a pass at a young French author in 2003 but denied her rape allegations, a source told AFP today, as the former IMF chief prepares to speak publicly about the sex scandals surrounding him. The 62-year-old Socialist politician, who returned to France this month after the collapse of another rape investigation against him in New York, was interviewed by French police on Tuesday over Tristane Banon's allegations. According to the official who is close to the inquiry and spoke on condition of anonymity,...

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Critics of Berlusconi's womanising just jealous: Putin

 Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Friday made light of the sex scandals surrounding Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi, saying critics were simply jealous of his sexual prowess. "However much they nag Signor Berlusconi for his special attitude to the beautiful sex, and by the way they nag him mainly because of jealousy, he has shown himself as a responsible statesman," Putin said at an international investment forum in Sochi, quoted by the state RIA Novosti news agency. He was speaking in praise of Berlusconi's financial belt-tightening...

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