Blackburn pound store boss 'on the run in Spain',Blogger: Costa del Crime - Manage Posts

Blogger: Costa del Crime - Manage Posts: "Blackburn pound store boss 'on the run in Spain' (From This Is Lancashire): 'BLACKBURN pound store boss is believed to have fled to Spain after being suspected of stealing £9,500 from his shop.

Marc Atherton, 29, got a flight to Alicante Airport and is now thought to be in Benidorm with his partner Jamie Crossman, police said.

The day before bosses of Poundworld in the Mall Shopping Centre had noticed three days' worth of takings were missing.

Now the store manager has been listed as wanted on the police national computer and all ports have been notified.

Last night Atherton's mum urged her son to pick up the phone and contact his family.

Carol Smith, 55, of Bolton, said: “I just want him to come home and we can sort things out.'"

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RBS said Spain remains caught in a vice of tightening fiscal policy and a deepening property slump that may culminate in a 40pc fall in house prices

RBS said Spain remains caught in a vice of tightening fiscal policy and a deepening property slump that may culminate in a 40pc fall in house prices, eroding the solvency of the cajas. The Madrid consultants RR de Acuna estimate the overhang of unsold homes at 1.2m.
Mr Peruzzo called on EU leaders to take much bolder action to overcome the crisis, demonstrating that they really mean to “save Spain” by beefing up the rescue machinery. EU ministers played for time at a key meeting last week, giving an impression of complacency."

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Why is Spain’s unemployment so high? | vox - Research-based policy analysis and commentary from leading economists

Why is Spain’s unemployment so high? | vox - Research-based policy analysis and commentary from leading economists: "Since the global crisis, unemployment in Spain has soared to 20%, double the EU average. This column compares Spanish unemployment with that of France and argues that differences in employment protection legislation account for nearly half of the dramatic rise in unemployment in Spain. Its findings add further support to calls for a single labour contract in the country."

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Marbella under fire over Antonio Banderas home

Marbella under fire over Antonio Banderas home | Olive Press Newspaper | News: "MARBELLA Town Hall has come under fire from the TSJA for violating a previous ruling regarding the home of Spanish heart-throb Antonio Banderas.
After years of battling in the courts to save his garden, the actor was allowed to keep his sea view intact when the Marbella Town Hall decided to amend the PGOU urban plan last October.
But now the TSJA has issued a six-page warning to the Planning Department reminding them should they fail in their duty “to implement the ruling of a final decision”, they are liable for civil or even criminal charges.
The document also clearly states that “the courts alone are competent to decide whether buildings can be demolished or not.”
The decision to allow Banderas to keep his beach front access contradicts a previous ruling that specified he, and Hollywood wife Melanie Griffith, must cede 1,200 metres of their home, ‘La Gaviota’, at Los Monteros."

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"Interpol is hunting a former Auckland man and his British wife suspected of masterminding a European property scam

Interpol seeks NZer in Spanish probe - World - NZ Herald News: "Interpol is hunting a former Auckland man and his British wife suspected of masterminding a European property scam alleged to involve almost $2 million.

The Scotsman newspaper in Edinburgh reported that 20 people claimed to have paid substantial sums to Nigel Andrews for deposits for apartments in Turkey, which have not yet been built.

Mr Andrews, a 51-year-old New Zealander, and his wife Margaret were reported to have vanished from their offices in Marbella in June, where they had set up a company called Royal Resorts Turkey."

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Morocco Says It Foiled Terrorist Cell - NYTimes.com

Morocco Says It Foiled Terrorist Cell - NYTimes.com: "Moroccan government arrested 27 people accused of operating a terrorist cell in Western Sahara led by a member of the local branch of Al Qaeda, officials said Wednesday.

The group was planning suicide and car bomb attacks against Moroccan and foreign security forces as well as bank robberies in Rabat and Casablanca to finance their activities, the interior minister, Tayeb Cherkaoui, said at a news conference carried by state news media.

The group’s leader, the minister said, was a Moroccan member of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, which operates in North Africa and has camps in neighboring Algeria, Mauritania and northern Mali. The goal was to set up a “rear base” for terrorism planning, he said."

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Al Qaeda Seeking Revenge against Morocco – Anti Terrorism Expert Asharq Alawsat Newspaper (English)

Al Qaeda Seeking Revenge against Morocco – Anti Terrorism Expert Asharq Alawsat Newspaper (English): "Rabat, Asharq Al-Awsat – Moroccan political analyst Dr. Mohamed Darif, who specializes in studying Islamist groups, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Moroccan authorities have dismantled dozens of terrorist cells since 2002 thanks to the pre-emptive security approach pursued by Morocco which had made it possible for the Moroccan authorities to foil a large number of these terrorist cells' plans.
Dr. Darif added that the continuous news in Morocco of terrorist plans being foiled and terrorist cells being dismantled can be explained by the logistical and technical abilities developed by the Moroccan security services, which has allowed Rabat to monitor the activities of such groups.

Answering a question about some people's suspicions about why so many terrorist cells have been uncovered in Morocco - with Rabat claiming to have dismantled as many as 70 terrorist cells since 2002 - Dr. Darif told Asharq Al-Awsat that the skeptics need only ask themselves one question, and that is: Is Morocco truly being targeted by Al Qaeda?'"

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Bodyguard 'frozen' at Jackson sight, shield Michael Jackson's children from seeing their father as the singer's lifeless body

,The Press Association: Bodyguard 'frozen' at Jackson sight: "bodyguard obeyed a frantic doctor's instructions to bag up medical equipment and shield Michael Jackson's children from seeing their father as the singer's lifeless body lay on a bed in his palatial mansion, a court heard.
Alberto Alvarez told the Los Angeles court all this happened before he was told by Dr Conrad Murray to call an ambulance.
Mr Alvarez said he was the first security guard to reach Jackson's room after word came that something was wrong, and described a shocking scene.
The King of Pop was on his bed connected to an IV tube and a urinary catheter. His eyes and mouth were open, and Murray was leaning over him doing one-handed chest compressions to try to revive him, he said.
Mr Alvarez said he was 'frozen' at the sight."

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Markets make Portugal pay heavy price for loan - Business News, Business - The Independent

Markets make Portugal pay heavy price for loan - Business News, Business - The Independent: "Portugal's cost of borrowing soared by 80 per cent yesterday, as the eurozone's ongoing debt crisis took centre stage again with the festive season barely over.

The Portuguese government successfully sold €500m (£425m) of bonds repayable in six months but the yield – or cost in interest to its taxpayers – was 3.68 per cent. That compares with the 2.04 per cent the country paid for a similar auction in September. The yield was as low as 0.59 per cent as recently as a year ago.

The punitive rates were a reflection of the continued fears that Portugal will be the next domino to fall by following Ireland and Greece in having to seek a bailout from the EU and the International Monetary Fund. The country's Prime Minister, Jose Socrates, has repeatedly said Portugal will be able to continue to finance its debt on the international markets and will not need to take this step, despite the rates it is being required to pay."

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Marrakech tops BA's must-visit list

The Press Association: Marrakech tops BA's must-visit list: "Marrakech in Morocco is being marked as a top-tip destination for 2011.
British Airways, which begins services to the Moroccan resort on March 28 2011, has placed Marrakech at the forefront of its must-visit list.
American and Caribbean destinations also feature in BA's 10 best travel tips, with San Diego in southern California second and New York third."

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