Marbella to establish new land inspection registry: "Marbella Town Hall has taken another step to control building as the PP administration led by Ángeles Muñoz, has established a register of all inspections which will record any possible infringements found.
A ultra sexy and sultry Latin couple were honored yesterday in Madrid, Spain at the opening of the Street of Stars. Penélope Cruz and darling hubby Javier Bardem are the first stars honored in Madrid on the walk. With their exotic accents and phenomenal talent, the couple has not only taken over in Spanish films but has conquered the American film industry.
MONTE CARLO - You run into Charlene and Albert all the time here. Take last Sunday night shortly before nine, at the bus stop on Place d’Armes, not far from the Royal Castle. Suddenly, around the corner comes a motorcycle cop and a sedan accompanying a dark blue limo (license plate MC01). Sitting in the back of the limousine are a man with glasses and a blond woman. The vehicles are heading in the direction of Monte Carlo, speeding by so fast that delighted tourists don’t have time to capture the moment on film.
Locals either take in the princely convoy with a friendly nod, commenting aloud “Ah voilà le prince!” or continue, unfazed, to study the bus timetable. Seeing the prince is no big deal, after all, it happens often enough. Welcome to Monaco.
Site of the Formula 1 Grand Prix. Tax haven. Summer playground for the rich and beautiful — those are probably the best ways to sum up the image of the world’s second smallest state. Sandwiched between France and Italy, the Alps and the Mediterranean, this narrow strip of land offers celebrities, aristocrats and the international jet set a luxury paradise, equally beloved by the paparazzi who lie in wait for them in the yacht harbor, in front of the casino or outside Jimmy’z nightclub.
Added to that, of course, is the fact that Monaco is a principality where the Grimaldi dynasty has reigned for 700 years. Even before Rainier III’s marriage to the American icon, actress Grace Kelly, it was a high society magnet. And now their son, Albert II, who has been reigning prince since Rainier‘s death six years ago, is getting married. His bride-to-be is South African: Charlene Wittstock, a former Olympic backstroke swimmer. The two days of marriage ceremonies, which take place on July 1 and 2, will offer the tiny country yet another opportunity to shine in the spotlight.
Making headlines
Not that Monaco needs the attention. It’s making headlines all the time, sometimes tragic, as when Princess Grace died in a car crash in 1982, or more recently due to the colorful relationships—extramarital dalliances, separations, divorces—of Albert’s sisters, Caroline and Stéphanie. Various other celebrities use the principality as a setting for their escapades, and of course Albert himself has been known to be quite the playboy.
A little drama, a lot of glitz and even more money—is that really all Monaco is about? Is it really nothing more than a place for millionaires and eccentrics to spend money? Or are there some normal folks here too?
Baroness Marianne von Brandstetter receives me on the seventh floor of the Fairmont Hotel, by the pool. She’s wearing a turquoise dress, neon stilettos, a heavy gold bracelet. The German-born Baroness lives here. ‘’I rented a couple of rooms and put some of my own furniture in them,’’ she says. The former beautician is now a member of the jet set, and shuttles between Monaco, New York and Palm Beach. She came into some $200 million through a few marriages, divorces and inheritances, and has been coming to the Côte d’Azur for 30 years. "In the morning, I go waterskiing, in the afternoon I play golf and tennis. I’m happy here! I have so many friends, I could be invited out every night for a year."
Baroness von Brandstetter lives the way people imagine everyone in Monaco does—although her lifestyle is not without its problems, she says. There are the nouveaux riches, of course. ‘‘The Russians particularly are so loud,’’ she complains. ‘’You occasionally meet some that aren’t like that, that are very nice, but most of them are simply impossible.’’ Tourists too are a bit of a bore: ‘’It’s great that so many people come here, but sometimes it just gets a bit full.’’
Space is an issue in Monaco, even without the tourists. Every available square centimeter of building land has long been filled, but even so cranes and scaffolding are everywhere. Living space is the only thing that isn’t available in limitless quantities here, and is thus very sought after. Due to the shortage, building in Monaco is either high-rise or underground.
Most of the infrastructure—multi-lane roads, multi-story parking garages, the train station—have been built into rock. Reclaiming land from the Mediterranean has made it possible to expand the city: the area known as Fontvieille is now home to mainly "clean", ecologically-correct businesses in line with Prince Albert’s commitment to protecting the environment and making Monaco a kind of green pioneer of world standing.
Despite all this, Monaco still has not caught up with the times. "In some ways, it’s as if time stopped here," says Josef Bulva, the Czech pianist who moved to Monaco in 1996. He retired here after a serious injury to his hand, but he’s now making something of a comeback. He sums up the lifestyle in two words: "Victorian warmth."
68-year-old Bulva tells me about his grocer, who will make him his special coffee blend even when the store is closed, and about the delivery man who leaves crates of the most expensive champagne in front of his garage door. "Nothing ever gets stolen in Monaco," Bulva says glancing over at one of the state’s network of video cameras. "Surveillance here is better than in a Norwegian prison."
Approachable and unpretentious
Albert and Charlene’s civil wedding ceremony will take place in the Throne Room of the palace on Friday. The church ceremony is the next day, and here the couple is breaking with tradition: the ceremony will not be held in the cathedral but in the inner court of the palace. The doors leading out to the square will be open, and 3,500 invited guests will fill the square. The official explanation for this arrangement is that the church is not big enough to fit everybody. The princely couple has a reputation for being unpretentious; I heard nothing but good about them, how approachable and open they are. But the arrangement may also be a way of demonstrating a certain break in the encrusted traditions of this constitutional monarchy.
They also hope the marriage will lay to rest the scandals that have swirled around Albert in the past. For decades, the 53-year-old was considered a diehard bachelor whose various companions and illegitimate children provided reliable fodder for the tabloid press. At first, his relationship with Charlene, whom he met in 2001, was also reported as being less than solid, and speculation tended to be more about when they’d break up than when they’d marry.
Now, finally, the prince is going to lead 33-year-old Charlene down the aisle, and the Monegasques could not be more profuse in their compliments and well-wishing. There is certainly a lot of joy about their new Princess and the promise of offspring, but perhaps also a touch of relief that their prince is finally settling down.
Locals wax monosyllabic when asked about the prince’s wedding plans, although a couple of details have filtered out, such as the fact that flooring is going to be put down on the square in front of the palace so that the heels of women’s shoes don’t get stuck between the cobblestones.
Avoiding pitfalls like stuck stilettos is something Frank Damgaard knows all about. In his small office on Quai Antoine 1er, the Danish wedding planner has been organizing dream weddings in Monaco for six years. His agency, Monte Carlo Weddings, is sought out by well-heeled customers the world over. When we meet, the 59-year-old Damgaard, wearing a white suit and gold chain in Mediterranean playboy style, has just come back from a wedding at the Casino. He sees himself as an ambassador for the principality. "The location is idyllic, right on the sea, and we have 300 sunny days a year. There is no better place than Monaco to get married."Damgaard says he plans 25 weddings a year. The cost per head varies from 500 to 6,000 euros "and sometimes more," he says. Some ceremonies are extremely intimate, just bride and groom, while others—like an Indian wedding this past March—are gigantic galas. Six hundred guests flew in for that, and the celebrating went on for four days. For the event, Damgaard brought in two elephants, booked the whole opera house, and succeeded in getting Monaco’s most famous square — Casino Square —blocked to traffic during peak hours. "The locals didn’t like that one too much,’’ he admits.
Away from the glitz and glamour
Monaco’s frontiers are open; there are no toll booths or customs officials. But you know the minute you’ve crossed the border. People are more laid back. As native Monegasques are in any case in the minority, they tend to be very receptive and cooperative. English has become the established language after French. If a Monegasque sees that you are trying to find your way, he or she will volunteer their help, and bus drivers will let you get off between official stops.
Worldly sophistication is one side of Monaco; the other side is provincial idyll. Away from the glitz and glamour, every morning on Place d’Armes there is a picture-postcard-perfect street market: the Marché de la Condamine. Traders from the surrounding area come here, set up their stalls, and sell local fruit and vegetables: squash, lemons, artichokes, plums, beans. Their customers live in the pretty buildings around the square, and there’s a playground right there so if you get chatting with the flower seller your kids have something to do.
Annick Durantet and her husband have been selling at the market for 24 years. Every day, they make the trip here to sell their produce. They set up at 5 a.m., and start packing up at a quarter past noon for the drive back to France, summer and winter "when you have to dress a little warmer."
The Monaco that one experiences standing at Annick Durantet‘s vegetable stand has absolutely nothing to do with the usual image of glitz. "We’re on first name terms with a lot of our clients," says Durantet. "We ask after each others’ families."
But at least for this weekend, the focus will return exclusively to the one family that still defines and unites this unique little sliver of pomp and paradise
The couple, who have been friends for years, appear to have become much closer in recent times, and have been enjoying private dates at blonde Florence's £2.5million home in Notting Hill, West London.
A “well connected” royal source allegedly told The Sun that Harry and Florence are very much enjoying being together. "It's very early days but Harry and Florence are an item.”
The source added: “She is a lot of fun, blonde and very good-looking. Harry really likes her."
The 25-year-old blonde remained coy when asked by the paper yesterday how things are going with the prince, simply stating: “There's not much to say."
However Heat magazine quoted Florence, who has fronted campaigns for Adidas and John Lewis, saying: “He [Harry] is very proud of me and I am very proud of him. There is nothing much more to say - we are just having a wonderful time at the moment."
News that the couple are dating follows the breakdown of Harry’s on-off relationship with Zimbabwean blonde Chelsy Davy.
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Florence is a former flame of Formula 1 racing driver Jenson Button. Privately educated at Stowe School in Buckinghamshire, the model then studied history of art at Bristol University.
As the daughter of Old Etonian wine merchant Andrew and his French wife Sophie, and a descendant of the seventh Earl of Cardigan, who led the Charge of the Light Brigade, Florence is no doubt exactly the type of woman the prince would love to have on his arm.
Prince Harry has also recently been linked to Kate Middleton’s sister Pippa, after the pair became close friends following the royal wedding of Kate and Prince William in April.
They are said to have met up “at least” five times and even had humorous nicknames for each other – Commando for Pippa, in reference to rumours that she wore no underwear under her bridesmaid's dress at the wedding, and Captain for Harry, because of his military rank.
However reports that Pippa had split from her boyfriend Alex Loudon - leading to romance rumours between Pip and Harry - were denied by a member of his family, who dismissed the stories as “completely untrue”.
Prince Harry recently laughed off the rumours of romance between him and Pippa, saying he was "100 per cent single".
Home to tapas, flamenco and the Spanish guitar, the city of Marbella has been voted as the most fashionable in Spain, beating the capital of Madrid into second place.
Andalucia also fared well overall in the survey, as conducted by Oak Power Communication (OPC), which found that the region was the most appealing to tourists.
With several popular tourist destinations nearby, such as Malaga, the region boasts tradition in the form of cathedrals, palaces and castles, as well as boutique shopping and exciting nightlife, the media analysts said.
High profile visitors such as Michelle Obama have helped to raise the profile of the city, while the countryside also boasts UNESCO world heritage status.
Ignacio Osle, local spokesman for house builder Taylor Wimpey, said: 'We aren't surprised that Marbella has been voted the most fashionable city and beach haven in Spain.'
He cited the numerous private villas and glamorous events as two of the big draws that tempt visitors to book flights to the region.
Spanish official in Ibiza says some 800 people, including British and German tourists, have been evacuated from homes and hotels because of the worst forest fire ever recorded on the Mediterranean resort island.
Regional government emergency situations spokeswoman Asuncion Saiz says the fire that started Wednesday has now burned about 2,000 hectares (5,000 acres) of pine forest in the north of the island.
No one has been hurt. Some 300 local people were evacuated from their homes, and tour operators moved about 500 tourists from their hotels to other lodgings, although Saiz insisted that at no time were they were in danger from the fire.
Saiz said from Ibiza that 500 firefighters and 15 water-dumping planes are battling the blaze.
, Europe's air-traffic management agency said, amid fears that the disruption could spread.
Weather forecasters at the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center in London on Tuesday repeated warnings that there was a risk that some ash clouds may reach parts of northern Europe in the next 48 hours. Iceland and Scotland already are affected.
Dublin, Ireland-based Ryanair Holdings PLC (RYA.DB), a stern critic of the handling of last year's ash cloud crisis, challenged the restrictions, calling on air-traffic controllers to reopen airspace over Scotland after it operated a one-hour verification flight up to 41,000 feet in Scottish airspace.
"There was no visible volcanic ash cloud or any other presence of volcanic ash and the post-flight inspection revealed no evidence of volcanic ash on the airframe, wings or engines," it said in a statement.
"The absence of any volcanic ash in the atmosphere supports Ryanair's stated view that there is no safety threat to aircraft in this mythical 'red zone,' which is another misguided invention by the U.K. Met Office and the [Civil Aviation Authority]," it added. The Met Office is one of nine Volcanic Ash Advisory Centers world-wide and the CAA is the U.K.'s specialist aviation regulator.
A spokesman for the CAA rejected Ryanair's remarks. "Their claim that they flew through high-density ash isn't accurate," he said. The route of the Ryanair flight had been retraced on radar, showing that it didn't enter zones with higher concentrations of ash, he added.
Airlines affected by the ash cloud will be keen to resume operations as quickly as it is safe to do so.
Carriers last year lost millions of euros in revenue when clouds of volcanic ash blanketed much of the Continent, forcing the closure of most of Europe's airspace. While they were unable to fly, they forked out millions of euros more to accommodate stranded passengers unable to complete their journeys.
Ratings agency Fitch Ratings said it expected the impact on the finances of the European airlines to be more muted than in 2010 largely because the industry was in better shape.
"The impact of lost revenue per day to the whole industry [estimated last year by the International Air Transport Association] is around EUR150 million in the worst case scenario--that is, assuming the similar level of airspace closure to that of 2010," said Sabrina Ran, associate director in Fitch's corporates team.
"However, the impact is likely to be limited as the agency expects better coordination between European air-traffic control authorities and the commercial airlines would occur this time round to keep any travel disruption to a minimum."
A spokeswoman for Eurocontrol, a Brussels, Belgium-based intergovernmental organization, said that 500 scheduled flights were expected to be cancelled Tuesday for safety reasons. Typically, there were 29,000 flights daily in Europe, she added.
Iceland's Grimsvotn volcano erupted late Saturday, sending ash plumes 17 kilometers into the sky and sparking worries of a repeat of events last year, when the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in April spewed into the atmosphere clouds of ash that drifted over much of Europe. Tens of thousands of flights were canceled and the travel plans of millions were disrupted.
A part of Danish airspace was closed from early Tuesday, said Danish airspace surveillance unit Naviair. "At the moment only a small offshore area over the North Sea is affected by the airspace closure, and only up to a height of six kilometers," Naviair spokeswoman Camilla Hegnsborg told Dow Jones Newswires.
"The airlines can merely fly above the affected area, so for the time being there are no consequences to passenger traffic from the airspace closure," Hegnsborg said. Naviair didn't rule out wider restrictions later in the day as the ash cloud drifted further into Scandinavian airspace.
Scotland's main international airports in Glasgow and Edinburgh said they anticipated disruption Tuesday, and cancellations extended as far south as Newcastle in northern England.
British Airways and easyJet PLC (ESYJY, EZJ.LN) said services to Scottish airports including Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen remained canceled until later Tuesday. Transatlantic traffic continued, but journeys were subject to delays of up to half an hour as flights were re-routed to avoid affected areas, said a spokesman for British Airways, which is part of International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG.LN).
Aer Lingus Group PLC (EIL1.DB) said it had consulted its engine manufacturers and made a decision not to fly in Scottish airspace based on meteorological conditions and the forecast concentration levels of ash dust.
Oil and gas companies like BP PLC (BP), Norway's Statoil ASA (STL.OS, STO) and ConocoPhillips (COP), which use helicopters to ferry workers to and from offshore facilities, said some flights had been halted, but production was unaffected. Bristow Helicopters, which operates flights to U.K. offshore oil and gas platforms in the North Sea, said up to 20 of its flights had been canceled Tuesday morning, affecting approximately 350 oil workers. Some flights were expected to depart Tuesday afternoon if weather conditions improved.
Ash from an erupting Icelandic volcano could reach northern Scotland by Tuesday and parts of Britain, France and Spain by Thursday or Friday if the eruption continues at the same rate, airlines were warned on Sunday. The warning is based on latest 5-day weather forecasts, but must be treated with c
aution because of the forecast period and the presence of different air currents from those prevailing at the time of last year's ash crisis, weather officials said.
European authorities said on Sunday no disruption was expected to European or transatlantic airspace over the next 24 hours from the eruption of Iceland's most active volcano on Saturday.
The counterfeit golf club operation was the biggest of its kind ever to be investigated by a council Trading Standards team and the largest counterfeit group uncovered on eBay.
Four members of a seven-strong gang in Rainham were ordered to pay back the cash following a hearing under the Proceeds Of Crime Act at Snaresbrook Crown Court last week.
The confiscation orders totalled £513,000 - of which Havering Council will receive a large amount. The four were also told to pay the Council a total of £130,000 in prosecution costs.
The conclusion of the hearing on Friday came the day after Havering Council’s Trading Standards team were named as the best department in the country at the Anti-Counterfeiting Group’s annual awards.
The scammers sold millions of pounds worth of counterfeit golf clubs and other fake golf merchandise on eBay between June 2003 and March 2008.
Proceeds of Crime proceedings against the ‘ringleader’ and main defendant, Gary Bellchambers, from Rainham, have not yet been heard, and adjourned until September.
Bellchambers sourced and organised the delivery of more than six tonnes of golf equipment in the UK alone.
Under the confiscation orders, Roy Cottee, 67, of Thorn Lane, Rainham, was ordered to pay £220,000 within six months and also £60,000 prosecution costs. His wife Kay, 47, was ordered to pay £80,000 and £10,000 prosecution costs.
Keith Thomas, 51, of Martin Drive, Rainham, was ordered to pay £173,000 and £40,000 prosecution costs.
Sharron Williams, 50, of The Alders, West Wickham, Kent, was ordered to pay £40,000 and £10,000 prosecution costs.
THE majority of the counterfeit golfing equipment was manufactured at factories in Turtle Creek, Shenzhen, China, and shipped to the various defendants’ addresses in the UK.
From bases in Thailand or their homes in the UK, they arranged for the fake goods to be sent to eBay customers in Ireland, Australia, the United States, Germany, Italy, France, Canada, the Netherlands, Brazil and New Zealand. Nearly every major golf brand had been counterfeited.
The downfall of the counterfeiting empire was brought about when a customer complained to Havering Council Trading Standards officers after she had tried to get a refund for two clubs. The council then launched an investigation, codenamed Operation Augusta, named after the US golf club which hosts The Masters.
Council officers searched the homes of the defendants and other addresses and seized computers and thousands of golf clubs.
The defendants sold the clubs for around £50-£100 (genuine clubs retail at £110-130). The cost of manufacturing each fake club and having it shipped from China to the UK was $5.
In the criminal trial, which took place between September and December 2009, Roy and Kay Cottee, Sharron Williams and Helen Wilson, 30, of The Knoll, Hertford, were found guilty of conspiring together to sell or distribute counterfeit golf clubs, clothing and accessories bearing signs likely to be mistaken for registered trademarks contrary to Section 1(1) of the Criminal Law Act 1977.
Gary Bellchambers, 47, of Dunedin Road, pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy along with Keith Thomas.
Chris Moughton, from Blackpool, pleaded guilty to a role in a connected conspiracy.
Bellchambers was sentenced to four years and three months in jail after the criminal trial. Keith Thomas was sentenced to 16 months in prison and Roy Cottee was given a custodial sentence of 12 months.
A confiscation hearing involving Helen Wilson and Chris Moughton was held in September last year.
businessman who fled to Spain more than three years ago to avoid serving an indeterminate jail term has finally been put behind bars.
Dean Rice was arrested on the Costa del Sol in February and then did "everything in his power" to avoid returning to the UK, Maidstone Crown Court heard.
The 49-year-old has now started serving the sentence which will keep him in prison for a minimum of five years or until the parole board considers it is safe to release him.
Rice, who ran Erith Storage, was also jailed for nine months for jumping bail, ordered to be served at the end of the minimum term.
He was on trial in October 2007 with others, including his wife, over the brutal kidnap of a former employee. He fled the country while the jury was out considering verdicts.
Rice ordered the kidnap of former employee Alan Clarke after accusing him of stealing £500,000.
He was grabbed by three men in London and forced into a van. A woolly hat was pulled over his head, but he saw that one of the men had a gun.
He was "hog-tied" and repeatedly asked about Rice's money.
Mr Clark was taken to a remote farm in Shadoxhurst, Ashford. His mouth was taped and he was left tied to a radiator in a "crucifix" pose. He eventually broke free and jumped 15ft from a window to escape.
After Rice left the country, the Serious Organised Crime Agency named him as one of its most wanted criminals and appeals were made by crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers.
He eluded capture for some time before being arrested in the Spanish town of Alhaurin.
Prosecutor Andrew Espley told Judge Martin Joy: "He has done everything in his power to prevent coming back to this country, including making scenes on aeroplanes.
"It has been a complicated process to get him back to court."
Judge Joy told Rice: "The reality is that since your arrest you have made every effort to avoid coming to court. You have disrupted attempts to bring you here by plane.
"As a result, you have had to be brought here at great expense. You should be behind bars because you have been certified by the court as being a danger to the public."
Britons planning to own or invest in a property in Spain will be interested to hear that BA CityFLyer, a British Airways subsidiary, is opening a new flight route between London City Airport and Malaga in the Costa del Sol.
The airline decided to run a new route from London to the Spanish property hotspot after an increase in demand from travellers at the airport.
BA CityFLyer has also announced an increase in the frequency of its flights to Palma on the island of Mallorca.
Ignacio Osle, sales and marketing director at Taylor Wimpey de Espana, said: "This is another positive step for Spain welcoming increased passenger numbers from London and the south-east of England."
