United States service member walked out of a military base in a rural district of southern Afghanistan on Sunday and opened fire on three nearby houses, killing at least 15 civilians

 

United States service member walked out of a military base in a rural district of southern Afghanistan on Sunday and opened fire on three nearby houses, killing at least 15 civilians, local villagers and provincial officials said. Related Security Fears Lead Groups to Rethink Work in Afghanistan (March 11, 2012) U.S. and Afghanistan Agree on Prisoner Transfer as Part of Long-Term Agreement (March 10, 2012) Afghan Officer Sought in Killing of 9 Colleagues (March 9, 2012) Connect With Us on Twitter Follow @nytimesworld for international breaking news and headlines. Twitter List: Reporters and Editors Readers’ Comments Share your thoughts. Post a Comment » Read All Comments (1) » The shooting risks further inciting anti-American sentiment in Afghanistan and troubling a relationship that had already been brought to a new low by the burning of Korans at an American military base last month. The American embassy in Afghanistan quickly issued a statement on Sunday urging calm. The NATO-led coalition said in a statement on Sunday that a United States service member had been detained after an incident in Kandahar Province, in the south of the country, and that a number of civilians had been killed. Villagers in Belandi in the Panjway district of Kandahar, where the shooting took place, said the service member had attacked three houses, killing 11 people in one house and four in a second home. Five other villagers were wounded, they said. Panjway, a rural suburb of Kandahar, was traditionally a Taliban stronghold. It was a focus of the United States surge in 2010 and was the scene of heavy fighting. The governor of Kandahar Province, Tooryalai Wesa, condemned the shooting, although he could not immediately confirm the number of people killed. A coalition spokesman in Kabul, Capt. Justin Brockhoff, said that it was not clear what had led to the incident. He said the civilians wounded in the shooting were taken to a coalition hospital where they were being treated. One of the houses attacked in the village belonged to a tribal elder, according to a person from the village. “We don’t know why he killed people,” said the villager, Aminullah, who like many Afghans goes by a single name. Aminullah said the soldier was alone. “There was no fighting or attacks.” In the statement, the United States military raced to head off Afghan outrage. “This is a deeply regrettable incident and we extend our thoughts and concerns to the families involved,” the statement said. It went on to say that American forces, in cooperation with the Afghan authorities, would investigate the incident. In its comments, the American Embassy also sought to ease tensions, offering “its deepest condolences to the families of the victims of today’s tragic shooting.” “We are saddened by this violent act against our Afghan friends,” the statement said. In a separate incident, four Afghans were killed and three wounded on Friday when coalition helicopters apparently hunting Taliban insurgents fired instead on villagers in Kapisa province in eastern Afghanistan, according to Abdul Hakim Akhondzada, governor of Tagab district in Kapisa. Last month, the burning of the Korans touched off nationwide rioting and increased the targeting of American troops, resulting in at least 29 Afghans dead and 6 American soldiers killed. The results of the official military inquiry into the Koran burnings are still awaited, including any decision on what kind of disciplinary action may be faced by the American service members identified as being directly linked to the incident. The upheaval provoked by the Koran burnings put a temporary halt to cooperation between the Afghans and Americans, and disrupted planning for the military withdrawal. But relations seemed somewhat back on track after the two governments on Friday broke an impasse on a long-term strategic partnership deal by agreeing for the Afghans to assume control of the main coalition prison in six months. In another incident in January, American officials had to contend with the fallout from a video that showed four United States Marines urinating on the corpses of what appeared to be the corpses of three Taliban members. In 2010, a rogue group of American soldiers, whose members patrolled roads and small villages, also near Kandahar, killed three Afghan civilians for sport in a series of crimes. The soldier accused of being the ringleader of the group was convicted of three counts of murder by an American military panel in November.

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Stalking to become a crime for 1st time with offenders facing up to 5 years in jail

Stalking is to become a crime for the first time, with offenders facing jail for up to five years and unlimited fines. After decades of debate, David Cameron will announce today that the Government is to change the law to protect tens of thousands of victims let down by the system. Currently, police must wait until  suspects commit another crime – such as harassment or breaching a restraining order – before they act. Scroll down for video Beauty consultant Clare Bernal, 22, was shot dead in Harvey Nichols by her former boyfriend Slovakian Michael Pech, 30, who she had dated for just two weeks. Pech on bail was awaiting sentence for breaching a restraining order and harassment of Clare when he shot her four times before turning the gun on himself As a result, only 2 per cent of stalkers are jailed, with the maximum sentence being six months if pursued under the Protection from Harassment Act. Mr Cameron will unveil plans to reform the law at Downing Street alongside Tricia Bernal, whose daughter Clare was shot dead by her former boyfriend in a Harvey Nichols store in Knightsbridge.     Also at No 10 today will be Claire Waxman, who was subjected to an eight-year campaign of harassment by Elliot Fogel. The former Sky Sports news producer stalked his ex-classmate for nearly a decade, Googling her name 40,000 times in a year and posing as a prospective parent at her child’s nursery. He was finally jailed for two years after breaching a restraining order. Tricia Bernal, pictured with her daughter Clare who was shot dead by Pech on September 13, 2005, will appear alongside David Cameron when he announces changes to the law today Mr Cameron will say today: ‘Stalking is an abhorrent crime. It makes life a living hell for the victims – breaking up relationships, forcing the victims to move house, making them feel they are being watched 24 hours of the day. ‘That is why we are criminalising stalking, to make sure justice is done, protect the victims and show that stalking is a crime.’ A Downing Street source added: ‘Stalking will carry a sentence of six months and stalking with violence a maximum of five years.’ Cross-party MPs who examined the existing law concluded it was not fit for purpose. Even stalkers  who had broken into victims’ homes or threatened to kill them escaped with community punishments and suspended sentences. The British Crime Survey suggests 120,000 people are stalked a year, with many claiming their concerns are not taken seriously by the authorities.   Some stalkers who continually flout restraining orders go on to murder their victims, according  to probation officers’ union Napo. CLARE BERNAL WAS SHOT FOUR TIMES BY HER  STALKER Beauty consultant Clare Bernal, 22, was shot dead by a stalker she briefly dated while working at the Knightsbridge Harvey Nichols store. Clare dated 30-year-old Slovakian Michael Pech, a former security guard at the department store, for just three weeks. But after they broke up Pech started following her, pestering her with phone calls, standing outside her house and bombarding her with text messages. Her mother Tricia Bernal has told how Clare felt she had no where to turn, couldn't sleep at night and became physical exhausted from the constant harassment.    He was arrested for breaking a restraining order and found guilty of harassment but while awaiting sentence he went to Slovakia and bought a gun. On September 13, 2005, just as Harvey Nichols was due to close, he walked up behind Clare and shot her four times in the head before turning the gun on himself. Mrs Bernal, from Tunbridge Wells, last night welcomed moves to strengthen laws against stalkers to prevent anyone suffering the way her daughter did.

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Police divers search for head and limbs of Gemma McCluskie

Frogmen from Scotland Yard's Marine Support Unit are in Regent's Canal in Hackney, east London, where the torso was found this week. Ms McCluskie's brother Tony is thought to have been arrested yesterday at his home in Bethnal Green, east London, where he lives with his mother and where his sister disappeared from last week. His mobile phone number was among those that appeared on a missing person's poster he himself helped circulate around the local area when Ms McCluskie disappeared. The limbless corpse was dragged from Regent's Canal by the Metropolitan police, with sources indicating it had been identified as 29-year-old Ms McCluskie. Relatives and former co-stars were said to be 'fearing the worst' while awaiting official results of forensic tests. Police sources said the unclothed body's arms, legs and head had been hacked off before it was found floating in the waterway. 'At this early stage officers believe they know the identity of the victim but must await further forensic tests before formal identification can take place,' a Met spokeswoman said. 'Police were initially contacted by a member of the public who had noticed something suspicious floating in the water. The torso was recovered by divers from the Met's Marine Support Unit (MSU) and additional searches are due to be carried out in the water.' The actress, who played Kerry Skinner for 30 episodes in 2001, had been missing since March 1, sparking a frantic search. Past and present cast members on the flagship BBC1 soap including Martine McCutcheon, Brooke Kinsella and Natalie Cassidy had appealed for information about the actress via Twitter and other social networking websites. Brooke Ms Kinsella tweeted: 'Please get in touch if you have seen her.' Ms McCluskie's brother Danny said her family was 'going out of our mind with worry' after she disappeared from her home in Bethnal Green last week. 'Her phone has been switched off since Thursday afternoon,' he said. 'We've not heard from her.' More than 100 people helped carry out a search for Ms McCluskie, with posters being put in shops and pubs while leaflets were handed out. A statement from Scotland Yard issued after the body was found said: 'A body was found in Regents Canal near Broadway Market in East London at 2.40pm. 'Enquiries are underway to establish the identity of the deceased. A post-mortem will be scheduled to ascertain the cause of death. 'Pending that post-mortem we will be treating the death as unexplained.'

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The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the roadside bomb that killed six British soldiers on patrol in Afghanistan

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the roadside bomb that killed six British soldiers on patrol in Afghanistan, saying they were "very proud of it".

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From top left: Sergeant Nigel Coupe, Corporal Jake Hartley and Private Anthony Frampton. From bottom left: Private Christopher Kershaw, Private Daniel Wade and Private Daniel Wilford Photo: MOD

Sources had already indicated the device that killed the six men – five of whom were under the age of 22 – was not a legacy bomb but one planted "recently".

They were named today as Sgt Nigel Coupe, 33, Pte Christopher Kershaw, 19, and Pte Daniel Wade, 20, Cpl Jake Hartley, 20, Pte Anthony Frampton, 20, and Pte Daniel Wilford, 21.

In a statement on their website, the Taliban said: "Mujahedeen (holy warriors) of the Islamic emirate have reported that a landmine of mujahedeen blew apart a tank of British invading forces in Greshk district.

"All the invaders on board were incinerated."

One told the BBC the insurgents were "very proud" of the attack.

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Biggest solar storm in years races toward Earth

 

The largest solar storm in five years was due to arrive on Earth early Thursday, promising to shake the globe's magnetic field while expanding the Northern Lights. The storm started with a massive solar flare earlier in the week and grew as it raced outward from the sun, expanding like a giant soap bubble, scientists said. When it strikes, the particles will be moving at 4 million mph. "It's hitting us right in the nose," said Joe Kunches, a scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder, Colo. The massive cloud of charged particles could disrupt utility grids, airline flights, satellite networks and GPS services, especially in northern areas. But the same blast could also paint colorful auroras farther from the poles than normal. Astronomers say the sun has been relatively quiet for some time. And this storm, while strong, may seem fiercer because Earth has been lulled by several years of weak solar activity. The storm is part of the sun's normal 11-year cycle, which is supposed to reach peak storminess next year. Solar storms don't harm people, but they do disrupt technology. And during the last peak around 2002, experts learned that GPS was vulnerable to solar outbursts. Because new technology has flourished since then, scientists could discover that some new systems are also at risk, said Jeffrey Hughes, director of the Center for Integrated Space Weather Modeling at Boston University. A decade ago, this type of solar storm happened a couple of times a year, Hughes said. "This is a good-size event, but not the extreme type," said Bill Murtagh, program coordinator for the federal government's Space Weather Prediction Center. The sun erupted Tuesday evening, and the most noticeable effects should arrive here between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. EST Thursday, according to forecasters at the space weather center. The effects could linger through Friday morning. Center forecaster Rob Steenburgh said that as of 2:30 a.m. EST Thursday, there were no noticeable effects on Earth. But he said there were some indications from a satellite, which registered a slight rise in low energy particles. The region of the sun that erupted can still send more blasts our way, Kunches said. He said another set of active sunspots is ready to aim at Earth right after this. "This is a big sun spot group, particularly nasty," NASA solar physicist David Hathaway said. "Things are really twisted up and mixed up. It keeps flaring." Storms like this start with sun spots, Hathaway said. Then comes an initial solar flare of subatomic particles that resemble a filament coming out of the sun. That part already hit Earth only minutes after the initial burst, bringing radio and radiation disturbances. After that comes the coronal mass ejection, which looks like a growing bubble and takes a couple days to reach Earth. It's that ejection that could cause magnetic disruptions Thursday. "It could give us a bit of a jolt," NASA solar physicist Alex Young said. The storm follows an earlier, weaker solar eruption that happened Sunday, Kunches said. For North America, the good part of a solar storm — the one that creates more noticeable auroras or Northern Lights — will peak Thursday evening. Auroras could dip as far south as the Great Lakes states or lower, Kunches said, but a full moon will make them harder to see. Auroras are "probably the treat we get when the sun erupts," Kunches said. Still, the potential for problems is widespread. Solar storms have three ways they can disrupt technology on Earth: with magnetic, radio and radiation emissions. This is an unusual situation, when all three types of solar storm disruptions are likely to be strong, Kunches said. That makes it the strongest overall since December 2006. That means "a whole host of things" could follow, he said. North American utilities are monitoring for abnormalities on their grids and have contingency plans, said Kimberly Mielcarek, spokeswoman for the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, a consortium of electricity grid operators. In 1989, a strong solar storm knocked out the power grid in Quebec, causing 6 million people to lose power. Solar storms can also make global positioning systems less accurate and cause GPS outages. The storm could trigger communication problems and additional radiation around the north and south poles — a risk that will probably force airlines to reroute flights. Some already have done so, Kunches said. Satellites could be affected, too. NASA spokesman Rob Navias said the space agency isn't taking any extra precautions to protect astronauts on the International Space Station from added radiation.

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The shooting of three IRA members by the SAS in March 1988 is linked to a major review commissioned by the Prime Minister David Cameron

 

The shooting of three IRA members by the SAS in March 1988 is linked to a major review commissioned by the Prime Minister David Cameron, it has emerged. Sir Desmond de Silva , PC,QC, a member of the Gibraltar Bar, was asked by the Prime Minister to chair a Review into the assassination of a well-known Belfast lawyer - Patrick Finucane, in 1989. As this case has had attached to it allegations of state collusion in the murder Sir Desmond’s Review will involve an examination of the activities of the intelligence services, the police and the army in Northern Ireland at the time. In order to properly discharge the work of this Review, Her Majesty appointed him a member of Her Privy Council. A Gibraltar connection springs from the SAS shootings of IRA operatives on the Rock. Mairead Farrell, who was one of the IRA operatives who was shot dead in Gibraltar, was engaged to be married to Seamus Finucane the brother of Patrick, whose own killing allegedly by agents of the state, Sir Desmond is currently investigating. It is understood that once the Review is complete and his Report is presented to Parliament Sir Desmond will return to his busy practice in London and abroad. Although he has been involved with the prosecution of some very high profile cases he is, perhaps, best known as a hugely successful defence QC who has, in Gibraltar alone, defended in many contested cases before the Supreme Court. On the October 12 2011 the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland appointed Sir Desmond de Silva QC to carry out an independent review into state involvement in the murder of Pat Finucane in 1989. Sir Desmond de Silva is determined to expose the truth about this “appalling” murder. “I know from my work internationally over many years that it is only when the truth is fully exposed that communities can put the trauma of conflict behind them to secure a lasting peace. Naturally, I will be applying the key principles of independence, thoroughness and impartiality in carrying out my work. The Government may have set my remit but it is now for me to take the task forward independently. There have been suggestions that this Review is not capable of hearing from individuals who may have information that could assist me in my work. This is not the case; I will certainly wish to see such individuals.” Sir Desmond asked any who may be able to assist to come forward and contact the Review at any stage to provide information or make representations. BBC reported that when they met last October 2011, the family of Pat Finucane cut short a meeting with Mr Cameron after the Prime Minister failed to order an inquiry into the killing. His family have long campaigned for an independent public inquiry. Pat Finucane’s widow Geraldine told reporters she felt so angry she could hardly speak. Mr Finucane’s family said they were “insulted” at the proposal for a review of the case and said they would continue their campaign for an independent public inquiry and would not participate in the review. Sir Desmond has written to the family asking them to contribute to the review.

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Britain's biggest ever Ponzi scheme Kautilya Pruthi faces 14 years in jail

 

Kautilya Pruthi, 41, swindled investors out of £38m under a scheme that resulted in massive contractual losses. Among the 800 victims were former England cricketer and Strictly Come Dancing star Darren Gough and Unchained Melody singer Jerome Flynn, who are rumoured to have lost as much as £1m each. Pruthi blew £10m in three years renting luxury homes across the South East, buying Bentleys, Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Jaguars, while lavishing more than £370,000 on his lovers. He confessed to fleecing investors in January and John Anderson, 46, and Kenneth Peacock, 43, were convicted of carrying on an unauthorised regulated activity earlier this week. Anderson and Peacock were cleared of a charge of recklessly making misleading false or deceptive promises.

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Six dead UK soldiers set to be named

Six British soldiers killed in southern Afghanistan by a Taliban bomb are to be named by the Ministry of Defence later. Five from 3rd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment and one from 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment died while on patrol on Tuesday. It is the biggest single loss of UK life in Afghanistan since 2006. Meanwhile, head of the Armed Forces General Sir David Richards has told the Times the UK will "hold its nerve" in Afghanistan. He said the British military strategy would remain unchanged, with service personnel set to continue combat operations in the region until the end of 2014. The deaths took the number of British military deaths in Afghanistan since 2001 to 404. More information has emerged about Wednesday's incident. 'Powerful bomb' Senior army and intelligence officials in Helmand province told the BBC: "It was a joint Afghan National Army and British patrol from 215 Core of ANA - there was a distance between our vehicles. "It was a powerful bomb which had been planted recently. This area close to Kandahar's Maywand district is a major Taliban criss-crossing terrain - the Taliban fighters have been moving from this area from Kandahar's Panjwai to Maywand and than to Helmand province - they also would go from Helmand into Kandahar province.'' An Afghan intelligence official with the country's spy agency, the National Directorate of Security, told the BBC: "The patrols in this area were meant to deny and deprive the Taliban from movement from Kandahar into Helmand and from Helmand into Kandahar. "They knew that for quite some time that there was an increase in Taliban presence in the area, they had been active and present in the area and had been planting roadside bombs." General Richards said the progress made since entering the country in the wake of the 9/11 attacks was "truly impressive". He said: "As progress continues the work of our servicemen and women will draw down but our efforts will endure. "Sadly, as we hold that course it is likely that others will lose loved ones." Some of the soldiers' colleagues spoke to the BBC last month of their fears about being posted to Afghanistan. He added that he and his troops do not "underestimate the dangers" faced in Afghanistan, but understood "the importance of the mission with which we are charged". "We will hold our nerve," he said. His comments echoed sentiments expressed by Defence Secretary Philip Hammond who said the timetable for withdrawal remained on track despite this "cowardly attack". "This will not shake our resolve to see through the mission - I believe we owe that to all the brave men and women who have sacrificed their lives and put themselves at risk over the last few years," he told the BBC. The dead soldiers have now been returned to Camp Bastion in Helmand. Prime Minister David Cameron said the deaths marked a "desperately sad day for our country". "Every death and every injury reminds us of the human cost paid by our armed forces to keep our country safe," he said, at the start of Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday. In a statement, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the six soldiers were on a security patrol in a Warrior armoured fighting vehicle when it was caught in an explosion in Kandahar province.. The BBC understands that the area was sparsely populated and particularly unstable, with insurgents known to have planted roadside bombs there. BBC defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt said the six soldiers had been in the country for less than a month. Most of the 9,500 UK troops in Afghanistan are expected to be withdrawn by the end of 2014, when 13 years of combat operations in the country are set to cease.

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Earth braces for biggest space storm in five years

A pair of scorching explosions on the Sun's surface is sparking the biggest radiation and geomagnetic storm the Earth has experienced in five years, space weather experts said Wednesday. The storm, expected to hit Earth early Thursday US time and last through Friday, may disrupt power grids, GPS systems and satellites, and has already forced some airlines to change their routes around the polar regions. In addition to possibly garbling some of Earthlings' most prized gadgets, the event will likely give nighttime viewers in parts of Central Asia a prime look at the aurora borealis, or northern lights, on Thursday night. "Space weather has gotten very interesting over the past 24 hours," said Joseph Kunches, a space weather scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The fuss began late Sunday at an active region on the Sun known as 1429, with a big solar flare that was associated with a burst of solar wind and plasma known as a coronal mass ejection that hurtled in Earth's direction at some four million miles per hour (6.4 million kilometers per hour).

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Man Held After Headless Torso, Feared To Be EastEnders Actress Gemma McCluskie Is Found In Canal

The brother of former EastEnders actress Gemma McCluskie has been arrested after a headless torso believed to be missing 29-year-old was dragged from a canal in east London, Sky News understands. Tony McCluskie remains in custody at an east London police station, sources say. Police have not yet confirmed the identity of the suspect The limbless body was discovered near to the Broadway Market stretch of Regent's Canal in Hackney at 2.40pm yesterday. "Police were initially contacted by a member of the public who had noticed something suspicious floating in the water," the Met Police said in a statement. "The torso was recovered by divers from the Met's Marine Support Unit and additional searches are due to be carried out in the water." Relatives and co-stars of 29-year-old Miss McCluskie were said by sources to be "fearing the worst", as Scotland Yard carried out forensic tests on the remains. Miss McCluskie starred in the soap as Kerry Skinner on more than 30 occasions in 2001. Her character arrived in Walford as a friend of Zoe Slater and the great niece of the late Ethel Skinner. She briefly dated Robbie Jackson and got him to propose to her. Brooke Kinsella turned to Twitter to appeal for help in finding Miss McCluskie Miss McCluskie disappeared from Bethnal Green, east London, last week. Friends had been carrying out searches in the area and handing out leaflets. Co-stars Brooke Kinsella and Natalie Cassidy both appealed for help finding her on Twitter. Kinsella, who has become a prominent anti-knife crime campaigner since her brother Ben was murdered in 2008, had tweeted: "Gemma McCluskie has been MISSING from Bethnal Green since Thursday please get in touch if you have seen her." Cassidy, who played Sonia in the soap, also posted on the website: "Gemma McCluskie, missing since Thurs, if u have sn her/have any info PLS contact @CarlyKarma ... #FindGemma." Officers believe they know the identity of the victim but are awaiting further forensic tests before formal identification can take place. The man being questioned by police is understood to be known to Miss McCluskie. He remains in custody at an east London police station. Detective Inspector John Nicholson, who is leading the murder inquiry, has appealed for witnesses.

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Allen Stanford faces decades behind bars after being convicted of a $7 billion fraud that snared investors in 113 countries

 

A MONTH after Sir Fred Goodwin was stripped of his title for leaving Royal Bank of Scotland shredded, another erstwhile knight of the financial-services realm has been put in his place—this time a jail cell. Allen Stanford faces decades behind bars after being convicted of a $7 billion fraud that snared investors in 113 countries, from Latin America to Libya. When in 2008 the sky fell in on Bernard Madoff, the only fraudster to have taken investors for more, the Texas-born Mr Stanford was still swaggering. He had done so much for Antigua, the Caribbean island where he based his empire, that it made him a Sir. He took to the airwaves to tut-tut rivals who had been felled by subprime mortgages. His star rose further when he sponsored an international cricket tournament. He was said to be worth over $2 billion. He certainly lived like he was. Within a few months, however, the authorities had swooped in, closing his Antigua-based bank and his brokerage operations. Prosecutors accused him of flogging bogus certificates of deposit and raiding the bank, siphoning deposits to a Swiss account used to finance his passion for yachts, jets and islands. His lawyers tried to have him declared incompetent to stand trial, saying a prison beating had led to loss of memory and an addiction to anti-anxiety drugs. When that ruse failed, they argued in court that he had been his group’s visionary, uninvolved in its day-to-day running, even as they claimed the businesses had been viable until they were “disembowelled” upon being seized. Countering this narrative was damning evidence from the prosecution’s star witness, Mr Stanford’s former chief financial officer, who testified that he and his boss had falsified documents and that the firm had presented hypothetical returns as the real thing in client pitches. Others said that, for all his public bravado, he had been aware of a hole in the accounts. When another colleague suggested he raise more money to plug this, he reportedly said: “I’ll go to the Libyans. They love me.” Victims cheered the verdict, but their victory is hollow. Three years on, they are yet to receive a penny from the court-appointed receiver, Ralph Janvey. Of the $216m he had recovered by late last year, more than half had been eaten up by legal and other fees. His team reckons that total recoverable assets may be a mere $500m, or 7% of the account balances shown at the time of Mr Stanford’s arrest (though that could increase if lawsuits seeking $600m from Stanford brokers, customers who extracted more than they paid in and political organisations that received donations from Mr Stanford succeed). Investors also bemoan the hefty cost of litigating jurisdictional issues. Mr Janvey is locked in a fight over how to divide up the estate with a separate receiver in Antigua, who has control over the fraudster’s bank accounts in Switzerland and Britain. America’s Securities and Exchange Commission has backed the victims’ cause, taking the unprecedented step of suing the Securities Investor Protection Corporation after the congressionally-chartered group balked at paying them up to $500,000 each in compensation (on the ground that Stanford’s operations were based offshore). Too little, too late, scream the SEC’s critics. Its district office in Fort Worth, Texas, first concluded that the Caribbean kingpin’s businesses were a Ponzi scheme in 1997, only to be ignored then and several times subsequently by enforcement staff. This story has only one true villain, but many others come out looking bad.

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Esperanza Oña denies that Fuengirola is bankrupt

The Partido Popular Mayor of Fuengirola, Esperanza Oña, has denied that the town is bankrupt. The PSOE has claimed that the debt has risen to nearly the size of a year’s income. The PSOE General Secretary in the town, and Socialist Spokesman, Javier García León, said today Esperanza Oña had ‘dismissed’ the idea when questioned in a press conference. García León said the Town Hall owes nearly 100 million € and that, he claimed, meant that the municipal accounts were in a ‘serious situation of financial unsustainability’.

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Andalucía is thought to have entered into a drought cycle, and the current 60% fall in rainfall has not been seen since 2004,

 

Rainfall has been well down on the last three months and if it does not recover many farmers will suffer  Andalucía is thought to have entered into a drought cycle, and the current 60% fall in rainfall has not been seen since 2004, and we have to go back to 1998 to see a drier time in Sevilla. Some areas of the region have seen very little rain, causing large problems for farmers especially. The Sierra Morena, the Córdoba Campina and parts of Huelva have been particularly dry, while in Santa Elena in Jaén they have seen just 32 litres per square metre, 92% down on the average since 1980. Fortunately this new drought cycle comes after three years of abundant rain; 2009 was the wettest in the last half century, and so reservoir levels are running still at an average of 75.6%. That’s still down from 84.73% a year ago. Regional delegate from AEMET, the State Meteorological Agency, Luis Fernando López Cotin, said the most affected areas are in the north and west of Andalucía, but the Regional Councillor for the Environment has called for prudence when predicting a drought cycle. Young farmers association ASAJA has warned that if it does not rain this Spring 40% of the olive harvest will be lost, and means losses of 400 million € in the province of Jaén alone.

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Sheen's ex-wife charged with cocaine distribution

Charlie Sheen's ex-wife has been charged in Colorado with possession and distribution of cocaine stemming from her arrest in Aspen. Brooke Mueller was arrested by police on Dec. 3 after a woman reported being assaulted at a nightclub. Pitkin County chief deputy district attorney Arnold Mordkin said Friday that Mueller has also been charged with third-degree assault. Both drug charges are felonies. Possession with intent to distribute is the most serious and carries a penalty between four to 12 years. Conviction on the possession charge could result in up to 18 months behind bars. Mueller has vowed to fight the charges. Sheen and Mueller divorced last year after Sheen was arrested on suspicion of assaulting her in 2009. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and completed his probation in 2010.

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Ex-drug prosecutor who handled Las Vegas celebrity cases gets 9 months in jail in crack case

 

A former top Las Vegas drug prosecutor who handled the high-profile Paris Hilton and Bruno Mars cocaine possession plea deals was sentenced Monday to nine months in county jail in a felony crack possession case. Former Deputy District Attorney David Schubert apologized to the court for what he called “a tragedy,” and then stood silently as a state court judge berated him as “a disgrace to his oath as a prosecutor and a lawyer.” 0 Comments Weigh InCorrections? Personal Post (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department/Associated Press) - This undated police booking photo released by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department showes former Deputy District Attorney David Schubert. Schubert a former top drug prosecutor who handled the Paris Hilton and Bruno Mars cocaine possession plea deals in Las Vegas has been sentenced to nine months in jail in his own felony cocaine possession case. Clark County District Judge Carolyn Ellsworth also said that the terms of a plea deal that could have gotten Schubert probation and a chance to clear his record were “offensive.” “I’m not going to give you the special treatment,” the judge said. Police arrested Schubert in March 2011 after they watched another man get out of Schubert’s car, go into an apartment complex and return. Officers found Schubert with a $40 rock of crack cocaine and confiscated an unregistered 9 mm handgun from his car. Schubert once handled Clark County’s highest-profile drug prosecutions as the district attorney office’s liaison to a federal drug task force. Hilton, 30, was arrested after police said 0.8 grams of cocaine fell out of her handbag following a Las Vegas Strip traffic stop in August 2010. The celebrity socialite received a year of probation on misdemeanor cocaine possession and obstruction charges. She successfully completed probation last fall. Mars, 26, was cleared in January of a felony cocaine possession charge after staying out of trouble for a year and meeting other conditions of a plea deal. The Grammy-winning pop star, whose real name is Peter Hernandez, acknowledged in court in February 2011 that he had 2.6 grams of cocaine after a performance at a Hard Rock Hotel & Casino nightclub. Schubert resigned from the prosecutor’s office after his arrest and underwent two months of inpatient substance abuse counseling. The 48-year-old has been undergoing outpatient alcohol and drug counseling since May, and has been practicing criminal defense law in some of the same courtrooms where he was a prosecutor for 10 years. Schubert pleaded guilty to a felony charge of unlawful possession of a controlled substance not for sale. The conviction could threaten his law career, depending on a review by the State Bar of Nevada and action by the state Supreme Court, bar official Phil Pattee said. The judge ordered Schubert to surrender March 12 to begin his jail sentence. Defense attorney William Terry said he may appeal the sentence or ask the judge to take the rare step of setting it aside.

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Kathryn Fuller, who barely survived taking contaminated cocaine that killed her 'Amazing Race' producer boss, is likely to be arrested and prosecuted by police

Kathryn Fuller, who barely survived taking contaminated cocaine that killed her 'Amazing Race' producer boss, is likely to be arrested and prosecuted by police in Uganda when she is released from the hospital. 

Police spokesman Asuman Mugyenyi said Monday that Miss Fuller is being treated as a witness and suspect after she was found unconscious on the floor of her hotel February 18 alongside Jeff Rice, who died.

The announcement casts doubt on her ability to fully recover from paralysis that has left the right side of her body limp. Her father said she must return home to South African for medical treatment.

'Suspect and witness': Kathryn Fuller is subject to arrest in Uganda when she is released from the hospital, where she is recovering from taking contaminated cocaine

Bad drugs: Jeff Rice (left) has produced episodes of 'The Amazing Race' and other shows for American TV. He was working on a film in Uganda when he and Miss Fuller (right) took cocaine laced with fatal additives

'Ask people to pray that we come home,' Stuart Fuller, her father, told The Mercury newspaper.

Mr Fuller has been staying in the Ugandan capital of Kampala since Miss Fuller was discovered ill. 

Mr Rice, American TV and film producer, was found dead bleeding from his mouth and nose after taking the cocaine in hotel room he and Miss Fuller were sharing.

The pair were in Uganda working on a film Mr Rice was producing. 

 

 

 

Miss Fuller is currently recovering at a clinic in Kampala, but her father said she needs medical facilities and expertise only available in South Africa. 

'She can regain the use of her right side, but needs to come to South Africa for treatment and to recuperate,' Mr Fuller said.

However, Miss Fuller must likely face charges of consuming cocaine in Uganda.  

The case has alerted officials there to the possibility that Uganda is becoming a 'consumption destination,' a spot for adventurers and addicts to take illegal drugs with little risk of police detection.

Family man: Mr Rice is the father of two small daughter, aged 7 and 1. He and his wife worked out of Durban, South Africa

Mr Fuller said he was disappointed in his daughter for taking the drugs, but says she has already paid the price for her mistake. 

'I am cross, extremely cross. She’s an extremely bright woman who made a mistake,' he said.

'After this, she’ll have to prove herself. We’ve been through hell, but which father wouldn’t rush to support his daughter?'

Police arrested Moses Kalanzi, a 23-year-old 'special hire driver,' for supplying contaminated cocaine and heroin to Mr Rice. 

The driver is co-operating with police and could face charges for his role in the transaction, according to Ugandan newspaper the Daily Monitor.

Work: Rice helped producers on The Amazing Race, which follows teams as they travel around the world for a prize of $1 million. He worked on its latest season

 

'There was constant communication between the special hire driver and Rice on phone about the purchase of the drugs,' said a police spokesman. 'So we want to know the source of the drugs and how it is trafficked into the country.'

Father-of-two Mr Rice, 39, who worked on the series The Amazing Race, was discovered slumped over a table bleeding from his nose and mouth at the Serena hotel in the capital, Kampala. 

 

Family: Miss Fuller's father Stewart Fuller traveled Kampala in the hopes of taking his daughter back to south Africa for treatment

An official toxicology report confirmed the narcotic with a 'lethal additive' was in Mr Rice’s blood, dispelling initial suspicions he had been poisoned by attackers or that he had swallowed it to conceal the drugs from police.

Mugenyi, the Ugandan police spokesman, said: 'Rice… used cocaine which had lethal additives and that’s what killed him.'

Brad Nathanson, a private investigator and friend of Mr Rice, said he had been shown the toxicology report by police and there was no evidence of 'foul play' in Rice’s death.

He said: 'In fact it was as a result of buying bad drugs, cocaine to be specific … it was a bad concoction.' 

'I have read the toxicology report … it shows that there were small traces of cocaine in their blood and urine.' 

Mr Nathanson said he had traveled to Uganda as a favor to the Rice family following rumors he had been poisoned.

Miss Fuller was found unconscious at the same time Mr Rice’s body was discovered 

Mr Rice and Ms Fuller were believed to have voluntarily consumed the drugs, meaning she could be prosecuted under Uganda’s drug laws. Drug use can carry a jail term in Uganda.

As well as the Amazing Race, Mr Rice also worked on Animal Planet's Whale Wars and the South African version of The Biggest Loser.

He is survived by daughters, ages 2 and 7.

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How Wall Street Bankers Use Seamless To Feast On Free Lobster, Steak, And Beer

A former Morgan Stanley banker recently described his weekend food-ordering ritual at the height of the recession. While pulling Saturday hours, for example, he'd log onto the bank's account on Seamless, the online food-ordering service, and redeem his meal allowance--plus a few allowances from phantom coworkers who weren't actually in the office, allowing him to eat well above his pay grade. Sure, someone could have cross-checked actual office attendence with the online orders, but is such effort worth the investment bank's time? "If people weren't around, it was totally acceptable to take their allowance, and pool it together when you ordered," the banker recalls. "Almost every weekend I was at the office, I'd have a $90 dinner of steak, lobster, mac & cheese, and calamari." Until several years ago, corporate giants like Morgan Stanley made up roughly 85% of Seamless's customer base. That figure has now tipped in favor of individual consumers, but enterprise clients still represent a significant (and growing) part of the New York-based company's revenue--companies offer Seamless as a benefit to those who typically work long or late hours. But for employees of these roughly 3,500 corporate Seamless customers, the benefit represents a huge opportunity to game the system. And no one has worked the system for financial gain better than Wall Street hustlers. "Abuse of the system was rampant," recalls another former Morgan Stanley staffer. "I added up how much I ordered in my first year: It was more than $3,000 of food." Here's how it works. Typically, junior professionals are allotted about $25 per meal at the office. But there are tricks to leverage this cash on Seamless. If employees want to order dinner, for example, they have to stay until 8 p.m. "But you could still order for a 7 p.m. delivery at 6 p.m., then call the restaurant directly and tell them to bring it right away," one employee says. "So I'd finish work around 6:30 p.m., hit the company gym, and then grab my sushi--spicy tuna rolls--on the way out." A Seamless Scam How Gordon Gekko Orders On Seamless 1// Top Seamless Fiend According to Seamless' statistics, the highest ordering corporate user placed more than 2,600 orders in 2011, or more than 7 meals per day. 2// Top Cuisine By Industry Employees Investment Bankers: Sushi; Educators: Pizza 3// Top Ordering Patterns Corporate dinner-orders in New York's Financial District peak at 8 p.m. In Midtown, corporate orders peak at 7 p.m. Corporate dinner-orders are higher, on average, from 4-5 p.m. and lower between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. Ordering groceries on Seamless was--and likely still is--another practice. (Representatives at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have not responded to requests for comment.) One employee, who lived by Morgan Stanley's Midtown offices, would even remote into her office computer from her apartment, place an order on Seamless, and then call the restaurant and change the delivery address to her apartment. The lobster-loving Morgan Stanley banker's take on that old switcheroo? "Classic." Another trick: Since employees aren't allowed to order beer or alcohol on the system, it's not uncommon to pool money together, place a large order for random items, then call the store and request that they bring beer instead. "We definitely get a lot of random orders," says Seamless CEO Jonathan Zabusky. "Once in a while, I'll sit on the customer-care desk, just to get a feel on the pulse of what's going on. You see these orders come through, and you're like, 'Why are 20 rolls of toilet paper going to 200 Vesey Street [the World Financial Center]? What the hell?'" One former employee at Morgan Stanley said he wasn't sure how pervasive the "switch-for-beer order" was at the investment bank, but said he personally pulled the move several times. "Wow, I feel so lame now because when I'd order from Seamless, I'd just get dinner," says one former Goldman Sachs employee. "I never heard of anyone else pulling a fast one [like that], but that doesn't mean it never happened." The daily Seamless stipend is considered sacred for employees, and any abuse of the system appears generally overlooked by higher-ups. When Lehman Brothers went under, for instance, Morgan Stanley lowered the Seamless limit from $30 to $25, much to the anger of workers. "People went nuts," recalls a former employee. "Every so often there were these fireside chats with [Morgan Stanley CEO] John Mack 'Da Knife' and a collection of analysts. One of the women on the call asked Mack to raise the limit to $30 again. Mack, not really having paid much attention to expenses, was surprised to hear it had been reduced. Concerned, he asked her why she needed $30 instead of just $25. She said that with the new reduction, 'I can't order my Perrier anymore.'" The next day, as legend has it, there was an entire case of Perrier on her desk--courtesy of John Mack. "What a baller," an employee says. Zabusky is sure abuse exists on Seamless, but says it's not likely that widespread. "I think it's pretty funny," the Seamless chief chuckles. "I mean, I know it probably frustrates a CFO at Goldman, who is giving these guys $25 to order while they work on deals, and they're ordering toilet paper and jars of mayonnaise and all this other stuff. But in the overall scope, it's probably pretty small." Small as the abuses might be in terms of Seamless's bottom line, there's no doubt it has a big impact on the morale of employees, who seem to take pride in manipulating money one way or another. According to Seamless's statistics, for example, the highest ordering corporate user placed more than 2,600 orders in 2011. "There's nothing grosser or more magnificent than eating $25 of delivered Taco Bell under the fluorescent, sober lights of an office building," says one employee. "Do you have any idea how much baja sauce you can get for that money?"

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San Diego tax preparer for the wealthy accused of ordering hit on 2 witnesses in fraud trail

 former Internal Revenue Service agent whose tax preparation business catered to a wealthy clientele is accused of ordering at least two former customers killed as they prepared to testify against him on fraud charges. Federal prosecutors say the targets were key witnesses against Steven Martinez, 50, who was charged last year with stealing $11 million by preparing bogus tax returns for his customers. 0 Comments Weigh InCorrections? Personal Post Martinez’s limousine driver — Norman Russell Thellmann, 64 — was charged Monday with conspiracy to tamper with witnesses. Prosecutors allege he was ordered to deliver money to a hit man who was promised $100,000 for the two killings. Martinez did not enter a plea during his initial court appearance Monday on a charge of witness tampering. A federal magistrate judge ordered him held without bail. “I find it almost impossible to believe,” said David Demergian, his attorney. Martinez, an IRS agent from 1988 to 1992, faces a pretrial hearing March 19 on federal fraud charges and was free on bail until his arrest last week. An FBI agent’s affidavit says Martinez gave a former employee documents on four people about two weeks ago, including photos of one target from the wealthy suburb of Rancho Santa Fe and another target’s condominium in the upscale La Jolla area of San Diego. Martinez recommended the former employee use two different pistols for the killings and get a silencer, according to the affidavit. The former employee contacted the FBI, which recorded a meeting Thursday in which Martinez allegedly gave additional instructions like how to break into the La Jolla condominium. The targets were identified as 86-year-old Monique Siegel of La Jolla and Marianne Harmon of Rancho Santa Fe. The fraud complaint alleges that Martinez told customers to deposit their taxes into one of his bank accounts, promising to forward the money to state and federal authorities. He stated lower income on their tax returns without telling them, allowing him to pocket $11 million. The complaint identifies victims only by their initials. One “M.H.” had an income of $20.7 million in 2006 but Martinez filed a tax return for $2.1 million. One “M.S.” earned $200,046 in 2006 but Martinez’s return reported $32,900. Another customer who earned $12.2 million in 2005 reported income at $1.6 million, according to the complaint. The same customer earned $11 million in 2006, also reported as $1.6 million. Demergian, his attorney, said the fraud case was “certainly very defensible.” “He had a very dedicated loyal clientele,” Demergian said. “He was very successful.” Thellmann, who was arrested Friday night, told the FBI that Martinez sold him a limousine about three years ago and hired him as a chauffeur. He said Martinez told him to give $40,000 to a person who would call him with code. Thellmann denied he knew the money was to pay a hitman. FBI agents found $42,400 cash in a cereal box at his home.

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Ponzi fraud: two men found guilty of involvement in £115m UK scam

Two men have been convicted of involvement in the UK's largest Ponzi fraud, which saw hundreds of people – among them the former cricketer Darren Gough and the actor Frances de la Tour – lose £115m. John Anderson, 46, and Kenneth Peacock, 43 were found guilty of unauthorised regulated activity at Southwark crown court in London on Monday, but were cleared of one count each of fraud. The jury is still deliberating over allegations that they deceived investors. The scheme's mastermind, Kautilya Pruthi, 41, of Wandsworth, London, has pleaded guilty to the fraud and is due to be sentenced later this week. Ponzi frauds – which take their name from the Italian conman Charles Ponzi, who was particularly fond of employing the scheme – use cash from new investors to pay returns to existing investors and depend on a constant stream of new investors to fund the payouts. The court heard that Gough and the actor and singer Jerome Flynn are each thought to have lost up to £1m in the fraud, which also duped De la Tour. Victims handed over their cash to Pruthi, who promised them safe investments with returns of up to 13%. Instead, he spent their money on entertaining women, paying his daughter's private school fees and chartering helicopters. He also bought a private jet and built a car collection that included three Bentleys, a Lamborghini, two Ferraris, two Mercedes, a Rolls Royce, a Jaguar and a Maserati. "Mr Pruthi is believed to be the UKs most successful Ponzi fraudster," said David Aaronberg QC, prosecuting. "He obtained some £38m from investors and caused contractual losses of over £115m." Aaronberg added: "He enjoyed the company of women and was generous in the payments he made to a number of female friends, for whom he bought cars as presents, in total giving them £373,149." Indian-born Pruthi came to the UK in 2004 having been deported to his homeland after serving a sentence for faking documents in the US. Jurors heard that on coming to the country, Pruthi was quickly able to pose as "a wealthy individual". After setting up his company, Business Consulting International, said Aaronberg, Pruthi accepted deposits and "orchestrated a large-scale and sophisticated collective investment scheme". He would send personally tailored emails claiming he could offer up to 13% returns on 12-month investments because the scheme was available to a limited clientele. But in reality, said the prosecutor, he was "robbing Peter to pay Paul". Pruthi, who was not registered with or authorised by the FSA, admitted four counts of obtaining money transfers by deception, one of participating in a fraudulent business, one of unauthorised regulated activity and one count of converting and removing criminal property. Peacock, of West Hampstead, north London, and Anderson, of Surrey, are alleged to have acted as "aggregators" who pooled funds from third parties and then passed them on to Pruthi, who had duped them into the fraud at the outset. Eventually the scheme collapsed as there were not enough new investors to bring in the money needed to keep the old investors happy. "The scale of this scheme was vast and the losses were immense; several investors lost their homes, others have been declared bankrupt," said Aaronberg. "The monies which Pruthi received were generally not invested anywhere, neither in the UK nor abroad." According to the prosecution, of the £38,631,792 Pruthi obtained, £28m was used to pay back other investors, while £10m was siphoned off for Pruthi's "lavish lifestyle".

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Deadlocked Stanford Fraud Trial Jury Told to Keep Deliberating

 

The judge in R. Allen Stanford’s fraud trial ordered the jury to return to deliberations after the panel sent a note saying it couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict in its fourth day of reviewing the evidence. The eight men and four women on the jury told U.S. District Judge David Hittner in Houston yesterday they were “unable to reach a verdict on each of the 14 counts,” the judge said, reading their note to attorneys for both sides. Enlarge image R. Allen Stanford, accused of leading a $7 billion investment fraud scheme, gestures as he exits the Bob Casey Federal Courthouse in Houston, Texas. Photographer: F. Carter Smith/Bloomberg Hittner instructed jurors to “continue your deliberations in this case,” telling them the trial has been costly in terms of both time and money, that the lawyers were unlikely going to be able to put on a better trial and that another jury was unlikely to be more conscientious. “It is your duty to agree upon a verdict if you can do so, without surrendering your conscientious opinion,’” Hittner told them. Stanford, 61, is accused of leading a $7 billion international fraud scheme involving the sale of certificates of deposit issued by his Antigua-based bank. He faces as long as 20 years in prison if found guilty of the most severe charges, mail fraud and wire fraud. The financier maintains he is not guilty. After the jury returned to deliberations, lead prosecutor Gregg Costa told the judge the jury’s note could be construed as meaning it couldn’t agree on any one of the 14 counts against Stanford or upon all of the counts. ‘We’ll See’ While acknowledging the possibility of having to accept a partial verdict, Hitter said, “We’ll see what comes out next.” When Hittner instructed the jurors to “take all the time you may feel necessary” to reach a verdict, one of the jurors grimaced. The jury left for the day yesterday after being told to resume deliberations. Jury selection in the case began Jan. 23 and the panel heard five weeks of evidence. The government presented testimony at from investors who bought the allegedly fraudulent CDs as well as from the executives who helped sell them. The witnesses included government officials and former Stanford Group Co. Chief Financial Officer James M. Davis, who pleaded guilty to fraud-related charges in 2009 and testified for five days against Stanford. Davis, whose relationship with Stanford traces back to when they were Baylor University roommates, told the jury he knew the boss was committing fraud and didn’t stop it. The defense presented former Stanford employees who said they saw no evidence of fraud at the company. Some offered testimony in support of the defense’s contention that Stanford was an absentee visionary who left the details of running his operation to Davis. Stanford didn’t testify during the trial.

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Mandela faces fraud charges

The liquidators of Aurora Empowerment Systems, which is accused of asset-stripping bankrupt Pamodzi Gold, will lay charges of fraud this week against Nelson Mandela’s grandson Zondwa, and Ahmed Amod, an attorney for the company. The liquidators are also said to be planning to lay charges this week against Aurora chairman Khulubuse Zuma and possibly other directors under section 424 of the Companies Act, under which directors can be held personally liable for company debts. The charges follow a threat by the liquidators to lay charges of perjury against Thulani Ngubane, a director of Aurora, after he gave evidence at an inquiry.

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BP reaches £4.9bn Gulf oil spill deal

 

The UK oil company will pay damages to the thousands of hoteliers, shrimpers and oystermen along the Gulf Coast who were caught up in America's worst oil spill. The settlement follows a week of intense talks in New Orleans between lawyers for the local businesses and BP's legal team. Following the agreement, US District Judge Carl Barbier delayed for a second time the trial into who should shoulder the blame for the explosion that killed 11 people and injured many more in April 2010. The trial had been rescheduled to start tomorrow after Judge Barbier had given BP another week to find a deal. "The proposed settlement represents significant progress toward resolving issues from the accident and contributing further to economic and environmental restoration efforts along the Gulf Coast," said Bob Dudley, BP's chief executive. BP said that the $7.8bn will come from the $20bn fund - known as the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) - the company established in the summer of 2010 to compensate local individuals and businesses hit by the spill. Just $6.1bn of that pot of money has so far been spent. The agreement, which requires the approval of Judge Barbier, covers economic damages for the tens of thousands of plaintiffs who had opted for a day in court rather than apply for compensation from the GCCF. It also covers medical damages suffered by locals in the wake of a spill that led to the release of more than 4m barrels of oil into the waters of the Gulf before the Macondo well was capped in July 2010. Of the $7.8bn, BP said that $2.3bn would go to compensate those who work in the Gulf's seafood industry.

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Storms wreck homes across US, kill 28 people

 

Powerful storms stretching from the U.S. Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes in the north wrecked two small towns and killed at least 28 people as the system tore roofs off schools and homes and damaged a maximum security prison. It was the second deadly tornado outbreak this week. At least 28 people were killed, including 14 in Indiana and 12 in Kentucky, authorities said. In Indiana, Marysville was leveled and nearby Henryville also suffered extreme damage. Each is home to about 2,000 people. "Marysville is completely gone," said Clark County Sheriff's Department Maj. Chuck Adams. Aerial footage from a TV news helicopter flying over Henryville showed numerous wrecked houses, some with their roofs torn off and many surrounded by debris. The video shot by WLKY in Louisville, Kentucky, also shows a mangled school bus protruding from the side of a one-story building and dozens of overturned semitrailers strewn around the smashed remains of a truck stop. An Associated Press reporter in Henryville said the high school was destroyed and the second floor had been ripped off the middle school next door. Classroom chairs were scattered on the ground outside, trees were uprooted and cars had huge dents from baseball-sized hail. Authorities said school was in session when the tornado hit, but there were only minor injuries there. Afterward, volunteers pushed shopping carts full of water and food up the street and handed it out to people. The rural town about is the home of Indiana's oldest state forest and the birthplace of Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Col. Harland Sanders. Ernie Hall, 68, weathered the tornado inside his tiny home near the high school. Hall says he saw the twister coming down the road toward his house, whipping up debris in its path. He and his wife ran into an interior room and used a mattress to block the door as the tornado struck. It destroyed his car and blew out the picture window overlooking his porch. "There was no mistaking what it was," he said. The powerful storm system was also causing problems in states far to the south, including Alabama and Tennessee where dozens of houses were also damaged. The threat of tornadoes was expected to last until late Friday. The outbreak comes two days after an earlier round of storms killed 13 people in the Midwest and South. At least 20 homes were badly damaged and six people were hospitalized in the Chattanooga, Tennessee, area after strong winds and hail lashed the area. In Cleveland, another Tennessee town, Blaine Lawson and his wife Billie were watching the weather when the power went out. Just as they began to seek shelter, strong winds ripped the roof off their home. Neither were hurt. "It just hit all at once," said Blaine Lawson, 76. "Didn't have no warning really. The roof, insulation and everything started coming down on us. It just happened so fast that I didn't know what to do. I was going to head to the closet but there was just no way. It just got us." Thousands of schoolchildren in several states were sent home as a precaution, and several Kentucky universities were closed. The Huntsville, Alabama, mayor said students in area schools sheltered in hallways as severe weather passed in the morning. An apparent tornado also damaged a state maximum security prison about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from Huntsville, but none of the facility's approximately 2,100 inmates escaped. Alabama Department of Corrections spokesman Brian Corbett said there were no reports of injuries, but the roof was damaged on two large prison dormitories that each hold about 250 men. In California, a late winter storm that dumped at least 6 feet (1.8 meters) of snow in parts of the Sierra Nevada mountains created ripe conditions Friday for snow sports enthusiasts but also posed avalanche dangers, as one man died while skiing in back country. Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Jim Suhr in Harrisburg, Illinois, and Jeff Martin in Atlanta, Associated Press videojournalist Robert Ray in Cleveland, Tennessee, and AP Radio's Shelly Adler in Washington.

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INDONESIAN authorities claim an Australian man arrested this week allegedly carrying 1.1kg of hashish inside his body was couriering for an international drug network.

 

INDONESIAN authorities claim an Australian man arrested this week allegedly carrying 1.1kg of hashish inside his body was couriering for an international drug network. Because the amount exceeds 1kg, Edward Norman Myatt, 54, could face the death penalty if convicted of importing the drug, said I Made Wijaya, chief of Customs at Bali's Ngurah Rai international airport. "We believe he is a courier," Mr Wijaya yesterday told a press conference at which the Ballarat-born suspect was exhibited along with the drugs. "He is covering up information on the network in Indonesia." Speaking later in Denpasar, Gories Mere, chief of the national counter-narcotics agency BNN, said international drug syndicates were supplying illegal drugs into Bali. The trade had been in methamphetamines, Mr Gories said, but now the type of drugs being trafficked was changing. Mr Myatt was taken into custody at the airport on Monday afternoon after arriving from New Delhi via Bangkok. Mr Myatt was under surveillance by 40 officers when the Thai Airways flight landed because his movements had already attracted attention, Mr Wijaya said. Customs officers searched his baggage and clothing at the airport without finding any evidence of drugs, but remained suspicious. Mr Myatt was taken from the airport for a CT scan at a Kuta medical centre, but momentarily escaped the car when stopped in traffic and dived into a swamp near the roadway, Mr Wijaya said. The suspect was quickly caught and the scan later showed "suspicious objects" in his stomach. Mr Wijaya said 71 capsules containing hashish and one with crystal methamphetamines were recovered from Myatt's body over the following four days. The total weight, including packaging, was 1.11kg. The estimated street value of the hashish was Rp661.8 million (about $67,750). Under Section 113 of the Narcotics Law, Mr Wijaya said, "the suspect faces maximum penalty of death" or a prison term between five and 20 years. Mr Myatt, who was carrying Australian and British passports, had an April 4 return ticket to New Delhi. He had visited Bali five times previously. A Customs source said later that Mr Myatt was thought to have been working in Britain recently, but he had changed details of his story several times during questioning. Eleven of the 12 Australians now imprisoned at Bali's Kerobokan jail are serving lengthy terms for drug trafficking. They include Gold Coast woman Schapelle Corby and the Bali Nine heroin smuggling convicts. Two of the Bali Nine, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, have been sentenced to death and their last resort is an appeal for presidential clemency to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Sydney man Michael Sacatides was arrested at Ngurah Rai on October 1, 2010, with 1.7kg of methamphetamines concealed in his luggage. Sacatides was last year sentenced to 18 years' jail.

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Online porn increases sex addiction risk says expert

THE prevalence of internet pornography is turning more Australians into sex addicts, an SA rehabilitation expert says. "The amount of porn that is readily available to anyone, especially on the internet, will lead to a serious public health problem," said Robert Mittiga, who runs the GATS Counselling centre on Hackney Rd, one of only two clinics in Australia that treats sex addiction. Mr Mittiga said he treated up to 40 sex addicts a year but expected the number to grow as more people learned about the condition. "Research has shown that about 10 per cent of any population are addicted to sex," he said. Mr Mittiga conservatively estimated up to one million Australians could have the problem. He said the internet - and young people's access to it - exacerbated the problem. He likened its wide array of pornography to marijuana, which he said was a gateway to harder and harder drugs. "Many sex addicts were exposed to pornography at a very young age, before their minds could properly process it. It could've been their father's magazines under the bed, but these days it is readily available on the internet," he said. "Sex addicts on the internet often experience a rapid progression of their addiction as they trawl deeper and deeper into hard-core porn to get their fix." He acknowledged there was a debate over whether it could really be classified as an addiction but said he treated it as an addiction because it met all the criteria. "Sex addicts have the same mood alterations as people addicted to substances like drugs or alcohol," he said. "Most importantly, they continue their behaviour despite the serious life-changing consequences, such as lost relationships, STDs and legal problems." Mr Mittiga said he was treating younger people, including women, and had one client who had begun stealing to pay the $90,000 he spent on prostitutes. He said the movie Shame, about an addict who pursues sex even though he gets no real pleasure out of it, was an excellent representation of the problem.

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Ronnie Wood: Show keeps me sober

 

Ronnie Wood has revealed doing his radio and television show has helped him stay sober. The Rolling Stones guitarist, who has previously opened up about his alcoholism, presents a show on Absolute Radio, which has been turned into a television series for Sky Arts. And he said having a focus has helped him stay off the booze. He said: "While I've been keeping sober, it's been a way to express myself in a new focused way. It has helped me stay sober because of all the archives I'm having to plough down with my producer. I've had to concentrate but I also get the freedom, it's what I do, I deal with music, I get energy from it." The musician entered rehab after an intervention by artist Damien Hirst, and Ronnie told the Radio Times he knew he had to get clean as he was becoming immune to the effects of drugs and alcohol. He said: "The drink wasn't working, the dope wasn't working. I wasn't getting high. I was getting p'ed off and I was getting annoyed at myself. I thought, 'I'm not this person'."

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Makers say 'sorry' as excessive vitamin D found after dog food recalled from 190 Mercadona stores

 

A Brand of dog food in cartons sold by Mercadona has been blamed for causing kidney failure in pets. The supermarket chain – the largest in Spain – has now withdrawn carton-packaged Compy wet dog food from its shelves in 190 stores in Albacete, Almeria, Alicante and Murcia provinces. This action followed a flood of concerns from dog owners – including scores of expatriates – after their pets had been taken ill, with some vomiting violently. On Tuesday, four days after Mercadona had withdrawn the food from sale as a safety precaution, a statement from Tunilament pet division, which is part of Escuris, the company that manufactures Compy, confirmed tests on the pet food had confirmed excessive Vitamin D. They admitted that this Vitamin D increment could cause urine problems to pets, although only through high doses or persistent use of the product, according to the manufacturer’s veterinarian reports. Earlier, vets and many expatriates had identified Compy wet dog food in aluminium-lined cartons and sold by Mercadona as the common link between dozens – and possibly hundreds – of complaints by dog owners over sick pets. There were even reports by expatriates living in the Costa del Sol, but a Mercadona official gave assurances that the Compy product packaged in these cartons was not sold by them in Malaga Province. British-born Audrey Millar of Benitachell (Alicante) said her three dogs (Shih Tzu, aged 7 yrs, 4.5 yrs and 20 months - Teddy, Shakira and Latika respectively) had always eaten “the Mercadona dog food in the big tins priced at €1.25 a can.” “When the packaging was changed to cartons (indivisible packs of 3) they were less than enthusiastic about the food but did eat a bit - I mix it with Burns Mini Bites dried food for them.” “Within a couple of days they started to vomit violently (thank God for tiles!) and refused to eat the food.  I took them to the vet and she thought initially that they may have ingested pesticide as she had had a couple of other local dogs in with the same symptoms.” “She ran renal function tests on two of them and their urea and creatinine levels were raised.  “ “She did not consider it worth running the blood tests on the third one (Latika) as she had the exact same symptoms I then started cooking chicken/turkey/ brown rice/vegetables for them until their stomachs settled but I will continue to cook for them now.  All have lost a little weight but are almost completely back to normal although Latika was sick last night - they are on Uro Can tablets to protect their stomachs.” “Thanks for bringing this into the public domain - I am glad Mercadona seem to be taking it as seriously as they should be and let's hope they are willing to reimburse customers for vet's fees incurred - I know it has cost some people 100s of Euros and, worse still, some people have lost their beloved pets due to this fiasco. “And there is the cost of all the cleaning products I bought from them to clear up piles (and it was) of dog vomit for a couple of weeks!” “I feel quite guilty to be honest, as I know other pet owners do - like I have been poisoning them really. “ Meanwhile, Veronica Catala of Clinica Veterinaria Benitachell said she had seen 10 to 15 cases of dogs with kidney problems in the last two months, and the majority of dog owners – including Ms Millar - had fed pets with the Comfy dog food in cartons. Inka Labsch of Clinica Veterinaria Europa in Mojacar (Almeria) confirmed that in the last month there had been a huge rise in the number of dog owners bringing in pets suffering from kidney problems. “In the past month there have been nearly 10, and quite a few otherwise young and healthy animals.” Tests to see if the kidney problems was caused by Leishmaniasis came back negative, a vet told EWN. “At one point we thought it might have been caused by pesticide used to combat the Red Weevil Beetle plague we have here,” said Inka. “But then I heard that other vets in other towns were experiencing similar unusual numbers of young dogs with kidney problems, so I do not think it is that. Many of the dog’s owners say they feed their pets with Mercadona’s Compy brand wet dog food,” said Inka. Various pet owners’ who feed their dogs this pet food confirmed this. One of Inka’s patients is ‘Goldie, who is on a drip for five hours a day after tests showed she had kidney problems. Ken Grey’s five-year-old white German Shepherd ‘Gemma’ started to develop symptoms, which include excessive thirst. His partner Georgette Hurcomb took Gemma to the vet in Garrucha who confirmed the kidney problem. “I personally know of at least six dogs who all eat the same brand of dog food who have this problem, although I understand there are at least 20 dogs who may be affected, one of which died,” said Georgette who lives in Palomares. “We drink the same water as the dogs and they only eat this brand of dog food.” “I made a complaint to Mercadona and a representative contacted us very concerned and said they would take the dog food off the shelves and would conducting tests.” Jamie Moore’s dog Tyson was diagnosed with ‘bad kidneys’ by the vet in Turre. “I did not think it could have been the food from Mercadona as my dog has eaten this brand of food for many years,” said Jamie. “But since its packaging changed, he has had a reaction.” Albox resident, Heather Whythe’s dog ‘Scruffy’ fell ill after a week of eating the ‘trozos in salsa’. “Since switching to another dog food, she is now back to her normal self,” said Heather. Chris Reade realised something was wrong when his dog began drinking excessively, suffered from urinary incontinence and went from 20 kilos to 16 kilos. “No definite diagnosis was found, although liver and kidney function results were abnormal. I immediately took the dog off the meat and with complete rest and a diet of chicken and rice she is thankfully on the road to recovery.”

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Spain’s Deficit Tests Europe’s Financial Rules

 

ONLY months after they tightened the rules for the euro, Europeans are again confronting a question posed a decade ago: Is their rule book in fact a little stupid? In 2002, Romano Prodi, then the president of the European Commission, provoked widespread criticism by using the word “stupid” to describe the Stability and Growth Pact, a set of rules intended to maintain the stability of the euro zone by imposing fiscal discipline on member states. Now Spain is pressing for leniency, using more polite language but a similar argument. Deep in recession, Spain is not close to hitting European Union target dates for cutting its budget deficit to acceptable levels. And that, according to the logic of the new rules, ought to begin a process leading to the imposition of fines against Spain’s government. Euro zone finance ministers are set to discuss Spain’s economic situation Thursday in Brussels. It may come up again when European heads of government take part in a two-day meeting to discuss policies intended to increase economic growth. The new center-right Spanish government led by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy faces a severe economic squeeze. To hit the European Union’s deficit target it would need to impose another austerity package that, according to estimates, would be more than double the 15 billion euros, or $20 billion, of tax increases and spending cuts already agreed to this year. And Spain is entering its second recession since the sovereign debt crisis began and is struggling with an unemployment rate of nearly 23 percent. But the European authorities face a dilemma, too. The Spanish case illustrates a design flaw in the euro rule book — fining a nation in financial trouble can only make matters worse. Even insisting on more austerity could drive Spain over the edge. Inaction, however, could threaten the credibility of the revised rule book when financial markets remain nervous. While the European Commission, the executive body of the 27-nation European Union, has issued tough warnings to some smaller nations, including Hungary — which is outside the euro zone and subject to different sanctions — Spain is the first large country to run afoul of the strengthened rules. The issue is particularly delicate because when France and Germany violated the original pact in 2003 by running up excessive deficits, the agreement was softened. And some policy makers have said that is one reason euro nations did not weather the financial crisis better. Last year the pact was strengthened to make sanctions more difficult to avoid and to make overall debt levels a bigger factor in determining whether penalties should be applied. Jean Pisani-Ferry, director of Bruegel, an economic research institute in Brussels, said Spain posed a substantial test for the new rules. “It is big because it is a bigger country and this is a tough case: how to reconcile fiscal discipline and economic realism,” he said. “Spain is facing a true recession,” he added, with estimates that its economy will continue to contract. “The commission is forecasting minus 1 percent, the Bank of Spain minus 1.5 percent, and there is no shortage of people forecasting even less. I think they should be careful at a time when they are embarking on a large number of reforms.” But Mr. Pisani-Ferry added that the European Commission had latitude in determining whether a country had violated the new rules. The commission will recommend how to proceed, and, if it has determined that Spain has tried its best to meet the target dates but has been blown off course by events outside its control, the European Commission can propose new target dates. Under the Stability and Growth Pact, European nations are supposed to keep their budget deficits below 3 percent of gross domestic product and their debt levels below 60 percent of G.D.P. Spain’s target was a deficit of 6 percent of G.D.P. in 2011, 4.4 percent in 2012 and 3 percent in 2013. On Monday, though, the Spanish government said it ended 2011 with a deficit of 8.5 percent of G.D.P. Speaking in Brussels on Wednesday, the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, said he was awaiting more information from Madrid, and the new Spanish budget, due to be presented in March. “The reality regarding Spain is that we do not yet have a full picture of Spain’s fiscal slippage last year and the reasons for that slippage,” Mr. Barroso said. “Only then, when we receive the concrete information, we’ll be able to take a position.” He expressed confidence that the new budget “will be fully in line with the Stability and Growth Pact rules.” The national government in Madrid has blamed Spain’s regional governments, estimating that they accounted for about two-thirds of the slippage last year. The regions ended 2011 with an average deficit equivalent to 2.94 percent of G.D.P., compared with a target of 1.3 percent. Spain is one of at least 23 European Union nations in violation of the bloc’s rules, subject to what is known as “excessive deficit procedure,” with closer monitoring and clear targets. But it was already given the benefit of the doubt in December 2009, when it was allowed an extra year to reach the 3 percent deficit level. All of which makes for a difficult decision for the commission, which must walk a tightrope between squeezing Spain’s economy too much and undermining the new rules. Mr. Pisani-Ferry said he believed that it should worry more about the first of those factors than the second. “Credibility rests also on the fact that what you do is economically sensible,” he said.

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Duchess of Cambridge arrives at Fortnum and Mason wearing a Missoni coat.

The Queen, the Duchess of Cambridge and the Duchess of Cornwall seemed to have colour-coordinated their outfits today for a visit to London's boutique department store, Fortnum & Mason.The royals were all dressed in shades of blue when they arrived at the famous Piccadilly store to meet military personnel and tour the restaurant which has been renamed 'The Diamond Jubilee Tea Station' to mark the Queen's 60 years on the throne.

The Queen wore a pale blue outfit with a matching hat; Camilla was dressed in a navy blue coat with eye-catching white horizontal stripes at the top, while Kate, the newest addition to the Royal Family, wore a blue wool above-the-knee coat.

So far, so safe. But in fact, Kate's outfit broke from tradition in one subtle way. The Duchess, who almost exclusively wears British-based labels chose a coat by M Missoni, the second line of Italian fashion house Missoni. The powder blue coat bore all the hallmarks of the luxury brand famous for its elaborate knitwear, and palace sources have confirmed its origins.

But fear not British Fashion Council - ever the diplomat, Kate topped off her outfit with shoes by British designer Rupert Sanderson. To be fair, if one is going to stand around all day with one's step mother-in-law, grandmother-in-law and Boris Johnson chatting to military personnel, one should at least be able to indulge in a bit of luxury Italian fashion for the occasion.

The Queen, The Duchess of Cornwall and The Duchess of Cambridge arrive at Fortnum & Mason. PHOTO:AP

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