Costa Bandidos

British man stabs other in a Mijas restauarant

noreply@blogger.com (El NACHO) — Wed, 30 May 2012 01:20:37 PDT

A British man has stabbed another in Mijas, after an argument between their wives. It happened in the Océano Beach Hotel & Restaurant in Playa Miraflores in Mijas Costa. The two couples arrived at 7,30pm. They dined, saw a show of monologues and all was well until midnight. About that time an argument started with the people on the next table, also British, and this ended in the stabbing of a 42 year old Briton. Each table had two couples, all British and Diario Sur reports that both groups had been drinking all the evening. Several bottles of Faustino V were served to the victim’s table, while those on the neighbouring table were drinking Laurent-Perrier champagne. The Guardia Civil is investigating what caused the fight and it seems an argument had developed between the women on the two tables. The men then got involved and made matters worse. At the end of the evening the two groups prepared to leave, and the alleged aggressor, thought to be in his 30’s, left the restaurant while the man who would become the victim stopped for an instant at the bar located at the entrance. Then the other man returned and stabbed the victim several times, then driving off in a top of the range car which was parked at the door. The stabbed man was rushed to the Costa del Sol Hospital in Marbella and is reported to be in a serious condition. A search is now underway for the car, and Judicial Police from the Guardia Civil are in charge of the investigation and the search for the attacker.

Gibraltar and Spain in new fishing confrontation

noreply@blogger.com (El NACHO) — Mon, 28 May 2012 08:57:48 PDT

Gibraltar police boats have confronted a Spanish trawler but did not stop it fishing off the Rock, in an incident similar to a stand-off last week. About four police vessels and a Royal Navy patrol boat intercepted the trawler from La Linea, which spent several hours raking up marine life, a police spokesman told the BBC. The trawler ignored warnings to stop, but police did not board it as it was protected by two Guardia Civil vessels. Spain disputes Gibraltar's sovereignty. Royal Gibraltar Police spokesman Richard Ullger said the trawler left the Rock's territorial waters at about 11:00 local time (09:00 GMT) on Monday and sailed back to nearby La Linea. It had spent about six hours fishing off Gibraltar's Elbow Battery. The police will issue the Spanish crew with a court summons - the normal procedure when trawlers are escorted by the Guardia Civil (Spanish gendarmerie), he said. In such cases "we avoid active enforcement because it could provoke an incident", the spokesman explained. Spanish crews accused of fishing illegally do not normally attend Gibraltar court hearings. Gibraltar has been a British colony since 1713, but Spain insists that it has a right to fish in Gibraltar waters. Spain's Efe news agency named the La Linea trawler as Divina Providencia. During the tense confrontation some of the boats' hulls scraped each other, the trawler's captain Francisco Gomez said. Late last Wednesday Gibraltar police boats surrounded three Spanish fishing vessels after they cast their nets near Gibraltar harbour. Again the fishermen, from the port of Algeciras, were protected by Guardia Civil boats. The UK government insists that it will "not enter into a process of sovereignty negotiations with which Gibraltar is not content". The dispute will figure in talks in London on Tuesday between UK Foreign Secretary William Hague and his Spanish counterpart Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo. Gibraltar's new government says it will not allow Spanish trawlers to fish in the territory's waters and insists that laws on nature protection must be protected.

Spain singer Javier Krahe tried for 'cooking crucifix' film

noreply@blogger.com (El NACHO) — Mon, 28 May 2012 08:56:40 PDT

A Spanish folk singer who made a spoof cookery programme on how to roast a crucifix has gone on trial for offending religious sentiment. Appearing in court in Madrid, Javier Krahe, said he would go into exile in France if found guilty. In a parody on the resurrection of Christ, his satirical short film says a crucifix put in the oven for three days will emerge of its own accord. He faces a possible fine of 144,000 euros ($188,000, £115,000). Made in 1978, when it was banned under strict censorship laws in place at the time, the film was first broadcast in 2004. It shows how to prepare the crucifix for roasting by removing the figure of Christ from the cross, rubbing it in butter and putting it into a casserole. The case was brought by a Christian legal centre, which said it was the first time the relevant law had been invoked. Mr Krahe was applauded by fellow artists and friends as he entered the court, according to the Efe news agency. "They have not understood me," he said outside the court about the charges he faced. He added that he would focus on writing songs about girls in future, although he would not completely stop writing songs about the Church. A fellow singer and friend, Miguel Rios, said he hoped the court would sentence Mr Krahe to three Hail Marys instead of the fine.

Al Qaeda group wants to recover Al-Andalus

noreply@blogger.com (El NACHO) — Thu, 24 May 2012 16:33:28 PDT

Granada, Valencia, Sevilla and Córdoba, are named as terrorist objectives for Al Qaeda. The Jihadist group, Ansar Al Din, has released an internal document which said the cities ‘which were governed by the Muslims’ must be liberated and Al-Andalus must be restored. Spanish State Security Forces are giving credence to the threat after they intercepted the internal communication. After study they concluded that Spain remains one of the main targets of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. Cadena Ser reports that after the fall of Gadaffi, the Ansar Al Din terrorist group made off which a large quantity of Libyan weapons and had become stronger in Mali and Timbuktu. Many witnesses claim the group has been responsible for the assassination of hundreds of people. According to the security services in Algeria, the group is getting funds from France and Canada in particular.

Gibraltar and Spain clash in fishing rights dispute

noreply@blogger.com (El NACHO) — Thu, 24 May 2012 15:17:06 PDT

Tensions over fishing rights around the British territory of Gibraltar have been raised, following an incident involving Gibraltarian police boats and British Royal Navy, and Spanish police. It comes after several days of dispute in which Spanish police escorted Spanish fishing boats near the area. The Gibraltar government says fishing with large nets there is illegal because of an environmental law. Spain claims sovereignty over Gibraltar, a British colony since 1713. Several Royal Gibraltar Police boats surrounded three Spanish fishing vessels on Wednesday night after they cast their nets near Gibraltar harbour, media reports say. The UK's position on sovereignty has not changed and will not change” Spokesperson UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office Gibraltarian news agency GBC News said several Spanish Guardia Civil boats appeared to be defending the fishermen, but were told to leave by the Gibraltarian police. The Spanish boats reportedly left the area later, after a Royal Navy vessel arrived and told them again to depart. Gibraltar's chief minister, Fabian Picardo, said the Gibraltarian government condemned what were "obviously carefully premeditated challenges to our indisputable sovereignty, jurisdiction and control of British Gibraltar Territorial Waters and our airspace" - according to GBC News. 'No negotiations' A Foreign Office statement confirmed that Britain's minister for Europe, David Lidington, had met with Mr Picardo to discuss various issues, including the fishing dispute and recent incidents in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters. "Mr Lidington reiterated that the UK's position on sovereignty has not changed and will not change", it said. "The UK will never enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another State against their wishes. "Furthermore, the UK will not enter into a process of sovereignty negotiations with which Gibraltar is not content." But Spanish Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz said Madrid would continue to dispatch police boats to protect Spanish fishermen in the area. "We are not going to accept intimidations or humiliations," he told reporters. "What the government is doing is defending the fishing rights of our fishermen."

The majority of Spain's educational institutions have closed as teachers and students take to the streets to defend their rights.

noreply@blogger.com (El NACHO) — Wed, 23 May 2012 05:10:16 PDT

The government has cut billions of euros from educational sector expenses.

The strike is taking place on all levels, from elementary schools to universities in all but three of Spain's 17 regions. As many as a million teachers and seven million students are expected to take part in Tuesday's demonstrations.

If the austerity package goes through, it will reduce government subsidies on education by more than 20 per cent. The measure, unions say, will result in worsening educational conditions, mass teacher layoffs and higher tuition costs.

A policeman identifies a striking teacher during a protest in Madrid (Reuters/Andrea Comas)

"They are stealing from us in every possible way, and that can't be allowed to happen. I don't know if we will get something out of [the strike], but at least it's something," a student demonstrator said.

The crisis unfolding in the Eurozone has pushed the Spanish government to introduce a new round of austerity measures in addition to €30 billion cuts in 2012 alone.

Reuters/Andrea Comas

The government’s harsh policies have raised unemployment rates to 25 per cent; the rate is two times higher among Spaniards under age 25, a statistic that has caused outrage in Spanish society.

The country has seen numerous mass protests and strikes since the beginning of this year. The latest round of demonstrations in mid-May gathered about 100,000 people in 80 cities across Spain.

Reuters/Andrea Comas

Students and teachers demonstrate in Barcelona (AFP Photo/Lluis Gene)

Strike in Barcelona (AFP Photo/Lluis Gene)

26 year old Scottish man, Craig Mallon, has been found dead at 7,30 am this morning, Saturday, in the street in Lloret de Mar

noreply@blogger.com (El NACHO) — Sun, 20 May 2012 06:50:18 PDT

According to sources close to the investigation is seems that he was stabbed in a fight in the early hours of the morning between tourists visiting Lloret. No firearms have been found and Catalunya Informació says the Scot died from a heart attack after being stabbed. He was in the town to celebrate his brother’s stag party. It’s believed that alcohol was drunk by those implicated in the fight, but as yet there are no official details. The same sources told the EFE news agency that as yet there have been no arrests, although the regional Catalan police, the Mossos d’Esquadra, will only confirm the death of a person.

Ex Marbella Mayor, Julián Muñoz, has to pay 50 million €

noreply@blogger.com (El NACHO) — Sun, 20 May 2012 06:49:18 PDT

The ex Mayor of Marbella, Julián Muñoz, has seen his appeal to the Supreme Court rejected. It means the sentence served against him for accounting irregularities with two other people from the Tribunal de Cuenta stands and the three, Muñoz, ex councillor Esteban Guzmán, and the lawyer Modesto Perodia, have to find 50.7 million €. The Tribunal de Cuentas said the three were directly responsible for nearly 35 million of € of public money going to the Contratas 2000 municipal company, of which all three were members of the administration.

More revelations in the Madrid Gürtel case

noreply@blogger.com (El NACHO) — Sun, 20 May 2012 06:48:19 PDT

More finds in the Gürtel Case have led to National Court Judge, Pablo Ruz, to take a new look at one of the central themes in the case, that of allegations of backhanders to those with responsibility for the granting of concessions in the Madrid Regional Government. The judge has called on Esperanza Aguirre’s Government for all the documentation of 362 cases where companies linked to Francisco Correa, the businessman at the centre of the Gürtel Case, were awarded contracts between 2004 and 2008. Among these were dozens of events where Esperanza Aguirre took part to promote her political and public image. The magistrate is investigating a second set of accounts with which wages were paid. Judge Ruz has also indicted two more people in the Valencia section of the Gürtel Case. They are top managers in the Valencia TV station Canal 9, and it regards the money allegedly diverted in 2006 with their coverage of the Pope’s visit to Valencia. Luis Sabater Balaguer and Antonio de Viuda are accused of continued misuse of public money and of showing favouritism to Teconsa, linked to Gürtel, which was given the contract to install the sound system for the papal visit. The businessman allegedly at the centre of Gürtel, Francisco Correa, has seen its bail reduced by Judge Ruz from 600,000 to 200,000 €. Correa has been held in provisional prison since 2009, and now after three years, had requested to be released. Meanwhile Judge Ceres, who instructions in the Valencia High Court of Justice has refused to archive the part of the case which alleges illegal financing of the PP in the region. A request to archive the case came from the PP treasurer in the Valencia Government, Yolanda García. Judge Ceres was not impressed, noting that she had made the request just a week before she was to be called to declare indicted in the case.

Algerian rapist wanted in London is arrested in Barcelona

noreply@blogger.com (El NACHO) — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:59:59 PDT

A 29 year old Algerian man who is wanted on a European Detention and Extradition order in connection with the rape of a woman in London in 2010, has been arrested by the Spanish National Police. The arrest took place in Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Barcelona, and the warrant for the man and two accomplices was issued on DNA evidence found at the rape scene. Police say the detained often uses false documentation and has numerous crimes on his record in Spain. A joint investigation between the National Police and the Local Police led to his arrest in his home. He was taken to the main Police Station in Barcelona, and tried to run off when he got out of the car on arrival, but he was chased and caught during which he was hit by a passing car. Emergency services attended him at the scene and said that there are no consequences. He is now at the disposition of the Instruction Court of National Court who will organise his extradition to the U.K.

Briton wanted for armed robbery in the UK - arrested on Ibiza

noreply@blogger.com (El NACHO) — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:58:50 PDT

A British thief who was on the run from justice in the U.K. has been arrested in Ibiza. Police sources say the 36 year old, named with the initials R.W., has a European Arrest Warrant against him for an armed violent robbery with intimidation which took place last summer when he was on a prison pass. He was serving time for two earlier similar crimes and the illegal possession of firearms. He entered into a supermarket in Kent on August 28 and threatened the employees with a shotgun. After locking them in an office he destroyed the closed circuit TV system and made off with 1,000 pounds. He was intercepted during his escape by a police patrol and is alleged to have pointed his gun at the police pulling the trigger, but for some reason it did not fire. The UDYCO specialist crime unit from the Ibiza Police became aware of the presence of the man on the island and set up a search team which ended on the 12th with his arrest. He is now at the disposition of the Instruction Court Five of the National Court which will arrange extradition back to Britain.

The curse of the Brink's-Mat gold bullion robbery

noreply@blogger.com (El NACHO) — Sat, 12 May 2012 07:39:20 PDT

Scene: 1983 police van and officers When veterans of London’s criminal underworld meet, they grimly refer to the Brink’s-Mat millions as Fool’s Gold. More than 20 people whose lives were touched by the bullion have met an untimely – often gruesome – end since the record-breaking raid, an investigation has revealed. Just after dawn on November 26, 1983, six armed men burst into the Brink’s-Mat warehouse at Heathrow expecting to find £3million in cash. Instead they stumbled across nearly seven thousand gold ingots, worth nearly £28million. The heist turned them into some of Britain’s richest men and filled the pockets of countless other crooks as the gold was melted down and the money laundered to fund shady activities such as drug smuggling. Just three out of 15 men involved in planning and executing the robbery were ever convicted – robbers “Mad” Mickey McAvoy and Brian “The Colonel” Robinson and security guard insider Tony Black, Robinson’s brother in law. Robbed: The security warehouse PA The vast majority of the gold – worth over £500million at today’s prices – has never been recovered. But nearly 30 years on, most of those involved have come to regret the day they ever came into contact with the Brink’s-Mat bullion. More than 20 people connected to the heist are dead. The include an ex-policeman who ended up with an axe in his head, an underworld figure gunned down on his yacht off Corfu, and an enforcer now believed to be part of the foundations of the O2 Arena in London. A senior detective who worked on the investigation said he was never surprised by the brutal murders. He said: “These villains were out of control, many of them off their heads on drugs bought with their new-found riches. “The trouble was that when that money either ran out, or in the case of some of them, never materialised, there was only one way to respond – to kill people to show others that even 25 years after the robbery, if they dared to cross the gang they would still pay with their life.” Bullion: The heist gang came into riches Photoshot A new book, The Curse of Brink’s-Mat by Wensley Clarkson, traces the fate of the men whose lives became entwined with the case. It tells how the idea of a curse was the last thing on the minds of the six robbers who, after tying up guards at the depot, found riches beyond their wildest dreams. Robinson, McAvoy, Brian Perry and three other men managed to disable the security alarm and enter the warehouse thanks to “insider” Black, who worked at the depot. Once inside, they doused the guards with petrol and threatened to set them alight unless they revealed the combinations to the vault, which they knew contained £3million. But when they got inside, they could hardly believe their eyes. Stacked in front of them were 6,800 gold ingots, hundreds of thousands of pounds, travellers’ cheques and two boxes of diamonds. The men spent the next two hours loading their battered blue Transit van before making their getaway. The stolen vehicle creaked under the weight. By the time the alarm was raised 15 minutes later, the robbers and the loot had vanished. Posh: Brian Perry's house Rex Features It seemed like the perfect crime – but none of the gang had experience in gold, so they had to recruit other underworld figures who had. So much was melted down that it is thought that most people with gold jewellery made in the UK after 1993 are wearing Brink’s-Mat. Soon millions of pounds were flooding the underworld and unleashing a tide of gangland violence and murders from London’s East End to the Costa del Sol. The effect was not just felt by criminals. The double-strength ecstasy that killed Leah Betts, 18, in 1995 was almost certainly imported using money from the robbery. Police were certain that the gang must have had inside help and were quick to suspect Black, the last guard to arrive on the morning of the raid. He confessed that he had provided information and a duplicate key, and named three of the robbers, McAvoy, his brother-in-law Robinson, and a man called Tony White. Robinson and McAvoy had spent six months planning the crime, but on finding themselves millionaires they aroused suspicions by moving from their council homes to mansions in Kent. McAvoy is reputed to have named two pet rottweilers Brinks and Mat. Gruesome: The scene of private eye Daniel Morgan's death In December 1984, Robinson and McAvoy were jailed for 25 years each while Black was sentenced to six years. But there were still many villains at large and an extraordinary amount of gold – and in the coming years death and betrayal were linked to the infamous robbery. The first death occurred in 1985, when Kenneth Noye, recruited for his links to the smelting trade, stabbed an undercover detective John Fordham in his garden. At the resulting trial, the jury found Noye not guilty of murder on the grounds of self-defence. He was on trial again in 1986 after police found 11 bars of gold at his home. He got a 14-year sentence. Cops revealed Shirley Bassey’s hit Goldfinger had been primed to play on the stereo whenever anyone walked into Noye’s lounge. He is currently serving life for the murder of 21-year-old motorist Stephen Cameron in a road rage attack in front of Cameron’s girlfriend Daniella Cable, 17, near the M25. The curse has hit many in the criminal underworld including Great Train Robber Charlie Wilson, who was gunned down at his Marbella home after £3million of Brink’s-Mat money went missing in a drug deal.

The curse of the Brink's-Mat gold bullion robbery

noreply@blogger.com (El NACHO) — Sat, 12 May 2012 07:39:19 PDT

Cheque con in Spain

noreply@blogger.com (El NACHO) — Thu, 10 May 2012 06:23:46 PDT

BRITISH expat is warning others to be wary of a job advert offering ‘up to 1,000 euros a week’ to cash cheques for a food company based in England. Jeannette Pinnock, 58, from Estepona, became suspicious after answering an advert in a rival newspaper, asking for more details about the position. She received a response claiming the company was having trouble processing cheques from Spanish customers. It was looking to ‘employ people to cash the cheques for them’. Pinnock’s contact – who gave his name as ‘Robin Wilson’ and supplied a London address – instructed her to transfer the funds at Western Union after cashing the cheques. She was to take 200 euros from each as her commission. “Their English wasn’t very good in the emails and they refused to give any more details about the company,” Pinnock told the Olive Press. “They sent me four cheques in the name of Jose Ramirez, each worth 500 euros, but the bank refused to cash them. “The manager told me the person named on the cheque needed to be there in person to present a passport.

Brink's Mat the reason that Great Train Robber was shot dead in Marbella

noreply@blogger.com (El NACHO) — Sun, 06 May 2012 03:44:51 PDT

The Brink’s-Mat curse even touched on the Great Train Robbery gang of 1963. One of them, Charlie Wilson, found himself in trouble when £3 million of Brink’s-Mat investors’ money went missing in a drug deal. In April 1990, he paid the price when a young British hood knocked on the front door of his hacienda north of Marbella and shot Wilson and his pet husky dog before coolly riding off down the hill on a yellow bicycle.

2,000 kilos of hashish recovered in Torrox

noreply@blogger.com (El NACHO) — Tue, 01 May 2012 16:14:47 PDT

Members of the SVA coastguard from Motril have found nearly 2,000 kilos of hashish in the early hours of Monday. The drug was in 62 bales and was being carried by a boat taking it to the Calaceite beach in Torrox. The Coastguard had first noticed the boat at 10pm on Sunday night as they carried out surveillance of the coast between Málaga and Granada.

Pensioners will have to make a co-payment at the pharmacy, and then wait for up to six months for a rebate if entitled

noreply@blogger.com (El NACHO) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 08:19:16 PDT

We now have more information on what pensioners will have to do when using the Spanish Health Centre. As you see this is not as complicated as U.S. public healthcare or to understand your own health insurance plan. Pensioners who use any medicaments will have to pay 10% of their costs when they collect them from the pharmacy. The new legislation imposes a monthly limit on what they pay from 8 to 60 € depending on their income, but whatever the income all pensioners will pay 10% and then the administration will calculate the refund which the Ministry of Health has six months to repay. Pensioners on non contributory or minimum pensions continue not having to pay. The co-payment scheme also includes orthopaedics, splints, wheelchair hire, dietetic products and non emergency ambulance transport. Working people currently pay 40% of the cost of medicaments, and under the changes this remains only to those who earn less than 22,000 € a year. Wages up to 100,000 € will see a 50% co-payment, and above that 60% will be charged. The unemployed pay nothing. The new legislation for pensioners see them paying 10% to a maximum of 8 € a month if they earn less than 22,000 €. If they earn up to 100,000 € the limit goes to 18 €, and above that the limit is 60 €. These limits are to be revised each year. Meanwhile, El País highlights the example of an illegal immigrant who arrives at hospital with tuberculosis. A patient with a health card would be sent to a specialist, but the illegal immigrant will be sent on his or her way, even though he is in an infectious state and is likely to spread the infection to others. The paper reports that the Ministry for Health has not resolved this in the legislation. Experts say they are worried about the risks.

Six MacAnthony Realty International directors declare in court in Marbella, including Darragh MacAnthony

noreply@blogger.com (El NACHO) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 08:17:41 PDT

Six ex-Directors of MacAnthony Realty International, including Darragh MacAnthony, declared in Instruction Court 4 in Marbella today, after complaints about fraud. Some 40 British and Irish clients say they paid over sums to the company to furnish their properties, but no furniture ever arrived. The complainants ratified their claims to the judge a month ago. They say they have lost between 500,000 and 600,000 € and they were fobbed off with a ‘ghost office’ in Madrid which has as its administrator a 90 year old man with no known profession. It dates back to 2005-2010 when MacAnthony set up in Marbella in the building famous for being the ‘Club Financiero’ of the late Mayor, Jesus Gil y Gil. The other directors to appear with MacAnthony today were Dominic Pickering, Michael John Liggan, Sarah Ocallaghan, Nicola Victoria Shaw, and Fernando Arespacochaga Alcalá del Olmo. First to declare was Darragh MacAnthony who arrived at the court just after 10am. He left some two hours later and decline to make any statement to the press. MacAnthony has since made a de facto closing of the real estate company, emptying its assets without seeking competition, and that could become a corporate crime. Darragh MacAnthony is also Chairman of Peterborough Football Club.

British man arrested for stabbing a Senegalese man in Mijas

noreply@blogger.com (El NACHO) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 08:15:25 PDT

43 year old British resident of Mijas, named with the initials J.S. has been arrested by Local Police in connection with an aggression against a 52 year old Senegalese man, named with the initials M.N. who was stabbed with a sharp object in the Sitio de Calahonda urbanisation. It happened just after midnight on Saturday night, and the injury is the lumber region. Police called the emergency services who took the injured man to the Costa del Sol Hospital, after he had given them a detailed description of his attacker. A search was started by the patrol which saw how a man tried to flee when the police were seen. Finally the police managed to catch the Briton who refused to identify himself and who also attacked one of the police. He had to be forced to the ground and suffered the fracture of his left shoulder as a result. Both the Local Police and the Guardia Civil, and private security guards who operate in the estate inspected the scene of the aggression to try and find the weapon used and they found a broken bottle which has been taken into evidence.

British woman arrested after hit and run on Gran Canaria

noreply@blogger.com (El NACHO) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 08:13:58 PDT

She knocked an Italian woman of her moped and failed to stop A British woman has been arrested after a hit and run accident on Monday afternoon in the south of Gran Canaria. The woman knocked a 57 year old Italian woman off her moped and then drove on. Witnesses took down the number plate of the car and this led to her arrest. Both her and her companion in the car tested positive for alcohol and will appear shortly before the courts in San Bartolomé de Tirajana. She faces charges of carrying out a crime against traffic safety and of failing to provide assistance. The victim is in the Las Palmas Insular Hospital recovering from multiple traumas. She is said to be in a serious but stable condition.

Jaume Matas wants to be delcared to be bankrupt

noreply@blogger.com (El NACHO) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 08:12:35 PDT

The ex President of the Baleares Government and ex PP Environment Minister, Jaume Matas, who has been sentenced to six years in prison for corruption, and who is appealing that verdict to the Supreme Court, declared himself in a statement to a Madrid Court on Tuesday that he is bankrupt. The reason he has done this is to try to protect his three properties, including a small palace in the centre of Palma where he made his home after expensive reforms. Bank debts generated to meet his 3 million € bail have led to possible loss of the property, and now Matas wants two of the properties to be accepted instead of 500,000 € retained. The public sale of the Palma Palace is going ahead from the Banco de Valencia, which is controlled currently by the Bank of Spain. Matas is now living in rental accommodation in Madrid in a property owned by one of his alleged front men with his wife and his three children. His wife, Maite Areal, is also indicted in the case.

Reopen Madeleine case, police urge

noreply@blogger.com (El NACHO) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 07:38:37 PDT

Scotland Yard has urged Portuguese authorities to reopen the search for Madeleine McCann as detectives said there are 195 potential leads to finding her alive. The detective leading the Metropolitan Police review said the case can still be solved before officers released a picture of what she might now look like as a nine-year-old. Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood said he believes her disappearance was a stranger abduction, as he said there are 195 "investigative opportunities". Police refused to say what evidence they had uncovered to suggest Madeleine is alive. Mr Redwood confirmed that his team of more than 30 officers involved in the case had been out to Portugal seven times, including a visit to the family's holiday flat in Praia da Luz. It will be five years ago next week since the three-year-old went missing as her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, dined with friends nearby. A spokesman for the McCanns said the family was pleased with the image. Mr Redwood said his 37 officers had dealt with 40,000 pieces of information but the "primacy still sits in Portugal" in the attempt to find her. Commander Simon Foy said: "Most significantly, the message we want to bring to you is that, on the evidence, there is a possibility that she is alive and we desperately need your help today to appeal directly to the public for information to support our investigation." Mr Redwood said "evidence that she is alive stems from the forensic view of the timeline" that there was the opportunity for her to be taken. Investigations show "there do appear to be gaps", he added. Detectives in Portugal are also understood to want the case reopened but must gain judicial approval via the courts.

Insecure websites to be named and shamed after checks

noreply@blogger.com (El NACHO) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 07:27:27 PDT

Companies that do not do enough to keep their websites secure are to be named and shamed to help improve security. The list of good and bad sites will be published regularly by the non-profit Trustworthy Internet Movement (TIM). A survey carried out to launch the group found that more than 52% of sites tested were using versions of security protocols known to be compromised. The group will test websites to see how well they have implemented basic security software. Security fundamentals The group has been set up by security experts and entrepreneurs frustrated by the slow pace of improvements in online safety. "We want to stimulate some initiatives and get something done," said TIM's founder Philippe Courtot, serial entrepreneur and chief executive of security firm Qualys. He has bankrolled the group with his own money. TIM has initially focused on a widely used technology known as the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). Experts recruited to help with the initiative include SSL's inventor Dr Taher Elgamal; "white hat" hacker Moxie Marlinspike who has written extensively about attacking the protocol; and Michael Barrett, chief security officer at Paypal. Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote Everyone is now going to be able to see who has a good grade and who has a bad grade” Philippe Courtot Many websites use SSL to encrypt communications between them and their users. It is used to protect credit card numbers and other valuable data as it travels across the web. "SSL is one of the fundamental parts of the internet," said Mr Courtot. "It's what makes it trustworthy and right now it's not as secure as you think." Compromised certificates TIM plans a two-pronged attack on SSL. The first part would be to run automated tools against websites to test how well they had implemented SSL, said Mr Courtot. "We'll be making it public," he added. "Everyone is now going to be able to see who has a good grade and who has a bad grade." Early tests suggest that about 52% of sites checked ran a version of SSL known to be compromised. Companies who have done a bad job will be encouraged to improve and upgrade their implementations so it gets safer to use those sites. The second part of the initiative concerns the running of the bodies, known as certificate authorities, which guarantee that a website is what it claims to be. TIM said it would work with governments, industry bodies and companies to check that CAs are well run and had not been compromised. "It's a much more complex problem," said Mr Courtot. In 2011, two certificate authorities, DigiNotar and GlobalSign were found to have been compromised. In some cases this meant attackers eavesdropped on what should have been a secure communications channel. Steve Durbin, global vice president of the Information Security Forum which represents security specialists working in large corporations, said many of its members took responsibility for making sure sites were secure. "You cannot just say 'buyer beware'," he said. "That's not good enough anymore. They have a real a duty of care." He said corporations were also increasingly conscious of their reputation for providing safe and secure services to customers. Data breaches, hack attacks and poor security were all likely to hit share prices and could mean they lose customers, he noted.

Anti-depressants likely do more harm than good, study suggests

noreply@blogger.com (El NACHO) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 05:44:45 PDT

Commonly prescribed anti-depressants appear to be doing patients more harm than good, say researchers who have published a paper examining the impact of the medications on the entire body. See Also: Health & Medicine Pharmacology Birth Defects Mental Health Research Mind & Brain Depression Disorders and Syndromes Psychiatry Reference COX-2 inhibitor Psychoactive drug Seasonal affective disorder Anti-obesity drug "We need to be much more cautious about the widespread use of these drugs," says Paul Andrews, an evolutionary biologist at McMaster University and lead author of the article, published recently in the online journal Frontiers in Psychology. "It's important because millions of people are prescribed anti-depressants each year, and the conventional wisdom about these drugs is that they're safe and effective." Andrews and his colleagues examined previous patient studies into the effects of anti-depressants and determined that the benefits of most anti-depressants, even taken at their best, compare poorly to the risks, which include premature death in elderly patients. Anti-depressants are designed to relieve the symptoms of depression by increasing the levels of serotonin in the brain, where it regulates mood. The vast majority of serotonin that the body produces, though, is used for other purposes, including digestion, forming blood clots at wound sites, reproduction and development. What the researchers found is that anti-depressants have negative health effects on all processes normally regulated by serotonin. The findings include these elevated risks: developmental problems in infants problems with sexual stimulation and function and sperm development in adults digestive problems such as diarrhea, constipation, indigestion and bloating abnormal bleeding and stroke in the elderly The authors reviewed three recent studies showing that elderly anti-depressant users are more likely to die than non-users, even after taking other important variables into account. The higher death rates indicate that the overall effect of these drugs on the body is more harmful than beneficial. "Serotonin is an ancient chemical. It's intimately regulating many different processes, and when you interfere with these things you can expect, from an evolutionary perspective, that it's going to cause some harm," Andrews says. Millions of people are prescribed anti-depressants every year, and while the conclusions may seem surprising, Andrews says much of the evidence has long been apparent and available. "The thing that's been missing in the debates about anti-depressants is an overall assessment of all these negative effects relative to their potential beneficial effects," he says. "Most of this evidence has been out there for years and nobody has been looking at this basic issue." In previous research, Andrews and his colleagues had questioned the effectiveness of anti-depressants even for their prescribed function, finding that patients were more likely to suffer relapse after going off their medications as their brains worked to re-establish equilibrium. With even the intended function of anti-depressants in question, Andrews says it is important to look critically at their continuing use. "It could change the way we think about such major pharmaceutical drugs," he says. "You've got a minimal benefit, a laundry list of negative effects -- some small, some rare and some not so rare. The issue is: does the list of negative effects outweigh the minimal benefit?"

Madeleine McCann, the British girl who went missing while on holiday in Portugal half a decade ago, could still be alive, Scotland Yard said on Wednesday.

noreply@blogger.com (El NACHO) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 03:32:35 PDT

Madeleine McCann as she might look aged 9 Photo: Teri Blythe

Detectives released a new “age progression” image of the toddler, which they said showed what she would look like today at the age of nine.

On Wednesday, Britain’s biggest police force said that as a result of evidence uncovered during a review “they now believe there is a possibility Madeleine is still alive”.

Officers have so far identified nearly 200 new items for investigation within historic material and are also “developing what they believe to be genuinely new material”.

Scotland Yard urged Portuguese authorities to reopen the search for her amid the new "investigative opportunities".

Police said the image, created ahead of what would have been her ninth birthday on May 12, had been created in “close collaboration with the family”.