Prostitute in French footballer sex scandal launches own underwear range

The prostitute at the centre of the French footballer sex scandal has transformed from call girl to cover girl with a new underwear range. Zahia Dehar made headlines last year when she alleged that top France stars Franck Ribery, Karim Benzema and Sidney Govou had paid thousands of pounds for sex with her when she was just 17. Now 19, she has launched a new line of lingerie at Paris couture week with none other than designer Karl Lagerfeld shooting her lookbook. Advertisement >> Following the scandal, which ruined the reputations of the three stars involved, demand for Zahia soared and she became a lingerie model appearing on the covers of top fashion magazines. Now she has enlisted the help of top French designers including François Tamarin, Bruno Legeron, and Jean-Pierre Ollier to create the couture pieces for her collection. On her Twitter page, Zahia said that working with Lagerfeld had been a ‘dream come true’ while the designer was quoted as saying: “It was fun to do her.” He reportedly added: “She is very French courtesan, like Liane de Pougy or the Belle Otéro.” Ribery, 28, Benzema, 23, and Govou, 31, all faced three years in prison and fines of up to £40,000 for having underage sex. All three eventually escaped jail. Speaking after the scandal, the former prostitute said that Ribery, Benzema and Govou had all treated her “with utter respect” and should be left alone.

Recession causes 2,000 heart attack deaths

 

Since 2002 the number of people dying from heart attacks in England has dropped by half, the study conducted by Oxford University found. But within that, regional data revealed there was a 'blip' in London that corresponded to the financial crash in 2008 and continued through 2009. Heart attack deaths have dropped due to better prevention of heart attacks in the first place with fewer people smoking and improvements in diet through lower consumption of saturated fat. The treatment of people who do suffer a heart attack has also improved leading to fewer deaths with faster ambulance response times, new procedures to clear blocked arteries and wider use of drugs such as statins and aspirin. The research published in the British Medical Journal showed around 80,000 lives have been saved between 2002 and 2008 as deaths from heart attacks declined.

Eating fried foods didn't hurt the hearts of Spaniards who follow a Mediterranean diet

Eating fried foods didn't hurt the hearts of Spaniards who follow a Mediterranean diet, but the findings are too good to be true for Canadians, experts say.

A study in Wednesday's issue of the British Medical Journal suggests that frying foods in olive and sunflower oils is not associated with an increased risk of heart disease or premature death.

The Mediterranean diet favours fruits, vegetables, fish and whole grains. (iStock)

Prof. Pilar Guallar-Castillón from Autonomous University of Madrid and her co-authors surveyed the cooking methods of 40,757 adults aged 29 to 69 over an 11-year period. None of the participants had heart disease when the study began.

The people were asked in a typical week whether they ate food that was fried, battered, crumbed or sautéed. Their answers were divided into categories based on how much fried food they consumed.

During the follow-up period, there were 606 events linked to heart disease and 1,134 deaths.

"In Spain, a Mediterranean country where olive or sunflower oil is used for frying, the consumption of fried foods was not associated with coronary heart disease," the study's authors concluded.

The results directly apply only to Mediterranean countries where foods are fried in a similar way to Spain, the researchers noted.

Spanish participants more active

"When I look at the group of patients evaluated in Spain 10 years ago, they were much more active and fit than we are as Canadians nowadays," said Dr. Beth Abramson, a cardiologist at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto and a spokesperson for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.

And overall, people in the study ate a diet that was heart healthier than a typical North American diet.

The Mediterranean regime favours fruits, vegetables, fresh fish and whole grains.

"Occasionally having some fried food now and then isn't going to be harmful probably in the long run, but routinely frying food just adds to the chance that you're going to become overweight and out of shape," Abramson said.

The investigators only questioned participants about their diet at the start of the study, which isn't as reliable as checking in more often, Abramson said.

Floria Aghdamimehr, a wellness and life coach in Halifax who teaches people how to improve their diet, said the study confirms the value of using olive oil, though sparingly.

The nutritional content of foods changes when they are fried, Aghdamimehr said.

Nutritional changes with frying

"Most of the deep-fried foods people eat in North America … [uses] oil [that] is being recycled — reused several times,” Aghdamimehr said.

In Spain, fried food doesn't equal fast food from restaurants the way it often does in North America, the researchers said.

"Frying leads to an increase in trans fats and a decrease in unsaturated fats in foods," said Prof. Michael Leitzmann of the department of the epidemiology and preventive medicine at University of Regensburg in Germany in a journal editorial published with the Spanish study.

"Frying also increases the energy density of food and makes food more palatable, which may lead to the consumption of larger amounts."

The study was funded by the Fund for Health of Spain, five Spanish regional governments and the Catlan Institute of Oncology.

Did the King of Spain try to seduce Princess Diana?

 

WHEN Prince Charles and Princess Diana accepted an invitation to spend a summer holiday with the king of Spain the shadow of Camilla Parker Bowles already loomed over their marriage. Perhaps Diana confided in Juan ­Carlos or he simply sensed her vulnerability and unhappiness. In any case it’s claimed in an explosive new book that the king seized his opportunity when Charles’ back was turned and made a pass at Diana. The book alleges the seduction was attempted in Mallorca in 1987. At the time the royals of Britain and Spain regularly played happy families together but it’s now claimed both marriages were elaborate shams. Charles’ infidelity pales into insignificance alongside the behaviour of the Spanish king if the book The Solitude Of The Queen is to be trusted. It’s claimed Juan Carlos, 74, is a serial philanderer who has a loveless ­marriage to Queen Sofia, mother of his three children, and has used his power to sleep with 1,500 women. Intriguingly the allegations about the handsome Juan Carlos and the beautiful British Princess were first aired a few years ago by royal biographer Lady Colin Campbell. Prince Charles’ infidelity pales into insignificance alongside the behaviour of the Spanish king if the book The Solitude Of The Queen is to be trusted. She asserted that the pair were occasional lovers, also ­having a brief fling the previous year on a cruise, and that Diana fell into the king of Spain’s arms to take revenge on her own straying husband. Photographs from the period show Diana was clearly relaxed in the company of Juan Carlos. In one informal pose she’s seen sitting on a settee with him, wearing an off-the-shoulder dress, while Prince ­William sits between the king’s legs. During a 1987 visit, in which Charles and Diana went to Madrid, the king was pictured smiling as he kissed the Princess on the hand in a gesture that left Diana looking flustered. Rumours of an affair have always been derided but the new claim that Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia, who celebrate their golden wedding in May, have not shared a bed for 35 years is bound to fan the flames. Normally the royal family in Spain is out of bounds for gossip columnists because an attack on the monarchy is regarded as an attack on democracy.

Fake Ryanair pilots sentenced for smuggling cocaine into Spain

 

One was a flight attendant for the airline and obtained the pilots' uniforms which helped them to bypass airport securityEFE archive A gang which used fake pilots to bypass airport security and smuggle regular shipments of cocaine into the country has been sentenced by the Alicante provincial court, after 13 kilos of cocaine were discovered at their drugs store in Benidorm. The street value of the drugs found there in a police swoop in July 2009 is given at close to half a million €. One of the defendants was a flight attendant for Ryanair who obtained pilots’ uniforms for himself and an accomplice, allowing them to bypass security at Barajas Airport. The attendant, José Antonio H.P., had been under investigation since the start of 2009 and is thought to have been paid 20,000 € for each of the trips that he made as a drugs courier. The two men have each been sentenced to more than seven years in prison. A third gang member who stored and distributed the drugs, and is thought to have been the leader, was sentenced to eight and a half years, while a fourth received four years as an accomplice.

Costa tragedy: 'Get back on board, damn it!' T-shirts a hit

 

A coast guard officer's "Get back on board damn it!" order to the fleeing captain of the capsized Costa Concordia liner is being printed on T-shirts by a company hoping to inspire Italians to rescue their country from economic crisis. Italians have made a hero of coast guard officer Gregorio De Falco for his angry exchange with skipper Francesco Schettino - who has been blamed for the accident and is now under house arrest accused of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship. Stefano Ramponi, owner of the Lipsiasoft web agency that is producing the T-shirts and selling them on the Internet for 12.9 euros ($16.63), said they had become an instant hit both in Italy and abroad. "We have had a lot of requests from all over the world, from Brazil, Hong Kong, also from Germany and France, the UK. Everyone is asking us for it," he said. He said he had been criticised by some people for making money out of the January 13 disaster, in which 11 people died and 21 are still missing. But he hoped the slogan will become a rallying cry for all Italians to shoulder their responsibilities and work together to navigate through recession and get the euro zone's third largest economy back on course. "We liked this phrase a lot because it was said by Captain De Falco in an extremely difficult situation, it really impressed us," Ramponi said. "We wanted to... distribute it en-masse...particularly to all the people in Italy who don't concentrate on their jobs, who don't give their all and do harm to Italy in this time of crisis."

Arrested businessman had ‘double life’

 

A MAN, 36, was arrested in Albacete, southeast Spain, accused of the abduction and rape of several women. In Albacete, he was a respected businessman, with a wife and children, but in Madrid, he was wanted for the abduction of one woman, raping another and several robberies. His criminal ‘other life’ allegedly began in 2010 when he began to carry out burglaries when on business trips, mainly to obtain jewellery and cash, although he also kept ‘trophies’ from his victims. With time, he began to commit other crimes and in October he allegedly pointed a gun at a woman in the Chamartin district and kept her captive for 12 hours, threatening her to obtain her credit card numbers and sexually abusing her before letting her go. In November, wearing a balaclava he approached a woman at Barajas Airport, threatening her with a gun and forcing her into the boot of a car. She was able to alert a colleague and her husband with her mobile phone, and was rescued in the Madrid area of Torrejon de Ardoz. The attacker escaped but left behind a shotgun, an airgun and a machete. He was traced to a farmhouse he used to carry out his criminal activity which was guarded by six dogs. Police are now studying the ‘trophies’ he took to determine whether he was involved in other crimes. He has been remanded to prison charged with rape, illegal detention, robbery, illegal weapons possession, causing bodily harm and car theft. On the way to prison, he attempted to escape but was caught by police.

northern Spain is the place to go

Spain ranks as one of the most mountainous countries in Europe because – and this isn't obvious – the heart of the country sits on a huge plateau. Madrid is 2,100ft above sea level (which explains why the Spanish capital is so cold in the winter and roasting-hot in the summer).

 

But for impressive mountains, northern Spain is the place to go. If you're arriving here direct from the UK with Brittany Ferries – when you can bring your car to explore the region far and wide – the first thing to strike you as you approach the coast is the range of huge mountains that rears up behind the port of Santander.

The snow-capped peaks you're looking at are the Picos de Europa, one of the wildest and most unspoilt regions of Europe – superb walking country and a wonderful place for spotting wildlife.

Bears and wolves are said to roam here still, and you will almost certainly spot eagles soaring high in the sky. It's 'secret Spain', a holiday place far from the madding crowds of Benidorm or Torremolinos.

Here the accent is on a gentler-paced rural way of life. This is a Big Country in lots of ways – the coast, which runs from the French border in the east to the frontier with northern Portugal in the west – covers a distance of some 500 miles.

The northern provinces include some of the country's most historic places: Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria and the Pais Vasco (Basque Country).

Saints alive: San Sebastian can boast beaches - such as Concha Beach - every bit as inviting as the southern Costas

Together they make up what is known as Green Spain – green thanks to the large amounts of year-round rain. Unlike southern Spain, where good, unspoilt beaches are at a premium, along the northern coast you'll find endless stretches of long sandy ones, many of them hidden down coastal valleys of the sort familiar to anyone who has holidayed in Cornwall.

And inland, you'll be seduced by sweet countryside – small villages with traditional farms on green rolling hills flanked by mist-covered mountains. These are places steeped in Celtic tradition where the local version of the bagpipes provides a soundtrack to festivities, which are further enlivened by the region's potent cider and strong-smelling cheeses.

Northern Spain is also great wine country. This part of the country is, after all, home to the famous rioja grape variety. Rain in Spain actually falls mainly in the north and this helps produce some of the world's finest grapes – Professor Higgins would no doubt have been delighted.

Here are my five tips for a great holiday in northern Spain...

1. Paradors

The Spanish paradors are hotels offering good accommodation, most in buildings of historic or architectural interest, including former castles, palaces, fortresses, convents and monasteries.

Ones particularly worth seeking out in northern Spain include the Hostal dos Reis Catolicos in Santiago de Compostela – the finishing point for those who walk the Pilgrim's Way across northern Spain – and the popular Hostal San Marcos in Leon.

2. Seaside delights

In Santander, the seaside has a delightful Edwardian feel. Further along the coast to the east is San Sebastian, which has a Victorian elegance (it has been a favourite summer-escape destination for the Spanish royal family). All along the coast are a huge variety of small towns and fishing villages with great beaches (many with excellent surfing), lovely restaurants and good-value accommodation.

3. Great attractions

Bilbao has its own extraordinary outpost of the Guggenheim Museum; Santiago de Compostela boasts a cathedral with relics of St James; in the province of Cantabria you'll find arguably the best collection of cave paintings in the whole of Europe, with more than 50 sites, including some of enormous artistic quality and historical importance. They include Altamira, famous for paintings of boars, bison, deer and horses dating from the end of the Ice Age.

4. Take the train

Catch the FEVE narrow-gauge railway, one of the most spectacular lines in Europe. It runs along the coast between Bilbao in the east and El Ferrol in the west, travelling over dramatic viaducts and offering stunning views of the coast. The fares are cheap and travellers can jump off the train at picturesque bays and fishing ports.

A load of old bull: Ancient paintings adorn the Altamira cave near Santander

5. Wonderful history

Discover cities that have fascinating historical connections with the UK.

Charles Wolfe's The Burial Of Sir John Moore After Corunna used to be a poem that British school children learnt by heart: 'Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note, As his corpse to the rampart we hurried; Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot O'er the grave where our hero we buried…'

Nowadays Corunna is known as A Coruña. The city is a perfect short-break destination in its own right with great hotels and plenty of good restaurants and bars.

Travel Facts

Brittany Ferries (            0871 244 1400      , www.brittanyferries.co.uk) operates luxurious cruise ferries to Spain with a choice of routes from Portsmouth and Plymouth to Santander and Bilbao. Travel to Spain with a one or two-night cruise on a luxury ferry and enjoy comfortable cabins and plenty of entertainment, including cinemas, swimming pool and quality restaurants.

Return fares for a car plus two people cost from £470 including en suite cabin accommodation.

Carnival says caring for cruise disaster victims

 

Carnival Corp & plc, whose luxury liner Costa Concordia capsized off the coast of Italy last week, said it was providing lodging, refunds and other support to people affected by the accident, even as some public relations executives criticized the company's handling of the situation. "I give my personal assurance that we will take care of each and every one of our guests, crew and their families affected by this tragic event," Carnival Chief Executive Micky Arison said in a statement late on Wednesday - five days after the incident that left 11 people dead and 22 missing. Costa Cruise Lines, a unit of Carnival and operator of the ship, has been arranging lodging and transportation for passengers and crew members to return home, and has offered assistance and counseling as needed. It has also begun refunding passengers their cruise fares and all costs incurred while on board. The company also said it was contacting every passenger and crew member or their family and will be addressing personal possessions lost on board. Public relations experts have chastised Carnival for being slow to address the disaster and vague about its response and efforts to prevent similar incidents in the future. On a scale of one to 10, with 10 being "outstanding," Carnival's public relations strategy in the immediate wake of the disaster gets a four, said Allyson Stewart-Allen, director of International Marketing Partners, a consulting firm. "It wasn't quick, it wasn't specific, it wasn't reassuring," Stewart-Allen said, noting that Carnival's first statement, released on Saturday nearly 24 hours after the Costa Concordia liner struck rock causing it to capsize, did not quote a specific person. Subsequent statements on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday quoted Arison, who has been in continuous contact with executives in Italy, but has not flown there himself. Arison, who also owns the Miami Heat NBA team, has written six messages on Twitter mentioning the tragedy, but Evan Nierman, founder of Florida public relations firm Red Banyan Group said that was not enough. "If he's the point person, I would want a constant flow of information - Twitter, Facebook, talking to reporters, letting them know what's going on. I would have him out there in a real way. He needs to be in front of cameras, he needs to be meeting with people, he needs to show that he's in charge of the situation." A statement on Wednesday from Costa Cruises, owned by Carnival, said the Italian company commissioned salvage experts in the hours after the accident to draw up a plan to recover the fuel reserves from the ship before they leak into the water.

Doctors may strike over cuts to their pension pots

 

The British Medical Association, which represents 130,000 doctors and medical students, said two thirds of its members support industrial action which could cripple hospitals and GP surgeries throughout the country. The association rejected cuts to doctor’s pensions despite warning that some hospitals are so financially stretched that patient safety can no longer be guaranteed and that “accidents will happen”. Senior government figures said the reductions in their pensions were “modest” and in line with other public sector staff. A government source said: “It seems a bit rich for doctors to be complaining about cuts and patient care when they leave the NHS as millionaires.” Over the past decade, the average consultant has seen their pay rise by 54 per cent, with less qualified doctors enjoying a rise of 30 per cent. Their pay has recently been frozen, with the average GP now earning about £110,000.

Meat causes cancer. It’s been said so many times that you’d have to be an idiot not to believe it, right?

 

 The latest confirmation of this apparent common sense was a report published last week in the British Journal of Cancer Research. The authors, from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, brought together 11 studies - published between 1993 and 2011 - that assessed the risk of pancreatic cancer from eating red meat and ‘processed’ meat. From this meta-analysis, the authors found that red meat increased the risk of pancreatic cancer for men, but not for women, and that the risk of pancreatic cancer rose by 19 per cent for every 50 grams of processed meat consumed. The simple claim that ‘processed meat causes cancer’ was widely reported after the study was published. However, it would be wrong to assume that such claims about risk are all they are cracked up to be. First, there is the question of whether the association claimed is real. Epidemiological studies like the ones brought together by the Swedish researchers will typically find out what participants ate for a day or a week using a questionnaire or a food diary. Then, the participants will be checked some years later to see who has succumbed to the disease in question. Did people correctly remember what they ate? And did they accurately recall how much they consumed? It would be unusual for anyone to have weighed the food, so the amounts could be inaccurate, too. What else did the participants eat? Did they change their eating habits in subsequent months or years? And what the hell is ‘processed’ meat, anyway? Unless you slaughter your own animals, your meat will have been processed to one degree or another. At what point does meat that has been processed become ‘processed meat’? There are so many ways in which the crude tools of epidemiology could screw up the result of studies like this that it is normal for fairly small risks - like the 19 per cent increase in this case - to be treated with a massive pinch of salt. The authors of this study even note: ‘All studies controlled for age and smoking, but only a few studies adjusted for other potential confounders such as body mass index and history of diabetes.’ Secondly, even if the association is not simply a product of the way in which the study was designed, we still don’t know if correlation equals causation. The best we could say is that the kind of people who like to eat processed meat are a bit more likely to get pancreatic cancer than the kind of people who don’t eat meat at all. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist - or a professor of epidemiology - to realise that vegetarians live, on average, quite different lifestyles from people who tuck into burgers and kebabs. Thirdly, even if this study has somehow managed to be supremely accurate and found a real risk, we have to ask if such an increase is of any practical significance in the real world. Cancer Research UK gives the following statistics on pancreatic cancer: for the UK, the age-standardised rate is 9.3 cases per 100,000 people per year - roughly one person in every 10,000. So even those people who really like processed meat and eat 150g per day would have about a 50 per cent increased risk - or about 15 cases per 100,000. To express that in terms of odds, instead of it being 10,000-to-one that these kebab-and-burger lovers develop pancreatic cancer in any particular year, it would be 6,667-to-one. So, to sum up: the association between processed meat and pancreatic cancer is so weak it might well be a mirage; the increased risk might not be caused by the processed meat itself; and even if it is, the risk is so low that it’s really not worth bothering about. Yet still we are advised to consider cutting down on our red meat and processed meat consumption. Life is, frankly, too short to miss out on such tasty foods on the slim chance that we might lose a few years of life in old age. Still, that won’t stop people being harangued anyway. A particularly unsavoury example of this appeared in Sunday’s Observer. Illiberal Liberal of the Week contender, columnist Barbara Ellen, declared that the bovine attitude of recent governments towards smokers and drinkers should apply to meat-eaters, too. Now that a precedent has been set - that people should be harangued for doing things that are legal but disapproved of by Those Who Know Better - Ellen is simply following through this logic by attacking those who like sausages, bacon and pies. Here’s the argument: people (like smokers and drinkers) who deliberately do things that are bad for them, despite being told time and again that they should not, are now lectured, restricted and even have their basic rights taken away; eating meat - and particularly ‘processed’ meat - increases your risk of getting cancer and is bad for you; therefore, people who eat meat should now be lectured, restricted and even have their basic rights taken away. This is a shocking but perfectly logical argument, if you accept the petty-authoritarian mindset that flourished under New Labour and is still going strong under the Lib-Con coalition (and, indeed, around the world). Given the tone of Ellen’s piece, you might hope that she would end by saying: ‘Of course, telling people not to eat meat is stupid - every bit as stupid as telling them not to drink or smoke or telling them not to be fat. The government should just butt out.’ Sadly, there is no note of irony anywhere. She really does want to stick it to meat-eaters. So, of the supposed risks of eating meat, Ellen declares: ‘This information has popped up regularly for years in all forms of popular media. Indeed, in this era of info overload, if you’ve never come across the “burgers and kebabs are unhealthy” revelation, one would have to presume you’ve been lying in a coma. With this in mind, isn’t it time to ask, exactly how thick, how hard to educate, are meat-eaters and why aren’t they held accountable in the same way everyone else is?’ She continues: ‘Sympathy is in short supply these days. You can’t move for people being blamed for their own miserable situations: smokers who “burden” the NHS; alcoholics who don’t “deserve” liver transplants; obese people who “should” pay more for flights. Even those poor terrified women with the faulty breast implants are said to have “brought it on themselves”. By this logic, people who’ve been regularly informed of the dangers of meat, particularly the cheap processed variety, but who continue to wolf it down should be held just as accountable.’ Now that the precedent has been set for the government to lambast those who engage in unapproved habits, it’s open season on any habit that a campaigner or columnist disapproves of. Ban it! Tax it! Make them get a prescription for it! Deny them medical care! Ellen’s article is objectionable but it only follows the remorseless logic of so many others. There is another lesson from the meat-and-cancer story: at a time when all sorts of dubious claims are made based on junk science and dodgy statistics, only some panics get wide publicity; others just pop up and disappear again in a matter of hours. The difference is that some play to an existing political or media agenda and some do not. The idea that meat causes cancer appeals to health busybodies, politicians scrabbling around for a sense of purpose, vegetarians who can’t win a moral argument about animal rights, and environmentalists who have failed to convince us that increasing the ‘human footprint’ - by wanting to eat more meat, for example - is killing the planet. It’s not quite possessed of the same force as religious fervour - do the ‘right thing’ or live in agony for eternity - but the idea that if you do something naughty like enjoy bacon then you might die in agony before your time, is the best that many such claims-makers have got going for them right now. The only proper response to this junkscience-based illiberalism is to be extremely sceptical of any such claims and to defend everyone’s right to indulge in these petty vices.

Five European tourists killed in attack in Ethiopia

 

Gunmen in northern Ethiopia have attacked a group of European tourists, killing five, injuring two and kidnapping four people, according to a government official. Bereket Simon, the Ethiopian communications minister, said the attackers struck before dawn on Tuesday. The dead were two Germans, two Hungarians and an Austrian; two Germans and two Ethiopians were kidnapped, and an Italian and a Hungarian were wounded in the attack. Simon blamed rebels trained and armed by neighbouring Eritrea, which remains a bitter foe. "The attack occurred at 5am on Tuesday, in which Eritrean-trained groups also kidnapped four," Bereket told Reuters. "Two of them are foreigners; one is a driver and the other a policeman." Eritrea dismissed the allegation as an "absolute lie". The tourists were visiting the volcanic Afar region, which is one of the hottest places in the world and a known haunt of rebels and bandits from Eritrea and Ethiopia. Simon said the attack occurred 12 to 15 miles from the Eritrean border. A German media report said the group of tourists had been close to the Erta Ale volcano, one of Ethiopia's most active. The Afar region is a known haunt of bandits from Ethiopia and Eritrea. Photograph: Reuters Ethiopian state television reported that there were eight tourists in the targeted group, but Simon suggested the party was bigger. An Austrian foreign ministry spokesman, Peter Launsky-Tiefenthal, said two groups totalling as many as 22 people may have been attacked, though he said the numbers were unconfirmed. Girma Asmerom, Eritrea's ambassador to the African Union (AU), said Ethiopia's allegations were "fabricated" and the attack was an internal Ethiopian matter. "This is pathetic, an absolute lie," he told Reuters. "Eritrea has nothing to do with any of these movements." Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 but the two countries soon became embroiled in border disputes. The east African countries fought a war from 1998 to 2000, which claimed the lives of about 80,000 people. Tension grew last year when a UN report revealed that Eritrea was behind a plot to attack an AU summit in Ethiopia in January. "It has become a trend for Ethiopia to fabricate sensational news against Eritrea whenever the summit is nearing," Girma said. In 2007, five Europeans and 13 Ethiopians were kidnapped in Afar. Ethiopia accused Eritrea of masterminding that kidnapping but Eritrea blamed an Ethiopian rebel group. All of those hostages were released, though some of the Ethiopians were held for more than a month. In 2008, Ethiopia foiled a kidnapping attempt on a group of 28 French tourists in the area. Foreigners who venture into Afar usually include researchers, aid workers and adventure tourists visiting geographical wonders such as the Danakil depression and ancient salt mines. Launsky-Tiefenthal said an Austrian foreign ministry travel warning had been in effect for the region since 2007 "because of several incidents involving attacks on tourist groups ... in some cases politically motivated, in others criminally motivated". He added: "The problem is, there is no infrastructure in the area. No telephone lines; satellite phones barely work." He likened Afar to "the surface of Mars".

Costa Concordia Cruise Ship Disaster: Captain Says He 'Fell Into Lifeboat' And Could Not Escape

 

The captain of the stricken cruise ship Costa Concordia has told investigators he "fell into a lifeboat" during the evacuation and could not get out again. Francesco Schettino gave the excuse during three hours of questioning with an investigating magistrate before he was released from custody and given house arrest. The skipper, 52, was arrested on Saturday on suspicion of manslaughter and abandoning the cruise liner while passengers were still onboard. The death toll from Friday night's disaster now stands at 11, while 28 others including 24 passengers and four crew are still missing.

Passengers feared death after cabin crew accidentally issued emergency landing message

 

Duncan and Tracey Farquharson were flying to London from Miami when a recorded message came over the public address system announcing that the aircraft was going down. Passengers on board began panicking, believing that they would be killed before a flight attendant apologised, saying the message was a mistake. However, the pair yesterday accused the airline of trivialising passengers’ concerns, claiming that staff issued a “blasé” apology and did not explain the error until hours later when they were coming in to land at Heathrow. Mr Farquharson, 58, an engineer from Twickenham, London, said: “We were about three hours into the flight when an automated message came over the tannoy saying: ‘This is an emergency, we will shortly be making an emergency landing on water’. “We looked at each other and figured we were both about to die. Families with children were distraught and people were in tears. It was very distressing. “About 30 seconds later one of the cabin crew told us to ignore the announcement and accept their apologies but the tone of suggested they had not grasped how seriously we had taken it. “Imagining yourself plunging towards a cold, watery grave in the middle of the Atlantic is a pretty horrific thought but they seemed very blasé about it.” Mrs Farquharson, 51, an administrator, added: “The captain didn’t even say anything about it until when we were coming in to land and even that did not explain what had happened. “It still makes me very emotional thinking about it now – it was very traumatic. We’re going to complain to British Airways about the way we were treated.” A British Airways spokesman said cabin crew apologised for the incident aboard the flight on Friday night and that staff spoke to passengers individually to reassure them. The spokesman said: "A pre-recorded emergency announcement was activated in error on our flight from Miami to Heathrow on Saturday January 14. "The cabin crew cancelled the announcement immediately and sought to reassure customers that the flight was operating normally. "We would like to apologise to passengers on the flight for causing them undue concern. "We take such matters seriously as safety is our paramount concern." Share:     inShare 5 UK News News » How about that? » Murray Wardrop » IN UK NEWS   Bafta 2012 nominees   London Art Fair 2012   Telegraph readers' photos   We Are Not The Dead   Crazy customised coffins

Finca La Garganta, near the village of Conquista, on the border of Castilla La Mancha, is one of the largest and most exclusive hunting estates in western Europe.

Finca La Garganta, near the village of Conquista, on the border of Castilla La Mancha, is one of the largest and most exclusive hunting estates in western Europe.

It is teeming with wildlife including wild boar and stag which William and Harry, both crack shots, are said to be keen to bag.

Beaters and packs of dogs were brought in to ensure that the princes did not return home without several 'kills' to their name.

The brothers have visited the estate before and last time were said to have bagged a staggering 740 partridge on a single day.

The second and third in line to the throne arrived in Spain on Friday on separate flights as they are not allowed to travel together in case of an accident.

William , 29, who was not believed to be accompanied by his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, flew into Seville while Harry, 27, arrived on a private jet at Cuidad Real Central later in the afternoon.

Hunting: The sprawling estate owned by the Duke of Westminster in Cordoba, Spain, where the Princes were on the hunt for wild boar

Traditional: The Princes stayed at the Duke's Spanish property over the weekend

They took up residence in a ten bedroom villa with a group of friends and their Scotland Yard bodyguards, one of three luxurious hunting lodges built at the heart of the estate at a cost of several million pounds by the reclusive Duke.

 

It has marble floors, wooden beams - and its own jacuzzi and sauna.

The estate has just one  – practically impassable – public road, its own petrol station and a fleet of armed security guards driving 4x4s to keep any undesirables at bay.

Sharpshooters: Prince William at the Beaufort Hunt, Tetbury, in Gloucestershire, left, and Prince Harry on a shoot at Sandringham 

In the bag: The princes, who are both crack shots, had their sights on wild boar during the hunting trip

The Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton did not join Prince William on his trip to Cordoba

More than 15,000 hectares in size with a 40 mile perimeter, the Finca also boasts  a private train station and accommodation for nearly 100 staff.

It is understood that William took his then girlfriend, Kate Middleton, to the estate a couple of years ago when they took part in a wild boar and deer hunt involving hundreds of local beaters

According to one local employee, they killed 'dozens' of animals that day.

'They were mostly very good shots, ' said an estate employee.

Their latest trip was organised  as an early celebration to mark Prince Harry's graduation as a fully operational Apache attack helicopter pilot.

He is due to be assigned to one of the Army Air Corps Apache squadrons at RAF Wattisham in Suffolk and could be posted back to the frontline in Afghanistan by the end of the year.

The holiday is also something of a farewell for William who is due to be stationed in the Falkland Islands with his RAF Search and Rescue crew for six weeks from next month.

Locals said the princes remained on the estate all weekend and were due to fly back yesterday.

A Clarence House spokesman said : 'We cannot discuss the movement of the princes as they are on a private weekend.'

Gang stabs man 8 times in Sydney street

 

Two men have been arrested after a man was stabbed eight times in Sydney's north-west overnight. Police say the 25-year-old man was attacked by a group of up to 10 men after being dropped off at shops in Telopea about 11:00pm (AEDT). His attackers ran off when the victim's two friends returned in their car. Emergency services were called and police arrested two men, aged 23 and 25, nearby. Detective Inspector Ken Hardy says the man was stabbed in the neck and body. "He's currently in Westmead Hospital undergoing surgery," he said. "Police have set up a crime scene. They're also talking to two males at Parramatta Police Station, who are assisting police with their inquiries at this stage." Meanwhile police have charged a man over one of two Sydney stabbings on Sunday night. A 43-year-old man was stabbed several times in the stomach outside a house in the city's west at Merrylands. A 28-year-old Yagoona man was arrested yesterday and charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent to murder. He is being held in custody to face Fairfield Local Court today.

New guidelines for Ascot dress code

 

The fashion stakes are always high at Royal Ascot but organisers are now raising the bar by banning fascinators in the royal enclosure. The decision is part of a move to tighten and clarify the dress code at the annual summer event and comes amid criticism of sartorial standards which have been more loosely enforced in recent years. Thousands of visitors who flock to the less formal grandstand enclosure during the week-long meet in June will also be obliged to adhere to strict new guidelines. Organisers have defended the changes and insist the revised dress code is designed to restore formality rather than encourage "elitism". Ascot spokesman Nick Smith said: "It is probably fair to say that the dress code hasn't necessarily been enforced quite as rigorously as we might have liked. "It is stretching a point to say standards have collapsed but there is no doubt that our customers would like to get back to a situation where it is universally acknowledged that this is a formal occasion and not an occasion where you might dress as you would at a nightclub." In the royal enclosure, this means fascinators - which are often favoured by the Duchess of Cambridge - are no longer deemed acceptable. The new dress code states: "Hats should be worn; a headpiece which has a base of four inches (10cm) or more in diameter is acceptable as an alternative to a hat." Women will also be expected to wear skirts or dresses of "modest length" which fall just above the knee or longer. This clarifies previous guidance which stated miniskirts were "considered unsuitable". For men, a waistcoat and tie are now compulsory in this area of the course and cravats will not be allowed. Black shoes must also be worn with morning dress. In the grandstand, which is open to the public and subject to less stringent rules, a hat or fascinator will be compulsory for women. This marks a significant change to previous years, when female racegoers were simply advised that "many ladies wear hats". Strapless or sheer-strap tops and dresses will be banned. For men, a suit and tie will now be imperative. The less formal Silver Ring will not be affected by the changes. Charles Barnett, Ascot's chief executive, said the overarching intention was to be "as helpful as possible" to visitors and to assist racegoers in understanding what is "cherished" about the dress code at Royal Ascot. He said: "It isn't a question of elitism and not being modern in a world where there is less and less requirement to dress smartly - far from it. We want to see modern and stylish dress at Royal Ascot, just within the parameters of formal wear, and the feedback we have received from our customers overwhelmingly supports that."

Elton John’s husband attacks Madonna after Golden Globes win, calling her ‘embarrassing’ and ‘desperate’

 

David Furnish was one angry man following last night’s Golden Globes in Hollywood, attacking Madonna for her ‘embarrassing’ speech (watch it below) after she beat his husband Elton John to Best Original Song. Advertisement >> Shortly after Madonna won the award for single Masterpiece – which she wrote for her own film W.E. – David logged onto Facebook and criticised the singer and the ceremony. He typed angrily: “Madonna. Best song???? F**k off!!! “Madonna winning Best Original Song truly shows how these awards have nothing to do with merit. Her acceptance speech was embarrassing in its narcissism.”

Shark attack at South Africa's deadliest beach

 

Mr Msungubana was swimming with a group of friends in shallow water off Second Beach in Port St Johns, a town on the country’s southeastern coast, when the attack took place. John Costello, local station commander for the National Sea Rescue Institute, said he sustained “multiple traumatic lacerations to his torso, arms and legs” where the shark bit him repeatedly. His death marks the sixth in just over five years at the beach, making it the most dangerous in the world for fatal shark attacks. In South Africa, one in five attacks by the ocean predators ends in the death but every single attack at Second Beach has proved fatal. Zambezi or bull sharks, known as the “pitbulls of the ocean” for their ferocity, have been blamed for most of the incidents. Experts from the nearby Natal Sharks Board have been brought in to investigate the phenomenon and the town authorities have closed the beach to swimmers. Pictures taken on Sunday show lifeguards wading nervously into the sea to pull the badly-injured Mr Msungubana to safety. They placed him on a surfboard to bring him to shore where, Mr Costello said, he was treated by a doctor who had been on the beach before paramedics arrived.

Thousands of children are being "needlessly dumped in prison" because of Britain's failing youth justice system

 

Thousands of children are being "needlessly dumped in prison" because of Britain's failing youth justice system, a think-tank has warned. The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) said courts and prisons were being used to "parent children" and were expected to sweep up problem youngsters inadequately dealt with by other departments, such as social services. In a new report, the group called for a radical overhaul in the way the Government deals with young offenders. It said there needed to be a drastic cut in the 5,000 children a year currently given custodial sentences, arguing the imprisonment of youths between the age of 10 and 17 should be limited to the "critical few" guilty of the most serious or violent crimes. The CSJ said too many children are being taken before the youth courts for trivial reasons. The report cited one example where a child who had thrown a bowl of Sugar Puffs at his care worker, jumped out of the window, then climbed back in, was held in a police cell over a weekend on suspicion of assault and attempted burglary. The independent think-tank, set up in 2004 by Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, urged a return to a "common-sense" approach to minor incidents with parents and teachers using their judgment to deal with them at a home or school level. It also criticised the widespread use of short sentences for young offenders, arguing they undermine justice and disrupt attempts to educate and rehabilitate them. Gavin Poole, executive director of the CSJ, said: "Many young people fall into the system unnecessarily and do not receive the help they need to free themselves from it. Custody is sometimes neither a protective nor a productive place for children, and community orders can be equally ineffective. Moreover, despite years of good intentions, many young people leaving custody are still not being provided with the basic support they need for rehabilitation." Among a series of recommendations, the CSJ said there should be no sentences shorter than six months and an emphasis should be placed on non-custodial punishments where underlying behavioural problems can be tackled more effectively. The group also said measures to prevent lawbreaking by young people should be the primary responsibility of child welfare services rather than the youth justice system. It added local services needed to work together to ensure that young people and their families receive the help they need early.

M&S workers pose nude for charity calendar sold under the counter

A calendar with pictures of scantily clad Marks & Spencer staff has raised £2,500 for charity despite having to be sold under the counter.

The M&S workers were asked to keep the calendar under the counter (Picture: SWNS)

The publication features naked and topless workers in Calendar Girls-type poses involving items for sale such as cakes, newspapers, underwear and marshmallows. 

It was not intended for sale to the public but word got around and copies were bought discreetly.

‘We weren’t really allowed to put it on display in the shop,’ said one member of staff at the store in Barnstaple, Devon.

‘It was a bit of a brown paper bag job, to be honest.’

The saucy calendar is raising money for North Devon District Hospital's Chemotherapy appeal. (Picture: SWNS)

Marks insists only a limited number of calendars were produced, all of which have now been sold.  

A M&S spokesman said: 'M&S supports the Barnstaple store's efforts to raise funds for the North Devon Health Care Chemotherapy Unit. 

'A limited number of calendars were produced by members of staff for sale to friends and family, and were never intended for commercial sale in-store

Three people were found alive on Sunday as rescuer workers continued to search a partly submerged Italian cruise ship

 

Three people were found alive on Sunday as rescuer workers continued to search a partly submerged Italian cruise ship resting just off this small island near the Tuscan coast. Multimedia Map Map of the Area Where the Italian Cruise Ran Aground Photographs Cruise Ship Runs Aground in Italy Cruise Ship Runs Aground Connect With Us on Twitter Follow @nytimesworld for international breaking news and headlines. Enlarge This Image Enzo Russo/European Pressphoto Agency The ship's captain, Francesco Schettino, was arrested on Saturday. More Photos » Early Sunday, an Italian fire brigade found a honeymooning couple from Korea alive inside a cabin of the Costa Concordia, which was resting on its side with a gash just below the waterline and a rock stuck in the hull. A brigade spokesman, Luca Cari, said the couple had been taken to a local hospital. Later, an Italian man, who was identified in media reports as a crew member, was taken from the ship by helicopter. The man was thought to have a broken leg. At least three people were killed when the Costa Concordia, carrying 4,200 passengers and crew on a weeklong Mediterranean cruise, slammed into an undetermined object near the island Friday night as passengers for the late seating had just started dinner, tucking into appetizers of grilled mushrooms and scallops. On Sunday, media reports described rescue workers in boats circling the big ship, tapping on the hull, and listening for a response. Divers also combed the ship’s underwater cabins for those still missing, up to 41 people. Shaken survivors spoke of a mad crush to flee a sinking cruise ship off the Tuscan coast, raising questions about the crew’s preparedness, Italian authorities arrested the ship’s captain amid concerns that the megaship had steered dangerously off course. Anxious survivors, many comparing the experience to the movie “Titanic,” recounted a chaotic and terrifying scene in which some crawled through hallways to escape down perilous ladders to lifeboats, while others leapt overboard into the wintry Tyrrhenian Sea. “In a moment, everything was up in the air,” said Alessandra Grasso, 24, a passenger from Sicily. “People, chairs, glasses, food.” Ulrike Schweda, 63, from Germany, was caught in a crowd of people pushing toward a lifeboat, and slipped on the deck. “The most terrible thing was seeing children trying to get down this ladder they had put on the side of the boat,” she said. Two French citizens and a Peruvian crew member were reported dead, according to a hospital official in Grosseto, Tuscany. Divers searched until nightfall Saturday for the missing, perilously probing the 2,000 cabins for survivors while the Leviathan ship lay on its side in the water, a boulder poking through a 160-foot gash in its hull. The Italian Coast Guard said 41 people were still unaccounted for. The coast guard is also monitoring the environmental impact of the accident, but as of Sunday morning, no oil had seeped into the ocean from the ship. “We are optimistic and hope that the ship is not going to slide further down,” Cmdr. Cosimo Nicastro, a spokesman for the coast guard, told reporters. “But the weather conditions are slowly worsening, and that is a cause of concern.” There were conflicting reports about whether the ship was off course in reef-filled waters just miles from the shore or whether an electrical failure had caused the crew to lose control. Passengers spoke of faulty evacuation procedures and unprepared staff who told them nothing was wrong — until the ship began tipping over. After questioning him for several hours, the Italian police detained the ship’s captain, Francesco Schettino, and the first officer, for questioning on charges of manslaughter, failure to offer assistance and abandonment of ship, the police said. Before his detention, Captain Schettino told Italian television that the ship had hit a reef that was not on its navigation charts. Gianni Onorato, the president of the Costa cruise company, a subsidiary of Carnival Cruise lines, said the ship had been sailing its “regularly scheduled itinerary” from Civitavecchia to Savona, Italy, when it struck “a submerged rock.” He said Captain Schettino “immediately understood the severity of the situation” and “performed a maneuver intended to protect both guests and crew.” The Italian coast guard said the captain had tried to turn the ship toward port in Giglio to make an evacuation easier, but it began to tip over as it reached the port.