Wife found Gary Speed's body, inquest hears

 Wales football manager Gary Speed was found hanged at his home by his wife, an inquest was told today. The 42-year-old father-of-two was found dead at his Cheshire home on Sunday morning. Detective Inspector Peter Lawless, of Cheshire Police, told Cheshire coroner Nicholas Rheinberg that Speed's body was found by his wife Louise just before 7am. He said there appeared to be no suspicious circumstances and a post mortem examination found...

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TWO families are rejoicing after two men held in a Spanish prison were set free after four-and-a-half months

 Kyle Thain, 24, and James Harris, 29, have been released on bail from Font Calent jail in Alicante.This has left family members and friends overwhelmed – and they haven’t given up hope of getting them back to Britain for Christmas.Kyle’s brother Jay, 29, said: “This is the best I have felt in a long while. It’'s amazing news.”Sharon Harris, 56, Kyle’s mother, and husband Dave, 58, sold their Southend home to help fund the legal fight.Yesterday,...

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Spanish savings bank directors suspected of fraud

 Spanish savings bank has fired two directors and is investigating two former executives for allegedly syphoning off €20 million ($26.5 million) into secret pension funds, the bank said Saturday. The board of directors of Caixa Penedes bank had "required the departure" of its president, Ricard Pages, and director general Manuel Troyano. It said both men had agreed to leave, the bank said in a statement. The decision comes after state prosecutor...

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A woman claiming to be the ex-wife of Colonel Gaddafi's captured son Saif al-Islam has emerged in Ukraine with extraordinary stories alleging domestic violence and womanising.

Nadia, a blue-eyed brunette claims to have met him when she worked as a stripper in a top Moscow nightclub, and says she is currently in hiding, fearing for her life.She claimed that as she prepared for marriage to Saif, she had to fly to Paris to have an operation to 'restore' her virginity. ''The doctor proved my innocence in the presence of Saif's aunt. Then I embraced...

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Russian Buyers 'targeting Marbella Real Estate'

 Marbella in Spain is proving popular among Russians looking for property in the country, it has been noted. Fine & Country Spain, a real estate agency, has recorded an increase in the number of buyers from Russia expressing an interest in developments in the region. Sales director at the firm Laurent Coulee commented that the amount of people from the nation searching for properties in Spain has doubled since 2010. He added that the...

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People queue up to buy ''El Gordo'' lottery tickets in downtown Madrid

 November 16, 2011.Credit: Reuters/Susana Vera    Millions are out of work and a recession looms, all the more reason for Spaniards to dig deep into their pockets to gamble on the famous El Gordo (Fat One) Christmas lottery, the world's biggest jackpot, which will make a record payout this year. "Things are tough this year, but I am definitely...

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550 kilos of cocaine hidden in bananas intercepted in Algeciras

 National Police have found more than 550 kilos of cocaine hidden in boxes of ‘top quality bananas’ which were being introduced into Spain via the port in Algeciras. The drugs were hidden in the plastic linings inside the cardboard boxes containing the bananas, found in containers which had come from Ecuador. The drug runners benefitted by the quicker customs procedures for fruit. 11 people have been arrested in Madrid, including the alleged...

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Hugh Grant romanced the mother of his child at a Chinese restaurant where she worked.

Pretty receptionist Tinglan Hong, 32, was known as Tin Tin by staff and entertained diners by singing on the karaoke.She was born and brought up in China and dated the London restaurant and takeaway’s owner Marco Yu, 60, before falling for the upper-crust English actor’s charms.The boss and staff were shocked when Tinglan announced she was pregnant with Hugh’s baby earlier this year.Marco told the Sunday Mirror yesterday: “Tin Tin worked here for...

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Police on the Costa del Sol were yesterday hunting a gang who stole £1million of cocaine from a warehouse where authorities held seized drugs before destroying them.

Police on the Costa del Sol were yesterday hunting a gang who stole £1million of cocaine from a warehouse where authorities held seized drugs before destroying them.The thieves used laser equipment to cut through the metal doors of the store in the docks at Malaga, the capital of the southern Spanish holiday coast. They struck when there were no security guards on duty...

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Prison for man who left €5,000 bill at Marbella hotel

 A MAN has been sentenced to a year in prison for failing to pay a bill of more than €5,438 at a luxury Marbella hotel. He had been staying at the Marbella Club on the Golden Mile for a week in September 2003 and during the stay, used different services which amounted to €5,438, which he left without paying. The hotel made a formal complaint but the trial wasn’t held until this year mainly due to difficulties locating the man. He admitted...

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Gang targets wealthy diners

 Diners at some of the city's most popular restaurants had their credit card details stolen by waiters working for gangs, who targeted customers with American Express black cards, then spent millions of dollars on expensive clothes and vintage wine, it is alleged. The cards of wealthy customers at Smith & Wollensky, the Capital Grille and Wolfgang's Steakhouse restaurants were allegedly "skimmed" and used to buy Rolex watches, Jimmy Choo...

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Alice Walton, heiress to the Walmart supermarket fortune and the the 10th richest woman in the United States, opened a spectacular fine art museum in her home town

Architect Moshe Safdie looks out of a window next to a large red untitled magnifying disk sculpture by artist Fred Eversley at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas. Photograph: Danny Johnston/APWhen Alice Walton, heiress to the Walmart supermarket fortune and the the 10th richest woman in the United States, opened a spectacular fine...

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British woman falls off hotel balcony when having sex

 There has been another case of balconing in Spain, this time in Adeje, Tenerife, and with the twist that the victim was having sex with her husband at the time she fell. The British tourist who fell several metres then got her ankle caught between the bars of an internal staircase was left hanging there, head down and totally naked until the emergency crews arrived. 49 year old A.M.A.M. had been having sex with her husband against the railings...

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Bee Gee Robin Gibb Fighting Liver Cancer

 Bee Gee Robin Gibb, who has been increasingly frail in recent months, has been diagnosed as suffering from liver cancer. The 61-year-old learned he had the disease several months ago, but the news only emerged this week when he was rushed to hospital. He is reported to have spent five hours in hospital in Oxford on Tuesday before being allowed home, and his brother and bandmate Barry is reported to have flown to see him - along with his 91-year-old...

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shiny Audis and BMWs that still line the narrow streets of Benalup are a reminder that this Andalucían country town once boasted the greatest number of luxury cars per head in the south-western province of Cádiz.

 Photograph: Tracey Fahy /AlamyThe shiny Audis and BMWs that still line the narrow streets of Benalup are a reminder that this Andalucían country town once boasted the greatest number of luxury cars per head in the south-western province of Cádiz.These days this charming place, set bull-rearing countryside inland from Gibraltar, holds a different kind of record: not only...

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British bonds win 'safe haven' tag in eurozone debt storm

 British government bonds are attracting strong support, in sharp contrast to their troubled eurozone peers as investors seek a safehaven from a debt crisis now spreading to Italy, Spain and even France. British government bonds, or gilts as they are known, are in huge demand largely because the Bank of England is buying them up with newly-created money that it hopes can in turn be used to stimulate an anaemic economic recovery, analysts say....

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TWO MILLION EUROS CLAIMED AFTER CANCELLED STONES CONCERT

The PP mayor of El Ejido in Almería, Francisco Góngora, has criticized the "negligence" of the former government team and announced that the city council are to begin legal proceedings against the promotions company who were to stage a concert by the Rolling Stones in 2006.Following the findings of "many irregularities" in the case, the council are now seeking to claim a total...

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A NEW breed of super-rich is crawling out of the mahogany woodwork in Australia.

 A NEW breed of super-rich is crawling out of the mahogany woodwork in Australia. With the recent mining boom and strengthening dollar, a new report has revealed that more than 2500 individuals are worth at least $US30 million. The report, the first conducted by Sydney-based Wealth-X - which describes itself as a wealth intelligence firm - showed that 2750 Australians earned at least $US30 million (30 of them are billionaires). Wealth-X Australia...

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Gaga may once again have offended the pious as she emerged as a decapitated corpse from a confession box

Gaga may once again have offended the pious as she emerged as a decapitated corpse from a confession box, and that too with a crucifix in the background. No doubt the elaborate attire came off as she began to perform and came to a more natural avatar of fishnet stockings and a black lace bodice.The Grammy-winner was clearly excited about performance when she tweeted earlier,...

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Dominique Strauss-Kahn has demanded to be questioned by judges investigating an alleged prostitution ring, after media reports linked him to the case.

 Photograph: Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty ImagesHe is keeping a low profile in Paris, has grown a white beard, and polls show he is the least popular politician in France.Dominique Strauss-Kahn, forced to quit as head of the IMF and shelve aspirations to become the next French president, had hoped to find solace in France after criminal charges were dropped against him in...

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Sarah Harding has completed her 2-month stint in rehab

Sarah Harding's ex Calum Best is glad she got the help she needed  The Girls Aloud star, 29, was treated for alcohol abuse and depression after calling off her engagement to DJ Tom Crane, 31.Sarah and Tom were due to marry next summer after getting engaged this New Year.'They've been in regular contact throughout her time away but only on...

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How a Financial Pro Lost His House

 ONE night a few years ago, when the value of our home had collapsed, our debt was out of control and my financial planning business was shaky, I went to take out the trash. He wrote a book based in part on lessons learned by losing his Las Vegas home in the housing crisis. There was this enormous window that looked right in on the kitchen table, and through it I could see my wife, Cori, and our four children eating dinner. It was dark outside,...

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