J.R. comes to Marbella

J.R. comes to Marbella: "United States actor, Larry Hagman, best know for his role as J.R. says he is really happy to be filming in Marbella and other parts of the Costa del Sol, as one of the stars of the new Spanish TV series 'Cómplices'.

78 year old Hagman plays Richard Slater, a millionaire with ‘dubious morals’, in the drama which will be shown on Antena Trés in September. He discovers that he has been adopted and that his biological parents are Spanish.

The series is produced by the Linze TV company, the same production company which makes the successful Arrayán series for Canal Sur. Hagman joins the cast on Monday."

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1,000 extras sought in Cartagena for new Álex de la Iglesia film

1,000 extras sought in Cartagena for new Álex de la Iglesia film: "Cartagena has been chosen for some of the scenes in the new Álex de la Iglesia film, ‘La Chispa de la Vida’, and the producers will be casting in the city next week for 1,000 extras.

Shooting starts there from February, at night and in the early morning, and the main requirement for casting is complete availability for the 12-hour working days over the six or seven weeks during which the scenes which will be shot. There are no restrictions on age, sex or nationality.

It’s understood from EFE that casting will run from January 18 to 21, from 10am to 1pm, at Town Hall offices in the Palacio de Molina on Calle Jara."

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Almería gets new Cinema Museum

Almería gets new Cinema Museum: "An old cortijo in Almería has become a new museum to cinema.
The mansion dates from the middle of the 19th century and was visited by some legends of celluloid and music, including Peter O’Toole, Yul Brynner and John Lennon.

The idea is that the new museum pays homage to when the province of Almería enjoyed its golden time, during the 60’s when many films were recorded in the Tabernas Desert or in Cabo de Gata.

The extraordinary wild countryside became the fashion for Hollywood producers at the time, and some of the most famous films of all time were partially shot in the province, including ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ in 1962, starring Peter O’Toole and Anthony Quinn, ‘Shalako’ in 1966 starring Sean Connery and Brigitte Bardot, and ‘The Good, The Bad and the Ugly’ in 1966, the film which brought stardom for Clint Eastwood."

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Pantoja defence say the instruction judge in the Malaya case got the dates wrong

Pantoja defence say the instruction judge in the Malaya case got the dates wrong: "Pantoja has made a written offer of assets to cover a 3.6 million bail which the instruction judge in court 5 in Marbella placed against her last October, with Muñoz, his ex wife Maite Zaldívar, and seven others also facing money laundering charges.

The anti-corruption prosecutor is calling for a three and a half year prison sentence for the singer, and seven years for Julián Muñoz in this section of the Malaya case.


Meanwhile the first of a two part dramatisation of the Malaya case shown on TVE1 on Friday got the highest ratings of the night with over two million viewers, a 12.4% share.

It was just as well however that the programme started with the statement that it was a fiction, as there were many inaccuracies in the script, which mixed the Malaya and Ballena Blanca cases together, and confused the date that Judge Torres arrived in the Marbella Instruction court by three years.

The series highlighted three shootings which never happened. A shooting in the H10 hotel in Puerto Banus in December 2004 which saw the death of a child and a hairdresser is still to be solved, and is not thought to have been linked to the Malaya case."

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Tunisian former president's wife 'fled country with £38 million in gold' - Telegraph

Tunisian former president's wife 'fled country with £38 million in gold' - Telegraph: "Intelligence officials in Paris told Le Monde, the French newspaper, that Mrs Trabelsi visited the bank last month, when protests were gathering momentum, and instructed the governor to hand over gold ingots worth £38 million.
Although he initially refused to comply, the personal intervention of the former president ensured that the gold was handed over.
The disclosure of Mrs Trabelsi's final act of avarice has enraged Tunisians, but not surprised them. The first lady's love of showy opulence and reputation for grasping corruption made her and her equally unpopular nephews the country's principle hate figures.
Three days after they ousted their president, Tunisian protesters returned to the battle-scarred streets of Tunis yesterday to demand t"

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False alarm at Miami International Airport - Latest news - ElNuevoHerald.com

False alarm at Miami International Airport - Latest news - ElNuevoHerald.com: "anti-explosives squad of the Miami police showed up this morning at the International Airport of the city to investigate 'suspicious sounds' in the cargo area of a plane from Brazil, in what ended up being a false alarm.

The airport spokesman Greg Chin said on his arrival from Sao Paolo, around 8:30 AM, the crew of flight 930 reported 'suspicious sounds' coming from the area of transportation of luggage. The 169 passengers were evacuated and units from Miami-Dade firefighters surrounded the aircraft, which was at the door D-40.

Chin confirmed that both the gate D-40 as the two were closed around her, but the terminal remained open.

Anti-explosive experts inspected the cargo area and found objects containing it are used to transport detonators, but they were empty and showed no danger."

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Former employee of Swiss bank documents to WikiLeaks delivery | La Voz de Houston | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Former employee of Swiss bank documents to WikiLeaks delivery | La Voz de Houston | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "former employee of a Swiss bank on Monday delivered to the founder of Wikileaks , Julian Assange , said documents detailing the attempts to evade taxes of prominent businessmen and legislators in various countries.
Rudolf Elmer, who worked for the Bank Julius Baer in Switzerland , said the documents include some 2,000 bank accounts, but declined to provide details about the companies and individuals involved.
Elmer, who had previously delivered WikiLeaks documents on financial activities in the Cayman Islands, will appear Wednesday before a tribunal in Zurich to respond to the charges of coercion and violation of strict bank secrecy laws in Switzerland."

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Paradores: the historic luxury hotels of Spain

Paradores: the historic luxury hotels of Spain | Gadling.com: "The Paradores of Spain offer luxury accommodation in some of Spain's most historic and popular cities, many of which, like Cáceres and Mérida, are World Heritage Sites. In Extremadura, Spain's historic southwest, there are seven. Besides Zafra, there are Paradores in Guadalupe (in a 15th century hospital), Jarandilla (15th century castle), Plasencia (15th century convent), and Trujillo (16th century convent), Mérida and Cáceres."

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Spain’s Extravagant City Of Culture Opens Amid Criticism

PSFK » Spain’s Extravagant City Of Culture Opens Amid Criticism: "Spain’s latest architectural extravagance was finally opened to the public today amid complaints that the massive new City of Culture in Santiago de Compostela is a huge and expensive white elephant.

American architect Peter Eisenman describes his €400m (£332m) hilltop complex overlooking one of Spain’s most picturesque and historic cities as something that is meant to appear as though it has “erupted and heaved up” from the ground.

But others see the complex of six buildings in Galicia as a monument to the vanity of the region’s former rightwing premier, Manuel Fraga, and an anachronism at a time of austerity. The project, still only half-built, has already cost four times more than originally planned."

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Plans for Ronda - Costa del Sol motorway | Olive Press Newspaper | News

Plans for Ronda - Costa del Sol motorway | Olive Press Newspaper | News: "plans for the proposed motorway linking Ronda with the Costa del Sol have now gone on display.
Throughout January exhibitions will be held in Town Halls throughout the affected municipalities giving the public a chance to study the information and oppose the plans.
The project, which aims to cut the travel time from Ronda to the Costa del Sol by more than half, involves building a motorway covering the 32.8 kilometre distance from Ronda to the current A-7 motorway, by the Benahavis road.
The total investment is estimated to reach 350 million euros and could create more than 5,000 jobs.
But the project has come under fire from environmentalists who argue it will destroy the surrounding landscape.


And others have questioned the impact the new motorway will have on the historical heritage of the town"

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Marbella Villas

Marbella Villas  "For countless years Marbella has been a popular place for the affluent and celebrities and is renowned around the world as one of the most stylish and delightful vacation destinations within Europe. It has everything to offer: stunning beaches, hills, good cusine, night life as well as old world beauty.
Be mindful, the cosmopolitan setting can be intoxicating and can solely be compared with foreign places along the lines of St Tropez and Monte Carlo, Marbella has got a fantastic local climate because of the surrounding mountains that typically ensures conditions are generally less hot in the summertime as well as hotter throughout the winter months than other locations on the South Of Spain, thus , making this an ideal year round place to go for every age group."

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Britain's most expensive Caravan sold for 550,000 pounds - The Economic Times

Britain's most expensive Caravan sold for 550,000 pounds - The Economic Times: "A caravan equipped with a luxury Italian kitchen, top-of-the range flat screen television and iPhone controlled heating system has been sold for a whopping 550,000 pounds.

The luxury three-bedroomed static holiday home has become the most expensive caravan in the country after being sold to a millionaire couple last month, Daily Mail reported on Thursday.

Nestled on the seafront in Abersoch, North Wales, the chalet has spectacular views over the Lleyn peninsular and even its own private decking and staircase to the beach below."

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Royal Roundup: Kate's Shaking It Up, Di-Style! - E! Online

Royal Roundup: Kate's Shaking It Up, Di-Style! - E! Online: "Kate likes to hang with the riff-raff: Princess Diana was famous for having her young sons, William and Harry, schooled outside the palace, which was a royal first and an enormous scandal at the time. Obviously, the common touch took with William as he found a girl who not only likes to do her own grocery shopping, but, just this week bargain-hunted at T.J.Maxx and then she picked up a pizza.
The engaged brunette with a 32-carat sapphire bought a $6.28 margarita ready-made selection from Pizza Express. She was alone. No teams of fussing ladies in waiting, as all of Kate's future in-laws are wont to do.
This is so like Di, who loved to go to the gym or to the movies (often with her boys), with as little as fuss as possible. Problem was, it never worked (the no-fuss part), just as it's about to stop—if it hasn't already—for the chick from Berkshire."

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Top French chef declares London capital of cuisine - Telegraph

Top French chef declares London capital of cuisine - Telegraph: "Abandoning his countrymen’s traditional pride in the national cuisine and disdain for English fare, Joël Robuchon admitted that the city’s restaurants are now more innovative than those of Paris.
The 65 year-old, whose restaurants have been awarded a record 25 stars by the revered Michelin guide, also claimed that the biggest variety of world cuisines is to be found in London, after a revolution over the past few decades.
It comes just days after the French prime minister, François Fillon, praised the quality of English food, suggesting an unlikely rapprochement between the two countries.
In the latest comments, Mr Robuchon - once named “chef of the 20th century” – told a newspaper he “would argue that London is very possibly the gastronomic capital of the world”.
“Why? Because it’s only in London that you find every conceivable style of cooking. When it comes to what’s new in cooking, to innovative cuisine, it’s all happening in London."

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Berlusconi's harem of 14 women revealed - Europe, World - The Independent

Berlusconi's harem of 14 women revealed - Europe, World - The Independent: "Silvio Berlusconi maintained at least 14 glamorous young women in apartments in a gated complex outside Milan, leaks from prosecutors in the city revealed yesterday. They lived rent-free in the estate and were given large sums of cash by the billionaire politician in return for sex.

Milano Due was one of the first gated housing estates in Italy, a sprawling complex of flats set in landscaped gardens, built by Mr Berlusconi himself in the 1970s when he was a thrusting young property developer. With underground parking, a supermarket, bars and other facilities, it is one of the most fashionable addresses in the Milan hinterland. When he moved into television, Mr Berlusconi located the headquarters of Mediaset, his television company, here.

But in his declining years the estate has also become the headquarters of what is, in effect, his harem, it is alleged. Its presence was revealed by Corriere della Sera newspaper yesterday in yet another blow to the battered image of the Prime Minister as he prepares to defend himself against what could be the gravest crisis of his political career. Prosecutors in Milan are demanding that he be put on trial immediately for having sex with an underage prostitute."

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Madonna takes her new boyfriend Brahim Zaibat to her new club

MADONNA’S toyboy lover found himself dumped in the street by the queen of pop.

In what may well be a taste of things to come for Brahim Zaibat, Madge sped off without him after a night in London.

But luckily for him, it wasn’t a humiliating put-down – it was a “misunderstanding”.

During the hoo-hah to get her into their Jag after a night at Aura, Brahim desperately tried to get in and park his cute little tush beside Madge’s.

But security slammed the door and drove off, leaving the poor ickle 24-year-old break dancer shivering in the cold.

Fortunately, after about 15 yards – probably the longest 15 yards of Brahim’s life – Madonna realised she’d forgotten something.

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The brakes were duly slammed and Brahim gratefully retrieved.

My favourite codger (after Katie Waissel’s nan) had hosted the night, where pro dancers auditioned to catch her eye in the middle of the dance floor. But I was more interested in the moves going on in VIP, where Madge sat her fella down and performed her own creaky lapdance for him.

To the strains of her song La Isla Bonita – played by her own DJ, naturally – she flexed her muscly arms and squatted her 52-year-old body up and down in front of the blushing young Frenchman. Dragging him up to dance for Nelly’s Ride Wit Me, she threw him against the wall and grinded against his body.

Fortunately, she didn’t crack a hip, and later shuffled over to tell us all about him, saying: “It’s going really well!”

He’s certainly well trained. At one point, he nipped behind the bar to rustle her up a replacement Martini after her original wasn’t strong enough.

Madonna picked up the £12,000 bar tab, and she plans to pump even more money into the place by buying a stake in the Aura chain, with plans to launch globally.:Text may be subject to copyright.This blog does not claim copyright to any such text. Copyright remains with the original copyright holder.

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New VAT rate condemned as tax on cost of fun in London | News

New VAT rate condemned as tax on cost of fun in London | News: "The VAT increase has been called a “tax on London luxury” as the cost of having fun in the capital — from a cocktail to a night in a hotel — rises as a result of the tax rise.

The jump from 17.5 per cent to a record 20 per cent is expected to raise George Osborne about £2.3 billion in extra tax revenue from the capital, more than from any other region of the country.

But the burden falls disproportionately on London because so much of the nation's business and high value consumer spending is concentrated here.

Londoners will notice the difference in their cost of living from the moment they order their first latte of the day to a late night drink before bed.

Although many prices have simply been adjusted by the 2.1 per cent needed to keep pace with the VAT rise, others have gone up way beyond that. For clothes shoppers, high street fashion prices are expected to be up to eight per cent higher than last year once the sale stock is replaced by the new spring ranges."

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For Princess Kate Middleton, imagining a wedding gown | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/05/2011

For Princess Kate Middleton, imagining a wedding gown | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/05/2011: "So far, we know the royal newlyweds will not have servants in their house, at least for the first three years of their marriage. We've been told that Kate Middleton's life-size wax image won't join the rest of the royal brood at Madame Tussauds until the end of this year. And it was reported that the No Problem Orchestra, a group of Austrian disabled musicians, are to perform at the April 29 affair.

But one question remains: What - and maybe more important, who - will Kate wear when she walks down the aisle of Westminster Abbey to marry Prince William?

For fashionistas worldwide, this information is of the utmost importance.

Speculation has been intense"

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Visit London attractions in Volvo's free chauffer service - London Tourist Attraction News

Visit London attractions in Volvo's free chauffer service - London Tourist Attraction News: "Those visiting London attractions could get around the capital in style with Volvo's free chauffer service.

The car maker is celebrating the launch of the new Greener Vehicle Discount for London's Congestion Charge Zone with a free DRIVe low-emission chauffer service which visitors and residents are invited to use to get around the city.

New rules state that drivers of any Euro 5 compliant car with CO2 emissions under 100g/km will not have to pay the congestion tax.

Peter Rask, regional president of Volvo Car UK said: 'Through our ongoing Emissions Equality campaign, Volvo has been instrumental in persuading the Mayor to change the Congestion Charge rules and create a level playing field for all vehicles regardless of powertrain.'"

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Beckham's coming home? - Eleven UK

Beckham's coming home? - Eleven UK: "Can it be true? Are David Beckham, footballing hero, and his family returning to the UK?

Well possibly, but at the moment it's just for a few months. According to The Sun, the Beckham boys have been booked into a posh school near Beckingham Palace for three months.

A source close to the pricey private school told The Sun: 'All the staff are talking about it - everyone in the school knows.

'All three boys are coming. Everyone is looking forward to seeing them.'

Rumours that Becks may sign to Tottenham Hotspur while on loan from LA Galaxy have been all over the back pages and this is likely to fuel speculation.

However, it's more likely that Victoria Beckham is at the root of the move - apparently, she wants to be in the UK touting her wares in the run-up to London Fashion Week next month.

Even so, we're guessing parents' evening will be busier than usual."

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