Spain Revives Rape Case Against Saudi Prince

A Spanish judge has reopened an abandoned sexual assault case against a Saudi prince who is one of the world’s richest men, reviving accusations that he raped a 20-year-old model on a luxury yacht in the Spanish Mediterranean in August 2008.

Fahad Shadeed/Reuters

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz al-Saud in Riyadh.

The prince, Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, a nephew of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, is the largest individual stakeholder in Citigroup and, among his other major holdings, is the second largest investor in the News Corporation. Forbes valued his fortune this year at $19.4 billion, making him the 26th richest man in the world and the single richest in the Arab world.

The accuser did not go public, and the original complaint appears to have remained largely unknown. The case was quietly closed in July 2010 for what a judge on the Mediterranean resort island of Ibiza called a lack of evidence. But on appeal, a Spanish provincial court for the Balearic Islands, which has jurisdiction over Ibiza, ordered the judge to resume investigating and to summon the prince to appear.

The provincial court said the judge, Carmen Martín Montero, was on vacation and could not be reached for comment.

Heba Fatani, a spokeswoman for Prince Alwaleed’s investment arm, the Kingdom Holding Company, called the accusations “completely and utterly false.”

“The alleged encounter simply never happened,” Ms. Fatani said in a statement.

Ms. Fatani also said the prince was never in Ibiza in 2008 and provided pages of his calendar indicating that he spent time that summer in Paris; Cannes, France; and Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. He did not charter a yacht in Ibiza, nor did he take his own there, she said. Other people who spent time with the prince that summer can confirm his whereabouts, she said.

Prince Alwaleed first learned of the 2008 case on Tuesday, Ms. Fatani said, and his lawyers had not been informed about it.

Son of a gadfly senior prince, Talal ibn Abd al-Aziz, Prince Alwaleed has long been outspoken about expanding opportunities for women in the kingdom. The women who work in his Saudi offices are not segregated, nor do they have to wear the enveloping blackabayas — his royal stature keeps them out of reach of the religious police who enforce such measures.

The model, whose lawyer has identified her by only her middle name, Soraya, filed a police complaint in August 2008, saying the prince had raped her on the yacht after she was drugged. She said she had been invited to the yacht at an Ibiza nightclub.

The Balearic archipelago is one of the most popular vacation destinations in the Mediterranean and welcomes a flotilla of luxury yachts during the summer months.

According to a summary of a provincial court’s order to reopen the case, medical tests conducted by departments of Spain’s National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Science turned up traces of semen and a sleep-inducing chemical, nordazepam, in her urine.

In the 2010 decision to close the case, the Ibiza judge said the forensic and medical tests had shown no signs of physical violence that could confirm a rape. The judge also questioned whether the sleep-inducing chemical found in the model’s body could have acted swiftly enough to induce a semiconscious state between the time she left the nightclub and reached the yacht.

Her lawyer, Javier Beloqui, said the tests supported her claim that her drink had been spiked and that she was sexually assaulted. He called on Prince Alwaleed to provide at least a DNA test in order to compare it with the traces of semen found.

Mr. Beloqui welcomed the decision to reopen the case. “Nobody was even questioned at the time,” he said, “which is unbelievable when you consider the seriousness of the crime and the evidence that has been gathered.”

 

 

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Cheryl Cole | Cheryl Cole Flies To Afghanistan To Boost Troops' Morale

 

British singer Cheryl Cole has flown to Afghanistan to visit U.K. troops serving in the war-torn country. The Girls Aloud star made her way to the country's Helmand Province on Tuesday night (13Sep11) to surprise servicemen and women. Cole underwent special training to prepare for the hostile environment she will tour during her visit, which marks 10 years of British operations in the country. Her morale-boosting trip is being filmed as part of the annual Pride of Britain Awards, which will air on U.K. TV next month (Oct11). A source tells Britain's Daily Mirror, "Cheryl's amazed by the courage of all those serving our country. When she was invited to go out to see them in Afghanistan, she immediately said 'yes'. "She thinks it's such a great cause and they deserve all the recognition they get." Cole has largely been out of the public eye since she was fired from the U.S. version of The X Factor earlier this year (11).

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Swingeing London by Richard Hamilton, showing Rolling Stone Mick Jagger in the back of a police car: a great modern history painting.

Swingeing London by Richard Hamilton, showing Rolling Stone Mick Jagger in the back of a police car: a great modern history painting. Photograph: Serpentine

Richard Hamilton, the most influential British artist of the 20th century, has died aged 89.

In his long, productive life he created the most important and enduring works of any British modern painter.

This may sound a surprising claim. We have our national icons and our pop celebrities. But neither Francis Bacon nor Lucian Freud nor Damien Hirst has shaped modern art as Hamilton did when he put a lolly with the word POP on it in the hand of a muscleman in his 1956 collage, Just What is it that Makes Today's Homes So Different, So Appealing?

Richard Hamilton pictured last year. Photograph: Richard Saker

Hamilton has a serious claim to be the inventor of pop art: this collage is a visionary, yet ironic, manifesto for a new art that would be at home in the modern world. For him, in a postwar Britain of austerity measures, pop was a utopian ideal. Big, fast cars were the metal angels of a smooth, beautiful future.

I have been driven by Hamilton in his huge, sleek car. The experience was like stepping into one of his paintings. He drove me to his house, a modern dream home decorated with the works of Marcel Duchamp – or rather, Hamilton's own replicas personally approved by the maverick dadaist chess player.

Hamilton's second great influence on the art of today was his championing of Duchamp at a time when the Frenchman's subversive philosophical art was largely forgotten. One of Hamilton's masterpieces is his replica of Duchamp's Large Glass, in Tate Modern.

was an intellectual. He did not go for the guts, but the brain. His art is thoughtful, uneasy, even as it celebrates the power of technology. It also became increasingly political. He confronted issues from the Irish Troubles to both Iraq wars in works that dropped the cool mask for outright engagement, making him even more of a meaty and serious proposition.

Swingeing London, pictured above, in which Mick Jagger in lurid green jacket is enclosed in the back of a police car, shielding his face against the media glare, is a great modern history painting. So is Hamilton's portrait of IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands. These works analyse the way images are made, yet their intellect is saturated with outrage and compassion.

Hamilton saw our future coming. He even designed a computer as a readymade artwork in the early days of digital. He saw and accepted the way technology changes the human condition. Yet he cared about, and fought for, the human ghost in the machine. That is what makes him a great artist.

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Chris Stewart has been voted the most influential expat of the past 200 years in Andalucia

Chris Stewart has been voted the most influential expat of the past 200 years in Andalucia Photo: Andrew Crowley

 

Individuals included on The Olive Press's “Expat 100” list ranged from little-known historical figures such as Amelia Loring, the grandaughter of a former British consul who founded Málaga's botanic gardens in the 1850s, to modern-day celebrities such as Sean Connery, who lived for many years in Marbella.

Top of the list was Chris Stewart, ex-drummer of the British band Genesis, whose books about life on his Andalucian farm have, the newspaper said, “completely changed the perception of Andalucia as a region, as well as encouraging thousands to visit".

Mr Stewart said that he was "flattered and privileged" to have been given first place.

“I’m a huge fan of multiculturalism and the presence of foreigners here has really helped the region,” he added.

Stewart was closely followed by the American author Washington Irving, who is credited with rediscovering Granada’s Alhambra palace, Prince Alfonso de Hohenlohe-Langenburg, the Bavarian-Spanish playboy who transformed Marbella from a tiny village into a thriving tourist destination, and Joan Hunt CBE, the British founder of the cancer hospice Cudeca, on the Costa del Sol.

Less famous characters who also made the list included Canadians Scott Abbott and Chris Haney, who invented the game Trivial Pursuits while in Nerja, and Betty Molesworth Allen, a New Zealand expat who became an expert on Andalucia's flowers and plants.

Readers generally responded positively to the choice of expats on the list, which was compiled with help from the British consul in Málaga, a judging panel of prominent local expats, and readers who sent in nominations. Opinion was divided however over the exact ranking order, with one reader complaining that there was an over-prioritisation of "fame and celebrity".

Top 10 influential expats in Andalucia

1. Chris Stewart
2. Washington Irving
3. Prince Alfonso Hohenlohe-Langenburg
4. Joan Hunt CBE
5. Sir George Langworthy
6. William Mark
7. Thomas Osborne Mann
8. Gerald Brenan CBE
9. Sergio Leone
10. Amelia Loring

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Europe's biggest shopping centre opens in London

 

Europe's biggest urban shopping centre opened on Tuesday in a deprived area of east London where it will act as the gateway to the 2012 Olympics. Westfield Stratford City, which has risen from derelict wasteland in one of the poorest areas in Britain, houses more than 300 shops, 70 restaurants, a 14-screen cinema, three hotels and Britain's largest casino. Hundreds of people queued outside the £1.45 billion mall before the doors even opened on and 100,000 people were expected to turn up on the first day. The Australian owners of the centre are confident they can defy the retail gloom as the British economy stutters. Westfield's sister site in Shepherd's Bush, west London -- previously the biggest shopping centre in Europe -- opened in the depths of a recession in 2009 yet attracted 23 million visitors in its first year. The giant Stratford site is a cornerstone of the Olympic Park and spectators arriving for next year's Games will have to walk through the shopping centre to reach the sports venues. A high-speed train will bring 25,000 Olympics spectators an hour to Stratford International station where they will be greeted by a row of shops and restaurants. Crucially for an area with unemployment levels far above the national average, the centre has created 10,000 new jobs. Local politicians believe it is another part in the jigsaw of regeneration which they hope will create a thriving community once the Olympic flame goes out. "Westfield represents more than just bricks, mortar and fabulous shops and restaurants, it has been instrumental in helping us to transform the lives of our residents by providing them with employment and jobs that they can turn into fulfilling and rewarding careers," said Robin Wales, the mayor of the borough of Newham. But the site's proximity to the Olympic park has required additional security precautions. The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) said it will be operating checks on vehicles entering the public car park at the shopping centre until the Games end in September 2012. Paul Deighton, LOCOG chief executive, said: "With Westfield so close to the Olympic Park and with vehicle access to it directly accessed from the park, it is an obvious and important part of our security plans. "We will make the checks as quick and unobtrusive as possible -- we are confident that shoppers will recognise the need for us to be vigilant and carry out these checks."

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Investigation launched as forest fire destroys four homes on Costa del Sol

investigation is under way into a forest fire which destroyed four homes and 400 hectares of land on the Costa del Sol. The blaze – which affected parts of Mijas, Marbella and Ojen – saw more than 300 people evacuated from their homes after starting at around 8.30pm on Sunday evening in the Entrerrios area of Mijas. Andalucia’s Councillor for the Environment Jose Juan Diaz Trillo, suggested the fire had been started deliberately, before confirming that nobody had been injured. Around 300 firefighters from across Andalucia were hampered by high winds as they tackled the blaze, which caused the temporary closure of part of the A7 highway. Residents of La Mairena and La Bugancilla urbanisations were evacuated and parts of Calahonda were also briefly affected, although residents are now being allowed to return to their homes. Around 260 firefighters are involved in dampening down the fire, which is understood to have affected 900 hectares in total.

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Eclipse, a 557-footer reported to have cost a staggering £300million

It is the biggest private yacht in existence and comes with a missile-detection system, two helipads, a luxury spa, swimming pool and a miniature submarine.

But when you're Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, only the most ostentatious displays of wealth will do.

His latest baby is the Eclipse, a 557-footer reported to have cost a staggering £300million.

Eclipsing the opposition: Roman Abramovich's new yacht slides out of the ship-yard in Hamburg, Germany. It comes with a raft of features including two heli-pads, a pool and a missile-detection system

 

As it glided out of the Blohm & Voss shipyard, in Hamburg, Germany

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Spain to bring back Patrimonial Tax

 

The Spanish Prime Minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, will bring back Patrimonial Tax at next Friday’s cabinet meeting, following a request to do so from the Socialist candidate for the November General Election, Alfredo Pérez-Rubalcaba. A Royal Decree will be used, and no new law will be needed to reactivate the tax, although the new tax will be modified so as not to affect the middle classes. However press reports indicate that Rubalcaba is not entirely happy with the tax which will result, although it is the only option which can be introduced so quickly. The new Socialist manifesto was to promise that Patrimonial Tax would become a state controlled and not regional tax as present. Even so Rubalcaba considers the re-introduction of the tax as ‘just’. It is expected to generate 1.4 billion €.

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Tamara Ecclestone lifts the lid on her extravagant lifestyle

 

For a woman who has just spent £1 million on a bath tub, Tamara Ecclestone is remarkably likeable. The daughter of Britain’s fourth richest person, billionaire Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, slinks across the lobby of Beverly Hills’ grandest hotel, the Peninsula. But she is seemingly oblivious to the open-mouthed stares that follow her perfectly tanned-and-toned body clad in a tiny black romper suit. As she curls up on a luxury sofa in the lobby, it is clear that even in a town used to excess, Tamara and her equally flamboyant sister Petra, who recently dominated the headlines with her extravagant £5 million wedding complete with a private performance by the Black Eyed Peas, have set tongues wagging. For years, Tamara, 27, and Petra, 22, remained pretty much under the media radar. By all accounts, they were kept on a tight rein by their 6ft 2in mother Slavica, who worked hard to escape her tough, penniless upbringing in the Croatian port of Rijeka and was determined to keep her girls grounded.  But after becoming fixtures on the London social scene, the two Ecclestone girls have become embroiled in an extraordinary – and outrageously expensive – display of trans¬atlantic sibling rivalry that even the most creative Hollywood scriptwriter would be hard-pressed to dream up. First, younger sister Petra splashed out £91 million – in cash – to buy the 57,000 sq ft Los Angeles hilltop mansion of the late Dynasty creator Aaron Spelling three months ago. Then, two weeks ago, Tamara was maid-of-honour at Petra’s breathtakingly ostentatious wedding at the medieval Castello Orsini-Odescalchi outside Rome. The scale of the nuptials was mind-blowing.  Petra’s Vera Wang dress cost a reputed £80,000, the evening entertainment alone – including the Black Eyed Peas, Alicia Keys, Andrea Bocelli, DJ David Guetta and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – cost more than £3 million.  Eric Clapton played for the couple’s first dance and Formula 1 driver Jean Alesi drove the bride’s vintage Rolls-Royce.  Even the fireworks display saw £100,000 go up in smoke. Perhaps tellingly, among the guests were another pair of unimaginably wealthy and high-profile siblings, Paris and Nicky Hilton. As elder sister, Tamara was a suitably gracious bridesmaid. But it is clear she feels the need to catch up in the publicity stakes.  She arrived in LA last week with an entourage including Katie Price’s hair and make-up man and blithely announced that she would be perusing homes ‘starting at the £100 million mark’. She also embarked on a series of meetings at major Hollywood studios in a bid to promote her upcoming show Tamara Ecclestone: Billion Dollar Girl (which starts in the UK on Channel 5 on November 4). And she is telling all who will listen that she recently ‘dispatched’ five minions on an expedition ‘up the Amazon’ to gather crystal that will be used to create a state-of- the-art bathtub in her £47 million London home. Splashing out: Tamara is spending £1m on rock crystal from the Amazon to make a bath similar to this It was a story, I venture, that is surely a tabloid fabrication?  She looks askance. ‘No, it’s completely true. They’ve gone to find this crystal which will be turned into my bathtub. It’s costing £1 million because I’ve got to reinforce the floor and I’ve had to pay for everyone’s travel and the hauling back and polishing of the crystal.  ‘But I spend a lot of time in the bath so it’s worth it.’ Little wonder that one Hollywood producer told me: ‘The whole town is talking about these girls. ‘There is nothing that Hollywood loves more than money, vulgarity and ambition. And these two have it in spades.’ It is a charge Tamara, who still looks impeccable despite starting her day at 5am to appear on America’s top-rated Entertainment Tonight show, rolls her eyes at.  ‘Listen, people will always try and make something of the rivalry between me and my sister,’ she tells me. ‘We are siblings and we fight and compete like any sisters would.  ‘But we are very close. Of course there is competition between us but it is healthy competition. There is room in this town for both of us.’ I ask her about reports that she stomped out of a Japanese restaurant earlier in the week after a row with her sister over who ‘got’ to LA first? Sibling rivalry: Tamara says that the relationship with Petra is like that of any sisters - and while the do disagree and there is competition, they are both still close Tamara shrugs: ‘We’d had a drink. Yes, there were a few words. I went outside to have a cigarette, which is something I only do when I’m drinking. I was in a bit of a bad mood. The Press saw that and blew it up into something it’s not.’ Are they at war? She says: ‘You’ll have to ask Petra about that. She’s in New York at Fashion Week. There’s certainly no problem between us as far as I am concerned.’ As she speaks it is obvious that, despite her daddy’s billions, Tamara has a steely determination to succeed on her own merits.  She credits her 80-year-old father, the son of a humble fisherman who started out working in a gasworks before building a £2.4 billion fortune as the Formula 1 supremo, for keeping her ‘grounded’. 'My father started with nothing and is a self-made man. No matter what I do with my life I can never match his accomplishments.' Tamara explains: ‘My father started with nothing and is a self-made man. No matter what I do with my life I can never match his accomplishments. He is someone that even now, at 80, loves what he does and is still making deals and making money, and he enjoys it. He raised me to appreciate money and not to take it for granted.  ‘I was raised to want to work for a living. The idea of just sitting around or going shopping every day appals me. I want to accomplish something in my own right. ‘Dad taught me to always go for the deal. When you are rich, people try to take advantage of you. I got a deal on the flights over here. My mother flew easyJet recently.  Relationship: Tamara has been with stockbroker Omar Kyhami for 18 months - and says they have discussed marriage and children ‘We are a family that likes a bargain. I love the fact that I can spend ten quid and get my nails done in LA at a little corner shop rather than at an expensive salon.’ She says her mother Slavica, who acrimoniously divorced her 5ft 4in father in 2009 after 24 years of marriage, pounded home the message: ‘Mum cooked for me and my sister every night. My father would come home and we would have dinner together, as a family, at 6.30 every night. ‘Both my parents came from humble beginnings. Yes, we had money but it was never something we took for granted.  ‘Dad would drop us at school and Mum would collect us. They came from nothing and were determined not to spoil us.  I had to work for my pocket money, walking the dog and picking up his poop. We were never surrounded by servants. When we wanted things we were never just given them. Money wasn’t easy.’ In person Tamara is charming. She speaks in a modulated but not super-posh voice. But it’s hard to credit the down-to-earth credentials of a woman who would blow £1 million on a crystal bath.  She insists, repeatedly, that she and Petra were raised to appreciate the value of money. ‘We were never spoiled. We were never given too much,’ she says. So what, then, has precipitated this sudden rush to compete in a multi-million-pound house property contest? Perhaps their parents’ divorce, with all the bitter recriminations, has affected the girls’ judgment? ‘The divorce was the hardest thing ever,’ she concedes. ‘Dad has a new girlfriend [Fabiana Flosi, a Brazilian 49 years his junior] but Mum is enjoying being single. I don’t think she will date anyone for a while.  ‘She’s enjoying being free. I’d never thought of the money [rivalry] starting after that. But maybe it did.’ Tamara says she finds Los Angeles, with its endless sunshine and endless positivity ‘liberating’. ‘I’ve been here before but only to Disneyland,’ she says with a grin. ‘I’ve totally fallen in love with the place. People here don’t judge you or have any jealousy about money.  'In England, there is a certain negativity. Here everyone is positive. There isn’t so much jealousy here. I’d rather have a fake smile than a nasty stare.' ‘In England, there is a certain negativity. Here everyone is positive. There isn’t so much jealousy here. I’d rather have a fake smile than a nasty stare.’ Her boyfriend of 18 months, stockbroker Omar Kyhami, arrives at the table. He is in charge of the house-hunting which will begin in earnest in the morning. ‘We’re not going through a broker,’ he says. ‘When people hear the Ecclestone name they automatically add a zero to the price. We are looking at a place in Beverly Hills in the morning which has 27 acres and isn’t even on the market.  ‘We are looking at houses which aren’t officially for sale. When you get to a certain level, you don’t want to deal with brokers. The people we are talking to don’t want any publicity. The house we are looking at will make Petra’s house look like a guest house.’ Tamara squeals: ‘No! You shouldn’t say that!’ Role model: Tamara, pictured in 1998 on a skiing holiday, says her parents kept her 'grounded' and were determined not to spoil her, despite their wealth Omar adds: ‘We’re going to do it in a way that isn’t a disaster. The house we are looking at hasn’t been on the market for years without selling.’ (The Spelling house was on the market for three years before Petra bought it.) ‘That other house [Spelling’s] was a disaster. We’re doing it properly.’ Tamara is clearly smitten with her slightly indiscreet boyfriend: ‘We’ve been together for 18 months and we’ve rowed and it’s all on camera. We have talked about marriage and children but that’s something my sister, even though she is much younger, has always had clearer views on.  ‘This was her year for getting married. I wouldn’t do anything to try and muscle in on that. I want to have a career and make something of myself. I have earned my own money and I like the feeling it gives me. When you buy something with your own money it means more.’ 'I desperately want to have a career. I feel I have something to prove. I want to accomplish something on my own and build my own business.' Does it worry her that she will be able to afford a £100 million-plus home in Hollywood only thanks to Daddy’s billions? ‘No, not at all.’ How does it work? Does her father simply sign a cheque? ‘No, no, it’s far more complicated than that. You get into trust funds and such. When I bought my place in Kensington (for £45 million) it’s in an area that is super-rich.  ‘I talked to Mum and Dad and they agreed to finance it because even if I never live there it’s a good investment. Neither Petra nor I would be allowed to buy anything that was a dud.’  I ask what is the worst thing that has ever happened to her.  ‘My parents’ divorce, without question,’ she says. ‘I didn’t see it coming. I thought they would work things out. I think my mum decided. She wanted to be free. It was a real shock. I cried a lot. ‘When you have money, people think life must be perfect. But I still have the same issues as anyone else. I wake up and feel fat and ugly. I feel insecure. I row with my boyfriend. We have family problems.’  Producer Melanie Leach, the managing director of TwoFour, the company behind Tamara’s TV show, had cameras following Tamara for six months. ‘She is someone who is so different from what you expect,’ said Leach, who also made Harry’s Arctic Heroes, the recently broadcast programme about Prince ¬Harry’s Arctic expedition.‘People have a certain expectation of what Tamara is like and, of course, she lives in a different world. The first show has her taking her five dogs to the Harrods day spa. It costs hundreds of pounds and the dogs are getting their nails painted pink. Luxury: Tamara has access to a wide range of spectacular cars, including this convertible Rolls Royce, a Mercedes 500 and a Ferrari - plus also flies using a private jet ‘But there is another side of Tamara that is deadly serious and very ambitious. We have been taking meetings with some of the biggest people in Hollywood and I have never seen such a reaction. Tamara has something that people just relate to.’ Tamara insists she wants to be seen as ‘normal’ yet she has five cars at her disposal in LA,  including a black convertible Rolls-Royce, a Mercedes 500 and a Ferrari. She also casually mentions she is flying to Las Vegas this weekend in a private jet. Tamara says: ‘I have a strong built-in b-s detector. I know who my real friends are and I like to think I’ve not become cynical. Of course, some people want to be my friend because of the money. But the people I have around me are a tight-knit group. ‘I desperately want to have a career. I feel I have something to prove. I want to accomplish something on my own and build my own business.’ That’s why in LA she has maximised what she calls her ‘publicity potential’. Lunch at the Ivy – where paparazzi stalk the pavements – was followed by dinners at Madeo, Katsuya, STK and Boa . . . all high-profile hang-outs.  As the Rolls arrives to take her from her £2,000-a-night hotel suite, I ask her: ‘Do you have any idea how much your lifestyle really costs?’ She smiles and says: ‘Yes, I think I do. Well, not really, not exactly. But I am not stupid. I have a good idea of my income and outgoings and, yes, I definitely know what things cost.  ‘I will make it. Just watch me. Money isn’t everything.’

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brand new car from the world’s latest car manufacturer.

• Image Credit: Supplied picture
• Look familiar? Yes, it’s just like any other pumped-up Cayenne on the streets of the UAE.

Don’t adjust your screens, that unmistakeable Porsche Cayenne silhouette is in fact what London’s Eterniti Motors calls a brand new car from the world’s latest car manufacturer.

The joke, of course, is that underneath the make up the “world’s first super-SUV,” as Eterniti’s press material puts it, is basically just a Porsche Cayenne. So the newest car manufacturer merely makes bodykits and blings up interiors.
The British ‘carmaker’ is showing off the Hemera SUV at this week’s Frankfurt motor show, but make sure you pay attention or you might miss it in the sea of Lumma Design, Hamann, Speedart, Gemballa and other Cayennes, including, of course, Porsche’s own.

To be fair, Eterniti motors promises new levels of luxury and performance, starting with a limousine-like rear cabin, including twin electric reclining seats, iPads and a drinks chiller. The company also hikes power up to 620bhp. Presumably with a TechArt remap. 

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Apple to open a new store in Marbella

 

Apple has chosen Marbella for a new store which Diario Sur reports will be the company’s largest in Spain. The paper says it will open in La Cañada in November and will cover an area of 1,700 square metres. It’s understood that work is already underway on preparing the premises. There has been no official confirmation from the company as yet, but Diario Sur notes that Apple includes the Marbella store on its web page under its job offers in Spain. The paper however reports that the selection process for Apple’s 65 Marbella staff began in June and is close to conclusion.

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Puerto Banús bar owner has set himself his biggest ever charity challenge – to climb La Concha 40 times in 40 days.

Russell Soden

 

Russell Soden, a co-proprietor of Terra Blues in the port and Lick FM DJ, is taking on the mammoth trek to raise funds in memory of his daughter Coral, who he lost to cot death 14 years ago.

The money raised will go to the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (FSID), the UK's leading baby charity aiming to prevent unexpected deaths in infancy and promote infant health.

Russell, who has lived on the Costa del Sol for 11 years, is no stranger to fundraising challenges. In previous years he has trekked up Kilimanjaro, built a school in Africa and earlier this summer leapt out of an airplane with 14 other Marbella area bar owners in a sponsored skydive to raise 2600€

But the 40-day hike could be his biggest yet and he hopes to have raised 4000€ at the end of it all.

“Obviously, this cause is one that couldn’t be closer to my heart and over the last few years I have picked one big charity push each year, usually by getting involved in organised expeditions, to help raise money for it,” said Russell, aged 40, originally from Leamington Spa in the UK.

“I was struggling to find something different to do this year so first I managed to rope some other local bar owners into jumping out of an airplane. Then I thought I would try and do a more physical challenge close to home rather than flying halfway round the world.

“My initial idea was to climb La Concha twice a day for 20 days but then I thought that was a bit much – so I’ve made it a little gentler at 40 times in 40 days!

“It does seem like a huge task that will go on for well over a month but it’s too late to back out now. I have climbed La Concha a few times before so know what I am a letting myself in for but it is still a little daunting.

“I really hope that people can get behind me and support me on this and that we can raise a significant amount for this vital research and support from FSID which I know from first hand experience can be a huge help at a very difficult time.”

La Concha is 1,215 metres high at the western end of the Sierra Blanca mountain range. Russell will start his first ascent on 19 September from Refugio de Juanar. It is 11 kilometres to the summit and back and expects it to take about six hours each time.

You can sponsor Russell by www.justgiving.com/russell-sodeno or find out more on the terra Blues website at www.terra-blues.com, or call 686 908 016

Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_31881.shtml#ixzz1XXh5I0DG

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If Simon Cowell needed convincing that dropping Cheryl Cole from the U.S. version of The X Factor could have been a mistake, these pictures might do the trick.

If Simon Cowell needed convincing that dropping Cheryl Cole from the U.S. version of The X Factor could have been a mistake, these pictures might do the trick.

The singer posed for the shots – some of her most provocative to date – in various locations in the South of France for her official 2012 calendar.

In July’s photograph, a tousle-haired and pouting Mrs Cole poses on all fours on a bed.

Thorny issue:Cheryl shows off her barbed wire tattoo in the September page

A black-and-white image for March features her in bikini top and hotpants with a cascading, diaphanous trail.

 

More...

• It's a no Tulisa! Miss Contostavlos fails to bring the X Factor in bizarre dress at high-fashion event
• A step too far? Peaches Geldof appears to have lost even more weight at Fashion's Night Out

 

August sees her playing up to a boho-chic look as she stands at the door of a caravan, while several of the pictures show off the barbed wire rose tattoo on her thigh.

The singer, said to be close  to being reconciled with her former husband, England footballer Ashley Cole, was unceremoniously jettisoned by X Factor boss Cowell in May, after just four days’ work as a judge on the show’s U.S. version.

New beginning: Cheryl poses for teh January page. She travelled to various locations including teh South of France for her official 2012 calender

■ The Official Cheryl Cole Calendar is on sale in stationery stores, or online at www.danilo.com.

Photographer: Sandrine Dulermo & Michael Labica.

Glamour: The Official Cheryl Cole Calendar is on sale in stationery stores, or online at www.danilo.com

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Music mogul Simon Cowell's fiancee moves into his ex's LA hideaway

 

SIMON Cowell’s fiancee Mezhgan Hussainy has moved out of his Beverly Hills mansion amid rumours their relationship is cooling. The make-up artist is now living in Cowell’s hillside retreat – where his ex Terri Seymour stayed after splitting from the X Factor judge in 2008. Cowell’s pals jokily nicknamed the £3.5million house in the Hollywood Hills “the girlfriend graveyard”. A worker at the house said: “Yes, Mezhgan is living here. She is here now.” She refused to confirm if the pair had broken up but one insider said: “It looks like history is repeating itself. “When Simon split with Terri, she moved to the hillside house for about 18 months before moving to a pad which Simon is supposed to have paid for. “Some people have joked that the other house is his girlfriend graveyard – it’s almost as though the girls get sent there when the relationship has died.” Neighbours said they have not seen the music mogul – who used to date 1980s singer Sinitta – recently, and believe the Afghan-born beauty is living alone. And Simon’s mum, Julie, says she has not heard from Mezhgan for “weeks”, although the pair used to speak regularly. Rumours that the couple have split after an 18-month engagement went into overdrive this week after Simon told a US radio station he was “not sure” whether they were an item. Simon, 51, said last year he would like children with Mezhgan saying he was “smitten” and was looking forward to having “little Simons around”. But in a recent interview with American GQ magazine, he appeared to change heart, saying: “Truthfully, with the schedule, the crazy hours, I don’t think it would work.” And the 51-year-old has been lavishing praise on his American X Factor co-star Paula Abdul. He said: “There is something about her. I find her fascinating.” Reports in the US claim the pair spend hours on the phone.

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FLOTILLA of the world's most luxurious super-yachts converged on the Balearic Islands off Spain on Thursday for a very special celebration with a distinctly Australian flavour.

 

The Packer family's luxury tinnie, the converted icebreaker the Arctic P, was joined by Rupert Murdoch's huge yacht Rosehearty, just off the picturesque island of Formentera for the combined birthday celebrations of scions Lachlan Murdoch and his old buddy, James Packer.

A couple of Virgos, Murdoch turned 40, while Packer notched up 44 years.

Sarah and Lachlan Murdoch.

Murdoch has also taken delivery of a brand new super-yacht, which has been under construction for the past two years. He was joined by his former supermodel wife turned television personality and yoghurt spruiker, Sarah, along with their three children, Aiden, Kalan and Aerin, while Packer was with his former model-singer wife, Erica, and their two children, Indigo and Jackson.

In recent days, Rupert Murdoch and his wife-bodyguard, Wendi, were spotted in nearby Majorca. They were with Murdoch's trusted The Wall Street Journal lieutenant Robert Thomson and dined with one of Spain's most influential newspaper editors, Peter J. Ramirez, of El Mundo.

PS hears the Murdochs wanted a ''low key'' affair following their most recent tribulations of the phone hacking scandal.

The old chums marked their milestones with the obligatory water sports and fine dining one is accustomed to on board a floating gin palace teeming with staff.

The Arctic P has spent several months in southern Spain, where Packer and his Ellerston polo team have been competing.

Formentera is famous for its fine white sand, bright turquoise waters, fishing villages, dramatic cliffs and caves. Over the past few weeks it has hosted the likes of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, along with their small village of children.

Packer has also been making frequent visits to England to inspect the almost completed works being undertaken at his new $40 million polo complex.

For more than a year, contractors have been levelling, draining, seeding and rebuilding at Manor Farm in the Sussex village of Selham,

a former dairy that is being leased by Packer from the Cowdray Estate.

Packer will launch an assault on the English polo season next year, just as his late father Kerry Packer did 30 years ago, when he bulldozed his way into the sleepy West Sussex village of Stedham to set up a "turf farm".

For years, Packer's grand English estate hosted the rich and famous of Europe during polo matches, complete with lavish marquees and white-gloved waiters

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Marbella Casino board face charges of document falsification

 

TWELVE of the Marbella Casino’s 14-strong board face charges of document falsification. The Casino, one of the town’s oldest but with no links to the Casino de Marbella in Nueva Andalucia, has been at the centre of internal conflict for several years. Differences over renting out of part of its La Alameda installation to a restaurant business resulted in the sacking of the Casino’s former president Antonio Ric and ex-secretary Manuel Porras in April 2010. Both started legal proceedings against the remaining board members, claiming that their rights had been violated and they were excluded from the meeting which decided to remove them. After examining the dismissal document, the judge from Marbella’s Number Two Court decided there were grounds for suspecting forgery. He has now summonsed 12 board members, including the current president, Agustín de la Fuente Perucho, for questioning on September 19.

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Spanish site crashes as lawmakers reveal worth

 

In a country with 21 percent unemployment, learning the net worth of lawmakers plugging austerity right and left is turning out to be irresistible. Spanish parliament released such numbers for the first time and its website immediately crashed. Hours later access was still spotty. Highlights of Thursday's revelations: Mariano Rajoy, the conservative likely to be the next prime minister, reports having nearly euro600,000 ($843,000) in bank accounts and shares, plus properties in Madrid, the Canary Islands and his native Galicia. His Socialist opponent Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba reports having about euro1 million ($1.4 million), a Madrid apartment, a parking place and no debts. This transparency stems from a reform approved July 10.

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Rock and roll legend Slash set to jet into Epsom

 

Rock and roll legend, Slash, of Guns and Roses fame will be jetting into the UK to be at the grand opening of GuitarGuitar in Epsom later this month. The guitar hero, famed for his aviator glasses, top hat and legendary licks, will be in store for a special autograph signing and to slash the sash to open the largest guitar emporium in the UK. A handful of lucky competition winners will be invited to meet the man himself at this exclusive event which will take place on Thursday, September 15 from 2.30 to 5pm. Five exclusive Dunlop pedals, signed by Slash, made available in partnership with the not for profit Surrey organisation, Love of Learning, will also be available to purchase at a cost of £200.

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Jaguar C-X16 hybrid concept

Jaguar has released new details of a hybrid sports model it is working on as a potential successor to the legendary E-Type.

The new C-X16 two-seater uses a new 3.0-liter V6 engine along with a 70kW hybrid motor and is described as an ‘exploration’ of future performance hybrid options.

Using a combination of gasoline and batteries, the C-X16 offers a top speed of 300 km/h (186 mph) and a 0-100 km/h time of 4.4 seconds, with an electric-only top-speed of 50 mph (80 km/h)

The electric motor can also be activated using a steering wheel button for a power boost, inspired by the recently-introduced Formula One KERS system, charged through a brake regeneration system.

The C-X16 picks up on a couple of new Jaguar styling signals such as the front trapezoidal grille, although Jaguar says that it is intended to showcase the evolution of its design direction, with sharp creases on the hood and a sweeping roofline.

Inside, it is finished in ‘vermillion red’ and uses a climate control system which Jaguar says is inspired by the Typhoon fighter jet, with dash-mounted vents that appear from the dash to provide a blast of air as necessary, retracting afterwards.

The model will go on show for the first time at the Frankfurt Motor Show (september 15-25), where it will compete for attention with the upgraded Porsche 911 Carrera, the Maserati GranCabrio Fendi and the Ferrari 458 Spider

 

 

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Harry Winston Diamond Corp. saw its luxury retail sales nearly double along with a modest increase in rough diamond sales

Harry Winston Diamond Corp. saw its luxury retail sales nearly double along with a modest increase in rough diamond sales, but it wasn’t enough to lift profits for the Toronto-based company.

The company said Wednesday that second quarter consolidated sales increased 44.7 percent percent to 222.4 million year-over year, resulting in a 6 percent increase in gross margin to $72.2 million and an operating profit of $23.1 million, compared to an operating profit of $29.9 million in the comparable quarter of the prior year. Consolidated EBITDA was $43.8 million compared to $49.4 million in the comparable quarter of the prior year.

Despite the sales increase, net profits in second quarter fell 23 percent to $10 million.

Harry Winston consists of two businesses. The first supplies rough diamonds to the global market from its 40 percent ownership interest in the Diavik Diamond Mine. The company, however, is internationally known for its second business as a premier diamond jeweler and luxury timepiece retailer with salons in key locations throughout the world, including New York, Paris, London, Beijing, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Beverly Hills.

The luxury brand segment reported a 98 percent increase in sales to $132.8 million for the period, year-over-year. At constant exchange rates, the increase was 81 percent. Included in the second quarter was $55.6 million of high-value transactions, which generally carry lower-than-average gross margins. Operating profit was $6.8 million for the quarter compared to $2.3 million in the same quarter of the prior year. EBITDA for the luxury brand segment was $10.1 million compared to $5.5 million in the comparable quarter of the prior year.

“Global retail demand, especially in the emerging economies such as China and India, has delivered both strong retail sales growth and strong rough diamond prices. Seeing through the effect of a small number of high-value, lower margin sales, our own jewelry and timepiece business shows solid growth in both sales and margin in the core bridal, timepiece and designed jewelry segments,” said Robert Gannicott, Harry Winston chairman and CEO.

Meanwhile, sales from its mining segment increased 3 percent to $89.6 million for the second quarter, year-over-year, resulting primarily from a 41 percent increase achieved in rough diamond prices, offset by a 27 percent decrease in volume of carats sold. The mining segment recorded operating profit of $16.3 million compared to $27.6 million in the comparable quarter of the prior year. EBITDA for the mining segment was $33.7 million compared to $44 million in the comparable quarter of the prior year.

“The market price increase in rough diamonds has more than compensated for two complete sales versus three in the comparable prior year quarter as well as the lower quality diamonds mined from the upper part of the current open pit,” Gannicott said

“Looking forward we continue to see strong global jewelry and timepiece demand from China while Japan and the Middle East improve and the U.S. remains subdued. On this basis we expect to continue to grow our own jewelry and timepiece business despite challenging economic conditions in the U.S. and Europe. Although we do not predict further near-term rough diamond market price increases we do see our own rough diamond sales price already improving.”

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