Europe Calling

EL PAÍS shows that 46% of Catalans would support their regions continued presence within Spain if they were granted new and guaranteed exclusive powers. The UK has another General Election on June 8th.......Nicola Sturgeon is hell-bent on breaking up the UK......the Libdems are ready for their comeback and Corbyn sees himself as the saviour of this situation......and...... North Korea is receiving foreign aid from the UK! .

Swedish police snared a suspected Isis fanatic following a high-speed chase and arrested him in relation to the Stockholm truck attack that saw at least four people killed and 15 injured.The 39-year-old father-of-four was arrested in the northern suburb of Marsta after going on the run following the attack, reported Swedish newspaper Aftonblat.The man, believed to be from Uzbekistan, was wearing a balaclava, with broken glass on his clothes. He reportedly confessed to being involved in the atrocity. A Spanish court has sentenced Miguel Ángel Muñoz to 23 years in prison for murdering Denise Pikka Thiem, a US citizen who was traveling alone on the popular pilgrimage route known as the Camino de Santiago when she was attacked by the Spaniard. Spaniards’ concerns over corruption are growing again, according to an opinion survey by the Center for Sociology Studies (CIS). The poll, which was conducted in early March, shows that unemployment continues to rank among Spain’s top three problems for a significant majority of respondents, 72.3%. Of these, 46.7% said it was the country’s biggest problem, while 19.8% said it was the second worst problem and 5.7% said it was the third. Carme Chacón, a leading figure in the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) and Spain’s first-ever female defense minister, was found dead on Sunday evening in her apartment in Madrid. She was 46. Spanish social services have taken the twins born to a 64-year-old woman in February into care, citing “indications of vulnerability” and concluding that the pair are “in a deprived situation.” Mauricia Ibáñez, from the northern region of Burgos, has already seen her first child, which she had at the age of 58, taken from her by the regional government of Castilla y León in 2014. Not everybody knows Manolo Prieto but few are unfamiliar with his most famous design: the Osborne bull, whose silhouette can be seen standing proudly against the skyline of many of Spain’s major highways. The main political stories in the UK probably follow Teresa May's support for President Trumps attack on the Syrian airbase An illegal immigrant, who was jailed for attempted rape, has been given £27,000 in compensation for being in prison too long. Bashdar Abdulla Qarani, 36, arrived in Britain illegally in 2005, and became a repeat offender, including battery, theft and carrying a knife. He was allowed to stay in the country and was jailed for four years in 2012 for attempted rape in South Wales. What a parable for our times the great diesel scandal has been, as councils vie to see which can devise the heaviest taxes on nearly half the cars in Britain because they are powered by nasty, polluting diesel. This week, it was announced many diesel drivers will soon have to pay fully £24 a day to drive into Central London, while 35 towns across the country are thinking of following suit. Already some councils charge up to £90 more for a permit to park a diesel car. The roots of this debacle go back to the heyday of Tony Blair’s government, when his chief scientific adviser, Sir David King, became obsessed with the need to fight global warming. Although he was an expert in ‘surface chemistry’ — roughly speaking, the study of what happens when, for example, a liquid meets a gas — King had no qualifications in climate science. Parents, heads and politicians called on ministers to ‘cap’ the price of summer getaways, which can rise by more than £1,000 at the end of term. Firms were accused of ‘holding law-abiding parents to ransom’ after a father yesterday lost his fight against a £60 fine for an unauthorised term-time trip. The ruling means families will face a fine or prosecution if pupils take even half a day off without permission. Parents now have little choice but to book within school holidays, leaving them at the mercy of travel firms charging sky-high prices. Lib Dem education spokesman John Pugh said ‘greedy’ firms must ‘stop exploiting hardworking parents’.

According to the press Alexander Torshin, deputy governor of the Central Bank of Russia and investigated in Spain for money laundering, has infiltrated the US president’s circle European guidelines to the Brexit negotiations specifically mention the disputed territory of Gibraltar and provide backing to Spanish demands for bilateral talks with London. Spain’s foreign minister called for calm in the wake of suggestions from the former leader of the UK Conservative party, Michael Howard, that the current British prime minister would be willing to go to war to protect the interests of Gibraltar. The number of Catalans who oppose separating from Spain has grown over the last three months to 48.5%, compared with 44.3% who support secession. More and more residential apartments are being transformed into occasional accommodation in Madrid forcing long-term residents out into the suburbs as they are suddenly priced out of their own homes. A vegan restaurant in the Spanish city of Tarragona, in Catalonia, has been accused of “humiliating” mothers bottle feeding their babies while dining there, sparking an online spat. Don't expect EU free movement to end for at least five years, May warns: PM says there will be an 'implementation period' after Britain leaves Cricketer, Mustafa Bashir, 34, who was spared jail for beating his wife with a bat after telling a judge he would lose a professional contract will have his sentence reviewed A millionaire peer has been clocking in to the Lords to claim hundreds of pounds in allowances, then leaving to give lucrative after-dinner speeches. Digby Jones, former director-general of the CBI, billed the taxpayer £2,400 for attending Parliament on eight occasions in one month.. Dog breeder calls out to his family as he is held in custody after denying letting his bulldogs 'Taser' and 'Kayos' 'go on the rampage and bite two people' before they were shot dead by police A 32-year-old junior doctor who has been found dead at her Devon home once wrote a viral Facebook post about the pressures of working in a hospital emergency department.

A woman with roots in Spain’s northwestern Galicia region was among those killed in the terrorist attack in London on Wednesday SPAIN has applauded Theresa May’s tough approach on Scottish independence. It comes after she told SNP’s Nicola Sturgeon that ‘now is not the time’ for a referendum on the issue. Indignation in southern European countries keeps growing following recent statements by the head of eurozone finance ministers,..... The fiscal gap in Spain’s pensions system is getting wider every year. Job creation has been growing at a rate of 3% over the past two years, and consequently so have Social Security affiliations....... Matador Antonio Romero who was the victim of a 1,160 bull named Caporal who gored him 11 inches deep in him rectal area Sunday in Mexico City, has given a 'thumbs up' from his hospital bed On May 15, 2011, Spain was convulsed by one of the most spectacular popular uprisings in its history. Spanish citizens had plenty to be disgruntled about: economic recession, ... ISIS has claimed responsibility for the Westminster attack which left four dead and dozens injured. Amber Rudd and Boris Johnson have warned that companies such as Google and Facebook are acting as a 'conduit' for murderous terrorists, .... A rape victim has backed a warning by the female judge presiding over her case that drunk women are putting themselves in danger. A disabled grandmother was beaten with a baseball bat and left with horrific injuries after her home was invaded by a gang of men The extent of bad behaviour in schools is being underestimated as heads try to cover up problems during inspections, a Government adviser has warned. England’s behaviour tsar, Tom Bennett.....

Nearly 760 giant sculptures went up in flames on Sunday night when the Spanish city of Valencia ended its famous Fallas celebration. Around 3,000 police officers and over 400 firefighters patrolled the streets of the Mediterranean city to ensure safety during a time-honored celebration that has made it into UNESCO’s list of World Intangible Heritage of Humanity last November. Civilian intermediaries speaking in the name of ETA, the Basque terrorist organization, will notify the French judiciary of the location of its arms caches in what constitutes a unilateral and unconditional disarmament to be completed on April 8. THOUSANDS took to the streets of Barcelona to protest against Cataluña’ s independence bid. The demonstrators were protesting against the Catalan government’s plans to hold an independence referendum in September. More than 100 tourists spent the night on Mount Teide, Spain’s highest peak, and dozens were trapped in gondolas The multibillionaire behind the Zara retail chain has banked another £1bn after the fashion group reported record sales and profits. Amancio Ortega, Europe’s richest man, will receive €1.26bn (£1.1bn) from Inditex, the Spanish company he started more than four decades ago, which owns Zara and many other brands.. Eurosceptics have reacted with fury after Jean-Claude Juncker boasted that no-one else will want to leave the EU after they see how harshly Britain is punished. The European Commission chief crowed that the 'example' of the UK would ensure the survival of the Brussels club. Jeremy Corbyn provoked fury today after paying a glowing tribute to former IRA commander Martin McGuinness as a 'great family man'. The Labour leader, who was friends with the former Northern Ireland deputy first minister, said he was thinking about McGuinness's relatives this morning. He tweeted: 'Martin McGuinness played a huge role in bringing about peace in Northern Ireland. He was a great family man and my thoughts are with them.' The BBC has been accused of ' despicable fawning' over 'terrorist godfather' and former IRA commander Martin McGuinness in their obituary pieces this morning. On Twitter some furious viewers accused the corporation of having 'blood on their hands' and 'fawning over [him] like he was some sort of misunderstood peacekeeper.' The extraordinary news that George Osborne is to become the new editor of the Evening Standard has sent the twittering classes into an uproar. The Tory party was in crisis over the election expenses scandal after it was fined a record £70,000 for breaking the rules and its former treasurer was reported to the police. The Electoral Commission said the party had failed to record correctly a total of £275,813 at the 2015 general election and three by-elections in 2014. Sparkbrook has become synonymous with Islamic extremism; one in ten of all Britain's convicted Islamic terrorists, we now know, have come from Sparkbrook and four adjoining council wards. The BBC has been blasted for not cutting off a paedophile who rang in a phone-in to say how his eight year old daughters enjoyed being raped by him. This week, ITV’s late-night car-crash of a programme, The Nightly Show, hit a new low when its ratings slumped below a million. For the 10pm slot, it’s an embarrassing figure. Mind you, with potty-mouthed Davina McCall in the chair — following comedians David Walliams’ and John Bishop’s less than glorious turns at hosting — is anyone surprised? The Nightly Show is a pathetic creation: puerile, witless and embarrassing to watch. The presenters try their hardest, in a desperate sort of way, but what happened to the script? Where are the jokes?

Migrant smuggling has expanded dramatically and is so prevalent in Europe it is now comparable to the illegal drugs market, a new report has warned. Former Catalan president Artur Mas was banned from holding office for two years on Monday for his role in organising an illegal 2015 independence referendum. The Spanish coastal city of Alicante on Tuesday morning began cleanup duties following the biggest downpour in recent memory. Rainfall in the popular Mediterranean destination was a whopping 137 litres per square meter (equivalent to 137mm), half of which came down in the space of just two hours. That makes the past 24 hours the city’s third-rainiest day in the last 80 years, A former safety official for Spain's state railway operator has been charged with homicide over a 2013 train derailment that left 80 people dead, according to a judicial ruling released Monday. Benidorm Local Police detained in the early hours of Friday morning, one of the ten most wanted by the UK, a 25 year old Brian Gareth Edwards who is face three life sentences for violence and burglaries with intimidation and drug trafficking. THE tallest flower in the world has blossomed for the first time in Spain. The suitably-named phallic looking Amorphophallus orchid, which is three metres tall, has burst into flower at Estepona’s Orchidarium. Spain has warned Scotland it would be at the 'back of the queue' for EU membership if it voted for independence. Foreign minister Alfonso Dastis said Spain would do nothing to encourage 'secession' in other countries. The Spanish government has a long dispute with its own Catalonia region. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has unveiled plans for a snap re-run of the 2014 independence referendum in a bid to preserve Scotland's place in Europe. The SNP leader has infuriated Prime Minister Theresa May with her demand for a poll between autumn 2018 and spring 2019 before Brexit is finalised. The Queen is throwing open the doors of Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle to Commonwealth leaders as the UK looks to forge new trade relations ahead of Brexit. Prime ministers and presidents from more than 50 countries will gather for meetings in the royal residences during a summit next year. A man who was stabbed 36 times by his neighbour says he has been advised to steer clear of a large part of his home town because his attacker is back on the streets. Victim Terry Robinson was horrified when he received a letter from the probation service explaining that paranoid schizophrenic Dean Marshall has been granted 'escorted leaves for rehabilitation purposes'. A drunken ex-police officer whose bull terrier savaged a five-year-old boy and his mother as she stood by doing nothing to help was today spared jail. Half of employers do not think that graduates generally have the workplace skills they need when they are first hired, according to a report. It suggests that many university leavers are lacking essential qualities, such as teamwork and problem-solving when they enter the job market. Pupil's happiness is to be made a greater priority in schools after the government announced plans to promote wellbeing in the classroom. The Department of Education is set to trial mindfulness lessons whereby pupils as young as eight meditate and and do breathing exercises to reduce stress. Exam age students are to trial hour-long classes, designed to teach them how to cope with stress and deeper mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.

Spain is increasingly attractive to Chinese investors. The mastermind behind Gürtel, a corrupt business network that operated across six Spanish regions between 1999 and 2005, is ready to return around €22 million stashed in Swiss bank accounts .... A human tower team member has been killed and two others injured in a freak accident in Spain..... Spaniards are among the biggest substance abusers in Europe..... Brexit has been bad news for Gibraltar. ...Spain will recover the right recognized in Article X of the Treaty of Utrecht to control or close access to the British Overseas Territory. .Juan José Cañas from the city of Malaga in southern Spain is 80 years old, and although he retired two decades ago, he says his many offspring have been keeping him busy lately. ...... In the UK a paedophile left a four-year-old boy with brain and spinal injuries after using pliers to inflict injuries ..... One in ten of all Britain’s Islamist terrorists come from just five council wards in Birmingham. The BBC has been accused of being ‘dismissive’ of Christianity and lambasted for its ignorance after questioning whether an MP should have attended a parliamentary meeting with an Ash Wednesday cross on her forehead. A builder who built his life on 'staggering lies' has been jailed for two years after making more than £1 million over the course of a decade by pretending to have a PhD to become chairman of two NHS Trusts... ... Britain's most lucrative bus lane cameras have been revealed with one device alone making its council £6,000 a day..... Plans to kick out misbehaving peers who bring the House of Lords into 'disrepute' have been quietly dropped...... The Queen has an enviable array of outfits to choose from. But it turns out the handbags and jewellery aren't just for show......

In January, the transgender support group Chrysallis launched an awareness campaign in northern Spain using the slogan: “There are girls with penises and boys with vulvas BRITS are being put off holidays in Spain by the pound’s drop in value. More than 40% of Britons will change their holiday plans because of the post-Brexit devaluation, according to data from travel insurer Columbus Direct. The city of Barcelona has begun taking down 367 commemorative plaques dating back to the Franco era and which were still on view in buildings across the districts of Gràcia and Nou Barris. Emilio Perez’s serious economic troubles have resulted in an intriguing business idea. The resident of Villapresente, a forest ranger and pinewood seller, hit rock bottom when he was unable to sell his trees due to low demand during the economic crisis. His solution was to build Spain’ s largest maze with his unsold trees.... A NIGHTCLUB in Spain has enraged feminist groups for offering free entry, drinks and €100 to women who ‘go commando’. .......Within twelve hours of my landing in Sweden, an asylum centre was burned down, arson suspected; a hand grenade was planted in a bin, either for the police or the mosque; and another hand grenade exploding, injuring one in Malmö...... Baroness Chakrabarti has been ridiculed after she wrongly blamed low turnout for Labour's humiliating defeat in Copeland....The shadow attorney general..insisted the leader was not responsible for the worst by-election performance since the war. Paedophiles should not face jail for looking at pornographic images of children unless they are a physical threat to youngsters, says Britain’s most senior child protection officer. Thousands of thugs who abuse their partners are able to avoid harsher sentences by agreeing to apologise and shake the hands of their victims under 'restorative justice' measures. The RAF has banned servicewomen from wearing skirts on parade so that transgender personnel don't feel excluded. The salary for politicians is set to go up by more than £1,000 from April next year to £76,011, the Commons pay watchdog has confirmed. Also, University chiefs are taking home an average of £277,834, while the highest individual deal reached £451,000. The number of people arriving in the UK from Bulgaria and Romania has risen significantly since the Brexit vote, new figures show. But figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also reveal a 'statistically significant' rise in citizens from so-called EU8 nations British teachers struggle to inform youngsters about the correct use of colons and how to spell words such as ‘definitely’ because they do not have a good enough grasp of the basics themselves. Minicab drivers have denounced plans by Transport for London to introduce tests to prove they can speak English - which include questions on the Northern Lights and the 'problem of river pollution'. wearing no underwear. .

For a 10-minute period on Tuesday, Barcelona saw the worst police chase that the authorities can remember. ....... Spain will drop out of the group of the world’s 25 largest economies within the next three decades, according to a new report by the consulting group PwC...... Last November a Facebook user in Spain posted a video of a police officer who failed to catch a suspect he was chasing. ... Now the police have presented a proposal to fine the author ..... as high as €30,000. Cristina de Borbón, sister of Spanish King Felipe VI, has been acquitted of tax fraud complicity in a high-profile corruption trial known as the Nóos case....3.3The court has also demanded that he pay a €512,000 fine. FLASH flooding has caused major destruction on the Costa del Sol this weekend. ..... Tony Blair was accused of trying to undermine democracy last night as he delivered a speech in London. The former PM insisted it was ‘not inevitable’ that the UK will leave the European Union. He is alsofacing serious questions after ......... An attacker spat into a nine-month-old baby's face and shouted 'white people shouldn't breed' in a sickening race-hate assault......in South Shields last January. A heterosexual couple have lost their Appeal Court battle to have a civil partnership. ...... In a fly-on-the-wall documentary Meet The Lords elderly peers will be seen snoozing during a debate....... India never asked Britain for hundreds of millions of pounds in foreign aid and doesn’t even need it........... The gloss was slightly taken off a wonderful FA Cup spectacle on Monday night when an image emerged of Arsenal's dressing room ....

ISIS fanatics have issued 'direct threats' on Spanish tourist hotspots where millions of Britons are expected to visit this year, according to a government report. Acording to an editorial in El Pais ..The position adopted by Mariano Rajoy in his telephone conversation with Donald Trump, when he offered Spain as a mediating voice for the new US administration in Europe and Latin America, is more than a serious mistake ..... VEGETABLE producers in Spain have criticised the British press over its coverage of the salad shortage.... SPAIN has been ranked the second-best country in the world for first-time buyers. Provocative party costumes in Spain are not confined to the adult market. The image of a sexy nurse outfit for girls aged four to six went viral on social networks at the start of February..... Professor Ruud Koopmans of the Netherlands warned the EU on Monday to block the entry of any refugees whose identity cannot be categorically confirmed. Theresa May has been given a major boost after a key ally of Angela Merkel warned that the EU must be 'reasonable' and not seek to 'punish' the UK for Brexit............However, EU states could take revenge for Brexit by kicking out more than a million expats.... amid a major row over reciprocal rights for EU citizens in the UK and Britons living on the continent. After the Speaker's outburst in The Palace of Westminster The Archbishop of Canterbury linked Donald Trump to fascism in a sweeping denunciation of 'populist politics'. An undercover investigation inside HMP Northumberland has found prisoners high on drugs, pictured, blocks left unsecured, and officers reluctant to stop inmates doing as they wish.

Spain’s Finance Ministry says a combination of economic growth, inflation, and changes to corporate tax law will boost public revenue to a record high this year. Rodrigo Rato, a veteran Spanish politician who served as an International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief and senior government official with the governing Popular Party (PP), evaded €6.8 million in taxes between 2004 and 2015, according to a report by the Tax Agency’s fraud investigation unit to which EL PAÍS has had access. Ryanair announces a total of seven new services, saying it will pass on savings from country’s reduced airport taxes A TOTAL of €850 million in Spain is to be spent on rail projects over the next five years in a major investment programme to improve land access to ports. Film academy says expensive gems disappeared last weekend, while the movie industry was handing out the Goya prizes BlaBlaCar is not guilty of "unfair competition" as alleged by Spanish bus companies, a court ruled, in a first legal victory for the ride-sharing firm which has run into problems in the country. In the UK the Speaker is facing a furious backlash after an extraordinary intervention in which he attacked the US President and said he would not authorise the use of historic Westminster Hall during the impending state visit. A mentally-ill teenager who stabbed an American tourist to death and injured five others in a knife rampage in London's Russell Square was allowed into the UK by European freedom of movement rules, a court heard. A married RE teacher has been jailed for rape amid claims the school where he worked mishandled previous complaints that he sexually assaulted women staff. The JustGiving website is used by millions every year to raise money for deserving charities. Many, however, are unaware that it takes more than £20million a year from fundraisers – while its boss has a £200,000 pay package.

The International Monetary Fund #IMF is warning that Spain has one of the biggest income gaps in Europe. SPANISH police have arrested 75 people as part of a Europe-wide crackdown on cultural theft. A team of Spanish #archeologists has discovered an Ancient Roman ship that sank off the tiny island of #Cabrera, near the southern coast of #Mallorca around 1,800 years ago. The only public hospital on the island of #Ibiza was forced to temporarily shut down its surgery wing on Thursday after detecting flies in seven out of the eight operating rooms. TWO British teenagers decided to ditch the drudgery of their hometown and fly to Spain for a night out – on a schoolnight. Apart from all the #Trump and #Brexit protests what can we offer from the UK? Have #NHS doctors really been told not to call pregnant women ‘expectant mothers’ because it might offend transgender people? ... ready with paternity tests, offers of rehab and post-show counselling to those who choose to share their troubles on television... The Jeremy Kyle Show.... Changing the Guard ceremonies at #Windsor Castle will no longer take place on Saturdays because police believe jihadis could target soldiers and the thousands of tourists who gather to enjoy the spectacle. The bill for Britain's foreign aid cash handouts in Pakistan has reached a staggering £420.3million.... Drivers are being hammered at the pumps, with the cost of filling up a family car soaring £9 in the past year.... Furious BBC #Radio 2 listeners are threatening to boycott the station in disgust over the ‘heartless’ and ‘underhand’ way it axed veteran DJ Brian Matthew.

Heavy snowfall in southeast Spain has cut several major road routes throughout the region of Valencia.... Up to 1,600 vehicles were trapped overnight on roads in Valencia Fernando Lerdo de Tejada Martínez, a fugitive from justice since 1979 – when he fled Spain to avoid standing trial over the killing of labor lawyers in Atocha (Madrid) – is a free man. The last arrest warrant issued by the Audiencia Nacional, Spain’s High Court, expired in 2015 A granddaughter of Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco, a prime minister during the final years of the regime of Spanish dictator General Francisco Franco, has sharply criticized the two years and six months prison sentence a public prosecutor at the Spanish High Court has demanded for a 21-year-old student who posted jokes on Twitter about his assassination by Basque pro-independence group ETA in 1973. Spain’s Civil Guard carried out more than 12,000 operations against animal abuse over the course of 2016, resulting in some 490 people being arrested or investigated, the force said in an annual summary A brilliant young Spanish gymnast has had a leg amputated and her family have brought legal action for personal injury against Pedro Larrauri, the orthopedist who initially treated her.... The Spanish travel sector is jazzing up its offer for gay tourists, who tend to spend more than most when away from home, taking it beyond parties in sunny hubs like Ibiza. The Remainers win in the High Court as Theresa May is scuppered by the Establishment. The pay gap between the genders begins with pocket money and a respected family doctor is caught drunk driving Theresa May has found it very difficult to answer questions regarding the failing of an unarmed Trident missile trial. This can also be set against a report identifying a real crisis in the UK armed forces. In the UK more than 1,000 registered and licensed doctors have criminal convictions... including possession of indecent images of children, sexual assault and threats to kill A judge has admitted a former aide to David Cameron who was spared jail for downloading indecent images of girls as young as ten should have got a heavier sentence. The language barrier means that the NHS sometimes struggles to offer an effective service to such patients. Moreover, there is the additional strain on resources because of the need to use interpreters or translation phone lines, as laid down by NHS policies. Consultations with non-English speakers tend to be twice as long because everything has to be spelt out slowly or repeated through others. As a result, there is less time available for other patients. A report by army think-tank the Centre for Historical Analysis and Conflict Research has said years of reduced budgets means Britain's ability to remain a fighting force has been 'effectively removed'.

Weather advisories in place in 22 provinces in Spain for below-zero temperatures, snow, wind, and even avalanches Nude cartoons went up in parts of northern Spain this week to raise awareness about transgender children.. Police are worrying about the drastic decrease in the average age of clients in brothels, who hail from all walks of life Social media giant Facebook has registered with the central bank, and is poised to challenge traditional lenders BULK sales of olive oil from Spain to the US have skyrocketed, new figures show. Analysis by Oxfam shows the world's top eight richest tycoons have together amassed fortunes totalling £349.8billion. The planet’s poorest 3.6billion have the same sum between them. The number of NHS bureaucrats earning more than the Prime Minister has doubled in three years. Ninety-three officials took home more than Theresa May's £149,440 salary last year – up from 48 in 2013 Around 3,000 mobile phones have been seized by prison officers in England and Wales in just 12 weeks. The devices were found following operations in jails between June and August 2016. Ministers last night said Britain remained committed to sending China 3 million pounds to bolster the sport at grassroots level, despite having no idea if the programme is effective. UK taxpayers have forked out more than £17.9million since 2011 to cover the costs of running a school, health centre and ferry service for the residents of Pitcairn Island. An investigation by the Bank of International Settlements has blamed the freak crash of the pound on badly managed computer trading platforms and inexperienced Asian-based currency traders 62-year-old David Wilkie, who won gold in the 200m breaststroke at the 1976 Montreal Games, was accused of swimming too fast and without care for other pool users.

BRITISH expat delegation is taking its Brexit battle to the heart of Westminster. The five-strong group will give evidence before the Exiting EU Committee, chaired by Labour MP Hilary Benn, on January 18. A couple accused of fraud after raising almost a million euros for medical treatment for their daughter Nadia and spending the money on themselves are now being investigated for suspected child pornography offences.......... Catholic marriages in Spain hit an all-time low of 22% of the total in the first six months of 2016, new statistics show... The owner of an animal refuge in the Costa del Sol resort town of Torremolinos has been handed down a three-year, nine-month jail term for “indiscriminately” putting down more than 2,000 cats and dogs between 2008 and 2010...... Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo claimed he had to overcome media "campaigns" against him to win FIFA's inaugural "The Best" prize for the world's best player in 2016........ Madrid’s City Hall received complaints that some children failed to receive toys from the Three Kings, who traditionally deliver gifts on Epiphany....... Jeremy Hunt was told to get a grip on the NHS crisis this week as the country's top medical bodies warned that it could be ignored no longer. Judge Stephen Holt jailed Lithuanian Algirdas Barteska, 60, for six years after he was found guilty of trying to smuggle three Albanians into the UK from Germany at an airfield in Norfolk. Darul Hadis Latifiah, an all boys school in east London, was branded inadequate across all areas, as the school watchdog concluded pupils were 'not prepared for life in modern Britain'. The Heritage Lottery Fund and Big Lottery Fund announced a £33million grant to restore and revitalise 13 public parks across the UK, from Great Yarmouth to Brighton. Scientists found those who have a ‘local’ where they meet regularly to drink and socialise tend to be happier and more engaged with other members of their community.