Abusing your embutido is prejudicial for your health

<p> </p><p>It has been revealed that those who eat more than 20 grams of chorizo or other embutidos a day could see symptoms and in severe cases suffer a chronic obstruction to the lungs, known as Epoc. It’s thought that the cause of the problem comes from the nitrates which are added as preservatives. The warning comes from CREAL, the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology, who have published their study in the European Respiratory Journal. They say that more than 18,000 people die from Epoc each year.</p>

Abusing your embutido is prejudicial for your health

  It has been revealed that those who eat more than 20 grams of chorizo or other embutidos a day could see symptoms and in severe cases suff...

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German man arrested after Málaga lawyer's body found in the boot of his own car

<p><br />It's now been established that robbery was the motive of the fatal attackThe lawyer's car where his body was found in the boot -The body of a lawyer, named as Salvador Andrés Reina, has been found in the boot of his car in Málaga. The lawyer had vanished in strange circumstances in Málaga last Friday and his body was found on Thursday, in the boot of his own car, parked by the bus station in the city. Police say the man’s body shows evident signs of having suffered violence, having been stabbed several times. A 50 year old German man, named with the initials P.R.B. has been arrested in connection with the case. He was arrested before the body was recovered on Thursday morning. Questioning has revealed that he had pretended to be a client, and killed the lawyer to rob him of 1,200 € which the lawyer was forced to take out of his bank. The lawyer’s family raised the alarm with the police on Friday morning last week after Salvador Andrés failed to return home as normal the previous night. They noticed that he had taken a large amount of money from the account, and this was very strange behaviour for a happy married man with two children. The German’s face was captured on a security camera, which has led to his arrest. The Málaga Lawyers College issued a statement which said that Salvador Andrés Reina ‘had been assassinated when meeting his obligations as a lawyer, attending to his office, when a unknown man turned out not to be a client, but a thief and a killer’. The College expressed its sympathies to the family, his companions and friends, and thanked the police for their ‘very intense’ work in solving the case and detaining the suspect.</p>

German man arrested after Málaga lawyer's body found in the boot of his own car

It's now been established that robbery was the motive of the fatal attackThe lawyer's car where his body was found in the boot -The ...

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Spain's 2 big unions call for general strike March 29

<p><br />Spain's two main unions on Friday called a general strike for March 29 to protest the new conservative government's labor reforms and austerity cuts. It will be the first general strike against the government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, which won elections last November and took office late last December, in the midst of Spain's deep economic crisis. The last general strike, in September 2010, was against the then-Socialist government, which also had initiated austerity measures. That strike slowed industry and transport, but much of the country went to work and many analysts saw it as a kind of a draw between the government and unions. Since then, the economic crisis has deepened. Spain's jobless rate is nearly 23 percent overall, and nearly 50 percent for youth. Nearly 5.3 million Spaniards are out of work. Union protests across the nation last month drew large crowds, which analysts say emboldened the unions to move ahead with a general strike. The government says the latest labor reforms are needed to bring flexibility to the workplace and to simplify the rules for employers. But unions say the effect will be to make it easier and cheaper to fire workers. The two main unions -- the Socialist-leaning General Workers Union and the Communist-leaning Workers Commissions -- held separate meetings Friday and then announced the general strike for March 29, a date Spanish news media have been reporting for days as the likely date for the strike. Rajoy, at a recent European Union summit, was reported by Spanish media to be overheard, via an open microphone, telling another EU leader that the labor reforms would cost him a general strike. The reforms were approved first as a decree law, with immediate effect, and the unions called on the government to make amendments as the bill moved through parliament. But the conservatives have a commanding majority in parliament and on Thursday approved the reforms unchanged. The government says the labor reforms make up only a portion of the elements needed to spur an economic recovery. It predicts a 1.7 percent decline in the economy this year. The government also has demanded reforms in the banking sector with the aim of getting credit flowing again and to clean up the books of lenders stuck with huge uncollectable debts left over from Spain's real estate and construction boom that went bust, precipitating the economic crisis. The unions earlier called a round of protests for this Sunday, which coincides with the eighth anniversary of the Madrid train bombings terrorist attacks that killed 191 people.</p>

Spain's 2 big unions call for general strike March 29

Spain's two main unions on Friday called a general strike for March 29 to protest the new conservative government's labor reforms an...

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F1 bubble in Spain has burst

<p>In 2007, close to 130 000 people attended the Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix in Barcelona, with television audiences in the country beating records and Valencia joining in. Now, five years later, the Formula 1 bubble has burst in Spain, a country with serious financial problems and with a public sector that is in dire need of saving every euro in a scenario of empty treasuries. The current crisis and past excesses are taking their toll. "It will be good to have another grand prix to see how Formula 1 is developing in Spain, where a few years ago there wasn't even any TV coverage," Spanish driver Fernando Alonso said in May 2007, on the day when Valencia was confirmed to be joining the sport. The Mediterranean city featured an urban circuit through the port that had been restored ahead of the 2007 America's Cup. Everything was Monaco-style, without heeding the fact that there was a perfectly apt track just 30 kilometres away. As France lost its race, Spain became in 2008 the only country with two grands prix, to emulate Germany which had Hockenheim and Nuerburgring running together for some years. It was a major milestone in a calendar that was increasingly turning to Asia. Nowadays, Barcelona, the traditional seat of the Spanish Grand Prix since 1991, and Valencia are working on a deal to alternate, to cut costs and return Spain to the more down-to-earth scenario of having just one Formula 1 race. Formula One CEO Bernie Ecclestone told dpa there would be one race in Spain from 2013. "Next year we'll alternate between the two," he said. This year Barcelona will hold the Spanish Grand Prix on 13 May and Valencia the European Grand Prix on 24 June. Under pressure because of the worsening crisis, which even led the central government of Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to come to its aid, Valencia appears to be willing now to share a grand prix with Barcelona, an option it rejected only a year ago. "The new Valencian government is willing to evaluate a proposal," Germa Gordo, a top Catalan government official, told dpa in a telephone interview. "Formula 1 is not what we are most worried about," Alberto Fabra, head of the Valencia regional government, recently admitted. Indeed, Fabra's cabinet is suffocated by debt and it is trying to renegotiate - downwards, of course - the 20 million euros (USD26.4 million) a year it has to pay Ecclestone. "The situation of the economy is not the same now as it was a year ago," sources in the Valencian government told dpa. "We have already said publicly that the policy for major events is being reviewed, and alternating would be a good proposal for Formula 1." The financial crisis that is shaking Spain to the core is leading to drastic cuts at all levels of government, both central and regional. According to official estimates, the country's GDP is to contract by 1.7 per cent this year, and its unemployment rate currently stands at 22.85 per cent, the highest in the European Union. "We are at a moment of economic crisis. Organising Formula 1 has major costs and the fact that we can share them between two different countries (sic) is better for everyone from a budgetary and treasury point of view," said Gordo. Gerard Lopez, chairman of the Lotus Team, told dpa that having one race and alternating between Barcelona and Valencia "is better than having none, which would be a pity." Spanish driver Pedro de la Rosa also agrees that alternating would be the "normal" thing to do. "Having two is what is not normal. Turning to a normal scenario means following on the tracks of countries like Germany and Italy," the veteran HRT driver told dpa. The bursting bubble has also affected adjacent businesses, including television. Alonso has not won the world championship since 2006, and interest has waned in a sport whose TV performance was only beaten in 2008 by the Olympic Games: even football's European Championship, which Spain won, fell short. This explains why the private television channel La Sexta paid an estimated 200 million euros (close to USD263 million) for the TV rights to Formula 1 in Spain over five years starting in 2009. However, three seasons later, La Sexta can no longer pay up. The right to broadcast Formula 1 is to go in 2012 and 2013 to another channel, Antena 3, which will seek to make viable what is clearly a shrinking business.</p>

F1 bubble in Spain has burst

In 2007, close to 130 000 people attended the Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix in Barcelona, with television audiences in the country beating re...

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Spain announces plans to tighten abortion laws

<p> </p><p>Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon, the justice minister, faced a furious backlash after blaming "structural gender violence" for pressurising women into seeking terminations. It is the strongest sign yet that the government is poised to reverse a liberalisation of the abortion law introduced under socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in 2010. During a session in congress on Wednesday Mr Gallardon argued that many women were forced to seek abortions because of the lack of support available to them. "We cannot be indifferent to the situation of many women who see their right to be mothers violated because of the pressure placed on them by certain structures around them," he said, confirming that a new draft law would be presented later this year. "No woman should be forced to renounce motherhood because of family, work or social conflict," he said.</p>

Spain announces plans to tighten abortion laws

  Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon, the justice minister, faced a furious backlash after blaming "structural gender violence" for pressurisi...

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Alarm sounds over Spain’s rising public debt

<p> </p><p>The latest statistics from September 2011 show total Spanish public sector debt standing at €706bn, as measured by the EU’s deficit-control rules – a manageable 66 per cent of the country’s €1.07trn gross domestic product.  Greece secures €206bn debt swap Red faces over Greek deal talks Draghi takes on German critics German industrial orders fall sharply Click to enlarge But the total debt is already much higher than the number calculated according to the EU’s definitions. Moreover, it is growing quickly with each successive annual deficit. This year will see a further €60bn added to the total, or 6 per cent of GDP, and it could be greatly swollen in future by contingent liabilities for everything from bank bailouts to guarantees for lossmaking toll road contracts managed by the private sector. Edward Hugh, a Barcelona-based economist who has studied the composition of Spanish public debt, concludes that by EU measures it has already reached about 70 per cent of GDP, to which must be added 7 percentage points for the unpaid bills of central, regional and municipal governments, 5 percentage points for the debts of public enterprises and a further 5 percentage points for public debt held by the state pension fund. Mariano Rajoy, the centre-right prime minister, is acutely aware of the problem – not least because his government has announced it will pay €35bn in overdue bills owed to waste collection companies, pharmaceutical groups and other suppliers by municipalities and regional governments. The unpaid bills and the other extras take Spain’s actual public debt total to about 87 per cent of GDP – close to the €877bn estimated by the Bank of Spain as the amount of total public sector liabilities (although the items included by the central bank and Mr Hugh are slightly different). Spain is not unique in having a total debt higher than the EU-defined number. But if the debt continues to rise, it will become ever harder to service in a recession that has probably already begun. “Once they get past 90 per cent they could have a problem at any moment,” says Mr Hugh. Even using the more narrowly defined EU numbers, it is hard to see how Spain can obey its own, EU-compliant fiscal stability law and cut its debt to 60 per cent of GDP by 2020. Spain’s burgeoning debt problem has its roots in the housing construction boom that came to an end shortly before the collapse of Lehman. Ephemeral tax revenues from the building bonanza encouraged high expenditure in municipalities and regional governments on public swimming pools, hospitals and more, including several airports that now lie empty. Among actions that have come back to haunt the authorities was a decision to suppress inflation by keeping electricity prices down in spite of costly renewable energy subsidies. That meant tolerating the build-up of what is now a €24bn “tariff deficit” underwritten, yet again, by the government. “If you go back a few years and understand what was happening in the good years, you’ll see that people were just trying to use the government’s guarantees and the government’s money – without breaking EU rules or inflation targets,” says one Spanish financier involved in the sale of distressed debt. The onset of the economic crisis soon made things worse, sinking several savings banks that had to be rescued and ultimately leading to the transfer of billions of euros of debt from the private sector to the public. “Spain’s total debt [public and private] rose from 337 per cent of GDP in 2008 to 363 per cent in mid-2011, due to rapidly growing government debt,” said the Debt and Deleveraging report published by the McKinsey Global Institute in January. Last year, the former Socialist government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero tried and failed to privatise the state lottery and the airports authority, which would have reduced public debt. Today, with another recession imminent, the new government is contemplating the opposite: a €3bn-€4bn nationalisation of the underused “radial” toll roads leading to and from Madrid. “It all adds up,” says Mr Hugh, adding that Spain risks raising its acknowledged public debt ratio to 100 per cent of GDP. “When you add all the debt up, we are already in the high 80 per cent range, and two more years of ‘normal’ deficit plus more funding for the financial sector should take it through the psychological barrier,” he says.</p>

Alarm sounds over Spain’s rising public debt

  The latest statistics from September 2011 show total Spanish public sector debt standing at €706bn, as measured by the EU’s deficit-contro...

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Darragh MacAnthony has been ordered to appear in court in Spain next month over fraud allegations.

<p> The property millionaire is accused of selling nearly 50 British and Irish victims non-existent properties and furniture. Last month over 40 victims travelled to Marbella to tell a judge how the football boss’ company MacAnthony Realty International (MRI) failed to deliver over half a million euros of furniture to them. MRI – which boasted an annual turnover of more than 100m euros before the crisis – developed resorts in several countries from its Marbella headquarters and sold furniture packs to clients. But the alleged victims – who filed a claim in Madrid in June last year – accuse MacAnthony, 35, of keeping 600,000 euros which they paid for furniture packages for homes in Bulgaria, Turkey and Morocco. Meanwhile, Antonio Flores, the Spanish lawyer acting for the group, claims ‘many other’ MRI customers are also affected and that missing furniture is just one of the irregularities linked to the company. Flores insisted an additional claim, totalling 15m euros, is being prepared on behalf of 200 British and Irish MRI customers claiming they lost large sums in upfront fees. Now MacAnthony faces legal action alongside his former chief executives Michael Liggan and Dominic Pickering, Sarah O’Callaghan, and Nicola Shaw, a former director of MRI Ireland. 91-year-old Fernando Arespacochaga, whose company took over MRI Overseas Property Group in 2010, will also have to travel from Peru for the case. If convicted the defendants face up to eight years in jail. The group will appear in court on April 25.</p>

Darragh MacAnthony has been ordered to appear in court in Spain next month over fraud allegations.

 The property millionaire is accused of selling nearly 50 British and Irish victims non-existent properties and furniture. Last month over 4...

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Top Italian mafia chief arrested in Jerez

<p> </p><p>Guiseppe Polverino has been controlling his business interests in Italy from JerezThe Guardia Civil, in collaboration with the Italian Carabinieri, have arrested a Camorra mafia chief and his deputy in Jerez. Giuseppe Polverino is the boss of the Naples Camorra and was with his deputy, Raffaelle Vallefuoco, when they were found by the Guardia Civil who were carrying searches of several properties the Mafia chief was known to have in Jerez. Documents found indicate that the 56 year old Polverino controlled his ‘business interests’ in Italy from Jerez. Many fake documents were found along with dozens of mobile phones. Polverino has been on the run since 2006, and was on the list of the top 30 Italian most wanted. The Italian judiciary thinks he has been controlling an economic empire worth 1 billion €.</p>

Top Italian mafia chief arrested in Jerez

  Guiseppe Polverino has been controlling his business interests in Italy from JerezThe Guardia Civil, in collaboration with the Italian Car...

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Emergency op for Maurice Boland

<p>RADIO DJ Maurice Boland has thanked his fans for support after he was rushed to hospital for emergency treatment. The DJ, who launched his own station iTalk last year, suffered an infection in the lower colon, but is now back home and on the road to recovery. “It was great to get such an extraordinary amount of messages of support,” he told the Olive Press. “It got me thinking about how many expats are in hospital without anyone to visit them. “I’ve set myself a mission to get volunteers to visit sick expats in hospital.”</p>

Emergency op for Maurice Boland

RADIO DJ Maurice Boland has thanked his fans for support after he was rushed to hospital for emergency treatment. The DJ, who launched his o...

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German man arrested after Málaga lawyer's body found in the boot of his own car

<p> </p><p>The lawyer, who has not yet been named, went missing last Friday.The lawyer's car where his body was found in the bootThe body of a lawyer, named as Salvador Andrés Reina, has been found in the boot of his car in Málaga. The lawyer had vanished in strange circumstances in Málaga last Friday and his body was found today, Thursday, in the boot of his own car, parked by the bus station in the city. Police say the man’s body shows evident signs of having suffered violence. A 50 year old German man, named with the initials P.R.B. has been arrested in connection with the case. He was arrested before the body was recovered on Thursday morning. It’s not been revealed if he was a client of the lawyer, or whether robbery was his motive. One theory the police are following was that there was a kidnapping which somehow went wrong. The police operation continues open. The Málaga Lawyers College issued a statement which said that Salvador Andrés Reina ‘had been assassinated when meeting his obligations as a lawyer, attending to his office, when a unknown man turned out not to be a client, but a thief and a killer’. The College expressed its sympathies to the family, his companions and friends, and thanked the police for their ‘very intense’ work in solving the case and detaining the suspect.</p>

German man arrested after Málaga lawyer's body found in the boot of his own car

  The lawyer, who has not yet been named, went missing last Friday.The lawyer's car where his body was found in the bootThe body of a la...

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Body of British man found in his flat

<p> </p><p>The body of a 29 year old British man has been found dead in his flat in Calle Regidor Alonso Fajardo, in the El Carmen district of Murcia. It happened on Sunday afternoon when the 121 emergency number received a call saying that a man was unconscious in his flat. An ambulance went to the scene but the health workers could only confirm the death of the man, after which they called the National Police who have opened an investigation to determine the circumstances of death. The first hypothesis is that the man could have suffered from drug intoxication.</p>

Body of British man found in his flat

  The body of a 29 year old British man has been found dead in his flat in Calle Regidor Alonso Fajardo, in the El Carmen district of Murcia...

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The Decree to regularize houses in Andalucia is now in force

<p> </p><p>The new decree, recently approved by the Junta de Andalucía, to regularize an estimated 300,000 illegal buildings in Andalucía has now come into force. The regional government claims that the decree will standardize the planning situation of these properties and allow access to basic services such as electricity and water.AUAN march in Sevilla Access to electricity and water Commenting on this development a spokesperson for Abusos Urbanisticos Almanzora No (AUAN), an association of homeowners that has long campaigned on behalf of those who purchased illegal houses in good faith said “In the short term we hope that our town councils take advantage of the ambiguities within the text of this decree to give services to as many people as possible, even if it is only for one year”.</p>

The Decree to regularize houses in Andalucia is now in force

  The new decree, recently approved by the Junta de Andalucía, to regularize an estimated 300,000 illegal buildings in Andalucía has now com...

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Foreign Minister complains Spain is the only country with 'pedestrian airports'

<p><br />The Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel García Margallo, has launched a stinging attack on the uncontrolled spending of the regions in the past, describing their ‘absurd costs’ as being responsible for much of Spain’s deficit. He highlighted the ‘pedestrian airports’, a reference no doubt to the 150 million € airport in Castellón which was opened last March and is yet to see its first flight. He said Spain was the only country to have inaugurated ‘pedestrian airports’. He said that the Valencia region had as many as 60 people in Brussels, and said that nearly all the regions had ‘absurd costs’, and noted some AVE high speed trains had only 18 passengers on board. Speaking on Cadena Cope radio on Monday he said, ‘The larger part of the black hole belongs to the autonomous communities and it is the responsibility of the regions, but also of Central Government, to respond to the obligations being imposed by Brussels, and it is in agreement with the Constitution to have the power of controlling the economics and the general horizon of the public hacienda’. He lamented the fact there is an ‘incomplete law of financing’ and said that the previous Socialist government had failed in its responsibility ‘to control the autonomous regions’</p>

Foreign Minister complains Spain is the only country with 'pedestrian airports'

The Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel García Margallo, has launched a stinging attack on the uncontrolled spending of the regions in the...

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Esperanza Oña denies that Fuengirola is bankrupt

<p><br />The Partido Popular Mayor of Fuengirola, Esperanza Oña, has denied that the town is bankrupt. The PSOE has claimed that the debt has risen to nearly the size of a year’s income. The PSOE General Secretary in the town, and Socialist Spokesman, Javier García León, said today Esperanza Oña had ‘dismissed’ the idea when questioned in a press conference. García León said the Town Hall owes nearly 100 million € and that, he claimed, meant that the municipal accounts were in a ‘serious situation of financial unsustainability’.</p>

Esperanza Oña denies that Fuengirola is bankrupt

The Partido Popular Mayor of Fuengirola, Esperanza Oña, has denied that the town is bankrupt. The PSOE has claimed that the debt has risen t...

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Andalucía is thought to have entered into a drought cycle, and the current 60% fall in rainfall has not been seen since 2004,

<p> </p><p>Rainfall has been well down on the last three months and if it does not recover many farmers will suffer  Andalucía is thought to have entered into a drought cycle, and the current 60% fall in rainfall has not been seen since 2004, and we have to go back to 1998 to see a drier time in Sevilla. Some areas of the region have seen very little rain, causing large problems for farmers especially. The Sierra Morena, the Córdoba Campina and parts of Huelva have been particularly dry, while in Santa Elena in Jaén they have seen just 32 litres per square metre, 92% down on the average since 1980. Fortunately this new drought cycle comes after three years of abundant rain; 2009 was the wettest in the last half century, and so reservoir levels are running still at an average of 75.6%. That’s still down from 84.73% a year ago. Regional delegate from AEMET, the State Meteorological Agency, Luis Fernando López Cotin, said the most affected areas are in the north and west of Andalucía, but the Regional Councillor for the Environment has called for prudence when predicting a drought cycle. Young farmers association ASAJA has warned that if it does not rain this Spring 40% of the olive harvest will be lost, and means losses of 400 million € in the province of Jaén alone.</p>

Andalucía is thought to have entered into a drought cycle, and the current 60% fall in rainfall has not been seen since 2004,

  Rainfall has been well down on the last three months and if it does not recover many farmers will suffer  Andalucía is thought to have ent...

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AN expat gangster has fled his £3million Spanish villa amid claims his life has been threatened by the Russian mafia.

<p> </p><p> Pat McCadden hasn’t been seen at the Marbella mansion for weeks and his cleaner has told callers he has moved to South Africa. The convicted drug dealer – nicknamed Pat the Rat – is said to be living in fear after a bootleg tobacco deal turned sour. Underworld sources claim McCadden is wanted by a Russian gang who claim he ripped them off in a plan to smuggle cigarettes and tobacco to Ireland. One said: “McCadden is terrified. He has been missing for weeks and has only spoken to his cleaner. “He struck a deal with some Russians to smuggle tobacco into Ireland but they accused him of ripping them off. Now he’s been told there is a price on his head. “He has told her to tell anyone who calls that he has moved to South Africa.” No one answered the door when the Sunday Mail called at McCadden’s mansion last week. It’s a stone’s throw from the exclusive Las Brisas Golf Club, where Sean Connery was a regular when he lived on the Costa del Sol. Post and junk mail remained uncollected in the post box outside the property. There were no cars on the drive behind the metal gates and high hedge which surrounds the front of the house. A postman said: “I’m still delivering letters in Mr McCadden’s name but I’ve never seen anyone here.” A neighbour added: “Pat lived at the house with his family but they haven’t been around for five or six months at least. “Someone’s looking after the house and they’ve told us he’s gone away.” Another neighbour in the upmarket estate of Nueva Andalucia said: “I used to see Mr McCadden quite a bit and he seemed pleasant. I haven’t seen him for ages.” McCadden, jailed for 10 years in 1985 for drugs trafficking, has lived in Spain for more than 10 years. He spent most of 2006 on remand accused of the attempted murder of a Spanish police officer in December 2003. The officer was gunned down during a shootout with two men who moments earlier had shot British expatriate businessmen Luke Miller in the leg. McCadden was in jail for almost seven months before being released on bail while a judicial probe continued. But a judge dismissed the case against the Glaswegian after witnesses failed to identify him and there were also problems with DNA evidence. A source at Malaga’s Policia Nacional, which covers the Marbella area, said: “There’s nothing outstanding against Pat McCadden that we’re aware of at the moment.”</p>

AN expat gangster has fled his £3million Spanish villa amid claims his life has been threatened by the Russian mafia.

   Pat McCadden hasn’t been seen at the Marbella mansion for weeks and his cleaner has told callers he has moved to South Africa. The convic...

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Executive protection

<p><br />Anthony Burnside of Lenexa, Kan., is a professional bodyguard. Burnside was working at the Beverly Hilton hotel at a pre-Grammys party hosted by music producer Clive Davis the day Whitney Houston died there. Burnside will be back in Los Angeles working during the Oscar ceremony and after-parties. This conversation took place at a photo studio in Merriam, Kan. Q: Bodyguards have been in the news a lot lately. A: They shouldn't be. It's a very secretive business. I get paid to protect people's secrets. I get calls from TV programs wanting me to dish on clients who are in rehab and stuff like that. I would never do that. What has happened to people like Britney Spears (whose former bodyguard is writing a tell-all book) is wrong. I have a friend who says when that sort of thing happens, "I hope you got a lot of money for that, because you'll never work in EP again." Q: EP? A: Executive protection. We seldom use the term bodyguard, because there's a misperception on the public's part about what that means. Q: Did you see "The Bodyguard"? A: Loved it. Great movie. Extremely unrealistic in some parts. Q: What parts? A: The shootout at the beginning of the movie. That would never happen. First, you would never bring the client out the same door you brought them in through. And you don't get in a shootout with your client there. You don't get in a shootout, period. The best weapon a specialist has is their brain. Q: Specialist? A: That's what we call ourselves, EP specialists. Q: You are big and tall. How important is size? A: Not at all. Look at the Secret Service - they aren't big or tall, but they are some of the best trained men and women on the planet. It has nothing to do with being able to lift weights or do martial arts. It has to do with problem-solving and thinking and advance planning. Q: Do you ever find clients who want a bodyguard that is big and tall for show? A: Yes, and that's exactly what it is - for show. The important work goes on before the client is even there: checking the layout of the building, where the emergency exits are, where the bathrooms are, even checking the air sometimes. Just because you were a Navy SEAL doesn't mean you will make a good bodyguard. It's a specific skill set, just like you wouldn't want a great brain surgeon to do your foot surgery. When you get situations like bodyguards for Justin Bieber attacking a photographer, that's not EP. Those are thugs masquerading as EP. Q: Is it hard to not get sucked up in the glamour surrounding VIP clients? A: The job isn't as glamorous as it seems. There's a certain amount of glamour to it, but mostly it's the most boring job you ever had. And that's the way we like it. We like boring. Q: You don't like excitement, huh? A: Nooooooo. You want it all boring, all day. The average EP detail ranges from 12 to 18 hours. Q: Was there anything in "The Bodyguard" that was realistic? A: Yes. I think a lot of people fall in love with their client, which is the stupidest thing ever. Q: Why? A: When you start sleeping with someone, they don't think they have to pay you. And it compromises your objectivity. Emotions can't play a role in EP. If that ever happens you should remove yourself from the detail. Q: Are there any movies that offer a truer depiction of a bodyguard? A: "In the Line of Fire" was more realistic. Q: What are the skills it takes to be a good bodyguard? A: A good personality. Q: Why? A: Because you have to be smooth like James Bond in any situation. You also need to be very detail-oriented. You have to look at weather maps and research the political climate of a country before the client travels there. And you have to know about the client. If I am going to be guarding you tomorrow, by tomorrow I will know everything there is to know about you. Q: What technical skills are required? A: You have to be able to find hidden electronic devices and prevent them from being placed. I have specialized equipment to do that. Q: Do you ever have clients where part of the job is protecting them from themselves? A: You know, Whitney Houston's bodyguard expressed that it is difficult to protect people from themselves. I agree with that, but I don't agree with him talking to the press about it. We don't judge. If you are my client and you have a drinking problem, that concerns me mainly because people's vices make them vulnerable. Q: Without revealing any identities, can you share with us some unusual situations you have found yourself in? A: Like finding a half-naked woman on my bed when I unlocked the door to my hotel room? Q: Sure, that's unusual. Why did it happen? A: Some people are celebrity groupies, and they try to get to the bodyguards to gain access to the celebrities. They might bribe a maid or a bellhop to let them into the room. Q: What do you do when something like that happens? A: Call security. Q: How can you have a normal social life? A: I don't. Ask any woman I've ever gone out with. I've never been married. It's good for guys and women like me not to be married. Because with the hours you work you can't nurture a relationship like you are supposed to. Maybe I'm not built for that. I don't know. Q: You are in New York and Los Angeles frequently. How many nights a year do you spend in Lenexa? A: Maybe half of them. Q: Why do you live in Lenexa? A: Because I have a son who lives here. He is 15 going on 30. Q: Have you ever become friends with celebrity clients? A: Yes but there are boundaries. You are not there to be your client's friend. But there are exceptions. I became good friends with (comedian) Steve Allen - he was the first person I ever guarded. And Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have invited me to parties when I am off-duty, but I don't go over to their house. I don't know their problems. There are boundaries.</p>

Executive protection

Anthony Burnside of Lenexa, Kan., is a professional bodyguard. Burnside was working at the Beverly Hilton hotel at a pre-Grammys party hoste...

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Lloret de Mar turns its back on drunken tourists

<p> </p><p>A barrage of new by-laws has been issued to control the holidaymakers.Following the disturbances seen last summer, the Lloret de Mar Town Hall has passed more restrictive by-laws designed to combat ‘drunken tourism’. Last summer clashes between drunken tourists and police led to 20 arrests when the regional police Los Mosses stopped more clients entering a discotec because the air conditioning was broken. 22 people needed medical treatment including nine officers. That is being described now as a point of inflexion in the town’s tourism. The new regulations are designed to control behaviour on the public highway and encourage civic solidarity. They include a ban on routes known as ‘pub tours’ or ‘disco tours’, and the ‘offering, requesting, promotion or discussion of accepting direct or indirect sexual services’ is banned in public spaces. The consumption of alcohol in the street is also banned as the advertising or bar promotions for alcohol with greater than 20 º content. Also out are free bars, 2X1, happy hours and club cards. Machines which serve drinks are banned on the public highway. Also prohibited is sleeping by day or night in a vehicle, and urinating in the street. There is even a new law prohibiting the practice of ‘balconing’ with fines of as much as 1,500 € for that, although some fines could be as high as 3,000 €. People will only be allowed to walk without a shirt or just in a swimming costume when they are on the beach. Mayor of Lloret de Mar, Romà Codina, said the measures had much to do with the success of similar programs in Barcelona.</p>

Lloret de Mar turns its back on drunken tourists

  A barrage of new by-laws has been issued to control the holidaymakers.Following the disturbances seen last summer, the Lloret de Mar Town ...

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Tomb opened to investigate stolen baby allegation, and found to be empty

<p><br />A judicial commission given the job of exhuming the remains of baby girl, as part of the investigation into alleged stealing of babies, opened the site where the baby’s remains was supposed to be, at an old cemetery in Ronda, Málaga. A court in Málaga had authorised the exhumation to carry out DNA testing to confirm identity, but the tomb was empty. Diario Sur reports the mother said there was nothing there ‘Not even a blanket or clothes, nothing at all, just an empty box with a cross on top’. The parents saw the child being born alive, but they were told later that she had died. The death is not recorded in the Registro Civil.</p>

Tomb opened to investigate stolen baby allegation, and found to be empty

A judicial commission given the job of exhuming the remains of baby girl, as part of the investigation into alleged stealing of babies, open...

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Gored bullfighter leaves hospital

<p> </p><p>Spanish bullfighter, Juan José Padilla, who was dramatically gored in the face on October 7 as part of the Pilar fiestas in Zaragoza, was released from hospital in the city on Wednesday. He told the press, sitting in a wheelchair and with his face uncovered and clear of any bandage, that he would be putting on his suit of lights and entering the ring again, although he admitted that it was impossible to continue this season. He said he would be back in 2012. Chief Ophthalmology surgeon at the Miguel Servet Hospital, Luis Pablo, described the matador’s recovery as spectacular, given that he arrived in the E.R. with his eye out of its socket. The bullfighter admitted that the prognosis is not so good as the optic nerve has been affected, and his retina also came detached, but he said ‘in medicine you never know, and miracles exist’. He told the press that he would not mind seeing pictures of him being gored, where one horn entered his cheek and exited in his left eye, but he had not done so as yet. ‘I bear no grudge against my profession or the bull’, he said. ‘The bull has given me much grandness’.</p>

Gored bullfighter leaves hospital

  Spanish bullfighter, Juan José Padilla, who was dramatically gored in the face on October 7 as part of the Pilar fiestas in Zaragoza, was ...

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UK Benefit Fraud investigators have recently enjoyed more success in the fight against benefit cheats in Spain.

<p> </p><p> In one of the latest cases to go to prosecution, Debbie Williamson from Rotherham was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court to 18 months immediate imprisonment for having stolen UK benefits between 2004 and 2009. Ms Williamson had been claiming a number of non-exportable benefits from the UK, including income support. She denied having any connection with Spain, but investigators established she owned property in Valencia, had made regular cash withdrawals abroad and had her daughter in a local Spanish school. In total Ms. Williamson stole £42,558.72 from the British taxpayer by claiming benefits she was not entitled to after her circumstances changed. Ms. Williamson is just one of many cases that make up the estimated £79 million of benefit fraud committed abroad. Although most people claiming UK benefits abroad do so legally, Spain is one of the countries where most UK benefit fraud is committed. In many of these cases, the person has purposefully not informed the UK authorities of a change in their circumstances. Anyone in receipt of a UK State Pension or benefit has the responsibility to keep the department paying their benefit up to date with any changes that could affect their payment, no matter how small the change seems. More information on UK benefits in general and on which ones can and cannot be received whilst living in Spain can be found on the DirectGov website. If you know of someone committing UK benefit fraud whilst living in Spain, such as claiming a non-exportable benefit, working in Spain while in receipt of UK incapacity benefit, or claiming benefit as a single person but living with a partner, you can help to protect the taxpayers’ money. A free and confidential Benefit Fraud Hotline is available in Spain – call 900 554 440 or visit the Benefit Fraud website to help UK investigators close the net on the benefit thieves.</p>

UK Benefit Fraud investigators have recently enjoyed more success in the fight against benefit cheats in Spain.

   In one of the latest cases to go to prosecution, Debbie Williamson from Rotherham was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court to 18 months imm...

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SEPLA call 24 more strikes in Iberia, and some are over Easter

<p><br />Iberia SEPLA union pilots have announced a new wave of strike action in protest at the company’s plans to start a new low-cost airline, Iberia Express, the first flight of which is set for March 25. They have called 24 more 24 hour strikes, which follow from the previous 12 which have already been seen. The stoppages are between March and May and some affect both the Easter break and bank holiday weekends. The pilots say they have upped their action because the company is refusing to talk and their attitude is ‘a radical rejection of any of the proposals offered by the collective, and to maintain the creation of Iberia Express which will result in the destruction of 8,000 jobs’. The union also claims that Iberia is not respecting Air Safety Regulations on work and rest time for the crew, saying that in one case a pilot has been sacked for this reason. The new strike action will be taken on 16, 19, 23, 25, 26 and 30 of March; 2, 4, 9, 13, 16, 20, 23, 27 and 30 of April; 2, 4, 7, 11, 14, 18, 21, 25 and 28 of May. On these dates Government imposed minimum services will see some services and normally the links to the Canaries and the Baleares are not affected. The 12 days strike action carried out so far is estimated to have resulted in losses of 32 million €.</p>

SEPLA call 24 more strikes in Iberia, and some are over Easter

Iberia SEPLA union pilots have announced a new wave of strike action in protest at the company’s plans to start a new low-cost airline, Iber...

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Makers say 'sorry' as excessive vitamin D found after dog food recalled from 190 Mercadona stores

<p> </p><p>A Brand of dog food in cartons sold by Mercadona has been blamed for causing kidney failure in pets. The supermarket chain – the largest in Spain – has now withdrawn carton-packaged Compy wet dog food from its shelves in 190 stores in Albacete, Almeria, Alicante and Murcia provinces. This action followed a flood of concerns from dog owners – including scores of expatriates – after their pets had been taken ill, with some vomiting violently. On Tuesday, four days after Mercadona had withdrawn the food from sale as a safety precaution, a statement from Tunilament pet division, which is part of Escuris, the company that manufactures Compy, confirmed tests on the pet food had confirmed excessive Vitamin D. They admitted that this Vitamin D increment could cause urine problems to pets, although only through high doses or persistent use of the product, according to the manufacturer’s veterinarian reports. Earlier, vets and many expatriates had identified Compy wet dog food in aluminium-lined cartons and sold by Mercadona as the common link between dozens – and possibly hundreds – of complaints by dog owners over sick pets. There were even reports by expatriates living in the Costa del Sol, but a Mercadona official gave assurances that the Compy product packaged in these cartons was not sold by them in Malaga Province. British-born Audrey Millar of Benitachell (Alicante) said her three dogs (Shih Tzu, aged 7 yrs, 4.5 yrs and 20 months - Teddy, Shakira and Latika respectively) had always eaten “the Mercadona dog food in the big tins priced at €1.25 a can.” “When the packaging was changed to cartons (indivisible packs of 3) they were less than enthusiastic about the food but did eat a bit - I mix it with Burns Mini Bites dried food for them.” “Within a couple of days they started to vomit violently (thank God for tiles!) and refused to eat the food.  I took them to the vet and she thought initially that they may have ingested pesticide as she had had a couple of other local dogs in with the same symptoms.” “She ran renal function tests on two of them and their urea and creatinine levels were raised.  “ “She did not consider it worth running the blood tests on the third one (Latika) as she had the exact same symptoms I then started cooking chicken/turkey/ brown rice/vegetables for them until their stomachs settled but I will continue to cook for them now.  All have lost a little weight but are almost completely back to normal although Latika was sick last night - they are on Uro Can tablets to protect their stomachs.” “Thanks for bringing this into the public domain - I am glad Mercadona seem to be taking it as seriously as they should be and let's hope they are willing to reimburse customers for vet's fees incurred - I know it has cost some people 100s of Euros and, worse still, some people have lost their beloved pets due to this fiasco. “And there is the cost of all the cleaning products I bought from them to clear up piles (and it was) of dog vomit for a couple of weeks!” “I feel quite guilty to be honest, as I know other pet owners do - like I have been poisoning them really. “ Meanwhile, Veronica Catala of Clinica Veterinaria Benitachell said she had seen 10 to 15 cases of dogs with kidney problems in the last two months, and the majority of dog owners – including Ms Millar - had fed pets with the Comfy dog food in cartons. Inka Labsch of Clinica Veterinaria Europa in Mojacar (Almeria) confirmed that in the last month there had been a huge rise in the number of dog owners bringing in pets suffering from kidney problems. “In the past month there have been nearly 10, and quite a few otherwise young and healthy animals.” Tests to see if the kidney problems was caused by Leishmaniasis came back negative, a vet told EWN. “At one point we thought it might have been caused by pesticide used to combat the Red Weevil Beetle plague we have here,” said Inka. “But then I heard that other vets in other towns were experiencing similar unusual numbers of young dogs with kidney problems, so I do not think it is that. Many of the dog’s owners say they feed their pets with Mercadona’s Compy brand wet dog food,” said Inka. Various pet owners’ who feed their dogs this pet food confirmed this. One of Inka’s patients is ‘Goldie, who is on a drip for five hours a day after tests showed she had kidney problems. Ken Grey’s five-year-old white German Shepherd ‘Gemma’ started to develop symptoms, which include excessive thirst. His partner Georgette Hurcomb took Gemma to the vet in Garrucha who confirmed the kidney problem. “I personally know of at least six dogs who all eat the same brand of dog food who have this problem, although I understand there are at least 20 dogs who may be affected, one of which died,” said Georgette who lives in Palomares. “We drink the same water as the dogs and they only eat this brand of dog food.” “I made a complaint to Mercadona and a representative contacted us very concerned and said they would take the dog food off the shelves and would conducting tests.” Jamie Moore’s dog Tyson was diagnosed with ‘bad kidneys’ by the vet in Turre. “I did not think it could have been the food from Mercadona as my dog has eaten this brand of food for many years,” said Jamie. “But since its packaging changed, he has had a reaction.” Albox resident, Heather Whythe’s dog ‘Scruffy’ fell ill after a week of eating the ‘trozos in salsa’. “Since switching to another dog food, she is now back to her normal self,” said Heather. Chris Reade realised something was wrong when his dog began drinking excessively, suffered from urinary incontinence and went from 20 kilos to 16 kilos. “No definite diagnosis was found, although liver and kidney function results were abnormal. I immediately took the dog off the meat and with complete rest and a diet of chicken and rice she is thankfully on the road to recovery.”</p>

Makers say 'sorry' as excessive vitamin D found after dog food recalled from 190 Mercadona stores

  A Brand of dog food in cartons sold by Mercadona has been blamed for causing kidney failure in pets. The supermarket chain – the largest i...

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Spain’s Deficit Tests Europe’s Financial Rules

<p> </p><p>ONLY months after they tightened the rules for the euro, Europeans are again confronting a question posed a decade ago: Is their rule book in fact a little stupid? In 2002, Romano Prodi, then the president of the European Commission, provoked widespread criticism by using the word “stupid” to describe the Stability and Growth Pact, a set of rules intended to maintain the stability of the euro zone by imposing fiscal discipline on member states. Now Spain is pressing for leniency, using more polite language but a similar argument. Deep in recession, Spain is not close to hitting European Union target dates for cutting its budget deficit to acceptable levels. And that, according to the logic of the new rules, ought to begin a process leading to the imposition of fines against Spain’s government. Euro zone finance ministers are set to discuss Spain’s economic situation Thursday in Brussels. It may come up again when European heads of government take part in a two-day meeting to discuss policies intended to increase economic growth. The new center-right Spanish government led by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy faces a severe economic squeeze. To hit the European Union’s deficit target it would need to impose another austerity package that, according to estimates, would be more than double the 15 billion euros, or $20 billion, of tax increases and spending cuts already agreed to this year. And Spain is entering its second recession since the sovereign debt crisis began and is struggling with an unemployment rate of nearly 23 percent. But the European authorities face a dilemma, too. The Spanish case illustrates a design flaw in the euro rule book — fining a nation in financial trouble can only make matters worse. Even insisting on more austerity could drive Spain over the edge. Inaction, however, could threaten the credibility of the revised rule book when financial markets remain nervous. While the European Commission, the executive body of the 27-nation European Union, has issued tough warnings to some smaller nations, including Hungary — which is outside the euro zone and subject to different sanctions — Spain is the first large country to run afoul of the strengthened rules. The issue is particularly delicate because when France and Germany violated the original pact in 2003 by running up excessive deficits, the agreement was softened. And some policy makers have said that is one reason euro nations did not weather the financial crisis better. Last year the pact was strengthened to make sanctions more difficult to avoid and to make overall debt levels a bigger factor in determining whether penalties should be applied. Jean Pisani-Ferry, director of Bruegel, an economic research institute in Brussels, said Spain posed a substantial test for the new rules. “It is big because it is a bigger country and this is a tough case: how to reconcile fiscal discipline and economic realism,” he said. “Spain is facing a true recession,” he added, with estimates that its economy will continue to contract. “The commission is forecasting minus 1 percent, the Bank of Spain minus 1.5 percent, and there is no shortage of people forecasting even less. I think they should be careful at a time when they are embarking on a large number of reforms.” But Mr. Pisani-Ferry added that the European Commission had latitude in determining whether a country had violated the new rules. The commission will recommend how to proceed, and, if it has determined that Spain has tried its best to meet the target dates but has been blown off course by events outside its control, the European Commission can propose new target dates. Under the Stability and Growth Pact, European nations are supposed to keep their budget deficits below 3 percent of gross domestic product and their debt levels below 60 percent of G.D.P. Spain’s target was a deficit of 6 percent of G.D.P. in 2011, 4.4 percent in 2012 and 3 percent in 2013. On Monday, though, the Spanish government said it ended 2011 with a deficit of 8.5 percent of G.D.P. Speaking in Brussels on Wednesday, the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, said he was awaiting more information from Madrid, and the new Spanish budget, due to be presented in March. “The reality regarding Spain is that we do not yet have a full picture of Spain’s fiscal slippage last year and the reasons for that slippage,” Mr. Barroso said. “Only then, when we receive the concrete information, we’ll be able to take a position.” He expressed confidence that the new budget “will be fully in line with the Stability and Growth Pact rules.” The national government in Madrid has blamed Spain’s regional governments, estimating that they accounted for about two-thirds of the slippage last year. The regions ended 2011 with an average deficit equivalent to 2.94 percent of G.D.P., compared with a target of 1.3 percent. Spain is one of at least 23 European Union nations in violation of the bloc’s rules, subject to what is known as “excessive deficit procedure,” with closer monitoring and clear targets. But it was already given the benefit of the doubt in December 2009, when it was allowed an extra year to reach the 3 percent deficit level. All of which makes for a difficult decision for the commission, which must walk a tightrope between squeezing Spain’s economy too much and undermining the new rules. Mr. Pisani-Ferry said he believed that it should worry more about the first of those factors than the second. “Credibility rests also on the fact that what you do is economically sensible,” he said.</p>

Spain’s Deficit Tests Europe’s Financial Rules

  ONLY months after they tightened the rules for the euro, Europeans are again confronting a question posed a decade ago: Is their rule book...

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Duchess of Cambridge arrives at Fortnum and Mason wearing a Missoni coat.

<div class="slideshow" style="margin-top: 15px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; z-index: 0; position: relative; width: 534px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; color: #333333; text-align: center; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><div class="screen" style="border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; position: relative; z-index: 1; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><div id="cphContent_ArticleImages_rptImages_divSlideShow_0" class="slide show" style="border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><p class="imageExtras" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: auto; padding-top: 5px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; color: #9e9e9e; border: 0px initial initial;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></p></div></div></div><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 1.4em; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; text-align: left; line-height: 1.4; color: #333333; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><span style="font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.4;">The Queen, the Duchess of Cambridge and the Duchess of Cornwall seemed to have colour-coordinated their outfits today for a visit to London's boutique department store, Fortnum & Mason.</span>The royals were all dressed in shades of blue when they arrived at the famous Piccadilly store to meet military personnel and tour the restaurant which has been renamed 'The Diamond Jubilee Tea Station' to mark the Queen's 60 years on the throne.</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 1.4em; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; text-align: left; line-height: 1.4; color: #333333; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">The Queen wore a pale blue outfit with a matching hat; Camilla was dressed in a navy blue coat with eye-catching white horizontal stripes at the top, while Kate, the newest addition to the Royal Family, wore a blue wool above-the-knee coat.</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 1.4em; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; text-align: left; line-height: 1.4; color: #333333; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">So far, so safe. But in fact, Kate's outfit broke from tradition in one subtle way. The Duchess, who almost exclusively wears British-based labels chose a coat by M Missoni, the second line of Italian fashion house Missoni. The powder blue coat bore all the hallmarks of the luxury brand famous for its elaborate knitwear, and palace sources have confirmed its origins.</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 1.4em; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; text-align: left; line-height: 1.4; color: #333333; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">But fear not British Fashion Council - ever the diplomat, Kate topped off her outfit with shoes by British designer Rupert Sanderson. To be fair, if one is going to stand around all day with one's step mother-in-law, grandmother-in-law and Boris Johnson chatting to military personnel, one should at least be able to indulge in a bit of luxury Italian fashion for the occasion.</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 0px; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 1.4em; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; text-align: left; line-height: 1.4; color: #333333; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><img alt="" src="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02154/The_Queen__Camilla_2154949a.jpg" style="border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px none initial;" /><br /><em class="i" style="border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">The Queen, The Duchess of Cornwall and The Duchess of Cambridge arrive at Fortnum & Mason. PHOTO:AP</em></p>

Duchess of Cambridge arrives at Fortnum and Mason wearing a Missoni coat.

The Queen, the Duchess of Cambridge and the Duchess of Cornwall seemed to have colour-coordinated their outfits today for a visit to London...

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