Category: news

Mr Nadir said he had "already proved" his innocence

Fugitive tycoon Asil Nadir is to return to the UK within hours, after evading trial since 1993.

Mr Nadir, 69, left his home in northern Cyprus to face fraud charges relating to the collapse of his Polly Peck business empire in 1990.

He told the BBC he had fled Britain after battling "with immense injustice and tremendous abuse of power".

He will have to wear an electronic tag until the end of his trial and pay a bail surety of ‚£250,000.

The businessman is expected to arrive at Luton Airport later on Thursday, and is due to appear at the Old Bailey a week later. However, his trial is not expected to take place until 2012 because of the complexity of the allegations.

Speaking from Turkey before flying to the UK, Mr Nadir told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he believed the legal "environment" was right for him to return.

"I'm hoping to get a fair trial, if this matter goes to trial, obviously," he said.

"But that was not the case in the past. I spent from 1990 to 1993 – almost December of 93 – battling with immense injustice and tremendous abuse of power in Britain.

"My health had deteriorated and at that point I felt that, to save my life, I had to come to recuperate… I have been asking since then for the environment to be as it is today."

He claimed he had already "proved my innocence to the authorities without doubt but nobody took any notice at that time".

Mr Nadir added there was "no deal" over his treatment when he returns to the UK.

"I have not done a deal. My lawyers have asked for me to be granted bail before I came to England and that was decided.

"There is only one deal and that is, I am hoping I will see for the first time some justice."

Earlier this year, Mr Nadir let it be known that he was prepared to return to the UK on condition that he was granted bail while his case was heard, rather than being held in custody.

His bail conditions include the ‚£250,000 bail surety already paid to the court, surrendering his passport, wearing an electronic tag, reporting to a police station once a week, and being prohibited from going near any airport.

Mr Nadir was charged with fraud and 66 counts of theft when he was chief executive of Polly Peck, a business empire he built from scratch which traded in products as diverse as groceries and electronics.

It was alleged that he secretly transferred ‚£34m out of the company, leading to its collapse.

Just before he was due to stand trial in 1993, he fled to live in his native Cyprus.

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The Times' crime editor, Sean O'Neill, has been with Mr Nadir in northern Cyprus.

He said: "I must say the most surprising thing for me is, he lives a life of comparative luxury here in Cyprus¢€¦ yet he burns with a desire to return to the UK to clear his name."

Mr O'Neill said he found it striking that it was this feeling alone that was compelling Mr Nadir to leave his beach-front home and return – northern Cyprus has no extradition treaty with the UK.

In a legal twist, it emerged during a bail hearing in July this year that Mr Nadir was never, legally speaking, on the run.

In 1992 he had pleaded not guilty to the SFO's allegations but was allowed to leave the court without a judge deciding whether he should be bailed or remanded.

When Mr Nadir fled in 1993, a judge issued an arrest warrant for breach of bail.

However, the Old Bailey ruled that Mr Nadir had not breached his bail because it had never been granted in the first place.

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Net migration to the UK rose last year to 196,000, up by 33,000 from the number in 2008.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show 4% fewer people arrived in the UK last year – 567,000 compared with 590,000 in 2008 – but the number leaving dropped further, by 13%.

Home Office data shows a 37% rise in people granted settlement in the UK between June 2009 and June 2010.

The number of visas issued to students also went up by 35% to 362,015.

The Home Office's annual bulletin, released on Thursday, also contained the latest available figures for 2010, detailing population movements in the second quarter of the year.

In this period, the number of applications to the UK for asylum, excluding dependants, was 29% down on the same quarter in 2009. Two-thirds of this fall was due to a drop in applications from Zimbabwe, from 1,560 to 405.

In 2009 as a whole, asylum applications, excluding dependents, dropped 6% from 2008 levels.

In the second quarter of this year, the Home Office said 14,130 people were removed from the UK or left voluntarily, 14% fewer than the same quarter in 2009 when the figure was 16,345.

The BBC's Andy Tighe said the increase in student visas issued was significant and there was some concern within the government about how easy it appeared to be for people to move to the UK with their families on study-related permits.

Our home affairs correspondent said the figures also showed a significant fall in the number of work-related visas issued, in part due to the recession and also because of the points-based system for those wishing to come to the UK from outside Europe.

Other details included:

Long-term emigration fell to 371,000 last year from 427,000 in 2008Of those granted settlement in the UK in 2009, 68% were dependents of those already living in the countryMigrants from the Indian sub-continent made up to largest proportion of settlement grants, 34%. Of the remainder 25% were from Africa and 21% from elsewhere in AsiaThe number of Polish migrants coming to the UK in 2009 fell 22% to 118,675, from 151,870 in 2008But the number from Latvia and Lithuania increased considerably – the former from 6,005 to 16,020, and the latter from 10,550 to 15,815

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An HIV-positive German popstar accused of infecting a former partner with the virus has been given a two-year suspended sentence.

Nadja Benaissa, 28, admitted having unprotected sex and keeping her HIV status secret, but denied deliberately infecting anyone.

The No Angels singer was found guilty of causing bodily harm to one man, and of two cases of attempted bodily harm.

At the trial she said she was “sorry from the bottom of my heart”.

Ms Benaissa had sex with three people without telling them she was infected. One of them was confirmed as having contracted the virus.

Ms Benaissa told the court Darmstadt that she had not told anybody about her disease because she was afraid of the consequences for her career, which she conceded was a “cowardly act”.

She claimed she had been told by doctors that the risk of passing on the virus had been “practically zero”.

Ms Benaissa was arrested in Frankfurt last year, shortly before she was due to perform a solo concert, and spent 10 days in custody.

No Angels were formed in 2000 on the international TV show Popstars, before recording a series of hits and emerging as Germany’s most successful girl band.

They re-formed in 2007 and competed in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing 23rd.

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The police have previously been involved in violent clashes with the strikers

A court in South Africa has barred police officers from joining a nationwide strike by public workers, which is in its ninth day.

A police spokeswoman said any officers who go on strike could face the sack.

More than one million teachers, healthcare workers and civil servants began their strike last Wednesday, in a dispute over pay.

South Africa's trade union federation, Cosatu, is holding nationwide marches on Thursday to further its demands.

These include a mass protest outside parliament in Cape Town.

The police sought the court injunction after the main police union announced that it wanted to join the strike.

Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union spokesman Norman Mampane said union lawyers would challenge the order, reports the AP news agency.

The police have previously been involved in violent clashes with some strikers and have fired rubber bullets, water cannon and tear gas at the protesters.

Last weekend, another court ordered the unions not to disrupt emergency services.

Military doctors have been deployed around the country to keep hospitals open.

The health ministry has asked for volunteers to help clean hospitals and cook food for patients.

The government has offered a 7% pay rise. Unions affiliated to Cosatu are demanding an increase of 8.6%.

The government says it cannot afford to deliver wage increases that amount to twice the rate of inflation.

On Friday, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said hospital workers who interrupted vital medical care and forced colleagues to join the strike are carrying out actions tantamount to murder.

President Jacob Zuma has defended the unions' right to strike but also urged for them to end violence and intimidation.

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Andrew Adams said it was “unbelievable” that he had been sent a loyalty card in the name of Dr A Suicide Bomber

High street chain Boots has apologised for sending a man a loyalty card in the name of ‘Dr A Suicide Bomber.’

Andrew Adams , 63, of Swansea, said it was “unbelievable” that the company issued him the card.

He said he had not applied for it and did not shop at the store in the city very often.

Boots said it was “very sorry for any upset” and said it had launched a “full and detailed investigation” into how the “appalling hoax” occurred.

Father-of-four Mr Adams, a retired lorry driver, said: “I’m not a doctor and I’m certainly not a suicide bomber.

“I could not believe it when it arrived. It’s unbelievable it ever got through their system.”

Mr Adams said he had telephoned Boots to complain.

“I’ve got a rather strong character so things like this wash off me but what if it had been sent to some of a nervous disposition or someone elderly?

“I spoke to their head office and they were very apologetic.

“Apparently they have a system on their computer where certain words are flagged up – somebody should have been monitoring to make sure this was not sent.

“I very seldom go there – only if I need a prescription that can’t be fulfilled by my local pharmacy.

“I certainly did not want or ask for an Advantage Card – it would not be of any advantage to me.”

Boots said it sincerely apologised for the error.

“We are very sorry for any upset that Mr Adams has experienced and we are liaising directly with him,” said a company spokesperson.

“As soon as we were aware of this incident, we immediately triggered a full and detailed investigation into how this appalling hoax was able to occur.

“This has included a comprehensive audit and a review of the systems in place to prevent such behaviours taking place again.

“We have technology in place to prevent offensive terminology and potential fraudulent names being used.”

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Sophie Watson says she wants to have her freckles lasered off

The mother of a 14-year-old County Durham girl who has had make-up tattooed on her face said they did not take the decision lightly.

Sophie Watson, from Spennymoor, had her eyebrows tattooed and had lip and eye liner applied as well as a beauty spot.

Her mother Joy said she gave permission for the treatment for her daughter, who competes in beauty pageants.

She accepted it sounded shocking but said it was done subtly to enhance her features rather than changing them.

Sophie said she was also hoping to have her freckles lasered off in the future.

She said: “I am happy. I just look a lot better.

“I like it now that it is always there and I don’t need to bother with it every morning.”

Her mother, who is a beauty therapist, said she did give permission for the treatment.

She said: “I think she is old enough to be making these decisions with support from me.

“It wasn’t something we looked into lightly.”

She said she could understand it might seem shocking to people who did not understand the procedure.

“When you say she has had her make-up tattooed on it sounds really shocking. But actually it is done very subtly,” she said.

“It’s done to enhance her features, it’s not done to change her, to make her look like somebody else. It’s not done to change the way she looks.”

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Fifa’s inspectors broadly praise England’s 2018 World Cup bid at the conclusion of a four-day visit.

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An RAF helicopter took the teenager to hospital, where he later died.

A 17-year-old boy and two teenage girls he died trying to save in the sea off Whitby were on an outing from a secure psychiatric unit, it has emerged.

The group were rescued after being swept out to sea on an inflatable dinghy off Whitby beach on Wednesday.

The boy died at Scarborough Hospital. The girls were treated and discharged.

Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust said they were patients at St Nicholas Hospital in Gosforth – a medium secure psychiatric forensic unit for youths.

The unit cares for 14 to 17-year-olds who have either come into contact with the law as a result of their mental health issues, or are a risk to themselves or others.

Lifeboatman Hugh Ramsden said he tried to save the teenager

It is understood the teenagers in Whitby were being supervised by a group of adults from the unit.

A trust spokesman said: “We are all shocked and devastated by the news.

“We would like to offer our sincerest condolences to the family, friends and his fellow patients at this difficult time.

“We are fully co-operating with North Yorkshire Police to assist them in their investigation.”

The RNLI said the three had been using the dinghy close to Whitby’s West Pier.

They said it was thought the boy had managed to pull himself to safety using the ladder on the pier wall, but had returned to the water to help his companions.

Lifeboatman Hugh Ramsden said they tried to resuscitate the boy after recovering him from the water.

He said: “He was brought back to the Whitby lifeboat house and our coxswain took over CPR… until the emergency services arrived.”

Philip Rooks, who was at the beach with his children, said he was walking along the pier when his group noticed the teenagers were in difficulty.

The RAF helicopter flew the boy to hospital before returning to airlift the girls. Pic: Helen Barker

He said they watched the boy swim to one of the girls who “was in real distress, shouting that she couldn’t swim”.

He added: “The poor lad managed to stay with her for a short time but after a couple of waves washed over him he turned in the water face down.

“At this point two lifeguards were swimming out against what I can only imagine being a strong current.

“Everyone started to shout to the young girl to turn her friend but you could see that she was struggling to survive herself.”

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Harold Mayne-Nicholls from football’s governing body, Fifa, has praised England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup finals.

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Bad light and rain halt play on a truncated opening day of the final Test between England and Pakistan at Lord’s.

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Ali Karimi is Iran’s second most capped player of all time

One of Iran’s best-known footballers has been reinstated by his club after being fired for breaking the fast during the holy month of Ramadan.

Ali Karimi – called the Maradona of Asia – has been told he can play for his club, Steel Azin, again if he pays a $40,000 (£26,000) fine.

He says he will pay but has consistently denied insulting Islam.

Mr Karimi has been a vocal critic of Iran’s football federation and Steel Azin’s management.

He also wore a green arm band in support of the country’s opposition movement at a World Cup qualifier played in South Korea last year.

Commentators in Iran say his dismissal may have had more to do with politics than religion.

Mr Karimi was dismissed by Steel Azin earlier this month for breaking the Ramadan fast, when he was seen drinking water during a training session.

The response from the club’s fans was protests and widespread support for the star player.

He also got the backing of former Iranian footballers who had themselves endured the Ramadan fast while training in Iran’s scorching summer months.

He is one of Iran’s most celebrated footballers and its second most capped player of all time.

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Gareth Williams was on secondment to MI6

More tributes have been paid to Gareth Williams, the MI6 worker whose body was discovered in a holdall in his London flat.

More tests are being carried out on the body of the 30-year-old from Anglesey after a post mortem proved inconclusive.

Metroplitan Police are treating his death as “suspicious and unexplained”.

His maths teacher Geraint Williams said Mr Williams was an “exceptional” pupil

“He was probably not the best mathemitician I have seen, but the best logician.

“If you explained something once to Gareth he remembered it, you didn’t have to explain it again,” said Mr Williams, a teacher at Bodedern secondary school.

“It didn’t surprise me at all that he was very interested in codes and cyphers and it didn’t really surprise me that he was recruited by GCHQ.

“He was definitely going to go into something like that with his brain.”

Mr Williams graduated with a first class degree in maths from Bangor University at just 17 after beginning his university studies while at secondary school.

The university said in a statement it “was saddened to hear of his death and we extend our condolences to his family and friends at this very difficult time”.

He went to St Catharine’s College Cambridge to undertake a postgraduate certificate in mathematics in 2000 but dropped out a year later.

Mr Williams was on a secondment to the secret intelligence service.

His body was discovered in his top floor flat in Pimlico, London on Monday.

Mr Williams’ uncle, William Hughes, said his nephew never spoke about his work but he said he was “very, very talented”.

Mr Hughes said: “He would never talk about his work and the family knew not to ask, really.”

His father Ian, who works at Wylfa nuclear power station and lives in Valley, Anglesey, went to London after being told of the death, with his wife and daughter Ceri, who lives near Wrexham.

The police are understood to be looking into aspects of Mr Williams’ personal life.

The body was discovered on Monday after colleagues reported Mr Williams missing

Keith Thompson, of Holyhead Cycling Club, said Mr Williams joined the club when he was 17.

He said: “I heard the news in a text message yesterday morning and it was a shock.

“We are totally devastated. He was a really lovely young man.

“Of course, once he moved to Cheltenham he joined the club there and we didn’t see much of him.

Mr Thompson said he last saw Mr Williams at their meeting on Boxing Day.

Private life

“We were club mates but Gareth wasn’t the sort to go the pub after a race so he didn’t have any close friends in the group.

“I never spoke to him about his job or his private life. Nobody did with Gareth.

“It was his cycling that we knew about. He was known for being very good on hill races but a couple of times he won the club’s ‘best all-rounder’ award.”

He added they had cancelled a club event on Thursday and would be getting in touch with his family to offer their condolences.

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Drilling of the escape tunnel could take until Christmas

The 33 Chilean miners trapped far underground have now been told that it could take months to get them out.

Knowing that a huge rescue effort is underway must offer a certain degree of comfort but how will the men come to terms with the fact they will not see daylight for weeks to come? And what mental resilience will they require?

Dr James Thompson, a senior psychology lecturer at University College London, said the news may not have come as a massive shock.

“The miners will have already had an understanding that there is a major task ahead.

“To have it confirmed will have been a bit of a blow but as specialists they will have known it would take time to get them out.

“Compared to the initial shock of the collapse of the mine, which must have been ghastly, this is a different ball game.”

There have been reports that the men are being sent anti-depressants along with other medical supplies.

But Dr Thompson says he finds that idea a bit odd and actually the best way to help the men cope mentally is to give them practical tasks and to get a routine in place.

“What they need is food and supplies and then systems building up and then to be given tasks to keep them busy.

“Maybe send down some equipment to give them something to do and to keep them involved.”

He says communication with the ground will be vital for keeping the men motivated and up -to-date but also once they have the ability to set up light they need to organise their time into day and night.

“The practical is also the psychological.

“In a disaster, if someone gives you a blanket, it’s not just a blanket, it’s an act of human caring.

“Ordinary first aid is an enormous psychological boost.”

NASA is being called upon to offer advice on how to best care for the miners in their state of isolation and confinement, their mental health is obviously being considered.

There are a lot of parallels with space missions, which can sometimes leave astronauts stranded for unexpectedly long periods of time, says Dr Kevin Fong from the Centre for Altitude, Space and Extreme Environment Medicine at University College London.

“This is as extreme as it gets and actually far more austere than for astronauts – I can’t even begin to imagine it.

“They are isolated in a hazardous environment and the psychological stress will be quite impressive.”

But he says, although they were unlikely to be prepared for spending such a long time trapped underground they are probably psychologically quite resilient.

“They are likely to be quite tough characters to be doing that job.”

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Ms Ariyawathie (left) was deeply traumatised, doctors said

A Sri Lankan housemaid with nails embedded in her body is to undergo surgery, her doctors said.

LP Ariyawathie, 49, said her employer in Saudi Arabia inflicted the injuries as a punishment, according to medics at Kamburupitiya Hospital, Sri Lanka.

“She was brought in complaining her Saudi employer drove nails into her body,” said hospital director Prabath Gajadeera.

“X-rays showed that there were 24 nails and a needle.”

The nails were up to two inches (5cm) long, said Mr Gajadeera.

“There is one nail on the forehead, just under the skin,” he added.

Ms Ariyawathie, a mother of three, travelled to Saudi Arabia in March to become a housemaid.

Doctors say this X-ray shows nails embedded in the housemaid’s hand

Last week, she flew back to Sri Lanka and was admitted to hospital in the south of the island, where she told doctors she had undergone abuse for more than a month.

“When we checked her, we found 24 metal pieces in her legs and hands. She still can’t properly sit down and walk,” Dr Kamal Weerathunga told BBC Sandeshaya.

Doctors said Ms Ariyawathie was deeply traumatised and unable to give full details of her experience.

But she is not in a serious condition and surgeons are expected to try to remove the metal objects from her body on Friday.

Sri Lankan authorities have told journalists in Colombo that an investigation has been launched.

Around 1.8 million Sri Lankans are employed abroad, 70% of whom are women.

Most work as housemaids in the Middle East, while smaller numbers work in Singapore and Hong Kong.

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