the Internet has many of us on a very short leash – an addictive one.

Whether you’re mid-bite, mid-sentence or perhaps mid-sleep, do you react to that ‘bing’ from your smartphone? Or, is it the flashing red light that gets you?

You’ve programmed your phone to alert you to messages, or has it programmed you to respond?

From the constant smartphone companion to the laptop replacing the lapdog, the Internet has many of us on a very short leash – an addictive one.

The consumer research firm Intersperience surveyed more than 1,000 people in Britain and found quitting the Internet is as hard for some as quitting drinking or smoking.

Without the Internet, 40% said they felt lonely. Ironically, it’s fathomable that 40% of those living with Internet addicts probably feel lonely too.

Laurie Tamblyn, an addictions counsellor in special programs at Toronto’s Bellwood Health Services, says there are many types of Internet addiction, including gambling, gaming, pornography and social networking.

“We’re just beginning to treat this. It is a big problem and it is going to become bigger before people start recognizing that they need to do something about it,” Tamblyn says.

“Some of us believe there is a tsunami coming because we haven’t fully recognized the problem yet.”

Part of that problem is the generation gap. Children today are children of technology – dependent on the social web and its tools.

Addiction is a progressive illness that ends up in isolation, Tamblyn says, so Internet use can be a slippery slope, and can have devastating effects on relationships.

“The amount of time people spend lost in their behaviours is comparable to a drinker spending time at the bar instead of with his family or friends,” Tamblyn says.

“The addiction becomes the focus of the addict’s life. The focus is to interact with the addiction before anything else. If this doesn’t happen, it results in mood swings and irritability.”

Internet addiction can be difficult to diagnose, says Dr. Greg Dubord, who teaches in the psychiatry department at the University of Toronto.

“Drawing the line between normal Internet use and Internet addiction is often difficult, because no set criteria for diagnosing the disorder have been established by the American Psychiatric Association.”

What is easy to recognize, however, is the impact of web overuse on our relationships.

Though social networking allows us to communicate with people all over the world, at times it seems to segregate us more than ever. Real-life interaction is often interrupted by bings and beeps. Thoughts become tweets and e-mails. Our fingers do the walking and the talking now.

From neglecting friends and family members to creating severe relationship problems, the Internet and our attachment to it can consume our lives.

One study documents 396 negative effects of the web on social involvement, including significant family problems, Dubord says.

“Reports have shown that excessive use of the Internet resulted in personal and family problems, with 53% of test-takers reporting severe relationship problems,” he says.

“Personal and family concerns extended to marriages, dating relationships, parent-child relationships, and close friendships.”

Dubord notes one case where a New York woman divorced her husband due to Internet overuse, and an extreme case involving a Korean couple so addicted to virtual games they let their three-month-old daughter starve to death.

If you think you may have a problem, Tamblyn says the best thing to do is ask for help.

“You can get an assessment at any treatment centre, or do it online and it’s anonymous. There are a lot of people struggling, and there’s a lot of help.”

Too e-dependent? Greg Dubord points out some general warning signs:

1. Lose track of time online.

2. Failed attempts at moderating Internet behaviour.

3. Neglecting work, sleep, friends and/or family to spend time online.

4. Turning to the Internet in times of stress or sadness to feel better.

How to cut down, according to Laurie Tamblyn:

1. Give yourself short breaks throughout the day when you can’t check your messages. Try going for a walk without your smartphone.

2. Put your iPad to bed. Set a bedtime for your Internet devices.

3. Wi-Fi-free meals. Wash your hands of wireless devices before eating.

4. Put your computer in a high-traffic area to stay accountable to those around you.

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'I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am.

The 39-year-old, who is a father to three-year-old twins Matteo and Valentino, has been in a relationship with Carlos for four years.

Ricky Martin is apparently keen to marry Carlos Gonzalez (Getty Images)

He chose to apply for Spanish citizenship in order to take advantage of the country's decision to legalise same sex marriage in 2005, reports El Pais.

The government was seemingly pleased to welcome the Livin' La Vida Loca star and, unusually, did not ask him to renounce his Puerto Rican or US citizenship.

Ricky is yet to comment on the reports, but the newspaper claimed he intended to tie the knot in Spain rather than one of the US states that allows same sex marriage, as he wanted to pay tribute to prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's support for gay rights.

The singer surprised many of his fans when he came out last year by releasing a statement that read: 'I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am.'

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Italy government hangs by thread as coalition crumbles

 

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's fate hung by a thread Friday and desertions from his crumbling centre-right coalition may have already robbed him of the parliamentary numbers he needs to survive. Berlusconi, caught in the crossfire from European powers and a party revolt at home, agreed at a G20 summit in France to IMF monitoring of economic reforms which he has long promised but failed to implement. But this may soon be irrelevant for the Italian leader, who will return to Rome later Friday to face what looks increasingly like a deadly rebellion by his own supporters. With financial markets in turmoil over the situation in Greece and Italy viewed as the next domino to fall in the euro zone crisis, calls are mounting for a new government to carry through reforms convincing enough to regain international confidence. Berlusconi has consistently rejected calls to resign and says the only alternative to him is an early election next spring, rather than the technocrat or national unity government urged by many politicians and commentators. Yields on 10-year Italian bonds reached 6.36 percent by early afternoon, creeping closer to 7 percent, a level which could trigger a so-called "buyers' strike" where investors take fright and refuse to buy the paper. Two deputies from Berlusconi's PDL party this week defected to the centrist UDC, taking his support in the 630-seat lower house of parliament to 314 compared with the 316 he needed to win a confidence vote last month. But at least seven other former loyalists have called for a new government and could vote against the 75-year-old media magnate. "The (ruling) majority seems to be dissolving like a snowman in spring," said respected commentator Stefano Folli in the financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore. Other commentators spoke of an "inexorable" revolt against Berlusconi. Even Defence Ministry undersecretary Guido Crosetto, a Berlusconi loyalist, said on television: "I don't know how many days or weeks the government has left. Certainly a majority relying on a few votes cannot continue for long." PATRONAGE Berlusconi, one of Italy's richest men, still has significant powers of patronage and he and his closest aides are expected to spend the weekend trying to win back support for a parliamentary showdown Tuesday. Some rebels have already threatened to vote against Berlusconi in the vote to sign off on the 2010 budget. Berlusconi faced concerted calls to resign when he lost a previous vote on this routine measure, which was almost unprecedented. Although it is not a confidence motion, he would come under huge pressure if he suffered a second defeat. "Unpopular prescriptions are necessary and this challenge cannot be faced with a 51 percent government," said UDC leader Pier Ferdinando Casini, in a reference to Berlusconi's weakness and a widespread feeling that the reforms can only be passed with a broad consensus. The premier has promised European leaders that he will call a formal confidence motion within 15 days to pass amendments to a budget bill incorporating new measures to stimulate growth and cut Italy's huge debt. That will be in the Senate where he has a more solid majority but it could still bring him down. Berlusconi, beset by a string of sex scandals and court cases, has consistently resisted pressure from groups ranging from a powerful business lobby to the Catholic Church to stand down.

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Boy, 17, shot in back in Poplar, east London

 

teenager has been shot in the back in east London. The 17-year-old boy was wounded in East India Dock Road, Poplar, in the early hours of the morning. A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "A 17-year-old male had a gunshot wound to the back and is in hospital in a serious condition." The attack happened just before 01:00 GMT, police said. Any witnesses to the shooting should call the Metropolitan Police.

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Armed guards are to be deployed on British civilian ships for the first time to protect them from pirates,

Armed guards are to be deployed on British civilian ships for the first time to protect them from pirates, David Cameron announced today.

A legal ban on weapon-toting protection staff will be relaxed so that firms can apply for a licence to have them on board in danger zones.

The Prime Minister said radical action was required because the increasing ability of sea-borne Somali criminals to hijack and ransom ships had become 'a complete stain on our world'.

He unveiled the measure after talks at a Commonwealth summit in Australia with leaders of countries in the Horn of Africa over the escalating problem faced in waters off their shores.

Under the plans, the Home Secretary will be given the power to license vessels to carry armed security, including automatic weapons, currently prohibited under firearms laws.

Officials said around 200 ships were expected to be in line to take up the offer, which would only apply for voyages through particular waters in the affected region.

It is expected to be used by commercial firms, rather than private sailors such as hostage victims Paul and Rachel Chandler.

Pirates: There are around 50 ships currently being held hostage

 

Asked if he was comfortable with giving private security operatives the right to 'shoot to kill' if necessary, Mr Cameron told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show: 'We have to make choices.

'Frankly the extent of the hijack and ransom of ships round the Horn of Africa is a complete stain on our world.

'The fact that a bunch of pirates in Somalia are managing to hold to ransom the rest of the world and our trading system is a complete insult and the rest of the world needs to come together with much more vigour.

 

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Two British tour operators who come to Spain go bust

 

Two British tour operators who bring tourists to Spain have gone bust. Romano Travel ceased operations on October 26, a day after Airborn Limited. Romano Travel specialized in package holidays to Spain and Turkey and had been operating for 30 years. There were no more than half of dozen or so pending bookings from the Buckinghamshire firm which was fully protected with an ATOL licence and was a member of ABTA. Airborn Limited operated as Airborn Direct and Holiday Hero, and was based in Romford, Essex. It sold packages to Spain, Cyprus and Turkey, and sold its products to other operators. The CAA says there are many clients who have purchased flights with the firm using a credit card, and these flights should be operating normally. If in doubt passengers can confirm with the airline.

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Spain no longer the main destination for Brit's second homes

 

A new survey carried out by the HomeAway holiday rentals company and real estate group Savills International has concluded that Spain is no longer the first choice among the Brits for their second residence. 1,700 British property buyers were questioned. More Britons now prefer France because of its better economic stability and the moderation in its house prices. 40% of Brits who buy in Spain later rent out the property, sometimes obtaining an income of as much as 34,500 € a year, but 24% still say that Spain is the place they have chosen for retirement. Despite the change away from purchasing a second home, Spain continues to be the most popular holiday destination for the Brits. In France, Italy and Switzerland the British purchasers usually opt for restored old properties, while in the United States, Cyprus and also in Spain and Portugal, they tend to go for more modern or new constructions.

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Malaga on the Mediterranean coast, in the Southern Spanish region of Andalucia, was the city you avoided

The city of Malaga on the Mediterranean coast, in the Southern Spanish region of Andalucia, was the city you avoided. An industrial port encircled by a tired ring of Franco-era low-rise apartment buildings, it was always the city tourists dashed by on their way to Torremolinos or Marbella further down the Costa Del Sol.

Being out of favor from the 1970s onwards – when torrid overbuilding ruined the Spanish coast – has served Malaga well, and the tired city around the old port has gone through a revival in recent years: The pedestrian-only squares and streets are washed clean, filled with a mix of fashionable shops selling Ermenegildo Zegna suits and Omega watches, and old men hawking lotto tickets and blanched Andalucian almonds wrapped in paper cones—all in the shadow of the city’s baroque cathedral where the 17th century choir stalls are carved from mahogany and cedar.

The city is still no great beauty, but its unpretentious charm stems from the fact it remains a middle-class working port. The first night I arrived I dined on a plate ofpata negra (thinly-cut slices of cured ham, with a rich marble of fat, made from black pigs that feed on acorns) and some grilled sea bream served with French-cut beans. As I drank my copa de vino tinto, contentedly observing the town’s life from the sidewalk café, a guitar-banging gypsy dashed by, twitchy as a heroin addict, followed by an old man selling to local tapas bars the snails slowly crawling the walls of his white bucket.

Two newly-opened institutions have greatly contributed to Malaga’s cultural revival. The crowd-puller is the Picasso Museum, and I am sure it is a lovely collection, but, in all honesty, I couldn’t bear to see yet another second-tier Picasso Museum. (The Spanish painter, for all his greatness, would have benefitted considerably from being a little less prolific.)

My interest was, however, very much piqued by the new museum housing the collection of Baroness Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kaszon.

The Thyssen family, dating back to the 17th century, famously made their fortune supplying the industrializing German state with steel. But they were also great collectors of art, and the late Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza aggressively added works to his father’s stacks of Old Masters until the family’s 1,600-strong collection became the second largest private art collection in the world, second only to the British Royal Family Collection.

Ranging from Hans Holbein to Edward Hopper, the collection was originally housed in the family’s Villa Favorita in Lugano, Switzerland. (The Thyssen family left Germany for Switzerland in the 1930s.) In the mid 1980s, however, the Swiss unwisely barred the baron from expanding his museum at Villa Favorita—they were unimpressed he wanted to show more of his collection to the public.

Enter Spain. In 1985 the baron married his 5th wife, Carmen Cervera, a former Miss Cataluna, just as his battle with Swiss small-mindedness was heating up. The Catalan beauty was instrumental in getting her husband to move his art collection to more flexible Spain, where it now sits in its own museum next to the Prado in Madrid.

But Baroness Carmen Thyssen herself began collecting in the late 1980s, all under her husband’s tutelage, and she focused on Andalucian art of the mid-19th to early 20th century. It was this collection, critically praised throughout Spain when it was first exhibited in the late 1990s, which was squirreled away in the newly-converted palace called the Museo CarmenThyssen Málaga.

The mid-19th century Andalucian works in the collection were largely painted for middle-class European tourists of the day who wanted to return to London and Paris with reminders of their Andalucian holidays. So the first floor of the museum is devoted to these so-calledColumbrista painters, and provides a panoply of chocolate box scenes of idealized Andalucian landscape romanticism: sultry gypsy dancers and battling bandoleros in mountain caves and young fishermen wooing flower girls.

But as the 19th century progresses, so does the sophistication of the paintings. Two paintings in particular stayed with me long afterwards: the dark Columbrista painting of 1851 by the Frenchman, Alfred Dehodencq, painted for the duke occupying the Palace of San Telmo. It’s of a procession through the town during Holy Week. Hooded monks, like an all-black vision of the Ku Klux Klan, are the candle-carrying advance guard of the Mater Dolorosa, and they walk a gauntlet of rapturous women in black mantillas. Powerful stuff.

Later, in 1867, the Spaniard Mariàno Fortuny Marsal painted a bullfight with quick, almost impressionistic brushstrokes that seems to foreshadow what is yet to come in the art world. Called Exquisite Realism, or the Précieux Style, the intense brushstrokes of the “Bullfight” give a blurry sense of speed and movement at the breath-holding moment when a gored picador is carried dying from the ring and another picador is trying to weaken the bull with the hard thrust of his lance. It’s hard to tell who is going to live or die, and it’s a very modern work, in a 19th century way.

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Five arrested for road rage attack in Madrid

 

National Police have arrested five people, two of them underage, for a brutal road rage attack in a tunnel on the M-30 motorway in September. They were taken into custody after they were identified on video footage from security cameras in the tunnel. The aggressors were travelling in two vehicles on the evening of September 17, and were seen on film chasing another car into the tunnel, speeding ahead and cutting across it to bring it to a halt. The eight occupants of the two cars are then seen getting out of their vehicles and dragging the three people travelling in the third car out onto the roadway. They are beaten and kicked, and their car is vandalised. Some personal items were also stolen and one of the victims was stabbed in the back. The reason for the attack was because the victims had criticised their assailants for a dangerous manoeuvre a few kilometres previously. The Interior Ministry released news of the five arrests this week, and said the search continues to locate the three other suspects involved.

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32 arrests in luxury car scam in Spain

 

National Police in Spain have arrested 32 people accused of stealing 25 vehicles worth over a million € from counties such as Germany, Austria, France, Italy and Switzerland, to be sold on in Spain. The sale of the vehicles were helped by official dealers and the gang even had the collaboration of workers at several ITV/MOT centres which issued certificates to say the vehicles had no signs of being manipulated. The Ministry of the Interior says that the gang was made up mainly of Hungarians, Romanians and Spaniards, and the vehicles were sold on with false documents in dealers in Madrid, Santander, Tarragona, Castellón, Valencia, Alicante, Cuenca, Almería, Córdoba, Jaén and Granada.

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Spain's first private airport goes bust

 

Spain’s first private airport has closed. The Ciudad Real Airport was opened in December 2008, considering that it could act as a Madrid overflow for residents in the south, but that just has not happened. The very last flight, operated by Vueling and with just 45 passengers, took off for Barcelona on Saturday at 2,45pm. The airline lasted less than a year at the Ciudad Real airport which has been dogged by bad luck from the start. It had problems with the environmental agency in 2005 as it is located in a special bird protection area, there were complaints that as much as 50% of the building works were illegal, it needed a continued supply of capital, and the intervention of the Bank of Spain in the CCM Castilla La Mancha savings bank revealed more irregularities. The airport closes with the company, CR Aeropuertos, owing its creditors more than 290 million €. It opened with debts of 1.7 million, and a poster declaring ‘Our dreams take off’, can still be seen in the Cuidad Real City Hall. The airport had hoped to attract seven million passengers a year, and managed to attract the airlines, Air Nostrum, Air Berlin and Vueling, with the attraction of a AVE high speed train station at its door, and one of the longest runways in Europe, but the facility never attracted more than 500,000 travellers in the first year. It was not long before some flights had more crew than passengers. There has been a rash of private airport projects in Spain, started during the economic boom, and there were six projects in total in Cataluña, Aragón, Valencia, Murcia, Andalucía and in Ciudad Real. Only one has opened, and today, has now closed for business.

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Cowell: Tweet for X Factor faves

 

US X Factor judge Simon Cowell says he wants fans to use Twitter to vote for their favourite contestants. The Fox show has announced that from November 2, fans can cast a ballot by sending a direct message over Twitter to the official X Factor account. Viewers can also cast a ballot on the show's Facebook page and its official website. "It's a sign of the times," said Cowell, who believes more votes will come in as a result of expanding the process. "Sites like Twitter and Facebook give (the audience) a much bigger voice." Aside from social media, votes can be sent the old fashioned way, by making a phone call or sending a text message and by using a special App created for Verizon Android devices. Cowell uses the internet to gauge what people think of the series so far. He goes online during and after the show to see what people are saying and plans to join Twitter once he learns "how to type quicker". The US show is averaging about 12.5 million viewers an episode, but one thing that has hindered it in recent weeks is the Major League Baseball World Series. Games on Fox have pre-empted the show leading to confusion among viewers and causing some DVR devices to not record X Factor. Cowell says the conflict has been frustrating but they "knew in advance this was going to happen". He believes the ratings have been consistent so far and word of mouth will get people to tune in. On Tuesday's first live show, five acts were cut leaving 12 remaining contestants. With the competition heating up, so has the tension among its judges, who are each mentoring a class of contestants. Cowell has the girls, LA Reid is mentoring the boys, Paula Abdul is helping the groups and Nicole Scherzinger has the solo acts over 30. Cowell says Abdul claims to have the hardest category to mentor, but disagrees with her. He mentored the groups in the UK version of the show and "loved doing it".

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Netflix, the American media giant that streams blockbuster movies and TV series over the internet, is to launch on this side of the Atlantic.

Netflix will offer tens of thousands of films in the UK - including exclusive early access to new films. The move comes after a series of hiccups for the company in the U.S., including price hikes and a disastrous attempt to split off its DVD rental business into a new company called Qwikster. 

Neftlix lost 800,000 U.S. subscribers in the last quarter. In the UK, it will offer video streamed to PCs, TVs and consoles, rather than DVD rentals. 

Coming over to the UK. Netflix has signed a number of deals with leading film studios to have the first rights to offer blockbuster movies once they have finished their cinema run

Robert Downey Junior in Iron Man. In the USA, the company¿s 'watch Instantly' service holds first-run rights to films from Paramount Pictures, MGM, Lions Gate Entertainment. Paramount titles include Iron Man, Star Trek and Captain America.

Netflix has 25 million users worldwide. It is said to be the biggest single source of North American web traffic, accounting for 24.71 per cent of use.

North American customers typically pay around $7.99-$9.99 a month to stream Netflix films to electronics such as connected TVs, PCs and games consoles.

In the UK, though, it's up against serious competition in the form of it Lovefilm, a UK on-demand service owned by Amazon which is integrated into electronics such as connected TVs and Sony's PlayStation 3.

Netflix is pulling out the stops to try and ensure it offers a unique service. 

 

 

 

It has signed a number of deals with leading film studios to have the first rights to offer blockbuster movies once they have finished their cinema run.

The company said the price details will be announced closer to the date of the launch of the service, which will go live in Britain and Ireland early next year.

Rapid expansion: Reed Hastings, chief executive of Netflix, already has 25million subscribers worldwide

The TechRadar website said: ‘This is pretty exciting news for fans of streaming content.’

Netflix was founded in California in 1997 initially as a DVD rental business where discs were posted to customers across the USA.

It subsequently developed into the world’s largest supplier of web downloads of films and TV with 24.6million users in the US alone.

The company has now embarked on a major international expansion. It began operating in Canada last year and recently added  43 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

A spokesman said: ‘Netflix has revolutionised entertainment across the Americas by giving its members a huge selection of films and TV shows to enjoy when and where they want.’

‘Upon launch, Netflix members from the UK and Ireland will be able to instantly watch a wide array of TV shows and films right on their TVs via a range of consumer electronics devices capable of streaming from Netflix, as well as on PCs, Macs and mobile tablets and phones.’

In the USA, the company’s ‘watch Instantly’ service holds first-run rights to films from Paramount Pictures, MGM, Lions Gate Entertainment.

Paramount titles include Iron Man, Star Trek and Captain America.

There are also deals with Sony Pictures, Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, and Anchor Bay Entertainment, together with US TV shows offered by NBC Universal and 20th Century Fox.

Netflix is locked into complex negotiations with these companies to have the right to show all its output in the UK and Ireland.

In Britain, the business will face competition from LoveFilm, which is owned by Amazon and offers packages that combine DVD postal rentals with access to streaming.

Lovefilm deals start at £5.99 a month, which includes three DVD rentals a month and two hours of streaming. A £19.95 a month package allows unlimited streaming of films.

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Sam, 20, said: "There is no way we will be going anywhere near where it happened. It's left us terrified of further repercussions. We're discussing security."

 

Screen beauty ... Sam Faiers

 

Billie added: "It's the only thing we can do to feel safe."

A spokesman said: "It is being arranged. Whenever the girls feel it appropriate they will have security around them."

 

Gesture ... Peri Sinclair takes flowers to sisters' house

LOUIS WOOD / THE SUN

 

Replacement locks were fitted at their home yesterday after the thugs stole Billie's keys along with her £1,500 handbag, mobile, jewellery and shoes. She said: "We've been too scared to go out. I lost everything."

The sisters — who run a boutique in Brentwood and are regulars on the Essex party circuit — are considering a trip out today. They will also be visited by police to take statements.

 

Thoughtful ... pal Mark Wright buys gifts for the girls

 

Yesterday The Only Way Is Essex newcomer Peri Sinclair and Sam's ex Joey Essex, 21, took flowers to their home.

The sisters have decided to continue filming the programme and references will be made to their ordeal in tonight's show.

 

Precaution ... locks being changed at pair's home

 

Co-star Mark Wright was due to visit last night for dinner. Earlier he was seen buying cuddly toy gifts for the girls.

Viewers will see tonight's ITV2 show fade to black at the end, before Sam talks to him about the attacks.

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McLaren driver Lewis, 26, says the X Factor supremo is one of the key reasons that his four-year romance with Nicole Scherzinger hit the skids.

Lewis Hamilton and Nicole Scherzinger (Pic:PA)

IT’S just as well Simon Cowell likes fast cars – he might need to speed off sharpish if F1 race ace Lewis Hamilton claps eyes on him...

McLaren driver Lewis, 26, says the X Factor supremo is one of the key reasons that his four-year romance with Nicole Scherzinger hit the skids.

He reckons 52-year-old Cowell’s decision to offer Nicole, 33, a judging job on X Factor USA – replacing Cheryl Cole – put “immeasurable strain” on the couple’s relationship.

Lewis has been tied up on the Grand Prix circuit while former Pussycat Doll singer Nicole’s own hectic schedule has prevented her from spending time with him on race days.

It means they have barely seen one another in person since May.

Concerned by both their hectic lifestyles, Lewis is understood to have decided they needed a break – as I revealed on Monday.

Last night, a source close to the couple confirmed: “Lewis and Nicole have been having problems for the past six weeks.

“Increasingly hectic schedules this year have meant limited face-to-face time.

“They’ve probably spent more time on the phone or on Skype than they have in person.

“Sadly, Nicole’s job on X Factor USA – which, professionally, has been an unmitigated success – appears to have come at the cost of her relationship.

“Nicole was under enormous pressure to succeed and was desperate to please Simon, her boss.

“But Lewis found their intense working relationship hard to contend with.

“This, plus Lewis’s crazy international jet-set lifestyle, put immeasurable strain on the pair.

“She was crushed and did everything she could to make it work. They are still good friends though and the break-up is all very amicable.”

Multi-millionaire Lewis, who was said to be in a “vile mood” after last weekend’s Korean Grand Prix, recently said he was a long way off wanting to start a family.

Meanwhile, Nicole has become friends with host Steve Jones, who is said to have a crush on her.

Last night, a spokesman for the couple declined to comment.

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Libya: Col Gaddafi buried at dawn

 

Officials said earlier that the ousted Libyan leader would be buried in a secret desert grave, ending a wrangle over his rotting corpse that led many to fear for the country's governability. Transitional government forces had put the body on show in a cold store in Misurata while they argued over what to do with it, until its decay forced them on Monday to end the display. His son Mutassim is thought to have been buried in the same ceremony. A few relatives and officials were in attendance, according to a Misurata military council official. Yesterday, the government bowed to international pressure and announced a commission to determine how Gaddafi died after he was cornered in a drain while trying to flee Sirte, his besieged home town. Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the chairman of the NTC, and other officials have said Gaddafi was killed in crossfire. Mr Jalil said: "In response to international calls, we have started to put in place a commission tasked with investigating the circumstances of Muammar Gaddafi's death in the clash with his circle as he was being captured."

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Pop legend Madonna today told a court of her 'alarm and distress' after a delusional fan, who believes the star loves him, broke into her £10million London home and rifled through her bedding.

Grzegorz Matlok, 30, burgled a mews house linked to the singer's luxury townhouse in Marylebone, central London, and stole a can of Red Bull after wandering through two bedrooms and a living room.

Southwark Crown Court heard Matlok was discovered holding the drink and playing with a kitchen light switch at around 4.40am on March 12 by Madonna's former gardener-turned film director Nathan Rissman, 39, who was staying in the mews at the time.

When he was quizzed over what he was doing and told Madonna was not staying there, he said: 'I'm sorry. Arrest me, arrest me'.

He later told police he had been given permission by the singer and had found a welcome note from her.

A map with a large 'M' scrawled over Madonna's home and a bag containing a safety knife, nail scissors, a coach ticket from Poland and Matlok's passport were found in a bag outside the property.

A year ago Matlok sneaked into the Wiltshire estate Madonna used to share with ex-husband Ritchie and was caught putting on his clothes.  

The 'Music' star was heard to be 'distressed and unsettled' by Matlok's two successful break-ins and said she feared for the safety of herself, her four children and her staff.

Prosecutor Philip Stott said: 'It appears that the defendant took a route, by examination of the lights he had turned on, through the lounge and kitchen and into a bedroom and dressing area and then gone through an inter connecting door where again he had gone into a bedroom and dressing room, where he disturbed some bed clothes.'

 

 

Matlok had broken into the house after smashing a window with a stone and using a rope and scaffolding to enter one of the three properties by a first floor window.

The court heard he had travelled to England from Poland by coach a few days before the burglary on March 12.

Mr Stott said that in interview Matlok told Madonna's security manager he was there 'To see Madonna' and afterwards told police she had okayed his visit.

Country house: A year ago Matlok sneaked into the Wiltshire estate (pictured) Madonna used to share with ex-husband Guy Ritchie

'He told the police he had permission to stay in the flat and that Madonna knew he was coming,' said the barrister.

'He said he had found a note saying welcome and he went inside.

'He said he had been at the address two or three days earlier, but no one had answered the doorbell.

'He said he was not there to steal anything - he said he had sent messages to Madonna over the internet to say he was going to turn up.' 

In a victim impact statement read to the court Madonna said: 'I do not know the defendant, I've not had any form of relationship with the defendant nor have I had any form of contact by phone or by email, or by any other way, with the defendant.

'In particular I've never given the defendant permission to enter the premises or any of my other premises.

'I feel very alarmed and distressed by the actions of the defendant.

When Matlok broke into Wiltshire home, he was restrained by Guy Ritchie (pictured)

'It is extremely unsettling to know that despite the extensive security I have he has been able to break into two of my residential properties.

'I'm worried about my children's safety as well as the safety of my staff. I'm also naturally worried about my own safety.' 

The court heard that Matlok suffered from 'delusions that Madonna loved him' but, according to consultant psychiatrist Dr Nadji Kahtan, his schizophrenia could be controlled by medication.

'In hospital he's fully compliant and has expressed no wish to stop taking it [his medication] and he says he wishes to still take it because he recognises that he has a mental illness,' he said.

'We feel that the best way to manage his illness is for him to continue to be treated at a hospital in England until he can be moved to a hospital in Poland.' 

The court heard however that Matlok had attacked someone in his cell and had been 'rather aggressive' to women, including nurses.

When Matlok broke into the Wiltshire home of Guy Ritchie he was found by a housekeeper cowering under the bed of an 'outhouse'.

Mr Stott said he had to be restrained by Mr Ritchie, a gamekeeper and 'The Football Factory' director Nick Love.

'He had taken cash from Mr Ritchie and Mr Love and had put on a pair of Mr Ritchie's jeans,' he said.

Batteries, a torch, a bottle of shampoo and three credit cards had also been moved, according to Mr Ritchie, but no further action was taken and Matlok was deported in August 2010.

In June Matlok reportedly attempted suicide by setting fire to his cell and was said to have been dragged to safety by prison guards.

Madonna, 53, was not in the property at the time, having taken her four children - Lourdes, 14, Rocco, 10, Mercy, 6, and David, 5 -  to Michigan in the U.S. to pay her respects to her late grandmother Elsie Mae Fortin.

Southwark Crown Court heard Matlok was discovered holding the drink and playing with a kitchen light switch at around 4.40am on March 12

The Pole, who is being held at a secure psychiatric unit, was flanked by hospital staff and assisted by an interpreter at Southwark Crown Court today.

Matlok has admitted burgling the office in Marylebone but denied two charges of burglary relating to a house connected to it, both of which are owned by 'Madonna Ciccone'.

The two charges he denied were ordered to lie on the court file after prosecutors accepted Matlok's plea.

The burglary took place six months after Madonna was targeted by a man who was arrested outside her New York apartment carrying two knives.

Judge Deborah Taylor was expected to order Matlok's detention under the Mental Health Act, 1983, this afternoon.

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Knight Frank partners share £73m bonus pool

 

PARTNERS in the upmarket estate agent Knight Frank have landed a £73m payout after profits rose by 10 per cent in the last financial year, buoyed by foreign investors flocking to London’s luxury property market. The firm, which advises on both residential and commercial property deals, saw pre-tax profits rise to £101.9m in the year to March – its highest level since the credit crisis – while turnover increased seven per cent to £308.4m. “Equity rich buyers” seeking property in London helped boost the firm’s residential arm, which has instructed on deals including the sale of St John’s Wood Barracks in northwest London. The bonus pool is more than double the amount awarded in 2009, although it is now shared by more people as Knight Frank has extended its partnership. Nick Thomlinson, senior partner and chairman of Knight Frank, conceded he remained cautious about the outlook for the year ahead but said the group had strengthened its balance sheet and was focusing on growth in key markets like Asia. The firm also opened new offices in Dubai, South Africa, Austria and Switzerland.

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Failure to solve Europe's debt crisis will cost UK taxpayers billions

 

Britain has already injected £1.88bn into the European Investment Bank (EIB) and pledged another £35.7bn, equivalent to close to 2pc of UK GDP, to be drawn down as required. Although the EIB, which is the world's largest non-government borrower, ranks above other unsecured creditors, thanks to its "privileged relationship" status under the EU treaty, it could face huge losses in the event of a euro break-up. If the UK's stake in the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is included then the total capital commitment for the taxpayer could rise by a further several billion pounds. On top of this the country could also be called on to stump up some of the cost of the EU's emergency funding facility the European Financial Stability Mechanism. "What the public doesn't realise is the quite simply staggering amounts of taxpayer money that has already been committed if things get significantly worse. This may be a doomsday scenario, but recent history has proven that many events thought extremely unlikely have a funny habit of coming to pass," said one London-based credit analyst. The EIB's most recent accounts reveal huge sovereign credit risk exposures to the endangered periphery states. Some €14.2bn of loans were made to, or guaranteed by, the Greek government. Another €7.7bn is backed by the Portuguese sovereign.

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full brutality of former Libyan tyrant Muammar Gaddafi's regime has been revealed in chilling video footage of prison torture sessions.

The full brutality of former Libyan tyrant Muammar Gaddafi's regime has been revealed in chilling video footage of prison torture sessions.

And the fallen dictatorship's former foreign minister, Musa Kusa - who was released by the British authorities six months ago after he defected to the UK in March - is facing fresh allegations that he was directly involved in the beating of political prisoners.

The footage - obtained by the BBC's Panorama programme - was reportedly shot at the notorious Abu Salim prison in Tripoli. It shows crouching inmates, blindfolded and wearing blue uniforms, being repeatedly whipped and kicked by interrogators. 

Brutal: A still from footage of a prisoner being whipped inside the Abu Salim prison during Gaddafi's rule

Last month the remains of more than 1,200 prisoners were found in a mass grave outside the prison's walls.  

 

 

More...

• Now the hunt for justice begins: Libya's secret files on Yvonne Fletcher, Lockerbie bombing and IRA weapons to be made public 'within months'
• Finally free: Libya officially declares its liberation after 42 years of brutal rule

     

 

The Panorama team tracked down Kusa to a luxury resort in Qatar during its investigation into his role in alleged war crimes. He declined to be interviewed for the programme.

Kusa was head of Gaddafi's intelligence agency from 1994 and a senior intelligence agent when PanAm flight 103 was blown up over Lockerbie.

Inhumane: An inmate is kicked in the head by one official as a prison guard looks on

 

Back in the spotlight: Torture suspect Musa Kusa defected to Britain in April but moved to Qatar just weeks later

The Boeing 747 jumbo jet was en route from London to New York when it exploded over the Dumfriesshire town, killing 243 passengers, 16 crew and 11 residents.

There have also been calls for Kusa to be quizzed in relation to the murder of PC Yvonne Fletcher, who was shot during a protest outside London's Libyan Embassy in 1984.

Kusa made a high-profile defection to Britain in March and was interviewed by police and Scottish prosecutors investigating the Lockerbie attack.

But within weeks he was allowed to leave the UK following an EU decision to lift sanctions against him, meaning he no longer faces travel restrictions or an asset freeze.

No comment: Panorama reporter Paul Kenyon is blocked by a bodyguard while attempting to question Kusa

The Foreign Office said Kusa was a 'private individual' who had been interviewed voluntarily.

But the ruling was condemned by one Tory MP who said Britain had become 'a transit lounge for alleged war criminals'.

And Britain is now under fresh pressure to interview Kusa in relation to the allegations.

Dr Jim Swire, whose 23-year-old daughter Flora died in the Lockerbie bombing, said that if anyone could offer any insight into the 'huge questions still unanswered' on Libya's role in Lockerbie, it would be Mr Kusa.

High profile: Kusa was less reluctant about speaking to the press following his defection to London earlier this year

He said: 'When I met Musa Kusa in Libya in 1991 it was clear to me he was the guy who was central to the Gaddafi administration.

'He could tell us just as much as Gaddafi about Lockerbie as he was at the core of the regime.

'He was a very, very key figure and we need answers as to why he was allowed to fly back. Any probing over his crimes should be done by the International Criminal Court.'

Pamela Dix, who lost her 35-year-old brother Peter in the atrocity, said she was 'incensed' after Mr Kusa was allowed to leave Britain in the first place.

She said: 'We cannot turn a politically pragmatic blind eye.

'I do not know what Musa Kusa knows or does not know about Lockerbie but he needs to come back to answer those questions.

'I condemn the attitude of the UK Government in the strongest possible terms. A political hands-off attitude is inappropriate.'

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