Amber Gold affair is one of the biggest financial scandals to hit Poland since the fall of communism in 1989.

It was pretty much all the money Bozena Oracz had after a working life as an accountant: the equivalent of $15,000. She placed it in a fund investing in gold, with the hope of paying for her daughter's studies and getting treatment for a bad knee.Those dreams were dashed when she discovered she had fallen victim to an elaborate fraud scheme that has left thousands of Poles, many of them elderly, facing financial ruin.The so-called Amber Gold affair is one of the biggest financial scandals to hit Poland since the fall...

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The Government is prepared to help seven hospital trusts with the “burden” of their private finance initiative (PFI) repayments

Minister of State for Health (Photo credit: Wikipedia) The Government is prepared to help seven hospital trusts with the “burden” of their private finance initiative (PFI) repayments, a minister said today.The trusts are facing major problems because of PFI deals they have entered into.The Daily Telegraph said senior government lawyers and auditors are to be sent into seven trusts which are struggling with such contracts.It quoted Health Minister...

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72 pairs of wellies (what did their owners wear to trudge out?), 177 portable chairs, 164 mats and 238 tents, including the pop-up type.

Festival wellies. These ones were at Glastonbury last year, but they give the Leeds idea too. Photograph: PALast week the Guardian Northerner brought you news of the startling number of tents abandoned at last year's Leeds Festival – over 700 – and the imaginative community trading scheme which collects and resells them.Here's how things are going this year, with sixty volunteers from all over Europe scavenging the...

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An average of just 10 motorists a day are using a £1.3m car park built near Bristol, a council has admitted.

Retro No Parking Sign for Deliveries (Photo credits: myparkingsign.com) The facility, intended as a park-and-ride, opened in June 2011 but will not get a bus service until 2015.South Gloucestershire Council said it was used by only 139 motorists in its first three months and raised £13,899.74 in revenue last year.The council said it wanted to make local firms more aware of the Stoke Gifford car park, which has 200 spaces.The new rapid transit bus...

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The Paralympics are a "once in a lifetime" chance to change attitudes to disabled people in the UK

Wheelchair basketball at the 2008 Summer Paralympics (Photo credit: Wikipedia)The Paralympics are a "once in a lifetime" chance to change attitudes to disabled people in the UK, says the head of a disability charity in Wales.Ian Thomas, director of Scope Cymru, said the charity's recent survey had showed attitudes to disabled people were worsening.He said the exposure of a home Games - billed as the biggest ever - would help change those attitudes.The...

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South Korea's coast guard says five crew members from two Chinese ships have been killed

South Korea's coast guard says five crew members from two Chinese ships have been killed and many are missing after a powerful typhoon blew the ships into rocks off the country's southern Jeju island.South Korea has issued a storm warning for the capital, Seoul, as Typhoon Bolaven pounds the south and west regions uprooting trees, sinking ships and cutting power to almost 200,000 homes. Related articlesS. Korea on alert as major typhoon Bolaven...

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Miguel Angel Trevino Morales new leader is emerging at the head of one of Mexico's most feared drug cartels.

This undated image taken from the Mexican Attorney General's Office rewards program website on Aug. 23, 2012, shows the alleged leader of Zetas drug cartel, Miguel Angel Trevino Morales, alias âZ-40.â (AP Photo/Mexican Attorney General's Office website)Mexico's Violent Zetas Cartel Sees New Leader Miguel Angel Trevino Morales A split in the leadership of Mexico's violent Zetas cartel has led to the rise of Miguel Angel Trevino Morales,...

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Laurence Kilby, 40, of Cheltenham, who built and raced cars, was arrested after police seized cocaine with a street value of £1m.

 Laurence Kilby, 40, of Cheltenham, who built and raced cars, was arrested after police seized cocaine with a street value of £1m.A "privileged" racing driver has been jailed with 11 other drug smugglers. Crown Court heard he was head of a gang moving drugs from Eastern Europe along the M4 corridor to London, western England and south Wales.Kilby was heavily in debt and turned to crime to maintain his lifestyle of fast cars and high living.Raids...

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ADDICTION charity Focus12 has received a huge financial boost after a codumentary about Russell Brand was shown last night.

The documentary Russell Brand: Addiction to Recovery resulted in an immediate boost in donations and inspired the managing director of Bury St Edmunds based Chevington Finance and Leasing to offer the charity £106,000 over three years.Russell Brand attended Focus12, the Bury St Edmunds abstinence-based alcohol and drug rehabilitation centre, in 2003 and is now a patron of the charity, describing it as ‘a really excellent example of a small cost effective rehab that can help people change in dramatic ways’.Chip Somers, Focus12’s chief...

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check out the new iPhone app Craft Beer London—your geographical guide to nearly 30 craft breweries and the pubs and shops serving them

 As a city that created many of the world's greatest beers, London has seen its brewing industry take on somewhat of a downward spiral over the last 25 years or so. This is quickly changing, however, thanks to a number of curious individuals throughout the capital whose newfound interest in the brewing process is leading to a huge craft beer renaissance.To fully navigate the Big Smoke's microbrewery movement beyond the three we highly recommend,...

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Jessica Harper admits £2.4m Lloyds Bank fraud

A former Lloyds Bank worker in charge of online security has admitted carrying out a fraud worth more than £2.4m. Jessica Harper, 50, had been accused of submitting false invoices to claim payments between 2007 and 2011. At the time she was working as head of fraud and security for digital banking and made false claims totalling £2,463,750. Harper, of South Croydon, south London, will be sentenced on 21 September. At Southwark Crown Court, Harper admitted a single charge of fraud by abuse of position by submitting false invoices to claim payments....

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Shares in Standard Chartered dive after Iran allegations

Shares in Standard Chartered PLC dropped sharply today as investors reacted to US charges that the bank was involved in laundering money for Iran. The charges against Standard Chartered were a shock for a bank which proudly described itself recently as “boring.” Shares were down nearly 20 percent at 1,187 pence at one point in early trading Tuesday on the London Stock Exchange. In Hong Kong, they were down 16.6 percent near the end of the session. New York State Department of Financial Services alleged on Monday that Standard Chartered schemed...

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Brad Pitt is reportedly utilising his free time to plan his wedding with Angelina Jolie.

The 48-year-old has taken charge of preparations for the wedding that is expected to take place end of September. He has flown in a team of builders to renovate the home he shares with Jolie in southern France."Angelina isn`t so bothered about when they tie the knot, it`s Brad who is piling on the pressure," a website has quoted a source as saying."He wants the main house to be finished when the event takes place, even though the close friends and...

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