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Pimps Arrested in Spain for 'Barcoding' Women

Police in Spain arrested 22 alleged pimps who purportedly tattooed women with bar codes as a sign of ownership and used violence to force them into prostitution.  Police are calling the gang the "bar code pimps." Officers freed one 19-year-old woman who had been beaten, held against her will and tattooed with a bar code and an amount of money — €2,000 ($2,650) — which investigators believe was the debt the gang wished to extort before releasing her. The woman had also been whipped, chained to a radiator and had her hair and eyebrows shaved off, according to an Interior Ministry statement.All those arrested were of Romanian nationality and had forced the women to hand over part of their earnings, the statement said. The women were tattooed on their wrists if they tried to escape, the statement said. Police also seized guns and ammunition. It was not immediately clear when the raids took place. Police seized €140,000 ($185,388) in cash, which had been hidden in a false ceiling, a large amount of gold jewelry and five vehicles, three of which were described as luxury cars. The gang was made up of two separate groups, referred to as "clans" in the statement, each dedicated to controlling prostitution along fixed stretches of a street in downtown Madrid. One of the alleged ringleaders who was identified only by the initials "I.T." is wanted by authorities in Romania for crimes linked to prostitution, the statement said. The women were controlled at all times to ensure "money was taken off them immediately," the statement said.   Sex is a multibillion-dollar industry in Spain, with colorfully lit brothels staffed mainly by poor immigrant women from Latin America, Africa and eastern Europe lining highways throughout the country. Prostitution falls in legal limbo: it is not regulated, although pimping is a crime. The northeastern city of Barcelona plans to introduce regional legislation in coming weeks banning prostitution on urban streets.

The banker was left for dead by a lone gunman as he returned to his home in Canary Wharf on Tuesday evening. Scotland Yard detectives are investigating the attempted assassination, which Mr Gorbuntsov’s lawyer believes was a retaliation attack after the banker gave evidence in a 2009 attempted murder case. Mr Gorbuntsov, who fled to London because of his fear of reprisals, had recently submitted new evidence to Russian police about the attempted murder of Alexander Antonov, another Russian banker. The case was closed three years ago when three Chechen men were jailed for attempted murder. But police have never discovered who organised the attempted hit. Officers re-opened the case on March 2 this year after Mr Gorbuntsov submitted his new testimony.

A former Russian banker is in a critical condition in hospital after he was shot several times in east London. German Gorbuntsov was shot by a man armed with a sub-machine gun as he entered a block of flats in Byng Street, Isle of Dogs, on Tuesday. Aleksander Nekrassov, a former Kremlin advisor, told the BBC that Mr Gorbuntsov was a "key witness" in the case of a murder attempt on another Russian banker, Alexander Antonov, in Moscow in 2009. He said: "It looks like a contract hit to be honest because a sub-machine gun is not really a weapon that would be used by some amateur"

President Obama has nominated Korean-born US academic Jim Yong Kim to be the next president of the World Bank. The nomination of the Dartmouth College president, a doctor and former director of the HIV/Aids department at the World Health Organization, is a surprise. Three African countries have endorsed the nomination of Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. A US citizen has led the Bank since it was founded in 1944, but developing nations say it is time for change. International experience Amidst this growing pressure, President Obama stressed Dr Kim's international experience in his statement announcing the nomination. Continue reading the main story Dr Jim Yong Kim Born 1959 in Seoul, South Korea Co-founded Partners in Health, providing health programmes for the poor, while student at Harvard University in 1987 Named one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World, 2006 Appointed president of Dartmouth College, New Hampshire in 2009 Appears dancing and singing in video with "Dartmouth Idol" finalists in 2011 Profile: World Bank candidates "It is time for a development professional to lead the world's leading development agency," he said. "Jim has truly global experience. His personal story exemplifies the great diversity of our country... and his experience makes him ideally suited to forge partnerships all around the world." The deadline for nominations to replace the current president, Robert Zoellick, is 18:00 Washington time (22:00 GMT) on Friday. "This is one of the most critical institutions fighting poverty and providing assistance to developing countries in the world today," Dr Kim said in a letter to students at his university. "After much reflection, I have accepted this nomination to national and global service." Dr Kim, 52, had not been among the names rumoured to be under consideration by President Obama, which included former White House adviser Larry Summers, Pepsi head Indra Nooyi, and UN ambassador Susan Rice. Dr Kim is a leading figure in global health. As well as his work at the WHO, he co-founded the health organisation Partners in Health in 1987. Born in Seoul, he moved with his family to the US at the age of five. Continue reading the main story Analysis Andrew Walker BBC World Service Economics correspondent Selecting the World Bank president is a task for the organisation's board, which is made up of 25 representatives of the member countries. Some of them have their own seats - the US and UK, for example. Others are grouped into constituencies. The aim is to choose a new president by consensus, but if that proves impossible, a simple majority will do. Votes in the World Bank - and in the IMF too - are weighted by financial contribution. The US alone has nearly 16% of the vote. EU countries have a further 29%. They are likely to support a US-nominated candidate, in order to preserve the long-standing informal deal which has seen the World Bank run by an American and the IMF by a European. Mathematically it wouldn't be impossible to beat an American candidate, but it would be a huge challenge in practice. Paul Farmer, a friend of Dr Kim's and the chair of the Department of Global Health at Harvard University, praised the nomination. "I can think of no one more able to help families, communities, and entire nations break out of poverty, which is the stated goal of the World Bank," he said. "He has worked in rural villages and squatter settlements just as he has worked in the halls of power and privilege." Following Dr Kim's nomination, US development economist Jeffrey Sachs who had been put forward by several smaller, developing countries, announced his withdrawal from the race. He had argued that the World Bank should be led by a development expert. "Prof Sachs supports Dr Kim 100% and with complete enthusiasm," his spokeswoman said. Strong contest In a joint statement, Angola, Nigeria and South Africa pledged their support to Ms Okonjo-Iweala. "The endorsement is in line with the belief that the appointment of the leadership of the World Bank and its sister institution, the International Monetary Fund, should be merit-based, open and transparent," the statement said. Speaking at a news conference, Mrs Okonjo-Iweala said: "I consider the World Bank a very important institution for the world, and particularly for developing countries deserving of the best leadership, so I look forward to a contest of very strong candidates. "And am I confident? Absolutely." But with the US holding the most votes at the World Bank, which has 187 members, the vote on the next president should be a formality. Former Colombian finance minister, Jose Antonio Ocampo, now looks unlikely to be nominated after Colombia's current finance minister, Juan Carlos Echeverry, said on Thursday that the country was instead focusing on a bid for the presidency of the International Labor Organization. Dr Jim Yong Kim takes part in the Dartmouth College Idol competition Mr Ocampo had agreed to stand and had the backing of Brazil, but also needed Colombia's support. Calls to end 'monopoly' The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund were created at the conference at Bretton Woods in 1944 as a means to regulate trade between nations in the aftermath of the Great Depression and World War II. A US national traditionally heads the World Bank while a European runs the IMF - currently France's Christine Lagarde. But emerging economies have become increasingly unhappy with this arrangement and are pushing for change. In a recent editorial, three former chief economists of the World Bank - Francois Bourguignon, Nicholas Stern and Joseph Stiglitz - argued for an end to the US "monopoly" on running the institution. "To say it is merit-based, and to choose an American repeatedly, shows scant respect to the citizens of other countries," they wrote. Fredrik Erixon, a former World Bank economist, told the BBC that the selection process was "anachronistic" but he still expected the White House nominee to be the successful candidate. The current president, Robert Zoellick, is to step down from his role at the institution when his five-year term comes to an end on 30 June. Mr Zoellick, 58, was nominated for the role in 2007 by George W Bush.

Confused about the Budget? Perplexed by the speculation? Worried there might be a crackdown on your threshold, or a squeeze on your middle? Well here is a point-by-point guide to the politics of Wednesday's event:

1) The government's basic economic strategy will not change: The one thing the coalition parties have not argued about is the need to keep cutting the deficit at the pace they have set. There will still be many, many billions of spending cuts this year and against them, most of the tax changes announced on Wednesday will pale into insignificance.

2) The basic economic numbers will not change: Few economists are expecting the Office for Budget Responsibility to up or downgrade significantly its basic forecasts: how much the economy is - or is not - going to grow; how much borrowing will rise; what will happen to debt and so on.

3) This will be a fiscally neutral budget: There will be no "unfunded giveaways," to quote the chancellor. Every tax cut will have to be paid for by a tax rise elsewhere. This in itself is a political choice. Labour would probably like to borrow a touch more to do what it would want to do, like cut VAT. Many Tories would like to cut spending more so they could cut business taxes further. But George Osborne will simply make some people pay more so others can pay less.

4) But the politics will change: The two coalition parties are carving out the meat of their offer for voters at the next election. The Lib Dems will claim that it is they who are leading the drive to take millions of lower paid workers out of income tax. The Conservatives will argue that, as well as cutting tax for middle earners too, they are also making the economy more competitive by trimming corporation tax and - maybe - cutting the 50p top rate of tax.

5) The Budget has tested the seams of the coalition: The Lib Dem strategy of negotiating in public has irritated some Tories. But George Osborne has been explicit in making clear that this has been a coalition Budget, and as such will "satisfy a broad range of public opinion". The risk is that it looks like a Budget that has been agreed in the interests of the coalition rather than in the interests of the nation.

6) At the heart of this Budget is likely to be a deal: George Osborne is likely to take more low earners out of income tax and squeeze the rich by making it harder for them to avoid tax and by capping the number of allowances and reliefs they can claim, the so-called "tycoon tax". In return, he has carved himself the political space and cover to start cutting the 50p rate, if that is what he wants to do.

7) A note of caution on income tax: Taking people out of income tax is good for people who are not paying tax any more. It is less good for poor people who do not pay tax already. It is less good for people who have to start paying the top rate of tax as a result. It is also less good for people who only have one earner in the family compared to those who have two earners, both of whom can benefit from the tax cut.

8) The big risk for the Conservatives would be cutting the 50p top rate of tax: The risk is that they will be accused of helping rich people earning more than £150,000, and no amount of a crackdown on tax avoidance by the rich will overcome that. Some Tory MPs think it could put at risk David Cameron's attempts to modernise their party. And if the chancellor cuts the rate from 50 to 45p, will the gain in business confidence really outweigh the political downside. Is a 5p cut really enough of a signal to foreign investors to come and do business in Britain? What is 5p among friends? Surely, if Mr Osborne is going to take the risk, he might as well go the whole hog and abolish the rate entirely so that more rich people stay in Britain - as the argument goes - and pay more tax in the long run.

9) The big risk for the Liberal Democrats would be agreeing to cut the 50p rate: Many of the party's natural supporters struggle to understand why helping rich people should be a priority. Others - like the party's former Treasury spokesman Lord Oakeshott - believe the party should not agree to any cut in the 50p rate unless they get a mansion tax in return. The tricky task for George Osborne will be to try to show that overall the rich will pay more tax and the poor less.

10) Do not think the European problem has gone away just because Robert Peston isn't on the telly talking about it every night: As George Osborne told Andrew Marr: "Just because the European Central Bank is putting a lot of money into the eurozone does not mean some of the fundamental problems have been resolved and you know that remains a major risk to the UK and the rest of the world."

11) Ignore the slogans: A "Budget for working people" can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. Will, for example, Mr Osborne reverse his planned cuts in working tax credits which is, of course, a tax rise for, er, working people?

12) There is a fight that has yet to be had over planning: This divides the Conservatives. Some believe the new planning reforms published this week will help boost the economy, paving the way for a flood of new houses. Others think it will simply be a developer's charter to concrete over beautiful green fields that happen not to be part of the protected green belt. Let battle begin.

Lobbying from the oil and gas industry saw the Chancellor use the Budget to reveal a doubling of tax breaks on certain small oil and gas fields. The new field allowances "should lead to exploration that would not otherwise have happened", the Treasury said. Less than 24 hours after the Budget, however, Premier Oil said it could now save up to $100m (£63m) in tax on fields it was likely to have proceeded with anyway. Speaking after posting full-year pre-tax profits of $142m, Simon Lockett, Premier's chief executive, and Tony Durrant, finance director, said the company hoped to save $25m in tax on a project already in the pipeline before the Budget. Premier Oil said it had taken the "tough" decision to go ahead with the Solan project prior to the Budget. It had anticipated reaching final decisions on three similar fields it was "very keen on" this year, which, pending policy details, the Budget allowances could also be applicable to. A spokesman for Premier Oil said the board's decision on Solan had been "subject to... the outcome of the Budget" and that the company plans to invest $1bn a year in the North Sea.

Lloyds Banking Group has issued an update on project Verde and its proposed sale of branches to The Co-operative Group. Five key operational sites, which will provide telephony, banking operations and mortgage centre support to the Verde business, have been named as follows: Gloucester, Livingston, Birmingham, Sunderland and Swansea. Around 1,400 employees across the locations will become part of the business to be sold, joining around 5,000 branch staff. The group is also creating around 500 new jobs in the Verde business and has begun the recruitment process. Lloyds’ group director retail division, Alison Brittain, explains: “This represents the next step in building the Verde business following last year’s branch network and management team announcement, and marks a significant milestone in building a fully operational challenger bank, well positioned for a successful future.” While Lloyds’ preference is to sell the business to The Co-operative Group, the bank is continuing to prepare for a divestment through an Initial Public Offering. One way or another, it remains on track to complete the sale before the end of 2013, in line with the EC mandated timescale.