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A home in the sun for £40,000: Is it too good to be true? We look at the pros and cons of buying on the continent now it's become cheaper As the pound shoots up against the euro, the price of a bolthole on the continent is rapidly shedding its cost.Last summer the value of sterling was around €1.14, whereas it’s now hovering at €1.26.Coupled with a few years of falling prices in Europe and, suddenly, that farmhouse in the Tuscan Hills or villa next to the beach looks remarkably good value – especially when compared with overheated parts of the British market.It's entirely possible to pick up a property for as little as £40,000 in southern Italy and a home for less than £100,000 in Spain and Portugal (See gallery below). Perhaps it’s not surprising, then, that overseas property special...

News Desk: Mesut Ozil reportedly gave away his £237,000 World Cup winnings, but there are conflicting reports as to just who the beneficiary is. The International Business Times mistakenly reported that Ozil, who helped Joachim Loew’s Germany to a 1-0 win over Argentina in the World Cup final, had donated his winnings to the children of Gaza – according to a story in the Middle East Monitor. Amid unrest in the Middle East, it was claimed that Ozil – who is of Turkish decent and a practising Muslim – was prepared to donate his semi-final and final winnings, which equate to a grand sum of £237,000, to the occupied territory. However, this was quickly proved to be false, and conflicting reports now suggest that charities in Brazil are the beneficiary of the Arsenal midfielder’s earnings. ...

World Cup spray inventor ‘set to make millions’ Heine Allemagne (Pic: about.me/allemagne) International News Desk: The man who came up with the vanishing spray used at the World Cup is set to make millions from his quirky invention. Brazilian inventor Heine Allemagne came up with the clever idea after playing around with shaving foam after watching a World Cup qualifier in which the defenders constantly shuffled forward in the wall at free kicks. "I was watching Brazil v Argentina in 2000, and the commentator caught my attention when he said he wanted to see the day that the wall could be kept at the correct distance," he told Brazilian website Zero Hora. "I thought: 'There must be a way.' A cheap product, biodegradable, and marks that would go away after some time, to make ...

Cheryl Cole and other speedy celebrity proposals and marriages Cheryl Cole and Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini News desk: Celebrities tend to live their lives at an accelerated speed - particularly when it comes to love. We're still getting over the shock news that Cheryl Cole has tied the knot with her partner of just three months, Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini. We barely had time to even acknowledge them as a couple before the X Factor judge sprung the news on us earlier this week with an Instagram post of her engagement and wedding rings! The pop star said 'I do' to the French restaurateur following their whirlwind romance, which started in May this year. "I usually do not discuss my personal life but to stop the speculation I want to s...

Special Desk: The thought of not being able to answer an interview question is a scary one for many job applicants. It happens more often than you might think. Sometimes, you simply don't know the answer. In other cases, you may know, but your brain freezes. Being prepared for not being able to respond can help alleviate some of the anxiety, and help you make the most out of a difficult situation. Here's advice on what to do if you don't know or aren't sure how to respond to a question during a job interview. Don't Panic Your mind set going into any interview is a critical ingredient for success. Many candidates assume that they must have a near perfect interview in order to land the job. In reality, it helps to recognize that other interviewees will also have difficulty answering all ...