Slideshow

MARBELLA GAZETTE

Friday 30 September 2011

Spanish sailors to be decorated after rescuing French woman taken hostage by pirates

 

The Defence Minister, Carme Chacón, announced that Spanish forces from the amphibious assault ship, ‘Galicia’, are to be decorated for rescuing a French woman who was taken hostage with her husband by Somali pirates off the coast of Yemen earlier this month. Evelyne Colombo was rescued on September 10 two days after the catamaran she and her husband were sailing had been attacked by pirates. Her husband, Christian Colombo, was murdered and his body thrown into the sea during the pirates’ assault. The Galicia was on patrol with the EU anti-piracy mission Operation Atalanta when it intercepted the skiff which was transporting the 55 year old French woman. Operation Atalanta command ordered the Galicia to open fire on the skiff’s engines and the pirates responded by shooting at the Spanish ship. The pirate skiff capsized after the gun battle, but the hostage was rescued and seven pirates were arrested.

El Hierro still on yellow alert, but no fears of an imminent eruption

 

UME Emergency Military Unit was deployed to El Hierro on Wednesday as the island remained on yellow alert amid fears of a volcanic eruption. The Defence Minister, Carme Chacón, was also due to travel there on Wednesday afternoon to supervise their work, and spoke of the UME’s deployment as a preventive measure to assist emergency services in any evacuation over the increased seismic activity on the island. EFE indicates that there is a 15 percent probability of an imminent eruption, but the island’s government has ruled out any need to evacuate the island. The President of El Hierro’s Cabildo, Alpido Armas, said, ‘That’s not going to happen. We will not need to evacuate 4,000 people. If there is an eruption, it will not be a violent one and the worst that can happen is that a 200 metre mountain emerges’. Fifty three people were evacuated from Frontera due to the seismic activity and it’s understood that they will not be allowed home for the moment. Local schools there were also closed as a precaution because of the risk of landslides. The last volcanic eruption on El Hierro was in 1793, when the Lomo Negro volcano erupted. The last on the Canary Islands was just 40 years ago on La Palma.

Wanted Belgian fugitive arrested in Alhaurín El Grande

 

wanted Belgian fugitive has been arrested in Alhaurín El Grande after a marijuana plantation was discovered at a property in the town. He was found there with a man and a woman, and all three are believed to have been part of an organisation which cultivated the drug for distribution in Europe. The Civil Guard found 55 marijuana plants on the property plus a 9 calibre revolver. One of the group was identified as F.V.B., who was wanted on a warrant for extradition to Belgium to serve a prison sentence of four and a half years for armed robbery. EFE indicates that he took part in an armed hold-up of a goods lorry in Wervik in 2009, where the lorry driver was assaulted with an electric shock weapon and left handcuffed and tied up by the neck.

Franco mass grave found in Jerez

 

It has been a local rumour for many years, that the El Marrufo estate in Jerez de la Frontera had been used to bury hundreds of people shot under Franco. The rumour was well known in nearby Cortes de la Frontera, Jimena de la Frontera and Ubrique. But the investigations made by archaeologists over the summer have confirmed the site, the size of ten football pitches, filled with bones and bullet casings. There were so many casings the archaeologists said they were like seeds, labelled ‘Piritécnica Sevilla 1936’. Jesús Román, one of the archaeologists working at the side says they think it could be ‘one of the largest mass graves away from an official cemetery, and think there are between 300 and 600 bodies present. The El Marrufo Estate was used as a detention, torture and execution centre, dealing with about ten people a day. Women and children as well as men were killed at the site.

Ferronats, a company formed by Spanish construction firm, Ferrovial and British air traffic controllers, Nats, has won 10 of the 13 tenders to run control towers at Spanish airports

 

Ferronats, a company formed by Spanish construction firm, Ferrovial and British air traffic controllers, Nats, has won 10 of the 13 tenders to run control towers at Spanish airports as AENA privatises 49% of the company. It will control Alicante, Valencia, Ibiza, Sabadell, Sevilla, Jerez, Melilla, Cuatro Vientos, Vigo and A Coruña. The remaining three towers on the Canary Islands at Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and La Palma have been awarded to the Sacerco company. AENA estimates savings of 46.6% as a result, with Ferronats bidding 70.4 million, and Sacerco bidding 20 million.

Iberia to launch new low cost airline next week

 

Iberia is planning to launch a new low cost airline next week. The Iberia board is expected to approve the project on Tuesday 4 October, to launch the low cost airline for the company’s short and medium distance services. The new airline is expected to take up 37 of the 69 A-320 aircraft the airline currently has in service. Iberia is now merged with British Airways to create the IAG, the International Airline Group, and the IAG board would have to ratify the decision on Thursday. Iberia has been holding talks with the pilots’ union SEPLA on the conditions for them in the new airline. The airline contends that it needs a structural reorganisation, but the union considers that all the flights should remain under the Iberia brand, and considers maintenance would be cheaper with a single company. An earlier leasing of six planes to Vueling, the budget airline with a 45.85% Iberia shareholding, proved unsuccessful with Iberia passengers complaining they were being put on Vueling flights. Five of those six planes are now back with Iberia. The expected name for the new airline, Iberia Express, was first mentioned back in October 2009.

Belgian couple spot the men who stole their car in Belgium on a Spanish beach

 

Sometimes it a very small world. A Belgian couple who had their car stolen at gunpoint in Belgium some months ago could not believe it when they recognised their attackers when on holiday in Alicante. They saw them on the beach in Guardamar, Alicante last Monday, and made no hesitation in calling the Spanish police. While they were waiting for the police to arrive, the couple found their own car parked nearby, and the owner decided to puncture the tyres to ensure that the thieves could not take it again. After the police arrived a search of the car revealed a simulated pistol. The two men, 47 year old L.J. and 20 year old G.C.D., were taken into custody and it’s now known that there was an international search and capture order in force against them. One of them has served time for serious sexual crimes against children. They have now both been passed to the National Court ahead of being extradited to Belgium.

Major heroin haul in Algeciras

 

The second largest ever haul of heroin in Spanish history has been seized at the port in Algeciras, from a container which was on route to the Ivory Coast from Pakistan. The consignment of heroin was found in three hundred cylinders, each weighing half a kilo, which had been hidden in the cargo of iron oxide powder. The Agencia Tributaria Tax Authority had tracked the container until it arrived at the port, where it was searched on Wednesday. There has been no announcement of any arrests in connection with the find as yet. Spain’s biggest ever haul of heroin was in Sitges, Cataluña, three years ago, where more than 300 kilos were seized.

Ex Ronda Mayor released on bail in corruption case

 

Antonio Marín Lara, the ex Socialist Mayor of Ronda who was amongst seven people arrested on Tuesday in an operation against alleged planning corruption, dubbed ‘Operación Acinipo’, has been released on 150,000 € bail. He was freed on Thursday after questioning by the judge and is charged with perversion of the course of justice, bribery, money laundering, misappropriation of public funds and influence peddling. It’s understood that he has 15 days to pay his bail. Marín Lara left the court in Ronda at around 5pm, five and a half hours after he arrived there under police escort. The six remaining suspects who were arrested on Tuesday have also been released from custody, but all have been charged. Two other people have been questioned at courts in Madrid and Valencia and face similar charges as the ex Mayor. The four Socialist councillors, including the ex-Mayor, among those arrested on Tuesday have now resigned from the PSOE party. The party had previously suspended the four.

Thursday 29 September 2011

UK pressure group set up to help Spanish property victims

 

While there are similar groups already in existence in Spain, this group is the first of its kind in the UK and aims to raise awareness and pressure the UK Government and MEPs into taking action. Many thousands of Britons are believed to have bought property in Spain and through the actions of various levels of Spanish government, property developers and banks, find themselves unable to enjoy the rights to these properties. The Protection of Property Purchased in Europe (POPPIE) is run by husband and wife team Chris and Angela Beattie, who have first hand experience of the issues that surround buying in Spain. In 2004 they spent €150,000 on an off-plan Andalucian villa that was supposed to back onto a golf course, hotel and villa complex. After a building delay of two years, the house was finally built, although the surrounding complex was not. Due to the developer not having planning permission to build their home, they remain unconnected to mains water and electricity supply and are unable to sell the property.

Monday 26 September 2011

Irish expat charged with prostitutes' murder in Spain

 

The 42-year-old man, who is believed to be Irish, was arrested near his home in the resort of Mijas Costa, near Marbella on Spain's southern coast on Friday. The suspect's girlfriend and her mother were also being held over possible involvement in the serial slayings. Police suspect him of stabbing two prostitutes to death, the first in August and the second a month later. The killer was dubbed the "10 murderer" because both women were killed on the tenth of the month. The first woman, said to be 45 years old and of Argentine origin, was found dead in her apartment in the nearby resort of Calahonda. She had been stabbed at least 15 times and was found by her son with a pillowcase tied round her neck and a cushion over mouth. A month later police discovered the body of a 47-year-old Ecuadorian born woman at her home in San Pedro near Marbella. She had 12 stab wounds to her chest and neck. Both women reportedly advertised their services through local newspapers. Post mortem evidence suggested the two women shared the same killer. Police are investigating whether the suspect could be linked to other unsolved murders across Spain.

Blasts hit ex-home of Franco-era politician

 

A Spanish official says two homemade explosive devices detonated outside the childhood home of Manuel Fraga, the last surviving member of the regime of Gen. Francisco Franco. No one was hurt. An official with the Interior Ministry office in Lugo province in northwest Spain says Monday's blasts broke windows and damaged the facade of the house, which is being turned into a museum by the conservative Popular Party, which Fraga founded. The devices were composed of explosive power of the kind used to make fireworks and butane gas canisters used for camping stoves. The official said there was no immediate claim of responsibility. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with ministry rules. Fraga is 88 and has a seat in the Senate.

Spanish police hold suspected 'Irish serial murderer'

 

SPANISH police were last night reported to be holding an Irishman on suspicion of stabbing two women to death in their Costa del Sol homes. Leading Spanish TV station Telecinco described the suspect as Irish. Last night speculation was mounting that detectives were treating him as a suspected serial killer and looking to link him to a series of other unsolved murders across the country. Detectives established a link between the deaths of two women reported to have worked as prostitutes advertising their services through papers. A 45-year-old Spanish woman of Argentine origin was found in her luxury apartment in the Costa del Sol resort of Calahonda on August 11. She had been stabbed 15 times. A month later, police discovered the body of a 47-year-old Ecuador-born woman at her rented home near Marbella. She had bled to death after being stabbed up to 12 times in her chest and neck. Secrecy Due to the investigating judge granting a secrecy order on the case, spokesmen from Spain's National Police and Civil Guard were unable to confirm the name and nationality of the suspect or discuss local media reports he had been carrying false ID when he was arrested. A spokesman for the National Police said: "I've seen the reports suggesting the suspect is Irish and I've also seen other newspaper reports he's from central Europe, but I cannot give you any details about the man who is in custody." His Moroccan girlfriend and her mother were also being held. The man being held in custody was arrested on Friday at a gym near his home in Riviera del Sol near Fuengirola. The block where he was arrested is just a stone's throw from the home of missing Amy Fitzpatrick's mum, Audrey. Police are believed to have arrested him after stolen credit cards belonging to one of the victims was used to withdraw cash from ATMs in the area.

Sunday 25 September 2011

El Hierro prepares for a possible volcanic eruption

 

Canary Island of El Hierro is preparing for a possible volcanic eruption as the Canaries have lifted the alert level to yellow for the first time in the recent history of the archipelago following a group of ever-stronger earthquakes. Saturday night saw a 3.4 quake among a total of 48 seen over the weekend. The fear is that there could be a possible volcanic eruption on the island of El Hierro, but the Councillor for Security, María del Carmen Morales, called for calm. ‘These seismic movements are normal given that we are on a yellow alert and we have never seen a similar crisis’. She said that more movements were expected over the next few days given that the magma has been estimated to be active 15 kms below the surface. They estimate the possibility of a volcanic eruption to be 15%. Despite the low possibility the regional government are carrying out an information campaign in case evacuation of the island is needed. They say there will be plenty of time, in the case of an eruption, to evacuate the population to a safe place.

Canadian gold diggers look to Coruña

 

Canadian company, Edgewater Exploration, are to reopen an old gold mine in Coruña and say they will employ 100 people in Cabanas de Bergantiños in the efforts to extract a million ounces of the metal. An ounce of gold is currently 1,800 € on the market. The Las Médulas mines have a long and distinguished past, and were responsible for ten percent of the Roman empire, as 96,000 kilos of gold was taken over 250 years as the Romans used thousands of slaves to find the metal. The new gold fever is the first in the area for 2,000 years. Despite their advanced plans the company is still waiting for a licence to proceed from the Xunta de Galicia.

Two British swimmers cross the Strait

 

British swimmers, Edward Thedore Cox and Frazer Lloyd-Jones managed to swim across the Strait of Gibraltar on Saturday. A third Briton, Richard Woodrup Skelhorn, had to abandon his attempt halfway, being unable to keep up with the other two. The two successful swimmers, both aged 34, left La Isla de Tarifa at 0910 and arrived at Punta Almansa at 1357, helped by calm seas and weak westerly winds. A Moroccan police patrol inspected the documentation of the participants without any problem on their arrival on the Moroccan coast.

Arrested man admits to killings on the Costa del Sol

 

An alleged serial killer, who has been operating on the Costa del Sol and who is believed to be responsible for the deaths of two women, has been arrested. The crimes were on August 11 and September 10 in Calahonda and San Pedro de Alcántara, and in both cases the women had Spanish nationality but were of Latin American origin, and both were stabbed. Preliminary reports from the autopsies show certain similarities between the crimes. The 42 year old man, who has been revealed to be a foreigner although his nationality has not been announced, was arrested in Mijas, and the man’s mother and girlfriend have also been arrested to determine their possible implication in the crimes. The arrest took place on Friday night in a gymnasium near the suspect’s home in Urbanisation Riviera del Sol in Mijas Costa, and he was taken for questioning at the Fuengirola Civil Guard Barracks, while the two women were taken for questioning by the police in Marbella. The investigation was carried out jointly by the Guardia Civil and the National Police. They say that they cannot rule out other victims in other parts of Spain or in other countries, and they will continue to investigate over the next few days to try and establish if the suspect has taken part in other killings. On Saturday they said that the arrested man could have committed two more crimes, and believe that the tortures his victims before death. Latest reports indicate that he has admitted to the two crimes on the Costa del Sol.

Spain 'a Top Choice' For Those Thinking Of Moving Abroad

 

Spain has been named among the top five destinations that people would consider moving to if they were going to leave the UK, new research has found. A survey conducted by Post Office International Payments revealed that the European nation, which was the fourth most popular location named in the poll, was a possible choice for ten per cent of those questioned. The firm also pointed out that it was the highest-placed nation where English is not the first language. One of the top reasons given for buying a property in Spain or elsewhere in the world is the chance to have a better quality of life, while other reasons to move included warmer weather, discovering a new culture and the adventure of emigrating. Mortgage provider Conti published figures earlier this month showing that it has received seven per cent more enquiries about relocating to Spain so far in 2011 than last year. Overall, the country accounts for 31 per cent of all queries handled by the organisation, with only France garnering more interest.

Saturday 24 September 2011

Germans don't like the British, and the British are the majority in Benidorm

 

A spokesman said part of the problem was that the Germans don't like the British, and the British are the majority in Benidorm hotelsPhoto EFE Air Berlin has cancelled five direct flights from El Altet airport as the company puts a tough cost cutting scheme into operation with the goal of saving 200 million €. The plan will leave 18 planes on the ground, and Alicante is reportedly hard hit because of the high seasonality of traffic at El Altet. In addition numbers show a marked fall in German traffic using the airport this August compared to last, down 22% with 78,988 German tourists. A spokesman for the airline is reported by Europa Press of having commented that part of the problem is that the Germans don’t like the British, and the Brits are the majority in Benidorm hotels. The town’s hoteliers have described that as ‘an urban legend’. The cutbacks come into effect in November and will see the number of direct destinations from Alicante reduced by 45%. The lost destinations are Frankfort, Munich, Nuremburg, Stuttgart and Zurich. The airlines connections to Berlin, Hamburg and Palma remain. The Air Berlin decision follows the earlier announcement from Ryanair reducing flights from Alicante, and dispels the opinion voiced by the PP at the time that Air Berlin could take up those vacant slots. Air Berlin is one of five airlines which use El Altet airport currently.

Spanish jail-house film shows without on-the-run actor

 

A Spanish prison screened a short film made by inmates Friday with one missing ingredient -- a key actor in the jail-house drama is on the run. Inmates spent months making "Guilty", about a murderer haunted by his victim, to show in an annual festival behind bars in Leon, northern Spain, a prison official and media here said. "Among the inmates taking part, there was one in the final stages of his sentence who was allowed out regularly with leave, but who did not come back from one of those leaves," said a prison service spokeswoman. Prisoners completed the film without the missing actor who disappeared at least two months ago, said the spokeswoman for the Secretary General of Penitentiary Institutions. She denied reports he had the leading role. "He may have had some more important scenes but he was not not necessarily the hero." The actor is being sought for breach of a six-year drug-dealing sentence, which had been due for completion in 2012, she said, stressing that he was not considered a danger.

Friday 23 September 2011

Costa del Sol’s oldest magazine shuts its doors

 

The Costa del Sol’s oldest magazine is reported to have closed down after running its final edition on Friday. The Friday-Ad – which continues to run a UK operation boasting over 1 million readers a week – had produced a Costa del Sol edition out of its Gibraltar offices since 1975. The reason behind the decision to close remains unclear. When the Olive Press attempted to contact the publication’s office, the number failed to connect. However, a member of staff in the UK office confirmed that it was their understanding that the Costa del Sol edition had closed. “As far as I am aware that was the plan (to close on Friday) but you will need to call back in 10 minutes to speak to someone who can confirm that,” she said.

Barcelona's last bullfight marks end of an era in Spain

 

When Spanish bullfighter Serafin Marin plunges his sword into the back of a bull's neck in Barcelona on Sunday, he will be marking the end of an era. The bull will not only be the last of six killed in the bullfight, but the last-ever to be killed in Barcelona's Monumental bullring, which is nearly a century old. The closure of the Monumental - in keeping with a bullfighting ban in the north-eastern region of Catalonia - reflects the decline of bullfighting in Spain, though fans of the country's 'national fiesta' vow to fight on. 'We have lost a battle, but not the war,' Marin told the daily El Mundo. But animal rights campaigner Aida Gascon said, 'Now that we have achieved (the end of bullfights) in Catalonia, we shall try to finish with them in the rest of Spain.' Catalonia, a wealthy region of 7.5 million people, has spearheaded the campaign against bullfights, or 'corridas,' in a country where animal rights activism is on the rise. The Catalan capital of Barcelona declared itself an 'anti-bullfight' city in 2004. Dozens of other municipalities followed suit, and finally in July 2010 the regional parliament outlawed bullfights from January 1, 2012. The Canary Islands had already done so in 1991, as part of a more general animal protection law, but that decision had gone largely unnoticed. The Catalan opposition to bullfights is explained not only by animal rights activism, but also by Catalan nationalism, many of whose representatives see 'corridas' as an expression of Spanishness. The region with separatist currents 'wants to eliminate everything that represents Spain,' Marin said. Bullfighting remains an important industry in Spain with an annual turnover of more than 2.5 billion euros (3.5 billion dollars), contributing to 0.25 per cent of gross domestic product. It provides direct employment to 200,000 people, including bullfighters, or 'toreros,' bull breeders, managers and others. Yet gradually the spectacle that once inspired artists and writers such as Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway is losing its appeal. Only 37 per cent of Spaniards are interested in bullfights, while 60 per cent dislike them, according to a 2010 poll. 'Corridas' are least popular among young people. Animal rights campaigners see the event, in which darts are stuck into the back of the animal's neck before the 'torero' kills it with his sword, as torture. Some observers attribute the decline also to other causes, ranging from Spain's economic crisis to an alleged deterioration of the race of the Iberian 'brave bull.' Not only are bulls' horns 'shaved' to make them less dangerous, but they are also losing their fighting spirit, some bullfighting commentators complain. Another important reason for the decline of 'corridas' is their image as an old-fashioned form of entertainment. 'Young people do not choose an anachronistic spectacle,' anti-bullfight campaigner Helena Escoda said. Even Catalonia, however, has not outlawed other bull spectacles, such as bull runs. Some Spanish regions have come out in defence of the 'corrida,' describing it as a part of their cultural heritage. Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's government placed bullfights under the responsibility of the Culture Ministry, instead of the Interior Ministry. The opposition conservative People's Party, which is expected to win the November 20 parliamentary elections, has taken legal action against the Catalan bullfighting ban at the Constitutional Court. Catalan bullfighting enthusiasts have also collected 300,000 signatures in defence of the fiesta. Yet it is far from certain that such initiatives will stop what many see as an inevitable social development. Catalan bullfighters, in the meantime, are planning to face the bull elsewhere in Spain or in the south of France.

Spain fears pain as Ratón the killer bull prepares to enter ring for last time

Raton the bull at a festival in Sueca,near Valencia, Spain
Ratón the bull at a festival in Sueca, Spain. Photograph: Alberto Saiz/AP

It is the end of a long career, deemed venerable by those who admire Spanish fighting bulls.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, the half-tonne 11-year-old killer bull known as Ratón, or Mouse, will feel a bullring's sand under his hooves and sniff the scent of commingled human adrenaline and fear for the last time.

Those who pay their €2.50 (£2.20) in Canals, eastern Spain, will witness the final chapter of a life spent chasing, and occasionally goring, people. Fans are expected to arrive from around the country.

Many will be secretly hoping Ratón, who has killed two and reportedly gored five others in his career, will draw blood at his valedictory outing in the small town near Valencia. A fiesta poster promises "a show with the presence of the famous Ratón" starting at 12.30am. It does not mention that Ratón killed a spectator in nearby Xátiva last month and another man in 2008.

Canals mayor, Ricardo Cardona, claims to have been unaware of Ratón's bloody past when hiring him. He has asked the bull's owner, Gregorio de Jesús, to prevent members of the public coming face to face with the beast.

Four professional recortadores, or bull-taunters, will instead dodge in front of him in the bullring, encouraging him to chase them over obstacles for up to half an hour.

"It is when someone jumps in spontaneously that things inevitably happen," De Jesús said this month.

Police and security staff will try to prevent enthusiastic amateurs jumping into the ring with Spain's most infamous bull.

The future of Ratón, who is past retirement age, remains uncertain. De Jesús wants to clone the bull but is waiting to hear if he will receive local government funds to pay for it.

 

 

Spain’s central bank reported this week that things were getting worse for that country’s banks

 

Spain’s central bank reported this week that things were getting worse for that country’s banks — but not because they held a lot of Greek debt or bonds issued by other troubled European economies. The problem, instead, is the same old one. With Spain’s economy weak and home prices falling, bad loans are growing. And the central bank thinks things are getting worse. In a surprisingly frank presentation to investors in London on Tuesday, José María Roldán, the Bank of Spain’s director general of banking regulation, said that Spanish land prices had fallen about 30 percent from the 2007 peak, adjusted for inflation, and that home prices were off about 22 percent. “In both cases, we expect further corrections in the years to come,” he said. For land prices, he said, the bank’s “baseline scenario” was that prices would fall to little more than half of the peak level. The “adverse scenario” indicated that the decline could be significantly worse. That was a significant change from a presentation he made in February. Then, with home prices down about 18 percent from the peak, he argued that the decline was similar to past cyclical downturns and that prices were likely to begin rising soon. Remarkably enough, collapsing home prices have not left Spanish banks holding large amounts of bad mortgage loans, thanks largely to the fact the Spanish mortgage market operated during the boom in far different ways than the American market. But if lending to home buyers was conducted in a far more prudent manner than it was in the United States, lending to real estate developers and construction companies was, if anything, more irresponsible. The higher land prices went, the more eager the banks were to push out loans. The story of how Spain’s banks got into the mess — and the way its mess differs from that of American banks — show that it is impossible for banks to walk away from a collapsing bubble in real estate. It also shows that the structure of mortgage markets can make a major difference in how a collapse plays out. The figures released by the central bank this week showed that by the middle of this year, 17 percent of Spanish bank loans to construction companies and real estate developers were troubled — or “doubtful,” the term favored by the central bank. That figure has been rising rapidly, reflecting the deterioration in real estate values. When the financial crisis first broke out, in 2008 and 2009, it appeared that Spanish banks were in a better position than most, in part because of regulation that had kept the big banks from making some of the mistakes others made. But it turned out that smaller Spanish savings banks were heavily exposed to a real estate market that had outpaced even the United States’ market for a time during the first decade of this century. That market continued to rise after the American housing market stopped climbing. The Bank of Spain has created a program to force mergers of the smaller banks and to bring in better management. It has put about 11 billion euros into the banks to recapitalize them, and is putting in another 15 billion euros in a process that is supposed to be completed by the end of this month, said Antonio Garcia Pascual, the chief Southern European economist for Barclays Capital. But, he added, “our estimate is that the overall number needed is closer to 50 billion euros.” The banks are bleeding from loans secured by raw real estate, and from loans for construction. The pain is made worse because such lending soared during the property boom. It is those loans that are now devastating bank balance sheets, as developers who borrowed to build offices, stores and neighborhoods saw demand dry up and now cannot pay the banks back. Other corporate loans are also showing weakness, as would be expected when unemployment is above 20 percent and not expected to improve for at least two years, but less than 5 percent of those loans are said to be doubtful. There are also signs of trouble in car loans and other loans to individuals.

Thursday 22 September 2011

Spanish consumers have appetite for grass-fed lamb

 

Spanish consumers have rated English Quality Standard grass-fed lamb highly in blind taste tests carried out by Eblex. Consumers at three different Spanish locations with a tradition of high lamb consumption rated English lamb equally to Spanish lamb, with no clear preference between the two. It is hoped the research, carried out with 476 people in Catalunia, Aragon and Extremadura, will encourage more Spanish buyers to consider fast-growing breeds of lamb reared on rain-fed pastures, which they have traditionally shunned out of a perception that it has too strong a taste compared to their milder, grain-fed domestically produced lamb. Jean-Pierre Garnier, Eblex head of export services, said: “Traditionally, we have faced a wall with some Mediterranean countries, particularly in Spain, who believe the lamb produced in northern Europe is not to the liking of their palate. They have a preference for their own grain-fed lamb.   “This has been a real barrier to trade, but something we felt was based on historic perception rather than people actually tasting the difference, so we put this to the test.” Consumers were asked to rate the lamb on tenderness, juiciness, flavour and overall acceptability. A small majority (51%) of the tasters in Catalonia and Aragon preferred the English lamb, while a small majority in Extremadura (58%) preferred the Spanish lamb, suggesting that there was no real preference between the two. “This really does show that the Spanish consumer has an appetite for grass-fed lamb and we hope this will encourage more Spanish importers to look to buy from countries like England that use this system,” added Garnier.

Wednesday 21 September 2011

Halle Berry taken to hospital after breaking her foot on set of new movie

 

Halle Berry broke her foot while in Spain today. The actress, who is in the country filming scenes for Cloud Atlas, injured herself after a simple misstep on property where she is staying, according to TMZ. She is understood to have been taken to hospital where her foot was put into a cast and she later left in a wheelchair. The accident has put her film bosses in a spin however, with sources saying they plan to shoot around her injury by shooting her from the waist up and using a stunt double. Berry is in Spain after shooting scenes for the movie in Glasgow, where she was spotted running around in 70s gear for an action scene. She is among an ensemble cast starring in the big-screen adaptation of David Mitchell's novel Cloud Atlas - a collection of six different stories set between the 19th century to the post-apocalyptic future. She plays journalist Luisa Rey who investigates reports of corruption and murder at a nuclear power plant. A host of A-listers are taking part, including Tom Hanks, Susan Sarandon, Hugo Weaving and Hugh Grant. This month Berry has also spent time in Majorca with daughter Nahla and her boyfriend Olivier Martinez as part of her European stay.

Manchester airport reopens after bomb scare

 

Manchester Airport’s main terminal has reopened after bomb disposal experts were called in to check a suspicious package on Wednesday, police said. A man was being questioned, although police said earlier reports that he was being held under the Terrorism Act were inaccurate. The package, a bag, was found to be safe. The airport’s operators had earlier said 11 flights leaving Terminal 1 would be affected. Incoming flights are operating normally and the airport’s two other terminals remained open. Manchester Airport is Britain’s fourth biggest and handles around 20 million passengers each year.

Tuesday 20 September 2011

FIVE HUNDRED MARIJUANA PLANTS FOUND BY BOMBERAS

 

Firefighters discovered five hundred marijuana plants on Sunday when they entered a house in Jacarilla to attend a fire. According to sources from the emergency services, the two-storey building was empty when emergency staff arrived at the scene. The Civil Guard is now trying to locate the owner. The marijuana plants were fitted with an irrigation system and lighting for easy cultivation and a spokesman suggested that the flames could have been caused by an electrical short caused by excessive energy consumption. The Bomberas reported that the fire broke out about 2pm on Sundat afternoon and took about an hour to quell the flames and ventilate the building, which had been affected by smoke.

Spanish custom officers seize cigarette packs

 

SPANISH customs officers in La Linea de la Concepción seized 2,848 packets of cigarettes last weekend, according to press reports. Contraband tobacco was found hidden in three vehicles crossing the border into Spain from Gibraltar. In a fourth case, the bag of a person walking by the Levante area was searched and was found to be carrying 1,000 packets of contraband tobacco.

Brits arrested for drug trafficking on the Baleares

 

 

The Organised Crime Squad ECO of the Guardia Civil based on Mallorca completed the second part of an operation against drug trafficking on Sunday. The first part of the operation had been started at the end of August. At that time ten Britons were arrested and on Sunday the ECO agents picked up another ten youngsters of the same nationality. Judicial sources say that seven of the ten were sent to prison in Eivissa, on remand, while two were granted bail of 10,000 € and one was released without bail. Reporting restrictions have been imposed in the case. And in a separate case on Saturday the Guardia Civil have arrested a British man in Sant Antoni, Ibiza found to have 300 ecstasy pills hidden in his hotel room. The investigation is being handled by the Judicial Police of the Guardia Civil. We also have more details about a Guardia Civil drugs raid last Wednesday, also in Sant Antoni, when four homes were searched in the second phase of the Rula operation. 5 kilos of cocaine was recovered along with 5,000 ecstasy pills, and ten more arrests were made. Diario Ibiza reports that all those arrested are men, nearly all of them young and also British, although there are some Irish in the group. Judge Carmen Martín in Instruction Court 3 in Ibiza took their statements on Sunday.

British man breaks his hip in new 'balconing' incident

 

British man has broken his hip in yet another case of ‘balconing’ on the Baleares. The 29 year old, who was said to be very drunk, fell from the first floor of his hotel when trying to cross to the neighbouring balcony. It was a fall of some 3 metres and happened in Avenida Isidor Macabich in Sant Antoni. He was taken to the Can Misses Hospital where he is expected to stay for a few days. The Guardia Civil is in charge of the investigation, although the Local Police also attended the incident.

Ibiza fire brought under control

 

Some 1,200 people were evacuated overnight as their homes in the Roca Llisa urbanisation in the town of Santa Eulàra des Riu were threatened by the fire. The fire was declared at 8pm on Sunday afternoon in Cala Llonga, but given the size of the blaze in the early hours of Monday, 16 men from the Emergency Military Units UME were scrambled to the scene to reinforce the fire crews already working. They arrived on the island overnight on two helicopters. 160 fire fighters brought the fire under control on Monday morning, and there are no reports of any injuries. A total of 115 hectares were affected. In a separate incident a fire at Marratxí on Mallorca has affected some 5 hectares and is now also under control.

Spanish banks hit by spike in bad loans

 

Bad loans from Spanish banks, a major source of concern to financial markets, rose in July to the highest level in 16 years at nearly seven per cent, the Bank of Spain said on Monday. Bank loans whose recovery is in doubt amounted to 124.7 billion euros ($A166.5 billion), or 6.94 per cent of total assets, in July, the central bank said in a report - the highest ratio since February 1995. That compares to a revised bad loan ratio in June of 6.69 per cent. The central bank had previously said the bad loan ratio was 6.42 per cent that month. Advertisement: Story continues below Bad loans at Spanish lenders, especially its regional savings banks which account for half of all lending, have risen steadily since the collapse of the property sector at the end of 2008. The bad loan ratio at Spanish banks stood at 3.37 per cent at the end of 2008. Earlier this month Spain's struggling Caja Mediterraneo, under state control since July, reported a bad loan ratio of 19 per cent, fuelling concerns about the state of balance sheets across the banking sector. The financial health of Spanish banks is at the heart of market fears that Spain could follow the example of Ireland, Greece and Portugal in seeking a bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. The government and Bank of Spain have forced a wave of consolidation in the sector this year and are requiring banks to quickly increase the proportion of core capital they hold to above international norms. In July, Moody's threatened to lower the ratings of four Spanish banks, including the euro zone's largest, Santander, as well as the country's confederation of savings banks. The three other banks concerned are BBVA, CaixaBank and La Caixa.

Monday 19 September 2011

Marbella Club Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa: Marbella, Spain hotel:

 

Located on the Southern Spanish Costa del Sol, in the heart of the 'Golden Mile' only 5 minutes to Old Town Marbella and Puerto Banús, with 320 days of sunshine and a mild year round average temperature of 21ºC). Open year round, the renowned Marbella Club Hotel, was once the private residence of Prince Alfonso von Hohenlohe. The 121 luxury bedrooms and suites, spread over the beach front resort, harmonize with 14 Andalusian-Style villas throughout 42,000 square meters (452,083 sq. ft.) of lush subtropical gardens. Each guest room is decorated with the finest fabrics and Mediterranean interior design, reflecting the surrounding elements and has furnished balcony / terrace and spacious luxurious bathrooms with separate shower and bath. The 14 charming villas are in the unmistakable style of the Hotel, faithful replicas of traditional Andalucían architecture, blending harmoniously with their surroundings, and are ideal for families and guests seeking to enjoy more space and privacy. The 2, 3 or 5 bedroom villas have their own private garden and heated pool, providing guests with both comfort and privacy during their stay. Both of the 2 outdoor heated swimming pools, one with seawater invite you to relax in the surrounding gardens or to enjoy the views of the Mediterranean through the palm trees of the famous beach club.

Housing Market Woes Even Hit Celebs

 

Even celebrities are having a hard time selling their mega-mansions. More on DIS Fan Cam: The Next Sports Cash Machine?Jay Rasulo, Senior Executive Vice President And Chief Financial Officer, The Walt Disney Company, To Speak At The Goldman Sachs 20th Annual Communacopia ConferenceBond Funds See Huge Spike in Inflows Market Activity The Walt Disney Co| DIS Mommy-to-be Hillary Duff has put her first mansion that she purchased while starring in Disney's Lizzie McGuire up for sale with an asking price of $6.25 million. But according to The Real Estalker, Duff also attempted to sell the estate last year, listing for $7 million last time around. Real estate records reveal Duff bought the 9,277 square-foot house in Toluca Lake, Calif., in March 2004 for $3.5 million. Mark Wahlberg, a.k.a. Marky Mark, also recently re-listed his Beverly Hills estate with a $2 million price cut. Wahlberg originally listed the property in 2008 for $15.9 million. The 1.41-acre home is now listed for $13.9 million. The executive producer of Entourage purchased the mansion in 2001 for just $5 million, later remodeling it. Earlier in the summer, Christina Aguilera reduced the price on her home in the Hollywood Hills to $5.5 million from $8 million, while Jodi Foster's Beverly Hills mansion was brought down to $8.9 million from $10 million. The housing market continues to wobble with few consumers taking advantage of record-low mortgage rates. Sales of newly built homes are expected to be at their worst levels for decades this year, while sales of previously occupied homes are on pace for their poorest showing in nearly 15 years

Sunday 18 September 2011

Roche threatens to stop supplying Spanish hospitals

 

multinational pharmaceutical company, Roche, has warned Spain that it may stop supplying its products to Spanish hospitals and clinics. It comes as the company has stopped supplying medicines to Greek hospitals because of the debt they are owed, and that say that what they are owed by some regional administrations in Spain is ‘at the limit’. CEO of the company, Severin Schwan, made the revelation to the New York Times, and El País then asked Roche España for comments. The response was ‘As is happening in other countries, the crisis situation and the debt in Spain is significant and some regional administrations are at their limit’. Regions such as Castilla y León are now paying medical suppliers after two years, but Roche reports delays of 900 days are now happening, while Andalucía, Valencia and Castilla-La Mancha has an average payment time of more than 600 days.

Case summary reveals the size of Astapa corruption in Estepona

 

The judge in the Astapa case, regarding corruption in Estepona Town Hall, has more than 40 million € belonging to the 99 indicted in the case frozen, and Hacienda has detected a missing 20 million from appraisals on four real estate deals. These are named a El Ángel, Valle Romano, Arroyo Enmedio Este and Camino del Cerrillar. The case summary shows that as many as 1,800 properties have been impounded in the case, along with 50 vehicles, and a stud with 38 horses. One of the papers dated December 2010 shows that police have requested information from more than 100 local companies, most of them hotels, banks or builders and from what was obtained have concluded that the Town Hall and the political parties organised events and other items paid for by third parties, or by the people alleged to be at the centre of the case. El País reports that the ex Chairman of the Caja Jaén is among those implicated for bribery. José Antonio Arcos Moya, is alleged to have been involved in the payments surrounding concessions made by the Town Hall in 2007 regarding the first occupancy licence for La Reserva de Selwo Golf S.L. The case summary notes the high life style of the ex Councillor, José Ignacio Crespo and says there are indications that he received a 40,000 € payment from a company with town planning interests in the town. The tax authorities are investigating more than 120 companies and individuals and the police continue to wade through 160 boxes of files and 100 hard disks of information.

Moroccan cops seize Scot caught with £500k of cannabis resin

 

holidaymaker is being held in a hell-hole Moroccan jail after being caught in a camper van with £500,000 of hashish. Daniel Healy, 66, was arrested last week as he tried to drive across the border from Morocco to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. The police discovered the 100kg stash of cannabis resin hidden in aluminium boxes stashed in a water tank. Since then, Healy – who is from Glasgow – has spent six nights in the violent and cramped Tetouan prison. Friend Graham Boszormenyi, 46, claimed that Healy was unaware of the hidden drugs. Ex-Royal Navy submariner Graham said: “Daniel is a good friend of mine and I know that he had no knowledge of what he was carrying. “I spoke to him a couple of days ago and he said he plans to plead guilty because he’s been told he’ll only get one year. “But I know the system in Morocco and I don’t believe it for a minute. “I’ve been through this before. Twice they’ve had me in Morocco and I think he could end up getting four to six years – and he’s too old for that. “He’s in the worst prison possible, where there are 60 people in a cell with one shared toilet. “He’s a harmless old man who is known by lots of people around the world. He’s a noisy drunk but he’s not any kind of criminal. “I know the people who are behind this and I think they will help by coming forward to the UK authorities and telling them that he knew nothing about it. “I have spoken to his family in Scotland and they are understandably very worried. “He has been sucker-punched. He had no idea that these people had just used him. It’s backfired on everyone, especially him. “He was travelling under a different name, John McLeish. I don’t know why. He’s due to be tried on Tuesday.” Healy was driving the Spanish- registered camper van when he was stopped on the border between Morocco and Ceuta. He had been expected to get a ferry from Ceuta across the Mediterranean to the Spanish city of Algeciras. Healy’s daughter Siobhan is a celebrated glass artist with a studio in Glasgow’s Dennistoun. The 34-year-old – whose clients include the Scottish government, the BBC and many councils – said: “I don’t know anything about this. “It doesn’t sound like the kind of thing my dad would be involved in.” Officials from the British embassy are expected to make the 215-mile trip from the Moroccan capital Rabat to offer Healy assistance. A US state department report on Moroccan jail conditions said: “They generally did not meet international standards. “Prisons were overcrowded, resulting in poor hygienic conditions and are prone to violence.” A Moroccan police spokesman said: “We arrested a Scottish man and he is now in prison. We can’t tell you anything else.” A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We are aware of the arrest of a British national in Morocco."

Saturday 17 September 2011

Handling of Saudi prince's Spain court case challenged

 

Lawyers for a woman who alleges she was sexually assaulted by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia say the case has not been properly handled by Spain's criminal justice system. The woman, known only as "Soraya", says she was assaulted on a yacht moored off the island of Ibiza in 2008. A spokeswoman for the prince denied the allegation and said he had not been to Ibiza for more than a decade. The case was shelved by an island court but has now been reopened. This followed a successful appeal by Soraya's lawyers. The judge is preparing a second official request to the Saudi authorities for assistance in formally questioning the prince. The nephew of Saudi King Abdullah, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is a multi-billionaire with major investments in both Citigroup and NewsCorp. 'Something in my drink' "In our opinion, the Court of Instruction No 3 in Ibiza and the police did not follow full procedure in cases of alleged sexual abuse," the lawyers from Madrid-based firm Turiel and Beloqui told the BBC. "There are things that should have been investigated that were not - like questioning staff on the yacht and the guests, an analysis of the victim's clothes and so on," the lawyers wrote, describing the fact these steps were not taken as "very unusual". The claim that the case was not being pursued with proper rigour was dismissed by the Ibiza court in 2010, saying that the identity of the accused in no way affected its decision to drop the case that year. The court ruling cites insufficient evidence to proceed. Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote My daughter was in a terrible state, [...] scared to death, crying, awful” Mother of 'Soraya' Soraya, a Spanish-German model, was 20 at the time of the alleged attack on 13 August 2008 on board the 117-metre luxury yacht Turama. She told police she had begun to feel nauseous in the VIP zone of a local night club, where she believes something was slipped into her drink. She had been taken there by a man claiming to be a chauffeur for "an Arab prince" who was visiting the island. According to court documents seen by the BBC, Soraya sent the chauffeur an SMS text message at 05:12, saying: "I haven't drunk much but I think there was something in my drink." The model says she came round some hours later on board the Turama to find a man on top of her. She later identified the man as Prince Alwaleed bin Talal using images taken from YouTube. Forensic reports from a medical examination the following day revealed traces of a sedative and semen, but no physical injuries. A woman identifying herself as the mother of Soraya told the BBC her daughter had called on the morning of the alleged attack asking her to come and collect her from the island. "My daughter was in a terrible state, [...] scared to death, crying, awful," the woman said, responding to questions sent by email. "The Spanish justice system has treated this case very badly. In my view they did not want to get too involved because of who the accused was." A 2010 prosecutor's report says three men who were questioned by police during the investigation were unable to corroborate the model's version of events "in any way". The Saudi foreign ministry rejected an initial request from the Ibizan court to investigate, citing "an inability to identify the accused and a lack of solid evidence". This week, a spokeswoman for Prince Alwaleed's Kingdom Holding Company said the prince had never been informed of the 2008 court case, or that it was eventually shelved. In a statement, she also said the billionaire's travel records confirm he was with dozens of friends and family at the time of the alleged attack, nowhere near Ibiza. "There have been many examples of people impersonating Prince Alwaleed over the internet and elsewhere for their own purposes," Heba Fatani said in a statement. She called the allegations against him "salacious" and "completely and utterly false". The Audencia Provincial court in Mallorca - which has jurisdiction over Ibiza - has ordered the case to be reopened in order to ensure the prince can be questioned in accordance with Spanish law. Soraya's lawyers have urged him to provide a DNA sample to rule himself out of the inquiry.

Spain raises taxes on the rich

 

Spain today became the latest European country to hike taxes on the wealthy, with a new asset-based tax targeting the country's richest people. Spain's socialist government hopes that the new wealth tax will raise up to €1bn in a country where growth is grinding to a halt and this year's 6% deficit target looks increasingly tough to meet. The move represents a U-turn for prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who abolished a similar wealth tax in 2008 — just before the country plunged towards recession. "The economic crisis makes it necessary to bring this tax back, applying principles of fairness so that those with bigger assets can be taxed and so those who have greater wealth can contribute more to getting the country out of the crisis," a finance ministry statement said. Spaniards with €700,000 of assets in real estate – excluding their main home – as well as in stocks and bank deposit will have to pay the new tax. "It excludes the middle classes, who were the ones who had been largely affected by it when it was eliminated in 2008," the statement said. "We estimate the number of people who will contribute at around 160,000, with annual payments of about €1.08bn if it is applied evenly across Spain," it added. The wealth tax will go to Spain's cash-strapped regional governments, though some of them are opposed to it. Only one of the eleven regions currently governed by the right-wing opposition People's Party (PP) has so far indicated that it will apply the tax. It remained unclear how many others, including the wealthy Madrid region, would join the PP-administered region of Extremadura. But with fierce austerity measures in place, PP regional governments will come under intense pressure to use the tax. "In moments of hardship it is fair that those who have more should give more, just as some of the wealthiest people in Germany and France have offered to do, especially as they are less affected by measures that have been applied to pensions, salaries, lay-offs and income tax or VAT hikes," said José María Mollinedo, head of the tax inspectors' union. Spain's wealthy largely avoid income tax, with only some 7,000 people declaring annual taxable income above €600,000. Emilio Botín, head of the Santander banking group and Spain's tenth wealthiest individual, said that he disagreed with the move. "I think it's bad," he told journalists

Polo Experience at Tres Rosas Polo

 

Tres Rosas Polo offered the chance to try some horse riding as well as the opportunity to play a very popular sport called Polo. Polo is a team sport played on horseback and the players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a long-handled mallet. The traditional sport of polo is played at speed on a large grass field up to 300 yards in length, and each polo team consists of four riders and their mounts.    Personally, I must admit I was a bit intimidated by the whole thing, since my only(and very brief) experience with horses was more than 10 years ago. Getting up the horse and heading to the field already raised a fair amount of adrenaline in me, but the peak was reached once my horse started to gallop. Let's just say it isn't as easy at it looks and for me the fear of falling was the biggest!    Thankfully my horse, Todo, let my first experience be totally positive, even though I was not sure at all what I was doing. What they told me was that the horse can sense if the rider is insecure and totally in charge. That is the reason also why she didn't obey 100%. Nevertheless, riding the horse with the mallet in the right and leading the horse with my left hand made me feel like a polo player, even if it was for only 15 minutes!    I definitely suggest this type of sport to anybody who loves to try something different and Tres Rosas Polo club is the right place to take up this interesting hobby that is played professionally in 16 countries!

Another shipment of cocaine inside plastic bananas seized in Spain

 

National Police have seized almost half a ton of cocaine which had been smuggled into Spain hidden inside plastic bananas transported in a normal cargo of the fruit. It’s a method which has been used by drug smugglers before, leading to four arrests after 162 kilos of cocaine were seized at Algeciras Port this January. The Interior Ministry said in a press release on Thursday that the drugs were imported from Ecuador in containers of bananas by an import company which was set up for that purpose in San Roque, Cádiz province. The group is understood to have sent over a number of containers of real fruit from Ecuador before sending the cargo of cocaine. The gang’s rented warehouse in San Roque was kept under surveillance and raided after three containers were transported there at the end of June, where plastic bananas containing 448 kilos of cocaine were discovered amongst the fruit. Three people were later arrested in Roldán, Murcia, and in Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, followed by a fourth suspect who was taken into custody in August in Alicante.

11 of the 54 prisoners in Menorca jail are British

 

11 of the 54 prisoners being held in prison on Menorca are British, according to the prison authorities, who says their presence on the island is dependent on the air connections to the UK, which allows family visits to the inmates. The same sources, quoted by Menorca.info, say that none of the Britons have a ‘conflictive’ profile. The jail on the Carretera de Sant Lluís also currently holds 23 prisoners who are of Menorcan origin or who have links to the island. Another 20 are being held ahead of their appearance in court.

Friday 16 September 2011

Saudi Arabia: Pretty Maids From Morocco Seen as Threat

 

Back in early September, the recruitment committee of the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry announced that recruitment companies would be established and will be licensed to bring in housemaids from Morocco, East Asia and South Africa. The move has caused outrage in unusual places. The reason for this recruitment move, according to a Saudi chamber official, was that they were turning to Morocco and other countries to get its domestic workers following a dispute with the Philippines and Indonesia, the largest suppliers of housemaids to the Gulf countries. The dispute has centered on pay and conditions, but Indonesia had earlier this year also criticized the Saudi government for beheading an Indonesian maid. Of the 1.2 million Indonesians working in Saudi Arabia, over 70% are domestic helpers. The ban on maids from Indonesia and the Philippines hit Saudi households hard, causing many to resort to hiring illegal maids over Ramadan. The Saudis are reliant on foreign workers to perform their household tasks for them and very few Saudi women will work in such menial positions despite high unemployment, as they would be looked down on by other Saudis. The ban came into effect following the two countries attempts to introduce regulations for the work conditions of their nationals. Trade Arabia said both countries demanded better working conditions for their employees. Saudi walked away from the negotiations abruptly and decided to look for domestic employees from countries such as Morocco who they perceive as not as concerned about imposing regulations to protect their workers. It also became clear that lower rates of pay could be offered to other nationals. Right from the beginning the scheme ran into problems in respect to recruiting maids from Morocco. The recruitment committee said that the immediate employment of Moroccan maids could prove an issue as there were no official recruitment offices in Morocco to process the papers of prospective domestic helps. It was suggested that there could be a way around the problem with Saudi citizens being given work visas to bring housemaids from Morocco on their own. The whole issue of Saudi maids has been at the centre of international protests for years, especially in regard to exploitation, sexual harassment and torturing of foreign housemaids. The notion that individual Saudi's could fly to Morocco and find a young woman and take her back to Saudi, is truly worrying and will, no doubt, offend our readers. The chairman of the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry, warned Saudi citizens against contacting any offices claiming to be able to send housemaids from Morocco to the Kingdom. "They are all fake. You should not heed the false claims of these fake offices." he warned prospective employers. The spokesman of the Labor Ministry, Hattab Al-Anzi, said the recruitment offices would grant citizens work visas for housemaids from Morocco. "It is now the responsibility of the citizen to look for authorized private recruitment offices to bring workers from Morocco," he said. Then, suddenly, the plan to import maids from Morocco ran into even more problems. Those fighting to stop the "maid-trade" got support from an unlikely source - Saudi women. They objected to the importing of Moroccan girls, not because they didn't think they would work hard, or that they were against the exploitation of young foreign women. No - it was because they thought the Moroccan women were too beautiful. At first it sounded like a sick joke, but the Saudi women were serious.     "Many Saudi woman have objected to plans to import domestic workers from Morocco…they say the Moroccan women are beautiful and this will cause continuous anxiety and concern in Saudi families,” - 'Sharq' Daily It is a relatively rare for the voices of Saudi women to be raised in protest. This year there have been notable exceptions as some women protested for the right to drive, whilst others demanded the right to vote. Now they have another common cause - to ban female domestic maids from Morocco. It started slowly, but over a few days the protests grew to the point where the Saudi women inundated the government with complaints that Moroccan women are just too beautiful and may lure their husbands away. According to the website Emirates 24 the Shura Council was “deluged by demands from Saudi women” "Moroccan women are so attractive that their husbands could easily fall for them…others said Moroccans are good at magic and sorcery and that this could enable them to lure their husbands.” - 'Sharq' Daily If the women of Saudi Arabia fail to stop this "maid-trade" then it is imperative that the Moroccan government scrutinize the contracts and conditions of every maid taken to Saudi. They should also take steps to educate Saudi women to understand that while Moroccan women may be beautiful, they are not dangerous.

Passenger 'tried to open jet door'

 

A holidaymaker who allegedly tried to open the doors of a plane at 36,000ft has been arrested. The Thomson Airways flight from Palma, Majorca, to Newcastle early on Wednesday was diverted to Gatwick. Witnesses said friends tried to restrain a man as he attempted to open the door, and he shouted: "It's OK, we are just on a simulator." Passengers and crew wrestled him into a seat and he was tied up with seat belts. A man aged 22 from Ashington in Northumberland was arrested at Gatwick on suspicion of endangering the safety of an aircraft and bailed to 8 November.

Thursday 15 September 2011

Málaga singer picks up three nominations in the Latin Grammys

 

Málaga Singer, Pablo Alborán, who had a surprise number one album in Spain this year has been nominated in three categories of the Latin Grammys, including best new comer and song of the year for ‘Solamente tu’. When he heard the news the Málaga singer wrote on Twitter – ‘Family, I don’t know what to say. This is a dream, I love you!’. Shakira, Ricky Martin and Maná also have three nominations this year. Grand favourites at the Latin Grammys this year are Calle 13, a due from Puerto Rico who have as many as ten nominations. The ceremony will be held in Las Vegas on November 10.

Boxer Scott Harrison released from Spanish jail

 

SHAMED Scottish boxer Scott Harrison is a free man after being released from a Costa del Sol prison. Harrison, 34, walked free from the notorious Botafuego jail near Algeciras after serving two and a half years for assaulting a policeman, and factory worker Jose Manuel Ortega in 2006. The former WBO title holder was jailed in 2009 for the assault – which took place in Alhaurin el Grande – but could still face extra jail time for another alleged attack in a Costa del Sol brothel in May 2007. He and cousins David McGill, 37, and Edward McGill, 39, were accused of battering bar boss Rafael Sainz Maza, 31, with Harrison facing three counts of assault. Following his release on Saturday, the Glaswegian spent time with his family at an apartment in Estepona’s Albayt Resort before strolling along Bermuda Beach with his fiancee Stacey Gardner, 27, and two-year-old son Jack. The father-of-three returned to the UK on Sunday, flying from Gibraltar in a possible bid to avoid the Spanish airport authorities. In 2009, Harrison told the Olive Press of his determination to rebuild his career once he was released. “I can tell you now that Scott Harrison will be back. I want to repay the fans for the faith they have shown in me,” he said. “I have never been so focussed and determined in my entire life. Being locked up helps develop that. “I’ll have a clean slate – a new start and the determination to show everyone I’m back.”

solutions to the expat Spanish property scandal

 


Entering the Andalucian property market is like entering a minefield. Some will emerge unscathed and others will step on the unexploded bomb. There is no reliable map to guide you. The tripwire for the unlucky is a poorly-policed system for urban planning and land management, which has resulted in an estimated 300,000 illegal buildings in this region of Spain alone. The consequences of owning an illegal property are many and varied, ranging from unexpected and expensive urbanisation costs to land grab, court proceedings, fines, denial of access to basic services or in the worst case scenario, demolition of your property. Since the problem emerged over a decade ago, the regional government has made efforts to cauterize the wound. It has introduced new regulations which attempt to ensure that mistakes are not repeated. However, it has thus far failed to effectively tackle the stockpile of illegal housing which continues to stink up the market place. Its latest legal manoeuvre, a draft decree, describes a complex, sometimes ambiguous, lengthy and expensive solution which fails to bring any immediate relief to those facing demolition or denied access to basic services. More decisive action is required in my view. The market demands it and the homeowners desperately need it. As president of AUAN (Abusos Urbanisticos Almanzora, NO), an association of some 700 British homeowners who have become trapped in this mess, I have a fairly detailed perspective on the problem and its possible solutions. I believe that the following should be done. Change the law The genie is out of the bottle and cannot be returned or ignored. The regional government must create a complete and up-to-date legal framework to deal with illegal constructions. This requires changes to the planning laws, rather than clarification of its finer details via various decrees. For example, current planning law does not recognise the existence of a house in the countryside unless it is associated with farming or is more than 25 years old. This does not conform to the needs of rural communities, the demands of the market or the current reality of homes in the countryside. Current planning law does not permit the segregation of a rural parcel of land to create a building plot. In reality, such parcels exist in large numbers, and must be dealt with to solve pressing problems with title to land and the property on it. Introduce interim measures Realistically, a properly-ordered solution will take years to implement. In the meantime, prosecutors are obligated to seek demolition of illegal properties and service providers are obligated to deny access to basic services such as electricity and water, creating untenable situations for the homeowner. Interim legal measures are required whilst fair and just solutions are put in place. Remove planning powers from small town councils In my experience small councils lack the funding and the technical expertise to prepare complicated town plans. There is also the frequently irresistible temptation to rezone the land of friends and family as lucrative building land at the expense of the wider community. A centralised function would create economies of scale and be more impartial. Act decisively against illegal construction It is easy to find examples of continued illegal construction. There are less than 50 planning inspectors in Andalucia for a land mass of 33,694 square miles. The complicated intermingling of politics, business, wealth and favours in small Spanish towns makes it unlikely that such activities will be reported. Citizens alerting the authorities to illegal construction need a means to protect their anonymity. Compensate Create a fund to compensate those whose homes have been demolished through failings in the system rather than any wrongdoing on the part of the unsuspecting homeowners. Divert money from marketing campaigns for this purpose. It will do more good. The government of Andalucia has complete control over planning matters within its borders. This gives them the power to amend the law to solve the problem. One can only hope that they heed the demand for change not only from Spanish nationals who are similarly affected and who will have their say in the coming elections, but also from the thousands of foreign homeowners who were encouraged to settle here only for their investment to be wiped out and their dreams shattered. If Spain wishes to remain the premier choice for European retirees and to bring in much needed new investment, it needs to make changes that will offer the security demanded by purchasers. If it continues to ignore the mistakes of the past or papers over the cracks with piecemeal legislation, consumers and the property industry as a whole will continue to be badly served.

Fitch downgrades five Spanish regions

 

Fitch Ratings has downgraded the credit of five Spanish regions, including the powerhouse of Catalonia, warning they will struggle to cut deficits in a weak economy. The red ink running through the accounts of Spain's regional governments is a major concern for the markets, which fear it could compromise the central government's goal to cut the annual public deficit. Fitch cut the ratings of Catalonia, Andalusia, the Canary Islands, Murcia and Valencia a week after official figures showed most regions missed their deficit targets for the first half of 2011.  Lower credit ratings tend to make it more expensive to borrow on the debt market. Fitch also kept the long-term outlooks on all of them at "negative." The budget deficit for the 17 regions amounted to 1.2 per cent of gross domestic product in the six months, already nearly reaching the full-year target of 1.3 per cent, the government said last week. "Fitch Ratings has downgraded five Spanish regions following a comprehensive review," the credit rating agency said in a statement. "The downgrades reflect the sharp fiscal deterioration seen in recent years which has led to sharp increases in debt levels." The agency said it believed the regions would take all possible steps to cut spending but it expected the weak economic recovery would limit any growth in their revenue. Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero tipped economic growth in the third quarter of this year would be "similar" to the 0.2 per cent quarterly rate recorded in the second quarter. Uncertainty because of the Greek debt crisis could impact that prediction, he warned. "Fitch is of the opinion that considerable efforts will still need to be undertaken by the regions, particularly in the area of cost control, to ensure adherence to the established limits," the agency said. Fitch said it expected that most regions would be able to break even on their annual budgets by 2013 given a renewed focus on spending cuts. "Nonetheless, the negative outlooks reflect the still difficult fiscal and economic environment and the execution risks in implementing some of the cost cutting measures announced," it said. Fitch trimmed the rating for Andalusia and the Canary Islands by one notch each to A-plus from AA-minus; Catalonia and Valencia by one notch each to A-minus; and Murcia by two notches to A. The overall accumulated debt in the 17 Spanish regions, 121 billion euros ($161.34 billion), is also a concern. Deepest in debt are Valencia, with a debt equal to 17.4 per cent of GDP, and Catalonia at 17.2 per cent. Spain is seeking to slash the total public deficit to 6 per cent of gross domestic product by the end of 2011 from 9.2 per cent in 2010. It aims to reach the EU-agreed ceiling of 3.0 per cent by 2013.

Expat fraud suspects arrested in Spanish mountain retreat

 

According to Spanish local media, police estimate that the couple, known as John and Amanda Treagust, may have netted up to £150,000 by advertising bogus Spanish rental properties, complete with pictures, on their website, Costa Blanca Live. Up to 60 holidaymakers, including Britons, French, Portuguese, Italians and Belgians, are alleged to have fallen for the scam and paid upfront for properties that weren't, in reality, available for rent, or had been rented out to multiple people. The pair ran a blog entitled Life on the Costa Blanca, and boasted of growing their business from a "small project" in 2007 to "a busy and bustling company.....with over five thousand properties managed directly by us, meaning you have the peace of mind that should anything go wrong, or should you have any concerns, we are here to help." Amanda Treagust, referred to as the company's commercial director, is described on the blog as "never resting until her clients are settled into that perfect property and are enjoying the Spanish lifestyle she has come to love and adore". The Treagusts were arrested at a small property in the mountains of Mojacar, Almeria, after an eight-month police operation following an initial complaint lodged back in February. Originally from the Chorley area of Lancashire, John Treagust used to run the Last Orders pub in Wallagate, Wigan. On the pub's Facebook page, created by Treagust, he says: "I had three happy years there, now running a property business in Spain." An online forum about the couple's business dates back to March 2009 and has been inundated with 23 pages of comment, containing more than 200 threads. One comment, posted on August 20 this year, read: "13 girls put down a deposit for a hen weekend away in a villa in Los Balcones also and were informed two days before that the villa was double-booked. As it was a special occasion we have to find somewhere else very quickly and pay the additional fees. "We have still not received any money back and are still chasing. We all want to take action and stop others suffering in the same way." Spanish police were unable to comment on the ongoing investigation.

Wednesday 14 September 2011

Rossi is hopeful his Misano setup will be a good base this weekend

Rossi is hopeful his Misano setup will be a good base this weekend




Image by Impact Images

Marlboro Ducati's Valentino Rossi is expecting better results for himself at the put-upon team at this weekend's Aragon MotoGP round after he found a good setup at Misano which allowed him to run a faster pace in the early part of the race.

Rossi is still sixth in the world championship standings despite having, by his standards, an utterly abysmal year and only trails Ben Spies by two points and Dani Pedrosa by 17.

“Last year at Aragon was the best race of the year for Ducati, so we approach this round with our expectations a little higher than usual. In addition, after the difficult practice sessions at Misano, we found a good setup in the end and I had a better feeling with the bike and managed to ride it better in the race, especially in the early laps," said The Doctor.

"Now we’ll try to combine the two things—the track that seems to work well with the Desmosedici and the good setup work—in order to find the same feeling on Sunday.” 

Spanish police retrieve diamond swallowed by thief

 

 

Spanish police have foiled an attempted robbery from a British woman, after discovering a stolen diamond inside a man's stomach. The woman's handbag - which contained cash and a diamond pendant worth 12,000 euros (£10,500) - was taken as she dined in a restaurant in Marbella. The suspects were caught four hours later with most of the loot. But it took three days to retrieve the most valuable item, the diamond, after one of the men swallowed it. The woman had been sitting in the Marbella restaurant with a friend when two smartly dressed men entered - one of the men taking the table behind the women. Some time later the women realised that both men had disappeared along with the handbag, which contained 2,000 euros and £500 in cash as well as the diamond and other valuables. At 18:00 the same day police were conducting a routine vehicle check about 50km (30 miles) up the coast in Torremolinos when they spotted four men, known to have criminal records for robbery. Their suspicions raised, they inspected the vehicle and discovered jewellery and a woman's purse containing British currency and ID documents. But it was the sight of a suspect raising his hand to his mouth that drew the attention of one sharp-eyed officer. He guessed the man was swallowing some of the evidence. All four suspected thieves were promptly taken to a local clinic, where X-rays revealed a diamond, minus the chain it once hung from, inside one of their stomachs. The British woman was reunited with most of her possessions that same evening. But she only received the precious jewel three days later. According to police spokeswoman Ana Moreno in Torremolinos: "It was retrieved in the simplest and most natural way."

Enjoying a romantic overseas getaway, Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez looked ever the happy couple while out with Nahla in Palma de Mallorca,

 

The "Dark Tide" co-star couple both dressed casually as they walked hand-in-hand while stopping for coffee in between an afternoon of sight-seeing and shopping.

Halle and Olivier's outing comes just as Warner Bros. has released a new featurette for the romantic ensemble film "New Year's Eve" - in which Halle stars.

Set to open in theaters nationwide on December 9th, the picture also boasts cast members including Zac Efron, Jessica Biel, Ashton Kutcher, Seth Meyers, among many others.

Enjoy the pictures of Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez out and about with Nahla in Palma de Mallorca, Spain (September 12).

Spanish townspeople spear bull to death

 

Lance-wielding Spanish townspeople speared a huge fighting bull to the death Tuesday, defying a lone protester who sprayed some of them with an irritant. Hundreds of people, many on horseback, turned out for the combat with a 608-kilogram (1,338-pound) black bull named Afligido — Spanish for Sorrowful — in the centuries-old "Toro de la Vega" festival. The massive beast charged through the fortified town of Tordesillas, central Spain, crossing a bridge over the River Duero and into a plain in a tradition that dates back to the Middle Ages. Before the lancing began, a female protester sprayed an irritant at some of those taking part before being taken away by police, a witness to the event said. The ritual, which has been held every second Tuesday in September since at least 1453, pressed ahead regardless and about a dozen lancers on foot and horseback attempted to spear the bull's flesh. One of the lancers on foot struck the first blow, conferring the right to lead the bloody, half-hour confrontation with the beast as others hemmed the animal in. The bull was finished off with a final blow to the head from a large screwdriver. Some 200 animal rights protesters later staged a rally in central Madrid to condemn the tradition, which predates the introduction of the classic bullfight at the end of the 17th century. The protesters, carrying banners showing their website "rompeunalanza.com", chanted "Tordesillas, national shame" before breaking wooden lances. "We are protesting over the celebration of the Toro de la Vega in which hundreds of people on foot and horseback lance a bull to death," said Silvia Barquero, spokeswoman for animal rights group PACMA. "We want the end of bullfighting and especially the Toro de la Vega which is even more savage than the bullfight," she said in an interview. Barquero said she believed the end of all bullfighting in Spain was approaching. The northeastern region of Catalonia will hold its last ever bullfight September 25 in Barcelona, after voting last year to end centuries of bullfighting — a first for mainland Spain. Opinion polls show most Spaniards do not approve of bullfighting, Barquero added, rejecting arguments that the bullfight is an essential part of Spanish culture. "Culture cannot be based in the torture and death of an animal. This festival is not supported by most Spanish people." PACMA challenges the Tordesillas town hall's decision in May to declare the Toro de la Vega as a cultural asset. Each region of Spain has responsibility for its own animal protection laws, usually with exceptions for bullfighting. The festival in Tordesillas is allowed under the laws of the Castilla y Leon region.

Expat equity release victims take on banks

 

Tempted by the offer of a salary for life and an inheritance tax reduction, organisers of Equity Release Victims Association, Ian Sherdley, 69, and Euan Armstrong, 73, used their Spanish holiday homes as collateral to buy into the equity release schemes. The schemes were sold by independent financial advisors working the expat communities along the Costa del Sol on behalf of Denmark's biggest bank Danske Bank and Nordea Bank SA. They were told that if they took out full mortgages against the value of their Andalucian homes, which were fully paid for, and then gave the money to the bank to invest, their inheritance tax liability would be reduced and they'd receive a small lump sum, as well as a monthly return on the bank's investment which would cover the cost of the remortgage and provide a small salary. Mr Sherdley, from Lancashire, and Mr Armstrong, from Scotland, followed the advice only to be later told by their Nordic Banks that the investments had gone badly, the remortgaged money had been lost and their homes, with a combined value of €4.5 million, suddenly belonged to the banks. It is thought that there could be hundred of expats in similar positions across Spain and France. A Spanish court has so far suspended the banks' foreclosure and repossession orders on the properties, while a decision as to how the cases will proceed is expected in the near future. According to Mr Armstrong's lawyer, Antonio Flores from Lawbird Legal Services, the schemes were mis-sold, bearing in mind it is illegal to knowingly indebt yourself in order to reduce your inheritance tax liability. He said: "We want to find out exactly how many of the schemes were sold, to who, and on what basis. "As far as I can gather, retired expats were targeted because they had paid off their mortgages, so could use them as collateral and would be tempted by talk of reduced inheritance tax liability." Mr Armstrong added: "We encourage everyone who, like us has been sold one of these schemes to get in touch. "Do not lie down and take this. These banks are making billions every year with your money." A spokesman for Nordea bank said: "We can't comment, but we can say is that Nordea runs its business in compliance with local laws." A spokesman for Danske Bank said: "According to the law we cannot comment on individual customer cases nor questions related to individual customer cases. We have no comment."

Coin, near Malaga in southern Spain, is, like many towns across the crisis-hit nation, on the verge of bankruptcy with an estimated debt of nearly 30 million euros (£26m)

 

Coin, near Malaga in southern Spain, is, like many towns across the crisis-hit nation, on the verge of bankruptcy with an estimated debt of nearly 30 million euros (£26m) owed by the town council. For more than a week there has been no lighting in public areas after power company Endesa cut services because of an outstanding bill of 280,000 euros (£240,000). Meanwhile some 500 council employees in the town have not yet been paid their August wages, it was reported. The town of 22,000 residents has been ordered to make an urgent payment of 400,000 euros (£346,000) to the Treasury in monthly instalments to cover its debts but the mayor has said the town will be forced to file for bankruptcy. Fernando Fernandez from the conservative Popular Party, who was elected mayor following elections in May, has blamed the debt on the previous socialist administration and asked for more time to meet payments. He claims the council workers wage bill alone amounts to 1 million euros a month and that the town's coffers are empty. It is a problem repeated in municipalities across Spain. In some towns, police officers have been ordered to walk to crime scenes in a bid to save costs on patrol cars. In others, austerity measures meant council services such as public swimming pools did not operate this year despite the soaring summer heat. On Tuesday rating agency Moody's warned that Spain's regions could fail to meet their deficit-cutting targets, a move considered necessary for the nation to meet the EU-agreed public deficit ceiling of 3 per cent of GDP by 2013.

Marbella Golden Mile
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