Smuggler Tosses Passengers Off Jet Ski

 

Spanish police say a human smuggler trying to sneak two Moroccans into Spain by crossing the Strait of Gibraltar on a jet ski threw them into the water when detected by coastal authorities and that one drowned. A Civil Guard statement Tuesday said the incident happened Sept. 9 near the Spanish town of Tarifa. The Moroccan driver has been charged with negligent manslaughter. One of the travelers managed to swim ashore after being dumped 500 meters from it, but the other did not survive. Spain is a lure for poor North and sub-Saharan Africans because it is Europe's southern gateway. Every year, thousands try to reach the Spanish mainland or Spain's Canary Islands off the coast of west Africa.

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Euro zone banks in the grip of funding squeeze

 

Funding through interbank markets remained scarce and expensive for euro zone banks on Tuesday as concerns about a Greek default and rising pressure on Italian bonds increased the focus on heavily exposed French institutions. The cost of insuring senior French bank debt against default rose according to data from Markit, while a media article suggesting BNP Paribas had no access to dollar funding was cited by equity and currency market participants. Money market traders said that while access to dollar loans remained difficult for French banks -- under close scrutiny owing to their large holdings of peripheral government bonds -- the situation was not one of rapid deterioration. "The stress levels have always been there and they're certainly not getting any less... but there's no sense of panic from the banks as they can fund themselves through central bank cash," a trader said. Fiscal slippages have threatened to cut off Greek aid, raising the prospect of a default by year end, while a weak Italian debt auction showed investors remain reluctant to buy new debt from the heavily-indebted state. The cost of dollar funding, measured by three-month Libor interbank rates , edged higher to 0.34711 percent and access to dollars via cross currency basis markets was close to its most expensive levels since late 2008 at -111 basis points.

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Europe's biggest shopping centre opens in London

 

Europe's biggest urban shopping centre opened on Tuesday in a deprived area of east London where it will act as the gateway to the 2012 Olympics. Westfield Stratford City, which has risen from derelict wasteland in one of the poorest areas in Britain, houses more than 300 shops, 70 restaurants, a 14-screen cinema, three hotels and Britain's largest casino. Hundreds of people queued outside the £1.45 billion mall before the doors even opened on and 100,000 people were expected to turn up on the first day. The Australian owners of the centre are confident they can defy the retail gloom as the British economy stutters. Westfield's sister site in Shepherd's Bush, west London -- previously the biggest shopping centre in Europe -- opened in the depths of a recession in 2009 yet attracted 23 million visitors in its first year. The giant Stratford site is a cornerstone of the Olympic Park and spectators arriving for next year's Games will have to walk through the shopping centre to reach the sports venues. A high-speed train will bring 25,000 Olympics spectators an hour to Stratford International station where they will be greeted by a row of shops and restaurants. Crucially for an area with unemployment levels far above the national average, the centre has created 10,000 new jobs. Local politicians believe it is another part in the jigsaw of regeneration which they hope will create a thriving community once the Olympic flame goes out. "Westfield represents more than just bricks, mortar and fabulous shops and restaurants, it has been instrumental in helping us to transform the lives of our residents by providing them with employment and jobs that they can turn into fulfilling and rewarding careers," said Robin Wales, the mayor of the borough of Newham. But the site's proximity to the Olympic park has required additional security precautions. The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) said it will be operating checks on vehicles entering the public car park at the shopping centre until the Games end in September 2012. Paul Deighton, LOCOG chief executive, said: "With Westfield so close to the Olympic Park and with vehicle access to it directly accessed from the park, it is an obvious and important part of our security plans. "We will make the checks as quick and unobtrusive as possible -- we are confident that shoppers will recognise the need for us to be vigilant and carry out these checks."

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Businessmen guilty of £8m "boiler room" shares scam share-selling was undertaken by salesmen working from Marbella and Barcelona,

 

share-selling was undertaken by salesmen working from Marbella and Barcelona, although many of them used false names and claimed to be calling from offices in Frankfurt, Stockholm or Amsterdam. The SFO said the business prospects of the company were inflated by WBR’s directors and salesmen. WBR eventually went into adminstration in 2007 following a petition by creditors. It is now officially in liquidation. Of the £8.2m attracted from investors, about £4m ended up in off-shore accounts in Cyprus, Jersey and Spain, the SFO said. It began its investigation after complaints from people who bought shares. WBR was later included on a warning list published by the Financial Services Authority. SFO director Richard Alderman said: “Boiler room fraudsters prey on vulnerable people, they also deprive genuine businesses of the capital they need to grow. Quite bluntly, they ruin lives. I am delighted that the SFO is playing its part in bringing down operations like these and bringing fraudsters to book

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A British couple who spent £9,000 on their dream wedding ceremony in Spain were jilted at the altar

SWNS

- by their priest.

Gary and Marie Mead had organised a ceremony with 74 of their friends after legally marrying in Las Vegas last August.

The pair had gone to great lengths to create their big day - from learning their vows inSpanish to exporting a cake from England - only to be left locked outside the pretty Las Alcazares church in Murcia, with no priest.

Gary, 51, who runs a scaffolding business, told the Daily Mail: 'The priest we had booked the whole thing with just never showed up.

'Our friends had a blessing by him in the same church just over a year ago and said how great it had been so we thought we'd do the same.

'When we got to the church and realised it was shut I grew more and more concerned but in the end we had to laugh.

'We knew the Spanish had a more laid-back attitude but didn't think it was this extreme.'

The couple had wanted a celebration near their villa in Mil Palmeras - but they didn't let a small thing like no priest put them off enjoying their reception.

After waiting 'for ages in a bar near the church', the couple realised he was coming, and along with their wedding party headed to the beach, before making their way to their reception at a nearby bar.

They have not contacted the priest for an explanation so far.

Marie said: 'All I'm really missing from the day are pictures inside the church.

'We have just chalked it up to experience - we would not go through it again, it is surprising how much work went into it.

'I'm happy though - we had a lovely celebration with families and friends and have some great pictures to remember the day, it was definitely memorable.'

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Estepona Town Hall debt estimated at 300 million €

 

The Socialist ex Mayor of Estepona, David Valadez, has been accused of using 3 million € of grant money to pay the town hall wages for May, the month of the local elections. There are 1,280 employees in the town hall, a situation which has suffocated the town’s finances. Valadez has admitted, according to El País, that he took the decision to use the funding money to pay the wages, knowing full well it would generate new economic problems for the town. He also now faces a judicial complaint for spending some of the reserve funds on wages. Now the Junta de Andalucía is demanding part of the money, 240,000 € be returned by the PP team which is now running the town. New Mayor, José María García Urbano, has estimated the town’s total debt is some 300 million €, compared to the 160 million which was considered before the last local elections. He has already cut mobile phone and official car costs. Corruption in the town hall came to light with the breaking of the Astapa case in June 2008, which remains under instruction.

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Mijas fire stabalised

 

The fire, which started at 8,35pm on Sunday night and affected land in Mijas, Ojén and Marbella, is now stabilised. INFOCA removed their level 1 alert at 12,39pm on Monday, noting that the evolution of the fire was favourable and that there was no further danger to inhabited areas. The Councillor for the Environment of the Junta de Andalucía, José Juan Díaz Trillo, said that there were suspicions that the fire had been started deliberately. The Guardia Civil and experts from fire-fighters INFOCA have started a full investigation. The Councillor said that we have to be prudent as to the cause or motive. He congratulated the fire services for their work and noted the coordination between Town Halls, local police in what had been a difficult night. He also thanked local residents for their ‘collaboration and patience’, and while there had been material damage, there were no reported injuries. First data indicates that some 400 hectares have been burnt by the blaze, and a total of 900 hectares have been partially affected. The fire started in the Parque de Entrerríos, Mijas Sierra and then moved rapidly on a front towards Ojén and Marbella. Residents in the Mijas area are now returning to their homes, and reports indicate that a total of only four properties have been destroyed or seriously damaged by the flames, when the possibilities were for a far greater number than that. 260 specialist firemen from across Andalucía are remaining at the scene to continue to dampen down the site. A total of 22 planes were used to fight the fire including four amphibious planes, three earth dumping planes, 11 helicopters and four coordination planes. 14 were contracted by the regional environment department and 8 came from the Ministry for the Environment. In total 200 people were evacuated in Mijas, 500 were evacuated from Marbella and 200 more from Ojén. Mayor of Marbella, Ángeles Muñoz, said all had now returned home and there were no injuries, ‘even though the flames had arrived at their doorways’.

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Parts of Coín without electricity because of Town Hall debt with Endesa

 

Monday was the seventh day with no power supply to four public areas of Coín, because of the Town Hall’s failure to pay its debt to the Endesa electricity company. El País gives the amount owed as 280,000 € and said the local Partido Popular Mayor was negotiating with Endesa to re-establish supply. This summer Mayor of Coín, Fernando Fernández, announced a total debt to suppliers of more than 27 million € which had been run up by the previous local government. One of the Town Hall’s largest monthly costs is the municipal workforce, whose wages come to around 1 million € a month. It’s understood that the 500 employees have not yet been paid their August wages, although La Opinión de Málaga indicates that part of the amount owed will be paid next week. The Hacienda tax authority has meanwhile agreed to stay its tax embargo on Coín’s monthly share of state taxes next month, which will free up just under 300,000 € towards the September wages. The remainder will come from the Town Hall’s share of local taxes and a restructuring of the municipal workforce.

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Only professional bull dodgers will be allowed to meet Ratón the bull at next appearance in Valencia

 

Ratón, the bull who gored a man to death at the local fiestas in Xàtiva, Valencia, this August, appeared in the ring again at the weekend for the first time since then when he performed in the fiestas in Sueca. It was a sold-out event, where the 11 year old half ton bull was greeted by cheers from the 2,700 people who bought tickets to see him in the ring in his home town. Security was tight, and no blood was shed on the night. Ratón has killed two other people during his career on the bull dodging circuit. His next appearance will be at the fiestas in Canals on the 24th of this month, where he will be met by professional bull dodgers, a group of four who will be the only people allowed into the ring during his performance.

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Investigation launched as forest fire destroys four homes on Costa del Sol

 

investigation is under way into a forest fire which destroyed four homes and 400 hectares of land on the Costa del Sol. The blaze – which affected parts of Mijas, Marbella and Ojen – saw more than 300 people evacuated from their homes after starting at around 8.30pm on Sunday evening in the Entrerrios area of Mijas. Andalucia’s Councillor for the Environment Jose Juan Diaz Trillo, suggested the fire had been started deliberately, before confirming that nobody had been injured. Around 300 firefighters from across Andalucia were hampered by high winds as they tackled the blaze, which caused the temporary closure of part of the A7 highway. Residents of La Mairena and La Bugancilla urbanisations were evacuated and parts of Calahonda were also briefly affected, although residents are now being allowed to return to their homes. Around 260 firefighters are involved in dampening down the fire, which is understood to have affected 900 hectares in total.

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Spanish-based Seven guilty of 'boiler-room' fraud

 

Seven men were convicted today of an £8 million boiler-room fraud, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said. The Spanish-based operation targeted thousands of investors in the UK applying high pressure telesales techniques to push shares in a bio-diesel company, Worldwide Bio Refineries (WBR). In fact, the company was practically worthless. One defendant, company director Redmond Johnson, 66, pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud investors. Fellow director Dennis Potter, 72, who lived in Singapore, was convicted of the conspiracy along with John Murphy, 35, and Greg Pearson, 38, both of Marbella, Daniel Murphy, 37, and Lee Homan, 37, both of Hertfordshire, and Peter Bibby, 44, of south London, who all managed share sales. Bibby absconded before the Ipswich Crown Court trial and was convicted in his absence. There is a warrant for his arrest. Commenting on the convictions, SFO director Richard Alderman said: "This is an excellent result. Not only do boiler-room fraudsters prey on vulnerable people, they also deprive genuine businesses of the capital they need to grow. "Quite bluntly, they ruin lives. I am delighted that the SFO is playing its part in tracking down operations like these and bringing fraudsters to book." WBR was set up in 2003 and had a processing plant in County Durham that was purported to produce diesel fuel from vegetable matter. It also had a plant in Singapore producing diesel intended to be marketed in the UK. The share selling was undertaken by salesmen working from a number of boiler-rooms in Marbella and Barcelona although many of them used false names and claimed to be calling from offices Frankfurt, Stockholm or Amsterdam. The business prospects of the company and the bio-diesel market were inflated by WBR's directors and the salesmen, who claimed that substantial international business was being done and that the business's shares were valued at £110 million. Investors believed that their investment in a successful bio-diesel enterprise would net them significant short-term returns, bolstered by claims that WBR was to be floated on the stock market. These claims were bogus. The SFO found that the bio-diesel plant had no output and, with only limited imports coming from the Singapore plant, WBR was not being managed with any intention of it becoming a growing commercial success. Virtually all of WBR's revenue between 2005 and 2007 was generated by share sales. Of the £8.2 million attracted from investors, around £4 million was transferred to accounts in Cyprus, Jersey and Spain for the benefit of the boiler-room salesmen. The group will be sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court on September 23.

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Spain killer bull named 'Mouse' wins fame, infamy

 

3,000 fans cheering, a hulking, black-and-white fighting bull named "Mouse" chased one daredevil runner after another, trying to flip them airborne and skewer them as he did a month ago in a fatal goring that enshrined his reputation as Spain's most feared and famous beast. Mouse was greeted in the southeastern farm town of Sueca like a rock star: Everyone stood up at 2 a.m. Sunday in the bull ring's grandstands as he charged across the sand after loudspeakers introduced him with the eerie strains of the soundtrack to "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly," the 1960s spaghetti western starring a young Clint Eastwood. The 550-kilogram (1,213-pound) bull didn't claim any more victims this time, but tried his hardest to gore runners. And he captured intense media coverage in what could be his last appearance before retirement amid the controversy he has generated about Spain's summertime tradition of bull versus human runs, a pastime that plays out in rings, narrow streets and plazas across the nation. After running with Mouse, a breathless Julian Herroja said the bull is so dangerous that "if you make a mistake, he won't. You'll be a victim for sure." More than 30 journalists were on hand to cover the event in Sueca, population 28,000, near the beach destination of Valencia. Though Mouse will make one more appearance before the end of his season this year, he will run around the ring without runners. Mouse's owner now fends off as many as 60 cell phone calls daily from reporters. Facebook pages dedicated to him include comments from some people praising him for taking revenge against humans in a country where slews of bulls are slain every year in bullfights by matadors. But Gregorio de Jesus is angry that Mouse has been nicknamed "Killer Bull," saying he gets blame for doing what comes naturally: Defending himself against perceived threats. "We go to entertain people so they'll have fun, but unfortunately they are fighting bulls, and there is always a percentage of risk," said de Jesus, 42, a former bull fighter who raises 70 specially bred bulls and 300 cows. The hype about Mouse has grown so much in Spain that de Jesus is forced to deny reports that the 11-year-old Mouse has killed as many as five runners during his career. But in addition to the 29-year-old victim Aug. 14 in the town of Xativa, he killed a 56-year-old man in 2006 and has seriously injured five more people over the years. Mouse got his name because no one ever expected him to turn into such a raging bull, de Jesus said. As a calf, he was tormented by several youths who broke into his pen and exhausted him almost to death. Then he was nearly fatally gored by another bull at de Jesus' ranch. Critics and bull run aficionados alike agree that security is lax at many small town bull runs, meaning almost anyone can participate — even if they're drunk, have taken drugs or aren't physically fit enough to sprint away from enraged bulls. Sueca's mayor beefed up security Sunday, and the extra contingent of police took away some suspected drunks during Mouse's run. After the bull's last deadly goring, Valencia's regional government announced plans to study how police can be given more authority to detain runners who shouldn't be in the ring, while stressing that the overall number of bull run injuries in the region where they run dropped to 486 in 2010 from 676 in 2008. Hector Benet, an insurance agent for the bull run industry, said the number of deaths each year in the region averages four, with dozens of serious injuries annually. While bulls in the runs aren't killed or bloodied like their counterparts in bullfights, animal rights groups say the events are a form of animal torture, with bulls terrified by the hundreds of people who taunt the animals by yelling at them, poking them with long sticks and tossing sand from the plaza at them.

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British company wants to buy La Manga Club

 

British real estate fund asked for a price for La Manga Club in Murcia. La Manga is one of the main tourist and sports complexes in the region and is under bankruptcy protection. The fund which is showing an interest is London and Regional (L&R) Properties. They talks with the owners, MedGroup, are reported to be currently on hold, but La Verdad reports that the workers’ union CGT consider the sale as signed and sealed. The union would welcome the purchase, and notes that L&R already has some 60 hotels including the Hilton chain. Antonio Ros, the General Director of La Manga Club, told the paper that ‘It’s true that there were conversations, but at this time we have no information’. L&R Properties are reported to be interested in a greater holding in the Spanish market. The fund is owned by Ian and Richard Livingstone, and completed their first purchases in Spain last June with the purchase of two FCC offices in Madrid and Barcelona, to then rent them back to the same company. La Manga Club applied for bankruptcy protection at the end of 2008 when it was unable to finance its debt of 97 million €.

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Apple to open a new store in Marbella

 

Apple has chosen Marbella for a new store which Diario Sur reports will be the company’s largest in Spain. The paper says it will open in La Cañada in November and will cover an area of 1,700 square metres. It’s understood that work is already underway on preparing the premises. There has been no official confirmation from the company as yet, but Diario Sur notes that Apple includes the Marbella store on its web page under its job offers in Spain. The paper however reports that the selection process for Apple’s 65 Marbella staff began in June and is close to conclusion.

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Puerto Banús bar owner has set himself his biggest ever charity challenge – to climb La Concha 40 times in 40 days.

Russell Soden

 

Russell Soden, a co-proprietor of Terra Blues in the port and Lick FM DJ, is taking on the mammoth trek to raise funds in memory of his daughter Coral, who he lost to cot death 14 years ago.

The money raised will go to the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (FSID), the UK's leading baby charity aiming to prevent unexpected deaths in infancy and promote infant health.

Russell, who has lived on the Costa del Sol for 11 years, is no stranger to fundraising challenges. In previous years he has trekked up Kilimanjaro, built a school in Africa and earlier this summer leapt out of an airplane with 14 other Marbella area bar owners in a sponsored skydive to raise 2600€

But the 40-day hike could be his biggest yet and he hopes to have raised 4000€ at the end of it all.

“Obviously, this cause is one that couldn’t be closer to my heart and over the last few years I have picked one big charity push each year, usually by getting involved in organised expeditions, to help raise money for it,” said Russell, aged 40, originally from Leamington Spa in the UK.

“I was struggling to find something different to do this year so first I managed to rope some other local bar owners into jumping out of an airplane. Then I thought I would try and do a more physical challenge close to home rather than flying halfway round the world.

“My initial idea was to climb La Concha twice a day for 20 days but then I thought that was a bit much – so I’ve made it a little gentler at 40 times in 40 days!

“It does seem like a huge task that will go on for well over a month but it’s too late to back out now. I have climbed La Concha a few times before so know what I am a letting myself in for but it is still a little daunting.

“I really hope that people can get behind me and support me on this and that we can raise a significant amount for this vital research and support from FSID which I know from first hand experience can be a huge help at a very difficult time.”

La Concha is 1,215 metres high at the western end of the Sierra Blanca mountain range. Russell will start his first ascent on 19 September from Refugio de Juanar. It is 11 kilometres to the summit and back and expects it to take about six hours each time.

You can sponsor Russell by www.justgiving.com/russell-sodeno or find out more on the terra Blues website at www.terra-blues.com, or call 686 908 016

Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_31881.shtml#ixzz1XXh5I0DG

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Body found in car boot in Vilalba, Lugo

 

The Guardia Civil found a body in the boot of a parked Seat Toledo car in Vilalba at 10pm on Friday. They had been alerted to the body by a local resident who noticed the strong smell, and the body was found to be in an advanced state of decomposition. The car was parked close to the bus station in Vilalba, Lugo, and locals have said it had been there for some time. First indications are that the body is male. A full investigation has been opened by the Lugo Judicial Police to first establish the identity of the victim, and then the circumstances of his death.

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Police today said they have smashed the biggest gang of drug dealers targeting British revellers on the party island of Ibiza.

Nine Britons were among 13 suspects held in a series of dawn raids by armed officers in a massive operation backed by Britain's Serious Organised Crime Agency.

Among the drugs seized were 3,600 ecstasy pills from the same batch believed to have killed British holidaymaker Jodie Nieman, 20, on the Spanish island in July.

Arrests: Nine Britons were among 13 suspected drug dealers (pictured here) held in a series of dawn raids by armed officers in Ibiza

Officers also confiscated 4 kilos of cocaine, 5 kilos of MDMA powder, 53 grams of cannabis resin, 300 doses of anabolic steroids, 69,000 euros (£60,000) in cash and scales for weighing drugs.

The operation, codenamed Rula, was run by the Civil Guard's Organised Crime Squad.

The force released photographs of some of suspects, handcuffed behind their backs, following the raids.

 

 

 

The Civil Guard said in a statement: 'The majority of the pills seized are known as Pink Rock Stars, similar in appearance, colour and design to those thought to have caused the death of a young British woman and the poisoning of eight other people in July in Ibiza.'

The suspects appeared before an investigating magistrate and most were remanded in custody while the probe continues. They have not yet been charged with any offence.

The Civil Guard statement continued: 'This operation has completely dismantled the most active group of British drug dealers in Ibiza.

Suspected: Among the drugs seized (right) were ecstasy pills from the same batch believed to have killed Jodie Nieman in July 

'Those under arrest are members of the most active organisation on the island, the principal supplier of cocaine and other designer drugs around nightclubs.

'The investigation started with information obtained through the dismantling of other groups, mostly British, dedicated to dealing drugs on the island.

'The now dismantled group came to Ibiza during the summer to cater for the high demand for drugs that exists during the holiday period.'

On July 22 police arrested an alleged member of the gang carrying one kg of MDMA powder as he stepped off a flight from the UK at Ibiza airport.

Five of the raids took place on August 28 around the popular party resort of San Antonio. 

Evidence: Police arrested nine Brits - from Liverpool, Manchester, Plymouth and Croydon, south London - as well as three Irishmen and one Polish man

The other three happened on the same day near Sant Josep, on the south west of the island.

Police arrested nine Brits - from Liverpool, Manchester, Plymouth and Croydon, south London - as well as three Irishmen and one Polish man.

Magistrate Maria Risueno took statements from the suspects at the Court of Investigation number 1 in Ibiza.

She bailed one man and remanded the other 12 in custody on Monday night.

Three were told they would be released if they could raise 10,000 euros (£8,700) each for bail.

The magistrate imposed a secrecy order on the case and the court refused to reveal the names of those arrested.

Nail technician Jodie Nieman, from Croydon, collapsed at Space nightclub while on holiday with friends on July 13.

She died after being rushed to the island's Can Misses hospital. Her friends told police she had taken one pink ecstasy tablet mixed with alcohol.

Toxicology tests are still being carried out. Eight other clubbers were treated in the same hospital that night.

Counting out: 69,000 euros in cash was found during the raids

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Marbella Casino board face charges of document falsification

 

TWELVE of the Marbella Casino’s 14-strong board face charges of document falsification. The Casino, one of the town’s oldest but with no links to the Casino de Marbella in Nueva Andalucia, has been at the centre of internal conflict for several years. Differences over renting out of part of its La Alameda installation to a restaurant business resulted in the sacking of the Casino’s former president Antonio Ric and ex-secretary Manuel Porras in April 2010. Both started legal proceedings against the remaining board members, claiming that their rights had been violated and they were excluded from the meeting which decided to remove them. After examining the dismissal document, the judge from Marbella’s Number Two Court decided there were grounds for suspecting forgery. He has now summonsed 12 board members, including the current president, Agustín de la Fuente Perucho, for questioning on September 19.

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Germany's top representative on the European Central Bank resigned in an apparent protest of the bank's recent interventions in euro-zone debt markets

Germany's top representative on the European Central Bank resigned in an apparent protest of the bank's recent interventions in euro-zone debt markets, dealing a severe blow to an institution struggling to retain its credibility amid the region's worsening debt crisis.

Jürgen Stark is stepping down "for personal reasons," the ECB said in a statement. ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet "wholeheartedly" thanked Mr. Stark for his tenure at the ECB, the bank said.

Reuters

European Central Bank's Executive Board member Jürgen Stark.

Mr. Stark, one of the ECB's most outspoken anti-inflation "hawks," had opposed the ECB's decision last month to reactivate its government bond purchase program, as did the head of Germany's central bank, Jens Weidmann. The ECB has purchased €50 billion ($69 billion) in government bonds since reactivating the program.

Mr. Stark's departure comes as a surprise. His term doesn't expire for nearly three more years. As head of the ECB's economics division at the ECB's Frankfurt-based executive board, Mr. Stark holds considerable sway over the economic analysis behind the ECB's interest-rate decisions.

The news sent the euro tumbling to $1.3697, its lowest level since February, and ensured U.S. stocks got off to a weak start. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down more than 300 points in interday trading, while Germany's DAX ended the day down 4% to 5189.93

Mr. Starks' resignation comes at a dicey time for the ECB. Mr. Trichet's eight-year term ends at the end of October. He will be succeeded by Mario Draghi, who currently heads the Bank of Italy.

Unless Mr. Stark is replaced by another German, his departure leaves the prospect of the ECB having three Italians on the 23-member governing council, and only one German.

Germany's government may nominate its deputy finance minister, Joerg Asmussen, to replace Mr. Stark on the ECB's executive board, according to one person familiar with the matter.

Mr. Stark is the second top German official at the ECB to step down this year. Former Bundesbank President Axel Weber resigned in April. Mr. Weber, who had been seen as a front-runner to succeed Mr. Trichet, later cited his opposition the the ECB's bond purchases as a factor in his decision to not seek the presidency.

German politicians have denounced the ECB's decision to purchase Italian and Spanish bonds during the past month, though the decision was praised in other parts of Europe, and in the financial markets, as having prevented a Lehman-like collapse in financial markets.

German President Christian Wulff, whose position is largely ceremonial, has called the ECB's bond purchases "politically and legally questionable." The head of German's center-left SPD party, Sigmar Gabriel, has also denounced the move.

At his monthly press conference Thursday, Mr. Trichet blasted his German critics, saying the ECB has kept inflation lower over its 12-plus years of existence than at any time in Germany over the past 50 years.

"I would very much like to hear the congratulations for an institution that has delivered price stability in Germany," Mr. Trichet said.

Germany's finance ministry declined to comment on who would succeed Mr. Stark. But it said Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble will discuss Mr. Stark's resignation at a press conference in Marseille on Friday evening.

Mr. Stark's departure won't change the "fundamental direction" of the ECB, which is "clearly set in the EU treaty," Ewald Nowotny, an ECB Governing Council member and head of Austria's central bank, said in a statement Friday. Still, Austria's central bank regrets Stark's departure, the statement said.

Mr. Stark will leave once a successor is appointed, which will be by the end of the year, according to the bank's appointment procedure, the ECB said.

Mr. Asmussen, a member of Germany's opposition SPD party, became deputy finance minister in 2008 and was able to stay on in the post even after his party left government after the 2009 election.

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Kicking in shop windows. Setting a police car on fire. Clashes with police. Tottenham? Hackney? Brixton? No. Lloret de Mar on the Costa Brava.

 

Kicking in shop windows. Setting a police car on fire. Clashes with police. Tottenham? Hackney? Brixton? No. Lloret de Mar on the Costa Brava. Last month police fired rubber bullets – but not at rioting Spaniards but at drunk foreigners. After two nights of riots that dragged on until the early hours, there were 20 injured, including nine police officers, and 20 arrests. Significantly – in a city of 40,000 with 25 discos, 261 bars and approximately a million tourists a year – all those detained were foreigners. Now, it’s only a small minority of Spanish resorts that have this problem with drunk foreigners and for every Lloret del Mar, there are hundreds of other resorts where peace reigns. But we have to remember that it was the British, after all, who created many of the bars and discos on the Costa Brava, not the Spanish. The exchange rates were low and everything was cheap. Freddy Laker organised cheap flights and Wallace Arnold cheap coach tours. In the late 60s, many hotels, bars, restaurants and nightclub/ discos were British-owned. The intention was to create a Blackpool with sunshine (and chip shops and … pubs). For decades it worked well but then, as in Blackpool, the clients changed. Spain, too, after the death of Franco. The Guardia Civil and local police lost some of their powers. Somehow the Spanish now need to strike a balance between tourism and civic order but the current economic climate makes that increasingly difficult. Binge drinking is definitely frowned upon and discouraged in the UK. But there’s a whole raft of British teenagers who leave what little common sense they have back at the airport and, when they touch down at some Spanish party town, immediately get blind drunk, in the belief they can get away with even more immoral/ anti-social behaviour abroad because ‘out of sight’ means ‘out of mind’. It’s these same people who get drunk on a Saturday night in English city-centres who go to Spain for longer and cheaper drinking hours. Some attribute this anti-social behaviour to a lack of discipline at all stages of a teenager’s development. British parents can’t smack young children, teachers can’t punish those who behave anti-socially and the UK police are tied up with human rights law. So, drunk teenagers believe they can carry on getting away with it. All of which could, unfortunately, go on longer than those DFS sales …

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