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Sunday, 31 January 2010
Piers Morgan returns in his role as a VIP access-all-areas pass as he explores the glitz and glamour, fortunes and flaws of Marbella
Watch Piers Morgan On onlinePiers Morgan returns in his role as a VIP access-all-areas pass as he explores the glitz and glamour, fortunes and flaws of Las Vegas, Marbella and Shanghai. He meets the people shaping the hedonistic lifestyles that define Las Vegas and Marbella as these iconic destinations seek to re-emerge from the impact of the credit crunch. And, in Shanghai, he samples the climate of raw ambition driving the rapidly expanding economic powerhouse to the brink of global dominance. In Vegas Piers meets Hollywood legend Sly Stallone and multi-million dollar heiress Paris Hilton, takes in spectacular sights, the kind normally reserved for high rollers, including hotel suites with basketball courts and bowling alleys, and meets the major players seeking to shape the desert resort’s future away from gambling and against the real threat of water shortages.
Friday, 29 January 2010
'You're going to vibrate'
A discothèque, Cuomo in Mislata, Valencia, is promoting a fiesta by giving away dildos to the first 400 girls who go there on Friday.The organisers say that the ‘fever’ party, which has the slogan ‘You are going to vibrate’ is only open to those over 20, and that the gifts are in shocking ‘chewing gum pink’ and are the best selling brand in Europe. The boys meanwhile will be given ‘colourful condoms’. It will be interesting to see if the authorities take action against the promotion. Last year another Valencia disco, Pachá, held a raffle with a breast enlargement as the prize, but following the criticism from the public the Ministry for Health stopped the initiative.
Hospitals in the Andalucia Health Service SAS are to start informing patients about the cost of their treatment.
Hospitals in the Andalucia Health Service SAS are to start informing patients about the cost of their treatment. The measure is designed to make the public aware of the expense and to try and stop abuse in the system.It means that patients will be told something along the lines of ‘Now you can go home, everything is fine. You should know that the cost of the treatment given to you during your stay is 15,000 €’.
El País reports that the idea was launched on Thursday by the Regional Councillor for Health, María Jesús Montero. She described the idea as a ‘factura sombra’ - shadow bill.
Some of the costs estimated using 2008 prices are 1,500 € for a birth with no complications, and 2,000 € as a daily cost for a patient in intensive care.
During the year the SAS attended to 3.1 million emergency cases which needed no admission to hospital; over the 12 months 550,117 people were admitted.
El País reports that the idea was launched on Thursday by the Regional Councillor for Health, María Jesús Montero. She described the idea as a ‘factura sombra’ - shadow bill.
Some of the costs estimated using 2008 prices are 1,500 € for a birth with no complications, and 2,000 € as a daily cost for a patient in intensive care.
During the year the SAS attended to 3.1 million emergency cases which needed no admission to hospital; over the 12 months 550,117 people were admitted.
nine of the eleven people charged with being part of a money laundering network based in Marbella not guilty because of a lack of evidence
Málaga Provincial Court has found nine of the eleven people charged with being part of a money laundering network based in Marbella not guilty because of a lack of evidence. The court however spoke of ‘many suspicions’ on the possible illicit origin of the money.The prosecution alleged that the group offered their money laundering services to delinquents from different countries, most of them drug traffickers. The group allegedly used a bureau de change and pounds sterling along with a network of companies including a car rental firm to launder the money.The state prosecutor’s office contended that 62.2 million € had been laundering between the years 2000 and 2004 by the group.The court found only one man, a Spaniard, guilty of money laundering, describing him as the head of the gang. He and an Ecuadorian woman were each sent to prison for three years, three months and fined more than 700,000 €.The anti-drug prosecutor in Málaga has launched an appeal against the decision to find the other nine charged not guilty.
Marbella in Spain, is a popular desinations for stolen jewels, according to Rocco and Zoran.
Each member of the gang did his or her job perfectly. The attractive young woman seduced the son of the jewellery store owner in Rome to find out where the safe was in the owner’s house. She also discovered that the owner needed builders for repairs. Some of the others secured the renovation contract and cased the house. The get-away driver spent weeks learning every one-way road and stop sign in downtown Rome. And eventually the safe-cracker — the smallest in the group — hid inside a false-bottomed chest that the others left on the balcony of the bedroom where the safe was located.As luck would have it, he didn’t even have to break into the safe. The jeweller’s other son left it open for 15 minutes, plenty of time for the diminutive safe-cracker to remove the diamonds and make his escape to the street, where the driver was waiting for him. Back in their rented apartment near the Fiumicino airport outside Rome, the gang met up and celebrated.It sounds like a plot from Ocean’s Eleven. But the October 2001 robbery, described in detail by the driver — a multilingual career diamond thief — is exactly the sort of daring heist that a loosely affiliated group of 200 thieves from former Yugoslavia has been pulling off with such frequency that Interpol has dubbed them the Pink Panthers. Since 1999, the criminals have stolen $340 million worth of jewellery in more than 160 robberies in at least 26 countries.
Many Panthers were blooded during the Balkan wars in the 1990s, taking advantage of the ample opportunities for crime during the violent chaos in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo. Along the way, they learned how to work in decisive, daring teams, and to cast aside their national and ethnic differences in search of a universal goal — getting rich quick. While the Panthers pose none of the threat to European stability that the wars of the 1990s did, their anarchic, transnational crime wave is an unpleasant hangover of the wars and wildly at odds with the rules-based modern society represented by the EU, an organisation that all of the former Yugoslav republics one day hope to join. (Slovenia has already made it into the club.)
Montenegro, the smallest of the former Yugoslav republics, is home to a large number of Panthers, according to Interpol. It’s a shockingly beautiful country, but as the economy transitions from state-run socialism to free-market capitalism, average Montenegrins still have to struggle with a per capita gross domestic product just slightly more than that of Lebanon and Botswana. Unless you happen to be in on the influx of foreign investment in the luxury tourism industry, it can be tough to make a good living in Montenegro.
Meeting those who have been tempted to make their money in international crime rather than through hard graft at home took GlobalPost reporters many weeks to arrange. They are cautious men who choose when and where they want to meet — usually at night, usually in a café or restaurant they know and usually at the last minute. Three of the criminals were interviewed in Montenegro, one in Vienna — all on condition that their identities be protected and their names changed. One of the four has since been arrested by police in a western European country and is now in custody there.
Yugoslav criminals were operating in western Europe even before the country fell apart in the early 1990s, but it wasn’t until the Kosovo war ended in 1999 — and, with it, the highly profitable smuggling business that accompanies most wars — that the men who had bonded over the years of fighting began to look in earnest outside the region for a new revenue stream.
Over the years, police officers around Europe and in other parts of the world realised they were increasingly dealing with jewel thieves from the former Yugoslavia, many with connections to each other, and in 2007, Interpol set up a multi-national team devoted to catching them. The cops at headquarters in Lyon, France, named it Project Pink Panther.
The truth, however, is that the existence of a coherent Pink Panther gang is almost as fanciful as anything Inspector Clouseau ever nosed around in. Interpol officials and the criminals themselves agree that the so-called gang is a loose conglomeration of separate gangs, many of whom know each other, and some of whose members are interchangeable.
“There are several groups,” said Nikola, the pseudonym of the driver who took part in the heist in Rome in 2001. “In a group, there are five or six. More than six is too much. If there’s more, the share is smaller. There must be mutual confidence in each other.”
Most jobs start with a piece of gathered intelligence, the criminals explained. This can be as sophisticated as an insider passing on information about a jewellery store’s security system, or as primitive as a thief noticing that a particular store has, say, a major display case near the front door and sits on a street that allows for a fast getaway. A gang will often include a woman, who will accompany one of the male gang members into a store on a reconnaissance mission.
One criminal, a Croat, who says he is now in legitimate business, recalled working with a team of Montenegrin and Serb criminals he met in Lausanne.
“I speak French and I was able to visit various watch shops and jewellery stores, ask questions, observe and recognise the weak points of the security personnel without raising any suspicion,” said the man, who was interviewed in Vienna earlier this year. “I had a girlfriend from a wealthy Viennese family and she was a perfect cover without knowing it. Sometimes, I was given money to buy her pretty expensive things like earrings or necklaces. After a month or so, those guys would storm the targets and disappear.”
Often the heists are very primitive.
“Any good robbery should take up to 20 seconds,” said Zoran, a Serbian career criminal. “In case we are dealing with sophisticated security and a strong police presence, we always set up decoys or activate alarms somewhere nearby to divert attention.” Zoran said he has pulled off several robberies in the Netherlands. “The first thing I do when I arrive in Holland is I get a good car, preferably a BMW 5 Series, with a hook on the rear. The hook is important because it helps when I drive in reverse into a jewellery shop.” The powerful car “is needed to speed away and not be caught by police. But a few times they had reinforced glass, so when I hit the display window, I bounced back. That was unpleasant.”
Zoran has a second method. “Another way is to have someone else wait in the car and two of us walk in a shop in fancy clothes and I carry a briefcase,” he said.
Durovic, the head of Montenegro’s Interpol bureau, believes that many Europeans are unprepared for the war-nurtured nerve of the Panthers, the gumption required for smashing and grabbing during the daytime and in the heart of swanky commercial districts in cities like Monte Carlo, Geneva and Paris. “They cannot recognise that those people have the courage to commit (these crimes) and they are not ready for that,” he said.
No matter how the robberies are conducted, with a hammer or a helicopter, there’s a level of efficiency and sophistication in the handling of the stolen goods that has police bemused. “We don’t know how they do that because I would say probably many Pink Panther members have been arrested at least one time in their life but very rarely are stolen goods recovered,” said Emmanuel Leclaire, Interpol’s assistant director of the Drug and Criminal Organisations Directorate at headquarters in Lyon. “We don’t know what are the processes to receive these jewels and watches.”
Part of the answer sits on the muscular right wrist of Rocco, a criminal who was a friend of Arkan, the late Serbian gangster and war criminal, in the form of a glinting gold Rolex. Rocco explained that the watch, worth $33,000, was a gift from one of the Panthers in appreciation for his great work, which during an interview in the otherwise empty upstairs section in a bar in Podgorica, he explained is to “arrange purchases of the final product.”
Stolen watches go on the black market but jewels are taken from their moldings and reset, or cut to look different. “The goods are reshaped, laundered and sold into regular channels,” he said, meaning legitimate jewellery companies. The buyers pay between 18 per cent and 25 per cent of retail value, he said. Marbella in Spain, Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and the Belgian city of Antwerp are popular desinations for stolen jewels, according to Rocco and Zoran.Like their crimes, the Panthers can be both crude and sophisticated. Rocco has the classic look of the mid-90s paramilitary: shaved head, multiple tattoos and a matching deep voice. But he’s also well-versed in European politics and Montenegrin history and has travelled extensively, including to the diamond mines of Sierra Leone. Nikola, the driver from the Italian job, is smoother still. He speaks fluent English and Czech, Slovak and Polish also — and some Italian, Spanish and French. The men often pick up languages during their spells in foreign prisons but they are also diligent students, realising that language is a crucial tool for gathering information about a target in a foreign country and escaping safely after the robbery.
Among those recently caught was former Cetinje resident Zoran Kostic, a prominent Pink Panther who was arrested in Paris in June in relation to the robbery of a jewellery store in Lausanne, Switzerland in May. Kostic, 38, escaped from prison in Montenegro a decade ago (after shooting dead one of Pajovic’s friends) and is suspected of committing many robberies in various countries. But when GlobalPost visited his family’s home in Cetinje, there was no sign that any of Kostic’s wealth had benefited his loved ones.
Interpol’s success in arresting Kostic and numerous other Panthers has some of the criminals worried, even though both they and the police know that no thief stays in prison forever and that once the criminals make it to their home countries in the former Yugoslavia they cannot, according to each country’s constitution, be extradited.Two of the men interviewed said they felt the police were nevertheless winning this latest Balkan war. Part of the problem, according to Nikola, is the unwanted glamour and mythological status the Pink Panther moniker has given to these criminals.
“When they give you a name you’re in big trouble,” he said, as he finished up a dinner of fresh sea bass at the seaside restaurant and lit a cigarette, “because every single small policeman is trying to catch you. We lost a lot of guys because of that name. Some of our co-workers got drunk in casinos and were bragging about it, thinking they are something. It’s better to be nothing. The best criminals are those who stay out of prison.”
The Panthers have choreographed some spectacular jobs: In 2007, a group of men drove two cars through windows and into the forecourt of a mall in Dubai, racing out to rob a jewellery store of $3.4 million worth of jewels; in 2004, two men and two women raided a jewellery store in Tokyo, escaping with $30 million in jewels, in what was the biggest grossing robbery in Japan’s history; in 2003, two men stole £37 million in jewels from a diamond store in London. Only a fraction of those jewels have been recovered but police did find a 2.32 carat blue diamond ring hidden in a jar of face cream belonging to the girlfriend of one of the thieves, echoing a scene from the first Pink Panther movie starring Peter Sellers.
Many Panthers were blooded during the Balkan wars in the 1990s, taking advantage of the ample opportunities for crime during the violent chaos in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo. Along the way, they learned how to work in decisive, daring teams, and to cast aside their national and ethnic differences in search of a universal goal — getting rich quick. While the Panthers pose none of the threat to European stability that the wars of the 1990s did, their anarchic, transnational crime wave is an unpleasant hangover of the wars and wildly at odds with the rules-based modern society represented by the EU, an organisation that all of the former Yugoslav republics one day hope to join. (Slovenia has already made it into the club.)
Montenegro, the smallest of the former Yugoslav republics, is home to a large number of Panthers, according to Interpol. It’s a shockingly beautiful country, but as the economy transitions from state-run socialism to free-market capitalism, average Montenegrins still have to struggle with a per capita gross domestic product just slightly more than that of Lebanon and Botswana. Unless you happen to be in on the influx of foreign investment in the luxury tourism industry, it can be tough to make a good living in Montenegro.
Meeting those who have been tempted to make their money in international crime rather than through hard graft at home took GlobalPost reporters many weeks to arrange. They are cautious men who choose when and where they want to meet — usually at night, usually in a café or restaurant they know and usually at the last minute. Three of the criminals were interviewed in Montenegro, one in Vienna — all on condition that their identities be protected and their names changed. One of the four has since been arrested by police in a western European country and is now in custody there.
Yugoslav criminals were operating in western Europe even before the country fell apart in the early 1990s, but it wasn’t until the Kosovo war ended in 1999 — and, with it, the highly profitable smuggling business that accompanies most wars — that the men who had bonded over the years of fighting began to look in earnest outside the region for a new revenue stream.
Over the years, police officers around Europe and in other parts of the world realised they were increasingly dealing with jewel thieves from the former Yugoslavia, many with connections to each other, and in 2007, Interpol set up a multi-national team devoted to catching them. The cops at headquarters in Lyon, France, named it Project Pink Panther.
The truth, however, is that the existence of a coherent Pink Panther gang is almost as fanciful as anything Inspector Clouseau ever nosed around in. Interpol officials and the criminals themselves agree that the so-called gang is a loose conglomeration of separate gangs, many of whom know each other, and some of whose members are interchangeable.
“There are several groups,” said Nikola, the pseudonym of the driver who took part in the heist in Rome in 2001. “In a group, there are five or six. More than six is too much. If there’s more, the share is smaller. There must be mutual confidence in each other.”
Most jobs start with a piece of gathered intelligence, the criminals explained. This can be as sophisticated as an insider passing on information about a jewellery store’s security system, or as primitive as a thief noticing that a particular store has, say, a major display case near the front door and sits on a street that allows for a fast getaway. A gang will often include a woman, who will accompany one of the male gang members into a store on a reconnaissance mission.
One criminal, a Croat, who says he is now in legitimate business, recalled working with a team of Montenegrin and Serb criminals he met in Lausanne.
“I speak French and I was able to visit various watch shops and jewellery stores, ask questions, observe and recognise the weak points of the security personnel without raising any suspicion,” said the man, who was interviewed in Vienna earlier this year. “I had a girlfriend from a wealthy Viennese family and she was a perfect cover without knowing it. Sometimes, I was given money to buy her pretty expensive things like earrings or necklaces. After a month or so, those guys would storm the targets and disappear.”
Often the heists are very primitive.
“Any good robbery should take up to 20 seconds,” said Zoran, a Serbian career criminal. “In case we are dealing with sophisticated security and a strong police presence, we always set up decoys or activate alarms somewhere nearby to divert attention.” Zoran said he has pulled off several robberies in the Netherlands. “The first thing I do when I arrive in Holland is I get a good car, preferably a BMW 5 Series, with a hook on the rear. The hook is important because it helps when I drive in reverse into a jewellery shop.” The powerful car “is needed to speed away and not be caught by police. But a few times they had reinforced glass, so when I hit the display window, I bounced back. That was unpleasant.”
Zoran has a second method. “Another way is to have someone else wait in the car and two of us walk in a shop in fancy clothes and I carry a briefcase,” he said.
Durovic, the head of Montenegro’s Interpol bureau, believes that many Europeans are unprepared for the war-nurtured nerve of the Panthers, the gumption required for smashing and grabbing during the daytime and in the heart of swanky commercial districts in cities like Monte Carlo, Geneva and Paris. “They cannot recognise that those people have the courage to commit (these crimes) and they are not ready for that,” he said.
No matter how the robberies are conducted, with a hammer or a helicopter, there’s a level of efficiency and sophistication in the handling of the stolen goods that has police bemused. “We don’t know how they do that because I would say probably many Pink Panther members have been arrested at least one time in their life but very rarely are stolen goods recovered,” said Emmanuel Leclaire, Interpol’s assistant director of the Drug and Criminal Organisations Directorate at headquarters in Lyon. “We don’t know what are the processes to receive these jewels and watches.”
Part of the answer sits on the muscular right wrist of Rocco, a criminal who was a friend of Arkan, the late Serbian gangster and war criminal, in the form of a glinting gold Rolex. Rocco explained that the watch, worth $33,000, was a gift from one of the Panthers in appreciation for his great work, which during an interview in the otherwise empty upstairs section in a bar in Podgorica, he explained is to “arrange purchases of the final product.”
Stolen watches go on the black market but jewels are taken from their moldings and reset, or cut to look different. “The goods are reshaped, laundered and sold into regular channels,” he said, meaning legitimate jewellery companies. The buyers pay between 18 per cent and 25 per cent of retail value, he said. Marbella in Spain, Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and the Belgian city of Antwerp are popular desinations for stolen jewels, according to Rocco and Zoran.Like their crimes, the Panthers can be both crude and sophisticated. Rocco has the classic look of the mid-90s paramilitary: shaved head, multiple tattoos and a matching deep voice. But he’s also well-versed in European politics and Montenegrin history and has travelled extensively, including to the diamond mines of Sierra Leone. Nikola, the driver from the Italian job, is smoother still. He speaks fluent English and Czech, Slovak and Polish also — and some Italian, Spanish and French. The men often pick up languages during their spells in foreign prisons but they are also diligent students, realising that language is a crucial tool for gathering information about a target in a foreign country and escaping safely after the robbery.
Among those recently caught was former Cetinje resident Zoran Kostic, a prominent Pink Panther who was arrested in Paris in June in relation to the robbery of a jewellery store in Lausanne, Switzerland in May. Kostic, 38, escaped from prison in Montenegro a decade ago (after shooting dead one of Pajovic’s friends) and is suspected of committing many robberies in various countries. But when GlobalPost visited his family’s home in Cetinje, there was no sign that any of Kostic’s wealth had benefited his loved ones.
Interpol’s success in arresting Kostic and numerous other Panthers has some of the criminals worried, even though both they and the police know that no thief stays in prison forever and that once the criminals make it to their home countries in the former Yugoslavia they cannot, according to each country’s constitution, be extradited.Two of the men interviewed said they felt the police were nevertheless winning this latest Balkan war. Part of the problem, according to Nikola, is the unwanted glamour and mythological status the Pink Panther moniker has given to these criminals.
“When they give you a name you’re in big trouble,” he said, as he finished up a dinner of fresh sea bass at the seaside restaurant and lit a cigarette, “because every single small policeman is trying to catch you. We lost a lot of guys because of that name. Some of our co-workers got drunk in casinos and were bragging about it, thinking they are something. It’s better to be nothing. The best criminals are those who stay out of prison.”
Former Yugoslav criminals saw their opportunity and are now the world’s most feared diamond thieves. Interpol has dubbed them the Pink Panthers. In a GlobalPost exclusive report, four of the thieves reveal how they plan their robberies, how they dispose of the stolen diamonds — and who is winning the battle between them and police departments from Marbella to Dubai
Tuesday, 26 January 2010
Mexican authorities have released a video which shows the two men who allegedly shot the footballers of Paraguay and Latin, Salvador Cabanas, inside a bar in Mexico City.
Mexican authorities have released a video which shows the two men who allegedly shot the footballers of Paraguay and Latin, Salvador Cabanas, inside a bar in Mexico City.At a press conference, the attorney general of Mexico City, Miguel Ángel Mancera announced tonight that the two alleged offenders are Jesus NN., Alias 'El JJ' or 'The Model', approximately 35 years of age and Francisco NN, Alias "The Accountant" or "El Paco ', 45.According Mancera, the two men appear in the video when Cabins is shot in the head inside the bathroom of a bar which is located in southern Mexico City.In one of the first images, "El Paco ', a robust man, apparently a bodyguard of Jesus NN, talks with a blonde woman unaccounted, Outside the bathroom.Then Cabanas is the wife ofMaria Alonso Mena, upon entering the ladies room, followed by Cabanas, who enters the men's room where Jesus supposedly already waited NN.Later, the blonde woman, apparently Cuban dancer who has not been identified, is aimed at the ground floor of the building and 'The Paco' enters the bathroom where Jesus supposedly was NN.Moments later, an employee of the bar reaches the bathroom door, leans back and forth when the two alleged assailants out of the bathroom.According to the prosecutor the two alleged assailants of players nearby and calm in the middle leaving the barThey ask their cars and drove away.At a press conference, Mancera said through a video was found Jesus NN, whom he described as a man of about 35 years, 1.77 meters tall, athletic and Sinaloa accent (the state of Sinaloa in northwestern Mexico).According to the official, that person Paraguayan striker shot in the head, after an apparent incident with the Cuban dancer.Mancera said security staff rather permitted the escape of those responsible, when it was found that the 29 year old striker was injured. The official would not discuss whether the two people are related to organized crime.The attack occurred at about five in the morning of Monday seriously wounded a Cabanas, who was taken to a local hospital. Cabanas was had two operations to try to remove a bullet lodged in his head, but ruled out the measure and only removed a blood clot. His condition remains serious.The striker, who arrived in Mexico in 2003 Jaguars team was two consecutive top scorer in the Copa Libertadores, in editions of 2007 and 2008, and in 2007 was voted best player of America.Cabanas is a mainstay of his country for the 2010 World Cup, where South American team will share the Group F with Italy, New Zealand and Slovakia.South American striker won his first title in Mexico in the Clausura 2006 sharing the award with the Uruguayan Sebastian Abreu, then spent and the Americas.
lack of demand for second homes has sent current prices on some properties plummeting by 90,000 €.
Residential tourism came to an almost complete standstill on the Costa del Sol in 2009.
The sale of second homes hit its peak in 2005 when some 12,400 homes were sold on the Costa worth 2.3 billion, but last year that was down to almost cero given the recession and the weakness of the pound against the Euro.The Málaga Association of Constructors and Promoters, ACP, says last year there were only some 100 sales, 99% down on four years ago. President of the ACP, José Prado, told La Opinión de Málaga that there are no British buyers now because of the weakness of the pound and that the only hope is Germany which looks like recovering this year. He also notes that the PGOU urban plans of many municipalities remain on hold and that Spain is not offering judicial security to the real estate investor, and that events such as that seen in Carratraca where nobody wants to be Mayor because of house demolitions, does not send a good message.The lack of demand for second homes has sent current prices on some properties plummeting by 90,000 €. The OMAU Urban Environment Observatory say prices on such property in the province has fallen by nearly 27% between the end of 2007 and the end of last year.
The sale of second homes hit its peak in 2005 when some 12,400 homes were sold on the Costa worth 2.3 billion, but last year that was down to almost cero given the recession and the weakness of the pound against the Euro.The Málaga Association of Constructors and Promoters, ACP, says last year there were only some 100 sales, 99% down on four years ago. President of the ACP, José Prado, told La Opinión de Málaga that there are no British buyers now because of the weakness of the pound and that the only hope is Germany which looks like recovering this year. He also notes that the PGOU urban plans of many municipalities remain on hold and that Spain is not offering judicial security to the real estate investor, and that events such as that seen in Carratraca where nobody wants to be Mayor because of house demolitions, does not send a good message.The lack of demand for second homes has sent current prices on some properties plummeting by 90,000 €. The OMAU Urban Environment Observatory say prices on such property in the province has fallen by nearly 27% between the end of 2007 and the end of last year.
Images of homes being demolished after being built illegally on non-buildable land could become a common one this year.
Diario Sur newspaper reports today that the image of homes being demolished after being built illegally on non-buildable land could become a common one this year.The paper notes that the Málaga City Hall is to issue at least five firm demolition orders as they are obliged to do under the new regional LOUA, the Andalucía Law for Urban Ordination. The paper says that after cases seen in Sayalonga, Almogía and Carratraca, where the law has been applied inflexibly, the City Hall has decided to move forward with demolition orders which have been pending for many years, and which simply have not been carried out before because of their unpopularity.Legally the City Hall is obliged to carry out the demolitions once there are firm orders to do so from the regional High Court. The properties concerned are reported to be in Campanillas, the northern part of Puerto de la Torre and around the Camino de Olías, and include the home built illegally by the Russian promoter, Vladimir Davidovich Beniachvili, in the Monte de San Antón.
Diario Sur warns that there are some 90 more cases in the courts which could end up with the same fate.
Diario Sur warns that there are some 90 more cases in the courts which could end up with the same fate.
56 year old British woman has been arrested in Guardamar del Segura, Alicante, accused of stabbing her 40 year old British partner.
56 year old British woman has been arrested in Guardamar del Segura, Alicante, accused of stabbing her 40 year old British partner.The attack took place in the early hours of Saturday, around 6am at the Urbanisataion El Raso.The man suffered a head wound and a shallow stabbing to the chest and was taken by ambulance to Torrevieja. The injuries were slight, but the man was kept in for observation for some 12 hours. The fire service were also called as there was a small fire in the bedroom, thought to have been accidentally started by a cigarette butt.
intense rains of late have refilled more than 200 underground areas
volume of water in the water tables underground across Andalucía is five times that stored in the reservoirs of the region. rain returned to parts of Andalucía with a vengeance on Saturday. 70 litres per square metre were measured in Estepona, where houses were flooding and access to the A-7 road was cut in many places.
Three people had to be rescued from their vehicles in Guaro and Alhaurín de la Torre, also in Málaga province. In Guaro the driver was carried 200m by the torrent.
Flooding was seen across the province in Casarabonela, Coín, Benahavís and Vélez-Málaga.
In Cádiz too, Sanlucar de Barrameda was one of the areas hit by torrential rain, leading to more local flooding.The intense rains of late have refilled more than 200 underground areas which in times of drought represent 45% of the total supply. The famous marshlands at the Doñana nature park give some idea of the extent of the improvement.Meanwhile above ground reservoirs in the region now hold more than 8,158 cubic hectometres, as an average of more than 300 litres per square metre has fallen across the region over the past month, from lows of 196 litres in Almería to over 600 in some areas of Cádiz.In Málaga the reservoirs are close to 80% full with those in the Guadalhorce region gaining the most, while in Córdoba levels are at their highest since 2000.
Three people had to be rescued from their vehicles in Guaro and Alhaurín de la Torre, also in Málaga province. In Guaro the driver was carried 200m by the torrent.
Flooding was seen across the province in Casarabonela, Coín, Benahavís and Vélez-Málaga.
In Cádiz too, Sanlucar de Barrameda was one of the areas hit by torrential rain, leading to more local flooding.The intense rains of late have refilled more than 200 underground areas which in times of drought represent 45% of the total supply. The famous marshlands at the Doñana nature park give some idea of the extent of the improvement.Meanwhile above ground reservoirs in the region now hold more than 8,158 cubic hectometres, as an average of more than 300 litres per square metre has fallen across the region over the past month, from lows of 196 litres in Almería to over 600 in some areas of Cádiz.In Málaga the reservoirs are close to 80% full with those in the Guadalhorce region gaining the most, while in Córdoba levels are at their highest since 2000.
'The Blood' had established itself in Madrid, Valencia and Alicante
39 people have been arrested, ten of them under age in a police swoop against a violent gang which has recently arrived in Spain.The gang accepted members of several nationalities, including Ecuadorian, Cuban, Colombian, Chinese, Romanian, United States, Ukrainian and Moroccan, and ages between 14 and 25. It had established a presence in the provinces of Madrid, Valencia and Alicante.Codenamed ‘Operación Carpetazo’ the Guardia Civil say that those arrested will face charges of illicit association, drug trafficking, causing injury, coercion, making threat and illegal ownership of firearms.The investigations started in the middle of last year when the Alicante Civil Guard noted the organised gang was being established in Torrevieja, referred to by its members as ‘The Blood’.Tuesday saw six homes searched in the town where paperwork explaining the doctrine and rules of the gang was recovered. Details were also found about punishments and a secret language.
Rafael García Fernández was found guilty at the age of 14 of the rape and murder of Sandra Palo, a Madrid youngster also under age
Rafael García Fernández, known as ‘El Rafita’, one of four found guilty of the rape and murder of the Madrid girl, Sandra Palo, in 2003, was arrested in the early hours of Sunday in connection with an attempted vehicle theft in Málaga. The 21 year old allegedly tried to saw the steering wheel of a car with three others.
All four have previous records for crime against property and are at the disposition of the courts after refusing to declare to the police.‘El Rafita’ is on ‘supervised release’ according to the Justice Department of the Madrid Regional Government, but a spokesman for the prisons authority told El País that they did not accept the job of supervising him as they had no authority to do so, as the sentence was issued when he was underage. This latest crime is the third the youngster has been implicated in since his release.
The mother of Sandra Palo has publically called for him to be imprisoned again, saying that someone else will be raped and killed if he is allowed to remain free.
Townshend Landscape Architects
Townshend Landscape Architects were learning about the maintaining of palm trees ahead of designing an oasis in the UAEA delegation from British architects, Townshend Landscape Architects, was in Elche on Monday to study the famous palm trees and to learn about how they are protected and conserved by the local Town Hall.It comes because the British firm has won a contract to restore an oasis in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, and it was the organisers of the tender who suggested they make the trip to Elche.
Particular interest was shown on the watering system for the palms, and one of the architects, Carola Enrich, told ABC newspaper that the Elche palms, which are a UNESCO heritage of mankind site, were known worldwide as a reference.
Particular interest was shown on the watering system for the palms, and one of the architects, Carola Enrich, told ABC newspaper that the Elche palms, which are a UNESCO heritage of mankind site, were known worldwide as a reference.
Saturday, 23 January 2010
29 year old British woman arrested for resisting authority after she allegedly attacked two policemen in La Linea.
29 year old British woman, named with the initials S.L.H. has been arrested for resisting authority after she allegedly attacked two policemen in La Linea.A statement from the local police station released on Wednesday said the incident happened last weekend when the police were patrolling the Avenida de España in the town and saw a woman lying on the ground, and a shouting man next to her.As the police approached the woman started to kick and punch them, telling the police to mind their own business.The police had to receive treatment from La Linea hospital to the slight injuries they received making the arrest. It’s thought it was a domestic violence incident, and police say the man ‘took advantage of the confusion’ to make his escape.
Arcos real estate corruption case
La Opinión de Málaga prints more details about the Arcos real estate corruption case based in the Axarquía village of Alcaucín.The paper says that investigations have revealed that the ex Mayor of the town, José Manuel Martín Alba, and the ex assistant architect in the provincial Diputación government, José Francisco Mora, both received backhanders for granting favours to real estate developers and promoters.The case summary describes the relationship between the two men as ‘special’, and notes that one did not act without counting on the other.Fake reports were drawn up to allow the building to proceed. Part of the case summary says ‘The Mayor of Alcaucín frequently visited the professional offices that Chiqui Mora had in the Diputación de Málaga’. It was here that the fake reports were made allowing the Mayor and others to ignore the legislation which should have been applied in the cases of the illegal constructions in the municipality.
Dieter Huke tells us that he finds himself in a situation which he could not imagine happening in an European country. In 1998 he purchased an apartment from Greenlife in Marbella in the Rio Real Playa urbanisation
Dieter Huke tells us that he finds himself in a situation which he could not imagine happening in an European country. In 1998 he purchased an apartment from Greenlife in Marbella in the Rio Real Playa urbanisation which consists of 9 blocks and 60 apartments in total.example of a person trapped by buying an illegal property unawares comes from Marbella.In 2004 the licence to build the last three of the blocks was cancelled and since the Andalucía High Court has called for the demolition of the buildings. He says that now at the age of 71, with his health affected by skin problems as a result over the past two years, he needs to move into a nursing home, but that is only possible by selling his apartment.However sale is impossible unless the development is legalised. He says the politicians of Andalucía are arbitrarily destroying his life, and he considers that all parties are as bad as each other, starting with the GIL party and their successors in the Marbella Town Hall.Dieter observes that in many countries it is ecological calamities which ruin the lives of its inhabitants, while in Andalucía is done by corrupt politicians and incompetent administrations.
Thursday, 21 January 2010
Marbella University is the first and only English-speaking University in the South of Spain
Marbella University is the first and only English-speaking University in the South of Spain. With a state-of-the art educational program based on the most advanced knowledge and didactics, it will offer 3-year Bachelor degrees as well as a 1-year diploma program. The diploma program provides students with general understanding of people, human life, business, and society through a “stimulating, mind-opening curriculum,” says the University spokesperson.The diploma program also allows students to start Marbella University’s Bachelor programs, in the case that they don’t already have an IB, A-level, or equivalent diploma. In addition, Marbella University’s Bachelor programs include areas of study such as Business Administration, Communication & Public Relations, Tourism, Journalism, and Psychology. The curriculum meets the highest educational standards, and fits the needs and desires of Spain’s up-and-coming professionals. All Marbella University Bachelor programs are in line with the Treaty of Bologna’s educational requirements and curriculum standards.In Marbella, people enjoy a unique quality of life, safety, and international appeal. The Costa del Sol is virtually free of pollution, has extremely low rates of crime, and is in close proximity to rich cultural cities like Granada, Seville and Cadiz. All these factors and more make Marbella the perfect place to study for those who want a true international experience that is as fulfilling as it is enlightening.
Euro MPs have applauded a pledge by Spain to promote sexual equality in Europe
Euro MPs have applauded a pledge by Spain to promote sexual equality in Europe and fight gender-based violence during its six-month EU presidency.Spain’s socialist prime minister set out his vision in a speech to the European Parliament on Wednesday.
Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero called gender-based violence “a scourge that still affects many societies in Europe”, and vowed to “remove” it.Spain has pursued a markedly egalitarian agenda under Mr Zapatero.
The country is among six EU states that have legalised gay marriage.Mr Zapatero’s policy on gay rights has been opposed by the Roman Catholic Church, traditionally seen as the guardian of family values in Spain.
The Church also opposes the Spanish government’s introduction of fast-track divorce and its plan to introduce abortion on demand.
The controversial abortion law – not yet adopted – would allow abortion on demand up to the 14th week of pregnancy, even without parental permission, for 16- and 17-year-old girls.
At present, a pregnancy can only be terminated in Spain under specific circumstances: rape, when there are signs of foetal abnormality or if the mother’s physical or psychological health is at risk.
Mr Zapatero has a cabinet of nine women ministers and eight men. It is the first time that Spain has had such a sexually balanced government.Euro MPs clapped loudly as the Spanish prime minister outlined his plans on gender equality.The Spanish government says it will present proposals to strengthen existing protections for victims of crime, especially of terrorism and gender-related violence.Spain also wants to strengthen the EU’s legal framework for child protection, notably to curb sexual abuse of children.
Spain took over the EU presidency on 1 January – becoming the first member state to take over the 27-nation bloc under the new Lisbon Treaty.The treaty means Spain has to co-ordinate its presidency with the new president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, and the EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton from the UK.EU summits will be chaired by Mr Van Rompuy, the former Belgian prime minister. But Spain will steer other top meetings and host summits with non-EU countries.
Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero called gender-based violence “a scourge that still affects many societies in Europe”, and vowed to “remove” it.Spain has pursued a markedly egalitarian agenda under Mr Zapatero.
The country is among six EU states that have legalised gay marriage.Mr Zapatero’s policy on gay rights has been opposed by the Roman Catholic Church, traditionally seen as the guardian of family values in Spain.
The Church also opposes the Spanish government’s introduction of fast-track divorce and its plan to introduce abortion on demand.
The controversial abortion law – not yet adopted – would allow abortion on demand up to the 14th week of pregnancy, even without parental permission, for 16- and 17-year-old girls.
At present, a pregnancy can only be terminated in Spain under specific circumstances: rape, when there are signs of foetal abnormality or if the mother’s physical or psychological health is at risk.
Mr Zapatero has a cabinet of nine women ministers and eight men. It is the first time that Spain has had such a sexually balanced government.Euro MPs clapped loudly as the Spanish prime minister outlined his plans on gender equality.The Spanish government says it will present proposals to strengthen existing protections for victims of crime, especially of terrorism and gender-related violence.Spain also wants to strengthen the EU’s legal framework for child protection, notably to curb sexual abuse of children.
Spain took over the EU presidency on 1 January – becoming the first member state to take over the 27-nation bloc under the new Lisbon Treaty.The treaty means Spain has to co-ordinate its presidency with the new president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, and the EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton from the UK.EU summits will be chaired by Mr Van Rompuy, the former Belgian prime minister. But Spain will steer other top meetings and host summits with non-EU countries.
fraud paid for a luxury lifestyle in the UK and Spain which included the purchase of a villa in Marbella, currently on the market at 850,000 Euros, a 47-foot yacht which has a list price of £490,000, a luxury home in Chapel-en-le-Frith and Mercedes cars
"Wilson entered an early guilty plea and co-operated with police following arrest, which is reflected in his sentence. He now faces the prospect of losing everything – all of his assets and his liberty.
"These are often other commercial institutions, which may be struggling in the difficult economic climate and rely on recovered funds to continue to trade and employ staff.
"To allow offenders to prosper from crime is an affront to law-abiding citizens
Hollywood couple Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith have been ordered to give up a large chunk of their beachfront estate on Spain’s Costa del Sol
Wednesday, 20 January 2010
Arrested a man who stole a top of the range BMW 4x4
Arrested a man who stole a top of the range BMW 4x4 in the small town of Monturque in Cordoba, and fled in the vehicle towards Malaga on the A-45. When the vehicle was stolen, the Guardia Civil Traffic Division put out a call to all patrols and it was initially followed by officers from Cordoba. They were joined by two patrols from Malaga and one from Antequera, who on several occasions ordered the driver to stop. However, he ignored them and continued to speed along the motorway, almost losing control of the car on several occasions. The Guardia Civil finally decided to cut him off at Las Pedrizas area and put up a blockade at kilometre 115 of the motorway, so the car thief had not alternative but to stop after a chase which lasted 23 kilometres. He was charged with failing to obey an officer of the law and car theft.
Four men have been arrested charged with the deaths of three youths in Fuengirola
Four men have been arrested charged with the deaths of three youths in Fuengirola in September 2007. The three youths, two Colombians and one Ecuadorian were sitting in a car at the entrance to a garage in the Torreblanca area. It is believed that one of them owed approximately 60,000 euros to another Colombian who was also his brother-in-law and this was the reason for the shooting. Police believed they agreed to meet and this was why they were waiting in the car, but they were shot at without warning and one of them died at the scene. The alleged debtor was taken to the Costa del Sol Hospital with five bullet wounds and died within hours, but fortunately not before telling officers the names of his killers. The third youth died five days later.At the time, two people were arrested including the man who police believe to have fired the shots. However, police reopened the case and have arrested two Spanish youths and two Colombians although their involvement in the crime is still unknown
Defence lawyers of German countess Sandra Von Bismarck has claimed that the fact that she knows Juan Antonio Roca
Defence lawyers of German countess Sandra Von Bismarck has claimed that the fact that she knows Juan Antonio Roca, believed to be behind the Malaya corruption case in Marbella, does not mean that she herself committed any crime.Judge Oscar Perez had questioned Von Bismarck about the fact she, Roca and local lawyers had been involved in buying and selling a property. The property in question, a 17,000-square metre plot in the Nagueles area which belonged to the countess, was bought in December 1997 for 204,000 euros by a company directed by the Sanchez Zubizarreta lawyers office, in which Roca had a 50 per cent share.The public prosecutor argues that Von Bismarck was in a position to know that Roca had a criminal case against him when the transaction was carried out.
Banana Beach in Marbella have presented a report to the Junta de Andalucia which claims that their homes are in a similar situation to 16 other houses in the area
Banana Beach in Marbella have presented a report to the Junta de Andalucia which claims that their homes are in a similar situation to 16 other houses in the area which Marbella’s next General Plan of Urban Development has agreed to legalise. They hope that this will help them to also save their homes and include them within the new plan, which hasn’t mentioned compensation for several homes in Marbella, half of which are at Banana Beach. Like many others, the affected houses are on land that has been classified as ‘free spaces’.Residents complain that licences for many properties which broke coastal laws, which Banana Beach doesn’t, and were declared invalid, have been ‘pardoned’ in the new plan, something which they believe is discriminatory towards the Banana Beach area.
POLICE have solved a shooting which occurred in Estepona
POLICE have solved a shooting which occurred in Estepona on August 19 last year in which a man was seriously injured, and arrested seven people involved in drug trafficking, one of them the author of the shots who is charged with attempted manslaughter.e shooting occurred in Avenida de Andalucia when a man was shot twice in the leg, causing him serious injuries. It was believed the incident was linked to money laundering.
Drugs and Organised Crime Unit and the Valencia Police followed the trail to Valencia, where the arrests were carried out for illegal weapons possession, drugs trafficking, extortion, false reports, concealment and illegal detention. Four homes were searched and police seized 20 grams of cocaine, three sets of precision scales, a bar and five pellets of hashish, 17 marijuana plants, 850 euros in cash, several false police plaques and utensils for preparing and cutting drugs.
Drugs and Organised Crime Unit and the Valencia Police followed the trail to Valencia, where the arrests were carried out for illegal weapons possession, drugs trafficking, extortion, false reports, concealment and illegal detention. Four homes were searched and police seized 20 grams of cocaine, three sets of precision scales, a bar and five pellets of hashish, 17 marijuana plants, 850 euros in cash, several false police plaques and utensils for preparing and cutting drugs.
Monday, 18 January 2010
Alan James Wilson fraud paid for a luxury lifestyle in the UK and Spain which included the purchase of a villa in Marbella
Alan James Wilson was the director of a company which designed and rented portable refrigerated units from its base at Staffordshire Technology Park in Beaconside.Wilson took part in a fraud, as sole director of the business, which centred on falsifying rental agreement documents, misappropriation of company funds and disposal of equipment.
The fraud paid for a luxury lifestyle in the UK and Spain which included the purchase of a villa in Marbella, currently on the market at 850,000 Euros, a 47-foot yacht which has a list price of £490,000, a luxury home in Derbyshire and Mercedes cars.The 57-year-old, from Chapel-en-le-Frith in Derbyshire, was investigated by officers from Staffordshire Police’s Economic Crime Unit. He was arrested and admitted offences of theft, false accounting and fraud at a previous hearing at Stafford Crown Court.
He has been sentenced to 44 months imprisonment while the case was adjourned for 21 days for a confiscation hearing.Money from the sale of the yacht, villa and UK home, and funds seized from Wilson’s foreign accounts, is likely to go towards the confiscation order. All of Wison’s assets are currently held under restraint by police pending the forthcoming confiscation hearing.Detective Sergeant Nick Jones, from the Economic Crime Unit, said: “Wilson carried out fraud to enjoy a lavish lifestyle. We are committed to bringing offenders to justice while at the same time removing the trappings of a lifestyle earned through crime.
“We are increasingly using asset recovery to take back ill-gotten gains, which are then paid as compensation to victims. These are often other commercial institutions, which may be struggling in the difficult economic climate and rely on recovered funds to continue to trade and employ staff. To allow offenders to prosper from crime is an affront to law-abiding citizens.”
The fraud paid for a luxury lifestyle in the UK and Spain which included the purchase of a villa in Marbella, currently on the market at 850,000 Euros, a 47-foot yacht which has a list price of £490,000, a luxury home in Derbyshire and Mercedes cars.The 57-year-old, from Chapel-en-le-Frith in Derbyshire, was investigated by officers from Staffordshire Police’s Economic Crime Unit. He was arrested and admitted offences of theft, false accounting and fraud at a previous hearing at Stafford Crown Court.
He has been sentenced to 44 months imprisonment while the case was adjourned for 21 days for a confiscation hearing.Money from the sale of the yacht, villa and UK home, and funds seized from Wilson’s foreign accounts, is likely to go towards the confiscation order. All of Wison’s assets are currently held under restraint by police pending the forthcoming confiscation hearing.Detective Sergeant Nick Jones, from the Economic Crime Unit, said: “Wilson carried out fraud to enjoy a lavish lifestyle. We are committed to bringing offenders to justice while at the same time removing the trappings of a lifestyle earned through crime.
“We are increasingly using asset recovery to take back ill-gotten gains, which are then paid as compensation to victims. These are often other commercial institutions, which may be struggling in the difficult economic climate and rely on recovered funds to continue to trade and employ staff. To allow offenders to prosper from crime is an affront to law-abiding citizens.”
Sunday, 17 January 2010
Almería village of Albox on December 22, police visited those homes and served notice that they must demolish their properties before April 9.
Almería village of Albox on December 22, police visited those homes and served notice that they must demolish their properties before April 9. If they don’t, the authorities will bring in the bulldozers and charge the cost to the owners.It was a horrible shock, but not a complete surprise. Throughout the southern province of Andalucia,
Politicians from Northern Eruope are frantically trying to get the Spanish Government to see what a PR disaster it is facing. In September, Chris Bryant, a Foreign Office minister, said after meeting his Spanish counterpart: “He was keen to reassure me that it was very unlikely people’s houses would be taken down”. It will be interesting to see what reassuring words Mr Bryant has for the people facing the April 9 deadline. Last Monday homeowners from throughout the region made their frustration plain when more than 700 marched in protest through Almería city.
I’ve been turning left at Malaga airport for ten years. We came here for a visit, renting a nice little apartment in the coastal town of Nerja. My wife had a vague idea that it would be fun to look for properties. The owner of a ceramics shop took us on a drive and offered to sell us some land in the hills, land that he may or may not have owned. Thankfully, we are not the building or renovating types or we’d doubtless be litigating still. Instead, we went for a drive with a nice man from a small and unfashionable estate agents deep into the foothills of the Sierra, a wild region known as the Axarquia. We ended up in an impossibly high clifftop village called Comares, spent ten minutes inspecting a swish village casita, put in an offer a couple of days later; and a decade on, we’re still there.
A lot has changed in ten years. In fact, a lot changes from one visit to the next, even if there’s only a month in between. Comares itself can’t grow much more because it’s built on hundreds of feet of sheer limestone cliff. But the surrounding countryside, is being transformed.
Every year, every month, the scrubby land of olive and almond trees, boulders and ancient Roman and Moorish paths, gets more filled in: with one-storey bungalows, white-washed fincas and huge villas with swimming pools, stables and car ports. Sometimes, I’ve stood by the remains of the 11th-century fort at the top of the village and looked out on a scene that reminds me of those old pictures of Los Angeles: a parched, remote mountainous landscape about to be turned into a megapolis because people like the weather.
You can imagine the effect the property boom had on the local population, here and in Almería. Rural Andalucia has always been dirt-poor and lawless, exploited and despised by the rich landlords to the north. The people here were the last to give in to the Reconquista of the 15th century and the last to surrender to Franco — who then starved the place. It’s rare to see a septuagenarian without a walking stick, the legacy of childhood malnutrition. Their grandchildren fled to the coast and the cities.
Then we foreigners came with our dreams, our architect’s plans and our fat chequebooks. Farmers who had spent their lives scraping a living from the hard land, growing olive trees and vines for raisins and the local sweet wine, suddenly discovered their fincas were built on gold mines. Phil Smalley, a native of Preston, in Lancashire, bought a parcel of land near Lake Viñuela for €80,000 in 2003. According to the deed, the land had last changed hands in 1972 — for the equivalent in pesetas of £120. “The land would have gone to scrub,” says Mr Smalley. “The farmer’s children didn’t want to do anything with it. Now he’s made for life.”
Not that Mr Smalley begrudged the vendor his fortune. He felt pretty fortunate himself, after a career as a manager for the cash-and-carry company Makro. He and his Yorkshire-born wife, Sandra, built a villa on the old vineyard with amazing views towards the coast and La Maroma, the mountain that towers over the Axarquia. They applied for a licence to build. Their builder sent designs to the college of architects, which were approved. The plans were submitted to the town hall, the Viñuela Ayuntamiento, which said it was happy. They made sure the purchase was correct at every stage. The Smalleys moved in three years ago. Then, in October 2008, they received a letter from the town hall saying the regional authority was seeking to have the licence for the property declared illegal by the courts. The Smalleys were given nine days to respond. They saw a lawyer and paid him €450 to investigate. He told them they could challenge the move, which would cost about €6,000. But they would lose.
They had done nothing wrong; but they were in the wrong. If they fought the action, they would not only lose, they would forfeit any right to compensation. The only course was to wait for the inevitable demolition order and hope to get at least some of their money back.
The now familiar story of buyers used to British legal searches and planning laws getting some nasty shocks is all too common on the Axarquia. Mr Smalley mentions the case of one friend who bought a villa, only for an apartment block to be built in front of it. Another couple had their drive bulldozed by the clerk of the local town hall, who claimed the land was his. Indeed, a council official in Comares built a four-storey house overlooking our garden and blocking the view of the 11th-century fort for most of the village. I asked a Spanish friend if there wasn’t such a thing as listing and heritage orders here. She laughed.There’s a fatalism you learn pretty quickly as an owner in Spain. However much you try to assimilate, there are things — the noise and the treatment of animals as well as the building free-for-all — that you never get used to. At that point you say to yourself: “It’s not my country. What right do I have to force my values on them?”But Mr Smalley sees such talk as defeatist. A fluent Spanish speaker, he calls the authorities’ behaviour una barbaridad – an outrage. As for his own house, he is not giving in, despite conceding the legal battle. “We have all the receipts. We have our licence. We’ve done nothing underhand. It’s a row between the local mayors and the Junta.
Earlier this year, a report by the Danish MEP Margrete Auken called for grants for Spain to be frozen unless it put a stop to the abuses in the property market. The report was overwhelmingly approved — despite opposition from Spanish MEPs on the right and left.
The rural mayors are lobbying too, and not just, they claim, to protect their own interests. The foreign influx has been a vital fillip to local businesses as anyone who wanders into my local bar will testify. It isn’t the old chaps whiling away the afternoons with a single café solo who keep the tills moving.The Axarquia was well on the way to becoming the Spanish Tuscany or the Dordogne of Andalucia. Travel journalists come through every now and again, and write in wonder about the place. They visit the yoga centres and painting retreats, the boutique hotels and hilltop restaurants, predicting, sometimes, that it’s going to become the Next Big Thing for the middle class and hedonistic.Now the incomers are flooding out. The collapse in Spanish property had already persuaded the “place in the sun” crowd to seek new bargains in Croatia, Turkey or Montenegro. The demolition orders will doubtless scare away many others.“It’s absolutely gorgeous here”, says Mr Smalley. “But I wish I’d never seen Spain. I’m 63 now — and I may be dead before all this is sorted.” Like the others, he’s seen his income savaged by falling interest rates and a plummeting pound. The house he put his money into could be worthless.
Those of us in village houses, which have stood in one form or another for hundreds of years, feel a little more secure — for now. There was a party in my village recently for the foreign residents, a celebration of co-existence. Unless a deal is cooked up between the squabbling Spanish authorities, it could be the first of not very many. Andalucia has a long history of swinging between noisy co-existence and bleak isolationism. There’s another swing coming, even if the weather is still very nice.
tens of thousands of homeowners, most of them Northern European expats, have been living under the shadow of demolition for two years.Most built their homes with what they thought were cast-iron planning permits from their local town halls, or ayuntamientos. Imagine their alarm when the regional authority, the Junta de Andalucia, came along and ruled that any new property built on rural land and not designed for agricultural use had to come down. If the junta presses ahead with its plans, the sight of sunburnt British pensioners surveying the rubble of their dream homes is going to be daily occurrence on your TV screens. Andalucia will look like a war zone.
Politicians from Northern Eruope are frantically trying to get the Spanish Government to see what a PR disaster it is facing. In September, Chris Bryant, a Foreign Office minister, said after meeting his Spanish counterpart: “He was keen to reassure me that it was very unlikely people’s houses would be taken down”. It will be interesting to see what reassuring words Mr Bryant has for the people facing the April 9 deadline. Last Monday homeowners from throughout the region made their frustration plain when more than 700 marched in protest through Almería city.
I’ve been turning left at Malaga airport for ten years. We came here for a visit, renting a nice little apartment in the coastal town of Nerja. My wife had a vague idea that it would be fun to look for properties. The owner of a ceramics shop took us on a drive and offered to sell us some land in the hills, land that he may or may not have owned. Thankfully, we are not the building or renovating types or we’d doubtless be litigating still. Instead, we went for a drive with a nice man from a small and unfashionable estate agents deep into the foothills of the Sierra, a wild region known as the Axarquia. We ended up in an impossibly high clifftop village called Comares, spent ten minutes inspecting a swish village casita, put in an offer a couple of days later; and a decade on, we’re still there.
A lot has changed in ten years. In fact, a lot changes from one visit to the next, even if there’s only a month in between. Comares itself can’t grow much more because it’s built on hundreds of feet of sheer limestone cliff. But the surrounding countryside, is being transformed.
Every year, every month, the scrubby land of olive and almond trees, boulders and ancient Roman and Moorish paths, gets more filled in: with one-storey bungalows, white-washed fincas and huge villas with swimming pools, stables and car ports. Sometimes, I’ve stood by the remains of the 11th-century fort at the top of the village and looked out on a scene that reminds me of those old pictures of Los Angeles: a parched, remote mountainous landscape about to be turned into a megapolis because people like the weather.
You can imagine the effect the property boom had on the local population, here and in Almería. Rural Andalucia has always been dirt-poor and lawless, exploited and despised by the rich landlords to the north. The people here were the last to give in to the Reconquista of the 15th century and the last to surrender to Franco — who then starved the place. It’s rare to see a septuagenarian without a walking stick, the legacy of childhood malnutrition. Their grandchildren fled to the coast and the cities.
Then we foreigners came with our dreams, our architect’s plans and our fat chequebooks. Farmers who had spent their lives scraping a living from the hard land, growing olive trees and vines for raisins and the local sweet wine, suddenly discovered their fincas were built on gold mines. Phil Smalley, a native of Preston, in Lancashire, bought a parcel of land near Lake Viñuela for €80,000 in 2003. According to the deed, the land had last changed hands in 1972 — for the equivalent in pesetas of £120. “The land would have gone to scrub,” says Mr Smalley. “The farmer’s children didn’t want to do anything with it. Now he’s made for life.”
Not that Mr Smalley begrudged the vendor his fortune. He felt pretty fortunate himself, after a career as a manager for the cash-and-carry company Makro. He and his Yorkshire-born wife, Sandra, built a villa on the old vineyard with amazing views towards the coast and La Maroma, the mountain that towers over the Axarquia. They applied for a licence to build. Their builder sent designs to the college of architects, which were approved. The plans were submitted to the town hall, the Viñuela Ayuntamiento, which said it was happy. They made sure the purchase was correct at every stage. The Smalleys moved in three years ago. Then, in October 2008, they received a letter from the town hall saying the regional authority was seeking to have the licence for the property declared illegal by the courts. The Smalleys were given nine days to respond. They saw a lawyer and paid him €450 to investigate. He told them they could challenge the move, which would cost about €6,000. But they would lose.
They had done nothing wrong; but they were in the wrong. If they fought the action, they would not only lose, they would forfeit any right to compensation. The only course was to wait for the inevitable demolition order and hope to get at least some of their money back.
There have been 160 such notices posted in Viñuela alone — and it’s not even the size of a town. Across the region and beyond, north and east to Granada and Almería, there are tens of thousands of property owners, most of them British, German and Scandinavian, whose properties have been ruled illegal.
International attention has focussed on Marbella, for many years the centre of unfettered development and mind-boggling corruption. But the temperature has fallen there since the old council was dissolved in 2006. Officials have unofficially assured homeowners their condos are safe from the bulldozers.Mr Smalley doesn’t pretend that the planning system has been abused — anyone standing at the top of my village and surveying the jerry-built structures perched on the skyline can see that. “There’s been money-laundering, corruption, back-handers, you name it,” he says. “Near here, someone applied to build four houses on a plot of land — they built 20.”
The now familiar story of buyers used to British legal searches and planning laws getting some nasty shocks is all too common on the Axarquia. Mr Smalley mentions the case of one friend who bought a villa, only for an apartment block to be built in front of it. Another couple had their drive bulldozed by the clerk of the local town hall, who claimed the land was his. Indeed, a council official in Comares built a four-storey house overlooking our garden and blocking the view of the 11th-century fort for most of the village. I asked a Spanish friend if there wasn’t such a thing as listing and heritage orders here. She laughed.There’s a fatalism you learn pretty quickly as an owner in Spain. However much you try to assimilate, there are things — the noise and the treatment of animals as well as the building free-for-all — that you never get used to. At that point you say to yourself: “It’s not my country. What right do I have to force my values on them?”But Mr Smalley sees such talk as defeatist. A fluent Spanish speaker, he calls the authorities’ behaviour una barbaridad – an outrage. As for his own house, he is not giving in, despite conceding the legal battle. “We have all the receipts. We have our licence. We’ve done nothing underhand. It’s a row between the local mayors and the Junta.
“We’re no more,” he concludes with sour irony, “than interested bystanders.”He’s right. A new civil war has broken out between the regional and local authorities. Helicopters circle the countryside looking for illegal properties. The town halls are raided. One mayor, in Alcaucin, is under arrest. Investigators allegedly found €130,000 hidden under his bed.
Earlier this year, a report by the Danish MEP Margrete Auken called for grants for Spain to be frozen unless it put a stop to the abuses in the property market. The report was overwhelmingly approved — despite opposition from Spanish MEPs on the right and left.
The rural mayors are lobbying too, and not just, they claim, to protect their own interests. The foreign influx has been a vital fillip to local businesses as anyone who wanders into my local bar will testify. It isn’t the old chaps whiling away the afternoons with a single café solo who keep the tills moving.The Axarquia was well on the way to becoming the Spanish Tuscany or the Dordogne of Andalucia. Travel journalists come through every now and again, and write in wonder about the place. They visit the yoga centres and painting retreats, the boutique hotels and hilltop restaurants, predicting, sometimes, that it’s going to become the Next Big Thing for the middle class and hedonistic.Now the incomers are flooding out. The collapse in Spanish property had already persuaded the “place in the sun” crowd to seek new bargains in Croatia, Turkey or Montenegro. The demolition orders will doubtless scare away many others.“It’s absolutely gorgeous here”, says Mr Smalley. “But I wish I’d never seen Spain. I’m 63 now — and I may be dead before all this is sorted.” Like the others, he’s seen his income savaged by falling interest rates and a plummeting pound. The house he put his money into could be worthless.
Those of us in village houses, which have stood in one form or another for hundreds of years, feel a little more secure — for now. There was a party in my village recently for the foreign residents, a celebration of co-existence. Unless a deal is cooked up between the squabbling Spanish authorities, it could be the first of not very many. Andalucia has a long history of swinging between noisy co-existence and bleak isolationism. There’s another swing coming, even if the weather is still very nice.
Saturday, 16 January 2010
Thursday, 14 January 2010
mystery surrounding the murder of former Polop mayor Alexander Ponsoda
After following countless unsuccessful lines of enquiry officers from Guardia Civil think that they have finally uncovered the mystery surrounding the murder of former Polop mayor Alexander Ponsoda after they apprehended a man in Alfaz on a totally unrelated issue. The secrecy surrounding the case was lifted by the presiding judge on Monday and this was one of the first pieces of information to be released.
The Alfaz arrest took place in 2006 when a man was detained following the discovery of five handguns and over 300 cartridges. The report says that some of the bullets found were consistent with those used in Ponsoda’s shooting and it was this source of information that led the arrests of seven suspects allegedly involved. Although it is not known how he is related to the initial case, following the murder, the Guardia were also able to produce a witness who it is understood has been offered immunity from prosecution. This ‘protected’ witness stated that former Mayor, Juan Cano, participated in meetings where the murder of Ponsoda was discussed. He was also able to identify a number of other individuals who also took part. It is understood that they regularly took place in a nightclub situated in the Marina Baixa.
Raul M. T. was the first of the detainees to be formally charged. Although not directly involved in the murder he was sentenced in December to six years in prison for stockpiling weapons, ammunition and drugs. Within hours of the death of Ponsoda, a British couple was arrested after they had previously been seen arguing with the mayor over a property dispute. Although the couple were later released their activities were closely monitored by the Civil Guard during the following months. The summary reveals that this line of enquiry was finally dismissed when it was realised that the couple had nothing to do with the crime.
Although a number of individuals are still being held by the Guardia Civil, Lawyers for the Defence are now also studying the contents of the summary, as they believe that the evidence for keeping them in prison is very weak and based only on the statements of the protected witness.
The Alfaz arrest took place in 2006 when a man was detained following the discovery of five handguns and over 300 cartridges. The report says that some of the bullets found were consistent with those used in Ponsoda’s shooting and it was this source of information that led the arrests of seven suspects allegedly involved. Although it is not known how he is related to the initial case, following the murder, the Guardia were also able to produce a witness who it is understood has been offered immunity from prosecution. This ‘protected’ witness stated that former Mayor, Juan Cano, participated in meetings where the murder of Ponsoda was discussed. He was also able to identify a number of other individuals who also took part. It is understood that they regularly took place in a nightclub situated in the Marina Baixa.
Raul M. T. was the first of the detainees to be formally charged. Although not directly involved in the murder he was sentenced in December to six years in prison for stockpiling weapons, ammunition and drugs. Within hours of the death of Ponsoda, a British couple was arrested after they had previously been seen arguing with the mayor over a property dispute. Although the couple were later released their activities were closely monitored by the Civil Guard during the following months. The summary reveals that this line of enquiry was finally dismissed when it was realised that the couple had nothing to do with the crime.
Although a number of individuals are still being held by the Guardia Civil, Lawyers for the Defence are now also studying the contents of the summary, as they believe that the evidence for keeping them in prison is very weak and based only on the statements of the protected witness.
Piers Morgan’s long awaited documentary finally aired on ITV.
So Morgan on Marbella wasn’t the horror show that we were all dreading, and at the end we had the sneaking suspicion that Piers had perhaps fallen a little in love with the town. “Marbella, whatever tickles your fancy” he summed up “has it all!”
Marbella was glued to its TV screens when Piers Morgan’s long awaited documentary finally aired on ITV. Previous shows about the town have not portrayed Marbella in the most flattering of lights – Costa del Dosh and the infamous Marbella Belles spring most readily to mind – and they all seem to underline the point that people gain 10 kilos and lose 1000 points of IQ whenever a camera crew shows up. And as one of the UK’s most recognisable and controversial figures (you either like him or loathe him. Just ask Jeremy Clarkson) viewers must have wondered if Piers was out to do a hatchet job on the town.The fabulous opening shots of Marbella, swooping in low on a helicopter over the Mediterranean towards Puerto Banus reminded us of just how stunning Marbella really can be. As he cruised along the Golden Mile in an open top Ferrari, Piers pointed out the Marbella Club Hotel and the Saudi Royal Family’s Palace, before pointing out an infamous landmark, Milady Palace. The sleaze alarms in the Hot Marbella offices went off, as we braced ourselves, expecting Piers to go down the lap dance and alternative nightclub route.Instead Piers’ first stop was the fantastically luxurious beachfront estate of a man who he described as a “Peer of the Realm who is worth more money than the Queen” (so that ruled out Lord Sugar)Didnt rule out the Duke of Westminster. The fabulous residence, complete with four bedroom guest villa, was available for a mere £20,000 a day in the high season.
After a spot of shopping with Karen Brady in Puerto Banus, where his reaction to the €16,000 price tag for a handbag was hilarious, Piers popped into long term Marbella residents Graham and Barbara Fisher’s villa in the exclusive La Zagaletta estate.
Back in Banus Piers met with a relaxed Wayne Lineker, and spent an evening at Banus’ busiest bar (they get through 15,000 a weekend) and Piers admitted that it looked good fun, until someone waved a blow up doll at him! After a quick lap around Race Resort Ascari and tea with Max Clifford, Piers headed to Olivia Valere’s nightclub where he was regally received by the Grand Dame of the Marbella nightclub scene. Having namedropped Bruce Willis and Prince Harry, and shown Piers a €30,000 bottle of champagne, she came out with the eyebrow raising comment “I don’t like to be near poor people because it might be catching”There was more champagne when Piers interviewed the totally pointless bimbo Bianca Gascoigne at the champagne spraying party at Nikki Beach, (“You can’t drink all the champagne so you might as well spray it” she prattled) and with a millionaire from the north east of England who had retired to his yacht in Banus. “What has Marbella got that Sunderland hasn’t” asked Piers.Perhaps the “Work, rest and play, but I haven’t seen anyone working or resting” atmosphere was starting to rub off on Piers when he popped into Polo House to see James Hewitt. For those of you who are unaware of their previous history, when he was editor of The Mirror Piers demanded to have James tried for treason for sleeping with the wife of the future King. But the two seemed to get on well for the cameras at least, taking gentle digs at each other.
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
80,000 cars were stolen throughout Spain last year, and almost 14,000 of those were from Alicante.
Almost forty cars are stolen every day in the Alicante region, according to official papers, making the coastal city top of the league table when it comes to car thefts in Spain. That surpasses such cities as Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia for the rate at which the cars are being nabbed.The figures, recently released by the Attorney General’s office only covers cases that actually have come to court, so the real figure is thought to be much higher than that.Almost 80,000 cars were stolen throughout Spain last year, and almost 14,000 of those were from Alicante. That means that, on average, 38 vehicles are stolen every day, or two every hour of every day, and equates to one in every six vehicles stolen across the country coming from Alicante.
while vehicle theft nationally as a whole rose by 5.4% last year, the results for Alicante were not encouraging to say the very least with the city seeing a massive increase of 39.2%. The problem seems to be that the region has become a base for many different types of criminal organization, whether they are home grown or coming from abroad – Alicante appeals as a good place to be a crook. Many of the cars are not just stolen and given new identities but are used in other crimes, such as robberies and muggings, before being dumped and often set alight. Manuel Martínez, from the AUGC Civil Guard association, told reporters that the province has become an important hub for all types of criminal organizations over recent years, many of which are involved in the organised theft of vehicles.Although some vehicles are used in other crimes a great deal are still stolen, either to order, or for resale, or quite commonly stripped down to be sold on as spare parts. One noted case was in Almoradi, where a gang was broken up which had stolen an estimated 500 cars over the previous 5 years.One of the most notable thefts of a car came this summer when the German Health Minister’s armored official car was stolen by thieves - Minister Ulla Schmidt was holidaying in Dénia, and had arranged for the car to be driven over from Germany for her use on official business. Once it was stolen the minister added to her embarrassment by admitting that the car hadn’t been insured for use in Spain. It was found by the Civil Guard a week later after thieves wisely decided that it might be a little noticeable driving it around.also this summer, three lakes in Rebassa Alicante, with a surface area of between 30,000 and 8,000 square metres, and a depth of no more than 20 metres were searched by Guardia Civil diver and found to conceal 19 vehicles, including cars, vans, motorbikes and mopeds which were all reported as stolen at one time or another.or how about 42 year old R.D., he was arrested last week by officers who’d followed him from a cafeteria and saw him getting into a suspicious vehicle with no front number plate. He also had with him a ruling from a Marbella court, dated that same day, releasing him on his own cognisance on a charge of robbery. It came to light that the car the suspect was driving had been stolen from a Marbella hire car firm earlier that day, whose manager was in fact at the Marbella station at that moment reporting the vehicle’s theft.
while vehicle theft nationally as a whole rose by 5.4% last year, the results for Alicante were not encouraging to say the very least with the city seeing a massive increase of 39.2%. The problem seems to be that the region has become a base for many different types of criminal organization, whether they are home grown or coming from abroad – Alicante appeals as a good place to be a crook. Many of the cars are not just stolen and given new identities but are used in other crimes, such as robberies and muggings, before being dumped and often set alight. Manuel Martínez, from the AUGC Civil Guard association, told reporters that the province has become an important hub for all types of criminal organizations over recent years, many of which are involved in the organised theft of vehicles.Although some vehicles are used in other crimes a great deal are still stolen, either to order, or for resale, or quite commonly stripped down to be sold on as spare parts. One noted case was in Almoradi, where a gang was broken up which had stolen an estimated 500 cars over the previous 5 years.One of the most notable thefts of a car came this summer when the German Health Minister’s armored official car was stolen by thieves - Minister Ulla Schmidt was holidaying in Dénia, and had arranged for the car to be driven over from Germany for her use on official business. Once it was stolen the minister added to her embarrassment by admitting that the car hadn’t been insured for use in Spain. It was found by the Civil Guard a week later after thieves wisely decided that it might be a little noticeable driving it around.also this summer, three lakes in Rebassa Alicante, with a surface area of between 30,000 and 8,000 square metres, and a depth of no more than 20 metres were searched by Guardia Civil diver and found to conceal 19 vehicles, including cars, vans, motorbikes and mopeds which were all reported as stolen at one time or another.or how about 42 year old R.D., he was arrested last week by officers who’d followed him from a cafeteria and saw him getting into a suspicious vehicle with no front number plate. He also had with him a ruling from a Marbella court, dated that same day, releasing him on his own cognisance on a charge of robbery. It came to light that the car the suspect was driving had been stolen from a Marbella hire car firm earlier that day, whose manager was in fact at the Marbella station at that moment reporting the vehicle’s theft.
TV personality and former Mirror editor Piers Morgan was the second most watched show between 9pm and 10pm. ‘Piers Morgan on Marbella' had an average of 4.1 million viewers, a 16.1% share of the audience.
TV personality and former Mirror editor Piers Morgan was the second most watched show between 9pm and 10pm. ‘Piers Morgan on Marbella' had an average of 4.1 million viewers, a 16.1% share of the audience.
Friday, 8 January 2010
Body of another homeless person has been found in Málaga.
Body of another homeless person has been found in Málaga. The 45 year old showed no signs of violence, but given the two recent axe attacks on homeless men in Fuengirola, one of which was fatal, the Police say they are investigating and waiting the results of an autopsy.The body was found around 6am on Wednesday close to the Muelle de Heredia, not far from the city centre.
Meanwhile the man from Fuengirola who has admitted to the Carlos Haya hospital in Málaga with axe wounds remains in intensive care, but has now regained consciousness.
Meanwhile the man from Fuengirola who has admitted to the Carlos Haya hospital in Málaga with axe wounds remains in intensive care, but has now regained consciousness.
Drugs Gang smuggled regular consignments of cannabis onto the Algeciras ferry at Tangiers
National Police have smashed a drugs gang which smuggled regular consignments of cannabis onto the Algeciras ferry at Tangiers and which used a rented garage in Algeciras as a warehouse to store the drugs they brought over from Morocco. A quarter of a ton of cannabis was impounded as part of the police operation.Five of the eight suspects taken into custody are reported by the EFE news agency as crew members on one of the ferries which cover the route and employees of companies contracted to supply provisions to the boat.The gang leader was arrested with two other suspects at the Algeciras garage in possession of the latest consignment to have been brought over.
Monday, 4 January 2010
Amy Fitzpatrick from Urbanisation Riviera del Sol in Mijas Costa. She vanished when she set out to walk home from the nearby house of a friend,
New Year’s Day 2010 marked the two year anniversary of the 15 year old Irish girl Amy Fitzpatrick from Urbanisation Riviera del Sol in Mijas Costa. She vanished when she set out to walk home from the nearby house of a friend, Ashley Rubio in Urbanisation Calypso.There are no solid clues as to her possible whereabouts and all possibilities remain open; that she could have left home of her own free will, or that she was kidnapped. There is also the possibility that she has returned to Ireland where her biological father lives.The family and friends have continued a campaign to keep Amy’s face in the media over this time, and to get help from the public, but their efforts upto now have been fruitless.
A Civil Guard spokesperson said that the case remains open and that there was nothing new to report. They remain in constant contact with the family and with the Irish Embassy to try and solve the case. They say there is no link to recent reported attempts at kidnap reported in the Mijas area.
A Civil Guard spokesperson said that the case remains open and that there was nothing new to report. They remain in constant contact with the family and with the Irish Embassy to try and solve the case. They say there is no link to recent reported attempts at kidnap reported in the Mijas area.
Another axe attack on a homeless man in Fuengirola has been reported by Diario Sur this Monday morning, after the murder of a man
Another axe attack on a homeless man in Fuengirola has been reported by Diario Sur this Monday morning, after the murder of a man, well-known locally, whose body was found with an axe buried in his head in a local car park last month.The second victim, a 51 year old man, survived the attack, but is seriously ill in the Intensive Care unit of Carlos Haya Hospital in Málaga. He is understood to be on assisted ventilation.
Emergency services were called out to Fuengirola’s Calle Palagreros at around 4.30 on Monday morning, where the victim was found with a deep wound to his head consistent with an axe attack. There has been no confirmation as yet of any connection with the fatal attack which took place on Calle Antonio Rubio Torres in December.
Emergency services were called out to Fuengirola’s Calle Palagreros at around 4.30 on Monday morning, where the victim was found with a deep wound to his head consistent with an axe attack. There has been no confirmation as yet of any connection with the fatal attack which took place on Calle Antonio Rubio Torres in December.
Thousand people have been arrested in anti-corruption probes in the past five years.
Thousand people have been arrested in anti-corruption probes in the past five years. Police have seized assets worth more than $4 billion, including artworks, luxury cars and hundreds of prize fighting bulls.
Many of the scandals revolve around the concession of building permits. During the past decade, Spain was the focus of one of Europe's biggest housing booms. Rezoning a plot of land for construction could multiply its value many times over.In Valencia, politicians also got money and gifts in exchange for contracts to organize public events, including Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the city in 2006.The firm that was subcontracted to televise the Mass led by the pope allegedly diverted more than 2 million euros in illegal gains, according to the newspaper El Pais.Images on television news shows of police arresting mayors or other local government officials have become almost a daily ritual of late.Political science professor Manuel Villoria says the many years of the Franco dictatorship, which lasted from 1939 to 1975, left Spaniards distrusting the political system. Favoritism persists because many people rely on contacts, or enchufes as they are called in Spanish, to get things done."Even judges call me and ask, 'Hey, why didn't such-and-such student get admitted to your university? Can't you do something about it?' " says Villoria, a board member of the Spanish chapter of Transparency International, a nongovernmental organization that promotes honest government. "Even judges! That's how pervasive it is in our culture," he adds.But politicians at the national level worry about the bad rap their parties are getting as a result of the scandals. The ruling Socialists and opposition conservatives plan to propose a new local administration law this spring. Experts say that for anything to really change, the law would have to rein in the nearly dictatorial powers that many Spanish mayors still enjoy.
Many of the scandals revolve around the concession of building permits. During the past decade, Spain was the focus of one of Europe's biggest housing booms. Rezoning a plot of land for construction could multiply its value many times over.In Valencia, politicians also got money and gifts in exchange for contracts to organize public events, including Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the city in 2006.The firm that was subcontracted to televise the Mass led by the pope allegedly diverted more than 2 million euros in illegal gains, according to the newspaper El Pais.Images on television news shows of police arresting mayors or other local government officials have become almost a daily ritual of late.Political science professor Manuel Villoria says the many years of the Franco dictatorship, which lasted from 1939 to 1975, left Spaniards distrusting the political system. Favoritism persists because many people rely on contacts, or enchufes as they are called in Spanish, to get things done."Even judges call me and ask, 'Hey, why didn't such-and-such student get admitted to your university? Can't you do something about it?' " says Villoria, a board member of the Spanish chapter of Transparency International, a nongovernmental organization that promotes honest government. "Even judges! That's how pervasive it is in our culture," he adds.But politicians at the national level worry about the bad rap their parties are getting as a result of the scandals. The ruling Socialists and opposition conservatives plan to propose a new local administration law this spring. Experts say that for anything to really change, the law would have to rein in the nearly dictatorial powers that many Spanish mayors still enjoy.