Archive for February 2012

The economic disaster that heavily indebted Spain has found itself in is clearly a consequence of Spain joining the euro

Fraser Trevor

Link Author

Title: The economic disaster that heavily indebted Spain has found itself in is clearly a consequence of Spain joining the euro
Author: Fraser Trevor
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

The economic disaster that heavily indebted Spain has found itself in is clearly a consequence of Spain joining the euro, insists economis...

The economic disaster that heavily indebted Spain has found itself in is clearly a consequence of Spain joining the euro, insists economist Dr. Manuel Balmaseda. When Spain joined the euro, the EU Central Bank settled overly low interest rates, resulting in Spain receiving “enormous amounts of credit which increased Spanish indebtedness, particularly foreign”. Cheap money created financial bubbles, for instance in real estate. When the 2008 economic crisis came, the bubbles burst, many companies went bankrupt and the whole overheated economy blew up, explains the professor. Madrid now needs more flexibility to curb deficit as the EU introduces new rules on budget discipline. Spain appears to have become the first country to test them. Madrid is desperately trying to negotiate a higher 2012 fiscal deficit target than that set by the European Commission. The austerity measures taken by the new conservative government of the eurozone's fourth largest economy will bear no fruit, believes Dr. Balmaseda, “because the problem is in the euro.” “There are great expectations that a new government is going to arrange the problem,” the professor says, stressing that the honeymoon of the Spaniards with the new government will not last for more than six to nine months. Dr. Manuel Balmaseda, Professor at the ICAI School of Engineering, is certain that the futures of Spain, Portugal, Greece and Italy lie outside the eurozone. He also believes that the countries remaining in the eurozone will not be very happy without their breakaway partners. Exit from the eurozone would mean a default for Spain, which is unacceptable for French and German banks that hold up to half of Madrid’s €900 billion foreign debt. These banks are interested in returning the money, whatever the cost for Spaniards. The professor believes that leaving the eurozone does not necessarily mean leaving the EU. “Nobody would chase Spain out of the EU,” he says. Dr. Manuel Balmaseda believes that the eurozone crisis is not just caused by governmental overspending. “The origin of the problem is the euro, the lack of competitiveness that the euro brought to Spain”. Spain is following the path of Greece with a two-year delay, believes the professor, because more austerity measures and further cuts of public spending are only pushing countries like Greece and Spain deeper into recession.

The economic disaster that heavily indebted Spain has found itself in is clearly a consequence of Spain joining the euro

The economic disaster that heavily indebted Spain has found itself in is clearly a consequence of Spain joining the euro, insists economist Dr. Manuel Balmaseda. When Spain joined the euro, the EU Ce…

29 Feb 2012

Bailed Kyle Thain and James Harris return from Spain

Fraser Trevor

Link Author

Title: Bailed Kyle Thain and James Harris return from Spain
Author: Fraser Trevor
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

Two men from Essex accused of attempted murder in Spain have returned to England. Kyle Thain, 24, and James Harris, 29, had been in Spain...

Two men from Essex accused of attempted murder in Spain have returned to England. Kyle Thain, 24, and James Harris, 29, had been in Spain for the past seven months after being accused of attacking two men in an Alicante bar in July 2011. The pair, both from Southend, were held in a Spanish prison for four months without charge. They have now been allowed to return to England on strict bail conditions. Mr Harris returned to the UK on Tuesday and his friend Mr Thain arrived at Stansted Airport on Wednesday evening. New lawyer As part of the conditions of their return to the UK, both men must sign in at the Spanish consulate in London twice a month. Speaking before her son Mr Thain's arrival, Sharon Harris, said: "I am so excited and nervous at the same time. "I still can't believe it. I won't be happy until I've got my arms around him at the airport." Both men have protested their innocence and have said they can prove they were elsewhere at the time of the attack. They were released from jail in November and given their passports back after each paid £6,000 in bail, but were told they could not leave the country. A new lawyer has now negotiated their return home. Pablo Sebastian, a Spanish lawyer working in Alicante with offices in Hadleigh in Essex, has been helping the boys' families secure their release. "We are very relieved to have them home," he said. "It is an improvement because they are back with their friends, family and at their jobs." 'Lives disrupted' Mr Sebastian said the men's "impeccable behaviour" while on bail in Spain had persuaded the Spanish judge to allow them back to the UK. It is thought the men's families have paid about £25,000 to cover travel, accommodation and legal costs since the pair were arrested. The men must now wait to hear if they must return to Spain for a trial. Richard Howitt, MEP for the East of England, is now calling for a change in European law to ensure minimum standards of justice across all member states. "The idea they have been several months in prison, outside the country and suffered such a huge financial loss is unacceptable," he said. "If we had a system whereby you respect and uphold each other's system of justice, then Kyle and James could have come home seven months ago. "But their lives have been totally disrupted, as have their families', which is why we need better standards of judicial co-operation at European level."

Bailed Kyle Thain and James Harris return from Spain

Two men from Essex accused of attempted murder in Spain have returned to England. Kyle Thain, 24, and James Harris, 29, had been in Spain for the past seven months after being accused of attacking t…

29 Feb 2012

Mercadona Rocked As Own Label Linked To Canine Deaths

Fraser Trevor

Link Author

Title: Mercadona Rocked As Own Label Linked To Canine Deaths
Author: Fraser Trevor
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

Mercadona is in the middle of a public relations disaster after its ‘Compy’ own label dog food brand was linked to the deaths of several p...

Mercadona is in the middle of a public relations disaster after its ‘Compy’ own label dog food brand was linked to the deaths of several pets across Spain, after having caused kidney failure in the animals. . The deaths were initially recorded by pet owners in Andalucia, Murcia and Alicante, but new reports have claimed that similar cases have been found along the Costa del Sol. Several pet owners insisted that the deaths were caused after their pets ate the own label product, and following intense pressure, Mercadona has removed two variants of the ‘Compy’ range from select stores. The chain said it is now studying whether there indeed is a connection between the product and the deaths. It would not comment on whether the problem was caused by a recent shift in packaging of the product from tins to cartons. Mercadona added: “At this stage we have only removed the product as a precaution and we are waiting for the results of the analysis. We do not know with any certainty if the food is to blame”.

Mercadona Rocked As Own Label Linked To Canine Deaths

Mercadona is in the middle of a public relations disaster after its ‘Compy’ own label dog food brand was linked to the deaths of several pets across Spain, after having caused kidney failure in the a…

29 Feb 2012

Blues legend Gary Moore died after drink binge

Fraser Trevor

Link Author

Title: Blues legend Gary Moore died after drink binge
Author: Fraser Trevor
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

ROCK legend Gary Moore died after bingeing on enough alcohol to put him nearly eight times over the drink-drive limit, tests in Spain have r...

Blues legend Gary Moore died after drink binge

ROCK legend Gary Moore died after bingeing on enough alcohol to put him nearly eight times over the drink-drive limit, tests in Spain have revealed. The guitar ace (58) suffered a heart attack brough…

28 Feb 2012

Britain’s biggest international criminals has walked free from court despite been accused of attempting to smuggle £80 million worth of cocaine into the U.K.

Fraser Trevor

Link Author

Title: Britain’s biggest international criminals has walked free from court despite been accused of attempting to smuggle £80 million worth of cocaine into the U.K.
Author: Fraser Trevor
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

A man who was named one of the Britain’s biggest international criminals has walked free from court despite been accused of attempting to sm...

A man who was named one of the Britain’s biggest international criminals has walked free from court despite been accused of attempting to smuggle £80 million worth of cocaine into the U.K.Jamie Dempsey, 33, was suspected of plotting to flood London and the south-east with 299kg (660lb) of high-purity cocaine in 2009.He appeared on a ‘most wanted’ list of crooks hiding in the Costa Del Sol - nicknamed ‘Costa Del Crime’ - and even featured on BBC’s Crimewatch programme.<div class="thinCenter" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: auto; min-height: 1px; width: 470px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px;"><img alt="Freed: Jamie Dempsey, centre, leaves court with his friends and family after being acquitted of his involvement in an £80m euro cocaine empire" class="blkBorder" height="562" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/28/article-2107809-11F44267000005DC-37_468x562.jpg" style="border-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 1px solid black;" width="468" />Freed: Jamie Dempsey, centre, leaves court with his friends and family after being acquitted of his involvement in an £80m euro cocaine empire</div>Speaking outside of court after being cleared of any wrongdoing, Dempsey said: 'I’m just relieved the nightmare is over.'I couldn’t be further from being a criminal - I’m just a penniless plumber from Essex. <div class="relatedItemsTopBorder" style="min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"> </div><div class="relatedItems" style="min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><h4 style="min-height: 1px; font-size: 1em; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"></h4></div> 'I was in Marbella at my parent’s house when I was arrested - the police simply got the wrong man, it was a case of mistaken identity but I don’t want to say any more.'My face has been all over the TV and the newspapers, my friends and family have been put through hell.h'I just want to have a good meal and get on with my life.'<div class="thinCenter" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: auto; min-height: 1px; width: 470px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px;"><img alt="Arrested: Dempsey was cuffed in Benhavis, a mountain village near Marbella in Spain in a police operation that cost £1m" class="blkBorder" height="339" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/28/article-2107809-11F641CA000005DC-902_468x339.jpg" style="border-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 1px solid black;" width="468" />Hiding place: Dempsey was cuffed in Benhavis, a mountain village near Marbella in Spain in a police operation that cost £1m</div>A two-year investigation, costing over £1million pounds, was launched to track Dempsey who was believed to be evading capture in Spain.Officers from the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) finally arrested him with the help of the Spanish police in Benhavis, Marbella, last May following a tip-off from the public.His capture was hailed as a 'great result' but on Monday he was dramatically cleared of conspiracy to supply cocaine after a four-week trial.Last May police named Dempsey as a suspected drug lord living the high life in the Costa Del Sol.But a jury of five men and four women took nine-and-a-half hours to find him not guilty.Judge Michael Pert ordered the court to be cleared after Dempsey’s family erupted into cheers after the verdict was read out. <div class="thinCenter" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: auto; min-height: 1px; width: 470px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px;"><div class="thinArtSplitter" style="min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><div class="splitLeft" style="min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><img alt="Fernando Hurtado was sentenced to 28 years in jail at Leicester Crown Court" class="blkBorder" height="423" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/28/article-2107809-08496B38000005DC-156_224x423.jpg" style="border-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 1px solid black;" width="224" /></div><div class="splitRight" style="min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><img alt="John Esqulant was sentenced to 28 years in jail at Leicester Crown" class="blkBorder" height="423" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/28/article-2107809-08496B95000005DC-634_224x423.jpg" style="border-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 1px solid black;" width="224" /></div></div>Jailed: Fernando Hurtado, left, and John Esqulant, right, were both sentenced to 28 years behind bars</div>Speaking outside Leicester Crown Court his sister Natalie Dempsey, 24, said: 'We are just happy he’s coming home.'Our family has been torn apart because of this. We’re going to give him a proper Essex home coming.'The champagne will be flowing in Chigwell when he comes home. He doesn’t normally drink or smoke but he’ll want to party hard after all this.'The police got the wrong man but they didn’t care. They just wanted to arrest someone in the Costa Del Sol and send them down.'Last year three people arrested in the same police ‘sting’ operation as Dempsey were jailed for a total of 55 years.Taxi driver John Esqulant and Colombian Fernando Hurtado were each jailed for 23 years at the same court after they were convicted of conspiracy to supply cocaine.Part-time model and promising footballer Frank Stedman was jailed for nine years after admitting the same offence.The sting operation began in March 2009 when officers posed as criminals who could arrange delivery of the drugs.Three Soca agents met 41-year-old Hurtado, from Woking, Surrey, at a site in Waltham Abbey, Essex, to organise the delivery.Two weeks later, Stedman, 26, of North Weald, Essex, paid the officers £320,800 in cash as part-payment for the drugs.Shortly after the handover in April, armed officers stopped the van containing the Class A drug near an industrial estate in Markfield, Leics.Esqulant, 52, of Theydon Bois, Essex, and Hurtado were arrested the same day while Stedman was brought in as he stepped off a flight at Heathrow airport in June 2010.

Britain’s biggest international criminals has walked free from court despite been accused of attempting to smuggle £80 million worth of cocaine into the U.K.

A man who was named one of the Britain’s biggest international criminals has walked free from court despite been accused of attempting to smuggle £80 million worth of cocaine into the U.K.Jamie Dempse…

28 Feb 2012

Spanish government will try and secure the 'gold on the Rock'

Fraser Trevor

Link Author

Title: Spanish government will try and secure the 'gold on the Rock'
Author: Fraser Trevor
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

With the Odyssey gold back in Spain, the Spanish keep referring to more gold that remained in Gibraltar. It is being reported in Spain t...

With the Odyssey gold back in Spain, the Spanish keep referring to more gold that remained in Gibraltar. It is being reported in Spain that the Spanish government will try and secure the 'gold on the Rock' through what they term a European order. They say that although Gibraltar likes to play a dual role, it is in fact part of the UK and thus Madrid is knocking on the UK's door to get them to urge Gibraltar to hand over the gold. Bilateral talks are said to be taking place. It is said that there are 59 artefacts still in Gibraltar, apparently stored by Odyssey. A Spanish heritage official was critical of the way the Oddysey gold left for the USA via Gibraltar,which is a joint sovereignty airport, adding that it was far from being dignified. This happened in 2007, a year after the signing of the Cordoba Agreement. The British Embassy in Madrid has confirmed that it is in touch with the Spanish foeign ministry, saying it was not clear if part of the consignment was in Gibraltar. Two military planes laden with 17 tons of silver and gold coins from a Spanish warship that sank during a 1804 gunbattle with the British is now back in Spain. It followed a 5-year legal battle between the Spanish and the American Odyssey company. On Thursday the Peruvian government made an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to block transfer of the treasure to give it more time to lodge its claim as the rightful owner of the gold. Peru says the gold and silver was mined, refined and minted in that country, which at the time was part of the Spanish empire. But the appeal obviously arrived too late, as the gold was flown to Madrid by the two Spanish military aircraft.

Spanish government will try and secure the 'gold on the Rock'

With the Odyssey gold back in Spain, the Spanish keep referring to more gold that remained in Gibraltar. It is being reported in Spain that the Spanish government will try and secure the 'gold on t…

28 Feb 2012

Tarragona village wants to grow marihuana to get out of the recession

Fraser Trevor

Link Author

Title: Tarragona village wants to grow marihuana to get out of the recession
Author: Fraser Trevor
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

village in Tarragona has come up with a way to beat the recession. They propose to plant marihuana. A smokers’ club in the village of Ras...

village in Tarragona has come up with a way to beat the recession. They propose to plant marihuana. A smokers’ club in the village of Rasquera and say the plantation would create jobs. They say they will not sell it, rather it will be for the use of the club members and also for ‘therapeutic ends’. A cannabis association in Barcelona that uses the drug for therapeutic reasons has offered to pay 36,000 € to the club and sign a deal with the Town Hall, and then promises to pay 550,000 € a year each July for the land rental, legal and judicial costs, and security which make up the project, noting the Town Hall won’t have to pay a penny. For now the local Town Hall is to hold a meeting and vote on Wednesday to decide on what to do; they have requested a report to see if the idea is legal or not. The Mayor of Rasquera, Bernat Pellisa, told the EFE news agency that they are studying the proposal which he said was ‘developed and an opportunity, and certainly not frivolous’. There are about 1,000 inhabitants in the village, and while they admit they could never have imagined it, the crisis is such they say they are prepared to grow whatever is needed.

Tarragona village wants to grow marihuana to get out of the recession

village in Tarragona has come up with a way to beat the recession. They propose to plant marihuana. A smokers’ club in the village of Rasquera and say the plantation would create jobs. They say they…

28 Feb 2012

Renounce your British Citizenship?

Fraser Trevor

Link Author

Title: Renounce your British Citizenship?
Author: Fraser Trevor
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

Britain ignores its citizens who live abroad. James Preston, a businessman in Spain angrily declares he will renounce his British citizenshi...

Britain ignores its citizens who live abroad. James Preston, a businessman in Spain angrily declares he will renounce his British citizenship. Yet he feels sick at feeling forced to do so. Why does he do it? He is denied representation at Westminster (the vote!) because he has lived outside of Britain for more than 15 years. He has fought before the High Court his demand to be represented as a Citizen in the British seat of power – the Parliament at Westminster. His case and his appeal have been rejected. James Preston resents having the door slammed in his face. Britain denies him the basic democratic right of representation. He writes “We have concluded, therefore, that the contract between the State and my wife and I – the citizens – has been broken. We moved to Spain, an EU country, to represent British interests and find work, and not continue to claim unemployment benefit.” James Preston in his despair, intends to renounce his British citizenship and take out Spanish citizenship. Britain, in this, acts as a dictator State which regards the citizen abroad as ‘subjects’ and not as free people with democratic rights. The Government of Britain will not listen to the citizens abroad but still expects their obedience to the laws of Britain. These are strong words but are they not true? James Preston, is undoubtedly proud of his British (English) Ancestry which he can trace back for over 400 years. He left Britain in 1995. He was then unemployed but found work with a British company in Madrid, and has worked for British companies ever since. He stills considers his soul is British, but in Spain you cannot hold dual citizenship. Because Britain will not grant him representation in Parliament he therefore feels that he has no alternative but to turn his back on Britain. But still the clammy mechanical claw of British bureaucracy might well hold claim on his estate at his death. British Tax Law could still claim to his dying day that he is ‘domiciled in Britain’, because it says he will retain his British domicile of birth! You may think this outrageous and you are right to think so. It is difficult to cut yourself loose from the British State if you are born British. The fact that his children are educated in Britain, and extraordinarily, the very fact that he has taken a case before the High Court in London to claim the right to vote displays in the eyes of the Revenue his ‘attachment’ to Britain. It is incredible but true that for these reasons the estate he leaves could well be subject to taxation by the British State, even though he would die a Spanish citizen. Mr. Preston also tells me that his children do not have full British Citizenship but are considered as 'Spanish of British descent' because they were born in Spain. If they had been born in the UK they would be fully British. If they then marry British spouses and have children born outside of Britain, his grandchildren would not be British citizens at all. But if they were born in the UK they would be British. It is a crazy stupid mixed up world. It is the last straw that, after having been insultingly refused the right to Representation, Britain could still claim a pound (£) of ‘flesh’. It beggars belief that Britain, claiming to lead the world in Democracy so treats its own citizens who dare to live abroad. It cannot desire, can it, that every British Citizen living abroad should renounce their citizenship? Should not Britain be proud of us who live abroad? To our neighbours we are the image of Britain. Why are we ignored by our own country? We want to be ambassadors for Britain, but Britain does not want us – except perhaps our money.

Renounce your British Citizenship?

Britain ignores its citizens who live abroad. James Preston, a businessman in Spain angrily declares he will renounce his British citizenship. Yet he feels sick at feeling forced to do so. Why does h…

28 Feb 2012

Prison and no bail for Moroccan man who planned to poison tourist complexes in Spain

Fraser Trevor

Link Author

Title: Prison and no bail for Moroccan man who planned to poison tourist complexes in Spain
Author: Fraser Trevor
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

37 year old Moroccan man who was arrested in La Línea de la Concepción because of alleged links to Al Qaeda has been ordered to prison witho...

Prison and no bail for Moroccan man who planned to poison tourist complexes in Spain

37 year old Moroccan man who was arrested in La Línea de la Concepción because of alleged links to Al Qaeda has been ordered to prison without bail. Police now believe that Abdellatif Aoulad Chilba, …

28 Feb 2012

Spain and Morocco to establish joint police stations in Tangiers and Algeciras

Fraser Trevor

Link Author

Title: Spain and Morocco to establish joint police stations in Tangiers and Algeciras
Author: Fraser Trevor
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

Spain and Morocco have agreed to open joint commissioners’ offices in Tangiers and Algeciras from May. The interior ministers from both co...

Spain and Morocco to establish joint police stations in Tangiers and Algeciras

Spain and Morocco have agreed to open joint commissioners’ offices in Tangiers and Algeciras from May. The interior ministers from both countries gave the announcement on Tuesday in Rabat. Jorge Fer…

28 Feb 2012

Four members of 'Anonymous' arrested in Spain

Fraser Trevor

Link Author

Title: Four members of 'Anonymous' arrested in Spain
Author: Fraser Trevor
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

National Police has arrested four members of the Anonymous collective in Spain as part of an international operation against cyber-crime. ...

Four members of 'Anonymous' arrested in Spain

National Police has arrested four members of the Anonymous collective in Spain as part of an international operation against cyber-crime. Two of them are currently in prison thought to be behind DDo…

28 Feb 2012

Search for a lorry driver after man and his niece are found dead in Zafra

Fraser Trevor

Link Author

Title: Search for a lorry driver after man and his niece are found dead in Zafra
Author: Fraser Trevor
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

The Guardia Civil are searching for a lorry driver following a double homicide in Zafra, which they consider was the settling of scores. T...

The Guardia Civil are searching for a lorry driver following a double homicide in Zafra, which they consider was the settling of scores. The family of the man shot dead, a businessman Manuel Borallo, along with his niece, Verónica Gordillo, say that the crime could have been committed by a lorry driver from Algeciras whose whereabouts are now unknown. It’s thought however that he could have been in Zafra when the crime was committed in an industrial estate on Monday. The dead businessman had denounced the lorry driver to the Guardia Civil previously for using his company’s name without permission and also for using lorries with no ITV test or insurance. It seems the lorry driver had travelled to Zafra on Monday to ask for explanations. The only thing the family know is they were talking by phone with the niece, Veronica, when some bangs were heard and the line went dead. They say the last thing she said was she had to go because the man had come to see the papers. An autopsy is being carried out on the two bodies in the Anatomic Forensic Institute in Badajoz.

Search for a lorry driver after man and his niece are found dead in Zafra

The Guardia Civil are searching for a lorry driver following a double homicide in Zafra, which they consider was the settling of scores. The family of the man shot dead, a businessman Manuel Borallo…

28 Feb 2012

A glamorous French politician is set to become France’s first ever ‘MP for Britain’ to represent more than 100,000 Gallic expats living in the UK.

Fraser Trevor

Link Author

Title: A glamorous French politician is set to become France’s first ever ‘MP for Britain’ to represent more than 100,000 Gallic expats living in the UK.
Author: Fraser Trevor
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

A glamorous French politician is set to become France’s first ever ‘MP for Britain’ to represent more than 100,000 Gallic expats living in t...

A glamorous French politician is set to become France’s first ever ‘MP for Britain’ to represent more than 100,000 Gallic expats living in the UK.Emmanuelle Savarit, 39, is leading the race to be elected to France’s newest overseas constituency - based in London’s well-heeled Kensington.The member of Nicolas Sarkozy’s conservative UMP party is the clear frontrunner among five hopefuls vying for the seat of northern Europe.<div class="thinCenter" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: auto; min-height: 1px; width: 470px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px;"><img alt="Hopeful: Emmanuelle Savarit, 39, is leading the race to be elected to France¿s newest overseas constituency - based in London¿s well-heeled Kensington" class="blkBorder" height="565" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/24/article-2106015-11E4F896000005DC-645_468x565.jpg" style="border-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 1px solid black;" width="468" />Hopeful: Emmanuelle Savarit, 39, is leading the race to be elected to France's newest overseas constituency - based in London's well-heeled Kensington</div>The radical plans to create 11 foreign constituencies to represent French abroad were approved by the Paris parliament three years ago.<div class="relatedItemsTopBorder" style="min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"> </div><div class="relatedItems" style="min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><h4 style="min-height: 1px; font-size: 1em; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">More...</h4><ul style="min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><li style="list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><a style="min-height: 1px; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; color: #003580; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;" href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2105371/Dominique-Strauss-Kahn-grilled-New-York-month-sadistic-violent-attack-hotel-maid.html">Dominique Strauss Kahn to be grilled in New York next month over 'sadistic and violent attack' on hotel maid</a></li></ul></div> Britain is part of the northern Europe constituency, which also includes the Irish Republic, Scandinavia and the Baltic states.But within the new seat, 113,655 French voters are registered in the UK, compared with 27,076 in all the other countries put together.Divorced mother-of-two Ms Savarit’s main rival is equally glamorous 36-year-old socialist Axelle Lemaire, a London-based lawyer.<div class="thinCenter" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: auto; min-height: 1px; width: 470px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px;"><img alt="Competition: Divorced mother-of-two Ms Savarit¿s main rival is 36-year-old socialist Axelle Lemaire, a London-based lawyer" class="blkBorder" height="441" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/24/article-2106015-11E50253000005DC-936_468x441.jpg" style="border-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 1px solid black;" width="468" />Competition: Divorced mother-of-two Ms Savarit's main rival is 36-year-old socialist Axelle Lemaire, a London-based lawyer</div>But the French media predict the right-winger’s victory will be ensured by wealthy expats based mainly in west London when the first election takes place in June.Ms Savarit, who has a doctorate in Psychology, describes herself on her campaign website as ‘a tough cookie’, but adds: 'That’s not necessarily a fault when you’re in politics.'The new foreign constituencies are the brainchild of former French interior affairs minister Alain Marlaix.<div class="thinFloatRHS" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 10px; min-height: 1px; width: 235px; float: right; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px;"><img alt="Vital: The importance of the French expat vote was highlighted when President Sarkozy came to London to give a speech to thousands of French voters ahead of his 2007 election campaign" class="blkBorder" height="377" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/24/article-2106015-11E1CF1F000005DC-869_233x377.jpg" style="border-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 1px solid black;" width="233" />Vital: The importance of the French expat vote was highlighted when President Sarkozy came to London to give a speech to thousands of French voters ahead of his 2007 election campaign</div>He said: 'This is the first time in any country in the world that something like this had been done.'The new overseas MPs will have identical status to any other MP based in France, and vote in parliament in Paris.'They will be elected in the same way and speak for the French expatriates they represent.'Government advisor Herve Fabre-Aubrespy, who is overseeing the new constituencies, said: 'It is a challenge for us, because nothing similar has ever been done anywhere.'No one has carved the world up into constituencies in this way.'The new constituencies are part of a larger parliamentary shake-up, with seats being merged or enlarged across France so that the total number of 577 MPs still remains the same.The importance of the French expat vote was highlighted when President Sarkozy came to London to give a speech to thousands of French voters ahead of his 2007 election campaign.But French socialists have claimed the new overseas seats are ‘closet gerrymandering’ - where constituencies are created to the benefit of the ruling party.A socialists’ spokesman said: 'Studies show French people living abroad are more likely to vote for a centre-right party than a left wing one. 'This is being proposed as something that is good for French expatriates, but in fact it is just a way for the government to give itself another 11 safe seats.'Six of the 11 new constituencies will be in Europe, but others are based in Canada and the US, central and South America, the Middle East, Arica and Asia, representing more than million French people living abroad.

A glamorous French politician is set to become France’s first ever ‘MP for Britain’ to represent more than 100,000 Gallic expats living in the UK.

A glamorous French politician is set to become France’s first ever ‘MP for Britain’ to represent more than 100,000 Gallic expats living in the UK.Emmanuelle Savarit, 39, is leading the race to be elec…

25 Feb 2012

Italian Wives ban their husbands from visiting Italian cafe where busty barmaid serves up drinks in skimpy outfits

Fraser Trevor

Link Author

Title: Italian Wives ban their husbands from visiting Italian cafe where busty barmaid serves up drinks in skimpy outfits
Author: Fraser Trevor
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

After eight years running a bar, Laura Maggi suddenly found men beating a path to her door. Not for the quality of her coffee and aperitifs...

After eight years running a bar, Laura Maggi suddenly found men beating a path to her door.Not for the quality of her coffee  and aperitifs, but because she had started appearing for work in highly revealing outfits.Hundreds of male customers flocked there day and night, leaving their cars double parked in the surrounding streets.Congestion became such a problem that the lady mayor announced she was considering an emergency bylaw to limit traffic in the area.<div class="artSplitter" style="min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><img alt="Causing controversy: Laura Maggi, 34, who runs a bar called Le Cafe, has dominated newspapers and TV chat shows, after pictures of her dressed in barely anything appeared on the internet" class="blkBorder" height="469" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/23/article-2105339-11E0484C000005DC-283_634x469.jpg" style="border-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 1px solid black;" width="634" />Causing controversy: Laura Maggi, 34, who runs a bar called Le Cafe, has dominated newspapers and TV chat shows, after pictures of her dressed in barely anything appeared on the internet</div> <div class="artSplitter" style="min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><div class="splitLeft" style="min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><img alt="Sexy barmaid 2" class="blkBorder" height="423" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/23/article-2105339-11E04844000005DC-524_306x423.jpg" style="border-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 1px solid black;" width="306" /></div><div class="splitRight" style="min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><img alt="Sexy barmaid " class="blkBorder" height="423" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/23/article-2105339-11E04848000005DC-987_306x423.jpg" style="border-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 1px solid black;" width="306" /></div>Pulling more than a pint: The women folk of Bagnolo Mella, near Brescia, which is where Manchester City ace Mario Balotelli is from, are up in arms and said that they had banned their partners from going to Le Cafe</div> <div class="artSplitter" style="min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><img alt="Main attraction: On the walls of Le Cafe there are pictures of Laura, dressed in a bikini on holiday while in other snaps she is wrapped in an American Stars and Stripes flag, while others of her semi naked have been turned into a calendar" class="blkBorder" height="381" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/23/article-2105339-11E1221F000005DC-702_634x381.jpg" style="border-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 1px solid black;" width="634" />Main attraction: On the walls of Le Cafe there are pictures of Laura, dressed in a bikini on holiday - while in other snaps she is wrapped in an American Stars and Stripes flag. Yet more pictures of her, semi-naked, have been turned into a calendar</div><div class="floatRHS" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 20px; min-height: 1px; width: 308px; float: right; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px;"><img alt="You're not going anywhere: Bagnolo's mayor Cristina Almici has also banned her husband from going to Laura's bar and said: 'We have received several complaints from women in the town about the bar' " class="blkBorder" height="371" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/23/article-2105339-11E08238000005DC-859_306x371.jpg" style="border-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 1px solid black;" width="306" />You're not going anywhere: Bagnolo's mayor Cristina Almici has also banned her husband from going to Laura's bar and said: 'We have received several complaints from women in the town about the bar'</div>Now women in the small northern Italian town of Bagnolo Mella have declared Le Cafe out of bounds to their menfolk – and 34-year-old Miss Maggi has become a national celebrity.Yesterday she was a guest on the Italian equivalent of This Morning and said: ‘I don’t see what the problem is – it’s just a bit of harmless fun. ‘If the guys come here what can I do?'I know I have upset the women but that’s not my problem.'It’s not my fault if guys want to come and have a drink in my bar.’She added that some customers were travelling up to 70 miles just to have a coffee in her bar.On the walls of Le Cafe are pictures of Miss Maggi in a bikini on holiday. She has 5,000 new friends on Facebook while a local poll found that 46 per cent of respondents said partners of her male customers should be ‘asking themselves why their partners prefer Laura to them’.Several wives from the town have been on TV to complain. One said: ‘It is outrageous and should not be allowed.<div class="relatedItemsTopBorder" style="min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"> </div><div class="relatedItems" style="min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><h4 style="min-height: 1px; font-size: 1em; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">More...</h4><ul style="min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><li style="list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><a style="min-height: 1px; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; color: #003580; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;" href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2104912/Georgia-Salpa-shares-racy-snap-photo-shoot-wild-night-Brits-parties.html">'Thank God I didn't get too drunk last night!' Georgia Salpa shares racy snap during photo shoot after wild night at Brits after-parties</a></li><li style="list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><a style="min-height: 1px; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; color: #003580; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;" href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2105039/Raquel-Welch-beautiful-today-emerged-sea-mankinds-bikini-50-years-ago.html">Still got it! Raquel Welch is as beautiful today as when she emerged from the sea in 'mankind's first bikini' almost 50 years ago</a></li></ul></div> ‘This town is quiet and respectable. Now we are known across the whole country because of the little amount of clothing this barmaid is wearing to serve drinks. ‘The women in town are not very happy and we have complained to the council.’<div class="artSplitter" style="min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><div class="splitLeft" style="min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><img alt="SEXYBARMAID3" class="blkBorder" height="423" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/23/article-2105339-11E0485D000005DC-896_306x423.jpg" style="border-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 1px solid black;" width="306" /></div><div class="splitRight" style="min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><img alt="pose" class="blkBorder" height="423" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/23/article-2105339-11E12170000005DC-865_306x423.jpg" style="border-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 1px solid black;" width="306" /></div>Enjoyment: 'I don't see what the problem is - it's just a bit of harmless fun. I like to dress in an attractive way and I like to have fun,' Laura said on an Italian TV show</div> <div class="artSplitter" style="min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><img alt="Selling point: 'If the guys come here what can I do. I know I have upset the women but that's not my problem,' said the bar owner" class="blkBorder" height="408" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/23/article-2105339-11E04854000005DC-181_634x408.jpg" style="border-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 1px solid black;" width="634" />Selling point: 'If the guys come here, what can I do? I know I have upset the women but that's not my problem,' said the bar owner</div>Bagnolo’s mayor Cristina Almici said: ‘We have received several complaints from women about the bar and we are looking at what we can do with regard to public order.‘There has been a huge influx of traffic into the town since the news of Laura started to spread and this has led to incidents of bad parking and some minor acts of vandalism.‘We can’t stop people from going to her bar and I know it is very popular with men in the town – personally I don’t see any problem with how she looks or dresses.  'If anything, it’s the men who go there who have a problem.’She added, however: ‘My husband is certainly not allowed to go there.’<div class="artSplitter" style="min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><img alt="Crowd pleaser: 'People have been turning up from 100km away just to have a drink here,' says the proud bar lady" class="blkBorder" height="361" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/23/article-2105339-11E04850000005DC-97_634x361.jpg" style="border-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 1px solid black;" width="634" />Crowd pleaser: 'People have been turning up from 70 miles away just to have a drink here,' says the proud bar lady</div><div class="artSplitter" style="min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><div class="splitLeft" style="min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><img alt="chair" class="blkBorder" height="423" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/23/article-2105339-11E1239B000005DC-743_306x423.jpg" style="border-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 1px solid black;" width="306" /></div><div class="splitRight" style="min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><img alt="barmaid 5" class="blkBorder" height="423" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/23/article-2105339-11E0483F000005DC-446_306x423.jpg" style="border-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 1px solid black;" width="306" /></div>No blame: 'It's not my fault if guys want to come and have a drink in my bar,' says the owner </div><div class="artSplitter" style="min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><img alt="Quiet town of Bagnolo Mella: An online poll in the local Brescia newspaper asked readers what their opinion was and the majority, 46%, said that women should be 'asking themselves why their partners prefer Laura to them'" class="blkBorder" height="328" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/23/article-2105339-11E0CE16000005DC-729_634x328.jpg" style="border-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 1px solid black;" width="634" />Quiet town of Bagnolo Mella: An online poll in the local Brescia newspaper asked readers what their opinion was and the majority, 46%, said that women should be 'asking themselves why their partners prefer Laura to them'</div>

Italian Wives ban their husbands from visiting Italian cafe where busty barmaid serves up drinks in skimpy outfits

After eight years running a bar, Laura Maggi suddenly found men beating a path to her door.Not for the quality of her coffee and aperitifs, but because she had started appearing for work in highly re…

24 Feb 2012

ENVELOPES full of cash, drug habits funded by EU grants and police taking payments to legalise prostitutes – you name it, it has happened in Spain.

Fraser Trevor

Link Author

Title: ENVELOPES full of cash, drug habits funded by EU grants and police taking payments to legalise prostitutes – you name it, it has happened in Spain.
Author: Fraser Trevor
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

Add to those a snail-paced justice system and, as exemplified by a recent Olive Press investigation, a law society in Malaga that fails to ...

Add to those a snail-paced justice system and, as exemplified by a recent Olive Press investigation, a law society in Malaga that fails to scrutinize bent lawyers, and things start to look distinctly cloudy. Consider too that last week Spain’s top anti-corruption lawyer, Baltasar Garzon, was suspended from his post for illegally tapping the phones of lawyers, and most will come to the same conclusion. “Yes, corruption is certainly endemic in Spain,” says Gwilym Rhys-Jones, an Estepona-based financial expert. “Sadly there is a tradition of it and it became institutionalised since the late 1980s as nobody was dealing with it from the top down.” There is certainly nowhere better to highlight the problem than here on the Costa del Sol, where in Marbella for over two decades you could only get anything done if you were prepared to pay for it. Under the current Malaya corruption trial, centred around Marbella Town Hall, which has been going for over a year. Over a hundred councillors, mayors, businessmen and civil servants are currently on trial for taking backhanders totalling up to 2.4 billion euros. And sadly, the same state of affairs was taking place at hundreds of town halls around the country, with a central government apparently prepared to turn a blind eye. It led to hotels and golf courses being built in national parks, developments installed in river flood plains and hundreds of thousands of illegal – and unsellable – homes around the country. It comes as no surprise then that Transparency International has listed Spain as more corrupt than Uruguay, Chile and Qatar, and almost on a par with of Botswana – quite a feat for the fourth richest nation in the European Union. And while some might like to point the finger at the right or the left, the range of cases shows that bending the rules for personal gain goes right across the spectrum. The Conservative PP party has often been in the spotlight – most recently thanks to the Gurtel case, in Valencia – but the PSOE socialist party, particularly with the ERE pension scandal in Andalucia, certainly takes some beating. Even the royal family may have dipped its toes in the murky waters, with King Juan Carlos’ son-in-law about to stand trial for a misuse of public funds and embezzlement. So where did it all begin? Franco regarded it as the ‘necessary lubrication for the system’, according to historian Stanley Payne. While central government appears to be largely free of endemic corruption, in the regions it is quite a different story. In Andalucia, for example, UGT trade union leader Manuel Pastrana believes as many as 75 per cent of the region’s town halls are corrupt. This is partly down to the fact that much of Spain’s corruption is linked to illegal planning, which is said to be more profitable than drug dealing – mainly because tourism is the biggest earner on the Costa del Sol. It’s a simple tale, and sadly all too common. Developers purchase non-urban, rural land for knock-down prices, then pay corrupt town hall mayors to reclassify the land as available to develop. This leaves the developers to build whatever they like – and it is arrangements like this that explain the illegal 411-bedroom Algarrobico hotel in Almeria’s Cabo de Gata natural park – which will thankfully be demolished any day now. The question is, why are so many mayors and councillors tempted to the dark side, considering the possible environmental and criminal consequences? Aside from describing Spain as having the ‘slowest justice system in the known world’, investigator Rhys-Jones argues that it is human nature to be tempted by money once it’s dangled in front of you. “When people see a massive amount of money, they can’t help but steal it. It’s human nature,” he says, using the unscrupulous former Marbella mayor Jesus Gil as his example. Jesus Gil was described as the bad apple that spoilt Marbella’s bunch “Gil was a crook, but he started out with good intentions. Marbella was a mess in the 1980s. Property wasn’t selling. It was a dump filled with drugs and hookers. So Gil started a political party, the GAL, to try and sort it out.” But this apparent do-gooder turned resident evil, with many describing Gil – who was convicted in 2002 – as being the bad apple that spoiled Marbella’s bunch. Either way his legacy was a disaster and has led to the following three mayors – as well as his main cohort, planning boss Juan Antonio Roca, who became the svengali of the operation – all facing prison. Much of the corruption comes down to backgrounds and a lack of education, believes Marbella-based lawyer Antonio Flores. “A lot of mayors have previously had rural-based jobs, without the ability to make any money,” he explains. “The moment they have responsibility, the temptation to make money becomes too great. After four years in power, they’ll often have to go back to their tractors,” he says. A classic example of a rags-to-riches mayor is Julian Munoz, also heavily implicated in the Malaya case, who worked as a waiter before running Marbella Town Hall in 2002. Roca, too, had been on the dole before going on to pilfer 30 million euros. Planning boss Juan Antonio Roca, the main man in the Malaya case Flores compares town hall councillors with more prominent politicians in central government who are less reliant on get-rich-quick methods: “It’s not so difficult to get another job when you’re in a higher political position,” he says. The good news is that most commentators agree that corruption in Spain is on its way out. “The Malaya case was where the mentality changed,” estimates Flores. “It was a turning point for corruption and the Marbella run by thugs completely collapsed when they were all arrested. “As Spain becomes more civilised, we are slowly getting rid of corruption,” he continues. “But it has definitely not gone completely,” argues Rhys Jones. “That will take quite a few more decades.” As for shamed Judge Garzon, opinion remains firmly divided on whether he too was a man who let power corrupt him… or whether he has been silenced by a country whose corruption will be harder to iron out than some may hope. Big cases Malaya Planning chief Juan Antonio Roca is at the heart of this 2.4 billion euro scandal in Marbella. The unelected Roca operated a cash-for-permissions scheme, which saw over 18,000 homes built illegally. Gurtel Businessman Francisco Correa gave money to PP bosses in Valencia in return for lucrative contracts with the regional government. ERE The Junta is being investigated in a 647m euro retirement scandal, where posts were created in non-existent companies in order to defraud public funds. Ballena Blanca One of the largest money laundering cases in Europe, with 21 people accused of investing proceeds from drug trafficking and prostitution in property via over a thousand companies.

ENVELOPES full of cash, drug habits funded by EU grants and police taking payments to legalise prostitutes – you name it, it has happened in Spain.

Add to those a snail-paced justice system and, as exemplified by a recent Olive Press investigation, a law society in Malaga that fails to scrutinize bent lawyers, and things start to look distinctly…

24 Feb 2012

Parent sue Marbella teacher as boy almost blinded

Fraser Trevor

Link Author

Title: Parent sue Marbella teacher as boy almost blinded
Author: Fraser Trevor
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

MARBELLA schoolboy’s parents are suing a teacher and the regional education department after their son was almost blinded by a pair of sciss...

MARBELLA schoolboy’s parents are suing a teacher and the regional education department after their son was almost blinded by a pair of scissors. Their son, aged 3, is at risk of losing an eye due to injuries he sustained when a classmate threw some scissors at him at school, according to a local Spanish Press report. The child’s parents claim the accident occurred while she allegedly left the class unattended to tell a colleague she had won some money on the ‘El Gordo’ lottery on December 22 last year. The children were in pre-school class taking part in a handicrafts activity in which they were using sheets of card, glue and scissors. The denuncia (complaint) alleges the teacher left the children alone on two occasions – for several minutes – according to the statements of three mothers who were at the school at the time. It was during this second occasion she allegedly left the room that tragedy struck. The school has denied these claims, maintaining she never left the room, according to the report. The boy underwent surgery and doctors have not yet determined if there is any permanent damage to his sight.

Parent sue Marbella teacher as boy almost blinded

MARBELLA schoolboy’s parents are suing a teacher and the regional education department after their son was almost blinded by a pair of scissors. Their son, aged 3, is at risk of losing an eye due to i…

24 Feb 2012

A divorcée in Spain has been ordered to pay €1,000 damages to her ex-husband after she posted photos on Facebook wearing a t-shirt with a rude message about him.

Fraser Trevor

Link Author

Title: A divorcée in Spain has been ordered to pay €1,000 damages to her ex-husband after she posted photos on Facebook wearing a t-shirt with a rude message about him.
Author: Fraser Trevor
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

The 40-year-old woman posted the image back in 2010. In December that year, her former husband saw the offending images and filed for damage...

<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">The 40-year-old woman posted the image back in 2010. In December that year, her former husband saw the offending images and filed for damages. </div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">The couple divorced in 2005, reports the Register website.</div><div class="clear" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px !important; border-color: initial !important; border-image: initial !important; border-left-width: 0px !important; border-right-width: 0px !important; border-style: initial !important; border-top-width: 0px !important; clear: both; float: none !important; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; height: 0px !important; line-height: 0 !important; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important; text-align: left; width: auto;"></div><div class="thinCenter" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; width: 470px;"><img alt="The rude message on the t-shirt has got its owner into a lot of trouble" class="blkBorder" height="274" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/23/article-2105576-11E2146B000005DC-539_468x274.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-color: black; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: black; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-style: initial; border-top-color: black; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="468" /><div class="imageCaption" style="min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The rude message on the t-shirt has got its owner into a lot of trouble</div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">A court in Madrid sided with the ex-husband and agreed that the phrase 'Mi exmarido es gilipollas' which roughly translates as 'my ex-husband is an a*******' was an attack on the victim's dignity and damaged his reputation.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">He ordered the woman to pay her ex €2,000, and a €240 fine. </div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"></div><div class="relatedItemsTopBorder" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="relatedItems" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><h4 style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> 
</h4></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">These were reduced on appeal to €1,000 damages and eight days' house arrest in lieu of the fine.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">To make matters worse, the woman had to ask the judge to pay the damages in installments as she doesn’t earn enough money to pay the fine in one go. </div><div class="clear" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px !important; border-color: initial !important; border-image: initial !important; border-left-width: 0px !important; border-right-width: 0px !important; border-style: initial !important; border-top-width: 0px !important; clear: both; float: none !important; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; height: 0px !important; line-height: 0 !important; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important; text-align: left; width: auto;"></div><div class="thinCenter" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; width: 470px;"><img alt="Ironically the t-shirt was a present to the woman by her new partner" class="blkBorder" height="286" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/23/article-2105576-11E213B3000005DC-558_468x286.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-color: black; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: black; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-style: initial; border-top-color: black; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="468" /><div class="imageCaption" style="min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Ironically the t-shirt was a present to the woman by her new partner</div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Telling the judge she only earned €700 a month, she responded to the verdict by saying: ‘I started crying because I couldn't believe it. I don't understand how the complaint could have ended in court. It's only a t-shirt.’</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; min-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Apparently, this now very expensive t-shirt, was bought by the woman's current partner as a joke present for her on holiday in 2009.:Text may be subject to copyright.This blog does not claim copyright to any such text. Copyright remains with the original copyright holder</div>

A divorcée in Spain has been ordered to pay €1,000 damages to her ex-husband after she posted photos on Facebook wearing a t-shirt with a rude message about him.

The 40-year-old woman posted the image back in 2010. In December that year, her former husband saw the offending images and filed for damages. The couple divorced in 2005, reports the Register website…

23 Feb 2012

A report drew attention to the fact that voilence against animals cannot be shown in Children's time.

Fraser Trevor

Link Author

Title: A report drew attention to the fact that voilence against animals cannot be shown in Children's time.
Author: Fraser Trevor
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

:Text may be subject to copyright.This blog does not claim copyright to any such text. Copyright remains with the original copyright holder....

:Text may be subject to copyright.This blog does not claim copyright to any such text. Copyright remains with the original copyright holder. 
 
<div style="text-align: left;"> 
</div><div class="img-desc2" style="background-color: white; float: right; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; text-align: left; width: 300px;"><img align="left" alt="Archive Photo EFE" class="piclarge" src="http://www.typicallyspanish.com/spain/uploads/5/bull_2.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(229, 233, 249); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 2px; border-image: initial; border-left-color: rgb(229, 233, 249); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; border-right-color: rgb(229, 233, 249); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 2px; border-top-color: rgb(229, 233, 249); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 2px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="300" /><span class="summary_cap" style="color: white; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><cite style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #111111; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; bottom: 1px; left: 1px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; opacity: 0.55; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 5px; position: absolute; width: 290px;">Archive Photo EFE<a href="http://www.typicallyspanish.com/spain/uploads/5/bull_2.jpg" rel="milkbox[gall1]" style="color: #035a89; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Archive Photo EFE"> <img alt="enlarge photo" border="0" src="http://www.typicallyspanish.com/images/mag.png" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /></a></cite></div> <br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;" />It would appear that Spain’s ‘National Fiesta’ or bullfighting will not be making a return to TVE State Television. <br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;" />There was a meeting on Wednesday of the Administration Council which heard a report which had been requested from the corporation’s judicial services on the broadcasting of bullfighting on the state channel. <br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;" />Debate arose when all references to bullfighting were removed from the station style sheet, and the judicial report now presented has warned the broadcaster that bullfighting on TV would clash with the children’s hour. <br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;" />The law says that contents showing violence to animals must not be broadcast to children.<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;" />The law being so, the Council decided not to take any action on the matter, and so there will be no broadcasts as is the case now. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"> Read more: <a href="http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_33826.shtml#ixzz1nFtjZQcJ" style="color: #003399; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_33826.shtml#ixzz1nFtjZQcJ</a>

A report drew attention to the fact that voilence against animals cannot be shown in Children's time.

:Text may be subject to copyright.This blog does not claim copyright to any such text. Copyright remains with the original copyright holder. Archive Photo EFE It would appear that Spain’s ‘National Fi…

23 Feb 2012

Many ex councillors from Marbella have been found guilty in the Penal Court 10 in Málaga

Fraser Trevor

Link Author

Title: Many ex councillors from Marbella have been found guilty in the Penal Court 10 in Málaga
Author: Fraser Trevor
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

Isabel García Marcos - EFE The ex Mayor of Marbella, Isabel García Marcos, has been handed down her first conviction for real estate corr...

<div style="text-align: left;"> 
</div><div class="img-desc2" style="background-color: white; float: right; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; text-align: left; width: 300px;"><img align="left" alt="Isabel García Marcos - EFE" class="piclarge" src="http://www.typicallyspanish.com/spain/uploads/5/isabelgarciamarcos.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(229, 233, 249); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 2px; border-image: initial; border-left-color: rgb(229, 233, 249); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 2px; border-right-color: rgb(229, 233, 249); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 2px; border-top-color: rgb(229, 233, 249); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 2px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="300" /><span class="summary_cap" style="color: white; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><cite style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #111111; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; bottom: 1px; left: 1px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; opacity: 0.55; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 5px; position: absolute; width: 290px;">Isabel García Marcos - EFE<a href="http://www.typicallyspanish.com/spain/uploads/5/isabelgarciamarcos.jpg" rel="milkbox[gall1]" style="color: #035a89; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Isabel García Marcos - EFE"> <img alt="enlarge photo" border="0" src="http://www.typicallyspanish.com/images/mag.png" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /></a></cite></div> <br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;" />The ex Mayor of Marbella, Isabel García Marcos, has been handed down her first conviction for real estate corruption. <br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;" />Penal Court 10 in Málaga fined her 3,600 € and banned her from holding public office for ten years. Three other ex councillors were given the same sentence, José Jaén and Carmen Revilla among them, and another 11 ex-councillors were given a year’s prison sentence and a ten year ban. These include Julián Muñoz, Rafael González and Marisa Alcalá.<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">:Text may be subject to copyright.This blog does not claim copyright to any such text. Copyright remains with the original copyright holder.

Many ex councillors from Marbella have been found guilty in the Penal Court 10 in Málaga

Isabel García Marcos - EFE The ex Mayor of Marbella, Isabel García Marcos, has been handed down her first conviction for real estate corruption. Penal Court 10 in Málaga fined her 3,600 € and banned …

23 Feb 2012

37 year old Portuguese man has died and another of the same age was injured when they dived into the sea from a rock on a beach in Nerja.

Fraser Trevor

Link Author

Title: 37 year old Portuguese man has died and another of the same age was injured when they dived into the sea from a rock on a beach in Nerja.
Author: Fraser Trevor
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

Emergency services and the provincial fire service told the EFE news agency that it happened at 1,15pm on Thursday between Carabeo beach and...

Emergency services and the provincial fire service told the EFE news agency that it happened at 1,15pm on Thursday between Carabeo beach and the Balcón de Europa, where a group of friends, all Portuguese were bathing. 
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;" />The body of the dead man was rescued by his friends. A fire service spokesman said that the water at the point was very shallow.<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">:Text may be subject to copyright.This blog does not claim copyright to any such text. Copyright remains with the original copyright holder.

37 year old Portuguese man has died and another of the same age was injured when they dived into the sea from a rock on a beach in Nerja.

Emergency services and the provincial fire service told the EFE news agency that it happened at 1,15pm on Thursday between Carabeo beach and the Balcón de Europa, where a group of friends, all Portugu…

23 Feb 2012

Members of the Ruiz-Mateos family put up their wages just days before their Nueva Rumasa group declared bankruptcy

Fraser Trevor

Link Author

Title: Members of the Ruiz-Mateos family put up their wages just days before their Nueva Rumasa group declared bankruptcy
Author: Fraser Trevor
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

A document has revealed the strategy followed by the family, intended to avoid them facing any embargo and allowing the payment of their mo...

A document has revealed the strategy followed by the family, intended to avoid them facing any embargo and allowing the payment of their mortgages. 
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;" />José María Ruiz-Mateos has 13 children and each one saw money diverted to them. <br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;" />Also under investigation is the claim that a few days before bankruptcy the family ordered the ‘cleaning of professional offices’ and the destruction of all compromising documentation. To do so they claimed it was an internal audit, so no further explanations had to be made.<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">:Text may be subject to copyright.This blog does not claim copyright to any such text. Copyright remains with the original copyright holder

Members of the Ruiz-Mateos family put up their wages just days before their Nueva Rumasa group declared bankruptcy

A document has revealed the strategy followed by the family, intended to avoid them facing any embargo and allowing the payment of their mortgages. José María Ruiz-Mateos has 13 children and each one…

23 Feb 2012

Zumba Fitness is the only Latin-inspired dance-fitness program that blends red-hot international music

Fraser Trevor

Link Author

Title: Zumba Fitness is the only Latin-inspired dance-fitness program that blends red-hot international music
Author: Fraser Trevor
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

Zumba Fitness is the only Latin-inspired dance-fitness program that blends red-hot international music, created by Grammy Award-winning pr...

Zumba Fitness is the only Latin-inspired dance-fitness program that blends red-hot international music

Zumba Fitness is the only Latin-inspired dance-fitness program that blends red-hot international music, created by Grammy Award-winning producers, and contagious steps to form a "fitness-party" that …

22 Feb 2012

Zumba's Latin rhythms on the move in the fitness world

Fraser Trevor

Link Author

Title: Zumba's Latin rhythms on the move in the fitness world
Author: Fraser Trevor
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

On a rooftop parking lot, with temperatures in the chilly low 50s, a crowd of all ages shimmied and shook, sweated and smiled as DJ Franci...

On a rooftop parking lot, with temperatures in the chilly low 50s, a crowd of all ages shimmied and shook, sweated and smiled as DJ Francis played an eclectic mix of dance music. But this wasn't just another wild South Florida party. It was a special Zumba class for charity, led last month by the creator of the global craze, Alberto "Beto" Perez. The charismatic Colombian in cargo pants — who has become a rock star in the fitness world — climbed onto the roof of a Chevy minivan that doubled as a stage. He demonstrated salsa steps, the merengue march and many other Latin-inspired dance moves — all while also cuing the drummer and the bongo player. For an hour, 75 of his adoring fans — and even the minivan — moved to the beat. "Everybody loves it; everybody has fun," Perez said while posing for pictures with his Zumba faithful, some of whom had traveled from as far as Canada. Two days later, Perez flew to New York to appear on the TV morning show "Live! with Kelly." "You must be so rich by now," host Kelly Ripa gushed to Perez, 41. Perez's Zumba classes, with the motto "Ditch the Workout, Join the Party," were strictly a South Florida phenomenon 10 years ago. Today, Zumba Fitness has become the largest branded fitness program in the world, with about 12 million people taking Zumba classes weekly at 110,000 locations in at least 125 countries, according to company spokeswoman Allison Robins. The private company won't reveal information about the company's finances or its net worth. But at a time when most of the world is struggling economically, Zumba Fitness' empire appears to be flourishing. It is doing so on the strength of a growing army of certified instructors who spread the Zumba gospel to such distant outposts as Iceland, Papua New Guinea, Nepal and even Afghanistan — at the Kabul Community Center. Many fitness crazes have come and gone. Staying power is tough in the ever-evolving fitness industry. John Figarelli, founder of the National Fitness Hall of Fame Museum and author of "The History of Fitness: Fads, Gimmicks and Gadgets," said: "I think the owners of Zumba did a great job of getting it going from a business standpoint." Zumba Fitness does not charge gyms to carry its classes. Instead, it trains instructors and gives them the license and use of the trademark if they join the Zumba Instructor Network. "We're helping the instructors to become entrepreneurs and make a living out of it," said company co-founder Alberto Aghion. Exercise as a business It's a sound strategy, said Figarelli, whose book covers 100 years of working out, from 1900 to 2000. "Most group-exercise instructors will just go with the next popular class. But if Zumba is your business, instructors will stay with that." Ensuring instructors are successful has become the company's main mission. "We have three people who all they do is call up gyms all day and try to find instructors employment," said company co-founder Alberto Perlman. The company has made Zumba instructors easy to find, with a worldwide listing that includes all of their network instructors' classes regularly updated on the company's website. Instructors also receive new music and choreography about every two months. The music department now creates music just for Zumba classes, with original songs that include "Zumbalicious," "Que Te Mueve" and "Caipirinha," which was a No. 1 song in Israel. Zumba Fitness makes its money on its instructors academy, instructors courses, monthly fees from instructors in its network and on all its brand merchandise. The company has built its own line of hip, colorful clothing and footwear, workout DVDs, two video games, original music and a lifestyle magazine, Z-Life. This was not the business model when Zumba Fitness was founded in Aventura, Fla., in 2001 by the "three Albertos" — creator Perez and boyhood friends Perlman and Aghion, both entrepreneurs in their mid-20s and natives of Colombia. The trio's original plan was simple: produce VHS workout tapes of Perez's popular South Florida classes to sell around the country on infomercials. An inspired ad-lib Perez fell in love with dancing at age 7 by watching a VHS tape of the 1978 movie "Grease," starring John Travolta. At age 16, he was teaching aerobics classes for $1 an hour. One day, he forgot his prepared music. All he had in his backpack was a cassette tape of merengue and salsa music he'd recorded off the radio. His morning class was full of moms who had dropped their kids off at school. "I can't say, 'Hey sorry, I forgot my music,' " Perez said. "I say to the people, 'I have a new class I prepared for a long time.' It was not true. I improvised for one hour." The moms loved the dancing exercise. Perez turned it into a regular class in Cali. He soon moved to the Colombian capital of Bogotá, where he continued those classes and became a choreographer for Sony Music and Shakira. In 1999, Perez came to the United States for the first time. He pounded the pavement on South Beach, going from gym to gym. Nobody was interested in this new dance exercise class by a guy who couldn't speak English. On his fourth trip to Miami he landed a job at the swanky Williams Island Spa in a development where several Colombians lived. Some had even taken classes with him in Bogotá. Within a year, Perez was in demand, teaching 22 classes all over South Florida. At the same time, Perlman and Aghion were looking for a new business venture after the dot-com bubble burst, bringing down their Internet company, Spydre Labs, an incubator for Internet startups related to Latin America. Enter Raquel Perlman. While Alberto Perlman was telling his mom about how badly he was feeling for laying off people, she was telling him about how happy she was taking Perez's classes, where were then called Rumbacize. "You should meet Beto and maybe start a gym together," she told her son. "He's the talk of Aventura." Perlman watched a class and was reminded of people having fun at a nightclub, but without the drinking and pickup lines. "Beto, have you heard of Billy Blanks' Tae Bo? Why don't we do VHS tapes and sell them on television?" Perlman said he told Perez. In August 2001, they and Aghion founded Zumba Fitness. To create a demonstration video to show investors, the three stayed up all night laying down boards to create a dance floor on the beach outside a Sunny Isles hotel. About 200 of Perez's students paid $20 each for the class, raising an additional $4,000. When the infomercial began running on TV, people rang the call center in Ohio to buy the videos, and a few also asked how to become Zumba instructors. Those callers were forwarded to Zumba's office — at Aghion's home. After a few 2 a.m. wakeups, Aghion realized this was another business opportunity. Zumba Fitness also has greatly benefited from Internet advertising and social media. Many people discovered Zumba via YouTube videos. Zumba Fitness started a Facebook page about a year ago and now has more than 3 million fans. Zumba is mentioned every 11 seconds in social-media platforms, Robins said. It's not clear yet if Zumba will have a long shelf life or be added to the long list of exercise fads, said Walter R. Thompson, professor of exercise science at Georgia State University. He'll watch to see how it fares over the next few years in a worldwide survey that ranks fitness trends. "I hope it stays around," he said. "It's motivating a lot of people to exercise."

Zumba's Latin rhythms on the move in the fitness world

On a rooftop parking lot, with temperatures in the chilly low 50s, a crowd of all ages shimmied and shook, sweated and smiled as DJ Francis played an eclectic mix of dance music. But this wasn't just…

22 Feb 2012

Load more posts

MARBELLA TIMES

The economic disaster that heavily indebted Spain has found itself in is clearly a consequence of Spain joining the euro

Bailed Kyle Thain and James Harris return from Spain

Mercadona Rocked As Own Label Linked To Canine Deaths

Blues legend Gary Moore died after drink binge

Britain’s biggest international criminals has walked free from court despite been accused of attempting to smuggle £80 million worth of cocaine into the U.K.

Spanish government will try and secure the 'gold on the Rock'

Tarragona village wants to grow marihuana to get out of the recession

Renounce your British Citizenship?

Prison and no bail for Moroccan man who planned to poison tourist complexes in Spain

Spain and Morocco to establish joint police stations in Tangiers and Algeciras

Four members of 'Anonymous' arrested in Spain

Search for a lorry driver after man and his niece are found dead in Zafra

A glamorous French politician is set to become France’s first ever ‘MP for Britain’ to represent more than 100,000 Gallic expats living in the UK.

Italian Wives ban their husbands from visiting Italian cafe where busty barmaid serves up drinks in skimpy outfits

ENVELOPES full of cash, drug habits funded by EU grants and police taking payments to legalise prostitutes – you name it, it has happened in Spain.

Parent sue Marbella teacher as boy almost blinded

A divorcée in Spain has been ordered to pay €1,000 damages to her ex-husband after she posted photos on Facebook wearing a t-shirt with a rude message about him.

A report drew attention to the fact that voilence against animals cannot be shown in Children's time.

Many ex councillors from Marbella have been found guilty in the Penal Court 10 in Málaga

37 year old Portuguese man has died and another of the same age was injured when they dived into the sea from a rock on a beach in Nerja.

Members of the Ruiz-Mateos family put up their wages just days before their Nueva Rumasa group declared bankruptcy

Zumba Fitness is the only Latin-inspired dance-fitness program that blends red-hot international music

Zumba's Latin rhythms on the move in the fitness world

Spain refuses to back withdrawal deal over Gibraltar concerns | Politics | The Guardian

Andalusian by Choice

Deadly fires hit wine regions in Spain and Portugal - Decanter

Spain takes on tourists with TASERS: Police given power to STUN revellers on holiday | World | News | Express.co.uk

The Latest: UK leader backs Spain in Catalonia crisis | Daily Mail Online

Contact Form