Professional Boxing Trofeo Ciudad de Benahavis

The presentation of the event was attended by Sergio "Maravilla" Martinez

Sergio “Maravilla” Martínez | © Chamber of Fear

 

Benahavís will become the home of a major national sporting event with the celebration of the 1st edition of the Trofeo Ciudad de Benahavis professional boxing on June 30th. An exceptional show with the participation of the best fighters of the moment, the super featherweight contenders, Rudy Incarnation and Alexander Pereira for the title of champion of Spain.

The fight card also sees the return to the ring of the former European champion professional lightweight, the boxer known as "el chupete".

The presentation of the event will take place in Benahavis, on May 25th at 12.30 hours, in the new town hall of Benahavis, with the presence of world champion Sergio "Maravilla" Martinez, who will be available to media communication and fans for interviews and autograph signings.

New Chief of Police in Marbella

The fourth in five years

Daniel Salgado Veiga | © andaluz.tv

At 11.30am today, it was confirmed & he was officially presented by the Delegation of the Andalusian Government, the new Chief of Police of Marbella. His name is Daniel Salgado Veiga & he is the fourth in five years. His predecessors were Anselmo Palma, Rafael Madrona Alarcón & lastly Agapito Hermes De Dios, who had to manage under very difficult circumstances.

The National Police station of Marbella has for many years been too small for a City so large, bustling & Cosmopolitan. The Ministry of Interior in Madrid replied to andaluz.tv, that at the moment there was not the money necessary to build a new police station. Therefore the saying can also be applied to Marbella: The windmills turn slowly, but they do turn & that is the good news!

Spain could lose four million tourists this year

Spain could lose this year as many as four million tourists which it attracted in 2011, with industry sources expecting 1.9 million tourist visitors of the summer. Lower prices in Tunisia and Egypt, which are now back on the market, have taken a quota from the British market say the hoteliers. The alarm was sounded in April when the numbers of visitors fell 1.7% compared to last year over the Easter break. The average stay has fallen to 8.1 days, which is an all time low. The President of CEHAT, the Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Apartments, Juan Molas, warned that the preliminary figures show that they could be a 6% fall in numbers over the summer. The main concern is the British market, with one in four tourists who visit Spain coming from the U.K. be it off season or in the summer. In addition to the recovery of Tunisia and Egypt he drew attention to the Olympics in London and the campaign in the UK for national tourism this year.

Ferrari practice stopped by Italian earthquake

The tremour in Northern Italy has killed ten and closed the Ferrari factory for the day.Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso has said that the earthquake today in the north of Italy, which has resulted in ten deaths, mean that Ferrari’s practice day has been suspended. He gave the news on Twitter, and when he got to the Ferrari factory the message was ‘everyone home’.

Spain expells the Syrian Ambassador

The move has been taken in opposition to the violence being seen Syria and the Hulu massacre.Hussam Edin Aala Spain has expelled the Syrian ambassador, Hussam Edin Aala, in protest at the massacre in Hulu. The decision follows an identical one made in other countries such as France, Australia, Germany. Foreign Minister, José Manuel García-Margallo, speaking in London, said the repression of the Syrian regime was ‘an example of savagery’.

Small and Medium Businesses Suffer as Spain Bank Loans Shrivel

There was a time when Ivan Moreno, 34, felt he was on the verge of something big — when it seemed right to settle his rapidly expanding skateboard company into a modern warehouse on the outskirts of this city, when orders piled up from stores around the world.  Those days are gone. Like the owners of many small and medium-size companies in Spain, he is just struggling to stay alive now, a victim, he says, of the vast restructuring of Spain’s banking sector after the collapse of the real estate bubble in 2008. Mr. Moreno said his bankers closed his roughly $250,000 credit line step by step, imposing harsh repayment plans and effectively strangling his young business. “So many times, I went to the bank and said, ‘What did I do wrong?’ ” said Mr. Moreno, who recently had to lay off almost all of his employees, including a childhood friend. “But they just said they wanted their money back.” Experts say that what happened to Mr. Moreno is happening to small companies all over Spain, as many of the regional savings banks that such businesses once relied on are being eliminated or swallowed up, in a series of steps intended to deal with the hundreds of billions of dollars in bad loans from the real estate meltdown. Whether the strategy is working remains an open question. Moody’s recently downgraded more than a dozen Spanish banks, including the two largest, and on Friday, a major bank warned that it would need an additional $23.9 billion in aid, far beyond what the government estimated when it seized the bank this month. But experts say there is little doubt that the loss of credit is hurting smaller businesses, contributing to Spain’s troubles by raising unemployment and cutting tax revenues, making it harder to bring its budget deficit down to manageable levels. The credit loss hits particularly hard in Spain, where more than 60 percent of the economy, and 80 percent of the jobs, come from small and medium-size companies. More than 500,000 small businesses have shut down in the last few years. Mr. Moreno said that one year his company, Nomad Skateboards, sold more than $1.3 million worth of skateboards and accessories in 20 countries. These days he is looking for a buyer for his warehouse and trimming his product line to just skateboards and T-shirts. “If you cannot buy, you cannot sell,” he said. “If you cannot sell, you cannot make a profit.” Many are done in by their inability to get the credit they need to run day-to-day operations. “The savings banks that these people got their loans from don’t even exist anymore,” said Alfonso García Mora, director general of AFI, a Madrid-based financial consultancy. “Those banks have been taken over by bigger banks that aren’t interested in these kinds of loans. Or they have been taken over by banks in another region, where the local businessman is not known.” Such changes might be felt for years to come. “We have lost that local knowledge,” Mr. Mora said, “and it was crucial to deciding whether or not to make a loan. It is a problem we will have for a long time.” A few years ago, Spain had 45 regional savings banks. Today, there are only 13 and even their future is uncertain. Some have been merged with other banks and others have been taken over by bigger, more robust banks as part of efforts to reassure global markets. Many business owners say the regional bankers they worked with, sometimes for decades, may still be sitting in their chairs at the local office. But they no longer have the power to approve loans, even if they wanted to, and usually they are just delivering bad news. That means trouble in a country with 25 percent unemployment and no signs of an economic recovery. The warehouse district that is home to Mr. Moreno’s company is virtually deserted these days. Charo Albás Vives, who owns a children’s shoe company, Colores, is in similar straits. Her bank withdrew her $65,000 credit line two years ago. At first, she said, the bank wanted her to return only half of it. But after she managed that, the bank told her that she would have to repay the rest, starting immediately.

Bargain-hunting Scandinavians and Russians replace British buyers as Spain faces up to banks' toxic debts

Estate agents in Spain say there is a new realism in the property market as officials finally face up to the issue of the banks' toxic debts. Henri Dovermann, of Hedrealestate.com, an agency in Torrevieja, said: "Things are changing – we are being given whole developments to sell, and pressure is on to sell them fast." In the past foreign buyers getting into financial difficulties were quietly switched to interest-only mortgages which slashed monthly repayments for three to four years, he said. Spaniards who have got into difficulties have been allowed to stay in their home paying a rent rather than making mortgage payments. Developers, he said, that were technically bankrupt, were propped up so the banks did not have to own up to their bad debts. But, according to Dovermann, apartments on the coast that were making €200,000 at the top are now, he said, going for €70,000-€80,000, although there are signs that those prices may be reaching the bottom, with local buy-to-let landlords starting to invest. However, villas in the €500,000 bracket still have a long way to come down, he warned in the properties. Bargain-hunting Scandinavians, Russians and even Ukrainians have replaced Britons as the key foreign buyers, often arriving with cash generated at home. Ben Walker, of PropertyinSpain.net, said prices away from the Costas have fallen too. He said it is now possible to buy a flat in Barcelona for €170,000 – a price unseen in the city in years. "A friend who bought a place for €800,000 a few years ago can't get interest at €470,000. It looks as though things are going to get worse before they start getting better," he said.

Spaniards start converting some savings from euros to British pounds.

Ángel de la Peña, a Spanish government worker, is seriously considering the once unthinkable: converting some of his savings from euros to British pounds. Related European Economic Outlook Dims Amid Leaders’ Impasse (May 25, 2012) Times Topic: European Debt Crisis Related in Opinion Editorial: The Crisis This Time (May 25, 2012) Sunday Review: Spain’s Yearnings Are Now Its Agony (May 20, 2012) Enlarge This Image The New York Times Alvaro Saavedra Lopez, a senior executive for I.B.M. in Spain, says many of his corporate counterparts across the country are similarly looking for safer havens by transferring their spare cash to stronger euro zone countries like Germany “on a daily basis.” It is only a trickle so far, and not nearly enough to constitute a classic bank run. But these growing transfers of deposits out of troubled Spanish banks reflect a broader fear that the country’s problems could make it hard for Spaniards to get to their money if banks fail and cannot be supported by the government. In a worst case, some even worry their money will be worth substantially less if Spain is forced to leave the euro currency zone and re-adopt its old currency, the peseta. Money already has been pouring out of banks in Greece, where many citizens believe it is increasingly likely that their country will be forced to leave the euro zone. But for European policy makers and economists, the possibility of mini-runs on banks spreading from Greece to other, bigger countries like Spain — with 1 trillion euros, or $1.25 trillion, in bank deposits — poses a much more serious risk. Indeed, the outflow of money from Spanish banks could increase if the ratings agency Standard & Poor’s, as expected, downgrades Spanish banks, in effect saying that their weakened state makes them riskier. The havoc that a stampede might cause to the Continent’s financial system would greatly complicate efforts by European Union officials to fashion a longer-term plan to ease the debt crisis and revive Europe’s economy, because authorities would have to cope with the staggering added costs of shoring up banks. “A bank run can happen very quickly,” said Matt King, an expert on international fund flows in London for Citigroup. “You are fine the night before, but on the morning after it’s too late.” It was a similar liquidity crisis on Wall Street in September 2008 — which started with nervous investors pulling money from troubled institutions, then quickly from healthier ones — that set off the financial crisis. In Greece, more than two years into its financial crisis, nearly one-third of the country’s bank deposits have already left the country. There has been no such exodus in Spain so far, where over the last year about 4.3 percent of bank deposits, or 41 billion euros, the equivalent of about $51 billion, has been transferred out of the country. But that amount is in addition to a decline of 140 billion euros in foreign-owned financial assets in the last year, like the sale by foreigners of Spanish government bonds. The trend worries European officials. At an informal meeting of European Union leaders on Wednesday in Brussels, Italy and some other countries began pushing a proposal to increase confidence in banks — and stem withdrawals — by creating a regionwide deposit insurance system to buffer account holders against banking collapses, similar to Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in the United States. It is especially a concern for Spain, where the national deposit insurance fund is virtually bankrupt. What is more, the condition of Spanish banks is expected to worsen over the next year as commercial real estate and mortgage losses, a big source of the nation’s bank troubles, continue to mount. So far there is little sign that specific plans for a Europe-wide deposit fund are imminent. But officials in Brussels say the idea, along with the more controversial question of issuing euro bonds backed by the credit of all euro zone members, will be discussed in more detail next month when the European Union leaders hold their next formal meeting. The idea of euro zone-wide deposit insurance has been around for a long time, but it faces the obvious political hurdle of German taxpayer resistance to backing 2.8 trillion euros worth of deposits in risky countries like Spain and Italy, as well as those that have already been bailed out — Greece, Ireland and Portugal. In a recent report, Mr. King, the Citigroup analyst, highlighted how the flight of money held by foreigners presaged broader bank crises in Ireland and Greece before those countries required European bailouts. Italy, too, is now nervous about the sudden exodus of 220 billion euros in foreign money over the last year.

Bankia shares are suspended in Madrid

Trading in shares in the Spanish lender Bankia have been suspended in Madrid. The market regulator CNMV said it was "due to circumstances that may affect the normal share trading". Bankia is reported to be due to ask the government for a bailout of more than 15bn euros ($19bn; £12bn) after a board meeting later on Friday. Bankia, which is Spain's fourth-largest bank, was part-nationalised two weeks ago because of its problems with bad property debt. Any extra government money would be on top of the 4.5bn euros in state loans that the government had to convert into shares in the group in the part-nationalisation process. Shares in Bankia's parent company Banco Financiero y de Ahorros (BFA) have also been suspended. Bankia was created in 2010 from the merger of seven struggling regional savings banks. It holds 32bn euros in distressed property assets.

Spain's dirty bathing water

A report from the European Environment Agency has named Spain as the third European country with the worst quality water in bathing areas. Only Holland and Latvia are worst for bathing water quality. Cleanest waters can be found in Cyprus, Croatia, Malta and Greece. With 2,152 classified bathing areas, Spain is the fourth county in Europe with most places to bathe, behind Italy 5,549, France 3,333, Germany 2,310, and Greece 2,155. Despite the result the report shows that the water in 80% of the bathing areas is an ‘excellent’ quality.

Gibraltar First Minister issues strong statement against the Spanish

Following the clashes on Wednesday night between Spanish fishermen and the Gibraltar Police, the Gibraltar Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, has issued a statement. The clashes saw the incursion of the Guardia Civil and the present of a Royal Navy ship in the area and went on for several hours. Mr Picardo strongly condemned the incursion by the Guardia Civil and Spanish fishermen and described the incidents as ‘an obviously carefully premeditated challenge to our indisputable sovereignty, jurisdiction and control of British Gibraltar Territorial Waters and our airspace’. He said the decision makers in Spain should take their challenge on jurisdiction to the courts, rather than seek confrontation at sea. ‘Those who orchestrating these dangerous confrontations need to come to their senses and accept the challenge, once and for all, to litigate their claims to our territory in the relevant international tribunals established for that purpose in the 21st century, and not put people’s safety and security at risk trying to advance their position out of sea as if in the 18th century’ he said. The Spanish Interior Minister, Jorge Fernández Díaz, warned that Spain ‘will not accept a policy of fait accompli which supposes a ‘violation of Spanish sovereignty’ in the talks to resolve the fishing conflict in the waters of Gibraltar. He said that the Spanish Government would ‘defend the rights to fish of our fishermen with dialogue and reason’. Fabian Picardo says his position will be underlined by British Interior Minister William Hague when he meets his Spanish counterpart, José Manuel Garcia-Margallo in London on Tuesday next week. The UK Minister for Europe, David Lidington, is also understood to have called Picardo to assure him of Britain’s position. Britain claims three miles of territorial sea around the Rock but this is not accepted by Spain.

Lord Sugar losing patience in his attempted purchase of the Byblos Hotel in Mijas

A lawsuit has been blocking investment and the plans to reopen the Byblos Hotel in Mijas since 2009. Lord Sugar wants to get the hotel, famous for some of its past guests such as Lady Diana, and is demanding that Aifos stop blocking the mortgage so he can open the premises as soon as possible. It is nearly three years since Alan Sugar was awarded three lots of the Byblos Hotel and grounds at an auction in First Instance Court Number 2 in Fuengirola. There had been two previous auctions which were deserted. But the debts of the owner of the hotel, the real estate promoter AIfos, has obliged them to present an arrangement with creditors, which saw the closure of the hotel in May 2010. Diario Sur reports that Lord Sugar patience is running thin, and he told the paper in one of his rapid visits to the Costa del Sol, that those implicated must make firm decisions to allow the hotel to trade again. ‘I only want to end the process in which Aifos appeals all the adjudication orders which is stopping my desire to reopen the hotel, invest in its renovation and create employment. Lord Sugar’s company, Amsprop, purchased the hotel spa and tennis courts for 1.5 million, and has offered just under 1.5 million € for the finca containing the hotel. That plot is subject to article 670 of the Enjuiciamento Civil Law which means that Sugar can take the third plot if there are no larger bids in 10 days. Lord Sugar said that more than ten appeals have been made by Aifos to the First Instance Court 2 in Fuengirola which have stopped him from taking possession, despite his bid being the highest. ‘My hands are tied and I don’t know for how long, because technically the owner continues to be Aifos and I cannot carry out my project. It makes no sense to open the spa without the hotel’, he said. Lord Sugar says he has invested some eight million € in this operation, and is critical of how the property is deteriorating. ‘Thieves have entered several times. I think it will need four of five million € to bring the hotel up to date after two years of activity’.

Two British woman taken to hospital after driving their golf buggy down a ten metre drop

Two British women, aged 71 and 62, have been injured today after falling down a ten metre slope when they lost control of their golf buggy in the course at Alhaurín el Grande. They were rescued by firemen from Málaga who received the alert at 1150. They were extracted on stretchers by the firemen who took them first to a local urbanisation. They were then taken to hospital, the older one in a 061 helicopter and the other by ambulance.

Spain Hires Oliver Wyman, Roland Berger to Stress Test Banks

Spain hired Oliver Wyman Ltd. and Roland Berger Strategy Consultants to carry out a stress test on the nation’s lenders and plans to contract three auditing companies to do an additional analysis of banks’ loans. The stress-test results will be published in the second half of June, the Madrid-based Economy Ministry said in an e- mailed statement today. By the end of May, three auditing firms will be hired to assess how each bank is accounting for asset deterioration, with results due in the coming months. The exercise is part of Spain’s fourth attempt in three years to clean up its lenders, which have about 184 billion euros ($235 billion) of what the Bank of Spain calls “problematic” real estate-linked assets. Concerns about banks’ losses infecting public finances helped push the country’s 10- year bond yield to as high as 6.5 percent last week. “These firms are more independent and have less conflicts in Spain,” said Inigo Lecubarri, who helps manage about $300 million at Abaco Financials Fund in London. “They are competent people to do this job.”

Spain to pick bank audit firms on Monday

Spain will pick on Monday two independent auditing firms that will look at how deeply the country's banks are exposed to the collapsed real estate sector, the prime minister said on Sunday. Mariano Rajoy, speaking on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Chicago, told reporters that he expected the results of the audit to be released in a month. Amid growing concerns that Spain may need help from eurozone partners to save its banks, Rajoy spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel for an hour and half during a boat trip on the Chicago River, a German official said. The Spanish premier said he had a "very pleasant" meeting with Merkel and that she was invited to visit Spain on September 6 for an investment conference with business leaders. "Mrs Merkel reiterated that she supports the reforms that have been undertaken in our country and particularly the exercise in transparency that Spain will conduct in its financial firms," Rajoy said. Rajoy denied on Saturday that the banking sector will need to be rescued by European partners. The decision to hire auditing firms was part of drastic reforms announced this month that will force banks to set up a new 30-billion-euro ($39 billion) financial cushion and remove risky property assets from their accounts.

Spain moves to claw back taxes from gaming firms

European online gambling firms are scrambling to make a back-tax payment being demanded by the cash-strapped Spanish government, which effectively raises the cost of market entry ahead of an expected new license round. Internet gaming firms said on Monday that they have been in talks with the Spanish tax authorities in recent weeks over the payment of retrospective taxes for January 2009 to May 2011, a period in which they were in the market without a clear legal framework. Sweeping new gambling reforms, set to tackle online gambling for the first time and give the state a way into taxing profits in the lucrative sector, have been planned in Spain for some time, and first licenses are due to be issued in June. But the government - struggling with a stagnating economy and making deep spending cuts to hit deficit targets - contacted the major online operators last month to say that two historic laws that had previously not applied to them would now do so. Although the award of licenses is not explicitly linked to the back-duty, companies keen to secure the licenses are expected to pay up. Bwin.party digital, the world's largest listed online gaming company, said in a statement on Monday that it would pay 33 million euros ($42 million) after carrying out a tax self-assessment. "Having taken these steps, we believe we have now fulfilled all requirements and look forward to receiving our license and entering the Spanish market," said the Gibraltar-based company, which already has a considerable Spanish profile via its sponsorship of soccer team Real Madrid. About 60 companies have applied for licenses. Smaller British online gaming firm Sportingbet Plc said it was in talks with the Spanish authorities but gave no further details. Analysts at Peel Hunt and Barclays Capital estimated that Sportingbet would proportionally be harder hit and is likely to see a tax bill of up to 20 million pounds ($32 million). Online casino and poker operator 888 is in talks with the Spanish authorities and taking legal and tax advice, a source close to 888 said, adding that any payment was likely to be considerably less than Bwin's $40 million. Peel Hunt estimates 888's exposure at less than $20 million. Rival online betting operator Betfair - which earlier this month won one of the first online gambling licenses issued in Germany - could not be reached immediately for comment [ID:nL5E8G38UV]. As European countries move to regulate what was once a grey area, the risk to betting companies derives mainly from the possibility of others copying Spain's move, analysts said. But short-term pain could be a long-term gain for the larger operators, who benefit from well-regulated markets, analysts said. "While this is an initial cash outflow, if it aids the licensing process and leads to more clarity in a key European market, this could be viewed as a positive in the medium term," said BarCap analysts. Shares in Sportingbet were down 6.2 percent at 1240 GMT, while other online gaming firms were largely flat.

SHAMED boxing champ Scott Harrison has been ordered to return to Spain for a new assault trial that could see him jailed for another six years.

 

The fighter has been told to appear in a Costa del Sol court in September to face claims he attacked three men at a brothel.

Prosecutors want him jailed for two years for each of the three counts of assault he is charged with.

A conviction would automatically mean more prison time as he already has a criminal record in Spain. Harrison, 34, served two-and-a-half years for assaulting two men, including a police officer.

He returned to Scotland after being released last September.

A second custodial sentence in Spain would wreck his hopes of a triumphant return to boxing.

The ex-WBO featherweight champis due to make his comeback against French-Algerian Brahim Bariz at theKelvin Hall in Glasgow on June 29 after seven years out of the ring.

Three judges will decide whether to jail Harrison after a one-day trial in Malaga on September 26.

The prosecution witnesses will include a brothel owner who claims the boxer and two pals attacked him and two customers in a bust-up five years ago.

One of the alleged victims committed suicide after the fight at Oxigeno, a short drive from Harrison’s repossessed former home in Alhaurin el Grande, near Malaga.

State prosecutors say Harrison and fellow Scots David and Edward McGill smashed Spaniard Salvador Jimenez on the head with an ashtray after being thrown out of the brothel on May 20, 2007.

An assault outside is alleged to have taken place as Salvador’s friend Rafael Sainz tried to get him to hospital.

Rafael, 31, jumped off a roof terrace at his home in 2009 after spiralling into depression, which pals blame on the attack.

Salvador received treatment for injuries to his neck, head, knees and wrist. Brothel owner Francisco Gonzalez lost a tooth.

Prosecutors also want Harrison and his two pals to pay £8500 in compensation to their alleged victims if convicted.

He spent two days in custody earlier this month in Glasgow after being arrested over claims he assaulted fiancee Stacey Gardner, 29, at their home.

But Harrison says he has banished the drink, drug and depression demons that have plagued him in recent years.

Earlier this month, he said: “ScottHarrison is going to be back – with a bang.

New website for Age Concern España

Check out our fantastic new website at www.acespana.org. All you ever needed to know about Age Concern España including how to access its services, how to volunteer and how to make a donation. Information on all the local Age Concern Organisations in Spain is included as well as information on ACASA, the National Casework Service. ACASA is updating its range of INFOSHEETS which give advice on the various issues faced by the over 50s in Spain and they will be on the website soon so watch this space. If you are a company interested in sponsoring one of the INFOSHEETS please contact the Country Manager at ccm@ageconcern-espana.org. For information please call INFOLINE on 902 00 38 38, or email info@ageconcern-espana.org

Ex Marbella Mayor, Julián Muñoz, has to pay 50 million €

The ex Mayor of Marbella, Julián Muñoz, has seen his appeal to the Supreme Court rejected. It means the sentence served against him for accounting irregularities with two other people from the Tribunal de Cuenta stands and the three, Muñoz, ex councillor Esteban Guzmán, and the lawyer Modesto Perodia, have to find 50.7 million €. The Tribunal de Cuentas said the three were directly responsible for nearly 35 million of € of public money going to the Contratas 2000 municipal company, of which all three were members of the administration.

‘Save euro’ plea to Germans as Spain slumps

BRITAIN yesterday piled pressure on German Chancellor Angela Merkel to save the euro. 6 comments Related Stories PM: Make or break for euro HE to issue plea to Merkel to fork out as only way to stave off meltdown New French Pres gets a soakingFrench warning for CameronSarky poll malarky will leave PM narky David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne said she must use her financial clout to stop the single currency collapsing. The PM hammered the message home in emergency talks via video-link with Mrs Merkel and French president Francois Hollande. It came as the chaos in Greece spread to Spain — with fears of a run on banks in both countries. Greeks have taken £560million from local banks in the past week. And yesterday Spain’s Bankia bank was forced to deny reports customers had taken £800million out of its coffers in the past seven days. Last night the fears hit Santander UK as credit rating agency Moody’s downgraded the bank along with its Spanish owner and 15 other Spanish banks. And credit agency Fitch downgraded Greece on fears it will be booted out of the Eurozone. Earlier, Mr Osborne said the Treasury had drawn up emergency plans to cope with Greece quitting the euro. He told MPs: “Britain will be prepared for whatever comes.” Mr Cameron had warned countries such as Greece and Spain can only survive if richer countries did more to “share the burden of adjustment”. He also backed Eurobonds to raise billions to prop up crisis-hit countries — a proposal that would have to be bankrolled by Berlin. After the video chat, a Downing Street spokesman said the PM urged the eurozone to take “decisive action to ensure financial stability and prevent contagion”.

Spain’s banking crisis reached Britain’s high streets last night when the credit rating of Santander UK was cut.

In a sweeping reassessment, ratings agency Moody’s announced in Madrid that it is downgrading 16 Spanish banks because it could not be sure of the ability of the country’s government to provide the necessary support.

Santander UK was among the banks highlighted after the ratings agency took aim at its parent Banco Santander, based in Spain. 

The Spanish banking crisis has hit the British high street, with the news that Santander has had its credit rating cut

Santander is one of the biggest players in UK retail banking, having taken over the former Abbey National, Alliance & Leicester, Bradford & Bingley and most recently the English branches of the Royal Bank of Scotland.

The new lower A2 credit rating is certain to be a cause of anxiety to Santander UK’s millions of British customers. 

Nevertheless, they can be confident that their deposits up to £85,000 are guaranteed by the British government should there be a loss of confidence.

Spain’s royal family face fresh embarrassment today

Spain’s royal family face fresh embarrassment today with the publication of details of the controversial elephant hunting trip taken by King Juan Carlos last month and the mysterious role of the blonde aristocrat who accompanied him.

Corinna zu Sayn Wittgenstein has been the King's unofficial companion on numerous private trips abroad Photo: REX/CORBIS

11:00PM BST 17 May 2012

Corinna zu Sayn Wittgenstein appears on the cover of the June edition of Spain’s Vanity Fair magazine alongside claims that she has been the King’s unofficial companion on numerous private trips abroad, including the ill-fated Botswana safari in April which caused outrage in Spain.

The twice-divorced Princess Corinna, 46, who was born in Germany and claims her title through her second husband, has reportedly fled Spain amid intense media speculation over the nature of her role within theSpanish monarchy.

“She has told me that the King is her friend and a great guy whom she admires. Nothing more, because if anything characterises her, it is discretion and loyalty,” said Princess Corinna’s first husband, Philip J Adkin, an American shipping magnate who confirmed he had also been a member of the hunting party in Botswana.

The hunting trip became public knowledge after the 74-year old monarch fractured his hip in a fall in camp and was rushed back to Madrid for surgery. News of the King’s luxurious lifestyle shooting endangered animals while ordinary Spaniards suffered deep economic strife was met with public outcry and led to calls for his abdication.

The episode has been marked by an end to the taboo on publishing royal secrets in a nation that has traditionally afforded the Royal family the utmost privacy and respect.

The unclear nature of the role of Princess Corinna will cast yet more scrutiny on Royal matters.

The King and Princess Corinna reportedly first crossed paths when she was organising shooting expeditions for Boss & Co, Britain’s oldest gunshop based in Mayfair where she worked until 2006, and were on the same safari together in Mozambique in 2004.

Several more hunting trips together followed over the years, as well as a trip to Saudi Arabia, and the pair have been photographed on the red carpet together several times.

Sources at the Royal Household insist she has no official role in relation to the King but friends spoken to by Vanity Fair talk of her being either his “financial adviser” and “organising everything from A-Z” on behalf of the King on his trips abroad.

Mr Adkin admitted that his ex-wife had gone into hiding since her connection with the King became public knowledge. She has instructed lawyers to take legal action after several European tabloids made claims about her private life.

The allegations are the latest development in what is turning out to be a difficult year for Spain’s Royal family.

King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia failed to mark their 50th wedding anniversary earlier this week fuelling speculation that their marriage was over.

The King’s son-in-law is accused of embezzling public funds and in February became the first Spanish royal in modern history to be questioned in court.

And Queen Sofia was forced to cancel her attendance at a lunch in Windsor Castle on Friday at the insistence of the Spanish government in a deepening row over Gibraltar.

Moody’s cuts ratings of 16 Spanish banks

European banking industry has suffered another crushing blow after Moody’s ratings agency downgraded credit ratings of 16 Spanish banks, citing weakened government’s ability to support some banks. The agency downgraded the long-term debt and deposit ratings by one to three notches for 16 Spanish banks and Santander UK PLC, a UK-domiciled subsidiary of Banco Santander SA. The debt and deposit ratings declined by one notch for five banks, by two notches for three banks and by three notches for nine banks. The short-term ratings for 13 banks have also been downgraded between one and two notches, triggered by the long-term ratings changes. The outlooks on the debt and deposit ratings for ten of the 17 banks downgraded today are now negative. For the remaining seven banks affected by today's actions, their ratings remain on review for further downgrade. The Spanish downgrade comes days after the agency cut the ratings of 26 Italian banks on May 14, including Italy’s largest, UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo. Moody’s dropped its long-term debt and deposit ratings for financial institutions due to recession, tough austerity measures and 1.9 trillion euro of outstanding public debt. These resulted in lower loan demand and more loan losses for Italian banks. The move comes as no surprise. Moody’s has been poised for the rating cut since February, when the agency announced it was planning to downgrade 122 European financial institutions by May.  The ratings of 114 banks and nine investment banks from 16 European countries were put under consideration, with the downgrade risks mainly relating to the eurozone periphery.

Spain borrowing costs set to rise amid Greece fears

Spain's borrowing costs look set to spike on Thursday when the country's treasury sells up to 2.5bn euros (£2bn; $3.2bn) of three- and four-year sovereign bonds. It could pay buyers about 5% on the longest bond - up from just over 4% at its last auction two weeks ago. The auction comes amid fresh fears contagion from Greece could trigger a Spanish banking crisis. Spain's prime minister says borrowing costs could become "astronomical". Mariano Rajoy called on European leaders to publicly back highly indebted European countries and said debt levels would have to be brought down to bolster market confidence. "All these measures are to get out of the hole we find ourselves in," he said on Wednesday. Spain is in recession and unemployment is rising. Investors are concerned about the health of its public finances and banks. Despite banking sector reform, borrowing costs have continued to rise. Yields have risen significantly in secondary markets, suggesting the same will be true in the government auction. Fracture In the wake of inconclusive elections in Greece amid growing public resistance to submitting to more austerity, there are escalating fears that Greece will leave the euro. The ensuing turmoil could force a more serious fracture of the currency union, watchers warn. Spain currently has a record 24.4% of people out of work, at about 5.6 million. Unemployment in the eurozone reached a record high again in March as spending cuts continued to hit the working population. Spain and Italy are both in recession and the rising borrowing costs have sparked concerns that they may need help or even bailouts.

Bankia IPO Causes Shareholders $2 Billion Loss Post Bailout

Bankia SA (BKIA), the Spanish lender taken over by the government in a bailout this month, struggled to convince money managers to take part in its initial public offering less than a year ago. The bank instead relied on individuals, investors who are typically less equipped to analyze stock risks, to fill orders for the IPO in July. About 347,000 investors, most of them individuals like Josefa Rodriguez, an 86-year-old retired housewife from Madrid, bought Bankia’s shares. “My aunt is a lady with almost nil knowledge of financial products and this wasn’t an appropriate product for her,” said Marta Rodriguez, her niece, who spoke on her behalf in a phone interview as Josefa lives in a residential nursing home. “Staff at the bank was under a lot of pressure themselves to sell the shares.” After pricing at 3.75 euros a share in the IPO and gaining 4 percent in the first two weeks of trading, Bankia had dropped to 1.86 euros by yesterday’s close as concern grew that Spanish lenders would need more capital. Investors such as Rodriguez have since lost about $2 billion, or half of what they paid for Bankia shares in the IPO, deepening the cost of a sovereign debt crisis that’s pushed Spanish unemployment to an 18-year high. A spokesman for Bankia, who asked not to be identified in line with company policy, declined to comment. ‘Disastrous’ Decision Spain’s Association of Bank, Savings Bank and Insurance Users, known as Adicae, said today it would start a campaign to protect the interests of Bankia’s retail shareholders. The decision by then-chairman Rodrigo Rato to list Bankia was “disastrous,” the organization said in an e-mailed statement today, and had been made “without gauging or stating truthfully the financial risks of a company that just 10 months later has shown itself on the verge of bankruptcy.” “A deal like this undermines the credibility of the European banking sector and IPOs in general,” said Josef Schuster, founder of Ipox Schuster LLC, which invests in global IPOs. His European portfolio still holds about $20 million of the lender’s stock. The Bankia group, formed in 2010 from a merger of seven savings banks led by Caja Madrid, has the most exposure to Spanish real estate among the nation’s banks. The company turned to the stock market to raise capital last year after parking its worst real estate assets in the parent company. 10-Year Boom A 10-year property boom that came to an end with the onset of the global financial crisis left the nation’s banks with soaring bad loans and a need for capital. After encouraging banks to seek funds privately, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who took over in December, said this month for the first time that Spain may use public money to save banks. In a fourth attempt to clean up the industry in less than three years, the government ordered banks last week to increase provisions on real estate loans that are still performing by about 30 billion euros. Bankia’s stock-market fundraising boosted the lender’s core capital ratio to about 9.6 percent, from 7.9 percent before the sale, according to the offer document. The Bank of Spain, the country’s central bank, had set a minimum target of 8 percent for publicly traded lenders. Dividends Promised To lure buyers, Bankia held out the promise of distributing about 50 percent of its net income as dividends. “The IPO was mainly a dividend play, so it appealed particularly to retail investors when interest rates elsewhere are so low,” said Ipox’s Schuster. “Bankia has a strong retail network and that’s basically how the deal got done. Now not only their shares get diluted, it’s also a question mark whether Bankia will be able to deliver future dividends.” Spain is taking over Bankia by converting its 4.5 billion euros of preferred shares in the group’s parent company into ordinary shares. Bankia group’s new management will have an initial deadline of May to present a restructuring plan, including additional state support, a person with knowledge of the plans said. To help find buyers for its stock outside its home market, Bankia had also hired the world’s top securities firms to be managers of the IPO. 15 Underwriters A total of 15 underwriters led by Bank of America Corp. (BAC) (BAC), Deutsche Bank AG (DBK), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) (JPM) and UBS AG (UBSN) earned a commission of about 1.2 percent on the 3.1 billion-euro IPO, or about 37 million euros, data compiled by Bloomberg show. While managers were taking orders for Bankia’s IPO, investor concern about Europe’s deepening debt crisis was already propelling Spanish bond yields to what was then a euro- era record. The lender had to reduce its IPO price by about 26 percent from its initial range in order to complete the sale.

Spain could be locked out of the markets, says Mariano Rajoy

The prime minister of Spain called for European leaders to publicly back the so-called 'sinner states’ amid fears that contagion from Greece could trigger a highly-anticipated Spanish banking crisis and then a bail-out. Mr Rajoy told state television there was “a serious risk we will not be able to borrow - or borrow at astronomical prices” unless they succeeded in bringing down the debt levels and regaining market confidence. “All these measures are to get out of the hole we find ourselves in,” he said. He also fired a warning shot a Brussels after days of speculation about the break-up of the euro. “I would like a clear, strong message in defence of the euro project and an affirmation of the sustainability of the public debt of all the European countries that are subject to discussion at the moment,” he said. Analysts at Citigroup said Spain would “probably require some form of troika programme in the course of the year.” In Madrid, efforts continued to shore up Spain’s stricke banks. Shares in Bankia, the part nationalised lender, dropped more than 10pc after the Bank of Spain demanded a “stronger plan” for its recapitalisation.

complaint was filed May 8, against Carlos Divar, President of the Supreme Court of Spain, on the grounds of having paid out of public funds, luxury travel.

The daily El Mundo and El Pais, in their editions of Wednesday, May 9, 2012, reveal that a complaint was filed May 8, against Carlos Divar, President of the Supreme Court of Spain, on the grounds of having paid out of public funds, luxury travel.

 

 

The representative of the Higher Judicial Council, Jose Manuel Gomez Benitez, filed a complaint with the Attorney General's office against the President of the Supreme Court, Carlos Divar, for alleged embezzlement.

 

The newspapers El Mundo and El Pais unveiled, in their editions Wednesday that the complaint was filed on May 8 The President of the Supreme Court of Spain, Carlos Divar, very close to a conservative Partido Socialista Obrero Español, is believed to have settled out of public funds, the costs of its luxury travel, the weekend, for a worth around 16,000 euros.

 

Indeed, according to Gomez Benitez, a professor of criminal law, the travel, trips, destination Marbella and Malaga, southern Spain, from Friday evening to Monday morning, have no connection with the activities assigned to the position Chief Justice conferred, Carlos Divas, the title of President of the Supreme Court.

 

Aside from these trips, between September 2010 and November 2011, in the words of the complaint, Corlos Divar was accompanied by bodyguards whose expenses totaled more than 20,000 euros.

 

The representative of the Higher Judicial Council, Jose Manuel Gomez Benitez said, moreover, that in the body of his complaint to the Attorney General, Eduardo Torres Dulce, there is specified that President Carlos Divar '  lives in Madrid and that it has no domicile in Marbella or Malaga "and"  it does not appear in the official records of activity that could motivate them, that the activities for which the President of the Supreme Court is suspected of embezzlement suspected, all took place on weekends and holidays,  "

 

It has also specify that the complaint filed in the office of the Attorney General "  only covers six travel destination Malaga which would have generated at least 36,000 euros for wrongful payments  ", and do not report, further investigation is needed to support a second complaint of many trips, always performed on weekends or holidays, destination Marbella, between September 2008 and September 2010, and after November 2011.

 

It is finally noted that the Supreme Court refuses to provide documents, relating to the case of alleged misappropriation of funds, to the Attorney General of State because, if the allegations are true, they constitute a crime that goes into the jurisdiction of the Second Chamber of the Supreme Court qualified to investigate a complaint lodged against the President and the Chief of the Supreme Court and the Supreme Judicial Council against .

GEORGE BENSON is among a string of stars set to perform at the ‘Starlite Festival’ this summer in Marbella, the town hall has revealed.

 

 

STAR: George Benson

The 10-time Grammy Award American musician will be on stage on July 14.

 

The Starlite Festival is linked to the annual €1,000 a ticket celebrity-studded ‘Starlite Gala’ arguably Spain’s most recognised and glitzy charity event set for August 4.

Local Mayor Angeles Muñoz prented the initial line-up for the Festival at a press conference held in Madrid on Tuesday.

There will be 14 concerts during the summer festival which runs between July 13 and August 14.

On July 16 former Supertramp founding member Roger Hodgson will be on stage.

British musician and actor of ‘House’ Hugh Laurie will perform blues and jazz on July 29, his first concert in Spain, two days after the appearance by US singer-songwriter Christopher Cross.

Among confirmed artists feature Spanish pop legends Julio Iglesias (August 10), Raphael (August 11) and Miguel Bose (August 2), as well as chart-topping group Estopa (August 14), among others.

The performances will take place at La Cantera de Nagueles, the quarry located to the north of Marbella where much of the stone used to build Puerto Banus was extracted from.

The food for this event will be provided by El Bulli Catering run by Spanish super-chef Paco Roncero.

Roncero was the protégé of Spain’s most famous chef Ferran Adria at the famous restaurant ‘El Bulli’ (now closed) voted best in the world five times by restaurant Magazine.

Spain takes over Bankia to combat crisis

Spain took over Bankia, the country's fourth biggest lender, on Wednesday, trying to dispel concerns over the government's ability to clean up the financial sector four years after the banks were hit by a property market crash. In a deal that will give the state a 45 percent indirect stake in Bankia (BKIA.MC), the government will take control of its parent company BFA by converting into equity a 4.5 billion euro (3.61 billion pounds) loan it had given the financial group previously, the central bank said. Now The economy ministry pledged to do all it takes to clean up Bankia, which has more than 30 billion euros of exposure to troubled loans to property developers and repossessed land and buildings. The government is expected to lend or give Bankia up to 10 billion euros in additional aid, though some bank analysts say it will need more. Uncertainty over the final cost of the country's banking reform hit the euro, Spanish debt and global stock markets on Wednesday. If a huge rescue puts Spain's fiscal solvency into question and the country needs international aid, the survival of the euro zone could be at stake. Since the banking crisis began, Spain has bailed out seven smaller savings banks, but the Bankia rescue is by far the biggest and it comes after a string of other banking reform plans revealed over the past week. These include moving toxic assets out of some banks and demanding that banks set aside 35 billion euros against loans to the moribund building sector, on top of 54 billion euros the banks are already provisioning. "We will deepen the process of cleaning up the banks," Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy told a news conference. Rajoy had promised not to use state funds to rescue the banks, but mounting doubts over Bankia had shaken the euro zone and he did a U-turn. Rajoy's latest moves are the fourth banking sector overhaul in three years, but investors have yet to be convinced. The yield on the Spanish 10-year benchmark bond rose to its highest level since the end of November on Wednesday, spiking up to 6.07 percent, close to levels considered unaffordable over the long term.. European shares were down .FTEU3, the U.S. stock market opened lower, and the euro moved close to a recent three-month low versus the dollar, with political turmoil in Greece and the rising costs of fixing Spain's banks deepening fears about the euro zone. RECOGNISE MORE LOSSES Bankia will also have to sell off assets and strengthen its management, the government said, even after it named well-known banker Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri to take over as chief executive. "These additional measures are geared to enhancing the bank's soundness and restoring full market confidence," the economy ministry said. Bankia shares fell by as much as 7 percent on Wednesday in anticipation of the state intervention. A 45 percent stake in Bankia was worth 1.9 billion euros at Wednesday's closing share price of 2.13 euros per share. In further banking reform announcements due on Friday, the government is expected to ask banks to recognise more potential losses, beyond massive write downs on their property exposure. Some Spanish lenders are unlikely to be able to find the extra funds without public help, raising expectations the government may have to issue more debt to bail them out.

The Only Way Is Essex stars head to Marbella for the ‘sexiest ever’ show

The Only Way Is Essex are promising sizzling scenes when they hit Marbella later this month. 38 comments Related Stories Frankie Essex’s fab new figure TOWIE star lost a stone in just two weeks before jetting off on hol to Marbella Bit nippy in Marbs Maria?TOWIE'S Sam and Joey are back onDavid Cameron throws in TOWIE Bed-hopping not the only wayLauren finds a Good outfit TV Biz told last month how bosses planned a special in the Spanish resort. Yesterday they confirmed that Lucy Mecklenburgh and boyfriend Mario Falcone, James Argent and his ex Lydia Bright, and Sam Faiers and her on-off-on again fella Joey Essex would all be flying to the sun. So it will definitely be “no carbs before Marbs”, as they famously say in Towie, for that lot. One name missing is Lauren Goodger. She’s being left at home after a row with producers. They will meet her this week to discuss her future on the show. An insider said of the special, to be shown this summer: “Those who have been chosen to go to Marbella can’t wait. “The girls have pledged it will be the sexiest Towie ever, with lots of bikinis and bare flesh on show. “There will be a lot of boozy partying and cameras will follow them 24/7 for a week.” All eyes will be on Lucy — she cheated on Mario with Mark Wright in Marbella last year when members of the cast were enjoying their hols in the sun.

Drugs suspect cleared in Marbella but could face extradition to Scotland

Crown Office and the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency are looking at ways of bringing the alleged money-man Ian Donaldson back to Scotland. The authorities are thought to be reviewing evidence from the Spanish case to see if any charges can be brought in a Scottish court. If they decide to proceed, they could seek high-living Donaldson’s extradition from Spain. A Crown Office spokesman said: “We note the decision of the Spanish court and are considering that and other matters in consultation with our colleagues in the SCDEA.” Detective Chief Superintendent Tony Mole, head of investigations at the SCDEA, added: “With our Spanish colleagues, we pieced together a complex web of evidence that we felt collectively set out a strong case. “We will continue to actively target criminal networks who prey on the health and wealth of hard-working people in Scotland, and use every means at our disposal to put them out of business and ensure they are brought to justice.” The court in Madrid heard that former amateur racing driver Donaldson, 32, enjoyed a lavish lifestyle on the Costa del Sol. He also had a £1million villa in Tenerife and a fleet of luxury cars including Ferraris, Hummers and a Porsche – all seized by the courts in Spain. The prosecution alleged that he made millions from drug smuggling but after he was cleared last week he will now have £7.2million of assets returned to him. Donaldson, who drove a distinctive orange Lamborghini on the track, will be given back his properties as well as his flash motors – a Ferrari F430 Spider, a Ferrari 599GTB Fiorano, two Hummers, a Porsche Cayenne turbo, an Audi Q7 4x4, two BMWs and a Mercedes 63 AMG. He and three other Scots – including alleged ringleader Ronald O’Dea, 45 – were cleared of all charges last week by a panel of judges sitting at the National Court in Madrid. Londoner Stephen Brown, 45, known as “The Big Man”, was jailed for seven years for drug-trafficking. In a written statement the judges ruled: “Although there are indications of a clandestine activity and of links between the accused, these factors are not sufficient to establish, beyond reasonable doubt, that the accused took part in the trafficking operation that Brown was carrying out.” The links highlighted by the judges included “security measures, conversations in encrypted language, abundant mobile telephones and, especially in the case of Donaldson, significant assets in Spain which cannot be accounted for”. The Costa gang – which included fellow Scots James MacDonald, 62, and Mary Hendry, 61 – were held after a lorry containing a shipment of speed bound for Scotland was intercepted in Oxfordshire in 2008. Glaswegians MacDonald and O’Dea had spent three years on remand in a Spanish jail on drug-trafficking charges. Speaking outside the court, MacDonald said: “They took away three years of my life despite having no evidence against me.” Hendry, from Hamilton, had been accused of helping Donaldson cover up the source of his wealth but was cleared of money-laundering. She said: “This has been hanging over me for two years and I never even knew Ian Donaldson.” Donaldson was arrested in Scotland on an international warrant in March 2009 and was extradited to Madrid four months later. He spent more than a year on remand before being released on bail of £135,000. His fortified home in Renton, Dunbartonshire, was raided by the SCDEA in July 2009. Londoner Deborah Learmouth, 49, accused of organising travel arrangements for the gang, was also cleared of drug-trafficking. Two other defendants – Londoner Brian Rawlings, 66, and Joseph Campbell, 52 – failed to show at the trial.

Brink's Mat the reason that Great Train Robber was shot dead in Marbella

The Brink’s-Mat curse even touched on the Great Train Robbery gang of 1963. One of them, Charlie Wilson, found himself in trouble when £3 million of Brink’s-Mat investors’ money went missing in a drug deal. In April 1990, he paid the price when a young British hood knocked on the front door of his hacienda north of Marbella and shot Wilson and his pet husky dog before coolly riding off down the hill on a yellow bicycle.

Spain honours Somerset woman's 'unknown' relative

A Grenadier Guard who fought for the Duke of Wellington is being honoured with a memorial in Spain. Lt Col John Scrope Colquitt of the First Foot Guards died of fever after fighting Napoleon's troops during the Peninsular War, 200 years ago. Sam Westmacott, from Watchet, Somerset, found out she was a descendent when a local history group contacted her. She said it was "fantastic the Spanish people are honouring this relative of mine that I did not even know about". The 10,000 euro (£8,175) monument will be unveiled at Alcala de Guadaira, near Seville, at the site where Lt Col Colquitt was buried, later on Saturday. A member of the Grenadier Guards in full regimental uniform will sound the Last Post on the bugle.

New scuffle between Spanish Coastguard and Gibraltar Police

Wednesday  chasing alleged trafficers in inflatable boats.There has been another incident between the Gibraltar Police and Spanish Coastguards. The Gibraltar authorities say the scuffle came about over the persecution of inflatable boats last Wednesday in the waters around the Rock. Reports indicate that a boat from the Spanish Coastguard approached an inflatable containing three people. Another boat from the Royal Gibraltar Police, also approached the inflatable, to arrest the occupants. Such inflatable boats have been banned under Gibraltar law for some ten years, to avoid their use for drug or contraband trafficking. The Gibraltar Government has issued a statement claiming that the Spanish Coastguard ‘assisted’ the three people on the boat ‘to avoid Gibraltar jurisdiction’ in ‘Gibraltar territorial waters’. However the Spanish do not recognise such waters. While the two sides were conversing about what was going on, two other boats, ‘suspected of carrying objects of prohibited importation’ were seen going from Punta de Europa and the bay, and both the Royal Gibraltar Police and SVA started a chase. The Gibraltar Police told the Spanish Coastguard to stop their chase as they were ‘in Gibraltar territorial waters’ but this request was ignored. The Gibraltar Government considers the Spanish Coastguard assisted the traffickers, stopping their arrest by the Gibraltar Police and describing that as ‘lamentable’. The British Foreign Office has confirmed it is taking up the matter with Spain. Gibraltar First Minister, Fabian Picardo, is asking why one of the Royal Navy vessels stationed in Gibraltar did not act. The Gibraltar Government says it ‘will be seeking clarification of the actions of the Royal Navy vessel ‘Scimitar’ which, although in the area, did not assist the Gibraltar Police engaged in the events’.

Granada baby theft case re-opened

Instruction court two in Granada has ordered the reopening of the possible theft of a baby girl in 1990 in the Hospital Clínico in Granada. The case had previously been closed because of a lack of evidence. The hospital supposedly gave the family the body of dead baby in the place of their newly born daughter. Now a new report from a prestigious laboratory, quoted by the father Eduardo Rayo, says the DNA given to the parents did not correspond to the mother, but came from an adult and not newly born baby. The National Toxicology Institute had said that the DNA test was non-conclusive. As the instruction case gets back underway the family have indicted 15 people.

Spanish Open suspended as rain hammers down on Seville

A flooded course led to the Reale Seguros Spanish Open being suspended in Seville before overnight leader Gregory Bourdy had teed off for his third round. 

Play was possible earlier on, but only 12 of the 68 players completed their day's work before the hold-up came at lunchtime. 

Rain in Spain: Players hit the driving range at a wet Spanish Open

Frenchman Bourdy, with only one top 10 finish in the past year, led on five under par by one from England's Simon Dyson and Robert Rock, 19-year-old Italian Matteo Manassero and home hope Jorge Campillo, a graduate from last season's Challenge Tour. 

The best early move came from Ireland's Peter Lawrie, whose only victory in nearly 300 Tour events came on the course four years ago. 

He birdied the first and third to climb into a share of 10th spot on two under, but had completed only one more hole when officials decided to bring the players in. 

With conditions improving and the threat of lightning passing it was announced that play would resume at 3pm local time, but with almost two hours lost the third round looked likely to spill into Sunday.

Cloudy skies: Italian Matteo Manasser

Spain's king declared unwelcome by northern town

A northeastern town has declared the king of Spain an unwelcome person, dealing another blow to the 74-year-old monarch who has faced scalding criticism for going on an elephant hunting trip during a severe financial crisis. The town council of Berga — population 17,160 — in the region of Catalonia approved a symbolic motion proposed by the pro-independence Popular Unity Candidature party declaring King Juan Carlos "persona non grata," or not welcome. The censure was published on the town's website Saturday after having been approved by vote in the council chamber two days earlier. The king has faced condemnation after breaking a hip while on a lavish safari in southern Africa at a time when nearly one in four Spaniards were unemployed and the economy entered its second recession in three years. The accident happened in the early hours of April 13 while the king was on the fourth day of an elephant hunt in Botswana's northern Okavango region, and he was immediately flown home by private jet for emergency hip replacement surgery. In a separate statement, the party published its proposal which said the king's "personal behavior has been marked by all kinds of scandals" which, it added, "reach a climax with the Bostwana affair in April." Although the king apologized for having gone elephant hunting while everyday people endured a severe economic crisis, it was clear this unprecedented act of royal contrition wasn't enough for Berga's councilors. Berga is located 108 kilometers (67 miles) north of Catalonia's capital, Barcelona. The royal family has been under intense media scrutiny lately — and not for the best reasons. The king's son-in-law Inaki Urdangarin is a suspect in a corruption case, accused of having used his position to embezzle several million euros in public contracts through a supposedly not-for-profit foundation he set up. Then, over Easter, the king's 13-year-old grandson Felipe Juan Froilan shot himself in the foot with a shotgun, even though by law in Spain you must be 14 to handle a gun. The royal palace declined to comment Saturday on Berga's decision.

British tourist falls to her death from hotel balcony in Magalluf

23 year old British tourist has fallen to her death from the third floor balcony of her hotel in Magalluf, Mallorca. Emergency sources said it happened at 4.25am Saturday morning at the Hotel Teix in Calle Pinada. Local police and emergency health services went to scene. After 20 minutes of an attempt to re-animate her heart, the woman was pronounced dead. Online descriptions for the Hotel say it is the best place to stay of you are looking for non-stop partying, adding it not suitable for families.

Four of the last reporters and photographers willing to cover crime stories have been slain in less than a week in violence-torn Veracruz state

Four of the last reporters and photographers willing to cover crime stories have been slain in less than a week in violence-torn Veracruz state, where two Mexican drug cartels are warring over control of smuggling routes and targeting sources of independent information. The brutal campaign is bleeding the media and threatening to turn Veracruz into the latest state in Mexico where fear snuffs out reporting on the drug war. Three photojournalists who worked the perilous crime beat in the port city of Veracruz were found dismembered and dumped in plastic bags in a canal Thursday, less than a week after a reporter for an investigative newsmagazine was beaten and strangled in her home in the state capital of Xalapa. Press freedom groups said all three photographers had temporarily fled the state after receiving threats last year. The organizations called for immediate government action to halt a wave of attacks that has killed at least seven current and former reporters and photographers in Veracruz over the last 18 months. Like most of those, the men found Thursday were among the few journalists left working on crime-related stories in the state. Threats and killings have spawned an atmosphere of terror and self-censorship, and most local media are too intimidated to report on drug-related violence. Social media and blogs are often the only outlets reporting on serious crime. Veracruz isn't the only battleground for Mexican media. In at least three northeastern states, journalists are under siege from assailants throwing grenades inside newsrooms and gunmen firing into newspaper and TV station buildings. In the state of Tamaulipas, on the border with Texas, local media stopped covering drug trafficking violence, mentioning drug cartels or reporting on organized crime shortly after two gangs began fighting for control of Nuevo Laredo in 2004. As part of that war, reporters were targeted to keep them silent or because they had links to gangs. Mexico has become one of the world's most dangerous countries for journalists in recent years, amid a government offensive against drug cartels and fighting among gangs that have brought tens of thousands of deaths, kidnappings and extortion cases. Prosecutions in journalist killings are almost nonxistent, although that is widely true of all homicides and other serious crimes in Mexico. The latest killings came in Boca del Rio, a town near the port city of Veracruz where police found the bodies. The victims bore signs of torture and had been dismembered, the state prosecutors' office said. One victim was identified as Guillermo Luna Varela, a crime-news photographer for the website http://www.veracruznews.com.mx who was last seen by local reporters covering a car accident Wednesday afternoon. According to a fellow journalist, who insisted on speaking anonymously out of fear, Luna was in his 20s and had begun his career working for the local newspaper Notiver. The journalist said Luna was the nephew of another of the men found dead, Gabriel Huge. Huge was in his early 30s and worked as a photojournalist for Notiver until last summer, when he fled the state soon after two of the paper's reporters were slain in still-unsolved killings. He had returned to the state to work as a reporter, but it was not immediately clear what kind of stories he was covering recently. State officials said the third victim was Esteban Rodriguez, who was a photographer for the local newspaper AZ until last summer, when he too quit and fled the state. He later came back, but took up work as a welder. The London-based press freedom group Article 19 said he, like the other two, had been a crime photographer. The fourth victim was Luna's girlfriend, Irasema Becerra, state prosecutors said. Article 19 said in a report last year that Luna, Varela and Rodriguez were among 13 Veracruz journalists who had fled their homes because of crime-related threats and official unwillingness to protect them or investigate the danger. The Committee to Protect Journalists said in 2008 that Huge had been detained and beaten by federal police as he tried to cover a fatal auto accident involving officers. Last June, Miguel Angel Lopez Velasco, a columnist and editorial director for Notiver, was shot to death in Veracruz along with his wife and one of his children. Authorities that month also found the body of journalist Noel Lopez buried in a clandestine grave in the town of Chinameca. Lopez, who disappeared three months earlier, had worked for the weeklies Horizonte and Noticias de Acayucan and for the daily newspaper La Verdad. The following month, Yolanda Ordaz de la Cruz, a police reporter for Notiver, was found with her throat cut in the state. Lopez was found after a suspect in another case confessed to killing him, but the other two murders have not been resolved. The cartel war in Veracruz reached a bloody peak in September when 35 bodies were dumped on a main highway in rush-hour traffic. Local law enforcement in the state was considered so corrupt and infiltrated by the Zetas and other gangs that Mexico's federal government fired 800 officers and 300 administrative personnel in the city of Veracruz-Boca del Rio in December and sent in about 800 marines to patrol. Mike O'Connor, the Committee to Protect Journalists' representative for Mexico, said journalists in Veracruz were exercising an unusual degree of self-censorship even before Ordaz and Lopez were killed. He said media avoided much coverage of crime and corruption. "Important news was not covered because it might upset the Zetas. Then these guys were killed and self-censorship cracked down even more," O'Connor said. "Almost all of the police beat reporters left town after those killings." Regina Martinez, a correspondent for the national magazine Proceso, continued to cover crime-related stories along with a handful of other journalists, however. On Saturday, authorities went to her home in Xalapa, the state capital, after a neighbor reported it to be suspiciously quiet. They found the reporter dead in her bathroom with signs she had been beaten and strangled. "Self-censorship was extraordinarily strong but whoever killed these journalists wanted more," O'Connor said. "It still wasn't enough to satisfy whoever killed these journalists." Mexico's human rights commission says 74 media workers were slain from 2000 to 2011. The Committee to Protect Journalists says 51 were killed in that time. It noted in a statement on the Mexico killings that Thursday was World Press Freedom Day.

Locked Up Abroad is different.

Reality TV is, at its core, about letting viewers revel in the bad decision-making of others: those who speak without thinking, who backstab, who have sex without condoms, who cheat. Frustratingly, though, reality shows—to which I am unapologetically addicted—tend to reward bad behavior, by giving its villains notoriety, spinoffs, opportunities to endorse weight-loss products, a nice sideline in paid interviews with supermarket tabloids, and other D-list rewards.

Locked Up Abroad is different. The National Geographic show, the sixth season of which premiered last week, gives its stars something they wouldn’t get on other reality shows: their comeuppance.

Having debuted in the U.K. (under the title Banged Up Abroad), Locked Up Abroad showcases one person (sometimes a couple) who ends up in prison overseas. Participants fit into one of two categories. The first group are the (largely) innocent: the married missionary couple who were kidnapped in the Philippines by the Islamist group Abu Sayyaf, for instance, or the seemingly goodhearted duo who wanted to help children in Chechnya, but ended up held hostage. These tales of the altruistic and naive can be difficult to watch.

But then there are those who rather deserve what happens to them. Typically these are drug smugglers, and their episodes follow a familiar arc. A young person—they’re almost always young—is bored or in need of cash (usually both). She is desperate or feels invincible (usually both). Someone approaches her and offers a seemingly great deal: an all-expenses-paid, luxurious overseas trip in exchange for a small favor. Sometimes the would-be employer is upfront and admits he needs a drug mule, but downplays the risk; other times, he hints at harmless-sounding illegalities, like bringing back legal goods to beat the export tax. In a few cases, the cover story is painfully thin: Come with me to check out this cool new nail polish technology only available in Thailand, for example. (That woman was in a vulnerable place: She had just been released on bail after killing her partner’s former husband—in self-defense, she claimed.)

The drug smugglers are caught, of course, usually at the airport, and brought to prison. And while a few episodes have taken place in developed countries—Spain, Japan, South Korea—the majority of our anti-heroes end up incarcerated in places with some of the dirtiest and most dangerous penitentiaries in the world.

Take last week’s episode, “From Hollywood to Hell.” (And pardon my spoilers, but this installment is too good not to describe in detail.) In 2001, actor Erik Aude was living the marginal Hollywood dream. An ür-bro, he had played bit parts in Dude, Where’s My Car?(credited as “Musclehead”) and 7^th Heaven (“Boyfriend”) when a gym buddy asked him to go to Turkey to bring back “leather goods.” Aude makes the trip, and though a drug-sniffing dog alerts authorities at the Turkish airport, they find nothing—so Aude feels sure the whole thing is legit. He even recommends that one of his brothers start couriering for his friend. Then, when his brother backs out of a planned trip to Pakistan in 2002, Aude steps in, and shit gets real.

It is difficult to feel sorry for Aude. After his escort dumps him in an Islamabad hotel and warns him not to leave because the area is unsafe for Americans, he doesn’t head to the embassy or the airport. Instead, he goes jogging—and even tries to flirt with girls in headscarves on the street (with disastrous results). And when he is taken to the airport with just one suitcase, he is (he claims) not the least bit suspicious that he might be a drug mule. When a customs official asks him whether his trip was for business or pleasure, he cheeses, “Pleasure is my business.”

Aude’s episode is mind-bogglingly watchable, not least because he—of course!—plays himself in the re-enactment. In his telling, he was a virtual action star: On at least three occasions, he single-handedly fights back dozens of Pakistanis. After he takes out a prison bully, he is hailed a hero. He rejects a reduced sentence because it would require him to plead guilty—and his pride is more valuable than his freedom, he says.

Aside from those truly in the wrong place at the wrong time, the most sympathetic characters of Locked Up Abroad may be the embassy employees called in to assist the suspected smugglers. Inevitably, Locked Up Abroad participants are horrified that the embassies of their homelands—usually English-speaking countries like the U.S., the U.K., or Australia—can’t do more for them. I can just imagine U.S. Embassy workers calling “not it” every time they get word from local authorities about some young American knucklehead who thought he could sneak past security with a bag full of cocaine.

Tonight’s episode is called “The Juggler Smuggler,” and its “hero” is Mark Greening, a “party-loving” drug-runner who knows his latest trip is “doomed” when he doesn’t get his fortune told by “his favorite Gypsy woman.” I can’t wait.

Low fare airline bmibaby to close

Low fare carrier bmibaby is set to close later this year, threatening the loss of hundreds of jobs and the ending of its flights. The carrier transferred to International Airlines Group, the owners of British Airways, last month, but consultations have now started with unions about its closure in September. The GMB union said it was "devastating" news, especially for the East Midlands, where hundreds of jobs are now threatened with the axe. With bmi Regional, bmibaby transferred to International Airlines Group ownership on completion of the purchase from Lufthansa. IAG has consistently said that bmibaby and bmi Regional are not part of its long-term plans. A statement said: "Progress has been made with a potential buyer for bmi Regional, but so far this has not been possible for bmibaby, despite attempts over many months by both Lufthansa and IAG. Bmibaby has therefore started consultation to look at future options including, subject to that consultation, a proposal to close in September this year." Peter Simpson, bmi interim managing director, said: "We recognise that these are unsettling times for bmibaby employees, who have worked tirelessly during a long period of uncertainty. Bmibaby has delivered high levels of operational performance and customer service, but has continued to struggle financially, losing more than £100 million in the last four years. In the consultation process, we will need to be realistic about our options. "To help stem losses as quickly as possible and as a preliminary measure, we will be making reductions to bmibaby's flying programme from June. We sincerely apologise to all customers affected and will be providing full refunds and doing all we can with other airlines to mitigate the impact of these changes." Jim McAuslan, general secretary of the pilots' union Balpa, said: "This is bad news for jobs. Bmibaby pilots are disappointed and frustrated that, even though there appears to be potential buyers, we are prevented from speaking with them to explore how we can contribute to developing a successful business plan. "The frustration has now turned to anger following the news that Flybe (which is part owned by BA) has moved onto many of these bmibaby routes without any opportunity for staff to look at options and alternatives. Balpa's priority is to protect jobs; and we will use whatever means we can to do so." The changes mean that all bmibaby flights to and from Belfast will cease from June 11, although this will not affect bmi mainline's services to London Heathrow. Bmibaby services from East Midlands to Amsterdam, Paris, Geneva, Nice, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newquay, and from Birmingham to Knock and Amsterdam, will end on the same date.

Underpass Opening Set to Boost Costa del Sol Property Market

After almost five years of on-off construction, controversy and congestion, the San Pedro underpass is finally set to open in June this year. Traffic will flow fluidly between Marbella and the western Costa del Sol and breathe new life into this section of the Coast’s property market where many bargains are to be had. Adam Cornwell, Managing Director of Feltrim International selling property on the Costa del Sol comments, “The San Pedro underpass saga has been nothing short of an embarrassment and thorn in the side for residents and tourists alike. A project that was conceived to ease traffic and be finished in 2009 has dragged on almost five years and created the congestion blackspot from hell. When the ribbon is cut in June we’ll all breathe a sigh of relief and journeying to the ‘west’ and towns such as Estepona, Manilva and Duquesa will become a swift pleasure rather than a time-consuming chore. Right now we can offer premium two bedroom apartments in Duquesa for just over 100,000 euros – ridiculously cheap for the Costa del Sol.” Built on the main coastal A7 motorway, the underpass is a kilometre-long tunnel that will bring an end to San Pedro’s awkward north-south divide and do away with the need for a series of traffic lights and pedestrian crossings thus making traffic run more freely. The final cost, after many delays, is reported to reach the 85 million euro mark but more than 65,000 cars will use the underpass daily and feel its immediate benefit. Marbella Mayor Angeles Muñoz has reassured Minister for Public Works, Ana Pastor, that the project is an absolute priority will be finished in June. One development that will instantly grow in appeal is Residencial Duquesa close to Marina de la Duquesa, some 30km west of San Pedro. Originally priced at 260,000 euros in 2007, these attractive two bedroom two bathroom apartments have been repossessed by the bank and are now available for as little as 106,700 euros with the bonus of a 100% mortgage. It doesn’t take a genius to work out that’s less than half price – almost 60% off in fact. This is lower than replacement value and gives people who missed the start of the property boom in the 1990s a second bite of the cherry. Within walking distance of the marina, beach, shops and La Duquesa Golf & Country Club, facilities that would generally attract a high property price premium, Residencial Duquesa has clear rental potential. On-site residents enjoy four swimming pools, two paddle tennis courts and underground parking and the community is gated for peace of mind. Apartments themselves are a minimum 80m² and each has a large terrace. Air conditioning is installed and kitchens are equipped with all appliances from washing machine to dishwasher. Marbella is within a 35 minute drive of Residencial Duquesa, Puerto Banús even closer at half an hour and Málaga International Airport a total of one hour. Meanwhile continue west and smart polo, marina and golf resort, Sotogrande, is less than 20 minutes drive and the rock of Gibraltar with direct flights to the UK is just 50 minutes.

47 immigrants rescued in Nerja and Motril

17 Moroccan immigrants have been rescued overnight by members of the Tarifa Coastguard after their boat was spotted to the south of Nerja at 9,30pm. The occupants were transferred to Málaga Port where they arrived at 1am. All are adults and in good health. It was the second boat to be intercepted on Wednesday with an inflatable craft with 30 immigrants seen some 40 miles south of Motril. They were taken to Motril Port, arriving at 7pm last night and again are all adult males from the Maghreb. There are three or four people who will go for bone analysis to see if they are under age.

Barcelona under guard

Barcelona is a shielded city this weekend as 8,000 police, some 4,500 regional Mossos d’Esquadra and 3,500 agents more made up of Guardia Civil and National Police, protect the European Central Bank Summit. Demonstrations are feared, not only from Spanish groups such as the M-15 indignant, but also from groups from across Europe. Disturbances have been seen in the city recently with the General Strike on May 29 and students’ protests. Interior Minister, Jorge Fernández Díaz, said some days ago that it was important that Barcelona, Cataluña and España show an image ‘of security and peaceful co-existence’ to the world during the summit. Two centres will coordinate the security operation, one in the Government Delegation headed by the Secretary of State for Security, Igancio Ulloa, and the other in the offices of the Interior, directed by the councillor, Felp Puig. The Ministry for the Interior has revealed that the Mossos d’Esquadra have installed several mobile surveillance videos across the city, which will be removed when the summit ends. Special protection of the Hotel Arts and the Forum de Barcelona, where the meetings are to be held, will be provided by the National Police and Guardia Civil. The number of Guardia Civil on duty at the airport has been doubled. The reintroduction of border controls with France, following the lifting of the Schengen agreement over the period of the summit, has already resulted in 17 arrests.

Ryanair ordered to compensate a passenger they would not let board

Ryanair has been ordered by the State Agency for Air Safety and the courts in Granollers, to compensate a passenger with 479 € for not letting him fly without his DNI identity card. Antonio R. presented the airline with a police document to say the DNI had been stolen, a photocopy of the DNI and his driving licence, as he tried to board a flight from Barcelona to Valladolid on April 6 2011 after his DNI had been stolen. At his arrival at the airport, two and a half hours before his flight, Antonio realised he had lost his wallet which contained his DNI. He made a denuncia to the police in the airport and obtained the correct documentation, but Ryanair staff repeatedly denied that he could embark. Finally he hired a car and drove to Palencia, his final destination, with the consequent loss of money and time. Antonio said that he considered his rights had been broken and that is why he placed the denuncia to the State Agency for Air Safety. They awarded the cost of the ticket plus 250 € compensation. Given that Ryanair did not respond to this resolution, Antonio R. went on to make another complaint, this time to the Courts in Granollers, where he demanded 479 € compensation for the time spent. Ryanair then contacted Antonio and offered him the full amount, so that a court case was avoided.

Bolivia seizes Spanish company

A second Spanish energy company has been seized by a Latin American country, after Red Electrica was nationalized by Bolivia.