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Beautiful setting and superb decor
Warm and friendly welcome
Delicious cuisine charcol grilled meat and fish a speciality
Excellent selection of wines
Bright and relaxing bar area
Watch the world go by from the front patio or savour the magnificent mountain views from the balcony at the back.
Open Every Day exept Monday

BOOKINGS PHONE 952869848

Telefono 952869848


Thursday 10 November 2011

Three brothers from hell

 

These are the three brothers from hell -- two killers and one a suspected hitman. Two of the men, Eric and Keith Wilson from Ballyfermot in Dublin, are now suspected of being involved in over ten gun murders between them. Keith Wilson (23) was today beginning a life term in jail for the gangland execution of hitman-for-hire Daniel Gaynor in August, 2010. His brother Eric 'Lucky' Wilson (27) is serving 23 years in a Spanish prison for the murder of British criminal Daniel Smith in a packed bar on the Costa del Sol. Their older brother John (34) was released from garda custody in September after being arrested by officers probing a shooting at the Players Lounge pub in July, 2010, which left three innocent men with serious injuries. John -- who has survived three assassination attempts -- showed up every day at Keith's dramatic murder trial. Yesterday's conviction is being hailed as a major breakthrough in the fight against organised criminal activity in Dublin.

Sunday 30 October 2011

Spain no longer the main destination for Brit's second homes

 

A new survey carried out by the HomeAway holiday rentals company and real estate group Savills International has concluded that Spain is no longer the first choice among the Brits for their second residence. 1,700 British property buyers were questioned. More Britons now prefer France because of its better economic stability and the moderation in its house prices. 40% of Brits who buy in Spain later rent out the property, sometimes obtaining an income of as much as 34,500 € a year, but 24% still say that Spain is the place they have chosen for retirement. Despite the change away from purchasing a second home, Spain continues to be the most popular holiday destination for the Brits. In France, Italy and Switzerland the British purchasers usually opt for restored old properties, while in the United States, Cyprus and also in Spain and Portugal, they tend to go for more modern or new constructions.

Friday 28 October 2011

Ruth Madoff reveals suicide pact after £40bn fraud

 

Come what may, Mrs Madoff is still managing to keep up appearances. But behind her designer outfit and reassuringly expensive haircut, she's anxious to remind the world that life as the spouse of a $65bn (£40bn) conman isn't always plain sailing. In her first interview since her husband Bernie oversaw the collapse of the family investment house almost two years ago, Ruth revealed the couple attempted suicide in the immediate aftermath of his arrest. It was the night before Christmas 2008. The Madoffs, once the toast of New York society, were confined to their Manhattan penthouse, coming to terms with the fact that his Ponzi scheme had wiped out the life savings of several thousand investors, including many close friends and family members. "I don't know whose idea it was, but we were both so saddened by everything that had happened that we decided to kill ourselves," she recalled. "It was so horrendous what was happening. Terrible phone calls, hate mail – just beyond anything. And I said, 'I just can't go on any more'." They decided to overdose on the sedative Ambien. But they apparently under-estimated the amount needed and found themselves still alive to face the music on Christmas Day. "We were both in agreement," she told CBS's 60 Minutes – which will air interviews with her and her son Andrew on Sunday. "I don't remember what we said very much. We were figuring out how many pills to take. "I think we were both sort of relieved to leave this place. It was very, very impulsive, is all I can say. And I was glad to wake up the next morning." The show will tell how the family learnt of their sudden elevation to global pariah status and explain what they have been doing since. Mrs Madoff, 68, met her husband, now 73, when she was 14 and married him two years later. At the height of their powers she kept an office at the headquarters of the family investment firm and was listed as a director of several companies he controlled. She has always maintained she had no idea the firm was overstating profits and defrauding investors. After his arrest she struck a deal with prosecutors that saw her give up all her assets except for $2.5 million. Many of Madoff's victims angrily insisted she should have been left with nothing. Shortly after the deal was announced, The New York Times dubbed her "the loneliest woman in New York". She later left the city to live in Florida. Judging by CBS interview footage released yesterday, the months since have been tough on a woman who was once the toast of Manhattan. She has retained her petite figure, well-groomed blonde hair and elegant dress sense but has aged considerably. Although she admits being initially supportive of her husband, visiting him in prison, she says she decided to break off contact last December. That was when their second son, Mark, 46, hanged himself on the anniversary of his father's arrest using a dog leash. It remains to be seen whether the TV interview will repair her tattered reputation. People who believe she helped cover up her husband's fraud now suspect her claim about their joint suicide bid was invented to win sympathy. Their former bodyguard Nick Casale, who was with them that Christmas Eve, cast doubt on the story yesterday. Bernie has also granted a first interview, it emerged last night. He spoke to the veteran TV interviewer Barbara Walters at the prison in North Carolina where he is currently serving a 150-year sentence for fraud. No cameras were allowed but a transcript suggests he expressed remorse for his crimes and understands why people think he "robbed widows and orphans". But he insisted: "I made wealthy people wealthier." And on life behind bars, he added: "Ruth not communicating is the hardest thing... Ruth doesn't hate me. She has no one. It's not fair to her. She lost her first so. She's a devoted wife and didn't care about the money."

Yemeni women burn veils to protest regime

 

Yemeni women defiantly burned their traditional veils Wednesday in protest of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's brutal crackdown on anti-government demonstrations. Thousands of women gathered in the capital, Sanaa, said witnesses. They carried banners that read: "Saleh the butcher is killing women and is proud of it" and "Women have no value in the eyes in Ali Saleh." They collected their veils and scarves in a huge pile and set it ablaze -- an act that is highly symbolic in the conservative Islamic nation, where women use their veils to cover their faces and bodies. It's the first time in the nine months of Yemen's uprising that such an event has occurred. Inspired by Yemeni activist Tawakkol Karman's Nobel Peace Prize this month, more and more Yemeni women have taken to the streets and escalated their campaign for help from the international community. More than 60 women were attacked in October alone by the government, said protester Ruqaiah Nasser. Government forces are raiding homes and also killing children, she said. Yemen's youth continue calls for change Clashes in Taiz left woman dead Clashes in Yemen turn deadly What's behind escalating Yemen violence? She said silence from tribal leaders on the matter is a "disgrace." "We will not stay quiet and will defend ourselves if our men can't defend us," Nasser said. "Tribes must understand they will not be respected by Yemeni women if they stay quiet while their women are being attacked by the Saleh regime. Tribes who ignore our calls are cowards and have no dignity." "Saleh is killing women and children and this is against tribal culture," she said. "Where are their voices when we need them? It's a disgrace if they stay quiet." The women's protests came after the Yemeni government announced a cease-fire Tuesday. But that did not appear to be holding. At least 10 people died and dozens were injured earlier Tuesday in clashes between Yemeni government security forces in the country's capital and the province of Taiz, medical officials reported. Yemen's government has said that opposition-supported militants are responsible for the violence. Saleh summoned the U.S. ambassador and reiterated a promise to sign an agreement brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council in which he would step aside in exchange for immunity from prosecution, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. However, Saleh has repeatedly promised to sign the council-backed deal and not done so. The embattled leader has clung to power through the protracted protests.

Villages all but wiped out as storms batter Italy's 'Cinque Terre'

 

The worst affected region was Liguria, with at least two of the five World Heritage-listed 'Cinque Terre' coastal villages cut off as a result of roads being washed away. The walking trails and picturesque fishing villages of the Cinque Terre attract hundreds of thousands of international tourists, but two of them – Vernazza and Monterosso – were severely affected as rivers of mud poured down from the hills behind them. The mayor of Monterosso said the fishing village had all but been wiped out. "Monterosso no longer exists," Angelo Betta told an Italian news agency. Huge amounts of mud had swept through the tiny settlement, causing an "unimaginable disaster".

Thursday 27 October 2011

TOP Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson tried to stop his ex-wife from claiming they had sex after he remarried.

Jeremy Clarkson

Jeremy Clarkson took out the gagging order against his ex-wife last year. It's not known why he applied to lift it. Picture: Cameron Richardson Source: Supplied


Clarkson, who has made a name for himself as a man refuses to be silenced, denies the allegation but took out a gagging order against Alexandra Hall last year.

The claim can now be revealed because he asked for the order to be lifted.

It is unclear why he decided to withdraw the order, which banned any reporting of "sexual or other intimate acts or dealings" between Clarkson and Ms Hall.

Ms Hall married Clarkson in 1989 but their marriage lasted only a year.

She claims she had relationship with him after they split and Clarkson was married to his current wife, Frances.

Clarkson's marriage came under fire from the tabloids earlier this year over claims he had cheated on his wife with a member of the Top Gear production team while in Australia.

He denied the reports and said his 18-year marriage was strong.

The couple have three children.



Thursday 20 October 2011

Gardai in Spain for 'Fat' Freddie handover deal

 

DUBLIN detectives have travelled to Spain to negotiate the handover of gangster 'Fat' Freddie Thompson. Sources say that gardai are spending a number of days with their Spanish counterparts examining evidence against Thompson. "This is standard procedure in a case like this," a source said. Thompson is due to appear before the High Court today where he is expected to apply for bail after being remanded in custody on Friday when he was arrested on a European Arrest Warrant. laundering Spanish authorities want to extradite him to Spain and they allege that Thompson operated as a bodyguard and chauffeur for the Christy Kinahan drugs organisation, which was targeted in a massive international police operation in May, 2010, known as Operation Shovel. Spanish authorities say that the Kinahan organisation is heavily involved in gun crime, drug trafficking and money laundering through a complex network of companies. Sources have revealed that in the weeks before his arrest, Thompson had fallen out of favour with the Kinahan mob -- organisation who his gang has been sourcing drugs from for over a decade. A European Arrest Warrant has also been issued for Thompson's close pal Gary Hutch (30) but gardai have not been able to find him. The Herald has previously revealed that Thompson's arrest warrant contains explosive details about a phone call tapped by Spanish police in December, 2009, between 'Fat' Freddie and Hutch in which the two criminals discuss firearms. The warrant also alleged that 'Fat' Freddie and Hutch travelled together to Portugal in November, 2009 and Amsterdam in May, 2010, to organise drug shipments. The warrant also states that Hutch and Thompson lived together in Spain and were "right-hand men" of Daniel Kinahan -- the son of Ireland's richest drugs trafficker Christy Kinahan. Also mentioned on the warrant is Ross Browning (27) from north inner city Dublin who is alleged to have collected a major Irish criminal from Malaga Airport in May, 2010, in a car which was also regularly used by the notorious criminal Hutch. violence Browning was one of around 30 people arrested by police investigating Kinahan's drug organisation last year. He was released without charge after being questioned for a number of days by Spanish authorities. Since being sent to Cloverhill Prison on Friday, Thompson has been placed in the protection unit in the jail because of fears that he may become a victim of a feud related attack or that he may orchestrate violence within the prison. It is understood he has had no visitors in jail.

Spanish town rushes to wed gays before election

 

Spanish town is offering gay couples fast-track marriages before a likely November election win by the conservative Popular Party, which opposes same-sex marriage. The mayor of the small southwestern town of Jun, Jose Antonio Rodriguez, said he offered the service across Spain after hearing from gay couples fearing a change in the law after the November 20 vote. “People are very afraid, they are starting to realise that there could be a real change and they will lose a hard-fought right,” the Socialist mayor told AFP. “I felt it was important to reassure people and find a way so that people who want to get married could do so,” he said. Rodriguez said the town had received 52 requests from same-sex couples wanting to be married in the past week after he announced on Twitter he would offer speedy gay marriages before the general election. The town of just over 4,000 residents carried out just 11 same-sex marriages during all of 2010. The wedding applications are handled entirely online in about five days, complete with marriage certificate delivered by e-mail. The mayor said he had made the town’s park available for wedding ceremonies but the vast majority of couples opt for the electronic marriage and would not need to set foot in Jun. Under Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Spain has been on the vanguard of Europe in terms of gay rights. In 2005 — a year after Zapatero was first elected — Spain passed a law to allow same-sex marriages, making it only the third member of the European Union after Belgium and the Netherlands to do so. The law, part of the ruling Socialists’ aggressive agenda for social reform, also lets gay couples adopt children and inherit each other’s property. Since then more than 20,000 gay couples have tied the knot. The conservative Popular Party, which is riding high in the polls, has appealed the gay marriage law to Spain’s Constitutional Court. Popular Party leader Mariano Rajoy has pledged to reform the same-sex marriage law if elected but as the general election has neared he has stressed that any legislative action will come only after the court issues its ruling. Polls show two-thirds of Spaniards back same-sex marriage, one of the highest levels of support in Europe.

Choose your petrol station carefully in Malaga Province

 

UP to €4.50 can be saved be choosing the cheapest petrol station to fill up. The average price per litre for unleaded petrol in Malaga Province is now up to €1.34, 13 per cent more than the same time last year, according to the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce and the highest in the whole of Spain. Diesel is €1.29 on average, 16 per cent more than October 2010. The cheapest place to fill up with 95 octane is Distreax-22, Velez-Malaga, at €1.29 per litre. The most expensive place to fill up with 95 octane is E.S. El Torcal, Villanueva de la Concepcion (Malaga), at €1.38 per litre. The cheapest place to fill up with diesel is Galp, Antequera, at €1.24 per litre. The most expensive place to fill up with diesel is Cepsa, Manilva at €1.31 per litre.

Tuesday 18 October 2011

¡Ole! Spain drives legality into mobile services with Sybase 365

 

Spain was one of the first countries to start to lay down laws relating to old non-registered pay-as-you-go SIM cards for anti-terrorism reasons i.e. you MUST tell the authorities your name and address and get a new SIM if you had one of the old anonymous ones. Following on from this "mobile legality" theme, news this week bubbles of Sybase subsidiary company Sybase 365 working with Spanish mobile operator Yoigo. The two firms have joined forces to offer registered SMS, a new service allowing companies to send customers confirmation text messages with the same legal standing as registered mail. According to Sybase, "Officially certified by the Spanish Real Casa de la Moneda (The Royal Mint of Spain) the Sybase 365 and Yoigo service recognises an SMS confirmation as legal proof of delivery of important documents and information. These certificates can then be used as evidence in judicial proceedings in Spain for enterprises wishing to demonstrate correspondence with their customers. This will enable companies and their customers to resolve disputes in a timely manner, avoiding the cost of court proceedings." With registered SMS, financial institutions, utility companies and enterprises will be able to use SMS where previously they would have used registered mail. Developers working to build in legally approved services into mobile (or desktop for that matter) applications should perhaps take note of Sybase 365's suggestion that an SMS provides a number of advantages over registered mail including five times better response rate over traditional mail and is read 288 times faster than email. "No other communication medium has the ability to reach more people than SMS, said Howard Stevens, senior vice president, global telco and international operations, Sybase 365. "Consumer acceptance and enterprise adoption of the mobile channel is fuelling the growth in volume, availability and sophistication of mobile services and the registered SMS services we're launching confirms this trend."

Catholic Church Child Trafficking Network

 

Spain is reeling from an avalanche of allegations of baby theft and baby trafficking. The trade began at the end of the Spanish civil war and continued for 50 years – hundreds of thousands of babies are thought to have been traded by nuns, priests and doctors up to the 1990s. This World reveals the impact of Spain’s stolen baby scandal through the eyes of the children and parents who were separated at birth, and who are now desperate to find their relatives. Exhumations of the supposed graves of babies and positive DNA tests are proof that baby theft has happened. Across Spain, people are queuing up to take a DNA test and thousands of Spaniards are asking ‘Who am I?’ Katya Adler has been meeting the heartbroken mothers who are searching for the children whom they were told died at birth, as well as the stolen and trafficked babies who are now grown up and searching for their biological relatives and their true identities.

Spain’s property bust is only getting worse.

AFP
Cranes erecting the Pelly tower under construction in Seville.

Spain’s property bust is only getting worse. The wonder is that the country’s economy and banks are still this resilient.

The Spanish government said Tuesday that housing prices remained in free-fall in the third quarter, dropping 5.5% from a year earlier, the biggest decline since 2009.

This makes Spain, in many senses, the worst case of a property bust in the developed world—the country is already deep in its third consecutive year of falling prices, with no rebounds.

Last year, the pace of decline slowed significantly, signalling some light at the end of the tunnel, but another metaphor is called for instead: that last year’s respite was nothing more than a dead cat’s bounce.

The good news should be the overall amount of the decline, since Spain’s government says prices are only down 18%, in nominal terms, since their peak in early 2008.

But that doesn’t include the effect of Spain’s persistent inflation, one of the highest in the euro zone, which makes the real drop closer to 30%—Spain’s government didn’t provide real price data in today’s release.

After earlier predictions of a short-term correction have been smashed, some analysts now say prices may keep falling for the next two years, eroding Spain’s household wealth and banking balance sheets.

Meanwhile, banks are struggling to keep up with the loss in value of the collateral against €400 billion worth of loans to construction and real estate firms, an amount that remains unchanged since 2008.

For Luis Garicano, a professor of economics and strategy at the London School of Economics, this number is perhaps the most dangerous of those related to the bust, since it indicates the banking sector exposure to such loans hasn’t diminished.

He estimates that a possible explanation is that banks have exchanged some non-performing loans for property that they now own, but not enough to offset the rising interest on the loans.

Many, if not most of these loans, are being rolled over to keep zombie developers in business, in the hope that the market will recover.

All the same, banks have also turned into property developers now.

Walk into any Spanish bank branch, looking for a mortgage, and you will see that is much easier to get it if you’ll just take one of the many, many houses the bank acquired from a bankrupt developer. But many will say why worry? The same house will be even cheaper next month.

Thursday 13 October 2011

Man arrested in connection with body found on Marbella roadside

 

A man has been arrested in connection with the death of the 15 year old Moroccan whose body was found by the roadside between Marbella and Ronda. The arrested man lives on a nearby finca to where the body was found, and has claimed that the 15 year old was continuously stealing from him. Government Sub Delegate for Málaga, Hilario López Luna, said that the National Police arrested the Spaniard on Tuesday. The 15 year old Moroccan is known to have had a police record. The arrested man said that he surprised the Moroccan on his land and shot him in the face with a shotgun. He then moved the body to the roadside. He is expected to appear in court shortly.

Wednesday 12 October 2011

National police officers suspended the search for the two children who went missing on Saturday in Cordoba, Spain.

  • Photo: EFE.

    Photo: EFE. 

 

The children, Ruth and José Bretón Ruiz aged six and two respectively, went missing at around 18:40 on Saturday while playing in a park just in the outskirts of Cordoba. They were with their father when they vanished. He claimed that they vanished when he lost sight of them for an instant.

The children, who usually live with their mother in Huelva, travelled to Cordoba with their father on Friday. The parents are currently in the midst of separation proceedings.

The search was concentrated on an area around the rio Guadalquivir but no trace of the children was found.

Forensic experts from Madrid and Sevilla are also analysing samples taken at the home of children’s paternal grandfather, where the father has been living since the start of separation procedures.

On Sunday, the mother of the children filed a complaint of psychological abuse against the father. The complaint apparently only related to marital issues as the children were not named in the complaint.

I was set up, former chief of the National Police in Ronda claims

 

former chief of the National Police in Ronda claims that he was accused in the police corruption case because people wanted to “bring him down”. Nine people are accused in the case which is currently being tried in Malaga. They include three other National Police officers and a Guardia Civil. The hearing was initially planned in March last year but was suspended after the defence for one of the accused asked to know the identity of some of the protected witnesses to carry out tests. This was agreed, but the trial was postponed on two other occasions. There are 60 witnesses, many whose identities are protected. Malaga Public Prosecutor is asking for a total of 39 years for the five officers who allegedly failed to investigate prostitution and drugs sales at brothels in the area from which they are accused of demanding money and sex in exchange for not going ahead with deportation orders for the illegal immigrants working there between 2003 and 2007. Three club managers were charged with prostitution, and another man who allegedly accompanied the officer with influence peddling. He is said to have boasted about his relationship with the police and an affair with the local judge. The Internal Affairs investigation led to the arrests of the officers and the other people between February and May 2007. The former National Police chief visited the brothels and, like the others, allegedly had drinks and sexual favours which he never paid for, and was also accused of helping an illegal immigrant who worked in a care home in exchange for sex. The prosecution believes that another one of the National Police rented a house to one of the brothel owners for the girls to stay in and tipped them off about possible raids. The former police chief claims in court that the whole case is a set-up organized by people he had arrested or had problems with in the past, including other officers, and says he never failed in his duty, nor abused his position to obtain sex or anything else. He does admit to having had a consenting relationship with a protected witness who he claims demanded money from him and went to his wife after they split up. He says he regrets this, but that it was the only thing he has done wrong.

Spain health service chokes as austerity tightens

 

Medical suppliers haven't been paid for as much as two years, emergency rooms have been shut down and doctors in Catalonia have been told to accept a pay cut or 1,500 medical residents will lose their jobs. Spain's treasured public health care system has become the latest victim of the euro zone debt crisis. "We haven't been paid, but there's nothing we can do about it. We need the contracts, so we're just going to have to wait it out," said a representative for a cleaning company who did not want his or the firm's name used for fear of a backlash. The company, which says it is owed hundreds of millions of euros by the government of the Castilla-La Mancha region south of Madrid, is one of dozens of providers of everything from surgical swabs to disinfectants struggling to pay workers as Spain's regions delay payments to meet tight deficit targets. The debt-burdened autonomous regions' spending cuts are a tangible sign of the present and future pain as Spain works to meet ambitious deficit reduction goals pledged to the European Union in the midst of an economic downturn. Spain's political parties have kept their positions on the issue vague ahead of November 20 general elections, but even the most passionate defenders of the current system agree there is scope for cost savings and more efficiency. Spain's conservative opposition, the People's Party (PP), which is expected to win in November, will likely cut into social welfare programs the incumbent Socialists have left untouched. But even the Socialists now say they can find ways to reduce health spending without harming services. Examples include forcing car insurance firms to pay for the treatment of accident victims and sending foreign governments the bill when their citizens use Spanish hospitals. 900-DAY WAITS Multinational pharmaceutical firm Roche says the Castilla y Leon region north of Madrid is more than 900 days behind on its bills, which has raised fears here that the company could start withholding drugs for some hospitals as it did in Greece, which is fighting off bankruptcy. Spain's central government makes yearly transfers of income tax revenue to the country's 17 autonomous regions, which are in charge of administering health care and schools. But the regions are being forced to make drastic budget cuts after piling up debt during Spain's property boom, the collapse of which in 2008 sent the country into recession and unemployment soaring to more than 20 percent. As the regions squeeze spending wherever they can, what they owe to companies that provide health care services and products has risen 42 percent in a year to more than 4 billion euros, according to the Spanish Federation of Healthcare Technology, known as Fenin. AT Kearney consultancy calculates the system's long-term deficit is 15 billion euros, a heavy burden for a government whose borrowing costs have soared in the euro zone debt crisis. Margarita Alfonsel, secretary general of Fenin, says small companies in her federation "are suffering to an alarming extent due to the liquidity squeeze." She said some will have to lay off staff or go into bankruptcy. The average number of days providers must wait for payment has risen in the past year to 415 days, from 285 days, she said. "It was unacceptable before. Now it's totally incomprehensible," said Joaquin del Rincon, Spanish representative of Boston Scientific, which provides medical and surgical instruments to Spanish hospitals. "We have to explain to our central offices that this is an ongoing problem in Spain made worse by the crisis," he said.

Possible Drug Connection Moroccan teenager found dead on a roadside in Marbella

 

The National Police have identified a body which was found on the hard shoulder of the road between the Nueva Andalucía area of Marbella and Ronda on Monday as that of a 15 year old Moroccan boy who has been named by his initials, T.A. Despite the identification from finger prints there is no report of a missing person. It’s thought that his body could have been thrown from a moving vehicle as it passed the access road to the La Quinta urbanisation. The body, which was dressed in sports gear, was removed from the scene for autopsy as the investigation continues to determine the exact cause of his death. However reports indicate that he had suffered shotgun wounds to the face.

British man mugged in La Línea

 

Local police in La Línea de la Concepción have reported that last Sunday they arrested three local men, 17 year old J.Z.B., 20 year old L.M.L.F. and 22 year old J.R.P. in connection with a robbery with violence. The police were patrolling the Calle Gibraltar in the town at 0630am close to a discotec, when they were approached by an 18 year old British man who told them that his father was being beaten up in the Princesa Sofía park. On their arrival at the scene they saw a 63 year old British man on the ground, with injuries to his face and body. They called the health services and were told by the victim how three youngsters had attacked him and stolen his mobile phone, passport and tobacco. Local police informed the National Police and a search of the area found the three in the Bellavista district. Once back at the police station the three are reported to have confessed and the stolen items were found in their pockets.

Four people arrested for murder of Finnish woman in Mijas

 

Four people have been arrested in connection with a murder committed on the Costa del Sol this summer, after a body was found on an isolated property in Mijas last week. It’s believed to be that of 19 year old Jenna Lepomaki, a woman from Finland who arrived in Fuengirola for a holiday in June and was reported missing the following month after she failed to return home to her family. DNA testing is to be carried out to confirm the identification. She is reported to have travelled to the Costa del Sol at the invitation of friends she met on line and who paid for the trip. El País indicates that it has now emerged that she placed a complaint with the Spanish Civil Guard while in Spain for the threats her friends made against her after she refused to act as a courier to smuggle cocaine back into Finland from Spain. Investigations in Finland led Spain’s National Police to the property in Mijas, owned by a Finnish man, where the body was found, partially dismembered, wrapped up in a sleeping bag which was half covered over in a mound of leaves. Part of a missing arm was found inside a barrel which was being used by workmen working on site to renovate the swimming pool. Four Finnish nationals have been arrested in connection with the murder. The man who owns the Mijas property is in custody as a suspected accessory and, in Finland, the two friends she was travelling with in Málaga have also been arrested, as well as the mother of one of the two.

Tuesday 11 October 2011

Dead Moroccan dumped on Marbella roadside

 

BODY found on a Marbella roadside with shotgun wounds to the face has been identified as a 15-year-old Moroccan boy. The youngster was found near the La Quinta urbanisation on the Marbella to Ronda road on Monday, with reports indicating he had been thrown from a moving vehicle. An investigation is now underway, with an autopsy being held to determine the cause of death. Despite being identified by his fingerprints, there is no report of a missing person. It comes as four people have been arrested in connection with the murder of a Finnish woman whose partially dismembered body was found at a villa in Mijas. Jenna Lepomaki, 19, is thought to have been killed after refusing to help smuggle cocaine between Spain and Finland.

alleged members of an organized network trafficking with weapons and drugs were arrested in Granada.

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All the detainees are Spanish and are aged between 35 and 45.
The operation began several months ago focused on locating illegal weapons which had allegedly been sold by the network. The police also found sophisticated cannabis greenhouses where more than 2,000 plants were seized. The electrical supply to the greenhouses had been obtained illegally.
Thirteen properties in Granada province were searched, and more than €130,000 in cash, as well as 14 firearms, ammunition, and four high range vehicles were seized.

Polish woman arrested in Marbella for murder

 

POLISH woman was arrested in Marbella for her alleged involvement in a murder in Valencia in August 2009. The victim was Djordje Kenecevic, who was shot and burned inside his car in Almussafes (Valencia). The 49-year-old woman, identified as Danuta G.K. but also known as Renate B. and other identities, was arrested on the Palm Beach urbanization in Marbella. She had been identified as a suspect some months ago but was only located in Malaga last week after using one of her false identities to travel within Europe. She is a known drug smuggler and was wanted by the German authorities, according to press reports. She was set free with charges of covering up the murder, but later taken to prison under the orders of the National Court as there is also a request for extradition to Germany. The extradition process will have to wait, as the crime which she will have to respond for in Spain is more serious and carries a longer sentence. Djordje Kenecevic is believed to have been killed by members of the gang he belonged to. Most of them, like him, were sailors who took advantage of their work with Europe’s main shipping company to transport packages with up to five kilos of cocaine between European ports. The detainee is considered to have been one of the leaders of the organization, and is the second person arrested in this case.

Bank manager arrested for robbing his own bank

 

Bank manager has been arrested in Vitoria after trying to rob his own branch. The man arranged for his brother to attack the bank, but things immediately went wrong when several people saw the brother putting on a wig and false moustache sitting in a car round the corner from the bank, and alerted the authorities. The man then left the bank by car but was found later by the police who found a wig, beard, moustache and false teeth in a bag he was carrying, along with gloves and a fake pistol. The car he was driving was found to belong to the bank manager, his brother. When the police asked the bank manager what had happened he initially said that a man had come into the bank to ask about several products and left shortly after, but other clients and employees said that it was ‘evident that the man was in disguise’. Both men have been arrested by the Basque regional police, la Ertzaintza, who said that the brothers came up with the idea because of the financial difficulties they were in. The arrests took place on Friday, but the Basque Government interior department only released news on Monday. The 60 and 53 year old are accused of attempted robbery with intimidation and will appear in court shortly.

Moroccan teenager found dead on a roadside in Marbella

 

National Police have identified a body which was found on the hard shoulder of the road between the Nueva Andalucía area of Marbella and Ronda on Monday as that of a 15 year old Moroccan boy who has been named by his initials, T.A. Despite the identification from finger prints there is no report of a missing person. It’s thought that his body could have been thrown from a moving vehicle as it passed the access road to the La Quinta urbanisation. The body, which was dressed in sports gear, was removed from the scene for autopsy as the investigation continues to determine the exact cause of his death. However reports indicate that he had suffered shotgun wounds to the face.

Monday 10 October 2011

Spanish bullfighter Juan Jose Padilla lies on the arena after being gored in the face by a bull during a bullfight in the northeastern city of Zaragoza

In this photo taken Oct. 7, 2011, Spanish bullfighter Juan Jose Padilla lies on the arena after being gored in the face by a bull during a bullfight in the northeastern city of Zaragoza, Spain. (AP)

 A Spanish bullfighter is likely to suffer facial paralysis and lose the sight in one eye after a terrifying goring, the hospital treating him said Saturday.

 

Television images showed the moment when the bull's left horn ripped into Juan Jose Padilla's lower jaw to emerge beside his protruding eyeball as spectators in the northeastern city of Zaragoza screamed in horror.

 

Padilla is in a stable condition and recovering from a five-hour operation to repair his face, the statement from the Miguel Servet Hospital said.

 

It said Padilla, 39, suffered eye, bone, muscle and skin damage when the bull pinned him to the ground and gored him. Surgeons had not been able to repair a severed facial nerve.

Sunday 9 October 2011

British man arrested on Tenerife with 34 heroin capsules in his body

 

34 year old British man has been arrested at the Los Rodeos Tenerife North Airport after found to be carrying 75 capsules of heroin inside his body. News has just been released of the arrest which took place last Wednesday afternoon, and a statement from the Guardia Civil says the total weight of the drug recovered was 913 grams. Apparently when stopped by customs officials on arrival from the Spanish mainland, suspicions were raised when the Briton was unable to give a clear explanation as to the reason for his visit to Tenerife. The man, who has not been named in reports, was subjected to medical and police surveillance in the Canaries Universitario Hospital until all the capsules had been passed. That was checked by x-ray.

Spanish bullfighter Juan Jose Padilla could lose his vision after a dangerous run-in with a bull.

Spanish bullfighter Juan Jose Padilla could lose his vision after a dangerous run-in with a bull.
Elena Munoz/AP

A bull brutally gored a matador in Spain on Friday, tearing through the man's jaw and pushing out his eyeball as spectators watched in horror.

"I can't see, I can't see anything," Juan Jose Padilla, 39, shouted as he was rushed out of the ring while bleeding profusely and cupping his protruding eye.

The 1,120-pound animal had chased the bullfighter and pinned him to the ground, goring him after he tripped. Television images caught the horrifying scene.

The bull, named Marques, was the second fighting beast Padilla had faced during the second day of the annual Virgen del Pilar festivities in Zaragoza.

Padilla was rushed to emergency facilities at the Misericordia bullring before being driven to the hospital.

A statement from the Miguel Servet Hospital said he was in a stable condition after a five-hour operation to repair his face.

The hospital said Padilla was likely to suffer facial paralysis and lose sight in one eye.

The hospital said he suffered eye, bone, muscle and skin damage when the bull pinned him to the ground. Surgeons had not been able to repair a severed facial nerve.

Surgeons used titanium plates and mesh to reconstruct parts of Padilla's face.



 

Saturday 8 October 2011

15 year old British holidaymaker taken into care as his aunt is drunk

 

The police in Sant Antoni de Portmany got more than they bargained for when they asked the 15 year old who was looking after him on holiday The juvenile unit of the Sant Antoni de Portmany Police on Ibiza has decided to admit a British 15 year old to a youngsters’ centre while it is hoped that he can return back to the U.K. EFE news agency reports that the 15 year old was found on the island looking after his alcoholic aunt, and a statement from the local police on Friday explained that the case came to their attention last Wednesday, when the police were involved in a minor incident with the youngster. The 15 year old was found in the street and the police asked who was looking after him. He told them that it was his 40 year old aunt, with whom he had come to Ibiza on holiday. However the police found the aunt to be drunk in the hotel and possibly also under the effects of drugs or medicaments, and considered she was in no condition to look after the adolescent. They took note of the situation and returned a few hours later and then found the 15 year old also drunk, and the woman was now ‘totally out of it’ and ‘shrieking at her nephew for no apparent reason and with clear symptoms of being drunk’. The police saw empty alcohol bottles on the floor and medicines on the furniture. After a time the police managed to locate the boy’s mother by phone in England, the sister of the aunt, and explained the situation, calling on her to come to Ibiza urgently to deal with her son. The mother apparently told the police that she could not travel to Ibiza the next day, and it was agreed with her that the boy should sleep that night in another room with some friends. Then the decision was taken, with the help of the British consular offices in Ibiza to try and mediate with both the mother and the aunt, and finding that collaboration missing, and assembling witness reports on incidents between the boy and his aunt in the hotel, it was decided to remove the 15 year old into temporary care. He’s now in the Sa Coma centre awaiting the arrival of his mother to take him back to the UK. The consul is helping with the organisation of the flights.

Thursday 6 October 2011

900 kilos of hashish recovered on the Costa del Sol

 

organised crime and drugs unit, UDYCO of the National Police on the Costa del Sol has found 900 kilos of hashish on a yacht and hidden in a house in Cártama. At least eight people have been arrested, three Moroccans and five Spaniards. La Opinión de Málaga reports that the investigation started in Madrid, and a police operation last week which observed how the yacht left Morocco last week destination Spain. The vessel was intercepted and then escorted into Málaga port where 600 kilos of hashish was found. The police say the owner of the yacht is already well known to them for his alleged links to hashish trafficking across the Strait. The second part of the operation came in Cártama where a home was found to contain 300 kilos of hashish, 2.5 kilos of cocaine, some 150 marihuana plants and about 70,000 € in cash. A man and woman arrested there were finally released. It’s believed the house was used to store the drugs before they were distributed across Europe.

Wednesday 5 October 2011

The Duchess of Alba with her new husband Alfonso Díez outside Dueñas Palace in Seville.

Duchess of Alba and Alfonso Diez
 Photograph: Javier Diaz/Reuters

She is a frizzy-haired 85-year-old eccentric and hugely wealthy aristocrat with a squeaky voice and an impossibly long name. He is a lowly civil servant 25 years her junior. Today the two were married, prompting a frenzy of excitement in this southern Spanish city.

Crowds formed outside Seville's Dueñas Palace – just one of several regal residences the Duchess of Alba owns around Spain – as she, her family and a few friends gathered for a small ceremony for her marriage to Alfonso Díez in the palace's private chapel.

The billionaire duchess, who has been known to ask the media for money in the past, allowed in just two news agencies – for free.

"She is an amazing woman. She does whatever she wants and doesn't give a damn what people say," said 18-year-old tourism student Ana Trigo, as she fought for space on the pavement outside the Dueñas's imposing gates. "I know she's got lots of money, but that's just the luck of birth isn't it?"

A neatly groomed priest, a flamenco singing troupe, innumerable bunches of roses, sunflowers and carnations, and at least two bullfighter guests made their way into the palace complex as security guards pushed back the crowd of gawping, shouting Sevillanos.

"I've written a paso doble and want to sing it for her," said composer Vicente Tarrancón, who travelled the 300 miles from Alicante with an electric piano and a violinist but who remained firmly outside the palace gates.

Onlookers mostly were not disturbed by the duchess's inherited wealth, estimated at up to €3.5bn (£3bn), even though one in five Spaniards are currently unemployed and the economy is heading towards a double-dip recession.

Apart from her palaces, the duchess owns huge tracts of land all over Spain and has a collection of paintings that include works by Goya and Velázquez.

"She gives a lot of money to charity and employs a lot of people. And she repaired the church of the Christ of the Gypsies," said housewife Mari Luz González. "She's wonderful."

Cries of "Guapa!" or "Good-looking!" welcomed the pallid duchess when she appeared dressed in a pink wedding dress with a green ribbon around her waist at the palace gates with her new husband. She responded by dancing a few flamenco steps.

Most people, however, seemed to be taking a tongue-in-cheek attitude to the duchess's latest romance and using it as an excuse to indulge in Seville's favoured pastime of partying. At least one onlooker had dressed in a bridal gown. Another came disguised as Spain's monarch, King Juan Carlos, who was reportedly petitioned by the duchess's children to see if he could dissuade their mother from remarrying.

"Let's face it, the scandal is not that he is younger, but that she is so old," said Margarita Ruibal. "It's not every day you hear of someone of that age getting married."

An unemployed man who called himself Buti came dressed as a yoghurt carton to protest at the €40 a day paid to farmworkers. "Here they are, living it up in their palaces while 300 families a day lose their homes in Spain," he said.

The duchess's attempts to stop her six children from squabbling with her husband-to-be over money – by making her will public before the marriage – failed to appease them all, prompting the duchess to call one daughter-in-law "lying, wicked and covetous" on a television gossip show.

The daughter-in-law and her husband were among the few guests who turned down the wedding invitation. "Alfonso doesn't want anything. All he wants is me," the duchess said earlier this year.

Newsstands, meanwhile, displayed the front cover of Interviú magazine – which showed topless pictures of the duchess taken three decades ago on an Ibiza beach. The publicity-loving aristocrat was said to be formally furious, but privately delighted, by the flattering figure she boasted when she was a mere fifty-something. The magazine said it had held on to the pictures for 30 years so as not to upset the duchess, but thought them now worth publishing.

Local shops were selling duchess-themed "I love DQS" T-shirts featuring her trademark frizz of white hair. The regional CanalSur TV station beamed live coverage into the city's bars, where unemployed men sold postcards of the Virgin Mary statues that populate Seville's churches.

The duchess, whose full name is María del Rosario Cayetana Victoria Alfonsa Fitz-James Stuart y de Silva, boasts 49 inherited aristocratic titles – at least 20 of which allow entry into the select club of Spanish Grandees. She also claims the title of Duchess of Berwick and boasts blood ties to the British royal family and Winston Churchill.

Twice widowed, her last husband Jesús Aguirre, who had previously been a leftwing Catholic priest, died in 2001

Change of Heart for Maurice Boland

 

 Maurice Boland, is set to launch a new radio station later this month after formally leaving Heart FM. The controversial DJ posted a statement on his Facebook page this morning (Wednesday) thanking the station for its support during his ‘short but enjoyable stay,’ but announced he had a new project in the pipeline. “Let me assure you that my absence on the airways will be only short lived. I’m delighted to announce that along with an exceptional team of top class broadcasters, I am developing a new radio project,” he said. He later told the Olive Press: “I am really excited to be setting up a new radio station. “It will be similar format to before with news and current affairs and I have a great name and fabulous studios. “But I haven’t really released any information about it yet. I put it on Facebook as so many people had been calling and emailing me asking where I had gone as I had disappeared off Heart so I was forced to reveal something,” he added. Boland refused to confirm the name of his new station but sources believe it will be an online station called Eye Talk Europe. It comes after the disgraced Irish entertainer returned to the airwaves in April after his close relationship with a 16-year-old girl was exposed. He was forced to lie low for nine months after having his contract terminated at Talk Radio Europe (TRE), as exclusively revealed at the time by the Olive Press. The broadcaster, 62, had set out to help the teenager forge a musical career but their relationship had evolved and he later admitted to making a ‘terrible mistake.’

Peter Bibby on the run while other boiler room crooks get jailed

 

Seven crooks who ran an £8million boiler room scam flogging worthless shares in a supposedly successful bio-diesel enterprise have been jailed for a total of 39 years. Worldwide Bio Refineries was portrayed by coldcallers as a fantastic investment, turning vegetable waste into fuel, but it was a dormant company with just £20 in its bank account. The Serious Fraud Office says: "The share-selling was undertaken by salesmen working from a number of boiler rooms in Marbella and Barcelona although many of them used false names and claimed to be calling from offices Frankfurt, Stockholm or Amsterdam. "The business prospects of the company and the bio-diesel market were inflated by WBR's directors and the salesmen, who claimed that substantial international business was being done and that the business's shares were valued at £110 million. "Investors believed that their investment in a successful bio-diesel enterprise would net them significant short term returns, bolstered by claims that WBR was to be floated on the stock market which would result in a significant increase in share value. These claims were bogus. "The reality was that the UK bio-diesel plant produced no output and, with only limited imports coming from a Singapore plant, WBR was not being managed with any intention of it becoming a growing commercial success generating profits from sales of bio-diesel. WBR was simply a vehicle for fraud." At Ipswich Crown Court, Dennis Potter of Singapore, born April 1939, was jailed for seven years. Redmond "Ray" Charles Johnson of Tyne and Wear, born September 1944, got three years. From Marbella, Steven John Murphy, born in February 1976 and Greg Pearson, born August 1973, both got six years inside. From Hertfordshire, Paul Daniel Murphy, born in September 1973 got six years and Lee Eliot Homan, born in July 1972, got five years and six months. Peter Bibby from south London, born in September 1967 is on the run. He was sentenced in absentia to six years. Serious Fraud Office director Director Richard Alderman said, "I am very pleased with the sentences in this case which reflect the callous way the criminals preyed on their victims." Potter and Johnson were associates of Alternative Diesel Investments, run by Robert Alan Scott and an earlier "completely fraudulent" operation.

Spanish Women Marry Immigrants With More Qualifications

 

A team at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) has studied the marriage strategies of immigrants in order to determine the nature of endogamic (between people of the same nationality) and exogamic partnerships (between people of different nationalities) in Spain. The preliminary results indicate that, unlike Spanish men, Spanish women prefer immigrants with more qualifications. “It caught our attention that human capital was more important in determining outmarriage amongst Spanish women but this is not the case in Spanish men. In other words, it seems that Spanish women prefer to get married to an immigrant man who has a higher educational attainment. However, this preference does not exist amongst Spanish men when it comes to getting married to an immigrant woman,” explains María Sánchez-Domínguez, investigator at the UCM and co-author of the study that was published in the International Sociology Journal. The researcher and her team gathered data from the National Immigrant Survey of Spain (2007), which was carried out by the UCM’s Population and Society Study Group (GEPS) and Spain’s National Statistic Institute (INE). The survey acts as a unique source of information and can be used to understand the characteristics of immigrants in Spain since 2007. Sánchez-Domínguez points out that “although it is from 2007, the survey contains both information on the current situation of those surveyed as well as their migration history. It is the only source of information that we can use to study the marriage strategies of immigrants and link them to integration processes. It is useful not just in understanding immigrant marriages in Spain but also those marriages that took place in the country of origin. From these data, in an initial study, researchers analysed endogamic marriages in Spain and the relationship between marriage and migration strategies. The expert’s main conclusion was that Moroccans are more prone towards endogamy, followed by Romanians and Ecuadorians.

Tuesday 4 October 2011

pregnant woman murdered while attending Mass

 

A madman shot two women attending Mass at a Catholic church in the Ciudad Leal district of Madrid on September 29. It was approximately 8 pm when Iván Berral Cid (34) entered the Santa María del Pinar parish church and without a word opened fire on the two innocent women, killing one and severely wounding the other. After commiting the crime, Berral Cid shot himself thus ending his own life. According to reports, Berral Cid had meticulously planned the attack following a June 2011 restraining order to stay away from his former companion, a Colombian woman. He had a considerable criminal record, including drug trafficking, domestic abuse, and resisting arrest. However, no record of psychiatric treatment has yet been reported. His former companion is expecting a child. It is believed that his obsession with his former girlfriend, coupled with other psychological issues, led him to take action at the church after he had spent months living on the street. Some members of the congregation believe that they may have seen him before the fatal attack. According to witnesses, Berral Cid had been haunting the church all day on September 28. One witness said that Berral Cid asked him at 6:45 that evening at what time Mass was expected. The killer entered and left the church several times during the recitation of the Rosary before the Mass.  The parish priest, Fr Francisco Santos, said that Berral Cid was acting strangely and also asked him at what time the Mass would begin. Witnesses said that moments before the Mass began, Berral Cid entered the church with pistol in hand. While raising the pistol, he grazed the head of a 72-year-old man waiting for the Mass and then put the muzzle to the temple of the unsuspecting expectant mother thus ending her life and of her baby. Rocio Pineiro (36) fell dead to the floor as Berral Cid advanced towards the altar as he fired wildly. Another bullet struck 52–year-old María Luis Fernández in the chest, and at least another struck the ceiling of the church. Witnesses said that in what seemed like a bizarre ritual, the killer stalked towards the sanctuary and at about six feet from the altar spun around to face the congregation whereupon he sank to his knees. Fixing his gaze on the congregation and the entry into the church, Berral Cid placed the muzzle of the pistol in his mouth, pulled the trigger and blew his head off. Panic ensued after members of the congregation had appeared transfixed during the carnage. Some flew out the door to seek help while others rang for the police and emergency services with their cellphones.  “My daughter, my daughter!” wailed María del Carmen, the mother of the dead woman who was due to deliver her baby within days. Emergency services were unable to revive Rocio, whose head was destroyed by the impact of the pistol’s discharge.  “Save at least my grandson, Alvaro!” cried María del Carmen. Physicians at the La Paz Hospital were able to save little Alvaro, who remains in critical condition.  Rocio and her mother had come to the church to pray for the health of the baby, having just celebrated the patronal feast of their hometown in Galicia. Members of the congregation sought help for Fernández, who fell bleeding to the floor of the church. One man tried to staunch the blood flowing from her breast as Fernández fell in and out of consciousness.  When she asked what had happened to her, Jesus Herranz told her that she was fine even as blood drained from the exit wound on her back. Fernández said that she felt cold as Herranz tried to stop the bleeding. Finally, emergency services arrived and took her to a nearby hospital. Police found in the killer’s wallet a handwritten note in which he claimed that the “devil is after me” and that he had no work or money for food. Rocio and her husband Fernando had been married for barely 5 months. Her family and friends were overcome with grief and confusion following the attack. Neither she nor the other victim knew the killer nor each other. Some witnesses are concluding that Berral Cid was looking to kill a pregnant woman as a form of demented rage actually directed towards his girlfriend. Rocio worked at a bank in Madrid,  a branch of which also employed her father. Upon hearing the news, her father fainted away in grief. Her mother, Maria del Carmen, had come to Madrid to help with preparations for the birth.

Greenpeace has revealed how Spain is “repeatedly and systematically overlooking illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing by its huge fleet throughout European waters and beyond”.

 

Greenpeace has revealed how Spain is “repeatedly and systematically overlooking illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing by its huge fleet throughout European waters and beyond”. The report, titled Ocean Inquirer, takes as a case study one Galician family whose companies have received over €16m in subsidies from European taxpayers to fund a long list of criminal activities. Greenpeace states that the Vidal family’s many ships have been found conducting IUU fishing for decades, right around the world, and been prosecuted in the US, the UK and in the Pacific and the Spanish government have promised on numerous occasions to investigate and put an end to these abuses. But Greenpeace claims that what they have actually done is fund them - with our money. Spain has the largest fishing fleet in Europe, maintained with billions in subsidies - more than double the amount of subsidies received by any other EU nation. Greenpeace has accused the Spanish fleet of exploiting the CFP to infiltrate the fleets of other European nations and take their fishing quotas. If Spain, and Europe, continue with business as usual, it is predicted by the EU that less than 10% of our fish stocks will be at sustainable levels by 2022. Greenpeace’s case study of the Vidal family documents their long history of illegal fishing, their prosecutions and convictions and their frequently successful attempts to avoid justice, and Spain’s continuing failure to deal with an issue which has been raised with them on numerous occasions. It also reveals new evidence on Vidal’s latest business venture, an alleged fish oil factory in Galicia. This factory is not currently operational, many months after its claimed opening date, and yet Greenpeace says it has already earned the Vidal family another €6.5m - in EU subsidies. Greenpeace oceans campaigner Ariana Densham said, “According to some estimates, up to 49% of the global catch is IUU, and this is one of the reasons why our over-exploited fisheries are in such rapid decline. The fact that in Europe this theft of fish is being subsidised by taxpayers’ money, that we’re actually paying pirates to steal our fish, destroy one of our oldest industries and devastate the marine environment, shows just how corrupted the CFP is.” Greenpeace is calling for a full EU investigation into subsidies given to the Spanish fishing industry, and for all future subsidies to be given to legal, transparent and sustainable fishing practices, consistent with the CFP’s stated objectives. In response to this report, European fisheries commissioner Maria Damanaki stated that “The serious allegations are already under investigation by the European Commission and being followed up with the Spanish national authorities. We are establishing all facts in order to pursue breaches“.

Sheikh Abdullah Ben Nasser Al-Thani's work on La Bajadilla Port in Marbella delayed

 

DELAYED La Bajadilla Port in Marbella has still not begun, because four months after the work was assigned, the contract has not been signed. There are three appeals against Sheikh Abdullah Ben Nasser Al-Thani’s project, which was due to be completed in 2015. One is from the Marbella Marina International Consortium, which was on competition with the temporary union created by Marbella Town Hall and Qatar Sheikh and Malaga CF owner, Al-Thani. His proposal to expand Marbella’s port and marina was chosen over theirs, but they believe that the decision was “unfair”. They haven’t directly asked for the process to be stopped, but bringing a case against the decision makes this automatic, regions such as Andalucia must have a specific tribunal to regulate relationships between public administrations and the companies chosen to carry out work, as the Junta de Andalucia does not have one, the Andalucian Supreme Court of Justice will rule in this case, and a judge will decide if the work can go ahead, even if the case continues at the same time. In any case, it appears the contract will not be signed this year. Al Thani’s project conceives a circular port with space for 1,221 yachts and a cruise stop, as well as a 45,000m2 commercial and leisure area with a five-star hotel. It aims to create around 3,000 jobs.

35 towns in Malaga spend more than they make

 

101 towns in Malaga province, 35 ended last year with budgetary deficits for spending more than they were making. Changes to the Constitution which were approved by PSOE and the PP in early September in congress in order to limit the deficits of public administrations could mean that many towns will find themselves in a sticky legal situation. The text states that “local administrations” must have “budgetary balance” by 2020, but seeing the figures for the province, which is not an exception in Spain, for 2009 and 2010, this will not be easy. The numbers could be even worse than it initially appeared, as Atajate, Carratraca, Cortes de la Frontera, Gaucin, Genalgualcil and Parauta have not yet handed in their figures for either year, while others, which although the Tax and Economy Ministry’s records show their budgets were balanced, admit that they ended the year with empty coffers and no money available in banks and payments to face. Many cases have only come to light after the elections when new parties have taken over. Malaga city has a debt of €735m, the highest in the province and the fourth worst in Spain behind Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia. The second worst figures are seen in Benalmadena, with a debt of €87m, although the worst deficiency is in Cuevas Bajas, with a difference of €800,000 between what was spent and what was taken in 2010.