Costa del Sol firms Suninvest 2000 and Elvira Invest,Georgian mafia henchman extradited to Spain

Georgian mafia henchman extradited to Spain | Olive Press Newspaper | News Spain: "right-hand man of Georgian mafia boss is being extradited to Spain.
Leon Lann, aka Leonid Kaplan, managed Costa del Sol real estate investments for gang leader Zakhar Kalashov.
Kalashov was sentenced in Spain earlier this year and Lann was recently nabbed in Moscow.
Russian-born mafioso is charged with laundering money from arms trafficking through property investments.


Spanish prosecutors believe Lann invested over 5.5 million euros of Kalashov’s money through Costa del Sol firms Suninvest 2000 and Elvira Invest."

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Man arrested in Marbella for attempted murder of former girlfriend | Nerja News

Man arrested in Marbella for attempted murder of former girlfriend | Nerja News: "Police in Marbella have arrested a 38 year old Bulgarian national on a charge of attempted murder after he allegedly shot his ex-girlfriend.

The couple had split up in October after two years together and then on December 13th, the woman was found wounded on calle Pablo Casals in Marbella. She spent a week in hospital under police protection before being discharged.

The police investigation led to the arrest of the alleged assailant in Fuente de Piedra, Málaga province, and he is now in prison. The accused has no prior criminal record although it is widely believed that there had been other instances of domestic violence but no complaints had been made by the woman for fear of reprisals."

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Marbella-based British company named in nation-wide fraud | Costa del Sol | News | The Largest English Language Newspapers in Spain

Euro Weekly News | Marbella-based British company named in nation-wide fraud | Costa del Sol | News | The Largest English Language Newspapers in Spain: "GUARDIA CIVIL are investigating a possible fraud which has affected parents with children in schools throughout Spain. A company based in Marbella, Forward Press (Europe) Ltd, organized a short story contest for young writers in schools all over the country.

Diplomas were handed out to the winners. It then offered parents the chance of having their children’s stories published for just €13, something which hundreds agreed to.

They paid via bank transfer or internet and should have received the books in September.

However, so far no books have been published and Guardia Civil are encouraging parents to contact them and report the problem so they can prove the fraud.

The Penal Code establishes that there is no crime if the quantities are less than €400, but if Guardia Civil can prove the fraud was ‘en masse’ something can be done.

Forward Press (Europe) Ltd is the Spanish-based subsidiary of Forward Press Ltd in the UK, a Spanish daily reports."

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Mother is convinced missing Amy is still alive | Irish Examiner

Mother is convinced missing Amy is still alive | Irish Examiner: "THE mother of missing schoolgirl Amy Fitzpatrick is convinced her daughter is still alive and believes she is living with an older man who has brainwashed her."

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Costa del Sol gains a quarter of a million residents in ten years

Costa del Sol gains a quarter of a million residents in ten years: "The Costa del Sol has gained a quarter of a million residents over the past ten years. Málaga province now has a population of more than 1.6 million.

Most of the 250,000 new residents are concentrated into ten localities and were attracted to the area by the economic boom and jobs in the service and construction sector.

Benalmádena has almost doubled its population, up more than 29,000 to reach over 61,000. Málaga City has seen 36,942 new residents, and Mijas has seen its 34,450 new residents take the population now to 76,000 making it the third largest town.
Marbella saw more than 30,000 new residents, while Estepona, Fuengirola, Torremolinos and Vélez-Málaga have all attracted more than 20,000."

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'Ruta Británica' proposed as new tourist route in Huelva

'Ruta Británica' proposed as new tourist route in Huelva: "The mines which are considered to be the oldest in the world were bought by the British in the 19th Century

The Partido Popular in Andalucía is proposing a new tourist route in Huelva to promote the areas of the province which are linked to mining.

The PP MP for Andalucía, Loles López, told the website ‘vivahuelva.es’, that her party plans to ask the regional parliament for funding to set up as an official route for tourists the ‘Ruta Británica’ – the ‘British Route’, to run from Riotinto and Nerva as far as Punta Umbría.

The PP hopes it will bring more visitors to the area and that the route would act as an alternative to the traditional tourism of sun and the beac"

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Anni Dewani Was Executed Without Sexual Assault : NewsTime : South Africa

Anni Dewani Was Executed Without Sexual Assault : NewsTime : South Africa: "leaked report by an unnamed paramedic, who examined Anni Dewani’s body at the crime scene, has allegedly ruled out the theory of resistance to an attempted sexual assault leading to the gun going off in the murder of the Cape Town honeymooner.

This is in line with police reports after the body was discovered which said that there was no suggestion of a sexual assault and that she had been murdered in cold blood.

One of the witnesses at the crime scene had allegedly said that Anni’s dress had been pulled up which indicated a sexual assault but the paramedic, according to a report in the Montreal Gazette, said that her clothes were neatly arranged and there was no sign of a struggle or a sexual assault."

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15 arrested as Civil Guard smash car theft network in Andalucía

15 arrested as Civil Guard smash car theft network in Andalucía: "Civil Guard have recovered 15 top range cars after arresting 15 members of a gang which operated on the Costa del Sol and in Cádiz province in the illegal traffic of vehicles.

Investigations began in March when detectives discovered that stolen cars were being used to transport drugs in the Campo de Gibraltar.

The suspects taken into custody are understood to be from Bulgaria, Morocco and Spain, and each worked with their own countrymen in the three separate sections into which the organisation was divided.
Europa Press reports that the vehicles, once stolen, were parked out of sight on urbanisations on the Costa del Sol. They were then sold on to buyers involved with drug smuggling and transported over by ferry to Morocco."

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Jardines del Príncipe, 81 properties which were built illegally in Marbella have now been brought into line

: "81 properties which were built illegally in Marbella have now been brought into line with the town’s local development plan, the PGOU, following approval given by the Town Hall this Tuesday.

The compensation agreement affects the development Jardines del Príncipe, and brings in funds for the Town Hall of more than 2 million €. The municipality also receives in compensation seven of properties within the complex and a plot nearby of more than 2,000 square metres of land.

The local planning councillor, Pablo Moro, said in a press release on Tuesday that the land and the seven properties will be set aside for public facilities.

The Town Hall has now regularised the situation of close to 400 illegal properties since the new PGOU came into effect."

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Grandfather spends two days lost on M4 during snow chaos - The Daily Record

Grandfather spends two days lost on M4 during snow chaos - The Daily Record: "Mohammed Bellazrak, 72, had taken his wife to catch a Christmas holiday flight on Thursday before getting lost on the M4 on the return trip.
He was eventually found on Christmas Day, still at the wheel of his Peugeot 307, when he triggered a police camera and was flagged down by officers.
The disorientated pensioner was trying to find his way home to Wiltshire from Gatwick airport, while his worried family reported him missing to the police.
Officers in Wiltshire asked colleagues in neighbouring forces to keep an eye open for the Moroccan-born motorist."

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Crackdown on UK benefit cheats who live abroad

 Crackdown on UK benefit cheats who live abroad: "The DWP said the highest instances of fraud was recorded by people living in Spain, Pakistan, the US and Bangladesh."

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Airports should be fined for disruption, ministers say

Airports should be fined for disruption, ministers say: "Airports could face fines when passengers have their travel plans disrupted, the government has said.

London's Heathrow Airport faced criticism last week when it closed snow-hit runways, stranding thousands.

Aviation minister Theresa Villiers said an airport should be fined when it 'does let passengers down and doesn't prepare properly for severe weather'.

A BAA spokesman said it welcomed any law 'designed to improve the experience for passengers at the UK's airports'.

The spokesman added: 'We will of course play a full part in the government's discussions about this year's weather disruption and will make public the findings of our own independent investigation.'"

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ONE of the women claiming she was sexually assaulted by Julian Assange took a 'trophy photo' of him lying naked in her bed

WikiLeaks founder baffled by sex assault claims | The Australian: "ONE of the women claiming she was sexually assaulted by Julian Assange took a 'trophy photo' of him lying naked in her bed, he says.

The white-haired computer impresario had been invited to stay in her empty flat when he visited Stockholm to give a lecture last August, shortly after WikiLeaks released tens of thousands of classified US documents on the Afghanistan war.

Mr Assange, 39, and unmarried, said the woman had returned home early and insisted he sleep in her bed. He does not feel he needs any excuses for what happened next. 'We went to bed, and things went on from there,' he said."

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WikiLeaks: How U.S. tried to stop Spain's torture probe | McClatchy

WikiLeaks: How U.S. tried to stop Spain's torture probe | McClatchy: "Don't indict former President George W. Bush's legal brain trust for alleged torture in the treatment of war on terror detainees, warned Mel Martinez on one of his frequent trips to Madrid. Doing so would chill U.S.-Spanish relations.

Rather than a resolution, though, a senior Spanish diplomat gave the former GOP chairman and housing secretary a lesson in Spain's separation of powers. 'The independence of the judiciary and the process must be respected,'' then-acting Foreign Minister Angel Lossada replied on April 15, 2009. Then for emphasis, 'Lossada reiterated to Martinez that the executive branch of government could not close any judicial investigation and urged that this case not affect the overall relationship.''

The case is still open, on the desk of a Spanish magistrate, awaiting a reply from the Obama administration on whether it will pursue a probe of its own."

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Elderly Dutch couple, son found dead in Spain

Elderly Dutch couple, son found dead in Spain "spanish divers Saturday recovered the bodies of a Dutch couple from the Fluvia river, hours after police found the body of their 33-year-old son following an apparent family drama.
It was not immediately clear how the Dutchman had died in a country house in Serinya, in north-eastern Spain.
Police found a farewell suicide note from the man's parents next to his body, in which they said they planned to take their own lives in the nearby river.
Investigators regarded the note as authentic and launched a search along the river. The bodies of the parents, both around 70 years old, were found at a depth of two metres."

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Morocco Aborted Smuggling of 15 kg of Cocaine

Morocco Aborted Smuggling of 15 kg of Cocaine: "Rabat: Moroccan authorities have aborted an attempt to smuggle 15 kg of cocaine via the Mediterranean port city of Tangiers found hidden in car heading to France.
Customs authorities seized 9 kg of cocaine before finding the remainder of the haul hidden in the car's spare tyre.
The car driver, a French national accompanied by his Senegalese wife and their son, entered Morocco yesterday coming form Mauritania.
The coupe were arrested and referred to police for investigation."

Euro Weekly News | Kingpin of €400,000 scam arrested in Costa del Sol | Costa del Sol | News | The Largest English Language Newspapers in Spain

Euro Weekly News | Kingpin of €400,000 scam arrested in Costa del Sol | Costa del Sol | News | The Largest English Language Newspapers in Spain: "POLICE have arrested a person in the Costa del Sol thought to be the kingpin of a network that defrauded more than €400,000 from property investors. Several others have also been arrested. All except one – from New Zealand – are thought to be of British nationality.

The gang set up luxury offices they rented in the Costa del Sol, Alicante and Turkey in a bid to attract investors to non-existent construction projects in Turkey.


In order to give credibility to their scam, they prepared bogus plans and organised trips to the fake resorts. Their victims made significant deposits into bank accounts in Gibraltar and Turkey. Police discovered that the fraudsters also managed real estate offices in Britain.

Once deposits were made by unsuspecting victims, the fraudsters would vacate the offices, without paying outstanding rent and in some cases, even taking the office furniture with them.

One of the victims is a Belgian architect who prepared the plans for the fake building complexes, but was never paid.

Investigators specialising in financial fraud based in Alicante and Marbella have already discovered many victims of the scam, many of them foreign residents in Spain.

"

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Juan Antonio Roca insists he arrived in Marbella with his fortune

Juan Antonio Roca insists he arrived in Marbella with his fortune: "interesting declarations from the man at the centre of Spain’s largest municipal corruption case, Juan Antonio Roca, as the Malaya case continues in Málaga.

The ex Municipal Real Estate Assessor in Marbella Town Hall told the court that he had 1,000 million pesetas, (six million €), when he arrived in the town. Holding court in the first week of his declarations he attacked the police for ‘staining my image’.

‘They have presented me as a person without scruples who spent his time killing animals and hanging Miró paintings in the bathroom’. He said that nobody had been able to demonstrate the painting was an original."

Spain law aims to save 4.6 billion euros in power costs | Reuters

Spain law aims to save 4.6 billion euros in power costs | Reuters: "Spain said on Thursday it would slash subsidies for its photovoltaic solar power industry, netting savings of around 2.2 billion euros ($3 billion) over three years, part of a law aimed at limiting the cost of power.

The law, which is targeting savings of 4.6 billion euros over three years, will also charge utilities an operating toll and temporarily reduce wind power subsidies.

European governments have poured billions of euros in recent years into renewable energy by requiring utilities to pay a premium for solar electricity in order to cut their greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on imported fossil fuels."

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Spain law aims to save 4.6 billion euros in power costs | Reuters

Spain law aims to save 4.6 billion euros in power costs | Reuters: "Spain said on Thursday it would slash subsidies for its photovoltaic solar power industry, netting savings of around 2.2 billion euros ($3 billion) over three years, part of a law aimed at limiting the cost of power.

The law, which is targeting savings of 4.6 billion euros over three years, will also charge utilities an operating toll and temporarily reduce wind power subsidies.

European governments have poured billions of euros in recent years into renewable energy by requiring utilities to pay a premium for solar electricity in order to cut their greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on imported fossil fuels."

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Spaniards celebrate El Gordo lottery windfalls | World news | guardian.co.uk

Spaniards celebrate El Gordo lottery windfalls | World news | guardian.co.uk: "world's biggest lottery payout – Spain's €2.3bn (£1.9bn) Christmas El Gordo 'Fat One' – sprayed money across the country today, with shares in the winning ticket reportedly spread through several towns and cities.

The announcement of the winning number sparked celebrations in a dozen places where 79250 had been sold.

Spaniards spent an estimated €69 a head on Christmas lottery tickets in the hope of sharing in the €2.3bn payout.

'We are floating in the clouds,' Salvador, whose lottery shop in Alicante, eastern Spain, sold shares in the winning ticket, told the state TVE television channel."

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Zapatero Says Spain Needs 5 Years to Correct Economy - Bloomberg

Zapatero Says Spain Needs 5 Years to Correct Economy - Bloomberg: "Spain needs five years to “correct” imbalances in its economy, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said, as he pledged not to backtrack on an “ambitious” pension overhaul.

“We have been fighting the crisis for two years and we will need five years to correct the structural imbalances in this economy,” he told lawmakers in Parliament in Madrid today as he called for unity to solve Spain’s economic difficulties.

He pledged that a pension overhaul slated for Cabinet approval on Jan. 28 will be “as ambitious” as the government’s first proposal a year ago that included raising the retirement age to 67 from 65 and increasing the number of years used to calculate benefits."

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from 2 January, bars and restaurants will be no-smoking zones.

Spanish lawmakers have voted to approve a tough new anti-smoking law, meaning that from 2 January, bars and restaurants will be no-smoking zones.

Smokers will also not be allowed to light up on television broadcasts, near hospitals or in school playgrounds.

The bill, proposed by PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and his governing Socialist Party, was passed in the lower house by 189 votes to 154.

Bar and cafe owners fear the law will adversely affect business."

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Allied Irish fined for overcharging

Allied Irish fined for overcharging: "Allied Irish Banks has been fined two million euro for overcharging customers, the Central Bank has confirmed.
An investigation into the bank imposed the largest fine in Irish banking history after finding unacceptable delays in notifying customers of mistakes and in paying refunds.
It penalised AIB for three issues including failure to act with due skill, care and diligence in the best interest of its clients and failure to have adequate systems controls to ensure compliance with consumer rules."

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Julian Assange: 'I feel at peace'

Julian Assange: 'I feel at peace': "Speaking to Today presenter John Humphrys at the mansion in East Anglia where he is staying under strict bail conditions, he said he is fighting extradition because he believes 'no natural justice' would occur in the country.
He said he believed the most probable explanation for the allegations was that two women 'found out that they were mutual lovers of mine and they had unprotected sex and they got into a tizzy about whether there was a possibility of sexually transmitted diseases'.
It was a 'ridiculous thing to go to the police about,' he added.
Mr Assange insisted that in the long term the allegations would be helpful for his organisation.
'You are in a very beneficial position if you can be martyred without dying,' he said.
In a wide-ranging interview, he denied that the leaks had prevented diplomats from being able to operate."

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Multimillion-euro Spanish artworks sold as €30 scrap | World news | The Guardian

Multimillion-euro Spanish artworks sold as €30 scrap | World news | The Guardian: "They may not be to everyone's taste, but the iron sculptures of the Spanish artist Eduardo Chillida are worth considerably more than the €30 (£25) that a Madrid scrap merchant was asked to pay.

Police said that was the price offered to the merchant by a band of thieves who stole a truck-load of works by Chillida, Pablo Picasso, Fernando Botero and other contemporary Hispanic artists four weeks ago.

The thieves seem to have had little idea about the true value of their haul. A medium-sized Chillida in steel can fetch up to €2.5 million. A smaller steel sculpture fetched €1.5m at Sotheby's in 2006, four years after the death of the sculptor, who also worked in granite.

Police said today they had recovered 34 of the 35 works which had been stolen when thieves broke into the Crisóstomo warehouse in Getafe, near Madrid, and used the keys kept in the truck's glovebox to drive off with a haul valued at €5m."

Doubt over Kings Of Leon concert

The Press Association: Doubt over Kings Of Leon concert: "Kings Of Leon fans hoping to attend a sell-out show by the group were facing possible disappointment after two tour buses being used by the band were destroyed in a fire at the 02.
Assessments were being carried out as to whether the show at the arena in Greenwich, south-east London, will go ahead following the blaze in a loading area which gutted the buses and left six people needing treatment for smoke inhalation.
A spokesman for the group was unable to confirm whether equipment or belongings had been lost on board the buses."

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head of the Guardia Civil's Anti Drug and Organised Crime Squad in Málaga has been arrested

head of the Guardia Civil's Anti Drug and Organised Crime Squad in Málaga has been arrested, along with another officer and an ex-officer in an investigation in drug trafficking.

The investigation, initiated in the spring by the Guardia  Civil internal affairs branch, resulted in the arrest of the first officer and the ex-officer in Mijas (Málaga) on Wednesday, before the lieutenant was arrested in Benemérita today.

The Guardia Civil's internal affairs branch launched the investigation in spring, to look into an alleged gang embroiled in drugs trafficking. 

Their enquiries led them to discover a consignment of drugs in September near a beach in Marbella (Málaga), where 1.4 tonnes of hash were confiscated.

Over the class lesson of the investigation, a number of other people have been arrested, including lawyers.:Text may be subject to copyright.This blog does not claim copyright to any such text. Copyright remains with the original copyright holder.

Bank of Spain is moving to lift confidence in its banks by forcing them next year to disclose more details about their holdings and to start acknowledging troubled assets faster

The Bank of Spain says the banks have about $240 billion in “problematic exposure” out of $580 billion invested in real estate and construction, a situation, they say, the banks are capable of handling.

But not everyone believes that. Unlike American banks, Spanish banks have done little to open their books. Along with other banks in the euro zone, they underwent a stress test last July, and all but five of Spain’s smaller savings banks passed.

The trouble is that some Irish banks that also got a clean bill of health in that round of tests subsequently collapsed, raising a threat to the country’s solvency that has still not been quieted — on Friday, Moody’s slashed Ireland’s credit rating to near-junk status and warned of further downgrades — despite a bailout. Those failures undermined the credibility of the whole stress-test exercise and forced regulators to announce recently that the results of further tests would be published early next year.

The Bank of Spain is moving to lift confidence in its banks by forcing them next year to disclose more details about their holdings and to start acknowledging troubled assets faster. But just how much are those assets worth?

Rafael Valderrabano, who founded the Básico real estate company 18 months ago to help banks sell property they are repossessing from developers, says the country is full of situations like Yebes. Right now, he says, he is trying to sell units in 40 apartment blocks near Cuenca, an area southeast of Madrid that is sparsely populated.

“Who went to develop in this place?” Mr. Valderrabano asked. “Who did this? Worse, who financed this?”

A better known real estate debacle is a sprawling development in Seseña, south of Madrid, one of Spain’s “ghost towns.” It sits in a desert surrounded by empty lots. Twelve whole blocks of brick apartment buildings, about 2,000 apartments, are empty; the rest, only partly occupied. Most of the ground floor commercial space is bricked up.

The boom and bust of Spain’s property sector is astonishing. Over a decade, land prices rose about 500 percent and developers built hundreds of thousands of units — about 800,000 in 2007 alone. Developments sprang up on the outskirts of cities ready to welcome many of the four million immigrants who had settled in Spain, many employed in construction.

At the same time, coastal villages were transformed into major residential areas for vacationing Spaniards and retired, sun-seeking northern Europeans. At its peak, the construction sector accounted for 12 percent of Spain’s gross domestic product, double the level in Britain or France.

But almost overnight, the market disappeared. Many immigrants went home. The national unemployment rate shot up to 20 percent. And the northern Europeans stopped buying, too. But government officials now say the worst is over, with housing prices down a modest 12.8 percent from the peak, according to the Bank of Spain.

“Most of the adjustment in housing prices has already taken place,” José Manuel Campa, Spain’s deputy finance minister, said recently, though he allowed that there was a lack of good information on real estate sales.

Still, skeptics abound. One is Jesús Encinar, the founder of Spain’s most popular property Web site, Idealista.com. He says that the Spanish authorities are striving to engineer a soft landing of the housing market that would give more time to offload surplus housing at reasonable prices.

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Junta de Andalucía has indicated that it wants to move ahead with the demolition of homes built in flood plains across the region.

The Junta de Andalucía has indicated that it wants to move ahead with the demolition of homes built in flood plains across the region. The problem has been highlighted in the Guadalquivir valley by recent flooding and that led to the creation of a commission to investigate.

Regional Councillor for Government and Justice, Luis Pizarro, said that in some cases works to avoid flooding can be sped up, but in others it is clear that hundreds of illegally built properties cannot be protected and should not be in the river beds where flooding is inevitable.

Pizarro said that the Junta has to work with the local Town Halls to ensure that people no longer live in such property, noting that the building added to the likelihood that rivers could burst their banks. However he said that it was too soon to consider there was just one solution for all such cases.

In Córdoba a proposal has been made allowing residents of the illegal properties to opt for renting council housing if they accept the demolition of their homes. The city’s councillor for town planning, Francisco Tejada, said the offer would only apply to those whose main place of residence was under threat. Some 360 properties were affected in the city by the recent floods.

Similar cases are being investigated in the Guadalete, Guadiaro and Guadalhorce valleys as well.

Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_28338.shtml#ixzz18N6cFUiz





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six Guardia Civil have been arrested as part of an internal investigation

The Málaga Anti-Drug Chief of the Guardia Civil has been arrested in an operation against drug trafficking. It comes as part of an operation which started on Wednesday and saw earlier reports of another Civil Guard and a former officer arrested.

The new arrest was also carried out on Wednesday by agents of the Internal Affairs of the Guardia Civil. It’s understood the arrested man, who has not been named in reports, was head of the EDOA Anti-drug and Organised Crime Team, which leads several different groups specialising in the persecution and fight against drug trafficking in the province.

Diario Sur reports that as many as five other Guardia Civil have now been arrested as part of the internal affairs operation which remains open. At least one of the Guardia Civil arrested is based at the barracks in Mijas, while others are thought to be based in Málaga and Córdoba.

It’s thought investigations first started following a drug haul on a Marbella beach on September 21.

Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_28352.shtml#ixzz18N64L4Ef


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25 arrests have been made by National Police

25 people gave been arrested by National Police in connection with a massive real estate time share fraud based in the tourist resorts on the Canary Islands. German citizens made up most of the victims and are said to have lost 10 million €.

The scam saw corrupt employees in other companies obtaining the data on German citizens who had time-share rights on the islands. This data was then used to make very attractive offers to the victims to purchase more time, and those who were interested were first called on to pay a non-existent tax.

The criminal investigation has been carried out with the help of the German Embassy and has uncovered more than 2,000 cases of fraud. The scam introduced fake notaries who guaranteed the operation to the victims, with no sales finally ever being completed.

One single individual, also of German origin, was found to have opened dozens of bank accounts under false names to collect the transfers made by the victims of the scam. The rest of those involved were indentified via this individual.

24 have been arrested on Tenerife, one more on Gran Canaria, and as many as nine homes have been searched and abundant documentation removed

Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_28353.shtml#ixzz18N5XG9bb


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MARBELLA plans to turn 22,000 square metres of pine trees in Elviria into an Ecological Adventure Park

 "MARBELLA plans to turn 22,000 square metres of pine trees in Elviria into an Ecological Adventure Park. The park is near Avenida de España, and will have 96 different attractions which will be integrated with the pine trees, such as hanging bridges and zip lines.
Javier Garcia, the Public Works councillor, said plans were underway, and the plot would be offered for a period of 25 years for a company to run the ecological park, for approximately €12,500 per year.
Similar parks have been created in Santander, Madrid and Barcelona, and this idea hopes to fill a niche in the Marbella tourist market in."

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Euro Weekly News | Malaga responsible for 60% of crime | Costa del Sol | News | The Largest English Language Newspapers in Spain

Euro Weekly News | Malaga responsible for 60% of crime | Costa del Sol | News | The Largest English Language Newspapers in Spain: "SIXTY per cent of crimes in Andalucia take place in Malaga, according to National Police sources. Crimes rates have fallen throughout the Andalucia region for the second consecutive year and are down 2.5 per cent compared to 2009. With Malaga’s high crime rate, which includes towns such as Marbella, Torremolinos and Fuengirola where most crimes occur, Andalucia’s average figure are brought down considerably."

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Openleaks -- a rival to the secret-document-leaking website WikiLeaks -- is set to launch on Monday, according to a report.

The new site, which will be found at openleaks.org, has "been underway for some time" and was founded by "several key figures" who once worked at WikiLeaks but have resigned in protest of its controversial founder, Julian Assange, according to the Swedish news website DN.se.

Just as WikiLeaks, Openleaks will focus on leaking sensitive documents from governments, corporations, organizations and religious groups to the public, the report said.

"Our long-term goal is to build a strong, transparent platform to support whistleblowers -- both in terms of technology and politics -- while at the same time encouraging others to start similar projects," an anonymous source at Openleaks told DN.se.

"As a short-term goal, this is about completing the technical infrastructure and ensuring that the organization continues to be democratically governed by all its members, rather than limited to one group or individual," the source said, according to the report.

But, unlike WikiLeaks Openleaks will not publish information it receives on its own, DN.se said.

Instead, other organizations will be given access to documents Openleaks obtains and be responsible for publishing that information, the report said.

The intent is for Openleaks to become a neutral liaison "without a political agenda except from the dissemination of information to the media, the public, non-profit organizations, trade and union organizations and other participating groups," according to DN.se.

"All editorial control and responsibility rests with the publishing organization," an unnamed source told DN.se. "We will, as far as possible, take the role of the messenger between the whistleblower and the organization the whistleblower is trying to cooperate with."

By not publishing the documents itself, Openleaks is hoping to avoid the backlash from global political leaders that WikiLeaks has received.

"As a result of our intention not to publish any document directly and in our own name, we do not expect to experience the kind of political pressure which WikiLeaks is under at this time," a source told DN.se. "In that aspect, it is quite interesting to see how little of politicians' anger seems directed at the newspapers using WikiLeaks sources."

The news of the new website comes as Assange is in custody in Britain on allegations in Sweden that he raped two women.

In the last two weeks, thousands of secret U.S. diplomatic cables have been published by WikiLeaks that have embarrassed and angered global political leaders. The press has labeled the fiasco "cablegate" and WikiLeaks has promised to release thousands more documents.

Last week, anti-WikiLeaks hackers temporarily brought down WikiLeaks' website in response to the release of the government cables.

This week, a group of pro-WikiLeaks hackers, calling themselves Anonymous in a campaign called "Operation: Payback," momentarily disabled the sites of businesses such as MasterCard and Visa that have stopped doing business with WikiLeaks.

Earlier this year, WikiLeaks.org was crashed not by hackers but by WikiLeaks employees, according to DN.se's report.

The move then was a sign telling to Assange to step down by, the report said. Assange didn't, so some of those unhappy at WikiLeaks left and started Openleaks, the report said.

Despite the site being launched as a rival to WikiLeaks, those behind Openleaks told DN.se that the two websites are working toward common goals, although through different methods.

"The two organizations are similar in that aspect that both are focusing on providing means for whistleblowers to anonymously provide the public with information," an insider told DN.se.

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Royal Air Maroc fly with the cockroaches

Royal Air Maroc deteriorating customer service has resulted in some unexpected types of passengers on board lately, cockroaches.
These critters do intermingle with passengers in search for food, as shown in this video, and customers were forced to play exterminators.
Customers have complained for some time that unless Royal Air Maroc recruits its personnel based on merit and not on nepotism, and works to instill work ethics in its work force, where good work is rewarded and mediocrity is punished, it will not realize its potential and become a trusted international airline with Casablanca as a major hub.
An analyst, M. Zakaria, said  "Royal Air Maroc prices keep going up while its service continues to go down. on the topic of high fares, Royal Air Maroc management's Mistakes are causing the high fares and accentuating bad service.
RAM made four major mistakes. The labor agreement with their pilots, the bad investment especially when they purchased Air Senegal and also starting  low budget airline, Air Atlas (A flagship airline should not be in low cost business) and lastly the high price of Fuel (RAM pre-payed for the fuel back when the barrel was almost $100), , So the customers are paying for RAM mistakes.
RAM pilots are amongst the highest paid pilots in the industry. They average is about  $100K/Yr where as EasyJet, Jet4U and Air Arabia pilots make less than $40K/Yr. It's not just the pilots that are burdening  Royal Air Maroc overall payroll, their higher Managers are also getting paid higher than average. So RAM need to charge more to pay the high salaries/benefits. Shipping with Royal Air Maroc is also problematic,  their Cargo business has been in the red for many years.
There are  tough choices to be made when flying to Morocco from North America, either one pays the high fare for the non stop flight with Royal Air Maroc, but need to deal with the bad service, delays, cockroaches as seen in this video, etc...or pay little less but have to go through some European country where it will cost less, takes longer and most likely will have to spend a night on the way back."

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Should holiday home owners stay put during 'PIGS' storm? | Mail Online

Should holiday home owners stay put during 'PIGS' storm? Mail Online: "The dream is crumbling for tens of thousands of Britons who have bought holiday homes in Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain - the countries worst hit by the eurozone crisis.
About 425,000 Britons have homes abroad, according to market research company Mintel, with 6.5 million more dreaming of owning a place in the sun. Four in five of these overseas properties are on the Continent, with half in either Spain or France. Now that Ireland and Greece have accepted bailouts from Brussels, there are fears that Portugal and Spain could follow them into national bankruptcy."

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US Embassy in Madrid proposed setting up an intelligence hub in the northeastern region of Catalonia to counter a 'major centre of radical Islamist activity'

Cable: US intel hub to counter Islamism in Spain - Israel News, Ynetnews: "Cable: US intel hub to counter Islamism in Spain

The US Embassy in Madrid proposed setting up an intelligence hub in the northeastern region of Catalonia to counter a 'major centre of radical Islamist activity', according to a US cable obtained by WikiLeaks and published on Saturday by the newspaper El Pais.

The cable, dated October 2, 2007, said US and Spanish authorities had identified Catalonia as having a 'large Muslim Population Susceptible to Jihadist Recruitment' following increased surveillance after the 2004 Madrid train bombings, which killed 191 people"

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WikiLeaks Protests Planned in Spain, Latin America

 WikiLeaks Protests Planned in Spain, Latin America: "-- Demonstrations are planned Saturday to protest the detention of the founder of secret-spilling website WikiLeaks and the closing of its Swiss bank account.
The Spanish-language website Free WikiLeaks says protests are to be held in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Seville and three other Spanish cities. It also says demonstrations are planned Saturday in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and in the capital cities of Colombia, Argentina, Mexico and Peru.
'We seek the liberation of Julian Assange in United Kingdom territory,' the organization said on the website. It called on protesters to gather at 6 p.m. (17:00 GMT) in Spanish cities."

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http://marbellavida.blogspot.com/

http://marbellavida.blogspot.com/



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Spain prosecutors to seek stiff sentences for air controllers - Fox News Latino

Spain prosecutors to seek stiff sentences forair controllers - Fox News Latino: "Spanish prosecutors will seek eight-year prison sentences for air traffic controllers charged with sedition in connection with a massively disruptive sickout last week, Attorney General Candido Conde-Pumpido said here Thursday.
The wildcat work stoppage, which caused the closure of Spanish airspace and led the government to declare a state of alarm, is a 'very serious' crime, he said before presiding at a meeting of the prosecutors council in Zaragoza.
Conde-Pumpido confirmed that there are more than 20 judicial proceedings that have been opened nationwide in the matter and more than 400 potential defendants.
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's government militarized the air traffic control system late Friday after controllers walked out en masse, grounding hundreds of thousands of travelers at the beginning of a long holiday weekend."

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has defended his use of the military to break a strike by air traffic controllers.

Use of emergency measures had been "essential to correct a disastrous situation", he told parliament.

The Socialist prime minister criticised the "stubborn attitude" of the strikers, who were protesting over their hours and benefits.

The emergency took effect on Saturday and is to last at least 15 days.

Facing the threat of prison sentences, strikers began returning to work after the emergency was declared.

Hundreds of flights had been cancelled during the strike, which began on Friday afternoon at the beginning of one of Spain's busiest holiday weekends and affected hundreds of thousands of travellers.

"It is no exaggeration to say that the situation was in open conflict with the rule of law and involved a constitutional affront to public order," Mr Zapatero said.

"As such, it had to be dealt with."

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Man killed by lightning after more heavy rain hits southern Spain | Olive Press Newspaper | News Spain

Man killed by lightning after more heavy rain hits southern Spain Olive Press Newspaper News Spain: "MAN has been killed after his television exploded when it was hit by lightning through a window.
The 31-year-old was in a cortijo in Arroyo del Ojanco, Jaén when the incident happened, as torrential rain, thunder and lightening swept across southern Spain last night.
A nine-year-old boy from Almodóvar del Campo, has also gone missing after floods swept away the car he was travelling in with his parents.
The parents escaped from the vehicle but could not save their child.
Soldiers were called in to help firefighters in Ecija where the heaviest flooding was reported after the river Genil burst its banks forcing thousands of people to flee their homes."

VELASCO CALLS FOR MORE TRANSPARENCY IN MARBELLA TOWN HALL | Spanish Vida

VELASCO CALLS FOR MORE TRANSPARENCY INMARBELLA TOWN HALL Spanish Vida: "At a press conference with the General Secretary of the PSOE, Jose Bernal, the Deputy Secretary for Marbella, Rafael Velasco, has demanded more transparency in the city's affairs particularly with regard to the recent local contract awarded to the brother of the mayor of Marbella, Alicia Jiménez.
'We must set an example of transparency and provide all of the relevant information to the opposition,' Velasco said, adding that although the President of the PP, Javier Arenas, boasts of the good governance code of his party, this does not apply to many of the municipalities such as Marbella. 'Arenas just criticises everything that the board tries to do, regardless of how needy the project might be adding that “problems must be addressed before they are raised by the opposition, not after.”"

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FLYBE intends to seek compensation from Spanish authorities for disruption caused by the wildcat strike by air traffic controllers.

FLYBE intends to seek compensation from Spanish authorities for disruption caused by the wildcat strike by air traffic controllers.: "FLYBE intends to seek compensation from Spanish authorities for disruption caused by the wildcat strike by air traffic controllers.
The Exeter airline said there was no hangover yesterday from the snap industrial action in Spain, but snowfall in the UK again took its toll on passengers' travel plans.
Flights to and from Aberdeen and Glasgow were cancelled yesterday due to adverse weather in Scotland, which closed airports north of the border.
On Saturday, one flight from Exeter to Malaga and back was cancelled as a result of the walkout. The impact for Flybe was exactly the same at Southampton.
As the Echo reported yesterday, passengers who had been due back in Exeter at 12.50pm on Saturday eventually landed at 4.15pm on Sunday.
With 118 people booked to travel on each of the cancelled flights, Flybe had to arrange hotel accommodation in Spain for all those affected, in addition to bringing in staff to operate the rearranged flights on Sunday"

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8 Fun Facts About Spain's El Gordo Lottery -- AMSTERDAM, December 7, 2010 /PRNewswire/ --

El Gordo Rojo8 Fun Facts About Spain's El Gordo Lottery -- AMSTERDAM, December 7, 2010 /PRNewswire/ --: "1. It's mythic: Radios and televisions are tuned to the broadcast, and the cafés are packed with people watching it. The event is carried out with great pageantry, and schoolchildren sing out the results as each number is drawn. The whole ceremony can take up to 3 hours with celebrations lasting through the night.
2. It's a winner-maker: The game was designed to make as many winners as possible. Family members often buy tickets together. Occasionally, whole villages find themselves wealthier after the draw.
3. It's a true lottery: Rather than a lotto, in which players pick a combination of numbers, El Gordo tickets come with the numbers pre-printed on them.
4. It's a number-lover's fantasy: Ticket numbers range from 0 to 84,999 and there are 195 series of tickets. It's traditional to use significant dates to choose a ticket (even unlucky ones). In 2009, tickets printed with the numbers forming the date of Michael Jackson's death - 25609 - were heavily sought after.
5. It's deeply traditional: The game was started as a fundraiser for orphans and has been drawn each year since 1812. The procedure followed for the draw has not varied.
6. It's epic: Because of its unique prize structure, El Gordo can create up to 390 millionaires at a time.
7. It's possible to win up to 7 times on a single ticket.
8. Its players are famously philosophical: After the draw's done, it's customary for non-winners to console themselves with the platitude 'It's health that really matters.'"

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Legal & General Shuns Spain Until ECB Buys Bonds - Bloomberg

Legal & General Shuns Spain Until ECB Buys Bonds - Bloomberg: "Legal & General Investment Management won’t lend more of its $500 billion to Spain unless the European Central Bank takes the lead by buying the nation’s bonds.
The extra yield investors demand to hold Spain’s 10-year debt rather than German bunds climbed to a euro-era high on Nov. 30 as Ireland’s bailout stoked speculation that more nations will seek aid from the European Union. The ECB has bought Irish, Portuguese and Greek securities, though not Spanish, according to traders with knowledge of the situation who declined to be identified because the transactions are confidential."

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Spain may extend state of alert over strike

Spain may extend state of alert over strike: "Spain's prime minister has said his government may extend an emergency decree it has put in place to end a 24-hour wildcat air traffic controllers' strike.
Flights have returned to normal after a weekend of travel chaos which disrupted hundreds of thousands of journeys.
Officials said 250,000 people were hit by Saturday's walkout, amid a long-running dispute about working hours.
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Spain may extend state of emergency after strike | Reuters

Transport Companies of Spain: Talgo, Cintra, Abertis, Alsa, Aena, Titsa, Grupo Agbar, Taxijet-Spain may extend state of emergency after strike Reuters: "Spain will extend a state of emergency if needed to prevent further travel disruption, its prime minister said on Monday, after a wildcat strike by air traffic controllers grounded flights last week.
Controllers only returned to work after the Socialist government sent in the army to take over control towers and threatened controllers with jail.
'Depending on how the circumstances evolve, the government will take the appropriate decision on extending the measure,' said Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.
The walkout on Friday came just hours after the government passed new economic measures regulating controllers' working hours and pledging to sell part of state-owned airport authority AENA for up to 9 billion euros ($12 billion).
The government, which has hit a low in opinion polls, has responded to market pressure with tax rises, asset sale plans and promises of welfare and pension reform as it fights to cut its budget deficit and calm concerns it may need a bailout."

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Unlucky Brit gets trapped in Spain after nightmare week - mirror.co.uk

Unlucky Brit gets trapped in Spain after nightmare week - mirror.co.uk: "A CAR trader was stranded in Spain yesterday after his ­passport expired while he waited for a rescheduled flight.
Richard Hall, 44, was one of thousands of Brits caught in strike action.
He had been working on the Costa del Sol when he was robbed of his passport, wallet and phone.
Mr Hall got an emergency passport on Friday and booked a flight with Flybe to Exeter for Saturday, which was cancelled."

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AFP: Spain's airports, Iberia soothe passengers on Twitter

AFP: Spain's airports, Iberia soothe passengers on Twitter: "Spain's national airport operator AENA and flag carrier Iberia launched Twitter PR operations Saturday to soothe irate and bewildered passengers stranded by a wildcat strike.
AENA created a Twitter account just to handle the inquiries flooding in from some of the estimated 300,000 passengers affected by an air traffic controllers strike during a long holiday weekend in Spain.
Within a few hours of announcing the account, AENA had attracted 2,933 followers.
Throughout the day the airport authority posted scores of messages in English, Spanish, Catalan, Basque and Galician on the progressive re-opening of flight operations."

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Flights from Spain restart after strike - News & Advice, Travel - The Independent

Flights from Spain restart after strike - News & Advice, Travel - The Independent: "Flights from Spain resumed tonight after wildcat strikes by air traffic controllers caused travel chaos and left thousands of British passengers stranded overseas.
The controllers launched their unofficial action in a row over pay and conditions, leading the Spanish government to declare a state of alarm.
Workers returned to their shifts after being threatened with jail terms, but officials say it could take up to 48 hours before flights return to normal.
Dozens of services to and from UK airports were grounded as Spanish air space was closed, with Ryanair, easyJet and Iberia all cancelling flights."

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Christopher Kinahan and his two sons, Christy Junior and Daniel walked out of the Albolote Prison in Granada on Friday

Christopher Kinahan - Archive Photo

Christopher Kinahan and his two sons, Christy Junior and Daniel walked out of the Albolote Prison in Granada on Friday

The alleged drug trafficker known as the ‘Irish Godfather’, Christopher Kinahan, has been granted bail by the judge, María del Carmen Gutiérrez Henares, in Court Number 3 in Estepona. She also authorised the release from prison for his two sons, Christy Junior and Daniel, with bail set at 60,000 € for each one of the three.
Reports indicate that they all left the Albolote prison in Granada on Friday

They have been held on remand since May when the police arrested them as part of an operation, codenamed Shovel, which extended across five countries.

Kinahan has been ordered to present himself to the court every Monday as part of the bail conditions, and has had his passport withdrawn. He is accused of heading a grand network of organised crime, which distributed drugs across Europe and offered money laundering services to other drug dealers.

Intelligence services from five countries took part in the Shovel operation, which saw some 30 arrests in Spain, Ireland and the UK. Most of the arrests were in Marbella, Estepona and Fuengirola. 60 properties worth 150 million € were impounded and the ownership of some 50 others in Brazil is being investigated.

Kinahan is also linked to the February 2008 shooting of a 28 year old in an Estepona urbanisation. 

Police consider him to be highly intelligent and say that is why he has managed to appear distant from the criminal activities, although he has been sentenced in Ireland for both drug trafficking and financial crimes. Irish police say he spent his time in jail perfecting his Dutch and Spanish languages.

Police and Civil Guard in Málaga, are currently investigating whether it was adulterated cocaine that is responsible for the deaths of seven people in Malaga

Euro Weekly News Youths into ecstasy, again Costa del Sol News The Largest English Language Newspapers in Spain: "Two years ago it appeared as if the youth’s thirst for party drugs was fading, when in 2008 records showed a significant fall in the use of ecstasy (MDMA). But those in the know have just released figures that show that the presence of the drug has re-emerged with force.
The brief drop in ecstasy use over the last two years was down to a lack of supply, as well as the fact that excessive mixing was tampering with the quality and purity of the drug, according to Claude Vidal, a psychologist at Energy Control – a independent group of professionals concerned about youth drug use, who also provide information to reduce the risks of consumption.
“Both in quantity and quality the presence of ecstasy has returned to 2008 levels,' said Vidal.
“The tablets cost between Euros 5 and 7 a gram and they have always been linked with clubs and raves and mostly very young people.'
Energy Control has also pointed to the return speed and amphetamine sulphate in a recent report, as well as ketamine, which they say has “burst onto the Andalucia drug scene”.
As for cocaine, experts warn that more and more adulterated cocaine is on the black market, making it especially dangerous.
In fact, the Police and Civil Guard in Málaga, are currently investigating whether it was adulterated cocaine that is responsible for the deaths of seven people in Malaga.
Vidal stressed that cocaine is no longer a drug for an elite. 'It is now available to all, although it is true that consumption in some sectors has slowed due to the economic crisis.'"