Spain's Telefonica posts record 2010 net profit

 Spain's Telefonica posts record 2010 net profit: "Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica posted Friday a record 2010 net profit of 10.17 billion euros, a 30.8 percent jump over the previous year as weakness in Spain was offset by strong growth in the rest of Europe and Latin America. Revenues...

Two held on the 'Costa del Crime'

Two held on the 'Costa del Crime'"suspected criminal from Exeter thought to have been hiding from police on the 'Costa del Crime' has been arrested, sources said. Crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) said that Dean Lawrence Rice, 49,...

UK Treasury 'to seize' Kadhafi's billions

UK Treasury 'to seize' Kadhafi's billions: "The government plans to seize billions of pounds in assets belonging to Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi which include property and bank accounts, the Telegraph reported Friday. The Treasury has set up a special unit to track down the assets which are believed to include a 10 million pound London home, the paper said." :Text may be subject to copyright.This blog does not claim copyright to any such text. Copyright...

Libyan diplomat in Morocco resigns over unrest

Libyan diplomat in Morocco resigns over unrest: "The Libyan ambassador to Morocco and about 10 embassy staff announced Thursday that they had resigned, siding with the opposition to Libyan leader Muammer Gaddafi's regime, foreign ministry sources said in Rabat. The Libyan diplomats...

Taiwan issues yellow travel alert for Morocco

Taiwan issues yellow travel alert for Morocco"Taiwan issued a yellow travel alert Tuesday for Morocco amid the political disturbances in the north African country. The yellow-level warning, the second-lowest in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' four-color foreign travel advisory, advises tourists to travel with caution and reconsider their itineraries. The ministry said that as Taiwan does not maintain any offices in Morocco, Taiwanese businessmen...

MOROCCO: King says not giving in to 'demagoguery' | Babylon & Beyond | Los Angeles Times

MOROCCO: King says not giving in to 'demagoguery' | Babylon & Beyond | Los Angeles Times: "Moroccan King Mohammed VI said he would not give in to 'demagoguery' a day after thousands of people took to the street to demand he give up some of his powers to a newly elected government....

Holiday insurance company Essential Travel has warned travellers that they must “keep abreast” of the situation in Morocco or face losing their travel insurance.

Holiday insurance company Essential Travel has warned travellers that they must “keep abreast” of the situation in Morocco or face losing their travel insurance. Commenting on the increasing unrest across the Middle East and North Africa, Stuart Bensusan of EssentialTravel.co.uk urged holiday makers to be be vigilant. "Further to the widespread civil unrest across the Middle East and Northern Africa, protests have now spread to Morocco, including...

Massive lizard found in Málaga garden

Massive lizard found in Málaga garden: "A carnivorous lizard Lagarto Carnívoro which measures 1.2 metres long has been captured by the Local Police in Málaga, while it was walking through the gardens of an urbanisation in the city in the Arroyo Toquero area. It was the urbanisation...

Search continues for British man buried in Spain avalanche

 Search continues for British man buried in Spain avalanche: "Over 130 soldiers took part Monday in a search for a British man who was buried in an avalanche a day earlier in Spain's Sierra Nevada mountain range, the defence ministry said. The battalion of 133 soldiers, backed...

Spain’s Small Banks hold an enormous £84bn in bad assets

Spain’s cajas hold £84bn in bad assets | City A.M.: "SPAINISH savings banks are holding around €100bn (£84.3bn) “potentially problematic” real estate assets, according to the country’s central bank. The figure, which for the first time puts a material sum on the extent of the holdings by the unlisted regional banks, known as cajas, is as high as €217bn in total. Governor of the Bank of Spain Miguel Ángel Fernández Ordóñez yesterday said the exposure...

The OFT fake scratchcards ask 'Have you won a luxury holiday?' but when scratched warn consumers about a lengthy sales presentation and high costs for membership to a bogus holiday club.

A day of action is being held at airports in the UK and Spain to warn travellers about bogus holiday clubs and to inform them of new consumer rights. The Office of Fair Trading is raising awareness at the start of February the school half term holidays. It comes as OFT research found that almost 400,000 UK consumers a year fall victim to bogus holiday clubs at a cost of more than £1 billion. The OFT and local trading standards officers are copying...

Region's Protests Spread to Morocco

Region's Protests Spread to Morocco - WSJ.com: "Thousands of protesters took to the streets in Morocco on Sunday to demand changes to the nation's constitution, defying predictions that this thousand-year-old monarchy would prove an exception to the demands for greater democracy...

Expat rates: why offshore savers should avoid long-term fixed rates

Expat rates: why offshore savers should avoid long-term fixed rates - Telegraph: "While announcing that economic growth this year would be lower and that inflation could reach 5 per cent before June, the Bank’s governor Mervyn King revealed its projections for interest rates. Although he said his announcement should not be taken as advance warning of rate movements, Mr King said that rates will rise a quarter point to 0.75 per cent in the next four...

Large peaceful protests in Morocco

 Large peaceful protests in Morocco: "Thousands of pro-democracy protesters are in the streets in Moroccan cities, and are so far proceeding peacefully. Unlike in other Arab countries, the protests in Morocco have been allowed. Protests in Morocco, announced for today, are...

King Abdullah 'to return to Saudi on Wednesday'

 King Abdullah 'to return to Saudi on Wednesday': "Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah is to return home this week after convalescing in Morocco from operations in New York, a source close to the oil-rich Gulf monarchy said on Sunday. 'The king is expected to return Wednesday and preparations...

Thousands of protesters took the streets in Morocco

Thousands of protesters took the streets in Morocco on Sunday to demand sweeping changes to the nation's constitution, defying predictions that this thousand-year-old monarchy would prove an exception to the demands for greater democracy that are sweeping the region. In Rabat, the...

Marbella museum will feature ancient Roman collection

Marbella museum will feature ancient Roman collection | Olive Press Newspaper | News: "The items, which were found during the last excavation of the Rio Verde Roman Villa in 1990, come from the home of archaeologist Carlos Posac. They were discovered when his daughter decided to give the home a full clean out. “They appeared in a box when we were cleaning up,” explained Marilo Posac. “They clearly have far more value now than they did back then.” The...

EU tells Spain: give foreign retirees free medicine

EU tells Spain: give foreign retirees free medicine < Spanish news | Expatica Spain: "The European Commission took Spain to court Wednesday for refusing to grant pensioners from other EU countries who live temporarily in the country access to free medication. European Union legislation...

Green light for Marbella underground car park

"MARBELLA Town Hall has given the go-ahead to a project to create an underground car park in Avenida Severo Ochoa. The plans would also include a total refurbishment of the avenue, and due to the magnitude of the project, the town hall wanted to take it slowly and make sure that work wouldn’t have to stop halfway through due to the economic crisis, or not find a company which could run the premises. So far, all that has been approved is a study...

Spanish Air Safety Agency criticises Ryanair

Spanish Air Safety Agency criticises Ryanair: "ruling against Ryanair has come out of Spain where the Stage Agency for Air Safety, AESA, in a statement dated February 1, has agreed with a Málaga passenger of the airline, Carolina Martín Gámez, and considered that Ryanair took part in ‘an unjustified refusal of boarding’ for which the airline has to pay each passenger the cost of their ticket and pay each one compensation of 250 €. The company has...

Undertaker on the Costa del Sol has launched a prize draw with a difference – the winning ticket entitles the bearer to a free funeral.

Free funeral for winner of prize draw: "Undertaker on the Costa del Sol has launched a prize draw with a difference – the winning ticket entitles the bearer to a free funeral. The centre, in Benalmádena, says the prizewinner can donate their winnings to another person if they wish. Already,...

Spain seen unhooking wages from prices despite protest

Spain seen unhooking wages from prices despite protest - Reuters -: "Spain's Socialists are likely to ignore any labour union protests and push through a reform to de-link wage increases from inflation in a new effort to placate markets sceptical over long-term economic growth prospects. Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is enjoying the warm glow of a consensual pact with unions and business heads over pension reform at the end of January,...

THREAT TO AIR TRAVEL :Icelandic volcano `looks set to erupt dwarfing last year`s devastation`

Icelandic volcano `looks set to erupt dwarfing last year`s devastation`: "Geologists have warned that another volcano on Iceland looks set to blow, bringing far more chaos than last year's eruption. Researchers detected the high risk of a new eruption after observing an increased...

First autopsy conclusions say Gary Moore died from natural causes

First autopsy conclusions say Gary Moore died from natural causes: "Belfast guitarist Gary Moore, who was found dead in his Estepona Hotel room in on Sunday, died from natural causes, possibly a heart attack which could have occurred because of a previous heart condition, according...

Marbella restaurant facing 145,000 € fine and closure for defying the no smoking law

Marbella restaurant facing 145,000 € fine and closure for defying the no smoking law: "The owner of the restaurant in San Pedro de Alcántara, Marbella, who has conspicuously been ignoring the ban on smoking in closed public areas from January 2, is being served a 145,000 € fine. The...

Thin Lizzy Star Gary Moore Dies

Thin Lizzy Star Gary Moore Dies | Gigwise: "Gary Moore, the rock guitarist who performed with Thin Lizzy, has died at the age of 58. Moore died on holiday in the Costa Del Sol, Spain in the early hours of Sunday morning (February 6). A statement on his website said: 'It is with deep sorrow and regret, that we have to announce that Gary Moore passed away while on holiday in Spain last night. 'Our thoughts are with his children, family and friends...

Morocco: an attack against a site to circumvent Egyptian censorship

Ennahar Online - Morocco: an attack against a site to circumvent Egyptian censorship: "a Maghreb site located in Morocco, offered to Egyptian users a program to circumvent censorship on the net, was the victim of a 'sophisticated' cyber attack that made it inaccessible,' said its manager to the AFP Friday. 'That night at 4 o'clock in the morning someone entered the site' and made it inoperative by 'overwhelming what allows it to access the worldwide...

Anti-government protests in Morocco planned on Facebook

Anti-government protests in Morocco planned on Facebook - The Economic Times: "Moroccan authorities have okayed an anti-government protest being planned on the popular social networking site Facebook, a media report said. The media report said several Moroccan youth movements have announced on Facebook that they are planning to organise an Egypt-style anti-government protest Feb 20, a move apparently welcomed by the government. 'We intend to reassure...

Father-of-four dies on stag weekend in Spain

Father-of-four dies on stag weekend in Spain - Wales News - News - WalesOnline: "The family said the football fanatics flew to Barcelona for a stag weekend and to watch the city’s superstars in a match tonight. Mr Brennan’s father, also David, 69, said: “It is just unbelievable to realise that one of the boys is dead after going to Spain for a fun weekend. “They ran a local football team together and were really good friends and drinking buddies. “David...