Malaya case court secretary to continue

If the Ministry for Justice had not extended Inmaculada Núñez contract, the Malaya case could have come to a standstill.  The Malaya case, investigating the corruption in Marbella Town Hall, opened in Málaga in September 2010. A possible obstacle which could have complicated the case considerably was solved on Wednesday when the Justice Ministry said they were extending the services of the judicial secretary who has been working exclusively on the case, Inmaculada Núñez, who original contract was set to expire on April 30. President of the Málaga court, José Godino, announced the renovation of the contract after the session on Wednesday. Meanwhile the businessman Tomás Olivo, one of the accused in the Malaya case, has been condemned to five years prison for ill-treating his ex girlfriend, with whom he had a baby daughter. Penal Court 13 in Málaga heard how he had installed cameras in the home so he could watch events when he was not there. Tomás Olivo, who is the owner of the La Cañada Commercial Centre in Marbella, is considered to have acted against his ex with ‘humiliation, aggression and control’ during the relationship and after they broke up. He has been found guilty on three counts of ill-treatment in the family environment, one of them regular abuse. The sentence says that since 2003 and until the start of 2006 he ill-treated the woman by ‘insulting her, pushing her, hitting her, telling her how she should dress, and questioning marks on her body which he thought showed that she had been in contact with another man. He also locked her in the house.

SUV driver who caused Benalmádena coach crash sent to prison for three and a half years

Nine Finnish tourists died in the accident on the A-7 above Benalmádena in April 2009 The man who caused the accident on the A7 motorway above Benalmádena on April 19 2008, has been given a three and a half year prison sentence and banned from driving for five years. Nine Finnish tourists died and 26 were injured, some of them seriously, when Jesús Gil Bueno drove his Kia Sportage four-wheel-drive into the side of a coach in what were very wet conditions. The Finnish tourists were on the way to the airport for a flight home after their holidays. The victims of the accident have been compensated with the Jesús Gil Bueno insurance policy. The driver was found to be over the alcohol limit and tracked to have been driving at 152 km/h at the time of the impact.

High winds shake planes landing in Bilbao, Spain

Extremely strong winds caused planes to sway as they attempted to land in Spain on Wednesday. High winds tested the skills of pilots trying to land at Bilbao's Loiu airport. The wind was so severe some planes were unable to land.

S&P reduces Spain's credit rating

The ratings agency Standard & Poor's has cut Spain's credit rating and warned of risks to come. S&P cut Spain two notches to BBB+, warning that the country could have to take on more debt to support its banking sector. It has also placed Spain on negative outlook, meaning there is a risk of further downgrades to come. S&P predicts the Spanish economy will shrink by 1.5% this year, having previously forecast 0.3% growth. In 2013 it expects the economy to contract 0.5%, having previously predicted 1% growth. S&P also gave a damning assessment of the situation in the rest of Europe, saying: "In our view, the strategy to manage the European sovereign debt crisis continues to lack effectiveness." "We think credit conditions, and hence the economic outlook for Spain, could now deteriorate further than we anticipated earlier this year unless offsetting eurozone policy measures are implemented to support investor confidence and stabilize capital flows with the rest of the world." The agency suggested such measures could include a pooling of resources and obligations between eurozone countries and policies to harmonise wages across the currency bloc. 'Unemployment to rise' But there were some positive comments about the measures taken by the government. "Despite the unfavorable economic conditions, we believe that the new government has been front-loading and implementing a comprehensive set of structural reforms, which should support economic growth over the longer term," S&P said. "In particular, authorities have implemented a comprehensive reform of the Spanish labour market, which we believe could significantly reduce many of the existing structural rigidities and improve the flexibility in wage setting." But S&P concludes that the labour market reforms will not create employment in the near term and predicts that "the already high unemployment rate, especially among the young, will likely worsen until a sustainable recovery sets in". Spain has Europe's highest rate of unemployment at 23%, with more than half of young people out of work.

Spain on investor offensive after communications failures

Doubts remain over Spain's ability to clean up its fiscal position and struggling bank sector this year despite the central bank's publicity offensive in Europe and Asia to try to dispel what it sees as myths about the economy. The Bank of Spain's head of banking supervision, Jose Maria Roldan, has been visiting Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo this week after talking to investors in London last week about recent reforms the government says will improve competitiveness and clean up the ailing banking system. Asian investors make up around 20 percent of all non-resident holdings in Spanish public debt, far below European holdings, but dwarfing American investment. In his presentation Roldan said the European Central Bank's recent massive programme of cheap three-year loans had covered banks' maturing debt this year and for most of 2013. He admitted however that the ratio of bad loans held by banks was expected to rise in coming months, after hitting their highest level since 1994 in February. Analysts welcomed the presentation but said more work would have to be done to persuade investors that all was sound on the fiscal front and in Spain's banking system, weakened by the sinking property market. "There are some things where we are clearly more negative than their projections. We see very little prospect Spain will be able to meet its fiscal target mostly because of the economic outlook ... and they also give a very rosy view of the banking sector", said Ebrahim Rahbari, analyst at Citi of Roldan's presentation in London. He said the central bank's projection of how far banks were protected against sliding house prices failed to take into account significant potential falls in house prices, and any non-real estate exposure at a time when the economy was in recession. However, Rahbari welcomed the central bank's presentation and said that Spain had been good at providing data to investors during the crisis, indeed more so than other European governments. Roldan's tour comes as Spain's borrowing costs have jumped after a string of communication errors by the new government which some investors claim rekindled fears over the economy.

Tightest Spain budget in decades passes hurdle

Spain's tightest budget since the 1970s passed its first hurdle in parliament on Wednesday after disappointing first quarter figures fuelled concerns the government would miss targets for reining in its deficit. Spain's borrowing costs are rising and its economy is shrinking as it tries to deflate one of the highest budget deficits in the euro zone. The lower house rejected amendments to the budget, which aims to shave 27 billion euros ($36 billion) off the central government accounts by the end of the year, in a first step to approving the measure. But the ruling centre-right People's Party, which has an absolute majority in parliament, failed to win hoped-for support from centre-right Catalan nationalist party CiU, which says the central government owes funds to Catalonia. The 2012 budget, delayed due to the general election in November and a regional election in March, is expected to be put into law in June after further debate on minor amendments, and a vote in the upper house. "We are in the beginning of the beginning in the solution of the economic crisis ... Nobody should mistakenly think we will not meet the deficit targets," Treasury Minister Cristobal Montoro said in the parliamentary debate over the budget. Spain spooked debt markets last month by unilaterally announcing a more modest budget deficit target. It has since agreed with the European Union to target 5.3 percent of gross domestic product this year and 3 percent by 2013, down from 8.5 percent of GDP last year. Many economists fear the goals, which have also prompted reforms to health and education to slice a further 10 billion euros a year from spending, are too ambitious for an economy in its second recession since 2009. The budget is the tightest since those during the country's transition to democracy four decades ago. CENTRAL DEFICIT DISAPPOINTS On Tuesday, Montoro announced a central government deficit in the first quarter of 0.83 percent of GDP, down 1.1 billion euros on a like-for-like basis from last year, but still short of what will be needed to reach the overall target which includes regional government spending. "They need to cut around 31 percent cut (on average) from the overall balance for the central government to be on target. They've done 11 pct in the first quarter, so the next three quarters will need to accelerate above the average," Barclays Capital economist Antonio Garcia Pascual. "So this is good because it's moving in the right direction, but it's not great because it's not moving fast enough." The treasury ministry later said the real first quarter deficit figure was 1.85 percent of GDP, already half way to the 2012 target of 3.5 percent of GDP after just three months, due to emergency transfers for the struggling regions. The real deficit figure would be brought back in line with the end of year goal as one-time transfers to the regions are absorbed into accounts through the year, the Secretary of State for the Budget Marta Fernandez Curras said. "The data were disappointing, and reflects the enormous pressure on tax receipts from the continued sharp falls in both employment and domestic spending," said IHS Global Insight economist Raj Badiani. "This provides further evidence Spain is going to struggle to meet their public sector budget deficit targets ... Take away the artificial boost from net exports (lifted by collapsing import demand), Spain is in very deep recession." Some of the belt-tightening measures have been criticised for excessive optimism regarding their revenue potential, while other concerns have concentrated on the potential negative feedback loop on growth and income. Bank of Spain Governor Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordonez said there were risks the cost-cutting measures would fall short and unpopular tax hikes would have to be considered if it looked like the deficit target would be missed.

Expats in Spain feeling the squeeze

Pensioners currently don’t pay for prescriptions but new measures that have been announced to save €3,700 million in the health care market include a plan for elderly expats to pay 10 per cent of the cost of the medicine. This is capped at up to €20 a month, but joins a range of other increased living costs that have left many expats with less in their pocket. Molly Sears-Piccavey, an expat from Nottingham based in Barcelona and Andalucia, said matters have changed hugely since she arrived in Spain 14 years ago. Pay cuts or freezes or reduction in hours of employment are being discussed by disgruntled Spaniards and expats on the streets every day. “There have been poll tax rises of 10 per cent in my area and even more in other towns in Spain,” she said. She added that there also are many unfinished houses or empty properties without buyers, especially seaside homes, which used to be second homes for many Spaniards. A lot of her friends in the construction industry have now changed jobs or accept lower pay. VAT was increased from 16 per cent to 18 per cent in 2010 and Ms Sears-Piccavey’s particular region has also seen the prices of groceries rise 0.7 per cent in March alone. “Tomatoes have gone sky-high in price over the years,” she said. “It’s basic food in a Mediterranean country." Recent gossip sweeping financial markets speculates that Spain will be next in line to formally request a bail-out from Europe, joining the likes of Portugal, Ireland and Greece. Expats in Spain warned of faulty hip replacements . William Poole of FX Exchange said: “Concern over Spain’s public finances has prompted fear. With yields in and around six per cent, we are perilously close to the seven per cent level where international governments can no longer afford to raise money on the international bond markets. Simply put, the higher the yield, the more expensive it becomes to raise money.” Spain’s economy is more than five times larger than Greece and the country that once created one in three eurozone jobs now has the highest unemployment. But Mr Poole says that a bail-out is unlikely – at the moment – as there is still room to turn the situation around. “In reality, Spain is in much better shape than rising yields imply, and with the current account shrinking, and falling labour costs boosting exports, it is clear that Spain’s new government have shown great political will in implementing deficit cutting measures,” he said.

Reopen Madeleine case, police urge

Scotland Yard has urged Portuguese authorities to reopen the search for Madeleine McCann as detectives said there are 195 potential leads to finding her alive. The detective leading the Metropolitan Police review said the case can still be solved before officers released a picture of what she might now look like as a nine-year-old. Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood said he believes her disappearance was a stranger abduction, as he said there are 195 "investigative opportunities". Police refused to say what evidence they had uncovered to suggest Madeleine is alive. Mr Redwood confirmed that his team of more than 30 officers involved in the case had been out to Portugal seven times, including a visit to the family's holiday flat in Praia da Luz. It will be five years ago next week since the three-year-old went missing as her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, dined with friends nearby. A spokesman for the McCanns said the family was pleased with the image. Mr Redwood said his 37 officers had dealt with 40,000 pieces of information but the "primacy still sits in Portugal" in the attempt to find her. Commander Simon Foy said: "Most significantly, the message we want to bring to you is that, on the evidence, there is a possibility that she is alive and we desperately need your help today to appeal directly to the public for information to support our investigation." Mr Redwood said "evidence that she is alive stems from the forensic view of the timeline" that there was the opportunity for her to be taken. Investigations show "there do appear to be gaps", he added. Detectives in Portugal are also understood to want the case reopened but must gain judicial approval via the courts.

Insecure websites to be named and shamed after checks

Companies that do not do enough to keep their websites secure are to be named and shamed to help improve security. The list of good and bad sites will be published regularly by the non-profit Trustworthy Internet Movement (TIM). A survey carried out to launch the group found that more than 52% of sites tested were using versions of security protocols known to be compromised. The group will test websites to see how well they have implemented basic security software. Security fundamentals The group has been set up by security experts and entrepreneurs frustrated by the slow pace of improvements in online safety. "We want to stimulate some initiatives and get something done," said TIM's founder Philippe Courtot, serial entrepreneur and chief executive of security firm Qualys. He has bankrolled the group with his own money. TIM has initially focused on a widely used technology known as the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). Experts recruited to help with the initiative include SSL's inventor Dr Taher Elgamal; "white hat" hacker Moxie Marlinspike who has written extensively about attacking the protocol; and Michael Barrett, chief security officer at Paypal. Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote Everyone is now going to be able to see who has a good grade and who has a bad grade” Philippe Courtot Many websites use SSL to encrypt communications between them and their users. It is used to protect credit card numbers and other valuable data as it travels across the web. "SSL is one of the fundamental parts of the internet," said Mr Courtot. "It's what makes it trustworthy and right now it's not as secure as you think." Compromised certificates TIM plans a two-pronged attack on SSL. The first part would be to run automated tools against websites to test how well they had implemented SSL, said Mr Courtot. "We'll be making it public," he added. "Everyone is now going to be able to see who has a good grade and who has a bad grade." Early tests suggest that about 52% of sites checked ran a version of SSL known to be compromised. Companies who have done a bad job will be encouraged to improve and upgrade their implementations so it gets safer to use those sites. The second part of the initiative concerns the running of the bodies, known as certificate authorities, which guarantee that a website is what it claims to be. TIM said it would work with governments, industry bodies and companies to check that CAs are well run and had not been compromised. "It's a much more complex problem," said Mr Courtot. In 2011, two certificate authorities, DigiNotar and GlobalSign were found to have been compromised. In some cases this meant attackers eavesdropped on what should have been a secure communications channel. Steve Durbin, global vice president of the Information Security Forum which represents security specialists working in large corporations, said many of its members took responsibility for making sure sites were secure. "You cannot just say 'buyer beware'," he said. "That's not good enough anymore. They have a real a duty of care." He said corporations were also increasingly conscious of their reputation for providing safe and secure services to customers. Data breaches, hack attacks and poor security were all likely to hit share prices and could mean they lose customers, he noted.

Anti-depressants likely do more harm than good, study suggests

Commonly prescribed anti-depressants appear to be doing patients more harm than good, say researchers who have published a paper examining the impact of the medications on the entire body. See Also: Health & Medicine Pharmacology Birth Defects Mental Health Research Mind & Brain Depression Disorders and Syndromes Psychiatry Reference COX-2 inhibitor Psychoactive drug Seasonal affective disorder Anti-obesity drug "We need to be much more cautious about the widespread use of these drugs," says Paul Andrews, an evolutionary biologist at McMaster University and lead author of the article, published recently in the online journal Frontiers in Psychology. "It's important because millions of people are prescribed anti-depressants each year, and the conventional wisdom about these drugs is that they're safe and effective." Andrews and his colleagues examined previous patient studies into the effects of anti-depressants and determined that the benefits of most anti-depressants, even taken at their best, compare poorly to the risks, which include premature death in elderly patients. Anti-depressants are designed to relieve the symptoms of depression by increasing the levels of serotonin in the brain, where it regulates mood. The vast majority of serotonin that the body produces, though, is used for other purposes, including digestion, forming blood clots at wound sites, reproduction and development. What the researchers found is that anti-depressants have negative health effects on all processes normally regulated by serotonin. The findings include these elevated risks: developmental problems in infants problems with sexual stimulation and function and sperm development in adults digestive problems such as diarrhea, constipation, indigestion and bloating abnormal bleeding and stroke in the elderly The authors reviewed three recent studies showing that elderly anti-depressant users are more likely to die than non-users, even after taking other important variables into account. The higher death rates indicate that the overall effect of these drugs on the body is more harmful than beneficial. "Serotonin is an ancient chemical. It's intimately regulating many different processes, and when you interfere with these things you can expect, from an evolutionary perspective, that it's going to cause some harm," Andrews says. Millions of people are prescribed anti-depressants every year, and while the conclusions may seem surprising, Andrews says much of the evidence has long been apparent and available. "The thing that's been missing in the debates about anti-depressants is an overall assessment of all these negative effects relative to their potential beneficial effects," he says. "Most of this evidence has been out there for years and nobody has been looking at this basic issue." In previous research, Andrews and his colleagues had questioned the effectiveness of anti-depressants even for their prescribed function, finding that patients were more likely to suffer relapse after going off their medications as their brains worked to re-establish equilibrium. With even the intended function of anti-depressants in question, Andrews says it is important to look critically at their continuing use. "It could change the way we think about such major pharmaceutical drugs," he says. "You've got a minimal benefit, a laundry list of negative effects -- some small, some rare and some not so rare. The issue is: does the list of negative effects outweigh the minimal benefit?"

Madeleine McCann, the British girl who went missing while on holiday in Portugal half a decade ago, could still be alive, Scotland Yard said on Wednesday.

Madeleine McCann as she might look aged 9  Photo: Teri Blythe

Detectives released a new “age progression” image of the toddler, which they said showed what she would look like today at the age of nine.

On Wednesday, Britain’s biggest police force said that as a result of evidence uncovered during a review “they now believe there is a possibility Madeleine is still alive”.

Officers have so far identified nearly 200 new items for investigation within historic material and are also “developing what they believe to be genuinely new material”.

Scotland Yard urged Portuguese authorities to reopen the search for her amid the new "investigative opportunities".

Police said the image, created ahead of what would have been her ninth birthday on May 12, had been created in “close collaboration with the family”.

Ryanair to pass on Spain landing fee hike to passengers, even if they have already bought tickets

Millions of Ryanair passengers heading to Spain this summer could be hit with an additional surcharge on flights even though they have already paid for their tickets. The budget airline is threatening to pass on a possible increase in Spanish airport landing fees, saying it is not footing the bill for an increase in taxes. Ryanair has emailed customers to warn them of the possible surcharge, giving them the option to cancel their flights if they wish.

Spanish and Italian borrowing costs already at unsustainable levels, warns Moody's Analytics

Europe's third and fourth biggest economies are in such a "weakened state" that the rates currently being charged by the alarmed bondmarkets are "unmanageable", the economists argued. Without "urgent action", included heavy buying of sovereign bond by the European Central Bank, both countries could need a Greek-style international bail-out or may even have to quit the euro, they said. "The European Central Bank will need to buy more government bonds, and we cannot rule out further liquidity injections into the banking sector," the Moody's economists said. "In the medium term, changes will be needed in the design, and possibly the membership, of the single-currency union." Citigroup backed the view, warning that Spain will need a bail-out by the EU, ECB and International Monetary Fund within months. "Spain will need to enter some form of a Troika program" some time this year, Citi's economists said in a note. The warnings in the report rattled traders across Europe. Spain's Ibex dropped 2.42pc, after a 4pc decline on Tuesday, plunging below the 7,000 level for the first time in three years. Italy's MIB fell 2.01pc; France's CAC fell 2.05pc; and Germany's DAX fell 0.9pc. In London, the FTSE 100 held firm.

Britons living overseas defrauded 43 million pounds in benefit fraud in 2011

The British Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith, has been visiting the Department of Work and Pensions benefits and healthcare team in Madrid. He warned Britons living abroad not to break the strict rules on what benefits they can and cannot claim. People who are pretending to live in the UK so they can collect benefits, but in fact are living overseas cost the British taxpayer 43 million pounds last year. Most of the reports of such benefit fraud came from Spain. Iain Duncan Smith commented, “We are determined to clamp down on benefit fraud abroad, which cost the British taxpayer around £43 million last year. This money should be going to the people who need it most and not lining the pockets of criminals sunning themselves overseas. The vast majority of British people overseas are law abiding, but fraudulently claiming benefits while living abroad is a crime and we are committed to putting a stop to it.” He also encouraged Britons to use the dedicated Spanish hotline to report benefit thieves. 900 554 440 or you report a benefit fraud here. The hotline has resulted in 100 people being sanctioned or prosecuted, and 134 more cases are currently under investigation. 3.1 million pounds in over payments of benefit have been identified and will be reclaimed. Source – UK in Spain - http://ukinspain.fco.gov.uk/en/news/?view=News&id=754530182 Duncan Smith made the most of his visit to Madrid and took the chance to meet with Health Minister, Ana Mato, and the Mayor of Madrid, Ana Botella. They discussed the response to the crisis with Duncan Smith calling for an end to the culture of ‘unemployment and dependency’, increasing the control on public spending and eliminating ‘the subsidies which don’t resolve problems because in some cases ‘they trap the poor’.

Anti-Corruption prosecutors to be strengthened in Málaga

 

The State Attorney General, Eduardo Torres-Dulce, has said that there are plans to designate ‘one or two prosecutors’ more to the specialist Anti-Corruption section in the province of Málaga. He made the comment at an event where Juan Carlos López Caballero took possession as Chief Prosecutor for Málaga, a job which he was sharing with his post as Delegate from the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor, where three prosecutors work. There have been complaints from prosecutors that only 8% of civil servants who work for the administration of justice do so in the prosecutors’ office, a number described as ‘totally insufficient’.

Health Minister announces crackdown on foreigners using the Spanish Health Service

The cabinet on Friday decided to crack down on foreigners using the Spanish Health Service as part of an additional 7 billion € of cuts. They intend to toughen the conditions for inclusion on the Padrón census. Minister for Health, Ana Mato, said ‘We are going to end the abuses committed by some foreigners’. She is going to change the Ley de Extranjería which intends to put a limit to the so-called ‘health tourism’, which has seen family members of foreign residents to come to Spain ‘exclusively’ to receive health attention. Ana Mato insisted that from now it will not be so easy to come to Spain, sign the Padrón census, and obtain a health card, as it has been. ‘Just getting on the Padrón they all had the right to the health card’, said the Minister. ‘Now there will be a series of additional requirements when the Padrón is issued’. She said to guarantee the universality of the Health Service ‘for all the Spaniards’ it was necessary to stop the illegal and undue use which some foreigners have been making of this service. On Thursday the Minister met with the regions and they agreed on a new article which will ‘explicitly prohibit a person moving regions in search of health attention'. The Minister considers these measures will do away with health tourism and save 1 billion €. Ana Mato also said that she was going to revise some international conventions on the matter, given that ‘many’ countries do not repay the money they owe Spain for the health attention given here to their citizens. Among the other measures approved, the end of paying for some medicaments ‘with little therapeutic value’. A list of included medicines accepted nationally is to be prepared. The Minister said ‘We all have to collaborate with those who having a worse time’.

Ryanair threatens surcharge on flights to Spain

 

Millions of its passengers – who have already booked and paid for their flights in full – may now be asked to pay an extra fee upon departure, or be told they are not allowed to board. The airline sent an email to customers this week warning them of the backdated fare. “We may be forced to debit passengers for any government imposed increases in airport charges prior to your travel date,” its message read. “If any such tax, fee or charge is introduced or increased after your reservation has been made you will be obliged to pay it (or any increase) prior to departure”.

Mike Tyson has for the first time revealed his lowest point ever in a searingly candid interview.

Once known as the ‘baddest man on the planet’, his life has taken more than a few dark twists and turns.

But now Mike Tyson has for the first time revealed his lowest point ever in a searingly candid interview.

The former heavyweight champion said that back in 2009 he was in a hotel room with seven prostitutes, a morphine drip in his arm, a pile of cocaine and a bottle of cognac when he began to feel paranoid.

Candid: The former world champion gave his most honest interview yet - revealing the drug-fuelled night that made him turn his life around and get clean and sober

Convinced the women were trying to steal from him he started beating them up and threw them out - to stop them from 'taking his soul'.

 

 Tyson said: ‘That’s when I realised it wasn’t just demons - it was the devil himself.

‘It was the lowest point of a very low life, but it was my own knockout punch to clean up life, get whole, get well - and I haven’t done anything in three years now. 

‘I’m clean. I’m sober.’

Tyson’s recently swapped the boxing ring for the cabaret stage in a six night comedy show at the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas, where some of his biggest fights took place.

World Champion: Mike Tyson lands the knockout punch to the jaw of challenger Larry Holmes during fourth round of the World Heavyweight Championship in Atlantic City 1988

 

In an interview with Las Vegas Weekly to promote the show, he was asked to talk about the moment he realised he had to turn his life around.

Tyson, 45 said: ‘Laying in bed in a hotel room - I try never to be alone, even if it’s a prostitute, a dog. 

‘This is really dark. I am in my hotel suite, I’ve got seven women there, and I have a morphine drip, and I had my cocaine, and I had my (Viagra like pill) Cialis, I had my marijuana, I had the Hennessy, and I am at my lowest point because I got paranoid and I thought these women were trying to rob me and set me up. 

‘I started beating them. I was in a dark place. There was a purpose, though, because I didn’t want to give them any more of my soul.

‘So this is my devil, this is where I am, I am locked up alone. There is nobody there telling me that I’m doing too much. 

Troubled: Tyson's first marriage to actress Robin Givens fell apart amid allegations of him being violent - he is now married for the third time

 

Mug shot: In 1992 Tyson was jailed for raping Desiree Washington - a beauty pageant contestant - he was released from prison after three years

‘That is the devil, he won. I kicked them all out. So that was my lowest point. Oh, man. I am just very grateful to be here - my heart should have blown apart. I was sweating wide awake. No more cocaine. No more. Three years clean.’

In his turbulent life Tyson has been married three times, fathered eight children and became the youngest heavyweight champion the world has ever seen at just 20.

But fame ruined him and his troubled upbringing - his mother was a prostitute and he never knew his pimp father - came back to haunt him.

In the interview he claimed to have earned $300million in winnings but admitted that he was so bad with money he was ‘forced to live paycheck to paycheck’.

In 1992, three years after his first marriage to actress Robin Givens fell apart, he was jailed for six years for raping Desiree Washington, a contestant in the Miss Black America pageant.

Released having served three years, he fought Evander Holyfield in the fight that became one of the most notorious bouts in boxing history when he bit part of his opponent’s ear off.

Reflecting on his life Tyson told Las Vegas Weekly that he was now the happiest he has ever been, and is just trying to be a good husband to his third wife, and a good father to his children.

Tyson said: ‘In order to wear the crown, you have to have a miserable life, and that is the one that inherits the crown. 

‘I don’t know, you have to go from the worst to reach the best. I’m just that extreme type of person. That is who I am, the guy that has no limits.’

EU condemns Repsol state seizure

 The European Parliament has passed a resolution condemning a nationalisation that has strained relations between Spain and Argentina. Argentina has nationalised YPF, wiping out the Spanish firm Repsol's controlling-stake in the oil firm. The resolution asks the European Commission to consider a "partial suspension" of tariffs that benefit Argentine exports into the EU. Shares in Repsol has another decline, falling 2.3% on Friday. Over the week, Repsol stock has lost almost a fifth of its value. MEPs in the European Parliament said the institution "deplores" the decision taken by Argentina and describes it as an "attack on the exercise of free enterprise". Decisions such as that taken by the Argentine authorities "can put a strain on the climate of understanding and friendship needed to reach" a trade agreement between a South American bloc and the EU, it said. The resolution, which is non-binding, received 458 votes in favour, 71 against and 16 abstentions. 'Not valid' It also emerged that Repsol may be obliged to buy a minority shareholder's YPF stake if it ever lost majority control, which Repsol denied. Twenty-five percent of YPF is owned by Argentina's Eskenazi family through its firm, Peterson. Continue reading the main story Nationalising YPF Spain's Repsol has hitherto owned 57.4% of shares with 25.5% belonging to Argentina's Petersen, 0.02% to the Argentine government and 17% traded on stock exchanges The Argentine government proposes to seize 51% of the shares, all of which will be taken from Repsol's stake, leaving the Spanish firm with 6.4% The expropriated shares will in turn be divided between the Argentine government and provincial governors Following the expropriation, Petersen will retain its 25.5% stake and 17% of the shares will continue to be traded Argentina's risky energy seizure According to regulator filings of a 2008 agreement, Repsol must "maintain directly or indirectly through controlled companies an ownership interest greater than or equal to 50.1%". If it does not, Repsol is obliged to buy back the loans used to secure the Eskenazis' shares. But Repsol told the BBC that the expropriation of its stake in YPF had invalidated the agreement. "The agreement is not valid under Spanish law in these conditions," said Kristian Rix, a Repsol spokesman. "The law is unequivocal, there is no debate." Trade war brewing? Spain has threatened retaliation against Argentina over the forced nationalisation of oil firm YPF, raising the prospects of a trade war between the nations. Spanish Trade Secretary Jaime Garcia Legaz said the European Union would intervene over Argentina's seizure of YPF. Argentina is taking over 51% of YPF, wiping out Repsol's 57.4% majority stake. The move has wide support in Argentina but has provoked outrage in Spain. Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had also offered support. Repsol has said it wants around $10bn (£6.2bn) for its stake in YPF, but Argentina has said it does not accept that valuation. YPF, Argentina's biggest oil company, was privatised in 1993. Last year it announced huge new finds of shale oil and gas.

Spain tells pensioners to start paying for prescriptions

Until now Spain's elderly have been entitled to free prescriptions but under new measures unveiled on Wednesday they must now pay 10pc of the cost of the medicines. The news has come as a blow to a sector of society who feel they have paid their dues and are already struggling to make ends meet. "It's outrageous," fumed Julian Rodriquez at a public health centre in Madrid, a 77-year-old retiree who supports his wife on a pension of €900 a month. "We've already tightened our belts as much as we can. When you reach a certain age it doesn't cost less to live but we have to survive on less amid rising prices." He explains that after price hikes on fuel bills brought in this month – electricity bills rose by 7pc and gas by 5pc – there is little left over.

France and Germany want to suspend the Shengen Agreement

They say they want a temporary suspension while the crisis continues. Spain will being introducing border restrictions during the European Central Bank meeting in Barcelona at the start of May.Angela Merkel and Nicolás Sarkozy - The Interior Ministers of France and Germany have written a joint letter in which they call for the reform of, and ‘temporary suspension’ of the Schengen agreement which allows for the free movement between most member states of the EU. They say the change is necessary ‘to control the massive flow of immigrants’. The call comes just ahead of the 25th anniversary of the treaty this coming Monday, although many countries signed up in March 1995. France and Germany consider that a ‘temporary suspension’ is needed during the crisis, and Paris and Berlin speak of ‘provisional’ closure of frontiers, and only when a country in the Schengen space cannot control the flow of immigrants. They say they will give the details to their European partners at the next conference. Meanwhile Spain has announced the suspension of the Schengen Treaty and the re-establishing of frontier controls with France ahead of the European Central Bank meeting which is to be held in Barcelona on May 3. It has not yet been decided how long the border restriction will remain in place, but say it will allow the authorities to act if there is ‘a serious threat to public order or interior security’. The measure will only affect the frontiers between Spain and France from the Basque Country to Cataluña. Reports indicate that it was the Catalan Government to step up the controls in the face of possible disturbances and the arrival of anti-system protestors from other countries in Europe.

Policemen accused of stealing items seized in searches

TWO members of the Costa del Sol Drugs and Organized Crime Unit (UDYCO) are on trial for alleged irregularities in their work. The two National Police officers are facing 19 and eight years in prison, as well as a four-year suspension in a trial which is expected to go on until July. One of them, the former head of the unit in Marbella, is accused of embezzlement, falsehood, violating a sentence and retaining a person against their will. As well as the sentence and suspension mentioned above the public prosecutor is asking for a 34-year ban from the police force. The other officer, who was Chief Inspector of the Unit, is accused of failing to perform his duties, violating a sentence, embezzlement, coercion and illegal weapons possession. The officers came under investigation in 2006, some two years after the unit dismantled a drug trafficking network in Marbella. During the arrests one of the detainees lost a gold watch worth €20,000, which was handed over to the head of the unit who failed to provide a receipt for it. According to the public prosecutor, he decided to keep it, and failed to mention it in any reports. When the detainee’s lawyer asked for it, he denied having it, but later handed it over and wrote a report claiming that he had ordered a search of the police station to find it. During another operation, he allegedly took €1,000 and a case. Meanwhile, the other officer on trial allegedly received complaints from lower ranking regarding the behaviour of their boss and despite knowing the truth about the gold watch, never reported the incident to his superiors. The first officer is also accused of setting a wanted man free in 2005 without telling his superiors after the detainee agreed to become an informer. However, when he was arrested again the officer allegedly “wanted nothing to do with him”, according to the prosecution. With the help of this man, he is accused of setting up a drugs sale to boost his reputation in 2005. He allowed his informer to “escape” with the €30,000 from the transaction, which they later allegedly shared. The other officer was approached by a Russian couple who wanted a detective so a friend could check on his wife. He allegedly pretended to pay a private detective and used resources available to him thanks to his position in the UDYCO. He is also charged with taking a TV seized during an operation home with him for more than a month, amongst other irregularities.

Money goes missing from Estepona Town Hall

Estepona has denounced a missing 100,000 € from its accounts. It’s separate from the ongoing ‘Astapa Case’ in which 100 people have been accused so far in four years of case instruction. The PP Mayor, José María García Urbano, denounced to the National Police on Monday that over 100,000 € was missing from the treasury department of the Estepona Town Hall. The Mayor has suspended the treasurer, Félix Domínguez Pimienta, while the matter is investigated. The Mayor things that ‘supposed irregular activities’ have been taking place, which started in the previous mandate when David Valadez was the Socialist Mayor. The treasurer commented that he thought it was normal that they were looking for the person responsible, who had, it seems, taken the money and then changed the accounts to cover.

Pensioners to pay ten percent of the cost of their medicaments

 

The Ministry for Health wants pensioners to pay 10% of the cost of their medicament, and the subject is to be debated today. Minister Ana Mato will suggest to the autonomous regions that pensioners pay 10% of the cost of their medicaments, while those in work pay 50% of the cost in place of the current 40%. Pensioners with a high income will be called on to pay 20%. Currently pensioners do not have to pay anything. Limits will be established so as not to prejudice the chronically ill. The cabinet is expected to approve the measure this Friday, and then introduce it by Royal Decree. The measure is just one to help meet the 7 billion € cut in health funding this year. The services covered by the Health Service are being revised and are likely to be cut. Unity on services covered across the country will be introduced, and this would mean that there would be a new health card for all of Spain which would contain the fiscal information of each user. The authorities are also working to control what is being called ‘health tourism’ not only by Europeans who live in Spain, but also those who use the health service when on holiday.

Spanish King Juan Carlos sorry for Botswana hunt trip

 

King Juan Carlos has apologised to the Spanish people for going on a hunting trip in Africa while his country was in the midst of an economic crisis. His trip to Botswana, which was widely criticised, emerged after he was flown home for treatment for a fractured hip. "I'm very sorry, I made a mistake. It won't happen again," he said, as he left San Jose hospital in Madrid. It was widely reported that he had been hunting elephants, which the royal house has neither confirmed nor denied. He broke his hip falling on a step and was flown home by private jet. He underwent hip replacement surgery on Saturday. After news of his safari visit to Botswana was revealed, many Spanish newspapers published a photo of the king dating back to 2006, in which he is seen standing with a gun beside a dead elephant. The king, 74, is honorary president of the Spanish branch of conservation group WWF and an online petition calling for his resignation had accumulated almost 85,000 signatures by the time he made his public apology. Spain is the fourth biggest economy in the eurozone but has seen its debt crisis worsen and its borrowing costs increase. It currently has a 23% unemployment rate and there are fears it could return to recession. Continue reading the main story Analysis Tom Burridge BBC News, Madrid According to Spain's most-read newspaper, El Pais, this is the biggest crisis for Spain's monarchy since the country's dictatorship ended in 1975. News about the king's hunting trip has caused outrage among many because of the type of animal he is thought to have been hunting: elephants. But the real scandal is that the head of state was off on an expensive hunting expedition in Africa, during one of the most precarious moments in Spain's economic crisis, when more than five million Spaniards are out of work, and the country is facing deep public spending cuts and a significant rise in the cost of living. It is in this context that the king made his first-ever public, and very clear-cut, apology. It is what senior opposition politicians had called for, and so it seems the hunting holiday scandal will die down. However, the King has another matter to worry about. His son-in-law, Inaki Urdangarin is still being investigated on corruption allegations, which he strongly denies. In the past, public criticism of the Spanish royal family was not "the done thing". Now it is something the Spanish papers are increasingly used to. 'Abdication' The BBC's Tom Burridge in Madrid said the king had faced a public outcry for going to Africa and quite probably hunting elephants when a lot of people were facing the harsh reality of an economic crisis. Although the leaders of the ruling Popular Party and Socialists had declined to comment on the controversy, the Socialists' leader in Madrid Tomas Gomez suggested the king should choose between his "public responsibilities, or an abdication". El Pais newspaper reported that the royal house had considered its response carefully and that the king had decided to speak publicly before the television cameras rather than leave the matter to a palace statement. The king is generally popular in Spain but the royal family has recently been beset by a series of embarrassing news stories. His son-in-law, Inaki Urdangarin, has been questioned about a corruption scandal that involves claims that he used public funds to organise sports events. He has been suspended from taking part in royal engagements. Only last week, the king's grandson, 13-year-old Felipe Juan Froilan, was himself taken to hospital after an incident involving a gun. He shot himself in the foot during target practice outside the family home.

Marbella Police Commissioner moved to Madrid

 

The Police Commissioner in Marbella, Agapito Hermés de Dios, is to be disciplined for spying on the Vice President of the Madrid region, Ignacio González, in what is now considered to have been an ‘illegal’ investigation according to the Minister of the Interior, Jorge Fernández Díaz. Agapito Hermés has presented his resignation from the Marbella Police Station and will now be destined to a district of Madrid. He was subjected to an internal investigation regarding how he dealt with an enquiry into an attic which Ignacio Gonzalez enjoyed in Marbella. The Interior Minister announced publically in the Senate that the investigation was ‘illegal’ and ‘irregular’ as it was carried out without judicial authorisation and without complying with the protocols on intervention established by the Police.

Albox publishes its plan to regularise its illegal houses

In March of this year, just before the regional elections, the town of Albox in the Almanzora Valley announced that it was the first municipality in Andalucía to approve its plan to regularise illegal houses under the terms of the regularisation decree announced by the regional government. During a press conference given at the time the mayor of Albox, Jose Garcia (PSOE) flanked by the regional delegate for Housing and Planning in Almeria, Jose Ortiz, and the PSOE parliamentary candidate Jose Perez, declared that the decree would resolve virtually 100% of the cases in Albox.



The plan was subsequently made available to the public on the 2nd of April and AUAN, a homeowner’s campaign group, have now studied its content. “The true figure is far from the 100% claimed and the decree, when applied to Albox, appears to fix houses that didn’t need fixing and makes matters worse for quite a few that needed help. A clear case of the wrong remedy being applied when the regional government doesn’t listen to the homeowners” said an AUAN spokesperson.


198 houses can still be prosecuted

“The regularisation plan identifies 198 houses that the town hall believes cannot be regularised under the decree because they are less than four years old, incomplete, within a rambla zone, on a right of way or subject to some other form of special protection. A further 97 buildings (farm buildings, warehouses etc) also fall into this group.

These properties will now be referred to the appropriate authorities who will decide if action must be taken against them".



An additional 278 houses are on illegal land divisions

“The plan also identifies an additional 278 houses on illegal land divisions. This is where a parcel of rustic land was illegally divided up by promoters to construct houses which were generally sold on to foreigners. The decree provides no mechanism to resolve this problem as we warned from the outset” said AUANs spokesperson.



“The expectation appears to be that these property owners will surrender their individual land deeds, regroup the parcel of land and enter into some sort of shared ownership scheme with their neighbours if they wish to gain access to services such as electricity and water. As one can imagine, this creates a legal mess and is likely to be unworkable in practice” the spokesperson continued. “It should also be noted that according to the LOUA (the planning laws), these illegal land divisions can be still be prosecuted although we hope that the risk of this happening in reality is low” the spokesperson concluded.



Some positive aspects of the Albox plan

“The plan proposes to include some 80 houses that are in the courts and under threat of demolition as ‘urban settlements’. A proposal to include them in the town plan is positive even though the issue of who pays for the infrastructure needs to be resolved.“ said the spokesperson. “Of course, it is only positive if the courts are informed of this development and chose to take it into account. The decree places no obligation on the courts to do so and as many homeowners have declined to take part in the court proceedings they are unable to ensure that the court is informed. Also, there is of course no guarantee that these urban settlements will evolve into reality any time soon".




The decree - a solution? – not really

“Albox town council have followed the instructions set out in the decree and as a consequence they propose to apply legal coverage to houses that don’t really need it and have made matters worse, in the main, for the rest. The mayor indicated in March that some 497 houses were constructed illegally in Albox between 2001 and 2005. However, the majority of the 477 houses on protected land or on illegal land divisions match this description. One has to say that the numbers simply don’t add up and therefore we have to ask: what exactly has been fixed?” the spokesperson claimed.



“It’s all a bit of an ongoing shambles really. I’m sure our town halls and their planners are as fed up of complying with and justifying this nonsense as we are complaining about it. We had hoped that a change of government would bring new ideas to the table but that was not to be. Sadly, we must all plough on regardless or risk another Mr and Mrs. Prior”.



AUAN’s Priority

" 14 of the 198 houses that cannot be legalised and 60 of the 278 houses on illegal land divisions belong to AUAN members. As an organisation our priority will be to make reasoned technical arguments to have our members homes removed, if possible, from these lists. In an ideal world we would like to help everyone but we are financially supported by our members who represent a minority of those affected and their needs must come first“

Spain Has Enough Excess Land for 4 Million New Homes, Acuna Says

 

Spain has enough land approved for development to build 4 million homes and an existing supply of residences that will take about 10 years to sell, according to R.R. de Acuna & Asociados. There are currently 2 million unsold homes in Spain, the Madrid-based property adviser said in a report published today. In a typical year, there is demand for 200,000 to 250,000 properties, the company estimates. “Land continues to be the biggest threat for Spanish lenders,” Fernando Rodriguez de Acuna Martinez, a partner at Acuna & Asociados, said by telephone yesterday. “An important part won’t be developed in the next decade, which means the price of that land today is just symbolic or zero.” Spanish lenders have taken on 298.3 billion euros of loans to developers and real estate assets onto their balance sheets to cancel debt after a decade-long property boom ended in 2008, according to data published by the Bank of Spain. Since the market’s peak in 2007, the average price of urban land has dropped 36 percent to 182.5 euros ($240) a square meter, according to data from the Ministry of Infrastructure. Asking prices for homes have fallen by an average of about 30 percent during that time, according to a March 1 report by Fotocasa.es, a real-estate website, and the IESE Business School. Home prices will fall a further 20 percent over the next four to five years and land will be sold at an average discount of at least 65 percent, according to Acuna.

Spanish police investigate possible sighting of Madeleine McCann

 

SPANISH police are investigating a fresh sighting of missing British girl Madeleine McCann, nearly five years after she disappeared. THREE-YEAR-OLD BRITISH GIRL MADELEINE MCCANN DISAPPEARED FROM THE PORTUGUESE RESORT PRAIA DA LUZ IN 2007. THE DAILY TELEGRAPH A tip-off to Portuguese police earlier this month talked about a little girl with a "strong physical resemblance" to Madeleine in the resort town of Nerja, southern Spain, Diario Sur reported. The Specialist and Violent Crime Unit (UDEV) began investigating the possible sighting "as with all more or less reliable information that arrives on Madeleine," a source said. Since her disappearance in May 2007, there have been many possible sightings of Madeleine in different parts of Spain. Only a few months ago, another tip-off claimed the little girl was in nearby Axarquia. Madeleine was on vacation with her parents and twin younger siblings in Praia da Luz, on Portugal's Algarve coast, when she went missing. Her mom, Kate McCann, went to check on the children during the evening and discovered her bed empty. No trace of her was ever found, and Portuguese police closed the case in July 2008. The McCanns launched the Madeleine Foundation to keep the search for their missing girl alive. Sky News correspondent Martin Brunt said there were likely to be more "sightings" of Madeleine - who would now be eight years old - as the five-year anniversary of her disappearance approaches. He said, "Apparently, Spanish police involved in tracing missing people have three such potential sightings a month."

King of Spain faces calls to abdicate after elephant hunt

The 74-year-old monarch has faced a barrage of criticism over his extravagant lifestyle at a time when Spaniards are suffering harsh austerity measures in a nation mired in economic crisis. Left wing leaders called for greater transparency of Royal accounts and one even suggested it may be time for the once popular monarch to give up his throne. "The head of state must choose between his obligations and the duty of service of his public responsibilities, or an abdication that would allow him to enjoy a different kind of life," Tomas Gomez, the leader of the Madrid branch of the opposition socialist party, said on Sunday. Spain's minority United Left (IU) party called for a referendum on whether Spain should return to a republic citing the poor example the Monarch was setting during a time of hardship. "It shows a complete lack of ethics and respect toward the people of Spain who are suffering a lot," said Cayo Lara Moya, spokesman of the IU.

Prestige Boot Camp in Spain, with its three lavish villas, plus pool, sauna and hot tub, perched on beautiful hills outside Marbella?

The body-changing bootcamp

What better way to approach a milestone birthday than to get in shape with a week at Prestige Boot Camp in Spain, with its three lavish villas, plus pool, sauna and hot tub, perched on beautiful hills outside Marbella? Days start early with a run and circuit training, followed by breakfast then boxing. It sounds intimidating, but time flies due to the impressive variety of exercises – no day is the same – and the enthusiasm of the trainers (all of whom have backgrounds in military fitness).

During the course of the week I tried a mixture of beach training, canyoning, boxing, circuit training and hill walking. There is an assortment of ages, abilities and reasons for being there: the odd chief executive enjoying not making a single decision all week; some, like me, there to shift pounds for a special occasion; and many repeat visitors who choose Prestige over a conventional holiday.

The nutritionally balanced food is delicious and cooked with care by the resident chef. The here emphasis is on low-fat, low-calorie dishes packed with 'super-foods’ and plenty of fresh fish. Any down-time is spent languishing in your beautiful villa, or enjoying the various beauty treatments on offer. Bliss.

This is a programme that gets results fast; even after just three days I felt my shape starting to change. At the end of the week I’d lost half a stone and 6½in from my waist. Needless to say, I felt so good about myself by the end that the birthday was a roaring success. RS

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£1,595 for seven nights (prestigebootcamp.com)

 

The yoga retreat

I thought my life had already been changed by yoga when I booked a week’s retreat with Simon Low and Jeff Phenix. (I had dabbled in yoga for a while, been on a couple of retreats.) I was wrong. Low and Phenix are two of this country’s most celebrated teachers, and at Yoga Thailand, a beachside retreat in Koh Samui aimed at serious yogis, I quickly discovered why. Six hours of yoga were scheduled daily, a morning 'yin’ or dynamic practice, and an afternoon 'yang’ or restorative practice. This is at least two hours more than at most retreats but it flew by.

Low’s development of so-called yin-and-yang yoga stems from his belief that much Western practice is far too regimented – that we bring to our mats those very control-freak tendencies we are supposed to leave behind. His dynamic practice has beautiful flourishes introduced from other disciplines such as chigong (a Chinese martial art), which help your chi – life energy – flow more freely.

The toughness of the dynamic sessions somehow went unnoticed until they were over, and my mind floated free throughout. For the first time I glimpsed what the physical meditation that is yoga can be. The afternoon sessions – at an initial glance, lying around awkwardly on bolsters – were equally remarkable, designed to restore the body after its earlier exertions. I worked so hard that week, yet it all felt effortless. No physical tiredness, no aches. Yoga was new to me, and me to it. AM

Jeff Phenix and Simon Low are running a joint course in Thailand, 5 to 12 Jan 2013, £709; Simon Low is running a course 12 to 19 Jan, £659 (simonlow.com; phenixyoga.com; yoga-thailand.com)

 

The macrobiotic week

Based in a beautifully restored 19th-century manor house near Dumfries in Scotland, the Penninghame Foundation’s Ultimate Health Experience offers its guests a tightly packed programme of macrobiotic learning that aims to change your health by changing your habits.

Macrobiotics has its origins in ancient Chinese medicine and promotes a diet based on traditional Mediterranean and oriental food. Fats, sugars and meat are swapped for nutrient-rich vegetables and wholegrains, the aim being to achieve an acid-alkaline balance in the digestive system. This, we were told, is the basis of good health. Our teachers were Marlene Watson-Tara, a counsellor and a chef with a passion for the cause, and her Californian husband, Bill, a leading light in the world of macrobiotic education.

On a typical day you might rise early for yoga, take a short stroll through the woods to a lecture by Bill, delving into the mysteries of nutritional science, and then pop across to the swanky new kitchen block where Marlene waxes lyrical on the benefits of miso soup before showing you how to roll the perfect vegetarian sushi. With an afternoon lecture and a home remedies class to come, there is barely time to consider your rapidly disappearing cravings for chocolate and coffee (the food here is so delicious it’s enough to convert even the sweetest tooth).

Following a macrobiotic diet has been shown to give respite to sufferers of a wide variety of illnesses, but for others like me it’s an investment in future health. My diet – how, what and when I eat – has been completely transformed. Plus, my pecan nuggets are a show-stopper. JM

From £995 for seven nights (penninghame.org)

 

The tummy-toning week

Exercise, in my book, means running, star-jumping, squat-thrusting or, ideally, a frantic combination of all three. So I couldn’t help but think that the five-day Wellbeing Escapes Pilates and Power Plate programme at Aphrodite Hills in Cyprus sounded a little, well, tame. But Elle Macpherson and Claudia Schiffer are both fans of the Power Plate, a raised platform that vibrates rapidly while you hold various poses on top of it. So channelling my inner supermodel, I dipped into my first lunge.

My trainer, with whom I spent an hour in the gym one-on-one each day, explained how the plate’s vibrations, combined with pilates poses, would strengthen my muscles without bulking them up. For an hour each day I lunged, crunched and squatted on the jiggling platform. Despite moving no more than a metre from where I started, I was spent by the end of every session. By day three, my legs looked sleeker and my stomach flatter. By day five I’d shed 1½in from my waist and lost 6 per cent of my body fat.

This is the perfect programme for those who don’t fancy a bootcamp and want to concentrate on toning up fast. Aphrodite Hills itself is a gorgeous, gargantuan coastal resort and accommodation is in its five-star hotel. The itinerary allows for plenty of me-time, so is suited to those who enjoy a rest as much as a work-out. If you’re self-disciplined enough, your free time can be spent at the other exercise classes on offer. If not, the sun-loungers beckon. AB

From £1,579 for seven nights (wellbeingescapes.co.uk)

 

The ayurvedic detox

Parkschlösschen, Europe’s only strictly ayurvedic hotel, lies in the pretty Mosel valley, home to some of Germany’s best wines. Not that you’ll be sampling any of those. A stay here means sticking to a strict diet (no sugar, dairy, meat and alcohol) and living according the principles of ayurveda – the ancient Indian art of living 'in balance’ with ourselves and our surroundings.

My week began with a comprehensive medical consultation with a doctor. I was told I was a mixture of two doshas (body types) – vata and pitta – but that they were out of balance. Ayurvedic medicine is based on the philosophy that if your doshas are out of balance, you cannot achieve optimum health.

An average day started with a 7.30am wake-up call and a 'breakfast’ of eye-watering ginger juice, followed by a full body massage. Then there were the various herbal concoctions (and, whisper it, enemas) to 'cleanse’ your system. But there were also incredible massages (particularly unforgettable was shirodhara, where oil is poured over your head in a continuous flow).

Food is organic vegetarian and tailored to your dosha type. It’s all delicious but, even so, by the end of the week I was struggling from the lack of meat, sugar and caffeine, and the headaches induced by withdrawal; this detox is not for the faint-hearted. Despite the cravings, by the end of the week I had lost 7lb and was glowing with health. RL

From £2,255 for seven nights (parkschloesschen.de)

 

The stress-busting week

As a single, footloose and fancy-free woman about town, I was slightly ashamed telling friends with children I was off on an 'anti-stress’ week. But the reality is I work hard and play hard. The Asclepios Wellness and Healing Retreat in Costa Rica is in a remote spot with limited internet access, which meant – hurrah – I was soon forced to break my BlackBerry addiction. The 12 light, airy rooms reflect the general atmosphere of blissful serenity.

One of Asclepios’ biggest selling points is that food is prepared according to your blood type. The idea is that different blood types are predisposed to thrive – or not – on certain foods. As a type O, I was told I had the constitution of a primitive hunter-gatherer. This meant lots of protein, fruit and nuts, and ruled out refined wheat and starchy foods. Each meal was fantastic, much of it organic and grown on the estate. Sure enough, I soon felt less bloated, and my sleep grew less disturbed.

The week includes gentle physical activity in the mornings, such as Tibetan breathing exercises and yoga. Afternoons are based on more restful therapies: reiki, meditation and acupuncture. Intersperse all this with sessions in the hammam and sauna, and gazing poolside on to the distant volcano and tropical vegetation, and you have no choice but to unwind. The resort is set up to ensure guests fall into a sunrise/sunset sleeping pattern, so this is not a place for night owls who want to spend their evenings at the bar. After I shook off my double-espresso habit (no coffee here), and avoided the delicious selection of organic wines, I realised it was perhaps the most relaxed I’d been in a decade. CH

£2,609 for seven nights (asclepioscr.com)

 

The ski fitness week

Ski holidays and getting fit should go hand in hand, but in my experience they don’t. With all the stodgy food and vin chaud, I’ve always ended up fatter. But there is another way, as I discovered at Ferme du Ciel in Samoëns in France. Its owners, Andy and Su Lyell, have turned a 17th-century cow byre into a luxurious chalet, which is the perfect launching-off point for the six-day Ski Healthy Winter Weight-Loss Programme.

Samoëns offers access to the Grand Massif, the largest ski-linked area in France. There are pistes to challenge all levels (one, at 14km, is the longest blue run in Europe) and plenty of off-piste, too. Three and a half days of the boot camp are spent on the slopes (Andy and Su are excellent ski guides, and lessons can be made part of the package if required). The rest of the time is divided between cross-country skiing (exhausting), snowshoeing (exhausting and picturesque), and yoga – a mixture of Indian hatha and Chinese Taoist I was told by our teacher, Michele Willmott (who also offers life coaching as part of the bootcamp, to help with mental barriers to weight-loss or fitness).

Midweek there’s a lymphatic-drainage sports massage to ease aches and pains, and – a highlight – the healthy cooking workshop with the chalet’s chef (the food at Ferme du Ciel is unlike anything you’ll have experienced in a ski resort: imaginative, perfectly executed and healthy without shouting about it). I returned trimmer (an inch all over – it would have been more if I’d eschewed alcohol) and an unlikely convert to yoga, with a headful of recipes that are already transforming the way I eat. TA

From £1,300 for seven nights (fermeduciel.com). EasyJet flies to Geneva from £22.99 one way (easyjet.com)

 

The holistic bootcamp

I’m the kind of girl who considers a fast trot up the Tube escalator sufficient daily activity, but the promise of a clear mind and body and perhaps a little weight loss was enough to encourage me to don some trainers and embark upon Yeotown’s Yeotox programme. Based in a converted farmhouse amid 50 acres of picturesque north Devon countryside, Yeotown is run by Mercedes Ngoh, a yoga teacher, and her husband.

Their holistic approach to detoxing combines hiking, exercise sessions and yoga with healthy eating. And there’s no denying it’s hard work; a typical day begins at 7am with a strenuous one-hour yoga class followed by a breakfast smoothie (all the delicious vegetarian food is free of wheat, dairy, sugar and caffeine). Next a challenging but scenic six-mile hike, then back to the house for lunch before an afternoon exercise session in the studio. A good stretch and light dinner wind down the day’s activities. Deep-tissue massages relax muscles, while acupuncture aims to banish bad habits, be they related to food, addiction or behaviour; this is a multi-faceted approach to getting fit and well.

Waking up every morning with sore muscles was tough, but the programme was also fun and eye-opening, learning the movements of chigong and meditation techniques, as well as receiving nutritional advice on the importance of a low-GI diet. While the aim of Yeotox is not weight loss, a decrease in body fat is often a happy side effect; I lost 1½lb and ½in from my waist. FG

£1,780 for four nights (yeotown.com)

 

The digestive healing week

The Viva Mayr clinic in Austria is something of a mecca for all those with dodgy digestions (I have suffered from the aptly named irritable bowel syndrome for years without ever being able to pin down its cause). The clinic sits on the shores of Lake Wörthersee – a beautiful spot. But this is no health spa for ladies who lunch, and the Mayr 'cure’ is a famously strict regime.

The philosophy is that the gut holds the key to our overall health, and eating the wrong things, at the wrong time, leads to a raft of ailments (the clinic hosts everyone from high-fliers with 'burn-out’, to those with chronic diabetes). A stay here is an education in the right way to eat: chew thoroughly, eat slowly, and have your smallest meal in the evening (which, at Viva, is a measly clear vegetable broth and some deliberately stale spelt bread).

As well as avoiding foods that are irritants, the idea is to give your overworked digestive system a rest – and that means eating very little. At first the raging hunger pangs, daily dose of Epsom salts (to 'cleanse’ the system), and withdrawal from sugar and caffeine left me practically bed-bound. But my programme – individually tailored by a doctor – also included abdominal massages, detoxifying foot baths, rest and full body massages. The team of doctors and staff closely monitor your progress, so you feel you are in very safe hands. On day four I bounded out of bed bursting with energy. Six weeks on, still following the Viva principles, I find my symptoms have almost disappeared. Pretty remarkable after 15 years of a very irritable bowel indeed. KS

From £2,500 for seven nights; tests and medication are paid for separately (viva-mayr.com)

 

The anti-ageing week

Imagine soaking yourself gently in a hot spring pool while looking out on a wooded hillside topped with a medieval castle. The thermal source of the Terme di Saturnia spa, in the glorious Maremma area of Tuscany, gushes from the earth at 500 litres per second, at a constant 37°C and has been known for 3,000 years. Its waters, recently analysed, were found to have strong antioxidant properties and the spa bases many of its anti-ageing treatments and hydrotherapy for arthritis, skin and respiratory problems on the spring water and the black plankton it produces.

Doctors practising aesthetic medicine undertake such treatments as SkinB injections of hyaluronic acid to tone the face, and a week later it certainly seemed to have given me a more youthful complexion. The Carbossitherapy injections into the cellulite-ridden bits of my body didn’t have such an impact, but this is a long-term treatment. A hot thermal-mud overcoat did wonders for my typing-sore elbow joints. There are skilful massages aplenty with products based on the plankton.

Thermal cures are well known in Italy and this hotel is very Italian. The food is superb, with more Tuscan specialities than virtuous slimming fare. The rooms are luxurious and the service kindly and efficient. The only downside is the sulphurous smell wafting from the pool. That said, after a few minutes you don’t notice it, as you feel so well. EP

From £1,650 for seven nights (termedisaturnia.it). EasyJet flies to Rome from £23.99 one way (easyjet.com)

Scots accused of smuggling 'spent fortune on supercars and luxury MARBELLA villa.

Accused of ­funding his multi-millionaire lifestyle from the proceeds of an international drugs empire. Ian Donaldson, 32, bought a fleet of Ferraris, Porsches, Lamborghinis and Hummers with cash made from trafficking cocaine and speed from Spain to Scotland, it is claimed. Donaldson also owned luxury villas and powerboats and enjoyed a playboy lifestyle on the Costa del Sol and Tenerife. But last week the Spanish National Court in Madrid heard sensational claims that he was the money man for a gang of drug-smugglers led by fellow Glaswegian Ronald O’Dea, 45. Prosecutors claim Donaldson spent at least £7.2million on cars and property, funded by his lucrative smuggling operation. Lead prosecutor Dolores Lopez Salcedo is demanding hefty sentences for the gang, including 21 years for alleged ringleader O’Dea and 18 years for Donaldson. She also wants Donaldson to be fined a staggering £24million. Ms Salcedo outlined an incredible fleet of supercars seized from Donaldson – a Ferrari F430 Spider, a Ferrari 599GTB Fiorano, two Hummers, a Porsche Cayenne turbo, an Audi Q7 4x4, two BMWs and a Mercedes 63 AMG. The court was told Donaldson and his fellow gang members spent their days in bars and restaurants on the Costa del Sol and the holiday island of Tenerife. It was there that they are alleged to have plotted the transfer of massive consignments of drugs to the UK. Spanish police launched an undercover surveillance operation following a tip-off from their British counterparts. By tapping the gang’s mobile phones, Spanish detectives discovered a consignment was about to be smuggled in a lorry travelling by ferry from Calais to Dover. British police swooped on the vehicle on the M40 in Oxfordshire and seized 68.5kg of amphetamines in 29 bags hidden in tanks of liquid used to clean cows’ udders. Donaldson and O’Dea, pictured, went on trial last week with fellow Scots Jim MacDonald, 62, and Mary Hendry and Londoners Steve Brown, 45, and Deborah Learmouth, 49. A panel of three judges were told that Operation Sendero began in July 2008 when detectives from the UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency emailed the Drugs and Organised Crime Squad in Madrid. They provided the names and telephone numbers of several British drug-trafficking suspects based in Spain. Spanish police began a surveillance and phone-tapping operation under the supervision of an investigative judge. The court heard the suspects used evasive driving techniques to try to avoid being followed and used codes and nicknames while speaking on their mobile phones. Donaldson, who is 5ft 8in, was nicknamed The Kid while 6ft Steve Brown was referred to as The Big Man. The inspector who led the investigation told the court: “While under surveillance they enjoyed their days, they went out to eat in restaurants, they went to bars. In their phone conversations none of them ever mentioned work, a business or a job, nothing. “Ian Donaldson had a level of life that was extremely agreeable, with holidays and luxury cars. “He went out in the marina area of Marbella and in Tenerife, as well as on a yacht. He had a large villa in Tenerife. “From the telephone conversations between other suspects it was deduced that Ian controlled the money.” Donaldson, once cleared of a gangland kidnap in Scotland, was the director of Tenerife-based Ian’s Sports Cars Ltd, which was supposed to buy and sell luxury cars. But the detective said the company was merely a front for drugs money. He added: “The company did not really exist, it had no commercial activity.” The Spanish police also claim Donaldson was protected by hefty bodyguards who escorted him to and from the millionaires’ playground of Puerto Banus. One undercover officer told the court: “We followed him one day from one of his houses down to the boat in Puerto Banus. “He had people in vehicles in front and behind him. They were in two Hummers. The men were very well-built, very strong.” On September 22, 2008, Donaldson and three others were stopped at Glasgow Airport attempting to board a Globespan flight to Malaga with £50,000 hidden in their luggage. The money was confiscated and Donaldson was released. It was claimed that after this the gang began preparing the shipment of speed that was eventually seized in Oxfordshire. After the shipment was discovered, Spanish cops swooped on dozens of properties including Donaldson’s £1million villa in the south of Tenerife. The fleet of luxury cars was seized during that raid and police also found 11 mobile phones and 20 SIM cards in the villa. Donaldson was arrested in Scotland on an international warrant in March 2009 and was extradited to Madrid four months later. He spent more than a year on remand before being released on bail of £135,000. His fortified home in Renton, Dunbartonshire, was raided by the Scottish Crime and Drugs Enforcement Agency in July 2009. Donaldson gave evidence in Madrid on Wednesday, claiming he was a legitimate businessman who made his money from a number of ventures in Scotland in Spain. He is a director of a Scottish company IRD Services Ltd, which rents out construction machinery, and was also part-owner of Scruffy Murphys nightclub in Gran Canaria until 2007. He said he made an average of £10,000 per week from the nightclub alone. Donaldson said: “I was involved in buying and selling cars and houses in Scotland from a very young age. “There were different avenues for making money. I received money from my Scottish company, my Tenerife company and my Gran Canaria company. “In Spain I sell cars for cash. I have sold more than 30 luxury cars.” Donaldson denied prosecution claims he owns a powerboat, Wee Joe II, and that he sold another boat for almost £1million. Powerfully built O’Dea told the court he made his money from his company ­Fountain Drinks, which supplies soft drinks, beers and ­spirits to restaurants and bars in Scotland. O’Dea, who owns a £687,000 mansion in Marbella, is described by prosecutors as “the leader of the group”. He told the court he travelled between Spain and Scotland every two weeks to visit his son. Ms Salcedo said the pair deserved long prison terms for their role in drug- trafficking and money- laundering operations. She has also demanded heavy sentences for the rest of the gang. MacDonald, accused of being in charge of transporting the drugs, should get at least 18 years, while Brown, who also faces forgery charges, could get 20 years. Learmouth, a travel agent who has lived in Spain for 25 years, faces nine years for drugs offences while ­Hendry faces five years for money-laundering. Two other defendants – Brian Rawlings, 66, and Joseph Campbell, 52 – were on bail and failed to show at the trial. All deny the charges and the trial continues.

La Linea's dream to benefit from the building of 'the Northern access of the joint use Gibraltar airport' is becoming a nightmare

 

La Linea's dream to benefit from the building of 'the Northern access of the joint use Gibraltar airport' is becoming a nightmare, with the land on which that structure would be built enmeshed in a never-ending legal row. The present mayoress of La Linea Gemma Araujo reacted yesterday by accusing two former majors of the land row. She accused others of not meeting a payment plan for the payment of 4 million euros said to be owed to a La Linea family over a plot of land, and the previous mayor of having used the land as a guarantee. But with the situation getting more complicated by the day, the likelihood has emerged that the land adjacent to the frontier meant for the airport connection may now be seized by affected party. With accusations and counter-accusations flying about, the situation is now being described as very serious. "We want to pay," said the mayoress," but how do we pay?" As is known, the La Linea municipality does not have funds even to pay its own workers, who have not received their wages for severtal months. There is talk of a repayment agreement entered into by the previous mayor of 37,000 euros monthly which appartently has not been met.Also included was a percentage of the expected income for the land use connected with the airport. It is being alleged that this debt is just one of many others going through tribunals affecting the municipality which total 45 million euros.

Spain passes law to crack down on regional deficits

Spain's central government will be able to intervene within nine months in the finances of autonomous regions that do not comply with strict deficit reduction rules under a fiscal stability law passed by the lower house of Parliament on Thursday. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, of the centre-right Popular Party, hopes the law will help persuade investors and Spain's European partners that the country can crack down on overspending in Spain's 17 autonomous regions.

Over-the-counter remedies for insect bites may not work

Chemists offer dozens of creams and pills to relieve the itching and swelling from insect bites but there is little evidence that the treatments actually work, it was claimed. While medication is clearly needed when bites cause infection, eczema flare-ups or severe allergic reactions, in most cases the symptoms are "self limiting", according to an article published in the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB). Midges, mosquitoes, flies, fleas and bedbugs account for the majority of insect bites in Britain. As they bite our skin in search of blood to drink, the insects inject saliva which causes a reaction in our bodies, usually resulting in no more than mild itching, pain and swelling. This is in contrast to wasp and bee stings, where the reaction is caused by venom.

Scots tourist caught in Morocco with £500k worth of cannabis is jailed

A SCOTS tourist in Morocco has been jailed for two years after being caught with £500,000 of cannabis in his camper van. Daniel Healy, 67, from Glasgow, was arrested as he tried to cross the border from Morocco to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. Police discovered the 100-kilo stash of the drug hidden in aluminium boxes in the Spanish-registered van’s water tank. He has been held in tough Tetuoan prison since his arrest in September last year, which was revealed in the Sunday Mail at the time and he has now been sentenced. It is not known whether Healy pled guilty to the charges or was convicted by jury. At the time, his friend Graham Boszormenyi, 46, claimed Healy was unaware of the hidden drugs. Last night, Healy’s daughter Siobhan, who is a celebrated glass artist in Dennistoun, refused to comment. The foreign office said: “We will continue to provide consular assistance.” A US state department report on Moroccan jail conditions said: “They ­ generally do not meet ­international standards. “Prisons are overcrowded, resulting in poor hygienic conditions and prone to violence.”

Two US soldiers dead in Morocco crash

Two United States marines have been killed when their helicopter crashed southwest of Agadir in Morocco. Another two soldiers were injured in the accident, which happened during joint military exercises with Moroccan forces on Wednesday. The helicopter, reportedly a MV-22 Osprey, apparently crashed after taking off from the USS Iwo Jima warship. The crash is now being investigated as a "helicopter incident", a US embassy official told the Reuters news agency. It happened in a military training area during the annual "African Lion" joint military exercises at Cap Draa. Around 1,200 US marines, soldiers, sailors and airmen have been in Morocco since the start of April. The two wounded soldiers have been taken to a military medical facility in Guelmim, 730km (450 miles) south of the capital Rabat.

Thousands of British expats are on the brink of losing everything after being duped by unscrupulous financial advisers.

 

The cowboys have persuaded thousands of  our vulnerable pensioners — many in their 80s and 90s — to give up huge stakes of their property in exchange for investments that will never make a penny. 

The schemes are often sold by rogue financial advisers who exploit weak consumer laws on  the Continent by falsely claiming to be bona  fide accountants.

Most of the victims are Britons who retired to Spain or France and wanted to use the cash in their homes to help with soaring living costs. 

John Parsons, founder of the Costa del Sol Action Group that is helping some of the victims in Spain, says: ‘The effect of all this worry is enormous. The stress has brought on a lot of serious health issues and they are extremely worried about their futures.

‘These people were not greedy or stupid. They were on fixed pensions and being financially squeezed, so jumped at the possibility of solving that situation.’

The latest crisis follows a Money Mail  investigation in 2008, which exposed how hundreds of British pensioners living on the Costa del Sol had gambled their homes in a risky equity-release scheme run by failed Icelandic bank Landsbanki.

Now we can reveal how thousands more pensioners have fallen for other risky equity-release schemes on the Continent and are being hounded by banks demanding hundreds of thousands of pounds.

 

 PREYED ON BY  ROGUE SALESMEN

During the property boom at the start of this century, around 100,000 pensioners left Britain to live out their days in southern France and Spain — attracted by a warmer climate and cheaper way of life.

Many had a small pension, but hundreds of thousands of pounds from the sale of their UK home, which had soared in value over their lifetime.

This money was used to supplement their incomes and buy a new home abroad. But soon after they moved, the cost of living in some areas soared as hundreds of thousands of Britons and Germans bought second homes.

Many pensioners found they needed extra cash, and became easy prey for unregulated financial advisers who had left Britain to tap into the new wealth in these regions. 

Local rules meant they were able to act unchecked, selling investments from banks based anywhere in the world.

Sometimes they claimed to be chartered accountants, but were not — many had never even registered with local authorities. 

In Spain in particular, these advisers could largely sell whatever they wanted — including types of investments and equity-release schemes outlawed in the UK. These paid handsome commissions that could net advisers a £50,000 payday.

Banks offering equity-release loans included Icelandic bank Landsbanki, Scandinavian banks Nordea and Sydbank, and UK private bank Rothschild. However, Money Mail understands they are not the only banks involved.

The majority of victims were told they could borrow the entire value of their property. The loan would incur interest, typically of up to 6.5 per cent. It meant that after ten years, a €500,000 (£412,667) loan would balloon to €681,240 (£562,251). To offset this, a large chunk — usually around 75 per cent of the loan — would be invested in a fund sold by the adviser. 

Pensioners were told returns would be so good that not only would they cover the interest on the equity release, but give the borrowers a little extra to spend.

INVESTMENTS THAT TURNED TOXIC

But the promises made turned out to be very different to the theory. This meant returns did not cover the cost of the interest repayments on the equity release. 

As the fund fell in value, it ate into the capital that borrowers needed to repay the debt. Charges for fund managers and commission also reduced the returns further. 

Worse was to follow when house prices in Spain fell. They had risen by 44 per cent between 2004 and 2008, when many of the victims had bought their homes. They have since plummeted by around 20 per cent.

Those who had borrowed almost all of their property value were soon in negative equity — where the value of the property value was less than the money owed on it — leaving them unable to sell to clear their debt. 

In theory the borrowers were expected to pay off their loan at the end of four years. But because the value of the investments plunged so low, it triggered small print in the equity-release contract that allowed banks to demand repayment early.

In the case of those expats with Landsbanki, the bank collapsed and the investment fund was snatched by company liquidators. Then a further problem struck — the value of the pound plunged against the euro. 

Many of the victims were paid pensions in pounds and relied on converting the money into euros every month. The drop meant the value of their pensions fell by a third.

RETIREMENT DREAMS LEFT SHATTERED

Campaigners estimate thousands of British pensioners have lost money through these schemes. Former actress Julia Hilling, 88, fears her home will be swallowed up in repayments to her mortgage from Rothschild Bank.

She was sold the mortgage in 2005 by a Malaga-based British financial adviser. Today, this company is classed as unauthorised by the Spanish authorities. Her property was valued at €300,000 (£249,966) and she took out a loan for €262,000 (£217,827). Around €17,000 (£14,138) was used for living expenses and she put €245,000 (£203,693) in an investment fund. 

Tempted: Julia Hilling, pictured was an actress in the 1940s, says she went for a scheme because she needed to pay bills

Mrs Hilling, who starred in musicals in the Forties and in revues with Sir Bruce Forsyth at the Windmill Theatre, London, had never invested or even had a mortgage before. 

Since 2005, the fund has plunged by around a third and will no longer cover her mortgage. She owes €330,000 (£274,362) and the debt continues to grow. Mrs Hilling says she is unable to cover these costs and fears the bank will take her property when she dies.

‘I needed the money desperately to pay everyday bills while I was out here, as I didn’t want to rely on my family,’ she says. 

Rothschild told Money Mail it would not repossess Mrs Hilling’s home. It stressed it had not sold the investment to her and was not demanding repayment nor had it paid commission. It urged her to contact the bank. 

Another victim is Eric Mould, 64, who after a career in sales moved to a seaside villa in Puerto Banus, near Malaga, in 2007. He and his wife Mary, 60, sold their four-bedroom detached house in the UK to buy a three-bedroom villa with a swimming pool for €1,188,000 (£990,000).

But five years later they are living in a friend’s flat in the town and battling to pay €2,100 (£1,745) a month in mortgage repayments to Danish bank Nykredit.

Shortly after arriving in Spain, the couple borrowed €1 million against their villa with the bank. They say the British financial adviser who sold them the equity-release mortgage told them it would be a ‘win-win’ situation.

They were told they could free up hundreds of thousands of pounds from the mortgage, and the fund would pay off the loan. They believed the investment they were sold separately through Danish bank Sydbank would leave a little extra to boost their pensions.

To cover the mortgage, the Moulds have rented out their dream home. Their friend is letting them live rent-free in the apartment. The couple fear it is only a matter of time before their home is repossessed. And because property values have dropped, they could lose up to €300,000 (£249,966)

‘This has totally devastated us. It is heart-breaking — we face losing the home we worked for a lifetime to buy,’  says Mr Mould. 

Sydbank would not comment on  the case.

Others who took out equity-release schemes with collapsed Icelandic bank Landsbanki have been told it will settle — as long as they pay part of the money owed, in some cases hundreds of thousands of pounds.

One couple, Linda and Frances Barlow, aged 63 and 75, who live in Nice in the south of France, believe the bank’s liquidators will repossess their home by May unless they stump up €1.3 million (£1.08 million).

The liquidators proposed a compromise deal, but it would have required the couple to find €500,000, which they do not have.

The Barlows took only a small proportion of the loan as cash. The rest was invested by the bank, and lost when it collapsed in 2008.

‘We wanted some cash to renovate,’ says Mrs Barlow, a musician from London. ‘We didn’t want to take out a big loan, but the financial adviser told us we were foolish to be sitting on an asset and that we should get an equity release to have an income. Now we are going to lose everything.’

Pensioners fight to keep their homes

Scores of pensioners have launched legal action against the banks and financial advisers who sold them the loans. Solicitor Antonio Flores, of Spanish law firm Law Bird, who is representing some of them, says: ‘Many people are left with huge bills and in fear of losing their homes.’

In February, the European Commission announced plans for an independent ombudsman to deal with mis-selling cases against financial advisers working in the Costa del Sol.

Meanwhile, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has issued official warnings about mortgage schemes advertised as a way of cutting tax bills.

Any expats thinking of signing up to an equity-release scheme in Spain should check the company is registered with the agency in charge of the Spanish stock market, the Comision Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV).

It will also provide a list of companies that are not authorised to operate in Spain and those that have warnings issued against them. 

Remember to seek independent legal advice before signing a contract.

If you believe you have been a victim of a fraud involving an equity-release scheme, then register a statement with the police.

Seek independent legal advice about taking action through the courts.

If you wish to complain about the performance of your investments, you should first complain to the equity-release company.

After two months, if you are not happy with the response, take your complaint to the Spanish Investors’ Complaints Office: Oficina de Atención al Inversor, Miguel Ángel 11, 28010 Madrid. 

There is also an office at Paseo de Gràcia, 19, 4ª Planta, 08007 Barcelona.

THE FIGHT TO KEEP THEIR HOMES