EU throws Spain two potential lifelines

The European Commission threw Spain, the latest frontline in Europe's debt war, two potential lifelines on Wednesday, offering more time to reduce its budget deficit and direct aid from a euro zone rescue fund to recapitalise distressed banks. Spanish government borrowing costs lurched higher and the Madrid stock market hit a nine-year low with investors rattled by the parlous state of its banking sector fleeing to the relative haven of German bonds. EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said Brussels was ready to give Spain an extra year until 2014 to bring its deficit down to the EU limit of 3 percent of gross domestic product if Madrid presents a solid two-year budget plan for 2013-14, something it has committed to do. The concession, which Madrid has not publicly requested, was on condition that Spain effectively reins in overspending by its autonomous regions, makes further financial sector reforms and recapitalises its troubled banks. While the Commission is responsible for proposing laws, it is member states that decide whether to adopt them. EU paymaster Germany has so far firmly opposed any collective European banking resolution and guarantee system or any use of bailout funds without a country having to submit to a politically humiliating EU/IMF austerity programme. Rehn said there were no grounds for giving Italy a similar extension to balance its budget, due in 2013, since unlike Spain its economy is forecast to start growing again next year. In an economic policy document which laid out some of the dramatic policy proposals which analysts say are needed to tackle the debt crisis, the European Union's executive arm said the vicious circle of weak banks and heavily indebted states lending to each other must be broken and called for a banking union in the euro zone. Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said tighter euro zone integration could include a joint bank deposit guarantee scheme to prevent a bank run and euro area financial supervision, saying the mood had changed since member states unanimously rejected a joint deposit guarantee fund only months ago. "In the same vein, to sever the link between banks and the sovereigns, direct recapitalisation by the ESM (European Stability Mechanism) might be envisaged," the report said. Permitting the ESM to lend directly to banks would require a change to a treaty in the midst of ratification by member states that might come too late for Spain's needs. Spanish premier Mariano Rajoy backs the idea but Rehn appeared cool to it. "Direct disbursements to banks are not foreseen as such in the treaty, and therefore this is not an available option ... in terms of direct recapitalisation," Rehn told reporters. Spain's banking woes - the result of a burst property bubble aggravated by recession - have combined with growing uncertainty about Greece's survival in the euro zone to reignite Europe's sovereign debt crisis. That drove the euro to a two-year low below $1.2450, while European shares also fell after Italy had to pay heavily to sell bonds. Madrid said its bank rescue fund would issue bonds to inject funds into nationalised lender Bankia, but that looks expensive with 10-year borrowing costs at 6.65 percent near their euro era peak and close to levels at which Ireland and Greece were forced to seek international bail-outs. Investors unnerved by Spain's deepening financial crunch pushed Italy's funding costs sharply higher at a bond sale, with 10-year yields topping 6 percent for the first time since January. HEIGHTENED ANXIETY In a sign of heightened anxiety in Washington, top U.S. Treasury official Lael Brainard was despatched to hold talks in Greece, Germany, Spain and France "to discuss their plans for achieving economic stability and growth in Europe", the Treasury Department said. Barroso said Europe's G8 partners, at a summit in the United States 10 days ago, had asked the euro zone to go further with financial and economic integration. A sudden economic deterioration in Europe would pose a serious threat to the U.S. economy and hence to President Barack Obama's re-election prospects in November. Rajoy has insisted his government has no intention of seeking an EU/IMF bailout either for its banks or for the state. But the abrupt resignation of Bank of Spain Governor Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordonez on Tuesday, a month before his term was due to end, added to doubts about the handling of the Bankia crisis and relations with European institutions. Highlighting Spain's difficulty in meeting fiscal targets while gripped by a deep recession, the outgoing central bank chief said tax revenue may fall short of government estimates and spending may be higher than expected. He recommended bringing forward a rise in value-added tax set for 2013 if the deficit objective goes off track this year. In its country report on Spain, the Commission said the latest banking reform presented this month did not go far enough and needed to be strengthened to include provisioning on mortgages and lending to small businesses. It also warned that unless policies are changed, Spain's debt will spiral to 100 pct of GDP by 2020. Madrid had one of the lowest debt ratios in the euro zone before the crisis at about 35 percent of GDP. GREECE IN BACKGROUND Less than three weeks before a crucial second general election that may determine whether Greece stays in the 17-nation currency area, Greeks were warned by their biggest bank that they face economic catastrophe if they leave the euro. Living standards would plummet, incomes would be slashed by more than half, and inflation and unemployment would skyrocket, the National Bank of Greece said. The outcome of the election was thrown into doubt on Wednesday when a poll suggested the anti-bailout SYRIZA party would win, contradicting six previous forecasts. The worries about Spain and Greece have hit efforts by other trouble euro zone countries to emerge from their own debt woes. The Irish vote in a referendum on a European budget discipline treaty on Thursday which is seen as a precondition for receiving further EU/IMF aid. Opinion polls forecast a solid win for the "Yes" camp, but Ireland's hopes of returning to bond markets late next year as a reward for textbook implementation of an austerity programme have been clouded by wider uncertainty in the euro zone. Safe-haven German bond yields hit a record low as worries about Spanish banks intensified while Spain's benchmark IBEX stock index, which is down 28 percent this year, fell 2 percent after hitting a new nine-year low earlier in the session.

Governor of the Bank of Spain brings his departure forward by a month

The Governor of the Bank of Spain, Miguel Fernández Ordóñez, has announced he will be leaving a month earlier than previously planned. He will now depart on June 10. He told the Prime Minister of his decision to bring forward the date from July12. He has held the post over the past six years. He goes on the same day that the banks have to present their viability plans for health assets. Press reports name Luis María Linde as his successor, and indeed he was proposed in the Cabinet last week. If he chosen he will have to retire in 2015, when he reaches the age of 70. He is currently an assessor to the Bank of Spain.

Baroness Thysen selling a Constable

It's the very first time she has sold a painting from her collection. 'I need liquidity', she said.John Constable's 'The Lock' The crisis is also proving difficult for some of the rich in Spain with the Baroness Thyssen putting a painting from her collection up for sale for the very first time, because of liquidity problems. John Constable’s ‘The Lock’ shows a man opening a canal lock gate in a typical English Constable scene. It will be auctioned at Christies in London on July 3 and could bring 30 million € for the Baroness. The painting belongs to a famous series of six Constable works which includes ‘The Haywain’, probably his most famous work. The painting is not in the Tyssen Museum permanent collection, but was on show in Madrid until last week. Wednesday and Thursday this week the painting can be seen at Christies in London, and on Friday it travels to New York where it will be exhibited for five days. ‘It upsets me to sell it, I’ve taken years to take the step, but the crisis affects us all and I need liquidity’, said Carmen Cervera. She said that she would have offered it to the Ministry for Culture, ‘at a cheap price and in instalments’ but Ángeles González Sinde rejected the idea.

Three Spanish savings banks, Ibercaja, Liberbank and Caja3, are considering a merger to strengthen their balance sheets

Three Spanish savings banks, Ibercaja, Liberbank and Caja3, are considering a merger to strengthen their balance sheets as the country's debt crisis continues to bite. The banks said their boards would meet on Tuesday to vote on the merger. The difference between German and Spanish bond yields also hit a new high, as investors lose faith in the Spanish economy and flee to safety. German 10-year bond yields fell to 1.347% while Spain's rose to 6.5%. Spanish shares were also lower, with Madrid's main IBEX share index down 1.7% in afternoon trading despite other European indexes rising. Investors are worried about the amount of bad loans Spanish banks could be holding and how the government can afford to keep bailing out the struggling financial sector. The Bank of Spain has predicted that the recession will continue in the second quarter of 2012.  "Available indicators for the second quarter are still scarce but they do anticipate that activity will continue contracting in this period," the central bank said. Regional loans There was more pressure on Spanish debt from the news that the government plans to approve a scheme on Friday that would allow its 17 regions to borrow money using joint government-back bonds. The so-called hispanobonos are designed to make it cheaper for the regions to borrow. "The goal is to reduce the pressure on the regions, which is often greater than the pressure on the state in general, with some regions not able to borrow on the market," an economy ministry spokeswoman said. One of the regions, Catalonia, appealed for central government help last Friday. Austerity squeeze The difficult state of the country's finances was underlined by the latest retail sales figures, also released on Tuesday by the National Statistics Institute. Spanish retail sales dived in April, showing the biggest fall since the figures started being collected in 2003. Continue reading the main story Crisis jargon buster Use the dropdown for easy-to-understand explanations of key financial terms: Yield Yield The return to an investor from buying a bond implied by the bond's current market price. It also indicates the current cost of borrowing in the market for the bond issuer. As a bond's market price falls, its yield goes up, and vice versa. Yields can increase for a number of reasons. Yields for all bonds in a particular currency will rise if markets think that the central bank in that currency will raise short-term interest rates due to stronger growth or higher inflation. Yields for a particular borrower's bonds will rise if markets think there is a greater risk that the borrower will default. Glossary in full Sales fell 9.8% last month compared with the same month last year, after adjusting for calendar differences. The fall was much worse than had been expected, and marked the 22nd consecutive month of declining sales. Sales had fallen by 3.8% in March. Without adjusting for calendar effects, retail sales fell 11.3% in April having dropped 4% in March. Spanish shoppers are struggling because of government austerity measures, rising taxes and Europe's highest rate of unemployment. Employment in the retail sector was down 1.2% in April from the same month in 2011. Overall, the unemployment rate in Spain is more than 24%, while the economy is back in recession having contracted in the last three months of 2011 and the first three months of 2012. Bad debts The Spanish government is requiring its banks to set aside an extra 30bn euros to cover bad debts resulting from the collapse of its property sector. This comes on top of the 53.8bn euros already allocated in February. The Spanish property crash has forced a wave of mergers upon the Spanish banking sector as it seeks to shore itself up against the bad debt mountain. Caja3 is the result of a three-way merger of regional savings banks. Liberbank emerged after a four-way merger. And Bankia, the debt-stricken part-nationalised bank that has requested a 19bn euro bail-out from the government, was formed after seven banks merged. Another bank, Banco Popular, announced on Tuesday that it was in talks to sell its online banking business in an effort to raise cash. Its debt has been downgraded to junk-bond status. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy admitted on Monday that the country was struggling to borrow money, but insisted that his country would not need to ask for a bail-out from the EU.

Cudeca Annual Sunflower Campaign 2012 is approaching! 9th to 24th June in Málaga Province

This year, in conjunction with our 20th anniversary, Cudeca will shortly be celebrating its annual Sunflower Campaign. During these past two decades, Cudeca has provided care to more than 7.000 patients via the following personalised care programmes: Home Care visits, In-Patient Unit, Day Care Centre, Physiotherapy, Counselling and Psycho-Social Programme. All the care provided by the Hospice is cost-free. During this Campaign, dozens of Cudeca volunteers will take to the streets to raise awareness and offer Sunflowers (symbol of International Palliative Care), in exchange for donations, with the aim of giving life to the days of over 750 patients and their families attended to each year, by Cudeca, thanks to its professional team of doctors, physiologists, nurses and volunteers. The Sunflower Campaign 2012, will take place from 9th to 24th June, when the awareness tables and volunteers will be conveniently located at popular locations within the Málaga capital and province such as: Arroyo de la Miel, Fuengirola, Mijas, Estepona, Torremolinos, Marbella, Málaga, Benalmádena, etc.(see attached itinerary), with the aim of raising those vital funds enabling Cudeca to continue Giving Life to Days to those who need it most.

Volvo's self-drive 'convoy' hits the Spanish motorway

A convoy of self-driven cars has completed a 200km (125-mile) journey on a Spanish motorway, in the first public test of such vehicles. The cars were wirelessly linked to each other and "mimicked" a lead vehicle, driven by a professional driver. The so-called road train has been developed by Volvo. The firm is confident that they will be widely available in future. The project aims to herald a new age of relaxed driving. According to Volvo, drivers "can now work on their laptops, read a book or sit back and enjoy a relaxed lunch" while driving. The road train test was carried out as part of a European Commission research project known as Sartre - Safe Road Trains for the Environment. The convoy comprised three cars and one lorry. Special features "Driving among other road-users is a great milestone in our project. It was truly thrilling," says Linda Wahlstroem, project manager for the Sartre project at Volvo Car Corporation "We covered 200km in one day and the test turned out well. We're really delighted," she added. The cars are fitted with special features such as cameras, radar and laser sensors - allowing the vehicle to monitor the lead vehicle and also other vehicles in their immediate vicinity. Using wireless communication, the vehicles in the platoon "mimic" the lead vehicle using autonomous control - accelerating, braking and turning in exactly the same way as the leader. The vehicles drove at 85km/h (52m/h) with the gap between each vehicle just 6m (19ft). "People think that autonomous driving is science fiction, but the fact is that the technology is already here. From the purely conceptual viewpoint, it works fine and road train will be around in one form or another in the future," says Ms Wahlstroem. "We've focused really hard on changing as little as possible in existing systems. Everything should function without any infrastructure changes to the roads or expensive additional components in the cars. "Apart from the software developed as part of the project, it is really only the wireless network installed between the cars that set them apart from other cars available in showrooms today." The three-year Sartre project has been under way since 2009. Other partners include UK car technology firm Ricardo UK, Tecnalia Research & Innovation of Spain, Institut fur Kraftfahrzeuge Aachen (IKA) of Germany and the Technical Research Institute of Sweden. All told, the vehicles in the project have covered about 10,000km on test circuits. The eventual aim of the project is to have lots of cars "slaved" to a lead vehicle and travelling at high speed along specific routes on motorways.

Crisis draws squatters to Spain's empty buildings

Sleeping on inflatable mattresses with just a few boxes to hold their belongings, 32 families have occupied an empty new apartment block in Seville in southern Spain to put a roof over their heads after being thrown out of their own homes. They share a single cooker and a cheap brown sofa left behind by the builders. To others facing the prospect of living on the streets the families are living in luxury and they have set up a 24-hour watch to keep hopefuls out.   Squatting is rare in Spain but it has been on the rise because the 2008 property crash left thousands of buildings empty and the economic recession has led to soaring unemployment and home eviction rates. Public spending cuts as the government tries to prevent Spain sinking further into the euro zone debt crisis have made the situation for many people even worse and new groups have sprung up to protest or help people improve their lives. "We're not anti-establishment. We just don't want to live in the streets. With so many buildings like this and so many normal people facing eviction, we hope we inspire others to do the same," says unemployed squatter Irma Blanco, 35. The building, a short walk from the centre of the capital of the Andalucia region, was finished just three years ago and has double glazing and new wooden floors but the developer was not able to sell the apartments. The occupation was organised by members of the M-15 group which has spotted an opportunity in the country's estimated one million empty homes for the growing number of homeless. M-15, also known as the Indignados (Indignant) protest movement born on May 15, 2011 when hundreds of thousands of people occupied main squares around the country to demand change. The Indignados' public protests have largely died down, but M-15 activists have formed neighbourhood assemblies all over Spain that help in a variety of causes, including blocking court-ordered evictions of mortgage defaulters. "I have always fought for people's right to a home, which I think is a fundamental right," said Antonio Buenavida, 57, an M-15 activist who helped set up the squat. SYMPATHY Once left over construction material was cleared from the corridors, the families moved in all together at 7 a.m. on a Tuesday, and sat in the dark for three days, blinds drawn, worried they would be evicted. When no one came, they opened the shutters and hung out sheets on their terraces with painted slogans such as "fair housing." Andalucia is home to a quarter of Spain's 5.6 million unemployed. Known for olive groves, beaches and bull fighting, the region is also increasingly notorious for its poverty. The families seem to have found some sympathy among the local population. A spokeswoman for Seville city hall said the government would not evict unless the building's owner, Maexpa, lodged a complaint. Reuters was not able to reach Maexpa for a comment. And the inhabitants say that the police have helped to protecting them from other would-be squatters. Ibercaja, the savings bank that funded the development said it was also not planning to take any action. "The building's ... owned by Maexpa. What they chose to do about the squatters is up to them," said a spokeswoman for Ibercaja, the savings bank that funded the development. She said Maexpa had stopped paying its loan for the building project but that Ibercaja has not started legal proceedings. Spanish banks have become one of the economy's main problems, saddled with an estimated 184 billion euros worth of repossessed property that they cannot sell and loans to developers. The government announced its largest ever bank rescue on Friday for Bankia and economists say there is little hope of Spain emerging from recession until many banks have cleaned up their balance sheets so they can restart lending. DIGNITY Given the grim scenario for the economy, M-15 is looking at ways to move other homeless people into thousands of other unoccupied housing units in Seville. During a Thursday night meeting at the squat, a long list was drawn of other families keen to be included in the next occupation. "These are wonderful people. It's beautiful that there's a little humanity in the world. I don't want riches. I'm a simple woman. I just want a little dignity," said Anika 35, who moved in to the apartment with her son and daughter, 18 and 6. Like other Spaniards Anika is disgusted with the government for cutting education and health spending while spending tens of billions of euros to rescue banks saddled with bad debt from the real estate crash. She lost her job last November, a full time position in the hotel industry which paid 600 euros a month, and since has only scraped some money to feed herself and her children through cleaning or posting flyers on cars. Her rent, before she was thrown out, was 500 euros a month. In more than 1.7 million homes in Spain every family member is out of work and courts evicted 100,000 mortgage defaulters in 2010, four times the number three years earlier. "This place has given us hope. Neither my husband nor I will die in the street," said Ana Lopez, 77. She lives in the pilot flat, set up to show prospective buyers, which now serves as a communal kitchen because it boasts the only stove and refrigerator in the block. Lopez and her ailing 70-year-old husband claim just over a 1,000 euros a month in pensions, though with an increasingly reliant extended family, the aid is stretched thin. "With that we take care of our two children, who have families of their own and three children between them. None are working and both families have also found flats here," she said.

Location of new mega casino and leisure complex still to be decided

A spokesman from the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, the company which wants to install a mega-leisure centre and casino called Eurovegas in Spain, has said that between 90% and 95% of the negotiations have been completed and the decision as to whether the location will be Madrid or Barcelona will be made in about a month. The spokesman said that the two cities had ‘exactly the same options’. More meetings will be held between the Las Vegas Sands representatives and the administrations of Madrid and Barcelona at the end of June. Madrid has been publicising their meetings with the promoter of the project, Sheldon Adelson, and its progress, while Barcelona have been more discrete.

investors watch for run on banks

Spaniards laze at sidewalk cafes on a street dotted with banks. The biggest bank bailout in Spanish history doesn't seem to have affected this weekend crowd: There are no lines of people trying to take out their money. But if Europe's debt crisis has barely diminished the crowds in Madrid's popular tapas bars and shops, Spain's own banking crisis just might. Investors are holding their breath for a run on Spanish banks, as depositors quietly worry whether their money is safe. Electronic transactions are up slightly, with money flowing from smaller Spanish banks to larger ones, and even to accounts outside the country, though the volume is far less than in more deeply troubled Greece. "The moment they start saying, 'Don't worry, your money will be safe,' is the moment you should withdraw your money from the bank," said Julian Mezzadri, 37, who took all of his savings out of a Madrid bank two weeks ago, on news of a government bailout for Spain's biggest real estate lender, Bankia. He said he and his wife now keep their money hidden in a box. Mezzadri was born in Argentina, and even though he has lived in Spain since he was 3, he is haunted by his native country's 2001 economic collapse. "I know things are different here, but I've also seen what can happen," he said. "I'm not taking any chances here." Such fear could sabotage the system. On May 17, Bankia's shares temporarily lost nearly a third of their value after a Spanish newspaper reported that more than $1 billion had been withdrawn from the bank in the previous week. In a hastily called news conference, the government denied that there had been a run on the bank, and shares recovered some, but not all, of their losses. Bankia's new chairman, Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri, acknowledged Saturday that there had been "a certain tension" regarding deposits for a few days this month. But he told reporters that the situation had calmed, and predicted that by next month Bankia's deposits might even exceed 2011 levels. Bankia, Spain's fourth-largest bank, has been weighed down by unpaid construction and mortgage loans and needs recapitalization because of the loss in market value of its real estate assets, Goirigolzarri said. He spoke several hours after the Bankia board asked the government late Friday for nearly $24 billion, more than double what the government had forecast just two days earlier would be needed to rescue the bank. Many worry that Spain simply can't afford it. "No one knows. The government will have to resort to the [bank recapitalization fund] and contributions from the deposit insurance fund," said Juan Jose Toribio, an economist at Spain's IESE Business School. Even if Madrid can cover the cost of Bankia's bailout, Toribio said, it is "very possible" that additional Spanish lenders might need rescuing. The Standard & Poor's ratings agency also announced downgrades late Friday of five Spanish banks, dropping the credit ratings of three, including Bankia, to junk status. All five are cajas, community banks, which are required to invest depositors' money in local development projects with supervision of local politicians. When Spain's housing and job markets collapsed, the cajas were hit hardest because they specialized in construction and real estate lending, and their investments were not as diversified as those of national or global banks. The previous Socialist government's strategy was to force mergers of small cajas, combining their assets to try to strengthen them against losses. Instead, the result in most cases was simply bigger banks with bigger debts. Bailing out Spain's entire banking sector, and the cost of insuring its $1.25 trillion in deposits, would far exceed the price tag for rescuing smaller Greece. Spain would almost certainly need international aid to do so. The question is how many banks — what proportion of the entire banking system — Madrid could manage to prop up on its own. Markets probably will deliver their verdict on Bankia's bailout when trading resumes Monday in Europe, and a day later in the United States, after the Memorial Day holiday. Goirigolzarri said Saturday that Bankia's woes should not cast doubt over Spain's entire banking sector, nor spread to the larger Eurozone. But some economists say they already have. "All financial crises have occurred when there's this panic spreading and everybody thinks that something is going to happen," said Gonzalo Garland, at Madrid's IE Business School. "And if too many people think something is going to happen? Well, then it happens in the end."

Tensions Rise As Spanish Fishermen Claim They've Been Stopped From Casting Their Nets

Tensions between Spain and the UK over Gibraltar have sharply increased after Spanish police demanded naval protection to defuse a fishing dispute around the Rock. A leading police union has urged Madrid to send in its armed forces to square up to the Royal Navy if it continued to back attempts to stop Spanish fishermen casting their nets near the British colony. The Spanish police claimed they were facing a "David and Goliath" battle every time Royal Navy vessels went to the aid of the Royal Gibraltar Police (RGP). Civil guards have recently been involved in a tense stand-off with the RGP and Royal Navy support vessels after Spanish fishermen claimed they had been stopped from casting their nets. A civil guard patrol boat is understood to have collided with an RGP boat, although there were no reports of any injuries. Spain's interior minister, Jorge Fernandez Diaz, insisted the country would not be "intimidated or humilliated" over the fishing dispute. "Our fishing vessels are going to be protected at all times and I am sure we will reach an understanding in the end. "We're not going to accept intimidation or humiliation, which I am sure no-one wants, to make Spain suffer." It's about protecting our fishermen. The problem occurs when David goes up against Goliath. The Union of Civil Guard Officers Mr Diaz claimed the RGB had apologised for the incident and insisted they had mistaken the Spanish fishermen from Algeciras for fishermen from the north African enclave of Ceuta. No-one from the RGP was immediately available for comment. But Gibraltar's chief minister, Fabian Picardo condemned the events as "a carefully premeditated challenge to our indisputable sovereignty." He said: "Those who are orchestrating these dangerous confrontations need to come to their senses and accept the challenge, once and for all, to litigate their claims to our territory in the relevant international tribunals." He claimed the civil guard had ignored repeated warnings by the Royal Navy to order the Spanish fishing vessels to leave British Gibraltar territorial waters. The Spanish fishermen - based in the southern Spanish port city of Algeciras - say they are being prevented from fishing off the Rock in waters they claim as their own in breach of a 1999 agreement aimed at protecting fish numbers. Mr Picardo said fishing with nets in waters Gibraltar claims as its own is outlawed under a 1991 environmental law unless a licence is issued. A spokesman for the Union of Civil Guard Officers said: "It's about protecting our fishermen. The problem occurs when David goes up against Goliath. "Civil guard vessels are 18 metres long and equipped with light weapons whereas Royal Navy vessels are at least 70 metres long and have military weapons. "It's the same as a police patrol car going up against an army unit with a combat tank." Spain's foreign minister, Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo will address the issue in a meeting with his British counterpart, William Hague, in London next week.

Spain's Bankia seeks 19bn-euro bailout from government

Spain's fourth-largest bank, Bankia, has asked the government for a bailout worth 19bns euros ($24bn; £15bn). Bankia also restated its results - now saying it made a 2.98bn-euro loss for 2011 rather than the 309m euros in profit it announced in February. Earlier on Friday, trading in Bankia shares was suspended on the Madrid stock exchange while its management put together a restructuring plan. Bankia has already been bailed out because of its bad property loans. After a meeting of the board on Friday, Bankia's parent Banco Financiero y de Ahorro (BFA) asked Spain's bank bailout fund, FROB, to inject the 19bn euros. Bankia will then issue 12bn euros in capital that will be underwritten by BFA. The bank said that the "recapitalisation measures strengthen the group's solvency, liquidity and stability". Rating agency Standard and Poor's has also lowered the credit rating of Bankia and four other Spanish banks. Partly-nationalised Two weeks ago, Bankia had a 4.47bn-euro loan by the Spanish bailout fund converted into a 45% stake in the bank. Bankia had to reassure its savers last week that their money was safe after a Spanish newspaper reported a run on the bank. Bankia was created in 2010 from the merger of seven struggling regional savings banks. It holds 32bn euros in distressed property assets. Its shares fell 7.4% on Thursday to close at 1.57 euros, which is 58% down from their listing price in July 2011. There have been four attempts by Spanish governments to shore up the banking system since the global banking crisis of 2008. As part of the latest plan, lenders are having to make 30bn euros of extra provisions to cover potential losses on property loans, which comes on top of 54bn euros they were ordered to set aside in February. Regional trouble The health of Spain's banking system is key to whether the country eventually needs to seek a bailout itself from the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund. Spain's credit rating was downgraded by S&P last month on the basis that it would probably have to take on more debt to support its banks. Also on Friday, there were appeals for help from another Spanish institution - its wealthiest autonomous region, Catalonia. "We need to make payments at the end of the month," said Catalan president Artur Mas. "Your economy can't recover if you can't pay your bills." Catalonia represents one-fifth of the Spanish economy. It has to take out 13bn euros of loans this year to refinance maturing debt, not to mention funding whatever deficit it has for the current year. The regions have been having trouble borrowing money commercially, so the central government has given them a special credit facility from the Official Credit Institute (ICO). Those credit lines run out in June and the government has said it will come up with a new mechanism to provide credit for the regions, but it is unclear what form the help should take.

190 jobs could go at Estepona Town Hall

The Mayor is obliged to pay outstanding facturas to suppliers and has to make savings as a result. The Mayor of Estepona, José María García Urbano from the PP, has proposed to the unions some 190 job losses among workers who did not have to undergo a selection process to obtain their employment. The Mayor has said he is obliged to act because of the adjustment plan which sees town halls paying the outstanding facturas to providers. In Estepona there are 60 million € worth of unpaid facturas. The Ayuntamiento had earlier proposed a reduction in wages and working hours which the four union representatives had not accepted. The talks on who will lose their jobs start next week, and the Mayor says the process will be done with all the guarantees of the law, without looking at affiliation or family links

Standard and Poor's reduce Telefónica ranking to two steps above 'junk bond' status

Rating agency Standard and Poor’s has reduced its ranking for Telefónica, leaving it just two steps above junk bond level. It goes down to BBB from BBB+ The agency has also warned of more possible cuts in the short term giving it a negative perspective. It considers the telecoms operator is facing intense pressure in the Spanish market, while it expects that the credit parameters for the Spanish operator will get ever weaker. S&P has also reduced the rankings of Telefónica subsidiaries, Telefónica Czech Republic, Telefónica Moviles Chile, and Telefónica Chile.

Two people died from bacterial infection in the Carlos Haya Hospital in Málaga

Two people have died in the Carlos Haya Hospital in Málaga from a bacterial infection. They were affected by the outbreak of ‘klebsiella pneumoniae’ , a rod shaped bacterium found in the normal flora of the mouth, skin and intestines, which was registered in the hospital last month, and those affected have been placed in isolation. The bacterium is capable of mutating to bring a version which is resistant to the normal medical treatment. There are 17 people still undergoing treatment and in isolation. One of those to die was clearing infected, the other appear not to have been so, but the hospital information says both had severe pre-existing conditions and that could have been the cause of death. The nursing union has asked for responsibilities. Union SATSE called for the ‘immediate sacking’ of the medical sub-director at the Carlos Haya, and claim that the management has acted ‘slowly and badly’ with a lack of information for nursing professionals and others.

Bankia to ask Spain for over 15 billion euros

Spanish lender Bankia will ask the state for more than 15 billion euros (12 billion pounds) to bail it out when its new management team presents a restructuring plan on Friday, a financial sector source said late on Thursday. Bankia, partially nationalized by the government earlier this month, is the weak spot in Spain's fragile banking system where loan losses stemming from a 2008 property crash threaten to push the country into seeking international assistance. "The help needed to clean up the bank will be more than 15 billion euros," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Neither Bankia, the country's fourth-largest bank with 10 percent of Spaniards' deposits, nor the government would comment on the matter on Thursday. The government said on Wednesday that it would provide any capital outlined in the new management's recapitalization plan through the state-backed restructuring fund, the FROB. Economy Minister Luis de Guindos told a congressional committee that the state would have to put at least 9 billion euros into saving Bankia to cover the write-down of losses on real estate assets like soured loans to property developers and repossessed housing. The 15 billion euros would come on top of the 4.5 billion euros in state loans that the government converted into equity in Bankia's parent company BFA as part of the state takeover, giving the government a majority stake in the lender.

British Naval ship tackles a contingent of Spanish Civil Guard vessels in Gibraltar stand-off

HMS Sabre

 

THE Royal Navy has been involved in a three-hour stand-off with Spanish vessels in Gibraltar’s waters overnight.

 

A contingent of Spanish Civil Guard vessels appeared to be protecting around six Spanish fishing vessels, two of which had cast their nets.

Earlier in the night, the Royal Gibraltar Police had said they were asserting their authority at sea and preventing fishing with nets.

The navy’s patrol ship HMS Sabre was deployed to the scene and sounded a number of warnings.

Local reports described the situation as ‘very tense’ and a Spanish helicopter was seen hovering overhead shortly before the Spanish vessels left the area.

The incident is the latest in a series of Spanish incursions into Gibraltarian waters.

Angela Merkel under pressure to sign up to eurozone stimulus plan

European Union leaders will tonight pledge to give greater priority to securing economic growth as they increase the pressure on Germany to do more to solve the eurozone crisis. At an informal dinner in Brussels, several leaders will acknowledge the need for an EU "growth pact" after critics warned that Europe's "collective austerity" is stifling growth in the 27-nation bloc. The change of tone follows the election of the Socialist François Hollande as President of France, who will be attending his first EU summit. But Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, is expected to rebuff Mr Hollande's plan for eurozone nations to issue jointly guaranteed eurobonds to allow them to borrow more. Ms Merkel insists that it is not the right time to reduce the pressure on euro members to cut their deficits. David Cameron backs eurobonds and is expected to side with the pro-growth lobby inside the EU despite sticking to his deficit-reduction strategy in Britain and rejecting calls for a Plan B to jumpstart the flatlining economy. Yesterday George Osborne, the Chancellor, said the eurozone was reaching a "critical point". He added: "Eurozone countries need to stand behind their currency or face up to the prospect of Greek exit, with all the risks that that could involve. The British Government is doing contingency planning for all potential outcomes. It is our responsibility to ensure that while we work for the best, we prepare for something worse." EU leaders are unlikely to take any major new initiative on Greece's debt crisis ahead of the country's second election on 17 June. Their key decisions on the "growth pact" and Greece will be put off until their next summit on 28 and 29 June. But Greece could potentially benefit from a European Commission plan to pilot EU "project bonds" to finance cross-border infrastructure schemes on transport, energy and communications. Some €230m (£185m) of EU money could unlock up to €4.6bn of investment. EU leaders will also discuss plans to hand another €10bn to the European Investment Bank to boost growth and jobs. Herman Van Rompuy, the European Council president, who will chair tonight's talks, signalled the change of gear by saying the EU had to "ensure that fiscal consolidation and growth mutually reinforce each other". In a letter to the 27 leaders about the meeting, he hinted at support for eurobonds by saying: "There should no taboos concerning the longer-term perspective." Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said during a visit to London that eurobonds could eventually play a role but understood Germany's reluctance to pool eurozone debts. She said: "The country that would carry the burden would be countries such as Germany and it's certainly understandable that Germany would want to receive in consideration for that sharing of liability significant commitment to improve productivity to structural reforms so it does not continuously carry the weight of the entire zone." Alexis Tsipras, the leftist leader in Greece, hit back yesterday at claims by Mr Cameron, who has told Greeks that it is now time to decide whether they want to remain part of the single currency by voting for pro-bailout parties in the country's general election next month. Speaking in Berlin, on the second day of a tour around Europe for talks with other left-wing leaders, Mr Tsipras said that a rejection of the harsh austerity measures imposed by Athens's pro-bailout parties would not automatically mean expulsion from the euro.

Dutch politician Geert Wilders seeks to postpone ratification of ESM

He wants ratification delayed until after elections he precipitated when he brought about the collapse of the government last month over budget cuts. Mr Wilders has proposed that the Netherlands leave the eurozone and aims to turn the 12 September elections into a referendum on the euro and EU membership. A Dutch TV poll found that 59% of Dutch voters favour postponing a decision on ratifying the ESM until after the elections. A court in The Hague will hold a hearing on Tuesday 29 May to decide when it will rule on the matter. The Dutch lower house of parliament is expected to approve the pan-European ESM plan on Wednesday. The ESM was created to ease market pressure on indebted eurozone nations like Greece and prevent contagion across the eurozone and is due to be launched in July. It will run in parallel with the temporary European Financial Stability Facility for one year. The Netherlands is expected to contribute some 5.71% to the ESM. Once approved by the lower house, the ratification will be submitted to the Senate for a vote on a day yet to be determined. Mr Wilders, who is also know for his anti-Islam stance, opposes the ESM's endorsement, which he described as "a transfer of sovereignty to Brussels".

School’s out in Spain as teachers strike over cuts

From kindergarten to university, Spain’s education system came to a standstill on Tuesday as teachers went on strike in protest at austerity cuts and other measures designed to save money. Classrooms remained empty as students and teachers stayed away. Evening marches were being planned in towns and cities across the country. Parents’ associations and some private schools that receive state subsidies have joined unions. They claim thousands of supply teachers will lose their jobs. “These cuts will lead to between 80,000 and 100,000 workers in the education system being fired,” Francisco García, leader of the CCOO union told euronews. “Most of them are teachers and the consequences of these job losses will be a loss of quality and equity in the education system. The reason is that students who have more problems and need more help from the education system will be those who will suffer more prejudice.” The central government has ordered Spain’s 17 autonomous regions to cut three billion euros from education spending this year as part of a drive to slash the deficit. The average number of students in each class is forecast to rise by 20 percent. Fees in state universities are also expected to go up.

Spain court drops tax probe of Santander chairman

Spain's National Court said Tuesday it had dropped its investigation into the country's top banker - Banco Santander chairman Emilio Botin - and 11 of his relatives over possible income and wealth tax evasion. The case focused on tax returns filed between 2005 and 2009 on accounts the family held in Switzerland's HSBC Private Bank (Suisse). The court said the probe showed the Botin family had normalized its tax situation before the investigation was opened last year. Representing the Botin family, Madrid law firm Uria Menendez said the dismissal confirmed "what we said when the case was opened in June, 2011: that the family had voluntarily and completely regularized its tax obligations, which were and are all up to date." Back then, the family said it had paid around (EURO)200 million ($255 million) in back taxes to normalize the situation. The family said the accounts stemmed from assets that Botin's father held outside Spain at the time of his death in 1993, Spanish tax authorities had learned of the accounts from French authorities, following a leak of the account details of 24,000 HSBC Private Bank (Suisse) clients from around the world. Banco Santander S.A. is Spain's largest bank and the eurozone's biggest by market capitalization.

Spain court drops tax probe of Santander chairman

Spain's National Court said Tuesday it had dropped its investigation into the country's top banker - Banco Santander chairman Emilio Botin - and 11 of his relatives over possible income and wealth tax evasion. The case focused on tax returns filed between 2005 and 2009 on accounts the family held in Switzerland's HSBC Private Bank (Suisse). The court said the probe showed the Botin family had normalized its tax situation before the investigation was opened last year. Representing the Botin family, Madrid law firm Uria Menendez said the dismissal confirmed "what we said when the case was opened in June, 2011: that the family had voluntarily and completely regularized its tax obligations, which were and are all up to date." Back then, the family said it had paid around (EURO)200 million ($255 million) in back taxes to normalize the situation. The family said the accounts stemmed from assets that Botin's father held outside Spain at the time of his death in 1993, Spanish tax authorities had learned of the accounts from French authorities, following a leak of the account details of 24,000 HSBC Private Bank (Suisse) clients from around the world. Banco Santander S.A. is Spain's largest bank and the eurozone's biggest by market capitalization.

Tunnel contractor sues Gibraltar government for £20 million

A CONSTRUCTION company contracted to complete Gibraltar’s airport tunnel project is suing the government for £20 million. OHL was handed the lucrative £34.1 million deal by the previous administration, before the contract was later cancelled. The Spanish-based firm is demanding damages for breach of contract as well as other costs including loss of profits, despite having received £14 million. The case has now gone before the High Court in the UK, with the government required to file their defence by May 22. The Rock’s administration is being supported in the case by the opposition GSD party, who awarded the original contract in 2008. In a strongly-worded statement, the GSD said the OHL claims were ‘an unmeritorious ‘try on’ by a company that had demonstrably ceased to carry out the contract and the works and were in flagrant breach of their contract.’ The contract awarded to OHL was for the design and construction of a 1.24 km four-lane dual carriageway connecting Devil’s Tower Road with the Spanish border. The plan also included parallel lanes for pedestrians and cyclists and access to Eastern Beach Road and Catalan Road. Local firm JBS has taken on the contract, with opposition leaders calling for the project to be completed before summer 2013.

General Strike in Education across Spain today

million workers and 7.5 million students are called out on a General Strike in the education sector today. All levels are affected by the protest; it’s the first time that has happened. The stoppage is against the education cuts with the changes meaning that university students will pay 540 € more in fees, with many saying the cuts will mean many people having to leave further education. The Government has announced 3 billion € of spending cuts in education. Demonstrations have been called in all Spain’s regions with the exception of the Baleares and the Basque Country by the five unions which operate in education. They claim the measures planned, such as increased class sizes, will result in job losses of some 100,000. Unions claim that thousands of youngsters will not be able to go to university, and others will have to leave during their courses. Teachers, parents and students are expected to come together in today’s protests. Minimum services vary from region to region but in general the director will remain in every school with another member of staff. Infant schools will see the director and a person in the kitchen.

Spain bank losses could hit 260bn euros

Spanish bank loan losses could hit 260 billion euros ($A339.05 billion), with the industry likely to need some 60 billion euros ($A78.24 billion) in outside help to stay afloat, the International Institute of Finance (IIF) says. . Taking guidelines from how badly Ireland's banks were hit in its financial crisis, economists at the global banking institute said they expect the losses to be in the range of 216-260 billion euros. "A number of factors suggest that the losses could be nearer the upper end of this range. Spain's macroeconomic prospects are worse than those faced by Ireland, especially as regards growth and unemployment," they said in a new review of the global economy. "The bulk of the losses would be generated by the commercial real estate loan portfolio, which is concentrated in the cajas," the Spanish savings and loan banks, it said. The IIF is an association of around 450 banks around the world and has been closely involved in the eurozone crisis, leading the negotiations for a write-down of Greece's private-sector debt in March. The IIF said the banks were able through the end of last year to find enough capital internally to put aside 110 billion euros for loan loss reserves, and some will be able to keep generating capital internally to meet needs. But not all of them. "Substantial divergences between individual banks suggest that government assistance will be needed for a significant number of banks, mainly the cajas," the IIF said. In the worst case, the IIF said the shortfall that would fall on the government would be about 50-60 billion euros. It said some aspects of the Spanish market might prevent the worst-case scenario. "Mitigating factors, on the other hand, include more conservative lending standards than in Ireland, with lower ratios of loans to value. Real-estate lending in Spain, moreover, has not been as concentrated. Most banks, finally, have more diversified loan books."

Sportingbet dives after Spain tax hit

Sportingbet shares slumped more than 7 per cent yesterday after the online gambling group admitted it faces an unexpected tax bill for its Spanish operations. The company did not say how great the damage could be, which appeared to spook the market. Its rival Bwin.party digital made a more detailed disclosure, revealing it intends to pay €33m (£27m) to settle the matter with Spain, and its shares firmed 0.6p to 125.1p. Bwin, formed from the merger of Bwin and Party Gaming, says the Spanish taxman has suddenly ruled that online operators with Spanish customers must pay back taxes under laws from 1966 and 1977. The laws were only previously applied to offline gaming. Bwin hopes the payment will help it gain an eGaming licence in Spain, which is in the process of awarding them. "Having taken these steps, we believe we have now fulfilled all requirements and look forward to receiving our licence and entering the Spanish market," the Gibraltar-based company said. Sportingbet said it is in talks with Spain about a potential tax liability covering its operations in the country from January 2009 to May 2011. Its shares tumbled 2p to 26.25p.

case archived against the President of the Supreme Court Case

The Prosecutors’ Office has archived the denucia placed by Manuel Gómez Benítez against the head of the General Council for Judicial Power and President of the Supreme Court, Carlos Dívar, regarding the costs of his weekend trips to Marbella. Gómez Benítez is also a member of the General Council for Judicial Power. The case was archived when the prosecutors considered that although Díver is alleged to have taken his weekend breaks at public expense that ‘did not constitute any crime’. The prosecutor studied the documentation of all the journeys made by the Supreme Court President and concluded that there was no evidence of the mis-use of public finds.

Man killed and woman seriously injured in freak accident in Torremolinos

A 71 year man has died and a 73 year old woman was seriously injured when part of the load of lorry carrying construction materials along the N-340 in Torremolinos fell upon them. The couple were walking near Aquapark. It’s not known how the lorry lost part of its load at 10,40am on Monday morning, but it is clear that the load slipped and some of it fell from the lorry and fell to the pavement hitting the couple. The Local Police and health crews certified the man’s death when they arrived at the scene and the woman was taken urgently to the Clinico Universitario in Málaga where she has been admitted in a serious condition with diverse trauma, head injuries and a broken tibia. She is expected to undergo surgery later today.

Body found in Istán countryside

A body in an advanced state of decomposition has been found among shrubs close to the Istán reservoir. Two foreigners found the body on Sunday afternoon and sources close to the case think the body is male. Several Police units and the Guardia Civil went to scene on the Carril Zahara de Istán. The cause and time of death remains unknown, as the identity of man. An autopsy will be carried out at the Legal Medicine Institute, and forensic scientists have been inspecting the scene.

Malaga suicide rate is highest in Spain

THE suicide rate in Malaga Province is the highest in Spain. There were 144 suicides in the province in 2010, almost double the number of deaths in traffic accidents, new National Institute of Statistics data shows. This figure is the highest average per 100,000 inhabitants in Spain, and while the general tendency in Spain is that the number of suicides is falling. Regionally figures across Andalucia are rising. It was also revealed that suicide is the main cause of unnatural death in Malaga province. Contrary to what some might expected, the number of suicides in the province has fallen by more than 30 a year since the onset of the financial crisis. This, experts say, is mainly because the principal cause for suicide is mental illness, which accounts for 90 per cent of cases. In around 60 per cent of cases, suicide victims warned of their intentions. Most of those who committed suicide in Malaga in 2010 were aged 35-49 and between 55-64. There were 11 who were aged under 30, all of them men. Although more men commit suicide, there is a higher number of failed attempts amongst women. This is mainly attributed to men’s reluctance to ask for help and their greater tendency towards violent action. Meanwhile, Malaga has the third highest number of manslaughters in Spain, beaten only by Barcelona and Valencia, a report from the Interior Ministry shows. The number of cases of manslaughter rose by 3.1 per cent in the first three months of the year, compared to the same period in 2011.

Gibraltar's First Minister responds to the decision to stop Queen Sofía travelling to London

The Gibraltar First Minister, Fabian Picardo, has said ‘Cancelling Doña Sofías trip (to London for Queen Elizabeth’s celebrations for 60 years on the throne) is a reaction from the 18th century’. ‘Spain has 8,000 kilometres of coast. Are they going to stop fishing for 3 kilometres?. Somebody has said ‘Gibraltar español’ again and is looking for conflict. Picardo said he was prepared to maintain talks with the fishermen affected in the Algeciras Bay. He said that he was surprised by what has happened. ‘This has now become a stumbling block, and it is a pity that the celebration for a woman who has been at the world level for 60 years, can’t be enjoyed by her cousin’. Despite his message of conciliation, Picardo also asked for the Spain and Andalucía not to use Gibraltar ‘as a scapegoat to distract attention’.

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

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

Could Spain leave the euro?

The euro crisis spotlight has turned on Spain with the bank downgrade by a credit rating agency and unemployment at a record high. Justin Webb has been taking the temperature on the streets of Madrid. Pablo Triana, professor at the ESADE business school, says that if people start to believe that a new peseta is "not a hallucination" they will start withdrawing their money from Spanish banks. "The biggest potential impact on Spain is the human impact", he explains, because of the "popularity of the eurozone in Spain". Gail Allard, economics teacher at the IE business school, says the psychological impact would be "devastating" if Spain left the Euro. The Spaniards were very proud to enter the Euro, she adds, and "to shake-up that up would put cracks in the project that are very hard to repair".

The Guardia Civil want short sleeves for the summer

The Unified Association of Civil Guards, AUGC, has complained today that they will have to work in the summer in long-sleeved shirts, because their superiors will not let them use short sleeves despite the high temperatures of the summer over 40º in some areas. They demand ‘a uniform adequate for the ambient temperature’, and note two days ago an agent fainted in Lepe, Huelva, because of the heat and crashed into another car. They note in that case the air conditioning in the official vehicle he was driving was broken.

Documents assembled on Carlos Dívar's trips to Puerto Banús

It is alleged that the President of the Supreme Court has been charging trips to a luxury hotel in Puerto Banús as expenses. The Council for Judicial Power has prepared the documentation on the costs claimed by Carlos Dívar, President of the Supreme Court, for several trips to Marbella, despite the trips having nothing to do with his work. Documentation on 14 trips to Puerto Banús has been assembled following the allegation from another member of the General Council for Judicial Power, Manuel Gómez Benitez, that the President has been misusing public funds. The documents amount to 100 sheets and has been made available to those interested. It’s thought that Carlos Díver made some 20 trips to a luxury hotel in Puerto Banus at long weekends of up to four days, and it is now known these trips were made with his five or six bodyguards and in official cars. IU has called for Dívar to go to Congress to explain the trips. Now we wait for the prosecutor to give his opinion. Díver’s colleagues on the General Council are reported to consider his behaviour as inadmissible. Some of them are reported to be considering electing a new President for the Supreme Court.

Talks between Gibraltar and Spanish fishermen breakdown

Fishermen from La Linea and Algeciras who use their small boats in the bay, held a meeting with the Gibraltar Government at 6 Convent Place on Tuesday, regarding the skirmishes seen between them the Gibraltar Police when they fish near the rock. The meeting between them and the Gibraltar Government council, led by First Minister, Fabian Picardo, ended without agreement. The fishermen say the break in negotiations is definitive and in the face of increased tension in the Algeciras Bay have called for ‘the support of the Spanish Government’ so they can carry out their jobs, which they have always developed in the zone, without problems. In the meantime they will continue to fish in the bay. President of the Andalucian fishermen, Pedro Maza, commented that they had tried to reach an agreement by dialogue at all times, but it was impossible given the insistence of Gibraltar in compliance of their environmental regulations introduced in 1991. He said Picardo had unilaterally ended a deal done with the Spanish fishermen in 1999 allowing them to fish using their traditional methods at a distance of half a mile. Maza said he could not say what would happen now but noted that there were some 300 families dependent on the 70 boats in the fleet. They were intending to continue fishing and hoped that the Guardia Civil would remain in the area to avoid any pressure of fines from the Gibraltar authorities. There was a more optimistic outlook from the talks for Fabian Picardo who said he was moderately confident of concluding a draft agreement to create a working group for further negotiations. He said he was still willing to ‘pluck an agreement like a needle out of a haystack’.

Kent County Council withdraws its money from Santander

Kent County Council in the U.K. has withdrawn its funds from Santander UK for fear of the financial crisis. The council had three million pounds, some 3.6 million € deposited in the bank. Santander UK, the British subsidiary of the Grupo Santander in Britain, has now found itself oblige to guarantee the solvency of the bank to ease the concerns of its clients. Doubts about its solvency come from the announcement of the nationalisation of Bankia, and fears that the provisions needed by the Spanish banks to cover their real estate risks will up in a liquidity crisis. Kent Country Council said it was a precautionary measure, but the council is probably far more wary because in 2009 they had 62.5 million € in an Icelandic bank which went bankrupt, and they have recovered only part of the money.

Bond markets attack Spain as contagion fears spread

Deeply indebted Spain was forced to pay through the nose for much-needed funds today amid growing doubts over its banks. Madrid raised €2.5 billion (£2 billion) from jittery bond markets but its borrowing costs soared, heaping more pressure on the nation’s buckling finances. Spain paid 5.1% to borrow for five years — a 50% jump from March, the last time it sold similar debt. Spain’s benchmark borrowing costs have soared dangerously above 6% since Greece’s future in the euro was cast into doubt by inconclusive elections, raising the prospect of a catastrophic default by Athens. Stock markets across Europe shuddered as London’s FTSE 100 index also hit a six-month low, losing 44.29 to 5361.96. Nicholas Spiro, managing director of Spiro Sovereign Strategy, said: “These are painful auctions for the Treasury.  Spain is selling its debt at punitive rates against a rapidly deteriorating domestic and external backdrop. Eurozone ‘break-up contagion’ is seeping into Spanish yields. “The Spanish government itself can do very little to shore up confidence in the near term.” Investors also turned on Spain’s fourth biggest bank, Bankia, which was nationalised last week after fears over its huge losses on loans to property developers. Its shares slumped more than 10% amid reports that savers had pulled more than €1 billion from their accounts in the past week. Spain, whose double-dip recession was formally confirmed today, has demanded that banks put aside an extra €30 billion in provisions for property losses. But experts said this left Spain’s banks — big buyers of government debt — with less funds available, forcing Madrid to pay more to borrow. In contrast the safe-haven UK paid just 0.35% today to raise £1.5 billion for two years. Rabobank rate strategist Richard McGuire said: “With foreign investors evidently rushing for the exits and domestics’ ability to bridge the gap limited by the government’s imposition of ever more stringent loss provisioning ... ultimately this ratcheting up of yields will likely require some form of outside intervention.” Italy’s banks were also in the spotlight today as its banking association warned of weakening demand among retail investors for bank debt. The banks need the funds to roll over €137 billion in debt this year but ratings agency Moody’s slashed its ratings on 26 Italian financial firms this week, pushing up their funding costs.

Ex Mayor of Casares arrested as Town Hall searched

The ex Mayor of Casares in Málaga, current housing councillor, Juan Sánchez from left wing group I.U., his wife, and a lawyer from Estepona have been arrested today, Monday, and the Guardia Civil is searching the Town Halls not only in Casares but also in Estepona and Málaga, as well as the lawyer’s office in Estepona. They have asked for the minutes of planning meetings and computer archives. The investigation, by the non-uniform judicial police of the Guardia Civil and the National Police, is into allegation of town planning crimes. The IU administration in the town has tweeted that they are surprised at the action. More arrests have not been ruled out. The lawyer has not yet been named in reports.

Bar owner fined 6,000 € when a chair was not able to support one of his clients

The owner of a bar in Murcia has been fined 6,000 € because one of his chair was unable to support the weight of one of his clients. The First Instance Court in Totana initially dismissed the case, but the man, who suffered injuries in the accident, has now taken it to appeal to the Murcia Provincial Court. They ruled that ‘A chair should have sufficient resistance to support the weight of any person’. It continued, ‘the man fell because the chair was not able to sustain him and damages are valid. Anyone who puts the service of table and chair for their clients is obliged to look after this material’. The case dates back to 2005 when the client sat on the chair and broke its legs, and it has taken that long to reach the Murcia court on appeal.

48 hours to save the Euro as Greece faces turmoil

Europe was on the brink of financial meltdown tonight as Greece’s political crisis threatened to bring down the single currency. Opposition parties in debt-stricken Athens have until Thursday to form a government or face the turmoil of a fresh election. The crucial next 48 hours will also see the first meeting between France’s new anti-austerity president Francois Hollande and Germany’s Angela Merkel tomorrow, which could see them clash over the future of the EU. As the panic caused billions of pounds to be wiped of the share value of Britain’s biggest companies today, European finance ministers held emergency talks in Brussels to prepare for a doomsday scenario. They fear a new Greek government will refuse to accept the austerity measures demanded by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. The bankrupt country would then be denied its next tranche of the £103billion bailout and could be forced out of the euro. This could trigger a domino effect across the 17-strong eurozone with the contagion sparking a new banking crisis. Former EU commission chief Romano Prodi warned: “Exit would bring down the whole house of cards, with one state falling after another: it would reach Portugal, Spain, then Italy and France.” After nine days of deadlock, Greek President Karolos Papoulias was tonight trying to broker an agreement between political parties in Athens. But there was little cause for optimism with many believing the country will have to go to the polls again in June. Alexis Tsipras, leader of the left-wing Syriza party that finished second, has refused to join any coalition that accepts the terms of the international bailout. A party spokesman blasted: “They are looking for an accomplice to continue their catastrophic work. We will not help them.” One government minister tonight warned the country could descend into civil war if it was forced to go back to using the drachma. Michalis Chrysohoidis said: “What do we have to lose more than we have lost already? Our freedom. "What will prevail are armed gangs with Kalashnikovs and which one has the greatest number of Kalashnikovs will count – we will end up in civil war.” Mr Hollande – the first socialist French president in 17 years – was elected last week after promising to oppose the tough austerity measures imposed by Germany on the rest of the Eurozone. His hardline stance threatens to break the strong bond his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy built up with Mrs Merkel. The German chancellor tonight warned Greece could be booted out of the Eurozone if it failed to stick to a deal to pay back hundreds of millions of pounds of bailout cash and continue with tough nationwide cuts. And Spain today pleaded to its leaders to reach a deal after its own borrowing costs rose and share prices fell at alarming rates. Athens is hoping it can renegotiate the bailout terms and ease the austerity. But some finance ministers made clear they were unwilling to reconsider. Luxembourg’s Luc Frieden said: “If Greece needs help from outside, the conditions have to be met. All political parties in Greece know that.” Panic on the London stock market today saw FTSE 100 shares plummet 110 points to 5465 – knocking £28billion off its value. Shares in the US, France, Germany, Spain and Italy also nosedived at the prospect of a another global financial crisis. Britain could also end up having to support a multi-billion pound rescue plan being drawn up by Germany to clean up the eurozone finances in the event of a Greek exit. The Prime Minister’s spokesman refused to rule anything out but said: “It is for eurozone countries to support their currency.” John Cridland, boss of the Confederation of British Industry, warned that a Greek exit would be like an “earthquake” for UK firms.

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

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

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

New changes to rental agreements in Spain

The Government has announced it is to cut the legal duration of rental contracts, and make evictions easier. The maximum duration of a contract is reduced from eight to four years, and if the owner wants to recover the property he only has to give two months notice. Forced extensions are reduced from five years to three years; tacit contracts are reduced to a year. The Government also decided in the Friday cabinet meeting to reduce the tax for those who sell their property. There will be a 50% exception of plus valia tax in a measure which applies until the end of 2012. The reduction will be reflected in the IRPF, the rental tax on non-residents, and business tax. Minister for Development, Ana Pastor, said the changes were designed to give greater judicial security to the owners who put their property on the rental market, thus helping youngsters and vulnerable and families on low income.

Spanish Default Protection Costs Hit Fresh Record High

The cost of protecting Spanish government debt against default rose to a fresh record high Friday, as low volumes helped push the country's credit default swaps into new territory on a small amount of buying.

Pioz, the town in the Guadalajara province of Castilla-La Mancha which has now earned the unwanted distinction of being the most indebted in Spain.

 In fact with its projected income, Spain's Ministry of Public Administration estimates that Pioz will take 7,058 years to repay itsdebts thanks to mismanagement and a vast programme of overspending during the boom years when credit flowed and developers stampeded to put up housing estates they could never realistically hope to fill. While eyes across Europe focus on Greece and the political turmoil that threatens to derail it, Spain's government has been working to restructure its banking sector and reassure markets that the nation won't need a bail-out. It is in the small towns across this country that the real story of Spain's troubles can be found. Pioz has become the symbol of a crisis-hit nation where town councils have run up debts that far surpass their income, debts which threaten to derail the government's attempt to meet strict budget deficit targets set by Brussels. "We are crippled by debt," explained Dionisio Torres Martinez, the spokesman of Pioz town hall. "It is impossible to exaggerate how big our problems are here. In the short term we are just struggling to find the funds each month to pay for the very minimum of services, let alone meet our debt repayments." It is a tale of hubris and mismanagement that echoes across all of Spain. Where once the fictional Don Quixote tilted at windmills, the administrators in this corner of Castilla-La Mancha had embarked on a far more damaging madness. Some three miles from the historic centre of this town of 3,800 residents a gleaming water purification plant squats between fields of wheat. "It looks great doesn't it?" remarked Juan Yunta Ayllon, the town councillor in charge of Public works, Services and the Environment for Pioz, surveying the site. "And so it should. It came with a bill of 11 million euros and yet do you see anyone there, any sign of life within its gates?" The place is abandoned because the council has no money left to operate the electricity pumps to supply the plant or to the pay the employees to run it, as a result the water supply to the town frequently cuts out. A recycling centre next door, funded in part by a grant from the European Union, likewise stands gleaming and vacant. "We couldn't finish the road to allow the trucks to reach the site with the rubbish. The whole project is useless." So too is the swimming pool which was opened in 2008 and came with a price tag of 2.3 million euros. "There is no money, not a spare cent, to spend on maintenance of such a luxury," explained Mr Yunta. At night the street lighting is not switched on, road maintenance has been halted and rubbish collection is intermittent. The town owes 16 million in outstanding bills to suppliers and is one of 2,619 councils applying to the central government for help to meet repayments. The current mayor, Amelia Rodriguez, from Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's conservative Popular Party, was elected last June and inevitably blames the previous socialist administration for running up the unsustainable debts. "We are just trying to cope with what we have to do now to survive," she said. "But the number of residents just cannot supply the income needed to run a town that has expanded so quickly and now lies half empty." The town suffers 25 per cent unemployment, the national average, and at best estimates it could put aside 2,000 euros a year to pay outstanding debts after meeting just the bare minimum of running costs. "Yeah, life was good here. It's a beautiful place," says Ignacio, a man in his 30s, who arrived in the town square on a battered old bicycle. "I had two cars, a new house, lots of work in construction and I thought it would never end. Now I'm unemployed and live with my parents again." Its empty houses – an estimated 600 new builds lie vacant – are gradually being looted, an expression of discontent by the town's unemployed youth and opportunism by itinerant thieves. On one urbanisation at the far end of Pioz, all the electrical wires have been ripped from the properties, their shutters and windows stolen and the bathroom and kitchen fittings gone. Many of the construction companies that built the new estates are in liquidation and the banks have been left with toxic assets of properties they are unlikely to ever sell, even at rock bottom prices. The spectacular bust in 2007 of Spain's decade long building boom has left troubled banks burdened with an estimated 185 billion euros in problem loans and assets. On Friday they were ordered by Mr Rajoy's government to set aside another 30 billion euros to shore up loans on top of a 54 billion euros fund ordered in February. "It's all very well the government rescuing banks with public money," said Eugenio Rodriquez Barco, another resident of Pioz remarking on the part nationalisation of Bankia, Spain's fourth largest bank, last week. "But we need to a plan to bail out the town halls as well otherwise Spain will collapse." The picture for the country appears bleak and the figures speak for themselves. Spain has slumped into a second recession with its economy predicted to shrink a further 1.7 per cent this year. Its government has slashed public spending, cutting budgets by 27 billion this year, in a desperate attempt to reduce its public deficit to 5.3 per cent this year from 8.5 per cent in 2011. The government is struggling to convince Brussels and the markets that it can meet the harsh demands of the eurozone's other finance ministers to save itself from following the fate of Greece, Ireland and Portugal and asking for an international rescue. More protests loom against stringent cuts in health and education as well as public sector pay and a freeze on pensions and the number of jobless threatens to rise beyond the 5.6 million Spaniards currently seeking work. Alarmingly, more than half of Spain's 18-25 year-olds are unemployed. Silva Barrios, a 45-year-old resident of Pioz, said she worried most for her daughter's future. "She is 18-years old and just starting her adult life but what hope is there for her? There is no work here so she will mostly likely move abroad. It's very sad." As austerity measures bite across the country, for those in Pioz some local cut backs go just too far. The annual bullfighting fiesta, the jewel in the crown for many a community across Spain, has been cancelled this year and seems unlikely to be reinstated for the foreseeable future. "I've been through some bad times over the years let me tell you," said elderly resident Sergio, sipping a beer at the bar on the town's square. "But to cancel the fiesta? I never thought in my lifetime that things could get so bad as this. Let me die now from the shame of this disaster we have created." Edward Hugh, an independent economist based in Barcelona, said: “Spanish debt is reaching critical levels and the country is going to have a terrible time complying with measures imposed in Brussels. “We need to see a clean up across the board and what Spain’s population don’t quite seem to understand is why these swingeing cuts are needed. There is a danger of it spiraling out of control." “To put it simply,” he added. “You can’t fix this mess with chewing gum and chicken wire.”

man dies in Spain boating accident

POLICE in Spain are investigating the death of a Newport man whose body was found floating near his yacht. Denis Manley, 72, was spotted yesterday afternoon in the marina at Estepona, between Marbella and Gibraltar, where his yacht had been moored. Mr Manley, who had been living on his boat, had a head injury and police say it appears he slipped and hit his head on the yacht, before falling into the water. The Guardia Civil (police) in Spain said all indications point to an accident.

The Bankia accounts were presented to the Bank of Spain without being audited as Deloitte refused to sign off on them

 It has emerged today that an audit in Bankia detected that the 2011 accounts were inflated. El Mundo reports that Bankia has confirmed, and Deloitte put in its report, that its Banco Financiero de Ahorros, BFA, matrix was overvalued and that Rodrigo Rato had a plan to correct it. BFA was the matrix formed mainly by Caja Madrid and Bancaja which received a loan from the state, still to be returned, to the value of 4.5 billion €. Sources have confirmed information in El País that the overvaluation in the Bankia accounts is 3.5 billion €. It’s an amount which the bank itself cannot clear without outside help. A study by the Swiss bank UBS shows that not only BFA had its participation in Bankia overvalued by at least 70% above market values, but other participating companies also. The Deloitte report has not been made public, despite the fact the bank’s accounts were presented to the markets last Friday. It seems the Bankia and BFA accounts were presented to the Bank of Spain unaudited, because Deloitte did not want to sign the accounts, presenting instead a report which not only questioned the numbers, but also was harshly critical of the supervising authority.

Costa del Sol 'cowboy' bank robber arrested

A 32 year old Italian, V.S.A., has been arrested in Las Lagunas, Mijas in a joint National Police and Guardia Civil operation, accused of carrying several bank robberies on the Costa del Sol. He always wore a cowboy hat and sunglasses and became known as the cowboy hat thief. A police statement said a search of the detained man’s home found clothes alleged used in the robberies. He’s believed to have carried out a robbery from a savings bank in La Cala de Mijas in February 2011 where he escaped with 33,000 € with another person. He is also thought to have robbed a bank branch in the Calahonda de Mijas urbanisation last August where once again two people entered the bank, and a third waited in the car outside. Pistols are used to intimidate the workers in the banks, and the same day as the Calahonda robbery he assaulted a bank in the Paseo de los Tilos in Málaga City, although here the booty was just 90 €. The arrested man will appear in the Instruction Court 3 in Fuengirola and the operation remains open as the police try to identify and locate the other members of the group.

Spain may embark on risky bank rescue with public money

Spain keeps repeating that it will not pump any more public money into its ailing banks, but the likelihood of that happening is growing by the day. If using public money "were necessary to save the financial system, I would not renounce" resorting to it, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Monday, announcing a reform that would leave "no doubt" about the solvency of Spanish banks. Ads by Google The reform, which is expected to include the creation of a liquidation entity or entities to rid banks of toxic real estate assets, was due to be approved by the government on Friday. But injecting more money into banks would not be easy -- increasing Spain's already heavy debt burden, alarming financial markets and displeasing public opinion, analysts said. With Spanish banks falling on the Madrid stock exchange and a recent downgrade for 11 of them by ratings agency Standard & Poor's, as well as rising borrowing costs for Spain, pressure is mounting on the country to boost investor confidence in its banking sector. Tight credit conditions are also stifling the corporate sector, and the government is in a hurry to get credit flowing again. Concern about Spanish banks has become one of the main factors fanning fears that Madrid will not get its economic problems under control. Spain, the eurozone's fourth-largest economy, is seen as one of the likeliest to eventually need a bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. The country's economy is in a deepening recession, nearly a quarter of the workforce are unemployed and the government is struggling to trim a budget deficit of 8.5 per cent of GDP. Spanish banks were hit by huge losses after a decade-long property boom collapsed during the global crisis, leaving them with more than 180 billion euros (230 billion dollars) of troubled real estate assets in the form of land, buildings and bad loans. The banking group sparking the most concern is Bankia, a collection of seven savings banks headed by former IMF chief Rodrigo Rato, which had a large exposure to the property sector. Spain has already spent more than 100 billion euros to boost liquidity and the solvency of its banks, including more than 14 billion euros in direct subsidies from the bank restructuring fund FROB, according to figures given by the daily El Pais. Successive banking reforms have also encouraged mergers -- a strategy that has come under criticism as insufficient and even misdirected. "Uniting two bad entities does not create a good one," said Manuel Romera from IE Business School. With the EU demanding more reforms, the government is now planning to separate toxic real estate assets into liquidation companies known as bad banks, although officials avoid using that term. Under the proposals, independent experts would evaluate the assets to be sold off. The liquidation companies would be created on a voluntary basis, according to Economy Minister Luis de Guindos. The government initially said banks would bear the burden of any losses not covered by provisions worth about 54 billion euros, which they were ordered to set aside to cover sour assets and higher capital requirements. But experts say the operation would not be successful without further state involvement. "Without the state taking over the losses, the banks' balance sheets will not be cleaned up. If you create bad banks, someone must assume the risks," said Konrad Becker from the German private bank Merck Finck.

British expats wrongly charged inheritance tax on their Spanish properties are gearing up for a legal battle to reclaim the charges.

It is estimated that around 60,000 British families have been hit with Inheritance tax (IHT) bills for properties or assets they inherited in Spain. Charges are believed to be in the region of £400 million (€490 million). The Spanish government levied IHT of up to 35 per cent on non-residents, while Spanish residents paid close to zero per cent IHT. The European Commission believes this is an unfair tax treatment with regard to EU citizens. It brought a legal case to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in March arguing that Spain was infringing EU treaty freedoms. A verdict is expected from the ECJ which could open the floodgate to thousands of Brits reclaiming their tax, and force Spain to amend its IHT tax laws. While 60,000 Brits are believed to have wrongly paid IHT, only 40,000 are still able to make a claim due to the Spanish legal time limits, which stop claimants attempting to make a claim after four years from the tax payment date. An action group, Spanish Legal Reclaims, has been set up to represent those caught out by the policy. It is led by the same lawyer who won a Capital Gains Tax (CGT) reclaim against the Spanish government. More than £280 million was returned to 90,000 British families after the European court case.

Expats in Spain 'owed £400 million in overpaid inheritance tax'

Luis Cuervo, CEO at Spanish Legal Reclaims, said: “They may have believed they were fortunate to inherit a property in Spain, but in the process they have been scammed out of a lot of money.” The group is confident the verdict will go their way, given that the EU doesn’t bring cases to the ECJ unless it believes they are legally sound. British expat Peter Jackson, 62, inherited a Spanish property from his mother and paid more than €10,000 (£8,000) in IHT. He said: “When we inherited the property in Moraira and paid the inheritance tax we knew no different, and so simply just paid it as we were told to. When we found that we had probably been overcharged by quite a large amount, we thought we had nothing to lose by trying to reclaim it. "It seems people that do not live in Spain haven’t been treated equally in this matter, and something has gone a bit awry.”

Argentine-Spanish trade row escalates after Telefonica fined

The fine by Argentina comes just days after President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner seized control of domestic energy company YPF from Spain’s Repsol. Julio De Vido, the Argentine planning minister, said on Tuesday that the penalty against Telefonica, which owns O2 in the UK, was intended to be a warning to other telecoms providers that service interruptions will not be tolerated. He added: “Cellphone service quality has declined in recent months. We need to have full service, not service that gets worse when you walk a few metres one way or another.” Telefonica’s subsidiary Movistar controls about 40pc of Argentina’s mobile phone market. However, around 18m customers were left without phone and data services for a few hours last month because of technical problems. Mr De Vido said Movistar must compensate clients $41.6m for the loss of service and pay a $1.3m fine. Telefonica is Spain’s second biggest company behind Santander, the banking group, and the ruling threatens to exacerbate already tense relations between Argentina and Spain.

Hangover III but in Marbella

The Only Way is Essex cast want to make a film version of their reality show. The idea has reportedly been discussed to allow the TOWIE cast to star on the silver screen. Ricky Rayment told the Daily Star Sunday: "TOWIE: The Movie, I'd be all over that. We could make it like Hangover III but in Marbella "They did an S Club 7 and Spice Girls movie I think. We could do something similar, just tongue-in-cheek. "Even if it was shit, people would go see it once, so they would make their money." Fellow TOWIE star Sam Faiers added: "It would have to be tongue-in-cheek. "Like a spoof movie which was scripted and we were just having a laugh." Bobby-Cole Norris, said: "We need to sort out the movie. I'm all over that."

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

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

British tourist falls to her death from hotel balcony in Magalluf

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

Costa del Sol owners are bracing themselves after a plan was submitted to run the Mediterranean Corridor along the coast

• PROPOSED ROUTE: A MAP OF THE LINE THAT APPEARED IN DIARIO SUR

While running largely parallel to the A-7 motorway, the new proposed rail line cuts across open farmland inland from Manilva to Algeciras, as well as a section inland from Marbella and west of Fuengirola.

Backed by the Malaga authorities, lobby group Ferrmed has proposed the line from Almeria to Algeciras, via Malaga.

The route, which includes stops in Motril and Marbella – currently the only town in Spain with a population over 100,000 without a train station – also includes a freight line.

The western stretch from Malaga would cost an estimated 7.5 billion euros alone and include nine tunnels and 10 viaducts.

Ferrmed justified the cost by emphasising the high economic impact the line would have on the area.

The study has now been presented to the government, which will need to have it rubber stamped by the European Commission if it is to go ahead.

Speaking after the meeting the mayor of Malaga, Francisco de la Torre, stressed the importance of the corridor for commercial development between Europe and Asia.

He insisted it ‘made more sense to run the freight line along the coast than inland which has steep inclines preventing the passage of big trains.’

According to a map printed in Diario Sur, the route appears to go inland near Pueblonuevo de Guadiaro and San Martin de Tesorillo before cutting down to La Linea, not Algeciras.

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

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