Whether Isabel Pantoja, 55, is truly innocent will emerge over the course of the 49 days of the trial

Whether Isabel Pantoja, 55, is truly innocent will emerge over the course of the 49 days of the trial, which is likely to drag on until next spring. The popular Seville native has been charged with money laundering, and the prosecution is asking for a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence and a fine of €3.68 million ($4.64 million).

The investigative judges believe that they can prove she laundered at least €1.84 million, using half a dozen fictitious companies registered in her name, on behalf of her former domestic partner, a former mayor of the luxury resort town of Marbella on the Costa del Sol.

According to the prosecution, Julián Muñoz solicited his then girlfriend to launder a portion of the more than €3.5 million he had allegedly collected in bribes during his tenure as mayor. Muñoz could face seven-and-a-half years in prison and a €7.6-million fine. His former wife, Maite Zaldívar, who also allegedly helped him, could face a similar sentence to Pantoja's. For formal reasons alone, the defense attorneys question the validity of the indictment.

Trail of Corruption

Regardless of the outcome of the trial, the high-profile trio has already played its part in turning Marbella into Spain's corruption capital. It is a symbol of the undeniable consequences of the Spanish disease -- a growth model that was based almost entirely on an unfettered construction boom that attracted hustlers and became fertile ground for their criminal activities.

It was the conservatives, under former Prime Minister José María Aznar, who stimulated the boom in the real estate market, which fostered growth exceeding the European Union average for an entire decade. The liberalization of Spain's land-use laws in 1998 enabled municipalities to increase their revenue by zoning parcels of land as building sites. It was practically a license to print money. As a result, there was more new construction in Spain than in Germany, France and Italy combined.

Of course, bribing officials made it easier for developers to build all the apartment complexes and tourist hotels. A broad trail of corruption wound its way through the entire country, from Marbella to Galicia, and from Valencia to the island of Mallorca. Local politicians from almost all parties collected bribes for issuing permits.

Some business owners would call the offices of local politicians to ask where they should drop off the sacks of bribery money. Agreements were reached over cocktails at nightclubs to determine who was to receive concessions for services like garbage collection in the new developments, circumventing the public bidding process -- in exchange for small contributions to the local town-hall mafia.

In return for the permits to build oceanfront dream houses, a luxury apartment would occasionally fall into the lap of an official who had signed the papers assigning the land to the developer. When the machinations and malfeasance surrounding the Marbella construction boom were exposed in 2006, the Madrid government had to replace an entire municipality under receivership for the first time in the history of the Spanish democracy.

Construction Mafia On Trial

Muñoz and Zaldívar, now divorced, are also in the dock in Courtroom Number 4, at a suitable distance from La Pantoja, who greeted her former lover with a cool kiss on the cheek. Muñoz, with his hair gelled, a wide tie and a white pocket square in his dark jacket, took notes for three hours. His ex-wife, in a garish pink T-shirt, kept looking over at him. Pantoja sat there quietly, gazing at her hands in her lap.

She played the part of the stoic, suffering woman. Her attorney asked the court to drop the charges against her. He accused the investigative judge of unleashing an "inquisition" against his client and her family in 2007 "without any grounds," and of having violated her constitutional rights.

The Pantoja case is actually just a small part of a major case that has been conducted against the Marbella construction mafia for the last two years. Trials are being conducted in the same courtroom, at the "City of Justice" in Malaga, against some 85 former city council members, attorneys who acted as front men, police officers and government officials, as well as a few of the most important construction and real estate developers in Andalusia. The main defendant is the former head of the planning office and subsequent head of the building department in Marbella, Juan Antonio Roca. The court is expected to render a verdict against him soon. He had discovered a true gold mine. Since the beginning of the 1990s, some 7,000 new apartments were built each year in the rapidly growing beach resort, and officials collected their bribes for every administrative deed.

Roca's attorney is also trying to win his acquittal, arguing that her client, as a successful businessman, did nothing but profit from the Spanish real estate bubble. "Sometimes he earned profits that were unscrupulous," she said, but noted that speculation can be "amoral, but it's legal." With these words, she sought to justify the €125 million Roca had made during his 14 years in Marbella.

But in the fourth year of the crisis, facing a European unemployment record of almost 25 percent, the Spaniards have no sympathy for such excesses. Citizens are now deeply outraged over the daily reports in the media, citing the latest details of corruption scandals in politics, the economy and even among associates of the king.

Fallen Idol

The rage of all those who run the risk of losing their homes in the current real estate crisis is now directed at those who filled their pockets in the boom years. Protesters gather in front of courthouses in Palma de Mallorca and Valencia, scornfully berating the defendants as "chorizos," the fatty dry sausage typical of Spain. They cloak their anger in the saying: "No hay pan para tanto chorizo," or "There isn't enough bread for so much sausage."

But many would prefer to forgive their idol Pantoja. The singer is a national deity of sorts, an embodiment of great suffering and great emotions.

The daughter of a flamenco artist and a dancer from Triana, a Romani neighborhood of Seville, Pantoja began her stage career at 13. Since her marriage to "Paquirri," a matador from the legendary Rivera family of bullfighters, the paparazzi have not left her side. Pantoja and Paquirri were the epitome of Spain's dream couple, the beautifulgitana and the torero, and the nation identified with them. When the celebrated bullfighter bled to death in 1984, after he was gored by a bull named "Avispado" in an arena near the Andalusian city of Cordoba, the "widow of Spain" became a legend once and for all. After that, the lyrics of Pantoja's songs were all about her private loves and tribulations, and the entire country sympathized with her.

Her romance with the mayor of Marbella, the former waiter Julián Muñoz, began at the beginning of 2003, when he hired the Andalusian singer to appear in an ad promoting the luxury resort town. At the time, according to investigations by the "Special Unit in the Fight Against Drugs and Organized Crime," her accounts were in the red. During the three years of her relationship with Muñoz, prior to his arrest in their house in Marbella, more than €1.1 million was deposited into Pantoja's personal accounts and those of her companies. Most of the deposits consisted of small sums of about €3,000 in cash, so as to circumvent bank scrutiny under a law against money laundering. In the space of two weeks in April 2004, for example, €293,000 was deposited into the accounts. Pantoja claims that she knew nothing about this.

The prosecution, however, is convinced that she was only too familiar with the "illegal origins" of the bribery payments to her domestic partner. Together, the couple purchased "Mi Gitana," a 650-square meter (6,995-square-foot) chalet in the upscale La Pera development, for more than €3 million. Muñoz also allegedly gave her €350,000 for an apartment in the luxury Hotel Guadalpin complex. As evidence, the prosecution submitted an orange folder marked with the initials I.P., J.M. and M.Z. -- for Isabel Pantoja, Julián Muñoz and Maite Zaldívar -- which contained a certified copy of the purchase agreement for the apartment by one of Pantoja's companies. The compromising documents were found in the offices of Roca, the ringleader of the Marbella bribery cartel.

Outed By the Jealous Wife

Pantoja's attorneys have now submitted invoices that are meant to prove that she did have high legal revenue through a restaurant she owned and a bar managed by her son Kiko. According to the documents, 100 meals of the restaurant's specialty, "Chicken Pantoja," were served at €120 a plate. The next day, the identical meal was already priced at €150. According to local residents, however, the restaurant was usually empty. Pantoja was forced to close it in early 2005.

The singer claims that she was almost always paid in cash for her gala performances at home and in the United States, and that she earned €19 million between 1999 and 2010. Why then, say her attorneys, would she have laundered her boyfriend's money?

The Special Prosecutor's Office Against Corruption became aware of the colorful activities of the mayor and his girlfriend after Maite Zaldívar, the jealous wife, had gossiped about them on a TV show. The jilted wife said that garbage bags filled with money had frequently been dropped off at the family estate. About a year after her boyfriend was arrested, the police picked up Pantoja from her chalet at night in May 2007 and brought her before the investigative judge in Málaga. After spending a night in a jail cell, she was released on a €90,000 bail.

The ensuing multimedia fight for her good reputation is driving Pantoja's admirers to her concerts. Many are also curious to see with their own eyes how the trial, in which she is sharing the dock with her lover and her rival, is affecting her.

 

Both the audience in the courtroom and the majority of her fellow Costa del Sol residents are convinced that Pantoja will not go to prison. "No pasa nada," or "nothing will happen," whisper the chauffeurs waiting for passengers in front of the monumental buildings of the City of Justice in Malaga. Celebrities have always gotten off scot-free in Spain, they say. Local journalists predict that if she is sentenced to less than three years, the sentence will be suspended.

 

Meanwhile, seemingly oblivious to the crisis, the fiesta continues in Marbella, where Italian billionaire and former Formula One magnate Flavio Briatore has just opened the first Spanish branch of his Billionaire Club. The complex, complete with a bar, restaurant and nightclub, is on the golden mile between the center of town and the Puerto Banús marina. There appears to be no lack of wealthy individuals willing to pay up to €1,000 for a table reservation. But today the guests drinking the cocktails are Northern Europeans and, even more so, Arabs and Russians, while the increasingly impoverished Spaniards are left outside.

Even the local politicians, once so adept at raking in the cash, are no longer part of the game today.

regional heath services want payment for treating national holidaymakers

Spain’s autonomous regions say they want compensation for medical attention to National tourists. The movement is being led by Valencia, Murcia and Cataluña, the three regions who have already accepted money from a regional support fund set up by the Government. Now they want another compensation fund so they can treat the tourists. Not all the regions like the idea, with Andalucía saying it does not understand the claim because they believe ‘in the universality of health assistance and in the free circulations of the Spanish citizens, and this implies not making distinctions’. Valencia says however, ‘We are all equal’ and everyone should pay their way. Most of the tourists who turn to the Spanish Health Service do so via the Emergency departments where no facture is issued and no health card asked for. Other regions do not take details of the origin of their patients and that makes it difficult to count how many tourists are attended to.

Tom Jones cancels his concert in Santiago de Comopostela

Tom Jones has had to cancel his only show in Spain which should taken place in Santiago de Compostela at 2230 tonight, for reasons of health. A new date, ‘probably’ in August will be fixed. The news was given by David Lago, the spokesman for the production company Sweet Noctura. Some media say that the Welsh singer has had to be attended to for a sudden loss of his voice although there are no details on his health

If you unwittingly purchased an illegal house in Spain you can expect to receive little or no support from the European Union according to AUAN, an association of mainly British homeowners based in Andalucía.

“Many of us purchased property in Spain believing that membership of the European Union offered an extra safety net should things go wrong. We were very much mistaken.” said Maura Hillen, the association’s president. 

“When you finally find out that you have fallen foul of complex and poorly enforced planning legislation, political corruption, a hopelessly slow judicial system, unscrupulous developers, lawyers of ill repute and other ‘professionals’ who cheerfully flout any reasonable standard of professional behaviour, you will find that the EU is utterly ineffective in terms of its support’ she continued.

“It is not as if the European Union is unaware of the problem” she stated. “It has received hundreds, if not thousands, of petitions from its citizens on this matter over the years. It has sent observers and has produced various reports and is fully aware that illegal houses are a significant problem for Spain . For example, the government of Andalucía, a popular destination for foreign home buyers, has admitted to the existence of at least 300,000 illegal properties within its territory and it is still counting”.

“Nevertheless, the European Commission continues to block all appeals for assistance on the basis that no European laws have been broken. Homeowners face an uphill and expensive legal battle to convince them that they are wrong”.


Humanitarian Appeal

“We have appealed for help for Helen and Len Prior, whose home in Vera was demolished without compensation in 2008, under Article 17 of the EU charter of Human Rights which states that ‘No-one may be deprived of his or her possessions, except in the public interest and in the cases and under the conditions provided for by law, subject to fair compensation being paid in good time for their loss’. The European Commission replied that it has no competence to intervene in cases concerning infringement of individual fundamental rights when EU law is not involved. This notwithstanding the fact that the Charter of Human rights itself is EU law and that it has become national Spanish law as well”.

“Such intransigence on behalf of the European Commission renders the EU Charter of Human Rights meaningless for ordinary people and denies us access to the European Courts of Justice.” Mrs Hillen said. “Your only other option is to submit a case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg when all legal remedies are exhausted in Spain . But, there are two problems with this option. One, it costs an absolute fortune to do so and is well beyond the reach of many and two, the Spanish legal system can bounce you from pillar to post with appeals and counter appeals for years. People like Len and Helen have no chance of ever getting to Strasbourg as far as we can see”.


Economic Appeal

“In addition to appeals on humanitarian grounds, we have also tried to convince the Commission that the reputational damage caused by this problem is discouraging investment in the property market in Spain and thus impeding the free movement of capital within the union, a big ’no no’ under European Law. Whilst the Commission has acknowledged that the purchase of property is covered by EU laws relating to free movement of capital, it says that we have failed to make our case. We think that we have a case but we need more help to make it properly”.


We need your help to continue

“Members of the EU Petitions Committee are very supportive but getting past the lawyers of the EU Commission requires tenacity and skill. We need the right expertise and public support to continue. So, I am appealing to other associations and those with expertise in European Law to come to our aid. We need your help to continue and we can be contacted on info@almanzora-au.org. “

“After all, are we the only ones who find it a bit odd that the EU creates a bailout package to stabilise an economy whose problems were caused in good part by a poorly managed property market whilst ignoring our pleas to help address some fundamental issues which, if resolved, would help everyone?”.

Confused press reports on Ryanair planes running out of fuel

Some English language media are reporting that three Ryanair aircraft have had to make emergency landings in Valencia because they had run out of fuel. The reports say they originally tried to land in Madrid, but summer storms prevented that and they were diverted to Manises Airport in Valencia. The pilots sent out urgent alerts to the control tower to say there were on their way. One of the pilots called for an ambulance and police to be at the scene. The Irish low-cost airline has neither confirmed nor denied that the planes were running out of fuel, but it could be they were only carrying enough fuel to get safely to Madrid. These reports have only just been published, but we think what really happened was that one plane, a Boeing 737, was flying to Alicante from Stansted with 138 passengers and three crew on board, and that storms had preventing them from landing in El Alter twice. They were ordered to Valencia airport in Manises, as the three tanks of fuel were running on empty. The pilots called a ‘Mayday’ but managed to land safely on runway 12. This happened on May 14 this year, so we wonder why there are three reports of something similar happening on the same day now. Ryanair has had a recent argument with the Spanish Airports Authority, AENA, over increased airport taxes, and has reduced the number of its flights to Spain as a result, claiming the rise in costs would ‘seriously hurt the low-cost model’.

Paper Passion, a scent from Geza Schoen for Wallpaper magazine, makes its wearers smell like freshly printed books

Paper Passion, a scent from Geza Schoen for Wallpaper* magazine, makes its wearers smell like freshly printed books. I suppose it can be alternated with "In the Library," a perfume that smells like old books.

Paper Passion fragrance by Geza Schoen, Gerhard Steidl, and Wallpaper* magazine, with packaging by Karl Lagerfeld and Steidl.

“The smell of a freshly printed book is the best smell in the world.” Karl Lagerfeld. 

It comes packaged with inside a hollow carved out of a book with "texts" by "Karl Lagerfeld, Günter Grass, Geza Schoen and Tony Chambers."

Kym Marsh's 'honorary hen' guest

Kym Marsh will be breaking from tradition to enjoy her hen do with a male pal, according to reports. The star will be taking a trip to Marbella in Spain with her Corrie co-star Antony Cotton, who plays Sean Tulley in the soap, The Sun claims. Kym, who plays Weatherfield's Michelle Connor, is taking along her favourite Coronation Street colleagues for the trip before she marries Jamie Lomas. A source was quoted as saying that Antony "will be the belle of the ball and can't wait to let his hair down. "He loves girlie holidays and is so excited to be an honorary hen." Former Hollyoaks star Jamie made headlines in April after he was pictured lying on a bed with a woman who claimed he told her he was single. Kym later said that Jamie had been "an idiot" to get snapped with the woman in a hotel room - but insisted their relationship is solid..

Workers at the Costa del Sol Hospital in Marbella start strike action

Workers at the Costa del Sol Hospital in Marbella have started what is the first indefinite strike in a public clinic in Málaga province. The workers are demonstrating about the cuts from the Junta de Andalucía, increasing the working day and cutting wages. They say there has been no negotiation with the Hospital Management to see how the cuts could be introduced. It’s reported that the action is only affecting only 10% of the patients a day, some 60 in number. 1,800 workers are called to strike in the three public centres managed by the public company, Agencia Santaria Costa del Sol, but only 0.8%, some six workers, came out. The President of the workers committee, Juan José Sánchez, said the low numbers responded to the imposed ‘elevated’ minimum services. They plan to discuss the action so far at a meeting on Wednesday.

The Guadalhorce Hospital is built in Cártama, but remains closed

It will cost two million € to connect the electricity, and nobody wants to pay.

The empty Guadalhorce Hosptial in Cártama - Photo EFE

 

The Guadalhorce Hospital has been completed in Cártama on the Costa del Sol, but it has been empty for several months with no opening date planned.

To continue installing the equipment in the hospital it has to be accepted as meeting requirement, and to show that hospital is as planned, but for that to take place it must be connected to the electricity supply.

The problem is that will cost two million €, although the originally quoted price was 300,000 €, to install the electrical connection required. Endesa say the problem is that to supply the hospital an electrical substation at Villafranca del Guadalhorce will have to be expanded.

Cártama Town Hall has said they cannot meet the extra cost, which has put the budget up five fold. Mayor Jorge Gallardo says he thinks the electricity company is ‘making the most of the circumstances’. 

However the Junta say they think the 2 million bill should be met by the Town Hall. They say the electricity contract was undertaken by Cártama Town Hall.

The Guadalhorce Hospital has been built thanks to an agreement between the Málaga Diputación, the Junta de Andalucía and the Cártama Town Hall, to give the district its long-wanted hospital. Many foreigners live in the inland area and have complained about the time to get to a hospital in Málaga.

Forest Fire out of control Three are known to have died

There are now two active fires, one which has affected 6,000 hectares near La Jonquera and another which has broken out at Portbou.The fire next to the La Jonquera customs point After the large forest fire earlier this month on Tenerife, now there is a new blaze at La Jonquera near the customs post at the French border. The fire is out of control and more than 7,000 hectares have been burned. French fire-fighters are taking part in the fight against the blaze which is being complicated by strong winds. A statement from the Cataluña Government at 8pm said ‘The fire is totally out of control’. 150 soldiers from the Emergency Military Response units in Valencia and Zaragoza are being mobilised. The AP-7 and N-II roads are closed as is a section of the AVE high speed line because the train tunnel which connects with France has been affected. The Ministry of the Interior has asked the public not to go to France by La Jonquera, but though the Cadí tunnel instead. A French person with burns to 80% of his body died later in hospital and at 2130 on Sunday night the number of deaths had risen to three. One 75 year old man from Llers had a heart attack when he saw his home surrounded by flames. People across nine municipalities have to been told to stay at home, according to the Generalitat Fire Service. The Mossos d’Esquadra, Catalan Police, have called on residents of La Jonquera, Agullana, Capmany, Biure, Vilarnadal, Sant Climent Sescebes, Masarac, Llers and Pont de Molins, to stay inside and close doors and windows. A large column of smoke can be seen across the entire district. First indications are the fire started in Fuerte de Bellegarde, a fortress town dating from the XVII on the frontier. The fire is not thought to threaten the population. There is another fire at Portbou, and Catalan Interior Minister said that one person had been seriously hurt and a dozen have suffered injuries of diverse consideration. One French person has burns to 80% of his body.

Spain wildfires: Three killed

 

Officials say the flames have been fanned by strong winds

Forest fires raging in Spain's north-eastern Catalonia region have left three people dead, officials say.

Two French nationals drowned in the sea close to the border with France while trying to escape the flames, Catalonia's interior minister said.

Strong winds gusting up to 90km/h (55mph) have rendered one fire "out of control", he said.

All residents of the county of Alt Emporda - about 135,000 people - have been ordered to stay indoors.

The area is a main link for holidaymakers travelling to and from southern France. Traffic on the cross-border AP-7 motorway was reported to have been severely disrupted on Sunday.

Cardiac arrest

The two French victims were among several people who were trapped by fire as they travelled along the N-260 main coastal road near the town of Portbou and tried to reach the sea by climbing down cliffs, according to Catalan Interior Minister Felip Puig.

The victims were a 60-year-old man and his 15-year-old daughter, Spanish media reported.

A 75-year-old man died after suffering a cardiac arrest in Llers, north-west of the area's main town, Figueres.

At least another 19 people have been wounded, including a French national who suffered burns on 80% of his body when he was caught in his car by the flames.

The fire near Portbou has been brought under control, according to media reports, while a much larger blaze further inland, around the border town of La Jonquera, was still spreading late on Sunday, Felip Puig said.

The fire, travelling at about 5-6km/h, came within 10km of Figueres, Mr Puig said.

A total of about 13,000 hectares (32,000 acres) of forest are estimated to have been devastated in the area, according to the authorities.

Spain Scraps Siesta as Stores Stay Open to Spur Spending

The Spanish shopping siesta may be about to become the latest victim of the sovereign debt crisis. To stimulate spending after a 23 percent drop in retail sales since 2007, the euro region’s fourth-largest economy this month approved measures that allow shops of more than 300 square meters (3,229 square feet) to open for 25 percent longer a week. The new rules may encourage the outlets to sell during the traditional afternoon snooze from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., and on an additional two Sundays or holidays a year for a total of 10. “When everything was fine, nobody complained, but now that things have gone awry, then it’s another story,” said Carmen Cardeno, director general for domestic commerce at the nation’s economy ministry, which created the rules. “We need to evolve and be more flexible.” Spain is following its European neighbors in trying to liberalize shopping hours that have traditionally been checked by governments in the region to protect religious observances, for rest and on behalf of smaller retailers that have fewer resources to staff shops around the clock. England has allowed retailers to open for longer on Sundays during the Olympics than the six hours usually allowed. In France, food shops can be open 13 hours a day and stores located in tourist areas have the right to open on Sundays. Spanish shops are allowed to open for less time than anywhere else in Europe, according to its government, which was asked by retail associations to allow large stores to open 16 Sundays or holidays a year. Some smaller merchants opposed the extension, arguing that the bigger stores would have the necessary manpower and they wouldn’t. The new measures allow stores 18 additional business hours a week and will permit merchants to decide when to cut prices in sales instead of only twice a year. Siesta Time The country’s regions will get to decide how to implement the rules, though they usually follow the lead of the central government. In Madrid, which is an exception, stores have been able to open for as long as they want since July 15. Outlets of less than 300 square meters also have no restrictions on opening hours, though the Spanish tradition of eating at home and having a siesta means most shopkeepers keep their businesses closed for about two hours in the middle of the day. The new measures may not be enough to offset shrinking demand in Spain’s 217 billion-euro ($264 billion) retail industry, which is worsening each year the crisis goes on in a nation where one in four people is out of work. The number of companies seeking bankruptcy protection rose 22 percent from a year earlier to 2,224 in the first quarter, according to the nation’s statistics institute, with commerce being the third- largest contributor behind construction and housing firms and industrial and energy companies. ‘Almost Insignificant’ Javier Millan-Astray, director general of retail association ANGED, said the approved loosening of restrictions on opening hours doesn’t go far enough. “The government’s reform is almost insignificant,” Millan-Astray told reporters in Madrid, when retail groups pushed for 16 Sunday openings. The associations’ “new proposal would help boost consumption and create more jobs because when we open on a holiday, people come and shop. It’s unbelievable that amid this crisis, we have to keep our stores closed.” Spain has been wrestling with the dilemma of preserving its culture and modernizing the industry for decades. The socialist government of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in 2004 rolled back liberalization of opening hours instituted by his predecessor, bringing them back to rules from the 1990s and leaving the country with the tightest regulations of any European country. Job Creation Even with the latest proposals, “retail regulation is hurting both business and customers in Spain,” said Fernando Fernandez, a professor at the IE Business School in Madrid. “Both big and small retailers would benefit from fewer restrictions. When big retailers such as Ikea or Zara open a store, all small shops in that area benefit from that.” Ending the restrictions completely would create 337,581 jobs across all industries and add 17.2 billion euros to economic growth this year, according to a study commissioned by the government, which examined the implications of several scenarios. The nearest of those to the current proposals, under which stores open on 16 Sundays or holidays, could have added 47,945 full-time retail jobs, the study found. About 1.8 million people worked in retail in the first quarter, 0.3 percent less than in the year-earlier period. Stores are also bracing for change as the government looks to the retail industry to help boost tax revenue. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will increase the most common rate of sales tax to 21 percent from 18 percent on Sept. 1, putting an additional brake on consumers’ ability to spend. previous

Spain king ousted as honorary president of World Wildlife Fund branch after elephant hunt

The World Wildlife Fund’s branch in Spain has ousted King Juan Carlos as its honorary president — a title he’d held since 1968 — after deciding his recent elephant hunting safari was incompatible with its goal of conserving endangered species. The announcement Saturday was the latest in a string of bad news for Spain’s royal family, which has been embarrassed by legal and other scandals. The fund said in a statement that “although such hunting is legal and regulated” it had “received many expressions of distress from its members and society in general.” It said members voted at a meeting Saturday in Madrid to “to get rid of the honorary President” by a substantial majority of 226 votes to 13. The Royal Palace declined immediate comment on the announcement. Many Spaniards were dumbfounded when news broke in April that the king had made a secret journey to hunt elephants in Botswana even though it was widely known he was president of the Spanish branch of the fund. Such an opulent indulgence also angered Spaniards at a time when national unemployment hovers around 25 percent, the economy is contracting and there are fears the country may need an international financial bailout. The Spanish public learned of the safari only after the king had to fly back in a private jet to receive emergency medical attention for a broken hip suffered during the trip. In an unprecedented act of royal contrition, a sheepish Juan Carlos apologized, saying as he left the hospital: “I am very sorry. I made a mistake. It won’t happen again.” It was a poignant moment because the royal family had been under intense media scrutiny for all the wrong reasons. The king’s son-in-law, Inaki Urdangarin, is a suspect in a corruption case, accused of having used his position to embezzle several million euros in public contracts through a supposedly not-for-profit foundation he’d set up. Over Easter, the king’s 13-year-old grandson, Felipe Juan Froilan, shot himself in the foot with a shotgun, even though Spanish law dictates you must be 14 to handle a gun. The king on Tuesday decided to take a pay cut in solidarity with civil servants who are to lose their traditional Christmas bonuses as part of the government’s most recent austerity drive. The salaries of Juan Carlos and Crown Prince Felipe will be reduced about 7 percent — to about 272,000 euros ($334,000) and 131,000 euros ($160,000) respectively — in line with government policy, the Royal Palace said. The king and prince acted voluntarily in cutting their salaries, the palace said.

Heightened tensions on the rock of Gibraltar

As the temperature rises between Gibraltar and Spain, Brussels may no longer be able to afford the luxury of brushing the rock's problems under the carpet. PublicServiceEurope.com talks to Gibraltar's MEP Sir Graham Watson about the thorny sovereignty issues

Depression-wracked Spain is looking to divert attention away from the country's unending economic strife by increasing pressure on the tiny populace of Gibraltar, according to a British MEP. Madrid's longstanding sovereignty claim over the rock, a British overseas territory, was dormant but has resurfaced since the Partido Popular came to power - says Sir Graham Watson MEP. Spanish and British patrol boats were engaged in a rare standoff in May when Spanish trawlers ventured into Gibraltar waters. 

Waiting times at the isthmus' border crossing rose to three hours after the incident, as Spanish police underlined their ability to make life difficult for the rock's 30,000 inhabitants. In Brussels, meanwhile, Spain is trying every trick in the book to put spokes in the wheel of the Gibraltar economy, in particular the shipping and gaming industries. "It's getting worse because we've got a right-wing government in Spain trying to whip up popular sentiment to take people's attention away from the economic situation that they've inherited from their predecessors," Watson tells PublicServiceEurope.com.

When the Socialists were in power in Madrid "tensions were much lower", says Watson - who represents Gibraltar in the European parliament. "The level of cooperation between the Gibraltar government and the government in Madrid, and the government in London, was quite good," he adds. "We even had so-called tripartite talks which were going well." Incursions by Spanish fishermen into Gibraltar waters are not new but have increased sharply in number over the last six months. "On one particular occasion, a Guardia Civil patrol boat came in with Spanish fishing boats to try to make a point," says Watson of May's incident. 

"The Gibraltar government in cooperation with the Royal Navy allowed them to make their protest for about three hours and then sent a destroyer down there and they dispersed peacefully." The Gibraltar government has itself taken a hard-line stance compared to its predecessor, he points out. The previous government "turned a blind eye to a certain number of fishing boats coming in" after what was "probably an agreement that had been reached somewhere in a restaurant with fisheries leaders". Watson continues: "The current government said in their manifesto that if they were to win the election, they would no longer turn a blind eye to this; to the environmental damage being done by the trawlers to the ocean floor". Damaging trawling practices are illegal along most parts of the Spanish coast and have no justification in Gibraltar waters, he says. "The new government has tried to enforce that and has come up against opposition whipped up by nationalist sentiment on the side of the Spanish."

Watson wants to bring Gibraltar's leaders to Brussels to discuss a wide range of issues, though the European Commission has been reticent to open up this particular can of worms. Thanks in part to bureaucratic incompetence and willful blindness, the various parties have managed to designate overlapping coastal zones as sites of environmental importance under European Union law. While this is now a Brussels issue, the European environment commissioner is leaving the problem well alone.

"The European commission is notoriously unwilling to get involved in what they say is a dispute between two sovereign governments," says Watson. "The problem from my point of view, representing the people of Gibraltar, is that this leaves the Gibraltar people in a no man's land, because what happens is in the Council of Ministers - the British and the Spanish just agree to let it lie."

While they might decline to bring it up at ministerial level, there are complaints in the European Parliament about Gibraltar's allegedly unsafe ship bunkering practices - business that Spanish ports see as theirs. While Gibraltar is not subject to EU customs and excise laws, its generous offshore tax system has been successfully attacked in the European Court of Justice. Spain is putting pressure on the commission to clamp down on internet gaming, one of Gibraltar's specialities. Using a tactic widely employed by Turkish authorities to annoy Cyprus, cruise ships that dock in Gibraltar are sometimes subsequently refused access to Spanish ports.

"The big mistake was made prior to 1986 when Spain joined the Union," says Watson. "We should never have allowed Spain to become a member of the union without sorting out the sovereignty question." So what is to be done? Watson shrugs his shoulders and calls for more talks. Gibraltar is a tiny piece of land that Brussels would rather forget. But if tensions keep rising, it may no longer be possible to keep brushing the rock's problems under the carpet.

ETA chief Benat Atorrasagasti Ordonez’s decade of living as a fugitive came to an abrupt end when police raided his rented flat in Leith, ­Edinburgh.

ONE of the world’s most wanted terrorists escaped an international manhunt … by working as a van driver in Livingston.

But ETA chief Benat Atorrasagasti Ordonez’s decade of living as a fugitive came to an abrupt end when police raided his rented flat in Leith, ­Edinburgh.

Brazen Atorrasagasti had been ­living there under a fake name with his wife and their children, while working for a courier firm in West Lothian.

The 36-year-old terror chief, of San Sebastian, in the Basque region of Spain, will appear in court in Edinburgh tomorrow and is expected to be extradited for trial in Europe.

Spanish authorities say he was living in Scotland as a “sleeper” – lying low while waiting for orders from the Basque terror group’s high command.

He is wanted in both France and Spain and last night it was still unclear which of the two countries he would be returned to.

Atorrasagasti went on the run in 2001 after the Spanish Civil Guard smashed the terror cell he had been working with.

Alicante terror blast

He has been on Spain’s most wanted list since 2008 and is thought to have helped at least 10 gunmen cross the border between France and Spain.

Spanish TV yesterday reported that he had been held after an armed raid at 10pm on Friday but Scottish police denied any of the officers involved were carrying guns.

They continued to search his home into the early hours of yesterday.

A woman who was with Atorrasagasti was also arrested.

She refused to give her name to police and was later released.

Lothian and Borders Police said: “A 36-year-old man has been arrested in Edinburgh on two European arrest warrants in connection with historical crimes committed in Spain and France.

“The man will appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Monday under the terms of the Extradition Act.”

It is understood the police operation had input from Scotland Yard’s anti-terrorist squad and elite special branch detectives.

A judge and prosecutors at the National Court in Madrid, who specialise in terror cases, made a formal written request to British authorities to arrest Atorrasagasti.

The Interior Ministry said he had been living with his family in the property in Leith “for some time”.

They added: “Everything suggests he was part of ETA’s reserve apparatus, groups formed by fugitives who are prepared to form active cells when the terror leadership decides.

“He joined ETA in 1996 as a member of their transport command, with the mission of helping ETA personnel and material cross the border between France and Spain.

“This group were dismantled in 2001 in a Civil Guard counter-terrorist operation but he managed to flee.

“After escaping to France in 2001, he joined the clandestine ETA terrorist structures there.

“His fingerprints have been found in several seizures of terrorist material there.

“Because of that, in 2008, he was sentenced in his absence to five years in prison by a court in Paris.”

Attack in Santander

Atorrasagasti, who is the tenth ETA suspect held in the UK since 2007, was linked to one of ETA’s most infamous murders. He is said to have helped two assassins flee to France after the cold-blooded execution of politician Miguel Angel Blanco in 1997.

Blanco, 29, was kidnapped and held hostage for three days before being shot twice in the head, despite massive public demonstrations around Spain calling for his release.

The murder horrified Spain and on Friday thousands turned out in 40 cities across the country to mark the 15th anniversary of his death.

Anti-terrorism experts say Britain became a favourite bolthole for ETA after France began co-operating with Spain to track down fugitives living there.

Just last month, police captured Antonio Troitino, one of the terror group’s most prolific killers, at a flat in west London.

The 55-year-old has been convicted of 22 murders, including a car bomb attack which killed five police officers in Madrid in 1986.

ETA explosives expert Ignacio Lerin, 38, was held in the same raid.

Spanish intelligence sources say there are around 180 ETA terrorists on the run.

The organisation have killed more than 800 people since they launched their campaign for an independent Basque state in the late 1960s.

In January last year, they announced a “permanent ceasefire” following more than 40 years of bloodshed.

Spanish civil servants out against pay cuts

Thousands of Spanish civil servants left work and took to the streets in angry protest against new sweeping austerity measures including wage cuts and tax increases. In Madrid, hundreds-strong groups of government workers blocked traffic in different parts of the city. As dusk fell, bands of protesters marched, stopping to jeer outside the headquarters of the conservative and socialist parties before heading to parliament. About 500 civil servants dressed in black rallied at the city's central square Puerta del Sol. Some women wore veils, as if at funerals. Protesters blew whistles and horns. In Valencia, several hundred Justice Ministry workers shouted "hands up, this is a stick-up" at a protest rally. The latest bout of austerity is prompting widespread opposition, not least from civil servants whose wages were cut by 5 per cent in 2010 in the first round of austerity cuts. The government is now axing their extra Christmas payment in what amounts to another 7 per cent pay cut. Spanish civil servants are not highly paid, with many earning as little as €1,000 (£787) a month. Librarian Isabel Perez said: "Our wages have already been cut and now they take away the Christmas payment. "I don't make it to the end of the month as it is. "The extra payment gave some relief. We're not exactly millionaires." She earns €1,300 (£1,020) a month and has already faced a yearly €330 (£260) wage cut.

Gang of five drug traffickers arrested on the Costa del sol

The Police have broken up a gang of drug traffickers on the Costa del Sol. Five arrests have been made and 1,600 kilos of hashish impounded in an operation called ‘Sarco’. Although the five, aged between 32 and 67, were based on the Costa del Sol they often changed their address to avoid being localised. The operation remains open, as police analyse documents taken and a 9mm pistol which was loaded. The investigated started at the end of last year when the police became aware of the group and started to indentify its members. The gang of several nationalities moved the drugs from Spain to Holland, Great Britain and Ireland, according to a Ministry of the Interior statement on Saturday.

Civil servants, many of whom earn as little as 1,000 euros a month, protest across the country at salary cuts and tax rises.

Spain's Public Workers Protest.Spanish workers blocked streets and railways in Madrid and other cities on Friday in protests against new austerity measures they said hurt ordinary people more than the bankers and politicians who caused the economic crisis.

As the Spanish government approved the deepest cuts in 30 years, including a second round of wage cuts and reduced benefits for civil servants, Spain's main unions called on public workers to strike in September.

The date of the strike will be announced at a later stage, the unions said in a statement.

Traffic was blocked in central Madrid for hours as hundreds of public workers - many wearing black t-shirts in support of striking miners or green ones for public school teachers - shouted "cuts for bankers, not workers" outside ministries and public offices.

Workers for state railway Renfe blocked train tracks in Madrid on several occasions throughout the day. Employees of local public TV station TeleMadrid blocked a highway outside the city.

Unusually, several policemen also joined the protests.

"Civil servants tolerated the first round of cuts because we wanted to show solidarity, but this has reached a limit," said Pedro, a 41-year-old nurse. "It can't always be the same people paying the price."

Friday was the third consecutive day of protests since Spain's prime minister Mariano Rajoy unveiled fresh austerity measures designed to slash 65bn euros from the public deficit by 2014 as he tries to dodge a full state bailout after requesting a European rescue for the country's ailing banks in June.

"Spain is going through one of its most dramatic moments," deputy prime minister Saenz de Santamaria said after a cabinet meeting at which sales tax hikes and spending cuts were approved.

Admitting that the austerity measures were "neither simple, nor easy, nor popular," she said the government would try to enact the measures "with the maximum justice and equity."

More than one hundred public workers gathered, whistling and booing, outside the presidential palace where Rajoy's ministers convened to approve the new budget plan.

Spain's civil servants - whose wages were cut 5 percent on average in 2010 in the first round of austerity cuts - are usually paid 14 times a year.

The government is now axing an extra payment made just before Christmas. The prime minister, his cabinet and lawmakers will also have their salaries cut.

At the local, regional and central level, there are around 3 million public servants in Spain, many of whom earn as little as 1,000 euros a month.

The conservative government has come under mounting criticism that the austerity measures are hitting the middle and working classes the hardest.

In Valencia, several hundred justice ministry workers shouted "hands up, this is a stick-up" at a protest rally.

In the Puerta del Sol in downtown Madrid, about 500 civil servants gathered, about half dressed in black. Some women wore veils, as if at funerals. Protesters blew whistles and horns.

"The government should go after the big companies that don't pay tax and bankers that have committed fraud and have run this country to the ground," said Pablo Gonzalez, 52, who works for the Madrid regional government.

"Instead, we have to pay."

Spain's Novagalicia Bank seeks 6 billion euros aid

Novagalicia Bank has asked for 6 billion euros (4.8 billion pounds) to repair its damaged balance sheet as Spain's weaker banks join the queue for the European Union's rescue package. The unlisted regional bank, taken over by the state last year when it became clear it could not cope with huge loans to a collapsed real estate sector, is likely to be among the first to receive EU funds. The bank, formed from a merger of savings banks in the north-western region of Galicia, has asked for more than it needs for government-enforced writedowns on property assets, hoping to cover losses on other areas of its loan book. "We have to make provisions of about 4.2 billion euros, but we have drawn up a more wide-ranging recapitalisation plan," a bank spokesman said on Thursday. Four nationalised banks -- Bankia (BKIA.MC), CatalunyaCaixa, Novagalicia and Banco de Valencia (BVA.MC) -- are expected to receive the bulk of European aid, though the amount needed for each has yet to be finalised, financial and government sources have said. These banks will receive a liquidity lifeline of 30 billion euros at the end of July to cover immediate needs and then a capital injection of about 45 billion euros in mid-November, according to a document published by the European Union's temporary EFSF bailout fund. Around 20 billion of this second tranche will come from the liquidity lifeline, keeping the remaining 10 billion from that lifeline as a long-term buffer.

Just a few minutes after the start of the DGT campaign, a Guardia Civil was hit by a drugged motorist

The DGT traffic department’s first ever anti-drugs campaign got underway on Monday, and minutes after it started a drugged motorist tried to run down a member of the Guardia Civil just a few metres from a control point where, because it was the first day, the Guardia Civil had invited journalists. It’s now known that the driver had taken methadone. The injured agent, Ángel Noé Riviero Rodriguez, jumped away in time and was only slightly hurt. Director of the DGT, María Segui, has said that some 500 deaths could be avoided if drugs had not been taken. The control point was located on the road to la Cañada Real, the shanty town outside Madrid, and she said that nearly 20% of the people stopped had taken drugs. Driving drugged carries a 500 € fine and the removal of six points from your licence. If the driver looks under the symptoms of drugs, he could be indicted for a crime against the highway safety, which get prison sentences of six months and the removal of the driving licence between one and four years.

Thousands of people have been attended to for jellyfish stings on the Costa del Sol as a plague of the creatures has been approaching the shore.

The numbers started to rise over the weekend, bringing inconvenience to bathers, affecting the whole coast. The species involved is the ‘Pelagia Noctiluca’, which is complicated to control because of their small size and because they sting a lot. Efforts are being made to try and collect the creatures in fishing baskets, which are then taken to the shore and buried. Cleaning ships contracted in Málaga city alone collected 3,900 kilos of jelly fish over the weekend. More waves of jelly fish are expected over the next few days. A lack of rain and absence of turtles has favoured the growth in the jellyfish numbers.

Spain gets its €30bn bailout, but it comes with new cuts

Eurozone finance ministers agreed yesterday to the latest in a series of packages aimed at stemming Spain's financial crisis, by bringing forward some previously committed aid to the country's ailing banks and giving the government more time to cut its budget deficit. However, the strings attached include yet more austerity measures for a country struggling with recession and where nearly one in four are jobless. Protests grow daily, while the financial markets gave Spain little respite as wrangling continued over providing more money for the banks. The deal hammered out overnight in Brussels will allow an injection of €30bn into Spanish banks by the end of July if needed, which falls short of the €62bn auditors say the lenders need to prop up balance sheets battered by a property bubble which burst in 2008. Last month, European ministers decided to lend the banks up to €100bn, but doubts about how much they will in fact get, as well as when and under what conditions, have pushed up Spain's borrowing costs to levels which could force the eurozone's fourth-largest economy to seek a bailout that Europe may be ill able to afford. The other main plank in the accord gives Spain until 2014, rather than 2013, to cut its deficit to below a eurozone limit of 3 per cent of GDP, down from 8.9 per cent last year. Spain pledged earlier this year to slash its deficit to 5.8 per cent of GDP in 2012 by saving €45bn through spending cuts and tax rises, but with income tax revenues diving, even these draconian measures have made that goal look too ambitious. Spain's Economy Minister, Luis de Guindos, said yesterday's deal was "frankly very positive" for Spanish banks and that "there have been no more implications and impositions than those that had been set out beforehand". His denial notwithstanding, Mr de Guindos is today due to give Spain's parliament details of another €30bn in cuts – €10bn this year, the rest in coming years – as well as increasing taxes, and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's conservative People's Party government has already said it is planning to increase value added tax. The PP had ruled out increasing VAT when it was elected last November amid widespread discontent over austerity measures imposed by its Socialist predecessors. Financial markets gave Spain little respite after the deal, which still left open the question of when Europe will set up a permanent bailout fund – the European Stability Mechanism, originally due to be up and running this month. Even when the ESM is ready, it may have to wait until a single European banking supervisor is set up next year before it can fund Spanish banks. The widely watched interest rate on Spanish 10-year government bonds has barely eased since Monday and is stuck near the 7 per cent level at which Portugal's government was forced to ask for a full-scale bailout last year. "Hopes have faded to the extent that we have gone from statements to deeds. If the capital injection depends on setting up a supervisor, the (bank) bailout will take time, because Germany and its satellites can delay approval of the supervisor," an editorial in Spain's leading newspaper El Pais said. Miners, traditionally the most combative members of Spain's labour movement, have meanwhile been blocking dozens of roads and train lines for weeks in protest at a 63 per cent cut in subsidies to the coal industry, which they say will destroy whole communities where no alternative jobs exist. Two columns of miners have been marching hundreds of miles from valleys in northern regions Asturias, Aragón and León and converged on Madrid yesterday as they sang the traditional and stirring "Santa Bárbara" anthem about a pit disaster. Last night, they gathered at the capital's emblematic Puerta del Sol, the scene of riotous celebrations when Spain won the European football championship last week, to hold a mass demonstration later today against what they see as a full-blown attack on the welfare state.

Two Britons gored in Spain bull run

Two Britons and an American have been gored in the running of the bulls through the streets of Pamplona in northern Spain, the regional government has said. Thousands of daredevil runners charged ahead of six fighting bulls on the third day of the annual San Fermin festival. The trio were gored by an animal which broke free from the pack just before entering the city's bullring, a Navarra government statement said. The bull charged the runners as they huddled on the ground beside a wooden fence, trying to protect themselves from it. After several moments of tension, the animal was lured away by stick-wielding cowherds. None of the three was seriously injured. The morning runs are the highlight of the annual San Fermin festival, which became world famous with the publication of Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises. The regional government said one Briton, aged 20, was gored in the right leg while the other, aged 29, was gored in the left leg. The American, aged 39, was gored in the right calf muscle. The three, identified only by their initials, were taken to the city's Navarra Hospital. Four other people were treated for cuts and bruises sustained in the adrenaline-fuelled dash along the 928-yard course. The run lasted just over three minutes. The bulls from the Cebado Gago breeding ranch were herded from a holding pen in the city centre to the bullring, where they are normally killed by matadors in afternoon bullfights. Fifteen people have been killed by bulls in the runs since record began to be kept in 1924. The runs take place daily until July 14 and are broadcast on state television.

Spain's most famous fiesta hit by economic downturn

Spain's most famous fiesta, the San Fermin bull running festival in Pamplona, is taking a hit from the economic crisis as revellers cut corners to save money. The cobbled streets of the northern city are still packed with party-goers from around the world, drawn by the carnival atmosphere and the chance to be chased by half-tonne bulls every morning. But hotels report lower occupancy rates, and sales in restaurants and bars are down. Instead, many people choose to eat homemade food and drink sangria and beer bought in supermarkets in the streets during the nine-day festival that began on Friday. Luis Armendariz, manager of the Cafe Iruna, a Parisian-style spot once frequented by Ernest Hemingway that overlooks the central Plaza de Castillo, said he expects sales during the festival to be down by 15-20 percent over 2011. This San Fermin festival looks set to be the worst for business since Spain's economic crisis erupted in 2008 with the collapse of a property bubble that has sent the unemployment rate soaring above 24 percent, the 48-year-old added. "We have really felt an impact. There are fewer people but what really affects us is the street drinking," he said as he stood behind the counter of the cafe, jammed with dancing revellers wearing traditional white and red garb. The historic centre of Pamplona, the capital of the region of Navarra, was full of people carrying plastic bags full of bottles of beer and sangria, which they swilled from plastic cups as they stood in groups. Many people held picnics of sandwiches and other snacks while sitting on the ground in squares across the city. Israel Jimenez, 26, and Rafael Gonzalez, 23, two soldiers from the southwestern city of Seville, said they were eating store bought food because prices at bars and restaurants shoot up in Pamplona during the festival. But they said they were still willing to open their wallets to have a good time. "We will think about the crisis tomorrow. But you have to live the day and be happy here because that is why we came here," said Jimenez as he sat on bench alongside his friend in front of the Cafe Iruna. Pamplona city hall predicts about half a million people will flock to the city of 200,000 residents over the nine days of the festival, roughly the same as turned out in other years. Hoteliers are less optimistic. The Navarra Hospitality Association predicts hotel occupancy in Pamplona during the fiesta, which dates back to medieval times, will be down by around 10 percent over last year. Fewer people stay overnight and those who do come are saving cash by staying for fewer days, with most checking in for just two nights, said the association's secretary general, Nacho Calvo. "There is a lack of promotion of the festival on the part of the government. The festival is very famous but you have to maintain the brand. And that is not being done," he said. With Spain under pressure to rein in its public deficit, the budget for the San Fermin festival this year was slashed by 8.0 percent over 2011 to 2.4 million euros ($3.0 million), its fourth straight annual decline. Pamplona officials are banking on the festival -- made famous worldwide by Hemingway's 1926 novel "The Sun Also Rises -- bringing in more than 70 million euros in tourism earnings this year. Bars are allowed to remain open until 6:00 am during the fiesta and the event accounts for up to a third of total annual sales at some establishments in the centre of the city.

Spain opens fraud case on ex-Bankia chief Rato

Spanish court opened a fraud case on Wednesday against former executives of state-rescued lender Bankia (BKIA.MC), including one-time IMF chief Rodrigo Rato, as public rage engulfs a bank which is in line for the biggest share of an EU bailout. The lawsuit was brought by one of Spain's smaller political parties and accuses 33 officials including Rato - a former government minister who stood down as Bankia chairman in May - of fraud, price-fixing and falsifying accounts.Under Spanish law, the crimes carry jail sentences ranging from six months to six years but commentators said that while corporate corruption cases grab the headlines in Spain, they rarely resulted in convictions. "It will be a long-running, complicated case," said Pedro Schwartz, economics professor at San Pablo University in Madrid. Spaniards are angry with the political and business elites in general as the government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has imposed austerity policies and had to seek European Union aid to save a series of banks including Bankia from collapse. Fury is particularly directed at Bankia as hundreds of thousands of small savers were persuaded to buy shares in the lender when it was floated on the stock market in 2011, only to see their investments all but wiped out in less than a year. Protesters have staged street demonstrations in their thousands, banging pots and pans and blowing whistles outside Bankia branches. HOODWINKED "There are many citizens who feel they were hoodwinked," said Joaquim Bosch, spokesman for judges group 'Judges for Democracy'. "It's too early to say whether there were crimes committed or criminal responsibilities, but it calls for a thorough investigation." The case, brought by minority political party UPyD led by charismatic Basque politician Rosa Diez, is one of many complaints brought against Bankia, which requested 19 billion euros ($24 billion) in state aid in May. Two sources who know the judge assigned to the Bankia case, Fernando Andreu, say he is likely to handle the probe aggressively. Andreu is friendly with human rights investigator Baltasar Garzon, best known for ordering the arrest of former Chilean military leader Augusto Pinochet in 1998. The judge will probably group together other cases with this one, a source with knowledge of the matter said. In the case brought by the UPyD party, the High Court is demanding that Rato and other executives appear in person. Bankia Chief Executive Francisco Verdu, the only director left at the bank since Rato stepped down in May, announced his resignation late Wednesday after learning about the probe. The court also wants former Bank of Spain governor Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordonez to appear as a witness, alongside the partner in auditor Deloitte who was in charge of signing off on Bankia's results, and the chairman of the Spanish stock market regulator. "It's a good sign," said a spokesman for a group of shareholders looking to launch a similar case. "We still have to be a little cautious because there aren't any formal charges yet." SELLING TICKETS FOR THE TITANTIC The syndicate of banks selling shares in Bankia's initial public offering was led by Bank of America/Merrill Lynch (BAC.N), Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), JPMorgan (JPM.N) and UBS (UBSN.VX). Other banks had smaller roles in the deal. One source at a bank involved in the IPO said it had to hand over files on the deal. A banker at one of the global coordinators of the IPO said the banks behind the listing believed they were safe from legal challenges because risks had been explained to investors in a prospectus. "It's like attacking the people who sold the tickets for the Titanic," he said, asking not to be identified. The government took over Bankia in May after it became clear the bank could not cope with losses on indiscriminate lending during a property boom that collapsed four years ago. Rato, who was in a former government of the ruling centre-right People's Party which is now led by Rajoy, was IMF managing director in 2004-2007. A spokesman for the Spanish government said: "Regarding Bankia all we can say is that one must respect an assumption of innocence and judicial independence." Bankia holds more than 10 percent of Spanish deposits and is the biggest bank likely to receive a capital injection when European bailout funds materialise later this year. It is unclear in what form the lender will continue trading once it receives bailout funds, but there is no doubt its image has been severely damaged by the rescue. "The name is finished, they will have to find a new one," said a high-ranking source at the bank.

Spanish Formula One test driver loses an eye in UK accident

It’s now known that the 32 year old Spanish Formula One driver, María de Villota, has lost the use of her right eye after a serious accident at the Duxford airfield in the U.K. She suffered serious head injuries and to the face and her racing team Marussia say she is stable. She has been acting as a test driver for the team this season. The surgical team at Addenbrook Hospital in Cambridge ‘carried out a long interventio'n to treat the serious head injuries. How the accident happened is being investigated, but it happened on Tuesday after the first lap when she hit a support lorry ramp. Witnesses say the front part her car was completely destroyed after accelerating against the back of the lorry. María de Villota was the first Spanish woman to get into Formula One. She is the daughter of Emilio de Villota who was a Formula One test pilot in the 80’s.

Gay cruise prohibited from Morocco goes to Málaga

The ‘Nieuw Amsterdam’ cruise liner has been diverted to Málaga port after the Moroccan Government refused permission to dock in Casablanca. The reason most of the 1,564 passengers is gay. As Gay Pride marches were held last weekend in cities around the world, those on the cruise were told of the diversion to Málaga. El País reports one passenger, Eric from Washington, saying ‘I was in the hairdressers when the captain said over the megaphone that the visit to Casablanca had been cancelled for security reasons, and because the arrival of the liner had become a matter of public controversy. The owner of the liner, Holland America Line, and the travel agency who arranged the trip, RSVP Vacations which specialises in the gay market, said it was the Moroccan authorities who rejected any homosexuals, half of them from the United States, disembarking in the Mahreb Country.

Fires in eastern Spain have destroyed 50,000 acres

The forest fires affecting eastern Spain have already destroyed some 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres) in the province of Valencia and continue to spread, given that ongoing changes in wind direction are making it difficult for authorities to control and extinguish them. More than 2,000 people worked all night to try and put out the worst fires Spain has experienced since 1994, which have produced a huge cloud of smoke and ash that on Sunday morning covered a large part of Valencia. The difficulty in controlling the blazes was confirmed on Sunday by the Military Emergency Unit, or UME, which said that - although 900 soldiers were sent to the zone to help with firefighting tasks - the situation is still problematic because "the wind changes direction constantly and the temperature is high." "It's rather difficult to handle the situation," said an official from the UME, which has also dispatched fire engines and 250 other vehicles to the region, as well as three helicopters. The UME has been deployed in the area since last Thursday, when a fire broke out in the town of Cortes de Pallas, and UME personnel are analyzing the "defense of sensitive points, like areas where there could be people and homes." According to government sources, Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz is following the situation in Valencia, where the Civil Protection service has declared a Level 2 emergency, which activates national aid for the region to deal with the catastrophe, although the management of the alert and leadership in handling the situation continue to reside with the autonomous regional authorities. The general director of the Civil Guard, Arsenio Fernandez de Mesa, met with the head of that institution in Valencia, Gen. Fernando Santafe Soler, and other top officials to evaluate the situation. More than 300 members of that security force are working to battle the fires in the area. Officials with the State Meteorological Agency told Efe that the minimum temperatures will fall somewhat on Sunday night and that they are expecting a notable decline in maximum temperatures on Monday, while the east wind that is forecast to blow starting in the afternoon should help firefighters extinguish the blazes. In fact, on Sunday morning a light rain fell in the northern part of the Castellon district and on zones affected by the Andilla fire, which broke out on Friday. During the night, 1,100 people participated in efforts to put out the fire in the town of Cortes de Pallas (another focal point of the blazes), and 800 more were working in Andilla trying to establish a perimeter to prevent the fires from spreading and stabilize them. Currently, about 20 municipalities have been affected by the fires and 14 highways have been cut due to heavy smoke. The firefighting teams are also trying to prevent the Andilla fire from spreading into the Sierra Calderona nature park.

Spanish hotel rates plunge

If you're tempted by the idea of a city break in Spain, book now because hotel prices are falling fast. The Sunday Times reports that hoteliers are suffering because many Spanish people can no longer afford to travel. As a result, the biggest bargains are to be found in four- and five-star hotels, where some room rates are around £30 a night, which is lower than a night in a hostel. Even in July, a night at the four-star Beatriz in Toledo is just £42, which is £6 less than a neighbouring one-star hotel. In Valencia, four-star properties cost an average of £45 per night, with five-star hotels charging around £65. Ted Wake of Kirker Holidays told the Sunday Times: "Numerous hotels, especially in the south, have been dependent on rich people coming from Madrid and the north for the summer. These clients aren't booking this year, and the hotels have decided to make dramatic cuts in order to generate turnover." Flights are also affordable, with the average price of a return flight from London to Madrid coming in at £84 and Valencia at £104. However, the cost of package deals to coastal areas hasn't dropped as foreign demand is still strong.