Fuente Álamo Civil Guard arrest man for a double stabbing on a beach in Mazarrón

Spanish man has been arrested for a double stabbing on a beach in Mazarrón this Saturday, where he attacked his estranged wife and her new boyfriend in broad daylight. La Verdad newspaper said the assault was witnessed by the couple’s two teenage children.The two victims were both seriously hurt – the woman, with a stab wound in the stomach, and her boyfriend in the back. He was prevented from causing them any further injury by witnesses who saw what happened on the Playa del Castellar in Puerto de Mazarrón and threw rocks at the assailant.Named by the paper as M.F.H., he was captured by the Fuente Álamo Civil Guard early on Saturday evening after escaping the beach by car.

Andalucía High Court of Justice has ordered the demolition of 80 homes and a 4-star hotel in the Guadalmina area of Marbella

Ruling from the Andalucía High Court of Justice has ordered the demolition of 80 homes and a 4-star hotel in the Guadalmina area of Marbella, which contravene current planning regulations in force in the town – the local urban plan of 1986. The hotel is named as part of the Barceló chain.News of the sentence was published by El Mundo newspaper this week, a ruling which was given this June when, the paper said, the magistrates who took the decision were aware that the town’s new urban was shortly to be approved. In fact, Marbella’s new PGOU general urban plan was approved by the Town Hall last week and it makes these two buildings due for demolition legal.
Speaking to the EFE news agency, the Junta de Andalucía’s territorial planning and housing councillor, Juan Espadas, said the aim is to push through regional government approval of the plan as soon as possible, hoping to pass it in half the time set down by law. Legally, the Junta has a time limit of five months to give its definitive approval.Felix Romero, spokesman for the Partido Popular local government in Marbella, told Europa Press on Wednesday that the Town Hall will ask the court to postpone carrying out the sentence, saying there is ‘no common sense or logic’ in demolishing the buildings.

Official limousine stolen in Spain

Ulla Schmidt flew to Alicante at her own expense, but her driver drove the nearly 2410km journey in her $196,000 limousine to Spain from Berlin to ferry her to and from official meetings with German retirees in southeastern Spain.

"Her chauffeur's accommodation was broken into and the car keys were stolen," said a Health Ministry spokesman.

Germany's Social Democrat (SPD) health minister came under pressure to explain why she took her official limousine, complete with chauffeur, to Spain where the vehicle was stolen.Opposition politicians demanded Ulla Schmidt provide more details about the affair.The incident could damage the SPD who trail Merkel's conservatives by more than 10 points in opinion polls in the run-up to a September 27 federal election.

Increased usage of antidepressants and tranquillizers

In Spain, 24 percent of women use antidepressants and 31 percent use tranquillizers -- sometimes used to help people sleep, researchers said. Lead author Sonsoles Perez of the Las Aguilas Health Centre in Madrid and colleagues studied 121 women in Madrid ages 25-65 using family dysfunction surveys and the additive scale used to evaluate social readjustment. The psychopharmaceuticals analyzed were antidepressants and benzodiazepines -- sedatives, anxiety reducing, anti-convulsant or muscle relaxants. Although one might think that family conflicts lead to greater consumption of psychopharmaceuticals among women, we did not find any such relationship Perez said in a statement. Some people with family, work-related or financial problems do not feel able to tackle their problems and fall back on the use of drugs.The study, published in the journal Atencion Primaria, also found in 78.6 percent of cases, these drugs are prescribed in primary health centers. The diagnosis is recorded in the patient's medical records in 64.5 percent of cases, with the primary causes being depression at 11.6 percent, anxiety at 9.9 percent and 3.3 percent of insomnia. The researchers found benzodiazepine use increases with age, but there was no similar finding with antidepressant use.

Marbella constructor José Ávila Rojas, arrived at the prison in Albolote

Marbella constructor José Ávila Rojas, arrived at the prison in Albolote on Wednesday morning to complete an eight year sentence for four counts of tax fraud. His appeal against last year’s sentence from the Granada provincial court was turned down by the Supreme Court last month, and it left no other means open to try and avoid entering prison.The fraud relates to the purchase and sale of two properties in Marbella, Málaga province, at the beginning of this decade, calculated as amounting to 3.5 million € in unpaid IVA and income tax. The sentence from the Granada court last summer also ordered the businessman to pay a fine of 10 million €.
EFE reports he was due to spend Wednesday in the prison’s admissions department before being assigned to a cell at some stage on Thursday.

Beach sewers and pumping stations that are still in use on the Western Costa del Sol.

Old concrete structures covered in graffiti they have to take a detour around while strolling along the shore are sewers and pumping stations that are still in use. And they may never learn, unless perhaps just after a spell of rough weather, that beneath their feet is a fragile network of pipes. Some of these structures have been there for 40 years, but it is only now that serious plans have been made to remove them. After all the authorities are not short of reasons. The sewers and pumping stations are not only an inconvenience to bathers but they are also in a kind of legal limbo as they occupy the strip known as the public maritime domain protected by the Coasts Law. They also complicate beach regeneration work and are in places so fragile that breakages and sewage leaks onto the beaches are not uncommon.
The plans for the first phase of the 60 million euro scheme have already been drawn up by Acosol, the water company that belongs to the Mancomunidad de Municipios on the Western Costa del Sol.

No official figures for the number of Britons going home, because nobody is counting.

The change from the peseta to the euro caused inflation that ended the "cheap living" forever.

No official figures for the number of Britons going home, because nobody is counting. But Spain is certainly counting its unemployed, up to 17% with more than four million out of work. And that has a painful effect for the Britons who prospered during Spain's boom times. Jim and Caireen Candlin met in Spain, married in Gibraltar and decided to raise their young children on the Costa Brava.Estate agent Marion Atkins is quitting Spain to run a pub in Britain Aberdeen-born Caireen says: "I think Spain is ideal for bringing up children. That's why I'm staying here while he goes back to the UK." Jim is heading home to retrain as an electrician after building work dried up. He says: "We've both worked for firms that have gone bust in the past year. "When we couldn't pay the rent one month and had to phone our parents for help, we realised economically it wasn't working here. We couldn't carry on like that." So now the couple have decided to leave the area, and possibly the country.Like Jim and Caireen, Barnaby Griffin and his wife Rebecca have been forced to live apart by a search for work. Rebecca returned after two years in Orihuela Costa to do temping in London, while Barnaby stays on as a performer in the local bars. "All my friends our age are struggling," he says. "People talk about living the dream but all it seems to be is sunshine, cheap cigs and wine. This area had low wages anyway and we're fed up living hand to mouth."

Russian crime gangs on the Costa del Sol are injecting kidnap victims with what they claim is an experimental KGB virus

Russian crime gangs on the Costa del Sol are injecting kidnap victims with what they claim is an experimental KGB virus to terrify them into paying ransoms. In the latest case, four Russians told their victim that he would die within 24 hours if he did not pay them €12,000 (£10,000). But the businessman called their bluff and alerted the police, who arrested the gang. The kidnappers had seized the Russian businessman in the middle of a street last week in Estepona, a Spanish resort popular with British tourists and expatriates. They put a hood over his head and bundled him into a waiting car. After being held for two days, during which he was subjected to threats, beatings and electric shocks, he was injected with a substance which the gang claimed was an experimental virus developed by the KGB, the former Russian security service. The man was told that he would develop a fever, start sweating profusely, feel sick, then begin vomiting. Soon afterwards, they said, he would die. The businessman did start sweating and feeling sick, and the gang tried to convice him that the only way they could save him was by injecting an antidote which they possessed. When they took him to get the cash from a bank they let him slip away, believing that he would return with the money. Instead, heavily armed police surrounded them. The Spanish Organised Crime Unit arrested three men and a woman. All were Russian nationals aged between 24 and 57 and they have been charged with kidnapping, torture and possession of illegal fire arms. Police seized a mobile phone from one kidnapper, in which he had photographed the way the gang tortured the victim. Officers said that there had been a spate of kidnappings in this part of the Costa del Sol. In March, the wife and daughter of a Russian businessman were kidnapped in Estepona. The gang threatened to kill them unless the husband paid a €2 million (£1.7 million) ransom, but they were rescued within 24 hours. The Russian mafia has been gaining ground in Spain since the decade-long property boom allowed many gangs an easy outlet to launder money. But police operations have detained two leading members of Russian crime cartels in the past 12 months. Last year, Gennadios Petrov, the head of the Tambovskaya-Malyshevkaya gang, was arrested at his neo-classical mansion in Calvi, one of the most exclusive villages in Majorca. In a major operation, codenamed Troika, 20 alleged members of the organised crime organisation said to have been led by Petrov were arrested in Majorca, Málaga, Alicante, Valencia and Madrid. Police seized 23 luxury cars including Bentleys and Ferraris and €200,000 (£170,000) in cash. Last weekend, Tariel Oniani, a Georgian considered to be the No2 in the Russian criminal empire in Spain, was arrested in Moscow. In 2005, Oniani fled his mansion near Barcelona after a tip-off from a corrupt Spanish official on the eve of a major police operation against Russian crime gangs. He is expected to face charges of laundering illicit cash obtained from criminal activities in Russia into property, restaurants and car sales in Spain.

George Lavery, aged 42, was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay £5,500 in compensation. John Hamilton,was sentenced to 2 and a half

George Lavery, aged 42, from Clapham Common in London was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay £5,500 in compensation. John Hamilton, aged 51, from St Leonards in Sussex was sentenced to 2 and a half years in prison and ordered to pay £4,500 in compensation. Neither of them were present at the sentencing so warrants have been issued to trace them.Lavery, formerly of High Street in Berkhamsted at the time of the offence, works as a psychic medium and had been contacted by the victim, who wanted to contact a girlfriend after their relationship had broken down. Lavery, also known as Simon Lavery, told the victim that he could help him rebuild
the relationship.Lavery and Hamilton then contacted the victim pretending to be the ex girlfriend via a mobile phone the victim had bought for them. They persuaded him to part with thousands of pounds of money under the pretext of a wedding between the man and his ex girlfriend. This included an engagement ring.The victim, a man from Watford, eventually realised that he had been defrauded when he saw the mobile phone he had bought at Lavery's house. He then contacted the ex girlfriend on her usual mobile number, but she knew nothing of the wedding. The offence took place between October 1 2007 and 2 June 2008.Lavery and Hamilton were found guilty in their absence today after originally pleading not guilty in September 2008 to fraud by false representation.Detective Constable Phil Freebrey, the officer in the case, said: "These are robust and positive sentences for a cruel and callous crime against a man who was at a vulnerable time in his life."It is unusual for offenders to be sentenced in their absence. We would strongly urge anyone who has seen either of these men to get in touch so they can now serve their sentences and pay the compensation."It is possible they could be in the London or Sussex areas where they come from, Gibraltar where Lavery was due to hold an event on June 9, the Costa del Sol where there was an event on June 11."I am also keen to hear from anyone else who thinks they may have been defrauded by these two individuals. We would ask them to get in touch so we can investigate."

Polaris World property developer based in the region, is in talks to reduce its debt by handing over some of its property assets to the banks

Murcia newspaper, La Verdad, reports today that the Polaris World property developer based in the region, is in talks to reduce its debt by handing over some of its property assets to the banks it is in debt to.The company is reported to have taken on loans totalling nearly 900 million € over recent years and is reported to now be offering both land and housing to the banks.The newspaper reports that if the talks are successful the company could clear its debt to leave it in a good position for the future. The main banks concerned are Bancaja, CAM, Banco Popular, Banco de Valencia and Cajamurcia.Given the collapse in the British market for homes in the region, Polaris World has recently concentrated its promotions on the Spanish market.

Judges in Málaga say they will support strike action on June 26

Judges in Málaga say they will support strike action on June 26 if the final call to do so comes from their union. The judges in the city consider that the advances made in talks with the Ministry for Justice to be ‘insufficient’. A further stoppage is reported to have 90% support.The last 24 hour stoppage was on February 18 this year as the judges protest against what they consider to be a serious lack of resources.

Deborah Hatto, from Crawley, was stabbed to death as she slept in her apartment in Coin, near Malaga, Spain, last June.

Deborah Hatto, from Crawley, was stabbed to death as she slept in her apartment in Coin, near Malaga, Spain, last June.The mother's blood-soaked body was found in bed by her 10-year-old daughter after she was stabbed as she slept. Her German boyfriend Jimmie Willis, who was described as “cold and calculating” by forensic psychologists, has been found guilty of her murder. Ms Hatto's daughter, who was just ten at the time, told a Costa Del Sol court via video link how she discovered her mother's lifeless body on the eve of her 42nd birthday. Forensic scientists, who examined her body, said there was no sign of a struggle and Ms Hatto was most likely asleep in bed when she received the single fatal stab wound. The murder weapon was discovered next to the mother’s body. Officers from Spain's Guardia Civil said Willis, 60, originally from Frankfurt, had claimed he struck because "he couldn't take it any more." They also said they found traces of her blood on his neck, behind his ear. The Scientific Police of Madrid stated that the wound inflicted on the victim coincided with the knife found at the side of the bed. But in court, Willis said the biological father of Ms Hatto's daughter was responsible for the killing - a claim that was rejected by the court. Willis' lawyers also tried to persuade the jury of five women and four men that he should be charged with unlawful killing with extenuating circumstances. A public prosecutor called for him to receive a 15 year sentence for unlawful killing, but the jury agreed with Javier Florido Martin, representing Ms Hatto's family who said the charge should be murder. Mr Martin said: “I maintained from the outset that this was a matter of murder and not unlawful killing. “The forensic psychiatrists stated that Jimmie Willis was in a perfect mental state, that he was not clinically insane and that he knew perfectly well what he was doing. “The forensic psychologist - in response to questions asked by the prosecution – described Jimmie Willis as 'cold and calculating', 'insensitive' and 'with no remorse whatsoever'. “The jury reached a verdict and declared the accused guilty of murder with no extenuating circumstances. They were 100% in agreement with the family.”

Keen traveller Ms Hatto, grew up in Horsham and moved from Crawley to Spain with her daughter three years before she was brutally killed.

Willis is due to be sentenced next week.

Salvador Alberto M.M.has been charged with the murder of his ex girlfriend

Salvador Alberto M.M.has been charged with the murder of his ex girlfriend, Isabel Canino Rivero, whose body was found on May 20 in the septic tank of the accused’s home.It comes after he gave a statement to the judge on Sunday, with the judge then enforcing reporting restrictions.The victim had been missing for some two months.

New bylaws introduced in Tossa de Mar near Girona have banned sex on the beach.

New bylaws introduced in Tossa de Mar near Girona have banned sex on the beach. Those caught face a 400 – 1,800 € fine from Monday.Many youngsters, and those not so young, are protesting against the new regulations which they consider to be exaggerated, and which also ban alcohol and stag night parties on the sand. Protests are being organised over the internet, and some local buildings now show graffiti which says in English ‘Sex on the beach’.

Spanish bullfighter Israel Lancho was seriously gored by the sixth bull as the San Isidro fiesta continued in Madrid on Wednesday.

Spanish bullfighter Israel Lancho was seriously gored by the sixth bull as the San Isidro fiesta continued in Madrid on Wednesday. He reached the bullring surgery conscious but is now said to be in a very serious condition in hospital after being gored 20cms deep at great speed upwards in the chest. Doctor Máximo García Padrós operated on him in the bullring surgery under general anaesthetic.The matador is now in a very serious condition in the Clinica Virgen del Mar in the Spanish capital.

Charlie Bronson hopes to move to Costa del Sol and open a pub

Charlie Bronson hopes to move to Spain and open a pub when he finally gets out of jail.The 58-year-old former Ellesmere Port resident wants to buy a bar on the Costa del Sol – and has already talked over plans with his brother Mark Peterson, who lives near Aberystwyth, Wales.Mark said: “He would love to end up running a bar in Spain.“But first he plans to settle with me to be near our mother Eira who is now 78.”A prison source told Sunday newspaper The People: “Bronson has been talking about moving to the Costa del Sol when he gets out of prison for ages now.“It has always been a bit of a Utopia for prisoners and criminals and he thinks he would live the rest of his life there.”Bronson is currently awaiting a parole board hearing after being transferred to Category C Long Lartin prison, Worcestershire, from top-security Wakefield prison.He was initially jailed for armed robbery in 1974 but a series of attacks and hostage-taking kept him locked-up and earned him the reputation of the country’s most violent inmate.Labelled Britain’s most dangerous prisoner, he has been the subject of a film – Bronson – which is partly autobiographical and partly surreal fantasy.Earlier this year on it’s cinema release, his family, some of whom still live in Ellesmere Port, travelled to London to watch the premiere of the movie, which has been accused of glorifying his violent acts.It is due out on DVD soon. Aside from a few months of freedom, Bronson has spent 34 years behind bars, most in solitary confinement.

Contacted 27 owners of properties in Marbella requesting documentation proving their entitlement to enclosures of land

Coasts authority has contacted 27 owners of properties in Marbella requesting documentation proving their entitlement to enclosures of land which has been legally part of the public domain since boundaries were determined in the 60s and 70s. Owners have been given until next week to provide documentary proof of the legality of walls, fences, pools, sheds and gardens, otherwise they will be required to draw back their boundaries. One of the homes affected is in the name of Cayetan Fitz-James Stuart, Duchess of Alba, whose garden wall appears to enclose 32 square metres of public land. Others include part of the Hotel Marbella Club gardens, and a wall on the Cortijo Blanco beach belonging to Marbella Town Hall.
‘Costas’ will be moving its attention next to more recent buildings which may infringe the rules of the 1988 Coasts Law, which imposed new zoning rules and gave greater protection, for example, to sand dunes. By the time compliance with all the more recent regulations is enforced, it is estimated that 68,341 square metres of seafront land may be restored to public ownership.Spain’s Socialist government, keen to clean up the ugly concrete jungle along its costas, has taken a dim view of the duchess’s turreted summer residence on the Costa del Sol and wants parts of it bulldozed. A wall and a lawn leading to Casablanca beach in Marbella may contravene the so-called Coastal Law which states that all land within 100m (328ft) of a shoreline is public property and bans building within that area. Any private building falling within this zone can be knocked down depending on a local authority’s interpretation and enforcement of the legislation. The law has ramifications for thousands of British expatriates who bought villas next to the Mediterranean and now face the prospect that their properties could be reduced to rubble. Homes owned by Spaniards have already been knocked down in Tenerife and Cantabria in northern Spain. Francisco Javier Hermoso, head of the regional Coastal Authority, said that the Duchess had eight days to prove that her property was built with legal permission. If it is deemed to have broken the law part of the sumptuous residence could be knocked down. If the bulldozers roll up, it will be the latest humiliation for the fiery-tempered aristocrat. A regular face in Spain’s prensa rosa — or gossip press — her love life has recently provided succulent reading after it emerged that her children opposed her planned marriage to a family friend 24 years her junior. “They don’t want me to marry, but they change partners more often than I do,” she told the Spanish media. The waxen-faced duchess, whose full name is Maria del Rosario Cayetana Alfonsa Victoria Eugenia Francisca Fitz-James Stuart y de Silva — she counts the Stuart king James II of England among her ancestors — is often photographed at society gatherings and bullfights, where her former son-in-law, Francisco Rivera Ordóñez, a popular matador, is the star attraction. As well as not having to kneel before the Pope, her other ancient rights include the unique privilege of being able to ride into the immense Seville Cathedral on horseback. A previous Duchess of Alba was the model — and supposed lover — of Francisco de Goya. Two of Goya’s most famous portraits, The Clothed Maja and The Naked Maja, hang in the Madrid palace where the present Duchess was born. She was a dazzling beauty in her youth and her wedding in 1947 to Luis Martinez de Irujo y Artacoz was described as “the most expensive in the world”. After her first husband’s death, she stunned public opinion by marrying Jesús Aguirre y Ortiz de Zárate, a free-thinking former Jesuit priest, in 1978. Today the duchess cuts a strange figure with her high-pitched voice and frail health. She was recently photographed in a wheelchair at a society wedding and nearly choked to death on orange juice. About 500,000 British and other property owners fear that the Government is not content with enforcing the Coastal Law but wants to make it retroactive. After condemnation of the law by the European Parliament and pressure from the British and German Governments Spain has agreed to allow owners to sell affected properties.

Margaret Moran MP Padre Eterno, near Orgiva

Margaret Moran reportedly ‘flipped’ her second home between Westminster, Luton and Southampton, claiming thousands on each in turn.At the same time, she has rented out the four-bedroom villa in Granada at various times since buying it in 1984.
The Labour MP, who charged taxpayers £22,000 for dry rot treatment at a home her husband owns in England, used a local agent to organise the rentals.
Holiday lettings agency Rustic Blue confirmed to the Olive Press that it had rented out the luxury property in Padre Eterno, near Orgiva on a number of occasions.
“Moran is supposed to be a Labour MP but she is behaving like an English imperialist from the days of the Raj. She should buy herself a villa in Marbella and be done with it”While the agency, based in Bubion, is no longer renting out the property, which is joint owned by her brother John, a spokesman said: “I remember the house. We used to rent it, but it is no longer on our books.“I can’t remember what it was on for, but we used to rent it through a local friend, who was in charge of the property and garden.“It was a popular place and in a charming spot.”
While there is no suggestion of impropriety over the rentals, her true socialist values were called into question after she bulldozed an access path to dozens of neighbours’ homes.The Olive Press reported how she had been forced to call police after becoming embroiled in a vicious neighbour’s dispute over the path.Her neighbours called a protest, insisting that the path had been used for more than 20 years by verbal agreement.Eventually the MP for Luton South was ordered by a judge in 2007 to reopen the path. She later lost an appeal.At the same time Miss Moran was accused of breaching parliamentary rules by pinning a notice to her gatepost using official House of Commons paper.The notice, which she denied to the Olive Press, had warned neighbours not to come on her land.When the story appeared in the British Press, Miss Moran contacted solicitors then claimed their £881.25 bill through her Incidental Office Expenses account, which is meant to cover the running of her constituency office.The claim was waived through by the fees office. However in 2007-08, she bought a fridge and blinds that were delivered to her Luton property. The House of Commons said: “you wouldn’t be able to use the IEP to furnish homes”.
The fees office did reject some of Miss Moran’s claims, however. It refused to pay a £47 bill from a printer for Christmas cards and £164.50 for birthday cards.
As The Daily Telegraph disclosed, Miss Moran ‘flipped’ her second homes over four years, spending thousands of pounds on decorating each one in turn.First, she installed a new £4,756.40 kitchen, fitted a £2,678 carpet and bought a bed worth £527.20 for a flat near the House of Commons.Miss Moran then switched her second-home designation to Luton and spent £2,350 on the garden, £1,823.09 on bathroom repairs, £212.50 on bedding and £4,200 on decorating.Finally, she changed her second home to the semi-detached property in Southampton, which her husband has owned since 1988, and soon after claimed £22,500 for the dry rot treatment, a fraction less than the maximum allowance available for the whole year.The fees office said she had broken the “spirit” of the rules, but admitted it was powerless to reject her claims.
Miss Moran said: “It is all within the claims policy and that’s why I’m angry about this because it gives the incredibly misleading impression that somehow we’ve been dodgy, that we’ve been fraudulent or we’ve been corrupt.After losing her battle to block access paths in 2007, neighbours described her behaviour as “mean, bloody-minded and tawdry.”“It was completely unsocialist behaviour,” said neighbour Nick Nicholson, who works in the oil industry.Another neighbour Nuri went further. “Moran is supposed to be a Labour MP but she is behaving like an English imperialist from the days of the Raj. She should buy herself a villa in Marbella and be done with it.”

The Brits to Spain holiday market is in meltdown at the moment.

"Unless prices drop soon, dozens of hotels, restuarants and tourist attractions in Spain and its islands risk closure."Last year 15.8million UK tourists holidayed in Spain, representing 27 per cent of all visitors to the country.But while Spain remains our No1 destination, the number of Brits going there is down by 23 per cent so far this year.The explanation is simple. In January 2007 Britons travelling to Spain got 1.5 euros for a pound. Now they get just 1.1.By comparison, Turkey, Egypt and other non-euro countries look very good value for money.A recent survey by Thomas Cook found the average holiday expenditure in Majorca was £42.40 per person per day. In Egypt it was £33.93, in Turkey £30.12, in Cuba, £27.44 and in Goa just £12.58.But great deals in mainland Spain and the Balearic and Canary Islands could be just around the corner.Steve Endacott, Chief Executive of travel agents On Holiday, confirmed: "Destinations like Minorca and Majorca have been hit particularly badly."But the majority of late charter flight seats left to sell are to Spain and at really low prices. I,ve never seen such low prices for flights to Spain. Basically, there are a lot more Spanish holidays to sell, while most deals to Turkey, Egypt and the like have gone."Spain has also seen a huge slump in domestic bookings.And many Spanish hoteliers are ready to slash rates much more aggressively than Greek or Turkish hotels.Britain's leading travel group TUI Travel announced earlier this week that almost HALF of its holidays had yet to be sold.Overall, the beleaguered tourism industry has seen bookings fall by an estimated quarter of a billion pounds this year. The total number of all foreign trips booked this year has fallen by nearly 20 per cent, as cautious Brits, fearing that they could lose their jobs, wait until the last minute before buying.The pound is also much weaker against the US dollar than it was and trips to North America have slumped by 29 per cent.
Travel industry expert Kevin May advised families to look for bargains in June and July. He said: "Firms are not filling up all their plane seats and hotel rooms, so once we get into June and there's still capacity to fill, prices will have to come down."A spokeswoman for Which? Holiday said: "There will be bargains. But one market that is holding up well is Britain. Camp sites and places like Center Parcs are 99 per cent booked up." Surprisingly, one overseas destination worth checking out for cheap deals is pig flu-hit Mexico.The Foreign Office has lifted its ban on non-essential travel and flights resume on May 24.Experts said travel agents are set to cut prices on Mexico.

Marbella proceedings started against properties owned by Marbella Town Hall and the Hotel Marbella Club.

Demarcación General de Costas is reported to have started proceedings to recover the land, declared to be public shoreline, on which nearly 30 homes and other buildings have been constructed in Marbella.Among those affected is the Duchess of Alba, Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, who faces losing 32 square metres of her property on the Casa Blanca beach. A wall with gated access to her land has to go, according to the latest official provincial bulletin.The coastal authority has also started proceedings against properties owned by Marbella Town Hall and the Hotel Marbella Club. Owners have an eight day period to present their complaints against the orders. Then, if no complaints are made, or if the complaints are considered non-applicable, ‘the necessary measures will be taken to recover the occupied public land’, and that can include what is described as ‘administrative eviction’ as outlined in the Ley de Costas.Similar inspections are expected to result more cases in Fuengirola, Benalmádena and Torremolinos later this month and in June as the coastal authority moves East.

Margaret Moran in southern Spain, parliamentary stationery may not be used for ‘personal, business or commercial correspondence’

British MP who was ordered to let neighbours use a right of way across her land in the Alpujarra could now face an investigation for allegedly using House of Commons notepaper to warn them off.The Daily Telegraph reports this Thursday that their journalists have located a piece of stationery with the Commons crest which reads, ‘Please note – this road is private & closed. Please remove your motorcycle from our land’. They say it’s written in English and Spanish, in handwriting which is an exact match to the MP’s.The note was reportedly in the possession of a British man who lives near the home owned by Margaret Moran in southern Spain. Two years ago, a court in Órgiva ordered the Labour MP to allow locals to use a right of way over her property in Carataunas, a small village in the Alpujarra, after she installed a gate to block the way. The Briton found the note pinned to his motorbike and has told the Telegraph that he decided to keep it to pin up on the wall above his toilet.Another neighbour claimed back in 2007 that he had also found a note from Ms Moran written on House of Commons paper, an allegation which the MP denied. Under House of Commons regulations, parliamentary stationery may not be used for ‘personal, business or commercial correspondence’, and it’s understood the Commons has been informed of the matter reported this week by the Telegraph.

Fuengirola criminal attempts to remove his finger prints

Police in Fuengirola have arrested a 30 year old criminal who had several warrants out for his arrest and a long criminal record. The suspect was caught a few days ago when he and another criminal of the same nationality jumped a police checkpoint. Officers chased the suspect, who was driving a rented Opel Corsa, and managed to corner him.Inside the vehicle officers found a suitcase, clothes and a safe which they discovered had been stolen from a tourist who was staying at a hotel. Once taken to the police cells, the man was caught rubbing his fingers against the wall to try and remove his fingerprints to stop the police from identifying him. When approached by an officer, the suspect tried to take his gun off him in order to escape. He was finally restained and now awaits a court date.

Charles Stabler, 65, never woke from a coma after being hit around the head last month.

Charles Stabler, 65, never woke from a coma after being hit around the head last month.A neighbour called emergency services after seeing smoke coming from the flat, in the seaside resort of Benalmadena.Fireman found Mr Stabler lying unconscious on the floor of the flat and he was taken to the Carlos Haya hospital in Malaga.
The burglar fled after ransacking the apartment and setting it on fire.A 44-year-old Spaniard was arrested 17 days later and is in prison on remand accused of the crime.He is thought to have followed Mr Stabler home from a local bar and forced his way in at around midnight on April 9.Mr Stabler had stayed at the resort, next to Torremolinos on the southern Spanish holiday coast, for some years.

20minutos reports that Pantoja broke off with the ex Mayor by giving the news first to Hola! Magazine.

Spanish Prensa Rosa gossip press are waiting to see what will happen between diva Isabel Pantoja and the ex Mayor of Marbella, Julián Muñoz, also now considered to be the singer’s ex.
According to reports Pantoja sent a fax to Muñoz a month ago, giving him a month to remove his things from her Marbella home ‘Mi Gitana’. The fax also asked him to stop using her four wheel drive vehicle.However Muñoz has shown no intentions of going anywhere and some reports say that he says the Marbella property is his home and he will not leave by the back door.He says that he will only leave if told to by a judge saying that he has lived there with Pantoja since 2003 until he was sent to jail, and she headed to her other home in Madrid.20minutos reports that Pantoja broke off with the ex Mayor by giving the news first to Hola! Magazine.

Guadalpín Banús and the Guadalpín Marbella announced a suspension of payments, the procedure ahead of bankruptcy.

Two hotels owned by the Aifos company in Marbella have announced a suspension of payments, the procedure ahead of bankruptcy. The new judge in Marcantile Court 1 in Málaga, Afredo Elías, announced the move on April 27 against the Promociones y Servicios Hoteleros Guadalpin company which has been running both hotels concerned, the Guadalpín Banús and the Guadalpín Marbella.
It means that both hotels will now be run by three administrators who are a lawyer, an economist, and a representative from the Caja Publicidad company, who comes from one of the four companies owed money and who had called for suspension of payments. Also reported to be demanding the process were several owners of apartments in the Marbella hotel. Total debt of the two hotels has been reported in El País as reaching 1.17 million €. Some 300 workers are employed across both establishments.

Three dead bodies have been found on the 'Los Naranjos' property in less than a year.

The man arrested in connection with their deaths is the owner of the finca and testing for gunpowder residue is being carried out on the dead men’s hands to determine if either of them shot at the suspect now in custody. There are some reports that both were carrying pistols, and the owner of the finca is reported to have claimed that he defended himself when the two men attacked his property.Autopsies carried out on the bodies of two men found dead on the finca ‘Los Naranjos’, on the Camino de los Martínez in Alhaurín de la Torre, on Saturday night have confirmed that they were shot at close range with a hunting shotgun. Neither man was carrying documentation and has yet to be identified, although reports from El Mundo newspaper indicate they could be from South America and are possibly from Colombia.Civil Guards have arrested the owner of a house in Alhaurín de la Torre where the bodies of two men were discovered on Saturday night.
The men, who were not carrying any identification, had been shot dead with a shooting rifle. The owner of 'Los Naranjos' allegedly shot the two men and says that he was defending himself. It is thought that the two men had entered the property with the intention of burglarly.Apparently, at around 10.30 p.m. the owner was alone in the house when he was alerted to the presence of the two men, who were carrying guns, in the grounds by the barking of his dogs, the owner claims that the two intruders fired their weapons first and he pulled the trigger of his to defend himself. However, before this is confirmed, the police will have to examine the gun shells and the bullet wounds on the bodies of the victims.
Autopsies are being carried out and the police are trying to identify the victims. The same sources said that they could be Colombian and the police are working with the Colombian embassy.
Three dead bodies have been found on the 'Los Naranjos' property in less than a year.On April 30th last year a teacher in Alhaurín de la Torre, worried that a mother hadn't come to collect her daughter, called a neighbour. When the neighbour found the villa all closed up she called the police.When the police arrived they found the body of the ex-wife of the owner floating in the pool. She had a serious wound on her mouth and her neck had been cut. It later came to light that she had been alive when she entered the water.The victim (35) lived in the home of her ex-husband, who she had reported to the police several times for threatening behaviour.
The ex was questioned by police but he had a solid alibi. He said that he was on a trip to Cadiz.In the area, the owner of 'Los Naranjos' is known for being an animal lover. He cared for many exotic species and abandoned animals.

Len and Helen Prior,Constitutional Court has ruled the proceedings which led to the demolition to be invalid

There was some good news last week for Len and Helen Prior, the British couple whose home in Vera was demolished as illegal in January last year: the Constitutional Court has ruled the proceedings which led to the demolition to be invalid. The court states that the Priors were not informed of those proceedings and were therefore denied their right to effective judicial protection. The demolition itself has also been declared as invalid.The house was bulldozed on a court order which ruled that it was built illegally on rustic land, despite the fact that planning permission was granted from Vera Town Hall. The Priors have been living in their garage ever since, with no running water or electricity supply . Europa Press reports the couple have claimed 600,000 € from the Town Hall in compensation for the demolition.

British Hell’s Angel arrested in Altea

Five of the 22 Hell’s Angels arrested across the country on Tuesday, had their headquarters in Altea. The three men and two women were released on police bail after questioning yesterday, despite a pistol ammunition and documents being taken from the home in Pla del Castell.The nationalities of those arrested in Altea are German, British, Belgium and Polish.Police continue to investigate the documents recovered in the case which is being led by the Instruction Court 4 in Benidorm.

Civil Guard are working to identify a body

Civil Guard are working to identify a body which was found in El Ejído on Thursday in the area of Camino Cortés. The find was made at around 6am near local greenhouses.The body is reported to be that of a male, and he is reported to have been shot at least once. The dead man was not carrying any documentation.

Department for Work and Pensions has extended its successful benefit cheats hotline to the Costa del Sol

Department for Work and Pensions has extended its successful benefit cheats hotline to the Costa del Sol and Canary Islands following its launch in Alicante in September 2008.Residents in these popular ex-pat areas can report suspected British benefit thieves to a local number and their concerns will be passed on by the operator of the hotline to a team of investigators in the UK.
Employment and Welfare Reform Minister Tony McNulty said:
"We are absolutely determined to stop benefit thieves stealing from the British taxpayer. Our commitment extends beyond the borders of the UK. Even in sunny Spain, we're closing in on benefit fraud."
A publicity campaign, 'We're closing in', in the local ex-pat media is raising awareness of the hotline as well as a dedicated web site where suspected British benefit thieves living abroad can be reported on-line.The total cost of benefit fraud committed by UK benefit recipients living in or travelling to countries abroad is an estimated £63 million a year. It involves a range of scams such as people on means-tested benefits going abroad but failing to declare their absence, and individuals working while claiming sickness benefits.This initiative is part of a growing relationship between Spain and the UK on social security issues that already includes agreements to data-match and share death notifications.
The Spanish benefit fraud hotline number is 900 554 440. It is free and confidential and operates from 8am to 4pm, Monday to Friday. The hotline is run and funded by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), working with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office.
The dedicated web site address is www.dwp.gov.uk/benefit-thieves-spain and provides more detail on what constitutes benefit fraud along with an on line reporting form.

Amy Fitzpatrick grandmother spoke of her anguish at reports that a body found in Spain might be her beloved grandaughter

Amy Fitzpatrick grandmother of missing teenager Amy Fitzpatrick spoke of her anguish at reports that a body found in Spain might be her beloved grandaughter.Maura Donohoe (80) she suffered a "serious fright" when she saw a TV3 report about an unidentified body found near the town where the 15-year-old girl was last seen before she disappeared on January 1 last year."I got such a fright. I thought it could be Amy," said Maura, speaking at her home in Coolock in Dublin."But then I got a call from [Amy's mother] Audrey who told me the Spanish police told her it was a man's body." An intensive search of the region in the Costa del Sol at the beginning of 2008 failed to find any trace of the vanished Irish girl. Amy lived in Spain her mother, brother Dean, and Audrey's partner Dave Mahon.Maura added: "Audrey rang me immediately after the reports went out about the body. My stomach was going up and down. I got an awful fright and I couldn't settle down after it."I know if the Spanish police had found Amy's body they would have contacted the gardai who would have contacted us. But it was such a fright. Audrey spoke to Dean too to let him know it wasn't Amy's body. We will never give up hope for Amy. I've been getting loads of Masses said for her," she said."The Spanish newspapers reported it was the body of a man three days ago.Meanwhile, forensic experts continue to examine the body which was badly burned.A local person made the gruesome find on Sunday lunchtime as he was out walking near the Costa del Sol resort of Mijas.

Death of thousands of chiringuito restaurants

"Chiringuitos have existed for centuries, far longer than we have had ministries," Norberto del Castillo, of Andalucia's association of beach businesses, said.
Campaigners have denounced moves by the environment ministry to close down the thousands of chiringuito restaurants that spring up on beaches at the beginning of summer.Some 30,000 summer jobs and a cherished tradition of eating with sand between your toes are under threat, according to the campaigners, who want the chiringuitos to be treated as part of Spain's cultural heritage.The crackdown comes as part of the environment ministry's response to criticism that Spain's beaches are over-developed and under-protected. It has dusted off its "law of coasts", which bans building on the sand, and told the chiringuitos to move inland - on to concrete seafront walks or past the first line of asphalt."We have been here on the sand ever since tourism reached Malaga in the 1950s," Servando Cidoncha, who runs a bar on the Costa del Sol beach at Guadalmar, told the ABC newspaper. "If they take us inland we will stop being a chiringuito and become just another restaurant. The English and Germans come to us attracted by a sense of tradition. Moving us would destroy that."Politicians from all parties have thrown their support behind moves to save the chiringuitos, which jointly turn over some €900m (£810m) a year. "They are not in any way an aggression against the environment," Javier Arenas, leader of the opposition People's party in Andalucia, said. "And this is not a moment to be throwing away income and jobs.""We socialists are not going to stop until the future of the chiringuitos is assured," said Miguel Ángel Heredia, an MP for Spain's ruling party, representing the southern Costa del Sol.The beach bars are to ask customers to sign a petition this summer urging the ministry to rethink.

600 shortfall in the number of policemen and women placed across the Costas.

All the police stations in the province have a deficit of numbers which is now described in some places as ‘alarming’. Biggest shortages are seen in Estepona, Torremolinos, Vélez-Málaga and Antequera.

Latest data shows the number of National Police in the province is at 81% capacity, 2,492 instead of the 3,067 required.Spokesman from the SUP police union in Málaga, Manuel Expósito, told the Diario Sur newspaper that apart from tourism the nature of the Costa del Sol was that there were more inhabitants than those officially registered on the census, and this led to more police work. In addition the Costa del Sol remains a crime hotspot with 61% of the crimes committed in Eastern Andalucía, that’s to say in the provinces of Málaga, Granada, Jaén and Almería.

Juan Carmelo Santana found guilty of murdering a British couple on Fuerteventura has been sentenced to 39 years in prison

Juan Carmelo Santana found guilty of murdering a British couple on Fuerteventura has been sentenced to 39 years in prison for the killings. In a ruling released this Monday reported by the EFE news agency, 42 year old Juan Carmelo Santana has also been ordered to pay 30,000 € compensation to the couple’s son.The jury found the accused guilty on two counts of murder, and he was sentenced by the provincial court in Las Palmas to 17 years in prison for the murder of 58 year old Tina Jane Johnson, and to 22 years for killing her husband, Brian Johnson, aged 60.It happened in July 2006 in a flat in El Cotillo, near La Oliva, where the accused lived with his son in a flat he rented from the British couple. The Johnsons had gone there to ask their tenant for the three months he owed in unpaid rent. He is reported to have struck Mrs Johnson with his hand when she told him to look for somewhere else to live and, after pushing her to the floor, hit her on the head with a hammer. He then violently attacked Mr Johnson, also with the hammer, hitting him at least 10 times on the head.He kept their bodies hidden in the flat for an unknown length of time, and buried them beneath a pile of rocks in countryside in Malpaís de Mascona, not far from La Oliva.
The sentence noted that the accused had admitted to the murders, but that he also said he didn’t know why he had done it.

Bernard Madoff, the disgraced New York broker, sent 150 million dollars to a bank in Gib.

Bernard Madoff, the disgraced New York broker, sent 150 million dollars to a bank in Gibraltar. El Mundo reports that the transfer was made in the name of a company based in the Virgin Islands called Vizcaya Partners Ltd. a month before he was arrested.
The lawyer given the job of liquidating Madoff’s assets, Irving Picard, is now trying to recover the money from the branch of the Swiss bank, Jabob Safra, on Gibraltar.

Elche treasury councillor, Maria Angeles Aviles, could be facing charges of accountancy fraud

Elche treasury councillor, Maria Angeles Aviles, could be facing charges of accountancy fraud, along with the mayor, Alejandro Soler. Elche’s chief prosecutor, Ramon Siles, has announced that the decision to prosecute was taken after it was revealed that Aviles had signed five payments which were judged to be irregular and that Mayor Soler had signed two irregular payments, worth 5,620 euros.The monies in dispute were allegedly used to fund the Socialist Party (PSOE) political campaign promoted in a local newspaper. In the course of investigating the payments signed by Soler, the Popular Party discovered five more suspect payments, in the sum of some 11,000 euros, which they have submitted to the anti-corruption prosecution in Alicante. Whilst the prosecutor considers that Aviles should be charged with the same crimes as Soler, the judge, who is currently studying the relevant documents, has not taken any firm decision as yet. Aviles has been nominated to stand as a Socialist Party member for the European elections next June and the secretary of the Socialist Party in Alicante, Ana Barcelo, reiterated that the Party will continue to support the mayor, because they believe that he has simply made a mistake. They say that he has explained the circumstances and has ordered an audit to examine all the payments made during the last three years.

Lee Ward, 28, was killed instantly in a car crash close to Marbella, on the Costa del Sol.

Lee Ward, 28, was killed instantly in a car crash close to Marbella, on the Costa del Sol. His grieving father, entrepreneur and executive Charles, 48, told of his devastation last night.
Writing on a Facebook tribute page set up in his son’s memory, he said: “God, how I miss you. You will never leave my thoughts or my heart forever my first born.” Amazingly a passenger, believed to be a male friend, is thought to have survived the horror by leaping clear of the car as it fell. He is believed to be fighting for life in hospital. Locals told yesterday how they saw the white £150,000 Gallardo convertible skidding as it crested a hill overlooking the exclusive Los Flamingos golf course. One said: “It careered over the edge and fell more than 250ft over the cliff, landing on its roof by the side of one of the greens. Lee had no chance but his passenger managed to leap clear of the car and survived with very serious injuries. “Lee was a very popular person locally and it’s a real tragedy.” Pals said his wife Kati had decided not to go with him just minutes before the crash. Yesterday more than 200 mourners attended Lee’s funeral at a church in Marbella as friends continued to pay tribute on the web. One said of Lee: “A guy that lived life to the full and was full of desire. Wherever you are, they’re lucky to have you — I know we were.” On Lee’s Facebook site a pal wrote: “I will say a prayer and dance to good house music — Lee Richard Ward keep dancing — RIP.” 29 year old British man has died and two other people, possibly also British have been injured in a traffic accident in Benahavís near Marbella.The vehicle in which the three were travelling left the road, fell down a drop and burst into flames. One of the occupants was trapped inside and had to be rescued by the fire service.There are reports that one of the injured is 38 years old and one was taken to the Costa del Sol hospital in Marbella for urgent treatment.It happened on the road between Benahavís and Cancelada, the CV-11, and happened at about 10pm on Saturday night. La Opinión de Málaga reports that the vehicle had Swiss number plates. Another said: “Thinking back on your antics leaves me wishing there could be just one last time. Now I know why they say the good die young.”

Chiringuito at Bikini Beach to be demolished

Coastal Authority has fined a chiringuito beach restaurant in Estepona 240,000 €, but the local Town Hall is calling for the structure to be demolished. The council says that if the owner of the restaurant does not demolish it himself, they will do so.The chiringuito at Bikini Beach is considered to be guilty of increasing its plot size from 100 to 508 square metres.
The regulations from the Coastal Authority, dependant on the Ministry for the Environment, say that the maximum size for a chiringuito is 400 square metres, with 100 more for a terrace and upto 300 more for sunbeds.Local councillor for beaches, Carmen Ocaña, said the problem at Bikini Beach is that the terrace had reached 500 square metres and that Balinese beds had been used when the licence is for sunbeds.Other chiringuito owners are reported by La Opinión de Málaga to have complained about unfair competition from Bikini Beach and have said the restaurant should be white in colour and not brown.

Juan Carlos Juárez, the Mayor of La Línea, faces a possible 28 years in prison

Juan Carlos Juárez, the Mayor of La Línea, faces a possible 28 years in prison following the presentation on Monday of the private accusation in the Roseworld case.It relates to an allegedly illegal procedure in the sale of municipal land to the company Roseworld and its onward sale to another company at a later date. Juárez also faces a 56 year ban from public office.Another nine people are charged in the case, including three members of the Mayor’s governing team. Canal Sur Radio reports that the text of the papers presented also requests bail of 60,000 € from each of the accused.
The text of the public prosecutor’s submission in the case is not yet known

Resale property prices on the Costa del Sol have fallen by upto 20% in some areas, and Mijas down 18.6%, Manilva down 20.7%, Estepona down 17.5%.

Resale property prices on the Costa del Sol have fallen by upto 20% in some areas, and Mijas down 18.6%, Manilva down 20.7%, Estepona down 17.5%, and Torrox down 17%, are all in the list of the top 20 towns in Spain to see the largest reductions in price.Arteixo in A Coruña and San Pedro del Pinatar in Murcia are the places where house prices have fallen the most, by 23.4% and 22%.Marbella and Málaga remain among the most expensive places to purchase property across the country. In Málaga the average price per square metre is now 2,287 €, down 10.4% on a year ago, and that places Málaga in a list of nine provinces where the fall in price has reached double digits. The others are Navarra, Almería, Ciudad Real, Zaragoza, Lugo, Valencia, Toledo and Tarragona.The data comes from Fotocasa and the IESE.

29 year old British man has died and two other people, possibly also British have been injured in a traffic accident in Benahavís near Marbella.

29 year old British man has died and two other people, possibly also British have been injured in a traffic accident in Benahavís near Marbella.The vehicle in which the three were travelling left the road, fell down a drop and burst into flames. One of the occupants was trapped inside and had to be rescued by the fire service.There are reports that one of the injured is 38 years old and one was taken to the Costa del Sol hospital in Marbella for urgent treatment.It happened on the road between Benahavís and Cancelada, the CV-11, and happened at about 10pm on Saturday night.
La Opinión de Málaga reports that the vehicle had Swiss number plates.

Four suspects were in custody in Spain in the January slaying of a reputed Colombian drug trafficker

Four suspects were in custody in Spain in the January slaying of a reputed Colombian drug trafficker, authorities said.The suspects, identified only as three Colombian nationals and a Romanian, were being questioned Friday in the slaying of Leonidas Vargas, 59, who was fatally shot while being treated in the cardiology wing of Madrid's October 12th Hospital, the Spanish news agency EFE reported Saturday.Police told EFE they also seized guns, ammunition and bulletproof vests.Vargas had been arrested in Madrid in July 2006 and was awaiting trial in a cocaine-trafficking case. He had been on a list of Colombia's most wanted drug traffickers.

Mike Kerr paid nearly £200,000 as a deposit for two holiday homes on the Marbella Vista Golf is fighting to get his cash back

Mike Kerr who paid nearly £200,000 as a deposit for two holiday homes on the Costa del Sol is fighting to get his cash back after the properties were deemed illegal.
Mike Kerr, a design engineer from Knaphill, signed a contract with developer Marbella Vista Golf, which is owned by Moleón, in 2003 to build two dream properties in Elviria, near Marbella, on the southern coast of Spain.Mr Kerr has spent 6,500 Euros (more than £5,900) in legal fees so far, as well as paying a total deposit for the two properties of 200,000 Euros (around £182,000). The total cost of the two holiday homes is 642,000 Euros (more than £590,000).But his dream turned into a nightmare when the properties were branded illegal in 2005 because the developer breached the planning permission. Since then, Mr Kerr has been caught up in a succession of court hearings and legal wrangling.He said: “I wanted to make an investment and have a couple of holiday homes. The developer had planning permission for 30 town houses but built 192 apartments.”Mr Kerr explained that the planning permission was retracted so when the properties were completed, Marbella Vista Golf was then unable to obtain a licence for first occupation.He said: “If they can’t get that, we can’t officially live there or rent out the properties and they are almost impossible to sell. “I tried to get a mortgage close to completion and was told by the bank that the properties were illegal and I would have to get a solicitor.“I asked the developer to cancel the contract and return the deposit but Marbella Vista Golf refused because it considered the properties to be complete and said we should go ahead with completion.“But it was illegal so I tried to enforce the bank guarantee.”Bank guarantees from developers have been compulsory in Spain for 40 years for off-plan properties — those that have not been fully constructed at the time of purchase. The guarantees ensure that if a developer does not build on time, goes into administration or does not build at all, buyers can have their money returned. Mr Kerr said he had a guarantee with Spanish bank, Banco Popular Hipotecario (BPH). He added: “I tried to get the deposit back. We spoke to the lawyer who said we could get our deposit back but the bank said no.“You hear about developers not standing up to their side of the contract but banks issue guarantees all the time and you would expect them to honour them.”Mr Kerr and a group of people involved in disputes about five additional properties took the bank to the Court of First Instance in Madrid.He said: “We won the first time but BPH appealed to the High Court and the original result was overturned. “The bank said the properties were not illegal and were licensed. We appealed to the High Court and we lost but there were mistakes made. The court would not re-open the case but said we did not have to pay legal fees.“We went to the Supreme Court but it refused to hear the case, stating it did not deal with that type of case.“We are now taking the case to the Constitutional Court to say it was not heard properly.”As yet, a date has not been set for this hearing.He said: “I have spent a couple of hours a day on the phone and have had to pay for trips to Spain.“It absorbs the holiday as I have to attend a couple of meetings each time I visit Spain and there are the invisible costs because I am self-employed. But there are a lot of people who are a lot worse off than me and have put their whole life savings into the project.”Ruth Genda, from Leicestershire, is in the same situation as Mr Kerr. She presented a petition to the governor of the Bank of Spain, who said in an article in the Spanish newspaper El Pais that banks should be honouring guarantees.A petition has also been submitted to Prime Minister Gordon Brown asking him to intervene and help the group of British buyers.Mr Kerr has also been in touch with members of the European parliament who represent the south-east area.But he said: “They have not been able to assist us in any way. They have responded to letters but they will not get involved in individual cases.But the issue involves more than 30,000 apartments in Spain and it is in no way individual.”Speaking to the News and Mail, Víctor Francisco Sánchez, a solicitor representing the development company, denied the properties were illegal and said the licence of first occupation had been approved provisionally and was on the verge of being approved definitively.A spokesman for the bank said he was unable to talk to third parties about customers.

unnamed British man in his mid thirties has died after falling from the balcony of a hotel when he was trying to flee from the Guardia Civil.

unnamed British man in his mid thirties has died after falling from the balcony of a hotel when he was trying to flee from the Guardia Civil.The man died around 5am on Friday morning after falling from the first floor of the hotel in Guardamar, Alicante, and suffered severe head injuries. It’s thought he was trying to escape after the Guardia Civil were called because of his allegedly drunken and rowdy behaviour which had been disturbing other hotel guests.He was taken by helicopter to hospital but died shortly after.Información newspaper reports that the two British people in the room refused to open the door to the Guardia Civil when they arrived, and when the Guardia managed to gain access one of the men tried to escape over the balcony which was only three metres high.An autopsy has been carried out and the friend of the deceased has been arrested.

29 year old Romanian man who is accused of killing his 25 year old girlfriend

29 year old Romanian man who is accused of killing his 25 year old girlfriend, also Romanian, by stabbing her with a pair of scissors 33 times is facing a demand for a 20 year prison sentence from the prosecutor in Málaga.The accused told the court that he carried out the attack in a fit of jealousy after he heard she was leaving him for her boss who had promised to lift her out of poverty. His defence team says that he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol at the time and was now very sorry for his action. The case continues.Meanwhile a 40 year old man has been arrested for beating his wife in Marbella, and using a baseball bat and knife to threaten two police who went to scene. It happened last Saturday.
And another two Málaga men, aged 32 and 44, were arrested on domestic violence charges in the city after threatening a 28 year old woman, against whom one had already a distancing order. It happened on Sunday in the ‘25 años de Paz’

Search for the body of Marta del Castillo continues today at the main rubbish tip for the city, in Alcalá de Guadaira.

Search for the body of Marta del Castillo, the 17 year old from Sevilla who is thought to have been killed on January 24, continues today at the main rubbish tip for the city, in Alcalá de Guadaira.Scientific and Judicial Police are supervising the search which has now reached the waste which was thrown away on the day concerned. Bags of rubbish are now being search by hand at the site.It comes after the self-confessed killer of Marta, Miguel Carcaño, changed his story about what he had done with the body, from throwing her into the Guadalquivir river, to placing her in a rubbish container at the end of his street.

Andalucia must must pay 100 million euros for failing to prevent the capture of young boquerones and chanquetes

Andalucia must must pay 100 million euros for failing to prevent the capture of rare fishSpain has been fined a record 100 million euros for illegal fishing off Andalucia. The massive fine has been levied after constant warnings about the illicit capture of, in particular, young boquerones and chanquetes.The European Court has ruled that Spain has continually failed to control the illegal fishing in its waters.In particular it is being punished for the regular catches of underweight and baby fish.It has failed to stop a ban of the endangered chanquete, which has been in force since 1989.A source at Spain’s fishing ministry told Diario Sur, that there were so many illegal fisherman that the price had dropped from 150 euros a kilo to just 30 euros.He estimated that up to 70 “bolicheros” as they are known head out every night from Torre del Mar, in the Axarquia alone.Over a dozen bars and restaurants in central Malaga have been denounced for selling the illegal fish.
A further 100 or more are selling the fish up the Costa del Sol.At the central fish market at Huelin inspectors found 20 kilos of chanquetes for sale, with around 25 kilos of other prohibited fish being sold just outside.Now Spain’s Ministry of Fishing is to clamp down by levying a new fine of up to 60,000 euros for the catch of more than 100 kilos of underweight fish. The smallest fine has been increased to 1000 euros for illegal fishing.It is also ordering the immediate seizure of any boats or lorries involved in the fishing or delivery of the products.Over the last month some 30 boats have been seized by members of the Guardia Civil.But, as the source, at the ministry explained: “There are lorry drivers who are driving all over Spain every day taking baby boquerones and chanquetes, who when they are stopped pay a fine and then continue doing it as it is so lucrative.”

Marbella Town Hall has issued a statement confirming that work to demolish a home built illegally in the municipality at Golf Río Real

Marbella Town Hall has issued a statement confirming that work to demolish a home built illegally in the municipality at Golf Río Real, by the

promoter Naviro Inmobiliaria, has now started.The building, which is one of 34 at the site, lacks a municipal licence, was unoccupied, and considered impossible to include in the PGOU Urban Plan.

The demolition is being carried out by Naviro to comply with a municipal order passed on September 9 last year and has an estimated cost of 47,500 € which it must pay. Naviro is owned by the Granada businessman, José Ávila Rojas, who is himself indicted in the Malaya corruption case in the town.The PGOU first showed the plot as green land and then with the revision for public services.Another building in Lindavista Alta is in the same circumstances

Baltasar Garzon, Spain’s most famous judge, is again at the centre of the country’s political life, this time over a corruption probe

Baltasar Garzon, Spain’s most famous judge, is again at the centre of the country’s political life, this time over a corruption probe that is becoming increasingly embarrassing for the conservative opposition. Conservative spokeswoman Soraya Saenz de Santamaria has indirectly accused Garzon of acting in complicity with Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero’s socialists in an attempt to tarnish the reputation of her People’s Party (PP). Half a year earlier, the internationally prestigious magistrate at Madrid’s powerful National Court was forced to drop an unprecedented inquiry into human rights abuses under Spain’s 1939-75 dictator Francisco Franco Garzon, however, knows that he is admired as fervently as he is hated, and that apparent defeats often turn into partial victories, as investigations which are shelved later break new ground. Some see the controversial judge as an incorruptible fighter for universal justice, while others claim that his vanity and hunger for fame know no limits. Few, however, would dispute that the notoriety of judges like Garzon reflects a certain politicisation of Spanish courts, which handle politically sensitive matters such as corruption or terrorism.
Elegant in his sharp suits, glasses and gray hair combed backwards, Garzon, 53, hardly ever talks to the press, but seems to be always making headlines.
A list of people Garzon has investigated reads like a “Who’s Who” of the criminal world: drug lords, arms traffickers, Basque and Islamist terrorists, corrupt politicians and foreign dictators. Garzon helped to corner the militant Basque separatist group ETA by cracking down not only on the group itself, but also on related organisations, leaving the radicals increasingly isolated.
By attempting to extradite former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in 1998, Garzon helped to launch a judicial human rights crusade in which Spanish judges have played a prominent role. Garzon has investigated alleged human rights abuses ranging from Argentina to Western Sahara, and even ordered the arrest of Osama bin Laden.
With a new probe by Garzon’s colleague Fernando Andreu into a 2002 Gaza bombing now creating tension with Israel, the government sees the judges’ human rights campaign as going too far, and plans to limit their jurisdiction mainly to cases involving Spanish citizens. While investigating human rights violations abroad, however, Spanish courts had not tackled the ones at home, and Garzon broke a taboo when launching a probe in 2008 into the alleged killings of more than 100,000 leftists during and after the 1936-39 civil war that brought Franco to power.
Prosecutors close to the conservative opposition used judicial arguments to pressure Garzon to abandon the inquiry, which could now be taken over by regional courts.
The row over Francoism paved the way for an open showdown between Garzon and the PP, after the judge named about 40 people suspects in an investigation into an alleged corruption network involving PP- governed regions and municipalities.
The party made the most of a revelation by the press that Garzon had gone on a hunting expedition with justice minister Mariano Fernandez Bermejo, accusing the two of plotting against the PP and forcing Bermejo to resign. The PP also lodged a judicial complaint against Garzon, who finally transferred part of the PP probe to other courts on Thursday, but simultaneously presented new charges against senior PP representatives including Valencian regional prime minister Francisco Camps.
Those accusing Garzon of acting out of political motives point to his brief stint with socialist politics in the early 1990s.
Garzon did, however, also pursue prime minister Felipe Gonzalez’ socialist government over the semi-official GAL death squads that killed ETA suspects in the 1980s, contributing to the end of the 14- year Gonzalez era in 2006.
Garzon’s critics slam him as a would-be politician who does a sloppy job dealing with lower-level cases, but such accusations are also tinged with envy.
Admirers point to the courage and hard work of the judge, son of a modest family from the southern region of Andalusia, who is accustomed to receiving threats and has to live surrounded by bodyguards.
“There are cases in which a judge’s life is not worth more than how much you are prepared to pay the hired assassin at hand,” Garzon wrote in his book Un Mundo Sin Miedo (A World Without Fear). Some human rights groups have proposed Garzon for the Nobel Peace Prize, but the personal cost of the judge’s brilliant career was also revealed recently, when he was hospitalised for an anxiety attack

Princess Anne Wednesday arrived in Gibraltar on a three-day official visit that has sparked complaints from Spain

Princess Anne Wednesday arrived in Gibraltar on a three-day official visit that has sparked complaints from Spain which contests London's rule over the strategic territory.The princess flew into Gibraltar on a Royal Air Force jet for her second visit in four years to the largely self-governing British outpost which lies at the western entrance to the Mediterranean.Her programme includes a walk-about in the city centre, a tour of a British naval base headquarters and the opening of a military medical centre which carries her name and is located on the isthmus that links the Rock to the land frontier with Spain.As with previous trips by British royals to Gibraltar, the visit has met with opposition in Spain.Spanish Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Angel Lossada telephoned the British Ambassador in Madrid, Denise Holt, to express Madrid's displeasure when he was first informed of the princess' visit.Centre-right daily newspaper El Mundo called the visit "inopportune" in an editorial last month while Jose Ignacio Landaluce, a lawmaker with the conservative opposition Popular Party, blasted it as "an affront to Spain".The visit comes as Madrid steps up claims that Gibraltar does not have territorial waters because this was not specified in the 1713 treaty of Utrecht under which Spain ceded the Rock to Britain, following its capture in 1704.Britain does not agree with Spain's contention. The naval base which Princess Anne will tour on Thursday houses two armed Royal Navy patrol boats which are the first line of defence of British territorial waters around the Rock.The princess visited Gibraltar in 2004 to mark the 300th anniversary of British rule over the territory.Spain also protested in 1954 when Queen Elizabeth II made her first and only visit to Gibraltar.Zapatero administration consider the visit inopportune, and ‘wounding the sensitivity’ of the Spanish people.In particular they are upset that the Princess will be opening a military clinic, which will bear her name, while on the Rock, the Princess Royal Medical Centre, and that it is built, according to the Spanish, on the isthmus which links the Rock to the mainland, an area which Spain did not hand to the British Crown in the Treaty of Utrecht.

British journalist Selina Scott,has denied any building irregularities in the construction of her home at Andratx on Mallorca

Spanish website www.ultimahora.es reports that British journalist Selina Scott, who is best known in Spain for an interview with King Juan Carlos in 1992, has denied any building irregularities in the construction of her home at Andratx on Mallorca.
British journalist purchased undeveloped land in Andratx on Mallorca where hundreds of properties have been affectedThe judge investigating the allegations of irregularities has called the Land Ordination Director of the previous regional government on the island, Jaume Massot, the architect Jaime Burnet, and the lawyer, Jacobo Rodríguez Miranda, for what is known as piece 50 in the Andratx case which refers to Selina Scott’s property.Reports indicate she will be called to make a new statement, but has already told the National Police that she purchased the undeveloped land and handed over the construction to the Construcciones Alemany company. She said that she was given a licence for the property by the Andratx Town Hall, and then later granted permission to carry out reforms. The architect, Jaume Massot, told the court on Wednesday that if he was asked today, he would not grant a licence for the Scott dwelling.The case is just one of 68 alleged irregularities in Andratx which remain under investigation, and Selina Scott is one of the more than 200 people who have been called to declare by the investigating judge. The Mayor of Andratx, Eugenio Hidalgo was arrested in November 2006.

James “Pancake” Taylor identified as Gang Leader in Costa Drugs War

James “Pancake” Taylor was picked up by police trying to stop a violent
drugs war that has broken out on the Costa del Sol. Liverpool gangster was today behind bars in Spain after being arrested for attempted murder.James “Pancake” Taylor was picked up by police trying to stop a violent drugs war that has broken out on the Costa del Sol.The 29-year-old is also being investigated over claims he is the ringleader of a gang which has brought terror to the sunshine streets.
A leaked report to a Spanish judge over a spate of shootings says the gang is a “worldwide organisation that is dedicated mainly to drug trafficking, targeted assassinations and has a hierarchical structure among the members, almost all of whom originate in Liverpool and Manchester”.Taylor was arrested over the shooting of a Brit after a nightclub brawl last August.

Sun Village urbanisation at the foot of the La Albera Sierra in Palau-saverdera, is to be demolished after years of legal fighting

Sun Village urbanisation at the foot of the La Albera Sierra in Palau-saverdera, is to be demolished after years of legal fighting. The development has been deemed to illegal by the Catalan High Court TSJC, and owners have been given six months to knock their properties down.The local Town Hall has attacked the court’s decision to rule out any other option in the case which dates back to 2001 when the CiU Mayor, Narcís Deusedas, approved the development of 42 luxury flats on land classified as being for local facilities. Under the plan the land could hold a hotel, or even a supermarket, but not residential accommodation.Most of the property owners are foreigners, many of them British and Dutch, but only three or four families live there year round. The owners are demanding compensation of 310,000 € per property from the Town Hall, claiming the Mayor is to blame for their predicament. He’s commented that the Town Hall could not face such a high claim, and hopes that lawyer can come up with a solution.

Parents of Gary Dunne have been in Benalmadena cemetery, near Malaga, to see his coffin for the first time

Family of a builder murdered in Spain today finally got his body back after a heartbreaking three-year wait.The parents of Gary Dunne have been in Benalmadena cemetery, near Malaga, to see his coffin for the first time.The West Derby family fought a long battle over Gary's remains after the 22-year-old was killed by a machete-wielding thug on the Costa del Sol in 2006.Legal complications and complex foreign hygiene laws meant the family came up against countless hurdles to repatriate him.Today Stephen Dunne spoke from Spain and described his emotions on finally being reunited with his son.Mr Dunne said: “They pulled the coffin from a concrete wall, smashing through to get it. The lid had caved in and I gave it a quick kiss.“They transferred Gary into a new coffin.“They brought Gary out exactly on the third anniversary of his death - the coincidence was eerie.“It all happened so fast and Lesley [Gary’s mum] and Ricky [brother] couldn’t get out here in time.
“It was a huge relief to finally get Gary. But it was horrendous at the same time. I don’t mind saying I was crying and in bits.”Mr Dunne attended a court hearing on Monday when a judge formally allowed papers to be signed agreeing the release.
The family is due to land back in Manchester tomorrow.He will be taken to a Wirral funeral director ahead of his March 20 funeral at Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral.

Giususeppe U arrested Camorra bosses refer to the Spain's Mediterranean coast as "Costa Nostra" or "our coast"

The latest Italian mafia leader to be arrested was once a security guard for an Italian government minister, say Spanish police. Police in Spain said Monday they had detained a leader of the Italian mafia who was once a security guard for an Italian government minister, in the latest in a string of arrests of top mafia figures.The man, identified as 48-year-old Giususeppe U, is wanted in Italy for drug trafficking and is suspected of involvement in a 1997 murder in Rome, police said in a statement. He was arrested in the southern port of Marbella."The fugitive, an ex-state policeman in Italy and a former bodyguard to an Italian minister, is considered to be one of the main leaders of a Calabrese mafia organisation by the authorities in his country," the statement said.Police suspect he ran an international drugs trafficking operation from Morocco where he lived and where he is thought to have held meetings with other members of the mafia clan, the statement added.Since 2006 more than a dozen leaders of the Camorra and other Italian mafia groups have been arrested in Spain, the main entryway into Europe for cocaine from Latin America and hashish from North Africa.In January Spanish police arrested two Camorra bosses, Antonio Caiazzo, 50, and Francesco Simeoli, 40, as they left a restaurant at an upscale Madrid neighbourhood.The arrests have highlighted the growing menace posed by the Italian mafia in Spain.Italian journalist Roberto Saviano, the author of "Gomorra," a best-selling expose of the criminal underworld in Naples, has said several mafia clans have transferred what he termed "their most risky activities," such as drug-running, to Spain, particularly to Barcelona.
Speaking in Barcelona earlier this month, he said Camorra bosses refer to the Spain's Mediterranean coast as "Costa Nostra" or "our coast", alluding to the Sicilian mafia's "Cosa Nostra".Giususeppe U., is wanted in Italy for drug trafficking and is suspected of involvement in a 1997 murder in Rome, police said in a statement. * * * "The fugutive, an ex state policeman in Italy and a former bodyguard to an Italian minister, is considered to be one of the main leaders of a Calabrese mafia organization by the authorities in his country," the statement said. Police suspect he ran an international drugs trafficking operation from Morocco where he lived and where he is thought to have held meetings with other members of the mafia clan, the statement added.

Maxine Daniels, 60, was hit over the head with a crowbar, after a night out with friends.

Maxine Daniels, 60, was hit over the head with a crowbar, after a night out with friends. British woman has been knocked unconscious during a brutal attack in Peurto Duquesa . The author and medium, who lives in Estepona, had a brain scan after being left for dead in the popular port.Unconscious for around ten minutes she awoke to discover her handbag had been stolen, along with her passport, money, bankcards and driving licence. “Someone tripped me from behind and I was then hit over the head with something very heavy, probably a crowbar.“A couple of millimetres to the left of my temple and I would have been dead.”Daniels, from London, managed to drive around the corner to some friends, who took her to the hospital.She was told, after a brain scan, that fortunately there was no internal damage.“However, they told me I was lucky to have survived the attack,” said Maxine, who is still traumatised and having nightmares.there have been a number of other assaults in the port.According to a member of Age Concern, who has been helping Maxine get a new passport, a couple have also been attacked.The couple, who are believed to be Spanish, were attacked by an Eastern European gang of three apparently carrying a crowbar.A British man was also assaulted in the same way, after allegedly catching a glimpse of the attackers.He was so shaken by the assault he has now returned to the UK.

ski lift chair at the beginners run of the Sierra Nevada resort in Granada came away from its pulleys

A ski lift chair at the beginners run of the Sierra Nevada resort in Granada came away from its pulleys and dragged another six chairs down with it. The accident happened at 10.17, when the area was not overly busy. Nevertheless, 23 people were injured, mostly only slightly, although a 37 year old woman remains in intensive care with damage to her abdomen. The ski run was cordoned off and an investigation is under way.Three out of the 23 were seriously injured after the ski lift plunged several metres below to the ground.A ski lift malfunctioned Monday in the Sierra Nevada in southern Spain, injuring 23 people, three of them seriously, a spokesman for the ski resort where the accident happened said.The injured suffered bone fractures and bruises when the lift servicing a beginners piste snapped, sending them plunging to the ground several metres below, the spokesman for Cetursa told AFP by telephone.About a dozen of the injured were taken to hospital, including the three seriously injured who were transported by helicopter. The remaining were slightly injured and were treated at the scene.The Sierra Nevada near Granada, with peaks more than 3,000 metres (9,800 feet) high, is one of Spain's main destinations for ski fans.

Ronald B was taken to the Costa del Sol Hospital in Marbella where he was treated for serious injuries to his left eye and the area surrounding it

Ronald B. (53), a business owner from Ipswich in England, tried to help a girl in distress and came off worst. Doctors think that the tourist who has been holidaying on the Costa del Sol regularly for 15 years could lose the sight in his left eye.
Events took place last Monday in Nueva Andalucía in Marbella. The victim, Ronald B. (53) from Ipswich, had been having dinner with his wife in a Puerto Banús restaurant. The couple returned to their apartment at 9.30 p.m. and Ronald decided to have a drink in the bar downstairs while his wife went upstairs.The only people in the bar were three women and Ronald started to talk to one of them. The victim told National Police officers that while he was talking to the woman he noticed that two Englishmen "with Liverpool accents" had come into the establishment.
Ronald told the officers that these two men approached one of the women "very aggressively", but he couldn't clarify if they actually attacked or pushed her.
Ronald decided to step in. In his statement he insisted that he tried to help the girl by putting himself in the middle to try and separate them and that was when he was hit hard and lost consciousness. The next thing he knew an Irishman was helping him back to his apartment. According to Ronald's wife, who went to look for the girl to find out exactly what had happened, the girl confirmed that the two men were attacking her and Ronald had tried to defend her. The girl said that Ronald fell to the floor after being hit the first time but the attackers repeatedly kicked him in the head when he was down.Ronald was taken to the Costa del Sol Hospital in Marbella where he was treated for serious injuries to his left eye and the area surrounding it. Hospital sources explained that there is a high risk of the victim losing the sight in that eye.
It was hospital staff that informed the police of what had happened and officers from the Marbella police station went to the hospital to take a statement from the victim. Officers are now trying to identify and find Ronald's attackers.
Meanwhile Ronald's wife has left the apartment where the couple were staying and has gone to other accommodation, the location of which has not been disclosed for fear that the attackers, who she says she has been told are dangerous people related to crime, will try to find her. Her daughter, who came from Ipswich, has said that she is scared that Ronald, who has four children, might not be able to see his grandchildren again.
Ronald who was taken into to the Costa del Sol Hospital was transferred to the Hospital Civil in Malaga city to have facial tests, but his room was kept in Marbella for him to go back to for recovery. Hospital staff said that he would definitely have to have surgery and his family still don't know when they will be able to return to the UK.

Las Dunas Hotel in Estepona not paid its employees in over four months.

Las Dunas Hotel in Estepona (Costa del Sol) was not long ago considered Spain’s most expensive hotel, with some rooms costing as much as 6,000 euros per night. Today it stands on the spotlight for not having paid its employees in over four months.The Hotel Las Dunas employs over 100 employees, all of which have not been paid since November 2008, according to the president of the comittee of the company, Juan Luis Diaz.During 2007, the hotel Las Dunas became one of the most exclusive hotels in the whole of the Spanish peninsula, with its 88 suites equipped with all kinds of luxuries, its Spa, restaurants and huge variety of added services. Occupancy rates hovered around 90%.The employees have announced strikes on the 6th, 7th, 11th, and 12th March.The 110 workers at the hotel described by the El Mundo newspaper as the most expensive hotel in Spain, Las Dunas in Estepona, have gone four months without pay.The owners had promised to pay the workers last Friday, but reports indicate that this did not happen, and now the workers have announced strike action for March 6,7,11 and 12.Workers representative, Juan Luis Díaz, said they have not been paid since November, and the promise for last Friday was not met. Union CCOO claims that a combination of the crisis and bad management has led to the current situation.
The case will be heard on Wednesday in the arbitration service for the resolution of labour disputes in Andalucía, SERCLA.