Greece -- is defaulting on its debt, as its bond investors are being asked to swap their securities for new ones with less appealing terms.

For Europe, the unthinkable now is reality: A euro zone country -- Greece -- is defaulting on its debt, as its bond investors are being asked to swap their securities for new ones with less appealing terms.

The idea is to reduce the country’s crushing debt burden and give it time to mend its wounded economy. Turn in your Greek bond that matures in two years, for example, and get one that won't mature for 30 years.

Defaults are supposed to happen in Third World countries, not to a nation in the euro zone. It shows how the world has been turned upside down since the 2008 financial crash exposed the severe debt levels of many developed nations.

The credit rating firms haven’t yet ruled on the details of the European Union’s second bailout of Greece, announced Thursday. But it’s widely expected that, under the plan, Greece will be declared in “selective default” on its nearly $500 billion in debt, meaning that some investors will take losses while others may be paid in full.

As part of the EU’s program to lend another $157 billion to Greece to help it cover its debts, the Continent’s leaders want private bondholders to voluntarily share in the cost of rescuing the nation from fiscal ruin.

Reuters’ Felix Salmon nicely delineated the choices faced by Greek bondholders:

-- Do nothing, and hope that Greece pays you in full and on time.

-- Turn in your bonds for a new 30-year bond and accept a modest annual interest return of 4.5%. Your principal would be guaranteed with an embedded zero-coupon bond (i.e., one that pays all of its interest at maturity) from a triple-A-rated EU institution, probably the European Financial Stability Facility rescue fund.

-- Turn in your bonds for a new 30-year bond but take a 20% haircut on your principal. In return you’d  be paid an annual interest return of 6.42%; again, the remaining principal would be guaranteed with zero-coupon collateral.

-- Turn in your bonds for a new 15-year bond, take a 20% haircut on your principal, earn an annual interest return of 5.9%, and get only a partial principal guarantee through funds held in an escrow account.

It remains to be seen how investors will react, although some of Europe’s biggest banks and insurers, which own massive amounts of bonds of Greece and other euro-zone governments, signaled their support for the plan Thursday. Those institutions include German insurer Allianz, French bank Societe Generale and National Bank of Greece.

More important will be what happens in the bond markets of Europe’s other financially challenged states -- Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Italy. In recent weeks, investors had been demanding ever-higher market yields on those countries’ bonds, meaning the securities’ values were tumbling as the Greek debt “contagion” spread.

Those yields began to ease this week ahead of the EU summit Thursday on Greece. The yield on two-year Irish bonds (charted at left) fell to 19.1% on Thursday (before the Greek plan was announced) from 21.8% on Wednesday and 23.2% on Monday.

Italy’s two-year bond yield fell to 3.62% from 3.98% on Wednesday and 4.57% on Monday.

The EU plan for Greece also includes new financial aid for Ireland and Portugal and back-up credit lines for Spain and Italy. The EU’s intent is to show bond investors that the Continent is throwing its full financial support behind its troubled member states, hoping to allay fears about owning the countries’ debt. In theory, that should drive market interest rates down, lowering the risk of a wider crisis.

But as Reuters’ Salmon noted, there’s another way for investors to interpret the latest bailout:

Overall, this looks like a deal which can quite easily be scaled up and used as a framework for future default/restructurings. I don’t know if that’s the intent. But there’s nothing here to reassure holders of Portuguese and Irish bonds -- or even Spanish and Italian bonds, for that matter -- that they’re home safe. Greece will be the first EU country to default on its debt. But I doubt it’ll be the last.

Fans of Tony Blair and Peter Mandelson, who mourn their departure from the political frontline, will be dancing with joy.

Two of the founding fathers of New Labour could make a spectacular comeback on the world stage in the next few years. I reported last month that David Cameron is prepared to back Mandelson as the next director general of the World Trade Organisation, raising the prospect of a fourth comeback by the former Prince of Darkness.

One senior diplomatic source said that Downing Street is deadly serious about lining up Britain's former European trade commissioner for one of two posts:

• The next director general of the WTO after the Frenchman Pascal Lamy stands down next year. Britain believes France will support a British candidate after George Osborne provided early – and decisive – backing for Christine Lagarde as the managing director of the IMF.

• The EU's high representative for foreign affairs if Baroness Ashton decides to throw in the towel before her term ends in 2014. Ministers, who are supportive of Ashton in public, believe she is struggling. They would not be surprised if she stands down. Mandelson had wanted the job in 2009 and believes Gordon Brown let him down by failing to back him.

This is what the diplomatic source told me about Mandelson:

Of all the figures associated with New Labour Peter Mandelson is the one figure who is on Downing Street's radar. David Cameron and George Osborne are serious about finding him a big job. The WTO post is coming up. But Peter Mandelson would be an obvious candidate to succeed Cathy Ashton if she stands down. Ministers accept that that post would have to go to a Labour candidate between now and 2014 because of the deal with the European Parliament in 2009 [over top EU jobs] when Cathy and Herman Van Rompuy, [centre right president of the European Council], were appointed.

If Mandelson lands a job he may be greeted by familiar face on the world stage. The thought is slowly dawning on ministers and officials that Tony Blair may be the ideal candidate to succeed José Manuel Barroso as president of the European Commission when he retires after two terms in 2014.

This would be a more modest post than the job Blair recently floated. In an interview with the Times to promote the latest volume of his memoirs, the former prime minister said that the EU needs a directly elected president to give the union greater clout on the world stage.

The president of the European Commission is appointed by the heads of government of all 27 EU member states. Barroso often lives in fear of large member states, particularly France.

Whitehall sources say that it is early days and Blair's chances may depend on the outcome of next year's French presidential elections. Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, would be a strong candidate to succeed Barroso if he loses the presidential election next year. Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, may also like to become the first German president of the commission since Walter Hallstein in 1967.

Blair may also feel that he has had his fill of high European politics. He had hoped to become the first president of the European Council in 2009. But his campaign fell apart when José Luis Zapatero, the Spanish prime minister, vetoed Blair in private. Zapatero will stand down at the next election in Spain.

If Blair enters the frame he will have certain advantages. Unlike Barroso, who hails from a relatively small member state (Portugal) and who was a centre right prime minister, Blair is from one of the "big three" member states and was (if only on paper) a centre left prime minister.

But Blair would have one key disadvantage at a time when the single currency is struggling: Britain is not a member of the euro. But Blair could argue that at least he tried on that front while he was prime minister.

Serbian War Crimes Fugitive Ratko Mladic Arrested

Serbian President Boris Tadic has announced the arrest of longtime war-crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic, the former commander of Bosnian Serb forces during the war that took place after Yugoslavia's breakup.

President Tadic said Mladic was arrested on Serbian soil and that the process of handing him over to the U.N. war crimes tribunal is under way.

Tadic said Serbia has now closed another chapter in its recent history, one that will bring the country a step closer to full reconciliation.  He promised there also will be an investigation into why it took 16 years to apprehend the 69-year-old former military leader.

The United Nations tribunal on war crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia indicted Mladic in 1995 for atrocities he allegedly carried out or ordered during the three-year siege of the Bosnian city of Sarajevo, and for the killing of 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys near the city of Srebrenica.

The massacre of civilians at Srebrenica is considered to be the worst atrocity in Europe since the Second World War.  Mladic also was seen as the architect of a bloody 43-month mortar assault on Bosnia's capital, Sarajevo, from 1992-96 - the longest siege in the history of modern warfare.  

Mladic was one of three principal war-crimes suspects who remained at large for years following the war in Bosnia.  Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic was captured in 2008 in Belgrade.  Still wanted is a key Croatian Serb figure, Goran Hadzic.

The chief prosecutor for the U.N. war crimes tribunal, Serge Brammertz, had criticized Serbia last week for not doing enough to capture Mladic or Hadzic.

European Union officials have made delivering Mladic a key condition for favorable action on Serbia's application to join the EU.

 

Thousands of Spaniards in central Madrid have defied a ban on their protest camp and continued their open-air sit-in.

Thousands of Spaniards in central Madrid have defied a ban on their protest camp and continued their open-air sit-in.

Spain's electoral board had ruled that the gathering could not continue into the weekend.

It argued the protest could unduly influence voters taking part in local and regional elections across the country on Sunday.

The decision - and the deadline - were met with jeers in Puerta del Sol, where thousands gather every evening - and hundreds have been camping out for a week now.

Dubbed the "Spanish revolution", the protest began with a march through Madrid on Sunday, led by young Spaniards angry at mass unemployment, austerity measures and political corruption.

It turned into a spontaneous sit-in on the square in Sol, which organisers say has now been mirrored in 57 other cities.


Our life is practically over, but they are acting for their future. They have everything to gain and nothing to lose”

Alfredo Guerra
Unemployed hotel worker
Independent of any trade union or political party, the protesters' ranks have been swollen through campaigns on social networking sites and Twitter.

"Finally the Spanish people are on the street," says Juan Lopez, 30, a camp spokesman. He lost his job six months ago in a round of staff cuts due to the economic crisis.

"Young people are here because they're worried about the future. We can't tolerate it that 43% of the young have no jobs. That should be the first priority of our society," he argues.

Spain's young generation has been hard-hit by the crisis. Most had temporary contracts, making them cheap and easy to fire.

Many highly-qualified graduates are forced to work as low-paid interns for years and a growing number have moved back home to live with their parents.

'Democracy camp'
Increasingly frustrated, they have finally found their voice.

"On Sunday we realised we were not alone," Juan Lopez explains. "Before [the march] we didn't feel we could make a difference. Now we want the politicians to listen to the people, and help change our country."


The protesters are not identifying with any particular political party, Spanish media say.
The protesters' demands, pasted up all over Puerta del Sol, are impossible to ignore.

A statue of King Carlos III on horseback has been decorated with declarations. The metro entrance is now a vast citizens' noticeboard. "We are not slaves," one sign says; another instructs: "No alcohol: today the priority is revolution!"

The camp has become more organised by the day, with bright blue tarpaulins strung from statues and lamp posts and tents pitched on the cobblestones. There are sofas, mattresses and - since Wednesday - four chemical toilets, provided by the firm for free.

Behind a table piled high with fruit, biscuits and Turkish delight, is a mountain of milk cartons, canned fish and crisps.

"I brought bread, tomatoes, cheese and chickpeas," says Leticia Moya, 28, an unemployed nursery worker who lives close to the camp and is one of many supporters donating supplies.

"I feel we should all collaborate, however we can. I can't stay sleeping here overnight, but at least I can bring food. I don't have much, but I prefer to spend my money on this, than on going out at the weekend," she says.

Usually filled with mime artists, tourists and shoppers, the plaza in Sol has been transformed into a vast democracy camp.

During the day, curious locals - many of them pensioners - tour the site, joining in on one of dozens of animated debates.

Suggestions box
There are committees for food, cleaning, legal affairs and communication and daily assembly meetings that hear proposals and allow joint decisions to be made.


The protests have spread to Bilbao in the north and to other cities in Spain
"It's the young who are leading this," says Alfredo Guerra, admiringly, as he listens in on one assembly. A hotel worker, aged 56, he also lost his job in the recession.

"Our life is practically over, but they are acting for their future. They have everything to gain and nothing to lose," he says.

A core group of protesters have been camping out non-stop since Sunday. Others, who have to work or study, sign up for shifts to join them.

A rough attempt by police to dislodge the apparently peaceful demonstration on Sunday night only brought more people out in support.

In one corner, there is a queue to sign a petition that reads: "We want to demonstrate that society is not asleep, and we will fight for what we deserve. We want a society that prioritises people over economic interests."

"We're fed up with politicians governing according to the markets, and not the needs of the citizens," explains Antonio Rodriguez. "They don't represent us - we're asking for change," he says.

Opinion polls show the Socialist government will fare badly in Sunday's elections. But the protesters in Sol are no happier with Spain's right-wing alternative.

There is much talk on the plaza of electoral reform - to prevent power simply switching back and forth between two parties. Many also demand a ban on all candidates implicated in corruption.

Proposals for debate are posted in a suggestions box.

The camp in Sol has been growing every night, even spawning its own internet TV channel - soltv.tv - and dominating the local news coverage. But as it all emerged spontaneously, no-one is quite sure where it will lead.

Despite the ban, they have vowed to stay put - right in the middle of Madrid.

"For the moment, we're staying here 24 hours a day," says Juan Lopez. "We have to make sure our message is heard."

EasyJet, the low-cost carrier, has reported a 94% rise in pre-tax losses

The airline claimed the losses were "in line with expectations" and attributed costs of £43m to the increase in fuel costs, and £21m to rises in passenger tax.

The airline recorded an 8.1% increase in revenue for the period to £1.27bn.

Carolyn McCall, chief executive of easyJet, said: "The past six months has been tough, with sharply rising fuel costs, combined with cautious behaviour by consumers and an adverse impact from taxes on passengers.

"Despite this difficult environment, we have made strong progress over the past six months in implementing the strategy outlined, following our review of the business last year.

"We have also made use of the commercial freedom granted by the brand licence agreement and delivered progress in controlling costs."

The airline stated that it was disappointed by the Government’s proposals to change air passenger duty (APD), which, easyJet claims, will "reduce the incentives the tax provides for environmentally efficient travel and will undermine economic growth".

EasyJet said it would be launching a new campaign to voice its concerns to the Government about further rises in APD.   

EasyJet and its founder, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, settled their "easy" brand name dispute in court last October, when the airline agreed to pay thousands of pounds a year in royalties to Haji-Ioannou in order to use the "easy" name.

 

Middle-ranking gardai have demanded a specialist unit within the force to crack down on social welfare fraud.

The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (Agsi) said a dedicated benefits fraud team would save the public purse as much as 300 million euro.
Sergeant Padraic Tully, on the Agsi national executive, said the unit would work with the Department of Social Protection to weed out prolific and repeat offenders in particular.

Organised crime is changing and becoming increasingly diverse in its methods, group structures, and impact on society, reveals Europol’s 2011 Organised Crime Threat Assessment (OCTA), published today.

Organised crime is changing and becoming increasingly diverse in its methods, group structures, and impact on society, reveals Europol’s 2011 Organised Crime Threat Assessment (OCTA), published today. The bi–annual report, which assesses current and expected trends in organised crime affecting the European Union, explores how a new criminal landscape is emerging, marked increasingly by highly mobile and flexible groups operating in multiple jurisdictions and criminal sectors.

"Organised crime is a multi–billion euro business in Europe and it is growing in scale. The further expansion of Internet and mobile technologies, the proliferation of illicit trafficking routes and methods as well as opportunities offered by the global economic crisis, have all contributed to the development of a more potent threat from organised crime," says Rob Wainwright, Director of Europol.

The report highlights the fact that criminal groups are increasingly multi–commodity and poly–criminal in their activities, gathering diverse portfolios of criminal business interests, improving their resilience at a time of economic austerity and strengthening their capability to identify and exploit new illicit markets. Activities such as carbon credit fraud, payment card fraud and commodity counterfeiting attract increasing interest due to a lower level of perceived risk.

The OCTA estimates for the first time that organised crime groups derived more than 1.5 billion euro from payment card fraud in the EU. While the introduction of the EMV chip standard provides a very high level of protection for payment card transactions within the EU, lack of wholesale implementation in other regions has compelled EU card issuers to retain magnetic strips. As a result, half the fraudulent withdrawals made with cloned EU payment cards are currently made outside the EU.

Strong levels of cooperation exist between different organised crime groups, more than ever before, transcending national, ethnic, and business differences. An increasingly collaborative atmosphere has also intensified the practice of barter, in which illicit commodities are exchanged rather than purchased with cash. This has made organised crime activities less visible to authorities targeting criminal assets.

Internet technology has now emerged as a key facilitator for the vast majority of offline organised crime activity. In addition to the high–tech crimes of cybercrime, payment card fraud, the distribution of child abuse material, and audio visual piracy, extensive use of the internet now underpins illicit drug synthesis, extraction and distribution, the recruitment and marketing of victims of trafficking in human beings, the facilitation of illegal immigration, the supply of counterfeit commodities, trafficking in endangered species, and many other criminal activities. It is also widely used as a secure communication and money laundering tool by criminal groups.

In geographical terms the most prominent organised crime activities in the EU are underpinned by a logistical architecture located around five key hubs.

The North West hub retains its role as the principal coordination centre for drug distribution, due to its proximity to highly profitable destination markets, its well developed commercial and transport infrastructure, and its production capacity. The North East hub remains a focus for transit of illicit commodities to and from the Former Soviet Union and a base for violent poly–criminal groups with international reach. The rapid expansion in Europe, in the last two years, of the activities of Lithuanian organised crime groups is a notable feature. The leading role of the South West hub in cocaine and cannabis resin transit and distribution persists despite eastward shifts in some trafficking routes, and it currently serves also as a transit zone for victims of THB for sexual exploitation. The Southern hub continues to be prominent in criminal entrepreneurship, as a centre for counterfeit currency and commodities, a transit zone for victims of THB and illegal immigrants, and a base for some of the best resourced criminal groups in Europe.

Of all the hubs the South East has seen the greatest expansion in recent years, as a result of increased trafficking via the Black Sea, proliferation of numerous Balkan routes for illicit commodities to and from the EU, and a significant increase in illegal immigration via Greece. These developments in the region have contributed to the formation of a Balkan axis for trafficking to the EU, consisting of the Western Balkans and South East Europe. New transit hubs are in the process of being formed in countries such as Hungary, where several Balkan and Black Sea routes converge. Albanian speaking, Turkish and Former Soviet Union criminal groups are seeking to expand their interests in the EU, and may exploit opportunities in the possible accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen Zone, and recent and prospective EU visa exemptions for Western Balkan states, the Ukraine and Moldova.

"Europol’s OCTA is the definitive EU assessment of organised crime activity. Ministers, police chiefs, and policy makers will use it to set priorities and establish effective response measures. Europol looks forward to continuing to play a significant role in the fight against organised crime," says the Europol Director, Rob Wainwright.

France has been transfixed by an appalling human drama - the murder of a mother and four teenagers, shot dead in chillingly clinical fashion, seemingly by the children's father.

Part of what makes the story so compelling is the prosperous, apparently happy, provincial setting in which it took place.
There is also the fact that the presumed killer - Xavier Dupont de Ligonnes - is still at large three weeks after the murders.
Murders happen all the time, but now and then there are murders that, by their extraordinary circumstances, by the eccentric character of their perpetrator, or by the social context in which they are set, somehow command our attention in a different way.
Such is the case of the bizarre, terrible tale of Xavier Dupont de Ligonnes - France's most wanted man.
Strict Catholic upbringing
As his name suggests (the "de" is the clue) Xavier Dupont de Ligonnes comes from old French nobility.
His ancestors lived in a southern province called the Rouergue and included a sister of the 19th Century poet Lamartine.

Agnes and Xavier Dupont de Ligonnes seemed a perfectly happy couple
Xavier was born 50 years ago in Versailles, and typically for the place was given a strict Catholic upbringing.
He married a young woman whom he had met in Versailles called Agnes. They had four children - Arthur, who was 20 and a student; Thomas, 18, a gifted musician; Anne, 16, and Benoit, 13, who were both still at school.
They settled in Nantes, the city at the mouth of the river Loire which in recent years has become a thriving economic hub. Thousands of families have moved there from Paris because of its agreeable provincial lifestyle.
The Dupont de Ligonnes lived in a smart townhouse. They had three cars. The younger children attended a Catholic school and Benoit was a choirboy at the church. Agnes taught catechism.
Photographs show an attractive, happy family. There is a particularly poignant one of Xavier holding his daughter Anne. They are looking at the camera and she is giggling.
Holding hands
This is a natural, properly functioning home where people love each other and things always work out in the end. Not a hint of the lurking psychological darkness.



With the .22 rifle and the silencer, the family were shot dead one by one, probably as they slept

Last December, Xavier Dupont de Ligonnes began attending a shooting club outside Nantes.
He told the club's owner that he had inherited a rifle from his father who had recently died and he wanted to learn how to use it.
He attended regularly, sometimes taking along two of his sons. The owner said they seemed totally normal. He said he had lunch with the family one day and the parents laughed together and held hands.
At the start of April, Xavier went to the club to practise four days in a row. He also bought a silencer.
At about this time he bought some other items too - sacking, cleaning fluid, chalk lime, a spade and a two-wheel trolley.
On Sunday 3 April he took the family out for a dinner in Nantes - again all seemed normal.
Mistress and debts
But it was probably on the next night, Monday, that the plan was put into effect.

The two younger children were still at school
With the .22 rifle and the silencer, the family were shot dead one by one, probably as they slept. The two family Labradors were also shot.
The bodies were buried under the terrace and Xavier Dupont de Ligonnes disappeared.
France has been, quite naturally, riveted.
Since the bodies were found two weeks ago, we have learned more about Xavier Dupont de Ligonnes, whose handsome if bland features look out from every news stand.
It appeared he had planned an abrupt departure - writing to the children's schools to say that the family was emigrating.
His financial situation was catastrophic. He had various internet-related businesses and they were failing.
He had spent his wife's inheritance and had borrowed money from a lover in Paris, who was now demanding it back.
Crisis of faith
We also know he had had a complex relation with his late father, whom he hero-worshipped.

The family were shot dead, one by one
His Catholic faith was also in crisis. He had shared his doubts on a Roman Catholic internet chat site, and if you wanted to, you could read his religious ramblings online.
Above all - where is he? He was seen in southern France in the days after the killings, but since then nothing.
It is not just the horrific human element that makes it all so gripping.
Somehow it seems a very French murder story, something to do with the provincial setting and with the times we live in.
It is the tale of an upper-middle-class French family caught at a juncture between a prosperous, reassuring past and an uncertain, unsettling future.
At the centre of the story is a man who fails to find his way in this changing world and apparently makes his own wife and children pay the price.

European antitrust authorities have opened two investigations into the financial institutions and clearinghouse that operate the global market for credit-default swaps, the derivatives that act as insurance against a debt default.

European antitrust authorities have opened two investigations into the financial institutions and clearinghouse that operate the global market for credit-default swaps, the derivatives that act as insurance against a debt default.

The probes signal more scrutiny of the $23 trillion global credit-default-swaps market. European Union officials are investigating whether the relationships between large financial firms, market information providers and clearinghouses have distorted competition in the market. These instruments were blamed for exacerbating the financial crisis in 2008 and the European sovereign-debt crisis last year.

"[Credit-default swaps] play a useful role for financial markets and for the economy," EU antitrust chief Joaquin Almunia said in a statement Friday announcing the investigations. "Recent developments have shown, however, that the trading of this asset class suffers from a number of inefficiencies that cannot be solved through regulation alone."

EU legislation proposed last year would tighten scrutiny of credit-default-swaps trading, particularly for those investors who use the instruments to speculate rather than to hedge holdings of bonds. The new rules are being debated by the European Parliament and European Council, which represents national governments.

The first antitrust probe, which parallels an investigation begun by the U.S. Justice Department in 2009, will look at whether 16 investment banks and Markit Group Ltd., a provider of swaps prices, are blocking competitors who might disseminate information. The commission said it suspects that the banks are giving raw swaps data only to Markit, which is partly owned by the banks.

Markit said in a statement that it doesn't believe it has engaged in any inappropriate conduct. "Markit has no exclusive arrangements with any data provider and makes its data and related products widely available to global market participants," Markit said in the statement.

The 16 banks involved in the commission investigation are J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Barclays PLC , BNP Paribas SA, Citigroup Inc., Commerzbank AG, Credit Suisse Group, Deutsche Bank AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., HSBC Holdings PLC, Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, UBS AG, Wells Fargo & Co., Crédit Agricole SA and Société Générale SA, the commission said.

All either declined to comment or didn't immediately return messages.

A spokeswoman for the Justice Department said Friday that the U.S. agency's investigation into the credit-derivatives sector is ongoing.

The other probe will examine whether agreements between clearinghouse ICE Clear Europe and nine investment banks create an incentive for these banks to route swaps trades through ICE Clear, blocking other clearinghouses from entering the market. ICE Clear Europe, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based IntercontinentalExchange Inc., is the dominant clearinghouse for credit-default-swaps trades in Europe.

IntercontinentalExchange spokeswoman Kelly Loeffler said the company has become the dominant European credit-default-swaps clearinghouse by offering better services and more products, not because of profit-sharing or discounts offered to the banks.

"We've invested hundreds of millions of dollars to make our system work," Ms. Loeffler said. "We first and foremost have made those investments to compete on the operational side."

The agreements stem from IntercontinentalExchange's purchase of Clearing Corp. in 2009 from the nine banks. Those agreements call for IntercontinentalExchange to split profits from swaps clearing with the banks and offer them lower fees to use its clearing services. The EU is examining whether the contracts give these banks an unfair advantage over other swaps dealers.

The global credit-default-swaps market is controlled by fewer than 20 of the world's largest financial institutions. These banks buy and sell swaps contracts on behalf of clients such as insurance companies that want to protect themselves against the default of bonds in their portfolios or hedge funds that want to speculate on the default risk of countries, companies or even homeowners.

The banks also trade contracts using their own money, both to hedge positions and to speculate.

The European Commission, the EU's executive arm and its antitrust watchdog, has been concerned for several years about the lack of competition in Europe among clearinghouses, which are entities that stand between buyers and sellers of securities, absorbing losses if either side can't fulfill their obligations under a contract. A number of European exchanges, most notably Deutsche Börse AG, own clearinghouses that are the exclusive clearers of trades on the exchange.

Since regulatory pressure prompted European swaps dealers to start clearing their trades in 2009, ICE Clear Europe has handled €5.3 trillion ($7.86 trillion) of contracts, nearly all the credit-default-swaps trades that have been cleared in Europe.

flood of North African immigrants is widening divisions among some of Europe's most powerful nations and adding to strains on the long-held dream of a united Europe.

 flood of North African immigrants is widening divisions among some of Europe's most powerful nations and adding to strains on the long-held dream of a united Europe.
Since January an estimated 26,000 Tunisians have fled unrest in their country for the shores of Italy, where officials say the burden of caring for these immigrants should be shared by the 27-nation European Union.
The Italians have taken the unusual step of issuing many of the Tunisians temporary residence permits and say that those papers allow the immigrants to go anywhere in a 25-nation zone that permits legal European residents to cross borders without a visa.
The Italian stance has infuriated Germany and France, the former colonial power where many of the Tunisians want to reunite with relatives, friends and co-workers.
Neither side is backing down, tensions are rising, and on Sunday French police stopped a train carrying Tunisian immigrants from Italy at the border. It was an unprecedented affront to Europe's cherished vision of visa-free travel in a united continent where in many places there is nothing to indicate a national border beyond a roadside welcome sign.
There was a large French border police presence on the Italian frontier Monday and officers were checking the passports of all Tunisians passing through, and their ability to support themselves.
In Germany, separated from Italy by Austria and Switzerland, Interior Ministry spokesman Jens Teschke said there would be "more intensive observation" of people entering the country, though he would not give specifics. He said there were still no formal controls on borders that have been visa-free.
The state interior ministry in Bavaria, which contains all of Germany's border with Austria, said that a system of spot checks near the borders that has been in place since the visa-free zone started has been stepped up somewhat, leading to more checks on roads, train stations within some 20 miles of the border.
"It's a bit easy for Italy to be generous with other people's territory," said Christian Estrosi, the mayor of the French city of Nice, near the Italian border, and a prominent member of President Nicolas Sarkozy's conservative UMP party. "What are the consequences of this? Italy, in the name of the EU, has made an incredible offer of hope" to North African immigrants. "This is not acceptable."
A host of other disputes are simultaneously threatening the grand project of European unity: On the same day the French stopped the train at the Italian border of Ventimiglia, a party that opposes the EU and financial bailouts for struggling countries made significant electoral gains in Finnish elections.
The True Finns may well play a role in a new Finnish government, jeopardizing the effort to stabilize the common euro currency by bailing out Portugal and other nations — perhaps the single most visible symbol of European unity.
In any event, political wrangling in Portugal may endanger its ability to negotiate the bailout that it says it needs. And in Greece, calls are growing louder for the country to ignore the financial strictures imposed on it by the EU and default on its debts instead.
While no single issue will sever the strong, deep ties between the nations of the EU, many observers see significant long-term damage to the idea of uniting vastly dissimilar cultures and economies in a single confederation.
France said it was justified in halting the train from Italy because there were pro-immigration activists on the train who threatened public order. In any event, French officials said, it would honor the Italian residence permits only if the immigrants could show they had enough money to support themselves.
The town of Ventimiglia said Sunday that it would find temporary shelter for the Tunisians who were aboard the train. It was not immediately clear Monday if all were still in the town, returning to other places in Italy or trying to get to France by other means.
Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said the immigrants should be allowed to travel throughout the Schengen area.
"We have given the migrants travel documents, and we gave everything that is needed," Maroni said in an interview on Italy's Sky TG24 TV.
But Michele Cercone, a European Union spokesman, said the French appeared to be within their rights under the Schengen agreement to refuse entry to the immigrants. A temporary residence permit, Cercone said, is neither an EU passport nor and EU visa and does not grant people the right to move freely in the borderless Schengen area — the group of 25 European countries to which both Italy and France belong.
Cercone also said the Schengen agreement allows police checks along borders, so long as they are not systematic and do not amount to border controls. And people can be prevented from crossing a border for reasons of public security, he said.

Two Muslim women wearing full face veils have been arrested within hours of France's burka ban becoming a law

Technically, the women should now face fines of 150 euros (£133), as well as citizenship lessons, but officers involved in the arrest said they were likely to be released "shortly' after being questioned about an "illegal gathering."
"They should not be here demonstrating against anything, least of all the face veil ban," said one officer, who was wearing full riot gear as he stood outside Notre Dame.
"Women officers will be dealing with the offenders, and the matter will be dealt with as sensitively as possible."
Alexis Marsan, a public order official who also attended the scene, confirmed that the rally in front of the cathedral was unauthorised, and that others taking part had also been arrested.
Rachid Nekkaz, a Muslim activist who organised the demonstration, said the rally had been called to protest the ban, which is the first of its kind to be enforced in Europe.

One person has been killed and another is in a critical condition after a shooting on board a nuclear submarine, police said.

One person has been killed and another is in a critical condition after a shooting on board a nuclear submarine, police said.

One man has been arrested after the incident on HMS Astute, which is docked in Southampton, but Hampshire police are refusing to comment on reports that the three people involved are all service personnel.

They said the incident was not terrorist related and there was no risk to the public.

Several police vehicles were sent to the Eastern Docks and officers could be seen on the gangway of the £1bn submarine.

A police spokesman said: "Hampshire police were called by their Ministry of Defence colleagues at 12.12pm today and are currently liaising with them to establish the exact circumstances of the incident.

"It is believed two people have sustained injuries as a result of gun shots being discharged on the vessel. People should be reassured there is no risk to public safety.

"Hampshire Constabulary and the MoD are keen to stress this incident is not terrorist related. More information will be circulated as it becomes available," the police said.

The MoD referred all calls to Hampshire police.

HMS Astute is described by the Royal Navy as the first of a new class of vessel designed to be the largest and most powerful nuclear attack submarines ever built for it.

Built in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, and based at Faslane, in Scotland, this is Astute's first trip south.

The five-day visit to Southampton was billed as the first chance for people outside north-west England and Scotland to see the boat.

Astute was not open to the public while in Southampton, but civic leaders, sea cadets, scouts, and school and college parties were being invited on to the 7,500-tonne vessel.

Astute's commanding officer, Commander Iain Breckenridge, said before arriving in Southampton: "My ship's company and I are very much looking forward to the visit and meeting the people of the city. And I'm sure scouts, school pupils and other visitors will be impressed with the capabilities of this formidable vessel."

Since commissioning last August, the boat has had what the navy calls an interesting time, including running aground off the Isle of Skye. It is now in the middle of a "demanding" trials programme.

The submarine's Spearfish torpedoes and Tomahawk cruise missiles are capable of delivering pinpoint strikes from 1,240 miles with conventional weapons. Its nuclear reactor means it does not need refuelling and it makes its own air and water, enabling it to circumnavigate the globe without needing to surface.

It was the first in a fleet of six which will replace the Royal Navy's Trafalgar class submarines.

Tesco has become the first general retailer to start a used car buying website.

The supermarket giant claims it can offer low prices by controlling costs.

It will show detailed pictures of vehicles for sale - including any scrapes and dents - as well as a history report and fuel usage details.

It will not, however, give people the chance to test-drive vehicles. Instead, a video of the car being tested will be available for would-be purchasers.

Tesco says all vehicles will undergo a strict vetting process, including a mechanical inspection by the RAC.

The cars will come with a one month RAC warranty and the price will not be open to negotiation.

Tesco says by supplying directly to customers, there is no middle man, no expensive showroom and no salespeople on commission.

The majority of cars for sale will come from fleet and lease hire companies, with one registered keeper and a detailed service history.

Steve Fowler, editor of What Car? magazine, said it was too early to tell if car buyers would be happy buying without physically seeing or driving the vehicle, but said it did appear to offer a realistic alternative to "standing on a forecourt, haggling".

The motor trade, which is worth £24bn a year, is one of the biggest generators of complaints to consumer groups.

As well as the profit from selling the cars, Tesco could also benefit from drivers using its financial services, such as a loan, insurance or the breakdown cover it offers.

Ireland owes UK banks €113bn with other exposures of €45bn hardly comes as any surprise given the large presence of British banks in the Irish banking market, the extent of our debts to banks from other eurozone countries isn't so widely known. So to whom in the eurozone do we owe all of this money?

latest figures from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) show that Ireland owes banks in other EU countries a massive €310bn, with €196bn of this money due to banks elsewhere in the eurozone.

These huge exposures almost certainly explain why the ECB has refused to countenance "haircuts" for the senior bondholders of the Irish banks.

One of the salient features of the Irish banking crisis since it first erupted two-and-a-half years ago has been the dogged refusal of the ECB to allow us to impose haircuts or discounts on the holders of the senior bonds of the Irish banks. This was despite the fact that these senior bonds were trading at a significant discount to their face value.

Instead, for reasons best known to itself, the ECB -- in clear contravention of both previous market precedent and financial logic -- has insisted that the senior bondholders be repaid in full and has lent the Irish banks, institutions which it must have known were hopelessly insolvent, €70bn to do so.

So why has the ECB been so solicitous of the interests of the senior bondholders. The most recent figures from the Bank for International Settlements, the umbrella body for the world's central banks, provide us with some clues.

At the end of September 2010 Ireland owed the banks of other EU member countries €310bn, of which €196bn was owed to banks in other eurozone countries.

In fact the underlying situation may be even worse than even these figures indicate as they exclude €123bn of "other exposures", mainly derivatives and government guarantees that could become payable. As we in Ireland know only too well, government guarantees have a nasty habit of coming back to bite the guarantor.

Of these other exposures, €78bn are potentially payable to banks in other eurozone countries.

While the fact that Ireland owes UK banks €113bn with other exposures of €45bn hardly comes as any surprise given the large presence of British banks in the Irish banking market, the extent of our debts to banks from other eurozone countries isn't so widely known. So to whom in the eurozone do we owe all of this money?

Top of the list are German banks, to whom we owe €92bn with a further €38bn of other exposures. Does the fact that Irish banks potentially owe their counterparts up to €146bn explain the German government's implacable opposition to any write-down of the Irish banks' debts? After the British and the Germans, it is the French banks -- with total Irish bank loans of almost €32bn and a further €23bn of other exposures -- who have the biggest exposure to Ireland. Does this provide at least a partial explanation for French president Nicolas Sarkozy's truculence when faced with Irish requests that senior bondholders be forced to accept a haircut?

The Spanish and Italian banks have relatively small exposures to Ireland with direct loans to this country of €9.2bn and €10.6bn respectively as well as other exposures of €3.2bn and €6.4bn.

However, there is one other large European creditor listed in the BIS statistics. This is the unspecified "other euro area". The banks from these countries are directly owed almost €42bn by their Irish counterparts with a further €6.1bn potentially due under the other exposures heading.

Who are these other euro area banks? Up to now the general assumption had been that this heading mainly covered Dutch, Belgian and Luxembourg banks. But given the sudden emergence of Finland as one of the most vehement opponents of cutting Ireland any slack I can't help wondering if one or more of the Finnish banks have large piles of Irish debt sitting on their balance sheets.

What is clear from the BIS figures is that a complete collapse of the Irish banking system would have had very serious consequences not just for British banks but also for banks elsewhere in the eurozone

British Trident submarine is returning to its home port after a mechanical failure led to loss of power while on a training exercise, the Ministry of Defence said today

HMS Vengeance, one of the Royal Navy's four nuclear-powered Vanguard-class submarines which comprise Britain's nuclear "deterrent," is returning on the sea's surface to Faslane naval base, Scotland.

An MoD spokesman said: "Vengeance has suffered a mechanical defect resulting in a reduction in propulsion. She is returning to Faslane under her own power. She is still at sea."

The spokesman was unable to confirm reports that the submarine's propulsion unit had become fouled by sea debris.

The incident happened on Thursday night while the vessel was on a training exercise in the north Atlantic, he said.

The boat carries up to 48 nuclear warheads on up to 16 Trident missiles, which weigh 60 tonnes each and have a range of 4,000 nautical miles.

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero placed Madrid in the first line of international support for the "historic" transition process in Tunisia

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero placed Madrid in the first line of international support for the "historic" transition process in Tunisia, offering a 300 million euro ($415.8 million) credit line to aid development in the North African nation.
Zapatero, the first European leader to travel to Tunis since the fall of the regime of Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, met with top officials of the transition government, the opposition and civil society to guarantee them Spain's support.
The most urgent matter for Tunis at this time is to attend to the thousands of international refugees who are crossing the frontier from Libya and Zapatero said that he is ready to mobilize aircraft and ships to transport them to their countries of origin.
At a press conference at the residence of the Spanish ambassador after meeting with Tunisian interim President Fuad Mebaza and Premier Beyi Said Essebsi, Zapatero said that Spain was the first country to send humanitarian aid to Tunis and noted that it has prepared a second airplane, which could be used to transport many of the refugees.
"We want to be there from the first moment and we want to be in the group of countries that supports with the greatest determination what is happening in the Arab world," Zapatero said.
"Each country makes its own history, each people builds its democracy and what is expected from friendly peoples is understanding and help. We're not going to say anything that suggests giving a lecture, but we're going to give all that we are asked for so that the Tunisians feel free," he said.
Along those lines, the Spanish premier pushed for the launching of a Marshall Plan-like initiative for North Africa with public support by European financial entities.
The financing from the European Union would be channeled through the European Investment Bank, which already has a credit facility of more than 12 billion euros for the development of the southern shore of the Mediterranean.
Each country should commit itself and Spain, Zapatero said, will authorize a credit line of 300 million euros over the next three years.
Zapatero said that the success of the Tunisian rebellion is going to spread through the region, including Libya, and he compared this "historic moment" with the fall of the Warsaw Pact regimes in Eastern Europe.
"Spaniards want their government to be supporting the democratic changes in the Arab world from the first, and so therefore I'm here," he said.
When asked about his support for similar processes in Algeria and Morocco, two countries geographically closer to Spain than Tunisia, the premier said that all European partners are prepared to back reforms that defend the citizenry, although they must avoid having their stance interpreted as "a desire to interfere."
As for the future of Tunisia, the Spanish leader urged that the country remain committed to secularism to achieve a lasting and "more authentic" democracy.


Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2011/03/02/spain-offers-financial-aid-tunisia/#ixzz1FXMqVcH6

Mark Lilley was found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, amphetamines and cannabis plus possession of a firearm

 Mark Lilley was found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, amphetamines and cannabis plus possession of a firearm following a trial at Bolton Crown Court.

But after being controversially allowed bail prior to sentencing, Lilley went on the run and has been at large ever since. The trial judge sentenced him to 23 years’ imprisonment in his absence.

The Serious Organised Crime Agency and Crimestoppers relaunched Operation Captura this week which aims to round up major fugitives from justice thought to be in Spain.

Lilley, whose most recent English address is given as Bank Street in Newton-le-Willows although he was considered a major player in the Wigan drug scene of the late 1990s, is among those most wanted.

Said to be about 35 years old he goes by the nicknames Coney, TJ, Fatboy, Big Vern and Mandy. He is white, about 6ft tall, of large build with brown eyes and has dark receding hair.

Multi-agency campaign Captura identifies individuals on the run in Spain who are wanted by UK law enforcement agencies for serious crimes committed in the UK.

Since the campaign launched in October 2006, there have been 50 appeals; 38 of whom have been arrested. Many are now serving lengthy prison sentences for crimes which range from drug trafficking to sex crimes to murder.

However, Lilley is one of the minority who has managed to evade capture.

Ken Gallagher, Head of European Operations for SOCA, said: “Operation Captura is helping make the ex-pat community in Spain an uncomfortable place for fugitives. Having the public’s attention focussed on these individuals goes a long way to making it harder for them to hide and should act as a warning that Spain is no safe haven for British criminals.”

Anyone with information should ring Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 

EXPATRIATE from Yorkshire is feared dead after he was caught in one of the biggest avalanches on record in Spain’s Sierra Nevada mountain range.Mountaineer feared dead in avalanche

Mountaineer feared dead in avalancheAN EXPATRIATE from Yorkshire is feared dead after he was caught in one of the biggest avalanches on record in Spain’s Sierra Nevada mountain range.

John Hogbin, 42, originally from York, was with two fellow mountaineers when the avalanche struck at 1.30pm on Sunday to the west of a ski resort above Granada city.

Chances of finding Mr Hogbin alive were “practically nil”, a Guardia Civil source said yesterday before the search was called off for the night. Mr Hogbin was a widower with a young son. The two other men, both 43 and believed to be Spanish, survived.

Foreign lorry drivers face road charges of £9 a day under radical new plans

Foreign lorry drivers face road charges of £9 a day under radical new plans | Mail Online: "Foreign lorry drivers are to be charged up to £9 a day to use our roads under radical plans agreed by ministers.

The move comes as the Government tries to calm public anger over high fuel prices.

Currently foreign drivers – who number one in eight of all those on the roads – have a huge advantage over British drivers as they pay no road tax or other charges."

2,000 people working without a contract last year, and nearly 500 of them were also collecting unemployment pay.

Work inspectors in the province of Málaga found some 2,000 people working without a contract last year, and nearly 500 of them were also collecting unemployment pay.
Shops and the hostelry business were most controlled by the inspectors in the province last year, and their work recovered 12 million € additional income for Social Security.The numbers are four times higher than those seen in 2008 as the number of work inspections is stepped up.

900 foreign criminals were expelled from the country last year

Spanish Ministry of the Interior has announced plans to reduce the number of foreign prisoners being held in Spanish jails. They want to try to get prisoners to serve their time in the jails of their country of origin.In Spain there are 27,091 foreigner prisoners from 110 countries currently, 242% more than in 2000. The numbers include Cataluña where responsibility for prisons has been devolved to the region.A statement from the Ministry for the Interior said that ‘foreigners are not to blame for the overcrowding in Spanish jails’ noting that the number of foreign prisoners only increased by 3% last year, but even so Spain has one of the highest percentages of foreign prisoners in Europe at 35%.The law already allows for a foreign prisoner to apply to be transferred to his or her home country if he or she wishes, and last year 580 made the application of which 249 have been repatriated. However many do not make the application as conditions in Spanish jails are generally good.If the prison sentence is less than six years and the criminal has not legal residence in Spain he can be extradited instead of going to prison, and under that rule more than 900 foreign criminals were expelled from the country last year.

Socialist Mayor of Cártama, José Garrido, has been indicted on charges of perversion of the course of justice.

Socialist Mayor of Cártama, José Garrido, has been indicted on charges of perversion of the course of justice. He is accused by the Prosecutors’ Office of having deliberately let an order expire against a local resident who had built a home on non-buildable land.The case is being investigated by Instruction Court 5 in Málaga and refers to December 2005 when the Town Hall inspectors noted the house being built on rustic land. There was an initial fine and the site was taped up, but the citizen continued to build despite several visits from municipal technicians in January, March, April and May 2006. Work was still continuing in February 2007, and in October 2008 , SEPRONA, the Environmental Division of the Guardia Civil asked the Ayuntamiento for details of the sanction imposed. That sanction expired in December of that year, and now the Mayor faces charges.The Mayor contends that competences in the case are unclear, and said he has done nothing wrong as no irregular licence was issued by the council. He also noted the lack of resources to carry out any demolitions saying that there are more than 2,000 similar cases currently outstanding. The house concerned in the case currently remains standing.

Date for the start of the court cases for the ‘Malaya’ corruption scandal and the ‘Ballena Blanca’ money laundering affair could coincide

Date for the start of the court cases for the ‘Malaya’ corruption scandal and the ‘Ballena Blanca’ money laundering affair could coincide and that it causing differences between the Málaga Provincial Court and the Anti Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. Final start dates for both cases are still to be set, but they could coincide according to the President of the Provincial Court, Francisco Javier Arroyo. That would cause serious problems for the prosecutor, Juan Carlos López Caballero, who has instructed both cases, and the Chief Prosecutor, Antonio Morales, has concluded that ‘in common sense both cases cannot coincide’.Ballena Blanca was set to start at the end of March, while Malaya could start at the end of May, but with the first expected to last six months and the second a year an overlap is likely. Ballena Blanca has to deal with 19 accused and some 80,000 sheets of evidence, while Malaya has 103 accused and the court summary is 90,000 sheets long.
Antonio Morales considers that the Malaya case should wait until after Ballena Blanca has been completed and has told Diario Sur that he does not understand the hurry.To add to the problems there is a third case, ‘Minutas’ which already has a fixed date of April 6 to June 4 where here the prosecutor, Francisco Jiménez Villarejo, also belongs to the same anti-corruption department.

Two Latin American boys aged 14 and 16 have been charged with the murder of the 71 year old British pensioner Peter Cockshutt

Two Latin American boys aged 14 and 16 have been charged with the murder of the 71 year old British pensioner Peter Cockshutt who was found dead in his home in Arona on the Costa del Silencio, on Tenerife, after what is thought to have been a burglary gone wrong. One of the boys was arrested on Tuesday afternoon, the other on
Tuesday night.The British man, who comes from Brandesburton, near Beverley in East Yorkshire was stabbed twice in the chest and once in the leg. His body was found by a friend on Monday.The two boys are also accused or robbery and both will appear before the judge shortly, and are being held in Guardia Civil custody. An autopsy has been carried out on the victim, but the results have not yet been made public.
It’s understood the two boys have confessed to the crime, and reporting restrictions have been introduced in the case.

Torrevieja Brits are the largest group, making up 16 percent of the total number of operations being carried out

Brits are the largest group, making up 16 percent of the total number of operations being carried outForeign patients now make up 42% of the activity in the operating theatres at the District Hospital in Torrevieja. The largest group is the British, who made up 16% of the 22,640 operations carried out in the hospital in 2009. It shows the high numbers of British tourists in the area, and the number who live in the town for at least part of the year, many of them aged over 65. Britons make up 10% of the padron census in the 12 municipalities serviced by the hospital.
Next group, but with no more than 5% of the total, come the Germans, then the Norwegians and Moroccans.The numbers come amid increasing concerns in the Spanish press about the costs of providing care to ‘health tourists’, and claims that Spain is not getting all the costs of such operations reimbursed in full.

price of resale property in Spain increased in January

price of resale property in Spain increased in January for the first time in 24 months, according to the real estate portal fotocasa.es. Prices rose by 0.6% on average, with the regions of Cataluña, and La Rioja seeing the greatest recovery in price at 4.6% and 4.5%. Prices also rose in the regions of Comunidad Valenciana (2,2%), Asturias (2%), Baleares (1,9%), Aragón (1,4%), Galicia (0,9%) and Madrid (0,7%).It takes the average price of per square metre for resale property to 2,366 €.

Baltasar Garzón, is to appeal against the Supreme Court case which accused him of adopting resolutions

Baltasar Garzón, is to appeal against the Supreme Court case which accused him of adopting resolutions which were allegedly a perversion of the course of justice, by starting to investigate the disappearances of people during the Franco years in Spain.Garzón has said that the Supreme Court case is ‘unsustainable and incomprehensible’ and he has accused the Judge Luciano Varela of using ‘depreciatory arguments’ with no legal base. Garzón has called for international experts who have judged similar crimes to be brought in. Garzón says that Varela has ‘a preconceived idea which stops him analysing the facts objectively’.Garzón also faces a second case where he is accused of not declaring additional income obtained allegedly from the Banco Santander when he was on a sabbatical year in New York.
Meanwhile the Prosecutors Office has said it does not support the accusations being made against the judge and they will be sending their considerations to the CGPJ, despite the fact that the General Council for Judicial Power, the body which oversees the judiciary, started the procedures on Tuesday to suspend the judge.
The Attorney General, Cándido Conde-Pumpido, has said that, in principle, he can see no criminal behaviour which will allow the accusations being made against the judge to be justified.The group ‘Judges for Democracy’ has also expressed its ‘deepest concern’ about the decision of Varela to proceed against Garzón who they do not consider at fault.

woman was reported missing last November, and her chopped up body was found on waste land in Campos, Mallorca

Five Ecuadorians have been arrested on Mallorca in connection with the discovery of the body of a 35 year old Bolivian woman.The woman was reported missing last November, and her chopped up body was found on waste land in Campos, Mallorca, the day after the first three people were arrested this week. Paul Gregory R.C., aged 41; Norma del Rocio V.S., aged 39, and Luis Rodrigo Q.Q. who is said to have been the main author of the killing and who is aged 43. Two further arrests were made on Wednesday and further detentions have not been ruled out in the case.

"Auken Report", which recommended EU sanctions against Spain if it did not act on illegal building and urban abuse

Margarite Auken, Danish MEP for the Green party and author of the controversial "Auken Report", which recommended EU sanctions against Spain if it did not act on illegal building and urban abuse, demanded yesterday in open parliamentary session that the EU ask for an official report from Madrid on how it will protected property rights for people who have purchased illegal homes.
The question, directed to the President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek, coincided with the appearance in front of the EU Parliament of Spanish President Zapatero, who was in Brussels to explain the six month Spanish programme for the EU. Spain took over the rotating presidency of the EU on the 1st of January 2010.
During her question, Ms Auken referred to the "worrying facts" revealed by her report. The Auken Report was approved by the EU in March 2009. "Spain has permitted a culture of endemic corruption to build up around construction" she said.It revealed to the EU the wide range of issues in Spain that has permitted the construction of hundreds of thousands of homes without any permits whatsoever.President Buzek did not reply immediately to the question, but is expected to give a response in the next few days."Many Spanish citizens feel that they must quietly accept fraud and corruption from building companies who can expel them from their homes without any compensation" said Ms Auken.Ms Auken pointed out that the Spanish government has so far refused to give an official reply to the Auken report and so she believes the time has come for the EU to officially demand a reply to the report.The report recommends EU sanctions against Spain if it does not act to tackle urban abuse and property instability in the region.

Willie Meyers, the Izquierda Unida MEP for Andalucia, also used the opportunity to attack the Spanish government for urban abuse.

The Reader recently had an exclusive interview with Mr Meyers when he visited Almeria during a fact finding mission on urban abuse in the province (An interview with MEP Willie Meyers ) where he explained his horror at what he had discovered.Mr Meyers's office has sent an official request to a number of Spanish departments within the Junta de Andalucia and the Spanish government to ask what, if any, notice they have taken of the Auken report.Mr Meyers has also bought the specific example of the Almanzora Valley to the attention of interested parliamentary groups within the EU.Meyer's office released a statement saying "he condemned the many examples of urban abuse produced by rampant and uncontrolled development over the last few years" and saying that innocent home owners must be protected at all costs.Meanwhile, Michael Cashman MEP, has written an open letter to Prime Minister Zapatero. Mr Cashman was one of the MEPs who asked for a European Parliamentary resolution to get Spain to put its house in order given the enormous number of petitions and complaints about building, environmental and urban abuses it had received. According to Mr Cashman there have been over 15,000 petitions as well as a daily flood of letters on this matter.

Councils on the Costa del Sol are urging foreign residents to register on the municipal electoral roll.

Many councils in Malaga fear tens of thousands of unregistered residents live in certain municipalities: in the case of Marbella, with an electoral roll of 140,000 people from 137 different nationalities, it is thought a further 100,000 people live without registering.
The failure to register means councils are losing money, as the Spanish state gives subsidies to each municipality based on the size of its electoral roll.
Marbella tourism councillor, José Luis Hernández, said: “The fact both Spanish and foreign residents fail to register on the electoral roll here helps to collapse our public services. It is because of this that we have half the police, hospitals, courts, schools and taxis that we really need for a town of this size.”

snowy peaks of the Sierra Nevada 3 metres of snow cover over the ski terrain

2 hours from Spain’s Costa del Sol are the snowy peaks of the Sierra Nevada , Europe’s Southern-most ski resort.December saw the heaviest rain for 50 years fall on the Costa del Sol, officially ending five years of drought in the region and filling the reservoirs to capacity. Although it meant a wet Christmas for Costa del Sol residents, it has led to wonderful conditions in the nearby mountains with the resort management, Cetursa SA, announcing an impressive 3 metres of snow cover over the ski terrain. They are working hard to piste the new snow and hope to have all the runs open soon. To find out the latest information on the state of the pistes visit the British Ski Centre website.If you want to enjoy both the skiing and the warmth of the seaside, you should consider basing yourself on the Costa del Sol and taking a day trip up to the mountains. Alternatively, you could do a two centre holiday and stay in the mountains for one night (be warned the accommodation is expensive) and then move down to the Costa del Sol to relax before heading home.

Treasure of incalculable value has lain just off La Manga.

Buried beneath shells, rocks and sand, for 2,600 years, while the construction boom has been completely changing the surrounding landscape, a treasure of incalculable value has lain just off La Manga. 26 centuries later, archaeologists from eleven countries are bringing these antique objects to the light of day once again. The find appears to be the cargo of a commercial ship carrying ivory from African elephants, amber and lots of ceramic objects. The find has been kept secret for the past three years by the team of divers led by the Spaniard Juan Pinedo Reyes and the American Mark Edward Polzer. The recovery project is being financed by National Geographic, who have reached an agreement with the Spanish Minister of Culture, the Institute of Nautical Archaeology and the University A&M of Texas. The recovery is taking place around Grosa Island and El Farallon Island, just off La Manga. Over the last three years 1,400 objects have been collected. Even some of the wood from the bottom of the ship has survived since the 7th Century before Christ (620 BC), and has been recovered. It is believed the vessel measured approximately 15 metres long.

The find has been described as one of the most important of all archaeological discoveries. The Ivory tusks measure between 70 and 150 centimetres, with Phoenician writing inscribed. They have come from a race of elephants which are now believed to be extinct. There are also copper ingots and stones containing silver and lead. Ceramic pots which were used for transporting fish and oil have been found too, as well as plates, bowls, combs, ivory knife handles, bronze needles and chandeliers.

It is believed the ship crashed into rocks off the island, which are just a metre and a half below the surface. The ship would have set sail from Cadiz, and was probably heading towards Guardamar to a factory there, or to deliver items to a prince living in the area.

Spain is complaining" about the rule, "as more and more northern Europeans choose to retire along its Mediterranean coast."

"Most countries in the European Union offer universal health coverage for their citizens. And when a citizen from one EU country travels to, or lives in another one, they also are covered. But now Spain is complaining" about the rule, "as more and more northern Europeans choose to retire along its Mediterranean coast." NPR likens the situation along Spain's Costa del Sol to that of Florida, where many U.S. seniors with costly health problems retire (Socolovsky, 1/19). SiMAP union, representing public health doctors in Spain, said non-Spanish EU nationals in Alicante, which has a large British expat community, account for 15-20 per cent of hospital admissions. Criticism is not directed at those who register their residency status and pay taxes, but at expats in the black economy who expect to get treatment by producing a European Health Insurance Card (Ehic), which is designed for the emergency care of holidaymakers. many thousands of Britons who regularly flip between homes in Britain and Iberia are also thought to arrange trips according to where they may get the best treatment, or jump waiting lists. Politicians have been concerned about healthcare "freeloaders" for several years, but Spanish doctors have been more muted. They have to decide what is "emergency" treatment and what isn't and, according to anecdotal reports, have tended to take the patient's word.
But Spain's health budget is as much under pressure as the NHS and the SiMAP move reflects fears among Spanish doctors of further belt-tightening. Cutbacks are bound to raise questions about the availability of resources for patients. The Spanish regions – which are autonomous in matters of health provision – have moved to prevent foreign nationals exploiting "free" healthcare. The last to take this step was Valencia. Two months ago, it introduced measures by which expatriates below retirement age and not registered as employed would no longer get free access.
They are now paying a €90 (£80) monthly tax, which will cease once they reach retirement age. The move brings Valencia into line with the rest of Spain – and France, where President Sarkozy took similar steps in 2007. But thousands of British men under 65 and women under 60 are still thought to be working unregistered in Valencia, the Costa del Sol and other expat

Málaga stop calling the Cathedral ‘La Manquita’.

The Bishop of Málaga, Jesús Catalá, has called on the people of the city to stop calling the Cathedral ‘La Manquita’.The popular name translates as ‘The Cripple’ as comes as the second right hand tower of the building was never completed because of a lack of money in 1782. The money put aside to finish the Cathedral was spent elsewhere, building the roads to Vélez-Málaga and Antequera. The Bishop has now said that many other parts of the Cathedral were not completed either, not just the tower, and so he considers the name inappropriate. He has now called for a report to be drawn up on finally completing the building. The report will be ready in the first quarter of next year, when it will be presented to the Junta de Andalucía as the start of the process to look for funding.

swapping child pornography images online.

Guardia Civil investigation has led to the arrest of 15 people across the country, including an employee at a juvenile care centre, for allegedly swapping child pornography images online. Another four people have been questioned as suspects in the case.The investigation began after a member of the public contacted local police in Pamplona to inform officers that a music file he had downloaded from the Internet turned out to be a file containing child pornography. The enquiries into the case were passed on to the Civil Guard, who EFE reports have seized thousands of images in the 21 property searches which took place.The items impounded include 60 computers, 24 mobile phones, 160 hard discs, and more than 1,000 CDs. The paedophile content found is understood to be the equivalent of 12 terabytes – more than 12 million megabytes

Socialist Mayor of Estepona, David Valadez, has been indicted on real estate irregularities.

Socialist Mayor of Estepona, David Valadez, has been indicted on real estate irregularities. The Mayor, who was elected himself to replace the previous Mayor, Antonio Barientos, who is implicated in the Astapa corruption case based in the Town Hall, said that he was relaxed about the news and that he had always acted strictly within the law.It’s understood the new charges come in connection with a house built on rustic land by his chief of staff, Luciano Sánchez. The allegations are failure to pursue planning crimes and perversion of the course of justice.
Reports indicate the municipal surveyor, José Antonio Molina, is also a suspect in the caseIt follows a complaint presented to the Málaga prosecution service by the former Partido Estepona councillor, Juan Manuel Rodríguez, concerning a 115 square metre property built on land which Sánchez and his wife inherited in la Loma de la Pontezuela in 2004. He is reported to have declared when registering the property as a new build in 2007 that it had been built more than 5 years previously, with a certificate to that end issued by José Antonio Molina.El Mundo however reports that National Geographic Institute aerial images taken of the area in 2004 show there to be no construction on the site.El País reports on Thursday however that the Mayor started legal action against the illegal property a month before the complaint was presented by the prosecution service.The case is under investigation by Court No. 4 in Estepona.

collapse of the Trampolin Hills golf resort in Campos del Río

100 or so of the hundreds of clients affected by the collapse of the Trampolin Hills golf resort in Campos del Río gathered at the site on Saturday in a protest to demand their money back and for those responsible to be sent to prison. The first of the more than 2,500 units planned at the resort were sold four years ago, but none were ever completed.It’s affected clients in Spain, the UK and Ireland, amongst other countries, and it’s understood from La Opinión de Murcia that a group of those affected have made a formal request in writing to a court in Mula to ask that the two owners – Antonio Martínez and Rafael Aguilera – be imprisoned for fraud amounting to 60 million €. Joaquín Guzmán, a lawyer who represents many of the investors concerned, said he believes the two owners could attempt to flee Spain or to destroy evidence.The company is now in administration, but sources at the Grupo Trampolín told the newspaper that they believe the project will still go ahead. They said a way will be sought to pay those who want their money back, but have proposed to some of the purchasers the idea of forming a cooperative to allow the urbanisation to be built. There was no indication of the response to their proposal.
Trampolín Hills was recently fined the amount of 350,000 € for failing to put in place a bank guarantee for their investors. Such a guarantee is required under Spanish law to cover refunds for unfinished properties.

Frankie Weber 25 year old Martial Arts expert is wanted in connection with the stabbing of three people in a street fight in Marbella

Frankie Weber was in prison on the Costa del Sol last night accused of three attempted murders.Frankie Weber, 25, from London, is alleged to have fled to Gibraltar after stabbing three Spaniards in a street fight in Marbella.
He was returned to Spain where he now faces trial. Spanish police said the wounded were only saved by swift action by medics.25 year old Martial Arts expert is wanted in connection with the stabbing of three people in a street fight in Marbella
A British man has been extradited from Gibraltar to Spain to face charges of three attempted homicides.The 25 year old is accused of trying to carry out the homicides in Marbella, and the extradition comes as a result of a request made by Instruction Court Two in the town. The court has now ordered the suspect to be held in prison on remand.The case dates back to the early hours of January 24 this year when Spanish National Police were called to a fight in the Plaza de los Olivos in Marbella, which resulted in one very serious stabbing and two more suffering serious stab wounds. The most seriously hurt has had to undergo several surgeries. Police found many large knives at the suspect’s home and established that he had fled to Gibraltar. The agents from the UDEV Specialist Violent Crime Unit describe the suspect, who is an expert in martial arts, as ‘very dangerous’. They say a 30cm long machete was found in a nearby rubbish bin shortly after the aggression, which they believe he dumped during his escape.

owners of illegal property in Catral, Alicante, have said that they will not pay monies demanded of them to make their homes legal

owners of illegal property in Catral, Alicante, have said that they will not pay monies demanded of them to make their homes legal, and have called a protest. They say the amounts demanded, for infrastructure and basic services, are ‘excessive and unjust’ because they purchased their properties in good faith without knowing that the builders were selling them illegally.The owners of more than 1,300 houses built illegally on the traditional orchard land in Catral say that the local Town Hall and Generalitat regional government are to blame for the situation as neither stopped the construction in 2002 when the situation was highlighted by Seprona, the environmental wing of the Guardia Civil.Between the years 2000 and 2005 thousands of people, most of them British, bought property in the area through real estate offices who said that clearly that the builders had obtained all the correct licences.The demonstration has been called for 11am on Wednesday outside the Catral Ayuntamiento.

Spanish woman of gypsy origin after she was denied a widow’s pension by the Spanish state.

European Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg has agreed, six votes to one, with a Spanish woman of gypsy origin after she was denied a widow’s pension by the Spanish state. It ruled that article 14 which prohibits discrimination, and article 1 on the protection of property of the European Convention on Human Rights had both been violated.The Spanish Government has said that her marriage, under the gyspey rites at the age of 15, was not valid in law.But despite the fact that gypsy weddings are not legal in Spain the court in Strasbourg recognised the arguments of the woman, Maria Luisa Muñoz, known as ‘la Nena’. She had six children with her husband who died in the year 2000, and was left without any payments despite the fact that her husband, a labourer, had paid into the Spanish social security system for more than 19 years.Her battle has taken nine years, but now she will be paid a pension as well as the 70,000 € the EU court ordered she receive in compensation.Commenting to Cadena SER radio after hearing the news she said

‘I am happy, they have realised we are normal’.

Sean Lovelock-Woodhall, 43,body found?

Property developer and father- of-five Sean Lovelock-Woodhall, 43, a friend of Prince Albert II of Monaco, died in May last year.But his father Ron Lovelock, 65, of Parkmill, Gower, has been denied the chance to find his remains after fishermen who picked up the wreckage demanded £300,000 to reveal exactly where they found it.
Mr Lovelock-Woodhall was with three other businessmen in a Cessna light aircraft taking a flight over possible development sites when they crashed.Gower MP Martin Caton said he would work through the Foreign Office to pressure the Brazilian authorities to ensure the location of the wreckage is revealed.Mr Lovelock-Woodhall lived in the same Marbella complex as Mark Thatcher and sold properties to football stars including Manchester City’s Gareth Barry and former Leicester City captain Matt Elliot.Mr Lovelock, who used to run the Carlton Hotel in Mumbles, has been hoping for news of his remains ever since so his family can at last hold a funeral. He was given hope last Friday when a group of Brazilian fishermen told police they had found wreckage in the sea from a Cessna 310 of the type Mr Lovelock-Woodhall and his colleagues were in.But they have informed the Brazilian authorities they want around £300,000 to reveal the exact location where flight PT-JGX’s wreckage was discovered.Mr Lovelock said: “The Brazilian authorities arrested the guys with bits of plane, credit cards and bones but cannot force them to say where they were found.
“I’m hoping publicity over this will embarrass the Brazilian government into taking action.“Sean was a father of five and he has many family members and friends who loved him and want to stage a funeral for him.“But we cannot do anything until we at least get a clue as to where to start looking for remains.”A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: “The Brazilian Federal Police have questioned the fishermen who claim to have found the wreckage and we await further information from the authorities there.”Cambridgeshire-born Mr Lovelock-Woodhall got involved in the booming Costa del Sol property market in the 1980s.His company sold luxury Spanish apartments to British investors, including former England cricketer Paul Nixon.
He planned a £3bn golf and eco-resort, Barra Nova Pearl, near the Brazilian city of Ilheus.He hired a twin-engined plane with three other British businessmen, Nigel Hodges, 52, Rick Every,41, and Alan Kempson, 46, described as a close friend of former Prime Minister John Major, to look at the site.But it lost contact with air traffic controllers eight miles out to sea, nine minutes before its scheduled landing.Rescue teams searched 400km of sea and rainforest for five days but the search was called off.Mr Lovelock-Woodhall’s family have been upset by allegations on websites that he may have faked his death because of business deals that went wrong.His brother Mark Lovelock, who lives in Peterborough, said the stories were untrue.He said: “It’s been hell on earth quite frankly. There’s been allegations made against my brother and he is not here to defend himself.“No one has shown me any evidence to suggest this. He was a good businessman and a good father and doesn’t deserve what has been thrown against him.”Mr Caton said: “It’s appalling that wreckage including personal belongings can apparently be put on sale for a large amount of money.“I know the fishermen involved were arrested and I will be doing everything I can to ensure the grid reference of where the wreckage is found is handed over.”

British residents in demand for free health care

British residents are expected to lead a demonstration tomorrow, Thursday, called for outside the British Consulate in Alicante in demand for free health care. Other nationalities are expected to join the protest as the group then marches to the offices of the Diputacion in demand that the promise of free access to health care be kept.La Verdad reports that the organisers of the protest note that the regional Valencia Government, la Generalitat, issued a law in 2003 promising free access to the health service. But now, in the middle of the recession the group notes another law which says that to continue to get public health care, they have to register with a private insurer at a cost of about 100 € per person per month, including children.The paper continues that the organisers of the protest say they are tired of being abused. ‘They trick us with the houses we buy, many of them illegal, and there are still many with no water or electricity. They trick us in many ways, but the straw which has broken the camel’s back is denying access to the health service, and that is why we are demonstrating. ‘The regional government does not keep its word’.The unnamed organiser tells the Spanish paper that the rumour is already circulating in Britain not to buy homes or come on holiday in the Valencia region.
The protest leaves from outside the British Consulate in Alicante at 10am on Thursday.

1,000 people taken into custody in the 232 anti-corruption operations led by the National Police

More than 80 of the 200 arrested in the province were in connection with Marbella's corruption investigation, MalayaThis Wednesday is designated by the United Nations as International Anti-Corruption Day, and to mark the occasion Spain’s Interior Ministry has released details of the arrests for corruption over the past five years: close to 1,000 people taken into custody in the 232 anti-corruption operations led by the National Police. The value of the items seized amounts to 3 billion €.More than half the 943 arrests were in Madrid, Málaga, Sevilla and Baleares, and Málaga holds the distinction of more corruption-related arrests than any other province in Spain: 25 police operations and 200 people taken into custody. A large number were arrested in the Malaya corruption case centred in Marbella, an operation which the Ministry notes encompasses 18 separate police investigations launched between 2005 and 2008, some of which are still ongoing today. The arrests in Malaya number more than 80 people, and it has seen items seized with the total value of more than 2.4 billion €.Investigations in the Ballena Blanca money laundering case began in March 2005 and has seen the arrest of some 50 suspects, including notaries and lawyers, on suspicion of forming part of a network which is estimated to have laundered 250 million € in Marbella. Assets valued at more than 350 million € were seized as part of the investigation and more than 250 properties embargoed.

Juan Antonio Roca, is claiming unfair dismissal from his post.

It’s been announced that Social Court 11 in Málaga will hear the case on December 15, but before it gets underway the judge will ask those involved if they want to reach an out of court settlement. The legal representatives from Marbella Town Hall previously tried to reach an agreement last September with Roca via the CMAC arbitration service of the Junta de Andalucía, without success.Roca’s defence claimed that his employment was ‘suspended’ while he was in prison, and that any dismissal would be unfair. Roca is asking for his job back, or a payment in compensation. The Town Hall sacked him after opening disciplinary proceedings for ‘the repeated and unjustified fault of failing to show for work’ since March 31 2006, the day he was arrested in the Malaya case.

‘Ballena Blanca’, ‘Malaya’ and ‘Hidalgo’, are now thought to have laundered more than 1 billion € between them

three large corruption cases based in Marbella, ‘Ballena Blanca’, ‘Malaya’ and ‘Hidalgo’, are now thought to have laundered more than 1 billion € between them since 2005 according to their respective court summaries.The 26 frontmen and women alleged used by Juan Antonio Roca, the man at the centre of the Malaya case, are accused of laundering 670 million €. The money came from the backhanders which many real estate promoters and builders paid to do business in the town. A web of companies were set up to accept the cash.
The Hidalgo case saw 220 million laundered and Ballena Blanca some 150 million

Granada city chunk of his ear was partially severed during the biting attack.

man has been arrested by the Civil Guard for assaulting four people who were changing a flat tyre outside his home in La Zubia, Granada province, last Friday night. Annoyed by the noise they were making as they were putting on the car’s spare wheel, the Civil Guard said one of the four was admitted to the Traumatology Hospital in Granada city after a chunk of his ear was partially severed during the biting attack.Another man had five stitches to a bite wound on his hand, while the third was bitten on the shoulder.Granada Hoy said the fourth man escaped with bruising.

Doctor who was fatally shot while on duty at the local health centre in Moratalla

Doctor who was fatally shot while on duty at the local health centre in Moratalla this March has received a posthumous award with the title of ‘Adopted Daughter’ of Moratalla. The distinction of ‘Adopted Son’ goes to Juan Miguel Moya López, the ambulance driver who was injured while trying to save her life. La Verdad newspaper reports that the extraordinary council meeting which took the decision on Saturday also approved a special mention from the corporation for the three police officers who overpowered the gunman who fired the shots.34 year old María Eugenia Moreno Martínez was shot on 10th March 2009, dying in hospital the following afternoon. The gunman was a 74 year old retired taxi driver who claimed to the judge who remanded him to custody that he had received poor treatment when he had attended the health centre earlier that day.A monument in the doctor’s honour was unveiled on Saturday in the gardens outside the health centre which now bear her name, Doctora María Eugenia Moreno Martínez.