A british builder has been arrested over his alleged role in a suspected £52million property fraud in Spain. Trevor Bourne, 50, was held after 300 illegally built villas costing up to £1.1million were sold to British expats on the Costa Brava. Mr Bourne, along with 15 others, is being investigated by a judge on suspicion of bribery and fraud. Investigators allege he paid backhanders to town hall officials, who then allowed him to build and sell properties on protected land. Mr Bourne, of Port Talbot, Glamorgan, appeared in court in Denia, near Alicante, after his arrest by the Civil Guard. After giving a statement to the judge, he was released on bail. The detached houses were all put up around the village of Lliber between 1999 and 2003. Buyers were unaware they had been built on protected rural land. Many included pensioners who now face the threat of their dream homes in the sun being demolished. via BRIT IN FRAUD PROBE – mirror.co.uk .
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British Builder in Fraud Probe
Summary: Magnitude ML 3.0 Region BALEARIC ISLANDS, SPAIN Date time 2010-01-30 at 07:09:33.3 UTC Location 39.43 N ; 2.50 E Depth 40 km Distances 20 km SW Palma (pop 373,731 ; local time 08:09 2010-01-30) 16 km S Calvià (pop 43,166 ; local time 08:09 2010-01-30) EMSC – European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre .
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Earthquake – Balearic Islands
A variety of well-regarded Spanish property portals and websites are reporting unprecedented levels of enquiries for properties for sale in Spain . Although these are still hard times for most people in Europe, it seems that the dream of owning a property in Spain is still as strong as ever. This desire has also been fuelled by a raft of discounted and distressed Spanish properties becoming available, offering prospective buyers some of the cheapest prices and best value Spanish properties since the bygone days before the last Spanish property boom. As we have reported here several times, there is an increasing interest and demand for Spanish properties . This is probably due to a combination of several factors: -Â Â Â the beginning of a new year tends to give people fresh impetus to achieve their goals -Â Â Â many prospective buyers seem to have been keen to rid themselves of the spectre of 2009 and all its recessionary doom and gloom. The new year has given many people a little boost in the confidence stakes. -Â Â Â The recession seems to now be behind us. Although we are still living in tough financial times, the future looks a little brighter, and so those plans and dreams that were on hold for the last 18 months are now back on the agenda for a lot of people. -Â Â Â Sterling is rising against the euro, giving British buyers greater confidence to invest in the Spanish property market. -Â Â Â The mortgage market seems to be easing slightly. -Â Â Â Historically low property prices in Spain have convinced many that now is the time to invest, rather than waiting for the inevitable return to normality and subsequent price rises in the better areas. Related Posts Surge of Spanish Property Enquiries Follows Recent Economic News Record Day for Spanish Property Enquiries Are the Brits really leaving Spain?
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Huge Surge in Spanish Property Enquiries
The European Commission (EC) has approved a Spanish recapitalization scheme for banks aimed at enhancing the strength and solvency of credit institutions so that they are able to provide credit normally and that confidence in the national financial system can be maintained. Reportedly, after a decade long boom, nearly 50 unlisted Spanish savings banks had failed due to the slump in the nation´s property sector. The Commission found the scheme to be in line with its guidance communications on state aid to overcome the financial crisis. In particular, the measures approved are limited in time and scope, require market-oriented remuneration and contain enough incentives to redeem the state participation over time. In order to benefit from the scheme, beneficiaries will need to draw up an integration plan, setting out the specific measures and commitments to be implemented in order to achieve an increase of efficiency and solvability. This plan will have to be approved by the Bank of Spain before it is presented to the The Fund for Orderly Bank Restructuring (FROB). Before each individual bank recapitalization, the FROB will communicate to the EC the results of an assessment of the beneficiary´s risk profile by the Bank of Spain. This will enable the EC to assess the situation in turn and to indicate the necessary follow-up, such as the need to provide a restructuring plan, to pay an adequate remuneration on the convertible preference shares or the need for a ban on coupon payments on hybrid instruments. Neelie Kroes, commissioner, said: “The Spanish recapitalization scheme will strengthen confidence in the Spanish banking system and, above all, encourage lending to the real economy. At the same time, the scheme establishes sufficient safeguards to limit disproportionate distortions of competition.” FROB was created to manage the restructuring processes of credit institutions and assist in the enhancement of their equity, on the terms laid down by this Royal Decree-Law. via European Commission Approves Spanish Bank Recapitalization Scheme – Banking Business Review .
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European Commission Approves Spanish Bank Recapitalization Scheme
Cinemas in Spain´s northeastern region of Catalonia will close for a day on Monday in protest against a new law requiring that 50 percent of all foreign films screened there be dubbed into Catalan. The region, which includes Barcelona, Spain´s second largest city, accounts for about one-fifth of the country´s box office but just two percent of movies from the United States or other nations were dubbed into Catalan in 2008. Camillo Tarrazon, the president of the Catalan Association of Cinemas, said the dubbing law which was approved by the regional Catalan parliament earlier this month would be an “apocalypse” for cinemas in the region. “This is a law which will close theatres, which will lead to a reduction in the number of copies of films and a drop in the number of spectators,” he said in comments published Wednesday in Spanish newspapers. Tarrazon said 74 cinemas, representing 81 percent of the total in Catalonia, are expected to remain shut on Monday as part of the strike. The last time the Catalan government tried to introduce similar regulations, in 1998, it was forced to back down after studios threatened to withdraw distribution in the region. Dictator Francisco Franco banned dubbing into Catalan as well as into Spain´s other regional languages, Galician and Basque, shortly after he came to power in 1939 in a bid to promote national unity but since his death in 1975 use of the three languages has flourished. Public education in Catalonia, Spain´s wealthiest region, is now carried out primarily in Catalan, while a 1998 law obliges businesses to serve clients in Catalan and have signs and information in the language. Last month more than 160 Catalan towns held symbolic referendums on independence from Spain. Catalonia, like other Spanish regions, already controls most aspects of government, including health and education. Under a regional statute approved in 2006, Catalonia´s regional parliament was granted enhanced powers in taxation and judicial matters as well as more control over airports, ports and immigration. Spain´s constitutional court is considering a submission by the right-wing opposition Popular Party to reject the definition of Catalonia as a “nation” used in the 2006 statute. Press reports have said the court will bar the term, setting the stage for a major political crisis. Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved. via AFP: Cinemas in Spain’s Catalonia to strike over dubbing law .
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Cinemas in Spain’s Catalonia to strike over dubbing law
El Bulli, the Spanish restaurant repeatedly crowned the world´s best, will temporarily close in 2012 and 2013, its famed avant-garde chef Ferran Adria announced on Tuesday. “No meals will be served in El Bulli in 2012 and 2013,” he told a news conference at Madrid Fusion, the annual international culinary conference focussing on the cutting-edge in haute cuisine. “But El Bulli is not closing down. These are not two years on sabbatical. I need time to decide how 2014 is going to be… I know that when I return it will not be the same,” said the father of so-called molecular gastronomy. El Bulli, on Spain´s northeastern Catalan coast, was last year named the world´s best for the fourth year in a row by Britain´s Restaurant magazine. Other publications have similarly raved about Adria and his food. But Adria said he found working 15 hours a day “difficult.” “It´s like telling [British designer] John Galliano to go work in a factory,” he said. Adria and Heston Blumenthal in England have since the late 1990s rocked world cuisine by using science to “deconstruct” and rebuild food. Taste-bud treats on the menu of Adria´s three-star restaurant have included oyster meringue, hot ice cream, frothy truffle cappuccino and liquid ravioli, while vegetables are turned into lollipops or whipped foams. He has had to respond to critics who say the chemicals used in his “molecular gastronomy” make it unhealthy. “Homemade ice-creams, those which are excellent, must have a stabilising substance to avoid crystallisation. Sugar goes through a chemical and physical transformation. Chocolate contains lecithin. Agar is a thick substance that has been used in Japan for centuries,” he said once in response to criticism from another top Spanish chef, Santi Santamaria. “The tomato also has a chemical composition,” he said. via ‘Best restaurant in the world’ to close for two years .
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‘Best restaurant in the world’ to close for two years
The recent rise in the value of sterling against the euro has led to as much as a 40% increase in the number of Brits buying the European single currency. With the sterling euro exchange rate hovering at around 1.15 in recent days, many Brits who regarded this figure as a psychological trigger to exchange currencies have taken advantage of the 12% increase in sterling´s value within the last 12 months. One expert at Moneycorp , one of the leading foreign exchange specialists, whilst also reporting brisk activity, reckons that a large proportion of Brits are holding out for sterling to hit a level of 1.20 before committing to the single currency. It is thought that a change of government in the UK, added to an end to the current recession , could see that figure reached before the end of 2010, prompting thousands of potential British buyers to enter the Spanish property market. Related Posts Sterling on the Rise - Great News for British Buyers in Spain Sterling Exchange Rate Forces Spanish Property Buyers to Wait The Sterling Euro Exchange Rate – Does Anyone Really Understand?
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Sterling Rise Sees Brits Buying in Spain
A man suffering a panic attack tried to force his way into the cockpit of a plane flying from Cardiff to the Canary Islands, say police in Spain. The Spanish national was overpowered and restrained by passengers and flight attendants on the Thomson Airways 0810 GMT service. He was arrested by police when the aircraft landed safely at Las Palmas airport in Gran Canaria. Thomson Airways said the man had “demonstrated aggressive behaviour”. A spokesman for the Spanish Civil Guard in Madrid said it was not being treated as a terrorist incident, while a spokeswoman for Gran Canaria Airport said the man was from the Canary Islands. The Civil Guard spokesman added: “A passenger had a panic attack, got up from his seat and refused to sit down again. “He was restrained and was detained when the flight arrived at Las Palmas. “I cannot give any more detail about why this passenger behaved as he did, but I can say that the incident had nothing to do with terrorism.” Thomson Airways said the passenger on flight TOM 6102 from Cardiff was “disruptive”. A company spokesman said: “The passenger unsuccessfully tried to gain access to the cockpit and demonstrated aggressive behaviour towards customers and crew. “The passenger was restrained during the flight and in accordance with our procedures the aircraft was met by the local police upon arrival into Gran Canaria. “Thomson Airways would like to reassure customers that incidents of this type are extremely rare and that their safety is our first priority at all times.” A spokeswoman for Gran Canaria Airport said the passenger plane´s pilot called the police after the man tried to enter the cockpit. The Foreign Office said it could not confirm if the passenger who tried to enter the cockpit was British. It also said the authorities in Las Palmas would not releasing any information until Tuesday. via BBC News – Passenger tries to storm cockpit on plane from Cardiff .
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Passenger tries to storm cockpit on plane from Cardiff
There is so much to discover in this part of Andalucia with the Alhambra perched high above Granada city, the Alpujarra and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges interspersed with pretty white villages and of course the delicious food and wine. But there is another world waiting to be discovered beneath the surface of the Mediterranean sea skirting the region’s Costa Tropical. In the summer, the waters are crystal clear and warm boasting an abundance of colours and fish. There are many places where you can easily discover hidden treasures with just a mask and snorkel including Playa Rijana near Castell de Ferro, Playa Alfa Mar in Salobreña and Marina del Este in la Herradura. However to really experience the underwater world you should go for a scuba dive and local diving company Seriously Blue has the equipment and know-how to offer you a taste of the underwater-hot-spots along the Costa Tropical. Experienced divers can go for guided fun dives where you may encounter large schools of all kinds of fish, octopus and sepias, colourful wrasses, hermit crabs with anemones on there backs, moray eels, Spanish dancers, huge groupers, orange anemone fields and if you are lucky you might even meet the amazing Mola Mola! For non-divers, there is a Discover Scuba Dive program for which you need no diving experience, other than an ability to swim and a taste for adventure. This half day program will include a basic instruction by experienced and professional dive staff, information on how to use the gear as well as safety concepts. Finally you will make a first real scuba dive accompanied with a dive instructor to ensure a safe. Fun and exciting experience. Arne Compagner Nicole van Dijk www.SeriouslyBlue.com Phone: (+34) 661 018 162
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Scuba Diving, Costa Tropical, what lies beneath….
JAILED members of the Basque separatist group ETA say they launched a hunger strike Monday to protest Spain´s policy of keeping them isolated from each other. The so-called Basque Political Prisoners Group announced the strike in a statement sent to Gara, a pro-independence Basque newspaper that often serves as a mouthpiece for ETA. Around 750 people are serving time in Spanish or French jails over their membership in or links to ETA. Spain´s long-standing policy is to keep ETA prisoners spread out in jails around the country, usually far from their homes in the Basque region, as a way to keep them from plotting behind bars. “We do not have to accept that any of us be isolated, kept at a distance or dispersed,' the prisoners” statement said. But Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said the government would not change its policy one bit. ETA´s prisoners are said to be divided, with a minority of them reportedly pushing for the group to renounce violence. The Basque Political Prisoners Group said earlier this month it had expelled five members for “breaking with discipline” an apparent allusion to their calling on ETA to lay down arms. ETA has killed more than 825 people since launching its campaign for an independent Basque homeland in the 1960s. It declared what it called an open-ended cease-fire in 2006, but returned to violence in a matter of months after peace talks with the government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero went nowhere. — AP via Basques start hunger strike .
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Basques start hunger strike
