Spain Questions Britain over Gibraltar Incident

Spain’s government expressed “concern” Monday over an incident in which Gibraltar and British units intercepted a Spanish patrol boat pursuing suspected drug smugglers in the Bay of Algeciras.

A Royal Gibraltar Police boat collided with the vessel belonging to Spain’s Guardia Civil.

Madrid has conveyed its displeasure to Britain “though the usual diplomatic channels,” the Spanish Foreign Ministry said.

Sources close to the Guardia Civil said the confrontation occurred 3.7 kilometers (2.29 miles) from the coast of Gibraltar after the Spanish patrol vessel chased down a boat suspected of carrying drugs.

The Guardia officers, who saw the suspected drug runners throwing bundles overboard during the pursuit, had tied the boat to their own vessel by the time five or six vessels of the RGP and British Royal Navy arrived.

Once on the scene, the Gibraltar and British personnel began insulting and threatening the Guardia officers, who ultimately withdrew and returned to the port of Algeciras, the sources said.

Gibraltar is a territory of 5.5 square kilometers (2.1 square miles) on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. It has been held by Britain since 1704 and became a British Crown Colony in 1713.

The Rock currently has some 30,000 residents, who overwhelmingly rejected a 2002 proposal for Britain to share sovereignty over the territory with Spain.

Spain ceded Gibraltar to Britain under the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, but Madrid continues to press its claim to sovereignty over the Rock, Europe’s last colony.

 

Ex-Bank Analyst Settling Insider Trading Charges

former analyst for Spain's biggest bank has agreed to pay more than $600,000 to settle federal regulators' charges of trading on confidential information about BHP Billiton's bid last year to buy Potash Corp.


The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the settlement Monday with Juan Jose Fernandez Garcia. He was an analyst for Banco Santander, which advised BHP on the deal. The SEC filed civil charges last August against Garcia, saying he made illegal profits by betting ahead of the bid that Potash's stock price would rise.

Garcia neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing. He is paying $576,033 in restitution and a $50,000 fine.

Anglo-Australian BHP is the world's largest mining company. Shares of Canada's Potash, the world's biggest producer of fertilizer minerals, soared after BHP announced the $38.5 billion bid.

 

Chain from Spain calls tune on colourful Sydney style

Since it opened shop in Spain in 1975 Zara has grown to more than 1700 stores in 77 countries that last year generated sales of more than €8 billion ($11 billion).THE most important accessory at the Zara store opening in Sydney tomorrow will not be a handbag, a shoe or a headscarf.

It will be the security presence: police, private guards and barricades assembled by the Spanish fast fashion juggernaut to manage the thousands of shoppers expected to converge on Pitt Street Mall eager to snap up their share of ''on-trend'' clothes at reasonable prices.

''Whatever is going to happen we are going to be there and we are going to be prepared for everything,'' Zara's chief communications officer, Jesus Echevarria, said yesterday.

 

Pope Benedict received Maria Jesus Figa Lopez-Palop, the first woman to serve as Spain's Ambassador to the Holy See

Born in 1951 in Barcelona, ​​and a graduate in law and diplomacy;  Mrs Figa served  in embassies in Ivory Coast, Mexico and Lisbon before becoming chief of the Technical Office in the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs and Senior Adviser at the Directorate General of Foreign Policy for Europe and North America and International Security Department, Office of the Prime Minister. In 2002 she was appointed Spain's ambassador to the Dominican Republic and, later, ambassador at large for the Ibero-Latin American and Multilateral Affairs.

At the beginning of his address, the Pope recalled his visit to Santiago de Compostela and Barcelona last November where, he said: "I saw many demonstrations of the vitality of the Catholic faith of those lands that have seen the births of so many saints and which are sown with cathedrals, centers of assistance and culture, which are inspired by the fertile tradition and faithfulness of its inhabitants to their religious beliefs.

This also entails the responsibility of diplomatic relations between Spain and the Holy See that always endeavor to promote, with mutual respect and collaboration, within each one's legitimate autonomy in their respective areas, everything that promotes the good of persons and the authentic development of their rights and freedoms, which include the expression of their faith and conscience, both in the public as well as in the private sphere".

The Holy Father highlighted that "the Church, in carrying out her mission, seeks the whole good of each nation and its citizens, acting in the area of her competency and fully respecting the autonomy of civil authorities. She seeks the good of those who are dear to her and those who ask God to serve Him in society with generosity, honor, skill, and justice. This goal, in which the Church's mission and the function of the state meet, moreover has given expression to bilateral accords between Spain and the Holy See".

Referring afterwards to the difficult economic situation today, with its resultant unemployment "that provokes discouragement and frustration, especially in the youth and less-privileged families", the Pope assured his prayers that God "will enlighten those with public responsibilities, that they will tirelessly seek a path of recovery that is beneficial to all of society".  In this regard he emphasized the praiseworthy work that the Catholic institutions are carrying out to swiftly assist those most in need".  

"The Church offers something inherent to her, which benefits persons and nations: She offers Christ, the hope that encourages and strengthens, like an antidote to the deception offered by other fleeting proposals or to the hearts lacking in values that wind up hardening to the point of not being able to perceive the genuine emotion of life and the reason of things. This hope gives birth to confidence and collaboration, thus changing the bleak present into the spirit's effort to face the future with hope, both as a person as well as a family and a society".

Benedict XVI lamented that "in place of living and organizing society in such a way that favors openness and excellence, there are ways of living, often even having a certain sophistication, that are hostile to faith. ... There are certain environments that tend to consider religion as a socially insignificant factor that seek to offend it. This does not excuse the marginalization of religion, that at times takes place through denigration, ridicule, discrimination, and even indifference in the face of clear profanation. Such is a violation of the fundamental right to religious freedom inherent to the dignity of the human person, the "true weapon of peace because it can change and better the world".

"The Church", he said, "Keeps watch over fundamental human rights. ... She keeps watch over the right to human life from its conception to its natural end because life is sacred and nobody can dispose of it arbitrarily. She keeps watch over the protection of and assistance to the family, defending the economic, social, and juridical means by which men and women contract marriage and form a family so that it has the support necessary to fulfill its vocation and to be the sanctuary of love and life. She also champions education that integrates moral and religious values according to parents' convictions as their right and as is beneficial to the complete development of youth. For that same reason this is included, as is the provision of teaching the Catholic religion in all centers for those who choose it, in the Church's own legal ordinances.

Before concluding, the Pope expressed the desire that the next World Youth Day that will take place in Madrid in August, "will bear abundant spiritual fruit for the youth and for Spain. I also note the availability, cooperation, and generous assistance that the [Spanish] government as well as autonomous and local authorities are extending for the success of an initiative that will attract the attention of the entire world and will demonstrate once more the greatness of the hearts and souls of the Spanish people".

Spain sells short-term debt but rates rise

Spain raised 4.66 billion euros in short-term debt on Monday but had to pay more than previously as Portugal's bailout talks sparked fresh fears over Madrid's ability to stabilise its own public finances.
The treasury said it raised 3.51 billion euros ($5.06 billion) in 12-month bonds at an average yield, or rate of return for investors, of 2.77 percent, up from the 2.128 percent paid at the last such auction on March 15.
It raised 1.15 billion euros in 18-month bills, paying 3.364 percent, up sharply from 2.436 percent last month.
Demand totalled 8.1 billion euros at the auction in which Spain aimed to sell between 4.5 and 5.5 billion euros in the 12- and 18-month bonds.
Portugal on April 6 became the third member of the euro zone after Greece and Ireland to request a bailout from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union.
The move has revived market fears that the debt contagion could hurt neighbouring Spain, Portugal?s biggest trading partner, even though the Spanish economy seems to be turning around.
Spain has strengthened bank balance sheets, cut spending and pursued economic reforms to allay market fears that it will also need a bailout.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has vowed to bring the country's public deficit to within a EU limit of 3.0 percent of gross domestic product in 2013.
The public deficit hit 11.1 percent of GDP in 2009, the third-highest in the eurozone after Greece and Ireland.

 

IN Spain's Canary Islands the month of April is the time to harvest coffee

IN Spain's Canary Islands the month of April is the time to harvest coffee, which is marketed as gourmet product and one which farmers hope to expand rapidly.

Since the late 19th century, the residents of the Valley of Agaete on the northeast coast of Gran Canaria island in the Atlantic have cultivated this coffee which they consider the "only one in Europe," said Victor Lugo, head of the Agroagaete cooperative.

It is not quite the only one, as coffee plantations exist in the Caribbean countries that belong to European nations.

Production of coffee in the Canaries is just 3.0 to 4.0 tonnes per year, organically grown in an area of about 20 hectares (50 acres).

The aim is to bring production to 7,000 kilos (15,000 pounds) from around 2,000 to 3,000 plants while maintaining "quality as the priority," said Lugo.

The coffee, first brought from the neighbouring island of Tenerife in the 19th century, is grown in this rugged and green valley along with tropical fruits such as mangoes, papayas and avocados.

In the town of Orotava on Gran Canaria there is also a botanical gardens where plants brought from the Americas and Asia are grown that are being acclimatised before being introduced into Europe.

For the past eight years Agroagaete, which groups 30 farms that grow the coffee and around 1,000 employees, has led a project to raise awareness of it as "gourmet" product, which sells for 60 euros ($87) per kilo or 15 euros for a packet of 250 grammes.

Lugo said it is a high-quality Arabica coffee "which has the aroma of chocolate and fruit".

But distribution is restricted since it is sold only in the town of Agaete, in Spain's top department store chain Corte Ingles or on the Internet.

Irish celebrity DJ Maurice Boland is returning to the airwaves for the first time following his inappropriate relationship with a 16-year-old teenager in Marbella.

DJ Maurice Boland: 'If people want to take a pot shot at me, I've an open line -- they can ask whatever they want...'
Niamh Horan, talks to celebrity DJ Maurice Boland, back on the air after a scandal over his relationship with a teen

Irish celebrity DJ Maurice Boland is returning to the airwaves for the first time following his inappropriate relationship with a 16-year-old teenager in Marbella.

Known as 'Mr Marbella', the former Irish nightclub boss, who has been married for 40 years, has been absent from public life for the past nine months since his close relationship with the teenager came to light.

But speaking this weekend, Mr Boland said he is looking forward to re-launching himself on the airwaves and will not shy away from his outspoken views on "issues that need to be addressed".

"Somebody asked me the other day, will I be more humble after everything that's happened, quieter, less controversial. And my answer was 'absolutely not'.

"I'll be as outspoken as ever about serious issues that need to be addressed. And if people want me to answer their questions, or take a pot shot at me, then they can ring my chat show. I've an open line with no delay so they can ask whatever they want."

He added: "If people want to address the issue, then we'll address it."

The flamboyant presenter will return to Radio Leinster for a two-part special documentary entitled My Story, which will cover his colourful life to date -- from his time in Dublin right up to the aftermath of the scandal surrounding his relationship with a teenage girl.

However, he will not be returning to his long-standing show with Talk Radio Europe on the Costa del Sol, which suddenly terminated his contract when his relationship with the teenager came to light.

"I will be starting a chat show on a different radio station, details of which will be announced in the coming weeks," explained Mr Boland.

Speaking of his dismay at the way in which his former employers handled the controversy, he drew comparisons with the way in which shamed DJ Neil Prendeville was given a second chance by his bosses at Cork 96FM.

"I have to say that the way in which they handled the Neil Prendeville situation was very good," he said. "I know the two situations are very different, but they never commented on the matter and they re-instated him to his old job. I certainly didn't get the same from my side. I'm disappointed with the way it was handled."

Mr Boland was helping the young entertainer prepare to sing in his Marbella talent competition, The Wow Factor, which he set up in aid of a cancer charity, when the inappropriate relationship took place.

Speaking exclusively to the Sunday Independent at the time the scandal broke, Mr Boland admitted he had made a "terrible" mistake.

"I made an error of judgment," he said. "I got involved with someone. I have been married for 40 years next year. I have been in the media and nightclub business for many, many years and I've never had an affair.

"This is the first time it's happened. I made a very bad misjudgment, which is terrible and hurt a lot of people, including my own wife and her family and my children. And all I can say to those people who are hurt -- I am sincerely sorry."

After spending the past nine months rebuilding his relationship with his wife Wendy, Maurice has described this weekend how the controversy had affected his wife of 40 years.

"She's put up with me. It's been very difficult but we've gotten through it because we love each other very much."

He went on: "It's different now. Things happened that shouldn't have happened and just because I'm back on radio soon, I'm not saying that I'm walking around with a smile on my face, thinking 'ha, ha, ha'. Things have been very difficult."

At the time, the news sent shockwaves around those who knew Maurice Boland from his days as a high-profile nightclub owner when he launched the late-night club culture on Dublin's Leeson Street. Later he joined forces with La Stampa owner Louis Murray to launch Barbarella's nightclub.

He later went on to manage Mandy Smith, the 13-year-old 'Lolita' girlfriend of Rolling Stone Bill Wyman. The convent-school girl met Wyman in 1984 and when the romance cooled two years later, she hooked up with Boland, who got her modelling jobs and a record deal for a song titled I Can't Wait. She later dropped Boland and ended up marrying Bill Wyman in 1986.

Mr Boland and his wife Wendy were a glamour couple of Dublin's social set and moved to Marbella, Spain, in the Eighties, where they became part of the ex-pat Irish social scene. Wendy is very well-known among the ladies who lunch and has her own business as a party organiser, mainly for Irish people.

Mr Boland himself is well-connected with the ex-pat Irish community and frequently has guests over from Ireland as well as interviewing a string of famous people, including British Prime Minister David Cameron.

Speaking about the liaison with the young girl, he explained at the time the scandal broke how he had set out to help her build on her musical talents, but their relationship eventually turned into something more.

He said their relationship started off as a working relationship while he helped her with her music career, saying, "It was a very short involvement and it was never planned. Some of these things just happen.

"It came about through circumstance. The wrong time at the wrong place. There's nothing planned about it."

Asked how his working relationship crossed the line, he replied: "I can't answer it. I can't answer because there was no plan. How do these things happen? I don't know.

"It came to light, people found out and that was it," he said.

"There is no rape involved, no illegality involved, so there's nowhere else to go with that."

Drawing on the young girl's age, he said, "The reason that anyone is showing any interest is because of the girl's age, but I've done nothing illegal. She is of legal age. I have done nothing illegal."

"She's 100 per cent over 16. Not that I feel any better. I'm feeling awful about everything. I didn't set out to have a relationship with anyone, or to have it with someone so young. It was just a misjudgment on my behalf."

Telefónica España warns of 20% job cuts

Telefónica España CEO Guillermo Ansaldo warned that the company could cut its 32,000-strong workforce by up to 20 per cent over the next three years as Spain's largest telco looks to mitigate the effects of the economic recession.

Speaking at a Telefonica investor conference, Ansaldo said, "There is further room to improve efficiency in Spain. We are ready to start negotiating a series of initiatives...that will affect approximately 20 per cent of our workforce," according to the Financial Times.

Telefónica has already instigated an initiative to reduce management positions by 6 per cent, while employees that do avoid job cuts will find salary increase harder to come by as the company moves away from inflation-based rises and links pay and benefit revisions to productivity rather than the consumer price index.

Ansaldo also confirmed that Telefónica España is looking at the potential for outsourcing some of its operations and would optimise its use of capital by selling non-core assets such as real-estate, and co-investing where appropriate. The first could reap up to €600 million, according to Bloomberg, while Ansaldo confirmed the latter would include mobile network sharing.

However, Ansaldo said that the majority of job cuts will be made in the wireline business and that Telefónica expects its revenue in Spain from fixed and mobile broadband and information technology services to climb significantly, prompted by explosive growth in mobile broadband. To maintain this growth, he stated that HSPA and LTE will be rolled out to deliver peak rates of at least 14.4Mbps peak to 100 percent of the population by year end 2013, rising from 50 per cent at the end of last year, and around 25 per cent of the population would be gain access to 42Mbps peak rates over the same period.

Ansaldo outlined revenue growth opportunities in the region of €1.2 billion to the end of 2013 and set a target of sustaining a 48-50 per cent market share of telecoms revenues for the 2013 financial year, at which point he expects the company to be through its recovery.

 

Thousands of British students have descended on a Spanish seaside resort to take part in a drunken annual festival that has outraged the locals

The youngsters have arrived at Saloufest - billed as "the biggest student festival in the world" - in the Costa Dorada resort.

About 5,000 reached north-east Spain yesterday and by midnight many of the 18- to 23-year-olds were already drunk.

Television news footage showed students swigging from beer bottles on the beach, dancing nude in the sea and stumbling through the streets half-naked or in fancy dress.

Spanish daily newspaper El Mundo wrote today: "Before midnight the scene was indescribable. Hundreds of students in a whirlwind that would shame any parent."

A report on Antena 3, a national television channel, said that the festival was about "partying, drunkenness and sex".

One male student told a reporter: "We're going to have a good time. We're going to drink a lot. It's going to be fantastic."

The British students' drunken antics in Salou last year made headlines across the world after numerous arrests. One woman reveller said she had been raped on the beach.

Organisers insist that it is a sporting event and deny promoting drunkenness and bad behaviour. There are 22 sporting events on offer during the day for the students

Spain remains vulnerable,

Spain remains vulnerable, despite Madrid insisting last week that its economy is much healthier than Portugal's and its debts are much more manageable. Spanish banks must roll over debts worth more than 5% of GDP this year, and more than 9% in 2012, in addition to the government's financing needs. A two-point increase in the interest Madrid pays in the bond markets – much of which could come from the ECB, even without a further loss of confidence from bond investors – would, on Fathom's calculations, force Spain into a fiscal crisis.

A string of defaults could shatter the markets' confidence, Gabay argues, resulting in a devaluation of up to 30%, with significant knock-on effects: "What could make the markets lose confidence is watching these countries implode."

With inflation in the 17-member eurozone at 2.6%, ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet said at his regular press conference on Thursday that the rate rise to 1.25% was warranted.

But higher borrowing costs will only widen the schism between the "core" euro countries – which are starting to flourish after the grim years of the credit crunch – and the recession-gripped "periphery".

Much of the debt that has driven the three countries over the brink is owed to banks in the core, and Gabay argues that the insistence on being repaid every penny of that is driving the countries of the single currency apart, instead of holding them together.

"This is a banking crisis, not a sovereign crisis, and the German bankers are in the front line," he says.

It wasn't meant to be like this: joining the euro was meant to give Portugal, Spain, Italy and the other southern countries an incentive to impose economic reform. Instead of devaluing their currencies against the Deutschmark every few years to regain a foothold in international markets, they were supposed to become leaner and meaner – spurring competition, keeping labour costs down and tackling deep-seated problems such as ageing populations and unsustainable social systems. In effect, they were meant to become more German.

Instead, Germany and France themselves broke the strict rules in the "stability and growth pact" about government deficits being kept under control, while low interest rates right across the eurozone led to an unsustainable consumer credit boom, pumping up property prices and sowing the seeds of today's fiscal mess.

The sheer size of the debt burden that many of the recession-scarred countries now face means things could get a lot worse before they get better – and public pressure could persuade some governments that it's worth the risk of leaving the eurozone.

Gerard Lyons, chief economist at Standard Chartered, says the result could be that instead of shaping up, the debt-burdened smaller economies decide to opt out: "I think it's likely that we're heading for a two-speed euro. This is their cleansing operation to get back to where they hoped to be in the first place. The consequence may be that some countries decide to leave."

BRITAIN will put Mediterranean resorts in the shade this BBQ weekend as temperatures hit a sizzling 25C (77F).

We will thrash France, Spain and even parts of Greece with a belting weekend of sun.

Barcelona will only manage 21C (70F), usually baking Athens is a cooler 17C (63F) and Istanbul will trail with just 14C (57F). But Brits will need to slap on suncream by the bottle as high pressure keeps the mercury in the mid-20s.

Last night saw dozens of families head for the seaside. Pubs with gardens will do a roaring trade today, while suncream firm Garnier Ambre Solaire expects to sell a scorching 50 bottles a minute.

But there were still some who didn’t trust the British weather as thousands headed to airports to get away for the Easter break.

Much of Britain has already seen soaring temperatures in recent days, with Santon Downham in Suffolk recorded the week’s highest mercury reading at 23.9C (75F).

But that will rise even higher today with hottest spots expected in the Midlands and the south-east.

Met Office forecaster Sarah Holland said: “It will stay like this for the next two or three days, which means the Grand National will be very warm.”

But the blue skies will give way to cloud as temperatures fall on Monday.

The governor of the Bank of Spain, Miguel Ángel Fernández Ordóñez, believes it is now "essential" to keep up with the ambitious pace of reforms so as not to lose market confidence.

In a speech to the XVIII Finance convention organised by Deloitte and AVC, Fernández Ordóñez stressed in particular the importance of labour market reforms to move away from the current inflexible system that makes job creation difficult.

He warned that 2011 was going to be a difficult year for everyone, and for the banking sector especially.

The governor praised the new solvency rules for banks and savings banks and added that international investors' perception of Spain's banks had changed and urged the banks to seek foreign investment as soon as possible.  He also maintained that the Bank of Spain would keep obliging banks to provision against bad debts.

With regard to the situation in neighbouring Portugal having a negative effect upon the Spanish economy, Fernández Ordóñez said he foresaw few problems.

RYANAIR IS to cut its operations at it Spanish base in Alicante by up to 80 per cent from October in response to increased charges at the airport.

RYANAIR IS to cut its operations at it Spanish base in Alicante by up to 80 per cent from October in response to increased charges at the airport.

The no-frills airline said it was reducing the number of base aircraft at Alicante from 11 to two, cutting the number of routes in half to 31 and reducing passengers from 4 million to 1.5 million.

Among the cancelled routes are flights operating between the Spanish holiday destination and Cork and Derry. Dublin-Alicante routes will be reduced in frequency for the winter.

Ryanair said the decision was taken after AENA Alicante’s decision last week to force the airline to use airbridges, which will cost it more than €2 million a year.

The airline, which has been operating at the airport for more than five years without the use of such facilities, claimed it was an abuse of AENA Alicante’s monopoly and said it had submitted a formal complaint to the Spanish government and the European Commission.

Ryanair was among the airport’s biggest carriers, with Easyjet coming in second.

The cuts will mean fewer than 200 Ryanair flights will pass through the airport each week, down from 600 a week.

It will cost the airport more than €18 million each year in lost passenger and turnaround fees from Ryanair.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said: “Alicante airport has opened up a new terminal building which was not needed, and to pay for it, Alicante expects efficient airlines like Ryanair to now use the same inefficient and high-cost airbridges that other high-fare flag carrier airlines prefer to use.

“We are not going to be bullied by an abusive airport monopoly, or forced to pay €2 million extra for inefficient airbridges which neither we nor our passengers want.”

ex England manager and his Academy recently relocated back to the UK after a dispute over an unpaid loan

An agreement reached between the Glen Hoddle Academy and the Jerez Industrial football club has meant that 12 of the Academy’s players have returned to Spain for the rest of the season.

It comes after the former England manager, who set up the Academy near Jerez in 2008, decided to relocate the centre’s base back to the UK ‘to be closer to its principle market for players’. The club’s failure to pay back Hoddle’s loan appears to have been the reason behind the decision.

The Glenn Hoddle Academy was set up to offer a route back into professional football for youngsters who had been discarded by the top professional clubs, agreeing a deal with Jerez Industrial to supply the players for the club, plus the loan from the ex England international player.

Glenn Hoddle said in a statement on the Academy’s website last week which announced the news of the agreement, ‘The academy has once again saved the club from extinction, despite not being repaid its loan of more than €174,000 and this shows, again, our commitment to the club’.

French driver was seriously hurt when he crashed head on into another vehicle, killing a 63 year old Spaniard

Alicante province has seen its fifth case in the past month of a kamikaze driver, and this latest, on Thursday, was fatal.

A 51 year old Frenchman who drove up the wrong carriageway of the A-31 motorway was seriously injured when he crashed head on with another vehicle at Monforte del Cid, but the driver of the other car was killed in the smash. He’s been identified by Europa Press as a 63 year old Spanish man.

The injured man was trapped in his vehicle and had to be freed by firemen. He’s now under guard at Alicante General Hospital.

It’s not yet known if he was driving under the influence of alcohol or how many kilometres he travelled on the wrong side of the road before the crash.