Reopen Madeleine case, police urge

Scotland Yard has urged Portuguese authorities to reopen the search for Madeleine McCann as detectives said there are 195 potential leads to finding her alive. The detective leading the Metropolitan Police review said the case can still be solved before officers released a picture of what she might now look like as a nine-year-old. Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood said he believes her disappearance was a stranger abduction, as he said there are 195 "investigative opportunities". Police refused to say what evidence they had uncovered to suggest Madeleine is alive. Mr Redwood confirmed that his team of more than 30 officers involved in the case had been out to Portugal seven times, including a visit to the family's holiday flat in Praia da Luz. It will be five years ago next week since the three-year-old went missing as her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, dined with friends nearby. A spokesman for the McCanns said the family was pleased with the image. Mr Redwood said his 37 officers had dealt with 40,000 pieces of information but the "primacy still sits in Portugal" in the attempt to find her. Commander Simon Foy said: "Most significantly, the message we want to bring to you is that, on the evidence, there is a possibility that she is alive and we desperately need your help today to appeal directly to the public for information to support our investigation." Mr Redwood said "evidence that she is alive stems from the forensic view of the timeline" that there was the opportunity for her to be taken. Investigations show "there do appear to be gaps", he added. Detectives in Portugal are also understood to want the case reopened but must gain judicial approval via the courts.

Insecure websites to be named and shamed after checks

Companies that do not do enough to keep their websites secure are to be named and shamed to help improve security. The list of good and bad sites will be published regularly by the non-profit Trustworthy Internet Movement (TIM). A survey carried out to launch the group found that more than 52% of sites tested were using versions of security protocols known to be compromised. The group will test websites to see how well they have implemented basic security software. Security fundamentals The group has been set up by security experts and entrepreneurs frustrated by the slow pace of improvements in online safety. "We want to stimulate some initiatives and get something done," said TIM's founder Philippe Courtot, serial entrepreneur and chief executive of security firm Qualys. He has bankrolled the group with his own money. TIM has initially focused on a widely used technology known as the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). Experts recruited to help with the initiative include SSL's inventor Dr Taher Elgamal; "white hat" hacker Moxie Marlinspike who has written extensively about attacking the protocol; and Michael Barrett, chief security officer at Paypal. Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote Everyone is now going to be able to see who has a good grade and who has a bad grade” Philippe Courtot Many websites use SSL to encrypt communications between them and their users. It is used to protect credit card numbers and other valuable data as it travels across the web. "SSL is one of the fundamental parts of the internet," said Mr Courtot. "It's what makes it trustworthy and right now it's not as secure as you think." Compromised certificates TIM plans a two-pronged attack on SSL. The first part would be to run automated tools against websites to test how well they had implemented SSL, said Mr Courtot. "We'll be making it public," he added. "Everyone is now going to be able to see who has a good grade and who has a bad grade." Early tests suggest that about 52% of sites checked ran a version of SSL known to be compromised. Companies who have done a bad job will be encouraged to improve and upgrade their implementations so it gets safer to use those sites. The second part of the initiative concerns the running of the bodies, known as certificate authorities, which guarantee that a website is what it claims to be. TIM said it would work with governments, industry bodies and companies to check that CAs are well run and had not been compromised. "It's a much more complex problem," said Mr Courtot. In 2011, two certificate authorities, DigiNotar and GlobalSign were found to have been compromised. In some cases this meant attackers eavesdropped on what should have been a secure communications channel. Steve Durbin, global vice president of the Information Security Forum which represents security specialists working in large corporations, said many of its members took responsibility for making sure sites were secure. "You cannot just say 'buyer beware'," he said. "That's not good enough anymore. They have a real a duty of care." He said corporations were also increasingly conscious of their reputation for providing safe and secure services to customers. Data breaches, hack attacks and poor security were all likely to hit share prices and could mean they lose customers, he noted.

Anti-depressants likely do more harm than good, study suggests

Commonly prescribed anti-depressants appear to be doing patients more harm than good, say researchers who have published a paper examining the impact of the medications on the entire body. See Also: Health & Medicine Pharmacology Birth Defects Mental Health Research Mind & Brain Depression Disorders and Syndromes Psychiatry Reference COX-2 inhibitor Psychoactive drug Seasonal affective disorder Anti-obesity drug "We need to be much more cautious about the widespread use of these drugs," says Paul Andrews, an evolutionary biologist at McMaster University and lead author of the article, published recently in the online journal Frontiers in Psychology. "It's important because millions of people are prescribed anti-depressants each year, and the conventional wisdom about these drugs is that they're safe and effective." Andrews and his colleagues examined previous patient studies into the effects of anti-depressants and determined that the benefits of most anti-depressants, even taken at their best, compare poorly to the risks, which include premature death in elderly patients. Anti-depressants are designed to relieve the symptoms of depression by increasing the levels of serotonin in the brain, where it regulates mood. The vast majority of serotonin that the body produces, though, is used for other purposes, including digestion, forming blood clots at wound sites, reproduction and development. What the researchers found is that anti-depressants have negative health effects on all processes normally regulated by serotonin. The findings include these elevated risks: developmental problems in infants problems with sexual stimulation and function and sperm development in adults digestive problems such as diarrhea, constipation, indigestion and bloating abnormal bleeding and stroke in the elderly The authors reviewed three recent studies showing that elderly anti-depressant users are more likely to die than non-users, even after taking other important variables into account. The higher death rates indicate that the overall effect of these drugs on the body is more harmful than beneficial. "Serotonin is an ancient chemical. It's intimately regulating many different processes, and when you interfere with these things you can expect, from an evolutionary perspective, that it's going to cause some harm," Andrews says. Millions of people are prescribed anti-depressants every year, and while the conclusions may seem surprising, Andrews says much of the evidence has long been apparent and available. "The thing that's been missing in the debates about anti-depressants is an overall assessment of all these negative effects relative to their potential beneficial effects," he says. "Most of this evidence has been out there for years and nobody has been looking at this basic issue." In previous research, Andrews and his colleagues had questioned the effectiveness of anti-depressants even for their prescribed function, finding that patients were more likely to suffer relapse after going off their medications as their brains worked to re-establish equilibrium. With even the intended function of anti-depressants in question, Andrews says it is important to look critically at their continuing use. "It could change the way we think about such major pharmaceutical drugs," he says. "You've got a minimal benefit, a laundry list of negative effects -- some small, some rare and some not so rare. The issue is: does the list of negative effects outweigh the minimal benefit?"

Madeleine McCann, the British girl who went missing while on holiday in Portugal half a decade ago, could still be alive, Scotland Yard said on Wednesday.

Madeleine McCann as she might look aged 9  Photo: Teri Blythe

Detectives released a new “age progression” image of the toddler, which they said showed what she would look like today at the age of nine.

On Wednesday, Britain’s biggest police force said that as a result of evidence uncovered during a review “they now believe there is a possibility Madeleine is still alive”.

Officers have so far identified nearly 200 new items for investigation within historic material and are also “developing what they believe to be genuinely new material”.

Scotland Yard urged Portuguese authorities to reopen the search for her amid the new "investigative opportunities".

Police said the image, created ahead of what would have been her ninth birthday on May 12, had been created in “close collaboration with the family”.

Dengue Fever Asian Mosquito Could Invade UK

The mosquito can carry dengue and chikungunya viruses

 

A mosquito that spreads tropical diseases including dengue fever may be poised to invade the UK because of climate change.

The Asian tiger mosquito has already been reported in France and Belgium and could be migrating north as winters become warmer and wetter.

Scientists have urged "wide surveillance" for the biting insect across countries of central and northern Europe, including the UK.

The mosquito can carry dengue and chikungunya viruses, both of which cause high fevers. The infections usually occur in tropical regions of Africa, Asia and South America.

Scientists led by Dr Samantha Martin, from the University of Liverpool, used climate models to predict how changing conditions might affect Asian tiger mosquito distribution.

They wrote in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface: "Mosquito climate suitability has significantly increased over the southern UK, northern France, the Benelux, parts of Germany, Italy, Sicily and the Balkan countries."

The research shows that parts of the UK could become hot-spots of Asian tiger mosquito activity between 2030 and 2050.

The mosquito has been introduced into Europe from Asia via goods shipments, mainly used tyres and bamboo.

Climate change is now shifting conditions suitable for the insect from southern Europe to central north-western areas.

The mosquito could survive in water butts and vases, and may find winter protection in greenhouses, said the researchers.

Spanish real estate boom was one of the headiest ever. Spurred by record-low interest rates, Spaniards piled into holiday villas

 Spanish real estate boom was one of the headiest ever. Spurred by record-low interest rates, Spaniards piled into holiday villas along the Costa Blanca, gaudy apartments in Madrid and millions of starter homes throughout the country. Enlarge This Image Carlos Luján for the International Herald Tribune Marta Afuera Pons is juggling two mortgages — one on her house, another on an investment property that went sour — and is about 350,000 euros in debt. She is trying to persuade her lender, the savings banks BMN, to take back the mortgage and the property. But since the frenzy drove Spanish home prices to a peak in 2007, they have fallen by at least one-fourth, and the bottom seems nowhere in sight. As Spain endures its second recession in three years and unemployment nears 25 percent, an increasing number of debt-heavy Spaniards can no longer meet monthly payments on the mortgages that their banks were all too eager to give. With a rising portion of Spain’s 663 billion euros, or $876 billion, in home mortgages at risk of default, many economists say it is only a matter of time before some of Spain’s biggest banks will need a bailout. And the Spanish government, staggering under its own debt and budget deficit burdens, may not have the money to come to the rescue. The implications of all this for the rest of Europe were a prime topic at last weekend’s meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington. The big fear is that the European Union will need to step in with a Spanish bailout — one much bigger than any of those already extended to Ireland, Greece and Portugal. “Retail mortgages are set to become the Achilles’ heel of the Spanish banking system,” said Edward Hugh, a Barcelona-based economist and blogger who has closely studied the issue. Two years ago, when Ireland’s banks succumbed to a real estate bust, the Irish government’s rescue effort eventually forced it to take 80 billion euros from the European Union and I.M.F. Analysts say that a similar rescue for Spain would cost at least 200 billion euros, or $264 billion — nearly double the 110 billion euros given to Greece, whose debt travails had long raised the question of which European economy might be next to require a rescue. Last week, the Spanish central bank reported that the nation’s nonperforming loans had hit the highest level since 1994. And while the government’s official estimate of mortgages going unpaid is only 3 percent, Mr. Hugh and other economists say the actual numbers are probably much higher — in double digits for some lenders. There is no doubt that the number of new home mortgages has fallen off sharply in Spain. The number of mortgages signed in February were down by 46 percent from a year earlier — the biggest drop since such data was first published in 2004, Spain’s national statistics institute said Tuesday. The real estate boom, while it lasted, gave Spain the world’s highest rate of homeownership — with more than 8 of every 10 Spanish households owning the places they lived. But lenders are now depending on people like Marta Afuera Pons, who is juggling two mortgages — one on her house, another on an investment property that went sour — and is about 350,000 euros in debt. In late 2010, Ms. Afuera Pons, who had just lost her job as a social security administrator, stopped making payments on the mortgage of 132,000 euros that she and the man she lived with had taken out for their home in Tordera, near Barcelona. Separately, they still owe 185,000 euros to the same bank after receiving further financing in 2007 to buy a house that was never built, because the developer went bankrupt a year later. Like many Spaniards, Ms. Afuera Pons is hitting the two-year limit for receiving unemployment benefits. This month, she will receive her last 1,100-euro unemployment check. Finding no buyers for her Tordera house, Ms. Afuera Pons says she is trying to persuade her lender, the savings banks BMN, to take back the mortgage and the property. She would then probably move in with her mother, because her partner left last summer for Brazil and is now married there. Ms. Afuera Pons says she accepts blame for her financial disaster but considers her lender, BMN, the enabler. She has joined an association of mortgage holders that has been staging demonstrations to demand relief. “It’s now easy to say that wanting this new house was a risky investment, but the bank fully supported this idea,” she said. “Everybody lost any sense of caution, starting with the banks.”

Women visit lonely rural town in central Spain to try to ease its bride shortage

 Country boy, meet city girl. Inspired by a Hollywood western, a Spanish dating association is trying to slow a population drain from the country’s beleaguered central villages, introducing bachelors to women bussed in from the big city of Madrid with hopes of ending a bride shortage. 0 Comments Weigh InCorrections? Personal Post Candeleda, a town of 6,000 on the banks of the picturesque Lobera River, hosted a weekend fiesta to welcome 68 women for a meet-and-greet with the village’s single men. Ancient cave paintings show Candeleda has been inhabited for some 5,000 years, and resident Jose Miguel, 67, said he would hate to see its population dwindle after such a long history. “I’ve checked out the few widows and single women here,” said Miguel. “I signed up for this to meet new ladies and to hopefully show them the beauty of my town.” The group, Asocamu, was set up in 1995 to promote rural re-population by organizing parties for single men and woman, but Spain’s painful financial crisis and the lure of city jobs has made the need more pressing than ever, Manuel Gozalo, one of the organizers, said Sunday. Many villages are falling into ruin, with national statistics showing that of Spain’s 5,000 villages up to 100 are under imminent threat of abandonment. Large swathes of central and northern Spain are at risk of depopulation. In the small agricultural communities of Spain’s central plain single, male residents were finding the loneliness too tough to endure, Gozalo said. Asocamu credits as its inspiration the 1951 film “Westward the Women,” starring Robert Taylor and Denise Darcel, which tells the story of how the American west was populated by organizing wagon trains of women to provide company, and brides, for lonely pioneers. In the red-roofed village of Candeleda, men and women danced, flirted — and considered their prospects. Blanca Fernandez, 52, works in sales in Madrid and was attracted by the idea of a nice day out and a chance for romance. “I know it’s difficult to find the love of one’s life, but some of these meetings have led to marriages,” she said.

Women visit lonely rural town in central Spain to try to ease its bride shortage

 Country boy, meet city girl. Inspired by a Hollywood western, a Spanish dating association is trying to slow a population drain from the country’s beleaguered central villages, introducing bachelors to women bussed in from the big city of Madrid with hopes of ending a bride shortage. 0 Comments Weigh InCorrections? Personal Post Candeleda, a town of 6,000 on the banks of the picturesque Lobera River, hosted a weekend fiesta to welcome 68 women for a meet-and-greet with the village’s single men. Ancient cave paintings show Candeleda has been inhabited for some 5,000 years, and resident Jose Miguel, 67, said he would hate to see its population dwindle after such a long history. “I’ve checked out the few widows and single women here,” said Miguel. “I signed up for this to meet new ladies and to hopefully show them the beauty of my town.” The group, Asocamu, was set up in 1995 to promote rural re-population by organizing parties for single men and woman, but Spain’s painful financial crisis and the lure of city jobs has made the need more pressing than ever, Manuel Gozalo, one of the organizers, said Sunday. Many villages are falling into ruin, with national statistics showing that of Spain’s 5,000 villages up to 100 are under imminent threat of abandonment. Large swathes of central and northern Spain are at risk of depopulation. In the small agricultural communities of Spain’s central plain single, male residents were finding the loneliness too tough to endure, Gozalo said. Asocamu credits as its inspiration the 1951 film “Westward the Women,” starring Robert Taylor and Denise Darcel, which tells the story of how the American west was populated by organizing wagon trains of women to provide company, and brides, for lonely pioneers. In the red-roofed village of Candeleda, men and women danced, flirted — and considered their prospects. Blanca Fernandez, 52, works in sales in Madrid and was attracted by the idea of a nice day out and a chance for romance. “I know it’s difficult to find the love of one’s life, but some of these meetings have led to marriages,” she said.

Briton dies in fall from Magaluf hotel balcony

A British tourist has died after falling from a balcony at a hotel, the second Briton to die at the same Spanish resort in three days. Benjamin Harper, 28, from Twickenham, south-west London, fell to his death at the four-star Sol Antillas hotel in Magaluf, Majorca, on Friday. It is believed that Harper, a roofer, had gone out on to the balcony for a cigarette before leaning over and falling to his death while on a stag do. His death came three days after another Briton, Adam Atkinson, 20, from Castleford, West Yorkshire, died in the resort after reportedly falling down stairs. Harper's father, Kenneth, 64, told the Mail on Sunday: "It looks like he popped out on to the balcony for a cigarette, leaned over and fell. No foul play was involved. "His mates are really cut up about it. They are coming home tomorrow and coming here to see me." The hotel where Harper died offered no comment. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said : "We are aware of the death of a British national in Majorca, Spain, on 20 April. We are providing consular assistance to the family at this difficult time."

Britons living overseas defrauded 43 million pounds in benefit fraud in 2011

The British Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith, has been visiting the Department of Work and Pensions benefits and healthcare team in Madrid. He warned Britons living abroad not to break the strict rules on what benefits they can and cannot claim. People who are pretending to live in the UK so they can collect benefits, but in fact are living overseas cost the British taxpayer 43 million pounds last year. Most of the reports of such benefit fraud came from Spain. Iain Duncan Smith commented, “We are determined to clamp down on benefit fraud abroad, which cost the British taxpayer around £43 million last year. This money should be going to the people who need it most and not lining the pockets of criminals sunning themselves overseas. The vast majority of British people overseas are law abiding, but fraudulently claiming benefits while living abroad is a crime and we are committed to putting a stop to it.” He also encouraged Britons to use the dedicated Spanish hotline to report benefit thieves. 900 554 440 or you report a benefit fraud here. The hotline has resulted in 100 people being sanctioned or prosecuted, and 134 more cases are currently under investigation. 3.1 million pounds in over payments of benefit have been identified and will be reclaimed. Source – UK in Spain - http://ukinspain.fco.gov.uk/en/news/?view=News&id=754530182 Duncan Smith made the most of his visit to Madrid and took the chance to meet with Health Minister, Ana Mato, and the Mayor of Madrid, Ana Botella. They discussed the response to the crisis with Duncan Smith calling for an end to the culture of ‘unemployment and dependency’, increasing the control on public spending and eliminating ‘the subsidies which don’t resolve problems because in some cases ‘they trap the poor’.

Anti-Corruption prosecutors to be strengthened in Málaga

 

The State Attorney General, Eduardo Torres-Dulce, has said that there are plans to designate ‘one or two prosecutors’ more to the specialist Anti-Corruption section in the province of Málaga. He made the comment at an event where Juan Carlos López Caballero took possession as Chief Prosecutor for Málaga, a job which he was sharing with his post as Delegate from the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor, where three prosecutors work. There have been complaints from prosecutors that only 8% of civil servants who work for the administration of justice do so in the prosecutors’ office, a number described as ‘totally insufficient’.

Health Minister announces crackdown on foreigners using the Spanish Health Service

The cabinet on Friday decided to crack down on foreigners using the Spanish Health Service as part of an additional 7 billion € of cuts. They intend to toughen the conditions for inclusion on the Padrón census. Minister for Health, Ana Mato, said ‘We are going to end the abuses committed by some foreigners’. She is going to change the Ley de Extranjería which intends to put a limit to the so-called ‘health tourism’, which has seen family members of foreign residents to come to Spain ‘exclusively’ to receive health attention. Ana Mato insisted that from now it will not be so easy to come to Spain, sign the Padrón census, and obtain a health card, as it has been. ‘Just getting on the Padrón they all had the right to the health card’, said the Minister. ‘Now there will be a series of additional requirements when the Padrón is issued’. She said to guarantee the universality of the Health Service ‘for all the Spaniards’ it was necessary to stop the illegal and undue use which some foreigners have been making of this service. On Thursday the Minister met with the regions and they agreed on a new article which will ‘explicitly prohibit a person moving regions in search of health attention'. The Minister considers these measures will do away with health tourism and save 1 billion €. Ana Mato also said that she was going to revise some international conventions on the matter, given that ‘many’ countries do not repay the money they owe Spain for the health attention given here to their citizens. Among the other measures approved, the end of paying for some medicaments ‘with little therapeutic value’. A list of included medicines accepted nationally is to be prepared. The Minister said ‘We all have to collaborate with those who having a worse time’.

Ryanair threatens surcharge on flights to Spain

 

Millions of its passengers – who have already booked and paid for their flights in full – may now be asked to pay an extra fee upon departure, or be told they are not allowed to board. The airline sent an email to customers this week warning them of the backdated fare. “We may be forced to debit passengers for any government imposed increases in airport charges prior to your travel date,” its message read. “If any such tax, fee or charge is introduced or increased after your reservation has been made you will be obliged to pay it (or any increase) prior to departure”.

France and Germany want to suspend the Shengen Agreement

They say they want a temporary suspension while the crisis continues. Spain will being introducing border restrictions during the European Central Bank meeting in Barcelona at the start of May.Angela Merkel and Nicolás Sarkozy - The Interior Ministers of France and Germany have written a joint letter in which they call for the reform of, and ‘temporary suspension’ of the Schengen agreement which allows for the free movement between most member states of the EU. They say the change is necessary ‘to control the massive flow of immigrants’. The call comes just ahead of the 25th anniversary of the treaty this coming Monday, although many countries signed up in March 1995. France and Germany consider that a ‘temporary suspension’ is needed during the crisis, and Paris and Berlin speak of ‘provisional’ closure of frontiers, and only when a country in the Schengen space cannot control the flow of immigrants. They say they will give the details to their European partners at the next conference. Meanwhile Spain has announced the suspension of the Schengen Treaty and the re-establishing of frontier controls with France ahead of the European Central Bank meeting which is to be held in Barcelona on May 3. It has not yet been decided how long the border restriction will remain in place, but say it will allow the authorities to act if there is ‘a serious threat to public order or interior security’. The measure will only affect the frontiers between Spain and France from the Basque Country to Cataluña. Reports indicate that it was the Catalan Government to step up the controls in the face of possible disturbances and the arrival of anti-system protestors from other countries in Europe.

Marbella Police Commissioner moved to Madrid

 

The Police Commissioner in Marbella, Agapito Hermés de Dios, is to be disciplined for spying on the Vice President of the Madrid region, Ignacio González, in what is now considered to have been an ‘illegal’ investigation according to the Minister of the Interior, Jorge Fernández Díaz. Agapito Hermés has presented his resignation from the Marbella Police Station and will now be destined to a district of Madrid. He was subjected to an internal investigation regarding how he dealt with an enquiry into an attic which Ignacio Gonzalez enjoyed in Marbella. The Interior Minister announced publically in the Senate that the investigation was ‘illegal’ and ‘irregular’ as it was carried out without judicial authorisation and without complying with the protocols on intervention established by the Police.

A British man has died in front of his girlfriend during his first-ever flight as a pilot.

Luis Rivera, 35, died instantly after he lost control of his two-seater plane as he prepared to land.

He was on his first flight when the tragedy occurred at a flight school on the Costa del Sol.

A One Air Aviacion airplane similar to that being flown by Luis Rivera a the time of the crash

A 35-year-old Spanish flying instructor accompanying him, named as Francisco Javier Gomez, also died in the crash.

Mr Rivera's girlfriend had taken her baptism flight in the same plane moments earlier and was watching her partner from the ground.

Last night she was being comforted by friends and relatives.

Police and the Spanish Civil Aviation Authority have launched an investigation into the crash.

Witnesses have blamed the incident on high winds.

Mr Rivera and his unnamed girlfriend had hired the plane from flight school One Air Aviation, based near Velez-Malaga a 30-minute drive east of Malaga.

The pair were both making their first flights at the controls of an aircraft - a two-seater Tecnam - after two hours of teaching.

The crash happened just after 3pm local time yesterday as the aircraft prepared to land following a first aborted attempt.

Witnesses said a gust of wind sent the plane spiralling into a farmer's field near the runway as the pilot tried to turn it round for the second landing.

The accident happened near an airport in Velez-Malaga, 30 minutes east of Malaga

Firefighters had to free the men's bodies from the aircraft, which smashed into several pieces on impact with the ground. The plane belonged to One Air Aviacion.

Mr Rivera is believed to be the son of Spanish migrants to the UK.

Carlos Sedano, vice-president of the Leoni Benabu air club where One Air Aviacion hires a hangar, said he believed the accident may have been weather-related.

The wind was gusting at around 35 knots when the tragedy occurred.

He said: 'Yesterday was one of those days when it's not comfortable to fly because it could be risky.'

Professional pilot Vicente Barbara, a witness to the accident, added: 'It wasn't the best day to fly.'

Agustin Cabanillas, a spokesman for One Air Aviacion, said: 'We regret the deaths of these two men. Francisco was a colleague of mine.

'Two investigations are underway, one by the police and the other by the Spanish Civil Aviation Authority.

'Their results will determine what has happened here. I'm not going to comment on speculation and conjecture.'

One Air Aviacion describes the 'baptism flight' on its website as 'something you'll never forget.'

It adds: 'Commanders of commercial airliners around the world are able to remember tiny details of their first flight, because together with the first solo it is the most significant flight in a pilot's career.

'You will experience new sensations typical of the environment and accompanied by an incredible view.'

Spain slams Argentina amid escalating oil dispute

 

Spanish officials warned Argentina on Friday that the country risks becoming "an international pariah" if it follows through on its threats to wrest control of Spanish-owned energy company Repsol's majority stake in its South American YPF unit. Escalating tensions, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo summoned Argentine Ambassador Carlo Antonio Bettini to convey Spain's "concern" over possible nationalization of YPF, which represents 42 percent of Repsol's total reserves, estimated at 2.1 billion barrels of crude. "Breaking the rules comes with a cost, and Argentina could turn itself into an international pariah," said Inigo Mendez de Vigo, Spain's Secretary of State for European Affairs, in an interview aired on the Onda Cero radio network. Garcia-Margallo said after the hour-long meeting with Bettini that he hopes dialogue can resolve matters, but that any "attack" on Repsol would be considered "an assault on the Spanish government." YPF is Argentina's biggest company, and Spain is Argentina's largest foreign investor, with the United States in second place. Shares of Repsol YPF SA closed down 2.7 percent to €17.47 ($22.97) in Madrid amid the escalating dispute and a widespread sell-off for Spain's benchmark Ibex index - even though Repsol told Spanish security regulators that Argentina had yet to provide any official word of its plans for YPF. Speculation about a possible renationalization of the formerly state-owned company had driven shares in YPF up sharply Thursday. Those shares fell Friday with the lack of an announcement. Most YPF shares are traded in New York, where they dropped 5 percent in early trading, continuing a 35 percent slide since Argentine leaders began pressuring the company in January. Governors of oil-producing Argentine provinces have withdrawn about 15 oil leases, representing 18 percent of YPF's crude production, alleging the company failed to keep its promises to develop them. YPF countered that it had invested millions in those areas and plans to increase production, but Argentine officials have said that still falls short. How Argentina may try to displace Repsol, which owns 57 percent of YPF, has been the subject of wide speculation since the government's pressure campaign began in February. Even with its share prices depressed, YPF is valued at $13.6 billion, and buying half of that would deplete Argentina's treasury of funds it needs to maintain the populist subsidies that have kept the country's economy humming. Expectations rose sharply this week when Jorge Sapag, governor of oil-producing Neuquen province, told reporters that "what's coming is a mixed (public-private) company" whose board would include representatives from Argentina's provinces. A proposed law then circulated among Argentine lawmakers Thursday, declaring 50.01 percent of YPF shares "a public good" subject to government expropriation. The proposal wasn't formally submitted to Congress, nor was there any announcement from President Cristina Fernandez following her meeting with a governors group. Fernandez was flying Friday afternoon to a regional summit in Colombia, leaving nearly everyone involved in suspense about Argentina's next move. Her only public comments came in an unrelated address to the nation Thursday night, when without mentioning Repsol-YPF by name, she said she was "ready to pay all the prices that must be paid" to keep Argentina growing. Spanish Vice President Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said Friday that Spain will respond forcefully if Argentina follows through with the nationalization. Asked for details, the vice president implicitly drew a sharp distinction between Spain's approach and Argentina's tactic of encouraging speculation. "These measures aren't advertised, they're simply adopted," she said. Repsol President Antonio Brufau was still in Argentina's capital Friday morning, but a company spokesman said he had no information on Brufau's agenda. The European Union has taken Spain's side. Olivier Bailly, a spokesman for the EU's executive, told reporters the commission hopes Argentina shows respect for "international engagements on the treatment and the protection of international investments on its territory." "We stand side-by-side with Spain in this situation," he said, adding that the two countries must forge a solution that does not "damage the working environment and economic relations between the European Union and Argentina."

Spain regions stage backing for PM's austerity bid

 

Spanish regions controlled by the ruling People's Party staged their backing for Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's austerity drive on Saturday in a move intended to reassure investors the country can manage its finances. Eleven of Spain's 17 highly devolved autonomous regions, which owe billions of euros to street cleaners and health workers, are run by the centre-right party. At a meeting chaired by Rajoy, they all committed to meeting the deficit target of 1.5 percent set by the government in this year's budget. They also pledged to implement swiftly the extra savings of 10 billion euros ($13 billion) in health and education costs announced last week, as Spain was sucked back into the centre of the euro zone's financial storm. The cost of insuring Spanish debt against default hit a record high on Friday, driven by fears about the country's banks. Investors are worried that the banks, already laden with bad debts from a burst property bubble, are also acutely exposed through their holdings of sovereign debt. Spain's regions are expected to cut spending by 15 billion euros in 2012 to help the country cut its budget deficit to 5.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year from 8.5 percent in 2011. "The autonomous communities are not the problem, the autonomous communities must be part of the solution," said Dolores de Cospedal, The People's Party Secretary General and President of the Castilla-La-Mancha region. No details were given, however, on how the new savings will be implemented. A meeting between the central government and the regions, which manage their own health and education budgets, is scheduled for next Wednesday to resolve the issue. Last month, the government said it had reached agreement from most of the regions to comply with harsh cost-cutting measures, but several of them including heavyweight Catalonia and populous Andalucia said the burden was unfair.

Spain has a vast and less widely recognised stash of private sector debt.

 

 Global bond markets, previously sedated by ECB "funny money", now realise that a big slice of those liabilities could land on the government's balance sheet. Back in the 1990s, in the run-up to monetary union, the Spanish government "deleveraged", cutting back debt to comply, or almost comply, with the unfortunately-named Stability and Growth Pact. A national determination to maintain Spain's massive construction boom, though, a country-wide real estate fixation in fact, led to an increasing reliance on private sector debt instead. As eurozone membership approached, Spain's household debt tripled. Spanish companies gorged themselves too and are now servicing six times more debt relative to output than their German counterparts and twice as much as companies in the States. The result is that total private sector debt in Spain is almost 300pc of annual GDP, half as much again as Italy. With property prices 30pc-40pc down on their 2007 peak, swathes of non-performing loans lurk on the balance sheets of Spanish cajas, the country's far-from-transparent savings banks. Yes – Spanish sovereign debt is relatively low. So was Ireland's before Dublin was forced to find vast sums, despite some pretty brutal restructuring, to prop up the country's bloated banks. In 2007, Irish government debt was just 25pc of GDP. That ballooned to 42pc the following year as confidence ebbed and is now no less than 105pc of GDP, state debt having sparked Ireland's bail-out and related crippling austerity program. The Irish, of course, decided to stand behind their banks. Spain won't but, to prevent a wave of bank-busting defaults and untold social unrest, of lot of Spanish private debt, sooner or later, will be "socialised". Madrid's boasts of "low sovereign debts" will then be turned to dust. That will mean, in turn, a whole new wave of spending cuts. Yet even before that happens, Spain is hurting badly. Unemployment hit a record 24pc in March, by far the highest in the industrialised world and more than double the 10pc EU average. Almost half of Spain's young people are unemployed. In a bid to boost employment, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's government passed new laws making it easier to cut wages and lay people off. The Spanish unions responded with a general strike, which became a national demonstration. The protests turned violent, bringing mass arrests, tear gas and a hail of rubber bullets. Ahead of the upcoming ECB summit in Barcelona, some protesters – both workers and students – have been kept "in detention", accused of plotting further "anti-system activities". A few Franco-era laws remain on Spain's statute book and the now deeply-paranoid authorities are using them. In the wake of a third round of austerity measures just announced, the Interior Ministry wants to make the penal code even stiffer, comparing recent protests with the terrorist activities of the Basque separatists. Behind the low-government-debt facade, then, Spain's situation is grave indeed. On top of that, last week we learnt that Spain has tipped back into recession, with GDP shrinking 0.3pc in the first quarter. The government predicts a 1.7pc contraction in 2012, a view many commercial analysts consider too rosy. As the economy slows, tax revenues fall and welfare payments rise, of course, making the fiscal position worse. Ministers admit public debt will hit 80pc of GDP by year-end, up from 36pc as recently as 2008. That's before any systemic panic, which would see droves of private debtors throw themselves on to the state. Spain's benchmark 10-year bond yield exceeded 6pc last week, in the danger zone that sparked bail-outs elsewhere. Just a few weeks ago, the ECB flooded eurozone banks with liquidity under the long-term refinancing operation – its "game-changing" three-year lending scheme. Spanish borrowing costs have since jumped 100 basis points. Insuring £10m of Spanish debt for five years using a "credit default swap" now costs seven-times more than insuring its German equivalent. Was there ever a more stark illustration that monetary union doesn't work, and cannot work unless member states agree, to a very significant extent, to merge their bank accounts? What are the chances of that? Microscopically small, I would say, and getting smaller. The spectre of another eurozone bail-out looms large – only this time far bigger than Greece, involving much larger numbers and in one of the world's major economies. Spain must repay a €11.9bn (£9.8bn) bond on April 30, and another €12.8bn loan at the end of July. If investors refuse to finance this repayment at an "affordable" rate, what happens next? The answer is that nobody knows. Greece has already enacted the largest sovereign debt restructuring in history to avoid a big, disorderly default. Pulling that off involved a €110bn EU/IMF package in May 2010, another €170bn this year and a hefty bondholders "haircut". What would it take in Spain if that's what in took in Greece? Spain is a "grown-up" economy. Should Spain need a bail-out, and if (a big if) one can be afforded, then who's next? Where does this madness end? Under Rajoy, Spain has been trying to get its finances in order, but the challenge just seems too great. Faced with public disorder, his government has clamped down hard. But now, to appease the domestic mob, Rajoy has been thumbing his nose at the eurocrats, telling them their austerity demands are "madness". How much longer, in the face of such defiance, until "eurozone-solvents" like Germany and the Netherlands lose patience? Leading Dutch politicians now say their country should quit the euro. It can't be long before this view becomes "acceptable" in Germany too. In February, Spanish banks' net ECB borrowing was €169.8bn – a staggering 47pc of ECB lending to all eurozone banks. In March, that figure surged again, to €316.3bn. Spanish banks are now under intense pressure and that distress, as it bursts into the open, will soon be dumped on the state. "Economic spring is in the air," said International Monetary Fund supremo Christine Lagarde, chiming in behind Sarkozy. Nothing as dramatic as a Prague spring or an Arab spring, one hopes. But the signs for Europe are ominous

Spain accused of 'draconian' plans to clamp down on protests

 

Jorge Fernandez Diaz, the Spanish interior minister announced in Congress on Wednesday that a reform of the penal code was planned to criminalise those involved in organising street protests that "seriously disturb the public peace". Under the laws, a minimum jail term of two years could be imposed on those found guilty of instigating and carrying out violent acts of protest under a new package of measures unveiled on Wednesday. But it has raised fears that the new measures could be used to stem the wave of protests that began last summer with the birth of what has been dubbed the "indignado movement", when tens ouf thousands of peaceful protesters camped out in squares across Spain. Protest groups were quick to draw comparisons to the fascist dictatorship of Gen Grancisco Franco. The measures come amid growing incidents of street violence in cities across Spain, most notably Barcelona where "anti-capitalist" groups were blamed for stirring tensions during last month's general strike.The strike on March 29 was marred by clashes between police and individuals who torched bins, threw missiles at businesses including banks and vandalised the Barcelona Stock Exchange in the Catalan capital. A Starbucks café was also torched during the protests when police fired rubber bullets and used tear gas as the protests spiralled out of control. Mr Diaz said "serious disturbances of public order and intent to organise violent demonstrations through means such as social networking" would carry the same penalty as involvement in a criminal organisation under the new reform. But he also said that the measures would extend authorities powers to deal with passive resistance as contempt of court. The measures will make it "an offence to breach authority using mass active or passive resistance against security forces and to include as a crime of assault any threatening or intimidating behaviour," he said in Congress. In addition attempts to disrupt public services such as transportation would also be made a crime. During the recent general strike picketers blockaded bus and train stations in an attempt to bring transportation to a halt. "New measures are needed to combat the spiral of violence practised by 'anti-system' groups using urban guerrilla warfare," the Interior Ministry clarified in a later statement. The measures brought swift criticism from protest groups and became a trending topic on Twitter. The terms "#soycriminial" (I'm a criminal) and "Holadictatura" immediately became popular trending topics. Comparisons were drawn with Cuba, where peaceful protesters are routinely rounded up by the communist regime, and with Spain's dark days of the Franco dictatorship which ended with his death in 1975. "We fought for freedom and civil rights during the dictatorship of Franco only to lose them now," one Twitter user, @Iaioflautas wrote. Another, @Mordorpress said that the government of Mariano Rajoy was a step back to dictatorship. "Goodbye democracy, you only lasted 30 years," he wrote. Protests against the reforms of the penal code have already been called for Saturday. The new measures were announced just days after Felip Puig, the Minister of the Interior of Catalonia's regional government, called for measures to limit "social assemblies". They will be debated in parliament and voted on during the current parliamentary session.

Thousands of British expats are on the brink of losing everything after being duped by unscrupulous financial advisers.

 

The cowboys have persuaded thousands of  our vulnerable pensioners — many in their 80s and 90s — to give up huge stakes of their property in exchange for investments that will never make a penny. 

The schemes are often sold by rogue financial advisers who exploit weak consumer laws on  the Continent by falsely claiming to be bona  fide accountants.

Most of the victims are Britons who retired to Spain or France and wanted to use the cash in their homes to help with soaring living costs. 

John Parsons, founder of the Costa del Sol Action Group that is helping some of the victims in Spain, says: ‘The effect of all this worry is enormous. The stress has brought on a lot of serious health issues and they are extremely worried about their futures.

‘These people were not greedy or stupid. They were on fixed pensions and being financially squeezed, so jumped at the possibility of solving that situation.’

The latest crisis follows a Money Mail  investigation in 2008, which exposed how hundreds of British pensioners living on the Costa del Sol had gambled their homes in a risky equity-release scheme run by failed Icelandic bank Landsbanki.

Now we can reveal how thousands more pensioners have fallen for other risky equity-release schemes on the Continent and are being hounded by banks demanding hundreds of thousands of pounds.

 

 PREYED ON BY  ROGUE SALESMEN

During the property boom at the start of this century, around 100,000 pensioners left Britain to live out their days in southern France and Spain — attracted by a warmer climate and cheaper way of life.

Many had a small pension, but hundreds of thousands of pounds from the sale of their UK home, which had soared in value over their lifetime.

This money was used to supplement their incomes and buy a new home abroad. But soon after they moved, the cost of living in some areas soared as hundreds of thousands of Britons and Germans bought second homes.

Many pensioners found they needed extra cash, and became easy prey for unregulated financial advisers who had left Britain to tap into the new wealth in these regions. 

Local rules meant they were able to act unchecked, selling investments from banks based anywhere in the world.

Sometimes they claimed to be chartered accountants, but were not — many had never even registered with local authorities. 

In Spain in particular, these advisers could largely sell whatever they wanted — including types of investments and equity-release schemes outlawed in the UK. These paid handsome commissions that could net advisers a £50,000 payday.

Banks offering equity-release loans included Icelandic bank Landsbanki, Scandinavian banks Nordea and Sydbank, and UK private bank Rothschild. However, Money Mail understands they are not the only banks involved.

The majority of victims were told they could borrow the entire value of their property. The loan would incur interest, typically of up to 6.5 per cent. It meant that after ten years, a €500,000 (£412,667) loan would balloon to €681,240 (£562,251). To offset this, a large chunk — usually around 75 per cent of the loan — would be invested in a fund sold by the adviser. 

Pensioners were told returns would be so good that not only would they cover the interest on the equity release, but give the borrowers a little extra to spend.

INVESTMENTS THAT TURNED TOXIC

But the promises made turned out to be very different to the theory. This meant returns did not cover the cost of the interest repayments on the equity release. 

As the fund fell in value, it ate into the capital that borrowers needed to repay the debt. Charges for fund managers and commission also reduced the returns further. 

Worse was to follow when house prices in Spain fell. They had risen by 44 per cent between 2004 and 2008, when many of the victims had bought their homes. They have since plummeted by around 20 per cent.

Those who had borrowed almost all of their property value were soon in negative equity — where the value of the property value was less than the money owed on it — leaving them unable to sell to clear their debt. 

In theory the borrowers were expected to pay off their loan at the end of four years. But because the value of the investments plunged so low, it triggered small print in the equity-release contract that allowed banks to demand repayment early.

In the case of those expats with Landsbanki, the bank collapsed and the investment fund was snatched by company liquidators. Then a further problem struck — the value of the pound plunged against the euro. 

Many of the victims were paid pensions in pounds and relied on converting the money into euros every month. The drop meant the value of their pensions fell by a third.

RETIREMENT DREAMS LEFT SHATTERED

Campaigners estimate thousands of British pensioners have lost money through these schemes. Former actress Julia Hilling, 88, fears her home will be swallowed up in repayments to her mortgage from Rothschild Bank.

She was sold the mortgage in 2005 by a Malaga-based British financial adviser. Today, this company is classed as unauthorised by the Spanish authorities. Her property was valued at €300,000 (£249,966) and she took out a loan for €262,000 (£217,827). Around €17,000 (£14,138) was used for living expenses and she put €245,000 (£203,693) in an investment fund. 

Tempted: Julia Hilling, pictured was an actress in the 1940s, says she went for a scheme because she needed to pay bills

Mrs Hilling, who starred in musicals in the Forties and in revues with Sir Bruce Forsyth at the Windmill Theatre, London, had never invested or even had a mortgage before. 

Since 2005, the fund has plunged by around a third and will no longer cover her mortgage. She owes €330,000 (£274,362) and the debt continues to grow. Mrs Hilling says she is unable to cover these costs and fears the bank will take her property when she dies.

‘I needed the money desperately to pay everyday bills while I was out here, as I didn’t want to rely on my family,’ she says. 

Rothschild told Money Mail it would not repossess Mrs Hilling’s home. It stressed it had not sold the investment to her and was not demanding repayment nor had it paid commission. It urged her to contact the bank. 

Another victim is Eric Mould, 64, who after a career in sales moved to a seaside villa in Puerto Banus, near Malaga, in 2007. He and his wife Mary, 60, sold their four-bedroom detached house in the UK to buy a three-bedroom villa with a swimming pool for €1,188,000 (£990,000).

But five years later they are living in a friend’s flat in the town and battling to pay €2,100 (£1,745) a month in mortgage repayments to Danish bank Nykredit.

Shortly after arriving in Spain, the couple borrowed €1 million against their villa with the bank. They say the British financial adviser who sold them the equity-release mortgage told them it would be a ‘win-win’ situation.

They were told they could free up hundreds of thousands of pounds from the mortgage, and the fund would pay off the loan. They believed the investment they were sold separately through Danish bank Sydbank would leave a little extra to boost their pensions.

To cover the mortgage, the Moulds have rented out their dream home. Their friend is letting them live rent-free in the apartment. The couple fear it is only a matter of time before their home is repossessed. And because property values have dropped, they could lose up to €300,000 (£249,966)

‘This has totally devastated us. It is heart-breaking — we face losing the home we worked for a lifetime to buy,’  says Mr Mould. 

Sydbank would not comment on  the case.

Others who took out equity-release schemes with collapsed Icelandic bank Landsbanki have been told it will settle — as long as they pay part of the money owed, in some cases hundreds of thousands of pounds.

One couple, Linda and Frances Barlow, aged 63 and 75, who live in Nice in the south of France, believe the bank’s liquidators will repossess their home by May unless they stump up €1.3 million (£1.08 million).

The liquidators proposed a compromise deal, but it would have required the couple to find €500,000, which they do not have.

The Barlows took only a small proportion of the loan as cash. The rest was invested by the bank, and lost when it collapsed in 2008.

‘We wanted some cash to renovate,’ says Mrs Barlow, a musician from London. ‘We didn’t want to take out a big loan, but the financial adviser told us we were foolish to be sitting on an asset and that we should get an equity release to have an income. Now we are going to lose everything.’

Pensioners fight to keep their homes

Scores of pensioners have launched legal action against the banks and financial advisers who sold them the loans. Solicitor Antonio Flores, of Spanish law firm Law Bird, who is representing some of them, says: ‘Many people are left with huge bills and in fear of losing their homes.’

In February, the European Commission announced plans for an independent ombudsman to deal with mis-selling cases against financial advisers working in the Costa del Sol.

Meanwhile, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has issued official warnings about mortgage schemes advertised as a way of cutting tax bills.

Any expats thinking of signing up to an equity-release scheme in Spain should check the company is registered with the agency in charge of the Spanish stock market, the Comision Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV).

It will also provide a list of companies that are not authorised to operate in Spain and those that have warnings issued against them. 

Remember to seek independent legal advice before signing a contract.

If you believe you have been a victim of a fraud involving an equity-release scheme, then register a statement with the police.

Seek independent legal advice about taking action through the courts.

If you wish to complain about the performance of your investments, you should first complain to the equity-release company.

After two months, if you are not happy with the response, take your complaint to the Spanish Investors’ Complaints Office: Oficina de Atención al Inversor, Miguel Ángel 11, 28010 Madrid. 

There is also an office at Paseo de Gràcia, 19, 4ª Planta, 08007 Barcelona.

THE FIGHT TO KEEP THEIR HOMES

Spanish banks face funding lock-out

Covered bond syndicate bankers are expecting weak jobs data out of the US and a persistent deterioration of Spanish bank credit to weigh heavily on the new issue market for the foreseeable future. It's a backdrop that is likely to lock Spanish banks out of the primary market and deprive the country's banks of a funding plan B, according to one banker.  Click here for Cloud Computing     Also Read   Related Stories News Now - Spanish banks' ECB borrowings on the rise - US money funds shun Italian, Spanish banks - Salgado's 'nightmares' over as Spain tackles banks - Credit Agricole unit, Magnetar sued - Constructive on Indian market: Deutsche Bank - Moody's threatens to downgrade 17 big banks "The Spanish are continuously looking at the market but the increasing weakness in the government spreads and the confusion around the M&A sector is putting a number of investors off." Investors are now focusing on the technical difficulties in the Spanish real estate and government bond markets -- which are not likely to be solved by austerity cuts or euro 1 trn of fresh liquidity through twin three-year funding operations, or LTROs. Last week, Moody's said that new mortgage lending in Spain is not strong enough to offset redemptions and bad loans. According to Credit Agricole, this drastic decline in mortgage lending will reduce the over-collateralisation that protects covered bondholders. This is especially the case for issuers that are close to the statutory limit of 25 per cent. "Moody's has highlighted that Spain will not be able to keep up with its redemptions and that is something that will keep Spanish banks locked out of the market for a prolonged period of time," said a syndicate banker. In the secondary market, traders say Spanish spreads have widened by as much as 70bp in the past two weeks, compared to French and Nordic bonds that have softened by 20bp and 3bp respectively. "The Spanish are completely shut out of the market," said a covered bond trader. "You won't get any momentum for a deal, and for investors, they have no incentive to buy into a deal when the market is declining." Banco Popular's five-year Cedulas is now trading at mid-swaps plus 286bp, having priced at plus 255bp in March, and the last senior deal, a five-year from Santander, is some 88bp wider than its mid-swaps plus 265bp reoffer level. The drop-off in demand for Spanish paper follows two months of relatively energetic issuing activity from the country's banks which had been locked out of the market for the previous eight months. Since Santander sold a euro 2 bn, three-year Cedulas Hipotecarias at mid-swaps plus 210bp in February, Spanish banks have come to the market in an orderly fashion and sold around euro 4.8 bn. And while certain bankers are bearish on Spain's public funding prospects there are those that think a few weeks without primary supply from the country and investors will jump at the chance to buy Cedulas paper. "The widening is way overdone," said one banker. " If we have no new issuance for a few weeks investors will be tripping over themselves to put their cash to work and I think this implies Santander, BBVA and CaixaBank." The government also stated its intent to accelerate the sale of publicly-owned savings banks. Added to this, are reports that Spanish banks raised their holding of government debt to euro 68 bn under the LTRO, thus closely linking the health of the banking sector to the fate of the governments debt, and with more concerns on the Spanish budget deficit that is affecting sentiment. On the back of that news, Spanish government bonds have widened by 25bp on Tuesday which is now trickling down to Spanish covered bond issuers who are sidelined despite having plans to access the market in the near future. "It's not at all clear to investors what banks are healthy in the country. There is much needed consolidation going on but it is having an impact on how the credit is perceived," said a syndicate official. According to a Spanish bank treasurer, there is a short-term problem for investors seeking information about certain credits that have undergone, and are undergoing, consolidation. "There are different software systems providing mortgage portfolio information in an aggregated format which is more difficult than before a merger. This happens every time two institutions merge and it takes 12 to 24 months to migrate all systems into a single IT system," he said. In the US, weakness in non-farm payroll numbers has also unsettled market participants. US jobs grew by 120,000 last month, far below the forecast gain of 203,000 jobs. The unemployment rate dipped to 8.2 per cent, down from 8.3 per cent in February.

Egypt accepts Spain's conditions for tycoon's handover

 

Egypt has accepted Spain's conditions for the extradition of a tycoon who was a close associate of Hosni Mubarak, legal sources have told BBC Arabic. Egyptian officials have promised Hussein Salem a free and fair trial, clearing the way for his transfer. Spain's National Court ordered the 78-year-old's extradition last month. After his arrest on money laundering and corruption charges in June, police froze 32.5m euros in his bank accounts and properties worth 10m euros. Money was allegedly obtained illegally in Egypt and sent to accounts in Spain held by Mr Salem through companies created by a Turkish "frontman". Many Egyptians are demanding that businessmen who enriched themselves through alleged corruption under former President Hosni Mubarak should face justice. Gas deal Mr Salem is reported to have left Egypt on 3 February 2011, eight days before Mr Mubarak was forced to resign by a popular uprising. He was charged in Egypt with fraud and financial speculation in May along with Mr Mubarak and the ex-president's two sons, Alaa and Gamal. Their trial ended last month and a verdict is expected in June. Mr Salem was detained by Spanish police in June 2011 along with his son, Khaled, and Ali Evsen, a Turkish businessman who is alleged to have set up the companies used to funnel money from Egypt to Spain. They appeared the next day before magistrates at the National Court in the Spanish capital. Bail was set for all three - with Mr Salem receiving a record bail figure of 27m euros ($36m; £22m). On 2 March this year, the National Court informed the Egyptian ambassador that it had "agreed to hand Hussein Salem and his son Khaled to Egypt". Mr Salem is alleged to have siphoned $714m (£446m; 536 euros) in public money out of a deal to sell natural gas to Israel. Prosecutors say Mr Mubarak allowed a company in which Mr Salem was a major shareholder to buy gas from the government at below market price, and then resold the gas to Israel at a substantial mark-up. Mr Mubarak is also alleged to have allowed Mr Salem to buy a large amount of land on Egypt's Red Sea coast from the government at a discounted price in return for five luxury villas.

New 65 Euro charge to become a 'pareja de hecho'

 

Fuengirola is to start charging common law couples who become a ‘pareja de hecho’ in the Town Hall a cannon of 65 €. The Town Hall says the measure is designed to fight fraud, as the numbers doubled last year, due its thought to changes in the Foreigners’ Law in the summer of 2011. They say the money will cover the costs of the service and mean the public funds will be needed.

The Hotel Incosol in Marbella closes down

 

The hotel Incosol, a landmark in Marbella for 39 years, is closing down on Sunday. Unions have said it is a setback for the workers and for the town. Union CCOO thinks that there could be another interested company behind the move. It does seem odd that it is closing on what many consider to be the first day of the season, but many of the 130 workers have not been paid for three months and are ‘desperate’. UGT union spokesman for Tourism in Málaga, José Antonio Segano, has said that despite the closure the workers will keep going to the hotel to make sure in remains in good condition and nobody sells it. The hotel has made a mark in the town with its spa and beauty services which have attracted many stars over the years.