Morocco teen: Berlo gave me 70k car, diamond necklace - The Times of India

Morocco teen: Berlo gave me 70k car, diamond necklace - The Times of India: "17-year-old Moroccan model, Karima Keyek, who is involved in the sex scandal with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, has claimed he gave her $9,600 in euros, a diamond necklace and a $110,000 car.

The teenage belly dancer said she witnessed dinner party guests taking part in sex sessions in what the Italian prime minister called the 'bunga bunga' game.

But she insisted that no sex took place between her and Berlusconi, and said he had been like a 'father' to her, simply helping her out when she was having problems."

Police captured almost three dozen Moroccans last month trying to move hundreds of pounds of cocaine through the country

Morocco | Al Qaeda | Islamic Maghreb: "CASABLANCA, Morocco — It seemed a monumental drug bust. Police captured almost three dozen Moroccans last month trying to move hundreds of pounds of cocaine through the country.
But it turned out to be much more than drug deal. Moroccan government officials now say those arrested have ties to Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
'We are dealing with an apparent coordination and collaboration between drug traffickers and terrorists linked to Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb,” said Interior Minister Taieb Cherquaoui after the arrests. Thirty-four people were detained for smuggling more than 1,300 pounds of cocaine from Algeria and Mauritania."

The time has come for common sense to be shown regarding illegal properties in Spain

The time has come for common sense to be shown regarding illegal properties in Spain: "Typically Spanish editor, Howard Brereton, advocates a onetime amnesty on illegal properties as the only solution.

Why is no one in power showing any common sense in Spain regarding the situation that so many people, mostly foreigners, find themselves in, conned into owning illegal property, and with the threat of demolition hanging over their heads?

‘Let the buyer beware’, some may shout, but these people have suffered enough already, and that does not take away from the fact that decisions still have to be taken.

It is obvious that all the illegal property cannot be knocked down; there is just too much of it and too many people affected, and so I’ve reached the conclusion that it must all be made legal, except in the exceptional and obvious circumstances such as construction in dry river beds where safety is a consideration and in National Parks."

Ten year old girl gives birth in Jerez

Ten year old girl gives birth in Jerez: "10 year old girl from Romania has given birth in Andalucía in what is being described as the first case of a child pregnancy in the region in someone so young. News of the birth of the 2.9 kilo baby which took place in the Jerez Hospital last Tuesday was released today after mother and child have been allowed home.

Both mother and baby are in good health and reports indicate the father of the baby is also under age."

Maurice Boland's rise and fall... Mr Marbella | Olive Press Newspaper | News Spain

Maurice Boland's rise and fall... Mr Marbella | Olive Press Newspaper | News Spain: "IT certainly has a most poetic ring to it; she being 16, he 61.
But the liaisons with a teenager that he had taken under his wing to compete in the so-called WOW Factor talent show, has caused more of a slasher movie to the career of one of the coast’s most famous celebrities.
Whether you loved him or hated him, few lacked opinions about DJ Maurice Boland – aka ‘Mr Marbella’ – who over a two decade career has interviewed some of the world’s biggest celebrities through his radio talk show.
He so impressed his subjects that novelist Jeffrey Archer described Maurice as, “the professional’s professional”.
He added: “He is very hard working, very demanding in his research and above all – which is not the case with all journalists -he is very fair. He sees both sides.”…
But, while he long asked a series of tricky questions of the likes of David Cameron, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jay Leno, he was last week being asked a series of tough questions himself.
It came after the parents of the teenage girl – who we are not naming out of respect for her family – turned up to confront him as he was mid-way through his radio chat show at Talk Radio Europe (TRE) a fortnight ago."

Explorer yacht Maisha sold by Engel & Völkers Yachting & Fraser Yachts - Brokerage - SuperyachtTimes.com

Explorer yacht Maisha sold by Engel & Völkers Yachting & Fraser Yachts - Brokerage - SuperyachtTimes.com: "Engel & Völkers Yachting Marbella, who acted on behalf of the buyer, and David Legrand of Fraser Yachts, who represented the seller, have sold the 38 metre luxury motor yacht Maisha. For Engel & Völkers Yachting this transaction is the fourth deal in the high-end segment this year."

Isabel Pantoja presents items to be embargoed

Isabel Pantoja presents items to be embargoed: "Isabel Pantoja, the famous copla singer, has presented documents to the court in Marbella outlining assets which can be embargoed to meet her civil responsibility in the spin-off case from the Malaya corruption case in the town.

She has had to find 3.6 million €, imposed by the judge, Sergio Ruiz, in Instruction Court Five in Marbella, in which she faces charges of laundering money which her ex partner, the ex Mayor Julián Muñoz, allegedly obtained illicitly from Marbella Town Hall.
The judge will decide if her list of items is adequate over the next few days.

Ten people are charged in the case including Muñoz himself and his ex wife, Maite Zaldívar, and her brother."

Euro Weekly News | Jale loses control of Incosol Hotel in Marbella | Costa del Sol | News | The Largest English Language Newspapers in Spain

Euro Weekly News | Jale loses control of Incosol Hotel in Marbella | Costa del Sol | News | The Largest English Language Newspapers in Spain: "HOTEL and real estate group, Jale have lost control of the famous Incosol hotel in Marbella as well as three others in Cadiz and Cordoba. A judge in Cadiz has left the management of the hotel in the hands of the members of the insolvency administration and the owner of the hotels, Inmobiliaria Amuerga, will receive no money at all.
Incosol is run by Jale Medical Spa Corporate SL although there is no contract to prove this and the money taken, which amounted to €11.7m in 2008, is kept by this company. The judge reports that there was €7.5m worth of unjustified personnel and external services expenses. Amuerga, however, claimed that this situation was known by the insolvency administration.
Now, the creditor will be able to appoint someone to directly run each one of the hotels so that expenses can be properly controlled.
Staff at the hotels, and trade unions, are happy with the sentence, which may be appealed, because it means they will remain open and they will be paid the wages which they are owed."

McNamara dispute for retrial in Spain - The Irish Times - Mon, Nov 01, 2010

McNamara dispute for retrial in Spain - The Irish Times - Mon, Nov 01, 2010: "judge has ordered a retrial of a case Mr McNamara lost two years ago because a technical fault meant the original hearing was never recorded. The retrial is set for December in Marbella.
Its outcome will determine whether Mr McNamara’s properties in the upmarket resort are embargoed again, or he is left with the option of keeping the cash from any eventual sale.
The developer, who has admitted having debts of around €1.5 billion, is currently fighting a bankruptcy petition against him in Ireland.
His legal problems in Spain relate to a 2005 dispute over payment for work on a property called the Villa Magna near the five-star Marbella hotel Puente Romano. The Clare builder sued interior design firm Marbetexsa, claiming it owed him €232,000 after he made an additional payment to them in error. Marbetexsa counter-sued, claiming he owed it an additional €298,000 on top of the €298,000 he had already paid.
The judge ruled in favour of Marbetexsa, ordering Mr McNamara to pay the €298,000 as well as court costs in September 2008.
A higher court has now revoked the sentence after appeals from Mr McNamara’s legal team about the quality of the audio-visual recording of the original trial."

Juan Antonio Roca to appeal against his sacking from Marbella Town Hall

Juan Antonio Roca to appeal against his sacking from Marbella Town Hall: "court in Málaga has already deemed the sacking correct, but now Roca is to appeal to Sevilla

The man at the centre of the Malaya corruption case, the ex Real Estate Assessor in Marbella Town Hall, Juan Antonio Roca, is to appeal against the court ruling which supported his sacking from his post.

His lawyer, Francisco Hurgado, has announced an appeal against the ruling from the Málaga Social Court which will be presented at the Andalucía High Court. He considers that his client was unfairly dismissed, and says the decision of the Málaga court is ‘in absolute contradiction’ to numerous other sentences"

Spanish gay groups attack Mariano Rajoy's plans to overturn gay marriage

Spanish gay groups attack Mariano Rajoy's plans to overturn gay marriage: "Mariano Rajoy indicated in an interview in El País that he would overturn the legislation, even if it is deemed to be constitutional in the Constitutional Court

The gay Triángo Foundation has described the Partido Popular leader, Mariano Rajoy as a ‘caveman’ and say that his intents to overturn the gay marriage legislation in Spain are an indignant attack on the rights of the citizens.

The COGAM collective says they are not surprised by Rajoy’s words in an interview in Sunday’s El País saying, ‘The PP has always acted against the fundamental rights of gays, lesbians, transsexuals and bisexuals. If this señor gets into power and overturns the law, he will find us against him, because we are not prepared to again become apples and pears’."

Helen and Len Prior - Another setback in their fight for justice

Helen and Len Prior - Another setback in their fight for justice: "Nearly three years after their dream home in Vera was demolished, British pensioners Helen and Len Prior faced another setback in their fight for justice last week.

The Administrative Courts, after a retrial of the case ordered by the Supreme Court in April last year, have upheld the original decision of the Junta de Andalucia requesting the demolition of their home. The decision was taken on the basis that the property was built on rustic land and could provoke the growth of an urban nucleus.

Last year the couple were finally offered temporary housing by Vera council. They had already spent two years living in what was formerly the garage of their demolished home."

Recession leads to a boom in home grown marihuana in Spain

Recession leads to a boom in home grown marihuana in Spain: "economic recession has led many in Spain to start growing their own marihuana, with the Police describing what is going on as a ‘boom’.

In the month of October alone they have found a dozen of cases across the country, from A Coruña in the north to Chiva, Alicante in the south, where people have been growing marihuana at home.

A police spokesman from the anti-drug unit in Madrid told 20minutos.es that ‘The people are growing plants to reduce the price of their consumption and as a way of generating an additional income by selling to friends.’

The Guardia Civil considers that the number of marihuana hauls has risen in line with an estimated 30% jump in use.

Police say urbanisations of detached villas away from the city often offer an oasis of privacy both for the growth of the plants and for the facilities to process the drug afterwards.

Most of the police action in such cases originates from a tip-off from a neighbour, unless the neighbour decides to steal some of the plants for himself. Mafia groups are also using such properties and the Guardia Civil notes that foreigners are common in such activity."

British woman flies from Luton to Menorca with an axe in her hand baggage

British woman flies from Luton to Menorca with an axe in her hand baggage: "74 year old Pat Palmar forgot to pack the axe at Luton Airport

In these times of heightened security at airports, news comes of a 74 year old woman, Pat Palmer, who travelled with Monarch Airlines from Luton Airport to Maó, Menorca with an axe in her hand luggage.

Diario Menorca reports that the woman, who has a second home in the Na Macaret Urbanisation in Es Mercadal, wanted to take the axe to Spain to chop firewood at her home, but by mistake she did not put it inside the suitcases she checked in at Luton last Friday.

So the axe was in her hand luggage, and she passed all the security controls at Luton without any alarm being raised and without the people monitoring the scanned bags, coats, computers and shoes noting anything strange."

82,000 hotel beds are set to be lost on the Costa del Sol this winder as hotels close for the season.

More hotels set to close for the winter in Spain as the recession bites: "82,000 hotel beds are set to be lost on the Costa del Sol this winder as hotels close for the season.

Union CCOO has complained that seasonal closures are becoming ever more common and lasting for longer. The union describes it as ‘the most important structural problem that tourism has in Spain’.

Gonzalo Fuentes, General Secretary of the Andalucía HostelryFederation, noted that, for example, as many as 13 establishments in the province failed to reopen in time for Easter this year.

Some 15,000 jobs are lost because of these closures which are affecting some establishments for the first time. The Hotel Amargua in Torremolinos, for example, has been open continuously for the past nine years, but will close for the winter this year on November 20. It is one of the 40% of the hotel pool in Andalucía which has taken the decision to close during the low season"

BBC News - Wanted man held on Costa del Sol

BBC News - Wanted man held on Costa del Sol: "man who is accused of distributing cocaine in Glasgow and evading justice has been arrested on the Costa del Sol in Spain.
Craig Jones, who is from Paisley in Renfrewshire, was detained near Malaga by Spanish police, on an international arrest warrant.
The 40-year-old is being held in a top security jail near Madrid.
He will now decide whether to agree to return to Scotland or fight extradition proceedings."

Kosovo: Europe Returning Roma to Face Hardship | Human Rights Watch

Kosovo: Europe Returning Roma to Face Hardship | Human Rights Watch: "(Pristina) - Roma and related minority groups deported from Western Europe to Kosovo face discrimination and severe deprivation amounting to human rights abuse, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
The 77-page report, 'Rights Displaced: Forced Returns of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians from Western Europe to Kosovo,' documents the serious human rights problems faced by those who left Kosovo for Western Europe but were subsequently sent back. They experience problems getting identity documents as well as regaining possession of any property they own. They also have difficulties accessing housing, health care, employment, and social welfare services. Many end up in places where they are separated from family members. The deportations are especially hard on children, few of whom stay in school due to the lack of language skills, curriculum differences, and poverty."