Saudi King's Back Operation In US Successful - WSJ.com

2nd UPDATE: Saudi King's Back Operation In US Successful - WSJ.com: "Saudi Arabia's elderly monarch, who traveled to the U.S. earlier this week to seek medical care after being hospitalized late last week, successfully underwent back surgery at New York Presbyterian Hospital, the royal court said Wednesday.
'A blood accumulation was removed, a slipped disk was adjusted, and an affected vertebral body was stabilized,' the royal court said in a statement.
King Abdullah bin Abdelaziz al-Saud, believed to be 86 years old, left for New York Monday to treat a slipped spinal disc, which caused a blood accumulation that put pressure on some nerves. He had earlier handed over power temporarily to Crown Prince Sultan, the king's brother, who also serves as defense minister, until his return to the top oil exporter.
The 85-year-old Sultan, who has suffered his own serious health problems, arrived in the kingdom the same day after a long break in Morocco."

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Euro Zone Is Short of Survival Options - WSJ.com

HEARD ON THE STREET: Euro Zone Is Short of Survival Options - WSJ.com: "German Chancellor Angela Merkel has acknowledged this is no longer an academic question, describing the current situation as 'extraordinarily worrying.' While markets steadied Wednesday, there still were signs of stress: Senior bank debt spreads in Portugal and Spain continued widening, and the cost of insuring Belgian government bonds against default reached a record.
European leaders are responding to each crisis country by country, providing individual bailout packages designed to prevent contagion. But the Irish bailout has failed to settle market nerves, with Portugal now under pressure and Spain also in the market's sights. If putting together an Irish bailout is proving hard, given rows over the conditions to any aid plus a domestic political crisis, Portugal will present an even greater challenge, given Lisbon's lack of progress in tackling its deficit and its chronic lack of competitiveness. Meanwhile, Spain's economy may be too big to save.
But even if the strategy does halt contagion, it most likely only buys time. The euro zone's bailout arrangements are due to expire in 2013"

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How Massive Rescue Fund Could Fall Short - WSJ.com

How Massive Rescue Fund Could Fall Short - WSJ.com: "€750 billion (about $1 trillion) European emergency fund, promoted as having the firepower to douse a financial crisis in the euro zone, may not even have enough to cover a bailout of Spain, according to the International Monetary Fund and outside economists.
The reasons are two-fold: There is a lot less money than the headline number suggests—and there are restrictions on the use of a lot of it.
The European Union, for instance, can provide just €310 billion for rescue loans, not the €500 billion the EU advertises.
Here is how the math works: About one-third of the €750 billion is supposed to come from the IMF. But the IMF can't commit anything in advance. Its members must approve each loan country-by-country. While it is unlikely, IMF members could balk at bailing out Europe. Their support isn't guaranteed.
The remaining €500 billion includes €440 billion committed by EU members under the European Financial Stability Facility—the fund that will be used for an Irish bailout.
That fund provides loans—not cash—and those bailout bonds are required to have triple-A ratings. To get such a rating lending countries have to hold onto about 40% of their loans as cash collateral. That reduces the actual amount available to lend to just €250 billion.
Another €60 billion comes from yet another pool—the amount already budgeted by the EU for such contingencies.
So, bottom line, only about €310 billion is actually accessible to countries in need, a figure confirmed by an IMF economist."

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Morocco’s Saham Group Expands Into African Insurance Market - BusinessWeek

Morocco’s Saham Group Expands Into African Insurance Market - BusinessWeek: "Morocco’s Saham Group has bought a 92-percent controlling stake in the insurance company Colina, the private holding group said in a press release.
Casablanca-based Saham, founded in 1995, engages in the franchising of children’s clothing stores. Colina has 15 affiliates in 11 African countries including Senegal, Mali and Cameroun, Saham said in the press release. The deal will be finalized in the coming weeks, it said."

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Banque Centrale Populaire Maroc joins the Mediterranean Bank Network

Banque Centrale Populaire Maroc joins the Mediterranean Bank Network

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Moroccan nationalists 'hack Algerian embassy website'

AFP: Moroccan nationalists 'hack Algerian embassy website': "website of Algeria's embassy in Washington has been targeted by Moroccan nationalist hackers, the mission said Wednesday.
Two other Algerian websites also appeared to be affected, according to statements on the websites, in attacks apparently motivated by Algiers' support for the Polisario Front.
The Front wants a referendum on self-determination for the Western Sahara region, with independence from Morocco as one of the options.
'The hackers left no doubt whatsoever as to their identities or those of their sponsors, now obviously resorting to desperate means and tactics,' the embassy said.
A website giving information on Algeria, TSA, stated on Wednesday that it would be closed for several days following the hacking.
Another site with links to Algerian media websites was also affected.
Western Sahara was annexed by Morocco after Spanish settlers withdrew in 1975, but the Polisario Front fought the Moroccan presence until the United Nations brokered a ceasefire in 1991."

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We see no sufficient and sustainable growth and expansion perspective for the specific concept of our self-service wholesale business in Morocco

"German retailer Metro has agreed to sell its stores in Morocco in a deal that marks its first retreat from a country and could presage similar decisions to cut exposure to underperforming markets.
Metro’s eight cash-and-carry stores are being sold to Label Vie, a Moroccan company that holds a Carrefour franchise, for €120m ($163m), Metro said on Monday. The deal will add a one-off €50m boost to earnings for the German retailer, one of Europe’s three largest by global sales along with Carrefour and Tesco.
Metro boosted by recovery in eastern Europe - Nov-02Metro in talks to sell French electronics chain - Oct-29Metro studies Indonesia as expansion base - Sep-13Upbeat Metro hails end to period of caution - Aug-02Metro hopes for Kaufhof sale in 2010 - Mar-30Metro eyes east Europe for growth - Mar-18The stores, which Metro bought in 1998, had sales of €208m in 2009 – a small share of the retailer’s overall cash-and-carry sales of more than €30bn. The group has more than 540 wholesale stores in 30 countries, mainly in Europe.
Joël Saveuse, a management board member of Metro, said: “We see no sufficient and sustainable growth and expansion perspective for the specific concept of our self-service wholesale business in Morocco.”"

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Saudi-based Islamic Development Bank to finance electricity projects in Morocco | Energy

Global Arab Network | Saudi-based Islamic Development Bank to finance electricity projects in Morocco | Energy: "Morocco and the Saudi-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) have inked several agreements worth 51.7 million dollars (around 410 million dirhams) to finance the last phase of the rural electrification program.

The deals were concluded by Economy Minister Salaheddine Mezouar and IDB's Chairman Ahmed Mohamed Ali. The signing ceremony was attended mainly by Energy Minister Amina Benkhadra and head of Morocco's electricity facility (ONE) Ali Fassi Fihri.

On this occasion, Mezouar lauded the outstanding role played by the IDB in promoting Morocco's socio-economic development and spurring its economic growth.

He also stressed that the Bank is a key-partner of Morocco, mainly in terms of carrying out social development programs, including the rural electrification program."

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Joseph Garcia has accused the Gibraltar Government of having 'completely mishandled' the Mid Town project

Gibraltar Chronicle - The Independent Daily First Published 1801: "GSLP/Lib spokesman Joseph Garcia has accused the Gibraltar Government of having 'completely mishandled' the Mid Town project from when it was directly allocated, 'without going out to tender, in 2004,' up to the plans to take a majority share in the development for its 1st phase in 2010. Dr Garcia said the move is 'a serious error of judgement' that they oppose.
Dr Garcia said lack of finance has been given by Government as the reason for their decision but had not explained why it was chosen ahead of all the others for support.

'Lack of bank finance is a problem facing all developers in Gibraltar and not just one group. It is up to the developer to find private finance for the project to go ahead.'"

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Government should support the Mid Town project to the exclusion of all others.

"Opposition considers that it would be manifestly unfair to developers of commercial office space in Gibraltar that the Government should support the Mid Town project to the exclusion of all others.

There are obviously a number of other developers of office space in Gibraltar who would not be so lucky as to benefit from Government patronage in the way that is planned for Mid Town.

The Government have given the lack of bank finance as the reason behind their decision to support the Mid Town project. They have not explained why this particular project was chosen ahead of all the others for Government support. It is logical to assume that a lack of bank finance is a problem which faces all developers in Gibraltar and not just one group. In such cases it is up to the developer to find alternative sources of private finance which will allow the project to go ahead. This could take the form of entering into a joint venture with another investor or selling part of the project to a private entity with the necessary liquidity to be able to proceed, says an Opposition statement."

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“serious and persistent breaches” of the territory’s financial services legislation finance companies get £800,000 bill for Marrache administration

International Adviser :: Gib finance companies get £800,000 bill for Marrache administration: "The Marrache saga began in February when the FSC cancelled nine licences of Marrache & Co, saying that an investigation had revealed “serious and persistent breaches” of the territory’s financial services legislation. At the time, Marrache was well known in financial legal circles, where it identified itself as the only Gibraltarian law firm with offices in London, Spain, Lisbon, Prague and Luxembourg.
Three brothers who were principals of the business were subsequently arrested. The case is continuing."

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Gib finance companies get £800,000 bill for Marrache administration

International Adviser :: Gib finance companies get £800,000 bill for Marrache administration: "Around 100 financial services companies in Gibraltar will be expected to pay as much as £36,281 each to cover the government’s costs of handling the administration of Marrache & Co, the Gib law firm which collapsed earlier this year amid fraud allegations."

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British toilets 'not clean enough'

The Press Association: British toilets 'not clean enough': "Most Britons do not clean their toilets anywhere near enough, a survey to mark World Toilet Day has revealed.
The poll of 16 to 64-year-olds showed that 78% of the nation do not clean their loos every day - and 6% only bother to wipe round the bowl when it is visibly dirty.
The survey was commissioned by the charity Toilet Twinning which works to improve sanitation and prevent disease in some of the world's poorest communities.
The poll found that only one in five Britons cleaned their toilet every day.
Kim Woodburn, presenter of Channel 4's House Clean Is Your House?, said: 'In the average household of two adults, two children, with one bathroom, the toilet should be cleaned once per day.
'It takes two minutes. Little and often will keep it spotless and there will be no build up of odours or bacteria.'
Scottish toilets topped the cleanliness table with 27% carrying out a daily scrub, while London's loos fared the worst (19% cleaning daily). The Welsh appeared to be the dirtiest - with one in 10 cleaning their loo just once a month.
The smallest room in the house is a hive of activity. Scots preferred to get in and out fast while Londoners were most likely to look for a distraction."

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Migrant work visas may go up for sale - Telegraph

Migrant work visas may go up for sale - Telegraph: "Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), the body asked by the Government to recommend an immigration cap, yesterday said selling a number of visas to employers desperate to recruit overseas staff should be considered.
The proposal, which the committee's report said had 'appeal', has the potential to start bidding wars among rival companies willing to pay hundreds or even thousands of pounds to bring specialist workers into the UK.
It was suggested alongside a 20pc reduction in the number of work-related visas issued by the Government during the lifetime of this Parliament, which could see up to 12,600 fewer work-related visas issued in 2011-12. Professor David Metcalf, of the MAC, said family and student migration should bear the brunt of the cap, which was broadly welcomed by business groups."

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Doctors warned to expect unrest over NHS reforms | Society | The Guardian

Doctors warned to expect unrest over NHS reforms | Society | The Guardian: "Doctors face demonstrations outside their surgeries and questions about their high salaries by angry patients because of the government's radical NHS shakeup, the new leader of Britain's GPs warns.
Desperate patients denied life-extending drugs or surgery for their ailments may also vent their frustrations on GPs, because they are due to assume control of deciding how £80bn-a-year of health funding is spent, said Dr Clare Gerada, who takes over tomorrow as chair of the Royal College of GPs.
In an outspoken attack on health secretary Andrew Lansley's NHS reform plans, she also hit out at his decision to transfer responsibility for rationing access to treatment from the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) and primary care trusts to GPs in England from 2013.
'At worst, the negative impact for GPs could be patients lobbying outside their front door, saying, 'You've got a nice BMW car but you will not allow me to have this cytotoxic drug that will give me three more months of life,'' Gerada told the Guardian in an interview."

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Royal wedding: Prince William and Kate Middleton want 'people's ceremony' - Telegraph

Royal wedding: Prince William and Kate Middleton want 'people's ceremony' - Telegraph: "The couple have told royal aides that they do not want the congregation to be made up entirely of “the great and the good” and will send invitations to people from all walks of life.
The Prince and Miss Middleton, both 28, have now agreed on a venue, understood to be Westminster Abbey, and settled on a preferred date.
However, it will not been confirmed until it has been cleared with the Queen, the Church of England, the Metropolitan Police and key guests, such as the heads of Commonwealth countries. The couple were understood to have agreed to reconsider their original choice of a March wedding because of concerns about the weather."

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AIB loses €13bn in deposits due to Irish debt fears - The Irish Times - Sat, Nov 20, 2010

AIB loses €13bn in deposits due to Irish debt fears - The Irish Times - Sat, Nov 20, 2010: "ALLIED IRISH Banks has lost about €13 billion in deposits since the start of the year due to concerns about the financial difficulties of the Government and the banking system, the bank said in a trading statement yesterday.
Some €12 billion of the lost deposits were withdrawn, mostly by institutional and corporate depositors, since the end of June.
The bank admitted tapping “a range of liquidity facilities from central banks, including certain additional marketwide schemes during the period of dislocation within the funding markets”.
An AIB spokesman declined to say how much it had drawn from the Central Bank in exceptional liquidity – where it can borrow using collateral that is not accepted by the European Central Bank.
The bank later said its reliance on monetary authority funding had risen to €27 billion from less than €10 billion at the end of June, while the level of collateral it use to borrow from these sources had fallen to about €11 billion from about €24 billion.
Meanwhile, financier Dermot Desmond said in a speech yesterday that AIB and Bank of Ireland should be sold to overseas buyers as the State struggles to cope with a “financial emergency”."

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ECB's Gonzalez-Paramo says Spain could communicate better | Reuters

ECB's Gonzalez-Paramo says Spain could communicate better | Reuters: "Spain's government could communicate better to markets its plans for reforms, European Central Bank Executive Board Member Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo said on Friday in an interview with Intereconomia television channel.
Spain's borrowing prices have risen on contagion from the debt crisis in Ireland, on fears its high deficit could drive it into its own financial difficulties.
The government has pledged austerity as well as pension reform to cut its deficit. But Gonzalez-Paramo said there have been mixed messages about some reforms."

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Spain to honor DC's celebrity chef Jose Andres

The Associated Press: Spain to honor DC's celebrity chef Jose Andres: "Spain is awarding one of its highest culture honors to a Spanish chef who made his name with restaurants in the United States.
Spain's Embassy in Washington says the Spanish cabinet agreed Friday to award U.S. restaurateur Jose Andres the Order of Arts and Letters medallion. The prize honors those who share Spain's culture with the world.
Andres grew up near Barcelona and has built a small food empire in Washington that is extending to Los Angeles and Las Vegas. His eatery Jaleo is credited with popularizing the small dishes known as tapas in the United States.
Andres also hosts the PBS series 'Made in Spain.'
Spain also will honor New York City psychiatrist Luis R. Marcos and journalist and writer Barbara Probst Solomon at a ceremony Nov. 30."

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The painstaking search for Spain's Franco-era missing

AFP: The painstaking search for Spain's Franco-era missing: "With painstaking care and armed with brushes and chisels, volunteers at a site in central Spain are unearthing bones buried for more than 70 years in the hope of identifying some of the victims from the Civil War.
But it is agonisingly slow work -- and hopelessly underfunded according to the Association for the Recovery of Historical Memory, which helps Spaniards locate the graves of loved ones who went missing during the 1936-39 war and subsequent dictatorship of Francisco Franco.
Among them was the father of Paula Gonzalez Polo, who is now 78 and was just four when her father was shot with six neighbors.
'I am pleased, although I hardly remember him,' she said as she approached the grave where his remains were found at Calzada de Oropesa, dressed in black and aided by her two granddaughters.
'Finally we can bury them.'
Over the past 10 years, the association has opened some 150 mass graves and exhumed around 1,500 corpses in its quest for truth, which is emerging just as slowly, 35 years after the death of Franco on November 20, 1975.
But that is out of 105,000 to 130,000 people the association estimates were killed and buried in mass graves during the war, which pitted Franco's right-wing forces against an elected left-wing government.
While Franco's regime honoured its own dead, it left its opponents buried in hundreds of unmarked graves across the country."

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Gaming fun, creative but is it economic development? | DeBono | Blogs | London Free Press

Gaming fun, creative but is it economic development? | DeBono | Blogs | London Free Press: "If there is anything to be learned from attending the Digital Interactive Gaming conference in London this week, it is that gaming is a fun, creative, exciting sector in which London is fortunate to have a presence.
But at the same time, one has to question whether it is one on which we can build a city economy, and I have to question whether in this era of restraint if we should pledge $5 million of city tax money to establish a gaming centre here.
Now, don’t get me wrong, before all you tech heads wanna go Halo on me, it is a terrific conference, and does much to raise the city’s profile in this sector, and that can only help the few game businesses we have here.
It is also an area with a lot of potential, and the Ontario government sees that, offering rich tax incentives to grow the industry here.
But it is also a sector that has as much stability as call centres — and about as much economic spinoff.
Consider we have one of the leading gaming businesses in Canada, Digital Extremes, here for nearly 20 years and widely respected. It’s total employment, about 100 people."

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Bereaved family thanks people of Monmouth | 2010

MONMOUTH TODAY | NEWS | Bereaved family thanks people of Monmouth | 2010: "The family of tragic Anni Dewani, the wife of Gibraltar Care Village co-owner Shrien Dewani, has spoken to the Monmouthshire Beacon.
Anni was murdered last weekend while on honeymoon in South Africa.
The Dewani family, and staff at Gibraltar Care Village, wanted to express their sincere gratitude to the people of Monmouth, who have provided immense support during this tragic ordeal.
Prakash Dewani, chairman of PSP Healthcare, said: “We are a close family and our business is about ‘people supporting people’.
“While Gibraltar Care Village cares for others 24/7, it is immensely comforting to see the local people of Monmouth caring for us in our time of need.
“We have set up a collection fund in memory of Anni which has already raised nearly £5,000.
“Anyone wishing to contribute may do so at justgiving.com/annidewani.”
PSP Healthcare chairman Prakash Dewani is pictured with staff from Gibraltar Care Village donating £10,000 to the Care Professionals Benevolent Fund."

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Gibraltar tobacco contraband on the rise | Costa del Sol | News | The Largest English Language Newspapers in Spain

Euro Weekly News | Gibraltar tobacco contraband on the rise | Costa del Sol | News | The Largest English Language Newspapers in Spain: "TOBACCO smuggling between Gibraltar and Spain has risen by 15 per cent during 2010, official sources say. This has led Guardia Civil and Spanish Customs to launch a campaign during which they seized more than 8,600 packets of cigarettes smuggled from Gibraltar to Spain in just three days.
The Government wants to put a stop to this activity because the Spanish public finance gain loses from €2,000 million each year due to contraband.
So far this year, more than 1.5 million packets of cigarettes have been seized by customs officers, 40,000 in La Linea alone."

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32-year old Italian who works in online gambling in Gibraltar has been arrested by Spanish police

"32-year old Italian who works in online gambling in Gibraltar has been arrested by Spanish police in La Linea for alleged fraud using credit cards on the internet.

A person alerted the police that two of his credit cards were being used by other persons.

The cards were issued by Barclays Bank and Deutsche Bank. It was claimed that 2,519 euros had been fraudulently used.

Spanish police said that it transpired that the arrested person worked in an online business in Gibraltar and was conversant with the use of credit cards."

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Berenfeld settles Rothstein suits for $10M | South Florida Business Journal

Berenfeld settles Rothstein suits for $10M | South Florida Business Journal: "accounting firm that worked for Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein has agreed to settle two malpractice lawsuits connected to the scandal for $10 million.
Coral Gables-based Berenfeld Spritzer Shechter & Sheer provided tax accounting for Rothstein, his defunct law firm, and for the top feeder in Rothstein’s $1.2 billion fraud, one of the funds led by George Levin.
The settlement amount marks the limits of Berenfeld’s malpractice insurance policies.
The agreement was filed Wednesday in the bankruptcy case of the defunct Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm."

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wanted for questioning by the Criminal Assets Bureau for the last seven years, had been living in Gibraltar

The Press Association: Businessman arrested over fraud: "businessman at the centre of alleged planning corruption has been arrested outside Dublin's Four Courts.
Fraud detectives detained James Kennedy on Arran Quay after he walked out of a High Court hearing on the 53 million euro (£46 million) hike in land prices at Carrickmines in south Dublin.
The 63-year-old, who has been wanted for questioning by the Criminal Assets Bureau for the last seven years, had been living in Gibraltar"

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The price of being single

BBC News - The price of being single: "Living alone costs singletons an extra £250,000 over a lifetime compared to couples, it is claimed. So what is the 'singles tax', asks Tom de Castella.
The illusion of single life being one long party has been shattered, was the bold claim.
Carrying the full burden of a mortgage, holidays and bills all adds up and single people spend more than £250,000 over the course of their life because they are not part of a couple, a new study suggests.
Researchers compared the spending of people living alone with couples, says price comparison website uSwitch, who commissioned the study. According to the findings single people are paying a hefty penalty for going it alone - hence the non-stop party illusion being shattered. But is it really true?"

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BBC News - Organ transplants hit record high in UK

BBC News - Organ transplants hit record high in UK: "record 3,706 organ transplants took place in the UK last year, an increase of 5% on the previous 12 months.
But NHS Blood and Transplant said there was still a long waiting list, with three people a day dying because of a lack of a suitable organ.
The refusal of relatives to allow donation often remains a key obstacle.
The doctors' union, the BMA, renewed its call for presumed consent, where all people are assumed to be willing to donate unless they choose to opt out.
There has been a steady increase in the number of organ donations in the past decade, and in 2008 a concerted effort began to boost the UK's rate, which lags behind those in most other European countries.
Many hospitals now have specialist nurses and transplant co-ordinators, and new systems which help identify potential donors and allow for an approach to families when death becomes likely.
The number of deceased donors reached 959 last year - some donating several organs - and there were 1,061 living donations."

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Ink jet bomb fanatics in UK and still plotting | Mail Online

Theresa May: Ink jet bomb fanatics in UK and still plotting | Mail Online: "terror group behind the ink jet bomb plot is operating on the ground in Britain planning new atrocities, the Home Secretary warned yesterday.Theresa May said the police and security services were engaged in an ongoing struggle against the Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which is now working in the UK.And she spoke too of a second new threat to the country from young radicalised Britons being trained in Somalia to carry out atrocities when they return to Britain."

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Qantas grounds A380 fleet after mid-air emergency - Telegraph

Qantas grounds A380 fleet after mid-air emergency - Telegraph: "Qantas grounds A380 fleet after mid-air emergency
Qantas has grounded its entire fleet of A380 Airbuses after an aircraft carrying more than 400 people was forced to make an emergency landing when part of one of its engines disintegrated over Indonesia."

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Is the Spanish economy doomed to collapse? | SpanishNews.es

Is the Spanish economy doomed to collapse? | SpanishNews.es: "Spain once enjoyed a booming and flourishing economy with foreigners flocking in from around the globe to get a piece of the action, buying up property like there was no tomorrow. But with the global economic crisis taking its toll on nations around the world, the real estate boom in Spain has come to a grinding halt. Over 1 million homes unsold and sellers desperate to sell dropping prices, with some luxury villa owners even knocking off a million euros from their asking price. Reuters reports: “Spain house prices unlikely to find floor before 2011“, claiming that prices will drop by up to 50 per cent."

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Case of 9 trillion diverted to Spain: the respondents fled to Morocco

Ennahar Online - Case of 9 trillion diverted to Spain: the respondents fled to Morocco: "According to well-informed sources about the case of illegal transfer of more than 9 trillion centimes to Spain in suitcases through the ports of Algiers and Oran, in which an investigation was ongoing at the court of Sidi M 'hamed in the capital, some state managers involved in this business would have left the national territory for Morocco."

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Morocco alarmed over rise in cocaine smuggling

AFP: Morocco alarmed over rise in cocaine smuggling: "Morocco is alarmed by the rise in the amount of cocaine being smuggled from South America to Europe though its territory, Moroccan Foreign Minister Taieb Fassi Fihri said Wednesday in Spain.
'Today it is not soft drugs that are being trafficked between Africa and Europe. Today we are extremely worried by this flow of hard drugs like cocaine which come essentially from South America,' he told a news conference.
International drug trafficking gangs ship the cocaine from South America by air or sea first to West Africa from where it is then transported to Morocco, the minister said. It is then flown from Morocco to Spain.
'There are planes which regularly come to take cocaine from Morocco and take it to southern Europe, especially Spain,' Fihri told a joint news conference in Madrid with his Spanish counterpart Trinidad Jimenez."

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Morocco ups pressure on Spain over disputed enclave | News by Country | Reuters

FEATURE-Morocco ups pressure on Spain over disputed enclave | News by Country | Reuters: "When Spanish police with snarling dogs raided the market where she sells aluminium pots and pans, Najia Berbish, a Moroccan mother of five, hurriedly packed up her wares.
'Piety has deserted the hearts of these Christians,' she spat while gesticulating towards the police officers who were shouting out orders in Spanish at traders rushing to get away.
About an hour later, the police are gone and business is resuming at the illegal flea market in Melilla, a tiny Spanish enclave on the North African coast that adjoins Moroccan territory."

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Morocco rejects referendum on Sahara independence - Monsters and Critics

Morocco rejects referendum on Sahara independence - Monsters and Critics: "Morocco on Wednesday again rejected a referendum on the independence of Western Sahara, shortly before its negotiations with the region's separatist movement Polisario were due to restart in New York.
The concept of Western Saharan self-determination did not imply such a referendum, but could be exercised in other ways, Moroccan Foreign Minister Taieb Fassi-Fihri said after meeting his Spanish counterpart Trinidad Jimenez in Madrid."

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Moroccan FM deplores Spanish media's biased treatment of issues on Morocco, its Sahara

Home: Moroccan FM deplores Spanish media's biased treatment of issues on Morocco, its Sahara: "Morocco's Foreign Minister Taib Fassi Fihri deplored, Wednesday in Madrid , the way some Spanish media deal with issues on Morocco and its Sahara, preferring to 'distort' reality and 'poison' bilateral relations.
Instead of echoing the Moroccan-Spanish good relations and help reduce tension that may arise from time to time between the two neighbouring countries, some Spanish press only 'distort the reality of Morocco as well as the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara,' Fassi Fihri said at a joint press conference with the new Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez.
'Morocco evolves, changes, progresses and adopts modern values. But it is a Morocco that some Spanish media refuse to see,' underlined the Minister who questioned some Spanish media's deliberate intention to mislead public opinion.
Unfortunately, the Spanish media see 'only negative and distorted things about Morocco, without appreciating the changes under way in the Kingdom,' he further deplored."

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Peter Caruana in Madrid for coastal talks around Gibraltar

Peter Caruana in Madrid for coastal talks around Gibraltar: "Representatives of the Governments of Spain and the UK will meet this Wednesday in Madrid with the Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Peter Caruana, to discuss possible arrangements for police cooperation in the coastline around the Rock, without discussing the sovereignty of those waters .
The political meeting, held in the framework of the Tripartite Dialogue Forum, but independent of the technical meetings held last week to address other areas of cooperation such as education, safety, maritime disasters, visas and taxation.
Executives of Spain, the UK and Gibraltar decided last October 21 to resume the meetings of the Forum of Dialogue after Caruana complained about the Spanish claim over the sovereignty of Gibraltar waters after recent incidents involving patrol boats of the Civil Guard and the Royal Navy."

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Glasgow airport evacuated after suspicious package found by staff | UK news | The Guardian

Glasgow airport evacuated after suspicious package found by staff | UK news | The Guardian: "Parts of Glasgow airport have been evacuated and the army bomb disposal squad called in after security staff found a suspicious package in the departures area, police have confirmed."

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storm has been brewing about the fibre land cable that makes its way to the international connection point in Estepona

"storm has been brewing about the fibre land cable that makes its way to the international connection point in Estepona - but this time it is not against Gibraltar, instead it has been reported that when the cable was laid the fishing vessels in La Atunara were promised 6,000 euros each for certain limitations that had arisen in their fishing habits because of the cable. But apparently they have not receiced what was promised.

The cabling was laid in November 2006 when three of the eight fibre optics submarine cable were found damaged. The Spanish telephone company Telefonica claimed at the time that the damage had been caused by some of the fishing fleet at La Atunara.

The cable did not become operational as planned, until the problem was resolved.
The cable follows a path on the La Atunara beach vicinity, thus vessels going about their business nearby, which includes fishing on the seabed, are said to have caused the damage, according to Telefonica."

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Morocco counter-terror law under fire from HRW (Magharebia.com)

Morocco counter-terror law under fire from HRW (Magharebia.com): "Morocco exercises secret detention and ill-treatment of detainees under counter-terrorism laws, Human Rights Watch (HRW) alleged in a provocative new report titled 'Stop looking for your son: Illegal detentions under the counterterrorism law in Morocco'.
'While Morocco has demonstrated the political will to adopt enlightened human rights legislation, it lacks the political will to enforce it when it comes to terrorism suspects,' said Leah Whitson, head of HRW's Middle East and North Africa division.
To reach this conclusion, the organisation gathered eyewitness accounts from detainees, their lawyers and families over the period 2007-2010. The 56-page report issued on Monday (October 25th) strongly condemned arrests of suspects by plain-clothes officers, who show no ID, fail to explain the basis for the arrest and take the detainees blindfolded to a secret place."

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Global Arab Network | Axa France creates 1,500 jobs in Morocco by 2012 | Finance

Global Arab Network | Axa France creates 1,500 jobs in Morocco by 2012 | Finance: "French insurance group Axa France, which just established a road map on resurgence of competitiveness and productivity efforts, will create 1,500 jobs in Morocco by 2012, stated, on Tuesday, French daily economic news paper 'Les Echoes'.

The new Director-General of Axa France, Nicolas Moreau, confirmed that the 'aim is to create 1,500 job in Morocco by 2012. Five hundred people already work in Morocco, in claim settlement and back office in life and health insurance,' the newspaper stated, underlining that the group has not changed its mind with regard to delocalization.

According to the newspaper, the road map of the new official focuses on 'technical recovery', 'resurgence of competitiveness' and 'productivity efforts'."

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Morocco launches tender to build wind farm | Reuters

Morocco launches tender to build wind farm | Reuters: "Moroccan state power company ONE launched a tender on Wednesday for a contract to build and operate a 150 megawatt wind farm, the first stage in a $3.5 billion wind energy strategy.The Office National d'Electricite (ONE) set December 10 as the closing date for expressions of interest from firms and consortia, it said on Wednesday in a statement, with formal bids to be submitted in the first quarter of next year.
The successful bidder will be awarded a 20-year contract. The wind farm will be located in Taza, some 300 km (190 miles) north east of Rabat and is due to go on stream in 2014.
Morocco's government this year outlined plans to spend $3.5 billion on wind energy which -- combined with solar energy projects -- is aimed at increasing Morocco's share of renewable energy to 42 percent by 2020."

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Moroccan and Western Sahara rebel representatives are to meet near New York this month in a new UN-brokered bid to end unrest in North Africa

.:Middle East Online ميدل ايست أونلاين:.: "Moroccan and Western Sahara rebel representatives are to meet near New York this month in a new UN-brokered bid to end unrest in the North African territory, a UN spokesman said Tuesday.
The two sides along with officials from Algeria and Mauritania will meet in Greentree in the New York suburbs on November 8-9, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters.
The UN hopes the talks 'will be productive and will allow the parties to move beyond the impasse' on the future of Western Sahara, he said reaffirming that the peace process was a UN 'priority.'
The talks follow a visit to the region by UN envoy Christopher Ross who has been trying to revive the deadlocked negotiations between the Moroccan government and separatist Polisario Front rebels."

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William Hill hits out at ‘bookmaker’ Betfair | Business

William Hill hits out at ‘bookmaker’ Betfair | Business: "William Hill today launched an attack on Betfair, saying it has an “identity crisis”.
In an interview, Betfair chief executive David Yu described the firm as a bookmaker.
But William Hill responded: “Up to now that is an assertion his company refuted, claiming to be just a technology platform. On that basis it has paid around three times less in tax than traditional UK bookmakers — like William Hill.”"

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Stan James Continues Expansion With US Acquisition | Freebets.com

Stan James Continues Expansion With US Acquisition | Freebets.com: "UK based bookmaker Stan James has entered the regulated US betting market by acquiring a majority stake in Racing2Day LLC for an undisclosed sum .

Stan James operate around 60 betting shops in the UK having acquired 27 shops from Pagebet in May of this year and operate an online betting and gaming business from Gibraltar .

Racing2Day was incorporated in 2007 and has been looking to raise finance for over 18 months .

Racing2Day.com provides online betting on horseracing from over 350 racecourses worldwide including the US, UK, Australia, Argentina and Dubai. The site operates under a multi-jurisdictional licence granted by the Oregon Racing Commission .

European betting operators are particuarly interested in acquiring existing US based and licensed betting business's in readiness for any future relaxation of US gaming laws .

Dennis Kelly CEO of Stan James said 'StanJames.com invests significantly into UK horse racing, and we are committed to continue our global investment in this exciting sport. We aim to boost the size of the pools by ultimately driving our European customers to the US Tote.'

Stan James is a privately held company owned by founder Steve Fisher and has consistently been one of the most innovative UK based bookmakers in recent years ."

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Gibraltar Minister of Justice stabbed in the street

Gibraltar Minister of Justice stabbed in the street: "Gibraltar's Minister of Justice, Daniel Feetham, was stabbed on Tuesday whilst out walking on the rock with his two young children.
Peter Caruana, Gibraltar's First Minister, said that Feetham was in Library Street after lunch on Tuesday when a man approached without saying a word and stabbed him in the back, shocking passers by in the street.
Police arrested the aggressor just minutes later and the Minister was rushed to St. Bernard's hospital, where he has undergone emergency surgery.
Despite the serious nature of the unprovoked attack and the size of the knife used by the aggressor, the 43-year-old Minister is said to be steady and out of danger.
Police are now investigating the motive for The attack and checking to see if the aggressor, who has still not been named, has any previous record."

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Regulation fears cause PartyGaming to drop - Sharewatch, Business - The Independent

Market Report: Regulation fears cause PartyGaming to drop - Sharewatch, Business - The Independent: "Fears of Europe being hit by strict regulations on internet gambling caused one of the sector's biggest names, PartyGaming, to take a tumble last night.
The Gibraltar-based firm is set to merge with the Austrian company bwin in the first quarter of 2011 to create what would be the world's largest online-gambling company, but Davy has revealed that it is worried about the fact that key markets are expected to introduce regulations which could result in uncertainty around the stock."

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Market Report: Regulation fears cause PartyGaming to drop - Sharewatch, Business - The Independent

Market Report: Regulation fears cause PartyGaming to drop - Sharewatch, Business - The Independent: "Fears of Europe being hit by strict regulations on internet gambling caused one of the sector's biggest names, PartyGaming, to take a tumble last night.
The Gibraltar-based firm is set to merge with the Austrian company bwin in the first quarter of 2011 to create what would be the world's largest online-gambling company, but Davy has revealed that it is worried about the fact that key markets are expected to introduce regulations which could result in uncertainty around the stock.
'We have become increasingly concerned about the impact regulation of European markets will have on bwin-PartyGaming as they make the transition from unregulated to regulated markets,' said the broker, which downgraded both companies to 'underperform'. 'In theory, the regulation of European markets should be a good thing for online operators.... The problem arises when one or more products are prohibited under new regulation or when tax rates are prohibitively high.'
Following the research, PartyGaming ended the session on 239p, a drop of 13.5p. It has endured a rough run recently, with the US midterm elections preying on the minds of investors. Democrat Harry Reid, a supporter of the gambling industry, has found himself in a battle to retain his US Senate seat for Nevada."

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