Graft, corruption found in Morocco public sector

Sign in About Us Last Update 22:57 Friday, 30 March 2012 Cairo 21-13 Home Egypt World Business Economy Opinion Arts & Culture Folk Sports Life & Style Heritage Books Multimedia Graft, corruption found in Morocco public sector Moroccan supreme court reveals that the country's bourse watchdog had not properly investigated cases of insider trading involving five individuals that netted them gains of close to $30 million Reuters, Friday 30 Mar 2012 Print Send Thousand rallied in Morocco in 2011 demanding reforms (Photo: Reuters) An audit court has found evidence of graft, corruption and insider trading in Morocco's state-owned firms and entities, putting to the test a government promise to end such practices. The Supreme Court of Audit's latest probe revealed that bourse watchdog CDVM had not properly investigated cases of insider trading involving five individuals that netted them gains of close to $30 million between July, 2006 and January 2007. The report, published late on Wednesday on the official gazette, also revealed that foreign exchange regulator Office des Changes had imposed what the report found were lenient fines on unauthorised outflows of foreign currencies from the North African country, whose dirham currency is not convertible. It also said mismanagement at some state-run firms, including flag carrier Royal Air Maroc and the National Ports Authority, had reached such a scale that the state was losing tens of millions of dirhams in undue benefits paid to executives and the non-collection of payments. A copy of the report was submitted to King Mohammed, the gazette said, without mentioning the date.

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Outspoken Morocco rapper charged over insulting song

 

Moroccan rapper was charged on Friday with insulting public authorities in a song that was posted on YouTube, at the start of a trial criticised by his supporters as a new attempt to muzzle an outspoken critic of the monarchy. The court, in Casablanca, adjourned the trial of Mouad Belrhouat, known as El-Haqed or "The Sullen One", to April 4 and refused him bail, his lawyer Hatim Bekkar said.

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THE shooting of three IRA members in Gibraltar is to be examined as part of a major review commissioned by Prime Minister David Cameron.

 

 Gibraltar QC Sir Desmond de Silva is heading the case, which will focus on the assassination of high-profile Belfast lawyer Patrick Finucane in 1989. Finucane successfully represented a number of IRA members, including hunger striker Pat McGeown, and his murder stirred controversy amid allegations of state collusion. The deaths in Gibraltar are being considered as part of the review because one of the dead, Mairead Farrell, was engaged to Finucane’s brother Seamus. The bomb plot – which could have killed up to 100 people – was foiled after Farrell was shot dead along with fellow suspects Danny McCann and Sean Savage on the Rock in March 1988. The review is expected to be completed by the end of the year, while a judicial review over the government’s refusal to hold a public inquiry into Finucane’s death is set for May.

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Spanish fishermen are on the warpath - and threaten with sending 50 fishing boats to Gibraltar.

 

 With such a menacing statement they have broken the silence that has reigned since the meeting that took place in Gibraltar with the Algeciras mayor Jose Ignacio Landaluce. At that meeting it was agreed with Mr Landaluce that representatives of the fishermen potentially affected would meet with technical officers of the Ministry of the Environment in order for them to understand what exactly Gibraltar law provides for and prohibits. It was also agreed to put the fishermen’s representatives in touch with the Commissioner of Police so that they can understand the independent nature of law enforcement in Gibraltar. However, days have gone by without any news of the fishermen having taken the offer made by chief minister Fabian Picardo. If prior to the meeting the fishermen had been complaining that on two occasions the Gibraltar police had asked fishing boats to leave Gibraltar waters, the situation now has worsened in that, yesterday, they were claiming that 10 vessels had been sent back from Gibraltar. In an angry mood, a member of the fishmermen's committee threatened that they would send 50 fishing boats to Catalan Bay, and added that 'if they have guns up the Rock they can start getting them ready.' The fishermen want to carry on fishing as they were until the decision was taken to implement the nature protection act, which meant that illegal nets could no longer be used. Since Gibraltar has been upholding EU law, which the Spanish government must as well, there was little the Spanish government could do but to say that Gibraltar had broken the 1999 fishing agreement. The Spanish government lodged a protest to the British Embassy in Madrid, and then everything went quiet. However, the fishermen were saying yesterday that they feel let down by the Spanish authorities and want the Spanish foreign ministry to support them. The fact that they are planning taking action themselves would seem to indicate that they are not expecting the kind of support they want. Further, it also shows that they think they have to taken action themselves, such as sending an armada of fishing boats to express their grievance. If it comes to the crunch, the government here will no doubt point to the meeting with Landaluce when a joint statement was issued. "The purpose of the meeting, which took place at Mr Landaluce’s request, was to discuss the policy of the GSLP/Liberal Government in relation to the question of fishing in Gibraltar waters in general and the enforcement of the Nature Protection Act in particular," said the statement. The Mayor, for his part, had wanted to explore the possibilities that exist for the fishermen to continue making a living. The Chief Minister explained then the policy of the Government and emphasised the point that the enforcement of the law is a matter for the Royal Gibraltar Police adding that the Government does not, constitutionally, have the power to instruct the Police on operational matters of this kind. He added that the position of the Government is that the application of the law should be equal for everyone and it is not acceptable that it should be tolerated that certain groups or nationals should be above the law. Clearly, the situation is confrontational if neither side changes its position. It is difficult to see how the Gibraltar government will want to cease upholding EU law. And if the mood of the fishermen yesterday is anything to go by, they may be ready to act as already threatened.

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Iberia Express takes off on Sunday

 

The new low-cost airline, Iberia Express, takes off on Sunday with launch prices from 25 €. The airline, which has been the focus of protests, twelve so far, from SEPLA pilots in the main airline, will start with four routes from Madrid – to Palma de Mallorca, Alicante, Málaga and Sevilla. The inaugural flight will be between Madrid and Alicante. There will also be 45 € flights to the Canary Islands which start in June and 59 € flights to European destinations which will start between June and September. The there will be 17 routes. Iberia Express will operate four Airbus A320, a number which will progressively increase to reach 13 craft by the end of the year. The CEO, Luis Gallego, has promised the same quality of service as Iberia. Tickets go on sale next week on www.iberiaexpress.com

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Cheap drugs abroad could pay for break

HOLIDAYMAKERS can pay for the cost of a break in the sun by buying their prescription drugs while abroad. Legally they can purchase their prescribed drugs -- at a fraction of the cost here over the counter -- in Malaga, Marbella , Faro or Lisbon. Those on long term medication and covered by the Drug Payment Scheme, who cough up €132 a month, can particularly benefit. For example, a patient on holiday in Marbella recently bought the three main elements of her prescription. Prescribed for the treatment of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and to reduce risk of cardiovascular problems they cost her almost four times as much in Dublin as in Spain. The products -- Lipitor, Cozaar Comp and Tritace -- in their generic form came to €108.13 in Dublin for a month's supply. In Marbella the same medicines are sold under a different name for €63.72 for two months' supply. That is a saving of €152.54 for two months. On that basis a six month prescription for the three tablets would cost €648.78 in Dublin as against €191.16 in Spain -- a staggering saving of €457.62. The Irish Medicines Board and the Revenue Commissioners both confirmed that medication, prescription and non prescription, bought for personal use within the EU or outside may be brought back in to the State legally. imported They agreed that travellers are permitted to import on their person or in their baggage "a reasonable amount of such medicines for personal use". "Anyone entering the State may bring their personal medication with them and that personal medication should be no more than any amount that may be obtained on a prescription, for example up to a three months supply. "Any amount being imported above a level that would be considered to be normal personal use, could be considered to be a commercial quantity and for business purposes." This "personal use" exemption does not apply to products imported by other means, ie. in the post, by express couriers or in merchandise. Revenue said that the law of the country where you are visiting will dictate whether your Irish prescription will be accepted or whether you will require a doctor's prescription from that country. They advised it is always a good idea to have a copy of your prescription in your possession so that customs officers can verify it by contacting the dispensing pharmacy and the doctor who issued it.

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Visit by Israeli delegate stirs anger in Morocco, embarrasses ruling Islamists

 

The presence of an Israeli lawmaker among a delegation of the Union for the Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly gathered in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, on Saturday was met with anger from political and civil society groups in the North African kingdom. Several Moroccan groups organized a protest against the visit by the Israeli lawmaker, whose name was not immediately revealed, in front of the parliament in Rabat prior to the opening of the Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly meeting. Khaled Sofiani, of the National Action Group to Support Iraq and Palestine, condemned the Israeli lawmaker’s visit to Morocco and urged the government to “immediately expel” him. The visit has caused embarrassment to the Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (PJD) that leads a coalition government. Prior to the wave of uprisings that swept the region last year and during its time in the opposition, the moderate Islamist PJD had condemned visits to Morocco by Israeli officials, including former foreign minister Tzipi Livni. Moroccans were keen to see how the party, now that it is in the governments, would respond to regular visits by Israeli officials. In a bid to save face, the party ordered its MPs to boycott Saturday’s Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly meeting. Aziz Ammari, the PJD leader in the parliament, told Al Arabiya that the decision by the party’s MPs was in line with the party’s long held position to boycott all forms of activities with Israel. Ammari previously told Morocco’s Hespress website that his party “will not participate in any parliament activity attended by the Zionist entity.” Ammari said he was not sure whether the Israeli lawmaker, entered Morocco with the consent of the government led by his party. The Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly meeting will discuss ways to support parliamentarians in the Arab Spring countries’ transition to democracy, economic developments in the region, and the situation in Syria, according to a European parliament report.

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NET EFFECT The Algeciras Mayor Jose Ignacio Landaluce, and Chief Minister Fabian Picardo as the former is greeted at No 6 on their first ever contact in person.

 Algeciras Mayor Jose Ignacio Landaluce, not usually one short for words, barged past the GBC and Chronicle press net yesterday as he drove out of the No6 Convent Place car park following a 90 minute meeting with the Chief Minister Fabian Picardo on the Spanish fishing question. Technical meetings are now expected to be held to explain the legal position to the fishermen themselves. “Enforcement of Gibraltar laws is a purely independent matter for the Royal Gibraltar Police,” said Mr Picardo after the meeting at which he had explained to Sr Landaluce that the law that affects fishing methods has been in place since 1991. Mr Picardo stated that the position is clear. “Nobody can come here to fish, Gibraltarian, French, Spaniard, German or otherwise in breach of our laws.”   Yesterday’s meeting was held at Sr Landaluce’s request to Mr Picardo, made Tuesday evening. It has resulted in the Gibraltar Government restating that environmental laws are a matter for the police and that the Government does not have powers under the Constitution to instruct the police on enforcement. However a technical meeting between Gibraltar officials and the fishermen is being arranged and Mr Picardo emphasised that there is no policy to interfere with any legal fishing activities, in essence methods that do not use outlawed nets. LEGAL ISSUE The two men agreed to the issue of a joint statement and Mr Picardo later told reporters that co-operation remains very much on the agenda. Sr Landaluce is an influential member of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Madrid parliament. His flurry of seaborne activity, which involved him sailing into Gibraltar waters on Tuesday evening on a fishing vessel which moved on at the request of the Royal Gibraltar Police Marine Section, comes just ahead of this Sunday’s elections for seats at the Junta de Andalucia. Mr Picardo said that the agreement not to hold a press conference afterwards reflected their desire to get a message to concerned or “excitable” citizens that the Government is making clear it is not responsible for the enforcement of the laws of Gibraltar and that this is not a political issue. “Our laws don’t prohibit all fishing,” he said pointing out that only fishing that goes against the Nature Conservation policy and Nature Protection act is being controlled. “I think, before we have arguments about things, I think we should understand what the law provides for and what it prohibit. That is what we want to facilitate for by the technicians from the Ministry of the Environment meeting with the fishermen.” Mr Picardo said that he had been clear in the meeting that the laws of Gibraltar have to be observed. Whilst all fishing with nets is prohibited other methods could be used. He also suggested that there should be reciprocity for people from Gibraltar in Spanish waters in any fishing arrangements. “What we will not tolerate is the selective application of Gibraltar law without having something to say about it as politicians.” He also recognised that though not identical Gibraltar laws are very similar. “There is a commitment in our manifesto to progress down the route of licensing of fishing and diving etc and that is to come. We are not going to shy away from that. We think we are doing it for the right reason which is environmental protection. That protects fishing stocks for everyone,” said the Chief Minister. Spain, he said, protects its own coast where there are also nurseries. MEETING The Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia and the Minister for the Environment and Health Dr John Cortes were also present at the meeting in No6. It was described as a cordial encounter. The statement issued later said that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the policy of the GSLP/Liberal Government in relation to the question of fishing in Gibraltar waters in general and the enforcement of the Nature Protection Act in particular. “The Mayor wanted to explore the possibilities that exist for the fishermen to continue making a living. The Chief Minister explained the policy of the Government and emphasised the point that the enforcement of the law is a matter for the Royal Gibraltar Police adding that the Government does not constitutionally have the power to instruct the Police on operational matters of this kind. He added that the position of the Government is that the application of the law should be equal for everyone and it is not acceptable that it should be tolerated that certain groups or nationals should be above the law.” “ In pursuance of understanding of the law, it was agreed with Mr Landaluce that representatives of the fishermen potentially affected will meet with technical officers of the Ministry of the Environment in order for them to understand what exactly Gibraltar law provides for and prohibits. It was also agreed to put the fishermen’s representatives in touch with the Commissioner of Police so that they can understand the independent nature of law enforcement in Gibraltar. The Chief Minister also reaffirmed that the development of good neighbourly relations with Spain and with the people of the Campo de Gibraltar was a priority for the new Government,” said the statement.

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Spanish fishing vessels expelled from Gibraltar

A British Royal Navy patrol expelled fishermen from Algeciras and La Línea de la Concepción fishing in waters around the Rock of Gibraltar. The measure is due to the fact that the Gibraltar administration unilaterally changed its terms. The conflict began five days ago, when the Gibraltar Police forced Spanish ships to abandon the waters around the Rock up to an area exceeding three miles. It is a disputed area because Spain does not recognize that these waters belong to Gibraltar. In this sense, the mayor of Algeciras and PP deputy, José Ignacio Landaluce, who is mediating in the conflict, said that "the only water areas recognized for the Rock or for the United Kingdom are those assigned by the Treaty of Utrecht, that is, those in the port," Europa Press reported. Landaluce regretted that the attitude of Gibraltar affects "300 people and 70 families working to make their living with dignity." The Spanish complaints lie in the fact that authorities from the Rock unilaterally breached the agreement signed in 1999 by Peter Caruana’s administration with the Shipowners' Association. That agreement allowed the Spanish to fish in those waters provided that they did not approach the area within 225 metres off the coast of the colony. Landaluce met with the Prime Minister of Gibraltar, Fabián Picardo, and other cabinet members to express concern and find a solution to the situation. According to a joint statement, the parties agreed to hold meetings in which Gibraltar will present their new conditions. Meanwhile, fishermen's associations will meet with environment experts and with those responsible for the Gibraltar Police Force to be informed on "what the laws of Gibraltar allow and what they forbid." The aim of the Spanish is to be granted permission for their vessels to fish in the area, as they have done since 1999. In addition, Picardo’s new administration wants to implement new regulations on the grounds of preserving the fishing areas even though no one lives on the fishing activity in the Rock.

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Serbian mafia 'put gangster in mincer and ate him for lunch'

Gang that assassinated Serbian prime minister admits making 'face mask' out of member's skin

A GANGSTER who helped orchestrate the Serbian prime minister's assassination in 2003 was allegedly made into a stew and eaten by his associates after falling out with his gang leader.
 
Police believe Milan Jurisic (above) was beaten to death with a hammer, skinned and boned with a sharp knife and then put through a meat grinder at a flat in Madrid in 2009.
 
The Zemun clan, a notorious faction of the Serbian mafia that once had connections with the Serbian government, police and media, allegedly made a face mask from Jurisic's skin before turning him into stew and eating him for lunch.
 
It apparently took the gang five days to clean up what is being described as "the house of horrors".
 
Sretko Kalinic, nicknamed 'The Butcher' and known as the gang's hitman, confessed to the crimes when he was arrested in Croatia last year, according to the Daily Mail. Kalinic admitted that he "literally dismembered" Jurisic and then threw his remains into Madrid's Manzanares river.
 
This week, Spanish officers discovered documents at the scene of the crime supporting The Butcher's account. They also found 50 bones in the river and are currently awaiting identification from forensics.
 
Jurisic was one of 12 men found guilty of arranging the 2003 murder of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, who was killed by a sniper as he approached a government building in Belgrade.
 
Jurisic was on the run when he was murdered, having been convicted in his absence to 30 years' jail by the Belgrade Special Court for Organised Crime.

It is believed Jurisic had fallen out with the leader of the Zemun cklan, Luka Bojovic, either over money or a woman.
 
As the BBC reports, Bojovic himself was arrested in a restaurant in Valencia, Spain last month, wanted for more than 20 murders in Serbia, the Netherlands and Spain. He is also suspected of involvement in the 2003 assassination. · 

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Spain moves toward freedom of information law

Freedom of information in Spain came one step nearer Friday after the recently-elected government agreed to introduce a bill in response to widespread disgust over corruption and mismanagement by elected officials of both main political parties. The country's Cabinet agreed to put forward legislation that will allow Spaniards to find out more about how their money is spent by government. Spain, which is struggling to get its public finances under control, is one of Europe's few countries without wide-ranging freedom of information legislation. "It is a law whose main goal is improve the credibility of and trust in our institutions, especially government ones," Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said. The legislation will take months to come into effect, after an unprecedented 15-day period in which the general public can make suggestions on what should be accessible to them and how the law should work. After that, the bill has to be go through normal Parliamentary procedures. Though the salaries of the prime minister and government ministers are already public information, as are the national budget and much other money-related data, not all of it is easy to access. But under the new bill, information on subjects including senior public servants' salaries and detailed data on government contracts and subsidies will be published online. Spaniards will also be able to file requests for other kinds of information providing it does not breach national security or personal privacy. The goal of the new law is to make public officials at all levels much more accountable for how they spend taxpayer money. People will be able to get information just by the click of a mouse. "It is a law that tries to give rigor to compliance with budget and financial obligations that were unknown until now, but will serve to restore credibility to all levels of government," Saenz de Santa Maria said. News of the Cabinet's support for a package that should make for more open government comes as the country struggles to avoid the same fate as other indebted European countries. The newly-elected conservative government is trying to convince investors that it has a strategy to deal with its debts so it won't follow Greece, Ireland and Portugal in needing a bailout. Concerns have swelled recently after figures showed the country's borrowing last year was way more than expected, due in large part to overspending by regional governments but also because the economy is shrinking and laying siege to tax revenues. And a new code of good governance included in the law will make it easier to fire government officials — and ban them from serving anew for up to 10 years — if they do things such as fail to set or meet deficit-reduction targets under a balanced budget law, planned for 2020.

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Spain's Iberia starts low-cost airline

Spanish carrier Iberia on Friday launched a new low-cost airline, Iberia Express, which aims to claim a stake in the highly competitive no-frills sector of the European market. The new airline is part of a plan by parent company International Consolidated Airlines Group to increase profitability after the merger of its component parts, British Airways and Iberia. Iberia Express will initially cover Vigo, Santiago and Granada on Spain's mainland and its island destinations of Minorca, Ibiza, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and La Palma. It will expand internationally to Ireland, Italy, Greece, Latvia and Netherlands, chief executive Luis Gallego said at a news conference. "The containment of costs will allow Iberia Express to grow and compete with the low-cost operators," said Gallego, adding that although the new airline will be managed independently, it will employ Iberia's maintenance and other services. Inaugural flights will take off Sunday, although the company's website was not up and running Friday afternoon. Prices begin at (euro) 25 ($33) one-way with a surcharge for checking in luggage and booking seats in advance. The new company employs 500 staff and has a fleet of four Airbus 320 planes, although there are plans to increase this to 14 aircraft by the end of the year and up 40 by 2015. The airline is the subject of a protracted labor dispute between Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA and Spain's main pilots' union, Sepla — which held 12 days of work stoppages in December and January to protest the low-cost airline. Sepla pilots argue Iberia Express would mean job losses among the 1,600 pilots who work for the main airline — a claim disputed by Iberia. Sepla had announced nine days of strikes in April and May but called them off following government mediation and has agreed to negotiate further with Iberia.

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We deal with hundreds of people who have been defrauded but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Everyone I speak to knows someone who is a victim

“We deal with hundreds of people who have been defrauded but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Everyone I speak to knows someone who is a victim.” We are discussing the problem of unregulated independent financial advisors (IFAs) and how they prey on unsuspecting expats living in Spain. There are sadly far too many of them and Parsons knows from bitter experience what it feels like to be conned by a rogue advisor, having been mis-sold a financial investment product over a decade ago. His response was to set up the Estepona-based action group along with fellow victim David Klein in a bid to prevent other expats suffering the same fate. “I sat here one afternoon and said this is so dreadfully wrong and decided I had to act,” he explains to the Olive Press. The group offers advice to those who have lost money after being sold investment products, which were totally inappropriate to their needs. As the name suggests, IFAs are professionals who offer independent financial advice to their clients and recommend suitable financial products from the whole market. In the UK, IFAs are regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and must meet strict qualification and competence requirements. An IFA in the UK can apply for a ‘passport’ from the FSA, allowing them to offer certain services in any country within the EU. In addition to this companies are able to register with two Spanish bodies, the DGS or the CNMV, over here. However, rogue IFAs often snare their victims by claiming to be regulated when in fact they are not, or by selling products which are not included in the terms of their passport. This means that expats have no way of making a complaint or claiming compensation if something goes wrong, with many only realising when it is already too late. But while the rules surrounding regulation can be confusing, the human cost of unregulated IFAs is far more clear. “The human toll is dreadful,” insists Marbella-based financial investigator Gwilym Rhys-Jones. “You hear of people having heart attacks and suffering from stress as a result of the anxiety caused by losing so much money. “It has always been easy pickings down here because there are so many retired people with time on their hands and money in the bank.” Parsons agrees: “Most of these IFAs only see the commission they are going to earn and don’t give any thought to the human cost of their advice. They are only interested in the money. “Often we have written to the financial advisors and said ‘would you sell the same products to your own mother’?” Regardless of what the answer is, it seems the IFAs will soon have to think twice before attempting to fleece expats out of their hard-earned cash. The EU is now investigating ways of helping victims of unregulated advisors and is considering setting up an ombudsman, as reported in the Olive Press last month. It comes after Parsons sent a dossier of information to Brussels highlighting the current problem, on behalf of the Costa del Sol Action Group’s 1,000-plus members. “It has to be looked into and there has to be regulation whereby the man on the street doesn’t have to flounder around to see what he can do,” demands Parsons. “As far as the Spanish regulators are concerned, I would say ‘disinterested’ is the most appropriate way of describing them. “We have tried many, many, many times to advise them of rogue IFAs who are operating in Spain but they never respond. “I think they presume that because it is British mis-selling to fellow Britons it is not their problem, but of course it is.” Rhys-Jones is equalling scathing of the Spanish authorities. “The regulator in Spain is useless, a totally toothless tiger,” he exclaims. “They do nothing, they just don’t bother and haven’t done so for 20 years.” But he is also sceptical of the EU’s motivation to step into the breach. “I don’t think an ombudsman will make much difference. Although I don’t expect the EU to make any real effort to set one up,” he adds. As for advice as to how best to avoid the hazards of dealing with unregulated financial advisors, there is plenty of it. “Deal only with advisory firms that are licensed and quote full regulatory information in all marketing material,” advises Michael Lodhi, from the European Federation of Financial Advisors and Financial Intermediaries (FECIF). “It is my understanding that it is a legal requirement for all marketing material to carry full regulatory information, licence numbers and professional insurance policy numbers,” he advises. Paul Stanfield, Chief Executive of the Federation of European Independent Financial Advisors (FEIFA), insists that one should always check the advisor’s regulated status. “The first approach should be to ask them to provide information on their regulatory status and to then check this with the regulator in the UK or Spain,” he says. “This information should include the type of licensing held and the relevance of this to the clients’ circumstances,” he adds. Parsons agrees it is crucial to make sure the adviser is regulated and also suggests seeking a second opinion and to avoid rushing into a decision. “Don’t just take the advice of one financial adviser,” he cautions. “If you are not sure about the figures being banded around, get them checked out by someone else. “Any amount of time spent researching your options and making sure the person you’re dealing with is regulated is time well spent.” But despite the odd bad apple in the basket, Parsons is keen to stress that the majority of IFAs operating in Spain are fully compliant with the law. “The situation is not as bad as a decade ago,” he insists. “When we set up the group in 2001 I would estimate the majority of IFAs were unregulated but I think the majority are legitimate these days. “There are some very good financial advisers out here in Spain, the key is finding the good ones.” Checklist to invest Many Independent Financial Advisors (IFAs) are regulated by the UK’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) are allowed to operate in Spain under the terms of a ‘passport’ scheme. There are two types of passport available, depending on the type of service being offered: 1. The Insurance Mediation Directive (IMD) – regulated by the DGS. As the name suggests, this covers insurance-based products including; life insurance investments, insurance policies and pensions and annuities. 2. The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) – regulated by the CNMV. This covers stock market-based products including; shares, corporate bonds and collective investments. It is important to note that some fully-regulated IFAs have been accused of selling products which are not covered under the terms of their passport. In order to be covered should things go wrong, it is crucial to check not only that the IFA is fully regulated, but also that the products they are offering are covered under the terms of the relevant passport.

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Elaine Paige will perform in Gibraltar next month.

 

 Award-winning musicals theatre star, multi-platinum recording artist, and broadcaster – the ‘First Lady’ of British Musical theatre will be the guest performer in this year’s 50th anniversary edition of the Miss Gibraltar pageant. Ms Paige says she is thrilled to be performing in the show which will be held in St Michael’s Cave on Saturday April 14.   Speaking from London, she said: “It’s such an exciting event and the venue looks absolutely beautiful, I can’t wait to see it! And, as I’ve never sung in a cave before, this is another first for me!” She has just finished a hugely successful run on Broadway as Carlotta in Stephen Sondheim’s musical ‘Follies’ which was followed by two sold-out concerts in New York. Her musical career spans more than four decades. James Neish, Stage One producer, said they were extremely pleased and excited that they had been able to secure an artist of the calibre of Elaine Paige for the 2012 Show. “Ms Paige has a very busy schedule and we are delighted that she will be flying to Gibraltar before re-joining the cast of Follies in L.A. A special crowning show deserved a special star to celebrate with us,” he emphasised. Minister for Culture Steven Linares meanwhile added that The Ministry of Culture was delighted to be supporting the participation of Elaine Paige, and that the team was working closely with Stage One to ensure a spectacular show. “We are sure that Elaine Paige’s performance in our very impressive St Michael’s Cave Theatre will be truly memorable,” he said. Tickets, go on sale on Wednesday at 9am at MH Bland.

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Former Gibraltar teacher admits sex charges

 

A FORMER teacher has pleaded guilty to eight counts of sexual abuse. Graham Hawkins admitted to the indecent assault charges, which relate to the abuse of a girl who was under 16 at the time of the offences, between 1983 and 1984. Hawkins, who now lives in Derbyshire, was appearing before Bristol Crown Court and will be sentenced next month. The 57-year-old worked as a teacher in Gibraltar for decades before moving back to the UK, although it is unclear at which school he was employed.

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The Gibraltar Federation of Sea Anglers has followed closely the incident that took place on Sunday last

The Gibraltar Federation of Sea Anglers has followed closely the incident that took place on Sunday last, during the bank holiday week-end. It applauds the action taken by Kaelan Joyce who had the foresight to call the Police when he spotted a commercial Spanish fishing vessel laying nets off the South Mole. This is illegal under the Nature Protection Act 1991, even though the relevant provisions of this Act were suspended by the informal Algeciras Fishing Agreement 1999. When the Police attended there was some confusion as to the exact interpretation of the applicable laws. Although the Police initially told him that the Spaniards could not fish with nets in Gibraltar waters this was contradicted when the officers attending the scene sought clarification from their command structure. The officers in attendance then told Kaelan that they could in fact fish with nets because they were more than 225 metres away from the shore line. This is the distance that is allowed under the infamous informal Algeciras Fishing Agreement of 1999 that for nearly 13 years has allowed our waters to be exploited by Spanish commercial fishing using illegal fishing methods. The suspension of the provisions relating to the use of nets and other illegal fishing methods has also had the effect of preventing the Police from enforcing that Act when local fishermen use these illegal methods as well. The impact on the marine environment in Gibraltar waters has been devastating. And it is not just the nets that are being used to bad effect, killing fish and other marine life indiscriminately. GFSA gets regular reports that raking for shell fish takes place close to the shore line on the East Side on a regular basis and that pots are being used 24/7 to catch protected species like Spider Crab. These illegal practices have to be stopped. Whilst the Federation was fully aware that this Government had rescinded the Algeciras Agreement and that the Nature Protection Act 1991 was fully in force, this message had not filtered down to the pertinent authorities charged with the task of enforcing the relevant provisions. This incident has served to highlight this.

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Gibraltar’s 1st International Jazz Festival

 

The main performer will be Avishai Cohen “Seven Seas”, bassist, vocalist andrecording artist of international acclaim.   The Ministry of Culture in conjunction with the Gibraltar Jazz Society will be staging  the 1st International Jazz Festival in Gibraltar. The Jazz Festival will take place at Casemates Square on the 28th, 29th and 30thJune 2012. All the performances will be free of charge. The main performer will be Avishai Cohen “Seven Seas”, bassist, vocalist andrecording artist of international acclaim. The festival will also see other major artists such as Dan Moretti, the University of London Big Band, Elie Massias, Kirsty Almeida and her band, the Juan Gallardo Quintet, Arturo Serra and not forgetting our own local talent, the George Posso trio and guests. Jazz Workshops will also be offered as part of this event.

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Morocco protest against rape-marriage law

 

Several hundred women's rights activists have demonstrated outside Morocco's parliament to demand the repeal of a law on sexual violence. Morocco's penal code allows a rapist to marry his victim if she is a minor as a way of avoiding prosecution. A 16-year-old girl, Amina Filali, killed herself a week ago after being severely beaten during a forced marriage to her rapist. The protesters held signs saying, "The law has killed Amina". The parents of Amina Filali were at the protest, says the BBC's Nora Fakim, in the Moroccan capital, Rabat. They say their daughter was pressured by a local court into marrying her rapist, who then abused her. She died after swallowing rat poison on 10 March. 'Special circumstances' Her case has shocked many in Morocco. Women's rights groups have started an online campaign to have the law - article 475 - repealed. A Facebook page called "We are all Amina Filali" has been set up. Continue reading the main story Analysis Nora Fakim BBC News, Rabat The protest is an attempt to change attitudes concerning sex before marriage, especially in cases of rape, where the woman can sometimes be regarded as the criminal rather than the victim in order to preserve the family's honour. Fouzia Assouli, the president of the Democratic League for Women's Rights, says the removal of article 475 would be a step forward in changing conservative attitudes. However, the protesters feel let down by the lack of response from the government and are furious at the justice minister, who has not been willing to open an inquiry into Ms Filali's suicide. The demonstrators want women's rights to be respected, not violated, and they want to help poor women such as Ms Filali to be able to stand up for themselves. "What we have witnessed is scandalous. We have had enough. We must change this law, we must change the penal code," said Fouzia Assouli, the president of the Democratic League for Women's Rights. Ms Filali came from the small northern town of Larache, near Tangiers. In poor, conservative rural areas such as this, it is unacceptable for a woman to lose her virginity before marriage - and the dishonour is hers and her family's even if she is raped, our correspondent says. The legal age of marriage in Morocco is 18, unless there are "special circumstances" - which is the reason why Ms Filali was married despite being under-age. A judge can only recommend marriage if all parties involved agree - but activists say pressure is often applied to the victim's family to avoid a scandal. Ms Filali's father said that when he reported the rape of his daughter, he was advised of the option to marry by court officials. "The prosecutor advised my daughter to marry. He said, 'Go and make the marriage contract'," Lahcen Filali told an online newspaper, goud.ma. Campaigners are also calling for the judge who allowed the marriage and the rapist to be jailed.

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Gibraltar has been used to hide critical evidence in this case

A federal judge was considering Friday whether to force Florida deep-sea explorers to hand over to Spain the last of the treasure they recovered from a 200-year-old shipwreck. Last month, Spanish military planes flew home with nearly 600,000 silver coins and other artifacts after prevailing in a five-year legal battle over ownership with Tampa-based Odyssey Marine Exploration. Now, Spain wants the rest of it -- specifically some artifacts that Odyssey left behind in Gibraltar when it flew the coins to the United States in May 2007. The artifacts include at least 100 silver coins, personal effects of sailors and ship equipment, said James Goold, a Washington attorney who represents the Spanish government. In a federal court filing, Spain has asked that Odyssey be forced to hand over the remainder of the booty from the frigate Nuestra Senora de Las Mercedes, which was sunk by British warships in 1804. During a two-hour long hearing in federal court Friday morning, Goold asked U.S. Magistrate Judge James Pizzo to order Odyssey to turn the treasure in Gibraltar over to Spain and for Odyssey to pay for Spain's fees and court costs over the issue. The judge did not indicate when he might rule on the matter. Goold also questioned some alleged discrepancies in the documented inventory of what is in a storage crate in Gibraltar. He said the judge could hold Odyssey in contempt of court. "Gibraltar has been used to hide critical evidence in this case," Goold said. "We need to figure out what's what."  But Odyssey's lawyer said the explorers haven't been hiding anything. Melinda MacConnel said Odyssey has not been able to properly inventory the storage crate for years, in part because Spain intervened in the case. MacConnel said all of the treasure from Nuesta Senora de Las Mercedes was brought to Gibraltar, and the bulk of it then was sent to Florida — all except the crate in question, which contains the coins and other miscellaneous items. Complicating matters, MacConnel said, is that people claiming to be the descendants of the owners of the silver aboard the ship have sued in a court in Gibraltar, saying they have a right to the treasure. Gibraltar officials are not allowing the treasure to be moved.

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Spain asks federal judge to force compliance by Fla. deep-sea explorers in treasure dispute

The Spanish government is asking a judge to force Florida deep-sea explorers to hand over the last of the treasure they recovered from a 200-year-old shipwreck. Last month, Spanish military planes flew home with nearly 600,000 silver coins and other artifacts after prevailing in a five-year legal battle over ownership with Tampa-based Odyssey Marine Exploration. Now Spain wants the rest of it — specifically some artifacts Odyssey left behind in Gibraltar when it flew the coins to the United States in May 2007. 0 Comments Weigh InCorrections? Personal Post In a federal court filing, Spain has asked that Odyssey be forced to hand over the remainder of the booty from the frigate Nuestra Senora de Las Mercedes, which was sunk by British warships in 1804. A hearing is scheduled for Friday morning.

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Card firm in breast implant refund

 

A Midlands woman who was given PIP breast implants that ruptured has recouped the full cost of the surgery from her credit card company. She said Lloyds TSB refunded her £3,700 on the grounds that she was sold faulty goods. The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) said the move should offer a "ray of hope" to other patients with PIP implants. The woman, a hairdresser in her 40s from the Midlands who does not want to be identified, underwent a breast enlargement operation in 2008. She discovered she had been given PIP implants last September when she found a lump and went to a breast cancer clinic. "I was quite worried, but I was told it was just a rupture of my implants. It was only later I realised there was a health risk. I was really quite poorly with it," she said. The woman had the implants removed on the NHS in October, and contacted a firm of solicitors to see if she could get her money back. Because the company that performed the surgery had gone into administration, she was advised to check if she paid by credit card. Having discovered that she did use plastic to pay for the procedure, she applied to Lloyds TSB for a refund and received the money in full three months later. The woman said the credit card company were "wonderful" and stressed that she only had to fill in one form to get the reimbursement. "If I had gone through the solicitors they would have taken a sizeable part of it. Women need to be aware they can easily do it themselves," she said. Fazel Fatah, a consultant plastic surgeon and president of BAAPS, said: "We're delighted that at least a proportion of women who chose this method of payment should now have recourse to securing reimbursement for what are clearly defective, substandard goods." Around 40,000 women in the UK received implants manufactured by the now-closed French company Poly Implant Prostheses (PIP), mostly in private UK clinics. The implants were filled with non-medical grade silicone intended for use in mattresses. Lloyds TSB said it could not comment on the woman's individual case. But a spokeswoman for the bank said: "One of the advantages of using a credit card to pay for goods and services is that consumers can make a Section 75 claim if there has been a misrepresentation or breach of contract, providing the cost is above £100 and less than £30,000. Every Section 75 claim is different and each one will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis."

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Families in Spain face eviction over stranger loans

 

Fighting eviction for failing to pay the mortgage on his home in Spain's capital, Nelson Castillo is now grappling not only with his own debts but also those of a family he does not know. The 39-year-old and his wife acted as guarantors of another Ecuadoran family's loan under a programme run by an agency that negotiated loans for immigrants. In return, that family acted as the guarantor for Castillo's loan. Now, both families are in arrears. And each of them is legally responsible for its own loan and for the loan it guaranteed. "We were two families and we did not know each other. Ecuadorans are like that. We had to sign the papers and that's it. Goodbye, and each side went its own way," said Castillo. Dozens of anti-eviction activists had gathered outside his Madrid apartment building on Tuesday to prevent court clerks and bank officials from ejecting Castillo and his family from their home. Inside the apartment a volunteer psychologist tried to comfort Castillo's wife, 40-year-old Kelly Herrera, who sat in distress on the couch while the couple talked to police. The couple were given until March 30 to pay their debt of 222,000 euros ($291,000) claimed by the bank. And they are still liable for the loan given to the other family. "Today they are demanding my loan. But later on they will demand the second," said Castillo. The couple's lawyer Rafael Mayoral had requested that the eviction be blocked for "humanitarian reasons" because their two children are minors and a knee injury prevents Herrera from working at the moment. But above all the lawyer argued that the couple are "victims of a swindle". The couple and nine other families are suing an agency, Central Hipotecaria del Inmigrante, which ran a system of "cross guarantors" for loans among people that did not always know each other. "It was a pyramid scheme of financial risk management," said Mayoral. Despite the investigation under way into the agency, the courts have refused to issue a moratorium on evictions. Last week the government approved a voluntary "code of conduct" for banks that aims to help poor homeowners settle their debts and reduce a wave of evictions brought on by Spain's economic crisis. For families whose members are all out of work and have no other source of income, the code obliges signatory banks to restructure their mortgage debt by for example lengthening the term of the loan or reducing its interest rate. The goal is to reduce the number of evictions in Spain, which amount to about 300,000 since the collapse of a property bubble in 2008. But the new code will not help Castillo and his family. "The bank did not give me any option, I wanted to give them the apartment in exchange for clearing my debt but they were not interested," he said. Castillo, a waiter, said with pride that he "only spent a few months out of work" since he moved to Spain in 1996. In 2006 he and his wife decided to buy an apartment while Spain was still in the midst of a property boom. The couple took out a mortgage with a variable rate that started out with a monthly payment of 900 euros. But as Euribor interest rates rose, their monthly mortgage payment shot up to 1,420 euros. "It became impossible to pay. I earned 1,000 euros a month and my wife also did not earn much. Things became complicated. I tried to reach an agreement with the bank but it was not possible. I stopped paying," said Castillo. Castillo said he did not know if the family which signed as the guarantor of his loan has suffered any consequences because he stopped making his mortgage payments. "I only met them the day we signed the papers," he said.

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Troubled Spain, Portugal now desperate for rain

 

Fernando Luna, a burly Spanish farmer, yanks a barley sprout from a field as dry as powder. He examines its roots, which are mostly dead, then tosses the stunted shoot away in disgust. "Worthless! This is worthless!" Luna shouts. Spain is facing its driest winter in more than 70 years and bailed-out Portugal next door is in similar straits. Thousands of jobs and many millions in agricultural output are in jeopardy. Both nations are desperately short of so much: tax revenues, bank credit, jobs, hope for the future. Now, it won't even rain. The landscape in northern Spain is now a palette in shades of ugly. Pale brown fields without crops or pasture stretch off into the distance. A pond for watering sheep has shriveled into a dustbowl. An irrigation canal down the road holds only stagnant water, murky from so much sediment and so little flow. Luna waves this way and that, distraught over fields he says are doomed to yield zero harvest. He has given up his winter crop for lost. "Imagine, the color of vinegar! They should be green, green, green," he says of the barley fields that lack shoots. Stalks should be reaching halfway up the shin at this point. Spain got less than 30 percent of its normal precipitation from December through February. There is a slim window of 10 days or so for it to rain and help farmers like Luna salvage at least part of their winter crops of wheat, barley and oats. And not all regions are as bad off as Huesca, a northern province where the Pyrenees lie and where Luna is president of a chapter of the ASAJA farmers association. But the March weather forecast is not good for farmers — just more blue skies, says Fermin Elizaga of the national weather service. "Out in the countryside, the situation is probably going to get worse," he says. A key concern is how full Spain's reservoirs will be for watering the lucrative fruit and vegetable crops that are the pride and joy of the country's euro40 billion ($52 billion) agriculture and livestock industry. Nationwide, reservoirs are at an average 62 percent of capacity — not that bad — but in Huesca they are just 20 percent. That means farmers get only 20 percent of the water they are normally allotted for irrigation and will have to leave much of their land idle. ASAJA estimates this will cost Huesca province around euro1.3 billion ($1.7 billion) in lost revenue from drastically smaller harvests of peaches, cherries, almonds and grapes. In a good year, 6,000 people work in the Huesca harvest and another 2,000 in canning, packaging and related services. It could be a lean year for them, as it will be for much of Spain, with its nearly 23 percent jobless rate — the highest in the 17-nation eurozone — and an economy expected to slip into its second recession in three years. In Galicia, Spain's lushly green northwestern corner where it usually rains all the time, pastures have no grass this year. Farmers there and elsewhere are being forced to ship in fodder for sheep and cattle at a cost of euro2 million ($2.6 million) a day, according to ASAJA national spokesman Gregorio Juarez. "They're all burned up," says Juarez. Being so used to plentiful rain, Galicia and other parts of northern Spain have fewer reservoirs, so they are less prepared than the often blazingly hot south, where places like Andalusia and Extremadura on the border with Portugal catch every drop of precious rain. In Huesca, one reservoir built in the 1950s is now so low you can see the ruins of a submerged village, Mediano. At the best of times, the tip of its 16th-century church belltower peeks out of the water and boaters row up and touch it. These days, the water is so low you could walk into the church itself if the front door were not sealed up. In Portugal, Joao Dinis, a spokesman for Portugal's National Farms Confederation, said the drought has added to hardships caused by the country's acute financial crisis, which forced it to ask for a euro78 billion ($102 billion) bailout last year, making credit scarce. Farmers are enduring "a very, very difficult" period, with cereal crops badly hit and grazing land in short supply. "It's the worst situation in living memory," Dinis said. He says Portuguese farmers need emergency aid of euro25 million ($33 million). The Farm Ministry is calculating the damages and negotiating exceptional grants for farmers with the European Union. In Robres, a speck of a village in Huesca, barley farmer Jose Manuel Allue is taking the rare step of watering his crop, grains like wheat and barley that are normally fed by rain alone. And he is blowing his entire irrigation quota in just two days, using 6-foot-high (2-meter) sprinklers to soak a piece of land as big as 40 football fields. The pole-like devices shower water with a pleasant, rhythmic spritzing sound. "After that is gone, it is just a matter of looking to the sky and hoping," Allue said, taking long drags on a strong, thick Spanish cigarette as the earthy smell of a pig farm wafts by. Seconds later, something does appear in the sky, but it's not clouds: three water-dumping fire planes returning from a mission further north. Forest fires — a staple of Spanish summers — have broken out in recent weeks because of the dry conditions, awfully early in the year for such blazes. Ditto for Portugal. Allue checks the weather forecast on the Internet or TV first thing each morning and hears talk of little else at the town tavern, but he has a herd of 1,100 pigs to tide him over if his barley crop proves worthless. Juarez, of ASAJA's Madrid office, says a drought is the last thing Spain needs now on top of its economic distress. He used a Spanish adage that when a stray dog is emaciated and mangy, it probably has other problems too. "For a skinny dog, it's all fleas," he says. Translation: When it rains, it pours.

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Spanish House Prices Tumble

 

Spanish house prices tumbled at their fastest pace on record in the fourth quarter, a sign that a long-running property bust will continue to weigh on Spanish households and banks. House prices fall over 11.2% in the fourth-quarter of 2011-the fastest contraction on record. WSJ's Sara Schaefer Munoz has been looking at the data and analyzes how this affects its efforts to deal with its debt crisis. House prices fell on average by 11.2% in the fourth quarter from the same period a year earlier, well below the 7.4% decline in the third quarter, while prices of used homes was down 13.7% in the period, the country's statistics agency INE said Thursday. Both readings are by far the worst since INE started recording countrywide prices in 2007, the peak year for Spain's decade-long property boom. Previously, annual price declines had bottomed out at 7.7% in 2009, and analysts say house prices have only rarely fallen year-to-year since at least the 1970s. The drop indicates Spanish property prices are now correcting at a similar pace to that seen in the U.S. soon after the 2008 financial crisis, and may fall further at least this year. In previous quarters, price drops were somewhat contained, the result of support efforts by the government and banks, fearful of the effect of a housing collapse. Spanish banks hold more than €400 billion ($521.32 billion) worth of loans to the construction and real-estate sector, backed by collateral that loses value as property prices slide further. The amount is equivalent to around 40% of Spain's gross domestic product. TK Raj Badiani, an economist at IHS Global Insight, said government data indicates Spanish house prices are down more than 20% from the 2007-2008 peak, even though other evidence points to a possible drop of more than 30%. "The continued imbalance between the supply and demand of housing suggests that house prices will continue to fall throughout 2012," Mr. Badiani said. "The outlook remains bleak, with the demand for housing expected to shrink throughout 2012 with debt-laden households struggling to cope with a devastated labor market and limited access to credit." Last month, Spain's Finance Minister Luis de Guindos presented a clean-up plan that will force banks to set aside an additional €50 billion this year to cover losses from souring loans, mostly property-related. The plan also seeks to allow a faster correction of the property market this year, so that lower prices trigger some demand in the moribund sector. Earlier this week, INE data showed Spain's property sales continued their recent slide in January, with a 26% annual decline. Last year, just over 361,000 homes were sold in Spain, less than half the number sold in 2007. The clean-up plan and other reforms may only have a delayed effect on the euro zone's fourth-largest economy, the Ernst & Young consultancy said in a report. A lack of demand amid an economic contraction that may stretch until 2014 should keep house prices falling for the next three years, Ernst & Young added. Meanwhile, Spain's bond auction was a mixed bag Thursday, with the Treasury selling slightly less than the maximum targeted amount but paying mostly lower yields to investors. The infusion of cheap cash from the European Central Bank has buttressed bond markets across the 17-nation euro zone, but not always equally. Spain's government bond market hasn't kept pace, while Italy, which at the end of last year had been lumped together with Spain as possibly becoming the "next domino," has swapped places with Spain as the country having to pay less of a premium on its debt. The contrasting fortunes also reflects the market's confidence in Italy's ability to make progress on the fiscal front while Spain falters. Italy's economy is likely to record a primary surplus in 2012. Spain unilaterally revised its budget deficit targets and analysts are skeptical if even those targets will be met.

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Escaped prisoner Anthony Downes arrested and held in Amsterdam

 

Anthony Downes, who was arrested in Amsterdam, escaped from a prison van while being transported from HMP Manchester to Liverpool Crown Court in July last year. He had been facing trial for conspiracy to possess firearms with intent to endanger life and conspiracy to cause damage with intent to endanger life. He was convicted in his absence at Woolwich Crown Court and is due to be sentenced at the end of this week. Downes, 26, featured as part of Crimestoppers’ latest Operation Captura Campaign in October 2011, which seeks to locate wanted fugitives believed to have fled to Spain, who are wanted by UK law enforcement agencies. Lord Ashcroft, KCMG, Founder and Chair of Crimestoppers, said: “This is yet another example of how criminals on the run will eventually be caught and I am delighted to hear that this individual has been arrested. “Crimestoppers is seeing huge success with its fugitive campaigns and the fact that we now have 48 arrests out of 65 appeals from our Captura campaign proves that wanted criminals will eventually be brought to justice.” Deputy Chief Executive, Dave Cording, added: “This arrest comes less than six months after the fifth anniversary of Operation Captura. “Through close collaboration with the Spanish police, SOCA and the public, these individuals have nowhere to hide and those still on the run should think about handing themselves in before they are caught next.” This latest arrest brings the total number of those located to 48 out of 65 appeals since the campaign launched in October 2006. Operation Captura is the successful multi-agency campaign which identifies serious criminals believed to be on the run in Spain.

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Expats in Spain warned of faulty hip replacements

Therapist Carol Duquemin, 59, decided to act after being forced to have her hip replacement removed after just four months. Duquemin – whose ordeal came after the manufacturer recalled the faulty product in 2010 – has teamed up with free health care service Medilink to provide advice and support to expats. “Up to 9,000 people in Spain could have been affected by the implants,” Duquemin said. “People are still not aware of the problem and the danger it poses to their health. “The law says you have to have it removed in the country where you had the operation but some hospitals here are not giving the help and information that they should, and it is a big operation that causes a huge trauma to the body.

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Dutch activist arrested in Morocco

 

A young Dutch-Moroccan activist was arrested in Morocco on Monday. The Dutch Foreign Ministry has confirmed the detention of Yuba Zalen to Radio Netherlands Worldwide. Mr Zalen is a member of the 20th of February movement, a young protest group inspired by the Arab Spring and calling for greater democracy in Morocco. He was in Morocco to report on the unrest in the northern town of Ait Bouayach, where dozens have been injured in clashes with security forces. Moroccan media are barely reporting on the unrest. Activists say that local internet cafés have also been closed down. The website Amazightimes.com reports that Yuba Zalen is likely to appear in court in the town of Al-Hoceima on Thursday. The Dutch section of the 20th of February movement has called for his immediate release.

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Revolt in the city of Bni Bouayach in the mountainous area of the Northern Rif in Morocco

The city of Bni Bouayach in the mountainous area of the Northern Rif in Morocco has been sealed off since Wednesday, March 8. All the repressive organs of the state, the army, the gendarmerie together with the secret and public police, have joined forces to blockade the small city. The inhabitants live in fear of police terror and the raiding of houses and arrests. Other repressive forces are hunting down activists who fled into the neighbouring mountains to escape arrest. The media black-out is total. This violent intervention is the dictatorship’s response to peaceful demonstrations organised by the young unemployed and the activists of the 20F movement that have been ongoing for many months. The protest is against the generalised lack of jobs and bad social and economic conditions in this marginalised city of the Rif. The regime has used a variety of tactics against the protest movement, from “containment” to targeted repression of the leaders of the action. One activist, Kamal al-Hassani, was killed on October 27th last year, another, Bachir ben Shu'ayb, was abducted and put on trial. His imprisonment and the accusations against him have provoked new protests in the city. National highway Number 2 was blocked and a sit-in was organised in front of the municipal buildings and the National Electricity Company. On March 5 the youth wanted to organise a march (25 km) to the city of Al Hoceima in support of the arrested comrade but the police stopped them. Then on Thursday, March 8, the forces of repression attacked the demonstrators during a sit-in. The police used truncheons, teargas and water cannons to disperse the demonstrators. The masses of this city, known for their fighting traditions and activism, have defended themselves by throwing stones (see this report). Demonstrations have been organised in the main streets leading to clashes in different neighbourhoods. Many people have been injured in those clashes. Fearing arrest, most of them have avoided being treated in the hospitals. Dozens of demonstrators have also been detained. The attack of the repressive forces was ferocious. No-one was spared, not even the women and the children. In seeking out demonstrators, the police entered people’s homes and destroyed the contents or plundered them. They are even hunting down the young activists in the mountains all around the area. Friday the police arrested a group of activists, including Wael Faqih a leader of the unemployed youth association (Association Nationale des Diplômés Chômeurs au Maroc), and Mohammed Jalloul, a teacher in a primary school and also an activist of the 20F movement. This attack against the city of Bni Bouayach is taking place against a background of growing revolt in some cities (such as Taza and Khénifra) that are completely marginalised by the state. These protests are organised by the 20F movement. They reflect the absolute bankruptcy of the system and the lack of alternative. It also shows the real nature of the dictatorship which is not ready to reform itself out of existence.

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Moroccan appeal court confirmed a death sentence

A Moroccan appeal court confirmed a death sentence Friday against the mastermind of the April 2011 Marrakesh bombing that killed 17 people, and handed a death sentence to one of the others convicted. The chief judge of the court confirmed the death sentence against Adil Al-Atmani, the mastermind of the bombings, in which 17 people -- Moroccans, French and Swiss nationals -- were killed and dozens more wounded. And it converted the life term handed down to his chief accomplice Hakim Dah to a death sentence. But the death sentences are unlikely to be carried, with capital punishment in the process of being taken off the statutes. The court also increased the jail sentences against six of the other men convicted at the original trial in October from six to 10 years and confirmed a two-year sentence against a ninth man. The appeal trial went ahead after the prosecutors appealed the original sentences. The appeal court sentences were in some respects harsher than what the prosecution had asked for. The prosecutor on Wednesday had only asked for the life sentence against Dah to be confirmed. But he had wanted harsher sentences against the seven other people convicted. The defendants denied many of the charges against them during the trial. The Marrakesh bombing was the deadliest in the north African kingdom since attacks in the coastal city of Casablanca in 2003 which killed 33 people and 12 bombers. The defendants had denied the charges against them during the trial. One of the defendants' lawyers, Khalil Idrissi, criticised the "harsh" sentences, which he said were an "act of complacency" towards the families of the victims and their countries. Another defence lawyer said the "court increased the punishments of several defendants who had nothing to do with this crime". But relatives of the French victims welcomed the tougher sentences. "Now I can grieve," Jacques Maude, who was close to one victim, said. Capital punishment has not been carried out in Morocco since 1992 and is about to be formally wiped off the book, with a new constitution voted through in July explicitly affirming "the right to life". The Marrakesh bombing was the deadliest in the north African kingdom since attacks in the coastal city of Casablanca in 2003 which killed 33 people and 12 bombers.

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Protests Spread in Morocco's North Rif Mountains

Anti-government protests in Morocco's impoverished northern Rif mountains are spreading after a second village clashed with police resulting in serious injuries and 10 arrests, reported the state news agency. For the past 10 days, there have been demonstrations in the small village of Beni Bouayache following the arrest of a local activist. On Sunday they spread to the nearby town of Imzouren. The state news agency said a number of police were injured when they stopped a protest march at Imzouren headed for Beni Bouayache. The report said some injuries were grievous without further details. Chakib al-Khayari, an activist with the Rif Association for Human Rights, said 20 policemen had been injured in Sunday's clashes, but he didn't have figures for the locals wounded. "We don't know the number of wounded because they can't go to the hospital for fear of arrest," he told The Associated Press by telephone. Morocco's Rif mountains, which parallel the Mediterranean coast, are one of the poorest parts of the country and have been historically marginalized with little government investment. On March 2, plainclothes police snatched Bachir Benchaib, a leader of the local chapter of the February 20 pro-democracy movement, as he was leaving the mosque following evening prayers. The state news agency described Benchaib as a violent gang-member implicated in robberies and other criminal activities. In subsequent days, supporters demonstrated for Benchaib's release, blocking the road to the port city of Al Hoceima, 280 miles (450 kilometers) northeast of Rabat, and carrying out sit-ins in front of the police station and government buildings. Starting Wednesday, police began dispersing demonstrations with tear gas and water cannons and carrying out a campaign of arrests. Clashes with security forces generally now take place at night, said al-Khayari, who estimated that some 24 people had been arrested. He predicted that the protests, which have included demands for more electricity and water in their village, would continue. "They want their rights and a better life," al-Khayari. "They have nothing in this region." The Rif mountains were once an independent republic in the 1920s, until the region was reconquered by the French in 1926. After independence from France, the region revolted against the new Moroccan central government in 1958, before the rebellion was crushed. The people are primarily from the Berber ethnicity, North Africa's original inhabitants with their own language, and during demonstrations they waved flags from the Rif Republic as well as the flag of the North Africa-wide flag of the Berber movement.

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US soldier has killed 16 Afghan civilians, including nine children,

A US soldier has killed 16 Afghan civilians, including nine children, after entering their homes in Kandahar. Sky sources said the Afghan victims also included women and elderly men. Minister of Border and Tribal Affairs Asadullah Khalid, who is investigating the incident, said the soldier entered three homes, killing 11 people in the first one. The Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) coalition confirmed the incident but did not release the number of killed or injured. Sky defence reporter Mark Stone said: "Details are still sketchy and various death tolls have emerged. "It appears to be an isolated incident and the soldier is believed to have been a staff sergeant." Isaf Deputy Commander Lt Gen Adrian Bradshaw said: "I wish to convey my profound regrets and dismay at the actions apparently taken by one coalition member in Kandahar province. "I cannot explain the motivation behind such callous acts, but they were in no way part of authorised ISAF military activity." According to the Panjwai district governor office, seven people died and up to 17 injured were injured in the rampage. The injured have been treated for their wounds at Nato medical facilities. Protests were held over the Koran-burning incident The US embassy in Kabul attempted to quell expected Afghan unrest by also issuing an apology. It said: "We deplore any attack by a member of the US armed forces against innocent civilians, and denounce all violence against civilians. "We assure the people of Afghanistan that the individual or individuals responsible for this act will be identified and brought to justice." The diplomatic response comes after weeks of tense relations between US forces and their Afghan hosts following the burning of Korans and other religious materials at an American base. Although US officials apologised and said the burning was an accident, the incident sparked violent protests and attacks. Britain also pulled out civilian advisers from buildings in Kabul as protests spread. Six American soldiers have been killed in attacks by their Afghan colleagues since the Koran burnings came to light.

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United States service member walked out of a military base in a rural district of southern Afghanistan on Sunday and opened fire on three nearby houses, killing at least 15 civilians

 

United States service member walked out of a military base in a rural district of southern Afghanistan on Sunday and opened fire on three nearby houses, killing at least 15 civilians, local villagers and provincial officials said. Related Security Fears Lead Groups to Rethink Work in Afghanistan (March 11, 2012) U.S. and Afghanistan Agree on Prisoner Transfer as Part of Long-Term Agreement (March 10, 2012) Afghan Officer Sought in Killing of 9 Colleagues (March 9, 2012) Connect With Us on Twitter Follow @nytimesworld for international breaking news and headlines. Twitter List: Reporters and Editors Readers’ Comments Share your thoughts. Post a Comment » Read All Comments (1) » The shooting risks further inciting anti-American sentiment in Afghanistan and troubling a relationship that had already been brought to a new low by the burning of Korans at an American military base last month. The American embassy in Afghanistan quickly issued a statement on Sunday urging calm. The NATO-led coalition said in a statement on Sunday that a United States service member had been detained after an incident in Kandahar Province, in the south of the country, and that a number of civilians had been killed. Villagers in Belandi in the Panjway district of Kandahar, where the shooting took place, said the service member had attacked three houses, killing 11 people in one house and four in a second home. Five other villagers were wounded, they said. Panjway, a rural suburb of Kandahar, was traditionally a Taliban stronghold. It was a focus of the United States surge in 2010 and was the scene of heavy fighting. The governor of Kandahar Province, Tooryalai Wesa, condemned the shooting, although he could not immediately confirm the number of people killed. A coalition spokesman in Kabul, Capt. Justin Brockhoff, said that it was not clear what had led to the incident. He said the civilians wounded in the shooting were taken to a coalition hospital where they were being treated. One of the houses attacked in the village belonged to a tribal elder, according to a person from the village. “We don’t know why he killed people,” said the villager, Aminullah, who like many Afghans goes by a single name. Aminullah said the soldier was alone. “There was no fighting or attacks.” In the statement, the United States military raced to head off Afghan outrage. “This is a deeply regrettable incident and we extend our thoughts and concerns to the families involved,” the statement said. It went on to say that American forces, in cooperation with the Afghan authorities, would investigate the incident. In its comments, the American Embassy also sought to ease tensions, offering “its deepest condolences to the families of the victims of today’s tragic shooting.” “We are saddened by this violent act against our Afghan friends,” the statement said. In a separate incident, four Afghans were killed and three wounded on Friday when coalition helicopters apparently hunting Taliban insurgents fired instead on villagers in Kapisa province in eastern Afghanistan, according to Abdul Hakim Akhondzada, governor of Tagab district in Kapisa. Last month, the burning of the Korans touched off nationwide rioting and increased the targeting of American troops, resulting in at least 29 Afghans dead and 6 American soldiers killed. The results of the official military inquiry into the Koran burnings are still awaited, including any decision on what kind of disciplinary action may be faced by the American service members identified as being directly linked to the incident. The upheaval provoked by the Koran burnings put a temporary halt to cooperation between the Afghans and Americans, and disrupted planning for the military withdrawal. But relations seemed somewhat back on track after the two governments on Friday broke an impasse on a long-term strategic partnership deal by agreeing for the Afghans to assume control of the main coalition prison in six months. In another incident in January, American officials had to contend with the fallout from a video that showed four United States Marines urinating on the corpses of what appeared to be the corpses of three Taliban members. In 2010, a rogue group of American soldiers, whose members patrolled roads and small villages, also near Kandahar, killed three Afghan civilians for sport in a series of crimes. The soldier accused of being the ringleader of the group was convicted of three counts of murder by an American military panel in November.

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Helicopter rescue for crew of ship aground

 

Coast guards in Italy have used helicopters to rescue the crew of a cargo ship after it ran aground on a reef off Sicily in stormy seas. All 19 crew members were ferried to shore by helicopters after the captain of the Gelso M gave the order to abandon ship. Weather conditions are deteriorating in the area near the city of Syracuse on Sicily's south-east coast. There were no reports of any cargo aboard the Italian-flagged vessel. Coastguard spokesman Cosimo Nicastro said four helicopters had been used to airlift the crew to safety, and all of them were well. Helicopters were needed for the evacuation because the ship's position on the reefs had made it impossible for the crew to lower lifeboats or for rescue vessels to approach. The ship's double hull meant there was a low risk of pollution but the environment ministry was alerted nonetheless, AFP news agency reports. Rescue service sources quoted by the agency suggested that, given the weather conditions, the captain had been sailing too close to the coast. The incident comes two months after the cruise ship Costa Concordia hit rocks off the island of Giglio on Italy's west coast, capsizing with the loss of 32 lives.

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Abusing your embutido is prejudicial for your health

 

It has been revealed that those who eat more than 20 grams of chorizo or other embutidos a day could see symptoms and in severe cases suffer a chronic obstruction to the lungs, known as Epoc. It’s thought that the cause of the problem comes from the nitrates which are added as preservatives. The warning comes from CREAL, the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology, who have published their study in the European Respiratory Journal. They say that more than 18,000 people die from Epoc each year.

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German man arrested after Málaga lawyer's body found in the boot of his own car

It's now been established that robbery was the motive of the fatal attackThe lawyer's car where his body was found in the boot -The body of a lawyer, named as Salvador Andrés Reina, has been found in the boot of his car in Málaga. The lawyer had vanished in strange circumstances in Málaga last Friday and his body was found on Thursday, in the boot of his own car, parked by the bus station in the city. Police say the man’s body shows evident signs of having suffered violence, having been stabbed several times. A 50 year old German man, named with the initials P.R.B. has been arrested in connection with the case. He was arrested before the body was recovered on Thursday morning. Questioning has revealed that he had pretended to be a client, and killed the lawyer to rob him of 1,200 € which the lawyer was forced to take out of his bank. The lawyer’s family raised the alarm with the police on Friday morning last week after Salvador Andrés failed to return home as normal the previous night. They noticed that he had taken a large amount of money from the account, and this was very strange behaviour for a happy married man with two children. The German’s face was captured on a security camera, which has led to his arrest. The Málaga Lawyers College issued a statement which said that Salvador Andrés Reina ‘had been assassinated when meeting his obligations as a lawyer, attending to his office, when a unknown man turned out not to be a client, but a thief and a killer’. The College expressed its sympathies to the family, his companions and friends, and thanked the police for their ‘very intense’ work in solving the case and detaining the suspect.

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Spain's 2 big unions call for general strike March 29

Spain's two main unions on Friday called a general strike for March 29 to protest the new conservative government's labor reforms and austerity cuts. It will be the first general strike against the government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, which won elections last November and took office late last December, in the midst of Spain's deep economic crisis. The last general strike, in September 2010, was against the then-Socialist government, which also had initiated austerity measures. That strike slowed industry and transport, but much of the country went to work and many analysts saw it as a kind of a draw between the government and unions. Since then, the economic crisis has deepened. Spain's jobless rate is nearly 23 percent overall, and nearly 50 percent for youth. Nearly 5.3 million Spaniards are out of work. Union protests across the nation last month drew large crowds, which analysts say emboldened the unions to move ahead with a general strike. The government says the latest labor reforms are needed to bring flexibility to the workplace and to simplify the rules for employers. But unions say the effect will be to make it easier and cheaper to fire workers. The two main unions -- the Socialist-leaning General Workers Union and the Communist-leaning Workers Commissions -- held separate meetings Friday and then announced the general strike for March 29, a date Spanish news media have been reporting for days as the likely date for the strike. Rajoy, at a recent European Union summit, was reported by Spanish media to be overheard, via an open microphone, telling another EU leader that the labor reforms would cost him a general strike. The reforms were approved first as a decree law, with immediate effect, and the unions called on the government to make amendments as the bill moved through parliament. But the conservatives have a commanding majority in parliament and on Thursday approved the reforms unchanged. The government says the labor reforms make up only a portion of the elements needed to spur an economic recovery. It predicts a 1.7 percent decline in the economy this year. The government also has demanded reforms in the banking sector with the aim of getting credit flowing again and to clean up the books of lenders stuck with huge uncollectable debts left over from Spain's real estate and construction boom that went bust, precipitating the economic crisis. The unions earlier called a round of protests for this Sunday, which coincides with the eighth anniversary of the Madrid train bombings terrorist attacks that killed 191 people.

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