A Breather for Mortgages: Euribor Falls After 2 Years on the Up

The bull market that the Euribor has been in for the past 24 months seems to have come to an end, in October it closed at 4.64%, below the heights of August and September and beginning a drift downwards towards an expected level of 3.9% by the end of 2008. The reason for the downward movement is due to the international crisis provoked by the sub-prime mortgage situation in the U.S. The crisis, at first causing mortgage increases is now working in favour of  borrowers by discouraging the BCE from increasing Euribor rates.

Telefonica Increase Charges

Telefonica has announced that it is going to increase the charge paid for the establishing of a call from a fixed line to any mobile phone. The connection charge will go up 25% from 12 to 15 cents, despite the fact that it has been criticized by consumers groups. To offset the criticism Telefonica has also announced that the cost of a call per minute will be reduced by 18% if the call is made to Orange or Vodafone and by 10% to Yoigo.

Broadband Slower but More Expensive in Spain

A new study from the OECD, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has reported that connections to the web in Spain are often slower than in other countries and, above all, much more expensive. The price for broadband in Spain is on average, the 5th highest in the 30 richest countries in the OECD, while the speed offered for that price is only halfway up the list.

Christmas Lottery Scam Dupes Hundreds Worldwide

Judges from various European countries are asking Spain to increase its efforts to catch the perpetrators of an elaborate Christmas lottery scam that has been draining the coffers of hundreds of families worldwide. ‘Official' letters have reached European, US, and Asian families, announcing a Spanish Euro million prize of at least, 315,000 Euros. Many have forked out hundreds of thousands of Euros to bilingual 'facilitators' to claim their promised prizes, pay fees, or try to re-coup their initial deposits after their prizes failed to arrive.

Express by Holiday Inn to Launch 20 Hotels Across Spain

InterContinental Hotels Group, the owner of the Express by Holiday brand, has announced the signing of a 20-hotel franchise agreement with the British investment group Zinnia Hotels Properties Holdings, the 20 new Express by Holiday Inn properties will be signed in the next five years, with an anticipated approximate total investment of 180 million euros by the investment group, effectively doubling their concentration of Express by Holiday Inn branded hotels in Spain.

Bilbao's Guggenheim Gives Prize for 10 Millionth Visitor

The Guggenheim Museum was expecting its 10 millionth visitor yesterday (11th November) and the lucky visitor will have won a journey to New York as a prize. The 10 millionth visitor coincides with the museums 10th anniversary, which was celebrated on 19th October.

Madrid Man Fakes Own Kidnapping

A 31 year old man has been arrested in Madrid for faking his own kidnapping and trying to obtain a 16,000 euro ransom from his parents. Two others who said they were holding him at a hotel were also taken into custody in the police operation this weekend, one of them was wanted on a warrant issued for another crime unrelated to the hoax kidnapping.

Greenpeace Warns Spain on Climate Change

Greenpeace has issued a stark warning to Spain about the future if steps are not taken now to stop the effects of climate change.  The warning comes in a book, Photoclima, launched in Madrid this week. The book shows images of some of Spain's most emblematic places including the Ebro River in Zaragoza, the glacial formations of the Monte Perdido in the Pyrenees and Alcornocales Natural Park in Cadiz for the forests among others.  The greatest impact of the book is the photographs by Pedro Armestre and Mario Gomez, showing before and after effects of climate change in Spain.

Bee Colony Removed by Firemen in Cartagena

Firemen have removed between 15 and 20 honeycombs from the false cane roof of a house in Cartagena.  The operation was completed with the help of a substance which was used for the first time by the brigade: ammonium nitrate smoke which was used to act as a sedative. It was reported that at 40,000 bees were removed from the roof.

Anita Delgado Jewels to be Auctioned in London

Jewels belonging to Spanish Flamenco dancer, Anita Delgado, who became Princess in Kapurthala, are to be sold in Christie's in London on 12th December 2007. An Indian Prince, Jagatjit Singh, fell madly in love with 16 year old Anita Delgado from Malaga who he saw dancing in a cafe in Madrid in 1906, they married in 1908 and were together for 18 years in Jagatjit's kingdom in the foothills of the Himalayas. They had one son, Ajit Singh but divorced in 1925 when Anita left India for good.

There are eight pieces which were bought from Anita’s Delgado’s son after his mother’s death, and include a magnificent emerald, diamond, and rock crystal Art Deco necklace.  The necklace was previously an adornment for the Maharaja’s favourite elephant and is valued at up to 100,000 pounds. The total collection is expected to realise more than 200,000 pounds.

Travel Insurance Claims

A report in The Times newspaper relating to the 25 most absurd travel insurance claims reveals that the number of claims to British insurance companies for Rolex watches lost on the Costa del Sol is greater than the actual number of watches in existence. The newspaper also describes the case of the claimant whose camera was stolen by one of the Gibraltar monkeys. The insurance company paid for the camera but refused to pay for travelling expenses.  Another traveller who lost his dentures over the side of the Bilbao ferry when being sick was paid out under the concept of lost baggage.

Stolen Olive Trees Found in Murcia

Two one thousand-year old olive trees, which were stolen from Portugal at the beginning of October, have been found in a nursery in Murcia according to information from the Civil Guard.  These collectors’ items, each seven metres around and weighing several tons, are said to be worth tens of thousands of euros.

Placido Domingo to Sing Anthem

It has been revealed in the Spanish press that Placido Domingo has been chosen to sing the new words to the Spanish National Anthem after the winner has been chosen. The jury says the winner will be announced in the next two weeks.

Iberia Airbus Skids Off Runway on Landing

An Iberia plane skidded off the runway in Quito, Ecuador yesterday (10th November) after some of its tyres burst. No injuries were reported on the flight from Madrid which was carrying 330 passengers. Airport officials said one or more of the Iberia airliner's landing gear tires exploded causing the Airbus A340-600 to slide off the runway and tip on its wing.

Iberian Lynx Breeding Centres

New captive breeding centres for the endangered Iberian Lynx are to be established under the ‘Iberian pact for the lynx’. An agreement was signed in Seville last week between the Environment Ministries of Spain and Portugal, and representatives of the regional governments in Andalucia, Extremadura and Castilla-La Mancha.

Andalucia is the only habitat where the threatened species is found today in any significant numbers.  Until now, it has been the only autonomous community with its own captive breeding programme.

So far this year 30 lynx kittens have been born in the Sierra Morena in Jaen and Cordoba provinces and another 14 born in Donana National Park. Eleven of the 19 lynx kittens born in captivity this year have also survived.

Partido Popular to Support Granada Cable Car

Granada will play home to the world’s longest cable car if the PP wins next year’s regional elections, that was the message from Javier Arenas, as the party launched its campaign to control the Junta de Andalucia. The current PSOE run Junta has expressed its doubts over the ambitious 19-kilometre cable car project, which could unite Granada with the ski resort in the Sierra Nevada if it is given the go ahead. Chief among the concerns is the impact the scheme will have on the ecologically sensitive mountain range, regional elections in Andalucia will be held in March 2008.

'Clown' Destroys Granada Church Font

Evening mass in a Granada city church was disrupted last Sunday (4th November) when a man dressed as a clown suddenly burst into a church and started attacking one of the holy water fonts with a monkey wrench. Newspaper reports said he was wearing a full clown costume, complete with makeup, and left the font totally destroyed. The culprit, who resisted arrest, is said to be known in the area and has a previous arrest record for other offences.

Works Progress at Malaga Airport

Building work for the new terminal of Malaga's airport is now 80% complete and the Airports Authority, AENA, are completing the purchase of the land for the second runway.  September 2008 is the date when the actual construction is set to be completed and then installation of the facilities will take place, allowing the new terminal to open to the public in the spring of 2009. The new terminal will have 20 boarding gates, 86 check in desks and cover an area of 250,000 square metres, allowing the airport to handle 9,000 passengers an hour, double the current number of 4,500.  The budget for the improvements is 1.1 billion euros.

Cercanias Trains to be Fitted with Wheelchair Ramps

From next year the Malaga-Fuengirola Cercanias rail service will have two specially adapted trains for the disabled. The two new trains are equipped with a mobile platform for wheelchair boarding. The trains will mainly be used on the C-1 Fuengirola line but will also be available on the C-2 Alora line.

Manuel Chaves Opens Benalmadena’s Public Hospital

Manuel Chaves, the President of the Junta de Andalucia, accompanied by the regional health councillor, Maria Jesus Montero, officially inaugurated Benalmadena's new CHARE hospital on Thursday 8th November, after the town council on Tuesday voted to hand over the hospital installations to the regional government’s health service.

The idea to create the CHARE hospital was that of the previous Bolin administration, it decided to take on the responsibility of the construction of the complex and work started in 2002. A CHARE hospital is a cross between a fully fledged hospital and a health centre, there are a limited number of beds and an operating theatre but is limited in the scope of the treatments its can provide, nonetheless it has an emergency centre, 24 consulting rooms and parking for 643 vehicles.

Malaga Police Want Dog Unit

Due to the success of dog units in police forces in other areas of Malaga province as well as in cities including Melilla, Madrid, Barcelona and Bilbao, the Local Police and Fire Brigade unions have asked for the creation of a canine unit in Malaga City. The dogs would be used by the local police in several areas such as drug detection and city security measures.

Work Begins on the Thyssen Museum in Malaga

Work has started on the reform of the Villalon Palace in the centre of Malaga, which is set to be the home for the city's new Thyssen Museum. The builders have started their work at the site not far from the Picasso Museum.  The work is expected to last two and a half years and has a budget of 1.4 million euros. When open the museum will show an exhibition of Spanish painters from the private collection of Baroness Thyssen – 225 works in total including 37 works by Malaga painters.

Illegal Road Races Shown on You Tube

Malaga police are investigating illegal car races in Malaga after they were posted on the You Tube web site.  The videos were shot in the feria ground area of Malaga or on the Paseo Maritimo Antonio Machado in the city.

Illegal road races have also been organised on the A-376 between Marbella and Ronda.  According to the police, most of the drivers are adolescents.  Unfortunately, the police suffer from a legal loophole when investigating the races because it seems that although they can prove the identity of the cars being used in the races they cannot prove who was driving at the time of the offence.

Tunnels for High Speed Train into Malaga Still Causing Concern

There appears to be further serious problems with the 7km long Abdalajis tunnel which has been constructed for the new AVE high speed train line. According to various accusations being made by political parties, cracks as wide as 70cm to 1 metre are appearing on both the floor and walls of the tunnel. A spokesman for the construction company has said there isn't a problem and the AVE will arrive in Malaga on 23rd December in complete safety.

Carratraca 5 Star Spa Hotel Now Open

The famous thermal baths of Carratraca have been returned to their original splendour and are part of the new Villa Padierna Thermas de Carratraca hotel, which is the Guadalhorce Valley’s first five-star accommodation. The recent inauguration comes after four years of work and an 18 million euro investment. Carratraca's natural sulphuric springs are said to have been used for curative soaking from as far back as the Roman era.

Malaga 0 - 1 Numancia

Malaga lost their place at the top of the Division 2 after losing 0-1 at home to Numancia who now go top as a result.  Malaga's next game is this Sunday (11th November) away Sporting Gijon, kick off 12 noon.

Doors Closing on Indecisive Alonso

Alone at the top, it seems this is where Formula 1 double world champion Fernando Alonso seems to be. Recently freed from his contract at McLaren he has been taking his time in committing to an outfit for next season.  On Thursday Williams and Toyota closed their doors as possible new homes for the Asturian, as Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima were announced as drivers for the former, Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock for the latter.  The only two remaining options available for Alonso would be at teams Red Bull and Renault, although Red Bull looks improbable as the team will probably re-sign David Coulthard and Mark Webber.

At Renault, where Alonso won world titles in 2005 and 2006, patience may be wearing a bit thin.  The Tuesday deadline set by Renault manager Flavio Briatore for signing a contract for 2008 came and went without a peep from the Alonso camp, the waiting stretched into a third day Thursday, although Renault cannot afford to let Alonso drag his feet much longer.  "If I haven't announced anything it's because nothing has been closed," said Carlos Ghosn Renault president, not without a touch of irritation.

Renault Charged with Having McLaren Information

The FIA said Renault were accused of having unauthorised documents and confidential information of the McLaren F1 team between September 2006 and last month, former champions   Renault have been summoned to appear before Formula One's governing body on a charge of having McLaren technical information in their possession, the sport's governing body said on Thursday (8th November).

The International Automobile Federation said Renault were accused of being in un-authorised possession of documents and confidential information belonging to McLaren between September 2006 and October 2007, evidently the information included the layout and critical dimensions of the McLaren car as well as details of McLaren’s fuel system, gear assembly, hydraulic control system and suspension, the hearing is in Monaco on 6th December.

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