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Honey and cinnamon, natural medicine

Cinnamon (canela) and honey (miel) are the planet's only food substances that do not rot or go off. Although it can turn into sugar, honey will always be honey and will not affect diabetics if taken in the proper dosage. But don't ever boil it or heat it up in the microwave as it will lose the enzymes that make it such a wonderful natural medicine. And cinnamon will always be exactly that: a natural medicine. Neither of them present side effects, either, but in combination they have been proved to cure or alleviate a considerable list of illnesses (below), a fact accepted by science if not entirely liked by the pharmaceutical companies. Back in 1995, the Canadian magazine Weekly World News offered a list of illnesses or diseases that can supposedly be cured with honey and cinnamon (we are not responsible for the accuracy of their information or their claims, but we do think it's interesting, particularly as Prospero's mother lived to be 99 and always claimed it was because of the honey she took every single day for at least fifty years - don't know about the cinnamon, and she never mentioned gin...)>>>

Mayor announces internal audit to 'get to the bottom of municipal finances'

JIMENA (Press release) Mayor Guillermo Ruiz (centre) announced yesterday that he has ordered an internal audit of the municipal accounts, as he had forewarned at his investiture ceremony. At a meeting yesterday morning with Teresa Ruiz-Sillero (right), Secretary General of the provincial PP, Juan Antonio Liaño (second from l.), provincial deputy and head of Treasury, as well as Councillors Pedro Corbacho (Treasury, left) and Maria Jose Pro (First Deputy Mayor, second from r.), it was decided that the audit should go ahead because, as Ruiz said later, the previous mayor's handling of the accounts was "disastrous". Former Mayor Collado, said the present Mayor, "had used money from grants for public works to pay municipal debts. This is not legal." He also pointed out -again- that the Council owed €1,200,000 to Social Security alone.

Airport tunnel contract rescinded

GIBRALTAR (Agencies) OHL, the Spanish construction company awarded the contract for the tunnel under the airport in 2008, has had the contract rescinded by Government. The effective date of termination will be 12th August, by which time the company is expected to remove all its materials and possessions from the site. A government statement says the grounds for such termination are the Contractor’s failure to comply with the terms of the Contract and to proceed with the works as required by the Contract. The Government says it will make alternative arrangements to proceed "expeditiously with the completion of the tunnel and related works included in the Contract.">>>

Jimena's own flamenco dancer, Lucía Álvarez Howard (La Piñona), chosen to compete at major festival

(Photo: (c) Alberto Bullrich)

Regular readers will know her, but newer ones may not (catch up here). Lucía Álvarez Howard, known as La Piñona in flamenco circles, has just been selected to compete in what purists consider the utmost competition of its genre: Festival Internacional de Cante de las Minas en La Unión, in Murcia. Lucía, 25, the youngest daughter of Katharine Howard and Álvaro Álvarez, was born in Algeciras and raised in Jimena. She has recently returned from a tour of Japan, and has danced in Kenya, Holland and other places outside Spain, and, of course, all over this country as well. The competition schedule has La Piñona dancing on Friday, August 12. The La Unión festival is well known for giving young singers dancers and instrumentalists that much needed push toward stardom, so let's wish our Lucia all the very best.

National elections called for November 20

(Photo: Europa Sur)

SPAIN (Agencies) Premier José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero announced yesterday that he was calling early national elections on November 20th, so that the next Government can take charge of the 2012 financial year and therefore "project political and financial stability over the next few months." Zapatero made the announcement at a press conference after the Ministers Council held every Friday. He pointed out that this would leave enough time to approve and set into place the laws and financial reforms that are in their 'final phase'. The news is not surprising, as the present Government is in what opposition leader Mariano Rajoy has called 'crepuscular' - or to put it even more cruelly: in its death throes. As to regional elections in Andalucía, traditionally held at the same time as the national polls, Zapatero said that it was the President of Andalucía, José Antonio Griñán, who must make that decision. At a party meeting on Monday, Griñán said, "I insist that the elections in Andalucía are fine in March" (the month the nationals had been scheduled for prior to Zapatero's announcement yesterday).

New online service puts Spanish and English students together to practice language

SPAIN (El Pais/John Carlin) Spain is one of the few European countries where having an acceptable level of English still represents a significant added value on the job market. People know this, and despite the economic crisis (or better yet, because of it), demand for English lessons is on the rise. The business of teaching English - a guaranteed success in a country where people still struggle to express themselves in the world's lingua franca - is experiencing a new boom. This is the backdrop for an initiative that originated in Silicon Valley, California, and could really catch on in Spain: the website called Verbling.com, which allows users to converse in English with native speakers - basically to enjoy an intercambio online. The service is free, but it is time-consuming. It is based on the time-honored system of barter, which means>>>

Today's headlines

EL PAIS Ex Barca president Jose  Luis Nunez condemned to six years in prison - Bank of Spain orders CAM audit - If you drink soy, it would only be if you like it / ABC Duchess of Alba: "The sharing out of the inheritance is for everyone's security" - Several communities want to return competencies after finance fiasco - (Madrid) Metro studies raising single ticket by 50% / PUBLICO Challenge for Autonomy State - Six years' jail for the Nunez's - 15-M protests at ratings agencies and Bank of Spain / EL MUNDO Bermudez tries to save Rubalcaba from courts - Topless party and race with woman 'on board' are sexist, says (Ministry of) Equality - Police denounce 'spitting and insults' by ''indignant' / EL ECONOMISTA (Business/Finance) Large Spanish bank profits fall by almost 30% - Why is the rescue plan not convincing? - Madrid and Valencia follow Murcia: could return competences / EUROPA SUR (La Linea Mayor Gemma) Araujo announces job and salary cutbacks after summer - Traffic collapse at North entrance to Algeciras - Poll predicts comfortable absolute majority for PP in Andalucia

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Ex FC Barça head and son sentenced to six years in prison

BARCELONA (El Pais) The former president of the FC Barcelona soccer team, José Luis Núñez Clemente, and his son José Luis Núñez Navarro, have been sentenced to six years in jail each for bribery and forgery. In the most complex case handled by the Barcelona High Court to date, 14 out of the 16 defendants were convicted, including the chief tax inspector in Catalonia, Josep María Huguet, who was slapped with a 13-year jail sentence for helping the Núñezs avoid paying around 13 million euros in taxes between 1991 and 1999. Núñez, who is also>>>

Do NOT suck their heads!

SPAIN (Agencies) ... you weren't going to, were you? Good thing, because the Spanish Agencia Española de Seguridad Alimentaria (AESAN, Food Safety Agency) has put out an advisory that a metal called cadmium accumulates in the heads of shrimp, prawns and other crustacean, where the viscera (offal?) is located. In sufficient quantities cadmium can cause kidney and/or liver malfunction and it takes from 10 to 30 years to eliminate from the body, says the agency, which recommends doing away with the very Spanish custom of sucking on the heads of ... hey, if you're sitting at a chiringuito on the beach in Spain, look around. Another recent warning from AESAN involves fish such as>>>

La Tasca

Copper thieves on both sides of the border

Confiscated copper ready for sale

CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR (Agencies) The theft of copper cable has become endemic on both sides of the frontier, says The Gibraltar Chronicle. The Royal Gibraltar Police continue to investigate the theft of copper coils from a ship in Coaling Island, and warned some weeks ago of the dangers of cutting power cables after two men were arrested doing just that. In the Campo de Gibraltar meanwhile, Spanish law enforcement agencies are faced with a similar problem. This week, Algeciras had a number of neighbourhoods around the city  without electricity after thieves cut power cables to get at the copper inside. In neighbouring Los Barrios on Monday, a joint operation between police and the Guardia Civil led to the arrest of two men accused of stealing copper cables. The officers were acting on information from people in the area who saw the two men cutting cables inside a building site in Los Barrios.>>>

Dogged politics mar agreements on San Pablo 'divorce proceedings'

JIMENA/SanPablo (Agencies) As we announced here, San Pablo is in 'divorce proceedings' against Jimena. The matter has taken on a different tone now that a new local government (PP) is in place in Jimena, while that old PSOE warhorse, Andres Beffa, is still in (apparently unelected) power in San Pablo. As part of the municipality, San Pablo must meet certain requirements in order to continue the process towards becoming an ELA (Entidad Local Autonoma) like San Martin del Tesorillo. The first of these is to set up a Junta Municipal de Distrito, which needs Jimena Mayor Guillermo Ruiz to designate which local associations will be on that this entity's council. Only three (out of a total of 12) associations will have 'voice and vote', according to municipal rules. Ruiz has met with some of the main associations to enable an agreement, but this has not happened. The matter is urgent as the 'mini-council' must be constituted by next Friday. The Mayor is in a quandary: "It is a strange, difficult situation because if I designate the associations there will be those who will be unhappy." (Prospero note: There are always those who could never agree even with their own shadow. Jimena is rife with the sort who prefer to put party and personal interests before those of the municipality's well-being. The latter is desperately needed at this desperate (financial) time.)

Today's headlines

EL PAIS Santander gives unemployed mortgagees a breather - Majority prefer Rubalcaba against Rajoy as President - USA enters political limbo faced with debt crisis / EL MUNDO Total failure of (Economy Minister Elena) Salgado summit with autonomic regions - CAM paid €3.8 million to its Managing Director for early retirement - Breivik sent 1000 emails 77 minutes before massacre / PUBLICO 'Indignant' complaints enter Congress - Salgado offers autonomic regions credit to pay half their debts - Somalia air bridge begins / ABC Rajoy: "The only thing left to this crepuscular government is to set election date" / Autonomies to pay central government with public credit - Rubalcaba designs CIS (Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas) to his own specifications / CINCO DIAS (Business/Finance) ICO to help autonomies return what they owe to the state - Santander offers truce to risky mortgages - High tension between Iberia and pilots on labour talks and in court / EUROPA SUR Algeciras container traffic up by 47% in June - Government relaxes demands on autonomic regions' debt - Barricades return to La Linea.

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Gibraltar ID card was not accepted by Spain at border

GIBRALTAR (Panorama) The Opposition say they have first-hand information of a young man of 17 who was refused entry into Spain on Sunday evening on the basis that he could not cross with an identity card if under 18. The young man was accompanied by his 24 year-old sister. The person was allowed to cross when he went home and obtained his passport. According to eyewitnesses, there was a group of about 14-15 youths at the frontier who were experiencing a similar problem and whose identity cards were being rejected as a valid travel document. The Opposition add that>>>

25,000 fake trainers intercepted at port

(Photo: Europa Sur)

ALGECIRAS (Agencies) Spanish Customs and the Guardia Civil recently intercepted three containers headed to Lisbon from China via Algeciras that contained 25,428 pairs of fake Hogan trainers with a value of €7,628,400. On detecting the possibility that the containers held counterfeit merchandise, they were opened and a specialist was called in to identify it. The expert certified that these were indeed fake shoes, which led to the containers and their cargo being confiscated.

La Línea workers cut traffic to protest non-payment

(Photo: Paco Guerrero for Europa Sur)

LA LINEA (Agencies) The municipal workers of La Línea were back on the streets this morning to protest that they are still owed a series of payments and the list is getting longer. They gathered near the convention centre, marched towards the frontier and also to the Town Hall. Thay burned tires and held up traffic in the area for several minutes. According to union leader José Porras Naranjo, next Monday they will be owed their salaries for July, to which must be added those of May and June, the 'extraordinary' for the summer (it is usual in Spain for an annual salary to be divided into 14 payments: two 'extraordinary', summer and Christmas), two half salaries for 'work days' and what remains of the Christmas payment. "We are at the worst possible point in Town Hall debts to its workers," says Porras.

UK retirees owning property abroad could spend more time at home tax free

UK (received from Jimena Real Estate) New UK Treasury reforms could see retirees who live and own property abroad able to spend up to a third of their time back home each year without paying any tax. The new laws, to be implemented in April 2012 if they are passed, will allow British retirees living abroad to be back in the UK for 119 days of the year before they are liable for any local taxes. This will come as positive news for many expats who live and own properties in European destinations such as France or Spain, but still spend a significant part of the year back in the UK seeing friends and family or for medical issues.>>>

Guardia rescue group of walkers lost in the hills

JIMENA (Agencies) It is all too easy to get lost in the cork forest of Los Alcornocales Nature Park, as a group of supposedly experienced walkers learned last weekend. Officers from the GC post at Jimena were alerted by a mobile phone call to the station, coming from the walkers themselves. They were lost, but thanks to the GC's exacting knowledge of the area, they were able to recognize some indicators. Having taken off for a long walk into the forest, they were now at a place known locally as Majada del Lobo. The search was on and the visitors were finally located and brought into the village safe and sound. This is hardly the first time this has happened in the park, and fortunately there are no injuries or worse to report. The Guardia Civil advises, though, that walking in these hills can be a risky business, however leisurely it may appear, so it is not a good idea to set out without excellent knowledge of the forest or without taking a guide.

Arrows to nowhere

Quite often, we, and no doubt you, get an email full of pictures of this kind of thing. YouTube is full of them, not to mention the Internet. Usually they are taken in back of beyond places in Asia or Africa (we have a little collection ourselves). But this one was taken by Dvd right on our doorstep: at Carrefour in Los Barrios. The arrows and other lines had been painted quite recently - seems a lot of paint for a couple of parking spaces. Mind you, there's no mistaking on which side of the 'road' to drive in that tiny space...

Necessity is the mother of invention: scavenging for survival

La Línea (Photo: Europa Sur)

CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR For many, rummaging in the rubbish is a matter of survival. The number of people doing so, according to several sources, has increased dramatically over the last year. The head of Cáritas (the Catholic charity) in La Línea, José Luis Mérida, for example, says that his organization has noticed that the number of people scavenging in the containers at closing time has gone up, as have those seeking the charity's help. Scavenging for food for personal consumption is just one option. Supermarkets, however, very often throw out packaged goods that have only just reached their sell-by date. These packages often find their way to (mostly) illegal street markets, where they are exchanged for cash. Another option does not involve food at all: discarded items in good condition can often be found at street markets, legal or otherwise. Thus, one child throwing away an unwanted toy can become the delight of another, for instance.>>>

Two organ donors enable ten transplants

Punta de Europa Hospital, Algeciras

ALGECIRAS (Agencies) The families of two separate donors recently enabled two life-saving transplants and an improvement in quality of life for another eight. In the first half of July, the Punta de Europa Hospital in Algeciras obtained permission from relatives that resulted in two liver transplants, four kidneys and four cornea operations at various hospitals in the province and in Andalucía. Luis Vallejo, head transplant coordinator for the region, said that these donations put into operation a network of 40 health workers in different areas, all of whom saw this as a wonderful opportunity to improve the lives of many patients. He also thanked the families concerned, "who made a difficult decision in painful circumstances." Vallejo also called on others to consider becoming organ donors "as you never know when one might be needed." (Do you know how to become an organ donor in Spain? Watch this space.) So far this year, the various health facilities in the Campo de Gibraltar have registered five donations of organs and tissue, which is an improvement on the same period last year and is expected to increase even further by the end of the year. As to the province as a whole,>>>

A dog's life all the way to Italy in horrendous conditions

"A mountain of cages"

SPAIN/ITALY (Agencies) This site has been writing about animal welfare in its many manifestations, good and bad, for a number of years. Recently, we wrote about how overwhelmed most of the area's refuge centres are at this time of year. And now comes another tragic story. On July 9, one of the Guardia Civil's Seprona units stopped a van carrying 26 dogs to a centre in Northern Italy called Vita, Una Zampa Per Spagna (Life, A Paw for Spain). "A mountain of cages," said Nieves Orellana, President of the Society for the Protection of Animals and Plants, of Cadiz. The ones on the outside of the pile didn't have it so bad, but on the inside ... >>>

Vitoria family denounces 'stolen baby' in La Linea

Tombs of exhumed baby 'bodies'

LA LINEA (Agencies) A family from Vitoria, in Galicia, has denounced that one of it members is supposed to have died in 1962 at the hospital in La Línea, in the belief that the case could be part of the 'stolen babies' that allegedly took place at the hospital in the Franco era. A spokesperson for the family, brother to the 'deceased', said that his parents moved from Vitoria to La Línea in the late 1950s, as his father worked for the Bank of Spain and was assigned to the town. The family included a girl and a boy, but the latter died aged five months. The mother had two more boys, one in 1959 and another in 1962. The last one was delivered under the direction of a gynaecologist whose name has been linked to several similar cases at the same hospital.>>>

Today's headlines

EL PAIS Valencian Generalitat (Government) authorized 0% credit to CAM board - (Under photo of starving child) Somalia can no longer resist without water and food - Catalonia closes 25% of hospital beds until October / ABC Congress says goodbye to Zapatero - Autonomies in state of war - Constitutional Court backa mortgage and embargo execution / PUBLICO Rajoy launches autonomies' deficit against Government - Ramoncin: "The faith in (exPresident of SGAE) Teddy Bautista was almost blind" - (Madrid Mayor Alberto) Gallardon hires building at a third of its value for Pope visit / EL MUNDO (National Court President Javier Gomez) Bermudez manoeuvers to remove Rubalcaba from 'Faisan'case - CAM bought plots knowning developers would pay to have them requalified - Guardia Civil sargeant kills ex boyfriend at Madrid gym / EXPANSION (Business/Finance) CAM has shares in 65 real estate businesses - Deutsche Bank backs European ratings agency - Autonomy TV stations end worst semester ever / EUROPA SUR Pact to unblock Los Alamillos project - Andalucia cannot meet this year's deficit objective - Two organ donors in Algeciras enable 10 transplants

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Another sky watching event coming up

(Illustration only)

LOS BARRIOS (Press release) Following the successful night sky watching session held recently in Castellar, this time the Luz-Cero astronomy society and the walkers' group Volpes, in conjunction with Los Barrios Council, are holding another event. The date: next Saturday, July 30, at Finca El Palancar, close to the Los Barrios reservoir - meet up at 7pm at the municipal tourist office on Avenida José Chamizo. The idea is for a simple walk on the property (about 5kms), guided by the expert walkers, that includes a visit to the donkey reserve there, as well as another to some ancient tombs, known locally as los moriscos, that are typical of Los Alcornocales Nature Park, plus several cave homes.>>>

Oba - bar & more

Simon says: "We are having an impromptu open mic night on Weds 27th as Nathan is in town and will do a few songs. We will also play some and maybe we can persuade Jim too."

Local Police increase number of fines for noise making

(Photo: viajardespacio.com)

ALGECIRAS (Agencies) The number of calls received by the Local Police from citizens denouncing excessive noise has increased considerably since last year. Most calls come from neighbours complaining about the house or flat next door. Last weekend saw several such cases. These are not the only ones, however, as there were also complaints from people trying to sleep while a vehicle's sound system was turned up high until the early hours on Sunday morning. And there were two cases of bars making too much noise: one for its music, the other because of noisy customers drinking in the street. In addition, the Local Police carried out several check points for breathalyzing drivers, but only two proved positive, with which the Council was very pleased, according to a press release from the Town Hall.

Man falls from balcony while watering plants

(Photo: RaMaOrLi)

SAN ROQUE (Agencies) A 72 year old man identified as A.D.L. plunged from his balcony and three meters down a ravine. The incident happened over the weekend at the Los Cañones urbanization on Calle Consuelo, when the man was watering his plants. According to the fire brigade, he leaned over and lost his balance. When they arrived he was conscious but had probably broken a hip. He was taken to hospital by ambulance after the firemen had had to dig a hole through a concrete containment wall, which took a considerable time.

Live music by the pool

JIMENA Coming up on Saturday, July 30, at 10.30: Etiketa2 in a concert by the pool at El Anon. Come, relax, enjoy...

Judge: Drugs are rife in Gibraltar

GIBRALTAR (GibChronicle) A Supreme Court judge yesterday sentenced a cocaine dealer to three and half years in jail as she warned that the sale of hard drugs was rife in Gibraltar. Mark Livingstone, 28, was the latest small scale dealer to receive a lengthy sentence from judges who are taking a tough stance on the sale of class A drugs. “The defendant must take responsibility for his actions, which he made through choice,” said Puisne Judge Karen Prescott at a sentencing hearing in the Supreme Court yesterday. “It is not to be ignored that by his actions the defendant is putting class A drugs into circulation in our community and thus exposing our vulnerable young in particular to untold misery and suffering.” She added: “I note that these offences are prevalent in Gibraltar and the sentence must mark this as well as serve as a deterrent for other offenders.”>>>

Today's headlines

EL PAIS Catalonia closes dozens of health centres in August in mass cutbacks - (Nobel winner) Stiglitz joins 'indignant' - Oslo assassin turns his story round radically - CAM (Caja de Ahorros de Madrid) gave cheap credit to Board members / ABC Artifice against unemployment - Breivik: "I'm ready to spend the rest of my life in jail" / PUBLICO Stiglitz: "This doesn't work, it must be changed" - Norway assassin says he was not alone - (Pop singer) Ramoncin signed controversial SGAE accounts / EL MUNDO The autonomic regions' 'Titanic' - Risk premium rises to 326 and Moody's advises possible Spanish rating downturn - 7 CAM Board members got €71 million in credits / EXPANSION (Business/Finance) CAM management loses 75% of it money in crisis - Zapatero visits Cameron - Municipalities and regions owe €500 million to power companies / EUROPA SUR Algeciras port generates 5.30% of provincial employment - Vitoria family believes their baby was stolen in La Linea in 1962 - Tarifa government denounces Ayuntamiento bankruptcy

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Spanish bankruptcies reach record high

SPAIN (Agencies) The ongoing slump in the property sector and the persistent weakness of the economy after Spain's worst recession in living memory have driven a record number of households and companies to seek protection from creditors. According to figures released Monday by the National Statistics Institute (Instituto Nacional de Estadistica, INE), the number of individuals and firms in bankruptcy proceedings climbed 5.9 percent in the first quarter of the year from a year earlier to 1,803, the highest figure since the INE began compiling the current series in 2005. The previous high was 1,762 in the second quarter of 2009, when the country was still in the throes of recession.>>>

Today's headlines

EL PAIS Assassin who sprayed Norway with bodies boasts he acted alone - Spain's population down because of crisis - Camps resignation undoes PP balance in Valencia / EL MUNDO oslo assassin proposes attcks in Spain -  Thousands of 'indignants' return to (Madrid's Puerta del) Sol to keep 15-M flame alive - PNV (Basque Nationalist Party) beleives Zapatero is waiting for ETA communique to set election date / PUBLICO 15-M does not stop  - Norway: against fanaticism, 'more democracy' - WFO urges world concordat on hunger in Somalia / ABC Norway clings to democracy - PP anticipates cutbacks (in autonomic regions) / CINCO DIAS (Business/Finance) Eurocontrol says it's incapable of stopping Barajas delays - World's public debt is 30 times Spanish GDP - Indicators mark minimal growth until June / EUROPA SUR "Even if you don't do anything bad, they rape and hit you; if you talk, they kill you" - Police took an hour to react to Utoya attack (in Norway) - Alonso flies higher than Red Bulls

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We needed this like we need a dose of badly cooked dough

You remember the Pillsbury Doghboy, don't you? ... No? Well, you might not, as he was supposed to have died in March 2009 at the ripe old age of 71, according to numerous obituaries. Trouble is, one of our Dear Readers has discovered that the ubuquitous spokesthing for Pillsbury never did die at all, at all.You may well ask why we raise the matter in the first place and we can't really answer you. The truth is that our good friend CraftyPip does thoroughly enjoy a good pun or twelve, and is a highly developed punologist with a twisted sense of humour (but we love 'im anyway). Here goes:>>>

The Murdoch debacle started there, by David Eade

UK/London (Via e-mail from Looking to the Left, by David Eade)
We live in a confusing world! When I visited London in January I had arranged to meet the former Tory MP Sir Teddy Taylor. In his autobiography ‘Teddy Boy Blue’ he had covered his meetings with Gaddafi in Libya. We were meant to meet over dinner to discuss those encounters in relation to Lockerbie. I was struck down with a flu type bug so cancelled our meeting till I returned in May by which time of course the world had moved on and Gaddafi was front page news for different reasons. Similarly in May I visited the Marx Memorial Library in Clerkenwell to see the small patio dedicated to the printers who had lost their lives in the Spanish Civil War. Also at the Marx Memorial Library was the exhibition “News International Wapping – 25 Years On”. Subtitled as the strike that made the modern media it details the history of Murdoch in the UK and the violent confrontations of the Wapping dispute.>>>

Who are these guardians of the mountain?

CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR There have already been several brush fires in the hills and mountains around us. They have all been put under control and extinguished. We have seen the pictures and may have even witnessed the horror of a fire close by. Summer, especially from now on, at its driest, is the highest risk time for fires, most of which begin in the mountain forests, largely in the Los Alcornocales Nature Park. But what kind of people, and preparations, are trying right now -and during the whole year- to make sure that 2011 is even better than 2010 in terms of the number of fires. Last year was the very best of the last 30 years. In the province of Cadiz, the Plan de Prevención y Extinción de Incendios de Andalucía (known as INFOCA) has over 100 people out there in the hills watching every corner for signs of flames or smoke.>>>

Good-bye Viagra, welcome sildenafil

SPAIN (Agencies) The Spanish health service wants to save some €2,000 million by making doctors supply generic medication instead of brands. Thus, brands in Spain such as Losec, for instance, is to become omeprazole (omeprazol in Spanish), Clamoxyl will be amoxicillin (amoxilina) and Viagra, sildenafil (sildenafilo). The Minister for Health, Leire Pajín said after a meeting with the heads of all the regional health authorities, that she hoped "the savings will be used to reduce costs and pay providers." Several of these last have lately been complaining that they are owed vast sums from some authorities and wouldn't be able to continue supplying them - which may have accelerated the need for this no-brands measure, although it is far from new. Other measures in the pharmaceutical area are aimed at saving €2,400 million.>>>

Today's headlines

EL PAIS EU saves Greece and the Euro - Doctors will no longer prescribe brands, only their active ingredients - Rajoy uses Camps exit to attack Rubalcaba / EL MUNDO PP corrals PSOE  with 'Camps effect' - 'Decaffed' default for Greece - PNV chargeD 4% comission on Public works / PUBLICO EU gives Greeks a breather - Exodus: Somalia dies of hunger - Doctors must prescribe generics instead of brands / ABC Four million Somalians about to die of hunger - Agreement to save Greece - The two million euro man (Bullfighter Jose Tomas) / NEGOCIO (Business & Lifestyle) Europgroup agreement  brings back market optimism - Banca Civica gives 30% dividend - Jazztel earns in June more than double of total in 2010 / EUROPA SUR Workers denounce Acerinox for deviating jobs to Malasia - Spain arrests Moroccan fishing boat - San Roque asks Junta for €3.5 million from ZAL agreement

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Rein in glut of ports, says Greenpeace

Isla Verde extension in Algeciras

SPAIN (Agencies) If you put them side-by-side, state-run ports on the Spanish coast stretch for 200 kilometers. Not only that, but ports keep growing, and 20 out of 28 are planning or already building an extension. In its annual report on the state of Spain's coastline, Greenpeace warns that the excess of port projects is beginning to replace the real-estate bubble. "Many [ports] are so close together that they compete for trade, which will end up creating ghost harbors with no boats in them," said Pilar Marcos, head of Greenpeace's coastal campaign. The report also shows that four port authorities alone — Valencia, Algeciras, Barcelona and Bilbao — attract more than 70 percent of cargo traffic.

Spaniard named as EU special representative for the southern Mediterranean

EUROPEAN UNION (El Pais) European Union foreign ministers have formally confirmed the appointment of Spanish diplomat Bernardino León as EU special envoy for the southern Mediterranean. The final selection of the current aide to Prime Minister Zapatero was a simple procedure which took place at the beginning of a meeting held on Monday in Brussels. León will get to work at his new post immediately. "I think he will travel to Tunisia and Egypt," the EU Foreign Policy Chief, Catherine Ashton, mentioned upon her arrival at the European Union Council. The Spaniard will appear before the European Parliament after the summer break.>>>

Cepsa San Roque plant to begin producing bio-diesel in November

Cepsa refinery, San Roque

SAN ROQUE (Agencies) The Cepsa refinery will be producing bio-diesel by November, according to a statement by the company. The R&D department at Cepsa's refinery in Huelva has developed a new process for making bio-diesel fuel from vegetable (i.e. renewable) oil and that plant is beginning production right now, while production at San Roque is scheduled for the end of the year. In development since 2007 at the refineries in Huelva and Tenerife, the new fuel is intended to meet all the latest environmental directives set out by Brussles and Madrid. The company's three refineries involved with the fuel are scheduled to eventually be producing 100,000m3 per year. One of the advantages of bio-diesel is that it produces far less air pollution and contamination than standard carbon fuels, although there are those who say that producing the initial vegetable oil needed has caused world

Spanish tourism up by 8% so far this year

SPAIN (contributed by Jimena Real Estate) With the local debt crisis keeping flights and living costs cheap, Brits in particular are flocking to Spain for a sun-seeking vacation in 2011, which could account for the 8% increase in air passenger arrivals as reported by Spain's public air navigation body. AENA reports that 95 million people have so far passed through Spanish airports, an increase that can also be explained by more low-cost airlines focusing their efforts on the attractive and affordable nation - the number of flights scheduled to Spain has increased by 2.5% compared to H1 2010. Brits in particular continue to take a shine to Spain, with bookings to the country up 11% so far this year according to the Association of British Travel Agents, and four of Easyjet's top five destinations of the moment being Spanish cities - Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona, Madrid and Alicante.>>>

Today's headlines

EL PAIS Camps gives up - EU face decisive summit on Euro future - Cameron eludes apology and distances himself from 'Murdoch case / ABC Camps: "I sacrifice myself for Rajoy and for Spain" - Camacho shields himself in courts to avoid mentioning 'Faisan case' - Bankia saves face on market entry and prepares road to reconstruction / PUBLICO Camps goes ... to Court - Cameron admits error in hiring man in hacker case - Maximum pressure on Germany to unblock support for Greece / EL MUNDO Rajoy sacrifices Camps - Comisiones Obreras (Union) received €317,727 from false ERE funds - Merkel and Sarkozy defend a 'common position' on Greece at Euro summit today / CINCO DIAS (Business/Finance) Market pull protects Bankia's entry - Banca Civica starts out today with 600,000 shareholders - Camps resigns and offers his 'sacrifice' so that Rajoy can become President / EUROPA SUR Rajoy lets Camps go - Average surgery waiting list is 43 days - Arenas says he will support area investemnt "to the death"

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