Building Ban
Chiefs at the new Govern Balear failed to pass a ruling last week which would have prevented further construction taking place in several sensitive areas of the island, including ses Feixes, Punta Pedrera, Cala d´Hort, Roca Lisa and Benirras. The ruling, which was due to be signed last week, would have stopped any projects being given the go ahead in the short term, whist official legislation was drafted. However, whilst it looked likely during the week that the ruling would be passed during the Parliamentary session of Friday, a disagreement between some of the parties which form the coalition eventually led to the ruling not being signed. The president of the Govern, Francesc Antich, however confirmed the ruling would eventually be passed, and only minor details needed to be ironed out first.
The main opposition to the ruling came from the UM party, a key ally to the PSOE-socialist party in the Govern. Whilst they said they agreed in principal to the plan, they claimed the ruling needed to be more thought out, with more structure, and said the financial consequences needed to be made clearer.
The socialist run Govern have made their intentions clear from the very start that they would not permit building to the scale authorised by the previous administration. Ses Feixes, the area at the entrance to Ibiza Town, has long been seen as the next area of development, as the town continues its rapid expansion. However, it seems that for the time being, developers will be warded off by the new ruling which, according to Antich, could be brought in by the end of the year.
Benirras is also an area where, just recently, several housing projects had been planned. At present, developers are seeking permission for the construction of 112 chalets close to the beach. It was confirmed last Thursday that this would be one of the areas which will be protected under the new legislation. Specifically, in this case, the annulment of the right to build in the area would be made with a change to the Land Protection Act, which would designate the zone as a natural area of special interest.
Roca Llisa will hopefully also be protected from any further mass commercialisation. According to the minister involved in the new regulation, Miquel Ramon, there are still several areas where building work could take place and the plan will prevent this from happening.
The potential golf course in Cala d´Hort has also been targeted, and the reclassification of land will once and for all, according to the minister, put a stop to any possibility of a course in the area.
Punta Pedrera will also fall under the protection of the new legislation, which will include most of Cala Conta and Cala Bassa. Specifically, it will also prevent the construction of 248 apartments which had been planned for an area between Port des Torrent and Cala Bassa. The project caused outrage amongst local residents when it first came to light, but it appears efforts to thwart the project by neighbourhood associations have proved successful.
The Govern, under their new president Francesc Antich, announced during their election campaign that they would make it far harder to gain permission to build on the island and promised to protect some of the islands most beautiful areas.
During a separate meeting on Monday it was also announced the Govern would look to further protect the island by purchasing pieces of land to ensure building could not take place. Antich confirmed that over the next year the Govern is to spend 1,000,000 on the buy-outs.

AROUND THE ISLAND

Interior Visit
Interior Minister, Maria Angeles Lecinena, visited the island last week and after a meeting with the president of the Consell Insular, Xico Tarres, promised the creation of contingency plans to deal with any future oil spills. The minister praised the work of all the emergency workers and volunteer groups, but claimed the sinking of the Don Pedro and subsequent oil spillage showed how ill-prepared all of the Balearic Islands were for such a tragedy - surprising due to the amount of coasts and nautical traffic the area has.
She immediately backed up her promises by organising a one day intensive course on the treatment of oil spills in the sea, which was given by three experts from the Prestige oil spill crisis. This crisis, five years ago, was one of the worst environmental disasters in history, as the vessel carrying 67,000 tonnes of fuel split into two off the northern coast of Spain. The participants on the course are to receive more training in the coming months.

Antich Promises
The president of the Govern Balear, Francesc Antich, gave his monthly key speech during the parliamentary session on Tuesday, promising to invest heavily in the Balearics over the next four years.
He started by saying the building of the new hospital in Ibiza would commence next year, and claimed it could be finished by 2011. A new facility to replace the ageing Can Misses has long been called for, and the project was supported by all parties in the build up to the last election in May. The land next to the current hospital has already been purchased and, if Antich is to be believed, work is to start very soon.
He continued by adding that health care issues were key to his administration, and reiterated he was still working on the new health centres in Ibiza Town, San Antonio, San Jordi and San Jose, promising to reduce patient-doctor ratios by 25%. Currently within the Balearics there are 1,945 patients per doctor. Antichs aim is to reduce this down to 1,500.
He also promised to help the Consell and the Town Hall of Ibiza financially in trying to restore the decrepit sa Penya area, close to Dalt Vila. The suburb has been left to rot over the last 15 years, and presently resembles a 3rd World slum.
Not surprisingly the new motorways got a mention, as he promised to improve public transport. He claimed the Balearics had the highest car per resident ratio in the country, and said this had been created by sub-standard public transport, which was giving people few other travel options.    He claimed the motorways in Ibiza were excessive, and had only helped to worsen the problem of too much traffic.
Finally, he spoke about the importance of tourism to the area saying the islands should be marketed separately and promised 25million to aid the promotion of the region on a world-wide scale.
Talking after the speech, the president of the Consell Insular of Ibiza, Xico Tarres, said he was happy with the content and claimed Antich had a great willingness to help the island, claiming both Ibiza and Formentera would not be forgotten, as happened under the previous administration.

Taxi Turmoil
The president of the taxi drivers association, Jose Serafin, has promised strike action if the demands of his members are not met regarding the granting of 150 temporary taxi licenses for next summer. The association is demanding that all of the licenses are granted to owners of current licenses claiming this is the only way to control the service offered. However the Transport minister, Albert Prats, is remaining firm, and has promised to stick by his original plan to offer 50 per cent of the licenses to those already working within the industry as salary earners.
The current system allows the owners of taxi licenses to hire out their cars to salary earners, who are in affect working for them. However, although the current system was described as adequate by Prats, he claimed offering the new temporary licenses (July and August) only to those who currently hold permission, would be an abuse of the system and create an unfair monopoly.
The island has had a taxi problem for many years, as the huge influx of tourists every year means there are fewer vehicles available. The Consell and Town Halls have tried to resolve the problem by granting temporary licenses during the busiest months, but the various taxi associations have constantly been against this policy, a stance which has recently backfired in creating an unhealthy illegal taxi trade on the island. However, it seems the association will not be budging this time and as Prats prepares to dig in his heels ever more, it may be a while before this problem is resolved.

Gun Attack
Resident Ibiza DJ, Carl Cox, had a lucky escape after a gun battle broke out at one of his sessions in Venezuela last Tuesday. The artist, who played regularly this year to packed houses at Space nightclub, did not at first realise what was happening until he saw a stampede for the exits. Four people died in the shootings and six were injured. The DJ had more luck the following night as he played to a packed house in Chile.

WTM Slogan
Ibiza, Authentic and Natural is the islands slogan at the World Travel Market, which began in London on Monday. The minister for tourism, Pepa Mari, said the idea was to show people the natural beauty of the island and to try and sell the aspect which made the island different to other tourist destinations. She continued that her administration would not try and sell the motorways as the previous administration had done, because this is not what people wanted.
She added the island could never compete with the golf hot-beds on the peninsular, and suggested Ibiza spent more time promoting its natural beauty.

Numbers Rise
Conflicting figures were released last week for the season, showing an increase in numbers of tourists arriving on the island but a decrease in expenditure. For the first nine months of the year a total of 1,756,249 people arrived on the island, 13.6 per cent more than last year. The majority were again the Brits, with a total of 602,058 tourists, closely followed by 504,494 Spanish tourists.
The Balearics, as a whole, saw the arrival of 11,566,290 tourists, 6.3 per cent more than last year. However the news was slightly soured after the announcement that the 9,266m which they spent was a decrease from the previous year of 7 per cent. This sharp fall in spending power was underlined in a decrease in every tourists average spend for his entire holiday, (including flight and hotel), which fell 12.4 per cent to 801.16 per person.
It was also revealed that 37.2 per cent of tourists had used the internet to book some part of their holiday, or activity, before travelling.

IBIZA TOWN

Car Park Plan
Councillor Marc Costa announced over the weekend that his administration was studying the possibility of turning the Reina Sofia park into an underground parking facility. During a press conference he revealed the Town Hall were aware of the parking problem within the centre, and were considering a number of options. However, he claimed the park at the base of Dalt Vila was currently the most popular choice due to its close proximity to all areas of the town.
The parking facility would destroy the current park, but Costa revealed some kind of public area would be rebuilt on top of the finished car park. However, he said nothing had yet been decided and confirmed the project would be unveiled soon to determine public opinion.
The facility is desperately needed within the town, and is being aimed at local residents and retail owners, so as to free up more blue parking spaces for shoppers. Costa claimed the current situation was detrimental to the businesses in the centre as many of the parking spaces were already taken by those living in the area, making less available to the spending public.

Police Confirmation
The chief of police finally confirmed on Thursday that the man found dead in the disused military building in Ibiza Town was the victim of a murder. The body was found in August of this year after an anonymous phone call to a newspaper on the island. Police arrived at the building and found the man under a bed of newspapers. The Romanian vagrant had been shot in the face once, although his body was in an advanced state of decomposition. No murder weapon was found at the scene. The building had been abandoned for several years, and was a popular retreat for the homeless.
Police confirmed they had no leads in the murder investigation, and were not hopeful of finding the killer.

SAN ANTONIO

Golf Delay
The company interested in building a golf course within San Antonio announced on Monday they would not, for the moment, be going ahead with the project. The representative of Andria Inversiones Inmobiliaria, Carlos Greght, confirmed that after a meeting with the new environment minister at the Consell Insular, Albert Prats, the project had been put on hold. He said the minister had made it clear permission would not be granted for the project, but had not given his reasons for such an opinion. Greght said he was dismayed at the short-sightedness of the decision, and claimed he had been expecting to receive the green light to begin initial plans.
The project would have meant an investment of over 100m in the 18-hole golf course, which would have included a five-star hotel, open all year round. Greght revealed the complex would have given work to around 300 people and would have signified a measure of investment in the island as a whole. He added that it would have been a good opportunity to attract a tourist with a much higher disposable income than normal, and would have benefited a great deal of businesses.
The project had originally been planned for Benimussa, and Greght confirmed pre-contracts had already been drawn up with several land owners in the area giving the company 500,000 m2 of the 600,000 m2 minimum needed to build a course in Europe.
The Consell released a statement the following day claiming anyone who wished to apply for permission for a golf course was free to do so. However, they hinted they did not consider such a project to be to the benefit of the island.
The Hotel Federation also entered the debate, with the president pleading with the Consell to reconsider its position on the subject. Roberto Hortensius claimed the associations relationship with the new PSOE-run Consell was a good one and the previous problems, encountered with other socialist run Consell was a thing of the past. However, he did ask the administration to contemplate allowing a new golf course to be built, and said it would be extremely beneficial for the island. Hortensius claimed his association would never support a course built in a green area, like Cala d´Hort, but said they were in favour of the construction of a course in mature tourist destinations, such as San Antonio and Playa den Bossa.
It will be interesting to see if the Consell has a change of heart over the next four years, as support grows from all corners for a new course to be built on the island.

Tax Increase
The Town Hall of San Antonio announced last week an increase in the Council Tax for unoccupied apartments, in an attempt to increase the amount of properties available. The current tax on an empty property is between 300 - 450 per annum, depending on the size. This is set to increase next year by 50 per cent after an announcement by Councillor Joan Pantaleoni. He stated it was difficult nowadays to find a property to rent for under 500. He claimed that for a low-average earning family, this was proving far too much. His plan is therefore to increase the tax on vacant properties to try and persuade the owners to release them onto the market. This would, hopefully, increase supply and lead to a reduction in the average price.
Pantaleoni claimed the increase would be done on a trial basis to see the results it had, but claimed he was confident the idea would work.

SAN JOSE

Planning Denied
The Town Hall of San Jose has blocked planning permission for the construction of sixteen houses close to the beach in Cala Moli. The councillor in charge of Town Planning, Josep Antoni Prats, hopes this will send out the appropriate message as to the way in which his administration is set to deal with such matters. He said they would allow building work in urban centres, but would try to restrict building on the outskirts, and especially so close to the beach.
This particular plan would have involved the construction of 16 luxury houses with a significant amount of land, which would have occupied an entire cliff.
He also warned there were several other projects which would be scrutinised by the administrations architects and hinted this would not be the last annulment.

After Hours
The Town Hall of San Jose approved new legislation last week they hope will see the end to after hours establishments which proved so controversial this summer. As from next year discotheques will not be allowed to open before 12p.m. midday. They will also have to close at 6a.m. This means they must remain shut for a minimum of six hours. Similarly bars with a music license will be allowed to open from 12p.m. 4a.m. Bars and cafeterias with no such license will be able to open from 8a.m. 3a.m.
The councillor responsible, Paquita Ribas, said efforts had to be made to ensure a better co-existence between the day and night time tourists. She claimed she thought it unreasonable people were able to party 24 hours a day and said some control was needed.
Fines for those who infringe the new rules will reach a maximum of 3,000, although there would be the option of closing down persistent offenders.

SANTA EULALIA

Auditorium Delay
The Councillor for Culture at the Town Hall of Santa Eulalia, Anna Costa, has once again had to apologise to the public after the auditorium had its inauguration date put back after a delay in the arrival of the sound equipment. The Auditorium, which was the brainchild of the previous mayor, Vicent Guasch, has been hampered by delays since its start and the original completion date of May 2006 has been re-assessed several times. On each occasion Costa has given an alternative date of completion, but each time the date has not been met. This is why Costa is now refusing to make any further promises, although she subsequently fell into the trap of hinting that it could be ready by the end of the year.
The Auditorium promises to be the centre of culture and music within the municipality, and is set to offer a range of different events. It was supposed to be used as the centre piece for the Ibiza International Film Festival this year, but that had to be cancelled and moved after it became clear earlier in the year that the facility would not be ready.
However it appears the long wait could soon be over and it seems the wait will certainly be worth it.
Costa also enthusiastically revealed that plans were being made to renovate the municipalitys cinema, the only one in the district. The building situated in Calle Sant Jaume, which was first opened in 1920, has been closed to the public for the last 15 years. It used to hold seating for around 400 people, but this will be reduced in the new plans, which Costs hopes will be complete by the end of this legislation.

Road Signs
The Consell Insular has installed four new fluorescent road signs along the stretch of the Santa Eulalia road where two people have so far been knocked down this year, one of which proved fatal. The area in Can Marca has a number of restaurants and bars in the area and also a bus stop. This means many people cross the road every day. The speed limit on this stretch of road is 60 kmph but is rarely adhered to.
The four signs, two on each side of the road reiterate this speed limit, and also warn of the existence of pedestrians. The Consell claimed the signs were only temporary and that eventually traffic lights would be installed.
Meanwhile medical staff at the hospital where the 29 year old Uruguayan victim remains, confirmed that she was brain dead, and her life support machine would be switched off as soon as her family arrived on the island.

New Square
Frequent visitors to the centre of Santa Gertrudis will be aware that building work to pedestrianise some of the towns most popular streets is well under way. The work will focus on the roads behind the church next to the cemetery, leading up to the bar, Can Costa. Although the pedestrianisation will mean around 30 less parking spaces, the Town Hall confirmed they were keen on ridding the centre of traffic, leaving a town square where families were free to stroll safely without the fear of traffic.
Councillor Anna Costa, commented she thought the residents in the area would much prefer a cleaner, safer Town Square free of cars, and would be prepared to sacrifice parking spaces within the centre.

FORMENTERA

New Trucks
The councillor for the economy in Formentera, Bartomeu Escandell, announced on Monday the purchase of two new fire trucks. The second-hand vehicles have been purchased from the Consell of Majorca, for a total of 300,000. Escandell said the cost of buying the trucks new was in the region of 900,000 and, at the present time, was not a luxury the island could afford. However, he said the vehicles were in extremely good condition and would complement the equipment already available to fire fighters. He added the fire trucks were ideal for the islands roads and could traverse the majority of the narrow rural roads. They are expected to arrive in February 2008.
At present the island does not have a professional fire crew, and relies on the services of six volunteers.

Road Plans
It now looks to be the turn of Formentera to continue the road building, as it was announced on Friday the island was to receive a total of 20million over the next ten years to improve its road network. The Roads Minister at the islands new Consell, Bartomeu Ferrer, confirmed a number of projects had already been agreed with central government, and several would be drawn up over the next few months. The exact projects are still to be decided, but it was confirmed by Ferrer that by far the most expensive of the plans, the widening of the road from es Calo to the lighthouse at la Mola, would be put on the back burner for the time being as it was not considered a priority and would prove extremely costly. The original plans would have included a wide bicycle lane being added to the road at an estimated cost of 10million. However, Ferrer claimed many other roads could be improved, for a similar cost, which would be far more beneficial to the island.

CRIME & INCIDENTS

Man Run Down
A 56 year old Yugoslavian man was knocked down on Monday on the Ibiza-Santa Eulalia road. The accident happened at 7.45p.m. close to the Eivissa Garden centre. The victim, who lives close by, was crossing the road at the time.
The emergency services found the man unconscious on their arrival. He was revived and rushed to hospital suffering a severe head injury and two broken legs.

Minors Sentenced
Two youths involved in a stabbing in San Antonio back in 2005 were both sentenced last week. The attack occurred on 14th August 2005, as the victim, a young Italian youth, was waiting at a taxi-rank with friends. There was a large queue at the time and as a taxi arrived, the three defendants, two minors and their 18 year old accomplice, pushed to the front of the queue and attempted to get in the taxi. This caused a great deal of commotion and a scuffle soon broke out. At this point two of the youths pulled out kitchen knives, and the victim was stabbed three times. The attackers then made their escape, but were found a short time later by police officers in a nearby car park. The 18 year old Columbian man admitted to using the knife in a separate court case last year, and received a five year prison sentence.
The youths, both Ecuadorian, will each serve three years in a juvenile centre and then the following two years on parole.
The Italian youth only survived due to the quick work of medical staff. He remained in hospital for just over three weeks, but later made a full recovery.

By modern day standards Ibiza is an extremely safe place to holiday. This is a weeks worth of news and so its effect is magnified. Please do not fret while you are here you are quite safe!!

If you have any stories for our incidents section then call or fax 971-348-271 or e-mail on: editor@theibizasun.com

NEWS FROM THE MAINLAND

Pilots Freed
Three members of a Spanish air crew and a 74 year old Belgian pilot, who had all been detained over an attempt by a humanitarian activist group to fly 103 African children to Europe, were released on Friday.
The Spaniards, two pilots and an air steward, were freed from the main prison in Chad's capital, N'Djamena, and flew back to Madrid with the Spanish Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Bernardino Leon, who had been in the capital to plead with his Chadian counterpart for their release.
The four men were arrested on 25th October along with three stewardesses and six members of the humanitarian group, Zoes Ark, accused of the kidnap of 103 supposedly orphaned children. The arrests took place when the aid workers were loading the children between the ages of three and ten on to a plane heading for France. Officials in Chad have alleged that they were to be sold to families in France, or may even have been sold to child sex abuse rings or used for their organs. The seven Spanish nationals work for Girjet, a Barcelona based charter company, which was hired by the French charity to transport the children. They had protested their innocence from the very start, suggesting they had been duped by the charity.
Since their arrest the Spanish authorities have been involved in a great deal of delicate negotiating to try and secure their release. The three stewardesses were released earlier in the week, but it proved more complicated to secure the freedom of the pilots, the Chadian Government claiming they would have to stand trial. All three faced 20 year jail sentences.
After disembarking from a Spanish air force plane in Madrid, a weary-looking Agustin Rey, pilot for Catalan air charter company, Girjet, thanked the government and the public for their support. He said he only had words of gratitude for the many people who had helped secure their release. Among the three pilots was Minorcan, Sergi Munoz. They were met at the airport by friends and family, as well as the vice-president of the Government, Maria Teresa Fernandez.
Release papers have also been issued for the Belgian pilot, but he had suffered heart problems late on Thursday and was recovering at the French military base in Chad. He will be evacuated separately, his Chadian lawyer, Jean-Bernard Padare, told reporters.

Royal Visit
The King and Queen of Spain, Don Juan Carlos and Dona Sofia, were at the centre of a diplomatic storm last week, after their official two day visit to the Spanish towns of Ceuta and Melilla. Both Spanish provinces are old style colonies within Morocco, which the Moroccan authorities have been trying to regain for years. They claim the two provinces are illegally occupied and should be handed back.
It was the first time the royal couple had toured the provinces, and their visit caused a great deal of nationalist fervour as 30,000 flag waving residents, both of Spanish and Moroccan descent, lined the streets to welcome them. It was certainly a very popular visit, and was deemed as a successful one by most royal watchers. However it did, once again, bring up the controversial subject of the occupation.
Spain controls a scattering of islets along the North African coast, including uninhabited Perejil, which was at the centre of a spat in 2002 when Moroccan soldiers occupied it before being removed by the Spanish army.
Differences over Ceuta and Melilla have prevented a warming of relations between Morocco and Spain, particularly economic ones. Morocco's premier has advocated "neighbourly" talks on the issue.
With its rebuilt 15th century cathedral, shipyards and a fish-processing plant, Ceuta is viewed by Spain as the more strategically valuable enclave. The town is a 90 minute ferry ride from mainland Spain.
Melilla, conquered in 1497, is a modern town with a distinctive old quarter.
The enclaves are surrounded by fences, intended to deter illegal immigrants. However Ceuta and Melilla are, nonetheless, used by many Africans as stepping stones to Iberia. Many migrants are caught, and some drown while attempting to make the sea crossing, whilst people-trafficking is common.
Ceuta and Melilla are linked to Spain by ferry services to Malaga, Algeciras and Almeria. Borders and defence are controlled by Madrid. Tourism is an important money earner with duty-free goods being a big draw for visitors.

Appeal Made
The Public Prosecution is to appeal against the absolution of Rabei Osman El Sayed Mohamed El Egipcio. The defendant was absolved of all crimes in the Madrid bombings after a lengthy trial involving 28 other suspects. Although the court sentenced 20 of the defendants, three with multi-year sentences, the Egyptian was, surprisingly, cleared of all charges, having at first been accused of being the ringleader. The public prosecutor had initially claimed they would not appeal against the original sentence, but public pressure has forced a change of opinion.
However, the appeal will only be against the charge of belonging to a terrorist group for which the defendant faces a 14 year jail-term. He had been absolved of this crime in the original sentencing because he has already been accused of a similar infraction in Italy, for which he is set to serve an eight year sentence. However, the public prosecutor is now claiming the conviction in Italy has not yet been confirmed which would enable him to be found guilty of a similar crime in Spain. The Egyptian would then have to carry out the longer sentence, which in this case would probably be in Spain. Nevertheless, the prosecution confirmed this would be the only charge they would appeal against and claimed to be happy with the other rulings.
Two of the suspected bombers, Jamal Zougam and Otman el Gnaoul, were both charged with sentences of 42,000 years, whist the Spaniard, Jose Emilio Suarez, was convicted of supplying the explosives and sentenced to 34,715 years in prison. These were the only three multi-year convictions most of the 28 suspects had been threatened with.

Shut It!
The King of Spain, Juan Carlos I, caused controversy during the 17th Ibero-American summit in Chile on Saturday after he told the Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez to shut up. The Spanish monarch lost his cool when Chávez called the ex Spanish Prime Minister, José María Aznar, a fascist, on several occasions. King Juan Carlos then got up and walked out of the session in a gesture without precedent, and just in time to hear the Nicaraguan President, Daniel Ortega, criticising Spanish businesses operating in Nicaragua. The King was to return later, but was not present for the singing of the Chilean hymn which closed the debates.
Spain's Prime Minister, Jose Luis Zapatero, had previously defended his predecessor, José María Aznar, after the verbal attack from Chavez. However the Venezuelan head of Government continued his tirade and would not let the president continue. It was then that the Monarch angrily lent forward and said Why dont you shut up! He then left the room but did return several minutes later.
Chavez´s anger was directed at the former prime minister after it became known that he had supported the failed coup attempt against the dictator back in 2002.
The ex Prime Minister, José María Aznar, is reported to have spoken by phone both with the King and with the Prime Minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, to thank them for their support at the summit in the face of the criticism.
The King was publicly supported by the majority of the Spanish media for his angry reprimand of Chavez.
"The king has put Chavez in his place in the name of all Spaniards," the centrist El Mundo newspaper said. It continued saying the monarch's rebuke was "something that should have been said to him (Chavez) a long time ago."
The left-leaning El Pais newspaper said Chavez's diatribe had "surpassed all tolerable limits in a relationship between two countries."
The row in Santiago overshadowed attempts by the summit's participants to come up with a joint effort to overcome wealth and social inequality in Latin America, in the face of deep ideological differences.
Chavez led a block of hard-line leftists, backed by Ortega, Bolivian President Evo Morales, Ecuador's President Rafael Correa and Carlos Lage, a Cuban vice president, critical of other participating nations seen as too economically liberal.

FINANCIAL NEWS

Price Hike
There was alarm amongst watchdog groups last week as the Industry of Commerce revealed a heavy rise in fresh food products. The highest riser so far this year has been the onion, which is now 22 per cent more expensive than twelve months ago. This is closely followed by milk and chicken which both rose 18 per cent. While the Government claimed inflation was being controlled and was a steady 3.6 per cent, these figures show otherwise and are a cause for concern.
The figures come on top of rises in the last month of cereal products, with bread rising 20 per cent during the last six weeks. This price hike has come due to an increase in cereal prices due to its demand in bio-fuel, which is proving extremely popular in many northern European countries.

LEISURE & SPORT

Xmas Gift
Christmas came early for Bahia rugby club on Saturday after they were gifted the match after a dominant performance from Ibiza Rugby Club at their new ground in Playa den Bossa. There looked only one winner from the start, but bad decision-making throughout the team, added to some poor goal kicking meant Ibiza Rugby Club lost their first match of the season by 17-10.
Ibiza got off to a poor start and were 12-0 down within the first twenty minutes. However this did not put the home side off their stride, as they looked to impress in front of a big crowd. However constant pressure failed to reflect on the scoreboard and they went into the break trailing 12-3.
The second half was all Ibiza, with the home-side camped in their opponents half for long periods. The pressure finally told as captain Sebastian Brito Tonga went over for a well worked forwards try. It looked as if Ibiza would go on and win comfortably but it never materialised, with brave defence by Bahia preventing wave after wave of Ibiza attacks from crossing the white-wash. A break-away try from Bahia, after slack defensive work, extended their lead to seven points and meant Ibiza now needed two scores. Despite throwing everything into the final fifteen minutes, Ibiza just failed to cross the line, much to the frustration of the expectant crowd.
Plaudits must go to Bahia for a brave performance and for Ibiza to Nacho Spirea, who once again proved what a great asset he is going to be this season. The next game will be on 1st December but there are sure to be some harsh training sessions ahead before Ibiza play Ponent in their third game.

Dinner/Dance
Ibiza Cricket club will be holding their fabulous annual Christmas Dinner Dance this year at Villa Mercedes on Saturday 8th December at 8pm. Those interested call Lynn Carpenter on 971 346094.

Ibiza News powered by Ibiza Sun

By modern day standards Ibiza is an extremely safe place to holiday. This is a weeks worth of news and so its effect is magnified. Please do not fret while you are here - you are quite safe!!

If you have any stories for our incidents section then call or fax 971-348-271 or e-mail on: editor@theibizasun.com