Tornado Strikes
It all started when a black cloud appeared over Palma de Majorca early Thursday morning. Rain was expected, but no one could quite predict the ferocity with which it would fall over the next eight hours. Forty-two litres per square metre was recorded just outside the capital, but unlike in Seville two days earlier, it was not the rain which would cause most of the damage. The rain clouds came accompanied by strong winds, some gusts reaching up to 110 kilometres per hour, and lightening. There were over 9,000 bolts of lightening recorded within the Balearics and the surrounding sea. Between 3.30p.m. - 6.30p.m. there were 851 bolts recorded in Palma alone, with the lightening continuing, at the very beginning of the storm, almost incessantly. The winds reached hurricane strength, with witnesses admitting to seeing a tornado type swirl rip through some villages.
The damage caused was immense, with trees being ripped up and properties, warehouses and vehicles taking the brunt. Fortunately there were no reported fatalities, although there were dozens of people injured, one of whom remains in a critical condition in hospital.
After the storm, came the criticism, with victims demanding answers as to why, so close to the flooding in Seville, they had not been warned of the oncoming storm. So far there have been no answers given.

AROUND THE ISLAND

Town Hall Riposte
Last week the Town Halls on the island hit back at criticism by the College of Architects that their controls were not as stringent as they needed to be. The president of the college, Antoni Mari, revealed several days before, that whilst the Town Halls were keen on agreeing strict conditions while projects were in the planning stage, they rarely visited construction sites to ensure that plans are being adhered to or, in fact, before issuing the fin de obra certificate, to verify everything has been built according to the blueprints. He went on to claim the majority of finished buildings were not even measured to ensure they matched the dimensions agreed in the plans.
The mayor of San Antonio claimed his administration kept a tight control on the various building projects within the municipality, and that a fin de obra certificate would never be given without the premises first being checked. His statement was backed up by Vicent Mari, who said the controls within Santa Eulalia were stringent, and builders who veered from the plans were made to correct the alterations.
The only Town Hall to agree with the views of Mari was San Jose, where Josep Antoni Prats, the councillor in charge of construction, backed up the controversial opinions, claiming it was impossible to control all of the work currently taking place and his administration was simply not equipped to deal with the amount of projects underway. However, he added they were working on putting a team together to closer inspect the many current projects, and the dimensions agreed would be vehemently adhered to.
The minister in charge of Island Planning at the Consell, Miguel Ramon, claimed that more needed to be done by the Town Halls, and at the moment it was down to good faith. However, this goodwill was sometimes abused, and people who flagrantly ignored the current legislation would need to be punished.

Don Pedro Debate
Arguments continued last week about what should be done with the sunken vessel, Don Pedro. The ship, which is currently 40 metres underwater close to the small island of es Daus, has provoked heated debate amongst those involved as to its final resting place. Of the nine committee members to be appointed by the environment minister, Cristina Narbonne, three have already stated their intent to re-float the ship, whilst only one (Iscomar, the owners of the vessel) has confirmed its intention to vote against the re-floatation. The other committee members - which include the three Town Halls affected (Ibiza Town, San Jose and Santa Eulalia) - are yet to make their beliefs official. Opinion had moved slightly towards re-floating the vessel, although marine experts agreed the procedure would be fraught with danger, and the chances of the ship breaking up are high. The committee is to formally meet after all of the fuel has finally been extracted, which Narbonne confirmed would be at the end of this month.

Cat Nap
Spanish airline, Iberia, has been forced to pay 711 to the owner of a cat which they lost on a flight from Barcelona to Ibiza in August 2006. The story concerns Ibicenca, Cristina Guasch, who came to the island from her home in Barcelona to visit family. She travelled with her two cats, Maia (the mother) and her offspring, three year old Pancho. On arrival in baggage collection at around midnight, Guasch found one of the cages empty and Pancho was nowhere to be seen. She searched the airport thoroughly, receiving little help from Iberia staff. However the cat could not be found. Several days later she returned to Barcelona still not having recovered the animal. She did however leave several missing posters around the airport, with a picture of the missing cat.
In September she received a phone call from an airport worker saying he had seen a cat fitting the description of Pancho in the airport. Guasch phoned a friend who went down and saw the cat, which was unfortunately in a restricted area. Guasch immediately took a flight to Ibiza, and while here did in fact see her cat, again in the restricted area. However, Pancho managed to escape and was not seen again. An airport worker admitted to Guasch that there were many cats in the area.
Iberia offered the victim just 6.40 in compensation, treating the lost animal as they would with a lost bag. This infuriated Guasch, who took the company to court. The judge ruled in her favour and ordered the company to pay five hundred euros in damages, as well as compensating her for the two flights she had taken in the meantime.

Life Inside
Of the 106 prisoners currently in residence at the prison in Ibiza, over 65 per cent are there due to drug related crimes. Being a small minimum security prison, there are no inmates completing long term sentences, although there are eight currently being held whilst awaiting trial in different murder cases. However, after being found guilty, they would normally be transferred to higher security prisons on the mainland.
It was also revealed that there were eight prisoners completing their sentence in their homes, whilst being controlled by electronic tagging. The Prisons Commission made clear that these inmates were in no way a danger to society, and are completing sentences for minor offences. The system, which was trialled in Victoria Kent jail in Madrid seven years ago, has now been introduced into most prison systems in the country, and means that with the installation of a small computer in the prisoners home and the wearing of a specialised wristband, controls can be kept on the prisoner to ensure he is obeying the conditions of his sentence.
Of the total number of prisoners in Ibiza, 55 per cent are of Spanish nationality, with 45 per cent foreigners. Moroccans (19) make up the highest number of foreigners followed by Italians (15) and Colombians (5).
It was revealed that the most difficult prisoner during the past five years has been the British man arrested after the shootings in San Antonio in July 2006. The prisoner, Shawn Francis Walker, was described by prison authorities as being well connected, with plenty of money, who filled the prison with drugs. He either received the goods during his prison visits or via tennis balls thrown over the fence on to the prison patio, resulting in the jail being forced to install a 31 metre fence to avoid the problem. Furthermore, Walker was eventually transferred to Palma prison while he awaited trial, after repeated controls failed to stop the entry of drugs.

Water Re-use
On Monday the mayor of San Juan, Antoni Mari Mari Carraca, unveiled plans for the installation of a water treatment system to be used inside the sports stadium. The project, which is to cost 340,000, will use rainwater as well as re-use the water used on the pitch and in the showers. Levels will be topped up using a well recently built in the area by the Town Hall. The plan will also include the installation of many water-saving devices within the stadium, including new showerheads and taps.

Park Life
The much talked about public park in the port of San Miguel is, at last, to become a reality after the mayor, Antoni Mari Mari Carraca, announced that it would be complete by next summer. The project, designed by local architect, Vicent Cardona Roig, will cost around 350,000, seventy-five per cent of which will be paid by the Consell Insular. The triangular shaped park will be a total of 2,500 square metres in size.

Drug Trial
The trial of five suspected drug traffickers began last week, seven years after they had initially been arrested. The delay came due to a series of circumstances which eventually led to the public prosecutor having to reduce his sentence for the five accused people. At the time of their arrest the suspects all claimed to be users, and claimed the amounts seized were for personal consumption. Three hundred and thirty five grams of cocaine were found in the apartment of the first couple arrested. However they claimed to have bought the drug for personal consumption, after receiving an excellent deal from a dealer, and claimed they were consuming two to three grams per day at the time.
The investigation linked the couple with two men who were later arrested after 1.3 kilos of cocaine was found on their property. They face up to nine years in jail, and a fine of 80,000. A fifth person was arrested having been linked with the last couple, investigators accusing the man of having large quantities of hashish, which he would regularly swap, with the two men, for cocaine. The trial is set to last several weeks.

Ibiza Promotion
Over the coming months Ibiza will be present at several travel fairs across Europe. The most important date is 12th-14th October when the World Travel Market takes place in London. This is by far the biggest gathering of tour operators and travel agents, and is given added impetus due to the important part Britain has to play in tourism on the island.
In total, the authorities in charge of the promotion of the island will be present at ten travel fairs over the next two months, including San Petersburg, Paris, Budapest and Warsaw.

Occupancy Up
Santa Eulalia was the only municipality to suffer a decrease in hotel occupancy during the first fifteen days of September, according to figures released by the hotel association. The municipality suffered a drop of five per cent with an occupancy of 80.54 per cent, by far the lowest on the island. Formentera enjoyed the highest increase on 2006 figures (10.8 per cent), although Ibiza Town had the highest occupancy with 92.63 per cent during the first half of September.

Consell Criticised
The grandmother of the child found in the car park of Amnesia nightclub has heavily criticised the actions of the authorities. While wholeheartedly condemning the behaviour of her son-in-law, Michel Bauch, she claimed the Consell failed to get in touch with her daughter until days after the incident. The two year old child was found sitting on a pavement between two parked cars, by members of security of the nightclub. The father, a Colombian man, was later discovered emerging from the club. The child was taken to a centre while his mother was contacted.
However, Bauch is accusing the Consell of not acting in the best interests of the child and cruelly keeping the child´s mother away. The mother of the child was in the United States when she was informed of what had happened, and immediately returned to the island. She continued by claiming that the child was very happy, and had been traumatised by the situation.
Eventually, after eight days in the care centre, the child was returned to her mother.

Road Decisions
The Balearic Parliament agreed, on Tuesday, to find an alternative to the final part of the airport road, which was initially supposed to be a four-lane road. The chances of the original project being finished now look very slim, and alternatives will be sought for several of the more controversial parts of the new roads still to be finished. It also looks unlikely the second part of the tunnel at San Rafael will be finished. A representative of the current administration, Joan Boned, claimed the work carried out by the previous Govern had been both excessively costly and unnecessary. However he confessed most of what was built would stay, and the only adjustments made would be to that which had not yet been completed.
The president of the PP party, Jose Juan Cardona, criticised the decision, and claimed the tunnel would now not comply with European safety standards. He added that not finishing the tunnel would harm the residents of San Rafael and create far greater noise pollution within the town.

Mini Resurgence
The Govern Balear and the different Consells within the Balearics are pushing for the mini tariff to be reintroduced by Air Nostrum. The rate, which was abolished several years ago under the Central Government of Jose Maria Aznar, is hopefully to be brought back in January next year. The special tariff allows the airline to reduce the discounted prices enjoyed by residents even further. At the moment the prices are fixed. However the new method will ensure those who book earlier get a cheaper price, while those who book much later subsidise this difference by paying slightly more. This system very much involves the airline playing with their profit margins, and selling cheaper tickets during the quieter times and more expensive tickets during the busier periods.

New Routes
The managing director of Air Berlin in Spain and Portugal visited the island on Wednesday, to promote their new route Ibiza-Seville which will run for 49 via Palma. Alvaro Middelmanns philosophy is that air travel should cost the same as road travel, and his company seems intent on achieving this goal. With the buy out of LTU, the company now has a giant foothold in the long haul market with flights to the Dominican Republic, United States, Thailand and Turkey amongst others.
However the Balearics is seen as their Spanish base, and the company has further cemented its place behind Iberia and Air Nostrum as the third largest airline in Ibiza, with an increase in passengers over the last year of 18 per cent. The total number of passengers between the three airports now exceeds four million.
Air Berlin flies from Ibiza via Palma to twenty airports all over the world, including thirteen to Germany Berlin, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Munster, Nuremberg, Paderbonr, Rostock, Saarbrucken and Stuttgart. They also fly to Vienna, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Seville, Milan and Zurich.
Before booking a flight check out their offers at www.airberlin.com

Website Scams
The National Institute for Consumers has detected several cases of fraud after a study carried out on twelve web-pages selling flight tickets. The study took place on 17th September and involved the collaboration of several other EU countries. The results detected several offers which were used to lure clients on to the website and were never, in fact, real. Ryanair and Vueling were the chief culprits, both of whom advertised flights for 0 but in fact the client had to pay taxes, which was not explained. Iberia, Ryanair, Spanair and Vueling also had prices offered on their site which later proved to be unobtainable.
Only four companies had their entire site in order, Air Berlin, Atrapolo.com, Easyjet and Rumbo. The four companies were praised by the commission, whilst they pleaded for action to be taken to stop the false advertising of special offers used to trick customers into booking on certain sites.

IBIZA TOWN

Home Help
On Tuesday The Town Hall in Ibiza announced they would introduce a meals-on-wheels service until the end of the year. It was also made public that the Home Help Service (SAD) would be contracting new staff members to help in the tasks. The eleven workers currently look after 83 elderly people, the majority of whom are women. Thirty-six people joined that number this year, whilst there are a further 20 on the waiting list. The new proposal by SAD has been reached after the number of requests for meals to be provided in the home increased substantially this year. If the scheme proves feasible, and is a success, it will be prolonged for the foreseeable future.

Crime Reduced
On Tuesday the representative of the Central Government on the island, Jose Manuel Bar, announced a twelve per cent fall in crime in Ibiza Town, during the first nine months of the year. In a meeting to coincide with the patron day of the police force, Bar revealed the figures which included a 52 per cent drop in bag snatching, a 41 per cent drop in car theft and a 29 per cent drop in house break ins.
He also revealed that 48.6 per cent of crimes reported this year had been solved, placing Ibiza at the head of the crime fighting table on a national level.
The only slightly negative news concerned the delay in the building of the new National Police headquarters in the town, a project which had been affected by the recent Town Planning Project, which was currently being revised by the Town Hall. However, he said he hoped the construction would be back on track in the near future.

Disabled Tourism
The Town Hall in Ibiza has expressed its readiness to become a tourist destination that is more accessible to those with disabilities and limited movement. The move comes after a scathing report at the beginning of the year showed that the municipality is far from wheelchair friendly. However, the Costa administration has shown its willingness to create more installations for those with various disabilities. This would include creating more disabled parking spaces, organizing sporting and therapeutic activities, and promote this type of tourism more around Europe. The plans were warmly applauded by Francesc Buils, the tourist minister from the Govern Balear. He added that this type of tourism could not be ignored, and promised the Town Hall financial backing.
The mayor, Lurdes Costa, continued by pushing her administrations ecological tourism to the minister, which includes the reformation of the Talamanca area under the slogan Talamanca open all year. She also revealed the Town Halls wish to revitalise the Prat de ses Monges area (close to Talamanca) which she claimed had important historical and cultural significance.

SAN ANTONIO

Daylight Robbery
A man was arrested by police in San Antonio after robbing a local shop at knife point. The incident occurred on Saturday morning just before 9a.m. in the shop Ultramarinos Riera, in Calle Soledad. The man entered the premises and threatened the woman behind the counter, telling her to give him all the money in the till or he would stab her. He was waving around a kitchen knife of precisely twelve centimetres in length. He ran out of the shop with the money (around 50) but was immediately pursued by an officer. However, having entered the Clot Mares market he managed to temporarily lose his pursuer. However back up was called for, and the thief was seen a few moments later. This time he was arrested and later identified by several witnesses.

San An Change
The minister for Tourism at the Govern Balear, Francesc Buils, spoke of his plans to renovate San Antonio, after visiting the municipality last week and speaking to the mayor Jose Sala. Buils, on a three-day trip to the island, said it was important to know the needs of the different municipalities before offering solutions and economic help. He said that it was clear San Antonio needed a change of image. He declared himself happy with the work currently being undertaken, and admitted more money would be needed to ensure the area shook off its party image. He claimed that the municipality had much to offer besides the night time partying for which it is better known, and claimed economic help would be forthcoming, so that future promotion of the other side of San Antonio could be carried out.
Jose Sala, for his part, thanked the minister for visiting the municipality and said he agreed with his views. He claimed his administration had been carrying out a similar policy for the last few years but had lacked the cash to carry it through.

Car Park Fears
There was concern in San Antonio on Wednesday after work began on the car park in the Plaza de Espana, close to the sports shop El Coral. Neighbours in the area claimed they had not been warned the project was about to begin, and only realised it was getting underway when workers started to fence off the area. Rafael Romero, president of the residents association of the Badia Blava building, which will be most affected by the car park as it is directly next door to the site, claimed that not all the necessary studies had been carried out by the Town Hall. He revealed in a previous meeting with technicians, how neighbours had been warned about the possibility of them being relocated to other flats while the work was completed. He asked for reassurances from the administration that they were safe, and the necessary studies had been undertaken.
The project will create 300 parking spaces within the town. The councillor in charge of town planning, Joan Pantaleoni, claimed that the car park would be of great benefit to the public, and added that neighbours had been warned of the plans back in 2005. He revealed that work started on the project on Monday and although he understood their concerns, asked them to be patient during the three months the project was expected to take.

SAN JOSE

No Spaces
The chief executive of Ibifor, Joan Cardona, the company which owns the two car parks within the ses Salinas natural park, has made a plea to the authorities for more car park space. His remarks came on the day when the official figures were released which showed over 68,000 vehicles had used the facility through the course of the summer. There are two car parks, Ibifor and Dunasal Park. Although the latter has by far the greater capacity, the former has more shaded areas and proved far more popular this summer. In July and August, the Ibifor car park registered 12,000 and 12,500 cars respectively, with over 40,500 vehicles using the facility between June and September. In comparison, Dunasal Park registered 8,000 and 11,000 vehicles in the two principal months of the summer with a total over the four month season of 27,500 vehicles. His pleas came on the back of yet another year of chaos within the natural park, which saw the arrival, at its peak during August, of 2,500 vehicles per day. A lot of these vehicles did not use the car parks available and it was not uncommon to see cars parked at the side of the road and even stationed on top of the roundabout at the entrance to the area.
However, the Ministry for the Environment at the Govern Balear admitted they were studying the possibility of restricting access to the area. They claimed the situation had spiralled out of control, and the only way to protect the region from the arrival of vehicles en masse would be to restrict entrance to the entire area. Although the suggestion is in its preliminary stages, the mere mention of a restriction on traffic caused great concern to business owners within the area.

Road Flooded
Traffic was brought to a standstill in the bay of San Antonio as the es Calo road flooded on Thursday due to the heavy rain. Over ten litres (per square metre) of rain fell in just over an hour in San Jose, flooding the lower bay road in front of the popular Rumis Gym. This problem is not new and ever since the new boulevard was finished, heavy rain has caused flooding in the area. Local police had to help drain the water, whilst volunteers from the Civil Protection group diverted traffic away from the area.
The rain clouds had come in from the mainland where they had caused a great deal of damage, especially in Seville where, sadly, two people lost their lives. The rain was accompanied by strong winds which caused a tree to come down in Can Verdera, San Jose.

SANTA EULALIA

Knife Threats
Local police in Santa Eulalia were kept busy over the weekend having to attend several incidents. The first was in the early hours of Saturday morning after they were called to a bar in Ca na Negreta after a 22 year old Romanian man had produced a large knife and begun to threaten all of the clients inside the bar area. He was eventually arrested by the police, and had to be sedated by medical staff who revealed he was in a very nervous state.
In the early hours of Sunday they had to intervene after neighbours reported a car driving at high speed through the town. Police stopped the vehicle and found the driver clearly inebriated at the wheel. However he refused to take a breath test and began to abuse officers. He was immediately taken into custody.
Police had already dealt with a similar situation earlier in the day after they arrested a man for driving at high speeds, after he came close to running over a pedestrian on a zebra-crossing. The man returned a positive breath-test and was immediately detained for dangerous driving and driving under the influence.

Two Years More
The contamination of the wells in Santa Gertrudis is to take another two years to resolve. The environment minister at the Govern Balear, Miquel Angel Grimalt, announced on Tuesday that, although 90 per cent of the decontamination had been carried out, the wells would still not be fit for human consumption until the final cleansing process had been carried out. He predicted this would take around 24 months. The wells, situated near to the BP petrol station on the Santa Gertrudis road, were infected after 30,000 litres of petrol leaked from underground storage tanks.

FORMENTERA

Formentera Finance
The new president of the Consell of Formentera, Jaume Ferrer, could not contain his satisfaction after he emerged from a meeting to arrange the finances of his administration with the powers-that-be, in Palma. He had reason to be happy, having secured a 33 per cent increase in the annual budget. The Consell will be given 700,000 almost immediately to cover their initial running costs. From next year Ferrers administration will receive a whopping 4million a year, as well as receiving additional help with the wage bill. However, the most satisfactory part for Ferrer was the agreement of 25million to be used to invest in any projects they see fit for the island, over the next five years.
Ferrer told waiting reporters of his delight at the news. After a meeting which lasted just 11 hours, Ferrrer thanked the commission for their cooperation and revealed that, added to the 10million euros available to the Town Hall (which he also runs), the island would have a budget of around 17million to spend in 2008.

Underground Containers
On Friday the president of the Consell in Formentera announced his administration planned to bury underground 81 rubbish containers in the mostly densely populated areas of the island. The total cost of the work will rise to more than 2.5million, 85 per cent of which will be funded by the EU. The work will start almost immediately, and carried out in two phases. First, however, President Jaume Ferrer said a study would have to be carried out as to exactly which containers would be buried.

Eco Show
Formentera is to hold the 1st Car Show for vehicles with zero-emissions. The exhibition is to take place from 12th - 14th October and will include an Eco-rally on the 13th, which will pass through Cala Saona, Sant Francesc, Migjorn and es Caló. The sponsor of the show is the ferry company, Balearia, which has offered free trips to all those arriving in zero-emission vehicles (including bicycles) from anywhere on the mainland to Formentera. The Councillor for Tourism, Josep Mayans, said the exhibition incorporated everything which the island believed in, and hoped it would be a boost for eco-friendly tourism on the island.

CRIME & INCIDENTS

Drugs Raid
A police operation carried out last week led to the arrest of seven men and the discovery of large quantities of drugs. The arrests were made in three different addresses around the island a house in Cala Llonga, a house on the Cala d´Hort road and a property close to the airport. The range of drugs found was varying and a great deal had already been bagged up and was ready to be distributed at the closing parties of the many clubs. Among the horde police found a litre of GHB (known as liquid ecstasy), as well as 578 grams of MDMA, ten grams of hashish and 28 LSD tablets. They also discovered 5,220 in cash, as well as 20 mobile phones, cameras and two computers.
The seven men arrested were all of Spanish origin, except one who comes from Cape Verde. All seven were taken into custody.

Girl Critical
A British girl lay critically ill in hospital after falling two storeys from the Tanit building in the centre of San Antonio. The girl, who was working for the summer on the island, fell from the second floor staircase after entering the building. The staircase in the building is outside on several of the lower floors.
The girl was seen having breakfast with her boyfriend earlier in the morning, and from there went to do a bit of shopping. For reasons that are still unclear, at around 9.30a.m. she entered the building and fell from the second floor staircase, a drop of around ten metres. Emergency services were quickly on the scene and found the girl unconscious. She was immediately rushed to hospital but according to medical staff her prognosis is not good and after further tests they revealed they are contacting her family, with little hope of saving her life.

Brit under Suspicion
A British woman was under investigation last week after the tragic death of her partner in a house in Puig den Valls. The woman had originally been arrested after a formal complaint was made by the son of the victim, Sol Monge Conejero. However, after further investigation and after hearing from the woman, police now suspect the death to be accidental.
The incident took place in the home of the man in Cami Vell, San Mateu at around 5a.m. The couple, who had been hosting some friends for dinner started to argue whilst guests watched from below. There seems to have been an interchange of blows, and both fell from a window to the ground below, a fall of some two metres. When Conejero started to bleed profusely from the head, his partner left the house. The victim was later rushed to the Vilas private clinic, where he died of head injuries several days later.
None of the guests interviewed at the party saw anyone being pushed or anything untoward, and it seems likely the death was caused simply by a tragic, drunken accident.

Tow Fury
A 28 year old Spanish man was arrested on Monday after punching the driver who came to tow away his car. The problem began after neighbours made a complaint about excessive noise coming from several parked cars in Ibiza Town. On arrival police found the occupants of the cars in an inebriated state, and playing music very loudly from one of the vehicles. In order to ensure none of the drivers could use their cars, they decided to tow them away. However on arrival, the driver of the tow truck was greeted with a taunt of abuse, and was eventually punched in the nose as he tried to load one of the cars on to his truck. Police then tried to arrest the man but he became extremely violent and punched and kicked several officers, before eventually being restrained.

NEWS FROM THE MAINLAND

Heavy Flooding
The Central Government declared Alcala de Guadaria in Seville an area affected by natural disaster, after heavy rains on Tuesday brought chaos to the region. An incredible 80 litres of water per square metre fell in the space of just 15 minutes during Tuesday night, which was followed by constant rain and hail. Two people, both women, lost their lives in the rain, which led to the Town Hall announcing two days of official mourning throughout the municipality. The first victim was swept away in the floods while in her car, the second suffered a heart-attack after a bus hit her building due to the flooding.
Thursday morning saw the huge clear up operation begin as the rain began to move away. Insurance companies estimated the damage caused in the small town at more than 3million. Most of the more costly damage was caused to buildings and cars which were swept away in the floods.

FINANCIAL NEWS

Gas Rise
The gas bottle (bombona) rose in price last week to 12.29, an increase of sixty five centimes. Although the introduction of electric hobs has become much more popular in recent years, added to the increase in mains gas, there are still twelve million homes in Spain that rely on the 12.5 kilo orange gas bottle. The increase of 5.54 per cent was blamed on the rise in world gas prices. Although the Energy Ministry was quick to point out that Spain was still one of the cheapest countries in Europe for the gas bottle, with prices in Portugal reaching 20 per bottle, and in France, 24 per bottle.

Postal Change
EU countries unanimously agreed last week to deregulate the postal service from 31st December 2010, although eleven countries will be allowed to continue as they are for a further two years. At the moment the situation throughout Europe is very different with countries such as the United Kingdom and Sweden already completely deregulated, whilst the postal systems of several eastern European countries is still very much Government run. The situation in Spain will be affected slightly, as at the moment the national post office has a monopoly on all letters up to fifty grams and all packages up to ten kilos. Above these weights it is a free market.

Dole Queue Grows
Unemployment numbers rose in September with 477 more joining the list of those out of work. In total there are now 4,156 people unemployed in Ibiza and Formentera, a 12.79 per cent increase from last month. Of the total unemployed, 56 per cent are males with the majority (86 per cent) over the age of 25. The worrying part is that 445 of those who joined the dole queue in September had been working in construction, which renewed fears of a drop in the sector as the housing market slows.

LEISURE & SPORT

Muller Time
The German runner, Wolfram Muller, won the 24th Urban Mile race which took place in San Antonio on Saturday. His winning time of four minutes twenty-two seconds was good enough to come away with the title. He was followed in second place by the English runner Chris Mosse who finished half a second behind the winner for the second year in a row. In third place was the Portuguese athlete Luis Pinto. Of the twenty runners that started the popular event, sixteen finished with the highest placed local, Christian Torres, who came home in ninth place.

Tongan Magic
Ibiza Rugby Club has named Sebastian Brito as club captain for the forthcoming season. Known within the club as Tonga, he has played for the club during the last five years, consistently putting in gutsy man of the match performances. A versatile player who can play anywhere in the front and back row, he was the natural selection for coach Mike Blackburn who is expecting big things from the senior side this year. However his plans have already been severely disrupted, after a pitch move was followed by news that the clubs´ leading points scorer for the last three seasons, Sebas Santamaria (of Croissant Show fame) will be out for the entire year with knee ligament damage.

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