BA Buyout
On Tuesday British Airways and Iberia announced a merger which would create the third largest airline in the world. The move comes as slower economies and higher fuel costs have wiped out earnings over the last twelve months.
The airlines are currently in talks about an all-stock transaction which would create a new company with two fleets and a dual listing in London and Madrid.
At least 24 carriers have stopped flying or filed for bankruptcy protection so far this year, and only this month British Airways, which owns 13.2 per cent of Iberia, said it would cut capacity, and freeze hiring.
"The aviation landscape is changing and airline consolidation is long overdue," British Airways Chief Executive, Willie Walsh, said in a statement.
Iberia's network complements that of British Airways, and would increase the companys network in South America where the Spanish airline remains strong.
Caja Madrid will be the main shareholder in a new airline which Iberia is describing as a merger of equals with British Airways, despite the fact that the Spanish carrier is valued at half that of the British one, on the stock market.
News of the talks on a merger sent Iberia shares up 20 per cent on Tuesday.
Walsh continued, The combined balance sheet, anticipated synergies, and network fit between the airlines make a merger an attractive proposition, particularly in the current economic environment," he said. "We've had a successful relationship with Iberia for a decade, and are confident that both companies' shareholders would benefit from the proposed tie-up."
Nearly five years ago the airline signalled that it was interested in a merger with the Spanish carrier, and was previously part of a consortium looking at bidding for the group.

AROUND THE ISLAND

Thirteen Steps
The president of the Balearic Government, Francesc Antich, announced 13 steps to steer the region away from the crisis which is currently engulfing the entire country. The moves include investing 920 million of public money over the next 18 months in an attempt to ease the construction crisis. A further 550 million will also be spent on providing loans and subsidies to ensure the most needy are able to afford reasonable housing.
Those to benefit most from the new moves will include the young, the disabled, and family businesses.
Antich declared all this would be in addition to beginning to pay off the huge debt inherited from the previous PP-run administration, which some have estimated is in the region of 2,000 million.
However, the president received criticism from his opposite number, Rosa Estaras, who accused him of too little too late, claiming she had been warning of the impending crisis for the last six months.

Taxi Success
Transport Minister, Albert Prats, last week revealed 63 additional taxis had now joined the existing quota to try and help improve the service during the busiest month of the year.
The minister caused controversy towards the end of last year when he announced plans for temporary licences which would run in two parts during July, August and September. However, the licence owners complained they were only being given the option for half of the permits, with the other 50 per cent being handed out to the salary earning drivers. The Taxi Association called a number of strikes during the winter and forbade their members from applying for a licence. However, after criticism from the public for their selfish attitude, the licence holders called off the strike.
They did manage to win support from the three PP-run municipalities on the island, who all refused to allow more permits to be issued within their boroughs. However, this was done more out of spite than common sense.
Despite the problems, Prats was pleased to announce an increase in the fleet for the busiest months. The licences were issued in two phases July/August and August/September. Twenty-eight were handed out during the first phase and 35 began the second phase on 1st August. This meant an additional 63 taxis to ease the inevitable lack of vehicles during August, down on his original plan of 120 but slightly more than the 54 which joined the fleet during the month of August last year.
The Island Council and the two Town Halls which have all given the go ahead for the plan will now have to validate the new legislation to a court in Palma, after a complaint by the Taxi Association was accepted, although the transport minister confirmed he was confident he could justify the moves.
Prats also announced the Island Council would be handing out around 100,000 pamphlets to visitors warning of the dangers of using unlicensed taxis. In the leaflet tourists are told that this is an illegal service, and they are not offered any guarantees. They are also told about all the bus services on the island.
Investment in public transport has been one of Prats priorities, and he announced that a team of four mystery customers would be using both taxis and buses throughout August. They would then produce a report about their experiences which, it is hoped, will go some way to improving future services. However, the minister warned there was still a long way to go and that his administration was under no illusions about the improvements which needed to be made.

Economic Woes
Caeb, the largest and most important association of businesses on the island, confirmed on Wednesday that economic growth during the next year would be minimal. The news, whilst coming as no surprise, seems to be the final confirmation that the island is in the depths of a crisis. The director for the economy department at CAEB, Vicenc Tur, said much now depended on the tourist season. If that continued to increase, however marginally, there would still be a possibility of maintaining growth. If, on the other hand, the tourist season was a poor one, which he explained was a distinct possibility, the chances of negative growth were very real.
He claimed there were a number of causes of the economic decline including high petrol prices. However, he said the main reason for economic stagnation was the difficulty in gaining credit. The big freeze by all of the islands financial institutions had ensured it was impossible to increase economic activity or open a new business, which had led to the economy becoming stale.
The vice-president of CAEB, Joan Bufi, repeated that the economic situation over the next year lay firmly in the hands of the tourist industry. However, he said the signs so far were that this season was proving a disappointment. He pointed out that the main difference between Ibiza and all of the other Balearic destinations was the reliability of the island on the British market. With an economic crisis in full swing in the UK, as well as a weak pound which had lowered in value by around 20 per cent over the last twelve months, he predicted the island would continue to suffer.
Their comments came as the house market continued its spectacular fall with the sale of properties across the Balearics down by 42 per cent in May. This as the euribor, the rate used by most Spanish banks to calculate interest rates, hit record highs. The new level of 5.393 per cent will mean that those paying a mortgage of 150,000 over 25 years will have to pay an extra 1,000 a year in interest.

Recycling Stations
On Thursday the Island Council announced the seven island green zones had been decided, and would be in operation by next year. The councillor for the environment, Albert Prats, announced his intention, several months ago, of setting up these zones all around the island where people would be able to dispose of a range of materials including tyres, batteries, fluorescent lights, paint batteries and electro-domestic products.
He has come under criticism for the idea with the opposition party who claimed the areas would become a haven for rats and other pests, warning they should not be set up in residential areas. However, Prats answered his critics claiming the zones would be for dry goods and there would be no danger of rats being enticed there.
Ibiza Town has donated a piece of land close to the petrol station at the Pacha roundabout, whilst San Jose has chosen an area in Cala de Bou and Can Guerxo, San Antonio in Can Llaudis and the green pickup point which currently exists close to the water purifier, and finally Santa Eulalia will locate the green zones in Ca na Palava, and next to the water purifier. There will be no zone in San Juan as they were unable to find a piece of land.
All of the zones will take four months to build, and will be manned by trained personnel who will be able to advise on which rubbish goes where. However, controversially, it appears use of the zones will come at a cost with scales to be located to measure the exact weight of what is being disposed of, although prices have not yet been made available.

Flight Delays
Sources at the airport admitted there were delays to several incoming flights due to personnel problems, last week. It appears that a handful of air-traffic controllers were off sick last weekend, which caused delays of between one and two hours to a considerable number of planes. The source continued that the situation had been unavoidable, but promised things will have returned to normal by Wednesday.

Radiotherapy Plea
The Public Ombudsman has stepped into the row over the lack of a radiotherapy unit on the island, by calling on the Balearic Government to resolve the situation. The report, released on Monday, highlighted the differing stats offered by both parties. The Association against Cancer claimed that last year 540 patients had to be treated in Son Dureta, Mallorca, whilst the Health Authority denied the figure and said it was yet to climb above 100. They also underlined the Government standard which called for radiotherapy units only in areas with a population greater than 200,000.
The Balearic Government, responsible for the building of the new hospital, has so far refused to promise the new installation will have radiotherapy treatment. Meanwhile, the Island Council are trying to mediate between the two parties and are attempting, at least, to ensure a space is reserved for the treatment within the hospital, even though the installation is made at a later date.
The Minister for Social Affairs at the Balearic Government, Patricia Abascal, claimed there was interest politically for such a unit to be installed, but that nothing had yet been decided.

Matutes in the Dock
The former councillor for highways, Stella Matutes, declared she was happy after leaving court having testified in the ses Variades scandal. Both Matutes and the current mayor of San Antonio, Jose Sala, were asked to testify after the public prosecution service accused them of passing legislation for their own personal gain.
The case refers to the area at the back of San Antonio, ses Variades, which was changed in 2004 from being rustico (non-buildable) to urbano (buildable) following a ruling by the Island Council. Some of the land belonged to a company run by family members of the former Councillor, who resigned several months ago to help run the family business. This land was subsequently sold on the condition that it was re-classified to urbano, something which happened just months later.
Matutes claimed she did not have anything to do with the negotiations of the sale of the land, and that she had only figured on the board of the company for a short period. She also denied having any knowledge of the agreement signed between the new owners of the land and the Town Hall, which was agreed just days before the meeting which ended with the re-classification of the land.
She added that the decision to vote for the new Land Reforms was a political one, and she had merely been towing the party line. However, she refused to make any further comment saying it was now in the hands of the judge.
The public prosecutor, Susana Fernandez, on the other hand revealed that Matutes testimony had been vague and had not helped to clear much up.
The next person due to be called to testify is Inigo Aldaz, director general of Realia business, new owners of the land, who most believe holds the key to the case.

Airport Numbers Down
The latest passenger figures from the airport revealed a slight decline in the number of people arriving during the first sixth months of the year. From January to June a total of 630,828 people arrived at the airport, approximately 5,200 less than in 2007. These falls were despite a relatively good June, which saw numbers increase slightly.
However, the British and German markets continued to fall, with the former recording a reduction in passenger numbers of 5.2 per cent (197,000). The German market suffered similar losses, down 4.4 per cent, to just 97,000 visitors.
These falls were despite an increase in the number of arrivals of passengers aboard low-cost airlines, which grew by 18.9 per cent and crashed through the 100,000 barrier. However, the number represents just 1.2 per cent of the total arrivals in Spain aboard low-cost flights during June.
The news came as the Island Councils representative for tourism, Pepa Mari, confirmed she would be asking the Government for several million euros in order to help promote the island. This, just a week after she revealed she had secured 120,000 worth of help from the Island Council and Chamber of Commerce, and was close to receiving an additional 480,000 from the National Tourist Board, all of which would be spent on the immediate promotion of the island to try and improve reservations for September and October.
All this occurred as the poor results continued, with the Association for Car Hire companies reporting their members would be around 12.5 per cent to 50 per cent down on last year, come the end of the season.

Speed Control
The two speed radars on the Ibiza-San Antonio road were put into operation towards the end of last week. The moves are part of a national campaign which coincides with the start of the summer break (1st-3rd August) which will see just over six million vehicles take to the road. In addition 190 new speed radars will be set up across the country, taking the total to 765. Eighteen helicopters will also be made available to control the nations roads.
The radars in Ibiza are at kilometre 7.957 and 9.635 and were installed last year, but have yet to be put into operation.
It was also announced during the week that traffic accidents within the capital during the first six months of the year had fallen by 24 per cent, down from 503 to 386. The Town Hall said they believed the fall was the result of successful campaigning, and a greater police presence.

Drinking Water
Residents in the Balearics consume the most bottled water in Spain, along with those living in the Canaries. A survey by the company, Ciao, revealed that 90 per cent of residents here, and 93 per cent in the Canaries, drank bottled water due to the poor quality of the tap water in their regions.
The people of Navarra (83.4 per cent), Extremedura (77.8 per cent), and Madrid (76 per cent) drank the most tap water.

Image Change
The Island Council showed off their new logo last week. The image was made by a group of designers, and, although not drastically different from the previous logo, was described as slightly rounder.

IBIZA TOWN
On the Beat
Police working in the municipality of Ibiza Town attended a total of 1,083 accidents during 2007, up just slightly on the previous year. Meanwhile, they also carried out 71 controls during the year with a grand total of 3,156 vehicles stopped, of which 1,491 were asked to give a breath test. Of these, 98 drivers failed, with further action being taken in all cases.
Although the number of accidents within the municipality was only up slightly from the previous year (35), it was a considerable increase from 2005 (184). A total of 38 people were injured in these accidents, with, regrettably, one death recorded.

Poor Public Relations
The mayoress, Lurdes Costa, announced a clampdown on PRs in the marina area of town, after continued complaints from business owners in the area. Costa claimed the legislation of just one PR per establishment was currently very difficult to control, and she could better manage the situation next year by prohibiting any kind of PRs. This, she claimed, would make the law far easier to enforce.
PR ing in the area has become commonplace, with each bar in the packed marina attempting to lure tourists into their establishments with the use of more and more PRs. This unfortunately has made it impossible to walk down the street without being hassled every few seconds, something local businesses are keen to avoid.
She said that in the meantime local police would control the area and ensure there were not an excessive number of PRs in the port.

SAN ANTONIO
Bar Closed
Sources at the Town Hall revealed that they had ordered the closure of the Can Talaias bar in Sa Pedrera-Can Coix, after the owners had repeatedly tried to organise after-hour parties, something now banned in all five of the municipalities on the island. The statement continued that the bar also did not hold a music license, just one other reason for the forced closure.
The police gave several warnings to the bar, all of which were ignored, eventually forcing the authoritys hand into the drastic action. There were also drugs found on the premises during the police visits.
However, the statement made it clear the main reason for the closure had been the bars attempts to organise after-hour parties.
The news came the day after police in the municipality confirmed they had intervened in three illegal parties in the San Rafael area. Officers managed to cut off access to the properties, speak to the organisers, and have even been in contact with the owners of the houses, although it is still not known if fines will be handed out.

New Education Centre
On Wednesday the first stone was laid for the future secondary school located in Can Micolau. The ritual was identical as with all public buildings, a hollow cement base being filled with the previous days newspapers, modern day coins and the permission to start the work signed by the president of the Island Council, Xico Tarres, and the mayor of San Antonio, Jose Sala. Both were joined by the minister for education at the Balearic Government, Barbara Galmes, all of whom helped seal in the initial stone.
The work is part of a three-part project on the 30,000 m2 piece of land which will also see an old peoples home and an elementary school built, all at a cost of 5 million.
The secondary school with have 550 places, and be completed in around 17 months time.

Beach Approval
The website www.onbeach.com has voted Cala Salada in San Antonio the second best beach in Europe. The review site put the popular beach in second place behind s´Amarador in Mallorca, and in front of Baia de Rondinara in France, Praia de Sao Rafael in Portugal, and Porto Nuova in Italy. The website described the beach as follows :
CALA SALADA is situated in a natural environment. The buildings that are visible from the beach are authentic, period properties and very attractive. The natural beach environment consists of rocks and cliff faces and is stunningly beautiful. The sand is very fine and white. The beach appears to be clean. The seawater is a beautiful shade of light blue and is crystal clear. The water is very clean. CALA SALADA is not very long, and narrow. The beach is very flat. There are several places to eat and drink on the beach. The beach is easily accessible. There is good parking near the beach.

SAN JOSE
Sa Caixota Stalemate
The owners of the apartments in the sa Caixota building have presented a letter to the Town Hall of San Jose demanding a permit to rebuild the complex. Three years ago next month part of the recently completed, but still empty, building close to Cala Tarida fell into the sea below, after heavy rain caused a landslide. The building has since remained in limbo, with no agreement being reached between the administration and its owners.
The lawyer representing the majority of them confirmed he had presented the Town Hall with the plans for the buildings demolition and permission to re-build the complex. The demolition of the 26 apartments alone is set to cost 300,000. He also confirmed his clients had received a technical study which gave assurances that no such landslide could take place again. He added that the owners were willing to carry out a similar study at regular intervals to ensure the continued safety of the area. He finished off by saying that they would now be pushing for an answer from the administration, because they needed to sort out the situation once and for all.
Meanwhile, the councillor for town planning, Josep Antoni Prats, has continually rejected plans to rebuild in the area saying it would be far too dangerous. In the Land Reform Act, which is currently being mapped out, the area has been re-classified as unbuildable.
Prats has offered them a new municipality-owned piece of land at the entrance to the area, which has been rejected by the owners as unacceptable.

Stain Reappears
A familiar foe returned to the municipality last week, as once again the brown stain which has dogged Cala Tarida for years, appeared. The slick remains a mystery, although the Town Hall was quick to deny it was anything other than microscopic algae which is harmless to bathers.
Neighbours in the area have regularly complained about the patch, which gives the water a yellowy/brown colour, claiming it is leaked sewage.
However, these accusations have been reputed by the Town Hall, which said it regularly carries out tests of the water in the area, which have always come back perfect.
It also revealed the yellow flag, warning bathers to be alert, had been flown last week due to an increase of jellyfish in the area.

SANTA EULALIA
Cultural Route
The Town Hall of Santa Eulalia revealed its ambitious new plans for the municipalitys river, on Tuesday. The idea is to regenerate the area around what is the only fresh water river within the Balearics.
Experts will be called in from the mainland to see the possibility of recovering the waterflow to the river, which has remained dry for most of the year. The planned water purifier in Santa Eulalia is seen as a huge bonus in the fight to recover the river, as it should mean the hundreds of wells in the area will be used a lot less.
The first part of the plan involves creating a cultural circuit the length of the river, which will circumnavigate the centre of town and include a museum and cultural centre, as well as other attractions, which it is hoped will motivate more visits to the area.

Underground Facilities
The Town Hall of Santa Eulalia paved the way for the building of the municipalitys first underground car park, during their weekly Councillors session on Thursday. The project will now be put out to tender, with companies having just one month to come up with proposals.
The car park will be located behind the current Town Hall building, and have places for between 300 and 500 cars. Although the exact amounts have yet to be decided, a number of these spaces will be sold off, whilst the rest will be rented out by the month or by the hour. The indicative prices currently put a space at 24,000, although the mayor, Vicent Mari, was quick to point out that nothing was yet definite.
The project will take around 12 months to complete, and will cost in the region of 3.9 million, with the company winning the tender having the right to manage the car park for the next 75 years.

FORMENTERA
Argy Bargy
Five Argentinians were arrested last week for their parts in several robberies carried out in Formentera during the last three weeks. Two of the group are still minors and were therefore being looked after by family members, whilst the other three suspects, all between 18-21 years of age, were being held in prison.
The robberies affected isolated houses in the Punta Prima, Migjorn and Can Mrroig. The frequency of the robberies opened a police investigation, and the use of plain-clothed detectives led officers to one of the defendants houses. There, police discovered a number of stolen items including lap-tops, mobile phones, and other goods worth in the region of 40,000. However, searches at the properties of the other two men proved in vain and the judge eventually decided to release them both due to a lack of evidence.
The third suspect was taken to the station in San Antonio where he is awaiting trial. It is presumed that he will be expelled from the country, as he is currently here without the necessary paperwork.
Meanwhile, the investigation into the robberies continued, with police discovering a further three rucksacks on Friday packed with goodies.

CRIME & INCIDENTS
Sex Pests Arrested
A couple in the San Antonio area have been arrested for drugging women and then sexually abusing them. The investigation began several weeks ago after an Argentinian model made a complaint. She claims that after answering an advert asking for models, she was told she would be taking part in a test on urine production. Needing the 100 on offer, she accepted the job.
She was asked to drink beer before attending the test. Whilst there she was told she had not drunk enough and given several more beers and a cocktail of spirits and cocaine. She eventually lost consciousness twice. However, each time she woke up she found herself in a different sexual position with one of the couple.
After hearing the womans complaint, police raided a house in Cala Gracio where they confiscated around 90 recordings, all of a sexual nature. After trawling through the evidence, police managed to contact at least 14 women, one of whom was a minor, all of whom had been too embarrassed to make an official complaint, but all told similar stories of alcohol, drugs and abuse. Many were still living on the island, although some were now on the mainland.
The couple were arrested and being held in prison whilst a preliminary trial date is set, although police were unsure if they would be able to charge the couple as all the women had signed consent forms and willingly agreed to take the alcohol and drugs.
It is not yet known what the couple did with the images, which were made on hidden cameras without the knowledge of the women. Officers were still deciding if the recordings were used for private pleasure only, or they were posted on the internet, an option which has yet to be ruled out as three high speed internet connections were also found at the Cala Gracio property.

Goalkeeper Summoned
Santiago Canizares, the former international goalkeeper will finally give evidence in court after the judge fixed a date for him to be officially questioned. The scandal involving the former Valencia shot-stopper first broke in February last year, when at least two women claimed they had been sexually abused by the mentalist, Tomas A.R., at one of his clinics in San Jordi.
Mentalism is the art of appearing to have supernatural or extrasensory mind-based powers. These include mind reading, psychokinesis, telekinesis, pedagogary, fortune telling, remote vision, and more.
The judge hearing the case decided to detain the accused, known as el Brujo (the witch doctor), while the investigation continued. During the next three months at least 15 more patients came forward, all aged between 11 and 22, claiming they had been the victims of sexual aggression. All were living in Ibiza, Valencia and Madrid at the time of the incidents, cities where Tomas A.R had clinics.
The accused had offered his help to some football teams on the island and in Valencia as a psychologist, although he did not possess any official qualification in the field. He had worked with players from Ibiza Football Club, as well as the first division outfit, Valencia. This is where he first met international keeper, Canizares, who then became part of his group. The names of a number of sportsmen were banded about when the case first broke, and Canizares was questioned by police in May.
The judge said he planned a confrontation between the goalkeeper and the girl who claims she was abused by him, when she was still a minor.
The judge has already hinted he is confident Canizares was unaware of the girls fragile mental state, and that he was merely just another pawn in the evil web cast by el Brujo.
A representative for the player said he was the victim of false accusations, and would co-operate fully with the investigation in order to help to clear his name. He continued that the name of Canizares was being mentioned because he was famous and would bring the case more notoriety and to a wider audience. After the story was first revealed in the Ultima Hora towards the end of May, all of the national papers covered the news the following day.
Coincidentally, Canizares got married this month in Ibiza, where he has a home close to Talamanca.

Drugs Tragedy
A 33-year old man Spanish man became the fifth known victim of a drugs overdose on Sunday morning. The incident occurred in Playa den Bossa. A hotel security guard was the first to notice the man lying unconscious in a five a-side football pitch next door to the establishment. He immediately called the emergency services. However after regaining consciousness the man rejected any medical assistance and the pleas of the ambulance staff that he needed urgent medical treatment. Just an hour after signing a medical release form, the man died from a massive heart attack.
The investigation into his death is continuing and it is still not known exactly what the victim had consumed and where. Footage from Space, which had closed just an hour before, was also being studied.

Lucky Escape
The occupants of a police van, which overturned in the early hours of Monday morning, had a lucky escape. The accident occurred whilst the four suspects were being transported to the station. There were also four officers in the van at the time.
Police were called to the West End after a dispute began between a group of Nigerian women just after 5 a.m. After refusing to identify themselves, all four were arrested. However, on their journey to the station the vehicle they were in overturned due to causes which are still unknown, although a source close to the investigation claimed it had been caused by a dog running out in front of the vehicle.
The occupants were taken to Can Misses, although all were later released with only minor injuries.
This was followed five days later by a similar accident close to Ca na Negreta. A 27 year old driver, for reasons which are still unclear, lost control of his vehicle as he was driving towards Santa Eulalia. He collided with two parked vehicles causing his car to overturn. However, both driver and passenger escaped with only minor injuries.

Brits Collapse
Two British tourists were rushed to hospital last week suffering the effects of a drugs overdose. The incident occurred last Sunday afternoon at a well-known bar in Playa den Bossa. At around 7 p.m. an ambulance was called to the area after a 25 year old passed out whilst on the dance-floor. As he was being attended to, the medical staff noticed another youngster on the beach close by, having convulsions. They immediately called for backup. Both were taken to Can Misses, although they were released soon after, the first at 2 a.m. and the second at 7 a.m. Both were said to be unrelated incidents.
A source at the hospital confirmed both of the men had consumed the drug MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy.

Prison Sentence
The man accused of a robbery at the BP station at the entrance to the capital was sentenced to a total of 18 months in prison last week. The defendants lawyer managed to have the sentence drastically reduced from the five years which the crown prosecution had been asking for, due to a lack of evidence. However, due to the fact that the man has a criminal record, he will be obliged to serve the entire sentence.
The man entered the petrol station one afternoon and, after threatening the cashier with a knife and locking her in a storeroom, made it away with 380. He was later arrested after fingerprints on the entrance door revealed his identity, although the knife used in the attack was never discovered.
The man claimed not to have remembered anything of the incident and that he had been heavily dependant on drugs at the time.

Sentence Maintained
Two men have been sentenced to six and nine years, respectively, in prison for three separate robberies at gunpoint on tourists in Ibiza Town. The two defendants appealed against the decision made last May. However, the appeal judge has decided the original decision was fair and both will now begin their sentences. In addition they will have to pay compensation to their victims for the robberies, which occurred back in 2005.

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