Local News Round Up - 22.08.2008

Look at what else made the news this week

Euro Simpson

A Spanish shop owner noticed something unusual about his daily takings; the Spanish Euro coin had been skilfully crafted into the profile of Homer Simpson!

"The coin must have been done by a professional," Mr Martinez said from the Asturian town of Aviles, northern Spain. "It's an impressive piece of work."

He said he spotted the coin after first discovering three euro coins from Malta.

The mystery defacer had not taken his scalpel to the other side of the coin, which displays the map of Europe.

But the high quality of workmanship has prompted speculation that other unusual euros might be in circulation.

Some have even suggested that the illegal work might be part of a republican conspiracy against the Spanish monarchy.

Meanwhile, Mr Martinez said neighbours and friends had offered him €20 (£16) for the piece.

As news of the find rippled around the globe thousands more bids started to emerge from the Netherlands, Japan, Canada and the US. But the shopkeeper maintained he was keeping the coin for himself.

 

Lloyds TSB launches a new deposit that benefits from dollar revaluation

Lloyds TSB has launched the FX Linked GBP/USD deposit, a structured deposit available for an investment of 10,000 pounds sterling or more, over an 18 month period. On maturity the investor will get back 100% of the invested capital, plus 105% of the dollar’s revaluation against the pound.

The FX Linked GBP/USD deposit in pounds sterling is available until 22nd September and offers a great opportunity for expatriates to diversify their investments.

According to forecasts by Lloyds TSB analysts, the pound will lose between 10% and 20% of its value against the dollar in 2009. The current economic situation in the UK, where the pound is under pressure in the medium term, and the expected recovery of the US economy along with a probable rise in interest rates, all favour a revaluation of the dollar.

The FX Linked GBP/USD deposit, which was developed with the more conservative investor in mind, has no commissions and a 100% guarantee for an investment over an adjustable period of time, with attractive returns.

The launch of this fund coincides with the launch of the Auto-cancellable Bank Recovery fund, which trades in euros and is designed to reap a profit from the recovery of the banking sector.

The underlying investment of the Auto-cancellable Bank Recovery fund includes 4 large banks currently listed with attractive shares and excellent recovery prospects in the next 4 years, after stock prices for these companies have fallen by half since the beginning of 2008.   The maximum coupon that investors can receive at each cancellation opportunity every year is between 10% after the first year and 40% at the end of the fourth year.  

With a minimum investment of 3,000 euros over a maximum period of 4 years, investors can decide to withdraw from this deposit on a yearly basis.

 

The white world loves a party

But some parties are plainly better than others. The reason? It's not merely the amount of money lavished on the event or the number of beautiful people in attendance. It's not the music or the setting, although none of these factors hurt. Good causes, such as charities, birthdays or presentations of debutantes, can definitely help. As can a degree of intimacy and comfort that links the partygoers, because too many strangers can kill a party faster than running out of booze at the bar.

But the world's best parties are also events that happen like clockwork. People mark them down in their calendars months in advance, and the anticipation, as well as the expenditure on clothes, jewellery, transportation and more, create a drama that builds up to the event itself. Because of this, the party is merely the climax, and the inevitable hangover is mitigated, somewhat, by the knowledge that there's always next year to look forward to.

But not all grand parties are the same, they can differ from country to country and region to region. The think tank of Live Events Production SL have come up with the product “White Weekenders” is based on the all-white theme, known around the world as “White party” and in Spain as “Fiesta de Blanco.” As we know, “White stands for purity. White is elegant, non-political, non-combative and makes people look beautiful.”

Traditional in Spain and the Canary Islands, “Fiesta de Blanco” parties happen in the summer, the best party ambient being created in outside venues.

With these factors in mind Live Events have carefully chosen the venue of Villa Cortes “Chiringuito” Beach Club, believing this will bring the true party feeling to the party goers this summer in Tenerife.

So, with the first ingredients of this party cocktail in place and the dates for the 2008 calendar confirmed 30th of August and 13th and 27th of September Live Events started to select the line up of the Djs and Artists to be performing this summer. With Dj’s from some of the most prestigious clubs in the world, including Space Ibiza and the notorious Cafe del Mar Ibiza, Live Events believe that “White Weekenders 2008” will be the hottest parties this summer.  

Now we have the place, the dates and the Dj’s, that should be enough. But how about we throw in some go-go dancers, stilt-walkers, acrobats and body painters to almost complete the cocktail? All we are missing is the cherry on top.

The cherry is that Live Events have collaborated with Fashion TV who will be filming each party to be shown in over 200 countries worldwide so party goers look your best for the cameras. And all you aspiring young models please register your entrances for Miss White Weekenders Fashion TV 2008.

This is a cocktail that even James Bond would approve!

From all the staff of Live Events and our collaborating partners in “White Weekenders” we hope all you party people have a great time with us this summer.

 

Grabbing the bull by the horns

A British matador has come out of retirement and taken part in a bullfight in Spain.

Frank Evans, 65, from Salford, Greater Manchester, intends to resume his 40-year bullfighting career after three years away because of health problems.

Afterwards, he said being in a bullfighting ring "felt fantastic" and added: "It is where I am happiest"

Mr Evans took part in a charity bullfight at Villanueva de Concepcion, near Malaga.

The pensioner had a quadruple heart bypass six months ago and a knee replacement two years earlier. He said he decided to resume the sport because he missed it after his retirement in 2005.

He is thought to be the only Briton to achieve the status of matador, the profession's top rank.

After completing his first bout in three years, judges awarded him the animal's severed ears in recognition of a kill "well done".

He said: "For me it confirms to all these doubters that I am fit enough to do this," before adding that critics should "leave me alone now and let me get on with it"

Mr Evans also has ambitions to fight in the three countries he has never worked in before - Colombia, Peru and Ecuador.

 

ETA Activity

Police evacuated areas of Málaga, in mainland Spain, last Sunday after Basque terrorist group ETA planted three bombs in and near beach resorts popular with foreign tourists.

Two bombs were planted on a beach near the Tryp Guadalmar Hotel in the city of  and close to a marina in nearby Benalmádena. They exploded around lunchtime, but caused limited damage and no injuries. The third device, hidden on the side of the MA-21 road leading to Málaga airport, was deactivated by police.

Authorities began cordoning off the sites on Sunday morning after Benalmádena fire department received a phone call in the name of ETA giving the location of the devices.

Costa del Sol has been targeted in the past by ETA as part of a summer terror campaign aimed at damaging Spain's tourism industry that the group has carried out with varying degrees of intensity since 1979.

At the end of July, the Basque group detonated bombs in Benalmádena and neighbouring Torremolinos, without causing injuries.

The attacks coincided with Málaga celebrating its annual festival.

The city's mayor, Francisco de la Torre, urged residents and visitors not to do "what the terrorists want" and instead to continue enjoying themselves.

 

Pedestrian Killed

A 78-year-old wheel chair bound woman died after a crash last Monday.

The accident happened at about 20.20 hours on the Rafael Puig street, in the municipality of Arona. She is believed to have been hit by a tourist-driven car. The emergency services were called but, unfortunately, she did not respond to emergency treatment and died shortly afterwards.

 

Los Cristianos
Smoke from a kiosk in Las Vistas

Smoke began to emerge from a kiosk near the beach in Los Cristianos last week. It began to rise above the chiringuito on Las Vistas beach, but the fire brigade was not needed as the fire was extinguished before they arrived.

San Isidro
Improvements to the supply

Entemanser, which operates the water supply in Granadilla de Abona, has completed the installation of a new control valve in the hydraulic network of drinking water in San Isidro. It monitors with great precision, and automatically, the state of the overall supply network. Entemanser optimise the daily supply pressure, to make it uniform at the heart of San Isidro. This system will be controlled via GSM from the central office of Entemanser in Granadilla de Abona.

San Isidro

A man of 39-year-old was injured after overturning his vehicle and it subsequently caught fire.

The accident occurred on the TF-636, San Isidro-Chimiche, in the municipality of Granadilla de Abona.

As a result, the driver suffered a trauma to the chest and another on a lower limb which was less serious, he had to be moved by ambulance to Emergency Canario (SUC) Hospiten South.

Arico
Rehabilitating houses in rural areas

The Canarian Institute of Housing has awarded 40,000 euros to the municipality of Arico for renovating housing in rural areas. The amount of aid will be up to 50% of the total cost of the work, but may not exceed 6,000 euros per beneficiary, covering the cost of construction materials, transportation, machinery rental, contract labour and fees.

 

City Culture

Madrid's city council is proposing a moratorium on public art in the capital's historic centre, citing, among other reasons, "the negative shift in the perception of monuments" and "their inability to become part of the city's memory".

The banalisation of public art, a process that has been underway for decades, says the city arts department, is responsible for this new outlook on things.

A document that this department has sent to the Urban Quality Commission, in charge of the final decision, states that public monuments as a representation of the social collective have lost their strength, and that people no longer appreciate them as they did in the past.

In recent years, several neighbourhood associations have protested new initiatives such as La violetera, a lifelike sculpture of an anonymous violet seller that symbolises 19th-century Madrid.

There was also a well-publicised row in the 1990s over the installation across the city of large lamp post-like structures for publicity purposes, which have always been referred to in a negative fashion as chirimbolos (roughly translated as "thingamajigs").

On the other hand, a new sculpture that was recently installed at the renovated Anton Martin square, titled El abrazo (The Hug) and symbolising amnesty, was well accepted by locals.

Part of the problem, says the city, is the ongoing battle between figurative and abstract art, with the former gradually losing ground.

But ultimately, there is simply a lot of public art out there already.

Madrid has more than 1,000 elements of historical and artistic value, including countless sculptures, 520 fountains, and buildings galore that date as far back as the Middle Ages, such as the churches of San Pedro or San Nicolas de los Servitas, in old Madrid.

The city council is therefore proposing a moratorium on the installation of new monuments in the central area of Madrid known as "the almond," because of its shape.

There is one exception to this guideline, and that is cases in which the Urban Quality Commission feels that a new monument would respond to real social demand and reflect the importance of truly exceptional events.

The paradigm of such a monument, of course, is the tribute to the victims of the 11 March 2004 train bombings at Atocha train station, an 11-metre-high circular structure made of glass that plays with the changing light and was inaugurated in March 2007.

 

3D Holiday Snaps

Computer giants Microsoft have launched digital photo software which will allow users to "walk" or "fly" through their snaps in a 360 degree virtual space.

The innovation, Photosynth, has been inspired by the success of networking and photo sharing sites such as Flickr, Facebook, and Bebo.

After uploading photos, the user can access them in 3D and virtually "walk" through the image, viewing it from any angle and zooming in and out.

Photos taken by different people can be mixed together, no matter what camera was used, when the photos were taken, or whether the images have different resolutions.

Microsoft consider this to be a jump forward in the evolution of digital photography, which has increased in popularity and affordability in recent years.