Clayre Burgess opened her salon, Hairy Clayres in Los Belones, just over a year ago and has already established a large, loyal client base. The salon is always busy with both Spanish and English ladies and gentlemen. Clayre has always wanted to do voluntary work, but running a business means that she doesn’t have any spare time to devote to it. So, on occasions, she runs an event to raise awareness of a local charity and she decided to run a ‘Cut-a-Thon’ for MABS Cancer Support Group in Murcia.

Clayre and assistant, Jessica Nelms, opened the salon on 6 May, a day when they are normally closed, and between them completed 25 haircuts, in return for a donation to MABS. The salon was buzzing and many people called in to support the event and have a cup of coffee and a cake.

Local businesses also supported the event: delicious cakes and strawberries dipped in chocolate were made by Antonio, Clayre’s boyfriend and Head Chef at La Manga Owners’ Club, the refreshments were sponsored by H & H Properties, and local florist, Jerens, supplied beautiful, individual cream roses for each client who donated to MABS.

MABS volunteer, Beverly Taylor, was on hand to help greet clients and offer refreshments. The whole day proved to be great fun and was a huge success, raising 450€ for MABS Murcia. “What a great day” commented Beverly. “Clayre and Jess have worked so hard today and we are so grateful to them and everyone who supported this event. All funds raised for MABS Murcia remain here to help people affected by cancer in the Murcia region.” Help and support provided by MABS Murcia includes:

Drivers for hospital appointments

Equipment for nursing in the home – hospital beds, ripple mattresses, etc.

Translators for doctor and hospital appointments

Therapy treatments

Telephone Support

One-to-one, professional counselling

Latest cancer information booklets

Share & Care Support Meetings

 MABS Murcia is a registered charity (No. 7261) offering help and support to local people of all nationalities who have been diagnosed with or are being treated for cancer. If you or someone you know would like some confidential help or support call our HELPLINE693 275 779 or visit their website: www.mabsmurcia.com

In collaboration with Europol, UK, French and German law enforcement  authorities today arrested 18 people suspected of being part of an  organised  illegal immigration network.

In this operation,  Europol, Eurojust, UK Home Office Immigration Enforcement officers, Kent  Police, the Serious Organised Crime Agency  (SOCA), Paris Police in  France and the Federal Police in Germany joined  forces against the  criminal network who were involved in illegally  transporting South Asian  immigrants into the UK.

At around 5am this morning  simultaneous raids  were made involving around 120 immigration and police  officers alone in  the UK.

The criminal network has predominantly assisted Sri  Lankan irregular  migrants’ attempts to reach the UK by smuggling them  mainly in vehicles  through Germany and the French Channel ports. Some  would also travel from  the UK onwards to North America using falsified  documents. It is believed  the irregular migrants were charged around €5000 each to reach the  UK. During the joint operation, 11  suspects were arrested in the UK and 7 in  France.

All the people arrested,  except for one Dutch national, were of Sri  Lankan origin. Computers,  documents, a significant amount of cash and mobile  phones were seized  from a number of addresses and will now be examined.  Documents relating  to various bank accounts that were used to facilitate the  criminal  activity were also seized. During the common action day, Europol  deployed a mobile office to France  and the UK to support the operation  with on-the-spot intelligence analysis.  Moreover, an International  Coordination Centre was set up in the UK to  support and coordinate law  enforcement authorities in the countries where  the arrests took place.

Throughout the investigation, Europol and Eurojust  hosted several  operational meetings and Europol also provided tailored  analytical  support to the investigators.  

THE Coca Cola company have just completed a study that states that there are 350,000 catering establishments in Spain. That means that there is one bar for every 132 inhabitants.

The study then goes on to analyse the relationship between the Spanish and their bars.

In the regions of La Rioja and Extremadura with the ratio is  142 and 124 people for every bar. At the other end of the scale are Murcia and Navarra with 531 and 340 people for every bar.

The study also shows that two-thirds of people know the names of the staff at their local bar and thirty per cent would apparently not hesitate to leave their house keys at the bar because of the trust they have between them.

Furthermore, 84 per cent of those questioned associate the bar with ‘fun, enjoyment and happiness’ and 74 per cent believe it the best place to ‘disconnect’ and to meet friends. Around 64 per cent believe that the bar is part of their Spanish culture.

Some 5 per cent say that they visit the bar at least once per day and 30 per cent visit the bar on several occasions per week. Asked for reasons that they chose a particular bar, 22 per cent said for the food and drink, 21 per cent for the staff and 14 per cent chose an establishment for the prices, particularly now with the financial crisis.

However, since the start of the crisis, 50,000 bars have been forced to close and sales in the catering industry have fallen by 22 per cent since 2008, some €13,100 million less in revenues, and due to this, 76,000 people have lost their jobs.

FLAGS are flying at half mast in Viator, Almeria, after three soldiers died in an explosion at the town's army base. The explosion happened at the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit at the Alvarez de Sotomayor camp in Viator and injured a further two soldiers including a sergeant.

The three bomb disposal experts who were killed have been named and family informed. EOD technician Antonio Navarro Garcia, originally from Cordoba, born in 1967, joined the army in 1987 before becoming sergeant in 1994.

Manuel Velasco Roman from Calvary, Malaga, was married with two children. He was born in 1968 and joined the army in 1986 making sergeant in 1993. Jose Francisco Prieto Gonzalez from Estepona, Malaga, born in 1979, joined the army in 1998 and became sergeant in 2010. All three had served in missions abroad.

An internal investigation is underway but it is believed it may have been caused during the transfer of explosives inside the base.

Spain’s well known department store, El Corte Ingles, is in talks to resolve debt of €5 billion.

El Corte Ingles, one of Spain's largest employers and most venerable retailers, has been hit by the  economic crisis and been forced to cut prices to fight back against cheaper retailers, particularly in the food sector.

In a statement, the store chain said the new debt could take the form of a syndicated loan and could also involve securitising consumer loans from its finance arm.

The department store has long offered consumer financing through its own green store card.

Morgan Stanley is leading the refinancing talks, a financial source said.

The company has €4 billion in credit lines and €1 billion of bonds sold to the department store's own employees, a financial source told Reuters.

Spanish retail sales have been falling every month for almost three years and consumers have flocked to low-cost outlets. The last set of results published by the company, for 2011, showed net profit dropping by a third.

The Association of British Insurers is warning UK holidaymakers heading for Spain to check what medical treatment they are entitled to. Over ten million British holidaymakers visit Spain every year, with an estimated 30 Britains a week needing medical treatment in Spanish hospitals.

All UK travellers to countries in the European Economic Area are entitled to medical treatment provided by the state of that country for free or a reduced cost proving that they have a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). This is free and available from the NHS website or applying through the Post Office.

However, travel insurers are aware of more than100 cases where UK holidaymakers  have been refused state medical treatment in Spain, despite producing their EHIC. In most cases they have been referred instead for expensive private medical treatment.

Residents in Spain are not entitled to use the EHIC.

Often travellers are asked for details of their travel insurance, before they are treated, even though they are entitled to free State medical treatment. This has led to some insurers being billed for treatment that should have been met by the Spanish authorities. In one case a holidaymaker was hospitalised for a month costing €37,000 covered by the EHIC. However, their travel insurer was subsequently invoiced for €63,000 by a debt collection agency working for the Spanish hospital.