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Wednesday
10 March, 2010
Edition #3061
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IN TODAY´S BULLETIN
After the gales comes the Big Freeze
Socialist MP is new Speaker as Antich strikes deal with "sacked" Majorcan Unionists
Michael Douglas backs campaign to save the blue fin tuna as crunch meeiting looms in Doha this weekend
Balearics travel industry to present Lords with offical demand for a dedicated Minister for Tourism today
WHAT'S ON: Jazx concert by the group Just4Fun at Palma's Theatre Principal.
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WATCH THE BEST TEAMS IN SPAIN AND CHEER ON REAL MALLORCA
Well now is your opportunity. "The Bulletin" has teamed-up with Real Mallorca and is offering you the chance to see the best football teams in the country at the ONO STADIUM in Palma. For 215 euros (for men) 155 euros (for women) from the South Stand YOU CAN SEE ALL of Mallorca's remaining home matches in Palma (see list below) and we will also give you a commemorative Mallorca scarf and flag so you can support your team.
21 st March 2010 - R.C.D. Mallorca - At. de Madrid
28 th March 2010 - R.C.D. Mallorca - F.C. Barcelona
11 th April 2010 - R.C.D. Mallorca - Valencia
18 th April 2010 - R.C.D. Mallorca - Osasuna
25 th April 2010 - R.C.D. Mallorca - Málaga
5th May 2010 - R.C.D. Mallorca - Real Madrid
16 th May 2010 - R.C.D. Mallorca - Espanyol
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Let us make your holiday EXTRA special with HOLIDAY WHAT´S ON
Number of What's On inquiries processed:305 and keep them coming!
Are you planning to come on holiday to Majorca this year? Let us at the Bulletin help you get the most from your holiday. Just send us the dates of your holiday and we will email you all the events which are taking place during that period; from markets to concerts and traditional fairs Majorca has plenty happening and now you will be able to get advance notice.
The Holiday What´s On is an exclusive service to Bulletin online readers.
SEND ALL REQUESTS TO THE FOLLOWING EMAIL:
EDITORIAL@MAJORCADAILYBULLETIN.ES
Would you like our What's On Calendar for the year?
Don't forget you can also follow us on our new facebook under Daily Bulletin Whats on
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OTHER NEWS
Ministry for Tourism reneges on deal throwing the future of the Majorca Film Festival into doubt
By Humphrey Carter
PALMA
HOLLYWOOD actor, Soller resident and backer of the first International Majorca Film Festival due to be held on the island next year, Colm Meaney, returned to the UK to continue filming his latest project yesterday an angry man after the Balearic government reneged on a three-year deal to help fund the most ambitious and professional film festival to have ever been held on the island.
The Majorca-based film director David Carreras is the director of the festival and yesterday he told the Bulletin that the situation is “quite unbelievable.”
“We signed a collective agreement with the government, which they drew up, back in October and it was legally approved by all the necessary bodies.
“However, since then they have not given us a cent of the 600'000 euros they were committed to investing into the festival this year.
“Their contribution was 30 percent of the whole budget, the rest has come from private investors including ourselves who have taken out private loans.
“I’ve put twenty years of hard work into this and we’ve already begun promoting the event. It was the main attraction with Colm Meany and the Italian actress Maria Grazia Cucinata at the World Travel Market and I moved heaven and earth to organise a VIPreception and presentation to top international producers, distributors and actors etc at the Berlin Film Festival. But, all that has so far been paid for by us and without the government’s money, the future of the festival is back up in the air unless we can reach a deal with the Ministry for Tourism or find some private investors to fill the gap,” he said yesterday.
Carreras will decide on Thursday if the MAIFFwill take legal action against the government for breaking a legally binding agreement.
“The Ministry for Tourism now tells us that the agreement was drawn up incorrectly. Well they drew it up, so let’s sit down and resolve the issue.
“Not only have they made a mockery of all the professionals involved like myself and Meaney, who really can’t believe what’s happened, the Spanish Film Academy, the Majorcan Hotel Association, The Majorcan Tourist Board, the Chamber of Commerce, Spanish and international film distributors and producers have already signed up and pledged their commitment, the government’s made us look pretty stupid,” he said.
“I just can’t get my head round it. The government says it wants ideas and events to change the island’s image, bring in investment, help boost the local film industry, decentralize the tourist industry and increase Majorca’s international profile.
“Well the film festival ticks all those boxes and they know it, they couldn’t believe their luck when we first put our idea on the table and they’ve wasted no time over the past five months in cashing in on our promotional events which have so far been paid for by us,” he stressed.
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Miliband defends Ashton for not attending the EU Defence Ministers’ summit in Palma
STAFF REPORTER
PALMA
BRITAIN’S newly appointed European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has come under heavy criticism over the past few months, more recently for failing to have immediately visited Haiti in the wake of the earthquake and then for not attending the EU Defence Ministers’ summit here in Palma which she was expected to have come to.
However, over the weekend, David Miliband, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs leapt to Ashton’s defence during a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Cordoba.
Miliband defended Ashton from criticism from fellow EU members who attacked her for missing an EU Defence Ministers’ gathering in Palma and for planning to skip an EU-Morocco summit over the weekend in Granada.
She eventually attended.
Both decisions offended Spain, which as the EU’s rotating presidency was tasked to chair the two meetings, and drew further fire from France, which had already chastised Ashton for not going to Haiti immediately after the January 12 quake - she visited on Wednesday.
“I don’t recognise those criticisms and I don’t support them at all,” Miliband said in Cordoba.
He stressed that Ashton was right to go to Kiev instead of Palma as EU foreign ministers had stressed in their last meeting that “Ukraine was a priority”.
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Interview
“I disagree that we are required to make major defence cuts”
BARONESS Ann Taylor, British Minister for International Defence & Security attended the summit European Defence Ministers in Palma this month. Here she answers the Bulletin´s questions on the outcome of the summit.
1. How important is the Palma conference for Britain and do you feel that there is a possibility of useful accords?
“The conference in Palma is one of the key opportunities for countries to get together, receive updates, discuss and make decisions on a range of defence-related issues affecting us all. These meetings rotate every six months with the EU Presidency and it was useful and informative to attend the meeting, and a bonus that it was held in the beautiful city of Palma.”
2. Is a joint European Defence strategy now a real possibility, especially as Britain has signalled that it would like to see greater co-operation between European states on defence issues.
“The UK Ministry of Defence recently published a consultative document entitled ‘Adaptability and Partnership: Issues for the Strategic Defence Review’. This asks a number of important and difficult questions that will need to be answered as part of the Strategic Defence Review, which all political parties have agreed to undertake after the General Election. It sets out our perspective on a changing world and a range of threats that we and others face.. As the paper points out, we are unlikely to undertake future operations, other than small scale evacuations or defence of our overseas territories, without Allies and Partners. Through working with other European nations we can ensure the security on our own continent and build a Europe capable of helping deliver security world wide.”
3. The British government is under pressure to make major defence cuts. Are European projects such as the Eurofighter or the Joint Transport Aircraft under threat? Do you accept that some major British military projects need to be curtailed in the light of the present financial situation?
“I disagree that we are required to make major defence cuts – the details of the Comprehensive Spending Review will not be known for some time. I do accept that we have financial difficulties brought about by a combination of the global financial crisis, operational commitments, rising complexity of defence equipment and costs incurred by ‘running-on’ legacy equipment when procurement programmes are delayed. These factors are all recognised and there is significant and important ongoing work to align our capability requirements with a clearer understanding of what is affordable and what is consistent with future challenges and threats.”
4. Do you think that other European nations should commit more troops to Afghanistan?
“It is not for the UK to tell other nations how many troops they should commit to any conflict. Burden sharing is an important part of the mission in Afghanistan and there are 44 nations contributing to the effort under a UN Resolution. We are pleased that many European partners are making a significant contribution. 25 nations of the EU are contributing to the NATO led mission in Afghanistan and we are working with our European partners in other conflicts and operations around the world. We continue to work with our partners to ensure that the international community can meet the challenges it faces. It is also important to recognise the contribution made by non-combat troops in Afghanistan, who perform a vital role providing governance and development, building on the security space cleared by combat troops, to help enable Afghanistan to become a sustainable and safe nation.”
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British-born Calvia Councilllor given key role in the future of new look Partido Popular
By Humphrey Carter
PALMA
JOSE Ramon Bauza swept to power as the new leader of the opposition centre right Partido Popular on Saturday night after winning 69.17 percent of the support of his party members against the 31.83 percent who voted for his opponent, the Mayor of Calvia Carlos Delgado and the British-born Calvia Councillor for Tourism and Foreign Affairs, Kate Mentink, has been given a key role in the future of the new PP regime.
Mentink, who became a Spanish national just over ten years ago, was voted on to the 21-strong regional executive of the PP during Saturday night’s convention and over the next few days will discover exactly what her portfolio is going to be.
“I got the call on Thursday, asked for a day to think about it and discuss it with my husband before accepting the nomination,” she told the Bulletin last night.
“I’m very pleased. Pleased for Bauza, the party and for my new post.
“First, Bauza is going to have to create his 10-strong chief executive, party general secretaries, spokespeople and vice presidents and the like and then he will decide who is going to be responsible for what on the regional executive.
“In conversations I’ve had with him recently, I’ve stressed that my professional background is very much tourism and the hotel industry but also that I’ve been responsible for foreign affairs on Calvia Council, but we’ll see what he has planned,” Mentink said.
But, not only does the appointment signify an important political promotion for Mentink, she believes that the election of Bauza is also the beginning of significant change for the PP.
“He’s very hard working, very polite and young thinking and very well educated. He has an open and broad mind. He was actually born in Madrid but came here when he was very young. He’s travelled a great deal and speaks fluent French and very good English.
“In fact, at the Casino rally last week, he gave part of his address in English once he realised that there were a sizeable number of non-Spanish speaking people in the audience.
“As a result of this, Ithink he is going to want to seriously and genuinely engage with the European and non-Spanish speaking communities which nowadays account for 25 percent of the vote,” explained Mentink. “He’s also a very good negotiator and I think that is why he enjoyed such a convincing win. He was able to negotiate with all the right factions of the PP during the campaign,” she added.
But, Mentink did admit that there is going to be no honeymoon for any one on the new chief and regional executives of the PP.
“Bauza’s made it clear over the past few days in the papers that he’s in no rush to return to power but, considering the tension and ill will on Palma City Council, where the Socialist-led coalition is in a minority I do feel that the PP may make its move sooner or later. With regards to the Council of Majorca, where the coalition is in a similar situation, we’ll have to wait and see although when it comes to the government, I think he’ll sit it out and wait for the elections next year.
“It’s not the right climate for elections and I think the citizens would just like to see the politicians getting their heads down and trying to resolve the economic and employment problems the region has and getting tourism back on its feet,” Mentink said last night.
However, with a general election just a year away, as a member of the regional executive, Mentink is going to have an important role to play in the campaign and future decisions taken by the PP.
“It’s a four year post, so win or lose, there’s going to be plenty of work for the regional executive to do before and after the elections,” she added.
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