Many more Welsh may have battled Franco than was thought, MI5 says

THE clipped scrawl of Britain’s spies in files hidden in a corner of the National Archive records the movements of volunteers ready to fight for Spain’s democracy 75 years ago.But behind the simple collection of names – many of them Welsh – and dates lie heroic tales of lives risked to save a fledgling democracy from the fascism sweeping through Europe.And the newly-released secret documents suggest almost twice as many volunteers from all corners...

POLICE are investigating 1,200 people who bought forged academic diplomas from a 60-year-old Malaga man.

Amongst those charged are members of the Local National Police, Guardia Civil, public administration and hospital staff. Most of the forged diplomas were detected during the entrance process and the holders were expelled from the forces. The fraud worked by word of mouth and the man sold the fake diplomas for more than six years before he was arrested in 2008.So far, approximately 100 people have been charged and a further 80 arrested, but many...

THE former mayor of Benalmadena Enrique Moya has challenged new mayor, Javier Carnero, to itemize the €10m his team claims the PP left unused

THE former mayor of Benalmadena Enrique Moya has challenged new mayor, Javier Carnero, to itemize the €10m his team claims the PP left unused. Carnero, at the head of the PSOE, had claimed that the Partido Popular’s Enrique Moya and his team had left €10m of public grants unused.Moya, however, claims that this is a lie to confuse local residents. He says all public grants have been assigned and used for work which has been carried out in...

Driver faces jail sentence for death of 9 tourists in Malaga

MALAGA Public Prosecutor is asking for four years in prison for the driver who caused an accident in which nine Finnish tourists died in 2008. He is also facing a six-year ban from driving.More than twenty-five other people were seriously injured in the accident when they were travelling in a bus on the A-7 motorway between Benalmadena and Torremolinos on April 19, 2008. The passenger in the car was also injured. Expert reports carried...

Woman dies after falling into San Juan bonfire in A Coruña

22 year old woman from Brazil died in the San Juan celebrations in A Coruña on Thursday night after falling into a bonfire which she had lit with some friends in the Labañou area of the city.Protección Civil said she was jumping over the fire, which was described of being of a small size, when she fell into another fire which was more than three metres tall, and ‘there was no way to pull her out’. From Brazil, she had been living in A Coruña for...

The cabinet has decided not to extend the measure which had cut the speed limit to 110km/h last March

The cabinet has decided today, Friday, to return the maximum speed on Spanish motorways to 120km/h from July 1, despite reports in the press that it will cost 600,000 € to do so.Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Interior, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, said that cabinet had decided not to extend the limit on speed as ‘the measure no longer made sense’.In the press conference after the cabinet meeting he underlined however that the ‘the measure...

Spanish authorities have rescued 54 migrants trying to reach the southern coast of the country in a crowded boat.

Spanish authorities have rescued 54 migrants trying to reach the southern coast of the country in a crowded boat.The Maritime Rescue service said one of the travelers rescued Thursday off the southern city of Motril says up to seven others are missing, including a baby. But the official said this is not confirmed, because a phone call from Morocco alerting Spanish authorities of the boat said there were 54 people aboard.Every year thousands of poor...

A British woman who fell into a coma while on holiday in Spain has died.

47-year-old Jill Tyson, from Colwyn Bay in Wales, arrived on the Spanish island of Majorca on Saturday for a short holiday with friends at the resort of Magaluf.Within just a few hours of stepping off the plane, she began suffering convulsions, and was rushed to hospital, where she slipped into unconsciousness.Because Ms Tyson had a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), she was eligible for emergency medical treatment, but her family's hopes to...

A Spanish Bank’s Tax Problem

“I do not comment on legal issues,” stated Emilio Botin, chairman of Banco Santander SA during the annual shareholders meeting in the northern city of Santander, Spain, on June 17. Botin was clearly not interested in discussing the tax fraud and forgery investigation opened against him and 11 members of his family. Instead, he stuck to reporting that Santander’s profits are the third highest of all global banks. The origin of the investigation...

Spanish prosecutors are investigating 849 cases of newborn children stolen from their mothers and sold to other families for profit

Spanish prosecutors are investigating 849 cases of newborn children stolen from their mothers and sold to other families for profit, the country's attorney general said Friday.Candido Conde-Pumpido said 162 cases had already been referred for trial and only 38 have been dropped for a lack of evidence.It is well documented that babies were taken from women who had supported the defeated Republican side after Spain's 1936-39 civil war. However, some...

Spain's Bad Loans Hit 16-Year High

Spain's central bank Friday said bad debt at the country's commercial banks soared in April to the worst level in 16 years, a sign that a three-year property bust that's hit developers and households is hurting the financial sector even as Spanish economic growth recovers modestly.As a percentage of total credit, Spanish non-performing loans rose in April to 6.4%, the highest reading since June 1995, from 6.1% in March.The increase came even as total...

Dozens saved in Torremolinos blaze drama

THREE young local ‘heroes’ are being praised by residents after their swift action may have saved their lives. A fire which broke out at a Torremolinos apartment injured its three occupants, but dozens escaped unhurt after the heroes risked their lives to help evacuate the building.The three men,  Fouad, Mohammad and Antonio, were returning from a night out in the early hours of Wednesday morning when they spotted flames and smoke billowing...

Hundreds of thousands of Britons have lost money on illegal or unfinished homes in Spain. Will attempts by the British government to help them prove successful?

Last month when the Spanish government organised a property road show in the UK, attempting to lure Britons to invest in its saturated housing market, it was greeted with derision and angry public demonstrations. What did it honestly expect?There are no easy solutions to Spain’s property scandal, which has affected hundreds of thousands of Britons who have either been duped into buying illegally built homes, affected by land grabs and retrospective...

Banco Santander SA's Chairman Emilio Botín Spanish Boss Faces Tax-Fraud Allegations

Spain's National Court on Thursday said it is investigating tax fraud allegations against Banco Santander SA's Chairman Emilio Botín and nine other members of the influential Botín family, including Ana Patricia Botín, head of Santander's U.K. operation.In a press release, the Madrid-based court said anticorruption prosecutors claim French authorities alerted Spain's tax revenue service about several Spanish clients of HSBC Holding PLC's Swiss private...

Spain protesters clash with police in Barcelona

2,000 demonstrators angry about planned budget cuts in education and health clashed with police outside a regional parliament in Spain on Wednesday. There were reports of 36 injuries.Some politicians could only reach Catalonia's parliament using police helicopters. Scuffles broke out when police pushed back protesters so other lawmakers arriving on foot could get in.The politicians were heckled and at least two were sprayed with paint, a police spokeswoman...

José Ortega Cano's blood to be tested for drugs and alcohol

Instruction Court No. 9 in Seville has ordered an analysis of blood samples which was taken from the retired bullfighter, José Ortega Cano, after the fatal traffic accident on May 28 which killed another driver, Carlos Parra.The blood was taken for medical reasons by doctors at the Virgen Macarena Hospital in Seville, where Ortega Cano was admitted after the accident. The judge then ordered that the samples be kept there for future analysis and it’s...

Vélez Málaga tram company threatens to end the service next month

The company which runs the local tram service in Vélez Málaga has said it will stop the service if, by Thursday July 7, it has not been paid the 2 million € it is owed by the Town Hall.El Mundo reports that Travelsa has also announced that it will present a layoff plan next week if the money is not urgently paid.La Opinión de Málaga meanwhile reports that the new Partido Popular Mayor of Vélez, Francisco Delgado Bonilla, has said he will demand that...

October trial for four accused in Marta del Castillo case

The trial for the rape and murder of Marta del Castillo, the 17 year old girl who disappeared in Sevilla in January 2009, will commence on October 17 at Section 7 of the provincial court in Sevilla.The proceedings are expected to last through until November 30, with a total of 20 court sessions over that period.Four adults are charged in the case, and will be tried by a panel of professional judges: Miguel Carcaño, Marta’s self-confessed murderer...

Two immigrant boats intercepted off Spain's southern coast

A patera boat with 39 adult passengers from Sub-Saharan Africa on board, including two women, was intercepted off the Granada coast on Tuesday afternoon, some 35 miles to the south of Motril.They were rescued by the Coastguard boat, the ‘Salvamar Hamal’, and reached port in Motril at around 8.30 on Tuesday evening, where they were attended by volunteers from the Cruz Roja organisation.It’s understood that none of the group required hospital treatment.Another...

New suspects called to declare in court in Estepona's Astapa case

The judge at Instruction Court No. 1 in Estepona has, this Wednesday, called another 21 people to declare as suspects in the Astapa corruption investigation centred around Estepona Town Hall.No names have yet been released, but it’s understood from Europa Press that the crimes under investigation are misappropriation, perversion of the course of justice, bribery and falsifying documents.It brings the number of suspects in the case up to 94.The case...

Spanish police have arrested three suspected computer hackers who allegedly belonged to a loose-knit international activist group that attacked corporate and government websites around the world

Spanish police have arrested three suspected computer hackers who allegedly belonged to a loose-knit international activist group that attacked corporate and government websites around the world, authorities said Friday.National Police identified the three as leaders of the Spanish section of a group that calls itself "Anonymous." All three are Spaniards aged 30 to 32, said Manuel Vazquez, chief of the police's high-tech crime unit.A computer server...

Small village in Spain turns blue in preparation for world movie premiere

Out of the blue, the tiny, traditional village of Juzcar, a pueblo blanco in the Genel Valley in Andalucía has found sudden fame as Sony’s chosen venue for hosting the world premiere of The Smurfs 3D. But becoming the blue-eyed boy of the valley has come at a price. To satisfy the forthcoming invasion of tiny smurfs, known as pitufos in Spanish, the dazzling white village of Juzcar, including its historic church has had to turn-literally- blue.In...

Spain Chooses This Year’s Best Olive Oils

In its latest effort to encourage Spanish olive oil producers to strive for the highest quality, the Ministry of Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs presented three companies the “Best Olive Oil in Spain” award for the 2010-2011 campaign Wednesday in Córdoba.The ceremony, attended by government officials, olive oil industry professionals and the press, coincided with the Beyond Extra Virgin conference. The judges for the awards consisted of...

number of radar fines issued for speeding on Spanish motorways went up by 8%

number of radar fines issued for speeding on Spanish motorways went up by 8% in the last week of May, compared with figures for that week of 2010, after the decrease of 50% which was seen after the first month of the new 110 kph speed limit.The news was given at a press conference on Thursday by Pepe Navarro, General Director of the DGT Traffic Authority, and Justo Zambrana, Sub-Secretary at the Interior Ministry. Both felt that the figures may show...

Spanish police and anti-corruption protesters clashed in the Spanish city of Valencia Thursday, injuring 12 people and leading to five arrests,

Spanish police and anti-corruption protesters clashed in the Spanish city of Valencia Thursday, injuring 12 people and leading to five arrests, officials said.Hundreds of demonstrators decrying political corruption, the economic crisis and soaring unemployment had gathered Wednesday night outside the regional parliament, which was to elect its president on Thursday after regional elections on May 22."Throw the corrupt out of our institutions," read...

Spanish farmers hand out tons of produce to draw attention to their plight, restore confidence

They handed out tiny cherry tomatoes and heavy watermelons, sweet apricots and crisp peppers, purple eggplants and white potatoes — the entire rainbow of Spain’s farm bounty.Spanish farmers whose revenue has been devastated by the deadly E. coli outbreak gave away an estimated 40 tons of produce Wednesday to draw attention to their plight.Hundreds of people lined up under a hot sun to edge past tables brimming with produce from all over Spain. They...

The socioeconomic effect of asbestos cancer in Southern Spain

An epidemiological study conducted at the Puerta del Mar Hospital in Cadiz, Spain has concluded that aside from tobacco, asbestos is a primary factor in the area’s high cancer death rate. Asbestos is a highly toxic mineral fiber that was used regularly throughout the 20th century in the manufacture of automobile parts and construction materials. Its use has since been banned in Spain and in most first world nations, but asbestos-containing materials...

Peterborough United's chairman, Darragh MacAnthony, is the subject of a €600,000 (£535,000) fraud claim in a Madrid court.

 The case relates to allegations that MacAnthony withheld funds paid to his firm, MacAnthony Realty International, for buying furniture without delivering the goods."I have never broken the law, committed fraud or any crime, nor have I ever been spoken to by the SFO [Serious Fraud Office] or arrested," MacAnthony wrote on his blog in response to the claim. MacAnthony said Antonio Flores, the English-trained Spanish lawyer who is representing...

Campo de Gibraltar sex gang rounded up

Police have broken up a huge prostitution ring in the Campo de Gibraltar.A total of 15 men – all Romanians – were arrested for allegedly forcing young women to work in brothels.In a series of raids – dubbed ‘Operation Damas’ – officers interviewed dozens of women apparently abused...

Over the past days Germany first pointed a finger at Spanish cucumbers, then at local sprouts, before backtracking on both.

European Union health chief on Tuesday warned Germany against premature - and inaccurate - conclusions on the source of contaminated food that have spread fear all over Europe and cost farmers in exports.EU Health Commissioner John Dalli told the EU parliament in Strasbourg that such public information must be scientifically sound and foolproof before it becomes public.EU farm ministers are convening in an emergency meeting in Luxembourg later Tuesday...

Deadly E. Coli Outbreak Linked to German Sprouts

Local German officials said Sunday that they had evidence that tainted domestic sprouts had caused the deadly E. coli outbreak that has afflicted Germany and unnerved fresh-produce markets throughout Europe, and they shut down the farm in the northern part of the country where the sprouts were grown.Enlarge This ImagePhilipp Schulze/European Pressphoto AgencyMembers of the news media and the police arrived Sunday at a northern German farm that has...

There's No Money To Pay 70,000 Employees In The Castilla-La Mancha Region Of Spain

The central Spanish region of Castilla-La Mancha is “totally bankrupt”, according to the incoming administration of the rightwing Popular party (PP), an accusation that will deepen concerns about Spain’s budget deficit.The claim has prompted angry denials from the Socialist government.Spain’s 17 autonomous regions and its more than 8,000 municipalities, with €150bn ($220bn) of accumulated debt between them, have become the latest worry for investors...

German-grown bean sprouts are the most likely cause of the deadly E.coli outbreak

The admission is hugely embarrassing for Germany, which had previously blamed Spanish cucumbers for the bug.Beansprouts are a common ingredient in salads and stir frys, but have previously been blamed for major health scares. They were held responsible for a serious outbreak of Salmonella in Britain last year and 17 E.coli-related deaths in Japan in 1996.On Sunday evening, Gert Lindemann, agriculture minister in the northern state of Lower-Saxony,...

Spain arrests Moroccan on accusations of terror recruitment from Canary Islands

Spanish police have arrested a Moroccan citizen in the Canary Islands on accusations he that he tried to recruit teenagers to become terrorists via the Internet and in clandestine meetings.Spain's Interior Ministry says Imad El Mouahhid, 25, was taken into custody in the small city of San Bartolome de Tirajana on the island of Gran Canaria by authorities after a three-year investigation.A ministry statement Wednesday said the probe found he had been...

Spain threatened Wednesday to sue Hamburg for damages after the German city pointed to Spanish cucumbers as the source of a fatal outbreak of E.coli.

Hamburg health authorities admitted Tuesday that tests on two suspect Spanish cucumbers showed they did not carry the bacteria strain that has killed 15 people in Germany and one in Sweden."We do not rule out taking action against the authorities who called into question the quality of our products," Deputy Prime Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba told Spanish radio Cadena Ser."We may take action against the authorities, in this case Hamburg," the...

King and Queen attend military tribute in Malaga

Thousands turned out this weekend to witness the numerous events that formed part of the Armed Forces Day celebrations in the city of Malaga.On Sunday some 50,000 people crowded into the Paseo de Parque for the final part of the celebrations which was attended by King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía as well as the Prince and Princess of Asturias and Defence Minister Carme Chacón, among other authorities. Some 250 servicemen and women from the three armed...