Málaga man holds up bank to pay off bar bill in his local

bank robber who held up a branch of Unicaja in Málaga City’s El Palo district on Wednesday morning was arrested just minutes later after telling the cashier to inform police when they arrived that he would be waiting for them in a nearby bar.He was found sitting waiting for them in his local when officers arrived and put up no resistance to arrest. The gun he had used for the hold-up, which some reports indicate may have been fake, was confiscated...

French farmers have started attacking fruit shipments from Spain

French farmers have started attacking fruit shipments from Spain in the latest sign that a crisis in Europe's agricultural sector is far from over, farming groups said Thursday.On Tuesday, a truck carrying peaches and nectarines from Spain was attacked by farmers as it tried to cross the border into France. European Union farming lobby Copa-Cogeca said dozens of trucks carrying fruit in recent weeks have been intercepted at a crossing in Boulou en...

Buyers of Spanish property 'need to be aware of exchange rates

Investors who are purchasing a property in Spain - or elsewhere in Europe - could stand to save a substantial amount of money by doing some research into exchange rates.This is the opinion of Tom Highham, director of currencies.co.uk, who told the Telegraph that many people are losing out by failing to look for the best deals."Despite the huge savings that can be made on large currency transactions by using a company such as ours, we're astonished...

Forest fire destroys 150 hectares in Córdoba

forest fire which broke out between Córdoba and Villaviciosa de Córdoba on Wednesday morning destroyed 150 hectares of land before it was brought under control on Thursday morning, after three properties and the local golf club were evacuated as a precaution.The blaze was stabilised...

Spanish film rights society SGAE to perform major overhaul following scandal

Major film and music rights society SGAE will face investigations and a complete overhaul of its structure and policies following allegations of the embezzlement of around €400m in funds intended for film-makers and musicians.At the start of this month, the Madrid-based office of SGAE, a powerful society of authors and editors, was raided by police and the president of the society Teddy Bautista was arrested, along with eight members of the board...

Jose Tomas makes triumphant comeback to bullring in Spain

Spanish bullfighter Jose Tomas made a triumphant comeback to the bullring Saturday, receiving a standing ovation more than a year after a bloody goring in Mexico that almost killed him.The 35-year-old, wearing a purple and gold outfit, offered his first bull of the night, a 502-kilogramme...

Marbella and Estepona mayors demand free toll road use

THE mayors of Marbella and Estepona have joined forces to demand that the Ministry of Public Works do away will the toll on the AP-7 while work is being carried out on the A-7.Angeles Muñoz and Jose Maria Garcia Urbano reiterated their complaints regarding the unannounced change to the speed limit on 41 kilometres of the A-7 (old N-340) between Mijas and Estepona from 100kph to 80kph.The Ministry of Public Works has said that this is to prevent accidents...

Spain Restricts Romanians Job-Market Access to Ease Pressure

The job market has completely changed since 2008, so the government decided to adopt a mechanism that enables it to require that Romanians coming to Spain to work apply for authorization,” Development Minister Jose Blanco told journalists in Madrid today. Approval will only be given to those who have a contract, he said.Spain’s Socialist minority government is battling with a 21 percent unemployment rate that threatens the country’s fragile recovery...

Spanish piracy law draws U.S. investments: minister

Major U.S. and Spanish companies are preparing to invest in online music and movie services in Spain once a controversial new law to fight piracy takes effect next month, the country's culture minister said.Intellectual property watchdogs have targeted Spain as one of the world's largest copyright violators with a piracy rate of nearly 80 percent, and are closely watching the implementation of the new law."There are Spanish companies developing large...

Spanish Banks’ Capital Quest Snares Customers

Maria Pilar Izquierdo put 5,000 euros ($7,186) into bonds that will convert into shares of Banco Santander SA (SAN) next year, leaving her facing potential losses on an investment that helped Spain’s biggest bank bolster its capital.“Let’s just say that relations with my bank branch have become very strained,” said Izquierdo, 38, a local government worker from Zaragoza province who invested money she’d set aside for her son’s First Communion ceremony...

Taxi drivers smoking dope outside Málaga train station

Diario Sur reports that local police in Málaga came across three taxi drivers found smoking hashish at the doors of the city’s train station.It happened during the day, at 6,30pm last Monday, and came after the police mounted a discreet watch having received reports that taxi drivers were smoking ‘maria’.Plain clothed agents from the GEMAC unit took place round the station taxi rank and saw how two drivers got into one vehicle which had its ‘for...

acquitted of the jet ski death of a Benalmadena waitress in the Costa del Sol

A man, 32, has been acquitted of the jet ski death of a Benalmadena waitress in the Costa del Sol. Noelia Perez, 24, was travelling on a jet ski with the man, whose first name is Francisco, when they fell in the sea off the coast of Benalmadena in July 2009.Her family – from the Basque Country - had brought proceedings against him for reckless use of a jet ski.Noelia was at the beach with work colleague Monica and some regular customers of the...

go-ahead to drill off the Costa del Sol

REPSOL has overcome the main hurdle it faced to get the go-ahead to drill off the Costa del Sol since the Environmental Ministry has approved the environmental impact report.Despite the opposition of local businesses, town halls, politicians, fishermen and environmentalists, the company is a step closer to going ahead with the ‘Siroco’ project to drill for gas off Mijas and Fuengirola.The report, which has taken more than a year, concludes that the...

Montpellier snake shock

Malaga police captured two large venomous Montpellier Snakes in Puerto de la Torre and Cerrado de Calderon. Both will be returned to their natural habitat.&nb...

MALAGA doctor has warned of a growing number of sexual assault cases in Puerto Marina (Benalmadena) involving date rape drugs

MALAGA doctor has warned of a growing number of sexual assault cases in Puerto Marina (Benalmadena) involving date rape drugs. Police recommend that people keep watch of their glasses when at bars and discos, and not accept anything from strangers.At a conference at the headquarters of the Andalucia International University, drug addiction specialist Jose Manuel Burgos Moreno warned the drug Scopolamine, which causes submission and amnesia,...

EVERY week, Malaga courts evict around 30 families from their homes in the province

EVERY week, Malaga courts evict around 30 families from their homes in the province, most due to unpaid rent, but an increasing number due to unpaid mortgage payme...

Five Spanish banks fail EU stress test

Eight out of 90 banks across Europe have failed stress tests, the European Banking Authority said today, a slight increase on seven last year.The tests act as a financial healthcheck to ensure banks have sufficient capital to deal with difficult economic developments.All five UK banks covered by the tests passed, the EBA said, with five Spanish, two Greek and one Austrian failing.The stress tests are designed to publicly identify weak banks so national...

Spain launches airport sell-off

The Spanish government Friday took the first step in the partial privatisation of the airport operating authority AENA as well as of the Madrid and Barcelona airports.The government hopes the sale of the airports in Spain's two largest cities will bring in around 5.3 billion euros ($7.5 billion) for the public coffers to help rein in a massive public deficit."The government approved (the launching) of bids for (Madrid's) Barajas and El Prat (in Barcelona)...

Spain is EU country with 2nd-highest number of immigrants

5.6 million foreign nationals, Spain is second only to Germany among European Union nations in numbers of immigrants, according to figures compiled by the European Union's statistics office, Eurostat.The data, from 2010, reveal that there were 5.66 million foreigners, or 12.3 percent of the total population, living in Spain, while Germany's 7.1 million foreign nationals made up 8.7 percent of that country's population.Following Spain was the United...

British couple rescued by Red Cross in Torrevieja

Members of the Alicante Red Cross were called to help a British couple, both in their 70’s, whose private recreational boat had collided with rocks of the breakwater on the Paseo Juan Aparicio in Torrevieja.After the accident which happened on Wednesday at 5pm, two lifesavers from the Red Cross aboard jet skis went to help the couple.They were suffering a nervous crisis but showed no serious injuries. Local reports indicate the boat is still to be...

17 youths face charges for the death of a British man, 49 year old Stephen Alexander Mallon, after a street fight in Cómpeta in June 2009.

First instance and instruction court number 1 in Torrox has opened the process against the 17 youths who are all aged between 18 and 25. They come from Cómpeta and other local villages such as Canillas de Albaida and Árchez.Judge Silvia Coll Carreño, is processing five of the accused on the charge of homicide as in article 138 in the Penal Code, and the others will face charges of causing injury and causing a brawl.Bail has been set at 100,000 €...

The German star Boris Becker is challenging a recent court decision to uphold £246,000 of debts the 43 year old is alleged to owe to the gardener at his luxury Majorcan villa.

 The German star Boris Becker is challenging a recent court decision to uphold £246,000 of debts the 43 year old is alleged to owe to the gardener at his luxury Majorcan villa.Becker is being advised by Spanish Property lawyers to fight the court ruling on a property that has plagued the tennis champion with problems since he bought it back in 1997.Overseas property lawyer defending Becker over cost claimsThe villa in Arta has been on the market...

Charging bulls injure 10 in Spanish fiesta

Half-tonne fighting bulls trampled, dragged, and knocked over runners on a breakneck bull-run in Spain's San Fermin festival Sunday, injuring at least 10 people, officials said.Thousands of thrill-seekers packed around six bulls and six steers racing and often skidding through the winding, cobbled streets of the northern Spanish city Pamplona.Revellers packed overhanging balconies as the beasts bolted 846.6 metres from a holding pen to the city's...

Spanish Mortgage Defaulters Face Debt Nightmare

Inma Rodriguez lost her job, and now that she's defaulted on her mortgage, she's about to lose her home. But the nightmare doesn't end there: Once creditors kick her out, she'll still need to pay back the money she borrowed to buy her house.It's a mortgage anomaly seen in much of Europe, but especially acute these days in Spain, a nation grappling with an economic crisis triggered by the collapse of a real estate bubble. Since the 2008 property crash,...

1 man gored in leg in Spain's running of the bulls

Thrill-seekers high on adrenaline and low on sleep ran alongside huge bulls on the third day at the San Fermin festival in Pamplona on Saturday. Three people were hurt, including a 23-year-old French man who was gored in the leg.The first weekend run is traditionally one of the most crowded of the eight that take place annually in this northern city to honor its patron saint. It featured the massive fighting bulls of the Dolores Aguirre breeding...

HALF-TONNE fighting bull skewered a "reckless" Australian thrill-seeker in the leg inflicting a grave injury in Spain's San Fermin fiesta,

HALF-TONNE fighting bull skewered a "reckless" Australian thrill-seeker in the leg inflicting a grave injury in Spain's San Fermin fiesta, organisers said.The bull turned on the tourist after he taunted the beast, goring his right thigh and tossing him across the sand of the bull...

Annual running of the bulls kicks off in Spain

The first day of the annual running of the bulls in Pamplona on Thursday was a swift race through old town for hundreds of runners trying to stay a step ahead of the raging bulls, but just four runners went to the hospital with injuries, officials said.Commentators on Spanish state...

Spain sold 3 billion euros (2.68 billion pounds) of three- and five-year government bonds on Thursday,

Spain sold 3 billion euros (2.68 billion pounds) of three- and five-year government bonds on Thursday, in a sale which analysts said went well thanks to domestic support offsetting concerns about contagion from renewed pressure on lower-rated euro zone debt.France also sold 8.4 billion euros of 2020, 2021 and 2029 bonds in a well bid auction.Borrowing costs for the five-year Spanish bonds rose by 32 basis points from a previous auction on May 5 to...

A man alleged to have taken part in a terrorist plot to assassinate the King of Spain was arrested this morning in Cambridge.

Armed police detained Eneko Gogeaskoetxea Arronategui at 8.55am, on behalf of the Spanish authorities.The arrest was made by officers from Scotland Yard's extradition unit and the Cambridgeshire force over alleged offences dating back to 1997.Scotland Yard said its officers did not fire any shots, nor were any weapons recovered from the scene of the arrest.Arronategui, 44, is wanted on a European arrest warrant for several offences, the most serious...

A tourist who fell down a hole while hiking in the mountains of southern Spain 18 days ago has been found alive.

A group of mountaineers discovered Mary Anne Goossens, 48, caught among boulders close to the source of the Chillar River, near the resort town of Nerja.Weak, but conscious and able to communicate with rescue services, she was airlifted to a nearby hospital for treatment. Rescue: Mary Anne Goossens, 48, is given a piggy-back after getting trapped among boulders close to the source of the Chillar River, near the resort town of Nerja, in southern SpainMs...

Spanish Banks Tumble

Shares in Portuguese and Spanish banks fell sharply a day after Moody's Investors Service downgraded Portugal's sovereign-debt rating to junk and warned that the country may need another round of aid from the European Union.Shares in Banco Comercial Portugues SA fell more than 5% in Lisbon morning trading, while Banco Esprito Santo SA and Banco BPI SA both were down more than 4%.For Portugal and its banks, the downgrade implied "the materialization...

Telefonica , Europe's largest telecoms firm by market value, continued to lose market share in its home country Spain

Telefonica , Europe's largest telecoms firm by market value, continued to lose market share in its home country Spain in May as cash-strapped customers shopped around for cheaper telecoms.Telefonica, which dominates the mobile market, saw its share in May slip to 41.23 percent from 41.34 percent, as did number 2 player Vodafone which fell to 28.36 percent from 28.6, the latest data from the Telecoms Market Commission showed on Tuesday.Telefonica...

BlackRock has "strong dislike" for Spain's Bankia

BlackRock, the world's largest investor, has given a negative "strong dislike" rating to Spain's Bankia in a blow to the Spanish savings bank and the other cajas planning to raise funds this summer, according to an internal document seen by Financial News. The failure to attract large institutional investors could lead to more bank nationalisations in Spain.The internal document does not specify reasons for its negative view, but acknowledges that...

Running of the bulls: finishing dead last

Every July, bored middle-class Americans, Canadians, Aussies and Europeans with time and money head to Pamplona, Spain, to amuse themselves by running with the bulls. But by the time these tourists go home with hangovers and anecdotes, the bulls who are victims of this exercise in...

la casa encantada (the haunted house) as there have been numerous reports of mysterious voices and strange sounds at the mansion, which is among the best known ‘haunted’ buildings in Spain.

THE Malaga Urban Planning Department has revoked planning permission for a hotel at the Cortijo Jurado, in Campanillas (Malaga). The property is commonly known in Malaga asWork ceased at the site in 2007 when the promoter, Mirador de Campanillas, was embargoed. The planning...

MALAGA is the province most at risk of having organized crime in the region,

MALAGA is the province most at risk of having organized crime in the region, according to the Andalucian High Prosecutor. Malaga is described as the province with persistently high risk and criminal activity linked to extremely serious international activities such as hashish and cocaine smuggling and money laundering.However, the prosecutor points out that the use of violence amongst these groups has dropped while their ‘capacity for corruption’...

Spain’s alternative cannabis economy

The room looks like the office of any small membership organisation: old worn furniture, jammed bookshelves, promotional posters, dented filing cabinets, random boxes of materials that have never been filed. What stands out, though, is the cloying smell of marijuana that permeates the room of the Pannagh Association in the city centre of Bilbao in northern Spain. Pannagh’s president, a young, energetic Martín Barriuso Alonso, brings out the source...