Venezuela arrests Colombian drug kingpin

 The arrest of Maximiliano Bonilla-Orozco at his home in Venezuela's third largest city of Valencia on Sunday was announced, perhaps not coincidentally, during a visit by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. After a five-hour meeting at the presidential palace, Santos thanked Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez for the "welcome gift" of capturing "a very high-value" drug trafficker "who has caused terrible damage to our country." Venezuelan...

Marvel character, Erik Lensherr a.k.a. Magneto, has apparently infringed the copyright of the King of Spain

Marvel character, Erik Lensherr a.k.a. Magneto, has apparently infringed the copyright of the King of Spain in Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, with the Zarzuela Palace claiming the X-Men villain's alternate costume is identical to the military uniform worn by King Juan Carlos.Representitives...

eurozone and UK economies lurch towards a renewed recession

eurozone and UK economies lurch towards a renewed recession, the US recovery has surpassed expectations and appears to be firming for now. The decoupling of the US from Europe is good news for global growth and points to the fact that the two regions have pursued very different fiscal policies over the past year. European nations have been forced to step on the spending brakes to control debt, while the US has been able to delay the switch from stimulus...

500 vehicles per year are abandoned at car repair shops

500 vehicles per year are abandoned at car repair shops in Almeria province.The owners leave them for repair and then abandon them when they are unable to pay the bills.Mechanics say that this has always happened, but more so in the past few years, and in 2009, almost 1,000 vehicles were abandoned at garages in the province.They report losses that year alone of more than €2m because of what the unpaid repairs cost them.However, the following year,...

Spain must help herself

Following the pressure on the Spanish debt on Thursday, the Spanish Prime Minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, called for more help from the European Central Bank to buy Spanish bonds. But today Brussels has responded by saying, ‘Spain must help herself’. The community economic spokesman said ‘We’ve been saying this for some time’, although he added that the European institutions are already doing what is needed to help countries in danger. P.P....

victim was having sex with her husband at the time she fell.

There has been another case of balconing in Spain, this time in Adeje, Tenerife, and with the twist that the victim was having sex with her husband at the time she fell. The British tourist who fell several metres then got her ankle caught between the bars of an internal staircase was left hanging there, head down and totally naked until the emergency crews arrived. 49 year old A.M.A.M. had been having sex with her husband against the railings on...

Four people from the same family, one of them a six year old boy, have died in a flash flood in Castellón.

 They were washed away in their car in the heavy rain on Sunday when the small river, Rio Seco, in Onda burst its banks.  The Government Sub-Delegate reports that it happened at about 5,30pm, but the car was not found until just before 7pm. Those to die were trapped inside the vehicle which was covered completely by the water. The dead were the 42 year old father who was driving the car, his six year old son, his 81 year old father and...

U.K. tax falls on overseas property investors

 Overseas property owners based in the UK are about to be targeted by a new HM Revenue & Customs "affluent unit", which has been set up by the British government to address what it sees as tax avoidance by the rich.Photo 20minutos.es What next I wonder?? A new team of 200 taxation investigators and specialists has been established by HMRC to identify wealthy individuals who, amongst other things, own land and property abroad … such...

Toxic Smoke fills Hotel Senator in Marbella

 On Friday the 18th November 2011 our family with a 3 year old toddler and a 15 month old baby checked into the SENATOR Hotel in Marbella for a one night stay. We knew that the Hotel SENATOR had only recently opened and indeed everything seemed brand new and glitzy. After the usual check in fomalities we finally got to our room on the 4th floor which was OK in every respect other than perhaps being a little on the small side. After returning...

The Government blames the judges for the Málaga drugs theft

 300 kilos of cocaine was taken from a warehouse in Málaga portPhoto EFE Government sub-delegate for Málaga, Hilario Lopez Luna, has blamed the judges for the theft of 300 kilos of embargoed cocaine from a warehouse in Málaga port. He said that despite requests being made for authorisation to destroy the drugs, that permission had not arrived from the judges, and that was why there was so much drugs being stored. He said that the drugs taken...

20 arrested for sexual exploitation of women

 The case started with the arrest of a mother in Vélez-Málaga who obliged her children to prostitute themselvesTwo groups which dedicated their time to the sexual abuse and exploitation of women have been broken up by Spanish police. The case resulted from a police investigation in Vélez-Málaga into two children who were obliged to prostitute themselves by their mother. A total of 20 arrests have been made in Málaga, Girona and Madrid, including...

British woman falls off hotel balcony when having sex

 There has been another case of balconing in Spain, this time in Adeje, Tenerife, and with the twist that the victim was having sex with her husband at the time she fell. The British tourist who fell several metres then got her ankle caught between the bars of an internal staircase was left hanging there, head down and totally naked until the emergency crews arrived. 49 year old A.M.A.M. had been having sex with her husband against the railings...

traders bet that Spain would follow Italy into bail-out territory.

traders bet that Spain would follow Italy into "bail-out territory." French bank Societe Generale said: "Spain is now joining Italy on the radar screen". Warren Buffett, the US investor, said bond markets were displaying a "partial run on Europe." British borrowing costs fell to just 2.2pc. Michel Barnier, the EU markets commissioner, said he wanted to ban credit rating agencies from rating bonds from bailed-out countries. He told French radio that...

The King of Spain’s son-in-law was at the centre of a corruption storm today as he came under investigation for siphoning off public money.

Inaki Urdangarin - the husband of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia's youngest daughter Infanta Cristina - is suspected of misappropriating cash paid into an NGO.The former handball player now faces a possible interrogation by investigating judge Jose Castro  and risks causing...

A Romanian man wanted for murder and robbery in Portugal has been arrested in Torre del Mar.

27 year old from Romania escaped to Spain after he was sentenced for the death of a woman who was killed in Portugal in 2005EFE archive Named by El Mundo newspaper as 27 year old Ioan R., he fled to Spain after a Portuguese court sentenced him to 15 and a half years in prison...

British investment fund has chosen Paterna in Valencia to invest 500 million € in a new commercial centre.

A model of the Puerto Ademuz centre - Eurofund InvestmentsA British investment fund has chosen Paterna in Valencia to invest 500 million € in a new commercial centre. The investment will be 200 million € higher than that given the money spent by the companies which take up home in...

Surprise judgement in fraud trial for Cádiz businessman who faked his own death

 The provincial court in Cádiz has found the bank to be at fault in the case of a man charged with fraud for a 30,000 € loan obtained from Bankinter. He used his wife as guarantor without her knowledge, and also used a power of attorney which had been signed by his wife in his favour, but hid the fact that it had been cancelled. The court considered in a ruling made public this Thursday that the bank was negligent in failing to make any checks...

Nigerian scam case deflates in Málaga

 Nilo Case has reached court in Málaga, judging the largest ever swindle carried out mostly by Nigerians who sent out letters to try and capture their victims. Under the scam thousands of letters were sent from Málaga around the world, informing their recipients that they had won a prize in the Spanish lottery, and calling for them to pay a management fee so they could receive their winnings. There are 247 known victims of the fraud from Belgium...

The Civil Guard have asked for help from the public in identifying a body

The unidentified man - EFEThe Civil Guard have asked for help from the public in identifying a body which was found floating in the waters of Tarragona Port at the end of October.The deceased is a man aged between 55 and 65, 1.60 metres tall, with short greying hair and a beard....

Hundreds of foreign residents could lose their homes after mortgage scam in Spain

 A group of some twenty foreign residents of the Costa del Sol have denounced a fraud under which they could lose their homes. They have formed a platform to denounce a mortgage fraud which had the objective of getting large amounts of money which was then invested in financial havens such as Luxembourg or the Channel Islands. There were foreign victims, mostly all retired, along the entire Spanish coastline and on the islands, from the Costa...

Man decapitates his daughter in Girona saying the devil ordered him to kill her

 Latin American man was arrested at his home in Girona on Thursday morning after telephoning emergency services to say he had killed his two year old daughter. His other daughter, aged six, was found with him at the family home on Calle Oviedo unhurt. She is understood to have been watching television when it happened. Her sister’s decapitated body was found lying on the bed when a medical team arrived at the property with police. The father...

Civil Guard have arrested 18 members of a drugs network which had its main base in Bilbao

Some of the drugs recovered. Photo - Civil GuardThe Civil Guard have arrested 18 members of a drugs network which had its main base in Bilbao and smuggled cocaine into the country from Colombia for sale on the Canary Islands.They used drug mules to bring the cocaine into Spain on...

Three brothers from hell

 These are the three brothers from hell -- two killers and one a suspected hitman. Two of the men, Eric and Keith Wilson from Ballyfermot in Dublin, are now suspected of being involved in over ten gun murders between them. Keith Wilson (23) was today beginning a life term in jail for the gangland execution of hitman-for-hire Daniel Gaynor in August, 2010. His brother Eric 'Lucky' Wilson (27) is serving 23 years in a Spanish prison for the...

former mayor of La Viñuela, Juan Millan, has voluntarily entered Alhaurin de la Torre prison to serve sentences for urban planning corruption.

  Several months ago, his defence lawyers reached an agreement with Malaga Public Prosecutor and the ex-mayor pleaded guilty to 12 charges of crimes against territorial planning. The sentence was nine months in prison and a ten-year ban from holding public office for each of the charges, but the law establishes that with related crimes, the maximum time served will be the triple of the longest sentence imposed. Therefore, Juan Millan is...

Farmer dies after being attacked by jabalí

 A farmer has died in Guadassuar, Tous, in Valencia after being attacked by a jabalí wild boar. Reports say the 60 year old man was working in his own orange grove when he was surprised by the beast. Miguel E. suffered injuries in the groin and was found with his blood over his hands and face according to witnesses who said it looked like he tried to defend himself from the attack. It happened last Saturday morning. Tous is a municipality...

National Police arrest Local Policeman in Marbella

 National police arrested a member of the Marbella Local Police force who was found shoplifting in a local commercial centre on Saturday. The man had tried to take a camera from the store. Municipal sources say the agent has already handed in his plaque and pistol, and is being suspended from his post without pay. Marbella Town Hall said they lamented the incident which they described as ‘totally isolate...

Juan Antonio Roca, the ex Municipal Real Estate Assessor, at the centre of the allegations, has moved on to the most interesting phase

Juan Antonio Roca - EFE archiveThe Malaya case investigating the widespread corruption in Marbella Town Hall, and with Juan Antonio Roca, the ex Municipal Real Estate Assessor, at the centre of the allegations, has moved on to the most interesting phase, as the Málaga court starts...

Three Gibraltar police injured in collision with Guardia Civil boat off Gibraltar

 Three Gibraltar police have been injured after their boat was in collision with a Guardia Civil vessel in the waters off the Rock on Monday night. Spanish media say the collision took place in Spanish waters close to La Línea during a joint chase of drug traffickers who were in an inflatable craft. The fact the Gibraltar and the Spanish authorities were both chasing the drug traffickers showed that in this case there is no talk of any interference...

Waiter found guilty of killing Ukrainian call-girl in Mijas

 THE man charged with killing and dismembering a Ukrainian call-girl in Mijas in April last year has been found guilty. The public prosecution was asking for 14 years for manslaughter and five months for desecration of the body. Alla Mefodova, 36, disappeared in Fuengirola, and police only recovered the remains of her hands. DNA tests confirmed they belonged to her. The man confessed that he had been out drinking on the night of April...

London’s newest and most fashionable hotel bling is Whitehall’s Corinthia Hotel

Hotels have become the newest and most luxurious of flaunt-able accessories.Fashion houses, celebrities and the anonymous super rich want to own them and the rest of us just want to say we’ve stayed there.London’s newest and most fashionable hotel bling is Whitehall’s Corinthia Hotel:...

Casares actually inherited its name from Julius Caesar, who is said to have ridden himself of a nasty skin complaint thanks to his visit to the Hedionda baths

For here, in this sleepy, undeveloped valley is the still-standing Roman bathhouse, where it is said Caesar himself once bathed around 60 BC.Having survived for over 2000 years, it is a privileged place to spend an hour and the perfect reminder of the rich heritage that has been...

High speed train comes to Ronda

 THE AVE is coming to Ronda. This means significantly reduced journey times to Madrid, Granada, Cordoba, Málaga and beyond. The project also includes completing the upgrade of the line from Ronda down to Algeciras to allow for the faster trains. The announcement was made on Friday, 4 November, via a BOE, Boletín Oficial del Estado. According to this document there will be 64.4 kms. of double track electrified line of the European gauge between...

Work to build the new terminal on the Gibraltar side of the border is practically complete

The joint use of the airport was agreed back in 2006The Gibraltar border - EFE The Gibraltar Government has met its obligations under the Tripartite Agreement made with the UK and Spain in Córdoba in September 2006 regarding joint use of the airport.Work to build the new terminal...