Doctor convicted of mercy killing in Spain came to Britain 'dishonestly' and worked for NHS

 A doctor who failed to tell his NHS and police employers about his conviction for the 'mercy killing' manslaughter of a patient in Spain acted dishonestly, medical watchdogs found today. Dr Marcos Arel Hourmann worked for Dyfed Powys Police for more than two years despite being under investigation and subsequently convicted of manslaughter in Spain, the General Medical Council (GMC) has heard. He injected a cancer-riddled patient already...

Baggage handlers to strike at Easter

 Baggage handlers at Stansted Airport are to strike over Easter in a row over pay, the GMB union announced today. The move follows an overwhelming vote in favour of industrial action by 150 GMB members employed by Swissport after the union claimed that shift changes would lead to wage cuts of up to £1,000. The GMB said strikes will be held on Good Friday, Easter Saturday and Easter Monday, threatening disruption to passengers flying on holiday...

Guernsey man dies in hang gliding accident in Teba, Málaga

 59 year old James Berryman from Guernsey has died in a hang-gliding accident in Spain. He was undergoing a course at a hang-gliding school in Algondonales in Cádiz and was fatally injured when practicing last Wednesday near Teba in Málaga province. He suffered severe head injuries after falling 150m on to a rocky hillside. He was rushed by helicopter to the Clinico Hospital in Málaga, and then by Ambulance to the Carlos Haya hospital, but...

Motorway speed limit could be increased in Spain

 The Ministry for the Interior has said that it is prepared to study increasing the speed limit on motorways, but that they want to see an environmental impact report. The Interior Minister, Fernández Díaz, said a small increase in motorway speed would have ‘not much affect’ on accident numbers. He noted that 75% of fatal accidents in Spain are on the conventional road network. But he noted the effect on greenhouse gases had to be established...

Fuengirola opens the largest park for dogs in Andalucía on Friday at 6pm.

  There will be a dog skill exhibition to open the site and presents will be given to owners who take their dogs. Specialist commercial stands are also being put up for the opening. The park between the motorway and Calle Alcalá Galiano in Los Pacos has 5,400 square metres for the dogs to enjoy. There are railed off areas for muscular development, playing areas with approved elements, a green area for running, and section being called...

Spain facing general strike threat

 Spain is facing a general strike as unions challenge a conservative government not yet 100 days old. The stoppage, called to protest against changes to labour market rules long regarded as among Europe's most rigid, comes a day before the government will serve up even more austerity pain. A budget expected on Friday is set to feature tens of billions of euros in deficit-reduction measures. The cuts are designed to help Spain in its struggles...

Tobacco smuggling creates employment in Spain.

  That's what a report says. It adds that on 2 March there was an incident in La Linea which went almost unreported: Dozens of people gathered to protest about the attitude of the Spanish authorities at the frontier with Gibraltar. They urged that the authorities should not be so strict and that everyone should be allowed to cross from Gibraltar with a carton of cigarettes daily. It so happens that from 1 March higher authority had instructed...

Spanish government says that the inventory of the Odyssey held in Gibraltar is false!

 The Odyssey saga is never ending. Now, the Spanish government says that the inventory of the Odyssey held in Gibraltar is false! What remains in Gibraltar of the Odyssey treasure, said to be a number of silver coins and some artefacts, was verified earlier this month in the presence of representatives fom Odyssey, descendants, HM Customs and an independent notary. According to Odyssey the container of artefacts has been in the Customs warehouse...

Iberia Express takes off on Sunday

 The new low-cost airline, Iberia Express, takes off on Sunday with launch prices from 25 €. The airline, which has been the focus of protests, twelve so far, from SEPLA pilots in the main airline, will start with four routes from Madrid – to Palma de Mallorca, Alicante, Málaga and Sevilla. The inaugural flight will be between Madrid and Alicante. There will also be 45 € flights to the Canary Islands which start in June and 59 € flights to...

Woman who is promoting a cannabis plantation in Catalan village is arrested

 The woman who recently put forward the idea of the creation of a cannabis plant in the village of Rasquera in Tarragona, has been arrested for alleged drug trafficking in Barcelona. The regional police, Los Mossos d’Esquadra, recovered 1.3 kilos of marihuana worth 5,700 €. The arrested woman is a manager on the Barcelona Self-Use Cannabis Association and four workers in the group have also been indicted. Meanwhile back in the village a referendum...

General Strike minimum services agreed for transport

 After ten hours of talks, the Ministry for Development has reached agreement with the unions on minimum transport services during the General Strike on March 29. They are almost identical to the minimum services during the last General Strike in 2010. Trains – Cercanias – Local lines 25% off peak, and 30% in peak times between 6and 9am Long Distance train services over 500 kms – 20% of normal levels. AVE and long distance trains will see...

Ryanair adds six Euro surcharge to tickets purchased in Spain

Ryanair is to introduce a six Euro surcharge on all flights purchased in Spain from April 15. This will appear as ‘coste de gestión’ (management charge) and will be added to the final ticket price with the rest of the charges. The charge is a strategy to promote the airline’s new Ryanair Cash Passport, a MasterCard debit card which will give passengers, yes you got it, a six € discount. The card also can be used to take money out of cash machines...

Cheap drugs abroad could pay for break

HOLIDAYMAKERS can pay for the cost of a break in the sun by buying their prescription drugs while abroad. Legally they can purchase their prescribed drugs -- at a fraction of the cost here over the counter -- in Malaga, Marbella , Faro or Lisbon. Those on long term medication and covered by the Drug Payment Scheme, who cough up €132 a month, can particularly benefit. For example, a patient on holiday in Marbella recently bought the three main...

Sex is a multibillion-dollar industry in Spain, with colorfully lit brothels staffed mainly by poor immigrant women from Latin America, Africa and eastern Europe lining highways throughout the country

Pimps Arrested in Spain for 'Barcoding' WomenPolice in Spain arrested 22 alleged pimps who purportedly tattooed women with bar codes as a sign of ownership and used violence to force them into prostitution.  Police are calling the gang the "bar code pimps." Officers freed one 19-year-old woman who had been beaten, held against her will and tattooed with a bar code and an amount of money — €2,000 ($2,650) — which investigators believe was the...

Serbian mafia 'put gangster in mincer and ate him for lunch'

Gang that assassinated Serbian prime minister admits making 'face mask' out of member's skinA GANGSTER who helped orchestrate the Serbian prime minister's assassination in 2003 was allegedly made into a stew and eaten by his associates after falling out with his gang leader. Police...

Spain moves toward freedom of information law

Freedom of information in Spain came one step nearer Friday after the recently-elected government agreed to introduce a bill in response to widespread disgust over corruption and mismanagement by elected officials of both main political parties. The country's Cabinet agreed to put forward legislation that will allow Spaniards to find out more about how their money is spent by government. Spain, which is struggling to get its public finances under...

Spain's Iberia starts low-cost airline

Spanish carrier Iberia on Friday launched a new low-cost airline, Iberia Express, which aims to claim a stake in the highly competitive no-frills sector of the European market. The new airline is part of a plan by parent company International Consolidated Airlines Group to increase profitability after the merger of its component parts, British Airways and Iberia. Iberia Express will initially cover Vigo, Santiago and Granada on Spain's mainland...

I am booked on a flight to Spain on the day of general strikes. What are my options?

 We are travelling to Malaga on 29 March, but I have heard that there is a national strike in Spain on this day. We are flying out on Ryanair from Manchester – can it cancel our flights? What are our rights? We have pre-paid for hotels and car hire, so we are really concerned. Lisa Bennett, Blackpool A. The Foreign Office confirms that a general strike has been called for Thursday 29 March by the two largest trade unions in Spain. "The strike...

Six arrests in Spain and UK as counterfeit medicine ring is smashed

Six people suspected of involvement in a counterfeit medicines ring have been arrested in Spain and the UK, said Europol today. Around 300,000 doses of fake medicines, including copies two brandname erectile dysfunction drugs - Pfizer's Viagra (sildenafil) and Eli Lilly's Cialis (tadalafil) - as well as number of generic medicines were seized in the raid, known as Operation Tribulus. House raids and subsequent arrests at the end of last week in...

At least four people, including three children, were killed, when a man on a scooter opened fire outside a Jewish school in Toulouse in southwestern France

At least four people, including three children, were killed, when a man on a scooter opened fire outside a Jewish school in Toulouse in southwestern France on Monday, officials said. The attack also left several injured, two of them seriously, and followed the killing of three soldiers in two separate shootings in the same region last week by a man who escaped on a scooter. BFM TV news channel said that the gun used in the attack at the Ozar Hatorah...

Spain's Unicaja, Caja Espana savings banks merge

Spanish regional savings banks Unicaja and Caja Espana have merged following the government's recent requirement that banks raise substantially their provisions set aside to cover toxic real estate exposure. The merger, in which Banco Caja Espana-Duero (Banco Ceiss) is effectively absorbed into Unicaja Banco, creates a group with approximately (EURO)80 billion ($104.9 billion) in total assets and a turnover of (EURO)120 billion ($157.4 billion),...

German taxpayer would be obliged to subsidise the wages of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

 When faced with the prospect of the Spanish government waiving the collective €752m debt the nation's football clubs owe to the country's tax authorities, the reaction in Europe last week was one of outrage. The German tabloid Bild even asked how long the German taxpayer would be obliged to subsidise the wages of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. What they meant was that while the European Union members bailed out the Spanish economy, successful...

SPAIN THE NEXT GREECE? NATION SINKS FURTHER INTO MIRE

Is this the picture for Spain.Savage cuts to the Greek health service have seen the country's HIV and Tuberculosis rates soar - sparking fears it is becoming a third world nation. Aid agencies said the cutting of hospital budgets by an astonishing 40 per cent had also led to a sharp...

Health board owed £130k for treatment of foreign nationals

FOREIGN nationals not entitled to free treatment are said to owe Swansea Bay's ABM University Health Board more than £130,000 — the second highest figure in Wales. According to figures obtained by the Welsh Conservatives, only Cardiff and Vale UHB is owed more, at just over £200,000. ​ Darren Millar AM The Welsh Government has now said it is looking at further measures to help health boards recoup their costs. Figures obtained by the Tories following...

Spanish state will need outside help – or even go bankrupt.

 If the negative development in the Spanish housing market continues, it can – worst case – lead to renewed concern over that the Spanish state will need outside help – or even go bankrupt. Banks might face several hundred billion Euros in losses on the Spanish real estate market. This will mean a recapitalization of the Spanish banks – capital that can only come from the Spanish state. Now there is nothing new in that; but what is interesting...

Spain has been surprised at the magnitude of this property down slide. thinking thought it would be around 10 percent.

Home-owners in Spain received yet another blow when figures released by the National Statistics Institute (INE) show that house prices fell even further in the last quarter of 2011.House prices in Spain have been in free-fall since the start of the economic crisis with the construction...

Prosecutors charge Catholic nun in alleged stolen baby scheme at Madrid hospitals

A Catholic nun has been charged with being part of a child stealing operation that ran over four decades in Spain. Sister María Gómez Valbuena is the first person to be indicted in connection with the probe into more than 100 cases of babies snatched from hospitals between the 1950s and 1980s. She was subpoenaed to testify before investigators recently but refused to answer questions, according to sources at the Madrid prosecutor's office. Identity...

€500 REWARD is on offer to anyone who can provide information leading to the arrest of the people who broke into a Marbella clothing store.

 €500 REWARD is on offer to anyone who can provide information leading to the arrest of the people who broke into a Marbella clothing store. The incident took place at The Jeans Factory Outlet around 5.30am last Friday and around 600 pieces of clothing were stolen worth...

Spain Approves Canary Islands Oil Exploration

The Spanish government approved Friday a controversial permit to explore for oil offshore the Canary Islands, in an area that could become by far the largest source of oil production in a country heavily dependent on crude imports. Approval of an exploration license marks the latest move in Spain's shift away from a policy of subsidy-dependent renewable energy projects as it seeks ways to improve its trade balance and steady its budget, but will...

Spain's public debt soars to record high

Spain's public debt soared to a record high at the end of 2011, Bank of Spain figures showed Friday, as Madrid struggled to slash costs and escape the eurozone debt crisis. Public debt amounted to 734.96 billion euros ($960 billion), equal to 68.5 percent of annual economic output at the end of 2011 -- up from 66 percent three months earlier and 61.2 percent at the end of 2010. The accumulated debts breached the European-Union agreed limit of 60...

Cadíz second bridge delayed until at least 2013

The Ministry for Development has announced a delay in the opening of the second road bridge into Cádiz which will now not be open to traffic until 2013. Minister, Ana Pastor, said that not with all the money in the world could a 2012 opening be achieved. 2012 was the target date so that it coincided with the bicentenary of the 1812 Spanish Constitution which was signed in the city on March 19 1812. The General Courts of Spain were transferred there...

Place your bets on Euro Vegas

IT MAY just be the single largest contrarian bet in the euro zone. Sheldon Adelson, a casino tycoon, is expected soon to choose between Madrid and Barcelona for a €16 billion ($21 billion) gambling resort. The euro-zone turmoil does not faze him: “It will take us four to five years,” he told Forbes magazine. “By then everything will be solved.” Mr Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands (LVS) hopes to create a “Euro Vegas”, capable of attracting the 1 billion...

British man and French woman arrested in Fuengirola drugs swoop

 National Police have made two arrests, a British man and a French woman, after a raid on a house in Fuengirola revealed more than 2,700 doses of anabolic steroids which are used for body building, and a further 150 ecstasy pills were found in the suspects’ top of the range car. During the investigation, according to a statement from the Málaga Provincial Police Station, a detailed search of the home was carried out and they found several safes....

55 security guards arrested with fake qualifications

 55 false security guards working in sensitive positions have been arrested in Madrid, Toledo, Cuenca and Badajoz. The National Police arrested the 55 who have all be established to have been working fraudulently, and some with jobs looking after explosives or acting as bodyguards. A statement from the National Police said those arrested lacked the necessary preparation for the work and were employed because of falsified qualifications. Some...

The Spanish Government is to increase the tax on diesel vehicles

 The Spanish Government has revealed that it wants to increase the tax on diesel vehicles because they ‘contaminate more’. The change will be a modification on the vehicle matriculation tax. The Secretary of State for the Environment, Federico Ramos, gave the news after meeting with the environment experts and said that in principle the regional administrations are in agreement. The local City and Town Halls say they now want to first analyse...

The ex Mayor of Alcaucín in Málaga, José Manuel Martin Alba, who was arrested for a second time with seven other people

The ex Mayor of Alcaucín in Málaga, José Manuel Martin Alba, who was arrested for a second time with seven other people on Tuesday in the ‘Tristan case’, which comes from the ‘Arcos operation’, made a statement on Wednesday to the investigators of the UCO central operations unit of the Guardia Civil. La Opinión de Málaga reports that he denied knowing the land registry civil servants that he allegedly manipulated with false data to obtain the classification...

Spanish House Prices Tumble

 Spanish house prices tumbled at their fastest pace on record in the fourth quarter, a sign that a long-running property bust will continue to weigh on Spanish households and banks. House prices fall over 11.2% in the fourth-quarter of 2011-the fastest contraction on record. WSJ's Sara Schaefer Munoz has been looking at the data and analyzes how this affects its efforts to deal with its debt crisis. House prices fell on average by 11.2%...

American Airlines flight attendant restrained after taking over PA system and screaming 'we're going to crash'

 A flight attendant had to be restrained by passengers and crew on an American Airlines flight after she started ranting that the plane was going to crash over the PA system. According to news.com.au, she told passengers on the flight from Dallas to Chicago: "We are not taking off. We're having technical difficulties. We are heading back to the gate." First class travellers helped cabin crew subdue the woman after she started screaming things...

A Moroccan teenager killed herself after a judge forced her to marry her rapist.

 The 16-year-old girl, named as Amina Filali, ate rat poison after a Tangier court which was supposed to be punishing her 26-year-old attacker decided that they should instead be wed.This is because Moroccan laws exempt a rapist from punishment if he agrees to marry his victim.Sentenced:...

Expats in Spain warned of faulty hip replacements

Therapist Carol Duquemin, 59, decided to act after being forced to have her hip replacement removed after just four months. Duquemin – whose ordeal came after the manufacturer recalled the faulty product in 2010 – has teamed up with free health care service Medilink to provide advice and support to expats. “Up to 9,000 people in Spain could have been affected by the implants,” Duquemin said. “People are still not aware of the problem and the danger...

Dutch activist arrested in Morocco

 A young Dutch-Moroccan activist was arrested in Morocco on Monday. The Dutch Foreign Ministry has confirmed the detention of Yuba Zalen to Radio Netherlands Worldwide. Mr Zalen is a member of the 20th of February movement, a young protest group inspired by the Arab Spring and calling for greater democracy in Morocco. He was in Morocco to report on the unrest in the northern town of Ait Bouayach, where dozens have been injured in clashes with...

Revolt in the city of Bni Bouayach in the mountainous area of the Northern Rif in Morocco

The city of Bni Bouayach in the mountainous area of the Northern Rif in Morocco has been sealed off since Wednesday, March 8. All the repressive organs of the state, the army, the gendarmerie together with the secret and public police, have joined forces to blockade the small city. The inhabitants live in fear of police terror and the raiding of houses and arrests. Other repressive forces are hunting down activists who fled into the neighbouring...