Malaya case court secretary to continue

If the Ministry for Justice had not extended Inmaculada Núñez contract, the Malaya case could have come to a standstill.  The Malaya case, investigating the corruption in Marbella Town Hall, opened in Málaga in September 2010. A possible obstacle which could have complicated the case considerably was solved on Wednesday when the Justice Ministry said they were extending the services of the judicial secretary who has been working exclusively...

SUV driver who caused Benalmádena coach crash sent to prison for three and a half years

Nine Finnish tourists died in the accident on the A-7 above Benalmádena in April 2009 The man who caused the accident on the A7 motorway above Benalmádena on April 19 2008, has been given a three and a half year prison sentence and banned from driving for five years. Nine Finnish tourists died and 26 were injured, some of them seriously, when Jesús Gil Bueno drove his Kia Sportage four-wheel-drive into the side of a coach in what were very wet conditions....

High winds shake planes landing in Bilbao, Spain

Extremely strong winds caused planes to sway as they attempted to land in Spain on Wednesday. High winds tested the skills of pilots trying to land at Bilbao's Loiu airport. The wind was so severe some planes were unable to la...

S&P reduces Spain's credit rating

The ratings agency Standard & Poor's has cut Spain's credit rating and warned of risks to come. S&P cut Spain two notches to BBB+, warning that the country could have to take on more debt to support its banking sector. It has also placed Spain on negative outlook, meaning there is a risk of further downgrades to come. S&P predicts the Spanish economy will shrink by 1.5% this year, having previously forecast 0.3% growth. In 2013 it...

Spain on investor offensive after communications failures

Doubts remain over Spain's ability to clean up its fiscal position and struggling bank sector this year despite the central bank's publicity offensive in Europe and Asia to try to dispel what it sees as myths about the economy. The Bank of Spain's head of banking supervision, Jose Maria Roldan, has been visiting Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo this week after talking to investors in London last week about recent reforms the government says will improve...

Tightest Spain budget in decades passes hurdle

Spain's tightest budget since the 1970s passed its first hurdle in parliament on Wednesday after disappointing first quarter figures fuelled concerns the government would miss targets for reining in its deficit. Spain's borrowing costs are rising and its economy is shrinking as it tries to deflate one of the highest budget deficits in the euro zone. The lower house rejected amendments to the budget, which aims to shave 27 billion euros ($36 billion)...

Expats in Spain feeling the squeeze

Pensioners currently don’t pay for prescriptions but new measures that have been announced to save €3,700 million in the health care market include a plan for elderly expats to pay 10 per cent of the cost of the medicine. This is capped at up to €20 a month, but joins a range of other increased living costs that have left many expats with less in their pocket. Molly Sears-Piccavey, an expat from Nottingham based in Barcelona and Andalucia, said matters...

Reopen Madeleine case, police urge

Scotland Yard has urged Portuguese authorities to reopen the search for Madeleine McCann as detectives said there are 195 potential leads to finding her alive. The detective leading the Metropolitan Police review said the case can still be solved before officers released a picture of what she might now look like as a nine-year-old. Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood said he believes her disappearance was a stranger abduction, as he said there...

Insecure websites to be named and shamed after checks

Companies that do not do enough to keep their websites secure are to be named and shamed to help improve security. The list of good and bad sites will be published regularly by the non-profit Trustworthy Internet Movement (TIM). A survey carried out to launch the group found that more than 52% of sites tested were using versions of security protocols known to be compromised. The group will test websites to see how well they have implemented basic...

Anti-depressants likely do more harm than good, study suggests

Commonly prescribed anti-depressants appear to be doing patients more harm than good, say researchers who have published a paper examining the impact of the medications on the entire body. See Also: Health & Medicine Pharmacology Birth Defects Mental Health Research Mind & Brain Depression Disorders and Syndromes Psychiatry Reference COX-2 inhibitor Psychoactive drug Seasonal affective disorder Anti-obesity drug "We need to be much more cautious...

Madeleine McCann, the British girl who went missing while on holiday in Portugal half a decade ago, could still be alive, Scotland Yard said on Wednesday.

Madeleine McCann as she might look aged 9  Photo: Teri BlytheDetectives released a new “age progression” image of the toddler, which they said showed what she would look like today at the age of nine.On Wednesday, Britain’s biggest police force said that as a result of...

Ryanair to pass on Spain landing fee hike to passengers, even if they have already bought tickets

Millions of Ryanair passengers heading to Spain this summer could be hit with an additional surcharge on flights even though they have already paid for their tickets. The budget airline is threatening to pass on a possible increase in Spanish airport landing fees, saying it is not footing the bill for an increase in taxes. Ryanair has emailed customers to warn them of the possible surcharge, giving them the option to cancel their flights if they...

Spanish and Italian borrowing costs already at unsustainable levels, warns Moody's Analytics

Europe's third and fourth biggest economies are in such a "weakened state" that the rates currently being charged by the alarmed bondmarkets are "unmanageable", the economists argued. Without "urgent action", included heavy buying of sovereign bond by the European Central Bank, both countries could need a Greek-style international bail-out or may even have to quit the euro, they said. "The European Central Bank will need to buy more government bonds,...

Britons living overseas defrauded 43 million pounds in benefit fraud in 2011

The British Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith, has been visiting the Department of Work and Pensions benefits and healthcare team in Madrid. He warned Britons living abroad not to break the strict rules on what benefits they can and cannot claim. People who are pretending to live in the UK so they can collect benefits, but in fact are living overseas cost the British taxpayer 43 million pounds last year. Most of the reports...

Anti-Corruption prosecutors to be strengthened in Málaga

 The State Attorney General, Eduardo Torres-Dulce, has said that there are plans to designate ‘one or two prosecutors’ more to the specialist Anti-Corruption section in the province of Málaga. He made the comment at an event where Juan Carlos López Caballero took possession as Chief Prosecutor for Málaga, a job which he was sharing with his post as Delegate from the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor, where three prosecutors work. There have been...

Health Minister announces crackdown on foreigners using the Spanish Health Service

The cabinet on Friday decided to crack down on foreigners using the Spanish Health Service as part of an additional 7 billion € of cuts. They intend to toughen the conditions for inclusion on the Padrón census. Minister for Health, Ana Mato, said ‘We are going to end the abuses committed by some foreigners’. She is going to change the Ley de Extranjería which intends to put a limit to the so-called ‘health tourism’, which has seen family members...

Ryanair threatens surcharge on flights to Spain

 Millions of its passengers – who have already booked and paid for their flights in full – may now be asked to pay an extra fee upon departure, or be told they are not allowed to board. The airline sent an email to customers this week warning them of the backdated fare. “We may be forced to debit passengers for any government imposed increases in airport charges prior to your travel date,” its message read. “If any such tax, fee or charge is...

Mike Tyson has for the first time revealed his lowest point ever in a searingly candid interview.

Once known as the ‘baddest man on the planet’, his life has taken more than a few dark twists and turns.But now Mike Tyson has for the first time revealed his lowest point ever in a searingly candid interview.The former heavyweight champion said that back in 2009 he was in a hotel...

EU condemns Repsol state seizure

 The European Parliament has passed a resolution condemning a nationalisation that has strained relations between Spain and Argentina. Argentina has nationalised YPF, wiping out the Spanish firm Repsol's controlling-stake in the oil firm. The resolution asks the European Commission to consider a "partial suspension" of tariffs that benefit Argentine exports into the EU. Shares in Repsol has another decline, falling 2.3% on Friday. Over the...

Spain tells pensioners to start paying for prescriptions

Until now Spain's elderly have been entitled to free prescriptions but under new measures unveiled on Wednesday they must now pay 10pc of the cost of the medicines. The news has come as a blow to a sector of society who feel they have paid their dues and are already struggling to make ends meet. "It's outrageous," fumed Julian Rodriquez at a public health centre in Madrid, a 77-year-old retiree who supports his wife on a pension of €900 a month....

France and Germany want to suspend the Shengen Agreement

They say they want a temporary suspension while the crisis continues. Spain will being introducing border restrictions during the European Central Bank meeting in Barcelona at the start of May.Angela Merkel and Nicolás Sarkozy - The Interior Ministers of France and Germany have written a joint letter in which they call for the reform of, and ‘temporary suspension’ of the Schengen agreement which allows for the free movement between most member states...

Policemen accused of stealing items seized in searches

TWO members of the Costa del Sol Drugs and Organized Crime Unit (UDYCO) are on trial for alleged irregularities in their work. The two National Police officers are facing 19 and eight years in prison, as well as a four-year suspension in a trial which is expected to go on until July. One of them, the former head of the unit in Marbella, is accused of embezzlement, falsehood, violating a sentence and retaining a person against their will. As well...

Money goes missing from Estepona Town Hall

Estepona has denounced a missing 100,000 € from its accounts. It’s separate from the ongoing ‘Astapa Case’ in which 100 people have been accused so far in four years of case instruction. The PP Mayor, José María García Urbano, denounced to the National Police on Monday that over 100,000 € was missing from the treasury department of the Estepona Town Hall. The Mayor has suspended the treasurer, Félix Domínguez Pimienta, while the matter is investigated....

Pensioners to pay ten percent of the cost of their medicaments

 The Ministry for Health wants pensioners to pay 10% of the cost of their medicament, and the subject is to be debated today. Minister Ana Mato will suggest to the autonomous regions that pensioners pay 10% of the cost of their medicaments, while those in work pay 50% of the cost in place of the current 40%. Pensioners with a high income will be called on to pay 20%. Currently pensioners do not have to pay anything. Limits will be established...

Spanish King Juan Carlos sorry for Botswana hunt trip

 King Juan Carlos has apologised to the Spanish people for going on a hunting trip in Africa while his country was in the midst of an economic crisis. His trip to Botswana, which was widely criticised, emerged after he was flown home for treatment for a fractured hip. "I'm very sorry, I made a mistake. It won't happen again," he said, as he left San Jose hospital in Madrid. It was widely reported that he had been hunting elephants, which...

Marbella Police Commissioner moved to Madrid

 The Police Commissioner in Marbella, Agapito Hermés de Dios, is to be disciplined for spying on the Vice President of the Madrid region, Ignacio González, in what is now considered to have been an ‘illegal’ investigation according to the Minister of the Interior, Jorge Fernández Díaz. Agapito Hermés has presented his resignation from the Marbella Police Station and will now be destined to a district of Madrid. He was subjected to an internal...

Albox publishes its plan to regularise its illegal houses

In March of this year, just before the regional elections, the town of Albox in the Almanzora Valley announced that it was the first municipality in Andalucía to approve its plan to regularise illegal houses under the terms of the regularisation decree announced by the regional government. During a press conference given at the time the mayor of Albox, Jose Garcia (PSOE) flanked by the regional delegate for Housing and Planning in Almeria, Jose Ortiz,...

Spain Has Enough Excess Land for 4 Million New Homes, Acuna Says

 Spain has enough land approved for development to build 4 million homes and an existing supply of residences that will take about 10 years to sell, according to R.R. de Acuna & Asociados. There are currently 2 million unsold homes in Spain, the Madrid-based property adviser said in a report published today. In a typical year, there is demand for 200,000 to 250,000 properties, the company estimates. “Land continues to be the biggest threat...

Spanish police investigate possible sighting of Madeleine McCann

 SPANISH police are investigating a fresh sighting of missing British girl Madeleine McCann, nearly five years after she disappeared. THREE-YEAR-OLD BRITISH GIRL MADELEINE MCCANN DISAPPEARED FROM THE PORTUGUESE RESORT PRAIA DA LUZ IN 2007. THE DAILY TELEGRAPH A tip-off to Portuguese police earlier this month talked about a little girl with a "strong physical resemblance" to Madeleine in the resort town of Nerja, southern Spain,...

King of Spain faces calls to abdicate after elephant hunt

The 74-year-old monarch has faced a barrage of criticism over his extravagant lifestyle at a time when Spaniards are suffering harsh austerity measures in a nation mired in economic crisis. Left wing leaders called for greater transparency of Royal accounts and one even suggested it may be time for the once popular monarch to give up his throne. "The head of state must choose between his obligations and the duty of service of his public responsibilities,...

Prestige Boot Camp in Spain, with its three lavish villas, plus pool, sauna and hot tub, perched on beautiful hills outside Marbella?

The body-changing bootcampWhat better way to approach a milestone birthday than to get in shape with a week at Prestige Boot Camp in Spain, with its three lavish villas, plus pool, sauna and hot tub, perched on beautiful hills outside Marbella? Days start early with a run and circuit training, followed by breakfast then boxing. It sounds intimidating, but time flies due to the impressive variety of exercises – no day is the same – and the enthusiasm...

Scots accused of smuggling 'spent fortune on supercars and luxury MARBELLA villa.

Accused of ­funding his multi-millionaire lifestyle from the proceeds of an international drugs empire. Ian Donaldson, 32, bought a fleet of Ferraris, Porsches, Lamborghinis and Hummers with cash made from trafficking cocaine and speed from Spain to Scotland, it is claimed. Donaldson also owned luxury villas and powerboats and enjoyed a playboy lifestyle on the Costa del Sol and Tenerife. But last week the Spanish National Court in Madrid heard sensational...

La Linea's dream to benefit from the building of 'the Northern access of the joint use Gibraltar airport' is becoming a nightmare

 La Linea's dream to benefit from the building of 'the Northern access of the joint use Gibraltar airport' is becoming a nightmare, with the land on which that structure would be built enmeshed in a never-ending legal row. The present mayoress of La Linea Gemma Araujo reacted yesterday by accusing two former majors of the land row. She accused others of not meeting a payment plan for the payment of 4 million euros said to be owed to a La Linea...

Spain passes law to crack down on regional deficits

Spain's central government will be able to intervene within nine months in the finances of autonomous regions that do not comply with strict deficit reduction rules under a fiscal stability law passed by the lower house of Parliament on Thursday. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, of the centre-right Popular Party, hopes the law will help persuade investors and Spain's European partners that the country can crack down on overspending in Spain's 17 autonomous...

Over-the-counter remedies for insect bites may not work

Chemists offer dozens of creams and pills to relieve the itching and swelling from insect bites but there is little evidence that the treatments actually work, it was claimed. While medication is clearly needed when bites cause infection, eczema flare-ups or severe allergic reactions, in most cases the symptoms are "self limiting", according to an article published in the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB). Midges, mosquitoes, flies, fleas and...

Scots tourist caught in Morocco with £500k worth of cannabis is jailed

A SCOTS tourist in Morocco has been jailed for two years after being caught with £500,000 of cannabis in his camper van. Daniel Healy, 67, from Glasgow, was arrested as he tried to cross the border from Morocco to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. Police discovered the 100-kilo stash of the drug hidden in aluminium boxes in the Spanish-registered van’s water tank. He has been held in tough Tetuoan prison since his arrest in September last year, which...

Two US soldiers dead in Morocco crash

Two United States marines have been killed when their helicopter crashed southwest of Agadir in Morocco. Another two soldiers were injured in the accident, which happened during joint military exercises with Moroccan forces on Wednesday. The helicopter, reportedly a MV-22 Osprey, apparently crashed after taking off from the USS Iwo Jima warship. The crash is now being investigated as a "helicopter incident", a US embassy official told the Reuters...

Thousands of British expats are on the brink of losing everything after being duped by unscrupulous financial advisers.

 The cowboys have persuaded thousands of  our vulnerable pensioners — many in their 80s and 90s — to give up huge stakes of their property in exchange for investments that will never make a penny. The schemes are often sold by rogue financial advisers who exploit weak...