Fake Shieks rip off Spanish football clubs

A Brazilian waiter dressed up as an Arab Sheik defrauded Getafe football club in a million € agreement. Getafe cancelled the agreement last April after detecting that the cheques from the Arabs, who were going to purchase the club, had no funds. The operation was based in Barcelona, where the Mossos d’Esquadra have broken up a network of alleged fraudsters who have specialised in football clubs with false promises of large investments from Arab...

Diva Isabel Pantoja appears in Court

She is charged with money laundering along with her ex boyfriend, the ex Mayor, Julián Muñoz, and his ex-wife is also accused in the case.  There is maximum expectation at the start of the court case against the Diva, Isabel Pantoja, which gets underway in the Málaga Justice City tomorrow, Thursday. Isabel Pantoja, her ex boyfriend, the ex Mayor of Marbella, Julián Muñoz and his ex wife Mayte Zaldívar, are all accused of money laundering. ...

Six Britons arrested on Mallorca for making threats, extortion and drug trafficking

The Guardia Civil in Palmanova, Mallorca, has arrested six Britons in connection with the crimes of making threats, extortion and drug trafficking. After passing through the court, the judge on Monday ordered the imprisonment of two of the men. In the early hours of June 22 several Guardia went to Calle Punta Ballena after hearing of threats made against several workers in the leisure industry in the nightlife area of Magaluf by a group of English...

Royal Navy marks King Juan Carlos Saint's Day

Two Royal Navy vessels currently in La Coruña port will be decorated for the Spanish King.HMS Illustrious - Photo Wikipedia It’s King Juan Carlos Saint Day on Sunday, and to congratulate him the Royal Navy are to decorate two of their ships which are currently docked in La Coruña. British diplomatic sources have said that from dawn to dusk the helicopter carrier, HMS Illustrious, and the Hunt-class minesweeper, HMS Ledbury, will be decorated...

Junta thinks there are 300,000 illegally built properties in Andalucía

The Junta de Andalucía has identified, over the past four years, 80,422 properties built illegally in the region on non-buildable land. 22,196 of them have been constructed on land with special protection, and 44 of these have been demolished according to the Councillor for Agriculture, Fisheries and the Environment, Luis Planas. The Junta’s inspections have only been carried out in the most problematic districts and they estimate the real number...

Lianne Smith confesses to children's murder in Spanish hotel room just hours after crime

Lianne Smith, 45, a former child protection worker, faces up to 34 years in prison after she was found unanimously guilty by a jury of nine at the Provincial Court in Girona on Thursday. She had admitted to suffocating Rebecca, five and 11-month-old Daniel on May 17, 2010 in the Miramar Hotel, Lloret de Mar, after her long-term partner Martin Smith was arrested on child sex offences. During the trial, the jury were shown a video of Lianne Smith confessing...

Spain Waits For 100bn Emergency Eurozone EU Bank Bailout But Could Need More

Spain is about to discover whether 100 billion euros of emergency EU money is enough to bail out its crippled banks. Independent auditors from the US and Germany have been studying the bank balance sheets that have been hit by a collapsed property boom in the eurozone's fourth largest economy. There are already doubts that the EU money set aside will be enough and market relief lasted only an hour after the bailout request was announced. The audit...

Spanish miners fire rockets in clashes with police

About 200 masked miners set up barricades on a main motorway in northern SpainCoal miners in northern Spain have fired homemade rockets and hurled rocks at police as weeks of protests escalated into violence.Riot police retaliated with rubber bullets and smoke bombs.About 200 miners...

All residents earning less than 100,000 euros a year will qualify for free healthcare

ALL legal residents in Spain who earn less than 100,000 euros per year will have the right to free medical care on the State from September 1 this year, says health minister Ana Mató (pictured). Even foreigners – EU citizens or otherwise – and irrespective of whether or not they pay into the Social Security system or are working – will be able to obtain a SIP card, which lets them register with a doctor and be treated for all ailments, pre-existing...

Spain’s cave paintings oldest in world; Were they the work of Neanderthal artists

New tests show that crude Spanish cave paintings of a red sphere and handprints are the oldest in the world, so ancient they may not have been by modern man. Some scientists say they might have even been made by the much-maligned Neanderthals, but others disagree. 0 Comments Weigh InCorrections? Personal Post Testing the coating of paintings in 11 Spanish caves, researchers found that one is at least 40,800 years old, which is at least 15,000...

Spain sovereign bailout likely, say economists

Spain will soon follow Portugal, Ireland and Greece in seeking an international sovereign bailout, say a slim majority of economists polled by Reuters just days after Madrid sought up to 100 billion euros to rescue its banks. Thirty-five out of 59 analysts across Europe and the U.S. said it was "likely" or "very likely" Spain will need international help for its state funding in the next 12 months, with the remaining 24 describing it only as "u...

Vélez Málaga Buddah temple celebrates 25 years

There are over 3,500 people visiting from 62 countries.The Karma Guen Buddist Centre near Vélez-Málaga The Karma Guen Buddhism temple was established near Vélez-Málaga in 1981, by Pedro Gómez who purchased a small hamlet. He opened it in 1987 and this year it celebrates its 25th anniversary. Now it is a reference for Buddhism for the South of Europe, and this year’s annual meditation course, for those who want to reach the liberation of the mind...

Buying tickets in advance will not mean you miss paying the extra airport taxes once they have been brought in.

Airlines such as Iberia or Vueling could see themselves ‘being obliged’ to increase the price of tickets acquired before the increase of taxes which has been introduced by the Spanish Government. The increase would apply on the date of the flight in a Spanish airport, and was included the State Budget. The legislation says that the passenger has to pay the difference between the money paid for the tickets purchased in advance, and the price applicable,...

Spain accepts a European loan for the banks in trouble

A bank rescue for Spain could be as much as 100 billion €, and has been accepted by the Spanish Finance Minister, Luis de Guindos. European Finance Ministers held a video-conference on Saturday night, and agreed the deal. The exact amount will not be known until several independent auditors complete their reports on the size of the banks’ shortfall. It the worst case scenario it’s thought that Santander and BBVA will be the only banks not to need...

Julio Iglesias, despite his 43 years in music, said that he is still motivated to go onstage

Julio Iglesias, despite his 43 years in music, said that he is still motivated to go onstage, that he would not sing if it did not move him and that he will rest "in 30 years when I'm on the other side." His reason for singing is none other than "feelings," he said, adding that "if I didn't sing what would I do, I don't know how to do anything else," his remarks coming in an interview with Efe in the southern resort city of Marbella before beginning...

The Partido Popular vetoes all the open hearings on Bankia

The Partido Popular has vetoed any appearances in Congress by anybody linked to Bankia. There were procedures open against the main managers of the bank and the still Governor of the Bank of Spain, Miguel Ángel Fernández Ordóñez will no longer be able to explain the crisis to Congress. The veto was produced in the FROB emergency fund sub commission which met behind closed doors in Congress. At the end of the meeting the PSOE said it was their intention...

Prosector calls for a three million € for the ex Mayor of Manilva

The Prosecutors’ Office has called for a three million € fine for the ex-Mayor of Manilva. They consider that Pedro Tirado and his brother in law ‘accepted an important sum of money’ in exchange for signing a real estate agreement. The case is called ‘La Parrada’ and is investigating the real estate on the land of the same name. It’s alleged that agreement was made by the ex Mayor and his brother in law to up the price of the land involved. The...

Spanish Treasury gets more money, but pays more interest at bond auction

At the first debt bond auction held in Spain for a fortnight, the Government has this morning obtained more funds that forecast, but at a higher interest. The treasury obtained 2.074 billion € in the auction of two, three and ten year bonds, which was being seen as key by the markets. 611 million was placed at ten years at an interest of 6.044%, with demand 3.3 times supply. 638 million was placed in two year bonds at 4.335% with demand 4.3 times...

Spain seeks direct EU bank aid, Germany resists

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is pressing for a direct European rescue for Spain's banks with moral support from the European Commission, but Germany appeared to rule out such a "bailout lite" for the euro zone's fourth biggest member. A source with knowledge of the matter said Madrid is working along with European institutions to find a way to directly refinance banks using rescue funds without the government having to come under a full EU/IMF adjustment...

40 homes evacuated because of fire in La Duquesa

40 homes had to be evacuated on Saturday in the Hacho district of Manilva after a campo fire broke out at 11am. The residents from the properties were asked to leave their homes as a precaution, and by 4pm in the afternoon were able to return as the fire was brought under control. Despite the flames, strong gusts of wind, and smoke close to the properties, the fire only affected five hectares of scrub and low mountain land close to the La Duquesa...

Spanish miners fight furious battles with riot police as they protest austerity cuts

Striking Spanish coal miners set up burning barricades and fought running battles with riot police as they protest harsh austerity cuts to coal subsidies. In violent scenes, the masked protesters lit barricades of burning tyres and launched home-made rockets at groups of police bringing traffic to a halt along key roads in the north of the country. Riot police retaliated with tear gas grenades and baton charges as they desperately tried to bring...