Granada city chunk of his ear was partially severed during the biting attack.

man has been arrested by the Civil Guard for assaulting four people who were changing a flat tyre outside his home in La Zubia, Granada province, last Friday night. Annoyed by the noise they were making as they were putting on the car’s spare wheel, the Civil Guard said one of the four was admitted to the Traumatology Hospital in Granada city after a chunk of his ear was partially severed during the biting attack.Another man had five stitches to a bite wound on his hand, while the third was bitten on the shoulder.Granada Hoy said the fourth man escaped with bruising.

Doctor who was fatally shot while on duty at the local health centre in Moratalla

Doctor who was fatally shot while on duty at the local health centre in Moratalla this March has received a posthumous award with the title of ‘Adopted Daughter’ of Moratalla. The distinction of ‘Adopted Son’ goes to Juan Miguel Moya López, the ambulance driver who was injured while trying to save her life. La Verdad newspaper reports that the extraordinary council meeting which took the decision on Saturday also approved a special mention from the corporation for the three police officers who overpowered the gunman who fired the shots.34 year old María Eugenia Moreno Martínez was shot on 10th March 2009, dying in hospital the following afternoon. The gunman was a 74 year old retired taxi driver who claimed to the judge who remanded him to custody that he had received poor treatment when he had attended the health centre earlier that day.A monument in the doctor’s honour was unveiled on Saturday in the gardens outside the health centre which now bear her name, Doctora María Eugenia Moreno Martínez.

Sixth person has been arrested for suspected involvement in the fatal shooting two years ago of the Partido Popular Mayor of Polop de la Marina

Sixth person has been arrested for suspected involvement in the fatal shooting two years ago of the Partido Popular Mayor of Polop de la Marina, Alejandro Ponsoda, over, it’s thought, his failure to support a real estate project. The suspect arrested on Friday night is identified by El País as the owner of the Mesalina nightclub on the outskirts of Benidorm where the murder is believed to have been planned. The nightclub’s Uruguayan manager was arrested earlier last week and, along with the first two suspects, was remanded to prison by the judge.The two alleged Czech hit men believed to have killed the Mayor outside his home in Xirles on the night of 19th October 2007 were also taken into custody on Friday, in Benidorm and La Cala de Finestrat. They are reported to have had links to suspect No. 1, Raúl Montero Trevejo, who already has drug trafficking charges against him.The lawyer acting for the local businessman from Polop suspected in the case revealed indications last week that there are protected witnesses in the case. According to information from El País, five protected witnesses linked to prostitution were questioned again by detectives on Saturday morning.

Recovered the body of a German man who had been reported missing while paragliding in Barbate

Rescuers on Sunday recovered the body of a German man who had been reported missing while paragliding in Barbate the previous day.The 56 year old, who has not been named in reports, disappeared while paragliding with a friend over Barbate’s Hierbabuena Beach on Saturday afternoon. An intensive search was mounted involving five Civil Guard patrols, two helicopters, a Coastguard boat, Red Cross personnel and a team of specialist Civil Guard divers.EFE reports that his body was found in a rocky area of difficult access on the Barbate coast near the Torre del Tajo.

Bank of Spain will be introducing new rules in the next few weeks to double the amount written off by Spanish banks and Cajas

Bank of Spain will be introducing new rules in the next few weeks to double the amount written off by Spanish banks and Cajas (saving banks) when the banks hold repossessed properties for longer than a year.Currently, the banks and cajas, by law, must have provisions of 10% on the appraisal values for repossessed property that have been owned for a year or longer. This figure will now increase to 20%.
There are currently several theories for the this change being implemented by the Bank of Spain. The first is that this is a warning to the banks to stop trying to disguise their bad debts by swapping debt (from promoters/developers) for properties. Many banks have been successfully swapping debt for property with the long term view of recouping their money instead of simply writing of the bad debt.
The second theory, is to help motivate the banks to liquidate their property assets sooner rather than later by getting them to drop the prices. In theory this is a possibility as it is estimated that the Spanish banks currently hold 36 billion euros with of property assets. So we are talking about an additional write down 3.6 billion! In theory at least. Unfortunately the reality is that several of the largest banks, including BBVA and Santander, already make provision of 20%, so there will be no additional motivation to try and sell their properties faster.

Two weeks to go before lines for pay-as-you-go mobile phones will be automatically deactivated if their owners have previously failed to register

Two weeks to go before lines for pay-as-you-go mobile phones will be automatically deactivated if their owners have previously failed to register their details with their operators.The move comes under a new law which came into effect in November 2007 as a consequence of the Madrid train bomb attacks on 11th March 2004, when the bombs were set off by pre-paid mobile phones. Registration has been obligatory since the law came into force, but 20 million such phones bought before that date are estimated to still be in use.To date, 12.5 million people have registered their details, but some 8 million have yet to do so and could find themselves automatically cut off if they fail to register on or before the deadline of 8th November. Operators are then legally obliged to deactivate any which remain unidentified.Registration for each user is at one of their operator’s points of sale, where they must provide either their DNI identity document, passport or foreigners’ residency papers. Businesses must provide their fiscal identification card.

27 year old girl has died in Residencial Monte Marbella at Artola Alta in Marbella

27 year old girl has died in Residencial Monte Marbella at Artola Alta in Marbella after falling to the ground as she tried to get into her own home through a window after forgetting her keys inside.EFE news agency quotes municipal sources as saying the victim is a foreigner, but her nationality has not yet been released. Named with the initials A.K. she was returning home after celebrating her birthday and had climbed a pergola to reach the window. Reports indicate that girl suffered a head injury in the fall, and had already died before emergency services arrived at the scene.

Ronald Priestley, who was one of Britain's most wanted men, fled to Spain's "Costa del Crime"

Ronald Priestley, who was one of Britain's most wanted men, fled to Spain's "Costa del Crime" in 2005 after masterminding the £4.25million fake banknote fraud.The 69-year-old was sentenced to eight years in jail in his absence but was eventually arrested by Spanish police in Marbella.At Leeds Crown Court on Friday, Judge Peter Collier told Priestley: "Your sentence commences today." In 2006 a jury heard that after a surveillance operation on Priestley and his associates, a sophisticated printing operation which could turn out counterfeit £20 notes was uncovered in Birmingham.Priestley, of Leeds, West Yorks, will also face the judge of his original trial, Judge Geoffrey Marson QC, over charges relating to breach of bail.Michael Smith, representing him, asked for the case to be adjourned.Priestley had been previously jailed in April 2002 for conspiring to sell counterfeit perfume and champagne.

Ronald Priestley, 69, of Colton, Leeds, fled to Spain in 2005 after masterminding a £4.25m counterfeit banknote fraud.

He was sentenced to eight years in jail in his absence and was finally arrested when Spanish police swooped on a villa in Marbella earlier this month.Priestley was the subject of a world-wide man hunt after failing to attend a Leeds Crown Court hearing in August 2005, where he faced charges of conspiracy to counterfeit £20 banknotes with a face value of £4.25m.He returned to the court yesterday to formally begin his original sentence with an appearance before the Recorder of Leeds, Judge Peter Collier.On November 2, he will return to face the judge at his original trial, Judge Geoffrey Marson QC, over additional charges concerning breach of bail.
Priestley, who lived in a luxury home on Park Road, had a criminal past in counterfeiting long before 2005.In December 2002, he was stripped of more than £2.2m at Bradford Crown Court after police raids netted 138,000 bottles of fake perfumes and 1,500 bottles of Spanish sparkling wine relabelled as Moet et Chandon champagne.
In April that year, he was jailed for 18 months after admitting three counts of conspiracy to sell or distribute counterfeit goods - but was released early from jail.Priestley was arrested as part of crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers' Operation Captura, which has identified criminals living in Spain wanted in the UK. He was featured in the campaign's first top 10 appeal in October 2006.

Málaga province forced Chinese women into prostitution

Three people who forced Chinese women into prostitution, holding them for 24 hours a day in a property in Santa Pola which was used as the brothel, have been taken into custody by National Police. One woman who was found in the flat was freed by the officers who raided the property, which had been under surveillance for some time before police decided to make their move.The Interior Ministry said in a statement this week that the victims were ‘recruited’ through job offers on a web page, but then found themselves kept captive by their bosses, who also withheld their passports. The money they earned was paid into bank accounts opened in the women’s names – between 120 and 600 € a day - half of which was then transferred the following morning to a bank in China.Bank documents, computers and bank notes were seized during the search.The investigation began in March in Málaga province, leading detectives to the leaders of the organisation based in Santa Pola.

British man, wanted in connection with causing the death of another driver

British man, wanted in connection with causing the death of another driver when he was drunk and driving against the traffic last June, has been arrested by the National Police in Alicante Airport. The arrest came as part of a joint operation with the SOCA, British Serious Organised Crime Agency. Named as P.L. he was born in Glasgow in 1981 and had been driving a van against the traffic on the motorway at Larkhall in Scotland when the accident happened, despite him being banned from driving at the time.

Arrested two Britons and Irishman in connection with the theft of top of the range cars in the U.K.

National Police in Orihuela Costa, Alicante have arrested two Britons and Irishman in connection with the theft of top of the range cars in the U.K. which were then brought to Spain to be sold illegally, or to be used in the carrying out of other crimes.The first arrest came when one of those detained was driving a Mercedes ML 270 on false British plates, and checks established it had been stolen in the U.K. After he was arrested the other members of the group were identified and also detained when driving a stolen Audi A4 on false British plates.Two vehicles with false number plates were recovered in the operation, along with fake driving licences and I.D.Those arrested have been named as 28 year old L.S., 33 year old E.D.D. and 28year old A.L.S.

77 year old Sheila Peterkin, originally from Portsoy, Aberdeenshire, and her husband, Jorge Pérez, a former philosophy professor, were found stabbed t

The couple's bodies being removed from the scene of the murder - EFE
Sheila Peterkin and her husband, Jorge Pérez, were stabbed to death by their mentally ill sonThe Glasgow Sunday Mail has revealed that the woman who, with her husband, was killed by her schizophrenic son at her Madrid home last weekend, was a Scottish woman who had moved to Spain in the 1950s.77 year old Sheila Peterkin, originally from Portsoy, Aberdeenshire, and her husband, Jorge Pérez, a former philosophy professor, were found stabbed to death at their home on Calle Fermín Caballero, in the Fuencarral district of the city, on Sunday 11th October. Their 47 year old son, Andrés Pérez Peterkin, still holding the murder weapon, admitted his guilt when officers arrived at the scene, and was taken to hospital after trying to take his life with the same knife he had used on his parents.His brother Miguel criticised in a letter published last week that the closure of psychiatric institutions has left many of the mentally ill out on the streets without the care and treatment that they need. ‘Schizophrenia’, he said, has caused my dear brother to commit an act that has filled his conscience with pain, remorse and guilt.’The newspaper said Andrés was diagnosed with schizophrenia at the age of 16.

Whiskeria murder in Marbella

fatal stabbing of a young Romanian woman in Marbella on Friday night is under investigation by police as a domestic violence murder, following the arrest of the victim’s ex boyfriend in connection with her death. Also from Romania, the 30 year old is reported by Diario Sur to have been in a relationship with the victim for a number of years.The 26 year old woman died outside a well-known alternative nightclub on the N-340 road between Puerto Banús and Puente Romano at around 11.30 on Friday night, where her suspected assailant was waiting for her as she arrived. She is understood to have been stabbed at least 10 times, despite efforts by staff at the club to stop the fatal attack after the victim’s friend, who had arrived there with her, ran inside for help.Police found the murder weapon lying on the ground beside her body when they arrived at the scene, and her assailant crouching down beside her. Emergency services were unable to do anything to save her life.
The man was refused bail by the duty judge in Marbella.

Would-be bank robber who waited patiently in line for more than 10 minutes for his turn at the cash desk

Would-be bank robber who waited patiently in line for more than 10 minutes for his turn at the cash desk last Friday was overpowered by other customers queuing up at the branch in Málaga City, Diario Sur reports.His attire in the recent warm weather had already given some cause for suspicion: a cap with a visor pulled down to cover the upper part of his face, and a high-necked pullover covering part of his chin. Suspicions were confirmed when he responded to the cashier’s question of ‘How may I help you?’ with the reply, ‘I’ve come to rob the bank’, pulling out a large knife from his pocket.Customers in the queue managed to force him to the ground and hold him there until police arrived on the scene. He turned out to be a regular client of the branch and is noted by Sur to be under treatment for psychiatric problems.