TOURISTS have been spending greater and greater this summer in Spain,

Holidaymakers spend greater in Spain this year: "TOURISTS have been spending greater and greater this summer in Spain, with August's figures showing the fourth consecutive month of increases. The average holidaymaker in Spain spent 975 euros, according to research, or a daily figure of 98 euros. And the largest spenders – chiefly because they represented the highest in number – were the British, who shelled out an average of 2.3 per cent greater...

500 years for the 95 accused – among them three former mayors of the Costa del Sol resort of Marbella, senior town hall officials

Spain enthralled as huge corruption trial begins - The Irish Times - Tue, Sep 28, 2010: "The prosecutor is demanding a total of 500 years for the 95 accused – among them three former mayors of the Costa del Sol resort of Marbella, senior town hall officials and many leading businessmen.They took their seats in the dock in a specially enlarged courtroom, charged with a string of offences, including bribery and corruption, money laundering, tax evasion...

7 Suspected Basque Separatists Held In Spain

7 Suspected Basque Separatists Held In Spain: "Spanish police have arrested seven suspected members of an offshoot of the Basque separatist group ETA, local media reported quoting officials on Tuesday.According to the reports, the suspects were arrested in the northern Basque and Navarra regions of Spain. But their claims are yet to be confirmed by Spanish officials.All the suspects detained in the overnight raids were reportedly members of the radical...

Spain Borrowing Costs Rise as Moody’s Decision Looms - BusinessWeek

Spain Borrowing Costs Rise as Moody’s Decision Looms - BusinessWeek: "Spain auctioned 3 billion euros ($4 billion) of Treasury bills at rising borrowing costs as a decision by Moody’s Investors Service on lowering the country’s credit rating looms.Spain sold 1.17 billion euros of three-month bills at an average yield of 0.685 percent, compared with 0.624 percent at the last auction on Aug. 24. It sold 1.81 billion euros of six- month bills at a yield...

BBC News - Ryanair operating hand baggage only flights to Spain

BBC News - Ryanair operating hand baggage only flights to Spain: "Ryanair said it will operate hand baggage only flights to and from Spain on Wednesday because of a 24-hour strike by Spanish workers. The airline said about 70% of passengers due to travel would be unaffected as they did not have checked in luggage.Passengers with checked in bags can change their booking to hand luggage.Ryanair said they will get a refund on their luggag...

"Mr Marbella", the former Irish nightclub boss,has been having a secret affair with a 16-year-old teenager in Marbella.

Celebrity Irish DJ Maurice Boland has been having a secret affair with a 16-year-old teenager in Marbella.Known as "Mr Marbella", the former Irish nightclub boss, who has been married for 40 years, had his long-standing contract with Talk Radio Europe on the Costa del Sol suddenly...

Strikes in Spain on 29 September are likely to affect domestic and international travel

Strikes in France on 23 September and in Spain on 29 September are likely to affect domestic and international travel.Industrial action in France is expected to cause delays and cancellations to rail transport on 23 September. Eurostar services are expected to run normally but air travel may be disrupted. A possible national General Strike in Spain on 29 September 2010 may have an impact on public services, including transport. If you are planning...

Spain’s Council of Ministers has approved a draft of a new Gambling Act

Spain’s Council of Ministers has approved a draft of a new Gambling Act, which is designed to regulate and tax all forms of gambling including online, interactive television and mobile gambling.The draft legislation has tax and regulatory provisions relating to advertising, sponsorship, consumer protection for minors and problem players and counter-measures against fraud and money laundering. Suitable applicants may be granted five year licenses.It...

Spaniards are bracing for transport disruption in a general strike called for Wednesday

Spaniards are bracing for transport disruption in a general strike called for Wednesday, but the work stoppage will not be big enough for the Socialist government to reconsider austerity plans.Spanish labour groups have called the first general strike in eight years to protest against spending cuts the government says are needed to allay concerns the country could slide into a debt crisis that would threaten the unified euro currency.Just 9 percent...

Spaniards are bracing for transport disruption in a general strike called for Wednesday

Spaniards are bracing for transport disruption in a general strike called for Wednesday, but the work stoppage will not be big enough for the Socialist government to reconsider austerity plans.Spanish labour groups have called the first general strike in eight years to protest against spending cuts the government says are needed to allay concerns the country could slide into a debt crisis that would threaten the unified euro currency.Just 9 percent...

Jerónimo Roca Ros was the owner of the 'El Franvi' meat business

Mystery surrounds the motive of a violent attack on a Cartagena businessman and his wife in their home in the early hours of Sunday morning.Three hooded men attacked the remote ‘Los Remolinos’ home of 60 year old father of four, Jerónimo Roca Ros, who had the ‘El Franvi’ local meat business, leaving him shot dead and his wife bound and gagged. They gained access by cutting a mosquito net on a window, according to the La Verdad newspaper, which ads...

Britons facing new taxes on 'bargain' Spanish properties | Mail Online

Britons facing new taxes on 'bargain' Spanish properties | Mail Online: "Bargain-hunters in Spain scooping up discounted property could be in for a nasty surprise as cash-strapped Spanish regional authorities hit them with extra taxes after the deal is done. British buyers have found their purchases revalued upwards by provincial authorities, who are demanding thousands of euros in additional land registration tax. In June last year, retirees Neil...

Spain's largest municipal corruption court case ever is a week away

Spain's largest municipal corruption court case ever is a week away: "Malaya case finally gets underway in a specially extended hall in the Málaga Ciudad de la Justicia on September 27What will be Spain’s largest corruption trial to date, the Malaya case based in Marbella, gets underway on September 27 in Málaga. The case broke in Marbella on March 29 2006, when police vans raided the Town Hall in the town and started to remove documents. It was...

Spain Is Ripe for Cloud Computing but Slow to Adopt - NYTimes.com

Spain Is Ripe for Cloud Computing but Slow to Adopt - NYTimes.com: "Spain, whose economy has been among the hardest hit by the financial crisis, is seen by many technology experts as fertile ground for developing cloud computing, with its potential to cut fixed costs. RelatedCloud Computing Hits Snag in Europe (September 20, 2010) Fifty percent of the country’s gross domestic product and 43 percent of Spanish jobs are in services, which is the area...

Former world boxing champion Ricky Hatton insisted he did not have a problem

Former world boxing champion Ricky Hatton has spoken of his "disgust" at his alleged binge drinking and drug taking but insisted he did not have a problem.The 31-year-old, who is to be investigated by police over allegations he snorted cocaine in a hotel room, was admitted to a rehabilitation clinic on Monday.Hatton, who was secretly filmed taking what is alleged to be lines of the class A drug on a night out, gave a candid interview in which he...

Henry Norberto Valdes Marin, 36, alias Pollo – meaning Chicken – and Mauricio Alberto Gonzalez, 44, aka Ronco most dangerous Colombian hitmen

Henry Norberto Valdes Marin, 36, alias Pollo – meaning Chicken – and Mauricio Alberto Gonzalez, 44, aka Ronco – meaning Husky. "These are the most dangerous Colombian citizens to have been detained in Spain up until now due to their history and the variety of criminal activities...

George Michael has been given an eight-week sentence for crashing his car while under the influence of cannabis.

George Michael has been given an eight-week sentence for crashing his car while under the influence of cannabis.He was also fined £1,250 at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court in London and given a five-year driving ban.The 47-year-old singer was arrested in July in Hampstead, north London after driving his Range Rover into a branch of photographic store Snappy Snaps.Last month he pleading guilty to driving under the influence of drugs and possessing...