TWO men were arrested for posting a false bomb threat at the Marriott Hotel in Elviria, Marbella

TWO men were arrested for posting a false bomb threat at the Marriott Hotel in Elviria, Marbella on the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) website last week. The message warned that the terrorist organization Al Qaeda would attack, prompting the CIA to contact the US embassy in Spain and call the National Police.A huge police presence came to the hotel.One of the men arrested works in the kitchen of the hotel; although both men deny the charges...

Court to sell off Roca's private plane and helicopter

Provincial Court in Málaga hearing the Malaya corruption case and presided over by Judge José Godino, has asked for the police to value the private plane and helicopter owned by the man at the centre of the case, Juan Antonio Roca, the ex municipal real estate assessor in Marbella...

National Police in the Sevilla town of Écija have broken up a network which helped people to obtain their driving licence fraudulently

National Police in the Sevilla town of Écija have broken up a network which helped people to obtain their driving licence fraudulently. 12 arrests have been made in the operation which started at the end of last year when it was noted that one driving school was attracting pupils from right across Andalucía.Some of those to pass their written exams were in fact unable to read or write, but they were told over a radio link to be given the answers...

Spain tops the list in numbers of expat deaths (1,786) and arrests (2,012).

Spain tops the list in numbers of expat deaths (1,786) and arrests (2,012). A brief recent stroll through Benidorm found English fans watching football, drinking Tetley's and eating haddock and chips. But not everyone conforms to the stereotype.In May, there will be Britons running for office in local elections and it is estimated that expats could hold the balance of power in as many as 19 towns in the Valencia region, which includes the Alicante...

Costa del Sol is a shooting gallery for rival gangsters

Costa del Sol is a shooting gallery for rival gangsters. British criminals there are a plenty plus various Italian mafias, Russians, Eastern Europeans:Text may be subject to copyright.This blog does not claim copyright to any such text. Copyright remains with the original copyright hold...

Spanish airport workers have called off 22 days of rolling strikes during peak holiday periods after winning guarantees of job and wage security.

Spanish airport workers have called off 22 days of rolling strikes during peak holiday periods after winning guarantees of job and wage security.They were concerned about their conditions because their state-owned employer was due to be partly privatised.Union representative Manuel Tapia said 70% of the 13,000 employees at the company AENA voted to cancel the stoppages.The strike threat came from runway signallers, firefighters and ground crew workers...

Figures from the Irish Tourist Assistance Service (ITAS) show the main complaint was personal theft, which accounted for 48% of all tourist crimes reported.

total of 361 visitors to Ireland reported being the victim of crime last year. Figures from the Irish Tourist Assistance Service (ITAS) show the main complaint was personal theft, which accounted for 48% of all tourist crimes reported. There were nine reports of violent crimes committed against tourists in 2010, ranging from aggravated theft to violent robbery.Some 77% of the crimes reported were at garda stations in Dublin. Wicklow, Louth, Kerry...

32-year-old singer from Blue – who had three number ones with the band – is being sued for 25,000 euros in maintenance charges by Majestic Hills property developers.

32-year-old singer from Blue – who had three number ones with the band – is being sued for 25,000 euros in maintenance charges by Majestic Hills property developers.The builders claim he has failed to pay anything towards community charges after buying his four-bedroom flat in 2006. Former president of Majestic Hills development, Michael Lewis, said: “He hasn’t paid a penny towards any service charges for five vears.“It has left the other residents...

one gunman fired two shots, hitting the man, described as middle-aged and British, in the leg.

lone gunman fired two shots, hitting the man, described as middle-aged and British, in the leg.But before paramedics arrived, a man picked up the victim in a 4X4 and sped off.Local police said: “We’ve checked all the hospitals but have found no trace of the injured man. The incident bore all the hallmarks of a settling of scores between criminal...

The judge at Instruction Court No. 3 in Valencia who has been investigating alleged tax fraud in connection with Terra Mítica has concluded that company directors of the Benidorm theme park were not involved.

The judge at Instruction Court No. 3 in Valencia who has been investigating alleged tax fraud in connection with Terra Mítica has concluded that company directors of the Benidorm theme park were not involved.The case is investigating an alleged fraud of 4.4 million € through a false invoices scam over 2000 and 2001. Terra Mítica and contractors to the theme park have been under investigation, but the judge ruled on Tuesday to provisionally lift the...

Spanish economic model of the last 30 years, with high rates of growth and job creation, is based on exploitation of the youngest workers, researchers say.

The Spanish economic model of the last 30 years, with high rates of growth and job creation, is based on exploitation of the youngest workers, researchers say.Study author Pablo Lopez Calle of the University of Madrid and colleagues analyzed the impact of the labor reforms of the past 30 years and the living conditions of younger generations. In addition to analyzing the data, the researchers conducted 30 case studies of young people from Madrid...

Freund and his cohorts believe what remains of the sunken city might be located in muddy marshlands just south of Cadiz, Spain.

global team of scientists from the University of Hartford led by professor Richard Freund have allegedly located Atlantis, an island metropolis once thought only to be the stuff of legends.Reuters and MSNBC reported Freund and his cohorts believe what remains of the sunken city might be located in muddy marshlands just south of Cadiz, Spain.Freund and his team used satellite images to determine the location of the mythical sea-based city.Plato, the...

Hot ITV show to be shot in Marbella

The hit ITV2 show The Only Way is Essex will return to our screens next week and the show’s producers have confirmed that the new series will include scenes shot in the glamorous Costa del Sol.Filming for a pilot in the wealthy holiday hotspot of Marbella has already started, with scenes including burlesque classes, action on the beach and in several of the local bars and nightclubs.The show takes a fly on the wall look at the lives of affluent young...

Ah, to endure the dilemmas of the rich and pivileged.

Ah, to endure the dilemmas of the rich and pivileged. Like which sports car to drive?Or which luxurious condo to spend vacation time? Or where to fly on a private jet?Those are just the kind of problems and difficult decisions being offered by the Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation in its first BC Vacation Home Lottery.While the Foundation has been involved with lotteries before, in partnership with other hospitals, this is its first solo venture."This...

Banco Santander SA (SAN) Chief Executive Officer Alfredo Saenz suspended from banking for three months.

Spain’s Supreme Court upheld a conviction against Banco Santander SA (SAN) Chief Executive Officer Alfredo Saenz and suspended him from banking for three months.Santander will appeal the sentence handed down to Saenz for making a false accusation, an official for the bank said in a telephone interview, while the lender said in a filing to regulators its board backed Saenz to continue as CEO. As well as suspending him from his banking duties, the...

politicians now use crude language in Spain, where insulting others has become 'an institution' and an increasingly common part of everyday life, as the daily El Pais put it.

'The other day, I let fly at a collaborator, telling him he was a son of a bitch,' Spanish 'teletrash' celebrity Belen Esteban said in a recent interview.Such language could be attributed to Esteban's lack of education and provocative attitude, but she is far from being the only Spanish public personality to talk that way.Even some politicians now use crude language in Spain, where insulting others has become 'an institution' and an increasingly...

Aston Martin wants you to take a trip to the Ascari circuit in Spain to get a better idea of what the updated V8 Vantage is all about

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located the lost city of Atlantis, the legendary metropolis believed swamped by a tsunami thousands of years ago in mud flats in southern Spain.

U.S.-led research team may have finally located the lost city of Atlantis, the legendary metropolis believed swamped by a tsunami thousands of years ago in mud flats in southern Spain."This is the power of tsunamis," head researcher Richard Freund told Reuters."It is just so hard to understand that it can wipe out 60 miles inland, and that's pretty much what we're talking about," said Freund, a University of Hartford, Connecticut, professor who lead...

A British five year-old boy has died after being buried in snow at a Spanish ski resort in the Pyrenees.

The child died in hospital on Tuesday, 11 days after being pulled from the snow when the driver of a snow plough failed to spot him playing near a ski-lift in the resort of Baqueira Beret. The boy was airlifted to hospital after spending at least a minute under the huge pile of snow before his father and other skiers could reach him. A magistrate is now investigating the death and the driver of the snowplough could face charges of manslaughter, Spanish...

Barclays to close 100 branches in Spain: report

 Barclays to close 100 branches in Spain: report: "British bank Barclays will close more than 100 branches and lay off 700 staff in Spain to cut costs and stem losses, the financial daily Expansion said Tuesday. The cuts, amounting to 17 percent of the staff and almost 20 percent...

How Spain is fighting the recession

How Spain is fighting the recession : "With the cost of oil threatening to further slow down an economy that is already in the doldrums, Spain is not lying down and taking it. In the space of a week, the country and its people have decided to fight back with a little ingenuity. First,...

British woman killed by her Spanish ex

British woman killed by her Spanish ex in Madrid: "52 year old British woman named by EFE as Marilyn Wilson was found stabbed to death outside her home in Fuente el Saz del Jarama, Madrid, on Monday morning in a new case of domestic violence. She was seriously injured but still alive when she was found lying on the road outside her home on the outskirts of the town, with stab wounds to her chest and abdomen at around 8am on Monday. She was stabilised...

10 arrests after weekend pro-democracy Morocco protests

10 arrests after weekend pro-democracy Morocco protests "Fresh demonstrations took place over the weekend in Morocco, with police dispersing protesters in several cities where they had gathered to demand a more democratic constitution, the pro- democracy 'February 20 Movement' said Monday. Rallies mobilized hundreds of people in Rabat, Casablanca, Tangier and Marrakesh on Sunday. Police dispersed the protesters mostly without violence, media...

Spain property owners accept lower offers

Spain property owners accept lower offers: "The vast majority of people realistically seeking to sell their home in Spain are accepting offers of up to 20 per cent below the asking price, according to Spain property firm Idealista. Spain property owners are required to accept offers significantly below the asking price, despite major reductions in Spain property asking prices, due to a glut of homes across most parts of the country, particularly...

British expat stabbed to death on doorstep

British expat stabbed to death on doorstep - Telegraph: "Marylin Wilson, 55, was found bleeding to death outside her house in the village of Fuente el Saz del Jarama on the outskirts of the capital early on Monday morning. She had several stab wounds to her chest and abdomen and despite attention from paramedics at the scene she died shortly after arriving in hospital. Police arrested a 55-year old Spanish man believed to be her ex-boyfriend several...

The owners of more than 11,000 homes under threat of demolition will now be able to keep properties in the Axarquia region of Andalucia

The owners of more than 11,000 homes under threat of demolition will now be able to keep properties in the Axarquia region of Andalucia, on the Costa del Sol. But regional government bosses say they cannot guarantee the future of more than 850 houses built on protected land and a further 970 homes built illegally in the last four years. The amnesty was announced this week after a study of the area, part of Malaga province, by council chiefs. Around...

‘Benidorm’ Brits drink most abroad

‘Benidorm’ Brits drink most abroad : "IT’S the behaviour that led to the “Brits abroad” reputation stereotyped in popular sitcom Benidorm. Now research claims Britons are Europe’s heaviest holiday drinkers, with 65% drinking more while on a trip abroad than they do at home. Whether...

Morocco frees jailed senior air force officer: lawyer

Morocco frees jailed senior air force officer: lawyer  "Morocco's King Mohammed has pardoned a retired senior air force officer who was sentenced by a martial court to a 12-year jail term for complaining to the monarch about the poor treatment of former air force pilots. 'Kaddour Terhzaz walked free out of his prison this afternoon upon a royal pardon and after an iniquitous trial that ended up wasting two years of his life in jail for nothing,'...

Spain`s jobless total at 15-year high

Spain`s jobless total at 15-year high: "Spain has nearly 4.3 million people without jobs, the highest total since the current statistical series began in 1996, the labour ministry has said. In February, an additional 68,620 people registered as unemployed, a figure the ministry described as 'bad', though 'a little better' than the corresponding numbers in February 2009 and 2010. Unemployment rose 1.6 percent in February compared to January and...

SDSU exchange student missing in Spain

SDSU exchange student missing in Spain "Authorities in Madrid are searching for a San Diego State University foreign-exchange student who was studying in Spain and who has not been seen for nearly a week. Austin Taylor Bice is a senior who is studying international business, said Gina Jacobs, a spokeswoman for the university. He was studying at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Jacobs said Wednesday night. He has been missing since Friday nigh...

Spain, France, Britain,launch emergency airlifts on Libyan border

Spain, France launch emergency airlifts on Libyan border: "More than 140,000 refugees already have fled into Tunisia and Egypt from Libya and thousands more are arriving by the day. U.N. officials are warning that fast action is needed to protect and feed them to prevent a humanitarian...

Pain in Spain on the cards for British holidaymakers

Pain in Spain on the cards for British holidaymakers -02 March, 2011: "Spanish airport workers, including baggage handlers and fire fighters, are threatening a strike that could disrupt the travel plans of thousands of British holidaymakers over the Easter break. Three unions have called for industrial action to prevent the government's part privatization of the civil aviation agency AENA, according to the Daily Mail. The strike could bring Spanish...