Five injured in Canary Island Hotel gas explosion

 Five people have been injured, four of them seriously in a gas explosion in a hotel in Gran Canaria. The propane gas escaped during transfer of the gas from a tanker to the Hotel Cordial on the Playa de Mogán and caused an explosion which led to a fire. Five people were affected by burns, four of them are reported to be in a very serious condition, according to the emergency services coordination centre. Four of the injured are workers from...

The Real Threat Facing Spanish Lenders

 While Europe’s sovereign debt crisis grabs all the headlines, distressed real estate may pose a bigger threat to the Spanish banking system. The country’s lenders hold about £30 billion ($41 billion) of unfinished homes and land that’s “unsellable,” according to Pablo Cantos, managing partner of MaC Group in Madrid. MaC Group is a risk adviser to several leading Spanish banks. “I’m really worried about the small and medium-size banks...

Don't just book it, Thomas Cook it. So runs the slogan. Would you

 Don't just book it, Thomas Cook it. So runs the slogan. Would you? Here's interim (that's reassuring) chief executive Sam Weihagen doing his safe-as-houses routine: "It's business as usual. We are trading within all our covenants. We have all the protection in place like any other travel company, and customers should not worry at all." Well, not quite like any other travel company. Thomas Cook of course holds an Air Travel Organisers' Licence...

Thomas Cook is running low on cash and has begun talks with its banks

Thomas Cook planes parked at Munich airport last year. Photograph: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty ImagesThomas Cook is running low on cash and has begun talks with its banks, in an effort to increase its borrowings to tide it over the slow Christmas season.Shares in the tour operator...

Police on the Costa del Sol were yesterday hunting a gang who stole £1million of cocaine from a warehouse where authorities held seized drugs before destroying them.

Police on the Costa del Sol were yesterday hunting a gang who stole £1million of cocaine from a warehouse where authorities held seized drugs before destroying them.The thieves used laser equipment to cut through the metal doors of the store in the docks at Malaga, the capital of...

Prison for man who left €5,000 bill at Marbella hotel

 A MAN has been sentenced to a year in prison for failing to pay a bill of more than €5,438 at a luxury Marbella hotel. He had been staying at the Marbella Club on the Golden Mile for a week in September 2003 and during the stay, used different services which amounted to €5,438, which he left without paying. The hotel made a formal complaint but the trial wasn’t held until this year mainly due to difficulties locating the man. He admitted...

shiny Audis and BMWs that still line the narrow streets of Benalup are a reminder that this Andalucían country town once boasted the greatest number of luxury cars per head in the south-western province of Cádiz.

 Photograph: Tracey Fahy /AlamyThe shiny Audis and BMWs that still line the narrow streets of Benalup are a reminder that this Andalucían country town once boasted the greatest number of luxury cars per head in the south-western province of Cádiz.These days this charming place,...

British bonds win 'safe haven' tag in eurozone debt storm

 British government bonds are attracting strong support, in sharp contrast to their troubled eurozone peers as investors seek a safehaven from a debt crisis now spreading to Italy, Spain and even France. British government bonds, or gilts as they are known, are in huge demand largely because the Bank of England is buying them up with newly-created money that it hopes can in turn be used to stimulate an anaemic economic recovery, analysts say....

TWO MILLION EUROS CLAIMED AFTER CANCELLED STONES CONCERT

The PP mayor of El Ejido in Almería, Francisco Góngora, has criticized the "negligence" of the former government team and announced that the city council are to begin legal proceedings against the promotions company who were to stage a concert by the Rolling Stones in 2006.Following...

SIX people have been arrested for their involvement with a gang which stole jewellery from elderly people

 SIX people have been arrested for their involvement with a gang which stole jewellery from elderly people. They are believed to be responsible for more than 120 robberies in 19 provinces throughout Spain, including Almeria, where some of the members were based. Around 450 pieces of jewellery have been recovered and will be exhibited at the Almeria Guardia Civil station for owners to identify. The way they operated was by one of them asking...

ONE of Europe’s most powerful hashish smugglers was arrested in Estepona

 ONE of Europe’s most powerful hashish smugglers was arrested in Estepona, National Police said. The arrest of the 33-year-old man was part of an operation against drug traffickers based in Huelva in which more than 3,620 kilos of hashish were seized from a pneumatic boat at a shipyard in Isla Christina, Huelva. The two men on board were dressed as Guardia Civil officers so as not to arouse suspicion. They were arrested along...

The World Bank today approved $297 million in loans to Morocco to help finance the Ouarzazate Concentrated Solar Power Plant Project

The World Bank today approved $297 million in loans to Morocco to help finance the Ouarzazate Concentrated Solar Power Plant Project, taking a historic step toward realizing one of the first large-scale plants of this kind in North Africa to exploit the region's vast solar energy resources. With this approval from the Bank's Board of Executive Directors, Morocco takes the lead with the first project in the low-carbon development plan under the...

FIVE members of a British family have been arrested for stealing 156,700 litres of diesel oil from a Malaga pipeline.

 FIVE members of a British family have been arrested for stealing 156,700 litres of diesel oil from a Malaga pipeline. The highly-organised team are alleged to have used their plumbing knowledge to puncture the pipe and set up hidden hoses leading to their rented finca in nearby Campanillas. In early October oil company CLH noticed a drop in pressure in the pipe supplying Malaga airport and filed a complaint with the Guardia Civil,...

MOROCCAN man who murdered his girlfriend by stabbing her 15 times on Nerja’s emblematic Balcon de Europa

 MOROCCAN man who murdered his girlfriend by stabbing her 15 times on Nerja’s emblematic Balcon de Europa has apologised to the victim’s family. Hicham Bellasfer, 32, killed 25-year-old Argentinean Cecila Coria in the Nerja bar where she worked, in September 2008. Coria’s sister Vanessa responded to the apology by calling Bellasfer a ‘scourge on society’ before demanding a long senten...

Hundreds of kilos of cocaine were stolen from Málaga port

The impounded drugs were taken over the weekend from a warehouse in Málaga port.Cocaine - Archive Photo EFE Hundreds of kilos of cocaine were stolen from Málaga port last weekend, and some reports speak of as much as 600 kilos.The drug had been impounded by the courts and the...

Suspect for Mazarrón shooting may have escaped from prison

 The man who was arrested for a fatal shooting in Mazarrón on Sunday night, killing one man and seriously injuring a 16 year old boy, was serving time in prison for another crime when it happened. It’s not yet clear if he was out on a pass from the prison or had escaped and was on the run. The news came from the central government delegate for Murcia, Rafael González, on Tuesday, who said that the un-named suspect, a man from Tarragona, will...

Spanish police deal a massive blow to organised crime in Madrid

 The National Police have announced the successful conclusion of a three-year operation against organised crime in Madrid, against clans of criminals who controlled the city’s nightlife through extortion and for drug dealing. There have been 150 arrests during the various phases of the operation, with 27 million € in cash recovered from the suspects, goods to the value of another 75 million € seized, and 300 kilos of cocaine confiscated by...

ARRESTED 60-year-old, who is originally from Blackpool, but has been living in the Marbella area of Spain

Armed Naval and Gardai personnel with cocaine which was seized from a yacht off the west coast of Ireland A BLACKPOOL man has been arrested for allegedly being part of a £250m international cocaine smuggling racket. Police, acting under orders from the Serious Organised...

Foreign Office is urging Britons to remember that its services are reserved for people in real difficultly

 Foreign Office is urging Britons to remember that its services are reserved for people in real difficultly, and not for finding out Prince Charles' shoe size The Foreign Office has issued a reminder to Britons travelling and living abroad that embassies, high commissions and consulates exist to offer assistance to those in real difficultly, and are not 'concierge services'. To demonstrate their point the Foreign Office decided to reveal some...

Holiday villa belonging to a Sevilla family was left in a heap of rubble after thieves stole it brick by brick

 holiday villa belonging to a Sevilla family was left in a heap of rubble after thieves stole it brick by brick. Gloria Moreno had a villa in the urbanization of Boticaria (Sevilla), near a luxury. Now he has nothing. They have stolen the building brick by brick. When the rafters were taken the ceiling came down and what was supposed to be a beautiful holiday home has become a pile of rubble. Her family bought the home ten years ago as a second...

The King of Spain’s son-in-law was at the centre of a corruption storm today as he came under investigation for siphoning off public money.

Inaki Urdangarin - the husband of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia's youngest daughter Infanta Cristina - is suspected of misappropriating cash paid into an NGO.The former handball player now faces a possible interrogation by investigating judge Jose Castro  and risks causing...

A Romanian man wanted for murder and robbery in Portugal has been arrested in Torre del Mar.

27 year old from Romania escaped to Spain after he was sentenced for the death of a woman who was killed in Portugal in 2005EFE archive Named by El Mundo newspaper as 27 year old Ioan R., he fled to Spain after a Portuguese court sentenced him to 15 and a half years in prison...

Nigerian scam case deflates in Málaga

 Nilo Case has reached court in Málaga, judging the largest ever swindle carried out mostly by Nigerians who sent out letters to try and capture their victims. Under the scam thousands of letters were sent from Málaga around the world, informing their recipients that they had won a prize in the Spanish lottery, and calling for them to pay a management fee so they could receive their winnings. There are 247 known victims of the fraud from Belgium...

The Civil Guard have asked for help from the public in identifying a body

The unidentified man - EFEThe Civil Guard have asked for help from the public in identifying a body which was found floating in the waters of Tarragona Port at the end of October.The deceased is a man aged between 55 and 65, 1.60 metres tall, with short greying hair and a beard....

Hundreds of foreign residents could lose their homes after mortgage scam in Spain

 A group of some twenty foreign residents of the Costa del Sol have denounced a fraud under which they could lose their homes. They have formed a platform to denounce a mortgage fraud which had the objective of getting large amounts of money which was then invested in financial havens such as Luxembourg or the Channel Islands. There were foreign victims, mostly all retired, along the entire Spanish coastline and on the islands, from the Costa...

Man decapitates his daughter in Girona saying the devil ordered him to kill her

 Latin American man was arrested at his home in Girona on Thursday morning after telephoning emergency services to say he had killed his two year old daughter. His other daughter, aged six, was found with him at the family home on Calle Oviedo unhurt. She is understood to have been watching television when it happened. Her sister’s decapitated body was found lying on the bed when a medical team arrived at the property with police. The father...

Civil Guard have arrested 18 members of a drugs network which had its main base in Bilbao

Some of the drugs recovered. Photo - Civil GuardThe Civil Guard have arrested 18 members of a drugs network which had its main base in Bilbao and smuggled cocaine into the country from Colombia for sale on the Canary Islands.They used drug mules to bring the cocaine into Spain on...

Dogs crap can cost a fortune in Marbella municipality

 The fine for not picking up dogs crap is raised in Marbella municipality up to 30.000 Euros. Around the street with lovely Marbella apartments, Marbella villas and property Marbella is it full with dog crap. Marbella municipal leaders want to strengthen measures to remove animal waste from the city streets. Therefore it has been assumed increased fines. . A first-time offense will be punishable by between 75 and 500 Euros in fines. Relapses...

Italian government bonds breached the 7% danger level, HSBC said it had cut its exposure to troubled eurozone countries in Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain

Stuart Gulliver, chief executive of HSBC, warned of "significant headwinds" caused by the eurozone crisis, which has driven its investment banking arm to a loss in Europe.As yields on Italian government bonds breached the 7% danger level, HSBC said it had cut its exposure to troubled eurozone countries in Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain by $2.7bn (£1.68bn) in the quarter to $5.5bn and took an impairment charge of $171m on...