Spain sets out 8.9bn euros of new austerity measures

 Spain's new conservative government has outlined 8.9bn euros ($11.5bn, £7.5bn) in new spending cuts and tax rises to lower the country's borrowing. The announcement is the first in a wave of austerity measures, with a total of 16.5bn euros to be cut in 2012. It also said Spain's 2011 deficit will be about 8% of its output - higher than the 6% seen by the previous government. The Popular Party last month ousted the Socialists from power at...

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Snakes on a plane (almost) in Argentina

 Snakes on a plane (almost) in Argentina Authorities in Argentina caught a man trying to board a plane with almost 250 poisonous snakes and endangered reptil...

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Spain’s Iberia scraps 118 flights due to strike by pilots angry over planned budget affiliate

 Spanish airline Iberia canceled more than a third of its flights Thursday due to a strike by pilots fearing job losses when company planes are diverted for use by Iberia’s planned new budget carrier. Iberia said it scrapped 118 domestic and international flights but found seats on other Iberia flights or with other carriers for all the 10,000 travelers affected by the one-day strike. 0 Comments Weigh InCorrections? inShare It was the...

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Spain King's Son-in-Law Subpoenaed in Graft Probe

 A judge subpoenaed the son-in-law of Spain's King Juan Carlos on Thursday to testify as a suspect in a corruption case, deepening a public relations nightmare for the royal family at a time of acute economic crisis for everyday people. The case surrounding Inaki Urdangarin, husband of the king's daughter Cristina, has been front-page news for weeks. But it went a big step further Thursday when Judge Jose Castro on the Mediterranean island...

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Ice Skating in Marbella

:Text may be subject to copyright.This blog does not claim copyright to any such text. Copyright remains with the original copyright holder. Ice Skating in MarbellaFrom December 15th to January 9th next year the Marbella ice skating rink is open to the public at the Palacio de Ferias y Congresos. The 800 sqm ice skating rink also includes a Christmas market, bouncy castle, trampolines, carousel and children's attractions. There is a cafeteria and...

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Marbella has suffered from a scandal that has blighted the town for a decade.

Eighteen thousand homes were built illegally by developers during the boom years up to 2006 and thousands of people bought them in good faith. The Marbella administration has sought to resolve the issue by fining the developers and devising a plan that effectively legalises 17,500 homes. Where developers cannot be found, homeowners pay the fine.Until now, the Andalucia regional...

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Wife found Gary Speed's body, inquest hears

 Wales football manager Gary Speed was found hanged at his home by his wife, an inquest was told today. The 42-year-old father-of-two was found dead at his Cheshire home on Sunday morning. Detective Inspector Peter Lawless, of Cheshire Police, told Cheshire coroner Nicholas Rheinberg that Speed's body was found by his wife Louise just before 7am. He said there appeared to be no suspicious circumstances and a post mortem examination found...

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TWO families are rejoicing after two men held in a Spanish prison were set free after four-and-a-half months

 Kyle Thain, 24, and James Harris, 29, have been released on bail from Font Calent jail in Alicante.This has left family members and friends overwhelmed – and they haven’t given up hope of getting them back to Britain for Christmas.Kyle’s brother Jay, 29, said: “This is the best I have felt in a long while. It’'s amazing news.”Sharon Harris, 56, Kyle’s mother, and husband Dave, 58, sold their Southend home to help fund the legal fight.Yesterday,...

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Spanish savings bank directors suspected of fraud

 Spanish savings bank has fired two directors and is investigating two former executives for allegedly syphoning off €20 million ($26.5 million) into secret pension funds, the bank said Saturday. The board of directors of Caixa Penedes bank had "required the departure" of its president, Ricard Pages, and director general Manuel Troyano. It said both men had agreed to leave, the bank said in a statement. The decision comes after state prosecutor...

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A woman claiming to be the ex-wife of Colonel Gaddafi's captured son Saif al-Islam has emerged in Ukraine with extraordinary stories alleging domestic violence and womanising.

Nadia, a blue-eyed brunette claims to have met him when she worked as a stripper in a top Moscow nightclub, and says she is currently in hiding, fearing for her life.She claimed that as she prepared for marriage to Saif, she had to fly to Paris to have an operation to 'restore' her virginity. ''The doctor proved my innocence in the presence of Saif's aunt. Then I embraced...

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Russian Buyers 'targeting Marbella Real Estate'

 Marbella in Spain is proving popular among Russians looking for property in the country, it has been noted. Fine & Country Spain, a real estate agency, has recorded an increase in the number of buyers from Russia expressing an interest in developments in the region. Sales director at the firm Laurent Coulee commented that the amount of people from the nation searching for properties in Spain has doubled since 2010. He added that the...

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People queue up to buy ''El Gordo'' lottery tickets in downtown Madrid

 November 16, 2011.Credit: Reuters/Susana Vera    Millions are out of work and a recession looms, all the more reason for Spaniards to dig deep into their pockets to gamble on the famous El Gordo (Fat One) Christmas lottery, the world's biggest jackpot, which will make a record payout this year. "Things are tough this year, but I am definitely...

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550 kilos of cocaine hidden in bananas intercepted in Algeciras

 National Police have found more than 550 kilos of cocaine hidden in boxes of ‘top quality bananas’ which were being introduced into Spain via the port in Algeciras. The drugs were hidden in the plastic linings inside the cardboard boxes containing the bananas, found in containers which had come from Ecuador. The drug runners benefitted by the quicker customs procedures for fruit. 11 people have been arrested in Madrid, including the alleged...

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Hugh Grant romanced the mother of his child at a Chinese restaurant where she worked.

Pretty receptionist Tinglan Hong, 32, was known as Tin Tin by staff and entertained diners by singing on the karaoke.She was born and brought up in China and dated the London restaurant and takeaway’s owner Marco Yu, 60, before falling for the upper-crust English actor’s charms.The boss and staff were shocked when Tinglan announced she was pregnant with Hugh’s baby earlier this year.Marco told the Sunday Mirror yesterday: “Tin Tin worked here for...

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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 the southern Spanish holiday coast. They struck when there were no security guards on duty...

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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...

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Gang targets wealthy diners

 Diners at some of the city's most popular restaurants had their credit card details stolen by waiters working for gangs, who targeted customers with American Express black cards, then spent millions of dollars on expensive clothes and vintage wine, it is alleged. The cards of wealthy customers at Smith & Wollensky, the Capital Grille and Wolfgang's Steakhouse restaurants were allegedly "skimmed" and used to buy Rolex watches, Jimmy Choo...

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Alice Walton, heiress to the Walmart supermarket fortune and the the 10th richest woman in the United States, opened a spectacular fine art museum in her home town

Architect Moshe Safdie looks out of a window next to a large red untitled magnifying disk sculpture by artist Fred Eversley at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas. Photograph: Danny Johnston/APWhen Alice Walton, heiress to the Walmart supermarket fortune and the the 10th richest woman in the United States, opened a spectacular fine...

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British woman falls off hotel balcony when having sex

 There has been another case of balconing in Spain, this time in Adeje, Tenerife, and with the twist that the victim was having sex with her husband at the time she fell. The British tourist who fell several metres then got her ankle caught between the bars of an internal staircase was left hanging there, head down and totally naked until the emergency crews arrived. 49 year old A.M.A.M. had been having sex with her husband against the railings...

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Bee Gee Robin Gibb Fighting Liver Cancer

 Bee Gee Robin Gibb, who has been increasingly frail in recent months, has been diagnosed as suffering from liver cancer. The 61-year-old learned he had the disease several months ago, but the news only emerged this week when he was rushed to hospital. He is reported to have spent five hours in hospital in Oxford on Tuesday before being allowed home, and his brother and bandmate Barry is reported to have flown to see him - along with his 91-year-old...

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