Surfacing from his home in Almeria, Gordon Goody, posed for photos and signed copies of his latest memories at a book launch in Antas.

THE mastermind behind the Great Train Robbery is still cashing in on the infamous crime some 60 years on.

Surfacing from his home in Almeria, Gordon Goody, posed for photos and signed copies of his latest memories at a book launch in Antas.

The 85-year-old who spent 12 years in prison for his part in the ‘crime of the century’ is hoping his book How to Rob a Train will refill the coffers as his money has run dry.

Goody moved to Spain after his release from prison in 1975 to run beach bar Chiringuito Kon Tiki in Mojacar.

THE first major fire of the summer ripped through Istan, near Marbella, this week.

THE first major fire of the summer ripped through Istan, near Marbella, this week.

Four helicopters and a plane worked through the night to dampen flames, while residents were evacuated from their houses with three ambulances standing by.

The emergency services received dozens of calls from the inland town but luckily there were no fatalities.

Marbella town hall has installed the SOS-Orange system on Playa La Venus which will make life-guarding much safer.

 MARBELLA beach which was the site of a tragic drowning is the first in Spain to acquire some innovative life-saving equipment.

Marbella town hall has installed the SOS-Orange system on Playa La Venus which will make life-guarding much safer.

It consists of a buoyancy aid on a 300m cord which can be attached to the lifeguard or anyone looking to perform a rescue.

The system also notifies emergency services once activated.

Marbella is all set to host the annual assembly of the Iberian Chapter of ICCA next spring.

Marbella is all set to host the annual assembly of the Iberian Chapter of ICCA next spring. This event will include a workshop and a fam trip designed to allow the participants to discover the province’s main attractions.

It is hats off to the Costa del Sol’s business tourism industry after the annual assembly of the Iberian Chapter of the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), which took place on the Algarve (Portugal) from 15-18 April.

The joint work of the Costa del Sol Convention Bureau, Marbella Town Council and the Marbella Convention Centre, in addition to the collaboration of Malaga City Council, has led to Marbella being chosen as the venue for the 2016 edition of this prestigious event.

Along these line, Elias Bendodo, president of the Costa del Sol Tourist Office, has welcomed the choice of venue for the event, which will be attended by some 80 representatives of tourist destinations, convention centres, hotels, PCOs and specialized media, since it represents a step more towards the consolidation of the Costa del Sol’s position as an international business tourism and congress destination.

Although there is no exact date yet, Bendodo stated that the event will probably be held sometime in the spring of 2016, with Marbella hosting the 59 members that ICCA currently has in Spain and Portugal (in addition to specially invited guests).

Workshop and fam trip
Scheduled to be held at the Marbella Convention Centre, ICCA Iberian Chapter’s annual assembly will include a workshop geared to clients from different destinations, as well as keynotes on burning issues affecting the business tourism industry. After the event, there will also be a fam trip allowing the participants to get to know firsthand the Costa del Sol’s strengths as a business tourism destination and the province’s main attractions.

A 1,000 members
Founded in 1963 by a group of travel agents, ICCA currently has 1,000 members, including companies and institutions in 90 countries all over the world.

BRITISH model and Marbella resident Rosie Mac

BRITISH model and Marbella resident Rosie Mac worked as a stand-in and double for Emilia Clark in season five of the popular TV Series Game of Thrones.


The young model and actress was chosen by Game of Thrones producers, who filmed part of the season in Sevilla, and according tocomicbookmovie.com are so pleased with her they are even considering creating a role of her own in the series.

Spain plans to extradite Russian national Dmitry Zavyalov

Spain plans to extradite Russian national Dmitry Zavyalov, the alleged leader of a criminal gang whose members are accused of killing over 20 people, spokesperson for the Prosecutor General’s Office Marina Gridneva said on Thursday.

Zavyalov’s criminal group attacked and killed people and extorted protection money from businesses in Moscow and the Moscow Region from 1999 to 2009, according to Gridneva.

Gridneva claims gang members have killed 19 people and are guilty of attempted murder, of assaulting people, two of whom have died as a result of beatings, and of committing several other crimes.

Zavyalov, 28, was placed on the federal wanted list in August 2009 and on the international wanted list in December 2009. He eventually settled in Spain where he was living on a forged Belgian passport. Zavyalov was arrested in May 2014 during a routine border check in La Jonquera, a municipality in Catalonia on the border with France. He was taken to a police station where his true identity was established, along with an alert indicating that he was armed and dangerous.

In June and August 2014, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office sent a request to Spain for Zavyalov’s extradition. Spanish authorities granted the request in April 2015.

One of Zavyalov’s accomplices, Mikhail Prutov, was killed in Moscow in 2002 following a conflict with another organized crime group. That crime was followed by the murder of dozens of criminal leaders and businessmen. Zavyalov’s accomplice Dmitry Lesnyakov was sentenced to 25 years in prison.