Live News From Spain As It Happens

PETROL prices have gone up for the first time in over four weeks – just in time for the start of the summer.

Although the increase is only 0.07 per cent in the case of petrol and 0.05 per cent for diesel – less than a tenth of a cent per litre – they remain 5.7 per cent higher than a year ago for petrol and 3.7 per cent for diesel.

Diesel has in fact been coming down in price all year, with a continued slide seen since January, due to more competitive production thanks to the expansion of the oil refineries in Bilbao, in the Basque Country, and Cartagena (Murcia).

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

GERMAN national daily newspaper Der Spiegel claims Spain has 'scrapped the siesta' due to pressure from the Troika.The tripartite entity, made up of the European Central Bank (BCE), International Monetary Fund (FMI) and the European Commission (EC) is said to be responsible for Spain largely turning its back on this age-old tradition, although the broadsheet also refers to former socialist president, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, having stopped the siesta for public sector workers in 2005 to increase productivity.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

TRAFFIC jams across the country this weekend have been reported as travellers from big cities and inland locations flock to the coast for the start of their summer holidays.

The worst of the rush is likely to be over by tomorrow (Monday) night, by which time at least 5.2 million cars would have been out on the road.

Over the next two months, 80 million journeys – nearly two for every inhabitant – will have been made across Spain.

Police have stepped up vigilance and are reporting round the clock on gridlocks on major trunk roads.  

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

TAXES go up on cigarettes and alcohol today (Friday) as part of the government's ongoing fiscal reform which will be completed by March next year.

Minister for finance Cristóbal Montoro says these tax rises were already anticipated at the end of April and that there would be 'no surprises'.

He added that the tax increases would be on consumer goods which had an 'outward negative effect on society' and, although he did not specifically mention drink and tobacco products, when questioned pointedly on these, admitted that the rises would be 'in that area'.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

Spain will face the host nation, Brazil, in the final of the Confederations Cup on Sunday after winning a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory against Italy.

Italy dominated for much of the first half, with Maggio, De Rossi and Marchisio all squandering chances. Torres fired just wide of Buffon's goal before the break, then as Spain picked up pace in the second half, Iniesta went wide before substitute Navas saw his shot saved by the Italian goalie. Xavi saw his free-kick diverted past the post in the dying seconds of the second half, with the whistle  going before a corner could be taken.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

FORMER senator and treasurer for the PP, Luis Bárcenas has gone to jail and will stay there until his case comes to trial.

He has been denied bail since Supreme Court judge Pablo Ruz believes there is a risk of the disgraced politician's absconding.

Bárcenas and his wife, Rosalía Iglesias, testified yesterday (Thursday) amid allegations that they had forged parts of their tax declarations between 2002 and 2006 and after Swiss authorities advised judge Ruz that funds had been transferred to the USA and Uruguay from accounts Bárcenas held at Dresdner Bank and Lombard Odier.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

TAX authorities in Spain have sealed off the wine cellar of a Michelin-starred restaurant in Madrid over an unpaid debt – even though the owners are making huge monthly payments in an attempt to clear it.

Sergi Arola, who owns the Madrid-based restaurant of the same name, says six civil servants walked into his premises and, in front of a hall full of diners, locked up the wine cellar to prevent the owners from getting in.

Arola says he will have to lay off 15 employees because he cannot open his restaurant if he is unable to offer customers wine.

“This is how the State pays me for so many years of service as an ambassador to the country,” laments Catalunya-born Arola.

His world-renowned establishment is only part of the story – for some years he has been working as guest chef for Hotel W Opéra in Paris.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

FORMER treasurer and senator of the PP, Luis Bárcenas may have held tens of millions of euros more than initially revealed in at least three other tax havens.

A total of 22 million was uncovered in accounts in Dresdner Bank and Lombard Odier, in Switzerland, after off-the-record conversations between managers of these led to investigations of tax avoidance.

These accounts were later found to have contained up to 36 million in the past, but Bárcenas' under-the-mattress fortune may have been as high as 47 million – in addition to huge amounts of money held in banks in the USA and in the capitals of Uruguay and the Bahamas – Montevideo and Nassau respectively.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

INTERNATIONAL Olympic Committee bosses say Madrid would be 'the perfect setting' for the games in the year 2020 and that its level of financial risk is 'maneagable'.

By contrast, Tokyo and Istanbul were told to rectify a number of 'issues' the Committee (COI) found fault with – whilst the Spanish capital was considered beyond reproach in a recent analysis of potential candidates.

The report – the contents of which were communicated to city mayoress Ana Botella by Spanish Olympic Committee president Alejandro Blanco – made positive comments about the work carried out to date on infrastructure with a view to hosting the games.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

Spain's Rafael Nadal has made a shock first-round exit from the Wimbledon Championships as world number 117, Belgium's Steve Darcis pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the tournament's history.

Darcis played inspired tennis to overcome the former champion in straight sets (7-6, 7-6, 6-4) condemning the Spaniard to a second successive early exit at SW19, following his second-round exit to Lukas Rosol last year.

During the first set it was clear that the Roland Garros champion was struggling to adjust from clay to grass and Darcis took full advantage.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A COUPLE whose mortgage contract contained the now-illegal 'minimum interest clause' have won their court battle to get their money back.

Magistrates in Bilbao ordered Novagalicia Bank to pay them 12,000 euros, which covers their overpayments plus interest since they took out the home loan in 2011.

And this could set a precedent for other homeowners whose lenders have applied 'minimum interest' clauses.

In the case of the undisclosed couple in question, their contract said that whatever the Euribor – the Eurozone's blanket interest rate – reached, the rate of interest on their mortgage would not go above 9.75 per cent and never go below 3.25 per cent

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

CATALUNYA'S regional health authority has handed out over 106,000 cards entitling foreign residents to free State medical care – despite a national law which states they are not eligible.

The department, CatSalut, says it is against the legislation passed by Spanish health minister Ana Mato which means non-EU immigrants without residence rights cannot be treated without paying except for immediate emergencies, pregnancy and childbirth, unless they are under age 18.

Technically, European Union citizens who do not have a valid 'green certificate' dated on or before April 24, 2012 are not entitled to free healthcare either, unless they pay Social Security every month at 270 euros or have a job contract, whereby their employers will be paying this for them.  

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A STATE-OF-THE-ART concert hall on the Costa Blanca has won a top award from a British organisation, dubbed the 'Nobel Prize of Architecture'.

The futuristic auditorium in Teulada-Moraira (Alicante province), designed by Francisco Mangado has been given the prestigious annual prize awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), which is given to structures in European Union member States outside the UK.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

Spain knocked African champions, Nigeria, out of the Confederations Cup On Sunday, setting up a semi-final clash with Italy.

Going into the match, Spain needed at least one point to qualify for the semi-finals and a brace from Jordi Alba plus another goal from Fernando Torres made sure of all three.

Nigeria had only an outside chance of qualifying, but made their intentions clear when they came out playing attacking football from the start. The African side caused numerous problems for Spain's defence in the early stages, but poor finishing let them down.  John Mikel Obi and Sunday Mba both went close in the first half, and substitute Gambo Muhammad fired the ball wide with 15 minutes left.

Andrés Iniesta tested the Nigerian goalkeeper Enyeama soon after kick-off and was instrumental in the Jordi Alba goal that gave Spain an important breakthrough after just three minutes.

Read more at thinkSPAIN:com

MIDSUMMER fiestas in Alicante ended in tragedy this weekend when a 10-year-old boy was killed after setting off a fire-cracker inside a tin can.

The city is in the middle of its Hogueras festival, where colourful monuments and bonfires are set up in honour of San Juan's Day and the summer solstice, and which combines with the fiesta for the city's patron saint, San Blas.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

ELECTRICITY could go back up in price after falling by 6.62 per cent in April when the supply is put to auction on Tuesday this week.

The production, purchase and re-sale of electrical energy is auctioned by the State every quarter, and at present the markets are showing a rise in the cost of this – and where an increase is involved, this is passed on to the consumer.

Equally, a decrease is passed to the customer, but April's price reduction is the first since early 2009, as it has been rising regularly over the past four years.

Only between 40 per cent and a half of each electricity bill accounts for energy supply, with the rest being taxes, charges and 'toll fees' or franchise costs levied by the State. 

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

THE Spanish Navy is planning to use sea-lions for rescue missions.

They have chosen sea-lions over dolphins, since they say the 'logistics' of the former are simpler, and they can be used in both salt water and fresh water,

Also, as they are amphibians, they can be used on dry land.

Searching for submerged objects and people, the recovery of lost property, ships, other devices and humans, and also saving humans in trouble in water are among the new tasks sea-lions will perform.

They will be able to tow people and items to the surface, assist divers, help inspect boats, ports, oil and gas pipes.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

BARÇA forward Lionel 'Leo' Messi has admitted that he has only ever read one book in his life – the autobiography of his compatriot and fellow footballer Diego Maradona.

And he says his Italian wife, Antonia Roccuzzo, has 'no interest whatsoever' in football.

“Sometimes I'll come home and tell her I've scored a hat-trick, but she doesn't pay any attention to me,” Messi, who celebrates his 26^th birthday on Monday, confessed.

“We never talk about football and I never watch it on TV,” he adds.

Despite being born and brought up in Argentina, the player described as the 'best footballer in the world' says he knowns 'practically nothing' about controversial and world-famous leader Che Guevara, a revolutionary who was born in the central-western city of Mendoza – although who has extended family living in Parcent (Alicante) in Spain.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A BILINGUAL school in Madrid will be named after ex-British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who passed away on April 8.

The infant school will have space for 75 children, split into three classes, and is based in Barajas, near the airport 

Read more at thinkSPAIN:com

EUROPEAN Commissioners have sent Spain written notice over its alleged breach of EU law concerning the Sevilla-Almería high-speed rail-link.

The Commission says the Spanish government has approved the plans for the AVE train across the south of the country without having firstly carried out an 'environmental impact study', which is compulsory under European Union law.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A hat-trick from David Villa (pictured), four goals from Fernando Torres, a brace from David Silva and a single goal from Juan Mata added up to a record 10-0 win over Tahiti in the Confederations Cup tonight.

Despite their resounding victory over the South Pacific islanders tonight, Spain are still not assured of a semi-final place just yet, but now look highly likely to reach the last four.

The defeat matched a record loss for the Tahitians, who lost by the same scoreline against New Zealand in 2004.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

TODAY (Friday) sees the start of the longest summer in Spain in many years, having officially began at 07.04hrs Spanish tier and continuing until September 22.

This means summer 2013 will last for a full 93 days and 15 hours, giving an excellent boost to tourism as sunseekers have longer than ever to enjoy their holidays in Spain.

The so-called longest day of the year – with 15 hours and three minutes of daylight in Madrid, compared to the shortest day which has just nine hours and 17 minutes, and is normally on December 21 – is never on the same date ever year, says the National Geographic Institute (IGN).

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

IBERIA has just increased its hand luggage allowance so passengers can take larger bags on board.

In addition to their hand baggage, travellers can also take one 'personal accessory' such as a handbag or laptop case.

There is no longer a weight restriction, but the case must be light enough that the passengers themselves can lift them into the overhead locker.

Maximum case sizes will increase from 55 x 40 x 20cm to 56 x 45 x 25cm and all hand luggage will be checked at the boarding gate.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

MARBELLA'S Hospital Quirón has carried out four pioneering operations to make patients' voices sound more feminine.

The otorrhinolaryngology (ear, nose and throat) department led by Dr Carlos O'Connor and Dr Juan Carlos Casado say the technique is minimally-invasive, since it does not involve any external incisions and is carried out through the mouth.

Known as the Wendler Glotoplasty, the operation is very low-risk and recovery times are fast.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

ACCUSATIONS against the King's youngest daughter, the Infanta Cristina, based upon the sale of 13 undeclared properties on the Costa Blanca and in Catalunya have turned out to be unfounded – due to a national identity number error.

Details of the buildings, based in Alicante city, Pilar de la Horadada (Alicante) and Arenys del Mar (Barcelona) bore the same DNI (national ID) number as the Duchess of Palma, but she was found not to be the owner of any of them, which has led the tax authorities to believe a clerical error is responsible for her having been called to testify over them. 

read more at thinkSPAIN.com

HUNDREDS of residents in the northern regions of Aragón and Catalunya have been evacuated from their homes as torrential rain causes flash flooding and rivers to burst their banks.

The worst of the damage is near the Pyrénées and 400 people have been forced to flee their homes in the Aran Valley and in Pallars Sòbira, both in the province of Lleida, Catalunya.

Roads have been blocked off, bridges brought down and homes awash, although luckily as yet nobody has been injured.

Several hundred more have been evacuated in the province of Huesca, Aragón, after the river Ésera burst its banks due to a combination of the snow and ice melting and torrential rain, leading to floods in the towns of Castejón de Sos and Benasque. 

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPAIN'S national anthem acquired lyrics for the first time during the Confederations Cup match against Uruguay, thanks to the BBC.

La Marcha Real, or 'Royal March', is instrumental, but when the British Broadcasting Corporation televised the opening ceremony of Spain's first Cup match they gave it lyrics with subtitles in English.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A TOTAL of 73 customers who lost their life's savings through preferential share purchases via the entities now swallowed up by Bankia will get their money back immediately, says the National Consumer Arbitration Committee.

But with a total of 126,342 clients having filed formal complaints over mis-selling, the successful cases remain in the minority.

The arbitration process opened on April 18 this year and the deadline for applying is June 30.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A TRAM line on the Costa del Sol has been dismantled and posted to Australia.

Vélez-Málaga council spent 38 million euros on the tramway link between the town centre and the beach in 2007, but it has not been used for several years.

Funding cuts imposed when the recession began to bite meant the service gradually dwindled to nothing.

In a bid to reduce its ever-growing debts, Vélez-Málaga's local government has decided to rent the tram system to another city.

Read more at thinkSpain.com

OVER six in 10 homes in Spain were purchased without a mortgage in the first quarter of this year, suggesting that the housing market is far from on its knees and not everyone has been hit by the recession.

According to the General Council of Notaries, a total of 60.8 per cent of buyers dispensed with mortgage-lenders when buying properties between January and March inclusive.

But not all of these were bought outright in cash – many purchasers bypassed the banks by taking out loans directly from the developer in the case of new builds or properties that have never had an owner, or took advantage of the 'rent-to-buy' scheme which many developers are now offering in a bid to get shot of their plethora of empty homes.  

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

REIGNING Moto GP champion Jorge Lorenzo netted a spectacular victory at the Montmeló circuit yesterday afternoon, ahead of his compatriots on the Honda team Dani Pedrosa and Marc Márquez.

The all-Spanish podium was headed up by the Mallorca-born Yamaha rider following his lightning-quick time of 43:06.479, his second consecutive win after the Italian Grand Prix at the Mugello circuit.

This puts Lorenzo just seven points behind Pedrosa on the world championship ranking, ahead of Márquez who netted another 16 points at this weekend's Catalunya Grand Prix.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

TWO Spanish tourists kidnapped in Colombia over a month ago have been released, say authorities in the country.

Ángel Sánchez Fernández, 49, and his partner María Marlaska Sedano, 43, both from Avilés (Asturias) are in good health, although slightly thinner than four weeks ago, by their own admission.

Ángel was kept in chains for the entire month, although María was only chained up for the first few days, and they were otherwise treated very well.

When officers went to set them free at around 00.30hrs on Saturday morning – 07.30hrs Spanish time – the couple were said to be very disorientated and thought the men were the kidnappers coming back for them until they said, “don't worry, we're the Colombian police.”

Read more at thnkSPAIN.com

TEMPERATURES soared all over Spain this weekend, but are expected to drop again on Monday as rain sweeps across the mainland.

A depression coming in via the north-western region of Galicia will bring generalised showers and a fall of between 6ºC and 10ºC, lasting until at least Thursday, says the State meteorological agency, AEMET.

Today (Sunday) will continue to be hotter than average for the time of year, with temperatures in the shade ranging from 35ºC to 38ºC in Andalucía, Murcia, Extremadura and the south of the Comunidad Valenciana, and around the 30ºC mark elsewhere in the country with the exception of the north coast, where thunder storms are forecast.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A SEVEN-YEAR-OLD boy has died in the northern region of Aragón after he and a group of friends were playing at ducking each other in the swimming pool on their residential complex.

He was taken into the paediatric intensive care unit in Zaragoza hospital on Thursday in a critical condition after he stopped breathing and his heart failed.

Paramedics who rushed to the scene managed to revive him, but a few hours after he was admitted, doctors broke the news to the parents that the child was already brain-dead due to the prolonged period of lack of oxygen and circulation.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

BRITISH Prime Minister David Cameron has advised Spain's president Mariano Rajoy to 'let the people decide' over the secession of Catalunya.

The Conservative leader has reproached Rajoy for trying to block a referendum over whether Catalunya can become a separate country, saying that such a referendum was indeed going to go ahead amid calls for Scottish independence.

During a meeting with reporters prior to the G-8 summit in Northern Ireland, Cameron stressed that 'you cannot ignore issues such as nationality, independence and identity'.

In the case of the sovereignty debate, the UK PM said: “The correct thing to do is present your arguments, defend them and let the people decide – but I would never want to tell people in Spain how to deal with their own challenges. This is something the Spanish government and president need to decide.”

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A 42-YEAR-OLD woman has refused a reduction in her prison sentence for attacking two civil servants, saying she wants to stay behind bars.

María José G.G., originally from Quart de Poblet (Valencia), says she does not get along with her family and has financial troubles, would not get a job or be able to afford a home, and that she wants to be in jail to avoid having to sleep on the streets.

A woman who has lived near María José's childhood home for decades said the inmate's father died of cancer when she and her two sisters were very small and she became involved with a bad crowd, got involved with drugs and became a heroin addict, eventually ending up in jail at the age of 20, in 1992.

Since then, a series of offences meant she has spent the best part of 22 years in Picassent prison near Valencia, where she says she has many friends.

María José is still being treated with methadone.

After being released on parole last year, she deliberately failed to report to the court in Sagunto (Valencia) so that she would be considered guilty of a crime punishable by prison.

She then went to the court and demanded they put her back in jail, but they refused, so she insulted them with very graphic language, smashed a beer-bottle against the glass screen of the information desk and then tried to enter the office to attack the two female staff members with a shard of broken glass.

Guardia Civil officers on duty had to pin her down as she put up a fight – all calculated to worsen the offence so she would get to spend longer in prison if sentenced.

The prosecution service called for a custodial sentence of five years and nine months, but an agreement between them and her solicitor led to a reduction to three years and nine months.

However, María José turned this down and insisted on serving the longer period.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

VALENCIA, the Canary Islands, Madrid and Murcia have the worst social services in Spain, according to the Rights, Economy and Cover (DEC) Index for this year.

The research – which was in fact carried out by the State Association of Social Service Managers – said the level of development of the system is 'irrelevant' in these federal regions, and 'weak, outdated and with negative perspectives' throughout Spain as a whole.

Overall, based upon quality criteria, the DEC Index 2013 graded the Spanish social services with 49.2 per cent, a clear failure, and says this is due to public funding cutbacks rather than general incompetence.

In four years, nearly half a billion euros have been slashed from the State social services budget.

Criteria used to evaluate the system included factors such as expenditure per head and the breadth of service provided for each region.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

AT least 2,000 people queue up daily in Alcorcón, just outside Madrid, to hand their CVs over in the hope of getting a job at the forthcoming Eurovegas complex.

Mayor David Pérez says that although the town has not even advertised for developers to start building the complex and the first phase is not expected to be finished until at least 2017, the council has received over 12,000 CVs already, has thousands of emails waiting to be dealt with and answered, and that on a typical day people from all over Spain queue for hours outside the town hall – frequently camping overnight to ensure they get in the door to be able to present their applications.

It is fairly common to see as many as 2,000 people lined up down the street, Pérez explains.

But he says Alcorcón is in a unique situation because, although it has been picked by US-based tycoon Sheldon Adelson, who owns Vegas Sands, the company which runs the world-famous casino city in Las Vegas, nothing further has happened and Alcorcón remains a sleepy, land-locked commuter town.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

THE 'worst football team in the world' has challenged the Spanish side to a friendly when they arrive in Brazil for the Confederations Cup.

Ibis Sport Clube, founded in 1938 when it was made up of cotton-trade workers from an inland community near Recife, in the state of Pernambuco on the north coast – between Salvador de Bahia and Fortaleza - is in fact in the Guinness Book of Records for being the most terrible team on the planet.

The second-division side has never played in a national championship match in its entire history, and it won its dubious honour 30 years ago after having gone three years and 11 months without winning a single game.

Now, Ibis has thrown down the gauntlet to what is arguably the best team in the world – 'the Reds', having won two consecutive Euro Cups and the World Cup in between these, unbeaten in the international field since 2008.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

THE first person in the world to undergo a successful double leg transplant has had both limbs amputated.

Sources from Valencia's La Fe hospital say the unnamed patient suffered an illness which was not in any way linked to the transplant, but had to stop taking the drugs he was due to be on for life to guard against his immune system rejecting the new organs.

Medics say in cases of contraindications between transplant drugs and another, more serious illness, unless vital organs are involved, the new elements have to be removed.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

FOR the first time ever in Spain, a laboratory has been set up with a 'tissue and cell bank' for animals.

Already becoming common practice with human medicine, extracting and harvesting stem cells and using tissues and organs to perform transplants and regenerate damaged body parts is starting to become possible in domestic animals, according to scientists in Valencia – and they say the cost involved to the owner will not be as high as at first glance.

Biologist Vicente Mirabet, director of the firm Tisulab ('tissue-lab') based at Valencia General University Hospital Foundation, says the team have frozen samples of bones, tendons, skin, cells and nerves at -80ºC, always extracted either from animals which have died of natural causes or from live animals, but non-invasively – and in all cases, in completely humane circumstances.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

FRUIT does not ferment in the stomach – unless the consumer has a medically-diagnosed intestinal obstruction – excess sleeping does not make people fat and oysters are not an aphrodisiac, according to a new book written by three Spanish nutrionists.

Antonio Ortí, Ana Palencia and Raquel Bernacer, co-authors of Comer o no comer: Falseades y mitos de la alimentación ('To eat or not to eat: Dietary myths') dispel 98 of the most popular old wives' tales about food.

Neither fruit nor any other food ferments inside the body, and whilst oysters are healthy because they are a source of vitamin A and D, potassium,iodine, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium, there are no scientific grounds for their being considered as heightening sexual desire, and although the body burns off less energy whilst sleeping, getting eight to 10 hours' kip a night is optimum and protects against piling on weight.  

read more at thinkSPAIN.com

Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer will face off in the final of the French Open on Sunday, the first all-Spanish final since Albert Costa beat Juan Carlos Ferrero in 2002.

Rafael Nadal, 27, won an epic match against world number one Novak Djokovic to reach his eighth French Open final. The seven-time champion beat Djokovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7, 9-7 in four hours and 37 minutes. There was no end of drama in the match, with Nadal failing to serve out the match in the fourth set and Djokovic letting a 4-2 lead slip in the fifth, before the Spaniard proved the stronger as the decider headed past one hour and 20 minutes.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A BANK manager who swindled three elderly customers out of over 223,000 euros is facing prison.

Belarmino de la Fuente's appeal to the Supreme Court failed and the judge has upheld his three-and-a-half-year sentence as imposed by the Provincial Court of León.

He was manager of Caja España in Castrocontrigo (León) from 1996 until 2008, and his elderly customers, husband and wife Roque and Delia and Roque's brother Segismundo had a 'great relationship of friendship and trust' with the accused, the court found.

They had a very limited education and practically no knowledge of finances, and when they signed a series of papers, they believed these were just to authorise a withdrawal from their accounts.  

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPANISH president Mariano Rajoy has stood his ground in Europe and insisted he has 'no interest' in increasing taxes, including IVA, any further.

Neither does he intend to review the list of goods which currently attract 'super-reduced' IVA, at four per cent, and which includes basic foodstuffs like bread and eggs.

Brussels has asked him to do both, and this request was reiterated by president of the European Commission, MEP José Manuel Durão Barroso.

But Rajoy answered that the Spanish government had already put up IVA last year – with the top rate rising from 18 to 21 per cent – and that they were 'constantly exploring' new measures.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

THIS May has been the coldest on record since 1985, with minimum temperatures falling to minus figures in the centre and north of the country.

The average temperature throughout the Spain – which sees a huge variation year-round from English-style weather in the north to near-subtropical in the Canary Islands – was 14.6ºC, or 1.3ºC lower than usual for the time of year.

According to the State meteorological agency AEMET, the only areas of the country which escaped the cold snap were the southern regions of Andalucía and Murcia, and the Canary Islands which were actually warmer than average.

But in Santander, in the northern Atlantic region of Asturias, this May has been the coldest since 1951.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

ANTIBIOTICS will now only be sold in individual doses for the exact length of time the treatment is required, says health minister Ana Mato.

This is part of a plan to reduce the incidence of 'serious epidemics' caused by 'multi-resistant micro-organisms', since overuse of antibiotics can make patients immune to their effects.  

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

NATIONAL department chain El Corte Inglés has been given three months to make the salaries of male and female staff equal.

The order comes from the National Court following a case brought against the store by two of Spain's major unions, the labourers' commission (CCOO) and the general workers' union (UGT).

They said El Corte Inglés had put in place all necessary measures to ensure equality in the workplace, except for two elements, one of which was wages.

A spokesperson for the store said the majority of its staff were women and that it was fully committed to equality and that all actions taken so far in this respect had been 'unanimously agreed' with the unions.  

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPANISH clothing chain Blanco has gone into voluntary receivership amid 'serious financial and economic problems', say official sources from the group.

The budget high-street store, which has 300 shops in 27 countries and 2,000 employees, says it is hoping to refinance itself with credits from banks and shareholding directors.

This decision was made in a bit to 'achieve economic viability' for the firm, which is headed up by Bernardo Blanco, and to 'protect the interests of creditors, staff, customers and suppliers'.

A massive restructure has meant scaling down 'to reflect the current economic climate' as well as searching for finance and 'renegotiating' its debts with its main creditors.  

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

AN ICONIC rock festival that brings in revellers from all over the world will not be cancelled this year after all, despite the organisers having a debt of around four million euros.

Die-hard fans of the FIB festival in Benicàssim (Castellón province) were dismayed to learn that they may not get their fix of al fresco indie and rock in the popular coastal resort town after the firm behind the event, Maraworld, went into voluntary receivership in February.

Maraworld then had to wait to see whether its creditors agreed with its proposed payment plan, but it has recently announced that the majority of those they owe money to are satisfied with the arrangements.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

AN INSURANCE company has been ordered to pay 120,500 euros to the parents of a drunk driver.

The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by MAPFRE which alleges that the personal accident policy held by the driver, who died in a crash in 2002 when he was four times over the legal alcohol limit, is not valid where death or bodily injury are the direct result of the insured's own actions.

Back in 2008, the couurt of first instance in Negreira (A Coruña province) in the north-western region of Galicia, upheld the parents' claim and ordered MAPFRE to pay up.  

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

INTERIOR minister Jorge Fernández Díaz has called for 'big changes' in legal procedures within the European Union to allow member States greater powers in dealing with fundamentalist terrorism in the name of the yihad, or Islamic holy war.

He says 'arresting offenders is helpful', but not enough, since the justice system at EU level needs to be adapted so that Spain and other member States have greater legal powers available to them in the fight against Al-Qaeda and similar organisations, and non-affiliated terrorists.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

PENÉLOPE Cruz is about to become the oldest-ever 'Bond Girl' in the forthcoming 007 film, which as yet has not been given a name. Following in the footsteps of her husband Javier Bardem, who has been hailed as 'the best Bond villain ever' for his role in Skyfall, Penélope is about to join the long list of actors and actresses who have played a part in the UK's most famous spy saga and, as she will be 40 when filming starts next year, will be the oldest 'Bond Girl' to date.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

THIS weekend's warmer climes are 'not an indication that summer has started' and are a mere 'respite' from the cooler temperatures, rain and wind seen throughout the month of May, says the met office.

In the south, the Mediterranean belt and in Madrid, the mercury has crept just above 20ºC between Thursday and Sunday and may hold out until Tuesday or Wednesday, when turbulent conditions are due back on the mainland.  

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

BARÇA has asked its newly-signed forward Neymar da Silva Santos to 'be discreet' with his outrageous haircuts and constant changes of image.

The 21-year-old Aquarian, born in Mogi das Cruzes (São Paulo state) in Brazil, has been criticised by compatriot Pelé as 'caring more about being seen on telly' and 'his hairstyles' than football.

His latest 'look' is a mohawk-style crest, and his fans have already started to copy it – and in March, he turned platinum-blond, although he is now back to being brunette.

Yet sources close to the player say Barça C. F. has taken on the young player, who won South American Footballer of the Year in 2011 and has been nominated on three occasions for the FIFA Golden Ball and is on the Brazilian national team, exactly as he is, flamboyant haircuts included.

However, the Brazilian webzine Universo OnLine (UOL) says the Catalunya-based club has requested he stick to a more conservative image, at least for the first few months he plays for them.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

HUNDREDS of thousands of people joined in a protest march in 80 European cities yesterday (Saturday) evening against the 'catastrophic policies' of the Troika.

Madrid hosted the largest demonstration on the continent, with several thousand people setting off from the Plaza de Neptuno at 18.30hrs.

The international call-up for protesters said the Troika – made up of the Central European Bank (BCE), the International Monetary Fund (FMI) and the European Commission (EC) – had, through its economic and financial decisions, caused 'poverty, home repossessions, hunger, cutbacks, labour reforms and privatisation'.

Their banners read 'we don't owe, so we're not paying' and 'Rescatan al banquero, desahucian al obrero', which translates as 'they rescue the banks and then repossess the workers' homes'.

As they passed the national PP headquarters, they called for president Mariano Rajoy to resign.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A METEORITE found in the Tunisian Sahara desert by two Spaniards has turned out to be a lump of Martian rock.

It was discovered in 2010 but the finding has been kept secret until now as researchers at Catalunya Polytechnic studied it.

According to head of the Faculty of Nano-engineering, Jordi Llorca, the composition of the meteorite – which weighs just over half a kilo – is identical to that of two other rocks found in Morocco and in Los Ángeles (USA) which form part of meteor shower which permanently orbits Mars.

The meteor shower originated through a collision by an asteroid against Mars some three million years ago, and it frequently travels close to the Earth.

Its origin is the deepest yet in the Martian crust, and is a KG-002, of the Shergottita type, which is the 17^th most significant of all interplanetary rocks found. 

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

THE international Dutch volleyball player who was found dead along with her partner among lemon trees in the Murcia Region was killed by a severe blow to the head, police reveal.

And they found out about the murder after a friend of the man who hired two Romanian hitmen reported him after receiving a 'strange request'.

Forensics say the Dutch pair suffered a blow so violent it lead to the 'destruction of the central nervous system', or such severe brain damage as to lead to instant death.

Post-mortems on the couple have confirmed their identity but further examinations will be needed to ascertain what was used as the murder weapon, the date and time of the killing, and whether the victims had any chance of defending themselves.

Ingrid Visser, 36, who was three months' pregnant at the time and on a two-day visit to Spain for an appointment at a fertility clinic in Murcia, and Lodewijk Severin, 57, were lured to a house in nearby Molina de Segura which the killer, Juan Cuenca, had rented.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A FILM starring Brad Pitt features Barcelona's Sagrada Familia Cathedral in flames and surrounded by zombies.

One of its towers is seen falling down as flames billow out of the iconic temple designed by Gaudí.

World War Z, which premières in Spain on August 2, also shows similar scenes in major cities around the world including London, Paris, Rome, Berlin, New York, and México D.F.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com