Live News From Spain As It Happens

HIGH-SPEED train tickets on the AVE line for just €15 are on sale from now until this coming Friday, November 6, according to rail board RENFE – the cheapest yet this year.

They are available for journeys from Valencia to Barcelona, Madrid to Córdoba, Madrid to Huesca (northern Aragón), Madrid to Pamplona (Navarra), and Madrid to Zaragoza (central Aragón).

Other tickets at €20 can be bought this weekend and next week for AVE or the slower regional ALVIA trains from Madrid to Sevilla, Málaga, Cádiz, Huelva, Algeciras, Lleida and Murcia, or from Barcelona to Bilbao, Logroño (La Rioja), Alicante and Murcia.

Another batch at €25 allows passengers to travel from Valencia to Sevilla, from Madrid to Tarragona, Madrid to Valencia or Madrid to Alicante.

Finally, €30 tickets cover the high-speed AVE link from Madrid to Barcelona, and for €35, travellers can get from Barcelona to Sevilla, Málaga or Córdoba. 

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A TYPICAL 'economic migrant' from Spain is aged between 25 and 34, and heads for the UK, according to research by the temporary work agency Asempleo.

A total of 80,141 Spaniards left Spain last year to find a job – a total of 185% more than in 2007.

They are mostly from the Canary Islands (18.6%), Catalunya (18.5%) or Madrid (18.1%), with the regions waving goodbye to the fewest inhabitants being Asturias (9.7%), Extremadura (10.1%) and Andalucía (12.3%).

A total of 48.6% go to other countries in the EU, with 38,941 moving elsewhere in Europe in 2014 – although Ecuador was the destination of choice for more Spaniards last year (7,841) than the USA (6,339).

This is largely because a high number of Spaniards moving abroad for work were originally from Latin America but took Spanish nationality during their time in the country, and are now returning to their native land – but as they have Spanish passports, they are logged as nationals who have become expats rather than returning migrants.

As for native Spaniards, the UK welcomed 9,552 Spaniards last year alone, some 75% of whom were of working age.

Of those who stayed in Spain, 15.1% have moved elsewhere in the country for work in the last five years, with 2010 seeing the highest level of cross-country migration, a time when 19.1% of those in work, or one in five employees, moved to another part of Spain.

Those moving elsewhere in the same province for jobs totalled 22.5% in the five-year period up to and including 2010, or 24.1% within the same region but to different provinces.

Movement in this time to other regions altogether totalled 23.4%.

Those who relocate within Spain for work are typically male, with at least graduate-level studies, who works in personnel, security – such as the police force – sales or restaurant and catering.

A total of half of all Spaniards of working age with degree-level or professional equivalent qualifications have moved elsewhere in the country in the last five years, with those whose education stopped after primary school accounting for fewer than 7.7%.

Professionals, police and other security forces, sales persons and those in the restaurant sector are the most likely to move to another part of the country – 23.8% - followed by directors and top-level company managers at 4.3%, farmers and fishermen at 1.4% and those in the Forces at 1.3%.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

GREENPEACE has turned Spain's lead candidates for the national elections back into children and 'challenged' them to do everything they can to protect the environment.

Very young versions of Albert Rivera (Ciudadanos), Pablo Iglesias (Podemos), current president Mariano Rajoy (PP), Alberto Garzón (United Left – Izquierda Unida, or IU), and Pedro Sánchez (PSOE, or socialists) appear with the slogan, 'don't let the child you were be ashamed of the adult you are'.

The top half of the photograph featured here – created by Greenpeace – is the original poster with the adult versions of the politicians doctored to make them look like child versions, whilst the bottom row shows the 'real' childhood pictures of each one of them below the 'invented' ones.

All the party leaders accepted the challenge on Twitter, with Rivera being first to respond with: “Let's look after our common home, the Earth. By the way, this is me,” and posted a 'real' photo of him when he was a child (bottom row, second in from right).

Iglesias referred to his trademark ponytail in his own Twitter response, accompanied by a photo of him as a toddler (bottom row, second in from left): “Yes, we will protect the environment from speculation. And this is me – my hair hadn't grown yet!”

Garzón replied by placing one of his childhood photos (bottom row, far left) next to the one of him as an adult 'doctored' by Greenpeace and asked his followers, “with this photo next to you, I ask you – has Greenpeace managed to create a reasonable likeness of me?”

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A SEAQUAKE measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale early this morning off the northern Costa Brava was felt across the Alto Ampurdán district in the province of Girona, especially in the towns of Rosas, Figueras and Empuriabrava.

It was registered at 01.37hrs, some six kilometres below the sea-bed and went on for 10 seconds, according to Local Police in Empuriabrava, but no damage was caused despite the flood of panicked calls from residents.  

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

USING a Spanish mobile phone elsewhere in Europe, or calling home from a holiday in Spain will soon be vastly cheaper – the European Parliament has agreed roaming charges within the 28 member States will be axed on June 15, 2017.

Until roaming ends altogether, the additional charge for using a mobile in another European country will be capped from May 1, 2016.

This will mean prices normally paid for calls, text messages, downloads and internet use in the phone-holder's own country will only attract a nominal additional fee for the privilege of using their network abroad.

It is fairly frequent for travellers to return home and get a shock when their bill arrives and they find their typical monthly costs have gone off the stratosphere, sometimes multiplying tenfold.

In a recent incident reported by a consumer protection group in the northern Spanish region of Navarra, a local woman contracted a Europe-wide package before going away to avoid having to limit phone use for fear of inflated costs – and returned to find a bill running into literally thousands of euros.

The consumer group fought her case, and the bill was dropped to €255 for the month in question after the mobile network admitted they had not told the customer the package did not apply in Andorra.

Once April is out, roaming charges will be capped at an extra five cents per minute for calls or per megabyte of data downloaded, and two cents per text message, potentially cutting bills for mobile use abroad by three-quarters.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A HEALTHCARE law amendment means nurses are now allowed to supply and administer medication that does not require a prescription, creating greater legal security for staff and increased comfort for patients.

'Permitted to prescribe where a prescription is not needed' appears a contradiction in terms at first, but a number of Spanish nurses have clarified what the new law means for them, and for those they treat.

An in-patient, or a patient waiting to be attended to in A&E who has a headache or other type of pain would normally have to wait until a doctor could be found to give permission and instruct the nurse what type of medication to administer or, if it was overnight and all doctors were asleep – woken only in the event of emergencies – the patient would have to suffer the pain until morning.

This could even go on for at least 12 hours, since doctors on their rounds may not reach the patient until mid-morning, or possibly not even then if the patient is not on his or her list to examine that day.

Likewise, ointment or even bandages for a wound, or any other type of what would typically be over-the-counter drugs could not be given to a patient in hospital unless a doctor was able to authorise it.

Despite this, nurses study the same number of university credits in pharmacology as doctors during their degree and some nurses even have higher levels of academic qualifications in their field than doctors – although it takes much less time to qualify as a nurse, many nurses go on to take master's degrees or even PhDs to specialise further, whilst many GPs or hospital consultants do not have a PhD, meaning in technical terms, although they are a 'doctor' by profession, they are not a 'doctor' by title. 

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPANISH Armed Forces are finally about to leave Afghanistan for good, after 14 years, a cost of €3.7 billion to the State, and 100 deaths – 96 soldiers, two Guardia Civil officers and two interpreters.

The west Asian mission has been the most tragic in Spain's military history, far worse than its second-most dangerous in Bosnia-Herzegovina where 23 soldiers lost their lives, and has been the only one so far where Spanish troops have fallen victim to suicide bombers.

Spain announced its withdrawal from Afghanistan two years ago, and the majority of its forces were brought home but a small number remained to continue with the NATO Resolute Support operation, launched at the beginning of this year to replace the International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF), also a NATO alliance organisation.

ISAF and, now, Resolute Support were set up to give back-up to the Afghan government in the transition to peace and democracy, providing advice, help, training and reinforcement for national security institutions until these were able to take over in full and without international assistance.

NATO forces remain in several regions of Afghanistan, but will soon be limited to the capital, Kabul.

Spain is currently contributing by maintaining its participation in the general NATO headquarters in Kabul and in the province of Herat, but once Resolute Support came into being, Spain handed over the running of its base to Italy after nearly 10 years at the front line. 

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

AN ISLAND off the coast of Formentera, the smallest of the Balearics is up for sale for €24 million.

S'Espalmador is separated from Formentera, the most diminutive inhabited island in the region, by a thin strip of land known as Es Pas, and is a green-belt area and nature reserve.

Rosy and Norman Cinnamond Planas, the grandchildren of British national Bernardo Cinnamond James – who bought S'Espalmador from Carlos Tur Roig in 1932 for 42,500 pesetas (about €250), say they have received numerous offers since they put their island up for sale in the summer.

A meeting with nearly every regional government minister, and with the owners represented by the son-in-law of one of the Cinnamonds, Mark Stücklin, concluded that the best solution would be for the State or the Parliament of the archipelago to buy it.

A spokesperson for the regional government said this 'would be magnificent', but that the price was 'too high'.

The original buyer's grandchildren admit the cost is 'a handicap' but say they are 'willing to negotiate'.

They say they would prefer the island to end up in public hands, meaning it could be visited by tourists and residents.

One possible route would be splitting the cost between the European Union, the State and the regional government, and Rosy and Norman say they are happy to accept staged payments.

With a long list of protection orders to its name, S'Espalmador is a natural habitat for birds and other wildlife, but suffers greatly from speedboats and other forms of water sports every summer. 

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

MALLORCA is campaigning to be exempt from turning the clocks back every winter, claiming it harms the island's tourism industry.

The Balearic Islands as a whole want to stay on Central European Summer Time (CEST) year-round, although Mallorca is most vocal about the matter, saying the fact it gets dark earlier from late October onwards makes the archipelago less attractive to holidaymakers.

Regional authorities recall that the sun comes up in the Balearics first, before the rest of Spain, and sets latest in the country – and that the difference in either direction between the islands and the north-western mainland region of Galicia is nearly an hour apart.

In fact, Galicia, which is directly due north of Portugal, has been campaigning for some time to go back an hour to place it on the same time lag as the latter country, and as the Canary Islands, Morocco, the UK and Ireland.

Galicia residents say they spend more on electricity than the rest of Spain because of getting nearly two hours' less daylight per day than the Balearics.

And the Balearics say they use too much electricity because of having to turn the clocks back in the winter – last week, residents were travelling home from work in daylight, but now, they do so in the dark, and yet even before the clocks move in winter, their morning commute is still in daylight whilst those in Galicia go to work in the dark.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

PROCESSED meat being classified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in the same category of cancer-causing substances as cigarettes has caused a stir among manufacturers throughout Europe – and highlighted the fact that people in Spain eat too much of it.

A total of 80,979 people in Spain work in the meat industry, which has an annual turnover of nearly €22.2 billion – accounting for over 21.6% of the country's food-producing sector and 2% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The WHO has placed hamburgers, sausages – including hot dogs – and bacon in the top group for cancer risk, along with smoking, saying it is a prime cause of colon or bowel cancer.

This is the most frequent form of tumour seen in Spain, ahead of lung and breast cancer, and responsible for the second-highest number of cancer deaths in the country.

The WHO has placed red meat in general in the second group, which is not as high-risk as burgers and sausages.

Spain as a whole has an 'acceptable' level of red meat consumption, according to WHO figures, at 485.7 grams a week – below the recommended maximum of 500 grams.

But residents overdo the processed meat, eating 314 grams a week when the WHO recommends 'little or none'.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

AT LEAST 70 hackers have come together in a virtual meeting called by Madrid city council under the hashtag #OpenMad offering ways of setting up a 'safe' website for residents to take part in local government decisions, see what their leaders are doing and contact them with their problems or suggestions.

The 'hackathon' – a first in Spain – started off on Twitter and then led to a face-to-face brainstorming session with the help of the Collective Intelligence for Democracy Laboratory (DemIC) at the Prado Medialab in the city centre.

Madrid's mayoress Manuela Carmena wants hackers to develop the council's web portal to make it as watertight as possible, and invited them to share their ideas this weekend. 

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

TENSION between riders overshadowed the penultimate MotoGP race of the season in Sepang, Malaysia yesterday (Sunday) when Italian seven-times world champion Valentino Rossi apparently kicked current title defender, Spain's Marc Márquez, as the latter tried to overtake him on lap 14.

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol-Honda RC 213 V) and his triumph over his first victory since his operation for compartmental syndrome on his arm paled into insignificance in the face of his team-mate and compatriot's plight at the hands of Rossi (Yamaha YZR M 1), whose own team-mate Jorge Lorenzo – placed second in Sepang – unleashed his fury publicly over the Italian's behaviour.

“It's clear he [Rossi] took Márquez off,” says the Mallorca-born rider, outraged.

Lorenzo: “If Valentino wins the championship, it'll be very unfair”

“We've all lost respect for Rossi now. It's incredible, I couldn't believe it – I'd never do this in my life, when you're taking a bend practically lying down,” storms Jorge Lorenzo.

Lorenzo was critical of what he called a 'lenient' sanction imposed on Rossi as a result – three penalty points and forced to start at the back of the grid at the final race of the season at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Cheste, near Valencia.

“Rossi [first picture, left] kicked Márquez [first picture, right and second picture] off and gets 16 points, but Marc doesn't get any, which is unfair. At the very least, Rossi should have the same number of points as Marc – if Marc has zero points, Valentino should have been given the same.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A GERMAN court has upheld a Málaga-based vegetable cooperative's claim for compensation after the E.Coli scare was incorrectly linked to Spanish cucumbers.

The Frunet Co-op in Algarrobo (Málaga province) says it lost 'practically all of its customers and suppliers' when cucumbers it exported to Germany were blamed for an outbreak of the deadly intestinal virus E.Coli, an epidemic which caused dozens of deaths in the central European country.

Sales director for Frunet, Richard Söpenberg, says that although the co-op had sued for €2.3 million, the case was more about clearing its name than earning back the money it had lost through the unfair finger-pointing at its produce.

“The judge in Hamburg has recognised that we did nothing wrong, and we are very proud and happy about that - above and beyond the compensation awarded, what's most important is the restitution of the company's good name,” Söpenberg revealed.

The exact amount of compensation due to Frunet has not been confirmed, and 'the ball is now in Hamburg's court' in terms of negotiations with the cooperative for the financial and reputation damage caused.

“I hope this will all end soon, but as yet it's not over yet – the city-State of Hamburg has never been willing to pay us and has pushed us to the limits to prove that we had nothing to do with the E.Coli epidemic.”

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A 55-YEAR-OLD man trying to help his neighbour who had locked her keys in her apartment has died after falling from the woman's eighth-floor balcony in Granada.

Emergency services say they were called out to the block on the Avenida de la América at around 15.00hrs yesterday (Saturday) afternoon, and that the victim had been killed instantly in his fall. 

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

TWO Ferraris belonging to the former King of Spain Juan Carlos I are being auctioned by the tax authorities.

Both the Ferrari FF (F151) are three years old, 6.3cc, 12V, Euro 5 emissions levels, and 486 CV with 20” diamond-studded wheel-hubs, hand-held fire extinguishers, leather mats and trays, back-seat entertainment system, maximum-power Hi-Fi, frontal and parking cameras, coloured steering wheels, TV tuner, screen for passengers and blacked-out rear windows.

Their tyres are said to be practically unworn, and the metallic grey one has 763 kilometres on the clock, plus two scratches on the nearside front and rear wings which are said to be 'negligible'.

It has been valued at €345,000, but the black one, which does not have a mark on it and has never been driven at all, is given a value of €350,000.

They were a gift to the now-abdicated King by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, chief minister of the United Arab Emirates, just after Juan Carlos I visited the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi in November 2011, when Spain's Fernando Alonso came second. 

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

THREE Spanish soldiers who survived a helicopter crash into the sea off the coast of southern Morocco en route back to base in Gran Canaria have gone missing again.

Moroccan authorities rescued them, alive and well, by boat – but since then, nobody has been able to contact the crew.

Foreign affairs minister José Manuel García-Margallo and defence minister Pedro Morenés (pictured) have admitted they have no idea where the helicopter crash survivors are and that they have been unable to reach the craft by radio.

They should have reached the port of Dakhla, in Morocco, yesterday afternoon – and they were travelling in a fishing boat rather than an official coastguard rescue vessel.

Poor sea conditions may be responsible for communication channels being cut off.

Spanish Armed Forces deep-sea divers, a coastguard rescue boat with underwater search facilities, and several boats, planes and helicopters have been sent out by Spain's government, which is working closely with the Moroccan Royal Navy.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

OVER 20% of Spaniards own a second home, making the country fifth in Europe.

Greeks have more second residences than Spaniards, with nearly a third of the population owning one, and Spain is also beaten in this respect by Poland and Turkey.

By contrast, only 5.4% of Germans own a second residence.

On average, one in six Europeans has more than one property, with Spain being above average at one in five.

A third of Europeans uses their other home for holidays, about a quarter for weekends, and 9% as a 'bolt-hole' when they are working away from their main home.

Rural areas, villages and small towns tend to be the most popular locations for a second or subsequent property – 44% of Spanish second-home owners have a house in the country and 37.3% in a village.

This type of property is more likely to be used for holidays (59.8% of cases) or weekends (35.3% of cases), with only 2.9% of Spain owning a second residence for work reasons. 

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

BARCELONA'S iconic – but unfinished - Sagrada Família Cathedral will be completed by the year 2026, the 100^th anniversary of its designer's death.

The brainchild of flamboyant modern architect Antoni Gaudí, whose other works include the Parc Güell in the same city and a restaurant in Comillas (Cantabria), plans for the temple were drawn up in 1883 and work started in 1886.

It was still under construction in 1926 when Gaudí was run over by a bus, and failed to recover from his serious injuries.

Works have been ongoing ever since under the auspices of nine different architects, although very slowly, and diggers and cranes have almost become an integral decorative feature of the Catalunya capital's best-known tourist attraction.

The current architect Jordi Faulí i Oller took over the reins in 2012, and says that by 2017 the central towers will start to become 'visible' from the ground if work starts on them as planned next year, and should be mostly finished by the year 2020 'aside from a few pinnacles'.

During a presentation in the Sala Creuer ('hall of the cross'), another new addition to the cathedral, Faulí said the lower part of the towers were already in place and that there would be six in total – the Tower of Jesus, the Tower of Mary and the four Towers of the Evangelists.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPANISH users of the extra-marital dating site Ashley Madison have reported being blackmailed by hackers who exposed their and 37 million other members' data.

Guardia Civil officers have launched a probe after hearing that the cyber-infiltrators, who go by the name of The Impact Team but have not been traced, had demanded money from potentially unfaithful husbands and wives in exchange for not telling their partners, family, friends and work connections.

Back in July, hackers left the full names, email addresses and bank account details of millions of people signed up to the 'cheating' date site, based in the USA but with a presence in 26 countries, on view for all.

Now, what is believed to be a second group of cyber-spies has begun to capitalise by sending emails asking for between €500 and €2,000.

To prove they were not a phishing attempt, the sender would refer to specific bank transactions made by the user in the past few months.

And they made it clear they knew who the people they intended to tell were by using the exposed data to access users' Facebook sites to find the most likely contacts they could cause havoc with by sending proof they had signed up to the contact advert service.

It is thought at least a handful of members are in almost every town in Spain and that at least eight or nine in 10 are male, according to an exposé by a local Spanish newspaper site earlier this year.

But the article recalled that just because a person had signed up did not mean they had every used – or even intended to use – Ashley Maddison's services.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A 14-YEAR-OLD boy is in a critical condition in hospital after being electrocuted when he tried to take a 'selfie' on the roof of a train.

His head touched the overhead cables and he suffered a massive electric shock after getting on top of the carriage just before the train left the station in Rubí (Barcelona province) on Friday at 18.20hrs, police have just revealed.

Although very lucky to still be alive, the youth was left unconscious by the electrocution and had to be rushed to Barcelona's Sant Pau Hospital.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

 SPANISH company has invented a rear-view mirror with no blind spots for safer and more comfortable driving and reversing.

The mirror, powered electronically using wide-angled lenses and high-range dynamic 1.3-pixel sensors, is 'another step towards self-driving cars' – something the motor industry believes

will become a reality in the not-too-distant future.

It does not resemble an exterior mirror like those featured on existing cars, but comprises two cameras built into the bodywork which send moving pictures to two high-resolution screens inside the vehicle using what is known as an Advanced Driving Assistance System (ADAS).

This includes the ability to detect other traffic and advise the driver about cars in the vicinity, says systems architect Víctor Iglesias of the company Ficosa.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

STORMS sweeping Spain in the last two days have led to widespread damage in the Canary Islands and Andalucía.

Firefighters were called out on Saturday night after around 21.00hrs to bail out homes in the city of Cádiz, especially the La Loma, San Roque and Los Barrios neighbourhoods and in the Jungla del Loro area of Sotogrande, whilst events planned for the Iberian Theatre Festival in the streets had to be postponed.

Falling trees, homes flooded and rockfalls shutting roads affected the province and mainly the city of Málaga, including a huge puddle across the A-7 motorway through Marbella, and the fire brigade was sent to pump water out of residential properties in Manilva, Marbella, Casares and El Burgo.

Trees fell across the road in the La Capellanía area of Marbella and on the MA-8301 through Jubrique.

Floods in the province of Sevilla saw the emergency 112 hotline ringing off the hook early evening on Saturday, with garages, homes and a supermarket awash in Dos Hermanas, whilst high winds led to tree branches snapping off, fixed blinds being torn away and chunks of cornices falling from buildings in Sevilla, Castilleja de la Cuesta, Osuna and Alcalá de Guadaíra.

With the storms having started in the west and heading steadily east across the region, the province of Huelva on the south coast, bordering Portugal, was most affected over Saturday lunchtime with roads under water and homes and a soup kitchen flooded in Isla Cristina and Lepe, and gales ripping off cornices, tree branches and even windows in Huelva city.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

STORMS sweeping Spain in the last two days have led to widespread damage in the Canary Islands and Andalucía.

Firefighters were called out on Saturday night after around 21.00hrs to bail out homes in the city of Cádiz, especially the La Loma, San Roque and Los Barrios neighbourhoods and in the Jungla del Loro area of Sotogrande, whilst events planned for the Iberian Theatre Festival in the streets had to be postponed.

Falling trees, homes flooded and rockfalls shutting roads affected the province and mainly the city of Málaga, including a huge puddle across the A-7 motorway through Marbella, and the fire brigade was sent to pump water out of residential properties in Manilva, Marbella, Casares and El Burgo.

Trees fell across the road in the La Capellanía area of Marbella and on the MA-8301 through Jubrique.

Floods in the province of Sevilla saw the emergency 112 hotline ringing off the hook early evening on Saturday, with garages, homes and a supermarket awash in Dos Hermanas, whilst high winds led to tree branches snapping off, fixed blinds being torn away and chunks of cornices falling from buildings in Sevilla, Castilleja de la Cuesta, Osuna and Alcalá de Guadaíra.

With the storms having started in the west and heading steadily east across the region, the province of Huelva on the south coast, bordering Portugal, was most affected over Saturday lunchtime with roads under water and homes and a soup kitchen flooded in Isla Cristina and Lepe, and gales ripping off cornices, tree branches and even windows in Huelva city.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

AN IRISH woman aged 44 had to be airlifted to safety after becoming injured during a group trip to an island off the coast of Cantabria in the north of Spain.

She had gone paddle-surfing out to Santa Marina de Loredo island, in the Ribamontán al Mar area and, upon arrival, the group left their equipment on the beach and went off to explore the area.

The victim did not return to the meeting point at the time stipulated, causing concern among her fellow tourists who went out looking for her.

After an hour and a half and still no trace of her, they rang the 112 emergency hotline.

Rescuers started their search in the rocky cliff area, since they knew anyone who became lost or in

difficulties there would be up against the clock to be helped ashore due to the dangers presented.

When this proved fruitless, the coastguard and fire brigade sent out helicopters.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

KING Felipe's youngest sister, the Infanta Elena's trial for alleged money-laundering and tax evasion will be under discussion this coming Friday in the court of Palma de Mallorca to decide how many hearings will take place, who will be called up as witnesses and to what extent the press will be allowed to be involved.

Given the magnitude of the trial – the first time in history that a member of the Spanish Royal family has appeared in the dock – an exhaustive amount of planning is needed before the case comes to court on January 11 next year.

Legal authorities will also decide whether or not to accept the defence lawyer's request to put back the trial by two weeks, given that he also has two other corruption cases to represent on that day.

It has taken over five years for judge José Castro to investigate the disappearance of around €6.2 million in public funds from the regional governments of Valencia, Madrid and the Balearic Islands.

Three magistrates – one man and two women – make up the panel of judges.

The accused parties, aside from the Infanta Cristina and her husband Iñaki Urdangarín – who have had their titles of Duchess and Duke of Palma respectively withdrawn by Cristina's own brother, Felipe VI – are Urdangarín's ex-co director Diego Torres and his wife Ana María Tejeiro, the former accountant for the two men's company, the Nóos Institute, Marco Antonio Tejeiro, its ex-legal advisor Miguel Tejeiro, and the lawyer said to have helped them in their international tax evasion racket, Salvador Trinxet.

Former Balearic Island regional president Jaume Matas, his ex-director general for sports José Luis 'Pepote' Ballester, the ex-manager of the IlleSport Foundation Gonzalo Bernal, former legal advisor for the Balearic tourist board Miquel Àngel Bonet, and the ex-manager of the latter, Juan Carlos Alía.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPAIN has won the World Blindfold Wine-Tasting championship for the third year running, knocking Belgium and Sweden into second and third place.

The competition, held in Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the south of France was organised by the magazine La revue du vin de France and involved a team having to guess the country, the type of grape and even the region of the wine.

Spain was represented by a team made up of oenologists Philippe Cesco, José Aragunde, Roberto Santana and Alfonso Torrente, who gained 140 points – two points more than Belgium and 25 more than Sweden.

The Spanish team had only met once before to prepare for the contest and, although they were thrilled to win, but were 'disappointed with themselves' for not having successfully identified the Bollinger. 

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A RESTAURANT in Spain has been named 'best in the world' in a TripAdvisor poll, and the top 25 has a total of three eateries in the country.

The eponymous Restaurante Martín Berasategui (first picture), in Lasarte – just a few miles south of San Sebastián in the Basque Country – is described in the most recent comment as 'the best combinations of flavours ever experienced' in a meal which was 'culinary poetry'.

The service is also considered to be outstanding, and praise has been heaped on the three-Michelin-starred restaurant by visitors from Canada, Jordan, Puerto Rico, Germany and the UK, among others.

At number 11 out of the world's top 25 is El Celler de Can Roca in Girona (second picture), which has also been voted 'best in Spain' on previous occasions and even 'best in the world' once.

Comments refer to it as 'outstanding', 'brilliant', 'sublime', 'perfect', and 'insanely good' – and despite its Michelin stars, customers were surprised at how comparatively cheap the wine was.

One reviewer booked online from Hawaii and said it was completely worth the journey, and another from Hong Kong said his Michelin-starred restaurant experiences usually leave him 'disappointed and still hungry afterwards', but that El Celler de Can Roca 'deserves to be named the best in the world'.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

World No. 3 and defending champion Roger Federer is out of the Shanghai Masters after a 7-6, 2-6, 6-3 loss to Spain's Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

Ramos-Vinolas, ranked 70th in the world, had only won a total of two sets in 15 matches (and 15 losses) against top ten opponents before today, but 27-year-old qualifier played fearless tennis as he shocked Federer in just over two hours.

Federer failed to convert two break points in Ramos-Vinolas’ opening service game and would rue his missed opportunity as Ramos-Vinolas went on to sneak the first set in the ensuing tie-break.

The Swiss hit back strongly in the second set, breaking in the fifth and seventh games to level the match, but could not carry his momentum into the deciding set. Ramos-Vinolas earned a crucial break in the eighth game and went on to serve out victory to 30.

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THE next in the series of new euro notes to come into circulation will be the €20, with the new €5 and €10 already in common use.

Spanish shops, bars and other restaurants will have until November 25 to update their systems and replace their counterfeit note-checking machinery, by which time they will have to be ready to accept the new format.

According to the European Central Bank (BCE), over 2.8 million retail establishments will receive information brochures in every Eurozone country ahead of the new €20 note launch in a month and a half.

These leaflets explain how to tell a genuine from a fake note manually if machinery is not updated in time, revealing that doing so is 'very easy'.

According to the BCE, the new banknote has a 'very distinguishable texture', and holding it up to the light will reveal a 'window' and watermark with a portrait inside, plus the silver thread which runs through existing notes.

Turning the note over will show how the silver stripe down the side contains a hologram of a portrait peering through a transparent window, and the number 20 in emerald-green produces a metallic effect which appears to move downwards. 

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MURCIA Region has been extolling its own virtues as a holiday destination for European retirees and 'empty-nesters' at the Active Over 50s' Show in Dublin.

Head of the regional tourism institute Manuel Fernández-Delgado says targeting holidaymakers at the latter end of their careers, already enjoying retirement and with their children either growing up or already having left home was 'a key strategy' for transforming the industry in Murcia, particularly as it enables the region to extend the summer season from May to September inclusive, as this age group rarely has to try to fit in foreign breaks with school holidays.

And the over-50s tend to have a higher level of disposable income, says Fernández-Delgado, meaning they spend more in restaurants, shops and on transport for day trips.

For those well into retirement and starting to feel the effects of ageing, Murcia's coast has long been a popular destination – the inland sea, the Mar Menor is warmer than that of any other beach on the mainland and is known for its high mineral properties, which middle-aged and elderly tourists find eases joint pain and arthritis.

The tourism boss says Murcia Region is working on specially-designed excursions to suit the over-50s, with 'adapted' versions for pensioners who are struggling with movement.

Organised partly by Spain's national tourist board, Turespaña, the fair included interviews with potential job candidates seeking work in Murcia Region over the long summer.

A brochure in several languages was published ahead of the fair, describing the attractions of Murcia as a holiday destination and different types of package and activities aimed at different segments of the market.

It emphasised the excellent weather, the Costa Cálida – which literally translates as 'the warm coast' – and the Mar Menor, city breaks in Murcia itself and in Cartagena, wine tours to well-known vineyard districts such as Yecla and Jumilla, the region's wealth of spa complexes, its cuisine, 'active' holidays and arts and entertainment. 

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TOP-END properties in Spain have barely been affected by the financial crisis, with the country's most chic sun-drenched destination seeing sales rocketing, especially to foreign investors.

Homes in Marbella (Málaga province) are, in 85% of cases, sold to non-Spaniards, mostly those seeking to retire to Spain or purchasing holiday properties.

As at the end of 2014, sales of villas and apartments in Marbella had shot up by 77% in the previous four years, way ahead of any other location in the country.

And from 2008 to 2014 inclusive – covering the entire financial crisis and housing market crash period – home purchases in Marbella rose in volume by 89%.

In fact, last year alone saw sales shooting up by 28% in the élite Costa del Sol town, compared to a national average of 2.2%, and 12% higher than before the financial crisis kicked in, according to data from Spain's ministry of public works.

Sales volumes in Marbella did drop off in individual years, but swiftly bounced back, showing the luxury home market is here to stay.

From the 4,432 residential properties sold in 2006, the following year saw a 19% fall as home values throughout the country became inflated artificially, just before crashing altogether.

This inflation period was still happening in 2008, when the previous year's 3,568 house sales dropped to 2,116, or a fall of a whopping 41%.

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THE Balearic Islands could become the third region in Spain to officially outlaw bull-fighting, thanks to a motion put forward by a left-wing independent party which looks set to gain the support of a majority.

MP for MÉS, David Abril, says the move, largely instigated by animal rights activists, would mean reforming the existing regional animal protection law, and some of the most numerous regional Parliamentary groups have already said they would be in favour of doing so.

If it goes ahead, by 2016, bull-fighting may be banned in the islands for good.

As chairwoman of the Pro-Animal Association for the Balearic Islands, Carmen Rojas says, the new regional government has axed public funding for bull-fights and 'it has shown itself to be a loss-making activity' since fewer and fewer are held every year and with hardly any spectators.

“If bull-fights were as much in demand as some parties claim, they would not need to be subsidised by public funds which are totally necessary in other areas instead,” Sra Rojas states.

At present, only four bull-rings in Mallorca remain active – those in Palma, Alcúdia, Inca and Muro – whilst the one in Menorca has been shut for 40 years, the one in Ibiza used for other activities instead, and in Formentera bull-fighting has never taken place at all.

Socialists at regional level say they have a petition signed by 130,000 people and the backing of 23 town councils in the Balearics, adding that the islands have never really had a major bull-fighting tradition in any case.

Other parts of Spain have already banned bull-fighting, including the town of Torrelavega in Cantabria and the city of Huesca in Aragón, whilst Oviedo, in Asturias, has outlawed circuses with animals, but only two entire regions – Catalunya and the Canary Islands – are officially bull-free. 

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AN EARTHQUAKE measuring 3.4 on the Richter scale has rocked the provinces of Málaga and Granada, but nobody is believed to be hurt and no damage to property has been reported.

The tremor was recorded at 07.05hrs yesterday (Saturday) in Zafarraya (Granada province), and was felt in Granada city and other provincial towns of Salar and Loja, and even as far away as Málaga.

Residents in the Costa del Sol capital and the nearby town of Archidona – both about 125 kilometres from the epicentre – say they felt the ground move.

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AT LEAST 500 cyclists staged a demonstration in the middle of Pamplona (Navarra) yesterday (Sunday) followed by a rally throughout the northern city calling for drivers to be more careful around two-wheeled travellers and for safer road conditions.

A total of 21 biking clubs and cycle touring associations started off from the village of Tafalla and ended in Pamplona in front of the Navarra regional government headquarters at around noon.

En route, they stopped off at Unzué to pay tribute to cyclists who had lost their lives out riding.

Their demonstration comes a week after a smaller version in the eastern Spanish town of Oliva (Valencia) in tribute to local cyclist, 38-year-old Juan Antonio Rojo, who remains in a critical condition in hospital in Dénia (Alicante) after being knocked off his bike on the road from Oliva to Pego, just south over the provincial border.

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SPANISH people are officially the healthiest in the world and women live longer than anywhere else in Europe, according to the WHO.

But the World Health Organisation has warned that Spanish adults are also among the fattest, with 23.7% of adults aged 18-plus being considered clinically obese last year – higher than in 2010 when they accounted for 22.1% of the country's population.

And Spaniards classed as medically overweight make up 60.9% of the native population – some 1.7% higher than five years ago.

The WHO says smoking and drinking alcohol could 'threaten the excellent work' of the population in general and medical services by reducing quality of health and life expectancy, although with Spain recording a higher-than-average consumption of alcohol and of smokers – officially, three in 10 adults in the country – as yet, neither seems to have shortened lives across the board.

Women in Spain have an average life expectancy of 85 and a half, having risen from 85 years and four-and-a-half months in 2010 – female Spaniards have gained an extra fortnight of life in the last five years.

Claudia Stein from the United Nations' Information, Evidence, Research and Innovation Division says Spaniards' health is 'extremely good' and that this is a combination of lifestyle, diet, and excellent medical services.

Men are now living longer than they were five years ago – from 79 years, two months and one week in 2010, their life expectancy is now 79 years and four-and-a-half months, meaning they have gained an extra five weeks of life in as many years.

Spanish women live the longest in Europe, although men live ninth-longest in the world behind the Swiss, Israelis, Cypriots, Icelandics, Italians, Swedes, Norwegians and Dutch.

All causes of mortality in Spain are descending in number of cases, and their incidence is 'in line with or below' the average for Europe as a whole.

The four greatest causes of non-contagious and non-infectious natural causes are cardiovascular – heart attacks and strokes, principally – cancer, diabetes and respiratory problems. 

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SPAIN'S estimated 683,000 Volkswagen diesel vehicles affected by the emissions rigging scandal will start to be recalled in January, and all those which can be repaired – the vast majority, according to the company – will be fixed before the end of 2016.

VW has set aside €6.5 billion to cover the costs of rectifying all vehicles involved, but realises the final bill may well be considerably higher, especially if fines are levied by international governments.

New chairman Hans Dieter Pötsch and new chief executive officer Matthias Müller have warned that 'painful' decisions will have to be made to ensure all affected VW owners have their cars and vans repaired without charge.

Although both pledge to keep employees protected and 'do everything to ensure Volkswagen will stand for good and secure jobs in the future', they say all non-essential investments would have to be 'cancelled or postponed'.

This has sent employees in Spain's factories and dealerships into a panic, fearing their workplaces may be shut down – the country manufactures Seat, a VW-owned brand which until now had been recovering well from the effects of the recession and been planning to take on hundreds of new staff members in Spain.

And Spain's minister for industry José Manuel Soria says he 'does not know' whether any cuts made at head office level in Germany would affect Spanish branches and employees.

Müller says Volkswagen may have to downsize and 'reduce its centralisation', saying every make and model would be analysed to 'ascertain their contribution' to the company.

But he insists any planned actions for the foreseeable future would be 'an evolution, not a revolution', added that the crisis caused by the emissions-masking scam had 'given the firm an opportunity to modernise its infrastructures'.

The repair process, in the meantime, will be long and drawn-out and especially for those vehicles with smaller engine sizes.

New software for two-litre (2L or 2000cc) engines would be ready to install by early 2016, but for 1.6L engines, this could take until at least September.

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A FORMER councillor for the PP in a Basque Country town is in Syria fighting against the so-called Islamic State.

Rodrigo García Saenz de Cortazar, on the council in Alegría-Dulantzi in the province of Álava – the capital of which is the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz – until this spring joined the international military group The Lions of Rojava, based in the Kurdish region of Syria.

He is now trying desperately to get out and return to Spain because of his wife's poor health.

García Saenz went to Syria in June for the second time, having pledged to fight against the terrorists for seven months, but now needs to get home as his wife, who is still in Spain, needs medical treatment.

The ex-councillor is hoping to get out of Syria via Turkey, and has contacted the Spanish embassy in the latter country for assistance.

His wife has already obtained him a visa to return to Spain, and García Saenz himself has been referred by the embassy to a checkpoint near Kobane, in Kurdish Syria.

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KING Felipe VI's younger sister, the Infanta Cristina will become the first-ever royal to appear in court when she is tried over tax evasion charges this coming January 11.

The former Duchess of Palma – who was stripped of her title by her own brother in response to the accusations against her – is said to have offset personal expenses against business tax declarations and is also 50% owner of a dormant front company used by her husband, Iñaki Urdangarín, to launder money he allegedly embezzled from public funds.

Urdangarín, co-owner of the Nóos Institute – a non-profit organisation set up to promote sports and cultural events, meaning it was eligible for grants from the regional governments of the Balearic Islands and Valencia – could face up to 20 years in jail for embezzlement, forgery, fraud, money laundering and tax evasion.

The ex-Olympic handball player has also lost his noble title, that of Duke of Palma, along with his wife.

Cristina, 50, told judges at a preliminary hearing that she did not know what she was signing, but just put her autograph on all documents her husband gave her 'out of love and trust' for her spouse of more than 20 years.

She and Iñaki are co-directors of the company Aizoon, S.L., which has no known activity but which was invoiced by Urdangarín for 'management consultant services'.

Details of the case so far hint that the money used to settle the invoices was the cash received by the Nóos Institute from public coffers.

About €6 million in government grants were given to the Institute, which in practice, was not a non-profit outfit at all but was making its two owners, Urdangarín and Diego Torres, a healthy income.

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BRITS are number one for house-buying in Spain at the moment, particularly in the Balearic Islands, the Canaries and the Comunidad Valenciana.

Property purchasers from the UK make up one-fifth of all foreign buyers, and 12.7% of the total, according to recent figures from the College of Registrars.

Although the first quarter of 2015 saw a general decline in buyers from outside Spain, as is usually the case the spring and summer saw numbers increasing – foreigners accounted for 12.8% of buyers in the second quarter.

In general, foreigners buying holiday homes or permanent residences in Spain levelled out this year after a sizeable hike in 2014, but their presence in the market is very significant in certain of the country's autonomous regions, especially in those traditionally associated with summer holidays.

Non-Spaniards bought 33.5% of homes in the Balearic Islands, or just over a third, between April and June inclusive, and 27.5% of those up for sale in the Canary Islands.

The Comunidad Valenciana was not far behind with over a quarter of properties going to non-Spanish buyers, or 25.7%, whilst Murcia, Andalucía and Catalunya showed figures of between 12% and 15%.

As was to be expected, areas not normally considered to be typical sunshine tourism destinations registered fewer foreign buyers.

Madrid's non-Spanish purchasers only accounted for 4.7% of the total of properties sold, just ahead of Aragón – a region with four of the country's best ski resorts and packed full of rural hotels – where only 4.5% of homes went to buyers from outside Spain.

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BARÇA FC's Lionel 'Leo' Messi has been released from tax fraud charges – but his father could face 18 months in jail.

The Argentinian player and his dad Jorge were said to have evaded over €4 million in tax payable to the Spanish State between 2007 and 2009 for Leo's image rights by stashing the funds in offshore accounts in Belize and Uruguay.

But Messi Junior's solicitor said the sports star had never even read the paperwork and had no knowledge of finance in general, leaving it all to his father to deal with.

And Messi Senior said he had placed it all in the hands of accountants and trusted them to do the right thing.

The Barça golden boy's earnings relate to royalties for use of his name and face in advertising campaigns, and include lucrative modelling deals with Pepsi-Cola, Adidas, Banco Sabadell, Procter & Gamble, Danone and The Kuwait Food Company.

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A TOTAL of 35 municipalities in Spain celebrated National Most Attractive Town Day this week, opening museums, parks and monuments to the public free of charge and milking their tourism highlights for all they were worth.

Run by the Asociación de Pueblos Más Bonitos de España ('Most Attractive Towns in Spain Association'), the nationwide 'open day' was aimed at putting the country's undeniably unique and charming but underrated areas on the map, encouraging visitors from elsewhere in Spain and abroad to check them out, and calling for the Spanish tourist board, Turespaña – also known in English as Tour Spain – to promote them more.

The '35 most attractive' varied dramatically from each other in location, landscape, climate and salient points for visitors – some are already fairly well-known in their own regions, especially among regular foreign and national tourists and many expats, whilst others are practically unheard-of not only to holidaymakers from other countries, but even those from just a province away.

Better-known towns and villages in the top 35 include the whitewashed hilltop town of Mojácar, in the province of Almería on the south coast – although now a hotspot for holiday resorts, the town itself retains its rural and ancient charm – and Santillana del Mar in the northern coastal region of Cantabria, a quaint, cobbled village overflowing with the typically continental-style flower-filled balconies, and known as the 'town of three lies': it is neither holy (santa), nor flat (llana), nor does it have a sea (mar), but it is nonetheless a pretty, charming little town with plenty of authentic souvenir shops selling local delicacies. 

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THE cheapest weekend this year to fly to European destinations from Spain – including the London airports – is between December 11 and 14, with deals in November offering up to 66% off flights to other locations.

According to low-cost flight search engine Skyscanner, it will cost an average of €77.49 to fly to London, Rome, Amsterdam, or Brussels over the weekend of November 27, or from other parts of Spain and Europe to Barcelona, Madrid or Sevilla.

But next weekend – with a bank holiday on Friday and Monday – is the most expensive this side of December, with the same journeys rising to an average of €169.52 between October 9 and 12.

Cheap flights to and from Barcelona are coming in at €65.95 on average on the weekend of November 13, whereas next weekend they would cost around 53%, or €75 more.

Madrid and Sevilla flights are cheapest on the weekend of November 21, with reductions of 38% and 53% on tickets respectively.

Travellers can save up to €136, or 66% to European destinations from Spain between December 11 and 14 – avoiding the weekend of December 6 to 8, which involves two bank holidays – with an average of €103 in savings for flights to London airports and €93 for flights to Brussels.

Around €110 can be saved on flights to Paris and €101 saved on those to Amsterdam by choosing the weekend of November 28.

The cheapest destinations by air for next weekend, the four-day holiday from October 9 to 12, are Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Milan in northern Italy, and Lisbon.

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WITHDRAWING money from cashpoints not owned by the cardholder's bank is less likely to cost money thanks to a new Bill of Law passed in an attempt to stop 'double commission' charges.

At present, some banks charge their account holders a fee if they take money out from a cashpoint machine belonging to another entity, and this second bank may also charge, meaning withdrawals can sometimes mean two commission charges.

Now, the bank which owns the cashpoint machine will charge the cardholder's bank, not the cardholder, instead.

The cardholder's bank is free to decide whether or not to pass on this charge in whole or in part to their customer, but details on the ATM screen will state the maximum commission that can be taken.

This means banks will no longer be allowed to charge non-customers directly for using their cashpoints.

The customer's own bank may still charge a commission, although many are now choosing not to do this in order to be more competitive than their rivals.

A double commission charge may still apply, but only for withdrawals made by credit, rather than debit cards, and only where the account holder's bank chooses to pass onto its customer all or part of the fee it has to pay as an entity to the bank which owns the machine, in addition to charging a commission to the customer for using a different cashpoint.

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MADRID'S mayoress wants university students to be in charge of sweeping and cleaning the city's streets.

As well as giving them an idea of what labour-intensive and manual work feels like, it would make them think twice about leaving a trail of destruction behind them when they hold botellones, or bring-your-own-bottle street-drinking parties, says Manuela Carmena of the left-wing independent party Ahora Madrid.

“University students are frequently the 'management committee' behind massive parties of young adults – including botellones – and normally, these accumulate an untold amount of rubbish,” Sra Carmena says.

She reveals that the dean of Madrid's Complutense University recently sent her photos of the campus after a series of outdoor drinking sessions, and the state of it gave her 'a sense of embarrassment'.

“It wouldn't do any harm for some of them to occasionally sweep up the streets over a two or three month period,” the mayoress considers.

As part of her own university work experience programme, Manuela Carmena herself worked in a jam factory, which she said helped contribute to 'transforming her personality', as it taught her what manual work was like.

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Are you a hotelier, guest house or B&B proprietor in desperate need of a helping hand with business?  Or perhaps you've recently stayed somewhere that you feel could benefit from the no-nonsense approach of the Hotel Inspector?  

If so, the team would love to hear from you.  

Now in its twelfth series The Hotel Inspector is one of the most popular on the channel, with previous series attracting over two and a half million viewers in its weekly prime-time slot!

From staffing to menus, from décor to hygiene, the Hotel Inspector will leave no stone unturned in her quest to transform struggling businesses into successful and profitable ventures.

For a chance to be a part of this series and to benefit from this unique opportunity, please get in touch and speak to one of the team.

To apply or for further information call 
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A PHOTO of the lunar eclipse taken by a man from Ibiza has been chosen by space agency NASA as the best in the world.

The picture, which is the work of José Antonio Hervás is titled Supermoon total lunar eclipse and lightning storm, and is in fact 200 photos of the moon at different stages cut and pasted together, showing the evolution of the recent eclipse over the sky above Es Vedrà.

“After a long night watching the sky, until the early hours, I've managed to achieve what I had in mind – and the bonus was the lightning bolts in the background,” José Antonio explains.

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ELECTRICITY bills will be charged by the hour from today (Thursday, October 1), meaning consumers only pay for what they use and when.

Effectively, this involves 24 tariffs throughout the day and, based upon bi-monthly bills covering a typical 60 days, a total of 1,440 different prices, according to utility boards.

Only customers whose electricity is supplied by the so-called 'regulated market', rather than those who have shopped around for different providers, will be affected since independent utility firms offer their own individual formulae for billing.

Presently, a total of 14 million people in Spain are 'regulated market' electricity consumers and will now be billed by the hour.

The difference between peak rates and the cheapest rate of the day can be as much as 31%, according to figures published by the national grid.

Information in real-time is sent to suppliers via the digital or 'smart' meters which are gradually being rolled out across Spain, with updates every 20 seconds.

Hourly billing is only possible for those with 'smart' meters already fitted – expected to be 16 million households by the end of this year, or 57% of the total, although only about half of these are on 'regulated market' electricity.

By the end of 2018, the government wants all homes and businesses with power supplies of up to 15kW to be on smart meters.

Fitting these does not attract a cost to the consumer, meaning if anyone tries to charge for doing so, alarm bells should ring instantly.

'Renting' the meter costs 81 cents a month, which is 40% higher than the price of renting an analogue meter.

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