Live News From Spain As It Happens

THE first-ever Spaniard to swim Japan's Tsugaru Channel, Alicante-based Jorge Crivillés has become only the 29^th person in history to do so.

One of the crossings in the international Seven Oceans challenge, the 34-kilometre stretch of sea links Hokkaido, Japan with the island of Honshu and is one of the toughest of them all.

But Crivillés, 46, has managed it in eight hours and 29 minutes without stopping, the fifth-fastest time in history.

His brave move was in an attempt to raise money for the Spanish Association of Lymphoma, Myeloma and Leukaemia Patients (AEAL) the childhood cancer research fund, La Hucha de Tomás ('Tomás' Piggybank') and the cancer foundation ASISA

A SCOTTISH woman who plunged to her death from a 10th-floor balcony in a Benidorm aparthotel did so in 'panic' after entering the wrong room, the latest news on her case reveals.

Kirsty Maxwell, 27, from Livingstone was on a hen weekend with her friends between April 27 and 30 at the Payma Apartments in the Rincón de Loix area – known as 'the British neighbourhood' - of the Costa Blanca seaside capital, and her fatal fall happened the night before she was due to return home.

Her husband Adam Maxwell, whom she had very recently married after they had been together since she was 18, and Kirsty's dad Brian Curry launched an appeal on social media for 'even small bits of information you may not think relevant' which may lead them to finding out what happened to their beloved wife and daughter and to bring whoever was at fault to justice – as reported by thinkSPAIN last month (link to story here).

The room from which Kirsty fell was occupied by five British men – Joseph Graham, 32; Anthony Holehouse, 34; Daniel Bailey, 32; Ricky Gammon, 31 and Callum Northridge, 27 – none of whom Kirsty knew before her final weekend and all of whom have since been summoned back to Spain to testify.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

GRANDPARENTS in Spain have called for the government to 'implement measures' so that the bulk of childcare does not fall on them when their own children have to go to work.

The plea has come from the Democratic Union of Pensioners (UDP) and from the Family Associations Union (UNAF), with the latter's key researcher Carmen Sánchez Moro warning that obligation is taking the pleasure out of having grandchildren – and out of life.

She says one in four grandparents spends at least seven hours every day caring for their grandchildren, and of these, 82% say if the kids' parents were able to spend more time on looking after them, the burden on the elder relatives would be reduced.

“Being a grandparent is one of the most gratifying and rewarding human experiences,” Sra Moro says, “but it should never become an obligation.

“This takes the pleasure away from having grandchildren and prevents pensioners from being able to enjoy an active and healthy retirement, as well as limiting their independence and social lives.”

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com"

PRESIDENT Mariano Rajoy finished testifying as a witness in the Gürtel corruption case at 13.00 today (Wednesday), during which he insisted his role in the PP party had been 'entirely political' and 'nothing to do with the accounting side'.

His answers to the accusation, head of court and defence had 312 reporters and photographers hanging onto every word and gesture for subsequent description in 83 media channels, of which 21 were from other countries including France, Germany, México, Russia and Colombia.

The first-ever serving president to be called to the dock, even as a witness, Rajoy was asked about what he knew of the right-wing PP's activities between the years 1999 and 2005, the during which the corruption is thought to have started.

The racket involved businesses paying bribes to the PP in cash in exchange for lucrative public works contracts, and the cash being handed out in envelopes to top-flight party members and used to fund its electoral campaigns.

Other than the current, and fairly recent treasurer – the fifth since the party formed in the post-Franco era – all the other treasurers have been charged or are under investigation.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

AN EXTRA 100 driving examiners will be employed across Spain from next year, of whom 32 will have been drafted in from the Armed Forces, says the country's traffic authority.

At present, the majority of examiners are on strike over working conditions, pay and staff shortages and have threatened to do so indefinitely if improvements are not made.

This is expected to force waiting lists for tests up to at least six months.

General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) boss Gregorio Serrano says the current payroll, of 774 examiners, is expected to rise to 876 by next year, net of retirements planned between now and 2018 – around 52 in total.

But Serrano denies that as many as 150,000 driving tests have been cancelled as a result of the strikes, which started in June and are taking place every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

He says 65,000 practical tests have been called off since the strikes began, but that in June – the first month of industrial action – 80,000 candidates went through their tests, the same number as in April when there were no strikes.

However, he did not concede that more tests would normally take place in a normal June than in April, since most young adults take their lessons and final practical and theory exams between mid-June and mid-September when they break up from college.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

MOTHERS are 20% more likely to recycle household waste than fathers, according to a recent study.

And residents in the Basque Country put aside the most space in their homes for separating rubbish for potential recycling, with the 35 to 54 age group being those most committed to doing so.

A report titled Recycling habits, commissioned from the Apolda Institute for the 'green' waste management firm Ecoembes shows that 34.4% of mothers in Spain regularly use paper, glass and plastic banks compared with 14.7% of fathers.

In 29.3% of cases, the decision to recycle frequently is made by the whole family, however.

Over three-quarters of Spanish residents between their mid to late 30s through to their mid-50s – just under 77% - set aside 'at least one space' in their homes for waste destined for recycling, closely followed by the over-55s at 72.5%

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPAIN'S president Mariano Rajoy is due to testify in court tomorrow (Wednesday) morning as a witness as part of the long-running Gürtel corruption racket.

So far, 312 reporters, camera crew and photographers from 83 media channels, of which 21 are based in other countries, have managed to obtain press passes to cover the hearing live.

French, German, Russian, Mexican and Colombian media are among the foreign press-pass holders.

The National Court says 14 mobile TV and radio units will be parked on site, and 150 of the journalists, film crew and photographers have been given permission to enter the building.

Of these, 120 will follow the hearing from the press room and another 30 will get the one-off chance to access the courtroom and witness the proceedings live.

The right-wing PP leader will be surrounded by watertight security measures including armed police and bodyguards when he arrives at the court on the industrial estate in San Fernando de Henares in the Greater Madrid region ready to give his version of events and stand for cross-examining from 10.00.

Rajoy will be interrogated by the anti-corruption prosecution and the various parties which have brought a private prosecution against those accused in the Gürtel scandal.

Complainants include the State Law Service, Madrid city council, Madrid regional government, the socialist party in Valencia and in Boadilla del Monte (Madrid) and the anti-corruption legal society, the Association of Democratic Lawyers in Europe (ADADE), although it is possible not all these bodies will wish to cross-examine the witness.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

OVER a million of the cars on Spain's roads have 'serious defects' with their wheels or tyres, according to alarming figures released by the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT).

Most of these defects involve treads of less than the legal minimum of 1.6 millimetres, uneven wear on tyres due to poor suspension or incorrect wheel balancing, or tyres with the wrong pressure – too flat, or too much air.

Yet the latter is a relatively easy problem to solve, with air-pumps at all petrol stations being either free of charge or as little as €1 to use, and the pressure required stated in the car handbook which, if the owner is not in possession of, can be found with a simple internet search.

Headlights, fog lights, rear, brake or indicator lights have not been flagged up as a major issue with cars on Spain's roads, but the DGT strongly recommends changing the bulbs after every 40,000 kilometres or every two years – always both together so they remain even – as they lose some of their brightness over time.

Special attention should be paid to usage, maintenance and monitoring headlights to ensure they are bright enough, but not so bright as to dazzle other road users at night, says the DGT.

Lights should also be cleaned regularly to maximise their efficiency.

Windscreen wipers, even if not apparently damaged, should also be replaced approximately once a year, and windscreens themselves kept clean and dent-free.

Airbags and supports for cameras, sensors and other gadgets which aid driving should be regularly checked, the DGT says, and the registration plates kept clean so the number can be easily read and the car identified.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

CONSUMER authorities in the Balearic Islands have fined low-cost airline Vueling €340,000 for last year's spate of cancellations and delays.

Over 191,000 passengers were left stranded with no information or real assistance back in June and July 2016 in the Balearics alone, where two thirds of the 2,411 scheduled flights were beset with problems leading to their taking off late or not at all.

This is the largest fine as yet ever imposed by consumer authorities in the region in connection with air travel.

It was initially set at €320,000, but was increased by a further €20,000 because the Catalunya-based airline 'repeatedly ignored' requests from government bodies to provide information about why the cancellations and delays occurred

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPAIN holds the European record for being home to the most bars per inhabitant, according to a recent EU study.

The southern region of Andalucía alone has as many bars – which include pubs and cafés – as Ireland, Denmark, Finland and Norway combined, a statistic which will cause many to do a double take, given perceptions of the Irish as being hugely fond of their native Guinness.

If Andalucía was the only region with any bars at all, at 47,000 in total, it would still have enough for each to cater for 1,000 inhabitants in Spain.

But in practice, Andalucía is home to fewer than a fifth of the country's bars – the total number recorded is 279,243 across the whole of Spain, meaning one for every 169 residents.

And this is even in spite of the hangover from the financial crisis leading to 70,000 bars and cafés in Spain closing down in the past four years.

Although the country's 350,000 bars has dropped to 280,000, their takings still account for 15% of the country's GDP.

The figure of 169 is only the national average, however – many towns far exceed this.

In fact, Mogán, near Las Palmas on the island of Gran Canaria, has 547 pubs and cafés for just over 23,000 residents – meaning one for every 43 people.

As a result, if every single person in Mogán went to the pub at the same time, there would almost certainly be enough space for them all to find a seat at once.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

NEARLY half of Catalunya's residents would be against the idea of their region becoming a separate country, despite their government's determination to declare independence unilaterally if it wins its referendum on October 1.

According to Catalunya's Centre for Opinion Studies (CEO), part of its regional government, those who would vote 'no' to independence have risen from 48.5% of eligible voters – anyone native to or living in Catalunya aged 16 or over – to 49.4%.

Those in favour of secession have dropped from 44.3% to 41.1%.

A total of 7.8% remain unsure which way to vote, and 1.7% did not give a response or preferred not to say.

Previous figures showed 5.5% did not know, and 1.6% did not respond.

This is based upon a survey of 1,500 between June 26 and July 11.

The result comes as a surprise to the general public in Spain, who believed the central government's persistent refusal to even discuss or acknowledge the subject and reiteration that legal action would be taken if it was put to the vote was pushing Catalunya's people more towards the independence idea as a form of protest.

It has long been thought that the right-wing PP's closed stance, and its criminalising 'democracy' has been creating bad feeling and anti-Spain sentiments among the catalanes, an attitude which would probably not be there if the government had been open to the region's concerns or allowed at least a non-binding opinion poll to go ahead.

The majority of those questioned – 1,121 – were based in the province of Barcelona, home to Catalunya's largest and Spain's second-largest city, with much smaller numbers in Girona, Tarragona and Lleida.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A TOWN in the province of Tarragona wants to leave Catalunya and join the neighbouring region of Aragón, and has called an extraordinary general meeting of the town council to discuss the 'move'.

Batea town council says it has 'suffered a long history of discrimination' by the regional government of Catalunya, and cites just two examples – not enough places granted in elderly residential homes, and three wind farms 'forced' on the town against its will.

Mayor Joaquim Paladella said on Tuesday that he planned to call a referendum which, if backed sufficiently by residents, could lead to the regional borders being shifted on the map.

The idea led to so much media attention over the ensuing days that local authorities have called an open meeting with residents and the public to go through the finer details.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A BRITISH family is facing up to six years in jail for a fake food-poisoning claim after their holiday in Mallorca.

Deborah Briton, 53 and Paul Roberts, 43 (pictured left) appeared in Liverpool Crown Court this week after attempting to earn 52,000 pounds (around €62,400) in compensation for a fictitious stomach bug allegedly caused by the food at their hotel, and which they said also affected two of their children.

They are the first to face criminal trial for fraudulent sickness claims, although not the first to be taken to task.

Earlier, Julie Lavelle and Michael McIntyre, from Liverpool, were ordered to pay 3,744 pounds (just under €4,500) to tour operator Thomas Cook in compensation after a judge in the north-western UK city threw out a claim filed by the couple for sickness during a 2013 holiday in Gran Canaria.

They had tried to get 10,000 pounds (about €12,000) by alleging they and their two children became ill due to 'poor food and hygiene at the hotel'.

A NEW deal between Iberia and Vueling means an easier life for commuters with flights leaving almost on the half-hour and tickets that can be changed at no cost.

The so-called 'air-bridge', or short-haul internal flight route, between Madrid and Barcelona – regularly used by those who work in one city and live in the other – opened today (Wednesday) and will allow for Iberia's 16 daily flights and Vueling's 10 to combine and share flight numbers.

This means 26 flights a day between the two cities from Monday to Friday inclusive, and 13 at weekends.

Both airlines are owned by the company IAG, which also covers British Airways, and have now coordinated their commuter flight routes so customers can take advantage of deals offered by either.

Rush-hour planes will leave every 15 to 30 minutes, and the rest on the hour, running from 06.30 to 21.45.

Advance tickets booked will now have the same flexibility as 'open' tickets, meaning dates and times can be changed as often as flyers wish without any extra costs but, at the same time, ensuring they have a place on a flight guaranteed.

All 'air-bridge' tickets will be sold with an Iberia flight number, even when they are operated by Vueling, and commuters can acquire a free Iberia Plus card to earn air-miles with both carriers.

A FORMER bank manager facing six years in jail for embezzlement has been found shot dead in a field this morning (Wednesday).

Miguel Blesa, director of the now-defunct Caja Madrid – which was bailed out by the State with EU funds and merged with Bancaja to form Bankia – had been sentenced in February for multi-million tax fraud linked to company credit cards.

He and other directors, who include top businessmen and PP politicians, had used their cards for everything from holidays to expensive champagne and registered them as work expenses, meaning they were offset against their tax bill.

Blesa had appealed his sentence, mainly to buy himself more time.

He had arranged to go out hunting with a group of friends in an area of farmland in Villanueva del Rey (Córdoba province) belonging to some business associates from the company Prasa Group, known as the Puerto del Toro, but ended up setting off alone at dawn.

Later, at around 08.00, he was having breakfast with a friend nearby when he excused himself, saying he needed to move his car.

Blesa's friend heard a gunshot seconds later and called his security guard, who contacted the emergency services.

They found his body in the garage with a single bullet wound in the chest, fired using a hunting rifle.

Police are trying to ascertain whether his death was a suicide, murder, or whether he accidentally pulled the trigger.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

OVER 400 protesters gathered at Sevilla airport and clamoured against deportations on Sunday afternoon, a day after passengers staged a mutiny on board a Vueling flight in support of a Senegalese man being returned to his home country in handcuffs.

The humanitarian pressure group Abriendo Fronteras ('Opening Borders') surrounded left-luggage stores and handed in multiple complaint forms to Iberia and low-cost carrier Vueling at the southern Spanish airport as part of a cross-national march to fight for the rights of migrants.

They had set off from Madrid the day before and were heading for the Spanish-owned city-province of Melilla on the northern Moroccan coast.

Abriendo Fronteras denounced the fact that 11 passengers who stood up for the Senegalese man were arrested, fined and threatened with being blacklisted from Vueling flights.

A HEAD-ON collision between two rollercoasters at a Madrid theme park has left 33 people with minor injuries – six of whom are children under 10.

The crash happened on Sunday at 14.30, leaving those on board with cuts, bruises and feeling sick and dizzy.

All bar six were taken to three different hospitals in the city, and the remainder refused treatment on site and said they would go to a health centre of their own free will later.

Sources from the park, based in the Casa de Campo area of Madrid, insisted that the rollercoaster had 'passed all safety checks' which are carried out daily.

They urged the public to 'remain calm', and stressed that all the injuries were minor.

Not everyone on the two rollercoasters was hurt – each one was carrying the maximum of 36, and many others nearby did not find out what had happened until they read it or saw it on the news.

But inspections carried out yesterday (Monday) showed that one of the engines on the rollercoaster was 'very badly deteriorated'.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

THE WOMAN who reported Iberia for requiring pregnancy tests for all female job candidates says she was excluded from the recruitment process for refusing.

Bärbel Espín, 28, from Menorca, said the agency even asked her to declare when her last menstrual period was.

The airline's unacceptable discrimination came to light after Bärbel told the Work Inspectors, part of the Social Security, as well as the Balearic Institute for Women and the General Workers' Union (UGT).

She complained that the union 'was not concerned in the slightest' about her claims.

Iberia stressed at the time that it wanted to check for pregnancy so that female candidates 'could be guaranteed the best possible conditions in relation to their health', but Bärbel's revelation that her application for employment with the carrier was rejected on the grounds of her refusal to take the test shows that this was far from the case.

Even if the requirement was with the best intentions, the Work Inspectors said it could never be proven that a female employee who turned out to be pregnant did not get the job because she was expecting, rather than whatever reasons Iberia actually gave her.

And the obligatory test was found to be intrusive per se, since it was insensitive to women who could not have children, who intended to have an abortion or put the child up for adoption at birth, or who were acting as surrogate mothers, since it removed their right not to disclose this sensitive information.

THE WOMAN who reported Iberia for requiring pregnancy tests for all female job candidates says she was excluded from the recruitment process for refusing.

Bärbel Espín, 28, from Menorca, said the agency even asked her to declare when her last menstrual period was.

The airline's unacceptable discrimination came to light after Bärbel told the Work Inspectors, part of the Social Security, as well as the Balearic Institute for Women and the General Workers' Union (UGT).

She complained that the union 'was not concerned in the slightest' about her claims.

Iberia stressed at the time that it wanted to check for pregnancy so that female candidates 'could be guaranteed the best possible conditions in relation to their health', but Bärbel's revelation that her application for employment with the carrier was rejected on the grounds of her refusal to take the test shows that this was far from the case.

Even if the requirement was with the best intentions, the Work Inspectors said it could never be proven that a female employee who turned out to be pregnant did not get the job because she was expecting, rather than whatever reasons Iberia actually gave her.

And the obligatory test was found to be intrusive per se, since it was insensitive to women who could not have children, who intended to have an abortion or put the child up for adoption at birth, or who were acting as surrogate mothers, since it removed their right not to disclose this sensitive information.

A BUNCH of undergraduates staged a lock-in at the ministry of education in protest over the government's college grant policies on Friday, the State Council of University Students (CEUNE) has just reported.

Around 20 of their members had gone along to the Council's meeting at the ministry to debate a new Royal Decree, or bill of law covering student grants which is due to be approved this month – but the government's education boss, Íñigo Méndez de Vigo, did not turn up.

The students considered this to be an unacceptable act of contempt towards them, and staged a sit-in.

They ended up spending the whole night inside the ministry building.

The new Decree will regulate means testing for grant entitlement, setting the asset and income threshold which dictate whether students will get any cash to pay for their studies and living costs, and the amount they will receive for the forthcoming academic year.

The protesting students say they spent five hours negotiating with ministry staff, but reached no agreement whatsoever, and criticise Méndez de Vigo for 'standing them up'

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A GROUP of passengers staged a mutiny on a plane at Barcelona airport in protest over a Senegalese immigrant being deported.

They managed to stop the Vueling flight, en route to Dakar, from taking off – but not indefinitely, since it left several hours later with the migrant still on board.

It was due to leave El Prat de Llobregat airport at 16.30 yesterday (Saturday), but when passengers heard the African man wailing in distress and found out what was happening, all 176 of them – moved by compassion for his plight – decided to stop the aircraft from taking off.

They all stood up, refusing to sit down and put their seatbelts on, saying they would not do so until the Senegalese man was allowed to stay.

After an hour and a half of protesting, the Guardia Civil boarded the aircraft and forced every single passenger to get off the plane.

Officers identified six of those who had started the protest and rallied the others, and they were cautioned and banned from flying.

Low-cost Barcelona-based airline Vueling mainly runs intra-European flights, but one connection a week links Barcelona with the Senegalese capital of Dakar.

And given how late the flight took off, the return plane from Dakar to Barcelona was unable to fly last night as the pilots and crew would have exceeded their maximum-allowed working hours.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

THE highest temperature ever recorded in Spain's history was reached in inland Andalucía on Thursday, the State meteorological agency AEMET confirmed today.

Córdoba airport registered 46.9ºC in the shade, the hottest figure known out of direct sunlight.

Until now, the highest temperature ever recorded in Spain was on July 23, 1995 – also in Córdoba – at 46.6ºC.

Another weather station in the province, in the town of Montoro, is said to have shown the mercury soaring to 47.3ºC yesterday (Friday), but this has yet to be verified.

This would beat the record of July 4, 1994 from an 'unofficial' weather station in Murcia, which showed a figure of 47.2ºC.

SCIENTISTS at Madrid's Complutense University have assured that there is definitely a ninth planet in our Solar System.

The campus' pioneering space-matter detection system has found a planet 10 times the size of Earth and at a distance from the latter of 300 to 400 times that of the gap between the Earth and the sun.

Debates among astronomers have been ongoing since early 2016 when California Technology Institute's researchers claimed to have evidence of 'Planet Nine', based upon the unique distribution of orbits found in so-called Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs) in the Kuiper belt.

But scientists from the Ossos Project, run by French, Canadian and Hawaiian researchers, found flaws in the hypothesis, saying it could have been an illusion created by random orbit distribution.

Now, though, Complutense astronomers have applied a more exacting and accurate technique allowing them to observe what are known as Extreme Trans-Neptunian Objects (ETNOs) at distances exceeding 150 UA and which never cross Neptune's orbit, and for the first time ever, have studied the distances from the nodes of ETNOs to the sun.

Their results, published in the space magazine MNRAS, suggest there may be a planet in the Solar System even further afield than Pluto.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

BARCELONA has planned a huge celebration of the 25^th anniversary of its hosting the Olympic Games this month, with the same musicians who played at the 1992 event back on stage.

Archer Antonio Rebollo will light a mock Olympic torch at the stadium in the north-eastern city on July 25, and it will be paraded through the streets by sports personalities from Catalunya and elsewhere in the country who were competing at the games a quarter of a century ago – including Juan Antonio San Epifanio, alias 'Epi'; Nacho Solozábal, Paralympic athlete Teresa Perales, and medal-winning women's grass hockey team member Elisabeth, niece of the then mayor Pasqual Maragall.

Former member of the band La Fura dels Baus, Hansel Cereza, will be artistic director once again as he was in summer 1992, whilst the group who played in the closing ceremony, Los Manolos, will perform in the Plaça de Catalunya, along with the Barcelona-based band Mambo Jambo.

King Felipe VI, who was then Crown Prince Felipe of Asturias and who competed in the Spanish sailing team at the 1992 games, has been invited.

Numerous other activities will take place on the last Tuesday in July, most of which will be at the Olympic Stadium on the Montjuïc mountain.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

BRITAIN'S stance over the sovereignty of Gibraltar is 'not negotiable', UK prime minister Theresa May told King Felipe VI today (Thursday) during the latter's visit along with Queen Letizia to the UK capital.

Felipe VI said yesterday that he hoped 'bilateral talks' between the governments of Spain and the UK would help 'seek a solution' which would 'work for the UK and EU and its other members, including Spain' and which 'also worked for Gibraltar'.

During the EU referendum held last June in Britain, 95% of the Rock's residents voted to remain, since cross-border traffic of goods and humans is vital for the survival of both the enclave and its nearest Spanish province, that of Cádiz.

Workers who live in Cádiz - which has an unemployment rate of around 55% - both Brits and Spaniards commute daily to Gibraltar, where the jobless figure is nearer 3% and huge numbers of both nationalities hold highly-paid technical, professional and managerial positions they would not be able to find easily, if at all, in Spain.

But Brexit could lead to a hard border between the two, as Gibraltar would no longer be in the EU whilst Spain would continue to belong to the club.

Former foreign affairs minister José Manuel García-Margallo said on the morning of the Brexit announcement that 'the Spanish flag would soon be flying over Gibraltar again'.

And it flew in British Parliament when Felipe VI spoke of 'the need to make an effort to find a compromise' between Britain and Spain.

But Theresa May made it clear the UK would not budge an inch.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

TOWN and city halls across the country have been staging tributes to PP councillor Miguel Ángel Blanco to mark the 20^th anniversary of his assassination by Basque terrorists ETA.

Some local councils have declined to do so as they consider it an insult to all other terror victims who have not been given the same homage.

One of these was Madrid, although mayoress Manuela Carmena has relented and agreed to hang banners in memory of 'all victims of terrorism', including Blanco.

Miguel Ángel Blanco Garrido's 20-year anniversary is in fact tomorrow (Thursday, July 13), but Monday this week was the day he was kidnapped by ETA as leverage, in an attempt to force the central government to move all prisoners of the separatist cell to jails in the Basque Country so they could be nearer their families.

The kidnap was televised live, and millions of Spaniards watched with fast-beating hearts, praying for his release.

But suddenly, the screen went black, and minutes later the news came on TV and it was announced Blanco had been shot and was fighting for his life.

Early the next morning, Spain awoke to hear that the scapegoat councillor had passed away in hospital.

Blanco became councillor in his birth town of Ermua, in the province of Vizcaya, two weeks after his 27^th birthday in 1995.

Less than a fortnight before he was kidnapped, prison warden José Antonio Ortega Lara was freed by the Guardia Civil after 532 days held hostage by ETA, and the four terrorists who kept him held against his will were arrested.

RIGHT-WING red-top The Sunhas annoyed Spain once again – this time by claiming police and bouncers in Magaluf are being unfairly harsh on uncivilised British tourists who drink too much, get into fights, strip off, vomit, urinate and have sex in the streets.

“Magaluf used to be known just as a casual sex hotspot, but now it has become a war zone as boozy Brits battle with cops and bouncers,” claims the sub-heading.

Its description of revellers being punched by police and nightclub doormen has incensed the local council in Calvià – the inland town of which Magaluf is a satellite beach hub – to the extent that it may sue the tabloid for defamation.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

ANOTHER heatwave is about to hit Spain with temperatures reaching up to 44ºC in the shade, especially in the south and central parts of the mainland.

Night temperatures will not drop down below 22ºC or 24ºC and, although only certain parts of the country are said to be at risk, the knock-on effect means the rest of Spain could well see the mercury soar – albeit to a lesser degree.

A mass of warm air is set to cross the mainland from Wednesday this week, hitting large swathes of Andalucía in the south, Extremadura in the west, and the central plans of Castilla-La Mancha.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

BRITISH toddler Charlie Gard has been given a new hope by Barcelona's Vall d'Hebrón hospital research unit – Great Ormond Street has agreed not to switch off his life support after receiving a letter from scientists showing evidence the experimental treatment his parents want to fund for him can in fact work.

Dr Ramón Martí, head of the neuromuscular and mitochondrial pathology unit at the Vall d'Hebrón Research Institute and his colleage Yolanda Cámara, plus two specialists from the Bambino Gesù hospital in Rome, two researchers from the University of Columbia in the USA, and one from the University of Cambridge in the UK have all signed the missive.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A GROUP of 14 Italians fled a restaurant in Pamplona (Navarra) leaving their €620 bill unpaid – but the police caught up with them and ordered them to settle the tab, plus a 10% tip.

Pamplona is currently heaving with tourists because of its famous, but controversial Sanfermines bull-running festival, giving the group ample opportunity to 'try it on' without worrying too much about getting caught.

But they were unlucky this time, because the regional, or Foral police identified them almost immediately.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

RAIL board RENFE has started early for this month's 25^th anniversary ticket sales: from midnight tonight (Saturday), a total of 35,000 one-way trips on the high-speed AVE line will be up for grabs for just €25.

This year, to mark the quarter-century of the AVE – which is capable of covering distances of around 400 kilometres in 90 minutes – RENFE will put 25,000 tickets on sale at €25 on the 25^th of every month.

But after the first few months crashed the rail board's server and it was forced to increase the band width, and then all 25,000 were snapped up before daylight, RENFE has had to make its offer more generous.

To cope with passengers buying tickets at the same time – with up to 1,000 a minute going at one point – RENFE had to issue over 35,000 since literally hundreds paying for theirs right in the same split second meant 40% of them were double-booked.

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A YOUNG man who disappeared from his home in Palermo, Sicily six years ago has been found in the Madrid satellite town of Torrejón de Ardoz.

The 26-year-old – who was 20 when he vanished in 2011 – was found wandering the streets barefooted, completely dishevelled and apparently unable to speak.

Police took him in to try to identify him and to ensure he received medical assistance.

They were only able to communicate with him through gestures, but were unable to ascertain who he was.

Extensive checks with missing persons associations proved fruitless.

Long-winded talks with Interpol and Europol, however, flagged up a youth named Marcello Volpe who had gone missing on the Italian island on July 12, 2011, who who partly fitted his description.

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SPAIN'S economy minister Cristóbal Montoro has agreed to lower income tax next year in exchange for the opposition agreeing to his cap on public spending.

Montoro (pictured left, next to vice-president Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, centre) wanted to raise the limit on what the country's 17 regional governments could spend by around 1%, to just under €120 billion, but the minority-led right-wing PP cabinet was accused of being ungenerous by the mostly-left wing opposition.

Centre-right Ciudadanos, however, agreed to vote in favour – giving the new spending cap a majority support enough for it to go through – as long as Montoro reduced income tax for 2018.

He had not planned to do this until 2019, when the next general elections are due.

Just three weeks ago, Montoro had argued there was 'no margin' to allow for cutting taxes and alleviating the financial burden on the working and middle classes.

But in an about-turn last night (Wednesday), Montoro has bent under pressure and, next year, the population of Spain will save themselves around €2bn.

As yet, the specifics have not been agreed – Ciudadanos says the tax cuts will benefit 'those on the lowest incomes', but at the same time has referred directly to 'the middle classes': those not living in extreme below-the-breadline conditions, but who still have to watch every cent and have little or nothing left after paying all their bills every month.

Some of the new tax régime could involve increasing tax deductions for maternity and disability, which currently only sit at €100 a month, and upping the minimum threshold or 'personal allowance' of €12,000 a year, below which individuals are not subject to tax.

“The tax reductions will be applied to those social groups who most need to feel the effects of Spain's economic recovery,” said Montoro, making it clear that any general tax cuts would still be held off until election year to show the PP in a good light.

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LEGENDARY crooner Julio Iglesias has a 'secret' illegitimate son aged 40, the result of an affair with a woman in Valencia – now proven thanks to DNA the younger man found in a rubbish bin in Miami.

The as-yet unidentified son – said to be named 'Javier', and half-brother to chart-topping Latin pop sensation Enrique Iglesias – had tried in the past to prove paternity but 'technicalities' meant the suit failed.

He has since brought another case, citing Article 39 of the Spanish Constitution, which protects the rights to paternity investigations for everyone.

A solicitors' firm in Sevilla is handling the case and says the DNA is a 99.99% match, the highest possible, meaning there is 'no doubt' the Valencia man is Julio's son.

The firm, Bufete Osuna, specialises in paternity suits and successfully proved last year that the young bullfighter Manuel Díaz was the illegitimate son of the famous matador

, Manuel Benítez 'El Cordobés'.LEGENDARY crooner Julio Iglesias has a 'secret' illegitimate son aged 40, the result of an affair with a woman in Valencia – now proven thanks to DNA the younger man found in a rubbish bin in Miami.

The as-yet unidentified son – said to be named 'Javier', and half-brother to chart-topping Latin pop sensation Enrique Iglesias – had tried in the past to prove paternity but 'technicalities' meant the suit failed.

He has since brought another case, citing Article 39 of the Spanish Constitution, which protects the rights to paternity investigations for everyone.

A solicitors' firm in Sevilla is handling the case and says the DNA is a 99.99% match, the highest possible, meaning there is 'no doubt' the Valencia man is Julio's son.

The firm, Bufete Osuna, specialises in paternity suits and successfully proved last year that the young bullfighter Manuel Díaz was the illegitimate son of the famous matador, Manuel Benítez 'El Cordobés'.

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FEELING stressed whilst driving can increase the chances of a crash by up to 28% - and most motorists are thinking about life's problems when they are at the wheel, says a ground-breaking study by the Spanish Royal Automobile Club (RACE).

Partly sponsored by petrol giants BP and Castrol, the RACE's research reveals that stress causes drivers to miss up to 20% of traffic signals and creates 'tunnel vision' – an angle of vision of less than 70º – whilst increasing the number of abrupt and erratic moves and sudden accelerations by 17%.

Recalling that distraction at the wheel is the primary cause of fatal road accidents – beyond even alcohol, drugs and speeding – the RACE included a questionnaire in its study answered by over 1,000 motorists.

Of these, 57% say they are thinking about their work while they drive – often because they are running late and panicking, with four in 10 Spanish commuters saying they are regularly late for work because of traffic – and 54% are thinking about family problems whilst at the wheel.

Another 35% worry about money, 33% about their relationships, and 27% about their health.

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NEARLY three times as many Brits live in Spain as Spaniards in the UK, and almost half of them are retired, according to figures from the London-based Office of National Statistics (ONS).

Britain is home to around 116,000 Spaniards, who range from recent arrivals to those who have lived there since the Civil War, whilst on paper, a total of 300,000 Brits live in Spain – although the number may be higher due to many not exercising their duty of registering on the padrón, or municipal census, in their town.

According to the ONS, the majority of Brits in Spain live in coastal provinces, particularly those who are retired.

Pensioners and early retirees make up 48% of the total.

Island locations – in the Balearics and Canaries – tend to attract younger Brits, who are typically aged between 20 and 39.

Of those UK nationals in Spain who are of working age, a total of 59% are employed or self-employed, whilst just 5% are registered on the dole.

Those who have jobs or are self-employed typically work in public administration, education, health, banking and finance, and the hotel and catering trade – the latter making up 22% of jobs held by British citizens living in Spain.

A total of 11% of the working-age British population does not have a job or any other economic activity, although more than half of these are not registered as unemployed and it is likely some of them survive through sporadic cash-in-hand work.

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SPAIN will be the first country in the whole of Europe to replace analogue electricity meters with digital, remotely-operated versions once it has fitted them all by the end of 2018.

The idea of the new 'smart' meters is that all householders or traders can work out their consumption by the minute, and that they can be read from a central office without having to send out workers to do so manually.

Customers will therefore be able to work out which appliances and at what times of day the most power is used, and adjust accordingly to save themselves money.

They will also be able to alter the power level on demand – whilst it can be frustrating that boiling the kettle while the washing machine is on causes the electricity to trip, many consumers prefer not to upgrade their supply as this 'overload warning' acts as a brake and prevents their usage being too high, but smart meters mean they can temporarily up the wattage so they can use the oven, microwave and dishwasher all at once, then turn it back down so they are not tempted to over-consume afterwards.

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A COUPLE in their 70s has been arrested in Málaga for buying a baby for €100,000.

They were found out when, nearly eight months after purchasing the newborn from his 30-year-old Russian mother, an hereditary illness was detected and his biological parents needed to be traced.

The couple were reportedly evasive and made 'various excuses' as to why the mother could not attend the hospital for tests.

It turned out the mother had travelled to Spain from Russia a month before the birth, and had the baby at a private clinic in the province of Málaga, recorded his birth at the Civil Registrar's office along with the name of the alleged father, and then left the country, returning home to Russia.

The father registered was the husband of the arrested couple, but investigations showed he had no passport and had never travelled to Russia, showing he could not possibly be the baby's biological parent.

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A BRITISH man took a flight to Menorca, hired a car and ordered a cocktail on his way to London from Newcastle – and still saved 40 pounds (€48).

Joe Furness, 21, successfully showed how public transport in the UK is probably the most expensive in the world with his adventure, which started when he looked up the price of a train to get him to the British capital from his home town in Newcastle.

Even taking advantage of the various money-saving deals and young persons' railcard discounts, the cheapest he could find a one-way ticket for was 78.50 pounds, or about €90.

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