Spanish News

Return to pre-pandemic levels in 2022 THE Spanish government believes economic growth will bounce back to pre-pandemic levels after a record fall of 11% in 2020 due to the Covid-19 crisis. It predicts the biggest period of expansion of all advanced nations based on the pace of recovery following the end of health restrictions and its vaccination programme. The cabinet believes gross domestic product – GDP – will grow 6.5% […]

Vessel boarded off Canary Islands POLICE and customs officers boarded a professional racing yacht off the Canary Islands to prevent more than a ton of cocaine reaching the Spanish mainland. More than 1,000 1kg packages of the drug were discovered secreted in the vessel – it was necessary to smash open the sides of the fibreglass hull to access the €60 million haul. In a combined operation between Spain’s National […]

SPANISH police have discovered ‘human remains’ close to the place where British hiker Esther Dingley disappeared in the Pyrenees last November. The hunt for the 37-year-old adventurer, who vanished near the French border, was halted because of winter snow fall but resumed in June when the annual thaw gave access to high ground. A charity, LBT Global, which is representing Esther’s family, said it was aware of the discovery and […]

UNESCO honours Retiro Park and Paseo del Prado MADRID has won its first World Heritage status awards for two neighbouring sites in the capital known for their historic and cultural value – Retiro Park and the Paseo del Prado. They were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List on Sunday; taking the number of sites in Spain to 49 – the third-highest in the world after Italy and China. Spanish […]

SPAIN’S National Police arrested a 22-year-old British man in the Costa del Sol suspected of being part of an international plot to hack celebrity social media accounts to request cyber-currency bitcoins. The suspect was arrested in Estepona and is accused of being part of a fraud that netted $117,000 – about €99,000 – after some 130 Twitter accounts belonging to high-profile figures and companies were targeted as part of a […]

Scores breach security to enter Spanish enclave MORE than 200 North African immigrants clambered over security fences to enter the Spanish enclave of Melilla early this morning – three Guardia Civil officers injured trying to prevent their entry. The government reported 238 men managed to enter the Spanish territory from Morocco from a group of some 300 making the attempt at around 06.50. The officers were injured – two by […]

THE European Commission’s proposal for the future relationship between the EU and Gibraltar has been soundly rejected by the British government and authorities on The Rock itself. The main area of conflict is the draft gives Spanish officers control of the border to the British Overseas Territory rather than the presence of European Frontex agency. UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the mandate, already approved by the EU executive, “directly […]

SPAIN’S public debt has soared to more than €1.4 trillion and once again exceeds 125% of the country’s gross domestic product, according to the Bank of Spain. The May figures – released today by the Bank – again set a historic record after a respite over April and is 11.4% more than in May 2020. The debt target for the whole of this year was 119% of GDP but continued […]

THE man suspected to have viciously assaulted a nurse in a Madrid underground carriage was arrested by police hours after Spanish media reported the incident. The 19-year-old was held in the district of Villaverde on Monday afternoon after someone recognised the teenager and reported his details to the authorities. It is feared the victim has lost part of his vision in one eye after being punched. He was wearing sunglasses […]