Spanish News

CBD companies are failing to provide accurate information about how CBD can reduce the effectiveness of the contraceptive pill, putting users at risk of unwanted pregnancy and breakthrough bleeding. Many well-known CBD companies actively target young women with their branding and advertising yet no reference to this issue can be found on their websites. The lack of transparency on this topic is made more concerning by the fact that CBD […]

VOTING polls reveal the Partido Popular is poised to win the May 4 election in the key Madrid region but falling short of an overall majority. The result would probably see Isabel Diaz Ayuso back at the regional government helm; as president she has clashed with central government over social policies and particularly over the response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Ayuso insisted on keeping hospitality and commerce sectors open in […]

POLICE have arrested a 48-year-old man suspected working as a nurse after faking professional qualifications. Guardia Civil officers alerted by suspicious employers launched ‘Operation Fake Nurse’ and discovered the suspect boasted on social media how he had intervened in medical emergencies. And it was found he allegedly used fake certificates to work as a nurse in eight old people’s homes and for the Red Cross in the Valencia region during […]

Cybercriminals use Correos as bait SPAIN’S National Police warn a new scam is circulating the country allowing criminals to access personal data from computers and other devices. Victims are invited to download a post office app that would allow them to track mail – but which installs a bug enabling criminals to access data. Police said the phishing exercise was a new scam using the name of Correos to steal […]

Spanish minister sent bloodied knife CAMPAIGNING ahead of the May 4 regional elections in Madrid has seen parties clash over criminal threats and heated debate over the rise of the far right. The poisonous atmosphere further clouded on Monday after Spanish tourism minister Reyes Maroto, a member of the socialist PSOE party, was sent a package containing a bloodied knife. Viewed as a sinister threat, Maroto received the package just […]

BANKING giant BBVA is looking to reduce staffing levels by almost 3,800 and close 530 branches because of the impact of internet banking and the need to cut costs. Bank president Carlos Torres believes the restructuring is essential “to guarantee the future viability” of BBVA – unions have branded the move “an obscenity”. The bank has started the necessary legal steps to make 13% of its staff redundant from its […]

SPANISH prosecution lawyers are investigating an advertising campaignorchestrated by right wing party Vox over allegations of hate crime. The billboard posters attack spending on child migrants and are part of the party’s drive for votes in the upcoming Madrid regional elections on May 4. Other political parties, including the governing socialists PSOE and junior partner Unidas Podemos, are taking legal action over what is described as spreading ‘hatred’. The Vox […]

THE Spanish government is considering a package of green taxation measures to help fund its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic – including raising duty on diesel. Taking environmental measures will help access European funds but any rise in taxes at the pumps will be bitterly opposed by powerful transport unions. Currently, the government takes 30.7 cents per litre on diesel, compared to 40.07 cents per litre of petrol. Now Madrid […]

THE sale of a painting has been blocked by the Spanish government after claims the picture is by Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo Caravaggio. Madrid auction house Ansorena put a guide price of €1,500 on the picture – if the 17 th Century ‘Crowning of Thorns’ is by Caravaggio rather than Spanish artist Jose de Ribera, its value could be as high as €150 million. The work, which depicts Jesus just […]