Category: News

Schoolgirl Death
A British schoolgirl on holiday with her family on the Costa del Sol has died after eating an ice cream.
The nine-year-old is believed to have gone into anaphylactic shock after suffering a severe allergic reaction.
The primary school pupil and her family were staying at a hotel in Mijas she was allergic to milk and nuts.
The incident happened on Friday, with local media reporting she died on Monday afternoon at Malaga’s Materno Infantil Hospital.
The child, who has not yet been named, is said to have been rushed to the Costa del Sol Hospital near Marbella on Friday before being transferred to a specialist children’s centre in Malaga in a ‘critical condition’ on Monday where her condition deteriorated.… Read all the news

Catalan Separatist Trial
Former prime minister Mariano Rajoy will testify in the high-profile trial of separatist leaders on February 26, the Supreme Court said yesterday.
In a statement, the court said other witnesses who will testify next week include Catalonia’s former president Artur Mas and Spain’s former deputy prime minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria.
The announcement came as the 12 defendants continued to be questioned at Madrid’s Supreme Court in a trial for rebellion and other offences under intense domestic and foreign scrutiny.… Read all the news

Arson
Arsonists are suspected to be behind a wave of wildfires which have hit Cantabria.
The regional authority reports that round 32 different forest fires were active in 20 municipalities.
This was a reduction of six from the 38 which were active yesterday after around 430 members of the fire brigade, along with civil guards and volunteers from civil protection units and the Red Cross had spent all night fighting the flames.
Authorities report that the majority of the fires were started deliberately.… Read all the news

Gibraltar Navy Spat
Authorities in Madrid and Gibraltar gave differing versions yesterday of an incident in which a Spanish warship told commercial ships to leave anchorages near Gibraltar, the latest example of tension over the strategic port as Brexit approaches.
In toughly worded statements, Gibraltar said a Spanish warship ordered commercial ships to leave anchorages in British waters near Gibraltar, adding it was challenged by the British navy and sailed away, while the commercial ships stayed put.
The Spanish government said the commercial ships were in Spanish waters and they left the area after being contacted by the Spanish warship.… Read all the news

Nautical Drug Bust
Authorities seized more than three tonnes of cocaine and arrested 11 people off Portugal’s Atlantic coast, dismantling a drug smuggling gang that operated across international waters from a cargo vessel, police said on Friday.
The seizure of the 3.3 tonnes of cocaine – thought to be worth around $148 million at European street prices – took place at sea when security forces boarded the smuggling ship 150 nautical miles off the coast.
The investigation into the gang, which started in 2017, was led by Spanish authorities.… Read all the news

Snap General Election
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called a snap general election this morning .. to be held on April 28, potentially spelling months of uncertainty in the euro zone’s fourth-largest economy.
Sanchez called the election after parliament voted down his minority government’s budget bill.
The demise of his Socialist government comes after just over eight months in office.
Opinion polls show that no single party would win enough votes to govern on its own, with possible coalition scenarios pointing to lengthy negotiations between three or more parties – potentially including the far-right Vox.… Read all the news

Catalan Separatist Trial
The lead defendant in the trial of 12 Catalan separatist leaders, former regional vice president Oriol Junqueras, refused to answer prosecutors’ questions in court yesterday.
“I am being persecuted for my ideas and not for my actions… I will not answer questions from the accusers,” he said as he took the stand in the Supreme Court in Madrid for the first time.
Junqueras faces 25 years behind bars if he is convicted of rebellion and misuse of public funds for pushing an independence referendum in October 2017 in defiance of a court ban.… Read all the news

Borehole Death Trial
The judge investigating the death of two-year-old Julen Roselló, who fell to his death down a 110-meter borehole near Málaga, has formally named the owner of the rural property where the toddler fell as a suspect.
This comes a day after prosecutors in Málaga asked for David Serrano to be investigated for involuntary manslaughter. Serrano’s defense lawyer confirmed his client had been formally named as a suspect.
This development means that the public prosecution has ruled out, for now, the possibility that other people were criminally responsible for Julen’s death.… Read all the news

Budget and General Election
Spain’s Socialist government is widely expected to call a snap general election after failing to get its budget through parliament.
Catalan separatists rejected Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s bill after the government refused to discuss the region’s right to self-determination.
They voted with the conservatives, despite their different agendas.
Mr Sánchez, in power since June, will announce a date for the vote after a cabinet meeting tomorrow.
The government’s budget was rejected by 191 members out of the 350-seat parliament, with votes from the People’s Party and Ciudadanos as well as Catalan separatists.… Read all the news

Drug Bust
Police arrested 29 people between Cadiz and the Costa del Sol in a massive drug bust yesterday.
Over 500 Guardia Civil officers from across the country were involved in an operation that resulted in 36 different property searches.
Most police activity focused on La Linea, where police arrested several people linked to the Castañitas drug gang who dominate the city.
The infamous gang are thought to control 70% of the hash that makes its way across the Strait of Gibraltar from Morocco.… Read all the news