House Raids
Police have arrested 16 people who illegally built 14 luxury homes in a rural area of La Línea.
Investigators suspect that the land sale served to launder money in an area that is home to dozens of drug gangs.
The residential complex, which covers over 11,000 square meters, was erected without a single building permit.
The homes are in El Zabal, a neighborhood that is home to many of the drug dealers who operate near Gibraltar.
The police estimate there could be more than 30 drug gangs and 3,000 direct collaborators operating in the area.
Some of the suspects were already under investigation for drug-related activities, and the police believe that the money for the buying the land came from hashish trafficking.
City officials in La Línea identified around 1,000 illegal homes and initiated 400 violation proceedings.
UN-Employment
Spanish jobless queues were shorter last year although 3.2 million people remain unemployed.
The figure represented a decline of just over 6 percent from 2017.
Data from the EU statistics agency put the 19-member zone’s average unemployment rate at 8.1 percent in October.
The latest Spanish jobless rate was 14.55 percent.
The ministry’s annual number of unemployed was nonetheless the lowest since 2009.
Growth
Spanish service businesses maintained buoyant growth last month.
Markit’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) of services companies read 54.0, the same rate as in November and October and just above the 53.9 forecast by analysts.
Gains on the index, which has remained above the 50-point mark separating growth from contraction since October 2013, suggest economic growth will continue into 2019.
Spain’s economy grew 2.4 percent year-on-year in the third quarter.
3 Kings Parades
Animal welfare group PACMA, has asked all Spanish city councils to change their traditional ‘Three Kings Parade’, to guarantee that animals will not be included.
PACMA released a statement on Wednesday describing the conditions that the animals have to endure for public entertainment purposes.
municipalities often use elephants, camels, donkeys, geese, goats and sheep and many come from circuses or zoos.