Fake Priest
A man who pretended to be a priest for more than 18 years has been dismissed by the Catholic Church in Spain.
Miguel Angel Ibarra carried out weddings and baptisms, first in Colombia and then in southern Spain, despite having never been ordained.
Those ceremonies will still be recognised, the Church says, but not his communions or the confessions he heard.
He was found to be an impostor after a complaint was filed in Colombia.
Mr Ibarra moved to Spain last October, settling in the town of Medina-Sidonia in Cadiz Province.
Airport Death
A woman died on Saturday afternoon in a fall at the Alicante-Elche airport
A young woman, said to be 28 died after falling 20-metres from a footbridge at the bus loading area.
The incident is under investigation and no further details have been released by the emergency services.
Crimestoppers
Police in Benidorm have arrested an Irishman on the run from authorities in the UK.
James Connors, born in Dublin, was described by Spanish police as the leader of a criminal organisation based in Britain which specialised in crimes including robbery and extortion.
The 43-year-old was on a Crimestoppers Most Wanted list and was held after police in the UK discovered he was enjoying a holiday.
Britain’s National Crime Agency tipped off the authorities in Spain who arrested him on December 21 after tracking him down to Benidorm.
He will appear before a judge in court in Madrid for an extradition hearing.
Christmas Message
KING Felipe called for ‘resentment and grudges’ to be kept out of society, expressed his ‘revulsion and condemnation’ of violence against women and empathized with young adults and the ‘problems’ they had with finding job’s paying ‘fair salaries’ and a ‘suitable place to live’ in his Christmas Eve speech.
Once again, the monarch urged political and social leaders to ‘protect’ civil harmony and ‘demand respect for the Constitution’, in a clear allusion to Catalunya’s pro-independence brigade.
The King never mentioned Catalunya by name, but just as in the previous two festive speeches, he urged leaders to ensure ‘unity’ and to uphold the rule of law.