February 2023

‘Like living in the wild west’: The Otero scandal that has hurt thousands

IT was marketed to high-earners from Northern Europe as the opportunity to come and live the Spanish dream. To escape the dreary weather and own a luxury villa on a coastline that gets over 300 days of sunshine a year. Buyers who dreamt of packing their lives up and moving to the Costa del Sol […]

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Regional government in Spain’s Andalusia rejects request from more than 70 municipalities to halt renewable energy plants

THE REGIONAL government in Andalusia has rejected a joint request from a total of 72 municipalities for a moratorium to be put in place on renewables projects until an energy-transition plan can be put in place.  Mayors from these towns and villages argue that renewables plants are destroying thousands of hectares of land, replacing olive

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Spain’s Costa Blanca and Valencia airports report record-breaking January for passenger numbers

ALICANTE-ELCHE and Valencia airports reported their busiest-ever January with new records set for passenger numbers. Alicante-Elche airport welcomed 795,148 passengers- up by 68.1% on 2021 and crucially a 1.3% increase on the record-breaking 2019 total. The biggest number of foreign arrivals were from the United Kingdom on 245,279, with the Netherlands a distant second on

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Gibraltar customs warn of nitrous oxide ‘legal high’ after seizing 120 canisters at land border

AUTHORITIES in Gibraltar warned about the dangers of nitrous oxide after customs stopped a car crossing the frontier with 120 canisters of the legal drug habitually inhaled by young people. Officers at the land frontier were ‘surprised’ by the find, as nitrous oxide can only be imported into the British territory with a licence. They

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Nearly half of Spain’s families pay for children to get private lessons

ALMOST half of families in Spain paid for private lessons for their children between 2019 and 2020 according to a study from the Esade Centre for Economic Policy. The survey says that 47% of families spent €1.7 billion on classes with languages- especially English- as the main priority. The main outlay came from homes where

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Gibraltar slams Spanish press for ‘ludicrous’ claims it was going soft on tobacco smuggling

GIBRALTAR hit back at Spanish press reports it was going soft on tobacco smuggling and said it was keeping to a 2018 agreement to keep its prices 32% less than Spain. Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said it was ‘ludicrous’ that Spanish media was suggesting the Rock would ever ‘fail to comply with its legal obligations’.

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The sun finally won: How a innovative bid for sustainability got round the draconian rules in the historic quarter of Ronda… and made a great saving

WHEN the owner of Ronda Romantica, an Aparthotel in the historic town of Ronda, decided to become more sustainable and save money with solar panels she approached leading solar installation company, Mariposa Energía. The first step of the project was to analyse the typical energy consumption to determine how much electricity the solar installation needed

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Gibraltar flags fly at half mast for its surgeon and other Turkey and Syria quake victims

GIBRALTAR flew its flags at half mast on Monday to mourn the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, including a locally-based surgeon who died in the tragedy. Chief Minister Fabian Picardo and his staff at No.6 Convent Place joined the governor Sir David Steel at midday to hold a minute’s silence for those

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Most wanted: UK’s most dangerous fugitives hiding out in Spain revealed

Authorities have launched a renewed appeal to find six of the UK’s most wanted criminals thought to be hiding out in Spain. Among those on the list are alleged drug traffickers and violent gangland criminals who trade in firearms and ammunition. Twelve months ago the National Criminal Agency (NCA) launched its most recent appeal to

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Firemen from Spain rescue woman, 50, who had spent 144 hours buried under rubble after Turkey earthquake

A TEAM of firemen from the Madrid region has taken part in the successful rescue of a 50-year-old woman who spent 144 hours buried under rubble in the wake of last week’s earthquake in Turkey.  The operation was carried out in conjunction with a Turkish team, according to Spanish media reports, and was completed on

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