73-year-old monarch was pictured with the shiner on his left eye and a small sticking plaster on the bridge of his nose at a reception for new ambassadors to Spain

The 73-year-old monarch was pictured with the shiner on his left eye and a small sticking plaster on the bridge of his nose at a reception for new ambassadors to Spain on Tuesday. Royal aides said the King had received the injuries earlier in the day but they were not serious enough to alter his schedule. The King himself commented on the mishap: “This is what happens when one slams into a door,” he said. Spanish media reported that...

Toxic Smoke fills Hotel Senator in Marbella

 On Friday the 18th November 2011 our family with a 3 year old toddler and a 15 month old baby checked into the SENATOR Hotel in Marbella for a one night stay. We knew that the Hotel SENATOR had only recently opened and indeed everything seemed brand new and glitzy. After the usual check in fomalities we finally got to our room on the 4th floor which was OK in every respect other than perhaps being a little on the small side. After...

The Government blames the judges for the Málaga drugs theft

 300 kilos of cocaine was taken from a warehouse in Málaga portPhoto EFE Government sub-delegate for Málaga, Hilario Lopez Luna, has blamed the judges for the theft of 300 kilos of embargoed cocaine from a warehouse in Málaga port. He said that despite requests being made for authorisation to destroy the drugs, that permission had not arrived from the judges, and that was why there was so much drugs being stored. He said that the...

20 arrested for sexual exploitation of women

 The case started with the arrest of a mother in Vélez-Málaga who obliged her children to prostitute themselvesTwo groups which dedicated their time to the sexual abuse and exploitation of women have been broken up by Spanish police. The case resulted from a police investigation in Vélez-Málaga into two children who were obliged to prostitute themselves by their mother. A total of 20 arrests have been made in Málaga, Girona and Madrid,...

British woman falls off hotel balcony when having sex

 There has been another case of balconing in Spain, this time in Adeje, Tenerife, and with the twist that the victim was having sex with her husband at the time she fell. The British tourist who fell several metres then got her ankle caught between the bars of an internal staircase was left hanging there, head down and totally naked until the emergency crews arrived. 49 year old A.M.A.M. had been having sex with her husband against...

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is pictured sitting in a plane in Zintan after his capture in Libya's rugged desert.

Photograph: Ismail Zitouni/ReutersThe man who led the fighters that captured Saif al-Islam has said that the late dictator's son tried to escape arrest by pretending to be a camel herder."When we caught him, he said, 'My name is Abdul Salem, a camel keeper,'" said commander Ahmed Amur on Sunday. "It was crazy."His unit, from Zintan's Abu Bakar al-Sadiq brigade,...

High speed train comes to Ronda

 THE AVE is coming to Ronda. This means significantly reduced journey times to Madrid, Granada, Cordoba, Málaga and beyond. The project also includes completing the upgrade of the line from Ronda down to Algeciras to allow for the faster trains. The announcement was made on Friday, 4 November, via a BOE, Boletín Oficial del Estado. According to this document there will be 64.4 kms. of double track electrified line of the European gauge...

Work to build the new terminal on the Gibraltar side of the border is practically complete

The joint use of the airport was agreed back in 2006The Gibraltar border - EFE The Gibraltar Government has met its obligations under the Tripartite Agreement made with the UK and Spain in Córdoba in September 2006 regarding joint use of the airport.Work to build the new terminal on the Gibraltar side of the border is practically complete with just a freight...

Too many of our gangland criminals are sitting in places like Marbella and Amsterdam, leading the rich life.

 Too many of our gangland criminals are sitting in places like Marbella and Amsterdam, leading the rich life. An initiative I instigated at European level is to try and ensure the CAB model is replicated in every European country so we have a framework in place," he said. "Those engaged in gangland in Ireland who have used their assets to acquire properties abroad will discover there's no hiding place. We'll have sister organisations...

National Police agents have broken up an organization dedicated to the sexual exploitation of Nigerian women in Almeria

 National Police agents have broken up an organization dedicated to the sexual exploitation of Nigerian women in Almeria. Girls were forced into prostitution by threats, which included alleged practices of voodoo or abduction of family members. Ten people have been arrested in the Andalusian village of Roquetas de Mar in a raid in which seizures also included 20,000 euros in cash, a large number of passports of women from sub-Saharan...

two Ferraris in one, with all the extra opportunities for enjoyment that brings

 Price: About £198,850 Engine: 4,499cc, V8 cylinders, 570bhp Transmission: Seven-speed sequential gearbox, rear-wheel drivePerformance: 199mph, 0-62 in 3.4sec, 21.2mpg official average, CO2 307g/kmIn the minds of some, this should not be allowed. That it is suggests that the EU compliance office responsible for certifying vehicle-noise...

Ricky Martin granted Spanish citizenship

 Puerto Rican pop singer Ricky Martin was given Spanish citizenship today, the country’s government said. The star, who came out in 2009 reportedly wants to take advantage of Spain’s gay marriage laws. Spokesman Jose Blanco told a news conference that ministers had agreed to grant him a “letter of naturalization”, issued in special circumstances, because of his “personal and professional links with Spain”. Spanish newspaper El Pais...

Robert Dawes was finally arrested in Dubai on an international warrant but is now living free on the Costa del Sol.

  For five years a man named in a British court as "the general" has been pursued by detectives in a multimillion-pound operation.Over the past decade Robert Dawes has moved from a two-up, two-down terraced house on an estate outside Nottingham to a base in Dubai and finally to a villa on the Costa del Sol.Police believe he has left a trail of...

Robert Dawes was finally arrested in Dubai on an international warrant but is now living free on the Costa del Sol.

 For five years a man named in a British court as "the general" has been pursued by detectives in a multimillion-pound operation.Over the past decade Robert Dawes has moved from a two-up, two-down terraced house on an estate outside Nottingham to a base in Dubai and finally to a villa on the Costa del Sol.Police believe he has left a trail of destruction...

Italy government hangs by thread as coalition crumbles

 Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's fate hung by a thread Friday and desertions from his crumbling centre-right coalition may have already robbed him of the parliamentary numbers he needs to survive. Berlusconi, caught in the crossfire from European powers and a party revolt at home, agreed at a G20 summit in France to IMF monitoring of economic reforms which he has long promised but failed to implement. But this may soon...

The Sierra de la Nieves is surrounded by a belt of nine villages

The Sierra de la Nieves is surrounded by a belt of nine villages, all of which are bound by common characteristics and history that have served to create a region with a strong local identity within the province of Malaga.Situated in strategic locations, much of their charm is derived from the architecture of their old village centres, which is based on the...

six-year-old female falcons have proved an unmitigated hit through the Alicante portion of the Volvo Ocean Race

 Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing Team certainly has a strong Abu Dhabi flavour. IAN ROMAN / VOLVO OCEAN RACEGo to photo 0next photoprevious photo ALICANTE, Spain // Fern and Ying sat unvisited in the front right corner on Thursday midday. They appeared to relish the solitude even as they declined to comment.These six-year-old female falcons have proved...

Maurice Boland launches iTalk FM radio

 THIS month radio presenter, Maurice Boland, will launch iTalk FM, a new radio station on the Costa del Sol. The radio station will be based at the Five Star Kempinski Hotel in Estepona, according to Boland. Presenters include: Mat Court, Jack Jackson, Stephen Ritson, Sheila Sanderson , David Jelley, Richie Allan, and Maurice Boland, according to a statement from the present...

A man who fled to Spain after being charged in connection with a terrifying robbery has been jailed for 10 years

 A man who fled to Spain after being charged in connection with a terrifying robbery has been jailed for 10 years. Stephen Devalda provided a motorbike used by two robbers to get to and from the scene of a cash-in-transit raid. The robbers, who were carrying an imitation firearm and a machete, attacked a security guard collecting money from an Asda supermarket. Devalda, of Stanton Avenue, Salford, was arrested and charged in 2007...

5,000 sheep and 60 cattle crossed the city to exercise the right to droving routes that existed before Madrid grew from a rural hamlet to the great capital it is today.

A shepherd walks with his herd in Madrid  Photo: AFP/GETTY Jesus Garzon, president of a shepherds council established in 1273, said some 5,000 sheep and 60 cattle crossed the city to exercise the right to droving routes that existed before Madrid grew from a rural hamlet to the great capital it is today.Following an age-old tradition, a chief...