heat wave across Spain caused by a mass of hot air from Africa, has seen record temperatures in many parts of the country.

heat wave across Spain caused by a mass of hot air from Africa, has seen record temperatures in many parts of the country.

Looking at the capitals of the country’s provinces, Murcia saw the highest temperature on Friday with 44 degrees, followed by 43 degrees in Valencia and 42 degrees in Alicante. 41 degrees were reached in Lérida and Tarragona, with 40 degrees reached in parts of the provinces of Málaga, Jaén and Granada.

Barcelona saw a new all time record of 39.8 ºC, half a degree higher than the previous record at the Fabra Observatory in the Sierra de Collserola.

Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_27018.shtml#ixzz0xurZCKq0

James Walter Tomkins, the British fugitive from justice who was arrested in Marbella on Wednesday, has accepted extradition to the U.K

James Walter Tomkins, the British fugitive from justice who was arrested in Marbella on Wednesday, has accepted extradition to the U.K. where he is wanted on charges of murder, for the death of Rocky Dawson in a drive-by shooting in Essex in 2006.

Judge Eloy Velasco, in Instruction Court Six of the National Court, on Friday ordered the 61 year old Briton to prison, after hearing Tomkins admit that he had been hiding from the British authorities in Spain.

Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_27019.shtml#ixzz0xur9wVTY

Naked against bullfights in Bilbao - Demonstration : news, world | euronews

Naked against bullfights in Bilbao - Demonstration : news, world euronews: "Anti-bullfighting campaigners have chosen the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao for a bare-flesh protest against the annual celebration of the matador"

Drive-by murder suspect arrested in Marbella | LISTAndalucia

Drive-by murder suspect arrested in Marbella LISTAndalucia: "man wanted for questioning in connection with a fatal drive-by shooting in east London has been arrested in Marbella.
James Tomkins, 61, was arrested in by Spanish authorities over the murder of electrician Rocky Dawson, 24, in Hornchurch, in May 2006.
Mr Dawson was shot dead outside his parent’s home as he was putting his two children into his car.
Mr Tomkins is due in court in Madrid on Friday for extradition proceedings.
He was captured in the area of Puerto Banus after a planned raid on an address by armed plain-clothes officers together with uniformed police from Madrid and Malaga.
Tomkins is reported to have attempted to escape arrest by jumping out of the window, but he was tracked by air support and arrested by officers on the ground.
In 2007, Christopher Pearman, of Waltham Abbey, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 23 years after pleading guilty to murder.
Officers have long wanted to question Mr Tomkins over the murder and previously issued a reward of £20,000 for information. A motive for the killing has yet to be found"

Tomkins would appear in a Madrid court on Friday

"Tomkins - who fled the UK after the murder and is since thought to have been supported by friends - is suspected of driving the stolen Land Rover used in the shooting and helping destroy evidence.
A Met spokesman said Tomkins would appear in a Madrid court on Friday, when extradition proceedings would begin.
Contract killer Christopher Pearman, of Waltham Abbey, Essex, was jailed for life in January 2007 after pleading guilty to murdering Mr Dawson."

Man wanted over killing held in Spain - mirror.co.uk

Man wanted over killing held in Spain - mirror.co.uk: "One of Britain's most wanted men has been arrested in Spain.
James Tomkins, 61, was held in Marbella by cops working on behalf of Met Police after a four-year manhunt.
Tomkins is wanted for the 2006 drive-by murder of Rocky Dawson, 24.
Mr Dawson was with his two children outside his parents' home in Hornchurch, Essex, when a gunman drove past and opened fire. He died in his mother's arms after staggering indoors."

23 year old Briton, named in reports as Tom N.B. has been arrested in Coín, Málaga,

23 year old Briton, named in reports as Tom N.B. has been arrested in Coín, Málaga, after 337 cannabis plants were found in his home. The uprooted plants weighed 1,160 grams, and were being grown in his home by an advanced drip watering system.
He has been accused of a crime against public health and will appear in court shortly.

The arrest comes as part of a new initiative by the Guardia Civil designed to eradicate small distributors of the drug.


Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_27004.shtml#ixzz0xWDJaqp8

40º or 42º can be expected in Andalucía

40º or 42º can be expected in Andalucía, the south of Extremadura, and in Castilla La Mancha, and 36º or 38º is forecast in the centre of the country, the Ebro valley and in some areas in the East of the country. 34º or 36º will be seen in some areas of the northern plains, but the far north, some areas of Cantabria, and Galicia will escape the temperatures rises and will see some showers.

Minimums as high as 24º or 25º can be expected on Friday or Saturday nights in some areas, which will add to the sensation of heat all day.

Temperatures could reach 42ºC in some places and overnight lows will not fall below 24ºC in others.

The heat wave will arrive in most areas on Wednesday, and so lower temperatures can be expected tomorrow, Tuesday, except in the far SE of the mainland where Murcia remains on an Orange Alert for high temperatures.


Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_27000.shtml#ixzz0xWCKLif4

TWO holidaymakers were injured when a hot water pipe exploded at a Spanish hotel packed with British tourists.

TWO holidaymakers were injured when a hot water pipe exploded at a Spanish hotel packed with British tourists.

Office worker Carol Gardener, 53, suffered a broken skull and severe burns when the pipe exploded next to her in the upmarket resort of Marbella.

Serious ... Carol Gardener

SolarPix

She was breathing with the aid of a ventilator in a hospital intensive care unit today.
Friend Julie Loud, 45, suffered a leg injury in the freak accident outside the three-star hotel where they were enjoying a week's holiday.
The pair, from Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, were injured as they walked along a side street running next to the 311-room Cortijo Blanco hotel between Marbella and San Pedro.
The force of the explosion knocked them off their feet and blasted them several feet into the air.
Mum-of-two Carol was knocked unconscious and was airlifted to a specialist neurosurgical unit at a hospital in Malaga after initial treatment to stabilise her at a general hospital.
The blast sent bricks and mortar flying across the street at about 9.30am this morning.


Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3107555/Brit-tourists-hurt-in-boiler-blast.html?OTC-RSS&ATTR=News#ixzz0xW8OFdE8

News….For all you Blues & Jazz Fans Blues Supper Club

News….For all you Blues &; Jazz Fans out there, you all want to know where you can find Gilly Jaxson and her blues band…

Black Coffee…Every Saturday in August,

‘Blues Supper Club’ …. AT PAN Y MERMELADA

This is our regular residence at Pan y Mermelada, show starts at 22.00:  Reservations call: 952 82 93 08 - 617 85 53 63

 Book a table for Dinner or Drinks.

Every Saturday in August,

‘Blues Supper Club’ …. AT PAN Y MERMELADA

This is our regular residence at Pan y Mermelada, show starts at 22.00:  Reservations call: 952 82 93 08 - 617 85 53 63

 Book a table for Dinner or Drinks.

Ex-hotelier hunted on the Costa in suspected £1m fraud - Press & Journal

Ex-hotelier hunted in suspected £1m fraud - Press & Journal: "Former pilot Tony May, who lived for nine years at Mill of Leggart on the southern outskirts of Aberdeen before retiring to Malaga in Spain, claims he paid Mr Andrews a £58,000 deposit for one of the Manzara apartments.
He has now reported Mr Andrews to Spanish police, believing he will never see his money again.
The 69-year-old said: “I only found out on Sunday, so it is only just beginning to sink in that I have lost all this money.
“My wife, Andrea, is younger than me and we have a young son, Ralph. This investment was supposed to help support them once I am gone.”
He alleges he had to hand over £58,000 by September last year – 40% of the quoted price for the apartment. The contract drawn up said the final £68,000 would fall due when the project was completed."

PR Fire | Events / Exhibitions >> Rockin Marbella - Bringing an X Factor to Marbella

PR Fire Events / Exhibitions >> Rockin Marbella - Bringing an X Factor to Marbella: "Without doubt this is set to be one of the most exciting and thrilling concerts that has come to Marbella in years. See X Factor winner Alexandra Burke, X Factor finalist Jamie Afro Archer, Britains Got Talent winners Diversity and brand new girl group The Scarletz set to be the next big thing.
Marbella has gone concert mad this year with some top names and acts having performed here already this summer, but Marbella is about to get even hotter and we are not just talking about the weather.

www.rockinmarbella.com/' target='_blank'>Rockin Marbella is set to turn up the heat!

2008 X Factor winner Alexandra Burke will top the bill at the Rockin Marbella concert on 20 August 2010 at the Puerto Banus bull ring (Plaza de Toros).

And as if that is not enough the X Factor finalist from 2009 Jamie Afro Archer who stunned the audience at the live auditions with his version of the rock classic Sex on Fire will also be performing.

In addition Britains Got Talent winners Diversity will be performing and wowing the crowds with their unique and breathtaking street dance routines.

Finally the brand new girl group who are set to become the next big thing, The Scarletz will be opening this music event with their quirky and addictive style of singing.

Michelle Obama has already been to Marbella this year ad now some of the UK's hottest new talent is set to rock Marbella in an evening of total entertainment on 20 August 2010.

More information can be found at www.rockinmarbella.com or check out the Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/RockinMarbella"

20 year old Briton critically ill in latest case of 'balconing'

20 year old Briton critically ill in latest case of 'balconing': "20 year old British man is critically ill in hospital in Ibiza after falling from a hotel balcony on Sunday. Sky News names 20 year old Ryan Elley from Portsmouth and says he fell from the second floor of the Jet Apartments in Ibiza and is now fighting for his life in a coma.

Spanish reports speak of another unnamed British tourist who threw himself from the third floor of an apartment block in Platja d’en Bossa, and report that this was one of three similar accidents seen in just a 12 hour period.

It came as several Spanish media printed articles about what they said was ‘balconing’, which has become a ‘fashionable sport’ among young British and German tourists."

Approximately 28 separate forest fires ignited this week across Portugal.

"Approximately 28 separate forest fires ignited this week across Portugal.
Refreshingly the Portuguese law enforcement authorities announced immediately that the fires had been started deliberately.
Arrests have already been made.
The satelite news channel Euronews in reporting the 28 arson attacks on Portugal's forests took a peculiarly surrealistic view.
Euronews did not once mention that the fires had been started deliberately.
Euronews did not once mention that the Portuguese authorities had arrested the fire starters.
Euronews did not once mention the police investigation.
Euronews merely reported that there were fires."

Michelle Obama staying at Hotel Villa Padierna, which is a Ritz-Carlton property on the outskirts of the flashy beach resort of Marbella

 Michelle Obama and daughter Sasha, 9, are due to start a four-day private visit in Spain Wednesday (sister Malia is at camp and dad is staying home). The word in Spain is that they're staying with friends at the posh Hotel Villa Padierna, which is a Ritz-Carlton property on the outskirts of the flashy beach resort of Marbella. Ritz policy is not to identify guests, so no confirmation (or denial) from Ritz headquarters.

Marbella has been built up quite a bit, though it is more elegant than other downright tacky resort areas on the Costa del Sol (think wall-to-wall concrete condos). Another nice play to stay in Marbella that has hosted VIPs and royalty is the beachfront Marbella Club Hotel, where I have vacationed and which exemplifies understated elegance.

From Marbella it's easy to tour Spain's scenic hilltop "white villages" (pretty white stucco houses). Marbella visitors party in a vast and rowdy restaurant/bar complex called Puerto Banus, which doesn't get hopping till midnight and is where the international yachting set gets three sheets to the wind. Doubtful that the First Lady and daughter will linger late there.

Next up for the First Family is an Aug. 14-15 stay on Florida's Gulf Coast. The president has drawn criticism from some quarters for vacationing elsewhere while this popular tourist region suffers from the oil spill. His stay in a so-far-unannounced Gulf locale or locales is welcomed by the U.S. Travel Association.

Roger Dow, Travel Association president and CEO, issued the following statement: "On behalf of the 400,000 workers in the travel and tourism industry along the Gulf Coast, I applaud and thank President Obama for recognizing the important signal this announcement sends to those considering a vacation in the Gulf region this summer. Actions like this will send a clear message that large areas of the Gulf shoreline remain clean and open for business."

Then the Obamas are due to return to the chic Northeast vacation spot they loved last year: Martha's Vineyard. They're scheduled to be on the tony island Aug. 19-29, and smart money says they ll likely rent the same house they did last year, since it has every amenity and more importantly, is in a protected location that can be secured more easily than most MV digs.

San Pedro underpass construction company has not been paid by the Ministry for Development

The construction company building the San Pedro underpass has put down tools, claiming they have not been paid by the Ministry for Development. The company has fenced off the site while the conflict continues, and laid off more than 200 workers. There are now only 11 left linked to the job.

The underpass is due to open in six months time.

Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_26889.shtml#ixzz0vSAhBEiY

Darren O’Flaherty, from Kirkby, who is already wanted by police in North Yorkshire

Spanish police have named the person they want to question in connection with the murder of the Irishman John O’Neill outside Coco’s bar in Benalmádena Costa last Wednesday.

He is 35 year old Darren O’Flaherty, from Kirkby, who is already wanted by police in North Yorkshire in connection with the kidnap of a lorry driver at knifepoint in 2006. He jumped bail in 2008 after being charged with robbery and kidnap.

O’Neill, a father of two, had stepped in between two men having an argument outside the bar over the use of a toilet. He stormed off and returned to the scene with a .38 calibre pistol, with reports saying five shots were fired.


Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_26897.shtml#ixzz0vS8kpP1V

Juan Antonio is an expert hiker and pot-holer, and are convinced that he has not returned home ‘because something is stopping him’.

 official search for the hiker, Juan Antonio Gómez, who has not been seen since July 20th last week when he headed into the Mijas Sierra, has been stepped down. The entire sierra is now considered to have been combed and a low level team will continue.

But the 32 year old missing man’s family have organised their own search team, with some 400 volunteers taking part on Friday and Saturday orgainsed into 21 search groups. They say the search goes on and are indignant at the stepping down of the official search. 

They note that Juan Antonio is an expert hiker and pot-holer, and are convinced that he has not returned home ‘because something is stopping him’.

Polish man has been freed by the National Police after being held captive for eight days in Manilva

39 year old Polish man has been freed by the National Police after being held captive for eight days in Manilva, Málaga.
The people who kidnapped him were demanding 20,000 € for his release in a crime which the Spanish police have linked to drug trafficking.

The man was found last Saturday in a villa, with this hands and legs tied to a bed, and with serious injuries.

National Police say that they have made four arrests, a German man and three other Poles, and more than four kilos of hashish has been recovered, along with nearly 7,000 € cash, personal computers and phones, and an amount of documentation.

The investigation started following a complaint placed in the Spanish Embassy in Warsaw, which said that a Polish man could have been kidnapped.

Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_26887.shtml#ixzz0vMZPWYKN

Spanish air traffic controllers are threatening to take strike action

Spanish air traffic controllers are threatening to take strike action in the face of Government ‘provocation’. They claim that it is the only way to respond to the Government and defend their jobs and ‘dignity’. 

It comes as the Ministry for Development has enforced a 40% cut in their pay, taking it down to an average 200,000 € a year, and changed other working practices. On Friday the Government passed a royal decree, inspired on British legislation, which grants 30 minutes rest every two hours and puts a limit of 50 hours work a week. The controllers think the new measure is designed to ‘dynamite’ the current negotiations.

The USCA, Air Traffic Controllers Union, are to call a national assembly to debate and vote on a strike call on Tuesday.

An inspection by the Social Security concluded that 66% of the air traffic controllers who had claimed to be ill, had to return to work. The Ministry for Development claims the controllers at the El Prat airport in Barcelona were carrying out an illegal strike.