Five Brazilian women were found in the Paradise club in La Jonquera were in the country illegally

Europe's largest whorehouse raided after just nine days: "Five Brazilian women were found in the Paradise club in La Jonquera were in the country illegally

What has been described as Europe’s largest knocking shop, the Paradise club near the border with France at La Jonquera, has been raided by police after being open no more than nine days.

Police arrested five Brazilian girls for not having their papers in order, and identified the 125 prostitutes and 188 clients who were in the building at the time.

The local town hall in La Jonquera says that it did all it could to stop the 2,700 square metre club from opening, but the regional courts finally obliged them to issue the opening licence.

The owner of the club, José Moreno, has two others in Girona, and has been arrested on previous occasions related to the exploitation of immigrant women."

Holidaymakers could avoid hundreds of pounds in air passenger duty by flying first to Europe before catching a long-haul flight

Holidaymakers could avoid hundreds of pounds in air passenger duty by flying first to Europe before catching a long-haul flight, travel experts have advised.

32 percent of Spanish men have been with a prostitute

32 percent of Spanish men have been with a prostitute: "Nearly a third of Spanish men, some 32 percent, have contracted the services of a prostitute at least once, according to data from the National Health Survey in 2009.

The number was given by Carmen Briz, spokesperson of the prostitutes’ collective Hetaira at the start of some debates on the profession which got underway in Madrid on Saturday entitled ‘And now the sex workers (rights, freedom, professionalization, persecution)...

The debate continues onto Sunday and concentrate on treating prostitutes as human beings, the normalisation of their work, defence of their rights and their visibility in public."

tsunami warning for Spain

A tsunami warning for Spain: "Cádiz and Huelva coasts are at particular risk

Spain could suffer a tsunami with waves as high as 15 metres in Cádiz and as two metres high in the Mediterranean.

The warning comes from researchers at the Environmental Hydraulics Institute in Cantabria as part of a European project called ‘Transfer’ designed to identify the areas of the continent at risk.
The position in Spain has been highlighted in ‘Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences’ magazine.

In 1755 an earthquake at sea killed 2,000 people in Cádiz and Huelva and the frequency of such phenomenon has been estimated at between 70 and 150 years, although in the Alborán Sea mini quakes are seen every 25 years."

100 British homeowners are facing the imminent demolition of their homes.

Some 98 homes have been apparently singled out after an investigation in Almeria’s Almanzora valley launched in 2005 comes to a close.

The properties, almost all owned by Brits, were built without licences.

“It is feared that all these 98 homes will be demolished when formal charges are made,” said a spokesman for local pressure group AUAN (Abusos Urbanisticos Almanzora No).

She added: “The British community is distressed because of the uncertainty over legal proceedings.

“It is scandalous that things continue without a solution despite the promises offered.”

Nearby in Albox meanwhile, a further six houses have been added to the list of eight that have already been scheduled for demolition.

The British owners – who insist they bought in good faith and have been conned by developers – have joined the others, who got orders just before Christmas.

As the Olive Press reported at the time (issue 77), one of the owners Terry Haycock suffered a mini stroke and was temporarily blinded from the stress of it.

The news came as British MEP Marta Andreasen chose to compare Prime Minister Zapatero to President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.

She said that her constituents wonder “who is running Spain” and feel akin to British subjects living in Zimbabwe.

Though Zapatero rejected the comparison, he has done nothing to help the homeowners so far.

It is likely that more cases will be exposed soon, with an estimated 300,000 illegal homes located in Andalucia alone.

Protest called over unfinished road works | Costa del Sol | News | The Largest English Language Newspapers in Spain

Euro Weekly News Protest called over unfinished road works Costa del Sol News The Largest English Language Newspapers in Spain: "DEMONSTRATION is planned for November 9 to protest that Works on the road between Casapalma in Cartama, and the Venta Platero crossroads, in Coin have stopped. This is part of a road which will eventually connect Coin to Malaga and Marbella, on which no work has been carried out all summer, although it is more than half complete.
The Junta de Andalucia has told Coin Town Hall that there is no money to complete the project. However, the Junta has promised to finish work on the A-7053 between Venta Los Morenos and Entrerrios by December."

Drugs suspect arrested as he watches Old Firm clash | The Sun |Home Scotland|Scottish News

Drugs suspect arrested as he watches Old Firm clash The Sun Home ScotlandScottish News: "Craig Jones, 40, was lifted at a bar in Marbella on Sunday during Rangers' 3-1 victory over rivals Celtic.
He was taken to Madrid for an extradition hearing at the National Court and is expected to be returned to Scotland soon."

British man wanted in Scotland is arrested in Marbella

British man wanted in Scotland is arrested in Marbella: "40 year old British man has been arrested in Marbella on a European arrest warrant issued by the judicial authorities in Paisley, Scotland.

He faces charges of the illicit use of and trafficking in drugs, and is alleged to have been implicated in the distribution of cocaine in Glasgow.

The man is now in the hands of the Central Instruction Court 2 in Madrid ahead of his extradition"

Mayor of Marbella denies giving Antonio Banderas preferential treatment

Mayor of Marbella denies giving Antonio Banderas preferential treatment: "The mayoress of Marbella, Angeles Muñoz (PP), denies that she is giving Hollywood actor Antonio Banderas preferential treatment, despite the fact that a PGOU (Plan General de Ordenación Urbana) is being modified to ensure that he does not have to hand over 1,200 square metres of his property, ‘La Gaviota’, on the beach at Los Monteros."

Junta de Andalucía pardons 142 illegally built homes in Jaén

Junta de Andalucía pardons 142 illegally built homes in Jaén
The properties concerned have been built in local river beds
The Junta de Andalucía has pardoned the construction of 142 illegal homes which had been built in a riverbed in Jaén. A report from the Guadalquivir Water Board, dating from 2004, determined that 155 villas had been constructed illegally at a distance of less than 50 metres from the river, and thus occupied public land next to the Eliche, Quiebrajano and Jaén rivers.



But an agreement announced on Wednesday after a meeting between the Regional Government Delegate in Jaén, Felipe López, and the Director of the Andalucia Water Agency, Juan Paniagua, announced that only 12 properties would suffer ‘partial demolition’, and therefore 142 homes in the Los Puentes area would be pardoned.



It comes despite warnings from the Prosecutors’ Office which wanted to see an end to the illegality. The Partido Popular now wants the land involved to be classified as urban land.





Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_27697.shtml#ixzz13jNpgZfi

64 year old woman accused of killing her husband in a fight, María Pilar Marcos, has been found not guilty

A 64 year old woman accused of killing her husband in a fight, María Pilar Marcos, has been found not guilty by a jury in Navarra. The court heard how she had been ill-treated by her husband for some 38 years of their 44 year long marriage, and how she used a knife to kill him during a fight at their home in Tafalla, Navarra in November 2009.

The nine members of the jury considered that it had not been proven by the prosecution that a crime had taken place. They had asked the judge for guidance on four possible charges, murder, murder with casual malice, reckless homicide and accidental injury, but they considered none of the four had been proven in court, and that there was not enough evidence to suggest that the woman had the intention of killing her husband in the struggle, saying that she could have grabbed any other non-mortal object to hand to defend herself. And so the woman was declared by the judge free to go.

The prosecutor had called for an 11 year sentence for murder.
The judge had on Tuesday returned an earlier verdict back to the jury considering it held contradictions, and on Wednesday morning they sat again to reconsider.

On hearing the verdict the accused family hugged each other and gave shouts of joy. The accused told the press that she could not believe what had happened, just as she could not believe the nightmare that had happened to her before. She noted that through it all her friends, five children and grandchildren had been unconditionally at her side, and she also had words of thanks for the police who she had treated her marvellously, as had the prison officers.

The prosecutor has the option of an appeal to the Navarra High Court against the verdict and should that not be successful then to turn to the Supreme Court should it be decided to do so.



Meanwhile in another domestic violence case the man who is accused of killing his 26 year old wife and two children aged 6 and 2 in Tarragona on October 18, has now been arrested by the Guardia Urbana in Barcelona.

Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_27684.shtml#ixzz13fH4N5T7

64 year old woman accused of killing her husband in a fight, María Pilar Marcos, has been found not guilty

María Pilar Marcos stabbed her husband during a fight at home

A 64 year old woman accused of killing her husband in a fight, María Pilar Marcos, has been found not guilty by a jury in Navarra. The court heard how she had been ill-treated by her husband for some 38 years of their 44 year long marriage, and how she used a knife to kill him during a fight at their home in Tafalla, Navarra in November 2009.

The nine members of the jury considered that it had not been proven by the prosecution that a crime had taken place. They had asked the judge for guidance on four possible charges, murder, murder with casual malice, reckless homicide and accidental injury, but they considered none of the four had been proven in court, and that there was not enough evidence to suggest that the woman had the intention of killing her husband in the struggle, saying that she could have grabbed any other non-mortal object to hand to defend herself. And so the woman was declared by the judge free to go.

The prosecutor had called for an 11 year sentence for murder.
The judge had on Tuesday returned an earlier verdict back to the jury considering it held contradictions, and on Wednesday morning they sat again to reconsider.

On hearing the verdict the accused family hugged each other and gave shouts of joy. The accused told the press that she could not believe what had happened, just as she could not believe the nightmare that had happened to her before. She noted that through it all her friends, five children and grandchildren had been unconditionally at her side, and she also had words of thanks for the police who she had treated her marvellously, as had the prison officers.

The prosecutor has the option of an appeal to the Navarra High Court against the verdict and should that not be successful then to turn to the Supreme Court should it be decided to do so.



Meanwhile in another domestic violence case the man who is accused of killing his 26 year old wife and two children aged 6 and 2 in Tarragona on October 18, has now been arrested by the Guardia Urbana in Barcelona.

Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_27684.shtml#ixzz13fH4N5T7

Padre Ángel told the court that the Virgin María told him to buy a flat with money from the faithful

A priest from Picassent in Valencia who is accused of tax fraud has said that being a priest he thought that he did not have to pay any tax.

However the Valencia Archbishopric does not recognise Padre Ángel as a priest at all.

Padre Ángel claims that he has contact with the Virgen María and that he purchased a flat at her request. He set up his own religious order, La Junta de la Esclavitud del Sagrado Corazon de Jesús, (The Order of Slavery of the Sacred Heart of Jesus) and purchased the flat and other land in Picassent, Gandía and Valencia with the money donated by the faithful.

He was on the accused bench of the Valencia Provincial Court on Tuesday and now faces a possible eight year prison sentence, accused of defrauding 386,139 € from the taxman between the years 1992 and 2003.

Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_27672.shtml#ixzz13fGSonWF

National Police Economic Crime Unit considers it necessary for the court to ask the authorities in the United Kingdom to locate the purchasers who are reported to be two British citizens

part of the ‘Astapa’ corruption case based in Estepona Town Hall, the National Police are now investigating the sale of a plot of land for a million € more than what it had been purchased for on the very same day.

The land belonged to the parents of the ex Chief of Staff in the Town Hall, José Flores.

Details of the sale of the land are revealed in the 32nd volume of the case summary which has been seen by the EFE news agency. Flores brother told the investigators he was unaware that the land had been sold the second time.

Reports indicate that in fact the first and second sales took place consecutively with all the people involved in the same notary at the same time.

The National Police Economic Crime Unit considers it necessary for the court to ask the authorities in the United Kingdom to locate the purchasers who are reported to be two British citizens, so that they can make a statement.
The prosecutor considers that tax fraud and money laundering resulted from the sales.

The Astapa case broke in June 2008 in Estepona Town Hall, and there are 70 people indicted in the case, including the ex Mayor, Antonio Barrientos, and his ex Chief of Staff, José Flores.

Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_27683.shtml#ixzz13fFudj25

Juan Martín Serón and the Partido Popular in the town have voted legal costs can be paid by municipal funds

Juan Martín Serón and the Partido Popular in the town have voted legal costs can be paid by municipal funds

The Partido Popular Mayor of Alhaurín el Grande, Juan Martín Serón, who is facing charges of bribery and perversion of the course of justice for allegedly accepting bankhanders in exchange for favourable building licences, for which the Prosecutor is demanding a four and a half year prison sentence, can use municipal funds to pay his legal defence until the time the court decides whether he is guilty or not.

The Town Planning Councillor, Gergorio Guerra, who is also charged in the Troya case, and who faces a seven year prison sentence, can also use the Town Hall funds.

The Partido Popular used its overall majority in the Town Hall to pass the measure, rejecting claims presented by the PSOE dating from last May.
In the case that the Mayor or others funded by the Town Hall are found guilty, the money will have to be refunded.

The Socialists consider this an abuse of the law, which they claim does not envisage the possibility of ‘advanced compensation’, and they have said they will challenge it in the courts. They say the Mayor can now spend a fortune, at the local residents’ expense, in obtaining a very expensive lawyer, and they doubt that should a guilty verdict be found, whether many of those charged would be in a position to pay such monies back.

The Mayor has justified the move saying both he and his councillors are immersed in court through the continuous complaints being placed by the Socialists and their ‘lies and falsehoods’. He claims the procedure is ‘absolutely legal’.

Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_27673.shtml#ixzz13fF5vuPf

Nearly one in six Brits (14%) has been a victim of theft while holidaying in Europe.

Nearly one in six Brits (14%) has been a victim of theft while holidaying in Europe. Research** by online insurer swiftcover.com reveals that over a third (37%) of those who had their possessions stolen were in Spain, and nearly a fifth (19%) in France. The warning from swiftcover.com comes as many Brits are reportedly fleeing the rain soaked UKin search of sunnier climes.

€1,400,000 worth of falsified pay slips used to obtain credit.

Eleven people have been arrested in Sax (Costa Blanca), in connection with €1,400,000 worth of falsified pay slips used to obtain credit.

Guardia Civil Officers commenced their investigation in November 2009, when they were alerted to a group of individuals who had made several purchases of expensive electrical goods such as plasma TVs and furniture, to the value of €9,000, through staged payment processes authorized by the bank.

Further investigation led to the detection of 60 falsified nominas (payslips), displaying the details and stamps of 27 authentic companies.

These had been used to defraud 26 money lending entities in a bid to gain finance, which summed a whopping €1,400,000.

Police sources confirm that one “Ringleader” was responsible for collecting the company data from the internet, factures and publicity, and producing the payslips, which were passed on to ten accomplices who would use them to obtain payouts of around €2,000 to €3,000.

In one incident where a car was purchased on finance, the defendant passed it on to another innocent buyer the same day, producing transfer documents almost instantaneously to avoid being caught out and paying back the money!
The perpetrators have all been arrested and now await trial in Alicante.

£100,000 was transferred from the bank account of Barronal SL, a Spanish company based in Marbella,

Bradford man jailed for mortgage fraud News Mortgage Strategy: "Shamsher Khan of Holme Farm Barn, Bradford, was convicted of two counts of mortgage fraud and six counts of money laundering offences on August 12 2010.
During Khan’s trial the court heard how hundreds of thousands of pounds of stolen money was transferred to accounts based in Spain. It was alleged that some of this stolen money was sent back to the UK to fund Khan’s purchase of Holme Farm Barn in 2004.
In May of that year, £100,000 was transferred from the bank account of Barronal SL, a Spanish company based in Marbella, to the account of Ajvinder Singh in Birmingham. The money was then forwarded to a Bradford solicitor who acted for Khan in the purchase of Holme Farm Barn.
Having purchased the property in what was effectively a cash deal Khan raised two mortgages against it generating over £350,000 in cash of which £100,000 was used in a further property purchase and £100,000 of which was sent to an account in the name of Ajvinder Singh in Dubai.
The court heard that Khan lied in respect of his employment status in his mortgage applications. He said that he worked in the field of IT for a company based in Bradford, earning over £100,000 per year when he was, in fact, unemployed."

Problem loans in Spain's banking system reached a fresh high of EUR102.5 billion

Surge In Spain Problem Loans Is Credit Negative - Moody's - WSJ.com: "rise in Spain's problem loans to an all-time high, as recently reported by the Bank of Spain, is a factor endangering the credit rating of the country's financial institutions, ratings agency Moody's said Monday.
Problem loans in Spain's banking system reached a fresh high of EUR102.5 billion as of August, according to central bank data, also hitting the highest percentage of overall loans since 1996, at 5.6%, Moody's said in a research note.
'The performance of the commercial real estate sector has been the main driver of overall asset quality deterioration,' Moody's added, noting that the pace of deterioration surged in 2009 but has slowed this year.
Still, asset quality deterioration in Spain's banking system is likely to continue this year and next, Moody's said, due to oversupply in the property market, the impact of the real estate crisis on the larger economy, and high unemployment levels putting pressure on household credit quality"

Prostitutes in Spain wear high visibility vests to avoid council fines for being a danger to moving traffic - mirror.co.uk

- mirror.co.uk: "Prostitutes in Spain wear high visibility vests to avoid council fines for being a danger to moving traffic

Seems that the glow provided by a red bulb doesn’t always provide enough light to draw attention to sex workers in a Spanish town…
Having been fined by the local council for reportedly being a danger to moving traffic, prostitutes in Els Alamus have taken to wearing high visibility vests.
Not sure how this look goes down with the kerb crawlers, but if these ladies of the night were to accessorise with a pneumatic drill and cement mixer, it’d give a whole new level of meaning to ‘street girl’."

Travel advice: the best way to travel to Spain overland - Telegraph

Travel advice: the best way to travel to Spain overland - Telegraph: "easiest option is to take an afternoon Eurostar service to Paris, then one of the two Spanish Trainhotel sleeper trains from Paris to Spain (one goes to Madrid, the other to Barcelona). For example, a 3pm Eurostar from St Pancras reaches Paris Gare du Nord just after 6pm French time. Then the Trainhotel 'Joan Miro' leaves Paris Gare d'Austerlitz at around 8.30pm and will get you to central Barcelona before 8.30am the following morning.
A Eurostar ticket to Paris starts at £69 return (but will often be more), while a bed in a tourist-class four-berth sleeper on the Trainhotel to Barcelona or Madrid starts at £67 one way.
However, if you can afford it I'd suggest treating yourself to a 'gran clase' two-berth sleeper with private lavatory and shower, which starts at £149 per person each way"

Benalmádena brutal triple rape case with a British victim

New DNA evidence has solved a brutal triple rape case with a British victim, which took place in Benalmádena in November 2001.

Now two brothers have been confirmed to have been the authors of the attack, and one of their cousins is also implicated.
At the time of the attack DNA evidence found on the body and clothes of the victim did not coincide with any in the police database. But the two brothers were recently arrested on another crime, and when their DNA was added to the database the match to the earlier rape came to light.

The British girl had agreed to leave a discotheque in the Puerto Marina in Benalmádena with three men, but instead they took her to waste land in Torremolinos where they drugged her, threatened her with a knife and then repeatedly raped her brutally.

Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_27637.shtml#ixzz13NYjF2L6

Estela Calduch, a 25 year old employee of the bank, received a gunshot wound and died from loss of blood, according to the regional police,

A woman was killed on Monday morning during a bank robbery in Cambrils, Tarragona.

The two bank robbers attacked the branch of the Santander in Calle Roger de Lluria 6, in Cambrils at 0830am, demanding all the money available in the branch.

The woman, Estela Calduch, a 25 year old employee of the bank, received a gunshot wound and died from loss of blood, according to the regional police, Los Mossos d’Esquadra. However municipal sources had said that the victim had her throat cut by one of the attackers.

The two robbers managed to escape the police on foot, and a wide search has been established in the area.

Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_27638.shtml#ixzz13NYN5YE8

15 year old girl is in a ‘very serious’ condition after being shot in a hunting accident in Murcia.

15 year old girl is in a ‘very serious’ condition after being shot in a hunting accident in Murcia. The girl was with her father and other adults in a finca in Fuente Álamo when it happened. She is now reported to be in a very serious condition in the Virgen de la Arrixaca hospital in Murcia and has undergone surgery.

On Saturday a 25 year old man died in another hunting accident. The man who was originally from Guadalupe where his parents still live, was living currently in Madrid. He was hit and died from a ricochet when taking part in a hunt in Guadalupe, Cáceres. The body was taken to Cáceres for the autopsy to be carried out.

Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_27633.shtml#ixzz13NXRSaem

Spanish gays and lesbians have accused Facebook of censorship after an event being planned by the Queer Kissing Flashmob was removed from the social networking page.

Spanish gays and lesbians have accused Facebook of censorship after an event being planned by the Queer Kissing Flashmob was removed from the social networking page.

The planned event is to get gay and lesbian couples to hold a ‘snog-in’ in front of the Pope during Benedict XVI’s visit to Barcelona Cathedral at 10am on November 7, as ‘a fight for sexual and affectionate rights, not from violence, but from passion, sensuality and love’.

The Facebook group had more than 1,500 people registered and 12,000 had been invited when the page was removed.

The organisers, who are a group of friends who are not linked to any political group or organisation, have set up another Facebook page under the ‘Queer Kissing Flashmob’ name, which at the time of writing, remains in place.


Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_27624.shtml#ixzz13MQTtvxm

Two ‘dangerous fugitives’ have been arrested

Two ‘dangerous fugitives’ have been arrested in Alicante province. They are a 55 year old Frenchman, and 54 year old Spanish woman.

The man has been wanted by the French police for the past 23 years in connection with armed robberies of a bank and a jewellery stop in France in 1987, and will now be placed in the hands of the National Court in Madrid for his extradition. He has already been sentenced to a 30 year prison sentence in France.

The National Police say the man was arrested last Thursday close to his home in Castalla, while the woman was arrested at her home in San Fulgencio.

Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_27619.shtml#ixzz13MPPusx6

Transsexual artist Carmen de Mairena is moving into politics and will be number two in the candidate list in Barcelona for the Coordinadora Reusenca Independent,

Transsexual artist Carmen de Mairena is moving into politics and will be number two in the candidate list in Barcelona for the Coordinadora Reusenca Independent, CORI, at the regional elections on November 28.

She said that she was delighted to be trying her hand at politics and hoped to be Mayoress of Barcelona one day.

A statement said nobody else knows the Chinese district of Barcelona as Carmen does, and that her transsexual condition will bring a new style to the regional parliament.

She started her artistic career in the 70’s imitating Sara Montiel and Marujita Díaz, in the bars of Barcelona, and also worked in prostitution in the El Raval district.
She was in the news last September when police cordoned off four of the six rooms she owns in a Barcelona property, considering that they were being used for prostitution.

The CORI party already has representation in Reus Town Hall with its leader, an Elvis Presley impersonator, 

Ariel Santamaria

Ariel Santamaría, holding a seat.

Mayor of Reus, Lluís Miquel Pérez, recently had to apologise to the council after nude photos of the singer were handed out during a planning meeting.

Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_27621.shtml#ixzz13MOYiQEn

Damien Ramsey, 39, led a playboy lifestyle of luxury flats, racing horses, designer jewellery and yachts, which was paid for entirely by selling 'vast' amounts of cocaine and cannabis.

A cocaine-dealing friend of boxing star Ricky Hatton, who led a flamboyant, champagne lifestyle in the West, was yesterday stripped of more than £500,000 by a Bristol Judge.: "cocaine-dealing friend of boxing star Ricky Hatton, who led a flamboyant, champagne lifestyle in the West, was yesterday stripped of more than £500,000 by a Bristol Judge.
Damien Ramsey, 39, led a playboy lifestyle of luxury flats, racing horses, designer jewellery and yachts, which was paid for entirely by selling 'vast' amounts of cocaine and cannabis.
He even splashed out £1,000 on a ten-man Jacuzzi which was installed in a purpose-built shed in the back garden of his home in Bristol.

Officers raided Ramsey's house in April 2009 and recovered Gucci and Breitling watches, diamond rings and an array of other jewellery."

Spanish police uncover clenbuterol ring doping horses, livestock - VeloNews

Spanish police uncover clenbuterol ring doping horses, livestock - VeloNews: "Spain’s Guardia Civil arrested 34 people connected to an alleged trafficking ring involving clenbuterol in the Canary Islands that could bolster the argument by Alberto Contador that his positive test during this year’s Tour de France came from eating contaminated meat.

Spasmbronchal seized by Spanish police. Image by Guardia Civil As part of an investigation dating back to May, police discovered that Spasmbronchal, a form of clenbuterol, was being used illegally by two livestock ranches on Gran Canaria and another on Tenerife to increase animals’ body mass before slaughter and then sold for human consumption.
Contador has argued to growing skepticism that the source of the clenbuterol in his system came from dining on Spanish beef that was laden with the banned product. Contador faces a possible two-year ban and the disqualification from the 2010 Tour victory if he’s unable to convince anti-doping authorities of his argument."

Snoring Ecuadorean wins Spanish siesta contest - BusinessWeek

Snoring Ecuadorean wins Spanish siesta contest - BusinessWeek: "62-year-old Ecuadorean has snored long enough to win Spain's first siesta championship.
Unemployed security worker Pedro Soria Lopez took the top prize of euro1,000 ($1,400) after sleeping for 17 minutes amid the uproar of a teeming Madrid shopping center.
Organizers said he not only slept soundly but his snoring on Tuesday registered 70 decibels -- roughly the equivalent of the noise of someone talking -- and earned him extra points.
The somewhat tongue-in-cheek, nine-day contest ended Saturday.
It was aimed at promoting a revival of this timeless custom so identified with Spain but which organizers say is in danger of fading away because of the pressures of modern times."

11 Hurt In Plunge 'Fleeing From Devil'

11 Hurt In Plunge 'Fleeing From Devil' : "Eleven people have been injured jumping out of a second-floor flat window after apparently thinking they had seen the devil. Skip related contentRelated photos / videos
11 Hurt In Plunge 'Fleeing From Devil'
Enlarge photo Police are investigating the incident which took place in the early hours in the small town of La Verriere, west of Paris.
Officers said some of the injured were children including a four-month-old baby, who is in a serious condition in a children's hospital in the French capital."

One of the cars was a Mini Cooper Cabrio paid for in cash

A new police report, dated the 5th of this month, and incorporated into the summary of the Gürtel Case, has revealed that Álvaro Pérez, the businessman known as ‘El Bigotes’ paid for several vehicles whose finally users were the ex General Secretary of the PP in Valencia, Ricardo Costa, and the ex Director of the regional television RTVV, Pedro García Gimeno. The latter’s name is also linked to gifts of clothing.

El Bigotes is alleged to have used an intermediary company, Imperauto S.L. to make the transfers of the vehicles, but one of the cars, a Mini Cooper Cabrio, was paid for in cash by the businessman who is linked to the Gürtel companies.

Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_27603.shtml#ixzz13ApUtlNP

People’s Princess Cheryl Cole opens up about her divorce and malaria battle

"People’s Princess has to say. If you want to hear her talk about marriage breakdown (complete with tears and Morgan in the Martin Bashir role), malaria and living in a soap opera, then this is the unmissable show for you this weekend"In an emotional chat, the tearful singer, 27, said: "You know what I want more than anything? Those last ten seconds on New Year's Eve. '10, 9, 8... 2011! I'm going to scream them.


"I'm going to shout them out. I'm going to call everybody I love and just welcome the New Year and the new start."



Exclusive interview ... Bizarre Editor Gordon Smart with Cheryl Cole

Reflecting on the devastating break-up of her marriage, Cheryl went on: "I never will understand why this has happened. Never. I just don't get it.

"We still talk - general stuff.

"Anybody that's been through a divorce, and I hope it's something people never have to experience, it's the worse thing in the world.

"When your heart is breaking... it doesn't make a difference what car you drive, what house you have, all of that. It's a minor detail, it's nothing.

"Right now it's still fresh, it hasn't been long you know? It's still raw. It does make you feel numb. I don't recognise myself sometimes. It has been non-stop tears. Just too much."

Cheryl, who will also talk about her troubles with Piers Morgan on ITV1 show Life Stories after X Factor tonight, added: "When I talked to Piers and when this interview is done, once that's been out and gone, I can maybe just breathe and get on with it again.

"I'm getting there.

"It has been the worst year, the worst in my life ever."
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/x_factor/3193409/Cheryl-Cole-My-worst-ever-year.html#ixzz13A4cTnYo

50 arrests in brothel stings across eastern Andalucia

50 arrests in brothel stings across eastern Andalucia: "50 men accused of sexually exploiting over 1,000 women in brothels they owned across Eastern Andalucia have been arrested.
The arrests were concentrated on two networks.
The first was concentrated around Malaga, Torremolinos and Cordoba; the second was mainly in the province of Almeria.
Both groups were linked and 'shared' women. Women were forced to act as prostitutes, forced to take drugs and sell drugs to clients.
The operation took place under the Central Brigade for Immigration and local police forces in the different regions. Three company headquarters were raided, as were brothels, private residences and 'clubs' across Andalucia.
Police say the network was unraveled thanks to a series of denuncias lodged by women who had escaped the pimps and gone to the police. Police have reminded affected women that if they come forward as witnesses they can apply for residency as part of the court case.
The rings were highly organised, with a complex network of companies at the heart of the operation. Women were given strict instructions as to clothes, workdays, number of hours to be worked and a complete price structure for sexual services.
The network also supplied drugs to clients. Some women have denounced that they were forced to take drugs in order to keep them quiet during working hours.
Most of the women were from South America or Eastern Europe and are in Spain illegally. They were brought to Spain by the pimps and then forced to work to pay off their 'debts'.

Most were locked up inside the brothels, only being allowed out with prior authorization to prevent them fleeing."

Paradise night club, touted as the largest brothel in Europe, has opened for business after a Spanish town failed to stop it in the courts.

Open for business: the brothel with 1,800 prostitutes - Europe, World - The Independent: "Paradise night club, touted as the largest brothel in Europe, has opened for business after a Spanish town failed to stop it in the courts.
Police patrolled the roads outside the Spanish town of La Jonquera and 15 security guards kept watch as the opening night crowd filtered in on Thursday. The frontier town in Catalonia is one of the few that has dared to fight back against Spain's growing brothel industry.
'I give the girls breakfast, lunch and dinner and they get to keep whatever they make. Do you call that exploitation?' a Paradise manager told reporters as a group of middle-aged French men left their cars for the club, which looks like a disco that overdosed on neon. The club, which measures 2,700 square metres and boasts 80 rooms with rates of €120 (£107) per hour, is one of 11 so-called 'macro-brothels' in this Catalan region of Gerona, near the Costa Brava."

Spain, passive smoking is believed to be responsible for the deaths of 1,500 to 3,000 people a year.

Lawmakers have voted to scrap Spain's extraordinarily lax anti-tobacco legislation from January next year and replace it with one of the toughest smoking bans in Western Europe.In a land where people light up pretty much at will in restaurants, bars, nightclubs and offices, it is a daunting prospect for both smokers and their regular haunts, many suffering in the economic crisis.On a bright afternoon at a terrace cafe in central Madrid, 30-year-old Noemi Campos savoured one more cigarette, not relishing the prospect of a New Year without a nicotine fix to accompany her drink."We will only be able to smoke at home," Campos said.
"If the ban comes into force in January, I will be quicker when I go to the bar and obviously consume less."
For now, the loopholes are so large in Spain's smoking legislation that many people barely give them a thought.The law, introduced in 2006, allows establishments smaller than 100 square meters (1,100 square feet) to choose whether they want to be smoking or non-smoking; most allow smoking.
Bigger businesses have to set up a non-smoking zone if they want to cater for smokers, but in practice many people light up where they want.The result is a familiar haze and scent of tobacco, including the throat-rasping black tobacco of cigarettes such as Ducados.The new law was approved by lawmakers in the Congress of Deputies, the lower parliamentary chamber, on Wednesday. It is almost certain to be approved by the Senate and come into force January 2 -- giving people a last cigarette in bars and clubs on New Year's Day.
It is likely to be a rude shock for some.
The new law bans smoking from all enclosed public spaces and spaces of common useage. It even outlaws smoking in some open spaces such as children's parks and near hospitals.
Smokers For Tolerance Club spokesman Javier Blanco Urgoiti said it was the toughest anti-smoking law in the Europe Union, and the first in the region to proscribe smoking in the open air.
Restaurateurs are also concerned.
Spanish Hospitality Federation vice president Jose Luis Guerra said the restrictions could provoke a sales decline of seven percent for restaurants, 10 percent for bars and 15 percent for night clubs.
"We are already living in tough times. We cannot afford to lose even a single job," he said.
One of the key aims of the new rules is to protect passive smokers such as waiters and waitresses.
Fernando Heredia, who has worked for two years as a waiter at the Los Jimenez restaurant in central Madrid, said 80 percent of people smoked as they drank their coffee or beer.
But for Heredia, the fear of losing his job is greater than the fear of the smoke. "I don't smoke so on the health side it is good," he said. "But if it loses us customers I would rather carry on being a passive smoker."

In Spain, passive smoking is believed to be responsible for the deaths of 1,500 to 3,000 people a year.

But not everyone welcomes the state's help.

"Look, I can take care of my own health," said Ivan Chouza, 25-year-old waiter at the fashionable Lilith Cafe in Madrid.

Next door, at the Outlet bar, 22--year-old waiter Amine Shriyer said he totally agreed with the new law, and he hoped it would help him to stop smoking.

But he added: "It is going to create problems because people are going to drink and forget they are not supposed to smoke.