A consumer watchdog has confirmed that super-sized supermarket chain Carrefour double charged consumers for card purchases due to a computer error. The problem occurred across their chain of store in Spain on August 6, 2018, and the company has said that the error was spotted and rectified a few days later. However, if you did purchase anything on August 6, …

Calls not to panic have been issued after nine people are reported to have been killed across Europe by contaminated frozen vegetables. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued an alert over the products, stating that the outbreak, which has been traced to a factory in Hungary, has affected products sold in countries such as Austria, Denmark, Finland, Sweden …

Let us now hope that after all the pomp and ceremony which took place in Orihuela last week, with the swearing in of new Partido Popular mayor Emilio Bascuñana, despite barely a mention of the coast in his speech of acceptance, the new leader, w...

The former director of the IVAM, Valencia's premier contemporary art museum, Consuelo Ciscar, has come out in defence of her leadership of the museum, between 2004 and 2014, by responding to the interim report of the General Comptroller of the Generali...

The Secretary General for Defence Policy, Alejandro Alvargonzález, has finalised the terms of the agreement with his US counterpart, James Townsend, for a year's extension to their use of the Morón de la Frontera airbase near Seville. Sp...

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One of our neighbours, Noelia, called to see us a few days ago, and I was a little taken aback when she pounced upon the lavender growing vigorously in our garden. Noelia excitedly pointed at the plants and told me that she had tried growing lavender...

The Ministry of Health has launched a meteorological monitoring system for the summer to help prevent and treat health problems as a result of extreme temperatures. The campaign, named “Ola de Calor 2015”, will operate throughout the coun...

Francisco Martínez, the Secretary of State or Security, says that the decline in organised crime in Spain is closely linked to the growing efficiency of the law enforcement agencies

At a seminar on the application of the National Security Strategy organised by Grupo Atenea, which took place two years on from the approval of the National Security Strategy, the minister focused his speech on the two "major challenges" for the security and freedom of all citizens: organised crime and energy security in the area of critical infrastructures.

He pointed out that with the latest data of 662 criminal groups registered in 2011 and 456 in 2014 "there is a clearly falling trend in the activity of organised crime in Spain, which is closely linked to the growing efficiency of the law enforcement agencies and intelligence work, and a testimony to the civic values of Spanish society."

As he explained: "Spain is today the third safest country in the European Union, or to put it another way: one of the safest countries in the world." This statement is based on the fact that the current crime rate has fallen from 48.4 crimes per 1,000 residents recorded at the close of 2011 to 44.4 in April 2015.

In this respect, the State Secretary for Security has highlighted the "excellent work" of the Intelligence Centre for Terrorism and Organised Crime (Spanish acronym: CITCO), which in 2014 investigated more than 17,000 individuals and arrested over 6,000 related to this type of crime.

In addition, he said that in the fight against various forms of organised crime CITCO also detected 456 groups, of which 431 - in other words 94% - were totally or partially dismantled.

At the same time, Francisco Martínez highlighted the work carried out by the law enforcement agencies to combat human trafficking for sexual exploitation.

He pointed out that on the preventive front, 14,000 people, mainly women, were identified in 2014 as being in a situation of risk and, with respect to policing, 270 police reports were issued, 561 people arrested and 63 criminal groups dismantled.

On energy security, Francisco Martínez stated that Spain is a country that depends excessively on foreign sources when it comes to energy resources such as natural gas and oil, making it a vulnerable country from the energy point of view.

That is why he explained that currently the State Secretariat for Security is participating actively in the preparation of a new National Energy Security Strategy, which is due to be approved in the coming weeks.

The State Secretary then referred to the system of protection for critical infrastructures against terrorist attacks or other threats.

Here he explained that the National Centre for the Protection of Critical Infrastructures (CNPIC), which is part of the State Secretariat for Security, is responsible for developing strategic energy plans in the electricity, gas, oil and nuclear industry sectors.

Among the actions included is identification of the main critical infrastructures in the energy sector and design of the strategic measures necessary for their protection.

Marisol Moreno, the new councillor for Animal Protection in Alicante, says that she supports a national ban of bullfighting in Spain, and calls for a referendum to ban the activity throughout the municipality.

She says that ban is supported by a large number of government councillors, members of the Guanyar Alicante, which is made up by EU, Podemos and politicians from plataformas Ciudadanas.

She also states that there is some support from members of the PSOE and Compromís parties and that a council vote would see the municipal government position itself clearly behind the veto.

Indeed the new Councillor for Youth and Animal Protection, was out protesting within hours of being sworn in, taking time to attend the protest at the Plaza de Toros in support of the Alliance Platform ‘Animals Feel'.

The organization is also calling for the closure of the Bullfighting School in Alicante which teaches the ‘sport' to children aged between 9 and 16. Moreno said that she believes many of the children are simply "victims" of bullfighting and pressured into attending the school by their parents.

And the protests are just beginning with the next demonstration scheduled for 20 June the first day of the San Juan bonfires in the city. The rally will be held in the Plaza de la Estrella under the title of ‘Bloodless Fires'.

Discussion surrounding bullfighting bans are not only being held in Alicante. The new Los Verdes government team in Villena has already said that they will no longer allow bullfights to take place in the town.

In Alicante a further motion was passed to ban circuses in the city that use live animals in their shows.

Last year, Spain's parliament bestowed cultural-heritage status on bullfighting, making it much harder for further bans beyond that of Catalonia in 2010, and the Canaries in the early 1990s, to take effect. Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the former Socialist Party prime minister, has said that he is not in favour of prohibition, too, while the currently ruling Partido Popular party has rejected the notion completely.

Bullfighting is also enjoyed in some southern parts of France which added La Corrida, as it is known, to its list of “intangible heritage” back in 2011, but subsequently removed any mention of it from their website after outrage from animal rights activists

It seems hard to believe that in this so-called civilised age, such a cruel spectacle continues to flourish in Spain.

Bullfighting is yet another example of a barbaric ‘sport' and many people feel that it should have been banned several years ago.

Traffic police in Spain will soon receive more equipment to help in their enforcement of the law, after two separate contracts were published in the state bulletin for acquisitions. The first contract is valued at 363,000 euro and is for the supply of...

Here on the Costa's golf is one of the biggest leisure time activities for both tourists and resident alike and with this in mind we have secured the services of Mike Probert of Costa Blanca Green Fee Services to provide a weekly round up of local golf...