Banco Santander is taking a bullish outlook on global growth.

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Spain’s largest bank has been extremely active buying assets across Europe and in North and Central America over the last few weeks. Banco Santander already has substantial exposure to both Continental Europe and Latin America, but it has voraciously closed deal after deal in an effort to further diversify itself.

Santander management has not been afraid to wheel and deal in the past and it has been a key reason for their growth to this point. However, the onslaught of deal making amid concerns over all this European has been remarkable.

Just over two weeks ago Banco Santader bought out Bank of America’s stake in Santander’s Mexican unit for $2.5 billion in cash. With BofA’s 24.9% stake in the business in hand (a 56% return over 7 years for BAC), Banco Santander now has 100% ownership, and estimated that the purchase would raise earnings 1.3% in the first year after the acquisition, and one analysts claims it will add $375 million to earnings in 2012. Furthermore, this was an important show of confidence in the Spanish bank that had been dragged down by lingering concerns over its country’s public finances.

Last week, we learned that Spanish banks Santader and Banco Bilbao were among the strongest in Europe according to EU stress testing. Official results will not be released until mid-July but initial reports cast the Spanish banks the “winners”. Earlier in the week, Santander was the sole bidder for assets in the UK owned by Royal Bank of Scotland for about 1.8GBP, expanding their presence in the UK.

Meanwhile, over the last few weeks there has been rampant speculation that Banco Santander will likely pursue an American bank, with talks centered on M&T Bank Corp specifically. The earlier proposed deal would have Santander buying the 22.5% stake in MTB that was put on the block by Allied Irish Banks, but STD wanted to have control over the new alliance. Those talks broke down over the control issue, but Santander has tried to lure them back to the table.

Instead of slowing down from this breakneck pace, this week Santander appears to be hitting its stride. On Tuesday reports claimed that STD was set to buy the German retail banking operations of Sweden’s SEB for about 500 million Euros ($671 million). A deal is expected to be finalized within a month.

On Thursday, Santander announced two more deals: one large, one small. The small deal was a $55.8 million tender offer to acquire the rest of their Puerto Rican subsidiary Santander BanCorp. The larger deal was Santander Consumer USA will purchase $3.2 billion worth of auto loans from CitiFinancial Auto a Citigroup property. Banco Santander bought the loans at 99% of the value of gross receivables. In addition, the two struck a deal to have Santander service a portfolio of about $7.2 billion in auto loans that will continue to be held by Citi.

Clearly, Banco Santander is taking a bullish outlook on global growth.

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Spanish tax authorities are investigating the holders of about 3,000 secret bank accounts in Switzerland over possible unpaid taxes

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Spanish tax authorities are investigating the holders of about 3,000 secret bank accounts in Switzerland over possible unpaid taxes, Finance Minister Elena Salgado said on Thursday.
She said the treasury had sent all the account owners demands to declare the origin of the funds, on which they will be asked to pay tax and penalties as necessary.
"They know that the fight against fraud is becoming more intense," she told Spanish public television.
She declined to indicate the amount of money involved, but the business daily Expansion said the accounts, held by many of Spain's wealthiest people, could hold a total of around 6.0 billion euros (7.4 billion dollars).
It said Spain received the details of the accounts from French authorities.
In January 2009, French authorities seized customer data stolen from the Geneva branch of banking giant HSBC by a former employees.
Salgado said Spain has recovered some 35 billion euros from tax cheats in recent years.
"We are stepping up our efforts" against tax fraud, she said.
The move comes as Spain's Socialist government is pushing ahead with tough austerity measures to slash its massive public deficit.
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said last month that he planned a new tax on the richest people in the country.
But the government has ruled out declaring a "tax amnesty" to boost state coffers, as was approved in Italy this month and which allows repatriation of funds without explaining how they were earned.
Switzerland's neighbours and the world's leading economies have forced the country to offer concessions on banking secrecy over the past year, in an international clampdown on tax evasion.
The Swiss government has vowed to find ways to prevent foreigners from hiding undeclared funds in the country's banks.

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Spanish Economic Crisis Threatens to Sink Euro Currency | Economy | English

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Spanish Economic Crisis Threatens to Sink Euro Currency | Economy | English: "Spain is among the latest European countries to introduce tough austerity measures that may not be popular at home, but are deemed necessary to keep the country afloat. Spain, alongside Greece, is among those European countries with massive public debts and economies widely deemed vulnerable to a crash that could drag the euro with it.

It is 7:30 in the morning in the north of Madrid, and the queue for the job center is already stretching around the block.
Among those in line is Patricia Martinez. She used to be a nurse, but seven months ago she was laid off. Now each morning she arrives here to try to find new work. She is not having much luck.

'The reality is that economically it is fatal, but emotionally for people too it can also be terrible. I do not know what is happening, not just in Spain, but in Europe and the world,'"

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King moved to Spain in 1999 and in October of that year he stabbed Rocio Wanninkhof to death in Mijas Costa.

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Express.co.uk - Home of the Daily and Sunday Express | UK News :: Costa del Sol killer in plea for swap to British prison: "Tony King, 45, received four terms totalling 62 years for the murders of two teenage girls and an attempted rape on the Costa del Sol.

Under Spanish law, he can only serve a maximum of 30 years.

Now his lawyers have asked the Spanish Justice Ministry to allow him to return to Britain to serve out his sentence.

Spanish officials will be consulted before any decision. Britain has to agree to take him. If he is transferred here, he will be treated as if his crimes were on UK soil. King moved to Spain in 1999 and in October of that year he stabbed Rocio Wanninkhof to death in Mijas Costa.

Four years later, he kidnapped and strangled 17-year-old Sonia Carabantes. He was held after his estranged wife Cecilia saw marks on his arms. The former barman was jailed over the killings in 2005."

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Drug dealing gang jailed - Manchester Evening News

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Drug dealing gang jailed - Manchester Evening News: "group of dealers have been locked up after police smashed a drug ring.
The gang – which included a pensioner – was arrested after raids last year in a crackdown on dealing in Salford. They have all been sentenced after the final two were dealt with at Minshull Street Crown Court yesterday.
Errol McNair, 49, of Valley Road, Heaton Mersey, Stockport, pleaded guilty to supplying class A drugs, possession of class A drugs with intent to supply and possession of class A drugs. He was jailed for five years and four months."

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Dutch man drowns off Tarragona

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Dutch man drowns off Tarragona: "Guardia Civil boat has found the body of a young Dutch man, who went missing off the Punta Porquerola in Mont-roig del Camp (Tarragona) last Sunday.
According to the maritime rescue services, the body of the 25-year-old man was pulled out of the sea at 9pm yesterday, several kilometres away from where he disappeared, half a mile out to sea, near the Vandellòs nuclear plant.
The body has been taken to Cambrils for formal identification."

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Flood victim's body found after 11 days of searching

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Flood victim's body found after 11 days of searching: "body of 82-year-old Jacinto Bustelo, who went missing from his home in Vega de Villar (nr Vegadeo, Asturias) during the floods 11 days ago, has been found.
The body of his wife, Mercedes Díaz, was found close to her home the same day she was swept away by the rising floodwater.
Mr Bustelo's body was found by the Asturias fire service at 18h30 yesterday under a huge pile of earth and rubble about a kilometre away from his home.
Last Friday, after a week of fruitless searching, the fire service brought in heavy machinery to move earth that had been displaced by the floods.
With the help of family and friends with good local knowledge of the area, the emergency services' search centred on three main areas where it was believed the body could have ended up."

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Another luxury hotel on the Costa del Sol closes | SpanishNews.es

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Another luxury hotel on the Costa del Sol closes | SpanishNews.es: "The closure of Hotel Byblos will see 114 jobs disappear.
According to a municipal decree published in the BOE 24 June 2008, the complex is valued at 39.6 billion euros.
UGT and CCOO warned that the closure of Byblos is “a great discredit to the Costa del Sol, and recalled that five other hotels, the Torrequebrada, the Incosol and Los Monteros the Guadalpin Marbella and the Guadalpin Banus, are also engaged in contests where “the same thing can not happen.” “The Costa del Sol could not stand the closure of six five-star hotels, as media coverage would be very damaging,” Sedano said."

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Spain’s Viajes Marsans New Owners to Slash Jobs | SpanishNews.es

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Spain’s Viajes Marsans New Owners to Slash Jobs | SpanishNews.es: "According to Spanish newspaper reports; the new owners of the troubled Spanish travel group – Viajes Marsans, plan on dismissing over half of the firm’s workers. The turnover and organizational restructuring policies will definitely come as a shock to those workers at Marsans, who’ve been working there for years.
Marsans was one of Spain’s largest tour operators and last month it underwent an acquisition deal that was worth 600 million Euros. “Posibilitum” was the infamous buyer who stepped forward to strike this deal and now, new options of guaranteeing an “immediate future” for Marsans are under observation."

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Muñoz wants the Marbella Malaya money

Muñoz wants the Marbella Malaya money: "defrauded from the town in the Malaya case should be returned home

The Partido Popular Mayor of Marbella, Ángeles Muñoz, announced on Friday that she would do all she could to ensure that the money defrauded out of the municipality in the Malaya case is returned to the municipal coffers.

She said it came as a ‘hard blow’ to hear that the Anti-corruption Prosector considered that the amount defrauded from the Town Hall was only 4.1 million €. She considers the sum was far greater than that.

The Prosecutor is calling for fines totaling 1.126 billion against the accused in the case, and Muñoz considers that money should be used to compensate the town."

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Ex Marbella Magistrate gets a two year prison sentence

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Ex Marbella Magistrate gets a two year prison sentence: "ex Magistrate, Francisco Javier de Urquía, was given a second sentence on Friday, this time a two year term handed down by the Andalucian High Court of Justice.

The court had investigated his time as Instruction Judge 2 in Marbella, and concluded that he accepted 60,000 € to free three people, Azan Khan, Jan Nadir, and Khadija Dahmany, who were charged in the Hidalgo Case of having laundered 136 million € defrauded in Belgium,. The court concluded that he was thus guilty of bribery and continued perversion of the course of justice. The two year sentence was accompanied by a 17 year ban from office and fines totaling 114,000 €.

The ex Judge was found not guilty however in another angle of the case; the alleged bribery of the hotelier, David Shamoon, considering that it had not been proven that Urquía was aware of actions carried out by his then friends, Arnaud Albouhair and Igor Mier."

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Express.co.uk - Home of the Daily and Sunday Express | Express Yourself :: Brits in Costa del Sol: Blood on the beaches

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Express.co.uk - Home of the Daily and Sunday Express | Express Yourself :: Brits in Costa del Sol: Blood on the beaches: "34 British fugitives arrested in Spain since the launch of Operation Captura four years ago, 17 have been detained, the majority on the Costa del Sol. “There’s no denying the area does have its share of crooks who are on the run,” says British businessman Mark Saunders who runs a hotel supplies firm. “You know them at best by their first names and you avoid the places they drink.

It’s a shame because it’s just a few who are tarnishing a beautiful area and giving it a bad name while most expats and tourists are good, honest people. They’ve always been a problem but the level and amount of violence in recent weeks has shocked people. The recession knocked us sideways last year so we could definitely do with things improving.”"

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Express.co.uk - Home of the Daily and Sunday Express | Express Yourself :: Brits in Costa del Sol: Blood on the beaches

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Express.co.uk - Home of the Daily and Sunday Express | Express Yourself :: Brits in Costa del Sol: Blood on the beaches

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African and East European gangs are nabbing lottery millions in charity scams...

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African and East European gangs are nabbing lottery millions in charity scams...: "MILLIONS of pounds in UK lottery cash has been illegally claimed by foreign crooks, The People can reveal.

African and East European gangs have been making a flood of bogus applications for handouts because charity funds are seen as a soft touch.

The gangs attempt to rake in fortunes for their dodgy good causes in the hope that proper checks are not carried out.

The Big Lottery Fund, The Heritage Lottery Fund and the British Council, as well as dozens of other smaller organisations, have all identified bogus claims. At the same time, conmen working alone or in small groups have tried to rip off funding chiefs with their claims to be representing refugees or the sick.

Shameless swindler Kanyogota Sejojo, who came to the UK from Rwanda, scooped more than £18,000 for his Devon African Refugee Community Association in Plymouth and spent the money on himself. His windfall included £10,000 from the Big Lottery Fund and £2,750 from Children in Need.

After his arrest, Sejojo, 40, who by this time had moved to Balham, in south London, claimed he had invested £17,000 in football kit for asylum seekers but was unable to produce any evidence of it.

Jobless Sejojo was jailed for 19 months at Isleworth Crown Court in west London after pleading guilty to obtaining money by deception and false accounting."

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In Spain, 100% Home Loans Are Back - WSJ.com

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In Spain, 100% Home Loans Are Back - WSJ.com: "Spain has one of the world's most-troubled housing markets, yet some buyers are suddenly able to get mortgages with 100% financing, and developers are building new homes on empty lots despite a huge glut.
The reason: Spain's banks took possession of a large inventory of homes, buildings and land two years ago, forgiving the debt in hopes of heading off defaults. The plan was to resell the properties when the market bounced back and evade the worst impact of the looming housing crisis.
But Spain's housing market has only gotten worse, and now the bill is coming due"

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Juan Oyonate, launderer millions of Euro.

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Juan Oyonate is accused of money laundering for the gang

The six members of the Eastern European mafia who were arrested in Cataluña on Tuesday this week used a gestor in Salou, Juan Oyonate, to launder millions of Euro.

The six mafia bosses came from Russia, Ukrainia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan, and operated along the Barcelona and Tarragona coasts.

El País reports that investigations are continuing and police have so far found 42,000 € in 500 € notes, and 14 top of the range vehicles. Reports say one of those charged has purchased two Mercedes in recent months.

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María Antonia Trujillo says she expects house prices to fall by a further 30-50%

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The Spanish ex Minister for Housing, María Antonia Trujillo, has told a reader of El País in an online interview that she would not buy a flat in Spain now.

The questioner asked whether she agreed with her successor’s view; Beatriz Corredor has declared that now is the best time to buy a home.

María Antonia Trujillo replied that everyone can do what they see fit, but that she has been looking to buy for three years and would not do so now as she expected house prices in Spain to fall by a further 30-50%. She added she hoped the adjustment would happen quickly.

Trujillo, who was Minister at the end of the real estate boom, admitted her part of the blame for the crash saying that everyone from the citizen to the politician has their share of the blame. She added however that the then Minister for Tax and the Economy, Pedro Solbes, had opposed her ideas to remove tax breaks for house buyers.

However she thinks such incentives should be in place now, despite the Government’s intention to remove them.

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2011 VOLVO WORLD MATCH PLAY SET FOR NEW DATE | Spain | Leader Newspaper - News, Sport, Advertising, Property, Classifieds - Costa Blanca, Costa del Sol, Costa Calida, Costa de Almeria, Spain

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2011 VOLVO WORLD MATCH PLAY SET FOR NEW DATE | Spain | Leader Newspaper - News, Sport, Advertising, Property, Classifieds - Costa Blanca, Costa del Sol, Costa Calida, Costa de Almeria, Spain: "Volvo World Match Play Championship is set for a new date in 2011 and will be held 19th to 22nd May, 2011 at Finca Cortesin Hotel, Golf and Spa on the magnificent Andalucian coast in Southern Spain. The 2009 Volvo World Match Play Championship was hailed a huge success as changes in qualification and format were widely acclaimed and the new blue chip venue of Finca Cortesin was warmly embraced by players, media and spectators alike."

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Gibraltar Bank’s role in Rothstein scheme under scrutiny - South Florida Business Journal

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Gibraltar Bank’s role in Rothstein scheme under scrutiny - South Florida Business Journal: "unanswered questions about the smaller bank in the case, Gibraltar Private Bank & Trust.
“We need to get to the bottom of Gibraltar quickly,” said William Scherer, the attorney for some investors in Rothstein’s scheme. “I think TD Bank was his main bank, but Rothstein had Gibraltar stock and had accounts there. The accounts are being turned over, and we are going to analyze them.”
Gibraltar has been at the forefront of the Rothstein scandal since federal authorities raided Rothstein’s offices at his defunct law firm, Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler. The feds seized several documents related to Gibraltar, including a folder marked “shred.”"

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Brits in Costa del Sol: Blood on the beaches

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Express.co.uk - Home of the Daily and Sunday Express | Express Yourself :: Brits in Costa del Sol: Blood on the beaches: 3 Slain Costa del Sol in just a few weeks, sparking fears that rival UK gangs are engaged in a brutal drugs war in Spain.
IT HAS been one of the most popular holiday haunts for British tourists and expats for decades.

This year alone nearly two-and-a half million British holidaymakers will head to Spain’s Costa del Sol in search of fun and sun.

But behind the high-rise hotels and nearly 100 miles of sandy beaches that stretch from Nerja in the east to Estepona in the west, a deadly war is being played out by vicious gangs fighting for control of the international drug trafficking trade."

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Bond girl weds in Spain

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Bond girl weds in Spain: "British actress Gemma Arterton, currently appearing on cinema screens worldwide in 'Prince of Persia', married businessman Stefano Catelli on Sunday in Zuheros (Córdoba) according to 'People' magazine.
24-year-old Arterton, a former 'Bond girl' (Quantum of Solace) and star of other box office hits like 'RocknRolla' and 'Clash of the Titans', and her partner decided to keep the location of their marriage a secret, even from their guests, apart from giving them the clue that it was 'up in the mountains in the south of Spain'.
'People' magazine reports that she was wearing an ivory coloured dress , was carrying a bunch of white roses and that the ceremony was performed in the open air.
Catelli, the 37-year-old bridegroom, is a salesman with a fashion company. He asked Arterton for her hand in marriage in England last summer at a music festival."

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Police in Spain said a 27-year-old man from Ireland had been arrested in connection with Mr Smith's death.

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BBC News - Man from Ireland held after Essex man murdered in Spain: "man has been arrested in connection with the shooting of an Essex man on the Costa del Sol in Spain.
Dan Smith, 24, a former builder from Billericay, was shot dead at a bar in Mijas over the weekend.
Mr Smith had been wanted by Essex Police in connection with the attempted murder of Douglas Turner on 7 July 2007 at Stock, near Chelmsford.
Police in Spain said a 27-year-old man from Ireland had been arrested in connection with Mr Smith's death.
Mr Smith was shot outside a bar in the province of Malaga late on Saturday and bullets hit the walls where the shooting happened.
The Foreign Office said Mr Smith died on Sunday.
A spokesman added it was providing consular assistance to his family.
He said it could not comment further due to the police investigation"

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Irishman hunted over Spanish pub killing - Local & National, News - Belfasttelegraph.co.uk

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Irishman hunted over Spanish pub killing - Local & National, News - Belfasttelegraph.co.uk: "Police are hunting an Irishman after a British national was gunned down outside a bar in Spain.
Daniel Smith (24) died in a hail of bullets as he sipped a drink on a terrace on the Costa del Sol. The gunman opened fire from a high-powered motorbike in a drive-by murder on Saturday night.
Fellow drinkers dived for cover as Smith was shot outside The Lounge bar in Riviera del Sol, near Mijas.
The victim, who was a fugitive wanted for an attempted murder in the UK, died at the scene after being shot at least three times in the head."

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Marbella Jazz Festival | Marbella Costa del Sol

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Marbella Jazz Festival | Marbella Costa del Sol: "First International Music and Jazz Festival Marbella 2010 held from 20th July to 27th July 2010 in Marbella’s Football Stadium. Performances include artists such as Diana Navarro, Hélène Labarrière & Norma Winstone, Al Benson Orchestra, Elis Eliana, and many more.
Marbella International Music and Jazz Festival
20th July – 27th July daily from 21:00
Marbella Football Stadium

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fugitive wanted for attempted murder in England, British man killed in drive-by shooting

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British man killed in drive-by shooting on Costa del Sol | Mail Online: "Tourists dived for cover as a British man was shot dead in a drive-by shooting on the Costa del Sol.The 26-year-old was blasted in the head by a gunman on a high-powered motorbike as he sipped a drink on the terrace of a bar.The assassin, who was on the back of a bike driven by another man, fired at least six shots as other drinkers dived for cover amid the hail of bullets in Mijas, near Malaga in southern Spain.At least three bullets are thought to have hit their target.Sources said the murder had ‘all the hallmarks’ of a contract killing and detectives were last night investigating claims the victim was a fugitive wanted for attempted murder in England"

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British-run Lounge Bar, Terraza de Miraflores, in the Riviera del Sol Urbanisation 26 year old shot has not been named in reports

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British-run Lounge Bar, Terraza de Miraflores, in the Riviera del Sol Urbanisation 26 year old has not been named in reports

A 26 year old man, reported to be British, has died after being shot while on a street terrace, from a passing large cylinder motorbike carrying two riders in Mijas. The victim has not yet been named.

Diario de Sevilla reports that it happened at 10,10pm on Saturday night at the British-run Lounge Bar, Terraza de Miraflores, in the Riviera del Sol Urbanisation, an area popular with drinkers. Reports say that at least six shots were fired in total, and that three of them hit the victim.

Health workers could do nothing to save the life of the victim who died at the scene from gunshot wounds to the head.
The judicial police of the Guardia Civil have opened a full investigation, with the first hypothesis considering the killing was part of a settling of scores.

This latest Costa del Sol killing comes just over a week after the so-called Irish Mafia , led by Christopher Kinahan, was broken up. His organisation was allegedly involved in drug and firearms trafficking and money laundering. Possible links to this new killing are being investigated.

Saturday’s shooting is the sixth homicide on the Costa del Sol this year. The latest came to light on May 6 when a fishing boat caught a body in its nets near the Calaburras lighthouse in Mijas. The body, which was wrapped in plastic, is still to be identified.


Read more: http://costadelcrime.blogspot.com/2010/06/british-man-has-died-after-being-shot.html#ixzz0q4ig7kwl

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House prices in Spain could fall by 12 per cent, says S&P | SpanishNews.es

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House prices in Spain could fall by 12 per cent, says S&P | SpanishNews.es: "Spanish property market crash has not yet hit bottom. The Standard & Poor’s rating agency believes that the country is still “a long way to go,” and that prices could still fall another 12%.
The authors believe that “the massive stock of supply” of housing (around a million homes, according to some estimates) should have caused a greater fall in prices. In any case, since the creation of new homes has fallen to about 300,000 a year, “will take several years to absorb the excess.”
Housing prices in Spain could collapse 12 per cent according to a report published by Standard and Poor’s on Tuesday."

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