Costa Confidential

And if the TV show has got you itching for a holiday to the Spanish resort, Lauren Pope has given us an exclusive run-down of her favourite nightspots.

The TOWIE beauty is a huge dance music fan and is currently promoting the show’s first ever CD; The Only Way is Marbs: Marbella Anthems.

Stars from the show including Lydia Bright and James 'Diags' Bennewit attended the The CD’s launch party at The Brickyard in Essex on Friday.

Lauren Pope's holiday tips: TOWIE star picks out her best nightspots exclusively for Travel Mail readers

Day and night: The terrace at luxury beach club Nikki Beach stays open until late

Lauren said: 'I’ve loved working on this album - from the track selection to the mixing, it’s been an amazing experience.

The local mayor announced the new legislation today after a video surfaced last week showing sex acts being performed by a young British holidaymaker at a club night called Carnage. The resort’s reputation has been steadily deteriorating for years, but recent revelations about bars and clubs where tourists are encouraged to get drunk and engage in sexual behaviour in public proved the tipping point. Manuel Onieva, the Mayor of Calvia, a region including Magaluf, said the new law was an expression of his “total rejection and anger at the activities which were carried out in a video which is currently on the social media circuit.” In an attempt to clean up seedy bar crawls, any company wanting to operate one in the area will now need to apply for a licence through the town hall. In order to be granted a licence they will have to “prove their responsibility and show that they have the appropriate civil insurances in place,” the mayor said.

Shakira is officially the most liked person on Facebook after becoming the first person ever to reach 100 million likes. The superstar songstress hit the staggering social media milestone on Friday and was clearly delighted with the news.

The Catalan capital is set to unleash a new law that will force dog owners to get a license or face fines up to €600. From October, dog owners will be required to obtain a “civic license” before letting their pets walk around without a leash within one of Barcelona’s 103 designated dog parks. An “animal abuse” register will also come into effect with a prohibition of leaving animals tied up for more than two hours or leaving animals locked in a car for more than 20 minutes.

Airbus's folding saddle seat could be the cattle-class future for cheap flights As Airbus files a patent for a new space-saving design to jam many more economy class passengers in.

If you thought low-cost air travel couldn't get any more bleak, then Airbus has a treat in store for you. The aeroplane manufacturer has now filed patent for the what looks like a human battery-farm, but is in fact the future of budget flights: racks upon racks of folding saddle-seats for even more passengers to be jammed onto aeroplanes, packed in knee-to-rump.

While some airlines have already removed their folding tray tables and squeezed leg-room down to brutal knee-capping levels, Airbus have gone one step further, doing away with the idea of proper seating altogether. In their ultra-economy vision, seating aisles will instead take the form of long horizontal poles, from which bicycle-like saddles and small back and arm rests will pivot out, on to which humans will be placed, skewered together like table-football players.

“The design of the seats has to be optimised so that they present the smallest possible bulk,” says Airbus, explaining that the saddle-style seat has been developed “in order to reduce the distance needed to accommodate the legs of passengers between two rows of seating devices.”

THE Guardia Civil have arrested two representatives of a ‘gas company’ who were thieving in people’s houses when they went to make their inspections. The victims, always elderly, would get a phone call a few days before the inspection; during the phone call the representatives would always inquire as to the age of the people in the house. The victims would be informed that two representatives would visit the house to make sure that everything conformed to standards and was safe.

They would charge €356 for this service and, when the victims would go in search of the cash, the reps would follow them to find where they hid their money and then go back later, while their colleague distracted the elderly person, and steal whatever cash they could find. Investigations began when a complaint was made to the Guardia Civil, by an 84-year-old man, who claimed that after a gas inspection he was left €3,000 short - this was money he had been saving in order to buy a hearing aid. Police rapidly identified and arrested the two individuals who made the visits as well as the woman who would make the preliminary phone calls and the appointments. Investigations into the matter are ongoing as the police suspect that there are a lot of victims who have not yet spoken up about the matter. All three are out on bail until their case goes to court.

They regularly use the social networks to inform the public about crimes ranging from drug dealing to paedophilia and have an open communication policy on their Twitter account (@policia_benalm). They tend to shy away from using institutional language and communicate in the same manner as the rest of the users of the social networks. #avoid accidents - grab a cab is one of their usual Saturday night reminders to the general public to avoid drink driving. Benalmadena Local Police opened their Twitter account last year in April principally to send out press notes and official information but they soon realised that the system had enormous possibilities and started to send out messages about cyber bullying and domestic violence, as well as the usual warnings not to drive drunk. Because they are a local force they can send messages which directly relate to the residents of the municipality on local matters like which roads are fluid, where there may be any problems around the town or if there may be a wave of pick pocketing going on.

Police headquarters in the town commented that the decision to use the social networking site, which is not used by any of the other Local Police forces in the area - not even in the capital, was not an easy one as there are many ‘trolls’ online who can hack into an account and ruin it. They decided to take the risk anyway as they thought it would heighten their profile with the public, which it has done, and help them to improve their image of helping the community rather than just handing out parking tickets. In other Costa del Sol policing news, the Malaga police force are ageing, with no replacements in sight. Currently, the average age of a local police officer in Malaga is 45. Malaga Council is said to be concerned about the ageing force as, due to cutbacks, there has been no ‘new blood’ since the recession started. Although the council is aware of the problem, they have stated that they are not going to do anything about it for the moment as they do not have the budget to remedy the generational handover needed. The number of police officers on the roster in 2003 was 980, but the force now has only 924 officers. Of these 924, 40 per cent are over the age of 45 and another 130 have had to be given light duties due to physical problems.

Due to the budget cuts the council has decided to ‘in the short term’ open up another 30 places, the same as they did when a similar problem happened with the fire brigade in 2008. Francisco de la Torre, mayor of Malaga, has commented that even though experience is a good thing in a police officer, there is a need for a younger generation to take over in order to bring the average age down. He underscored the fact that all police officers over the age of 50 are given light duties unless they can pass a stringent, yearly, physical test.

'It was like Pompeii': British family recount moment they were forced to evacuate Spanish holiday apartment as raging forest fire sent hot ash raining down on them Family arrived at resort and were unpacking when they were forced to flee Clarks were alerted when Spanish porter looked up at hillside and swore Hot ash rained down and smoke obliterated the sun Eight-year-old Isla screamed that the family was going to die

THE Costa del Sol hospital has announced that it will be closing three operating rooms in the afternoons in July and four in August. Ana Corredera, spokesperson for the PP health department, commented that the works being done to expand the hospital have also been blocked for more than two years. Corredera went on to underscore the fact that there would be no reduction in the number of beds available during the summer but that, due to the reduced budget this year, the summer reinforcements, brought in to cover the four-fold increase of the population, would be “minimal.” The PP spokesperson added that, in her party’s opinion, the delays in the expansion were due to bad local government by the PSOE.

Costa Del Nightmares (4×60’), which wrapped filming in Spain last week, has been pre-sold in 110 territories, including BBC Global (Africa, Poland, Asia), FX (India), Planet TV (Slovenia), SIC (Portugal), TV Joj (Slovakia), ABS (Philippines) and VTM (Belgium). The show follows Ramsay as he tries to help expat Brits living on the Costa Del Sol to turn around their struggling eateries

MARBELLA taxi drivers have warned the council about the rising growth of the pirate taxi industry and are threatening a strike if something is not done about it. More than 150 cars stopped outside the fairgrounds for two hours to protest the situation about the amount of unauthorised vehicles which abound every summer in the town. “There are around 40 private individuals and companies endangering the livelihoods of the 316 legal taxi drivers in Marbella,” commented one driver at the two-hour protest. David Piquer, spokesperson for the taxi association of Marbella commented that this situation repeated itself every summer and the association was now asking for a sit down with the mayor in order to discuss the situation and find a remedy that would work for everybody. “We just want to be listened to and have our petitions taken into account by the council,” added Piquer. The petition, which summarises the association’s concerns along with the licence number plates of the rogue cars and photographs of their drivers, has been handed in to the council. One of the main bones of contention between the taxi association and the council is the Puerto Banus area which, according to one demonstrator, the police know about but have not taken any action on.

Libyans are stunned after two days of fighting between rival militias leaves the country's main international airport out of action. At least eight people have died in the clashes and 12 planes were damaged. The airport remains in the hands of the Zintan militia which has controlled it since Muammar Gaddafi was ousted. The government has been unable to disarm the numerous armed groups that took part in the 2011 uprising and which have divided the country.

The authorities in Spain have taken down a criminal operation involved in the diversion and possible counterfeiting of medicines that were acquired cheaply in Spain and sold on to pharmacies Denmark, the UK and Belgium with a three- to four-fold mark-up, according to a report in El Pais. The Spanish pharmacies received a commission of around 10 per cent for their part in the trade, says the newspaper, which notes the two people have been arrested and 13 others indicted on a number of charges including money laundering. The gang operated out of a warehouse in Valencia, where 12,000 packs of medicines including drugs for Parkinson's disease, epilepsy and childhood leukaemia and €163,000 in cash were discovered by the authorities. A spokesman for the Spanish police said the medicines found were considered counterfeit because their origin and the conditions in which they were stored are unknown.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned against increasing childhood obesity rates in countries around the world. “Our children are getting fatter.” said Director General of WHO Margaret Chan at the United Nations. The problem of obesity has increased in the last 30 years, she said. “Certain practices in the food industry especially regarding unhealthy food and soft drinks for children play a crucial role,” she added. Chan complained about healthy food being: “Unaffordable in many areas of the developing world. Unfortunately, unhealthy food is usually cheaper than healthy options,” she added. Director of the Obesity Institute (IOB) Adelardo Caballero said: “Spain is the country with the highest obesity rates in Europe.” Child obesity rates in Spain have increased from 30 per cent to 65 per cent, he said. Researchers said that in 95 per cent of the cases child obesity is the result of predisposition, genes and the environment. Lack of physical activity and food also play a crucial role, and Caballero said that children in southern European countries, especially in Portugal and Spain, are more prone to obesity, despite the famous Mediterranean diet.

A Roma woman speaks about the hardships faced in camp in Grigny, France, with her back to the camera, fearing identification, during an interview with the Associated Press in Voluntari, outside Bucharest, Romania, on June 25, 2014. One of the inhabitants of the Grigny Roma camp on the northwest edge of Paris, a teenage boy named Darius, was beaten into a coma, apparently by residents of a neighboring housing project. Within hours, the Roma vanished, seeking sanctuary in a new location on the fringes of one of the world's wealthiest cities. Three weeks later, 16-year-old Darius remains unconscious. His family is in hiding. Police have made no arrests. France is coming under increasing pressure to answer allegations that it is encouraging harassment of Europe's poorest minority group in hopes that the Roma, also known as Gypsies, will leave the country. Photo: Vadim Ghirda, AP

Travellers are being advised to power up electronic devices in hand luggage as part of new security measures introduced at UK airports.

The move comes as the US stepped up its airport security, although the Department for Transport (DfT) said there was "no change to the UK threat level, which remains at substantial" - the third of five possible threat levels. So what has changed and what will it mean for passengers? What are the new restrictions on charging devices in your hand luggage? Passengers passing through airport security will have to prove their electronic devices are powered up by switching them on.

What gadgets are included? As well as mobile phones and laptops, the DfT guidance includes devices such as electrical shavers, hair-straighteners and cameras or any other camera equipment. No complete list has been provided but the general advice applies anything "with a battery", so other items such as handheld games consoles and e-readers could also be checked. What will happen if my device cannot be switched on? The government guidelines say passengers carrying devices which they cannot switch on "face not being allowed to bring the device onto the aircraft". Passengers would then have to choose between charging the device if possible, leaving it behind (see below) or not getting on their flight. What will happen if I leave an electronic device? Some airlines have outlined ways customers can get their devices back. British Airways said passengers could either keep devices at airports for customers to collect or have them forwarded to another address, at the airline's expense.

Virgin Atlantic has said likewise. EasyJet said it was seeking clarification from the government on the new regulations and had not, so far, issued any specific instructions to passengers. Can I charge my device at the airport? To avoid the risk of missing your flight or having your device taken away, make sure it is fully charged and check that the airport you are travelling from has a charging point. If for any reason you have a device with a flat battery, charging points are available near security in most airports - so if you have enough time before your flight you should be able to charge it up.

Shocking footage has emerged from notorious holiday resort Magaluf of a female tourist giving oral sex to more than 20 men – for a £2.30 (€3) bottle of Cava.

The young woman, who is believed to be British, is goaded on by onlookers and even the club’s DJ in the video, as she performs sex acts on the dancefloor.

Young men surrounding her go head-to-head for a piece of the action, with many of them pulling down their shorts in expectation.

Reece Martini, who originally posted the video on Facebook, said he couldn’t believe the response he got as the video instantly went viral.

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Morocco's Interior Ministry says it has dismantled a cell recruiting Moroccans to fight for extremist groups in Iraq and Syria. Wednesday's statement said six men were arrested in the central city of Fez, including one who had previously been detained under the terrorism law. While Morocco has been largely spared the terrorist attacks striking elsewhere in North Africa, police frequently report dismantling cells sending fighters to hotspots like Mali and Syria. The statement warned that many of the fighters hope to return after being trained, to carry out attacks in Morocco. Police say 900 Moroccans are fighting in Syria and 100 have been arrested upon their return. Other recruitment cells were dismantled last May in the Spanish enclave of Melilla and in Fez.

Two men captured in a joint operation by Gibraltar police and the Guardia Civil have been sentenced in court with a series of offences. In a rare instance of cross-border co-operation both forces worked together to capture a suspected drug smuggling operation. Spanish authorities requested help intercepting a suspicious vessel, 10 metre long and powered by twin 250 horsepower outboard engines, heading towards Europa Point. The Guardia Civil had challenged the high performance sports vessel off the coast of Morocco and suspected that bales of cannabis resin had been thrown overboard. A Gibraltar police vessel then intercepted the boat in British waters off Eastern Beach.

A MAN, who threw British man Stephen Mallon to his death in Competa in 2009, has been sentenced to three years in prison. Jose Jimenez Martin, 28, was convicted of manslaughter sparing him a 15-year sentence for murder. Mallon, 49, died after being beaten and pushed off a four-metre high ledge by a group of up to 40 men in a fight. Jimenez has also been ordered to pay €120,000 to Mr. Mallon’s widow, and €90,000 each to his three children.

Marbella has steadily climbed the tourism rankings and is now one of Europe’s top holiday spots – and has of course become a celebrity magnet, attracting everyone from Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly to Princess Diana and the Goldsmiths - to more recently, Roman Abramovich and Michelle Obama and of course we have to mention the cast of The Only Way is Essex (TOWIE) – from where the phrase “[no carbs before] Marbs” originated. TripAdvisor rated the resort among one of the ten best destinations in Spain this year and Marbella is one of the only two Spanish resorts nominated for best European beach destination in the 2014 World Travel Awards. Confirming its popularity, winter tourism was the busiest for several years and Easter visitors reached figures not seen since 2007. On the back of the huge influx of tourists so far this year, city businesses are expecting the best summer on record. But Marbella isn’t just about holidays – it’s also one of the most popular places in Spain for relocation. Nearly 40,000 of the 142,000 inhabitants are foreigners (from 137 different nationalities with a British majority) and this number gets bigger every year. What has this southern Spanish resort got that makes it so popular? Top of everyone’s list has to be the weather – 320 plus days of sunshine a year appeal to anyone – and of course, the outdoor lifestyle that goes with it. But there’s much more to Marbella than just a great climate. Plenty to do is another attraction and importantly for residents, this happens all year round. “It’s the only resort city on the Mediterranean with a true 12-month season where they don’t roll up the sidewalks in the winter,” says Christopher Clover of Panorama (panorama.es), Savills’ new associate. Bar the beach clubs, you’ll find practically everything in Marbella open all year. And for everything, read one of Spain’s largest shopping centres, 15 golf courses, four marinas, over 600 restaurants (three with Michelin stars to their name), numerous clinics and hospitals, 10 international schools, 16 miles of beaches…

THOUSANDS of homes could be at risk of demolition for being illegally built. Malaga provincial government has calculated that there are more than 90,000 homes in Andalucia that are incorrectly registered or that could not be registered due to being built illegally on land which was not for construction purposes. Mayors from 10 of Malaga’s municipalities, among them Marbella and Fuengirola, have been given a list of buildings which should not have been built. It is now up to each individual council to decide what to do about the situation. Just in the province of Malaga there are 3,101 constructions which may be deemed illegal and knocked down, as happened to the pictured house in the Andalucian town of Cantoria. Elias bendodo, president of the Diputacion, commented that there were a lot more than he was expecting but added that many of them, up to 80 per cent in his opinion, could be “regularised” and would only have to pay a fine instead of being knocked down. Others, commented Bendodo, were on land that was too close to the beach or in contrast with planning regulations and would have to go altogether. Bendodo promised that each case would be studied individually by the councils and a decision would be reached with the help of the Diputacion.

After her brother was proclaimed king, a Spanish judge upheld fraud and money-laundering charges against Princess Cristina on Wednesday, paving the way for a historic trial that could further damage the royal family's reputation. If convicted, Infanta Cristina could face 11 years behind bars. She and her husband, Iñaki Urdangarin, have been under investigation for years on suspicion of embezzling public money through charitable foundations they ran. Cristina testified before a judge on the Spanish island of Mallorca in February. CAPTION Spain's new king Andres Kudacki / Associated Press King Felipe VI waves as the royal family arrives at parliament in Madrid. With the king are Queen Letizia and princesses Leonor, bottom left, and Sofia. At far left is Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. CAPTION Spain's new king Christopher Furlong / Getty Images Supporters of the new king show their colors in Madrid. CAPTION Spain's new king Christopher Furlong / Getty Images Wellwishers gather at the Royal Palace in Madrid. CAPTION Spain's new king Gerard Julien / AFP/ Getty Images King Juan Carlos and Crown Prince Felipe talk at the Royal Palace in Madrid during enactment of a law bringing about Juan Carlos' abdication. CAPTION Spain's new king Christopher Furlong / Getty Images Wellwishers gather at the Royal Palace in Madrid before the new king's official swearing-in ceremony. On Wednesday, that same court formalized charges of money laundering and tax fraud against the princess and nine other counts against her husband, and recommended they go on trial. Lawyers for the couple can still appeal those charges. No trial date has been set. Cristina, 49, is one of King Felipe VI's two older sisters. She was conspicuously absent last week from the ceremonies celebrating her brother's formal accession to the throne that their father, Juan Carlos, occupied for nearly four decades. lRelated EUROPE Felipe VI proclaimed king of Spain in a no-frills ceremony SEE ALL RELATED 8 Last year, Cristina was cut from the royal household's budget, and any mention of her husband was removed from the Royal Palace's website. The couple lives in Geneva with their four children. Cristina remains sixth in line to the Spanish throne. Any trial is likely to add to the negative publicity surrounding the royal family, which has been hit by scandals that have tarnished its image. Polls show that more than half of Spaniards say they are in favor of a referendum on whether to scrap the monarchy and become a republic. Related story: Princess testifies in first criminal case against Spanish royalty Lauren Frayer

Servicios de Aeropuertos Bollivianos SA (Sabsa) is a division of Spain's Abertis Infraestructure SA but Sabsa is also partly owned by Aena Aeropuertos SA based in Madrid. Bolivian president Evo Morales said that the privatization of Sabsa in 1997 was equivalent to "robbery" and "looting". He claimed that since that time the company's profits have been exorbitant and investments "ridiculous".

Spain's property market crash claimed another victim on Tuesday, as real estate company Reyal Urbis filed for insolvency after failing to renegotiate debt with its creditors.

The move takes the property developer, which had 3.6 billion euros ($4.8 billion) of debt at the end of September, closer to becoming Spain's second-largest bankruptcy after Martinsa Fadesa, which defaulted on 7 billion euros of debt in 2008.

Dozens of property companies have collapsed in Spain, where house prices have fallen around 40 percent since their 2007 peak. With the country locked in a deep recession, analysts expect prices to fall further still.

Spain's banks were crippled by the property market bust, eventually requiring the state to agree a European bailout for its lenders of almost 40 billion euros last year. Indebted property firms have asked banks for debt relief but patience is wearing thin among lenders saddled with soured property assets.

Reyal Urbis is 70 percent owned by construction magnate Rafael Santamaria and its creditors include Santander, BBVA, Bankia and Banco Popular.

The company, which valued its property portfolio at 4.2 billion euros in June 2012, said it would continue to operate as permitted by Spanish insolvency laws.

Its insolvency petition now goes to court and its fate will be in the hands of a judge.

Reyal Urbis said Santamaria would remain at the helm of the company and he still hoped Reyal Urbis could reach a deal with its creditors, given "the good will of all negotiating parties".

The company had until Feb. 23 to reach a debt restructuring deal with the banks or file for insolvency. Sources close to the matter told Reuters on Friday that creditors had rejected the company's 3.6-billion-euro proposal.

Trading in the company's shares was suspended on Tuesday, Spain's stock market regulator said. The stock had plunged 99 percent since June 2007 to close at 0.124 euros on Monday.

At the end of 2011, Reyal Urbis owned some 888 finished homes in a country where over a million homes lie empty. The company also had 8 million square metres of land for development and 237,000 square metres of commercial property, including offices, shopping centres, industrial property and hotels.

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