A tiny "message in a bottle" turns up on Fuengirola beach

So this morning, my dog Nina and I were strolling on the beach in Los Boliches, Fuengirola and we found a tiny little bottle which contained not only a message, but also a ship in full sail... the message was in German, but has since been translated.... and it turns out a woman is looking for her ideal soul mate...

Read all about it...

Supersol gives us this day our daily bread (for free)

In an initiative aimed at reducing the burden of the current financial crisis, the Supersol supermarket chain will be offering customers vouchers for two free loaves of bread when they have more than €15 of shopping in their basket at check out.

As long as the customers keep their receipt as proof of purchase and as a voucher, they will be able to claim their free loaves of bread from the day after they shop at the supermarket.

Reportedly this is the second promotion of this nature by Supersol.  They previously gave away free bread to customers visiting the store on  Mondays.  During that campaign, over 39,000 loaves of bread were handed out for free over the entire 200 stores in the supermarket chain located in Almería, Avila, Cáceres, Cádiz, Ceuta, Granada, Guadalajara, Huelva, Madrid, Málaga, Melilla, Sevilla and Toledo.

Source

Belgian man arrested for beheading partner & killing step-daughter

A Belgian man has been detained by the Civil Guard in southern Spain, on suspicion of decapitating his partner and also of killing his nine-year-old step-daughter.

The 51-year-old Belgian woman and her nine-year-old daughter from a previous marriage were found dead in their luxury holiday property at the Sotogrande Alto, San Roque (Cádiz) on Wednesday.

The Belgian man was found by police, wandering around in a nearby street with a neck wound, yesterday morning.

Reportedly the couple, together with the woman's daughter, were renting the property as a holiday home. It is thought that they were murdered on Tuesday night, but their bodies were only discovered by the landlord on Wednesday morning.

The family were supposed to be leaving the holiday home on Wednesday and it was when the owner went to the property to collect the keys that he made the gruesome discovery.

While experts still have to determine the exact causes of death, post mortem examinations so far show that the woman was beheaded, while the girl died of strangulation with a rope or cable.

Police have cordoned off the property as investigations continue and the suspect is due in court on Friday morning.

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Pontevedra firm seeks boy to grant his Christmas wish

A Spanish consultancy firm called Serga recently received a puzzling letter. It was addressed to "Santa Claus, North Pole, n. 1" but mysteriously ended up in their mailbox.

It seems the letter took three months to be delivered, too, as when they opened the envelope they discovered a Christmas wishlist written by a young boy, unknown to anyone in the company.

The letter read:

"Dear Santa," 

"I'm Nano Fariña and I would like to ask you for this present. Bye."

Underneath the text of the letter was a picture cut from a magazine of a tablet for children.

But that wasn't all, on the next page of a letter was a postscript from Nano:

"Dear Santa, I forgot to also ask you for a Snow White game. Kisses"

It turns out that the letter to Santa ended up in Serga's offices in Pontevedra, Galicia because the young boy had been environment conscious and had reused an envelope which happened to have the company's logo and address printed on it.

Santiago Mariño, a consultant with Serga told The Local that the whole thing took him back 35 years and put a great, big smile on his face.

While the company has no idea who Nano is, they decided to make the story public so that they can find the boy and grant him his wish.

So if anyone out there knows Nano Fariña, tell him to get in touch with Santiago Mariño of Serga in Pontevedra.  Who needs Santa when there are kind people out there.

Spanish Source: La Voz de Pontevedra

Leash & other animal protection laws to be imposed in Barcelona

New proposed regulations have been introduced by the Barcelona City Council to both enforce leash laws on dog owners, as well as to prevent pet owners for leaving their animals alone at home for lengthy periods.

Not only this, but there will be new regulations whereby people will be fined for feeding pigeons, or leaving food in the streets for stray cats.

Under current laws, dog owners can allow their dogs to walk loose on the street, as long as they are in the company of their owner and well-behaved.

According to a senior councilor in the Barcelona City Council, Jordi Martí, there is always someone who spoils things for everyone, saying, “The majority of people who have dogs are civilized but there is a minority who are uncivilized.”

Martí went on to explain that the changes to the existing 2003 ordinance will both “improve coexistence” and “protect animals.”

New time frames are to be introduced as to how long cats and dogs can be left at home alone.  With dogs, the animals will not be able to be left unattended for more than 12 hours.  Cats, being a little more independent, cannot be left on their own for more than three days.

“This is the 21st century, not the 19th century,” Martí said.

Other regulations included under the new law will prevent Barcelona residents from raising animals in their homes for profit and to stop them feeding wild animals in public areas.  Reportedly only those recognized by City Hall will be able to feed certain animals.

Another stipulation to be added is that people who wish to purchase or adopt a pet, must sign a document stating that they have never mistreated an animal.  Should they lie, the pet owner can then be charged with a felony.

Yet another regulation will prevent residents from keeping horses or pet monkeys within the city limits.

El Pais reports that according to the Barcelona City Council, there are an estimated 120,000 dogs in the city, but only 30,000 are legally registered.

Above photo is courtesy Ángel Rollón from Madrid
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These pigeons in Barcelona will no longer be so fortunate:

 

Aged high: Pensioners in trouble for lacing cake with marijuana

A couple of pensioners, one aged 78 years and the other 67, are in trouble with the police after serving up a homemade cake laced with marijuana.

They gathered with a group of unsuspecting friends in their usual pub, located in the town of Arta, to share a tasty homemade treat known as "coca casera", a cake of Catalan origins.

What their friends didn't know was that the two chefs had used cannabis in the preparation of the cake.  Three of them required medical treatment after eating their share of the treat. One of the people who had to visit the hospital was the owner of the bar, and the other two were among the group of pensioner friends.

Apparently its not the first time the friends have used cannabis in food for their own consumption, but up until now there have been no problems. This time, according to El Mundo, the pair will be facing charges, accused of committing a crime against public health, after "adulterating food with substances harmful to health."

Immigrant found in suitcase by Spanish Civil Guard

It happened on the Melilla border in northern Africa.  Spain's Civil Guard found an illegal immigrant, tucked away in a suitcase.  

According to a spokesman, "He was not a small man", but he certainly appears to be agile - see the video at the end of this article.

It happened on Friday at 2:30 p.m..  A Civil Guard officer was watching, with great interest, as a Moroccan man dragged a huge and obviously heavy suitcase through the checkpoint at Beni Enzar.  This checkpoint separates Morocco from the Spanish exclave of Melilla.

As the man was obviously having great difficult managing the heavy burden, the officer decided to take a closer look. According to sources at the Civil Guard, “He called out to him several times to inspect the bag but the man did not pay any attention.”

As the officer continued to challenge the man, he panicked, dropped the suitcase and ran into Spanish territory.

On opening the suitcase, the Civil Guard officer discovered that the "luggage" was actually a 19-year-old sub-Saharan immigrant, trying to get into Europe illegally.

The spokesman for the Civil Guard, Juan Antonio Martín Rivera, said, “He was tall, thin and with a considerable physique. We’re not talking about a small person here.”

Rivera added that other border agents gave chase and apprehended the 39-year-old, suitcase bearing, Moroccan man 150 meters from the checkpoint.

El Pais reports that according to the spokesman, the boy was actually a victim in the incident, didn't need any medical assistance, and was then handed over to the National Police.  He was then transferred to a CETI temporary immigration holding center and appeared in court with the suitcase labeled as evidence in the matter.

The Moroccan man, who is a legal resident of Lleida in Catalonia, has been placed in custody on suspicion of a crime against the rights of foreign nationals.

According to Rivera a similar incident happened a couple of years ago, when they found an immigrant in the boot of a car, hidden inside a large bag.  He added that at first they thought they would find some kind of protected species of animal in the suitcase, but were surprised to find a young African man from Mali instead.

Spain alerts Europol over 'Trojan Horse' thieves (video)

The Spanish Civil Guard has warned Europol to be on alert about a new method of cargo theft which is occurring on roads across the European continent. It seems that as austerity spreads in Europe, ingenuity increases twofold.

The new criminal scheme has been dubbed the "Caballo de Troya" or “Trojan Horse” method, as thieves manage to gain entry to delivery trucks by hiding inside large wooden boxes, labeled “fragile.”

These wooden boxes (complete with thieves) are then collected by parcel delivery services. Once the delivery vehicle is underway, the thieves free themselves from their box and help themselves to the contents of the various other boxes contained in the truck. Contents may include phones, jewelry and electronics, among other products.

Once they have taken their fill, they contact their accomplices via cellphone. Their accomplices then track down the truck using a GPS device, or they may already be following the vehicle at a distance. The accomplices then simulate an accident, forcing the vehicle to stop. Once stopped, the thieves then escape via a hole they have already cut in the truck’s roof.

The last major arrest was made by the Spanish Civil Guard in December 2013, when seven criminals were arrested for crashing cars into shop windows in an effort to steal goods. In the process, these criminals were also busted for two “Trojan Horse” thefts, which were carried out on the motorways near Madrid.

The Spanish-language video included below shows the arrests back in December 2013, together with an animated explanation of how the “Trojan Horse” method actually works.

Now Europol has alerted police forces Europe-wide to the “Trojan Horse” threat, which is becoming an increasingly popular method of theft.