Spanish
golfer Pablo Larrazabal was forced to jump into a lake to escape a
swarm of hornets that attacked him at the Malaysian Open, and still
managed to card a 68. In fact, made a birdie and improved to two under
for the tournament.
Keep up to date with the European Tour at www. …
Undercover officers wearing hidden cameras will patrol the streets of
Colmenar Viejo (Madrid region) and take live footage of dogs doing their
business – and if the walker does not clear up the mess, they will be
fined up to 750 euros [$1030] based upon the evidence.
Cou …
Margarita Torres and José Ortega del Río have spent three years
researching the history of the chalice and, on Wednesday, presented in
León a co-written book, Los Reyes del Grial (The Kings of the Grail),
containing their findings.
The onyx chalice itself, …
Bacteria from baby poop can help make delicious sausages, which could
transform savory meats into health foods much like probiotic yogurts,
according to new research.
For millennia, cultures across the globe have relied on microbes to help
create a dazzling variety of foods an …
BARCELONA
- Spain cannot block a non-binding vote on Catalan independence that
could become the basis for negotiations on Catalonia's future, the
president of the north-eastern region said in an interview published on
Sunday.
"If I call a consultation, not to declare the inde …
London is about to get a taste of StreetXO food.
Hot off the addition of a third Michelin star to his extremely popular
Madrid dining room, DiverXO, restaurateur David Muñoz plans to open a
fast food eatery in London.
Muñoz, who says he cooks 'wildly...because, bas …
Genetic tests reveal that a hunter-gatherer who lived 7,000 years ago
had the unusual combination of dark skin and hair and blue eyes. It has
surprised scientists, who thought that the early inhabitants of Europe
were fair.
The research, led by the Institute of Evolutionary Bi …
The AWWA Sky Whale is a new concept in aviation from the mind of
industrial designer Oscar Viñals of Barcelona, Spain.
Viñal has envisioned a colossal cetacean-shaped aircraft with a system
of curves and conduits designed to reduce drag and get the three-story
'gre …
Last October Juan Andres Benitez Alvarez, the owner of two stores in the
city's LGBT-friendly Gayxample* district, died while in police custody.
Today prosecutors asked for eight members of the Catalan regional
police force, Los Mossos d’Esquadra, to be charged with murder …
A group of friends who stole a road sign from the Spanish village of
Villapene, or 'Penisville', and then used it as a prop in a joke wedding
photo have apologized and returned it to disgruntled locals.
The theft came to light after a group of young people in the village in
Sp …
On the train, in the park, on the famed medieval Plaza Mayor — the
Spanish capital of Madrid is famous for its street performers.
And with more than a quarter of Spaniards out of work, more people than
ever before have been crisscrossing the city with their violins and v …
The annual festival of Els Enfarinats takes place in the town of Ibi in
Alicante, Spain on December 28,[1] as part of celebrations related to
the Day of the Innocents [the Spanish equivalent of April Fool's Day].
In the day long festival, participants known as the Els Enfarinats …
A husband, wife and their 14 year-old daughter have died of food
poisoning in the Spanish town of Alcala de Guadaira, a suburb of
Seville. The probable cause was a meal consisting of donated items eaten
on Friday night at the family's home. A 13 year-old girl was also taken
ill …
Police strongly suspect the man was drunk.
A dramatic high-speed pursuit through the streets of Valencia, Spain
ended up with two police cars destroyed by a fleeing suspect. During the
incident one officer barely avoided being run over by the escaping
vehicle.
The …
In a paper in the journal Nature, scientists reported Wednesday that
they had retrieved ancient human DNA from a fossil dating back about
400,000 years, shattering the previous record of 100,000 years.
The fossil, a thigh bone found in Spain, had previously seemed to many
expe …
Women going topless in the Spanish parliament is not a serious breach of
the peace.
That is what Judge Ramiro Garcia de Dios Ferreiro declared in his order
to release activists who were arrested in Madrid yesterday after they
caused a bit of a scene in the Congress of Deputies.
…
A man from Spain who had hiked up to western Norway’s famed high
mountain plateau known as “Preikestolen” (The Pulpit Rock) disappeared
off its steep side while taking photos Tuesday afternoon. His body was
found Wednesday, after he’d plunged to his deat …
Judge Javier Albar was asked to decide whether a driving school in
Zaragoza was discriminatory for offering male learners a cheaper deal on
a course of driving lessons that their female counterparts.
The offer, made in November 2011, advertised a deal where for 665 euros
male …
Buyers were aware they were getting custom made fakes.
Spanish Police have closed two workshops where autos were transformed
into phony luxury cars, such as Ferrari and Aston Martin, and then sold
through two websites for about 40,000 euros ($50,000) a piece. A real
Ferrari wou …
Police in Madrid have arrested a 30 year-old man as a suspect in the
near-fatal shooting of an 11 year-old playing near his home.
According to the the El Mundo newspaper, the man allegedly shot the boy
from his apartment window because the noisy child was preventing him
from sle …
Barcelona police have arrested a man and a woman accused of defrauding
seven luxury accommodations in different cities across northern Spain of
31,500 euros ($42,000 USD).
According to the El Periodico newspaper, the Polish couple, who were
traveling with their t …
Sol, is the Spanish word for sun. Could there be a better name for the
most important square in Spain's capital. The square, where Puerta del
Sol, or the sun gate in the old city wall, once stood, marks Spain's
geographic center. From this ground zero, the national roads lead o …
Scam artist 'robbed' more than 11,000 users by sending them over eight
million advertising messages – which they paid to receive.
A fictitious smartphone application dubbed 'WhatsAppSpy' was too
tempting to resist for thousands of people who got stung in one of the
latest …
In a recent court case in France, judges heard how a naturist enjoying a
naked hike in the woods dived for cover in the bushes when he
unexpectedly walked into the path of a mother and her son. Despite the
risks he took to conceal himself, he was reported to the police by the
m …
That's essentially what organizers of 'El Gordo,' Spain's annual
Christmas lottery, decided to do to promote ticket sales this year.
In a commercial that has been playing non-stop for the past month, and
which has become a laughing stock across the country, singers Marta…
Believe it or not, Pope Francis has been honored by being depicted with
his pants down (or in his case, robe up) taking a dump.
It's all part of the long-standing 'caganer' ('crapper') tradition in
Barcelona and the Spanish region of Catalonia, as well as in Valencia,
the…
A 55-year-old Spanish cook is behind bars
on suspicion of poisoning the food of at least 21 of his coworkers,
possibly resulting in the death of one. His actions paint a perverse
picture of betrayal, meticulously dosed out in secret over many years.
The city of Gijon is a lovely seaside resort in the region of Asturias
in the north of Spain. Famous for its warmth and hospitality, it is a
festive place with a rich history and an equally rich cuisine. Food here
is typically accompanied by some of the local alcoholic cider, known in
Spanish as sidra, and restaurants specializing in Asturian food and
cider are called sidrerias.
Tino Comeron and Chelo Toyos opened
El Lavaderu sidreria 14 years ago. Like many of the sidrerias in the
region, it has imposing stone walls, sturdy wooden beams, large wooden
tables and hefty wooden barrels to store the cider in. It was a
prosperous business that kept growing to meet demand.
In 2004
Tino and Chelo decided they needed an assistant chef. They hired Andres
Avelino, a family acquaintance of Chelo, who had run a bar before and
who owned a tiny store of his own in a neighboring town. 'A very nice
man, always willing to do favors,' Chelo recently recalled.
Andres also had a friend named Eva who worked in the kitchen at El Lavaderu. “They were old friends, for over 20 years,” waiter Gustavo Vera, 35,
told the El Pais newspaper. His co-worker Benjamin Menendez agreed:
“They went out for a drink, dinner...always together.” Vity Mancha who
worked there for three years as extra help said: “They went on holiday
abroad...together.” A Mediterranean cruise, Paris, Vienna, Thailand...
In 2006 business was still thriving at El Lavaderu, but something else
began to go wrong. Alberto, the head chef, who had what has been
described as a great relationship with Andres, became mysteriously ill.
His skin reddened, he had trouble breathing, and he had vomiting spells.
He kept getting worse and worse, but no cause could be found. He ended
up taking a leave of absence and returning to his home town. After that,
others began to have similar symptoms: kitchen staff, waiters, the
owners... “We thought it was an allergy,” Chelo said. Almost everyone was ill. Only Andres and Eva seemed unaffected.
The same chronic health problems continued. Then, in May 2011, Andres
and Juan Gil, the chef at the time, were working in the kitchen, when
Juan collapsed to the floor, an apparent victim of a heart attack.
People say Andres appeared distraught and cried his eyes out at the
funeral.
In January 2012, Tino and Chelo sold the restaurant.
Eight months later the new owner, Juan Luis Alfonso, took sick. He
decided all of this was too strange and contacted the police about the
mystery illness he and so many of his staff suffered from. He gave them
the names of 14 people he knew had been affected – later the names of
former employees were added to the list, bringing the total to 21.
He explained that when anyone took time off from work, they stopped
having symptoms. No itching, no dizziness, no vomiting. On sick leave,
vacation, or a few days off, they began to feel as good as new. All were
cured, as if by magic, of the strange disease. When they returned to
work, the symptoms soon returned.
He also told the police that
some of the waiters had become suspicious of the assistant chef. One
thing they all had in common was that Andres prepared a sandwich for
them daily – and they claimed he always made sure they ate it.
As the staff began to connect the dots, they realized that the symptoms
began when they drank anything
alcoholic, whether a sip of cider or mug
of beer. And there was something about the timing, too. It was not
simply when they drank alcohol that they felt ill, but when they drank
it after eating something Andres had given them. The police asked that
they keep an eye on him and make sure that no one, customer or
colleague, ate or drank anything he prepared.
One day a
co-worker spying on Andres saw him take out a little vial of liquid and
pour it into a cup of coffee he was making for someone. Juan Luis
Alfonso provided it to the police for testing. The result left no doubt
that it contained a dangerous substance – calcium cyanamide, a drug used
in the treatment of alcoholism. A clear liquid that has no flavor, this
medication can cause drowsiness, dizziness, vomiting, skin irritation,
tachycardia, hypertension, multiple organ failure and even death. obtained the medicine from a pharmacy near his place of work. Something he did often and in large quantities, according to the police investigation.
It turned out Andres, who reportedly drank profusely each night, was under treatment for alcoholism. He easily obtained the medicine from a pharmacy near his place of work. Something he did often and in large quantities, according to the police investigation.
Andres is now in jail awaiting trial on fourteen charges of attempted
homicide. That number is likely to increase. He has been declared sane,
but no one has put forth a motive for his crimes. Maybe it was just for
the pleasure of seeing others suffer.
Each of the victims
considered Andres a friend. He spent time with them, hugged them,
accompanied some of them to the doctor, knew their families, even had
the keys to some of their houses. “A normal fellow” – “affectionate” –
“nice” – “attentive,” are some of the terms used to describe the man
they thought they knew.
One thing is certain, however: almost no
one any longer believes that the cause of Juan Gil's death was natural,
although nothing can be proven since his unsuspecting family had his
body cremated. The one exception to the doubters is Eva, who
seems as immune to the suspicions about her friend as she was to the
strange epidemic that struck those around her. She continues to work in
the restaurant's kitchen, but reportedly refuses to talk about what
happened. People will have to wait until she takes the stand to hear
what she has to say about the relationship between the assistant chef
and the poison, the illness and the death at El Lavaderu.
In Lille France, a man originally from Santander Spain died in his home in 1997 and no one noticed until 2012. His remains were found in October 2012 and in December the city's authorities revealed who he was, how he died, and revealed a few other surprising facts, as well as several puzzling questions that remain unanswered.
Margarita Torres and José Ortega del Río have spent three years
researching the history of the chalice and, on Wednesday, presented in
León a co-written book, Los Reyes del Grial (The Kings of the Grail),
containing their findings.
The onyx chalice itself, …
Bacteria from baby poop can help make delicious sausages, which could
transform savory meats into health foods much like probiotic yogurts,
according to new research.
For millennia, cultures across the globe have relied on microbes to help
create a dazzling variety of foods an …
BARCELONA
- Spain cannot block a non-binding vote on Catalan independence that
could become the basis for negotiations on Catalonia's future, the
president of the north-eastern region said in an interview published on
Sunday.
"If I call a consultation, not to declare the inde …
London is about to get a taste of StreetXO food.
Hot off the addition of a third Michelin star to his extremely popular
Madrid dining room, DiverXO, restaurateur David Muñoz plans to open a
fast food eatery in London.
Muñoz, who says he cooks 'wildly...because, bas …
Genetic tests reveal that a hunter-gatherer who lived 7,000 years ago
had the unusual combination of dark skin and hair and blue eyes. It has
surprised scientists, who thought that the early inhabitants of Europe
were fair.
The research, led by the Institute of Evolutionary Bi …
Last October Juan Andres Benitez Alvarez, the owner of two stores in the
city's LGBT-friendly Gayxample* district, died while in police custody.
Today prosecutors asked for eight members of the Catalan regional
police force, Los Mossos d’Esquadra, to be charged with murder …
A group of friends who stole a road sign from the Spanish village of
Villapene, or 'Penisville', and then used it as a prop in a joke wedding
photo have apologized and returned it to disgruntled locals.
The theft came to light after a group of young people in the village in
Sp …
On the train, in the park, on the famed medieval Plaza Mayor — the
Spanish capital of Madrid is famous for its street performers.
And with more than a quarter of Spaniards out of work, more people than
ever before have been crisscrossing the city with their violins and v …
The annual festival of Els Enfarinats takes place in the town of Ibi in
Alicante, Spain on December 28,[1] as part of celebrations related to
the Day of the Innocents [the Spanish equivalent of April Fool's Day].
In the day long festival, participants known as the Els Enfarinats …
Police strongly suspect the man was drunk.
A dramatic high-speed pursuit through the streets of Valencia, Spain
ended up with two police cars destroyed by a fleeing suspect. During the
incident one officer barely avoided being run over by the escaping
vehicle.
The …
In a paper in the journal Nature, scientists reported Wednesday that
they had retrieved ancient human DNA from a fossil dating back about
400,000 years, shattering the previous record of 100,000 years.
The fossil, a thigh bone found in Spain, had previously seemed to many
expe …
Women going topless in the Spanish parliament is not a serious breach of
the peace.
That is what Judge Ramiro Garcia de Dios Ferreiro declared in his order
to release activists who were arrested in Madrid yesterday after they
caused a bit of a scene in the Congress of Deputies.
…
Judge Javier Albar was asked to decide whether a driving school in
Zaragoza was discriminatory for offering male learners a cheaper deal on
a course of driving lessons that their female counterparts.
The offer, made in November 2011, advertised a deal where for 665 euros
male …
Buyers were aware they were getting custom made fakes.
Spanish Police have closed two workshops where autos were transformed
into phony luxury cars, such as Ferrari and Aston Martin, and then sold
through two websites for about 40,000 euros ($50,000) a piece. A real
Ferrari wou …
Police in Madrid have arrested a 30 year-old man as a suspect in the
near-fatal shooting of an 11 year-old playing near his home.
According to the the El Mundo newspaper, the man allegedly shot the boy
from his apartment window because the noisy child was preventing him
from sle …
Barcelona police have arrested a man and a woman accused of defrauding
seven luxury accommodations in different cities across northern Spain of
31,500 euros ($42,000 USD).
According to the El Periodico newspaper, the Polish couple, who were
traveling with their t …
Scam artist 'robbed' more than 11,000 users by sending them over eight
million advertising messages – which they paid to receive.
A fictitious smartphone application dubbed 'WhatsAppSpy' was too
tempting to resist for thousands of people who got stung in one of the
latest …
In a recent court case in France, judges heard how a naturist enjoying a
naked hike in the woods dived for cover in the bushes when he
unexpectedly walked into the path of a mother and her son. Despite the
risks he took to conceal himself, he was reported to the police by the
m …
