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Forensics police inspected the crime scene on Saturday. Photo: Philippe Huguen/AFP

Train gunman known to Spanish intelligence

A suspected jihadist gunman overpowered by passengers on a packed Amsterdam-Paris train on Friday had visited Syria and was known to both French and Spanish intelligence services, officials said on Saturday.

A municipal employee carries out maintenance on a BiciMad public electric bikes share station. Photo: Gerard Julien / AFP

Madrid electrical bike share system takes off despite lack of cycle lanes

They allow you to climb the steepest streets of Madrid without sweating, even on sultry summer days: more than 50,000 residents of the Spanish capital have signed up for a public electric bike share system.

A wooden footbridge was one part of the first stage of the race circuit deemed too dangerous. Photo: José Jordan/AFP

Tour of Spain stage deemed too risky

Tour of Spain organisers announced Friday that Saturday's first stage of the Vuelta a España will not count towards the overall standings after criticism that the team time trial circuit was too dangerous.

There is even an art to tasting the grape itself. Photo: AFP

Grape Escape: Discovering the art of winemaking in the vineyards of La Rioja

There's more to wine than tasting it as Sophia Smith Galer discovered on a trip to the rustic vineyards of the Rioja region.

The Local list

Some things just don't come naturally to 'guiris'. photo: AFP

Seven habits you will never be able to truly master like a Spaniard

It doesn't matter how long you live here or how hard you try there are just some things that you will never be able to do as well as a Spaniard.

Data from extramarital dating website Ashley Madison shows which cities have the most adulterers. Pascal / Flickr

Hack reveals Madrid as one of the most adulterous cities in the world

Data from the hacking attack on affairs website Ashley Madison has revealed that Madrid is one of the cities in the world with the highest number of cheating spouses.

Benidorm town hall said it was "absolutely not" a shark attack. Photo:

Benidorm’s 'shark attack' becomes the butt of a million internet jokes

The alarmist overreaction to this week’s fish bite incident in Benidorm has seen Spaniards take to social media to mock those afraid to go back in the water.

Airbnb are tightening its security after an American man was allegedly assaulted in Madrid. Photo: hotcommodity/Flickr

Airbnb overhauls security following 'sex assault' on teenager in Madrid

The popular holiday-rental company told The Local it is re-evaluating its security measures after an American teen claimed he was assaulted by his host.

Ten kilos of the drug were found in capsules the size of olives. Photo: AFP

Police discover hashish smuggled into Spain disguised as olives

Spanish police have seized 1,284 hashish capsules hidden in jars of olives in the southern port of Algeciras.

Archive photo of Republican soldiers during the Civil War. Photo: STF / AFP

Secret files reveal British concern over Spanish Civil War Brigades

Declassified British files on high-profile Britons fighting in the Spanish Civil War, released on Friday, reveal that radicals returning from foreign wars have long been a cause for concern for security services.

Features

The two-michelin starred Atul Kochar will open Benares in Madrid. Photo: Benares

Michelin-starred Indian chef opens up in Madrid

He became the first Indian chef to earn a Michelin star and is widely regarded as one of the best chefs in London. The Local talks to Atul Kochhar as he prepares to launch his new restaurant Benares in Madrid.

The Local list

Pimientos de padron - like playing Russian Roulette with a spicy pepper. Photo: The Table Hopper / Flickr

13 delicious reasons to be a vegetarian in Spain

Long feared by vegetarians as the land of jamón, Spanish cuisine also boasts a host of delicious traditional alternatives. Foodie experts, Devour Spain, share their tips for the best vegetarian food in Spain.

Vogue Like a Painting merges high fashion with high art. Photo: Sara Houlison

Madrid's traditional art scene goes high fashion

Madrid’s museums are moving away from the traditional to embrace new artistic forms and the latest brings a touch of haute couture to the capital's celebrated art scene.

The Local list

Spain is the biggest exporter of wine in the world. Photo: LexnGer/Flickr

Ten facts you didn't know about Spanish wine

It was the Romans' favourite drink, a muse to Picasso and fell victim to the fascist regime of dicator Francisco Franco. Wine blogger Timmer Brown lifts the lid on everything you (probably) didn't know about Spanish vino.

My Spanish career

Maura Hillen is councillor for tourism and international relations

'Majority of expats treat Spain as a holiday camp'

The Local talks to Maura Hillen, president of the AUAN property rights association and now local councillor in Albox, southern Spain who thinks expats need to get more politically engaged.

More News

Video

The woman repeatedly swings the duck at the activist. Photo: Animal Rescue España

Animal rights activist beaten with live duck at festival in Catalonia

An animal rights activist was beaten with a duck by a Spanish woman defending one of the country's most bizarre and controversial festival traditions.

Travel

Spain has some amazing spots like Las Medulas gold mine. Photo: Jonathan Pincas/Flickr

Off the beaten track: Fourteen of the best kept travel secrets in Spain

Spain has so much to see off the beaten track so why not take the road less travelled and discover a few hidden gems?

Barcelona police removed the cardboard cutout

Barcelona police force fail to see the funny side of cardboard cutout cop

A cardboard cutout of a policeman decked out in riot gear has been removed from a central Barcelona square, after the Catalan police force failed to see the funny side of the joke.

The orginal work by Elias Garcia had deterioated before the botched restoration Photo: AFP

Pensioner turns priceless fresco into 'Monkey Jesus': The Opera

Three years after an octogenerian achieved worldwide notoriety when an attempt to spruce up a fresco of Christ went disastrously wrong, she is about to find renewed fame as the protagonist of an opera.

The woman is suspected of starting seven fires in Mijas, southern Spain. Photo: AFP

Twisted firestarter: Woman held for starting seven fires on Costa del Sol

A middle-aged woman from Madrid has been arrested on suspicion of starting at least seven fires around the popular tourist town of Mijas, southern Spain.

The coins were recovered 300 years after the ship sank off Florida. Photo: 1715 Fleet - Queens Jewels

Treasure hunters find $4.5m of Spanish gold from sunken galleon

Treasure hunters off Florida found $4.5 million in gold coins from a Spanish ship that sunk during a hurricane in the 18th century, the salvage company said Wednesday.

Carmelo Soria was murdered during the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet (pictured). Photo: AFP

Chile to try former secret police for 1976 murder of Spanish diplomat

Fifteen former members of Chile's dictatorship-era secret police must stand trial for the 1976 kidnapping and killing of a Spanish diplomat, the country's Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday.

Virginia Ruiz jumped in the ring to comfort a bull as he died. Photo: Change.org

Charity hails 'bravery' of an activist who comforted dying bull in ring

The word's largest animal rights group, Peta, on Wednesday hailed the "bravery" of a Spanish woman who jumped into a bullring to comfort a bull just before it was slaughtered.

Spain's right-wing slammed Madrid's mayor for her holiday choices. Photo: AFP

Hypocrite? What's the truth about left wing mayor's 'luxury' holiday?

The anti-austerity mayor of Madrid, Manuela Carmena, has come under fire from her right-wing rivals for "double standards" this week after enjoying a "luxury holiday". But what is the truth of the claim?

The Jewish-American musician has been re-invited to the Spanish festival. Photo: Tobias Schwarz/AFP

Festival overturns Jewish musician ban amid 'anti-Semitism' row

After dropping Jewish American rap star Matisyahu from the bill under pressure from a pro-Palestinian group, festival organisers reversed their decision after accusations of anti-semitism.

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From our other editions:

The Volksgarten. Photo: Negina Pirzad

Six ideas to make Vienna even more liveable

Vienna has come second in a list of the world’s most liveable cities, missing out on first place to Melbourne in Australia. Here are some ideas for how to do better next time.

Photo: Roland Fischer

Zurich cops won't report on criminals' ethnicity

Zurich communal authorities have instructed city police to stop releasing the nationality of criminals to the media to avoid stigmatization.

Photo: MMChicago / Flickr Creative Commons.

Courgette stew kills pensioner in Heidelberg

The widow of a 79-year-old man killed by a courgette stew in southern Germany this week has described the fatal meal that led to her husband's death.

Mads Mikkelsen. Photo: Nicolas Genin/WikiCommons

Mads Mikkelsen to enter Star Wars universe

Mads Mikkelsen will soon be trading out Denmark for a galaxy far, far away.

Police have said the deaths were likely accidental. Photo: Thomas/Flickr

Naked couple found dead beside French fortress

Police suspect a horrific lovemaking accident is to blame after a French couple were found dead at the bottom of a fortress wall on Thursday, both totally naked.

Experts are angry about the use of cement to reinforce the seven columns of the Temple of Peace. Photo: Romanus_Too

Italy slammed for 'faking' Roman ruin

An ambitious restoration of a 2000-year-old monument inside the Roman Forum has provoked furious debate among experts about whether Italy is taking the right steps to save its cultural treasures.

The bed with its Super Mario duvet covers and carpeted walls. Photo: Nowegian Police

Norway man built secret child's room in cellar

A Norwegian man who has been arrested on charges of attempting to abduct children had built a soundproof bedroom, filled with toys, in the cellar of his house.

Sweden Democrat leader Jimmie Åkesson. Photo: Henrik Montgomery/TT

Sweden’s nationalists lead polls for first time

UPDATED: More people support Jimmie Åkesson’s Sweden Democrats than any other political group in Sweden, according to a new poll which puts the nationalists in the lead for the first time in history.

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