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Ten French nationals have been arrested. Photo: Keith Allison/Flickr

Man kidnapped by gang of French nationals rescued on Costa del Sol

Police in Spain said on Tuesday they freed a young Spaniard kidnapped and held for a ransom of €35,000 ($39,000) for six days in southern Spain, and arrested ten French nationals.

Some 40,000 Erasmus students come to Spain each year. Photo: Pedro Armestre / AFP

9 awesome reasons why you should spend your Erasmus year in Spain

It's a new school year and that means a whole new intake of Erasmus students will flood into Spain. Here's what makes Spain the most popular destination to study abroad.

Mariano Rajoy visited Angel Merkel in Berlin. Photo: Tobias Schwarz / AFP

Rajoy: 'We’re proud to be referred to as the Germans of the South'

The German Chancellor has applauded Rajoy for steering Spain towards economic recovery and chastised Catalonia over its independence drive.

The migrant was hidden under the car bonnet. Photo: Guardia Civil

Migrants discovered after being smuggled into Spain in car engine

Two migrants have been discovered hidden in secret compartments in a vehicle on the Moroccan-Spanish border.

Gallery

The villagers of Tejina showed off their home-made hats. Photo: Desiree Martin/AFP

In pics: Spain's wacky hat festival

Tenerife played host to one of Spain's more unusual festivals on Monday, when residents donned their wackiest hats for the annual Festival of the Pamela.

The explosion at a fireworks factory in Pinseque near Zaragoza. Photo: Isabel Mindan / AFP

Six people dead and six injured in explosion at fireworks factory

UPDATED: An explosion at a fireworks factory left six people dead and six seriously wounded on Monday in Zaragoza.

Football

The Manchester United goalie was tipped to head to Madrid. Photo: Emmanuel Dunand / AFP

De Gea transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid may be off

Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea's proposed transfer to Real Madrid appeared to be scuppered on Monday night as the move was not listed in the transfers registered by the Spanish Professional League.

Cycling

Kris Boeckmans will be kept in an induced coma after Saturday´s crash. Photo: AFP

Cyclist to remain in induced coma for a week after Tour of Spain crash

Belgian cyclist Kris Boeckmans will be kept in an induced coma for the next week due to the severe injuries he suffered when crashing in Spain's Vuelta, his Lotto Soudal team said on Monday.

The son and his wife are in custody. Photo of a National Police car / Wikimedia

Son arrested for starving 76-year-old mother to death in Tenerife

A man has been detained after his mother was discovered starved to death, and in a state of utter neglect, weighing just 25kgs.

The arrest of 'blood diamond' trafficker was hailed as a landmark. Archive photo: Issouf Sanogo / AFP

Spain arrests trafficker on Sierra Leone 'blood diamond' charges

Spanish authorities have arrested a Belgian-American man on charges of enslavement and diamond pillaging during Sierra Leone’s decade long civil war.

Features

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

Michelin-starred Indian chef opens up new restaurant 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

Thirteen mouthwateringly 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 museum scene gets a haute couture makeover

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 interesting facts you probably 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.

More News

The Local list

After nine years in London, Sam Cookney relocated to Barcelona but kept his job in London. Photo: Sam Cookney

Barcelona to London: Top tips from the world's most famous commuter

Priced out of London and looking for a better life-work balance, he decided to set up home in Barcelona and commute back and forth to his job in the British capital. Sam Cookney shares his top tips for a smooth commute.

The woman was asked to leave by a guard who saw her breastfeeding her baby. Archive photo: Hector Retamal / AFP.

Outrage after breastfeeding mother expelled from Granada tourist spot

A mother was asked to leave a historic tourist attraction in Granada because she was breastfeeding her infant in public, stirring up controversy with mothers' rights groups.

Catalan independence debate

Felipe González, the former socialist prime minister of Spain wrote an open letter to the Catalans. Photo: AFP

Message to Catalonia: ‘We are much better together,’ says ex-PM

Felipe González has urged Catalans to turn away from the path towards independence, likening the movement to the rise of fascism in Germany and Italy in the 1930s.

A firefighter works to extinguish the flames in Cualedro, Galicia. Photo: Pedro Armestre / AFP.

Wildfire rages in Galicia destroying more than 2,000 hectares of forest

A wildfire that ignited on Sunday has burned through more than 2,000 hectares of forest in region of Galicia, becoming what could be the biggest fire in the area this year.

The fatal goring brings the number to have died at bull running fiestas t o 12. Photo: AFP

Twelfth man dies in bull run fiesta after being gored through the heart

A man in his 60s died on Sunday after being gored in a bull run in Spain, bringing the total number of deaths to 12 this year, the deadliest in 15 years.

A picture taken by Spanish Guardia Civil shows jet skis parked after being seized by the police off the coast of Tarifa. Photo: AFP/Spanish Guardia Civil

15 arrested in Spain for smuggling migrants on jet skis from Morocco

Fifteen people were arrested this month in Spain for smuggling Moroccan migrants into the country on water scooters, authorities said on Saturday, terming it a "very dangerous practice."

Packs of hashish seized by the Spanish police in 2013. Photo: AFP/Handout Spanish police

Spanish police hunt for Moroccan hashish in the Strait of Gibraltar

Morocco has become the world’s top producer and exporter of hashish over the past decades and, with just 14 kilometres separating northern Morocco from Spain’s southern Andalucia region, Spanish police have their work cut to stem the flow of illegal drugs.

The star currently known as Mu Arae and author Miguel de Cervantes. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

Astronomers on Quixotic quest to immortalize Cervantes with a star

Some celebrities get the honour of having their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. But a group of Spanish astronomers have something more cosmic in mind for their own literary star.

Police arrive at the headquarters of CatDem in Barcelona. Photo: Josep Lago / AFP

Catalan ruling party hit by graft probe ahead of September election

An anti-corruption operation targeted Catalonia's ruling CDC party on Friday, tainting a separatist coalition that wants the wealthy region to secede from Spain if it wins a regional election next month.

Bilbao will host the Red Bull Extreme Cliff Diving Finale. Photo: Diego Jambrina / Flickr

What's on in Spain: Sept 2015

From Roman battle re-enactments, to music festivals to cliff diving, there are lots of great events happening in Spain this September.

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From our other editions:

www.austria.info

Six-year-old girl being sued for €38,000

A six-year-old girl is being sued by a woman for €38,000 for causing a skiing accident in Vorarlberg that left the adult with serious injuries.

Photo: Verein Street Parade, Zurich

One million throng Zurich techno party

Around one million people thronged the streets of a sun-drenched Zurich on Saturday to take part in the city's annual techno Street Parade, organizers said.

Screenshot: Daniel Schobloch/eBay

German gadget clamps down on Nutella thieves

For many, opening the cupboard to find someone else in your family or flatshare has finished the Nutella jar is the stuff of nightmares. But one man in Germany has come up with a way to help Nutella lovers protect their hoard from wandering spoons and fingers.

As of Tuesday, it will be possible to get one of these without giving up your current citizenship. Photo: Colourbox

Denmark officially ushers in dual citizenship

After years of lobbying by expat groups within Denmark and the organization Danes Worldwide, dual citizenship will finally become a reality on Tuesday.

Opinion - French schools

What must France do to fix its school system? Photo: AFP

Ten ways France must fix its 'failing' school system

As pupils head back to the classroom this week, Peter Gumbel, a Paris-based British journalist and author of a best-selling critique of the French school system, spells out for The Local how France must fix a national education system in crisis.

Mayor Arturo Cerulli converted to Islam 27 years ago. Photo: Arturo Cerulli

Muslim mayor refuses to take in refugees

UPDATED: A Muslim mayor in the Tuscan seaside community of Monte Argentario has provoked a political outcry for refusing to accept any refugees.

The Storskog border station between Norway and Russia. Photo: Cornelius Poppe/NTB scanpix

Syrians cross Norway's Arctic border on bicyles

More than 100 Syrian refugees have crossed the Arctic border into Norway from Russia on bicycles, exploiting a loophole in the country's border regulations.

The apartment is located in Stockholm's trendy Södermalm neighbourhood. Photo: Christine Olsson/TT

Swedes debate capital's first Airbnb rent ‘ban’

UPDATED: A landmark ruling banning a woman in Stockholm from renting out her apartment via the home-sharing website Airbnb after a rent tribunal likened the letting with running a "hotel business" on the premises has sparked debate in Sweden.

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