Staff at an opticians in La Marina, in the Elche district, have been victims of a violent robbery after an organised group targeted the shop and stole eight pairs of sunglasses valued at around 2,000 euros. According to investigators, two women entered the premises to distract one of the employees, while two men went straight to a sunglasses display and took the items. When a worker realised what was happening and tried to stop them, the suspects reacted violently, struggling […]

An investigation is under way into the deaths of four Cuvier’s beaked whales found stranded along the Mediterranean coasts of Murcia and Almería. The animals were discovered at different locations within a short time frame, prompting concerns about a possible shared cause. Spain’s Ministry for Ecological Transition deployed a specialist cetacean pathology team from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, working alongside regional wildlife experts. Necropsies were carried out and samples taken from major organs to determine whether […]

Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport has opened Spain’s first Wetherspoon pub, marking the chain’s first location outside the United Kingdom and Ireland. The new venue began trading on Sunday and is located in the non-Schengen international departures area of the terminal. The pub is operated by Lagardère Travel Retail and was officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by company representatives, Wetherspoon executives and members of the airport’s commercial team. The opening was marked by a festive atmosphere and the venue’s […]

More than half of the municipalities in Alicante province still do not have an approved Municipal Action Plan for Flood Risk, known as the PAM IN, almost a year and a half after the devastating DANA in Valencia. Of the 141 municipalities in the province, only 68 currently have this key document in place. Sixty-seven municipalities are legally required to have a flood plan because they face medium or high flood risk. Of those, 62 have now been approved, leaving […]

The Guardia Civil in Alicante has arrested a British man over the fatal shooting of a twenty-nine-year-old Englishman whose body was found in Orihuela Costa last December. The victim was discovered at a property in the Campoamor area on the evening of twenty-one December after local police were alerted by people who said something serious had happened to a friend. Specialist homicide officers and forensic teams were called to the scene, and the investigation was later declared secret by a […]

The Alicante Provincial Court has confirmed the sentences imposed on two minors convicted of the murder of fifteen-year-old Cloe in Orihuela Costa in November twenty twenty-four. Each has been sentenced to eight years in a closed youth detention centre, followed by five years of supervised release. The court described the killing as despicable and said both defendants showed total disregard for human life. Judges upheld the original ruling from the youth court, finding that both minors acted as co-authors. The […]

Storm Marta has remained over the Comunitat Valenciana through the weekend, bringing very strong winds and unsettled weather. Gusts of up to 125 kilometres per hour were recorded between Saturday and Sunday, prompting multiple yellow warnings from Spain’s State Meteorological Agency, Aemet. For Monday, yellow wind alerts continue across inland parts of Castellón, Valencia and Alicante, except for the south of Alicante province, as well as along the northern Alicante coast. Inland Castellón and northern inland Valencia could see gusts […]

A series of winter sea storms has split Playa del Cura in Torrevieja, leaving the popular beach divided and large sections without sand. Around two hundred metres of the shoreline are now bare rock, with waves striking directly against the concrete wall of the Avenida de los Marineros promenade. One of the six pedestrian access points has been badly damaged after the sea undermined its ramp and steps, leaving part of the structure hanging and unsafe. The council has fenced […]

Orihuela council has kept on hold a long-planned update to its construction tax, known as the ICIO, which has not been revised since 2008. The current rate is set at 500 euros per square metre for new-build properties, despite strong construction activity, particularly along the coast where around 1,000 new homes are built each year. Council budget forecasts had expected revenue of 6.9 million euros if a new rate of 797 euros per square metre had come into force in […]