Olive Press News Spain

Spain is booming – but behind the dazzling GDP figures lies a winner-takes-all economy driven almost solely by immigration

SPAIN is currently the darling of Europe. Its economy grew faster than any G7 nation last year, unemployment is steadily falling, and Pedro Sanchez’s government has wasted no time in

Spain enters unchartered territory with arrival of record-breaking 19th storm – and just two names left before list runs out

SPAIN faces uncharted territory it approaches the end of the storm name list, with just two left in mid-March. Spain recorded its 19th named storm of the 2025-26

Spaniards abroad: Four Spanish graffiti artists are locked up in Poland for vandalising metro

FOUR Spanish tourists were arrested in Poland and are now facing two months of pre-trial detention after getting caught vandalising a local metro. A group of Spanish travellers

Family worried sick over missing American who vanished on night out to Barcelona nightclub

THE Olive Press is launching an urgent appeal to readers in Barcelona and beyond as the search for an American college student who vanished on a Barcelona night

IN PICS: The full revelries from the Costa del Sol’s biggest St Patrick’s Day parade and party

PLAZA La Mezquita in Benalmádena was awash with green on Tuesday as hundreds gathered to celebrate St Patrick’s Day. There was a full-day programme of music, dance and

Latest

British couple arrested for Mallorca attempted kidnapping were previously detained in February for an identical crime

Must-visit: ‘Underrated’ wine capital of Spain that ‘looks like Barcelona with fewer crowds’, according to The Mirror

‘Cristiano loves going to Marbella’: Is the footballing legend eyeing an investment in Malaga?

British woman 'went our of her mind due to abuse' and strangled Benidorm flatmate with vacuum cleaner cord

British woman ‘went out of her mind due to abuse’ and strangled Benidorm flatmate with vacuum cleaner cord, court hears

Storm Therese hits Spanish holiday hotspot just as Trump’s Iran war drives a surge in tourist bookings

Malaga moves towards transforming usually dry Guadalmedina river into a series of criss-crossing garden plaza bridges

Benidorm tattoo parlour in resort’s ‘English Zone’ raided for selling cocaine

New luxury camping resort with pools, a spa and sports facilities planned for eastern Costa del Sol

Serbian kidnap-and-torture bid foiled as Canadian crypto-millionaire is pepper-sprayed and bundled into van while leaving trendy Madrid restaurant

Travel

New Sevilla exhibition uncovers the wealth and fabulous empire of estates, palaces and castles belonging to the late Duquesa de Alba

WITH an estimated wealth of €3.5 billion and more than 40 official titles, she was the world’s most noble aristocrat and one of Spain’s

Saudi Arabia East to West: Top landmarks to explore on a Dammam-Jeddah trip

Little-known town on the Costa del Sol beats out everyone to the crown of ‘best climate in all of Europe’

An elegy to Spain’s western wonder: Why spring is the best time to visit Extremadura

‘I’ve visited loads of castles in Spain and this is my favourite’: Olive Press travel guru Fiona Govan reveals a Moorish gem

Property

Spain’s property market continues to heat up: The eight provinces where home sales now exceed bubble-era highs

Spain’s newest property hotspot: The Gibraltar treaty is causing a gold rush in La Linea as the border prepares to come down

Property prices start to soar in Costa del Sol ‘bargain’ hotspot while Marbella hits €5,600 per square metre

Spain has the highest number of births to mothers over 40 in Europe – how the housing crisis, tourism and cost of living has pushed the figure ever upwards

Barcelona mayor wants to ban non-EU residents from purchasing property – but the number they actually buy is tiny

HEALTH

Madrid boasts the highest life expectancy of any region in Europe – residents of Spain’s capital now live well into their 80s

‘Free, fast and unlimited’ wifi to be rolled out at all hospitals across Andalucia

How Mediterranean is YOUR diet? Take this 14-point test to find out

Spain’s birth rate collapsed to 1.1 in 2024 – at which the population would be virtually wiped out in just four generations

FOOD & DRINK

Your chance to WIN tickets to see Britpop giants Primal Scream and the Charlatans alongside gourmet greats

Japanese shoppers clear shelves of jamon and Spanish wine in touching display of solidarity after Trump trade threats

Falstaff would approve – From tapas to tasting menus Spain’s 2026 Gastronomy Capital of Jerez de la Frontera has it all

Spain’s best kept culinary secret is hidden among history and flavour in this valley in Cordoba

Business & Finance

The €100,000 mistake: Why moving to Spain has become a legal minefield for Brits thanks to post-Brexit red tape

Spain to release 11.5 million barrels of oil reserves in attempt to mitigate impact of Strait of Hormuz closure

Sri Lanka becomes first to go to four-day week to tackle possible oil shortages with Strait of Hormuz mostly shut

The Costa Blanca is facing some of the steepest price rises in Spain -how is inflation hitting food, energy and housing in the area?

ANDALUCIA

17 Mar, 2026 @ 16:45

Violent Romanian criminal, 45, is deported from Spain after five-year reign of terror in Costa del Sol town

17 Mar, 2026 @ 14:00

Marbella police launch new e-scooter crackdown as riders continue to flout rules

17 Mar, 2026 @ 13:15

‘Disaster’ for Malaga as high-speed rail connection will not be repaired in time for city’s famed Semana Santa festivities

17 Mar, 2026 @ 12:27

Costa del Sol yellow alert: Record-breaking Storm Therese could bring Saharan dust with wind and rain

PSpanish police officer is arrested 'for groping a young woman's buttocks' at the Malaga feria

16 Mar, 2026 @ 12:25

Huge police operation as ‘dangerous’ French fugitive is arrested on the Costa del Sol

Flights are diverted from Malaga airport due to foggy conditions

14 Mar, 2026 @ 12:00

Malaga Airport surges in February as high-speed train suspension pushed passenger numbers to new record high

COSTA BLANCA

17 Mar, 2026 @ 15:30

Benidorm council avoids bankruptcy by agreeing to land compensation deal costing at least €500 million over 30 years

Costa Blanca carer steals safe containing €100k of jewellery and gold bars from elderly hospitalised client before flying out of Spain

17 Mar, 2026 @ 13:00

Costa Blanca carer steals safe crammed with jewellery and gold bars from elderly man before fleeing Spain

17 Mar, 2026 @ 11:05

Costa Blanca tragedy: Man, 28, dies after plunging down cliff while trying to retrieve dropped glasses

16 Mar, 2026 @ 15:01

Mini-spring heatwave is on its way to Spain: Highs of 21C on the Costa Blanca this week

Leading Alicante businessman arrested for corruption over discount voucher scheme aimed at boosting trade during Covid-19 pandemic

13 Mar, 2026 @ 15:00

Top Costa Blanca businessman arrested in corruption probe over discount shopping vouchers used to boost post-pandemic economy

13 Mar, 2026 @ 14:00

WATCH: Lithuanian drug trafficker tries to jump security barrier while fleeing police station after being arrested on Costa Blanca in a stolen British Porsche

OLIVE PRESS TV

WATCH: Terrifying moment Spanish cyclist slips and nearly falls off cliff while out with her dog – amazingly captured on both 360 AND pet cameras

WATCH: Father and daughter rescued in dramatic operation after being swept to sea from same Tenerife rock pool where four tourists died late last year

WATCH: The Olive Press reports live from Ronda as weeks of unprecedented rainfall finally give way to sunshine

DON’T MISS: Spain’s train tragedies, weather woes and an Olive Press expansion – all on this week’s episode of The Rest is Spain podcast!

BARCELONA

18 Mar, 2026 @ 10:24

WATCH: Outrage as Barcelona Marathon runners refuse to stop for an ambulance

15 Mar, 2026 @ 14:54

‘He was gutted’: Barcelona fan flies to the UK for crunch Champions League clash – but ends up at wrong stadium 589km away

13 Mar, 2026 @ 14:30

Chinese ultra-fast fashion brand Shein takes on Zara by opening office in the heart of Barcelona

8 Mar, 2026 @ 14:21

Rival marches hit Madrid and Barcelona as trans row splits feminist movement on International Women’s Day

7 Mar, 2026 @ 16:00

Revealed: Spain’s most dangerous neighbourhoods – do you live near one? Barcelona’s El Raval ranks high

7 Mar, 2026 @ 14:40

The battle of the festivals: How Madrid and Barcelona have conquered the summer music scene – and are now going head-to-head

MADRID

17 Mar, 2026 @ 12:15

Spain’s King Felipe admits ‘great deal of abuse’ took place during colonial conquest of Mexico – but falls short of full apology

13 Mar, 2026 @ 15:30

US embassy warns its citizens to avoid Spain’s upcoming protests over ‘recent events in the Middle East’

11 Mar, 2026 @ 12:00

Madrid train bombings: Self-proclaimed British ‘spy’ says he warned Spanish spooks of impending terror attack – and now they are looking to silence him to cover up their error

8 Mar, 2026 @ 12:00

Madrid welcomes a new massage parlour – of course The Olive Press went to try it out

6 Mar, 2026 @ 10:39

Spain’s King Felipe calls for ‘restraint’ over use of force in US-Israeli conflict with Iran

5 Mar, 2026 @ 17:00

‘Tsunami of evictions’ looms in Spain as protections for tenants who can’t pay rent are scrapped over squatter fears

OTHER NEWS

Earthquake shakes homes in Malaga and the Costa del Sol with 4.4 magnitude tremor

Costa del Sol·Environment

18 Mar, 2026 @ 11:17

AN EARTHQUAKE rocked the Alboran Sea shortly after midnight, sending shockwaves through homes in Malaga and the Costa del Sol. The tremor struck at

Pedro Sanchez tells UK podcast Spain doesnt have a corruption problem and defends ‘innocence’ of wife and brother

Lead·Politics

17 Mar, 2026 @ 16:30

IN an interview on The Rest Is Politics podcast with Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez flatly denied that Spain

US expats on the Costa del Sol urged to register for seismic 2026 mid-term elections

Costa del Sol·Lead·Politics

17 Mar, 2026 @ 14:45

AMERICAN expats living on the Costa del Sol have been invited to a series of drop-in events to help them register for the upcoming

WATCH: Onlookers run away as historic ruins of 15th-century castle in central Spain suddenly collapse

La Cultura·Lead

17 Mar, 2026 @ 14:13

THIS is the alarming moment a portion of a historic 15th-century castle in Spain suddenly collapsed. Onlookers were forced to run away as part

Spanish man, 27, causes havoc on flight to Poland as he attacks crew and opens plane door while it was still taxiing

Crime & Law·Lead·Tenerife

17 Mar, 2026 @ 11:50

A 27-YEAR-OLD Spanish man sparked chaos on a flight from Tenerife to Warsaw when he assaulted a crew member and opened a plane door

Massive police operation to find man, 38, hiding in his building after punching his pensioner neighbour to death on the Costa del Sol

Costa del Sol·Crime & Law·Lead

17 Mar, 2026 @ 11:21

A 38-YEAR-OLD man has been arrested in Torremolinos after punching his elderly neighbour to death. A large-scale police operation in Torremolinos – with residents