| Dear Olive Press readers, | | Welcome back to a week of news that has ended tragically with a horrifying wildfire in Almeria. | | In what has become the deadliest wildfire in Andalucia this century, at least 12 lives have been lost at the time of writing and a further 19 people remain missing – though not presumed dead. | | At this stage (written on Friday afternoon) they are just listed as unaccounted for, as over a thousand people have been evacuated and displaced. So fingers crossed for happy endings. | | But for those not so fortunate, it’s hard to describe the horror that must’ve unfolded. Four of the dead are believed to be British, found in a burnt-out car with a UK number plate near the village of Bedar in Almeria as they tried to flee. | | Junta officials believe they entered a one-way ravine trying to escape and found themselves trapped by the flames. | | A fallen power line is the suspected cause, and the fire is not yet under control. Our senior journalist Alessio is there on the ground in Almeria and he tells us it is ‘scary’. People are packing up everything they can carry and they are fleeing as fast as they can. | | By the end of yesterday, we had fielded interview requests from the BBC, Channel 5 and Times Radio – and turned a fair few others down. | | Meanwhile, over in Gibraltar times are a-changing, the border and the airport most of all. | | In his final Budget speech, Chief Minister Fabian Picardo confirmed the airport is being renamed Sir Joshua Hassan Gibraltar International Airport, after the Rock's first Chief Minister. | | The move is interestingly timed, coming just one week before Spanish police and customs are set to move into the terminal under the new UK-EU treaty. | | The treaty will be signed in Brussels on July 14, and a day later, routine passport checks at the land border will end, and for the first time in 300 years there will be free movement through the border with Spain and Gibraltar. Historic. Step this way for the full rundown here. | | I had initially assumed that this would be the saddest story of the week – the death of a Norwegian teenager in a hit-and-run in Mijas. | | Nikoline Piwoni Høie, 17, had been celebrating Norway's World Cup win over Brazil at a Puerto Banus nightclub when she vanished from her friends at around 4am. | | Less than two hours later and 30 kilometres away, she was struck and killed crossing the A-7 near Mijas. | | The driver didn't stop. Guardia Civil are still hunting whoever was behind the wheel of what's believed to have been a lorry or pick-up truck. Read about her last hours here. | | And then finally, getting away from all the tragedy and historicity – wouldn’t you like to know the cheapest towns in Spain to buy property? Well step right this way. | | It may not surprise you too much to learn that they are not necessarily the most desirable locations, but boy can you get a bargain. Fancy a home at under €400 a square foot? The least expensive town in Spain is 15 times cheaper than Marbella. | | And over a quarter of the bottom 25 are in Andalucia. | | That's your lot. Please do get in touch with whatever's on your minds — the inbox is always open newsdesk@theolivepress.es | | | | Edificio Centro Comercial El Duque, first floor, Carretera N340, km 144.5 | | San Luis de Sabinillas, Malaga 29692, Spain | | Copyright © 2026 The Olive Press, All rights reserved. | | | |
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