, Author at Olive Press News Spain

The man who tried to make himself dictator of Spain now lives in quiet retirement on the Costa del Sol

EXACTLY 45 years ago today, a moustachioed Guardia Civil officer burst into Spain’s parliament, fired a submachine gun into the ceiling and ordered everyone to

23 Feb, 2026 @ 13:25

La Cultura·Lead·National News·Other News

ON THIS DAY: The inside story of the failed coup d’état that almost sent Spain spinning back into dictatorship

DO you remember when John Lennon was murdered in New York? Ten weeks later, the month of February 1981 turned out to be historic: not

23 Feb, 2026 @ 09:47

La Cultura·Lead·Politics

Hard luck: Spain withdraws ‘Love Nectar’ aphrodisiac drink from shelves after discovering hidden Viagra ingredient

SPANISH health authorities have ordered the immediate nationwide withdrawal of an aphrodisiac drink after discovering it is secretly spiked with the active ingredient in Viagra.

21 Feb, 2026 @ 11:00

Health·Lead·Other News

LIFE IN SPAIN: The all-American expat and painter from Philadelphia who conquered Spain’s bullfighting world

JOHN Fulton died on February 20, 1998, at the age of 65, leaving behind one of the most remarkable expat legacies in Andalucia. His story

21 Feb, 2026 @ 09:30

La Cultura·Sevilla

EXPLAINER: How British and American landlords in Spain finally have the same tax rights as EU neighbours

BRITISH and American property owners letting out homes in Andalucia and across Spain can finally breathe a sigh of relief. A landmark court ruling means

19 Feb, 2026 @ 08:00

EXPLAINER·Lead·Property

George Orwell’s brush with death during the Spanish Civil War shaped a British literary giant

ORWELL is widely considered the most influential British writer of the 20th century. But while the world knows Animal Farm and 1984, his journey to

15 Feb, 2026 @ 08:30

La Cultura·Lead

The Spanish Indiana Jones: How a ten-year-old boy from Granada became a hero in Italy after unearthing rare Roman coin

A GRANADA schoolboy has been hailed a hero in Italy after unearthing a rare Roman coin that had been buried for 1,800 years. Little Alejandro,

13 Feb, 2026 @ 16:00

Granada·La Cultura·Lead·Other News

Four remarkable Spanish women – A gallega painter and a malagueña philosopher; a child and a tennis star

MARISOL Even today, sixty years after her heyday, “Marisol” is well-known to everyone in Spain. That toothy grin, that big voice – and such

11 Feb, 2026 @ 18:00

La Cultura·Lead

Malaga’s Montejaque dam: How a 100-year-old engineering mistake has come back to haunt the Guadiaro Valley

FOR a century, it has been a local laughing stock. A ‘Ghost Dam’ that held no water, a monument to a Swiss engineer’s spectacular oversight.

11 Feb, 2026 @ 16:21

Andalucia·Environment·Lead·Malaga

The ghostly history of Malaga’s ‘useless’ Montejaque dam – now a ticking timebomb as subterranean tremors force evacuations

FOR a century, the Montejaque Dam has stood as a silent, bone-dry monument to human hubris—a spectacular engineering failure hidden in the mountains above Ronda.

7 Feb, 2026 @ 11:37

La Cultura·Lead·Malaga

Sevilla’s iconic Giralda belltower cordoned off after massive ornamental vase plunges nearly 100 metres during Storm Leonardo

POLICE and cathedral technicians rushed to the Plaza Virgen de los Reyes in Sevilla on Thursday after a two-metre-tall metal structure was torn from La

6 Feb, 2026 @ 18:15

La Cultura·Lead·Sevilla·Weather

ON THIS DAY: Spain’s answer to Lord Nelson and a great sculptor were born, snow fell where it never does … and a space-age fashion designer passed

BLAZ DE LEZO British people of a certain age were brought up on stories of English naval excellence and Spanish incompetence. The Armada was thwarted,

3 Feb, 2026 @ 08:00

La Cultura·Lead·National News

LIFE IN SPAIN: Lola Flores embodied the soul of Andalucia – but she was possessed by a demon

TO truly understand the fire of Andalucía, you first have to meet its demon. His name is the duende. He is not a friendly spirit.

26 Jan, 2026 @ 12:49

La Cultura·Lead

Experts fear Mount Etna will tumble into the sea – and create a tsunami that destroys the Spanish coast

WHAT danger does an Italian volcano pose for us? Well, Mount Etna’s massive south face has reportedly shifted an inch and a half in the

24 Jan, 2026 @ 12:00

Environment·Other News

ON THIS DAY: Pep’s birthday, Julio Iglesias’ randy dad, a Spanish playwright was born and a Nobel laureate died

CALDERÓN PEDRO Calderón de la Barca was born in Madrid on 17 January, 1600. He died in the same city in 1681, having dominated the

18 Jan, 2026 @ 09:00

La Cultura·Lead

ON THIS DAY: When America atom-bombed Andalucia (by mistake)

IT sounds like the plot of a 1970s disaster movie, but it really happened. On 17 January 1966, the US Air Force dropped four atom

17 Jan, 2026 @ 09:00

La Cultura·Lead

ON THIS DAY: Spain’s biggest football fan and a disgraced royal in-law were born – and Goya began a masterpiece

FOCUSING today on just one date – January 15 – we’ve dug up three Spanish personalities who you may find mildly diverting! 1. MANOLO EL

15 Jan, 2026 @ 18:46

La Cultura·Lead

ON THIS DAY: Messi marked a milestone, the Vatican banned some abhorrent practices, and a legendary Spanish voice actor passed

HERE are some snippets from history – football, racism and voice-overs – decide for yourself you think January 13 is an anniversary worth celebrating! LIONEL

13 Jan, 2026 @ 16:44

La Cultura·Lead

How did anarchism lead to charming Casas Viejas village to change its name to ‘Benalup’?

IMAGINE that you’re driving to Cadiz for a holiday from Madrid or Marbella, and you’ve decided to leave the main road, in order to take

11 Jan, 2026 @ 11:30

La Cultura·Lead·National News

ON THIS DAY: Dali, Buñuel – and Dani Carvajal? A trio of Spanish geniuses have links to this weekend in January

IT’S one of the coldest, darkest weekends around Spain, where traditionally not much happens and nobody has any money or energy left. With the festivities

10 Jan, 2026 @ 14:00

La Cultura·Lead·National News

MICHAEL COY explains how the lives of two Spanish princesses 500 years apart didn’t go to plan – thanks to their choice of husbands

DISNEY princesses never had it easy. Their paths to a happy ending were always strewn with formidable obstacles: evil stepmothers, jealous witches, tentacle-bottomed sea sorceresses

10 Jan, 2026 @ 11:30

La Cultura·Lead·National News

REYES: The connections to Spain’s top composer and a now extinct rare mountain goat

THREE Kings Day – or ‘Reyes’ in Spanish – is known to Anglosaxons as ‘the Epiphany’. It falls on January 6, and while it’s no

6 Jan, 2026 @ 12:20

Animals·La Cultura·Lead

Birmingham-Tenerife Flight Hit by Severe Turbulence

A RYANAIR plane was struck by ‘severe turbulence’ on Sunday afternoon (28 December) and was forced to return to England. Some passengers were injured. Flight

30 Dec, 2025 @ 11:42

Lead·Tenerife

MICHAEL COY delves into the world of Spain’s premier forensic linguist – who catches crooks with just one word

HER name is Sheila Queralt. By training, she’s a linguist. But if you are thinking of committing crime in Barcelona, her home town, or anywhere

21 Dec, 2025 @ 14:25

Crime & Law·National News

Big night TONIGHT for 'nougat' town that's one of Spain's first to switch on its Christmas lights

Spain doesn’t quite get Christmas as we know it, writes MICHAEL COY – so here’s how to enjoy it the Spanish way

MICHAEL COY discusses some of the rituals associated with the winter festivities. Just like with Hallowe’en, Spain has tended to go off half-cocked over Christmas.

21 Dec, 2025 @ 08:49

La Cultura·Lead·National News

MICHAEL COY introduces us to his hero – George Santayana: A Spanish-American thinker famous for his pithy sayings

Whom should we choose as our heroes? John Wayne? Cristiano Ronaldo? Nigel Farage? Should we have heroes at all? MICHAEL COY introduces us to one

20 Dec, 2025 @ 14:33

La Cultura·Lead·National News

The man who tried to make himself dictator of Spain now lives in quiet retirement on the Costa del Sol

ON THIS DAY: The inside story of the failed coup d’état that almost sent Spain spinning back into dictatorship

Hard luck: Spain withdraws ‘Love Nectar’ aphrodisiac drink from shelves after discovering hidden Viagra ingredient

LIFE IN SPAIN: The all-American expat and painter from Philadelphia who conquered Spain’s bullfighting world

EXPLAINER: How British and American landlords in Spain finally have the same tax rights as EU neighbours

George Orwell’s brush with death during the Spanish Civil War shaped a British literary giant

The Spanish Indiana Jones: How a ten-year-old boy from Granada became a hero in Italy after unearthing rare Roman coin

Four remarkable Spanish women – A gallega painter and a malagueña philosopher; a child and a tennis star

Malaga’s Montejaque dam: How a 100-year-old engineering mistake has come back to haunt the Guadiaro Valley

The ghostly history of Malaga’s ‘useless’ Montejaque dam – now a ticking timebomb as subterranean tremors force evacuations

Sevilla’s iconic Giralda belltower cordoned off after massive ornamental vase plunges nearly 100 metres during Storm Leonardo

ON THIS DAY: Spain’s answer to Lord Nelson and a great sculptor were born, snow fell where it never does … and a space-age fashion designer passed

LIFE IN SPAIN: Lola Flores embodied the soul of Andalucia – but she was possessed by a demon

Experts fear Mount Etna will tumble into the sea – and create a tsunami that destroys the Spanish coast

ON THIS DAY: Pep’s birthday, Julio Iglesias’ randy dad, a Spanish playwright was born and a Nobel laureate died

ON THIS DAY: When America atom-bombed Andalucia (by mistake)

ON THIS DAY: Spain’s biggest football fan and a disgraced royal in-law were born – and Goya began a masterpiece

ON THIS DAY: Messi marked a milestone, the Vatican banned some abhorrent practices, and a legendary Spanish voice actor passed

How did anarchism lead to charming Casas Viejas village to change its name to ‘Benalup’?

ON THIS DAY: Dali, Buñuel – and Dani Carvajal? A trio of Spanish geniuses have links to this weekend in January

MICHAEL COY explains how the lives of two Spanish princesses 500 years apart didn’t go to plan – thanks to their choice of husbands

REYES: The connections to Spain’s top composer and a now extinct rare mountain goat

Birmingham-Tenerife Flight Hit by Severe Turbulence

MICHAEL COY delves into the world of Spain’s premier forensic linguist – who catches crooks with just one word

Spain doesn’t quite get Christmas as we know it, writes MICHAEL COY – so here’s how to enjoy it the Spanish way

MICHAEL COY introduces us to his hero – George Santayana: A Spanish-American thinker famous for his pithy sayings

Brawls and tension between Barcelona’s Pakistani and Algerian communities in El Raval force police to set up summer check point

Spanish broadcaster apologises after backlash for putting subtitles on Andalucian mother of Spanish football star

Recent record European heatwave would have been ‘impossible in June 50 years ago’, scientists warn

WATCH: Horror moment bloodied Algerian man stands over his victim after hammer attack in Murcia

‘Cocky’ driver injures two Malaga police officers arresting him for refusing to move his double-parked car blocking a fire engine attending an apartment alarm

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