Spanish regulators suspended subsidies to 279 solar-power installations

Spanish regulators suspended subsidies to 279 solar-power installations, bringing to 1,561 the number of rooftop and open-field installations punished for not proving they followed rules for earning above-market prices.The National Energy Commission announced the latest series of sanctions after completing checks on 86 percent of the 8,201 power stations suspected of not meeting regulatory requirements, the regulator said today in statement.The owners...

Gems from a collection once owned by the late first lady of Argentina, Eva Peron, which had been stolen in Spain two years ago, were found in a luxury hotel in Milan

Gems from a collection once owned by the late first lady of Argentina, Eva Peron, which had been stolen in Spain two years ago, were found in a luxury hotel in Milan, Italian police said.The jewels, worth 6 million euros, include a set of diamond rings, earrings and a tiara given to Peron by the Dutch royal family.Lieutenant-Colonel Antonino Bolognani from Milan's investigative force told a news conference the occupants of the hotel room were on...

WELL-KNOWN businessman died after an accident on the first day of his holiday on the Costa del Sol.

Self-employed plumbing and heating engineer Gordon Taylor, 49, of St Helen Auckland, County Durham, slipped on rain-soaked paving tiles on a night out and hit his head, an inquest heard yesterday.The accident happened at the end of October at the gated holiday complex in Benalmadena, Malaga, Spain, where Mr Taylor was staying with his wife, Elizabeth, and her relatives.He was found some time later lying unconscious near a gate by a fellow holidaymaker.He...

SPANISH police say they arrested 34 Chinese citizens as they smashed a family-run crime gang suspected of importing fake goods and laundering the profits, with the help of a chain of laundries.

The raids in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Cadiz, Seville and Huelva overnight broke up the largest Chinese-linked criminal gang based in Spain, operating since the 1990s, said the Civil Guard overnight.Police detained 34 Chinese nationals and seized assets worth 11 million euros ($15 million), it said.The gang may have earned more than 40 million euros ($54.64 million) a year, importing four-to-six containers a month through Valencia packed with...