Spain: Prosecutors shelve fraud probes haunting former king

It's a feeling many of us are all too familiar with. The frustration and anxiety that comes with waiting at a bus stop, wondering if you'll make it to work on time.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentSPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched the Season 4 finale of “Elite.”Save Cannes, most film festivals have a TV strand. So the biggest event at a now super-sized Malaga Film Festival has also happened on just day two of proceedings; the presentation of the soon-to-drop Season 5 of “Elite,” the second most-viewed Spanish-language series-franchise on the streaming giant, after “Money Heist,” which is still saying something.Málaga focuses on Spanish and Latin American film and TV.

A man from Spain has been charged over alleged racist abuse at the Manchester United v Atletico Madrid match. Police said a report of racism was made to officers at the Champions League clash on Tuesday night (March 15). Daniel Del Saz Garcia has now been charged with a racially-aggravated public order offence.

Ben Affleck is stepping out for the day.

Jennifer Lopez is currently working on The Mother in Spain, and it looks like Ben Affleck missed his boo so much he hopped on a plane to visit her. On Sunday, Hollywood’s favorite couple was photographed in Gran Canaria, sharing some romantic time.Lopez looked smitten staring into Aflleck’s eyes while they sat on a park bench.The couple didn’t seem to be bothered by paparazzi as they enjoyed a romantic walk on the sidewalk, taking in the sights of Gran Caria.The Mother has been filming in Spain for the last couple of months. Lopez is starring opposite Handmaid’s Tale star Joseph Fiennes, 51, and she is also a co-producer.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are taking their romance abroad! The couple was spotted over the weekend in Gran Canaria, Spain, where Lopez, 52, is shooting the film .The pair was spotted holding hands while walking the streets and having an intimate talk on a park bench together. The «Jenny From the Block» singer looked stylish in a white crop top and matching overalls with her hair pulled back into a ponytail.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are together in Spain!

Emiliano De Pablos Spain’s TV industry will make history at Series Mania Forum 2022, with its biggest panel and sneak peek series presentation presence ever at a major TV market. The Spanish conference attendance – alongside Finland’s panel spread – also weighs in as the biggest from any single country at the upcoming edition of the most important co-production event for scripted TV series in Europe.Series Mania Forum runs on-site over March 22-24 in Lille, northern France, under the larger Series Mania Festival umbrella.Organized by ICEX Spain Trade & Investment, the country’s export and inward investment board, the Spanish pavilion at the Lille Grand Palais will host a record-breaking delegation for Spain of around 20 companies and more than 50 executives. That’s a sign of just how much Series Mania has grown as an industry forum in the last few years, and of Spain’s ambition to ramp up exports of Spanish movies and TV content via a Spain AVS Hub plan whose total investment through 2025 is tabbed at $1.8 billion in state incentives and government-engineered financing.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Documentaries about the conflict in Ukraine, the Cuban migrant situation and the Palestinian refugee crisis were among top winners at MiradasDoc, Spain’s foremost documentary film festival which wrapped its 15th edition on March 12. Based in Tenerife, Canary Islands, the festival was an in-person event running March 4-12, while its market (March 8-11) remained virtual for the second consecutive year.The best international documentary prize went to “Option Zero” (“La Opcion Cero”) by Cuban filmmaker Marcel Beltran while the best debut feature award was extended to “Trenches” by French journalist Loup Bureau who has covered the Arab Spring in Egypt, the Syrian War and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in the Donbas region. “Trenches” follows the intrepid young men and women who are fighting Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine’s Donbas region.

A benefits cheat who claimed thousands of pounds for houses in the UK while she ran a property business in Spain has been forced to sell-up and repay her ill-gotten gains.

A Scots woman who believes she was 'spiked' abroad says she has been left too scared to travel alone after her holiday turned into a nightmare.

Holidays are back on the cards this year as several popular hotspots have eased their travel rules.

Spain for periodical visits, although Juan Carlos I will remain based in the United Arab Emirates where he moved in 2020 following probes into his financial dealings, royal officials said Monday.Juan Carlos wrote a letter to Felipe expressing his desire “to visit family and friends” in Spain after Supreme Court prosecutors closed the investigations, according to a statement on the royal website that contained the letter from the former king.The prosecutors didn't find evidence to take the former monarch to court because much of the financial misbehavior, involving millions of euros (dollars) in undeclared accounts, happened when Juan Carlos was protected by immunity as Spain's king and other possible fraud fell out of the statute of limitations.The probes allowed the recovery of 5.1 million euros ($5.6 million) in fines and taxes for income that Juan Carlos had failed to declare to Spain’s tax authorities, the prosecutors said in their conclusions.“At this time, for reasons that belong to my private sphere and that only affect me, I prefer to continue residing permanently in Abu Dhabi, where I have found peace of mind, especially for this period of my life,” the monarch wrote to his son, according to the royal house.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentTelefonica’s Movistar Plus, Spain’s biggest pay-TV/SVOD operator, has launched an in-house overseas sales division, Movistar Plus Internacional, headed up by former Sony and Buendía Estudios exec Maria Valenzuela. Lorena Molloy, an ex-exec at The Mediapro Studio, has joined Movistar Plus Internacional beginning in March as its head of communication and marketing. Valenzuela, who began working with the platform last summer, heading international strategy and business development, reports directly to Domingo Corral, Movistar Plus’ director of original production.Movistar Plus Internacional is making further appointments, raising staff to around 10 employees, Valenzuela said. It will attend all major markets, beginning with Series Mania and MipTV/Canneseries, focusing at least in the short term on sales to Europe, Eastern Europe, U.S.

actor Antony Starr was arrested over the weekend in Alicante, Spain, and handed a suspended 12-month sentence, according to multiple reports.Starr — best known for his role as the secretly sinister superhero Homelander on Amazon's — was arrested in the early morning of Wednesday, Mar. 2, for allegedly assaulting a chef outside a Costa Blanca pub.Chef Bathuel Araujo, 21, claimed that Starr was intoxicated and had punched him twice before smashing a glass in his face.

Antony Starr, who plays Homelander in Amazon’s superhero series The Boys, allegedly assaulted a man while on location in Alicante, Spain. According to Spanish newspaper El País, the actor got into a bar fight at 2 a.m. Wednesday and was later arrested. He spent the night in jail.

Antony Starr, who is best known for playing Homelander on the Amazon series The Boys, was arrested in Spain this week.