British and German tourists spend less in the Balearics, immigration official sentenced to prison for accepting bribes, Spanish government to approve social media ban for under 16s before 2027 and more news on Tuesday September 29th.
British and German tourists spend less in the Balearic Islands
In the first half of 2026, the Balearic Islands of Ibiza and Formentera recorded higher tourism spending than in the same period of the previous year, but both British and German travellers spent less.
According to figures from the Balearic Islands Statistics Institute (Ibestat), tourist spending for the two islands rose from €1,407.55 million to €1,525.33 million, but it was less for those who have historically loved the islands.
British visitors spent €339.71 million between January and June 2025, compared to €335.52 million during the same months of the current year. As for German visitors, they spent €127.38 million and €118.55 million in the respective periods.
Immigration official sentenced for accepting bribes from Chinese migrants
The section chief of the Foreigners’ Office in the northern city of Zamora has been sentenced by the National Court to one year in prison and barred from holding public office, in addition to being fined €2,430 for accepting bribes.
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She was convicted of bribery after admitting to accepting payments to expedite the processing of residence and work permits for Chinese nationals employed by a criminal organisation led by a Chinese tycoon based in Madrid.
The ruling came after a 14-year delay, following a plea agreement with the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office after the dismantling of the international illegal immigration ring involving Chinese nationals in 2012.
Young woman murdered in Benidorm
The National Police have arrested three men between ages 30 and 45 in Benidorm on suspicion of murdering a 33-year-old Brazilian woman. One man was arrested for alleged homicide, while the other two were detained for alleged involvement in covering up the crime.
Officers found out about incident when two men arrived at the police station and reported that an acquaintance had told them he had killed his partner with a knife during an argument.
According to the police, there was no prior record of gender-based violence between the victim and the alleged culprit.
Spain to approve social media ban for under 16s before end of year
Parliamentary groups will resume negotiations this week on the law protecting minors in the digital environment. The law, which has been dubbed ‘ley de la selva‘ or law of the jungle, includes a ban on social media for those under 16.
It will be debated on again this Tuesday in the Justice Committee, where the groups are seeking to get it approved before the end of this year.
The law also includes new offences for platforms that amplify or disseminate content that incites suicide or self-harm, child sexual abuse, sexual deepfakes or content related to hate crimes.
Teen arrested in Barcelona for plotting mass stabbing at her former school
Mossos d’Esquadra police arrested a 14-year-old girl in the early hours of Monday (September 28th) after she made death threats against students of the Institut Escola Londres, a school in the Eixample district of Barcelona.
The swift police intervention, carried out around 1am, was made possible thanks to the alarm raised by several families at the school after spotting the messages the young woman had posted on social media on Sunday.
On a public Instagram profile, the teenager explicitly described how she intended to carry out the attack, according to Catalan daily El Periódico .
“My plan is to arrive at school in the morning, wait until it’s time for the secondary school recess, and stab random people,” the detainee detailed in one of her posts.
The seriousness of the threats was heightened by photo on her profile in which she posed with a large knife.
The teenager also left comments directly on the school’s official Instagram profile, stating that “young children are the only ones I wouldn’t kill” and making references to other grades, such as “the fifth grade students of 2023 all dead.”
The 14 year old was a former student at the school but was moved to a special education centre as a result of the mental health problems she suffers.
