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Dom Joly: I am medallion man – until the mafia arrives

I've just spent the week in Benidorm … not something I'd ever thought I'd find myself writing. I was there for work, not joining the thousands of Brits that flock to this unofficial Brit colony on the Costa Brava.

Lianne Smith is led away from court by Spanish police officers

Mother who murdered her two children in Spanish hotel sentenced to 30 years

Lianne Smith admitted killing her son and daughter because she feared they would be taken away from her

Mother who murdered children sentenced to 30 years

A woman who murdered her young son and daughter in a Spanish hotel room has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Lesson in love: Kaya Scodelario and Billie Piper as entangled pupil and teacher

Grace Dent: True Love, BBC1

These tales celebrated the dreamlike insanity and idiotic risk of opening up your heart

Mother gave children 'perfect holiday' before killing them

A mother who suffocated her young son and daughter in a Spanish hotel said she had given them a "perfect holiday" before killing them, a court heard today.

In booze-soaked Spain, the party may soon be over

'Binge tourism' reaches a new low when police fire rubber bullets to restore peace. Alasdair Fotheringham reports from the Benidorm plaza dubbed 'British square'

Get Ready For Summer: Costa Brava

Our fortnightly series of travellers’ guides to holiday destinations reaches the Catalan coast in Spain. Eddi Fiegel reports

Paedophile jailed for 16 years

A paedophile whose partner is accused of murdering their two children in a Spanish hotel has been jailed for 16 years.

Man found guilty of using hypnotism to abuse girl

A man whose partner is accused of murdering their two children is facing jail after using hypnotism and violence to sexually abuse a girl.

'Murder' mother's partner guilty of abuse

A man whose partner is accused of murdering their two children in a Spanish hotel was today facing jail after using hypnotism and violence to groom and sexually abuse a young girl.

Murder accused mother 'tried to protect children'

A woman accused of murdering her two children in a Spanish hotel room today choked back tears as she told a court she tried to "protect" her children from social services.

The Skating Rink, By Roberto Bolaño, trs Chris Andrews

There's murder afoot – but that seems to be the least of these lovelorn characters' problems

Father of dead children denies sex offences

An alleged paedophile whose wife is accused of murdering their two children in a Spanish hotel denied a string of sex offences today.

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Special report: How my father's face turned up in Robert Capa's lost suitcase

Special report: How my father's face turned up in Robert Capa's lost suitcase

The great war photographer was not one person but two. Their pictures of Spain's civil war, lost for decades, tell a heroic tale
The unmade speech: An alternative draft of history

The unmade speech: An alternative draft of history

Someone, somewhere has to write speeches for world leaders to deliver in the event of disaster. They offer a chilling hint at what could have been
Funny business: Meet the women running comedy

Funny business: Meet the women running comedy

Think comedy’s a man's world? You must be stuck in the 1980s, says Holly Williams
Wilko Johnson: 'You have to live for the minute you're in'

Wilko Johnson: 'You have to live for the minute you're in'

The Dr Feelgood guitarist talks frankly about his terminal illness
Lure of the jingle: Entrepreneurs are giving vintage ice-cream vans a new lease of life

Lure of the jingle

Entrepreneurs are giving vintage ice-cream vans a new lease of life
Who stole the people's own culture?

DJ Taylor: Who stole the people's own culture?

True popular art drives up from the streets, but the commercial world wastes no time in cashing in
Guest List: The IoS Literary Editor suggests some books for your summer holiday

Guest List: IoS Literary Editor suggests some books for your summer holiday

Before you stuff your luggage with this year's Man Booker longlist titles, the case for some varied poolside reading alternatives
What if Edward Snowden had stayed to fight his corner?

Rupert Cornwell: What if Edward Snowden had stayed to fight his corner?

The CIA whistleblower struck a blow for us all, but his 1970s predecessor showed how to win
'A man walks into a bar': Comedian Seann Walsh on the dangers of mixing alcohol and stand-up

Comedian Seann Walsh on alcohol and stand-up

Comedy and booze go together, says Walsh. The trouble is stopping at just the one. So when do the hangovers stop being funny?
From Edinburgh to Hollywood (via the Home Counties): 10 comedic talents blowing up big

Edinburgh to Hollywood: 10 comedic talents blowing up big

Hugh Montgomery profiles the faces to watch, from the sitcom star to the surrealist
'Hello. I have cancer': When comedian Tig Notaro discovered she had a tumour she decided the show must go on

Comedian Tig Notaro: 'Hello. I have cancer'

When Notaro discovered she had a tumour she decided the show must go on
They think it's all ova: Bill Granger's Asia-influenced egg recipes

Bill Granger's Asia-influenced egg recipes

Our chef made his name cooking eggs, but he’s never stopped looking for new ways to serve them
The world wakes up to golf's female big hitters

The world wakes up to golf's female big hitters

With its own Tiger Woods - South Korea's Inbee Park - the women's game has a growing audience
10 athletes ready to take the world by storm in Moscow next week

10 athletes ready to take the world by storm in Moscow next week

Here are the potential stars of the World Championships which begin on Saturday
The Last Word: Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale's art of manipulation

The Last Word: Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale's art of manipulation

Briefings are off the record leading to transfer speculation which is merely a means to an end