Bizum app to work for payments in shops in Spain, Canadian cops arrested for sexual assault in Barcelona, Spain says Ebola risk ‘very low’ amid DRC and Uganda outbreak and more news on Monday May 18th.
Bizum to allow users to pay directly in stores
Payment app Bizum will expand its features in Spain starting May 18th with the launch of Bizum Pay, a new system that will allow users to make payments in physical stores directly from their mobile phones.
The platform, currently used for instant transfers between individuals and online purchases, will begin rolling out this service gradually in Spain through several financial institutions.
CaixaBank and BBVA are among the first banks to activate this feature, with other institutions joining in the coming weeks.
Canadian cops arrested for sexual assault in Barcelona
Three Canadian police officers have been arrested in Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca accused of sexually assaulting a woman inside a taxi in the Ciutat Vella district of the Catalan capital, sources from the Mossos d’Esquadra told news agency EFE.
According to sources close to the investigation, the events took place last Wednesday May 13th, when the police officers sexually assaulted a woman who was working as a prostitute. One of the suspects then travelled to Palma.
One of them was arrested for assaulting a Spanish police officer and was released on bail, while the second was brought before a judge accused of sexual assault and injuries.
Spanish police bust real estate scam gang in Alicante
Spanish National Police have dismantled a real estate scam ring in Alicante, targeting foreign buyers and investors.
The ring was led by a mother and daughter who used their fluency in languages such as Ukrainian, Russian, and Spanish to attract international clients and carry out fraudulent transactions involving rent-to-own agreements for properties they had previously rented.
The total amount defrauded is estimated to exceed €1.2 million.
The scammers convinced victims to put money towards real estate investments, requesting numerous payments for various procedures related to rent-to-own agreements, as well as acting as an intermediary for banking transactions.
Spain says Ebola risk ‘very low’ amid DRC and Uganda outbreak
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the Ebola epidemic caused by the Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), although it has stressed that it is not a pandemic emergency.
Spain’s Ministry of Health considers that the risk of transmission in Spain of the virus caused by Bundibugyo “is very low” in the Spanish population currently.
Although there are no direct flights between Spain and these two African countries, travel to the province of Ituri and the city of Kinshasa in the DRC and Kampala in Uganda is strongly discouraged.
According to figures released Saturday by the African Union’s health agency (Africa CDC), 88 deaths likely caused by the virus have been recorded, out of 336 suspected cases.
One death has been reported in neighbouring Uganda. As the epicentre of the outbreak is located in a hard-to-reach area, few samples have been tested in laboratories and the figures are based largely on suspected cases.