The event took place just after 20:00 on Wednesday evening for reasons as yet unknown. There were 27 people on board, 21 passengers and 6 crew, at the time of the incident.

The passengers, one of whom was injured, and four of the crew were evacuated, the captain and first officer remaining on board. The ferry, operated by the company Balearia, is badly damaged.

Rocio was attending the carnival with relatives but disappeared and when she did not reappear on Sunday her family notified the authorities. Her photo has also been circulated on social networks.

Rocio is in a relationship and is the mother of a young child.

Brussels considers that Spain, along with Italy, Cyprus and Hungary, have problems classified as in urgent need of attention and Spain, in particular, is being called upon to correct excessive imbalances in the six macroeconomic indicators.

Spain is carrying out structural reforms to improve the labour market and overall competitiveness and the EU will obviously be scrutinising these measures very closely.

Brussels has continually estimated a deficit figure of 6.6% of GDP, that’s 2% lower than the figure bandied about by the Government.

The new deficit estimate was the reason that the Government increased taxes such as income tax, capital income and property tax, and cut 8,900 million euros to various ministries.

Moreover, the European Commission proposes to act against the Executive for delaying the presentation of the general budget for this year until after the March elections in Andalucia. This, argues the EU, will delay economic recovery.

As a result of non-compliance with EU agreements on deficit cuts, the Spanish government could face a fine of up to 0.1% of GDP.

Baltasar Garzon came to prominence by helping to secure the arrest of the former Chilean leader Augusto Pinochet in London.

He also faces two other charges, including exceeding his authority by investigating Franco-era crimes.

The ruling by the Supreme Court is widely seen as effectively ending Garzon’s career as a judge. His supporters say the cases brought against him are politically motivated and have been taking part in demonstrations outside the court during the trial.

However, this is not the case against Baltasar Garzon which has attracted most attention. The verdict in his second trial, which is concerned with his attempts to investigate alleged crimes carried out under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco will be more controversial. The verdict in this case is expected in a few weeks.

Many people see the judge as a champion of human rights and justice, especially the relatives of people who ‘disappeared’ under the Franco regime. Others, however, see him as a politically motivated judge who seeks controversy and the media limelight.

Whereas most international commentators are dismayed that the man who attempted to put the former Chilean dictator, Augusto Pinochet, on trial has now been tried himself, in Spain the issue divides opinion and evokes strong feelings on both the right and left of Spanish society.

The conviction relates to the wire-tapping of conversations between prisoners and their lawyers ordered by Mr Garzon in 2009. The detainees are accused of paying off politicians in return for government contracts.

Under Spanish law, wiretaps are only expressly permitted for matters relating to terrorism laws and the legality if its use for other cases is a bit more vague.

The detainees were involved in sharing images showing young children engaged in sexual acts with adults.

Using the latest tracking technology, police were able to monitor millions of internet connections day and night and locate individuals on a map using GPS. This was despite many of those detained using professional data erasure programs so as to theoretically not leave any trace of their nefarious activities.

Some of the detainees have been arrested during previous investigations into child pornography.

The police investigation was carried out over a one week period and some of the detainees had, in a short time, downloaded as many as 800 pornographic images.

The fire began at just after 05:00 on Tuesday morning on the first floor of the building, with smoke affecting the whole block. The block is six floors with four apartments on each floor.

The body of the young girl, who died from burns, was found by firemen as they battled the blaze.

Three people are in a serious condition in the Hospital Vall d’Hebron and three others, including a two year old child, are being treated in hospital for less serious injuries. Several people were also treated at the scene after suffering smoke inhalation.