THE WEATHER
Edition 309
www.thecourier.es
Friday 17th February 2017
UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT T
he Murcia regional president, Pedro Antonio Sánchez of the Partido Popular, is to be investigated by the National Court as part of Operation Punica that has been running for the last few years. Some 22 new names are being looked at, with Punica being centred around town halls in the Murcia, Madrid, Leon, and Valencia regions. Alleged collusion took place between local councillors and civil servants, with builders and energy service providers, and key companies. Contracts said to be worth hundreds of millions of euro have been secured over the years. National Court judge Eloy Velasco says that he wants more information over the Murcia president’s dealings back in 2014 with businessman Alejandro de Pedro,
T
when Antonio Sánchez was the regional education secretary. De Pedro is seen as one of the key figures in the Punica investigation and the Murcia president is being investigated by judge Velasco over allegations of signing deals with the businessman in exchange for favourable publicity boosting his political reputation. Earlier this month, Murcia’s High Court opened a file into corruption involving the building of an auditorium in the municipality of Puerto Lumbreras during the time that Antonio Sánchez was the mayor. He is being accused of the misuse of his office and public funds, as well as fraud concerning official papers. Like in the Punica case, the local investigation has not yet led to any formal charges, and Antonio Sánchez strenously
BY ALEX TRELINSKI denies the allegations. Speaking on Monday about the Punica case, the Murcia President (pictured at his briefing) told reporters half a dozen times that no contract of any kind was agreed with de Pedro or with his company. He stressed that he had over a dozen official documents that
would clear him with any involvement in the Punica affair, and that he is happy to give a full explanation when he is called to do so. He then added on Tuesday that his political opponents were looking to make capital out of the issue, but said he would resign if he was formally charged with anything.
NEVER TOO OLD
wo 59-year old women from Pilar de la Horadada have been arrested by the Guardia Civil on charges of a dozen crimes involving home robberies across the area. They struck in daylight because they thought nobody would think them capable of staging breakin’s, as they walked around urbanisations looking for any doors that might have been left open. Rojales, Pilar de la Horadada, and the Orihuela Costa were some of the areas they operated in, and they went as far north as Altea. On two occasions they were not afraid to use
violence against any homeowners they encountered, leading to residents groups exchanging information via social networks in a bid to warn people and also to try to catch them. The duo would steal small items like jewellery and mobile phones, with the Guardia releasing a CCTV image showing how they operated, with one of the women acting as a look-out, whilst the other would get into the property. Their nationality or whether they have an existing criminal record has not been made public by the Guardia.
Considerable cloudiness. Occasional rain showers in the afternoon. Thunder possible. High 16ºC. Winds WSW at 15 to 25 km/h. Chance of rain: 40% Some clouds early will give way to generally clear conditions overnight. Low 9ºC. Winds W at 15 to 30 km/h. Winds could occasionally gust over 65 km/h.
See page 2 for the week´s forecast