Mallorca Olive Press - Issue 39

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Vol. 2 Issue 39 www.theolivepress.es October 11th - October 24th 2018

Reuse Reduce Recycle We use recycled paper

Sink it in the pink!

NEARLY two dozen pink rubbish bins have been scattered around Palma to raise awareness for breast cancer.

For every kilo of glass collected from the 20 pink glass recycling bins, Ecovidrio will donate €1 to breast cancer research through the Sandra Ibarra foundation.

Ecovidrio is the nonprofit company responsible for recycling Spain's glass waste.

Palma joins cities, including Barcelona and Sevilla, which are raising awareness and funds with over 250 pink bins nationwide.

No master of trickery THE leader of the opposition will not be investigated over allegations his master’s degree was falsely obtained.

The Supreme Court will not probe PP boss Pablo Casado (below) after he admitted that Madrid’s Rey Juan Carlos university waived 18 out of 22 of his regional law assignments.

While he admitted it was ‘favourable treatment,’ he insisted it did not amount to criminal activity.

The court agreed.

The PP party has now, in turn, called for PSOE Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to resign over claims his doctoral thesis was part written by someone else.

Two ministers, Cristina Cifuentes and Health Minister Carmen Montón, have already resigned over degree scandals this year.

See Magical Masters on page 6Untitled-1.pdf 1 16/06/2017

TRAPPED: A car driver desperately tries to escape the deluge that swept dozens of cars out to sea and left hundreds homeless

BURIED Ten dead including a nine-year-old boy and British couple in worst flooding in Mallorca for a century

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T least ten people have died in the worst flooding Mallorca has seen in a century.

A British couple, a Dutchman and a nine-year-old boy are confirmed as being among the dead, while another lad, 5, is also feared to have died.

The island has been declared a disaster zone by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, while three days of mourning have been Continues overleaf

SEE MORE IN THE RESTAURANT SECTION INSIDE

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www.theolivepress.es

DISASTER SPECIAL

October 11th - October 24th 2018

The gates of hell opened

By Jon Clarke, Laurence Dollimore, Charlie Smith and Gillian Keller, in Sant Llorenc

called by the island’s leaders.

The Balearic Government has promised to provide all financial aid necessary to ‘return the victims’ lives to normal’.

It came after much of the east coast of the island was left in tatters, after Tuesday night saw the heaviest rain since the late 1800s.

Up to 250 litres per metre square of rain fell, causing rivers to burst their banks and leaving many survivors stranded on the roofs of their houses or up trees.

Numerous roads were cut off, while dozens of homes were destroyed and hundreds of cars swept away.

At least 200 families had to be evacuated from their homes, around the normally sleepy village of Sant Llorenc.

One British couple, believed to be holidaymakers, drowned after being swept away in a taxi.

Their corpses were later found inside the car, while the driver is believed to be among the dead. Residents described the scenes as ‘apocalyptic’ while another said it ‘felt like Mallorca was sinking.’

ON DUTY: Pedro Sanchez visits affected zones while (inset) tennis champ Rafael Nadal cleans up hometown

Powerful

Authorities confirmed last night that 10 people had died, four of them women, while one was still missing.

A Guardia Civil spokesman said: “The focus now is finding the last lad missing. Riverbeds and the area around the coast are being searched.

“There are a lot of cars in the river beds and a lot of wreckage so it’s not an easy job.”

Elsewhere, a nine-year-old boy was found dead near a flooded waterway, while an elderly man drowned in his basement.

The powerful deluge took the villages of Sant Llorenc and s’Illot by complete surprise, with aftermath photos showing cars piled on top of each other like lego.

Others had been dragged out to sea.

Over 100 soldiers were scrambled in the early hours of Wednesday morning as the full brevity of the floods became clear.

They joined hundreds of local firemen and police in the gruesome job of locating bodies and rescuing dozens of people trapped in cars and homes.

Rain had begun to fall at around 4pm, and by 6pm, 175 litres per square metre was registered. The Sant Llorenç torrent burst open and suddenly flooded the streets at around this time.

By the end of the night the rain had risen to 250 litres per square metre, almost a record across Spain.

Some roads are still closed off as authorities search for the missing and treat the injured.

Nature’s

I

DESTROYED: Van overturned on main road

Opinion Page 6

4

Hot water

www.theolivepress.es

SOME 14 fire bosses have been arrested for allegedly embezzling €7 million in public funds.

The Policia Nacional found that the Consortium of Bomberos Cadiz took out mass early retirement insurance policies.

But when their employees retired early, chiefs siphoned off the money from the payouts.

Authorities also found dis-

Costa del Sol hotel has three months to fight decision before it is demolished

T could have been a scene from the Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was quickly Old Testament. on the scene, pulling on wellies, to declare Millions of litres of rain bombed the area as a disaster zone as he vowed down the hillsides in biblical propor- to offer all financial support necessary to tions in what believers would have de- rebuild the lives of those affected. scribed as the wrath of God. While welcomed, it’s probably meaningStreets were turned into violent rap- less to the mother who lost her son, or the ids, hurtling cars towards the sea and family who lost their grandfather. carrying people, young and old, to The chaotic night left a string of tragedies their deaths. in its wake, like the man who drowned But this wasn’t God, this was mother while trying to rescue his pets, knowing nature - a brutal force which shows he’d rather die than live without them. no mercy when it rears its destructive A British mother and son described how head. they saw a car swept past them with peoA nine-year-old boy with his whole life ple trapped and clearly panicking inside. ahead of him, was killed in a mat- They are later believed to have died. ter of seconds before The tragic nature of the dihis lifeless body was saster is matched only by found strewn across its method of surprise.

250 litres fell in A yellow warning was isthe ground in the aftermath. sued by Spain’s official Another lad - even 5 hours, a record weather agency, AEMET, at younger - is still missAEMET said was 12pm before being upgrading. ed to orange at 8.30pm.

An elderly man, who a ‘once in a 1000 As if playing catch up was too immobile to nature, a red warnyearDecember event’ 6th with - December 19th until 2017 escape the rushing waing wasn’t issued ter as it filled his base10.20pm. ment, drowned alone “We weren’t expecting it,” in his home. said one local, “The weather alert went A British couple - who hours earlier from yellow to orange in a short time. The had most likely been dining out on brook was in good condition but too much their holiday - were swept away be- water has fallen in too short a time.” fore spending their dying moments Indeed long before then, hundredsFrom fled Page 1 together trapped in a taxi as it filled their homes while others were escaping to Hetheir even gotand himself a for financial with water. roofs praying a breakadvice in the slot o radio station, through which he snared un A Dutchman died in a similar predica- known deluge. victims. ment, while even the former mayor of ing The statistics are simply terrifying. Some comprehensive investig Arta, Rafel Gili, 71, was swept to his However, 175 litresa fell by 6pm, someOlive 220 Press litres by posed his scams that involved death. midnight, and finally over 250stamps, litres - acoins re- and alsoaccording revealed to how he and his close pal Barry At least six other people lost their lives We cord AEMET, which claimed andadined a dozen in what was has been described as wined this was ‘once up in ato 1,000 yearscriminals, event’. anon the food column. the worst floods to hit the island in through The heavy rainfall flooded the Ses Planes Hebrook, eventually the dry. country following our more than 100 years. which isfled typically but we soon tracked him down to the UK, wher changed his name by deed poll and was selling c antiques on eBay from a small Berkshire cottage He was quickly found guilty under English law of people and given a suspended prison

NE WS

Not enough stars

A HOTEL is to be knocked down for not having enough class!

CARNAGE: Dozens of cars washed away Benalmadena’s Hotel Vista de Rey must be demolished within three months, a court has ruled, Andalucia’s Superior Court

‘He deserves

www.theolivepress.es

DISASTER SPECIAL

October 11th - October 24th 2018

ALMIGHTY: Lightning strikes ahead of the deluge

’s wrath The floods came in biblical proportions, bringing record rainfall figures for Spain and leaving a dozen victims in coffins, writes Laurence Dollimore Sant Llorenc and surrounding villages were left in the dark after losing power and phone signal, with many not knowing if they’d make it through til daybreak.

Hundreds of troops, Guardia Civil and emergency services were scrambled, including aircraft.

But other tales of survival and the human spirit have shone through the darkness.

Like the man whose car was swept away in the rapids, but he managed to survive after escaping through a passenger window and swimming an incredible 500 metres to safety.

In scenes reminiscent of tragedies like Hurricane Katrina, dishevelled victims headed to refuge centres, which were set up almost immediately by well organised officials and locals.

The island’s most famous export Rafael Nadal offered up his huge tennis academy in nearby Manacor, saying he was ‘deeply affected’ by the tragedy which left parts of his hometown in ruins.

Many roads are still closed as officials asses the damages, especially in the Manacor area and the East coast, but the overwhelming amount of solidarity offered by citizens with food, blankets and shelter was described as ‘incredible’.

But as day broke yesterday on the disaster and three days of official mourning were declared, the aftermath proved there is a lot of work to do.

The beach of S’Illot has been completely

washed away while cars have been left piled on top of each other like jenga.

Homes and buildings have been completely destroyed, along with bridges and roads.

But there is also a lot of healing to do mentally.

Dozens of people, like the 200 forced to flee their homes, will be left traumatised and will need medical help to process and recover.

Terrifying

If anything can come out of this, let it be a resurgence in the fight to meet our climate change goals.

It is not a coincidence that these ‘freak’ floods are becoming more frequent.

It’s affecting the whole of Spain, with floods in Benidorm this week also claiming lives, while parts of Marbella were left dangerously flooded too this week.

Two weeks ago there were sudden terrifying downpours in Ronda and near Valencia..

And let’s not forget the biblical floods on the Costa del Sol two years ago which left several dead and tens of millions of euros in damages.

While the cost of these floods has been deadly, learning nothing from them would be far worse.

DESTRUCTION: Road cut in half while (right) couple wade through flood water and (below) streets strewn with household belongings

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CRIME

www.theolivepress.es

Rat to his hole!

RODRIGO Rato will go to jail for his involvement in the infamous credit cards scandal which saw millions of euros stolen.

The former PP minister and ex-boss of Caja Madrid, is just one of 63 people expecting to receive sentences.

Push out the pirates!

MALLORCA authorities are set to launch a huge crackdown on the illegal rental of yachts next year.

Police, port chiefs and government bodies are drawing up measures to clamp down on the so-called ‘pirate yachts’ that account for almost half the market.

This includes fines of up to €100,000 for unlicensed rentals, which can be

found in many local websites and magazines.

Renting vessels without a license is a growing industry around the Balearics.

This summer an estimated 2,700 yachts were rented without an appropriate license.

Around 30% of Spain’s yachting rentals are in the Balearics.

Police must twerk harder!

Prison

Aristocrat Rato, along with dozens of others at Caja Madrid - now Bankia - fraudulently spent over €15 million on undeclared company credit cards between 1992 and 2012.

Rato, who also led the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is expected to get four and a half years in prison.

FLAUNTING FREEDOM: Tejon enjoying girls and booze in music video BANGED UP: Rato

Budding cops!

MORE than 100 kilos of marijuana has been seized and 10 people arrested as police have ramped up patrols during Mallorca's dope harvesting season.

The end of September and early October is the usual time when marijuana farms cultivate their harvest for the year, so police have increased surveillance around the island.

More than 100 fully grown plants and 100 kilos of buds have so far been seized by the Guardia Civil.

Battle waged against a rising tide of graffiti artists daubing Palma city centre

THE authorities have spent a shocking €30,000 battling a sharp rise in graffiti in Palma city centre this year.

An incredible 1,200 tags

Drunken fool A DRUNK driver who had only just passed her driving test has run over two people in Palma.

The 19-year-old driver hit the victims on the Paseo Marítimo after running a red light.

The two victims were taken to a hospital with various minor injuries.

The young woman tested three times over the alcohol limit.

ONE of Spain’s leading drug bosses has taunted police after appearing in a rap video surrounded by scantily-clad dancers.

Career criminal Francisco Tejon is surrounded by twerking beauties dancing to Reggaeton singer Clase A. Spain’s most wanted has been on the run since 2016 after being identified as one of the leaders of the prolific drug trafficking gang La Castañitas, which operates out of the Campo de Gibraltar.

The X-rated music video is believed to have been shot around La Linea.

Tejon can be seen exiting a

WRITING’S ON THE WALL

Bentley car before he is greeted by nearly a dozen semi-naked women, waiting for him with champagne, on sofas and in a jacuzzi.

The villa boasts a swimming pool, bar and round beds with sado-masochistic sex toys.

Sources say it is being used as a brothel by members of Tejon’s gang.

He has been branded ‘Spain’s most wanted narco' and detectives in Madrid are said to consider him to be the most important cannabis trafficker in Europe.

His older brother Antonio was arrested in June in an operation involving 100 officers.

Tejon’s gang was blamed for a violent raid on a Spanish hospital in February, when gang member Samuel Crespo Dominguez was ‘rescued’ by around 20 masked men.

SCENE: From video

By Gillian Keller

BUST: In Palma

October 11th - October 24th 2018

DAUBED: On shops and even a church

have been removed in the last six months alone by cleaning body, Emaya.

Many more have been removed by private companies and individuals,

but the problem is getting worse, with graffiti affecting almost every city street, claim local resident groups.

"Graffiti is a very serious problem and getting in-

When is it OK?

creasingly bad, I have never seen it get so bad,” said Angels Fermoselle, from the Association for the Revitalization of the Historic Centre (ARCA).

"The alarm signals should be red, but we have the feeling that there is absolute neglect not only in recovering the city's image, but in going after those responsible,” she added.

Is graffitti always unacceptable, or is it sometimes art? Here are two interesting examples in the heart of Palma...

Send your views to newsdesk@ theolivepress.es

The Federation of Neighbours of Palma is now appealing for a larger police presence in the centre to deter graffiti artists from spray painting.

It also asks for a civic education project in schools to combat the issue.

Fines range from €350 to €750 for tagging property, and up to €1,500 if it’s a protected or historic building.

Artists

Expat stabbing AN ECUADORIAN expat has been arrested after stabbing his tenant with a kitchen knife over a ‘debt’ of €60.

It came after he stabbed the 60-year-old man multiple times, after insisting he needed the rent to pay for a taxi.

Fortunately the victim was able to flee to a nearby hotel for help and while in a serious condition he is expected to survive.

Draghunt POLICE in Manacor are searching for man who was seen driving down the highway with a dead dog tied behind his car.

Many locals called in the horrific scene, but police have yet to determine if it is a case of severe animal abuse or a tragic accident where the driver forgot about the dog.

NEWS

www.theolivepress.es

Young love SHE looked like the cat that got the cream as she wondered around Palma with her toy boy lover, some two decades her junior.

Sharon Stone, 60, was spotted wandering around the city with partner Angelo Boffa, 41.

The Hollywood actress was spotted with her Italian lover visiting the cathedral and even taking a horse drawn carriage around the city Boffa, a real estate agent, lives in Zurich where he met the Basic Instinct star last year.

The pair have been spending most of their time in Ibiza, when she is not acting.

October 11th - October 24th 2018

5

LOVEBIRDS: Sharon and Angelo

Who’s the daddy?

La Superba RIP: Caballe

passes

SHE was described as ‘one of the last of the true divas’ and had one of the sweetest voices in musical history.

So successful was her debut in New York, in 1965, she received a 25-minute ovation from the crowd.

She was immediately catapulted onto the global stage, ending up recording 80 albums, including one with Queen legend Freddie Mercury.

So it was fitting that both the Queen and Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez attended Monserrat Caballe’s funeral in Barcelona this week.

The Spanish soprano, who could hold notes for an incredible 20 seconds, died on Saturday aged 85 in the Catalan city.

In an illustrious career spanning six decades the queen of opera, known as ‘La Superba,’ made thousands of performances.

S h e was Born into a working class family in 1933.

ICONIC: Opera star

After bedding 3,000 women Iglesias may be about to see his 41-year-old love child enter his life

JULIO Iglesias could face a paternity trial over claims he has a Valencian love child, following a passionate night with a Portuguese ballerina.

Spain’s most famous lothario - who has a huge estate in Marbella - has allegedly admitted to friends that ‘there may be a paternity trial.’

Javier Sánchez, 41, from Valencia, originally claimed Iglesias, 75, was his dad in 1992, but his claim came to nothing, despite being initially accepted.

He tried again last year, however a 99.99% DNA match was deemed inadmissible, as it had been taken illegally from his son.

While a judge initially ac-

...his father’s son ENRIQUE Iglesias has locked lips with one lucky fan in Kiev - and it isn’t the first time he’s made out with someone from the audience.

It seems, much like his father, Enrique has a lot of love to give – even though he’s been dating Anna Kournikova since 2001 and the couple welcomed twins in December.

Performing in Kiev during his All The Hits Live tour, the Spanish singer engaged in a touchy display with a reveller who had been invited on stage.

The 43-year-old delighted the fan by serenading her before planting a passionate

SMACKER: On stage kiss on her lips.

Footage of the kiss went viral, but fans of the Spanish star said it is a regular occurrence at his shows.

BAD BOY: Julio

cepted the link taken via Julio Iglesias Jr, it was later annulled after it emerged it had been taken illegally from his bins in Miami.

Now however, his lawyer Fernando Osuna, is asking a different court for a DNA test to prove once and for all that the world-class crooner really is his father.

He has asked the judge at Valencia’s Court Number 13 that Iglesias submit a saliva or blood sample at Instituto de Medicina Legal in Madrid.

According to Osuna, Iglesias, who once claimed he’d slept with 3,000 women, has requested that the hearing be held behind closed doors.

He also insists that the case should ‘not be reopened’ as it has already been closed.

The judge is expected to make his decision this month, with a possible trial expected in January or February.

I didn’t rape fan!

NICOLAS Cage was cool as a cucumber as he denied he raped a woman while attending the Sitges Film Festival this week.

The Hollywood legend, 54, was forced to deny that he attacked Vickie Park while being grilled by a journalist at a press conference.

“I have already made a statement on this subject, but to make it clear, this never happened,” he said.

Park claims Cage raped her last September during the Vienna Film Festival, but Cage and his ex-wife Alice Kim have labelled the allegations ‘absurd’.

Cage was in Spain to promote his new movie Mandy, donning a two-piece grey suit and crisp white shirt.

Set in 1983, the dark film charts the story of a haunted man on the hunt for the unhinged religious sect who butchered the love of his life

Fitness break EMMA Willis has been spotted strolling around Ibiza with her pop star husband Matt.

The Big Brother host, 42, is on the white isle on a workout holiday at the famous Body Camp fitness retreat.

The pair, who have three children together, later headed into town hand-in-hand for lunch.

Former Busted rocker Matt revealed the pair had enjoyed a boxing session, an abs workout and bleep test.

He added they had taken a

cooking lesson, yoga session and meditation class before dinner.

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FEATURE

www.theolivepress.es Mallorca’s original community newspaper

A campaigning, community newspaper, the Olive Press represents the huge expatriate community in Spain with an estimated readership, including the websites, of more than 500,000 people a month.

OPINION Clarion call for climate change WITHIN 24 hours the tragic consequences of Mallorca’s floods had touched the entire world.

In one day 10 people lost their lives to the power of nature, including a boy and an elderly man, both of whom were helpless as the waters rose.

Once the dust has settled on this national tragedy questions will be asked of what more could have been done to save victims, and what specifically caused the flash floods to arrive so quickly and unexpectedly.

This natural disaster is not Spain’s first and it won’t be its last, but the floods appropriately arrived in the same week as a damning report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

The document starkly warns the human race it has JUST 12 YEARS left to keep global warming to a maximum of 1.5°C. This warning may not appear clear cut, but in reality the world’s most authoritative scientific voices are saying we are on the brink of irreversible environmental damage.

The climate scientists are saying that if we do not adhere to the 1.5°C target millions will face drought, flooding and extreme heat.

It is not the west who will be hardest hit but the global poor, many of whom live on the equator and in extreme climates.

Mallorca remains a disaster zone now, still grieving, but world leaders must take note and think quickly and carefully about how to tackle climate change properly.

Publisher/ Editor

Jon Clarke jon@theolivepress.es design Keith Franks

Newsdesk newsdesk@theolivepress.es Tel: (+34) 665 798 618

Admin Beatriz Sanllehí (+34) 951 273 575 admin@theolivepress.es

Gillian Keller gillian@theolivepress.es

Office manager Héctor Santaella (+34) 658 750 424 accounts@theolivepress.es

Laurence Dollimore laurence@theolivepress.es Elisa Menendez elisa@theolivepress.es

A fake university masters scandal is rocking Spain’s top leaders and has led to resignations and claims that two party leaders are involved, writes Lenox Napier

P

OLITICS in Spain has fallen to a new low - and the gloves are off.

Whether it’s fabrication, secret recordings or character assassination, the good old days of politicians simply syphoning off a few million euros have been overtaken by the far-more intriguing use of slander, lies and half-truths.

The goal, at least from the Partido Popular (PP) and Ciudadanos, is to see the end of the ‘Okupa’ (or the ‘Squatter’ as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is frequently referred to after he won a vote of no confidence against Mariano Rajoy’s corrupt government in June).

But this particular new sleazy chapter in Spanish political history started with the tearful resignation of a high-ranking regional president back in April.

That was Cristina Cifuentes, president of Madrid province, who was found to have fudged her Master’s degree.

Despite public outcry, not much happened as a result, since Cifuentes, being a politician, had ‘immunity’, and besides, her party, the PP, didn’t see it as anything of special importance.

While the debate raged, with numerous calls for her resignation, she only resigned four months later when a news site published a copy of an unrelated video showing her stealing two tubs of Olay anti-wrinkle cream from Eroski supermarket.

Cifuentes had obtained her Master’s from the University of Rey Juan Carlos (URJC), in Madrid, and it gradually became clear that she was one of a group of politicians (and, one can assume, captains of industry) who had earned themselves their titles without the formality of having properly studied for them.

The first name that came up was the man who took over the PP from Mariano Rajoy following his departure from politics in June.

Finally triumphant from an embittered congress in July, Pablo Casado took over the leadership of the PP, and he publicly made light of his improper Master’s degree from the URJC. He had immunity, as he pointed out, and his supporters frankly didn’t care what he might have written on his resume.

Meanwhile, as the PP congratulated itself on its handsome, new leader, a man supported

by José María Aznar (and reputedly an Opus Dei member), the ruling PSOE in its minority, with just 85 seats out of 350, were indeed in choppy waters.

They began by approving the PP’s previously presented national budget for 2019 without any changes, but the PP and Ciudadanos announced that they were now fully against

Distribution Graham Warters distribution@theolivepress.es

Pablo Balbontin pablo@theolivepress.es Head office

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AWARDS

2016/2017 Best expat paper in Spain and the second best in the world. The Expat Survey Consumer Awards.

2012 - 2017

Named the best English language publication in Andalucia by the Rough Guides group.

October 11th - October 24th 2018

CONCERNED: Questions remain over plagiarisation of Sanchez’s dissertation

m

agical asters

CONTROVERSIAL: Madrid university is under intense scrutiny

them and, with the PP senate majority, re- of €11,000 a pop. fused passage.

An internal investigation is currently underObfuscation? Even the American Republi- way at the university. cans would have been impressed.

Did anyone mention the bridge that colSánchez and his Socialist government are lapsed in Italy this summer. The one in having a hard time. His enemies want his Genoa, where 43 people died? Watch this head, the media is against him, and his allies space. have their own agenda... even his strongest The right-wing press is now attempting to ally, the hard-to-please Pablo smear two other PSOE minIglesias and his Podemos isters. First, Pedro Duque, group. the popular Minister for SciShe suggested Within a couple of months ence and Innovation (he was of the PSOE taking over the Spain’s first astronaut), is that the freedom running of the country this accused of holding property of the media summer with its record numin a company name (while ber of female ministers ( 11 not illegal, around 20 other should be out of 17), one of them, the deputies do the same). And Minister of Health Carmen second, Dolores Delgado, regulated Montón, was found to have the Minister for Justice, over also been a recipient of the a dinner-conversation from URJC’s curious policy regardnine years ago which the exing titles. And in an honourable breakaway judge Baltazar Garzón described as ‘...a defrom the example set by the PP, she quickly spicable campaign with a conversation used resigned. out of context’.

Encouraged by this, the PP leader Pablo One thing she is heard to say on the recordCasado attempted to show that Pedro Sán- ing is worrying a few senior judges about their chez also had a dodgy masters (from an- behaviour on a trip to Colombia in connection other, rather more reputable university), and with some minors they picked up there. when that proved false, he tried a different The recordings – there will be others – come tact. To claim that Sanchez had improperly from an ex-police commissioner and semicopied some text – ie. plagiarised his dis- private investigator called José Manuel Vilsertation - from another source in a book he larejo, who is now in jail (as an untried prishad read..

The conservative press (and that is almost all of the daily newspaper, bar El Pais) pumped the story for all it was worth.

Then it came out that the leader of Ciudadanos, he’s called Albert Rivera, was quietly changing his own profile regarding his titles.

“I’m still studying for my Master’s,” he explained.

The only political leader who seemed safe from this witchhunt was Pablo Iglesias, the leader of Podemos, because his other job is a university don.

So he doesn’t need to acquire a masters!

The URJC, by now looking a bit tawdry, was then found by investigative journalists (treasure them, there aren’t many left) to BOTTOM OF THE CLASS: Casado admitted he didn’t have sold titles to 500 Italian complete 80% of his masters engineers for the modest price

www.theolivepress.es

FEATURE

7

October 11th - October 24th 2018

olive press online Mallorca’s best English daily news website

Most read stories DATES: September 25 - October 9 The top five most read stories on www.theolivepress.es in the past two weeks are:

1 2

- Warning for storms and rain on Spain’s Costa del Sol from TOMORROW (14,603) - EXCLUSIVE: British mum pleas for expats on Spain’s Costa del Sol to help find son’s suspected murderer (13,478)

3

- BREAKING: Reports of gunshots on Spain’s Costa del Sol as expats and locals locked inside restaurants while police chase suspects (11,468)

4 5

- British Agnese Klavina suspect Craig Porter arrested on Spain’s Costa del Sol (8,034) - Brutally murdered body dumped in Algeciras may be victim of last night’s kidnapping on Spain’s Costa del Sol (7,551)

Unique visitors: 195,905

OOPS: Cifuentes holds up her ‘faked’ degree before later resigning after being caught stealing beauty products from a supermarket

oner where he threatens ‘to reveal all’). He puts his (revenge) material on a political site he is in some way tied to called moncloa. com.

Pedro Sanchez replied to the accusations by saying ‘the words of a corrupt person will not decide the political agenda’. Villarejo promises fresh revelations.

Indeed, the pressure from the media on the PSOE is currently so acute, Carmen Calvo, the Vice-president (and something of a socialist dinosaur) has suggested that the freedom of expression enjoyed by the media should be regulated.

The PP leader Pablo Casado himself was meanwhile threatened with a probe by the Supreme Court regarding his university distinctions, but last week that was suddenly dropped.

No surprise perhaps, with four of the five judges on the Supreme Court placed there by the last PP government.

Casado, we hear, and to the palpable relief of the conservatives, has no case to answer.

Nevertheless, and despite support from every newspaper from El País sideways, Casado is quickly slipping into a difficult position regarding his reputation among the general public.

The opinion polls – where ordinary people are asked their views – are ‘buoyant’ for the PSOE at 30%, ten

points over the second runner, the PP. In all, the question becomes – can Pedro Sánchez with his minority Government continue until 2020 as he hopes... or will there be fresh elections by Christmas?

If there are, as Podemos’ Pablo Iglesias says,

things won’t be much easier afterwards as the days of a single-party majority have passed.

And perhaps we should listen to him, as he’s currently the only Spanish leader with a genuine master’s degree.

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Crying shame A MADRID court has found a former doctor guilty after he took a newborn baby from its mother during the Franco era and gave it away in the first trial of the ‘stolen babies’ scandal - but he won’t be punished due to statute of limitations.

6

SCUTTLED!

QUICK-thinking lifeguards have saved a Scottish woman who looked to have drowned in Can Pastilla.

The rescue came after lifeguards noticed a woman floating face down in the small bay.

They quickly leapt into the water and after dragging her to the shore successfully resuscitated her before she was sent to hospital to be checked out.

Finest Real Estate Mallorca

come to an end.

It is about time too, after the Olive Press last year exposed

Double standards as cops attack tourists A VIDEO showing a policeman attack a tourist with a baton has gone viral as expats in Magaluf complain of excessive force, while failing to tackle aggressive prostitutes or thieves.

The incident happened after two youths, one with a girlfriend, got into an argument outside a nightclub.

It was broken up by two Guardia Civil officers, one of whom hit the boy on the back, then whacked the innocent girl twice on the thigh and back.

It comes just days after an illegal street vendor knocked a man out who accused him of stealing a necklace, with police allegedly doing nothing.

It has led to expats in the area claiming the police are showing double standards.

“They just hit that girl for no reason,” Danielle Brookes, who filmed the video, told the Olive Press. “Why are the British being treated like this yet the muggers and prostitutes are free to roam the streets every night?”

how many of the companies were flaunting rules on safety and numbers of passengers.

Our probe last July came after a British dad died on a €55-ahead ‘unlimited’ drinks cruise as the boat wasn’t properly prepared to prevent drownings.

“The cruises have long denigrated the moral integrity of the passengers and ruin the image of Calvia,” explained mayor Alfonso Badal.

The ban is another blow to the party-loving Brits who flock to Mallorca for wild holidays every year.

It is the latest part of a battle being waged by Calvia against the sleazy, cheap tourism that has given the island a bad name over recent years.

“The ultimate objective of the agreement is that party boats do not run in Magaluf,” added the spokesman.

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SPAIN’S transsexual Miss Universe candidate Angela Ponce has called for ‘respect’ after Miss Colombia said the pageant should be for women ‘born women’.

THEY have long sailed close to the wind over the issues of legality and good taste.

Now Mallorca’s famous party boats have been beached in a bid to further clean up the island’s tourist industry.

Calvia town hall has voted to ban six firms, who have been running the booze cruises for years.

Under an agreement with the local maritime association the boats, famous for sex games and cheap booze, will

LUS

Respetame

By Gillian Keller

EXC

THIS September was the hottest in Spain for 50 years with an average temperature of 23C.

Quick save

IVE

Heating up

Party over as booze cruises are banned in Magaluf

LUS

NEWS IN BRIEF

October 11th - October 24th 2018

EXC

8

out why many of the island’s top estate New qualityFind homes agents are using our new Property Magazine since 1958

Property www.theolivepress.es

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Olive Press

MallorcaJuly 20th - August - Living 2nd 2017 Inspiration 9 We give your dreams

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Anyone tennis? for

July 2017

Tel. +34 971 41 www.engelvoelkers.com/mallorca 29 25

Issue 2

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played, last ball but tennis may have own version fans with this can serve up been ace. their Mallorca The €25 property million finca, Knight Frank, has its on the market with court, not own floodlit house to to mention a tennis The main put up the five-bedroom staff ball boys. three-bedroom home, situated the 15th m in century, Calvia, dates a i n en-bedroom while it also hasback to Set within guest house a seving olive 296 hectares nearby. on a hugegroves, it also of rollAnd with outdoor pool.counts French Open pion Rafael chamfrom these Nadal hailing parts, there surely something lorca air in the is to help hand! your back-Mal-

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BUBBLE

OREIGN expected investment into Spanish property Demand to break all records is from abroad this year. years sultant firm straight, accordinghas grown for to internationalseven In the first JLL. confunds havehalf of this year alone, the same more than doubled foreign buyers record period last the investmentand While of €330 million.

So far external year. on hotspotsMadrid and investors into buying Portugal have sunk and attract Barcelona are Spanish property, buyers, Malaga, €888 million and Italy. came third on the most the the most smashing list, followed interest from leading buy searched for destination Sevilla, Mallorca, Sebastian Alicante was last year’s abroad. According by the US foreign for Brits Bilbao and It comes are also bringing creasing by the most searched most in as it was San cate popular destinationto Rightmove, looking to At 53% from region in revealed big numbers. €126,054, last or buy a second Spain, infor Britons Spain is the that Spain however, year. age Average monthly looking to home. is still the A LEADING relo- Withenquiry price of the it also has the internet 74% above lowest averan average most Mallorca massive closest rival searches total enquiry price popular sunny regions. agent has in Mallorca over 2.5m, and second the first 24% rise in sales seen placed France. with 54% is most popular of €397,813, property on the island a In total with high Engel & half of 2017. across Spain, in had looking forlooking for flats and budget 1,415 Engel & Völkers totalling Völkers’s 17 shops houses. apartments buyers, €270.5 rose 19% transactions, while saw sales being three Despite properties and 46% has June, while million with some rental sales in Mallorca The the averagefrom January in Alicante, times higher in was €1.2 to the average price of 1,214 transactions. price it still tops property million, an most searched country property 2016. the list as than those price crease. increase rose to €639,218, sold across the second for property Spain. of 9% on British buyers destination a 6% inThe majority Malaga is market, despite continue in of buyers in third position, and Scandinavian enquiry price Brexit, withto be a strong the island are German, French buyers with British Chris Please, of €191,830. with an average Meanwhile,seeing a rise in some parts of coming more Spanish Head of Rightmove Juan-Galo said that eted to €908across Spain, UK buyers.

Macià, CEO into the market.and Spain, said; Overseas, investmentSpain remains the 32% increase million in thetotal sales rockof Engel “The & confirm on last year. same period, “Over 12 for British buyers. most exciting the positiveextraordinary Völkers a its’ strategic months, we results of 2.5 million market activity importance ny.” searches received an average and in Spain, a month for for the compaindicating property sunny country just how in-demand SPECTACULAR is for property-seekers.”

In terms this of upmarket 15.9m through VILLA: This beautiful out Mallorca, Engel & for its greatproperty he singled home is living and Völkers for sale for picturesque climate, upmarket lorca is perfectly surroundings. positioned destination “Malfor high budget as the ultimate ing to purchase their own UK buyers lookslice of paradise.”

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RAFAEL Nadal has been spotted relaxing on his yacht after crashing out of the Wimbledon tennis championships.

The 31-year-old tennis ace was spotted sipping a fizzy drink from a straw off the coast of Ibiza.

Turn off the red light!

CALVIA council is determined to clean up Magaluf, starting with a fightback against prostitution.

The town hall has told six establishments they will be forced to close if they continue to engage in prostitution without the license to do so.

The places in question, Apple, Bar Kandi, Oops, Red Rooms, Bar Touch and Jagger’s, all have until August 2 to dispute claims.

If they cannot prove their innocence in these matters, they will be closed down.

“There is no going back now and we want to convey a clear message of zero tolerance towards tourism of excess,” said a spokesman.

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Lifeguard who battled to save drowning Brit slams ‘boozecruise’ procedures

action plan. screamed for a defibrillator.

“By the time I got to the guy But nobody was respondin the water he was foaming ing. Nobody gave us anythrough the nose so I gave thing,” he continued. him five rescue breaths “Any beach lifeguard should through his nostrils.” have a pocket mask for CPR He continued: “They threw which is like a filter to stop a ring to him but the rope you taking in stomach acid. snapped and there was They didn’t even have that!” practically no way to get He added: “The captain this guy on board. We needdidn’t have a clue. At times perience, struggled to get ed a harness. he was trying to turn the Hampton back on the boat “We were essentially pullguy’s head to the side which before spending half an ing a lifeless body up two is nonsense.” hour giving CPR. ladders. By the time we got He claims the captain lost “The crew weren’t prepared him on the boat six or seven ten precious minutes before and the boat was so badly minutes must have passed.” moving the boat towards equipped. If there had been Knight soon realised he was land once Hampton was on a defibrillator on board he the only person onboard board. would have had a chance,” with any medical knowlHe was treated onshore by he told the Olive Press. edge. paramedics, but died two “There was no emergency “I started CPR and days later.

“The original news story in the UK press said there were two lifeguards on board who did nothing. There weren’t two lifeguards. There were two guys pulling pints.

EXCLUSIVE on new site mallorca-rentals.net.

“I see lots of lifeguards at LGBT heroes Fake news Space-tastic She only found out when a potential every pool and beach in ent contacted her about a rental in cliMagaluf - so why not on a tember when she was already full. Sepparty boat where 250 peo“The client had seen it on this dodgy ple are drinking? It doesn’t and wanted to double check, luckily site make sense” he added. for her,” she said.

Knight is also angry that “It is shocking that people put so police failed to take statemuch effort into scamming people.” ments from him at the Last year, a British family who rented scene and that he has seen her home had previously been scammed the Britannia Jet out at sea out of ‘a lot of money’ from fraudsters. since.

A number given for mallorca-rentals.

The Guardia Civil have net was ‘not available due to restrictions’. not yet responded to Olive Another scam website, Balearic Press enquiries. A police inVilla Escapes, is still live on the internet.

AN off duty lifeguard who dived from a Magaluf ‘booze cruise’ to save a drowning British dad believes the victim could have lived if the boat had a defibrillator.

Brave Thomas Knight, 23, VICTIM: Hampton and has slammed the company party boat and crew of the Britannia revellers Jet, insisting they were ‘to- several who tally unprepared’ for the jumped off the back of the party boat, where punters emergency.

Knight, from Northern Ire- enjoyed bottomless drinks. land, leapt into the sea to While dragged back onto help when he saw Etienne the €55-a-head pleasure Hampton, 29, struggling in vessel, which had over 200 on board, he died after bethe water.

The father-of-one, from ing taken back to shore.

Jersey, died when he joined Knight, a lifeguard attendant with seven years ex-

Scam website finally taken down New quality homes since 1958

Voted BEST expat paper in Spain

Suits EU, ma’am

THE Queen of England's outfit looked a little familiar to FREE Vol. 1 Issue 5 some as she opened parliament yesterday.

As she spoke of making Brexit ‘successful’, social media became abuzz with how her blue and yellow ensemble ‘blatantly’ imitated the EU flag.

“Is it me or is her Maj sporting a Euro flag on her head?” one viewer said.

While the Queen remains officially neutral on political topics there has been debate since the referendum about Our exclusive look at Pixie her view.

Geldof’s Mallorca nuptials One person remained convinced on the issue, saying: Page 2 “I always knew she was a remainer.”

A SCANDALOUS holiday rental site first reported in the Olive Presswebmonths ago (see right) has finally two been taken down.

Rent Holidays Villas, which is believed to have scammed hundreds of British tourists, has finally been removed Expats’ from rights the web, following repeated requests from this paper to hosts GoDaddy. closer But despite this success, the fraudsters have been quick to set up another fraudulent site to snare fresh victims, as one Soller homeowner has revealed.

The villa owner, who asked to remain anonymous, contacted us to tell us of her ‘shock’ to see her villa illegally advertised 16/06/2017 15:36

THE rights of 1.2 million Brits living in the EU and three million EU citizens in the UK appears to be inch-

Untitled-1.pdf

07157 Port Andratx, Tel. +34 971 672

H 200 | Nova Santa Ponsa | 1.950.000

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Geldof weds

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June 22nd - July 5th 2017

A look at Spain’s greatest LGBT during International Pride Monthicons

Did it all begin in Spain?

Important observatory to survive thanks to Olive Press

CATCH THE SCAMMERS! Page 6

EXCLUSIVE

By Joe Duggan

Page 10

Page 15

WARNING: Olive Press investigation discovers string of fake holiday rental sites conning customers this summer

THE Olive Press is demanding action against a string of ing closer. fake holiday rental sites falseThe initial focus for Brexit villa rental company Bonder ly advertising luxury villas will be on expat rights, a fiand Co. across the Balearic Islands. nancial settlement and ‘othBoth fake websites SpainviIt comes after we reported er separation issues’, it was pholidays.com and Balearlast issue that scam site Rentconfirmed after the first day icVillaEscapes.com are listholidaysvillas.com was conof negotiations in Brussels. ing the same properties, use ning British tourists out of At the joint press conferthe same website template, thousands of euros each year. ence on Monday, David Dawith both website domains In total, British victims lost vis and Michel Barnier also having the same Google veri€8.16 million in holiday said the issue of common fication key. scams last year, a year-ontravel in Ireland was imporAn IT expert told the Olive year rise of 20%, claims the tant.

Press that this was a classic Association of British Travel case of ‘domain farming’ and Agents (ABTA). criticised Google for not takIn one of the worst examples, Future ing the sites down immedireported last issue, rugby star "We've laid solid foundaately.

Dean Schofield and friends tions for future discusCOPIED: How genuine site was All three scam websites are shelled out nearly €50,000 scammed by sions and an ambitious but Spain VIP Holidays hosted by US-based firm Gofor a fraudulent villa break in achievable timetable," said Daddy, which also hosts RenMallorca.

Davis, Britain's Brexit minmassively reduced prices to We have now discovered N EWS ister. panies you have never heard holidaysvillas.com. lure victims in.

The UK’s Action Fraud conmany other websites running Davis insisted that talks Helle Heredia, from Mallor- about. Don't let scammers firmed it is now investigatsimilar fraudulent schemes, about trade would occur ‘in ca-based rental firm Nova- ruin your holidays.” ing rentholidaysvillas.com, including balearicvillaesparallel’, but Barnier said sol, said she had heard of ‘25 The fraudsters, who are very although at the time of going capes.com, Luxurydreamsthey would start only in a to 30’ recent cases of people difficult to track down, are to press had not responded to villas.com and www.digsecond phase. being scammed but believed very good at creating fake our enquiries. italdreamsholidays.com.

First, ‘significant progress’ profiles and, as revealed last there were ‘many more’.

GoDaddy was made aware Photos of an eight-bedroomed would need to be made on “It’s so scary with these scam issue, the photo for the agent of Rentholidaysvillas.com’s Mallorca property, advertised the EU's priority issues, nosites - they pop up with just ‘Flavio’ for rentholidaysvil- fraudulent activity in April, from €800 per night on a tably the rights of expatriate one purpose, of robbing peo- las.com was actually an Aus- but the site, and the three fourth site spainvipholidays. citizens and a settling finanple of their money in the most tralian estate agent. others, are still live. com, have been lifted from a cial accounts. important time of everyone’s We have now discovered that A GoDaddy spokesperson genuine US website luxuryreEU negotiators have insisted a photo of Balearicvillaesyear Asylum drama told the Olive Press: “Our treats.com. that current Top-end properties around said. - their holidays,” she capes ‘property agent’ Alba Digital citizens’ rights Untitled-1.pdf 1 16/06/2017 On the genuine Crimes Unit still have 15:36 site the actual should remain unchanged.

Portillo Olivares is actually a the whole of Spain are being “Just not received any inquiries or price is from €2,930 a night. marketed by the scammers at ed by ensure not to be tempt- stolen photo of Paloma Bond- requests fantastic offers by com- er, director from law enforceof top Ibiza luxury ment on these websites.”

2

Rent rage

www.theolivepress.es

England rugby international and friends fury at €50,000 holiday scam EXCLUSIVE

By Joe Duggan

RUGBY star Dean Schofield is urging action after being mauled in a sophisticated holiday shakedown.

Wasps international Dean (right) and wife Gemma, both 38, were set to take a dream break to Spain with friends to celebrate the England international’s retirement.

But the vacation turned into a nightmare after the group of 16 from Cheshire unwittingly booked via a fraudulent holiday property rental website.

In total, scammers took payment and deposit of €5,700 €11,400 and (£5,000) (£10,000) respectively before swiping another €29,800 (£26,000) for the stunning villa in Mallorca, which is owned by a wealthy foreign owner.

The group only rumbled the scam, via rentholidaysvillas. com, the day before they flew.

“We were very angry when we found out,” Gemma told the Olive Press this week. “It was a horrible moment and we weren’t sure what to do.

“We started Googling it and other stories came up. When we emailed the person we’d been dealing with at the site called ‘Flavio’ he sent an abusive email back.

“Luckily we were in a fortunate position where we could arrange an alternative villa and

June 9th - June 22nd 2017

SCAMMED: Holiday group and (right) fake site with profile stolen from Oz agent still get the flight over. But what “I must confess we did think put your trust in us’ and that if we were from a normal fam- it was a bit cheap for where it they ‘believe in honesty’ the ily and couldn’t afford to come? was, and it in fact rents for a lot scammers have stolen photos from hundreds of properties We were at least able to salvage more,” admits Gemma.

Thankfully, the group of eight across Spain, Portugal and the holiday.”

The group had come across the adults and eight children - who Greece and has a series of fake stunning eight-bedroom villa are still on holiday on the is- testimonials from ‘happy’ cliwith a huge pool and grounds land - are now trying to reclaim ents at the bottom. and got in touch with the web- their money as the booking was There are 18 properties for rent on the Costa del Sol and 38 in made via a credit card. site via email.

The website looked extremely The website meanwhile is still Mallorca, as well as 38 in Ibiza credible and even had a photo live, despite being reported to and 21 on the Algarve, in Porof its alleged owner, Flavio Her- its web hosting company by the tugal.

Various genuine rental firms nandes Davila, who did the ne- Olive Press and to UK police.

Despite boasting that ‘you can we have spoken to on the Costa gotiating.

del Sol and in Mallorca are demanding legal action after their own properties were taken and offered to rent at much cheaper prices.

We have discovered that the photo of Davila (left) is actually a photograph of an Australian estate agent, whom we are not naming, for legal reasons.

Another British victim of the site, pensioner Anne Landon, said she became suspicious after booking a break through the site and transferring £4,600 into one of their UK bank accounts.

“I take my grandchildren on holiday every summer and was getting pretty desperate trying to find somewhere,” said Anne, 74.

“The price was very reasonable and I was so excited. But immediately after booking he sent

STOP THE SCAMMERS

Rentholidaysvillas.com is hosted by US-based server GoDaddy, which was warned as long ago as April of the scam by a leading holiday rental site in Spain. When asked why it was still live this week, GoDaddy Digital Crimes boss Ben Butler, explained: “We communicate regularly with law

enforcement on alleged fraud and have processes for taking action. If anyone believes they have they defrauded been should contact law enforcement.”

Contact your local police and Action Fraud and email newsdesk@ theolivepress.es if you’ve been scammed.

another email to say he had given me the wrong bank account number.

“I immediately felt very uncomfortable. I believe he was going to hit me twice. I phoned my brother and said. ‘I think this is a scam.’”

Anne phoned both hers and the recipient’s bank and her money was returned four days later.

“I can’t stand the thought of families heading to a villa with their children to find they have nowhere to stay.”

While she got her money back, she was forced to apply for a new passport after sending a copy of her passport to the fraudsters.

This week, an Olive Press reporter, posing as a holidaymaker, enquired about renting an exclusive property with rentholidaysvillas.com.

‘Flavio’ offered us a price of £3,850 a week, plus a 10% discount for full payment up front, requesting a passport copy and full address.

When asked why he needed this, ‘Flavio’ replied: “When we make the contract, we need to be sure of your passport details.”

One genuine property rental site, who asked to remain anonymous, expressed her ‘regret at the negative impact this could have on holidaymakers who have paid their deposits.’

“We are deeply shocked and saddened,” she said. “This is extremely clever criminal activity and we will always do our best to help people who have been treated in this way.”

Helle Heredia from Malagabased holiday property rental firm Novasol, said: “We hear about these types of scams all the time and the name ‘Flavio’ has been mentioned several times by guests that have been scammed before reaching to us for help.

“My advice for holiday makers, is to book with well-known and established holiday rental companies, check there is a valid phone number, always use a credit-card when you make a booking, Google the websites first to check if they have been reported for scams before and always remember if it sounds too good to be true – it probably is!”

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ken to his daughter just once since.

“It’s morally wrong, seeking asylum to avoid the law.

“My lawyer said if everyone in Norway with a legal problem ran to a church to escape the law we better start building more churches,” he continued.

He claims Maia is not attending school and is only able to learn to play the organ and sing with the choir, which is ‘hardly an appropriate syllabus’.

Local vicar Knut Bjune denied this however, insisting local teachers were coming to the church to give her lessons ‘almost all the time’.

“Socially she is not isolated and their living conditions are good,” he told the Olive Press.

“We are not hiding information and we have made it clear this cannot be long term.”

In the one, heartrending phone call to Maia which Shepherd taped - the tearful youngster can be heard telling her brothers she wants to return to Spain.

Shepherd’s Norwegian lawyer Sol Elden, confirmed this week: “A church is not a place to withdraw yourself from legal responsibilities.

It is an abuse of church asylum.

“It is her duty to now bring the girl back to Spain after the final court ruling.”

Shepherd has now written to Norwegian government minister Solveig Horne demanding help after local child services dismissed Maia’s case, saying no further action would be taken.

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WISHES: On Maia’s birthday this week A Norwegian Supreme Court will probe Bjørnsen’s asylum claim this month.

Bjørnsen’s lawyer, Vidar Helgheim, claimed that ‘new information’ had now ‘changed’ the case, but refused to disclose it.

“The (original) case was based on very little information. You have to go deeper and ask why she ended up in this situation,” he said.

A Norwegian police spokesperson told the Olive Press they would not intervene while Maia remained in the church.

“The police will not enter a church and arrest someone who has requested protection,” said Ingar Boen, Chief of Police District Møre og Romsdal.

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The boat parties, made famous by film The Inbetweeners Movie, are said to promote ‘drunkenness’ via their all-inclusive offers.

“We are eliminating the problems party boats cause locals and other visitors, and want to improve Magaluf as a tourist destination," continued Badal.

A SHOCKING 60% of deaths on Mallorca’s roads are of cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians.

More than 14,000 of these 'vulnerable' road users have died around the islands over the last decade.

Of these 14% were cyclists, 21% were pedestrians and 65% were on motorbikes.

Mallorca and Catalonia have the highest rates of road accidents in Spain, with over 1.3 accidents per 100 residents.

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October 11th - October 24th 2018

Flocking to help

Sun tax scrapped SPAIN has taken its first steps towards abolishing the controversial ‘sun tax’.

The Council of Ministers approved a royal decree on Friday, introducing urgent measures to force the country’s transition to a clean and accessible energy model, including eliminating the socalled sun tax.

Neighbours call in police to probe shepherd who has not been feeding his sheep

By Gillian Keller

Focus

POLICE have been called in to investigate a farm where sheep have allegedly died from neglect over the last few months.

Agents from the Guardia Civil environment arm Seprona have been probing how dozens of sheep have apparently been left in danger of starvation at the estate near Andratx.

Outraged neighbours have told the Olive Press that they have been forced to step in

The main focus of the decree is to introduce a law supporting self-consumption across Spain, meaning you can create your own energy.

Meanwhile NGO Greenpeace welcomed the changes but is urging the government to take further action and introduce a tax that forces ‘the polluter to pay’.

FAMISHED: The same flock being herded two years ago

Undrinkable ANGRY opposition leaders in Felanitx have hit out after discovering that the town’s municipal water supply has been ‘undrinkable’ since May. The town’s PP party has denounced the town hall insisting it is a 'serious attack on public health' and that it shows a lack of 'political responsibility.

The water supply has apparently been high in nitrates for months.

€1 million fine for strikers

A HUGE group of air traffic controllers are paying fines and leave food for the flock, added. In 2015 neighbours totalling over €1 million for Green Future - Page many of which they claim pressed the issue with the an illegal strike eight years 17 SHAME: Neglected sheep town hall December until police forced are close to death. ago.

6th - December 19th 2017 The owner of the farm in the man to move his sheep The group of 73 have collecCamí des Prat has been de- to where they could be cared tively pleaded guilty to the nounced meanwhile, by ani- for. unscheduled walkout in Balemal association Salvem, for It was a difficult task as aric airports in December leaving his sheep without many could hardly walk 2010. from lack of food. The fol- Each will pay a fine of shelter, food or water. lowing year he abandoned €15,000, with the managers From Page 1 them again. and the group’s union bosses Tragic SOME 14 fire bosses have According He to even neighbours, paying substantially more. got himself a financial advice slot on a well “It has been going on for at the owner lives in the been arrested for allegedly total, six union are radioPort station,In through which he leaders snared unsuspectleast seven years – when of Andratx known embezzling €7 million in and sometimes facing fines of €30,000 each, ing victims. there was snow at sea level a public funds. leaves the farm abandoned as well as a five months susHowever, a comprehensive Olive Press investigation exfew years ago it was tragic,” for months at The Policia Nacional found time.his scams thatpension ofstamps, their duties. posed involved coins and former neighbour Harriet So far no action has been The actions were over unof-gold. that the Consortium of also revealed how he and his close pal Barry Nathan Sztumpf told the Olive Press taken sinceWethe Bomberos Cadiz took out A HOTEL is to be knocked Seprona absences for alleged wined and dined upficial to a dozen criminals, anonymously, . mass early retirement insuragents camethrough to document down for not having enough sickness, and affected tens of the food column.

“I have seen this so many ance policies. the state of the sheep over a thousands of passengers. class! times since 2014,” she week ago. He eventually fled the country following our expose, But when their employees Benalmadena’s Hotel Vista but we soon tracked him down to the UK, where he had retired early, chiefs siphoned de Rey must be demolished changed his name by deed poll and was selling coins and off the money from the paywithin three months, a court antiques on eBay from a small Berkshire cottage. outs. has ruled, He was quickly found MORE guilty under English law of conning Authorities also found disTO COME: Andalucia’s Superior Court people and given a suspended prison crepancies in the consorFiresreasons. in Portugal of Justice ruled that the hosentence only due to health tium’s training courses.

“And because he promised to never tel falls short of its four-star than permitted.

Large sums were paid to a go back to his online cons,” one of the requirement.

Although the town hall and company to provide training British victim explained. courses, but no evidence has developer maintain this exBut this is apparently not the case with been found that these courses Probing cess was later corrected, the two victims claiming he is still using took place. judge ruled that the rectificaIt began probing the three eBay to sell ‘dodgy’ coins and stamps Meanwhile, irregularities tion would have taken place star hotel and apartment from his unpaid flat in Brighton, uswere also found in grants and after the granting of the liing the names ‘gqtrading’ and ‘gqtradblock in 2011 after it was desubsidies, which cops believe cence, so does not count. ing2’. nounced over planning rules were used to pay for private The building has 61 apart“We are pretty sure he has broken his which set aside the plot for a trips. ments and 46 parking spacbail conditions and will have to finally four star hotel only.

The irregularities date back es. go back to prison,” said one victim.

According to the PGOU town to 2008 and cops believe at “The nerve of this man is unbelievable.”

The original building was plan an apartment block was least €7 million has been stoHis landlord last night insisted he should have known granted planning permisnot permitted and it also len by those at the top. something was up from the start. sion by then mayor Enrique breached rules by being over “When we met to sign the contracts I thought he was a bit Bolin in 2001.

700 square meters bigger DOOMED: Costa hotel slippery, I went to pay for my coffee only for the barista to tell me he had left without paying his bill.”

He continued: “He paid for the first couple of months but PURE GARBAGE: Ocean waste turned into art then just stopped. He told us his account had been frozen FRUIT growers in the Axardue to a money laundering investigation, which is probquia are facing a 60% reducably true. “He then told us to stop contacting him and action in water use from the La cused us of harrassment.

Vinuela reservoir with no soPOLICE officers have formed a human wall deter drug smugglers from using the beach “Now he is claiming he is seriously ill and can’t work to lution in sight. along a beach in La Linea to ensure that the as a drop off zone. make payments.

The Junta has decided to construction of a beach wall went ahead.

A combined police presence of Guardia Civil, “We’ll see him in court.” limit its use as the reservoir is The wall, between the church of Nuestra local and national officers were present as already at 22.7% capacity and Senora del Carmen and the perimeter wall fears grew that drug smugglers would try Opinion Page 6 could drop evenpictures lower if the the rubbish fishing port of La Atunara, hopes to and disrupt the work.

Mandy Barker’s lookoflike dry weather keeps up.

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Hot water

Costa del Sol hotel has three months to fight decision before it is demolished

Pipe ban

NE WS

Not enough stars

‘He deserves it’

SMUGGLERS’ WALL

Trashy art

Flaming hell

- and they are!

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BRITISH photographer has brought her thought-provoking photo exhibition on the damage of plastics to Spain.

Mandy Barker’s SOUP looks like a colourful collection of abstract art. In reality, it’s all created from shots of rubbish she picked up from seas and beaches around the world - from Hull in the UK to the Canary Islands and as far

as Japan.

“The objective of my work is to create a visually attractive image that at first captures the viewer’s gaze and then surprises them with the caption and the data of what the work represents,” explains Barker.

“The contradiction between beauty and sobering facts makes people wonder how and why their packaging of food, computer or shoes ended up in the middle of the ocean.”

Real time

AEMET has begun measuring air pollution in real time.

Continuous recordings of methane and carbon dioxide levels will now take place across Madrid in a bid to analyse the effectiveness of current efforts to reduce air pollution.

The new system will also allow for a larger sample of gases which will give scientists a bigger picture when it comes to determining how polluted the city’s air is.

THE risk of fires will increase by 40% in climate change’s best case scenario - a 1.5C global rise in temperatures.

That’s the worrying forecast in a new study by green group Nature Communications.

And if temperatures rise by 3C, the number of wildfires in Spain and across the world could double.

“Global warming is undeniable, every summer we set new temperature records and this summer the heat wave reached central and northern Europe, instead of solely Mediterranean Europe,” explained Marco Turco, one of the study’s researchers.

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LA CULTURA THE King of Pop returns www.theolivepress.es

Middle passage

IT is not the most common thing you associate with cruising.

But hanging out and drinking the wine of Jon Bon Jovi should help ease the passage between Barcelona and Palma.

In an unusual departure, the Runaway to Paradise themed cruise next August will feature a concert by the rock star, as well as a Q&A and opportunity to try his famous rose wine Hampton Water.

During the cruise, which goes around the Balearics, there will also be concerts from other guest artists, and many other thrills.

"Hundreds of people gather every time we leave for a destination, and lasting friendships are born," explained the US rock star about the cruise concept.

“We want to continue that tradition in the totally immersive travels of Runaway, get ready, we'll see you there!"

October 11th - October 24th 2018

Send your informa tion to newsdesk@theolivepr ess.es

The Michael Jackson tribute will wow audiences in Palma this month

THE new King of Pop is coming to Mallorca.

Dubbed the ‘best Michael Jackson impersonator’ by the late-singer’s family, Forever – King of Pop is set to moonwalk for three nights later this month.

The fantastic journey of the legendary singer, who died in 2009, will be recreated at the Palma Auditorium from October 19.

Fans around the world have been impressed with the magic of the show, and how close it is to the life and legacy of the singer, who had a string of number one hits.

His father Joe Jackson has described it as the most authentic of the many tribute acts.

"It's too good to be real. I thought I saw Michael there," said his father Joe Jackson before his death earlier this year.

His sister La Toya Jackson added: "Not only is it a great show, but my brother's heart is on stage.

The more you take out, the higher your refund.

what’s on Animal anniversary NATURA Parc is celebrating 20 years of protecting animals and educating the island with a party and BBQ on October 27. All ages are welcome to explore the parc and animals with discounted prices and special events.

Autumn fairs

“I would love to see this show on Broadway. " Even Michael's brother Jemaine has commented on its brilliance saying, "the show is excellent, everyone does an extraordinary job".

PORRERES celebrates its Autumn festivals on October 21 and November 4 with local markets and fairs, food stalls and fun activities for all ages.

All around fun

SnatchED! FINALLY the second season of Snatch is available in Spain, exclusively on Orange Series.

Shot entirely in Malaga, the local location was a coup pulled off by homegrown production company Fresco Films, which also handled the Game Of Thrones shoot in Sevilla.

Based on the famous Guy Ritchie film, the series stars Rupert Grint, best known as Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter franchise, and Luke Pasqualino from Skins.

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October 10th - October 23rd 2018

ALGAIDA'S Autumn Fair is a mix of agriculture, gastronomy, arts and crafts and music and culture combined for a massive festival.

Activities, food carts, parades and cultural events run through Sunday October 14.

Historic fair LLUCMAJOR holds its annual harvest festival until October 15 – a celebration dating back to 1546, with live music, a farm, craft markets, parades with giants and a food fair.

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As anti-Semitism continues to top Britain’s political agenda, Diana Tang visits the Toledo Catholic synagogue, symbolic of an age-old conflict in Spain

I

T has the look of a mosque, the title of synagogue and the status of a Roman Catholic Church.

A religious monument like no other, the experience of setting foot in Toledo’s Synagogue of Saint Mary La Blanca even tops the experience of Cordoba’s more famous mosque-cathedral.

I did a double take as my eyes took in the golden ornamentation, whitewashed walls and forest of Moorish arches.

In the atrium at the centre, sunlight streaming in from circular side windows illuminates a dark, bronze cross, hung high and proud.

Built by Islamic architects in the 12th century for Jewish use under Christian rule, the Synagogue of Santa María la Blanca was meant to be a symbol of the religious tolerance that existed – briefly – on the Iberian Peninsula before the brutal Inquisitions took over.

ON SITE: Diana Tang

Ironically, today it has become an icon of anti-Semitism and the subject of a theological tug of war over its rightful ownership.

Taken over by Spain’s Catholic Church in the 15th century but marked by all three religions, the complex intertwining of histories is something the casual tourist cannot see and the two-paragraph information panel on the wall cannot hope to cover.

For Spain’s small but thriving Jewish community, the synagogue stands not as a beautifully-designed building or even a holy place but a looming reminder of their country’s own anti-Semitism and the oppression of their people. It is the perfect heri-

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tage from the Inquisition and beyond.

For Isaac Querub, President of Spain’s Federation of Jewish Communities who is fighting to return the synagogue to his people, the building is a blatant example of the inaction of the Spanish church in preventing the Jewish community from educating the public about their own history.

It’s not a move to turn it back into a Jewish place of worship, says Querub, but rather a symbolic gesture of returning a key building to its rightful owners and an admission of past wrongdoing.

He has called not for condemnation but for open interfaith dialogue and closer Judeo-Christian relations.

For him, the recognition of the building’s roots through a transfer of ownership is key in revealing the true history of the tourist hotspot.

But the Catholic Church remains unmoved. The archdiocese of Toledo issued a threepage response, solidifying church ownership of the building – only officially attained through the government in 1929 - and stressing the church’s role in restoring it.

In fact, the Spanish Catholic church has yielded little to the Jewish community compared to the individual actions of local communities and the Spanish government. From Pope Paul VI’s call for better relationships between the Catholic and Jewish communities to the

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law introduced in Spain offering citizenship to Sephardic Jews who were chased out of the country, there has been a concerted effort to extend the hand of reconciliation, even if the offer may be hundreds of years late.

Visitors to the synagogue may wonder, as I did, why there is so little information offered about the history and importance of this popular tourist attraction. But I also wonder: if the Jewish community were allowed to present their own

story, could the very nature of the Synagogue of Saint Mary the White evolve into something much different than it is now? Could it change the anti-Semitism that still plagues parts of Spanish society today?

The answers to these questions remain elusive, but one thing is for sure: only with open communication and mutual respect between both parties can this century-old conflict be buried once and for all.

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October 11th - October 24th 2018

October 10th - October 23rd 2018

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Images of Spain RENOWNED lensman Leopoldo Pomes has won Spain’s National Photography Award 2018.

The Barcelona native received the €30,000 prize for his life’s work which has ‘contributed to the history of the image of Spain’.

Born in 1931, Pomes bought his first camera in 1946 and had his first exhibition at the Layetanas Gallery in Barcelona.

Considered one of the greatest contemporary photographers of the late 20th century, his work hangs in the world’s top galleries including the Valencian Institute of Modern Art, the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona,​​ the Museu Tèxtil i d’Indumentària de Barcelona, ​​the Andalucian Center of Photography (Almería) and the Michael Hoppen Gallery in London, among others.

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Launching a brand new book section this issue, Alicia Duggan, reviews a new tome on the world’s most dangerous man… and a great cooking book to help you learn Spanish!

Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward

VANGUARD: A Pomes snap

Bob Woodward has shared in two Pulitzer prizes for his reporting on the Watergate scandal and his coverage of the 9/11 attacks and has spent over 30 years reporting on the American Presidency with impartiality.

Drawing from hundreds of hours of interviews with first hand participants, official documents, personal diaries and his own interviews, Woodward has put together an impeccably researched, unbiased, unflattering and shocking fly on the wall account of a White House in chaos.

Donald Trump is undoubtedly the most divisive President in the history of the USA. This book follows his campaign trail and election and deals with the major scandals and policy decisions surrounding his first year in office.

What we see is a dishonest and disloyal man of immense privilege with a complete lack of understanding of politics, economics and international relations.

It shows a man who frequently berates his staff and how his impulsive decisions can have a far-reaching impact on domestic and global issues.

It also shows how his team in turn protect him and the country by attempting to manage him with platitudes, hiding executive order documents and memos to prevent serious international and domestic situations from arising.

This is a fascinating and informative read for anyone looking to find out more about Trump or American politics in general.

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A RANGE of swing and lindy hop performances are set to land in Inca.

There will also be classes for all ages and levels at the Lindy Festival, this weekend.

Live music will be performed by the Hot Sugar Band and Monkey-Doo, Oh My Swing and DJ Martí Segalas.

Meanwhile, the Fira de la Terra, or Earth fair, returns on October

20 and 21 with concerts, local food and crafts markets, as well as special exhibits on sustainability and recycling.

There will also be a bird and falcon show.

The leisure and motor fair is the following weekend on October 27 and 28 with markets, fashion shows, musical performances, and an large engine and car show.

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OVER IT Readers react to Theresa May telling EU to ‘respect’ her and the UK

Check out our other issues at our website www.theolivepress.es

October 11th - October 24th 2018 Fake advisor

Letter

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week

and it is believed almost €16 billion a year is spent on travel and hotels following reviews.

Do you know of any businesses selling fake reviews? Or places abusing social media or review sites? Contact newsdesk@theolivepress.es Trick advisor page 6

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Staying in?

Expat hospitalised for a month after being bitten by a black widow, which could kill a child

Need a good read? See our book review section

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By Laurence Dollimore

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Brain teaser

Can you tackle Andalucia’s toughest crossword?

Page 16

TM

SPIDERS which can kill young children and babies are living on the Costa del Sol, an expat has warned.

Aurelia Nesslany, 49, is sounding the alarm after she was hospitalised and treated for OVER A MONTH after being bitten by a mysterious eight-legged beast in Estepona.

The French expat was enjoying a game of cards at the

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over a month before she was given the all clear, although doctors told her the venom will remain in her system for six months.

While the type of spider was never confirmed, doctors told Nesslany her symptoms were a match for only two breeds - the Violinist tarantula and the Mediterranean Black Widow - a close relative of the fatal Black Widow, found predominantly in Australia.

“Expats and locals need to be really careful,” added Nesslany, “I really hope the club has fumigated or done something because if that spider bites a baby it could easily kill it.”

The Nautical Club failed to comment in time for press.

*Offer ends 30/11/18. Not valid for renewals. Subject to conditions.

Gibraltar Issue 81 2/8/18 17:01

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Brain teaser Can you tackle Gibraltar’s toughest crossword?

Page 6

Staying in?

Need a good read? See our book review section

Page 10

Has Spain’s political mud-slinging reached a new low?

We unpack ‘Mastergate’

Best English Pub in Palma Great food Live Music Every Night from 12am

Deplorable

By Laurence Dollimore

ate campaigner of mental health care, wrote on Twitter: “We need to sort out this shambles of a mental health system.”

At least two psychiatric nurses have recently suffered ‘nervous breakdowns’ and ‘suicidal thoughts’, according to reports.

This has been blamed on a distinct lack of resources and the strain of the high pressure working environ-

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health care has recently experienced cuts to some of its community services.

The government backed ‘Outreach Support Team’ which was introduced last year in order to provide a crucial 24-hour/ 7-days a week on - call mental health care service has recently seen its after-hour and weekend services removed due to funding shortages.

The GSD was due to hold a press conference on the mat-

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Well done on your front page (No Paws, front page, sept 27 issue) on those caring cat people in Pollensa. What is it with the animal abuse here and lack of caring about creatures? What's the problem with feeding hungry stray animals. Seems like a normal thing to do!

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lives in Europe.

Also, it’s hard to see how Gibraltar bending the knee to Spain can mitigate any of this disaster.

24/11/2017 11:18

Graham Cannon, Manacor

Stuck in limbo

Embarrassment

It’s absolutely ludicrous for Mrs May to demand the EU come up with a plan when we are the ones leaving the group and going to be hard done by.

And where was her commitment to us expats who have absolutely no idea what is going to happen to us once the UK leaves?

It is appalling that we have been left in limbo like this, we deserve reassurances it has been more than two years now, get it together!

Most of the people who seem to have a problem with refugees are the racist ‘expats’ - despite this not even being their bloody country (Spain among most welcoming countries for refugees, issue 301).

They think they have a right to say who should and shouldn’t be allowed to come.

The thing that gets me though is that they’re being racist on someone else’s turf!

How the hell can they be nationalists, when they abandoned their country?! Colonial racists are the worst kind of racists.

They’re not only being ridiculously territorial of their homeFake Is this the Voted adviso r land.

But they think they can new look BEST for Palma’s expat they colonise whatever country seafront? paper Find out in in Spain our Property wish. supplement False sense of superiority. Em-inside barrassing.

Anonymous, Madrid

18

22

19

Welcome to the Olive Press’ first ever crossword, aimed to be accessible to readers of all ages and education levels

UP to one in three reviews on TripAdvisor is fake, a new investigation has found.

An analysis of tens of thousands of reviews shows toprated B&Bs have almost twice as many ‘fake’ reviews as lowerranked accommodation.

The Times caught restaurants trying to buy 5-star reviews, as well as negative reviews of rivals.

It comes after the Olive Press exposed a series of Spanish businesses paying for dozens of fake five-star reviews in a bid to increase their rankings.

Victims

Despite TripAdvisor stepping in to investigate, the Times probe insisted enough was not being done to stop the bogus reviews.

Another recent study found that almost nine in ten businesses have been victims of negative reviews.

Consumer groups say fake reviews are a growing problem and it is believed almost €16 billion a year is spent on travel and hotels following reviews.

Down

7 Provided with protective covering (8) 8 Speck (4) 9 Gather (5) 10 Boat race (7) 12 Type of variable electrical control (6) 13 Embarrass (5) 15 Stimulus (3) 16 Expiry (5) 18 Yield post (6) 20 Wool fat (7) 23 Crowbar (5) 25 Hardens (4) 26 Pertaining to a school (8)

1 Quivered (8) 2 Israeli intelligence agency (6) 3 Illustrative craft (3) 4 Verge (4) 5 Largest desert (6) 6 Wood (4) 11 Mischievous (4) 13 Relating to aircraft (4) 14 Sanitary (8) 17 Excite (6) 19 Scandinavian kingdom (6) 21 Second son of Adam and Eve (4) 22 Formerly Mesopotamia (4) 24 Grass (3)

FREE

(Free or paid

for) Vol. 2 Issue 38 www.theolivepr ess.es September 27th - October 10th 2018

9 Lives charity pair acosted by

Expats vow to continue feeding stray cats despite vicious attack from local

NO PAWS resident

Julie Frank, Malaga

EXCLUSIVE

By Laurence Dollimore

AN expat mum and daughter have refused to give up their RAPPER: Valtonyc cat charity 9 Lives after being assaulted by a local Spaniard.

Aimee Baert, 28, and mum Sharon, 54, are set to call in police after they were attacked as they Trick advisor page 6 north fed stray cats in the of the island.

The South African pair were left badly shaken after a local around the Pollensa area.

Mallorquin accosted them as “We’ve hadDecember snide comments 6th - December 19th 2017 they gave food to the feral cats from locals before but this was near Pollenca’s old town. on another level,” continued A BELGIAN court has The man ‘turned very aggresAimee, who moved to Mal- fused to extradite sive’ and started to threaten contro lorca five years ago. sial rapper Valtonyc bac the cats forcing Aimee to step “Unfortunately people don’t Spain. in. understand that we are actual- The judge “He had me against a wall and refused to c SOME 14 fire bosses ly helping keep have the number of ply with the order after I had to push him off me,” the been arrested for allegedly strays down,” she continued.

Alcudia hotel manager told Mallorca musicianFrom wasPas “We are neutering ‘ROWDY’:embezzling in Press. andgot He even cas-himself Magaluf €7 million the Olive tenced a financial to prisonadvice for char public funds. sl trating as manyknown of theradio cats we was very scary and unsetstation, related through to insulting which he the The Policia Nacional“Itfound snare m can.” ing victims. tling and, archy in his lyrics. that the Consortium of for a moment, I reBut despite the violenta comprehensive However, in- The artist, ally feared for the worse.”

Olive Press Bomberos Cadiz took whose cident, animalposed realinve na out loverhisAimee A HOTEL scams that unnamed to be knocked suspect is - who is involved mass early retirementThe Josep stamps, Miquel coins - who has 22We Aren insurfeline also friends owns down revealed how a finca for La notFont in the havingUNBOWED: andexile enough his close ance policies. wentheinto pal B at her finca - will Brave volunteers Aimee and Sharon to Belgium be back wined out area, and class! dined which up he to rents a dozen out to But when their employees May after he criminals, an feeding cats with was senten her mum through in column. tourists - blasted areaVista the food and ‘affecting his busiBenalmadena’s them forHotel retired early, chiefs siphoned time the pair have been ac- tow. three and a half years He eventually fledto the ‘bringing ness.’ more de vermin’ Rey country must to the be following off the demolished CONCERNED costed, while looking after “She’s hard asbut money from jail. businesses nails in the paywe and soon we tracked it is not the first him down to the UK, w within three months,Alarmingly, outs.

Santa Ponsa the many dozens of stray cats won’t be put off, a court “For are demanding moment he is f it hashis changed to name be by thepoll has ruled, and was sellin changes to Authorities done,” she vowed, prevent the also anddeed areafound disis free “although antiques definitively on eBay from ahesmall Andalucia’s Superior Court Berkshire crepancies from becoming cott I’ll be taking He in the consorthe ‘new Magamywas Belgium,” boyfriend saidEnglish quickly found his law guilty under of Justice ruled that the hotium’s training courses. luf’. law with me this people week in Paul Bekaert.prison andcase given a suspended Large sums tel falls short of its four-star The Santa Ponsa things get out were paid to a hotel assoof control sentence only due to health reasons. company ciation has met requirement. to Calvia again.” provide training with the than permitted.

TRAIN drivers have denounced “And because he promised to never Terrorism mayor, localcourses, an but other The mum andgodaughter no evidencealarming police and has duoonline cons,” one of the back to his stoppingthe lack of safety measures on the “It has happened to us all,Although fur-town hall andtheir been businesses to foundathat set up ther than we planned. Atdeveloper these courses “There is no terrorism demand charity series 9 Livesexplained. island.

British victim a transitional maintain more Probing this exof measurestook place. secustation it's not the end of cess than to improve volved, years there ago.

They sayItthat is no inci this the world, was later is apparently traction butcorrected, the fourBut not the andthe case with braking began Meanwhile, rity in the resort. probing irregularities three has at the end of the line, it is.” ment been affected two victims claiming judge ruled that the rectificaas some heof is terrorism, still using so the have one The company began star hotel wereaalso It comes after found of and trains in grantsengine apartment summer and turned is coins no question eBay to sell ‘dodgy’ turning of a crime a tion would one ento save have taken placeMissing and stamps subsidies, block inoff trouble including which 2011 gine off as a temporary measure afterelectricity. a sharp it was derisecops believe cording The group from his unpaid flat to Belgian from Serveis after the granting after in Brighton, Ferroviaris were looking for their ofWhile us-law.” the liin the numbers used to nounced pay for private own However, of illegal prostirules de the electrical substation cence, Mallorca, the names whichover he added th innot count. alsoplanning runs the and ‘gqtradcats which hading does trips.

Palma May, but months later caughtsofire tutes and street gone missing,‘gqtrading’ which set aside vendors. the plot Metro, have ing2’. for it a appears a European exposed to be Arrest Wa The building has 61they the lack of safety the norm. realised the full scale of Hotels fear The irregularities apartfour the area starCosta hotel generator back the could be- date since only.

Son rant could he has be issued ments and 46 parking thespacbroken problem. “We are pretty sure to 2008 if t caught The drivers have also his come 'the new cops believe According to the Punta and Ballena', at fire. bail PGOU pointed conditions town out 24-year-old and that will have “We’ve neutered hundreds torapper es. finallytravels leastpart the most rowdy €7 million only two of the ten routes has been“They planaltered of Magastoan apartment go back to prison,”other block was Palma said one some trains countries. of cats victim. len by those at the top. use have so they have speed stop devices The in luf. original years, building this wasover the permitted “The less not that automatinerve power, and the of is this man it also but it affects is unbelievable.”

The Sa huge issue that Pobla artist was co traction cally brake the trains Demands include more police granted planning apermistends to get breached and braking,” as they landlord rules approach last night said being over oneby driver. victedinsisted ignored,” addedHis he should of glorifying intervention against drug trafsion Aimee. h a stop. Earlier this month bywomen terro then mayor Enrique “We cannot something 700 square two was accelerate meters up DOOMED: from the andbigger start.

“We Costa ism, want brake as hotel threatening the ficking, street vendors and violocals towe were hit when a train Bolin in 2001. right-win underwell with one engine turned met to sign the contracts stand we are “When off,” he break in time after it in Palma did not politician I thoughtan lent prostitutes, who 'are nightreally working h Jorge Campos continued. slippery, arrived at a station I went to pay for mydefamatory towards keeping coffee only for the ly dedicated to robbing people'. making the without a speed stop. numbers com tell me he had left without paying his Untitled-1.pdf 1 16/06/2017 15:36 FRUIT growers in the Axardown, we are not just feeding ments against thebill.”

Spanis He continued: “Heroyal quia are facing a 60% reducpaid for the first couple the cats.” family April. of m then just stopped. He tion in water use from the La told us hisinaccount had b Organisations such as due to a money laundering Am Vinuela reservoir with no soinvestigation, whic nesty International ably true. “He then told us to stop contacting POLICE officers have formed a human hav lution in sight. wall deter drug smugglers from h campaigned for Valtonyc cused us of harrassment. along a beach in La Linea to ensure using the beach The Junta has decided to that the as a drop off zone. freedom “Now construction of a beach wall went ahead. arguing that it is he is claiming he is seriously limit its use as the reservoir is can A combined police presence make payments. breach of freedomillofand The wall, between the churchC of already at 22.7% capacity and speech Nuestra local and national officers of Guardia Civil, “We’ll see him in court.”

Meanwhile Pedro Sanchez’ Senora del Carmen and the perimeter were present as could drop even lower if the wall fears grew that drug M of the fishing port of La Atunara, new socialist government i dry weather keeps up. hopes to and disrupt the work. smugglers would try working towards Opinion repealing Y Do you know of any businesses selling fake reviews? Or places abusing social media or review sites? Contact newsdesk@theolivepress.es

4

Across

24/11/2017 11:18

Ann Podds, Palma de Mallorca

Stefjano, Malaga

www.theolivepress.es

Hot water

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Costa del Sol hotel has three months to fight decision before it is demolished

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‘He deserves Not enough stars

SMUGGLERS’ WALL e Lions Threpub Best English Pub in Palma Great food Live Music Every Night from 12am

the controversial Citizen Safe ty law dubbed the ‘gag law’.

CM

MY

Mallorca train drivers speak outA range Ave de Gabriel Roca 4, Palma

CY

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K

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23

26 Eroski billboard.indd 1 Eroski billboard.indd 1

wines I CAN’T believe they have trains in Mallorca only runAvailable exclusively ning on only one engine at Eroski (Train Safety Concerns, sept 27) – well I can believe it here. How dangerous is that?.... I've noticed the trams stopping late all summer and ARTWORK SETUP TO 25% OF ACTUAL ARTWORK SIZE.SETUP TO 25% OF ACTUAL SIZE. now I know why!

Pete Banners, Inca

Scribble space Answers on page 38

Not facing the rap!

Train safety concerns

24 25

TO 25% OF ACTUAL SIZE.

I wish people would stop feeding all the stray cats (No Paws, sept 27). I don't agree with aggression but the cats are messy and noisy in my neighbourhood. You know what… Get them spayed if you want to help.

Olive Press Crossword

2/8/18 17:01

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The UK has decided to leave the EU. So it is not up to the EU to offer a solution but it is Mrs May’s duty to make an offer which the EU might be able to agree to (Give us respect! Issue 301).

I still believe that a no-deal could be reasonable for the UK if the UK is willing to negotiate with Spain on a joint government of Gibraltar. In that case, Gibraltar remains as part of the EU and therefore the full package of EU trade benefits are available to the UK without having to accept the free movement of people.

It is also hard to understand that the UK is going to accept migration from Pakistan, India and Hong Kong, but no migration from Poland, Germany and Spain.

Has anything piqued your interest in this week’s Olive Press? Have your say on the matter by emailing letters@ theolivepress.es or alternatively message us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/OlivePressNewspaper or Twitter @olivepress

ter this Wednesday.

The government failed to comment.

TM

TheOlivePress-256x170-BIKE-4.indd 1

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A range of Waitrose wines

TRAGIC: Azzopardi and Buckley both ended their own lives

ment.

One of the nurses, who preferred to remain anonymous, spoke of his desperate feeling of guilt following the recent suicides, including Kyle Azzopardi and Aaron Buckley.

The pair both threw themselves off buildings last month.

“The situation is appalling amongst psychiatrists...morale is at an all-time low,” one nurse told local publication Panorama.

When approached by the Olive Press this week, one doctor at the Ocean Views Mental Health facility, insisted he had ‘been instructed’ not to give any comment.

Despite Gibraltar being cited as having one of the highest suicide rates in Europe, it appears that mental

Citizen Safety law dubbed the ‘gag law’.

CM

MY

CY

CMY

This is all part of the pathetic Brexit plan. Now the inevitable brick wall has been met, the next move is to blame the EU for perceived intransigence and stalk off in a huff, claiming the whole thing is impossible because of the unreasonable 27 other countries who insist on sticking to the rules.

The madness that is Brexit gradually slithers to its inevitable conclusion. Nobody gains from this. Everyone loses, not least the expats trying to continue with their

SEE PAGE 6

Psychiatrists join public outcry over mental health facilities as suicide rate soars A PUBLIC outcry over the lack of mental health care is gaining momentum following a series of tragic suicides on the Rock in recent months.

The lack of proper psychiatric care has been labelled a ‘shambles’ with some local psychiatrists calling the state of mental health services ‘deplorable’.

A number of social media sites have pointed to the ‘growing problem’, appropriately in the week of World Mental Health Day. Ashleigh Vella, a passion-

SMUGGLERS’ WALL e Lions Threpub

Do your job!

Everybody loses

1

We take a sneak preview of Christian Hook’s new work, as his latest exhibition launches in London

6

5

4

3

7

GLOVES October 10th - October 23rd 2018 ARE OFF

On the up and up

To herald the arrival of some proper weather we offer two new sections:

‘He deserves it’ Not enough stars

ARTWORK SETUP TO 25% OF ACTUAL ARTWORK SIZE.SETUP

As her condition deteriorated, Nesslany was rushed to nearby Hospiten the next morning.

“The venom had got into my blood and doctors told me my whole body was infected, it was really scary.”

The venom was so strong it caused Nesslany to catch ne-

crosis - a reaction that sees the skin and tissue begin to die and rot - on her leg near the bite.

“I had to have an operation to remove the dead skin,” she recalled, “I was also vomiting and felt nauseous for a week.”

Nesslany had to check in with doctors every other day for

RAPPER: Valtonyc

Not facing the rap!

Eroski billboard.indd 1

THE Costa del Sol has been rocked by flash floods and hail storms after an orange alert was issued this week.

In heavy downpours even a truck was pictured struggling to drive through the streets of San Pedro, while cars were unable to use the Puerto Banus underpass, as the water levels reached a worrying height.

Another video sent by a reader showed a home in San Pedro being filled up with water as it gushes through the windows.

In the main picture, captured

by Julia Begbie, a huge black cloud is pictured moving over the village of Gaucin.

“When the cloud broke it dumped a curtain of hail on the Sierra de Crestellina,” she said. “A friend was caught in it driving and said it was incredible heavy.”

See page 35

See page 5 & 26

NEWS

Ave de Gabriel Roca 4, Palma

Eroski billboard.indd 1

TM

902 123 282

Tel: 902 123 282

NO PAWS

Costa del Sol hotel has three months to fight decision before it is demolished

Pipe ban

Jason Wicks, Andratx

WIDOW WARNING town’s Nautical Club when she was bitten behind her knee in August - and she has only just recovered.

“I immediately felt the bite and the pain was absolute agony,” she told the Olive Press, “I tried to sleep it off that night but my legs and arms started cramping.”

inside

resident

Train safety concerns

Thanks for exposing the horse carriages story (Give them a Brea drawn k, sept 27 issue). I'm glad PETA and othe organisations are getting behind r UK in Mallorca. It is obviously just a ban here most of the time and crostoo hot ses the line into animal cruelty!

23rd 2018 Vol. 13 Issue 302 www.theolivepress.es October 10th - October

Hail and brimstone as Autumn finally arrives

EXCLUSIVE

By Laurence Dollimore

AN expat mum and daughter have refused to give up their cat charity 9 Lives after being assaulted by a local Spaniard.

Aimee Baert, 28, and mum Sharon, 54, are set to call in police after they were attacked as they fed stray cats in the north of the island.

The South African pair were www.theolivepress. left badly shaken after a local es

No more Magalufs

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To herald the arrival of some proper weather we offer two new sections:

9 Lives charity pair acosted by

Is this the new look for Palma’s seafront?

Find out in our Property supplement

around the Pollensa area.

Mallorquin accosted them as “We’ve hadDecember snide comments 6th - December 19th 2017 they gave food to the feral cats from locals before but this was near Pollenca’s old town. on another level,” continued A BELGIAN court has The man ‘turned very aggresreAimee, who moved to Mal- fused to extradite sive’ and started to threaten controverlorca five years ago. sial rapper Valtonyc back to the cats forcing Aimee to step “Unfortunately people don’t Spain. in. understand that we are actual- The judge “He had me against a wall and refused to comSOME 14 fire bosses ly helping keep the number of ply have I had to push him off me,” the with the order after the been arrested for allegedly strays down,” she continued.

Alcudia hotel manager told Mallorca musicianFrom wasPage sen-1 “We are neutering ‘ROWDY’:embezzling in Press. andgot He even cas-himself Magaluf €7 million the Olive tenced a financial to prisonadvice for charges public funds. slot on a well trating as manyknown of theradio cats we was very scary and unsetstation, related through to insulting which he the The Policia Nacional“Itfound snared moncan.” unsuspecting victims. tling and, for a moment, I rearchy in his lyrics. that the Consortium But despite the of for the worse.” violenta comprehensive However, in- The artist, ally feared Olive Press Bomberos Cadiz took whose cident, animalposed realinvestigation name exout loverhisAimee A HOTEL scams that unnamed to be knocked suspect is - who is involved mass early retirementThe Josep stamps, and gold.

Miquel coins who has Arenas, 22 insurfeline We also friends owns a finca down revealed how for La notFont in the havingUNBOWED: enough his close ance policies. wenthe andexile pal Barry at her finca - will Brave volunteers Aimee and Sharon to Belgium be back in Nathan wined out up to ainto area, whichclass! and dined he rents out to dozen But when their employees May after anonymously, feeding cats with he criminals, was sentenced her mum through in column. tourists - blasted areaVista the food and ‘affecting his busiBenalmadena’s them forHotel retired early, chiefs siphoned time the pair have been ac- tow. three and a half years in He eventually fledto the ‘bringing more ness.’ de Rey vermin’ country must to the be following off the demolished CONCERNED costed, money from our “She’s while jail. hard businesses the looking as paynails after in but we and soon we tracked him down to the UK, where expose, it is not the first within three months,Alarmingly, outs.

Santa Ponsa the many dozens of stray cats won’t be put off, a court are demanding “For moment he is free he had it hashis changed to name be by thepoll has ruled, and was selling coins and changes to Authorities done,” she vowed, prevent the also anddeed area found disis free “although antiques definitively in on eBay from ahesmall Andalucia’s Superior Court Berkshire crepancies from becoming cottage.

I’ll be taking He in the consorthe ‘new Magamywas Belgium,” boyfriend saidEnglish quickly found his lawyer guilty under of Justice ruled that the hotium’s training courses. luf’. law of conning with me this people week in Paul Bekaert.prison andcase given a suspended Large sums tel falls short of its four-star The Santa Ponsa things get out were paid to a hotel assoof control sentence only due to health reasons. company ciation has met to Calvia again.” provide training with the than permitted.

TRAIN requirement.

“And because he promised drivers have denounced an to never Terrorism mayor, localcourses, but other The mum andgodaughter no evidencealarming police and has duoonline cons,” one of the back to his stoppingthe town hall lack of safety measures on the “It has happened to us all,Although furand been businesses to found set ther that up their charity these courses than we planned. Atdeveloper “There is no terrorism indemand a series 9 Livesexplained. island.

British victim a transitional maintain more Probing this exof measurestook place. secustation it's not the end of cess than to improve volved, years there ago.

They sayItthat is no incitethis the world, was later is apparently traction butcorrected, the fourBut not the andthe case with braking began Meanwhile, rity in the resort. probing irregularities three has at the end of the line, it is.” ment been affected two victims claiming judge ruled that the rectificaas some he of is terrorism, still using so there have one The company began star hotel wereaalso It comes after found of and trains in grantsengine apartment summer and turned is coins no question eBay to sell ‘dodgy’ turning of a crime action would one ento save have taken placeMissing and stamps subsidies, block inoff trouble including which 2011 gine off as a temporary measure afterelectricity. a sharp it was derisecops believe cording The group from his unpaid flat to Belgian from Serveis after the granting after in Brighton, Ferroviaris were looking for their ofWhile us-law.” the liin the numbers used to nounced pay for private own However, of illegal prostirules de the electrical substation cence, Mallorca, the names caughtsofire whichover he added that innot count. alsoplanning runs the and ‘gqtradcats which hading does trips. tutes and street gone missing,‘gqtrading’ which May, but months later it appears set aside vendors. the lack plot forPalma Metro, have ing2’. a a European Arrest Warexposed to behas 61they The building the realised the of safety Hotels fear The irregularities full scale of the norm. apartfour the area starCosta hotel generator back the could be- date since only.

Son rant could he has be issued ments and 46 parking thespacbroken problem. “We are pretty sure to 2008 if the caught The drivers have also his come 'the new cops believe According to the Punta and Ballena', at fire. bail conditions and24-year-old PGOU town pointed out that will have torapper “We’ve neutered es. finallytravels to leastpart the most rowdy €7 million only two of the ten routes hundreds has been“They planaltered of Magastoan apartment go back to prison,”other block was Palma said one some trains countries. of cats victim. len by those at the top. use have so they have speed stop devices The in luf. original years, building this wasover the permitted “The less not that automatinerve power, and the of is this man it also but it affects is unbelievable.”

The Sa huge issue that Pobla artist was contraction cally brake the trains Demands include more police granted planning apermistends to get breached and braking,” as they landlord rules approach last night said being over oneby driver. victedinsisted ignored,” addedHis he should of glorifying intervention against drug trafsion Aimee. have known a stop. Earlier this month by then mayor Enrique terror“We cannot something 700 square two was up ism, accelerate meters DOOMED: from threatening the start. andbigger “We want the locals Costa brake as ficking, street vendors and viowere hit Bolin inwomen towe right-wing underwhenhotel 2001. a train well with one engine turned met to sign the contracts stand we are “When off,” he break in time after it in Palma did not I thoughtand politician lent prostitutes, who 'are nightreally working he was a bit Jorge Campos continued. slippery, arrived at a station I went to pay for mydefamatory towards keeping coffee only for the barista to ly dedicated to robbing people'. making the without a speed stop. numbers comtell me he had left Untitled-1.pdf 1 16/06/2017 15:36 FRUIT growers in the Axarwithout paying his down, we are not just feeding ments against Spanish He continued: “He paid for the firstthebill.” quia are facing a 60% reducthe cats.” couple of months but royal family in April. then just stopped. He tion in water use from the La told us his account had been frozen Organisations such as Amdue to a money laundering Vinuela reservoir with no soinvestigation, which is probInternational ably true. “He thennesty POLICE officers have formed a human have lution in sight. told us to stop contacting wall deter drug smugglers from him and accampaigned cused us of harrassment. along a beach in La Linea to ensure for Valtonyc’s using the beach The Junta has decided to that the as a drop off zone. freedom “Now he is claiming construction of a beach wall went ahead. arguing that it is a limit its use as the reservoir is he is seriously can’t work to A combined police presence make payments. breach of freedomillofand The wall, between the churchC of already at 22.7% capacity and speech.

Nuestra local and national officers of Guardia Civil, “We’ll see him in court.”

Meanwhile Pedro Sanchez’s Senora del Carmen and the perimeter were present as could drop even lower if the wall fears grew that drug M of the fishing port of La Atunara, new socialist government is dry weather keeps up. hopes to and disrupt the work. smugglers would try working towards Opinion repealingPage 6 Y the controversial

expat paper in Spain

DON’T MISS

Vol. 2 Issue 38 www.theolivepress.es September 27th - October 10th 2018

Expats vow to continue feeding stray cats despite vicious attack from local

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Despite TripAdvisor stepping in to investigate, the Times probe insisted enough was not being done to stop the bogus reviews.

Another recent study found that almost nine in ten businesses have been victims of negative reviews.

Consumer groups say fake reviews are a growing problem

Call for Horse ban

Spain Issue 302

Voted

UP to one in three reviews on TripAdvisor is fake, a new investigation has found.

An analysis of tens of thousands of reviews shows toprated B&Bs have almost twice as many ‘fake’ reviews as lowerranked accommodation.

The Times caught restaurants trying to buy 5-star reviews, as well as negative reviews of rivals.

It comes after the Olive Press exposed a series of Spanish businesses paying for dozens of fake five-star reviews in a bid to increase their rankings.

BUSINESS

www.theolivepress.es

October 11th - October 24th 2018

Primera compensation rush

PRIMERA Air has officially ceased trading.

It means hundreds of flights have been cancelled now and in the future – but can you claim compensation?

First of all, don’t waste your time trying to use the contact section of the Primera Air website, that is no longer of use.

As the Danish airline confirmed: “Kindly understand that the usual options for contacts (via email or phone) can not be offered any longer.”

The bust airline will obviously not be in a position to be handing out refunds, so everything

Face the music!

A SHOCKING two out of nearly 150 music venues in Palma meet council regulations.

The rest have either been forced to close, or been given a month to get numerous infractions dealt with.

It comes after the authorities inspected the venues through August and September.

Each venue faces fines of €1,000 with more serious penalties reaching €10,000.

Around 60 establishments closed before they could be inspected.

Some 46 premises were inspected in El Terreno, 40 in Son Armadams, 16 in Santa Catalina, 7 in Es Jonquet and 48 in Playa de Palma.

depends on how you booked the flight and whether or not you bought insurance.

If you bought your Primera Air ticket via an airline ticket agent then contact them ASAP as there may have been insurance included.

If you have a UK credit card then get in touch with your provider as they will be jointly liable thanks to Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. You may be protected if you used PayPal due to its Buyer Protection Scheme, contact them for more info.

Travel insurance might also cover you for airline failures, consult your policy.

Economy continues to sink due to an increase in the local population and need for ‘more sophisticated’ tourism THE Balearics have dropped out of Europe’s richest 100 regions.

For the last two decades the islands have slowly dropped in wealth and have even sunk to seventh position in Spain.

This comes despite the economy growing sharply in volume and with a steady rise in tourist numbers.

"We had a successful

NEWS IN BRIEF Tourism love

TAKE DOWN: Airline goes bust

Stuck in a rut

By Gillian Keller

model from the 1970's to 1990's, but since 1998 the Balearic economy has had difficulties translating its growth into welfare," explained local economist Antoni Riera.

The issue is that while the islands - which for decades came third in Spain - have had more income

there has been a sharp growth in the local population.

“So although the island has more income there are a lot more people to pay and more resources and infrastructure needed,” continued Riera, a professor at UIB university in Palma.

"For years we have not been able to move from a phase of accumulation to

one of efficiency," he continued. “We have grown a lot in volume but little in value.

"In order to gain efficiency, we have to make the product more sophisticated, we continue to see tourism as a catering service, as well as putting a bed in.

“But it can not be just that, we have to give it more value now.”

PROTESTERS have demonstrated against the ‘History of Tourism in the Tramuntana Mountains’ in Soller with a ‘Yes to Tourism’ march.

The group of around 50 people reject the history project as ‘anti-tourism’ and reaffirm that Soller needs and wants tourism.

Truck topple TWO firefighters have been injured as their fire truck rolled in s’Albufera on the way to a fire near Sa Pobla.

A third person who came to their aid was also slightly injured, but all are expected to make a speedy recovery.

Poached FOUR poachers of Mallorca’s popular dolphinfish have been caught and face fines of up to €6,000 for fishing in an illegal spot.

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October 11th - October 24th 2018

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October 11th - October 24th 2018

Tourist downturn SPAIN’S visitor figures fell by 1.9% in August.

It was the second monthly drop in a row following five years of recordbreaking growth.

It comes as rivals like Turkey and north Africa are enjoying a resurgence in holiday bookings.

First

It is the first time August registered a decline in tourist numbers since 2009, according to official data.

The number of tourists visiting Spain in the first e Press 2018_Layout 1 16/04/2018 14:57 Page 1 eight months of 2018 fell by 0.1% to a total of 57.3 million.

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off the rails

Spanish company brings Elon Musk’s Hyperloop dream closer to reality A Spanish firm has built the first passenger capsule for the highly-anticipated Hyperloop rapid transport system.

Airtificial, based in Cadiz, reached the global milestone in a project with Californiabased Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, and believes it will create wealth across Spain.

The first full-sized 40-seater pod, designed to propel passengers through large tubes at a speed of 1,200km/hr, was unveiled at the company’s plant in El Puerto de Santa Maria.

Historic

Said Airtificial cofounder Rafael Contreras: “They told you about a historic train, but what I want to emphasise is that we are making history.

“We are from the south of Spain. I call Cádiz Kilometer Zero and, from here, we have become global.”

Electric surge

A NEW Ipsos Mori survey reveals 40% of Europeans will opt for an electric car next time round - with the Spanish and Italians in the driving seat.

Of the 4,500 European citizens polled, seven per cent admitted it was ‘very likely’ they would flip the switch to electric, while 33 per cent said it was ‘somewhat likely’ they would go for a plug-in version.

At 48 per cent, the Spanish and Italians are most likely to buy or rent an electric car as their next vehicle, but only 26 per cent of respondents in Great Britain said the same thing.

Models

TUBEWAY BOUND: The new passenger pod Javier Moreno, responsible for design, is convinced the rapid transport project will generate great wealth in the region.

“When we were shown the drawing, we raised our hands to our heads. We received a wonderful sketch that we had to make reality and we had to think about everything - rivets, raw materials, problems with the assembly ... more than an Airbus,” he said, “ We have created wealth with this project.”

The next step is to integrate

the capsule into an entire Hyperloop technological system.

The company is already developing a second shuttle for a network project in Abu Dhabi.

“It will be ready by 2019,” the company said.

Race

Hyperloop stems from an idea

by Elon Musk, the former president of Tesla and founder of PayPal, together with SpaceX and Tesla Motors.

There are several other con-

sortiums in the race to make the idea a reality.

One is Californian company Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, which employs more than 800 professionals from 38 different countries within a project whose investment exceeds €100 million.

Another is Virgin Hyperloop One, which recently signed an agreement with Adif to build an innovation centre in Bobadilla, Antequera, to investigate the possibilities of the Hyperloop.

Motorists from Poland, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, France and Hungary were also included in the survey, conducted for the NGO Transport & Environment (T&E).

Greg Archer, T&E’s clean vehicles director, said: “Europeans are open to buying electric cars, but carmakers aren’t doing enough to offer attractive, affordable electric models.

“This is the single biggest obstacle to a faster shift to electric mobility.

“Citizens want carmakers to do more and governments should set ambitious CO2 standards to ensure they do so.”

AGONY ANT

YOUR LEGAL PROBLEMS ADDRESSED BY ANTONIO FLORES

Rental threat Spanish short-term rentals to be scrutinized by Communities of Owners

THE Spanish government wants to give neighbours vetting powers over short-term rental apartments. If the proposed law changes are finally passed, the quorum required in Communities of Owners general meetings to prohibit holiday rental activities will be reduced substantially.

Currently, the required quorum to vet short-term or touristic lets is unanimity; this wants to be changed for a minimum of 3/5 of the voting rights.

The law also wants to define what is a ‘season or holiday let’ as opposed to a ‘shortterm or touristic let’.

Some of the proponents want to establish a minimum of 45 days for a rental contract to be classified as a holiday let, below

which they will be classified as short-term rentals.

Such law change could deeply impact property investment trends by creating clearly segregated short-term rental buildings or areas, separate from those neighbourhoods that choose to stick to exclusive residential use (by banning letting use).

Real estate agencies selecting properties for clients, and lawyers acting for them in the conveyancing process, would have to ensure what the specifications of each neighbourhood are in respect to potential statutory prohibitions to do short-term rentals.

We are eagerly awaiting further news on this proposed law change.

Email Antonio at aflores@lawbird.com

PROPERTY

www.theolivepress.es

October 11th - October 24th 2018

Not homebirds!

MALLORCANS are the least likely to buy a property in Spain.

Only 62% of Balearic residents own their own home, compared with a national average of 74%.

A recent study showed 30% of Balearic residents prefer to rent, and some 8% live in a house owned by family or friends.

Nearly half the population, some 45%, expect to move to a new home within five years.

The study also showed that nearly 30% of homeowners in the Balearics own a second home, with more than half of those rented out for income.

Keys Isl nd to the

By Amanda Butler

Green future The solar tax repeal is good news but the jury is out on the Airbnb crackdown, writes Amanda Butler IT’S been a busy two weeks – two offers in a fortnight is quite unusual for me.

One is a seafront duplex apartment in Palmanova at €1.7million – it’s interesting to note there seems to be an endless stream of buyers this year for this type of property, so please do get in touch if you have one for sale!

The other offer is on a country finca in Bunyola with an asking price of €2.5million – both to Brits in association with other collaborating agents.

One an agreed sale with the Option Contract being drawn up, and the other with negotiations still on the go - my fingers are being crossed as I type!

Moving onto the market as a whole - it was good to hear the government is finally seeing sense in its ludicrous levy on solar power here in Spain.

It seems rather a joke that Germany has more than one million solar power installations compared to Spain with only 1000!

With Spanish consumers paying the sixth highest electricity prices in the EU, this reform of

You don’t dictate!

HUGE: Mallorca pad of (inset) Franco’s granddaughter

GENERAL Franco’s granddaughter has been slapped with a €525,063 fine for failing to declare profits from the sale of shares in the family’s property business.

A holiday home in Mallorca, Cala Llamp is among the properties involved in the shady dealings of Franco’s most famous granddaughter.

The Tax Agency claimed

Franco granddaughter under fire for failure to declare property profits

the Duchess of Franco, Carmen Martínez-Bordiú, 67, sold shares in FR Promociones del Suroeste S.A. on the same date in 2006 as receiving a donation from her mother Carmen Franco - who has since died.

According to the Spanish treasury, socialite Mar-

Meanwhile...

GOOD NEWS: On solar tax repeal the ‘sun-tax’ will be a welcome relief to many, and one of complete common sense to maximise on a natural and free resource, falling more in line with the Balearics 2020 plan for a more sustainable region.

As to the effects of the crack down on holiday rentals – one can never be sure of course but it was predicted we would see a fall in spend outside of hotels this year, which has just been confirmed by figures from Ibestat (the Balearics Statistics Institute which draw

from national surveys from Egatur).

At the same time tourist spend on hotels has increased, possibly a mixture of cheaper accommodation not being available after the Airbnb crackdown, and a hike in hotel prices.

After the embargo was lifted permissions for licenses have apparently been on a go-slow with lots of red tape and regulation to keep everyone confused and lawyers busy for months on end!

Contact Amanda J Butler to buy or sell your home: Tel: +34690075169, www.mjcassociates.net. Your professional one stop property shop around the Island!

FRANCO’S bedroom in the Palacio del Pardo near Madrid has officially been closed to the public, Patrimonio Nacional has confirmed.

Spain’s national heritage agency said there is no likelihood of the fascist dictator’s former chambers at the historic Madrid landmark ever reopening.

His dressing room, office, bathroom and personal theatre are also off limits to tourists, the explanation being that rooms are closed for ‘internal conservation work.’

However property specialists have said there is no conservation work being carried out at the house, used by Franco between

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1939 and 1975.

The move comes as plans continue for the exhumation of Franco’s remains from his tomb at the Valley of the Fallen near Madrid, where over 33,000 Spanish Civil War victims are also buried.

The rooms were originally closed in 2010 under Spain’s socialist leader José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, only to be reopened a year later when conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy took over.

Among those attractions now hidden from public view are Franco’s toilet, the chapel he prayed in each morning and the table he used to sign his death sentences.

tínez-Bordiú received a donation of €9 million, but fraudulently claimed she had only received €6.7 million.

Martínez-Bordiú sold her Mallorca retreat earlier this year, instead choosing to holiday in France.

The former contestant on Spain’s Strictly Come Dancing hit back at the media and authorities, claiming ‘the statements made by the press are absolutely distorted and insidious.’

Martínez-Bordiú’s brother Francisco Franco, 64, runs the property business and is currently appealing against a 30-month prison sentence he received this year following a Guardia Civil chase where he rammed their car.

He also hit the headlines for defending his dictator grandfather, saying the exhumation of Franco’s remains from the Valley of the Fallen mausoleum near Madrid ‘would simply divide Spaniards even more.’

His sister’s bill from the treasury is a drop in the ocean of the Franco estate’s total value, thought to be worth over €500 million.

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October 11th - October 24th 2018

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Going native

What registering as a resident in Spain means for your taxes

I

SSUES surrounding residency and taxation are important to any overseas buyer purchasing a property in Spain.

Ultimately you want to avoid dreaded Double Taxation (CDI) and maximise the use of the treaties between Spain and other countries to reduce your tax burden.

The first important point to note is that even if you don’t register as a resident in Spain, you will still be considered one for tax purposes if you spend more than 183 days of each year in the country. These don’t have to be consecutive, they simply have to add up to that number in total over a 12-month period.

If you don’t want to be taxed by Spain, you will have to prove tax residency in another country and if you reside in a tax haven, the Spanish tax authorities will want proof of that as well.

You’ll also be considered a tax resident if you have an economic link with the country.

This is defined thus: ‘That the main core or base of his/her activities or economic interests are directly or indirectly located in Spain.’

There is also a presumption that you are tax resident in Spain if you have a spouse and children living in the country, even if you don’t live with them.

However, if you are legally separated this rule does not apply.

Double taxation complications There are however, some exceptional situations where two countries may both consider a person to be tax resident. To resolve this, you will need

to have a tax lawyer examine the Double Taxation (CDI) treaty between Spain and the other country in question to determine where you stand. Article 4 of these treaties is where the relevant information is usually found.

Crane crazy

Consequences of being a Spanish tax resident If you are a Spanish tax resident, this is what you can expect: •

You will pay personal income tax (IRPF) on your worldwide income

•

The Spanish tax authorities have to be informed about any immovable assets you own inside and outside Spain

•

Your tax declaration has to be made by 31st December in Spain and must include all assets and finances worldwide

•

With regard to the first point, the legal wording states, ‘This is without prejudice to what is stated at the CDI signed between Spain and country where the taxpayer obtains the income’.

CONCRETE CRISIS: Costa Brava under threat ONE of Spain’s last unspoilt Mediterranean coves is under threat from a new building frenzy.

Environmentalists are growing con-

cerned for the Costa Brava after several projects which were halted in 2008 have been resumed.

According to SOS Costa Brava, some 20 projects are underway along the 160 km coastline.

Among them is a 260-home residential development at Aiguafreda which had been stalled for 15 years due to HOME sales in Spain rose by 18% year-onbureaucratic hold-ups, diviyear in July, new figures have revealed. sions among investors and According to the National Institute of Stathe economic crisis, sparked tistics, sales were up in every province apart by the implosion of a defrom Las Palmas in the Canaries. cade-long property bubble New home sales were up 5% to 7,105 and re“There is a renaissance in sales were up 19% to 38,120, both returning to construction,” said Pilar a growth trend in evidence since the spring of Marcos, of Greenpeace, “We 2017, having paused for breath in June. are falling into the same Andalucia saw a 21% bump in sales, 3% hightrap.” er than the national average.

The group has urged the The highest growth was in Teruel, with a PSOE government to adopt 44% increase, while Las Palmas in the Castricter laws against buildnaries saw a 3% drop in sales. ing on the coast.

Looking good

It is a complex situation that requires expert advice, especially for those with assets, businesses or bank accounts in several countries. When seeking advice, make sure you choose a reputable and experienced tax advisor.

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October 11th - October 24th 2018

October 11th October 24th 2018

Russian sanctions harm Spain

RUSSIAN sanctions on EU imports are decimating Spain’s fruit and vegetable industry.

Data from ICEX (Spanish Institute of Foreign Trade) up to August 2016 shows that Spain accrued an eye-watering €534 million loss due to the export squeeze.

José María Pozancos, general director of the Spanish Federation of Fruit and Vegetable Exporter Associations (Fepex) said

Capital vino SPANISH chef Jose Pizarro has launched his own brand of Cadiz wine in London to capitalise on Spanish vino’s popularity among the local cognoscenti.

On the menu at his three restaurants in the capital, the range includes a 2017 Chardonnay and a 2016 Syrah blend made in Arcos de la Frontera.

“I’m passionate about promoting Spanish wines, cavas and sherries in my restaurants and hopefully in the near future they will be easily accessible in grocery stores and wine merchants throughout London,” said Pizarro.

Obscure

The wines are made at Bodega Huerta de Albalá which produces a wide range, including obscure tipples like Tintilla de Rota.

The Chardonnay boasts aromas of ‘white flowers, citrus fruits, peach and aromatic herbs’ while the Syrah blend of 20% Tintilla de Rota and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon has aromas of ‘blackberries, cacao, leather, spices and vanilla’.

UNCORKED: Pizarro wine

sanctions have had a ‘very serious’ impact on Spain.

The Fepex chief said: “The consequences are still felt, as Russia is a natural market for Spanish fruit and vegetable products.

“The Russian market absorbed approximately 600,000 tonnes of exports for the Spanish sector, taking both direct and indirect exports into account.”

The bans, ordered by Russian President

Sizzling

Plant-based

The machine is made up of syringes which hold several ingredients within a strawcoloured paste.

The syringes are placed in the 3D printer and it manages to combine the contents into a steak.

It takes between 30 and 50 minutes to create a 100g piece of ‘meat’ and costs around €2, a price which will decrease as volume increases.

The ingredients are protein powder (from rice or peas) and seaweed components – food that is normally consumed by vegetarians and vegans as di-

Fake steak

etary supplements.

“The difficulty lies in reorganizing the nanofibers from vegetable proteins to make them seem like animal proteins,” explains Scionti.

“First you have to study the histology of the animal tissue, how the muscle fibers are organised, and then you have to try to replicate that with plant-based ingredients that have not been genetically modified.”

Once the steak comes out of the printer, it is ready for cooking.

It makes a sizzling sound in the pan, just like any regular piece of meat.

“They cook really well,” says Margarita, the cook at the university center where Scionti works. “They don’t burn or stick to the pan.”

Scionti has filed for a patent and in October he is planning to launch a startup, Nova Meat, to market his invention.

If it catches on, the future for the traditional steak looks fried.

All set for dolphinfish fest A DOLPHINFISH day will be the highlight again for the annual

Vladimir Putin in 2014 over the West’s retaliation to Russian military activity in Ukraine will leave a bitter taste in the mouths of Spaniards.

Pozancos said Spain had lost an ‘estimated 10% of the total demand,’ adding there was ‘clearly a negative impact on the fruit and vegetable sector.’

Spain’s best chefs could soon be printing your fillets and sirloins - and they’ll be meatfree FIRST came 3D-printed guns, then homes and now ...steaks.

Scientist Guiseppe Scionti, 31, has spent three years developing a ‘steak printer’ at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) that could make the traditional fillet and sirloin dead meat - and the world’s top chefs are interested.

Made entirely from plantbased ingredients, the ingenious invention manages to create the texture of meat - although its appearance might need a little work.

Guiseppe hopes his invention can help decrease the impact of animal farming on the environment while providing a solution to malnutrition in poorer countries.

While he plans to present his project to the World Food Organisation, he has already caught the attention of celebrity Spanish chef Ferran Adria and the research centre run by the famous Roca brothers.

“They are interested in something that looks like a steak but tastes like a mushroom,” revealed Scionti.

Cala Ratjada fish festival.

The 17th Mostra de

la Llampuga will see a gastronomic fair dedicated to the seafood speciality this Sunday.

For the rest of the weekend there will be other special fishy events including a Friday evening ‘tapas night’ and cooking contest in the marina.

Then from noon until 8pm on Saturday there will be a paella party with a plate for just €4.

19 19

IT is easily one of Mallorca’s most popular breakfast snacks… and popular throughout the day.

Now Sobrassada is being celebrated at an annual festival in Campos this month.

The sausage, which is actually more of a sausage spread, is usually spread on bread and drizzled with oil or honey.

The raw cured meat seasoned with paprika and spices is a typical dish around the Balearics, especially in the autumn during the seasonal 'pig slaughter'.

The fair in Campos offers sobrassada lovers and newcomers alike to enjoy the different types available around Mallorca today. Nearly 20 local restaurants have special three-course set menus that honour it. Events run from October 13 to 28 and on October 20 there will be a tasty 'tapas and beer route' with a dozen local bars participating in the fair's 'beerfest' from 7pm

What’s on for foodies!

S

treet food XII

PORT Adriano is taking advantage of the holiday weekend with three days of the popular Street Food Festival back for the 12th edition from October 12 through 14. Enjoy a selection from over a dozen food carts from noon to midnight, with live music on Friday and Saturday evening.

F

ood Show

The Calvia Food Show continues with special lunch and dinner menus on Friday October 12 in Santa Ponsa, and Costa de la Calma.

On October 19 participating restaurants can be found in El Toro, Peguera, and Cala Fornells.

A

rt and wine

MORE than 50 artists are showing their works for Porreres' TastArt- a night of mixing local art with local wine.

On October 13 guests can grab a glass of wine and visit the 14 venues showcasing all types of art.

20

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

October 11th - October 24th 2018

www.theolivepress.es

October 11th - October 24th 2018

Spain is famous for its cornucopia of home-grown produce but you won’t find all its exotic offerings down at your local supermarket. Charlie Smith samples some of the more surprising specialities in its culinary larder Percebes DANGEROUS DELICACY

Found clinging to the cliffs of Galicia, this tiny delicacy - known beyond Spain as the gooseneck barnacle is highly dangerous to harvest. The percebeiros of Galicia risk their lives plucki n g these revered crustaceans from their habitat, making it one of the most expensive forms of seafood around. One kilo can fetch over €200.

Compared to sweet clams and lobster, the edible part is contained in a black sleeve, capped by a spiky shell resembling a dinosaur claw. The soft pink flesh is boiled in seawater and traditionally served with a simple aioli dressing.

Angulas SLIPPERY SPECIALITY Known as ‘glass eels’, these slippery customers can cost more than €1,000 per kilo. They traditionally appear on Spanish menus on Christmas and New Years Eve and the Day of San Sebastian on January 20. In the original recipe from Bilbao (angulas a la bilbaína) the eels are fried in garlic and chilli until crunchy.

Their journey starts when mature 10-year-old eels swim from European rivers to the Sargasso Sea to spawn and die. The hatchlings then drift towards Europe on the Gulf Stream where fisherman on Spain’s Atlantic Coast wait with nets. Though legal in Europe, angulas are so popular in Asia that illegal trade in them bagged one Spanish gang over €37 million.

Something special, sir?

Organic caviar - WORLD FIRST The tiny village of Riofrio in Granada province hit the headlines way back in 1960 for producing the world’s first organic caviar. And celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey is one of many fans. The sturgeon are farmed in crystal clear spring waters from the mountains and have European-cer-

Black truffles BLACK GOLD Spain is one of the world’s largest exporters of truffles, and the expensive subterranean fungus is readily found in the mountainous east of the country. These so-called black diamonds are notoriously difficult to find and fetch up to €600 per kilo on international markets where truffles are prized for their delicate but instantly recognisable flavour. Truffle season is February to March and the provinces of Huesca, Teruel, Soria and Castellón are particularly known for the delicacy. The truffles are sniffed out by trained dogs that can detect their aroma at 50m away, even when buried 50cm deep.

Ethical foie gras - WORLD FIRST Controversially, the production of foie gras uses the inhumane ‘gavage’ system, where geese are force-fed corn through a tube. But Extremadura company Sousa & Labourdette have taken the cruelty out of the process to become world leaders in the production of ethical foie gras. Run by farmer Eduardo Sousa and bird expert Diego Labourdette, the pair allow geese to feast natuseeds and - most waiting a whole year of their worldTheir caviar aptop tables and has Barack Obama by

Illetes – Frontline with direct sea access 4 Beds ● 3 Baths ● 255 m² Living ● Pool ● €2.45m ● Ref: 17016 Situated in a perfect location right on the waters edge, this spacious apartment is nicely presented and offers a total area of 255 m2 including 55 m2 of covered terraces. It comprises 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, with the master en suite. There is a sizeable entranceway which is lockable from the community. Illetes is less than 15 minutes from Palma, and only 5 minutes to Puerto Portals. Local amenities are within walking distance. The only sound you will hear is that of lapping water on the rock below.

tified organic production. But what is most unique about Riofrio’s black gold is the time it takes to produce.

Patient farmers allow 16 years for the female sturgeon to grow naturally to double the length of other caviar-producing sturgeon on the market

For more information please contact Amanda J Butler www.mjcassociates.net email: ajb@mjcassociates.net or tel: (+34)690075169

their European greylag rally on wild grass, crucially - acorns, to produce a batch renowned product. pears on the world’s even been served to chef Dan Barber.

with DINING SECRETS of ANDALUCIA.com www.theolivepress.es

October 11th - October 24th 2018

21 21

October 11th - October 24th 2018 Gamoneu cheese - SPAIN’S STINKIEST Gamoneu, named after the Asturian town where it is made, is a fatty cheese made with cow, goat and sheep milk. It can take up to five months to mature in caves where it grows slightly mouldy, gaining a blue tint round the edge. It has a light smokey flavour, a thin rind and will set shoppers with fat wallets back a whopping €35 per kilo. The cheese is DPO-protected and has a reputation for being Spain’s stinkiest, only thought to be the second most pungent worldwide after Italy’s Casu Marzu ‘maggot cheese’.

Saffron - WORLD BEST Saffron de la Mancha has its own Protected Designation of Origin (DPO) - the only spice in Spain with this national quality guarantee. One of the most exclusive spices in the world, saffron was introduced in La Mancha during the Caliphate of Cordoba.

Every saffron flower produces very little of the sought-after golden powder and it is harvested by only experienced pickers.

It takes 25,000 flowers to produce 500 grams and Spanish saffron is renowned for its quality, which explains how one kilo can cost €3,000.

Orange and cannabis wines RIOJA RIVALS Andalucia’s urban orange trees are not just for decoration and marmalade. The bitter fruit are also in big demand for flavouring vino de naranja - and there are regional differences.

Those from Sevilla should be sipped like a fine whiskey. Producers there use an oloroso sherry base, made from Garrido Fino and Pedro Ximenez grapes, and age the wine for between five and seven years. Huelva and Málaga use the solera system where white wine is flavoured slowly. The orange peel is dried and then macerated in the alcohol. The Málaga version is almost clear while Huelva’s is a richer brown shade. If cannabis is more your thing, Andalusian winery Pisando Fuerte has a weed wine that will have you in high spirits. It is the first red wine steeped with cannabis, which is actually classed as hemp due to its low THC content, at the legal maximum of 0.2 per cent. Rafael Hoyos is the brains behind this this smoking hot vino, which c o m b i n e s Garnacha and Tempranillo grapes with cann a b i s leaves.

The comp a n y has just launched the first 500 bottles of their ganja-grape concoction.

Lampreys - ROYAL CONNECTIONS Lampreys, better known by the bloodthirsty nickname ‘vampire fish’, have lurked in the rivers of Galicia for over 500 million years. They have eel-shaped bodies and gruesome circular rings of teeth adapted for feasting on the blood of larger fish by sucking them dry. Don’t be put off though, as they have a delicious flavour, especially when cooked in red wine. In Arbo, Pontevedra, near the Portuguese border, there is a food festival at the end of April dedicated to these prehistoric monsters. They were the favourite food of King Henry I of England who reportedly died from ‘a surfeit of lampreys’ but it was probably food poisoning.

Málaga mangos EUROPE’S BEST Axarquía is home to more than 4,000 hectares of mango-growing land. Producing between 10,000 and 30, 000 tonnes annually, the area east of Málaga grows more mangos than avocados - another of its staple exports. The exotic fruit originally came from Southeast Asia, but was introduced to Andalucia in the 1980s.

Now Spain leads European commercial mango production, also having sites in the Canary Islands. Sicily is the only other serious European player in the mango game.

Music, gastronomy, design, comfort and great art.

OD Port Portals combines good location with contemporary and mediterranean design.

For work or for pleasure, as a true symbol of quality, OD Port Portals is everything anyone staying in Majorca can ever wish for. A lively place, with its own events, Burger Meets Gin, Mexican Brunch or Tasting Brunch, where locals and visitors are welcome.

Av. Tomàs Blanes Tolosa, 4 07181 Calvià | Mallorca +34 971 675 956 odportportals.com

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October 11th - October 24th 2018

www.theolivepress.es

October 11th - October 24th 2018

Damsel in deluge

Mallorca diaries

By Lesley Keith

The rain has kept Lesley Keith indoors, but the daytime TV isn’t helping!

WOW it’s finally cooling off and be- outside became a river, two inches coming pleasant, cardigans are reluc- deep and fast flowing. As I’m dog sittantly being sourced for the evenings ting at the moment my little charge and I’ve even put a blanket on the needed to ‘stretch his legs’ so as the bed. rain wasn’t stopping anytime soon we This is all in between showers, well waded downstream to higher ground. when I say showers I mean down- This morning, despite no rain for sevpours of biblical proportions. Dear eral hours the torrent was still flowing.

God it knows how to rain here doesn’t Hmmm, I knew something wasn’t right it. I was driving away from Palma and there so we waded the other way to there was the darkest cloud ever sit- see if we could find the source. ting about ten feet off the ground that The water was horrible, brown and suddenly opened its floodgates. sludgy and it was coming from a Absolute mayhem and carnage, driv- building site on the corner. Where the ing was impossible for deep and extensive all except those in large footings had filled with 4x4s or idiots, oh and water they were merBring on the a peloton of cyclists…. rily pumping them out Mallorca deluge down my street! My let’s not go there, there’s no words. Most is still pretty and very quickly Spanish of us pulled over and limited but I got my sat it out. we have our very message across quite At home in my flat well I thought, they acown pond when it rains like that tually looked suitably the roof of our block’s scared of this raging porch steers the rain mujer inglesa and the water in an almighty pumping seems to torrent into the middle of my front have stopped. More storms are comlawn.The two floors above us have ing tonight so we’ll soon see.They large balconies with overflows that aren’t the sharpest knives in the drawpour loudly and forcefully onto our er having enclosed the street lamp front patio. and road sign within the newly built Trust me, a medium shower produces exterior wall! a lot of water, but bring on the Mal- Having been marooned indoors with lorcan style deluge and very quickly the weather I’ve been watching some we have our very own pond. Last night daytime TV. It seems to me that the with a pretty fierce downpour the road whole thing is geared around adverts

and the programs are just fillers. Well what an eye opener those adverts are, how have I survived without gambling my life savings away, taking out a funeral plan for my ‘loved ones’ so they don’t have to worry, wearing protective underwear or borrowing money at some extortionate rate? They go on for ever giving you time to do your weekly shop or re-landscape your garden before the programme restarts. At least I can catch up on the episode of Poirot that I missed in 1987 or watch some cosy little hospital drama. Seriously though, I actually remember when there were only three channels, and there was always something worth watching. Now there’s hundreds and there’s hardly anything at all. It’s very disappointing, I’m sure Yogi Baird had more in mind for his revolutionary new fangled machine than Bargain Hunt or Judge Judy. (Actually, I love Judge Judy and wish the real judiciary system followed her lead).

As I mentioned earlier, I dog sit for friends. I can’t have a dog permanently at my place so it means that by sitting for others I get my doggie fix whilst earning a bit of cash as well. The dogs seem to like me, they get to sleep on my bed, sit on the sofa and generally tend to increase their body weight by 20% so as far as they’re concerned missing their owners is a small price to pay. I get exercise, lots of cuddles and complete strangers stopping to

NOT A FAN: Lesley could do a marathon before adverts are up talk to me about whatever dog I have that time, there’s always someone that had one who wants to tell you about it! I’ve only got this one for two more days and then none for quite

some time. I’d better get his brush out, he was left at mine looking sleek and shiny.Two weeks with me and he’s a bedraggled and tangled mess. Yep he’s fitted right in here.

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Too hot to handle

REFEREES in Spain will be able to suspend a match if the temperature surpasses 35C before 7:30pm.

The Real Federacion Española de Futbol (RFEF) changed the rules after months of debate.

Hydration

Under the new legislation, the referee can wait until the conditions improve before suspending the match completely.

Currently there is only a few minutes’ break for hydration in case of high temperatures.

The new rule will take effect in May 2019.

October 11th - October 24th 2018

Nadal and Laver label each other the best tennis players in history RAFAEL Nadal has said Roger Federer and Rod Laver are the best tennis players in history.

The Spanish ace has won 17 Grand Slam titles while Swiss maestro Federer is on 20, making them the two most successful players in the game.

Laver managed 11 during his illustrious career and, in 1962, became the first man to win all four Grand Slams in the same year.

And Nadal thinks the Australian, along with old foe Federer, is the greatest.

You’re the best RAKING IT IN: Bullfighting

Bulls bring in billions

Picture

MORE POWER: To refs

23 23

October 11th - October 24th 2018

The Mallorquin said: “For me, (it) is difficult to talk about things in which I don't have all the information.

“But Rod Laver is in the picture.

“If I have to say something about Rod, if we can compare Roger with him as he is also the best in history, it has to be with Rod Laver because it is true that for sure is one of the players that going to be in the history of our sport forever.”

The affection between the two men, it seems, is mutual.

Earlier this year, Laver

RESPECT: Nadal with hero Laver claimed that Nadal was ‘possibly the greatest athlete ever in tennis’.

“He proved to be superhuman at Wimbledon - to win Roland Garros and come very close here on grass is truly

amazing,” he said.

“Possibly the greatest athlete our sport has ever known.”

Laver was referring to Nadal’s Wimbledon campaign, where he was beaten by Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals.

MORE people attend bullfighting events than demonstrate against them, a new study has found.

The poll, commissioned by Fundacion Toro de Lidia, shows that Spaniards still love their bullfights, despite opposition from animal rights activists.

Spain’s economy is boosted by €1.6 billion a year from the world famous sport, which sees 1,553 fights held each year out of a total 20,000 bull-related events.

The annual San Fermin feria in Pamplona brought in a whopping €74 million in 2018, while the San Isidro feria in Madrid’s Las Ventas bullring brought a similarly huge €73 million.

THE paper not to miss on Mallorca island THE Olive Press is now distributing all over the island in an incredible 500-plus locations.

Found at golf courses, tourist offices, museums and petrol stations, it has become the most sought-after English newspaper in MalAlaro Alcanada Alcanada Alcudia ALGAIDA Andratx Andratx BENDINAT BENDINAT BENDINAT Binissalem Cala Estancia Cala D’or Cala D’or

Acros Bar Alcanada Golf Spar Tourist Information EROSKI Tourist Information CCA Andratx CAN NATURA EROSKI GOLF Eroski Aqua Restaurant Yacht Club Eroski

POPULAR PICKUP: At Santa Catalina market

lorca every fortnight. Look out for one of our many stands, as seen here at Santa Catalina market, in Palma, and in Andratx town centre.

We print between 8,000 - 10,000 copies every issue and take our distribution very seriously, CALVIA CALVIA Cala Llamp CAMP DE MAR CAMPOS CAN PASTILLA CAN PASTILLA CAN PASTILLA Can Picafort COSTA DE LA CALMA Costa den Blanes Costa den Blanes Deia Deía EL TORO ES CAPDELLA Esporle Festival Park Inca Inca Llucmajor MAGALLUF Maioris Manacor Manacor PAGUERA PAGUERA PALMA PALMA PALMA PALMA PALMA

and need you, the readers to keep us informed of numbers... and more importantly if each location needs more or less papers.

We also want to know where you would like to see it and where you don't think we should

ROSITA RESTAURANT TOWN HALL Gran Folies Golf De Andratx HIPER CENTRO SPAR EROSKI AQUARIUM Ponderosa Beach Bar THE GLASGOW SUNDOWNERS MOODS Robert Graves Museum Forn Deía SPAR BAR NOU Spar Tourist Info Office Barretts Hipercentro EROSKI Golf Club Pontiene Maioris Gof Club Lidl Bar Mingos VILAMIL HOTEL TOURIST INFORMATION BOATHOUSE Santa Catalina market Cappuccino San Miguel Cappuccino Passeo Maritimo Cappuccino Bourne

bother. Here are a select group of a few dozen key drops.

Please get in touch at Newsdesk@theolivepress.es to find your nearest drop or suggest another.

EASY TO FIND: In Andratx street and (right) on the bar at Cappuccino, in Portals PALMA NOVA PALMA NOVA PALMA NOVA PALMA NOVA PALMANOVA PALMANOVA Palmanyola Pollensa Pollensa PORT ADRIANO

Eroski CAPPUCCINO GOLF FANTASIA EROSKI Palmanova Gardens Cappuccino Son Termens Golf Pollensa Golf Eroski Sansibar

Port Alcudia Port Andratx Port Andratx Port Alcudia Port Pollensa Port Pollensa Port Soller PORTALS NOUS Portixol PUERTOPORTALS

Lidl Cepsa Garage Cappuccino Eroski Cappuccino The Stay Hotel Jumeirah NICE PRICE Portixol Hotel Capurccino

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Dengue warning

FINAL WORDS

AT least two people have been infected with Dengue fever in southern Spain, a disease carried by tiger mosquitoes (see right).

Fake it THE IMF falsely upgraded its description of Spain’s 2012 economy from ‘bleak” to ‘very difficult’ to avoid rattling the markets and triggering apocalyptic media headlines.

On the rise UBER has announced it will be expanding further across Andalucia, launching its service uberX in Sevilla this week.

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Vol. 2 Issue 39 www.theolivepress.es October 11th - October 24th 2018

Lock-in till 10am

LOCK-ins may be common in pubs, but one red-faced reveller took it to a whole new level this weekend.

The lad found himself locked overnight in Malaga’s Theatro Club, after a heavy night

Lad spends night in nightclub after falling asleep in the loo

saw him end up asleep on the toilet.

The unidentified clubber’s ear-

ly hours trip to the little boy’s room had embarrassing consequences, as he finally stumbled

Tiger trouble THERE has been a massive surge in tiger mosquitoes this year.

Environmental groups are warning residents and tourists on the Costa del Sol to be aware of the more aggressive strain.

According to Ecologistas en Accion there have been dozens of complaints of 'unusually strong' reactions to mosquito bites from locals, particularly in the Axarquia area.

The bites seem bigger and are often accompanied by a large red circle, mostly affecting the legs and arms.

Their behaviour is also different from that of the common mosquito, since they do not usually perch on the walls of houses, but fly around, particularly at a lower level, mak-

ing them harder to detect.

They are also faster and more agile in flight, making them more difficult to kill.

If you have been bitten, try and avoid scratching and apply ice to the bite for 10 minutes.This will avoid the toxin that produces the reaction from spreading.

into the light of day at 10am the following morning.

After a night on the razz the young man’s misfortune was revealed, as he was rescued by office worker Javi Gabarrony, who heard him banging on the club door.

Gabarrony said: "We heard someone banging on the metal door and a voice shouting: "Is there anybody there?"

Gabarrony said the man shouted ‘I have fallen asleep in the bar and I just woke up now’ and says that without his mobile phone he had no idea of what time it was.

He and his colleagues managed to contact the Theatro boss, who was swiftly on the scene with keys to the lift the shutter and open the doors, ensuring the man’s escape.

Footage shows the young lad stumble into the busy morning street, as the curtain finally came down on his wild night.

Zoom zoom... and a new broom

Has this Mallorca village got a new road sweeper?

Here a local nun does her civic duty in the run up to a local parade. Meanwhile (top), a lad gets a lift from his gran on a mobility scooter in Palma. Seen anything funny or quirky? Send it to newsdesk@theolivepress.es

TM

902 123 282 * Fu l l y c o m p r e h e n s i v e o f f e r v a l i d f o r n e w c u s t o m e r s o n l y. G u a r a n t e e s u b j e c t t o c o v e r, r e p a i r a t a p p r o v e d g a r a g e , a n d c o u r t e s y v e h i c l e a v a i l a b i l i t y. S u b j e c t t o c o n d i t i o n s . O f f e r e n d s 3 0 / 1 1 / 1 8 .

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2/8/18 17:01