Olive Press Spain - Issue 382

OLIVE PRESS

The

ANDALUCÍA

Mijas Costa

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A point to prove

Vol. 15 Issue 382 www.theolivepress.es November 17th - November 30th 2021

But why was animal activist Bardot fighting a bull?

BAD COP

Page 3

Crime of the century Why the world - not just Spain - is transfixed with the Wanninkhof saga

The Mijas Costa

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PIANO MAN

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We give you more Mijas Costa

SECRETS TO THE GRAVE! who THE infamous son of a British tycoon and killed a woman in a drink drive incident a model in stood trial accused of kidnapping Marbella has died. prison Westley Capper (left), who was facingAgnese over the disappearance of Latvian brought Klavina, 30, had a stroke, reportedly on by COVID-19. to He died on Monday after being admitted Press hospital several days earlier, the Olive

has learnt. the family A business acquaintance close to ‘a few confirmed he had died after spending to be days at least’ at a hospital understood the Quiron in Marbella. for a few “He had definitely been in hospital

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By Dilip Kuner and Jon Clarke

the days seriously ill having caught COVID,”fambusinessman, who is close to the Capper ily, told the Olive Press. his father “We are waiting to see what plansin terms of and the family are going to make we are not a possible wake and funeral but the estate bothering his father now,” said agent, who asked not to be named. mothThe 44-year-old - who killed a Bolivian drink and er-of-four while over the limit on drugs - lived in Benahavis. in 2020 Capper had been spared jail at trial of Fatiafter admitting to the manslaughter

OLIVE PRESS

The

OLIVE PRESS

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L IA & 9 EC ,7,8 SP2,4,5,6

2016. ma Dorado (above) in San Pedro, inhis friend But in an earlier case Capper andsuspended Craig Porter, 38, were handed resentences of two years and six months after being spectively on charges of coercion (right). cleared of the kidnapping of Klavina

RE es FIee pag

Continues on Page 2

in temperature is putting 75% of Spain Global warming and huge increase of dozens of beaches at risk of desertification and the loss OUT: Desert

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Vol. 15 Issue 378

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September 22nd -

October 5th 2021

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DRYING spread map and (below) reservoir

Green Special

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Spain opted out of a COP26 deal to put an end to the manufacture and sale of polluting cars by 2035.

The government of Pedro Sanchez was not among the 38 nations who signed the agreement to ban sales of both petrol and diesel cars within 14 years, although the region of

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Swamped

The ongoing study found an average 1.93 heat waves per year in the 1960s avand 1970s, while today there is an erage of six heatwaves a year. inThe rise in heat, which causes an crease in ice melting near the poles, is in turn putting the precious coastlines of Spain at risk.

Since 1900, global sea levels have risen between 13cm and 20cm;

A phoenix from flames as thous the ands of northern European reside rally to the fire nts call!

It indicates that much of the Spanish coastline and especially its bay towns could be devastated by 2100.

CaHowever, by 2050 large areas of diz, Huelva and parts of Valencia, which are already struggling with rising sea levels, could be swamped.

See Heatwaves, droughts and floods, in Green special starting on page 6, 7 and 9

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proactive measures to tackle environmental crimes on the part of the regional government itself.

Andalucia is at the frontline of the climate crisis both for the alarming spread of desertification, as well as its long 800kms of coastline which are vulnerable to rising sea-levels.

It comes as the region’s wetlands, such as Donana, are being drained by over-irrigation, while vast swathes of greenhouses producing fruit and vegetables for northern Europe are spreading like wildfire.

Emergencies

In September alone, two emergencies were declared in the wake of devastating floods in Huelva and a six-day wildfire which ravaged the Sierra Bermeja area of Estepona.

It was dubbed Spain’s first ‘sixth generation fire’ and came as temperature and rainfall records were broken yet again this year.

While the Junta now claims it is leading Spain’s green revolution - in particular in announcing dozens of new solar farms

COP out

Catalunya and its capital Barcelona both pledged to do so.

Spain insisted it already had its own measures in place with plans to prohibit the sale of new vehicles with combustion engines by 2040.

HELPING HANDS: Graham’s daughters gave pocket money AS THE embers cool and the smoke clears above the vast swathes of blackened hill- Olive Press to praise them. sides in the Sierra The Californian Bermeja, a phoenix company rising from the ashes. is unprecedent ed number of lauded the This is the spirit of campaigns - already termined to pull a community that is de- launched numbering over half a dozen together and help by expats over the affected by a blaze those They include last British resident week. to 10,000 hectares which ravaged close Pagden, Graham 51, who felt moved Estepona and Rondaof woodland between thing to do someto help having watched - and killed a young the wildfire come S p a n i s h valley dangerously close to ravaging his home. fireman.

The Casares-base d property So quick- particularly wanted to help the manager ly have dead family e x p a t s from fireman Carlos Martinez Haro, of ALL AREAS COVERED 41, Almeria. rallied to the call to TRAGIC: Dead fireman Carlos 4G UNLIMITED help the Ferocious His daughters have v i c t i m s “I looked at INTERNET donated their pocket my two of the about the same age daughters who are money to the cause along with hundreds IDEAL FOR as his and thought of others around s i x have d a y to do something we STREAMING TV Andalucia who for the girls he left moved to do something. felt b l a z e , behind,” he told t h a t The ‘Go Fund the Olive Press this week. As the fire raged, the expat ALSO IPTV, community A m e r i - ready raised Me’ drive he set up has al- pulled together with volunteers SATELLITE TV €6,600 for the Haro ing to those who can fund- “Someone who family. were threatened rushby the r a i s i n g and daughters says goodbye to his wife blaze. tel: (0034) 952 763 840 giant Go- country to standand travels across the Members of the equestrian info@theskydoctor.com FundMe fire to save peoplein front of a ferocious ty offered to take in horses communifrom the www.theskydoctor.com and their homes, zone, contact- little bit special,” is a from animal lovers took in over 100 fire he said.

ADANA, “It’s ed very sad while voluntary vets dogs the indeed.” were

Spain’s hottest new hotel gets set

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3 1 / 1 2 / 1 9 .

21/6/19 13:30

By Fiona Govan

Top of the world

/ Olive Press Spain

while throughout the previous scientist Francisco Blanco Velazquez 2,000 years, sea levels essentially told the Olive Press this week. in- didn’t change.

“The frequency of heat waves has ten The rate of the rise is also increasing: creased significantly over the last between 1900 and 1990 levels rose years and we need to adapt to this by around 1.3mm a year. But since threat because it is a risk for human 2000, according to the IPCC, the rate health,” added the climatologist. has been 3.6mm a year.

Maximum temperature readings By the end of the century some estiin Malaga are on average 3C higher mates suggest a rise of between 29than they were 60 years ago.

59cm. the at According to meteorologists To see how the rise could affect where website University of Malaga, the maximum in you live or own property, heat reached on the hottest days Climatecentral.org has constructed year last while 42.8C, the the 1960s was a map detailing which parts of it was 46C. world could be below sea level over the next few decades.

OUR WARNING: Two front pages this year alone

Continues on Page

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- campaigners warn that it only ergy efficiency’ and to promote scratches the surface. small scale projects that involve They say that a Climate Action local communities such as susPlan announced in October (the tainable water management first region to publish one in solutions.

Spain) involves assessing risks “We need cross-sector measures and drawing up a roadmap of that will forge a true solution to options and priorities, but puts mitigating, slowing down and very little into action. reversing climate change in An“This ‘green revolution’ is smoke dalucia,” explained a spokesman. and mirrors, a distraction,” insists Reyes Tirado, of GreenOpinion Page 6 peace.

“To really tackle emissions in What a cop out, Page 11 Andalucia, we need to talk about agriculture, energy models and how to transform the tourism industry,” she said.

“This only distracts from the important issues that ALL AREAS COVERED need to be addressed when, in truth, the Junta has been neglecting 4G UNLIMITED climate change for three INTERNET years.”

IDEAL FOR Another group, the Savia STREAMING TV Foundation, is urging the Junta to rethink a series ALSO IPTV, of giant solar farms being SATELLITE TV planned for the region.

It wants it to instead tel: (0034) 952 763 840 focus on ways to move info@theskydoctor.com towards ‘community en-

Magical castles

X

CLAIMS that Andalucia is leading Spain in the fight against global warming have been described as ‘smoke and mirrors’ by environmentalists.

Green groups insist that measures announced this month by the Junta are simply not enough.

In particular, they are furious the region is not declaring itself as facing a ‘climate emergency’ as have the Basque Region and Catalunya.

It comes as Junta boss Juanma Moreno told delegates at the critical COP26 climate summit in Glasgow that the region was ‘a pioneer’ in battling global warming.

The PP leader joined Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon to boldly claim Andalucia was leading the way in legislation aimed at keeping global temperature rises below 1.5 degrees.

“Andalucia is a pioneer in the fight and we will continue to be the spearhead, because we are the most vulnerable region in Spain and Europe,” he insisted.

In particular, he said the Junta will be making huge investments in renewable energy projects, and pledged to reduce emissions by 41% by 2030.

But critics say this is nowhere near enough and there are no

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change.

Key cities such as Valencia, Cadiz and risHuelva could lose large areas to ing seas, according to the prediction on by the Intergovernmental Panel Climate Change (IPCC).

Some parts of the coast could see predicted rises as high as 8mm a year. it It comes as that emerged 19 of the hottest years on record have been this century, claimed the US space ALL AREAS COVERED agency NASA. The rapid rise of 4G UNLIMITED climate change INTERNET is putting an 75% alarming IDEAL FOR of the country STREAMING TV at the threat of ALSO IPTV, extreme desertiSATELLITE TV fication, according to studies. tel: (0034) 952 763 840 “Spain is highinfo@theskydoctor.com risk for climate change impacts,” www.theskydoctor.com

DOZENS of Spain’s most beautiful beaches could vanish due to rising sea levels.

Hundreds of thousands of coastal homes could also be in danger within decades, as a result of climate

X

GREEN SPECIAL

By Alex Oscar, Cristina Hodgson and Elena Gocmen Rueda

X

Environmentalists slam Andalucia’s efforts to fight climate change as ‘smoke and mirrors’ c u s t o m e r s

EXPAT AID

Valencia, Cadiz ● Sea rises of up to 8mm leaves and Huelva in danger now just two in ● Six annual heatwaves a year 1970s 3C higher ● Maximum temperature readings than 60 years ago

Picture by David Lopez

Heatwave hell

SKY + THE DOCTOR +

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CRIME

www.theolivepress.es

NEWS IN BRIEF Unwanted passenger A DISTRAUGHT couple in Malaga watched as a thief roared off in their car with their six-year-old son still inside. The child was later dumped on a petrol station forecourt.

Sleazy scam POLICE are warning that people in Almeria who indulge in online sex shows are being targeted by blackmailers who threaten to expose their sleazy habit unless cash is paid.

Cashless crook GARY Swift, 55, jailed in the UK for 19 years for a £60 million cocaine plot, has been ordered to hand over £300,000 criminal proceeds after Spanish police helped track his gang through Spain.

Ramp tragedy A BRITISH based woman has died and her husband been seriously injured after they tried to stop their van rolling down a car park ramp while they read an information panel.

A BRITISH man is facing five years in prison after being accused of sexually abusing a child.

The expat, 59, is alleged to have abused the 11-year-old girl at her family home in Estepona in 2017 while alone with her in the kitchen.

The man was a friend of the girl’s

Rival gangsters from Alicante and Malaga arrested in huge police clean up POLICE have swooped on seven gangsters from two Swedish mafia gangs in Spain.

The rival gangsters, described as ‘extremely violent’ were rounded up in Marbella, Malaga, Fuengirola and Alicante.

Both gangs have been at war with each other since the assassination of the leader of one of the groups in 2013.

The war has led to dozens of deaths over the last decade,

Brit creep parents, who are also British.

According to prosecutors he took advantage of their friendship to spend time alone with their

November 17th - November 30th 2021 daughter.

It was during this time that he pounced and touched her inappropriately.

The terrified youngster only managed to escape when she made the excuse of having to go and feed her pet.

Swedish house mafia

By Ron Howells

with the rivals even planting explosives to kill each other.

National Police began probing the gangs’ Spanish members, after an incident in September in Marbella.

A further altercation, involving five individuals took place at another Marbella joint on October 30, where one of the gang attempted to kidnap a rival.

The attackers beat him badly, but were unsuccessful in getting him into a waiting van.

The following day a tit-for-tat

Fags a lot

Sad neglect

EIGHT people have been arrested and 38,000 packets of contraband tobacco have been seized in La Linea in five raids during the past week.

The officers also recovered four vehicles used to transport the substances, mainly SUVs stolen in different parts of Spain.

So far this year, more than 50 cars have been recovered by police with 350,000 packets of contraband tobacco seized.

A DOG owner left his neglected pet struggling with a huge painful tumour rather than taking it to the vet.

The dog was in a great deal of pain and struggled to move with the giant six-kilo lump and had to rest every few steps as he limped around.

The owner, 58, from Malaga, is now facing prosecution after police found the dog living in ‘deplorable conditions’ in the man’s city centre flat.

attack saw two hooded men shoot three occupants of a van in Fuengirola, at 3am.

One man was seriously injured and rushed to hospital, where he still remains.

Officers from Malaga’s organised crime unit have so far arrested seven men and continue to focus on identifying and locating other gang members, to prevent further attacks.

Their work led to the arrest of three men in Alicante.

A number of high end vehicles, guns, mobile devices and 12,000 euros in cash was also seized.

The men have been charged with attempted murder, attempted kidnapping, being members of a criminal organisation, illegal possession of weapons and robbery with violence.

They were refused bail.

Mayor’s house set on fire in shock attack POLICE have launched an investigation after a mayor had his house set on fire in a horrific hate attack.

The socialist leader of Navas de San Juan had previously been attacked for his left-wing leanings and alleged homosexuality.

The arson attack on the home of Joaquin Requena on Sunday has rocked Spain’s political establishment.

Thugs

His house caught fire after thugs set fire to a rubbish container and rolled it to his front door.

The fire then spread to a nearby vehicle.

Although the Jaen mayor and his family were inside the house at the time, none of them suffered injuries.

In September 2020, the PSOE leader reported damage to his vehicle and graffiti daubed on walls labelling him a ‘maricon’ (gay) and attacking his socialist views.

At the time he insisted the acts would not intimidate him.

NEWS

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September 8th - September 21st 2021

Bully for Bardot

SHE may have become an animal rights activist in later years, but French legend Brgitte Bardot once faced down a bull - or so it seems.

A collection of stills from the 1957 French-Italian film ‘The Night Heaven Fell’ shows Bardot on location in Spain.

The iconic actress filmed in Mijas, Torremolinos, Alhaurin and El Chorro and caused quite a stir in what was then a sleepy backwater.

The stills are part of an exhibition at Malaga’s La Termica centre called Myth and Cliches in Malaga which is open from 9am to 1pm until January 7.

LOCATION: Bardot in Mijas

STOP MESSING ABOUT!

Chef tells politicians to get together rather than point the finger

KING OF CHEESE SPAIN’S undisputed king of the cheesy summer pop song, Georgie Dann, had died at the age of 81.

His catchy melodies were familiar to millions of British and European tourists as they filled the beach bar airwaves for decades.

He racked up an incredible 22 summer hits that included El Barbacoa, El Chiringuito and El Bimbo.

He died in Madrid’s Hospital Puerta de Hierro.

Born in 1940 in Paris, Dann whose real name was Georges Mayer Dahan, was an accomplished musician who spent nine years at the Paris Conservatory.

But he found huge success in his adopted country Spain, where he cornered the market in the cheesy pop song.

INTERNATIONAL chef and philanthropist, Jose Andres, has told rival Spanish political leaders to come together to stop pollution in the Mar Menor.

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to victims of the La Palma volcano eruption.

Now Andres has taken to social media Money and sent a message Asturias-born Andres won to Prime Minister, this year’s Princess of As- Pedro Sanchez, and turias Award for Concord Partido Popular leadin recognition for his World er, Pablo Casado over Central Kitchen project that the pollution scandal hitting provides food to people hit one of Europe’s biggest laby natural disasters. He do- goons. “Why don’t they come nated all of the prize money together to find solutions to what is happening in the Mar Menor?” he asked on Twitter.

IN just two months they have trans- The competition is open to everyone “It is a formed from blind hairless pink- the world over and invites people to problem skinned creatures to bouncing fluffy vote for their favourite names along that has bundles of black and white cuteness. with a pithy response as to why that easy soluAnd now they need names. choice was made. tions if we Madrid Zoo has opened a com- To avoid the potential embarrasslisten to petition to name their lat- ment of a Boaty McBoatface type those who est arrivals, twin Giant scandal – when a public consultation know. And Pandas who were born in Britain on what to call a research its people on September 6. ship resulted in a totally absurd name and Spain coming out top choice - people will deserve no have to choose from a shortlist alless!” ready announced.

Andres is These are You You, Jiu Jiu, an AmeriXing Mu, Bing Tang, Hua can citizen He and Yue Yuan. and owns a

Panda McPandaface

THE apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Madonna’s eldest child Lourdes Leon has proved she has inherited her mum’s star power - and flexibility - as she was announced as the new face of Bimba Y Lola.

Madonna and Carlos Leon’s daughter, 24, who also goes by the name Lola, was seen in a variety of edgy poses for the n e w f a l l c a m paign for the Spanish brand.

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chain of restaurants in the States, and sorted out a vegetable garden when President Barack Obama was in the White House.

He’s also a frequent guest on US TV shows.

Fame

One or two social media respondents suggested that he ought to use his fame to get the Spanish politicians together. The national government unveiled a €382 million regeneration package for the Mar Menor at the start of the month. For years Europe’s largest salt water lagoon has suffered environmental disasters, with thousands of tonnes of dead sea creatures having to be cleared away on several occasions.

Mane attraction TWO extremely rare white lion cubs have become the main attraction of a Spanish zoo just a few weeks after being born.

The brother and sister weighed barely a kilo at birth and have been hand reared after their two siblings died.

Their parents are Simba and Lira, the first two lions to take up residence at La Pequeña Africa animal reserve in Cadiz. Neither of the parents have white fur.

The cubs are being watched and cared for 24 hours a day with their progress described as ‘going well.’.

White lions are extremely rare, with just 700 of them in the world.

The colour of the fur is due to a recessive colour inhibitor gene and according to African beliefs ‘it is a divine animal that brings happiness if it crosses your path’.

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NEWS

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Benefits of youth UP to three million youngsters are to benefit from a special transport card in Andalucia next year.

All under-30s will be offered the card, which gives discounts of 50% on all modes of public transport.

The Junta will invest €5.3 million insisting it is promoting sustainable travel over car use.

Homeless shooting A HOMELESS immigrant from Ghana has been shot dead by police in Madrid.

The killing provoked accusations of racism, after he was shot five times at point blank range outside a health centre.

He had been carrying a large knife, but was allegedly given no warning.

See Death and destruction, page 8

Xmas early EXPAT couple Nick Nutter and Julie Evans have won an award for their Visit-Andalucia website.

The Estepona pair scooped the Corporate Livewire Prestige award for Best Travel Platform in Spain.

The judges praised their personal touch, consistency of content and community feel.

CRICKET lovers will turn their attention to Spain next February.

The 2022 Bet2Ball European Cricket League draw has been made based on the latest ICC T20 country rankings.

ECL22 will take place over six weeks at the Cartama Oval, Malaga, starting on February 7 next year with Group A action including the English champions

November 17th - November 30th 2021

Padding up Tunbridge Wells.

Hailed as ‘the Champions League of European cricket’, ECL22 is an expanded 30 team tournament including the champions of England, Ireland

and Scotland.

Originally set to be held at La Manga Club in Murcia last year, it was postponed due to pandemic travel restrictions.

GANG WAR IN GIB

A STREET brawl between rival gangs has led to the arrest of nine people, including a minor.

A gun was discharged during the fighting over the weekend, which has led to special measures being called for by the government.

Described as a ‘revenge attack’, the battle began at the Bahia Bar, near Ocean Village on Saturday evening.

Video footage recorded by wit-

Gun fired and man mown down as nine arrested after warfare breaks out between rival youths

nesses overlooking the Waterport roundabout captured the brawl which showed men spilling out of the pub and fighting in the street.

One person threw a chair at a passing car while another was seen brandishing a gun.

In the most shocking part a

Seeing red!

SCIENTISTS in Andalucia are doing their bit in the battle against plastics polluting our seas - by using tomatoes.

Malaga-based researchers have used the skin and stems from tomatoes to make a bioplastic, which decomposes in just one month as opposed to the 450 years from traditional plastics.

Researcher Jose Heredia is working with cellulose extracted from waste discarded by the canning industry after making tomato sauces.

His team are transforming it into a robust and transparent film with multiple applications such as biodegradable food packaging.

While described as a potential ‘revolution for the environment’, its commercial application is some way off, as the plastics industry would need to use the same machinery.

man is seen being mown down by a car outside.

“There were assaults, violent disorder and cars were being driven in an extremely dangerous manner,” an RGP spokesman told the Olive Press.

“Officers were immediately deployed and two individuals required hospital attention.

“Within an hour of the start of the incident, at least five arrests had been made.

“The RGP are grateful for the video evidence which has already been made available.”

He added: “This was a pretty big incident for Gibraltar and has caused quite a stir.

“It’s the sort of crime that would be unremarkable in most towns across the UK on a Saturday night but it’s not the sort of thing we are used to here.”

According to sources the incident was a ‘revenge attack’ in response to a fight that had broken out the night before.

Among those arrested was a 16-year-old who appeared in

court on Monday charged with various crimes including violent disorder, possession of a weapon and resisting police.

Mark Macias, 30, meanwhile was charged with discharging a firearm; violent disorder; possession of a prohibited weapon; possession of cannabis and resisting police.

Disorder

Callum Brayson, 18, was charged with causing harm by furious driving; driving without insurance; driving without a licence and violent disorder A further six individuals were arrested on Monday in connection with the incident.

Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said he would convene a meeting of the Gibraltar Contingency Council ‘to seek assurances about ensuring the safety and security of our streets’.

Picardo insisted: “A small group of thugs won’t change the character of our community.”

End of the Line DOZENS of axed train services may not be restored under the planned post-pandemic timetable recently unveiled.

The changes will see some 36 trains a day slashed from the schedule amid staffing issues.

The new timetable published by Renfe shows that 32 services between Malaga and Fuengirola will be lost (16 in each direction) and two on the line to Alora (one in each direction).

Renfe says that staffing problems will ease as more than 900 drivers are set to be trained across Spain in the coming months - but the reduced timetable will still apply in Malaga.

HORROR FALL A GERMAN climber has died after falling in Ronda’s famous Tajo gorge.

Emergency teams were called after the woman, 61, fell around 30 metres.

She had been attempting to scale the town’s Via Ferrata, which consists of metal rungs, ladders and a permanently fixed safety wire.

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Olive Press Costa del Sol – 170mm x 256mm – Colour

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17th November

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NEWS

September 8th - September 21st 2021

Driven to despair ENVIRONMENTALISTS are up in arms after the swish of a pen left an ancient valley near Granada’s Alhambra stripped of protective status.

They claim the bureaucratic error - deliberate or not now leaves the Darro Valley vulnerable to the construction of a motorway, a luxury hotel and urbanisations.

The Junta has confirmed the valley was delisted in 2020 following cancellation of its Cultural Interest (BIC) status it was only handed in 2017.

It came after an administrative error and means the valley currently has no protection.

Campaigners are warning the area, which was the original source of water to the Alhambra, is now in

Key green lung of Granada city faces motorway and new homes after administrative blip EXCLUSIVE

By Kirsty McKenzie & Elena Goçmen Rueda

danger of massive development unless immediate action is taken.

Local residents and activists believe the valley - home to the Jesus del Valle monastery and the villages of Beas de Granada and Huetor Santillan - could now be vulnerable to the extension of the G30 ring road.

In particular because the continuation of the road is part of the regional PP party’s manifesto.

Life savers A PAIR of policemen have been praised for their quick-thinking in saving a dying baby.

The pair jumped in when they spotted a ‘distressed’ man carrying the nine-day old boy, who was clearly choking in Andujar (Jaen).

They quickly put the newborn in the recovery position and rushed him to hospital, where medics used specialised equipment to clear the boy’s airway and revive him.

“The authorities have wanted this for a long time,” Reynaldo Fernandez, a former director of the City’s Patronato history department, told the Olive Press.

“They are now starting to make the first bureaucratic steps of making studies and presenting the plans to the right institutions.”

British expat Jane Brooke, who has lived in Spain for 14 years, said it would be 'hugely worrying’ if it was decided the G30 motorway could be extended through the valley.

“It looks like somebody at the Junta deliberately made an administrative error which scuttled the BIC declaration leaving the valley vulnerable to construction.”

The valley was only finally named a BIC site by the Junta in 2017 after a seven-year campaign, joining the Alhambra, Castillo de La Calahorra and the Gate of Elvira.

But a recommendation to delete the area from the BIC list came in July 2020 due to a ‘bureaucratic failure’ by the Andalucia gov-

HIGHWAY TO HELL: Darro valley could be affected

ernment.

“We thought that we had killed the motorway plan when the Junta finally agreed to declare the area as a BIC,” continued Brooke.

Shower

“But two years ago we discovered the error and now the land is unprotected, the motorway on the PP's manifesto, and the Junta actively looking to build the damn thing.”

A group of 12 associations and collectives united under the Citizens' Platform for the Integral Protection of the Darro River Valley will fight any such plans.

Meanwhile, Granada councillor Elisa Cabrera described the error by the Junta as like taking a ‘cold

shower’.

She told the Olive Press: “As long as the valley is not protected, we have the risk of these urban plans being carried out and approved.”

Her party, Podemos, has contacted the University of Granada, the Academy of Fine Arts and the Centre for Scientific Research to put pressure on the Junta to get the BIC status reinstated as soon as possible.

“This valley is part of the economic future of Granada, if we put more bricks in it we will only add more pollution and we will lose a landscape with important historical and cultural heritage” she added.

A full council session is to be held in Granada on November 26 and it is hoped the issue will be discussed.

5

Driving forwards

By Ron Howells

A NEW motorway is on the cards for inland Andalucia.

A total of €700,000 has been set aside in next year’s regional budgets to look at extending the existing A-357 motorway from Malaga to Ronda, via Ardales.

It would mean journey times from Ronda to Malaga airport being cut by 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, €505,000 has been set aside for a new office for the Sierra de las Nieves national park, while improvements will be made for the visitor centre for Antequera’s historic dolmens.

And €1.6m has been set aside for upgrading squares, streets and parks in Alora, Archidona and Antequera, among other towns.

There is also set to be a solution for the treatment of sewage in the Guadalhorce Valley, while other sewage works have been commissioned for towns, including Arriate.

Waste from Alhaurin el Grande and Cartama will be treated at the Malaga Norte plant, which is currently under construction.

The good news comes after Malaga province was handed a €90 million budget boost over last year’s funding of €351 million.

An investment of €120,000 is also being spent on promoting the grape industry in the Axarquia.

6

NEWS FEATURE

www.theolivepress.es Voted top expat paper in Spain

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

OPINION GOOD COP, BAD COP SO if COP26 really was the ‘last best chance’ to save the planet then have we missed the boat?

While Greta Thunberg dismissed it as ‘business as usual, blah blah blah’ the general consensus among attendees was that it was ‘a step in the right direction’ It can be summed up by saying there was lots of positive chat, and agreements to chat some more about making positive steps but little in the way of action.

Spain went along with general agreements to commit to carbon neutral goals but shortterm plans with concrete steps to doing so remain elusive.

Andalucia is at the frontline of the climate crisis with dire warnings that the region won’t be much more than desert within 50 years unless the world takes drastic action.

Although the region can’t solve the problem on its own, if it really wants to ‘spearhead’ the green revolution as Junta boss Juanma Moreno claims, then it needs to take bold steps beyond signing agreements that mostly benefit giant energy companies.

Where are the solar panels on supermarket roofs? Where are the forestry management plans? Where are the steep fines for those illegally extracting water? Where are the incentives to encourage energy self-sufficiency?

We can also each do our bit by recycling our waste, picking up litter from the beach or choosing to sell the car and use public transport. We can also cut back on eating meat.

But above all we all need to apply pressure on our governments to take the threat seriously today and stop putting action off until tomorrow, when it will be too late.

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THE CASE THAT GRIPS A NATION

M

ENTION the Rocio Wanninkhof case around Spain and expect plenty of raised eyebrows. Everyone has an opinion on the murder of the attractive half-Spanish, half-Dutch teenager on the Costa del Sol in 1999.

But while it is still transfixing the nation two decades on, today it has gone stratospheric, after the launch of two high-profile documentaries in recent months.

Both Netflix and HBO have released programmes on the case, in particular focusing on the involvement of the former lesbian lover of Rocio’s mother.

It makes for gripping TV, studying Dolores Vazquez’ alleged motives and alibis, as well as her potential links to the eventual convicted murderer, a British barman called Tony King.

The HBO series ‘Dolores. The truth about the Wanninkhof case’, in particular, goes deep in a six-parter, which sets up as being a study of one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in Spanish history.

But is it really? And what exactly were Dolores’ connections to Tony King and his sidekick, timeshare tout Robbie Graham, who has literally vanished into thin air?

I spent a year studying the case, before publishing a book on it in 2004 called Costa Killer.

My interest began after another teenage girl, Sonia Carabantes, was murdered during a feria in Coin, in inland Malaga, in 2003.

There were definite similarities between the killing and that of Rocio’s, in nearby Mijas, four years earlier, and for a month that summer it was hardly out of the news in Spain.

But when the DNA of a British expat, working in nearby Alhaurin, was found to have been at both crime scenes, it was like dynamite. Bang. Suddenly the story went global.

A British sex offender, a Spanish lesbian and a mysterious mafia subplot... it’s no surprise the death of Rocio Wanninkhof in 1999 is still fascinating armchair sleuths, writes Olive Press editor Jon Clarke, who wrote a book on the case

INNOCENT VICTIMS: Rocio and Sonia (right)

I had only just moved to Spain tracked him down and warned from the UK and found myself the Spanish counterparts of his working around the clock to track past, but inexplicably he was nevdown and speak to all the key er extradited home to face other players. charges.

I started with King’s acquaintanc- The Wanninkhof case had begun es in Alhaurin (among them his on October 9, 1999, in La Cala former workmates at the Bowers de Mijas, when 19-year-old RoArms as well as an ex-flatmate, a cio had been slayed on her way Danish girl) and eventually ended home. up interviewing his wife and fami- She had vanished some 500 mely back home in London. tres from her boyfriend’s house, The fact he had at around 10pm, moved to Spain her violent stabhaving changed bing leaving an She had his name by ominous series vanished 500 deed poll from of blood stains Tony Bromwich on waste ground, metres from - aka the Holloas well as drag way Strangler, in her boyfriend’s marks and nearby the UK, for half tyre tracks. house a dozen vicious It led to one of attacks on womthe biggest puben in the 1980s lic searches in - only made the case more super- Spain’s history, until her body charged. turned up, apparently sexually asIncredibly, he had easily im- saulted, on waste ground in Los mersed himself into a new life on Rodeos, between Puerto Banus the Costa del Sol, despite actually and San Pedro, on November 2. appearing on UK TV programme But it wasn’t just any bit of overCrimewatch over a separate rape grown land. Just 100 metres from case the week he left for Spain, the busy N-340 motorway, it was in 1997. beside a tennis club, which two of The British authorities had even Rocio’s uncles, Juan and Serafin Hornos, had been set to rent, potentially to run as a brothel, a source told me.

Next to her body were several rubbish bags with her personal belongings, clothes and oddly, a flyer handed out in a previous search for the body. There was also a cigarette butt, while fingerprints on one of the bags allegedly matched those of Serafin Hornos, although this is much contested.

Either way, surely it was no coincidence that a random sex attacker would have driven her body 33kms up the motorway to this specific spot, when he could have headed a few kilometres inland to the mountains in Mijas.

The police however, did not know of this connection and initially interrogated Rocio’s boyfriend Toni, before focusing their attention on the former lesbian lover of her mother Alicia Hornos. You couldn’t make it up.

Enter Maria Dolores Vazquez CONTRADICTIONS: Alicia (right) still believes Dolores (left) is guilty Mosquera. Born in Galicia but

raised in England, she managed the Sultan Hotel, in Marbella, and allegedly had a ‘short temper’ and ‘practiced martial arts’.

She became the prime suspect, largely due to the claims of Rocio’s mother, who has always insisted she had threatened her family in the weeks leading up to her death and claimed she had concrete motives to kill her daughter.

She told police (and the media) their split had been very acrimonious leading to Dolores calling her late at night and her daughter even hiding when she saw her car or heard her talking.

Rocio’s younger sister Rosa Blanca, added that Dolores was ‘a compulsive liar’ and ‘full of contradictions’. “In the last year before Rocio’s death she also became very aggressive,” she said in one interview. “All the evidence points to her,” she added.

The Guardia Civil followed suit and tapped her phone as well as sending a female agent to get close to her friends and acquaintances, building up a picture of her as being ‘cold, calculating and aggressive’.

In the end detectives had around 30 separate bits of evidence pointing at Dolores, who insisted she had not gone out that night and had been looking after her mother and her niece’s daughter.

She also insisted she had made some calls from her home, which were proven by her phone bill, although they were at 8.30pm and later after 10pm, leaving a window to have committed the crime.

And there were numerous other discrepancies, which the HBO documentary did not ignore.

These include LED AWAY: Robbie Graha her later ad-

mittance that she might have, after all, gone out evening stroll. It was claimed she that evening to buy cigarettes… had been carrying a knife and and her inability to explain how a stabbed her, after firstly slapping car, a red Celica, identical to hers, or punching her in the face, givwas seen with two men inside it ing her a nosebleed. very close to the murder location Later, with the help of others, she that evening. returned to the scene at around Despite the lack of concrete ev2am to pick up the body, put it in idence, specifically the murder the car, and, after several days, weapon or DNA, public opinion, subsequently moved it to Marfuelled by the press and, in parbella. ticular, TV, was already condemnBut police could match none ing her as guilty. of the fingerprints at the crime When her cleaner, an expat Russcene to her and various fibres sian called Tatiana, came forfound on the body did not match ward to say she had stabbed a her clothing. poster of Rocio with a knife in her While she was sentenced to 15 kitchen, shouting ‘problem, probyears for the murder in 2001, lem’ the die was seemingly cast. she was let out of prison when The jury certainly agreed, with police discovered that biological six out of nine condemning her, remains under the fingernails although a retrial was later orof murdered Sonia matched the dered. cigarette butt Dolores and her found next to Rolawyer claimed They ruled ‘that cio’s body. it was a ‘biased, I have no doubt he did not act that Tony King popular jury’ with the prosecution involved in alone’ and had was merely focusing the murder, after on deconstructing the help of an his estranged her as a person wife Cecilia went accomplice without providing to the police in evidence to in2003 recalling criminate her. the night Rocio The prosecution insisted she had had died and how he had acted stabbed Rocio after an ‘unconstrangely. trollable burst of anger’ when She told me in an exclusive inshe met her out while having an terview, how he had come in late at night, had a shower, and gone out again, taking his old clothes with him.

And again when Sonia died, she and her new partner David Cooze, had seen Tony with suspicious scratches on his hand and a broken car light.

Police acquired his DNA from a glass and he eventually confessed to the crimes in addition to other assaults committed around Malaga and even as far away as Granada (in particular in Motril).

But King - who had been imprisoned in the UK for five vicious sex attacks by strangulation in 1986 - always insisted that Rocio was killed alongside his friend (and boss) Robbie Graham and Dolores.

He claimed Dolores was an acam, who was later released quaintance of Graham, a time-

November 17th - November 30th 2021

7

QUALITY COSTS (BUT NOT THAT MUCH) MUCH)

EVIL: But King was also a family man with ex-wife Cecilia

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S share salesman with previous convictions in the UK. He said Rocio had been seized by the trio and was to be ‘given a warning’ over her relationship with Dolores, which ended up going too far.

It might explain why a bloodstained tissue was found near the scene of her death, suggesting she had been given it to dab her nosebleed by someone who knew her well.

While a jury unanimously found King guilty of the murders in 2006, they ruled definitely that he ‘did not act alone’ and ‘must have had’ the help of accomplices.

There are questions, in particular, over Graham, who was brought in for questioning, but eventually let out to vanish and never to resurface again. He had been King’s boss at the timeshare company Lubina Sol, in Riviera, where coincidentally Rocio’s mother Alicia cleaned.

Many people told me that King was Graham’s ‘clumper’ or hired heavy and he had a very strong spell over him. The pair had met in prison in the UK, I believe, and Graham had an unhealthy relationship with women.

The pair got up to a lot of bad things together, King’s ex-wife Cecilia told me.

The HBO documentary briefly dwells on this and wonders whether all three could have been involved.

While Dolores completely denies it and she has since been exonerated by the state, her ex-lover Alicia is still convinced she was involved.

In one dramatic part of the documentary Rocio’s mother tells how Dolores had a very bad temper and even saw her throw her own mother to the floor and ‘dragged her by the hair’. To which Dolores replies: “If Alicia says I hit my mother that is totally unforgivable. I would have hit Alicia if she had touched my mother.”

Such violent dialogue, but as Alicia later points out, King was a strangler of women, not a knifeman.

Either way, for me, it definitely doesn’t quite add up. The body being taken 33 kilometres up the motorway, the bizarre links to the Hornos family, the many contradictions of Dolores.

It is one of the reasons the Rocio case and that of the Costa Killer will certainly never be forgotten.

INCE the rise of the internet, publishers have struggled with the thorny issue of how to pay for their content, which for years has been handed out free.

But now the tide has finally turned over the payment for news.

The simple truth is that quality costs. Trained journalists need to be employed. And in our case, unlike other online publications, sub-editors are needed to check the copy.

With Google and Facebook sucking up 90% of global advertising revenue, another path away from relying on ads needed to be sought.

Publishers the world over, from the New York Times, to The Telegraph and The Times decided the way forward was to charge for the ir content.

Here in Spain it is also seen as the way forward, with all the big media groups adopting paywalls, from giants like El Mundo to local publications such as Diario Sur. The Olive Press joined them a year ago. And now with more than 30,000 subscribers we are definitely on the right track.

With hundreds more signing up each month, it is gratifying to know that readers share our obsession with quality.

After all, for less than 14 cents a day - or €1.50 a week - readers can join our online revolution.

And with our current half price special offer until the end of the year readers can help us keep real journalism alive and flourishing in a world of fake news.

Get in touch today at sales@theolivepress.es or call us at 00 34 951273575 for more info

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www.theolivepress.es

NEWS FEATURE

DEATH AND DESTITUTION

November 17th - November 30th 2021

EYEWITNESS: The Olive Press sent Heather Galloway to investigate San Cristobal, one of Madrid’s most dangerous suburbs, where a machete-wielding homeless man was gunned down by police

I

T doesn’t take long to find the spot where a 44-year-old African immigrant was slain by five police bullets in broad daylight.

Ironically, on the wall of a health centre next to where Issa, from Ghana, was gunned down, two policemen stand watch as a workman in overalls paints over two large words, daubed crudely in full sight of anyone going past.

The graffiti reads ‘Policia Asesina’ (Police Murderers) and it only takes two coats to paint over the accusation, covering their tracks.

It is a controversial killing, but one - given the suburb and given the victim was an immigrant - that will soon be airbrushed away into history, with little further debate.

Welcome to another week in San Cristobal, Madrid’s cheapest district, whose migrant population nudges 40% and where many taxi drivers and courier companies refuse to work.

Part of the southern district of Villaverde,

it has been dubbed Madrid’s ‘worst barrio’, although on my trip this week, it looks safe enough for now.

The facts of last week’s killing are unclear.

What is known is that 44-year-old Issa M was seen brandishing a machete, near the health centre at 10am on Friday, November 5. A few minutes later officers from Spain’s National Police took him down with five bullets. He was allegedly not given a warning.

Addled by mental health and drug problems, Issa was known to locals for his bizarre antics, according to the owner of a nearby stationery store.

He told me he was clearly homeless and hungry and had become known for eating the neighbourhood cats for sustenance. “Around here, everyone just has to survive as best they can,” he explains.

But that morning Issa’s struggle for survival came to a sudden, somewhat controversial end. “It was all over in seconds,” the cleaner at the local health

ORDERS: Cops watch the whitewashing of ‘policia asesina’ graffiti on a wall centre tells me.

Preferring to remain anonymous, she was persuaded by one of the centre’s doctors, Christos Piperagkas, to describe what she saw to the Olive Press.

“I saw him come around the side of the building swinging the knife,” she explains nervously. “When the police came up to arrest him, he pushed one of the officers, then they pushed him against a big street bin and there they shot him five times. I was shaking. Someone held me and told me they weren’t real bullets. That they had just put him to sleep.”

I am not the first reporter to come down to look into the shooting, which, unlike the US, is thankfully not all that common on the streets of Spain.

However, I was told that one TV reporter found himself insulted and physically set upon for ‘being in cahoots’ with the authorities at the weekend. He exited with a police escort.

My own trip to the barrio passes without incident, though I do feel as though I am no longer in Madrid, a city I have lived in for decades.

The wasteland by the spanking new metro station had been occupied until September by shacks. It gives a bleak first impression, but it is only when I venture into the bowels of San Cristobal that I get why delivery workers refuse to deliver here.

“It’s a complicated neighbourhood; there’s a lot of NGOs trying

to help,” explains the stationary shop owner.

I stop to chat to a group of four young men who tell me the area has simply been forgotten.

“No one works here,” says the oldest who refuses to give his name. “There’s no money. They don’t even bother to clean the streets,” he adds matter-of-factly.

The boys are aged 18 to 30. SLAIN: Homeless Issa lies on the road They are second generation migrants criminals, it’s a different story. They give and none of them have jobs, not even them a wave as they pass them on the the 30-year-old who tells me he did well street.” at school.

Unlike the boys, the officers watching the The statistics are damning – there is a graffiti being erased cannot be persuad50% drop out rate of pupils at secondary ed to answer questions. They are polite, level in San Cristobal while 34% don’t but firm. ‘No comment’. even get through primary.

Given its reputation, the neighbourhood At first, they don’t want to talk. It’s a thing doesn’t however, seem too threatenin the neighbourhood, they say. No one ing to me. I help a frail old lady over the likes how journalists portray them and road who says she’s lived here since she they are not to be trusted. was married. Her sparse At the same time, they hair is stiffly coiffed and have things they want to she has put on her war They found two say and they talk in spite paint for her outing. But girls buried in her trusting demeanour of themselves.

They tell me that the podoesn’t suggest she’s boxes under lice are already on the deexpecting to be pounced fensive when they drive the ground just upon. around, yet when crimes Another two middle aged over there are actually committed, women tell me they’ve nothing ever seems to get lived here all their lives done. and never had any bother.

“They found two girls buried in boxes But when I get to the spot of the recent under the ground just over there,” says killing behind the health centre, a midone. “And we never heard anything more dle-aged Moroccan man is adamant that about it.” the area is well and truly screwed. “It’s al“And someone was killed a month ago, right at this time of day,” he says. “But try but that’s it. Silence,” adds another. coming here after midnight. It’s a jungle.”

“Look at us! We’re harmless. Just drink- He tells me that many of the depressing ing coffee. And we like to smoke a few tenements have been appropriated by joints and chat but if the police drove by drug traffickers and turned into narco now, they would be screeching to a halt flats. And where there are narco flats, and rushing over here to get on our case. there are addicts and, consequently, When it comes to the bad guys, the real poor mental health and homelessness.

Some of the homeless sleep behind the health centre where Issa was killed.

“The good bits of this barrio are good but the bad are really bad,” a young Spaniard tells me, his face obscured by a tattoo. “There are some seriously evil people about. A lot of gang warfare. But there is a lot of kindness too.”

For Dr Piperagkas, Issa’s shooting is symbolic of the dysfunctional relationship between the locals and the authorities. “He was mentally ill,” he says, clearly outraged.

“He needed psychological help, not bullets. But nobody alerted us even though we were right here.

To me, it’s symbolic of what’s happening here in San Cristobal.”

NARCO FLATS: Drugs and homelessness are rife

LETTERS

OVER TO YOU...

Sunshine solution Dear Olive Press,

d to make BRITISH travellers now nee are being sure that their passports leaving stamped when entering and Mallorca. a stay of This is because, since Brexit, wed. This only 90 days in 180 days is allo e owners will alarm many second homfrom buyon the island and deter others ing and investing tish visitors Given the importance of Bri in, could Spa of t res the and ca llor Ma to ion to ept exc an nt gra not s itie the author s? stay ger lon w this rule and allo is another A country that has done this grants anos bad Bar nd. isla e shin sun return for nual stay visas to visitors in a modest fee. ca could Is this a measure that Mallor visitors are stay g Lon ? ring offe r side con g louts that not the undesirable drinkin visit the island. nd being They spend money on the isla and dining, ing win rd affo to able l wel other exentertainment, shopping and tors will visi se the ing penses. Deterr y. damage the island’s econom

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November 17th - November 30th 2021 A

Good work!

Vol. 15

ll about

Issue 381

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errania de Ronda FUNDADA EN 2017

www.theolivepress.

es

November 2021

I JUST wanted to compliment you on your newspaper which I picked up at the Municipal Tourist Office in Ronda.

I had been staying in Gaucin with three Belgian friends making day trips to Este- I pona, Cadiz, Casares, Ubrique and Cortes - so your 20-page ‘All about Serrania de Ronda’ special came as a great and informative plus.

Keep up the good work and I’ll hunt your newspaper down the next time I visit!

Pictures by Jon Clarke

10

MOORISH

JON CLARKE waxes lyrical where the sense of history about his hometown of Ronda, is only matched by its soaring mountain scenery and (almost) its food T’S

PERHAPS the Olive Press could give a warning about the fraud that seems to take place when selling items on Facebook Marketplace.

I placed an item for sale and in no time got a buyer. It seemed to be too good to be true - and it turns out it was.

The next thing I knew is I got an email purporting to be from ‘DHL’ asking me to send lots of personal info and a photocopy of my bankcard on both sides!

I spoke to a person at DHL and they confirmed that they had not sent that email and I was the second person reporting a similar case that morning.

Kaarina Long, Costa Blanca

one hundred metres, ralling steps, to reach theand 300 slippery spi- collected water during tunnel of the Casa del Reybottom of the siege dark days of the end of the regular sieges in the the Moro.

One of various escape just over 500 years ago. Kingdom of Granada siege, there is no better routes during times of On a cultural holiday to explore the days of Al-Anfascinating historical past. reminder of Ronda’s daluz, she and her daughters spent a day wanA must-visit, alongside the dering around the gem the 13th century House nearby Arabic baths, than an hour inland fromof a town that sits less of the Moorish King was the Costa del Sol. a highlight of Michelle Obama’s Having visited the charming visit to Andalu- the Palacio Arabic gardens of cia a decade ago.

Mondragon and the town’s iconic America’s former first bullring - Spain’s oldest - she decided to undershe wanted to witness lady had insisted that take some exercise. bic defenders took and first-hand how the Arareceived messages and Continues on Page 2

DINE IN

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INTACT: The 13th century

TA K E A W AY

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Arabic baths and (left)

gargoyles being hung on

a street chapel pillar

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Editor’s note: Thanks for the compliment Kate! It is always nice to hear that the hard work and talent of our staff is appreciated.

Want to help

Not fair

BEFORE COVID-19 shops like Mercadona and Carrefour had a weekend in November when volunteers were at the entrance receiving goods from customers to be handed to the poor.

My husband and I want to contribute but we don’t know if and when this might be happening this year.

Please advise us.

Nina Lundervold Oslo, (Norway)

DOES anyone know of a forum in regard to the customs duties being charged on parcels from the UK? I would very much like to disagree with this extra charge, having this morning had to pay a charge of €11 on a parcel from a friend who had paid postage of £14 and given details of the contents of small value.

Surely those expats of us who spend all of their pensions here in Spain feel as I do that it is a slap in the face. We lost our right to vote on the Brexit issue but we are being penalised.

Editor’s note: Over to you readers - any suggestions?

Marion Agnes (by email)

Best regards,

Dr Mohsen Ebeid (By email)

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1 Shows up (5) 4 Emotional stresses (7) 8 Chilean President ousted in a 1973 coup (7) 9 American friend (5) 10 Speck (4) 11 Casablanca citizen (8) 13 One of them might be 4 Down (5,6) 16 Cradle to grave (8) 17 Disorderly stack (4) 19 Kismet (5) 20 Like traditional Catholic Masses (2,5) 21 “Now you listen to me ...” (3,4) 22 It may become toast (5)

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All solutions are on page 23

www.theolivepress.es BONKING tourists are being blamed for damaging one of Spain’s most important dune systems.

Maspalomas on Gran Canaria has become infamous for its ‘cruising’ scene where people hunt out strangers for illicit sex amid the dunes.

So much so that people from all over Northern Europe and the UK make a trip hoping to hook up with a like-minded stranger for nookie.

But in doing so – and creating hidden ‘nests’ in which to fulfil their fantasies – they are damaging the unique vegetation and ecology of the area.

Sex spots

Scientists at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) have surveyed the Special Nature Reserve of Las Dunas de Maspalomas and found an incredible 298 ‘sex spots’ hidden away, which are used regularly.

Of these, 242 are within a restricted use zone and another 46 in the most ecologically valuable exclusion area.

Researchers have detailed how there has been serious damage to the local flora as sex tourists enjoy their sweaty hobby.

In order to build ‘nests’, a lot of flora is uprooted, with three species endemic to Gran Canaria said to be under

Lagoon plan A PLAN to revive the polluted Mar Menor lagoon has been unveiled by Spain's Ecological Transition minister, Teresa Ribera. The package features 34 specific measures costing €317 million.

The strategy includes cutting off and dismantling all illegal irrigation systems used by farmers to pump nitrate-laden water into the lagoon. The pollution caused by the systems has caused the death of marine life with dead fish piling up on beaches.

Action

Action will be taken in the Campo de Cartagena to review all permits given to wastewater discharges and a greater control of all farming involving livestock. Ribera's plan includes the creation of a green belt to promote a better environment and change farming to ‘sustainable production’.

The aim is to have the green belt in place by 2026.

GREEN

11

November 17th - November 30th 2021

GET A ROOM!

Sex tourists blamed for damaging one of Spain’s most ecologically valuable dune systems threat in the area.

And once the vegetation is uprooted, the underlying sand is exposed to the elements, with significant erosion taking place.

Researchers also found a large amount

of rubbish at the sex points, including condoms, sanitary towels and even sex toys. “We were surprised by the amount of waste we found”, explained report author Levi Garcia. “We didn't expect so much.”

Martin Tye explains why Self interest and endless political manoeuvring leads to failure

U

NLESS you live in a cave, you will be aware that the COP26 (Conference of Parties) has just finished in Glasgow.

Some 197 countries assembled with the aim of bringing climate change under control.

The world is warming because of emissions from fossil fuels used by humans - coal, gas and oil.

Extreme weather events have been scientifically proven to be the result of climate change. Heatwaves, floods, forest fires, coastal erosion to name a few.

Although some significant steps were made amongst the endless political manoeuvring, THEY FAILED. Collectively they agreed to put out half of the fire.

The Paris Agreement of 2015 that the same countries signed up to set a target of limiting temperature increase to 1.5C. Pledges made in Glasgow will see this head to 2.4C. A huge gap. Climate Action Tracker predicts 2.7C by 2100.

The UK’s Met Office warned that a billion people could be affected by fatal heat and humidity if the global temperature rises by more than 2C above pre-industrial levels.

WHY HAVE THEY FAILED? Quite simple...

We live in a SELF PRESERVATION SOCIETY. ‘I’ll protect my own backyard, you can suffer in yours.’ The quality of most governments’ plans to limit climate change is very low.

The balloon of optimism that rose pre COP26 is now riddled with holes.

It was never going to be easy. Sacrifice isn’t.

One senior insider said that trying to get the correct outcome is like trying to herd 200 cats.

Let me share with you some of the statements and quotations that emanated from COP26 , along with my interpretations: “A spirit of compromise” Those with, don’t want to go without.

“The dialogue is very far from the concrete call for loss and damage”

WHAT A COP OUT

Wealthy nations once again come up short.

The least developed nations, as reported by SKY: “They were very disappointed, but also willing to move forward with the new plan” Better something than nothing. Wealthy nations intend staying that way. Shame on all of them.

Indian environment minister Bhupender Yadav said: “Developing countries are entitled to the responsible use of fossil fuels” Really?!? There is nothing responsible about using fossil fuels.

“There is surprise that fossil fuels are mentioned in the agreement” Really?!? How can you avoid talking about and dealing with this elephant in the room?

Simple. Nations with extensive reserves of fossil fuels like Russia and Saudi Arabia want to keep exploiting them regardless of the impact on our environment.

“Moment of Truth” You can say that again! We all know that is true.The problem is getting immediate corrective action.

“We must come together” Great quote from Alok Sharma (who did a good job as host). Clearly insufficient nations did come together.

“Some countries are still wanting to have a discussion and resolve issues” Some countries haven’t got what they wanted and haven’t made sufficient commitment.

“Australia has been accused of hiding” True, it has. It is one of a few countries that does not agree to return to the negotiating table next year with

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HARD WORK: Alok Sharma organised the event stronger commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

Selfish Aussies!! Led by the seemingly ambivalent and irresponsible prime minister, Scott Morison who didn’t want to be there. He’s not alone. Brazil, Russia and Saudi Arabia are equally guilty.

“Commitments should take into account different national circumstances” This is a bit like the Monopoly ‘Get out of Jail’ card.

So, if it doesn’t suit there is no real commitment.

We’ll carry on pushing down the road necessary actions that need doing now.

The United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Gutterres, did get it right…

“Our fragile planet is hanging on by a thread.

We are still knocking on the door of climate catastrophe” I find it painful that the diplomatic efforts have once again failed to properly confront the scale of this crisis. The world remains off target.

On a lighter note , one quotation from Saturday was bang on…

“COP26 will finish today” It had to. A bunch of private jets were waiting to take off.

Martin Tye is the owner of energy switch company Mariposa Energy.

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The Property Insider

by Adam Neale

I

MORTGAGE TIPS

F you’re looking to buy a property on the Costa del Sol, to live in year-round or to use as a holiday home, a mortgage can be a financially advantageous way to fund your purchase. Depending on your personal situation and the home you wish to buy, mortgages can help you make the most of record-low interest rates in Spain to fund your place in the sun in an affordable, cost-effective manner.

To find out how to get a mortgage in Spain, I spoke with Howard Steel, a mortgage adviser at Mortgage Direct, a regulated mortgage broker with representatives throughout Spain.

The firm serves clients across Spain and Portugal and, thanks to its strong relationships with Spanish and Portuguese banks, is a market leader in the international mortgage industry in both countries.

Howard says 2021 has been the firm’s busiest year to date, ‘with clients more spread out than ever, although the British market remains strong despite Brexit.

What has changed is that different people are buying, such as high-net-worth individuals and young professionals who are looking to move to Spain to work remotely or have more job mobility’.

WHAT ARE MORTGAGE INTEREST RATES LIKE IN SPAIN? “Spain has never been better for lending conditions,” Howard notes. At the time of writing, the Bank of Spain quotes the Euribor 12-month interest rate at -0.477% for October 2021. According to the Bank, the average rate of interest offered by Spanish banks on mortgages with more than three years’ term for the acquisition

In the first of a two part article, Terra Meridiana gives some advice on getting a mortgage in Spain

12

BUSINESS

November 17th November 30th 2021

Growing up

Cars cash

A NEW compensation scheme could see SPAIN will be the economy with the millions of drivers claim back between highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) €2,000 and €9,000 after illegal price-fixgrowth over the coming years, according was detected at hundreds of car dealing to forecasts by Goldman Sachs. of open-market (i.e. non-regulated) houserships across Spain.

The global investment banking coming in Spain was just 1.49%.

Networks of dealerships colluded with pany predicts an increase of 6.5% in However, Howard says that fixed-rate car manufacturers to overcharge some 10 Spain in 2022, contrasting with the mortgages can currently be negotiated million drivers who bought off the fore4.5% estimated for this year. This with some lenders at interest rates as court between 2006 and 2013. makes Europe’s fourth largest econlow as 1.1% for a term of up to 25 years, Spain’s National Markets and Competiomy the one that will grow the most while variable rate loans may offer initial tion Commission detected the fraudulent worldwide. rates of as little as 0.6%. activity and fined those car brands inIn the future the bank anticipates an eye-watering €171million.

Spain’s economy to grow at a rate of Arranging avolved funeral abroad can be overwhelming.

But with us by your The penalty had recently been ratified by 3.9% in 2023, 2.3% in 2024 and 2% in WHAT KIND OF CLIENT DO Spain’s Litigation Chamber Madrid every 2025, surpassing forecasts for the euro simply get on with in enjoying day in the sun.

SPANISH BANKS WANT? side, you can paving the way for potentially millions of zone and the main European econobuyers to make compensation claims. mies.

The two most important considerations for any bank in Spain, and anywhere around the world, are the property’s loan-to-value (LTV) ratio and the client’s debt-to-income (DTI) ratio, Howard says.

LTV is calculated by dividing the amount to be borrowed by the valuation of the property or the purchase price, whichever is lower.

This is usually expressed as a percentage.

DTI is the percentage of gross monthly income that is spent on paying debts, outgoings and other obligations. Both ratios are used by banks to determine risk.

Howard explains that Spanish citizens and residents may be eligible for LTVs of up to With language barriers, unfamiliar procedures and unexpected 85%, although a maximum of 80% is more common, and can also sometimes negotiarranging a funeral as an expat in Cyprus can make a difficult t ate lower interest rates.

Clients with DTIs up to a maximum of 40% more stressful. may be eligible for mortgages from Spanish banks but, Howard points out, the Hear from the UK’s most trusted funeral plan provider*, Avalon lower your DTI, the more likely you are to Plans and find out how to make things simpler for your loved o be offered a loan, with 25-33% being the preferred range. when the time comes.

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BRIEF RESPITE

Arranging a funeral in Cyprus can be complicated. Find out how to make it s

Businessman escapes jail sentence for smuggling Picasso

men will not be jailed Established Terra Meridiana, 77 Calle Caridad, Estepona • 29680 • Tel: +34 951 for over for smuggling a Picasso

By Alex Trelinski

out of the coun318480. Office Mob: +34 678 452109 26 yearspainting try, because he’s dying.

Email: info@terrameridiana.com. Website: www.terrameridiana.com Ex-Santander Bank

vice-president, Jamie Botin, was convicted last year of taking the painting, The Head of a Young Woman, (pictured right) estimated to be worth €26 million, out of Spain.

Appeals against the conviction and sentence failed, with billionaire Botin hit with three years in prison *Based on over 2,500 reviews on Trustpilot and a €91.7 million fine.

WHEN YOU MAKE A PLAN, AVALON MAKE A PROMISE PROVIDING EXTRA PEACE OF MIND, GET THE AVALON PROMISE* WITH YOUR FUNERAL PLAN Choosing a prepaid funeral plan gives you real peace of mind. Because a plan allows you to make your wishes known now, so you get the funeral you want and deserve, while at the same time ensuring you won’t leave your family to cover the costs.

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YOU’RE ALSO COVERED BY OUR COVID-19 GUARANTEE Our plans also come with the Avalon Covid-19 Guarantee**, offering extra reassurance should Covid-19, or any other natural disaster prevent some elements in your plan taking place at the time of your funeral.

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Call +34 865 616 550 or visit avalonfuneralplans.com for full details of our plans. Plan happy, choose Avalon. * Full details of our Avalon Promise terms, conditions, exclusions and limitations can be found on our website ** Full details of our Avalon Covid-19 Guarantee terms, conditions and exclusions can be found on our website † During October-December 2018 Avalon Funeral Plans in association with our Funeral Director network carried out 283 funerals. Our quality assurance sampling following the funeral and comprising 56 families showed that 95% would be happy to recommend an Avalon Funeral Plan.

Net worth

His net worth is said to be €1.7 billion. Now a Madrid court has ruled that Botin, 85, will not be jailed following an examination carried out by a court-appointed doctor. No details were given except for the fact that he has a ‘serious incurable disease’.

Botin bought the Picasso painting in London in 1977 and had an export li-

cence refused in 2012. He wanted it auctioned-off at Christies in London.

Authorities said the work was an official asset of Spanish historical heritage and deemed it to be unexportable.

The painting was nevertheless moved to Botin’s yacht docked in Valencia with the captain given instructions to ‘get it out of Spain’.

The work was seized in July 2015 by French police during a dockside raid in Corsica. It was found hidden among a stack of other paintings and was deliberately left off the craft’s inventory.

Inflation shocker INFLATION skyrocketed to an annual 5.4% rise in October according to Spain's National Institute of Statistics (INE).

It’s the highest level in 29 years and is mainly down to rises in electricity and fuel prices.

The 5.4% figure is 1.8% up on September's rate and is the tenth consecutive month where inflation has risen.

The INE says other factors in the high October total included increases in restaurant prices and a lower fall in tourist-related business charges compared to a year earlier.

October's inflation rate would have been substantially higher if the government had not cut tax on domestic electricity bills in August.

Removing energy products and fresh food from the equation, core inflation would have stood at 1.4% last month.

The INE reported that the gap between core inflation and the overall total was the largest since it started its current measurement methods in 1986.

LA CULTURA Euro better believe it November 17th November 30th 2021

EXPAT favourite city Benidorm will host Spain’s search for a winning Eurovision Song Contest entry for at least four years.

As previously reported by the Olive Press, broadcaster RTVE signed an agreement in July with Valencian president, Ximo Puig, and Benidorm mayor, Toni Perez, for an ‘annual meeting point for the pro-

13

Benidorm will host Spain’s Eurovision song selection competition motion of Spanish music’.

This was taken to mean a longterm deal was in place but no details were given at the time.

It’s also been revealed that the Valencian government is paying almost €1 million towards the event’s costs.

LOOMING LOVELY

AN ancient piece of fabric found inside a small cave hidden in the Sierra Morena hills, near Cordoba in southern Spain, is the oldest evidence of textiles in the Iberian Peninsula.

Dating back 5,400 years, the textiles were discovered in the Cerro de la Calera cave alongside human remains. Experts believe the cloth was left as ‘grave goods’ along with fragments of wood and cork, and some pottery vessels.

After almost five years of study, scientists have confirmed the age of the fabric.

Researchers said: “Although small and fragmentary, the textile finds from Peñacalera add important new information to our understanding of the development of textile technologies in the Iberian Peninsula and Europe during the Late Neolithic period and Copper Age.”

RTVE’s Eva Mora has confirmed that a four-year contract was in place, beginning with the inaugural Benidorm Fest’ in the last week of January 2022.

The actual dates for the threeday festival are yet to be announced. It will be staged at the Palau Municipal d’Esports I’Illa de Benidorm which has a capacity for 4,000 attendees.

The venue is the home of the city’s handball team.

Winner

The winner of the Benidorm Fest will represent Spain at May’s Eurovision Song Contest in Turin. The new selection format will be similar to that of Italy’s San Remo festival that produced this year’s rock band winners, Maneskin.

Song entry submissions stopped being accepted by RTVE last week. A team of music professionals are now set to pick a short list and RTVE will look to match up the appropriate artists with the chosen entries.

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LA CULTURA

November 17th November 30th 2021

TITANIC OF THE Historic train station in Spain’s Pyrenees to be transformed into luxury hotel, writes Graham Keeley KNOWN as the ‘Titanic of the Mountains’, a grandiose railway station which is reputed to have served both as an escape route for thousands of war time Jews and the key junction for an illicit trade in tonnes of Nazi gold, is to be the site of a five-star hotel.

It is part of a make-over of the village of Canfranc in the Pyrenees on the border between Spain and France, which has also seen houses in the town given a bright paint job to liven up the town, ahead of the expected arrival of tourists.

The station, which was originally built in the style of a French chateau, was reopened to local travellers last year,

www.thinkSPAIN.com

50 years after it fell into disrepair and France. At present there is only a service closed. between Canfranc and Huesca, the capiBut an ambitious restotal of Aragon. ration programme is afoot, It had stood abandoned for one designed to symbolise half a century after an inA cross-border the original spirit which led cident that saw the brakes to its creation: unity befail on a French freight Pyrenean tween Spain and France. train climbing through The station, which is 10 railway line was the Pyrenees. It careered times the size of London’s down the mountain first suggested back St Pancras station, has a at about 100km/h and in 1865 high slate roof crowned by crashed into a bridge, domes and balustrades and causing it to collapse. will become a 104-bedroom Although nobody was hurt, hotel. the accident led to the closure of the Spain is working on restoring the line to Pyrenean rail line between France and Spain.

However all that is about to change and plans for the new hotel were unveiled. It is expected to be open next year when work is finished.

The idea of a cross-border Pyrenean line was first suggested in 1865, but work did not start until 1928.

Situated in a valley in the Aragon region in eastern Spain, the station and adjoining hotel at the border in Canfranc were known originally as the Titantic of the Mountains for its sheer size.

Since 1970, the French section of track has been closed, with freight carried over the border by hundreds of lorries a day.

ISOLATED: During the Second World War, it became A view of a vital point of escape for thousands of Canfranc Jews fleeing persecution in Nazi Europe. village Jewish refugees would travel to Canfranc and change for trains onwards to other

LA CULTURA

November 17th - November 30th 2021

MOUNTAINS

ENORMOUS: The ‘Titanic of the Mountains’ will become a 104 room hotel parts of Spain and eventually freedom in Britain and the United States.

The painters Marc Chagall and Max Ernst and the singer Josephine Baker, whose husband was Jewish, were among those who travelled through the ornate station.

“We know that between 1940 and 1942, about 15,000 Jewish and other refugees managed to travel through Canfranc and made it to safety,” said Ramon J. Campo, a journalist who has written books about the history of Canfranc.

The trade in Nazi gold was uncovered years after the war by chance.

FLED: Max Ernst and Josephine Baker passed through Canfranc to escape the Nazis

In 2000, Jonathan Díaz, who drove a bus between Canfranc and the French town of OloronSaint Maire, was waiting to leave on a grey November morning.

Amongst broken rail lines, he found a pile of fading war time customs documents.

When he looked at them more closely his eyes lit up when he saw the words ‘Three Tons of Gold Bars’.

“The papers revealed that 86.6 tons of plundered Nazi gold was heading from Germany into Spain and Portugal to pay for vital wolfram which Hitler needed to make tanks and other weapons,” said Campo.

Spain and Portugal were officially neutral. However, General Franco, the fascist dictator who ruled Spain after winning a bitterly divisive civil war, and Antonio Oivera Salazar, had worked illicitly to help

the Germans.

Apart from this clandestine trade in gold, Canfranc was a nest for spies.

Albert Le Lay, the head of customs on the French side, has been described as the Schindler of Canfranc because of the way he helped people to escape across the border into Spain and passed information to the British consulate in San Sebastian in Spain.

When he believed the Gestapo was about to arrest him, he walked across the border into Spain with his family and eventually made it to Gibraltar.

15

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16/11/21 17:43

17 FOOD, DRINK & TRAVEL I AM NOT A DALEK November 17th November 30th 2021

Robot waiter serving customers at Michelin starred restaurant

HOPEFUL: Reyes Maroto

Picking up SPAIN'S Tourism Minister, Reyes Maroto, has predicted that foreign visitor numbers could return to pre-pandemic levels next year.

Maroto made her forecast on the back of a surge in tourism during September. Figures from the National Statistics Office showed almost 4.7 million international visitors to Spain- four times the admittedly low number recorded for September 2020.

The total was still well below the 8.8 million total of September 2019.

Germans made up the largest group of foreign travellers, followed by Britons and French visitors..

Maroto said: “These figures confirm a reactivation of international tourism is underway and that in 2022 we could recover pre-pandemic levels.”

She claimed that Spain’s natural tourist attractions and its high level of vaccination were helping to fuel the recovery in numbers. She had previously predicted that 2021 visitor totals would be around half of 2019 pre-pandemic levels.

AN award-winning restaurant is using a locally-made robot to serve customers.

Michelin star chef, Maria Jose San Roman, has brought in a BellaBot robot to her La Terraza del Gourmet establishment in Alicante.

BellaBot, whose head and ears have a cat-like appearance, has been created by Elche company Bumerania Robotics.

The robot is capable of bringing out food, crockery and other items to diners’ tables, both inside and outdoors.

It allows waiters more time

By Alex Trelinski

PROPERTY OF THE WEEK D CE ELL I PR O S T

to interact with customers and takes them away from more routine time-consuming tasks.

Attention

Maria Jose San Roman said: “This innovation allows our waiters to give diners more attention as well as incorporating new technology into what we do.”

BellaBot has multiple tray-carrying capacity and has a detection system to

THE BIG CHEESE

A SPANISH cheesery has walked away with the top prize at the 2021 World Cheese Awards.

Quesos y Besos from Guarroman in Jaen Province wowed judges with its goat cheese to beat off 4,000 contenders for the title of ‘best cheese in the world’. The judges described it as a ‘gastronomic jewel’.

Quesos y Besos is an artisan cheese factory that employs just six people and only started up in 2017. Olavidia is the name of the winning cheese, made with goat milk from Malaga, and produced by cheese-makers Silvia Pelaez and Paco Romero.

It is a cheese that ‘contains a mysterious black line, less than a millimetre, that crosses from side to side’ according to the judges. The line is ash from burnt olive pits produced in Jaen Province, which is said to give the cheese a distinct flavour.

avoid obstacles as it wheels around the restaurant and its terrace.

It has a special suspension system to ensure that customer orders stay stable when delivered. The robot also interacts with diners by voice or by displaying emotions via a facial video display.

Revolution

Bumerania Robotics CEO, Isidro Fernandez, said: “Robotics and artificial intelligence are part of a revolution that doesn’t replace people but something that is complementary to improve efficiency.”

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18

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

November 17th - November 30th 2021

MAGICAL CASTLE STAYS SPAIN’s hotel castles are among the finest in the world. Many are beautifully preserved, so why not stay the night? What could

be more magical than bedding down like medieval nobility, and waking up to breathtaking views of the coast or countryside

This 13th century town-fortress can be found in Castellar de la Frontera, and it’s one of the few inhabited medi-

eval fortifications today.

It’s located on a mountain in the beautiful Los Alcornocales natural park and is perfect for

nature lovers. On a clear day, from the hotel you can see the Rock of Gibraltar and the coast of Africa.

Castellar Castle (Cadiz) Parador de Cardona (Barcelona)

T

his breathtaking hotel sits within Castle Cardona, which was built in the 9th century. It sits on a hill and overlooks the river valley of the Cardener and the town of Cardona. The fortress offers guests unrivalled landscapes. The Dukes of Cardona, who resided in the castle, were influential within the Crown of Aragon in the 14th century, they were second in power and prestige to the Royal family. The Cardona leaders were known as ‘kings without crowns’ for their vast territories from Catalonia and Valencia to Aragon itself. This castle has a lot of stories to reveal to visitors. The site is currently owned by surviving members of the Aragon dynasty.

Hotel Castillo El Collado (Basque Country)

Parador de Olite (Navarra)

T

he Castle of Olite has been declared a national monument for its stunning beauty. The site resembles a palace more than a castle, and it’s the most significant example of Gothic non-ecclesiastical architecture in Navarre, and one of the most outstanding examples in the world. Within these ancient stone walls, you will find yourself immersed in an oasis of peace and tranquility. You can also stroll through the narrow side streets of Olite and wonder at the coats of arms and the Roman walls. You may even wish to visit Oliva Monastery, where you can see Cistercian monks, dressed in their white tunics, and praying.

Hotel Castillo de Santa Catalina (Malaga)

This charming and charming hotel can be found within this stunning 20th century castle.

It is located in one of the most upscale places in the town of Laguardia in Alava.

Posada Real Castillo de Buen Amor (Salamanca) The 15th-century castle is set in the wondrous Castillian countryside, and is only 27 km away from the historical city of Salamanca. Each of the rooms look out onto either

the central courtyard, or to the meadows which surround it.

The castle has been home to local lords for centuries, and it has been protected as a historical site since 1931.

Arteaga Castle (Basque Country) Parador De Hondarribia (Hondarribia)

D

ating from the 10th century, Parador De Hondarribia served as the residence of Carlos V, the founding emperor of Spain. It offers stunning views of the Bi-

dasoa Estuary. After exploring the castle itself, guests can head into Hondarribia, one of the most charming towns in the region. Hondarribia is the last stop before France.

Built in 1932, this stunning example of architectural elegance has been declared an asset of cultural interest by the Spanish state, and for good reason. It is a property of ​​more than 3,500 square metres and is located on the Costa del Sol. It has extensive public gardens, spaces and terraces. Guests also enjoy spectacular views of Malaga Bay. It is located in the exclusive El Limonar area of Malaga, and is only 800 meters from La Caleta Beach.

The beautiful Arteaga castle can be found in the heart of Urdaibai biosphere natural reserve and it was originally built in the 13th century. French architects Couverchef and Ancelet rebuilt the Castle again by order of French emperor and empress Napoleon III and Eugenia de Montijo. It is a fine example of neo-gothic style.

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20

HEALTH

Jab unhappy

A STAGGERING number of coronavirus vaccines has been discarded by the Community of Madrid since the vaccination campaign began in Spain.

Council chiefs have admitted that 117,977 vaccines against COVID-19 were thrown away over the past 12 months.

The jabs were either tossed out because they were ‘broken’ or had expired, officials said.

Madrid got rid of 47,450 Janssen vaccines which had passed their expiry date and a further 41,270 jabs from AstraZeneca.

Some 17,070 Moderna and 744 Pfizer vaccines were also disposed of. Discarded vaccines represent 1.08% of all the doses that the Ministry of Health has delivered to Madrid.

It comes after a study by research group Airfinity said that, world wide, 100 million stockpiled COVID vaccines will expire by the end of the year.

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Heartstopping

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How football match days affect emergency room admissions IF you want to stay out of A&E you’d better hope your football team has won.

A study of one Spanish city has found that when the local club wins there are fewer emergency admissions to hospital for heart problems

than normal. And when the team loses there are more serious cases rushed to hospital than on a matchless day.

The study, carried out by the Hospital Universitario Puerta del Mar (Cadiz),

MAGIC PILL A NEW Pfizer pill reduces the risk of death from COVID-19 by almost 90%.

The US-based company published its preliminary results for the experimental antiviral pill after a drug trial involving a total of 775 adults.

The research found that those taking the pill had an 89% reduction in their combined rate of hospitalisation or death after a month, compared with patients taking a placebo.

Fewer than 1% of patients taking the drug needed to be admitted to hospital and none died.

In the comparison group, 7% were admitted to hospital and there were seven deaths The company is working to rapidly produce at least 21 million packages of the drug in the first half of next year, with plans for a total of 50 million packages in 2022, according to The Washington Post .

Spanish and EU health authorities still need to approve the drug for use in the country.

studied admissions to A&E on Cadiz CF match days.

It looked at visits to the emergency room for heart problems in comparison to the club’s football calendar during 2018, 2019 and 2020.

More than 10,000 people went to the emergency department, of whom more than 2,000 were admitted for heart attacks or angina.

There was an incredible 90% increase in emergency room visits for heart problems when Cadiz lost at home.

LIVE in San Sebastian? Lucky … you have the best tap water in all of Spain.

Data sourced by the Organisation of Consumers and Users (OCU) shows the water in the Basque city is of the best quality, with low mineralisation and close to zero contaminants.

Burgos and Las Palmas also ranked highly while Palma de Mallorca, Huelva, Barcelona and Ciudad Real were considered the worst in the study that investigated taste and economic efficiency.

The findings revealed good tap water could rival bottle water, but that the quality of tap water depends on many factors.

OCU was looking for purity of the water, including a low presence of lime and copper.

OCU carried out research on the water across 60 municipalities, saying 19 were ‘excellent’ while for 36 the water is just ’good’.

Drop

There is also a significant drop in visits when the club wins away.

When studied by gender, men and women show a marked difference. While men in general are at higher risk of heart problems on matchdays, women have a lower incidence of cardio complications on match days - win, draw or lose.

BREXIT MATTERS...

If I’m a Spanish resident do I need new life insurance in Spain?

N

O longer part of the EU, the a Spanish insurer.

UK is now a ‘third country’ Aware of this fact and striving to and operates outside of the make life a little easier for all UK ciEU’s economic structures. tizens who find themselves in this siFollowing Brexit, the UK’s relationship tuation, Liberty Seguros has designed with the EU has changed and expat its life insurance cover to meet their residents should realise that this new new needs. situation could have an effect on their With policies available in English, excellent premiums and additional life insurance policies.

The European Insurance and Occu- discounts, life insurance from Liberty pational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) Seguros can be taken out from as littadvises all expat living in the Euro- le as 10 euros per month. pean Union to pay The advantages of close attention to the having life cover with small print in their poli- The advantages Liberty Seguros really cies – particularly those are extensive, leaving of having life with official residenpolicy holders safe in ce in Spain now and the knowledge that cover with whom have taken out nothing will prevent Liberty Seguros life insurance policies them and their loved with an authorised inones from being proare many surer in the UK or Gitected. braltar.

For example, the EIOPA recommends asking your UK upper age limit with regard to death or Gibraltar insurer if your policy is cover has now been extended to 70 still valid and to seek advice on the years of age, and the upper age limit Spanish rules which could have an for renewals is now 80 years of age. effect on your policy. More than likely, Liberty Seguros also offers a capital if your permanent residence is not in advancement to cover burial expenthe UK, you will find that your cover is ses and inheritance tax payments not valid. As such, you should consi- – and, upon death, beneficiaries reder taking out new life insurance with ceive 100% of the contracted capital

as standard, regardless of the cause of death.

What’s more, life cover with Liberty Seguros now boasts a wide range of additional new extra options too. For example, you can take out extended cover for repatriation to any country; and, if you have children under the age of 18, beneficiaries can receive double the insured capital in the event of death of both spouses in the same accident. Furthermore, this is without having to take out an additional policy either.

There is also new cover for serious diseases for women (such as malignant tumours in the breast, uterus, etc.), as well as cover for other serious diseases for both genders (such as myocardial infarction, by-pass, coronary artery surgery, kidney failure… amongst others.)

For the convenience of its customers, life insurance policies from Liberty Seguros can now be FULLY completed online, in English and without the need for copious amounts of paperwork or signatures. All you need is a mobile phone and an email address.

Not only that, but for your peace of mind and privacy, Liberty Seguros

brokers and agents never retain any paper documents with information pertaining to your health themselves.

Privacy is respected and guaranteed, and certificates are issued digitally by an external party.

With this new, more modern and more professional online sign-up service, taking out a life policy with Liberty Seguros is completely secure.

The application process is verified by means of a digital signature with a PIN sent to the customer by SMS mobile text message. The whole process is quick and easy, with a smaller and more simplified

To find out more, simply visit one of the more than 300 Liberty Seguros expatriate brokers and agents that are on-hand to answer your questions, in YOUR language.

With Liberty Seguros there are only ADVANTAGES. Visit www.libertyexpatriates.es or call 91 342 25 49 for the name and location of your nearest broker.

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In addition to all the advantages, all online applications for life policies currently come with a 10% off plus an extra discount for those already an existing LIBERTY SEGUROS customer.

Moreover, up until November 25, you can also take advantage of Liberty Seguros’ Cashback offers and feel safe in the knowledge that you remain protected.

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ST EDITIONS THIS MONTH WE NE O TW S’ ES PR IVE OL E TH R NS FO DOUBLE BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIO

WE MADE IT! The

Olive Press’ Valencia and Costa Blanca south editions - our fifth and sixth - reached landmark anniversaries OLIVE in November despite the COVID crisis ESS

Demands for €80m flood aid

tember. nt in Madrid He told the governme vital to prethis week that it is also which was serve the Mar Menor, Gota Fria. badly hit by the so-called led to the The week of heavy rain and the dedeaths of millions of fish homes. struction of dozens of needed to He insisted future floods Continues on Page

COSTA BLANCA SUR

10

Right turn

Your expat

/ MURCIA

voice in Spain

r 20th, November 7th - Novembe

2019

VANISHED!

FREE

demanded A VEGA Baja mayor has the devastated €80m in flood aid for Murcia region.

Mario Perez Los Alcazares leader flood retenCervera insisted a majorimplemented tion project should be sort of serithe urgently to prevent in Sepous flooding that happened

PR

livepress.es Vol. 1 Issue 1 www.theo

Duty of care claims after missing British great-grandfather was allowed to leave police station at 3am in clearly disoriented state EXCLUSIVE

By Joshua Parfitt

Blanca POLICE on the Costa after they have been slammed disorienallowed a confused and ndfather tated British great-gra station to walk out of a police alone. into the dead of night r Philip The family of pensione ng anPearce, 68, are demandi police over swers from Benidormon Septemwhy he was released ber 10, at 3am. life after he They now fear for hisan alarming has been missing for two months. from the And in a shocking email by the British Consulate, seenthere are Olive Press this week, of duty suggestions of a breach of care. reveals the The official email told police pensioner had clearly r where he he ‘did not remembe he was was staying’ nor where from in England.

l cases’ comment on individua such as Philip’s. spokesman A Policia Nacional had been claimed ‘helicopters’ Philip on (above), while scrambled to search for drink a enjoying Pearce Airport various Benidorm hillsides. tion.

DISAPPEARED: Philippicture of the pensioner in Alicante the back of to answer The massive surge - off and a fear However, he failed (above right) the last the exact details ree. the recent Catalan crisis party seiz, questions about ching for ther-of-th or “It’s absolutely gut-wren where Owner of Alicante Transfers release from the station of Islam - could see theParliament. he has of his and ground ing 15% of the seats inwill seriously us as a family, not knowing ed.

David McQueen, said whether sniffer dogs to five’ hours every searches had been deployed or The expected gains Ciudadanos, he is and why he disappear badly. I spent ‘four abandoned build- would be soon. damage centre-right half its seats, just want him home so “I scouring day ities which could lose over and left wing miss him so much.” be suffering ings and traveller commun Get to Philip?

Blanca. known while the ruling PSOE seen was Costa the you Philip to sufof demen- around sent my dog out with a Have Podemos are also expected at newsdesk@ from the early signs smiling’ “I even every in touch fer. tia, but was ‘happy and with a GoPro camera to search in but theolivepress.es to ‘defend’ Vox, which has pledged corner, when he left for Alicante ts, is predictbush and in every partner.

Spain from immigran the country’s nothing,” McQueen friend and travelling holiday we’ve found ed to finish third in in as many He was having a good Levante said. fourth general election 130 taxi until he left his Playa 9 “I’ve gotwho start er years.

Septemb on led Vox, hotel at 5.30pm The latest polling suggests he lost drivers will increase to buy cigarettes beforetaken to at 4am and finish

by Santiago Abascal, 350-seat parat 2am, but none of his bearings and was its 24 seats in Spain’s the hotels and espolice. liament to 46.

Wallet on, Lee told the Ol- tablishments have also stated Two months The consulate email neither his ive Press a request for ‘a ground seen a sign of PhilFailed gone Philip was carrying and sniffer dogs’ has are ip.” search Ciuwhen Rivera’s wallet Albert his family has the Meanwhile family passport nor The to unanswered, while from 57 to taken by a stranger dadanos will be reduced for answers. was he to searching spent weeks putset is left Vox sta14. In the 40dB poll alongside the closure on wheth- ting up posters and Benidorm’s Policia Nacional just after “We just need gain 14% of the vote, alive or not,” handing out flyers tion in the Old Town 21.2% and Find out what’s con- er my dad is still PP in second place withcoming first midnight, as CCTV footage of his missing father Lee said.

91 seats and the PSOE eating Benidorm from claiming to have firms. clear is how “But apartsome drones to look, around with 27.3% and 121 votes. victory However, what is not contact details. out with predicted Paul Hollywood sent leave PSOE’s to The to be doing A spokeswoman for with two less and why he was allowedlater. the police don’t seem would see the party last election, on Page 3 hours three Consulstation all.” at the British April’s the not an- anything seats than in for its the Olive scores of British res“The police are simply prompting another headache ,” son Lee It comes as spent weeks search- ate told as he tries to it ‘does not swering our questions leader Pedro Sanchez Olive Press idents have grandfa- Press Pearce, 41, told the ing for signs of the form a government. last night.

Opinion page 6

to the right A DANGEROUS lurch grant could see Spain’s anti-immi the kingmakVox party becoming general elecers in this weekend’s

You total doughnut!

L

AUNCHING businesses in the heart of an economic crisis is not generally recommended.

Opening two? Well. We’ve done our best.

Despite two of the hardest years in recent economic history, our pair of newest editions have reached landmark anniversaries.

While Olive Press Valencia reaches its first birthday, Olive Press Costa Blanca South hits a second happy milestone.

And it’s happy days all round as the two newspapers - our fifth and sixth editions - start to stabilise as the global economy finally begins to grow again.

Able to come up for air after an extremely tough start, both papers are beginning to make inroads in their respective local communities.

But they were always going to

COLUMNISTS

T

HE last few weeks of November are the time of the year that I try and take a pause.

It always feels as if this is your last chance to have a breather from the myriad of festivities and public holidays that liberally sprinkle the calendar in Spain.

Having got San Pedro feria week out of the way in October (when for the first time in decades the heavens didn’t open - there’s all the proof you need of climate change), managed to avoid Halloween – let’s face it, only the most determined or demented trick or treaters would want to venture over a kilometre down a mountain track to knock on the door of an isolated cottage on a lake where the ‘Guiri del lago’ abides – and swerved the Dia

VALE NCIA / COST A AZAH AR FREE Vol. 1 Issue 1 www.theolivepr

ess.es November 26th - December 9th 2020

The new rules allowing you to drive in Spain until next summer Page 6

“Life goes on and we must move forward,” insisted Antonio director of the Turismo Bernabé, Foundation, to the Olive Valencia Press, this week.

“We have struck a good balance be-

Page 15

tween keeping life normal and keeping it safe.”

While tourism is down year, the tourist boss 80% on last says all activities, including cinemas and museums, are open.

Best of all, unlike much locals and tourists must of Spain, between midnight and only stay in 6am.

“It’s a great time to discover the city as there are no queues,” adds Bernabe.

“We take the pandemic seriously, but we also believe in the right to have a full life.”

Currently few places in the Comunidad face tough restriction s due to high infection rates.

The city meanwhile, an activity card calledhas developed Valencia On, an app anyone can download , not just aimed at tourists.

Blueprint

A bunch of crooks tried to sell my hotel for a song Page 16

BEST FOOT FORWARD

: The Olive Press Valencia

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OP Puzzle solutions SUDOKU

Quick Crossword

Down: 1 Clammy, 2 Military force, 3 Sins, 4 The bottom line, 5 Arbroath, 6 Medical centre, 7 Saying, 12 Initiate, 14 Flakes, 15 Opened, 18 Glib.

By Eugene Costello

‘sensible’ approach, which has kept the economy running as best as possible.

How Amy’s guitar-maker lencia won over the worldfrom Va-

See pages 24 & 11

it is packed with company Christmas parties that traditionally leave the accounts department unable to function. One glass of semi-sec cava is enough to induce a deep state of paralysis that means that the poor loves are unable to respond to your pleas for monies owed until Three Kings. (The hard living, rock n roll lifestyle accounts department of this newspaper is obviously exempt from the previous statement).

So I salute my fellow freelancers in this traditionally hectic period of festive financial follow-up frenzy and hope that this year Santa rewards them with plenty of sex and cheques, rather than the more usual socks and chocs…

turning it into Spain’s smallest pub. And if I say so myself, we’ve done a grand job.”

Called El Irlandes, after ite Martin Scorsese film,his favourit happily fits his closest pals in Friday night Blarney. for the usual Wilde, from Skerries, near has run the Found Valencia Dublin, agency for two decades.

Valencia is open!

VALENCIA remains open for visitors, with COVID restriction s more relaxed than most other regions, insists tourist chiefs.

The city has been praised by businessmen and tourists alike for its

TM

It’s the most wonderful time of the year

Across: 1 Comes, 4 Traumas, 8 Allende, 9 Buddy, 10 Mote, 11 Moroccan, 13 Grand totals, 16 Lifetime, 17 Heap, 19 Karma, 20 In Latin, 21 See here, 22 Bread.

UNABLE to have his regular Friday on a cornucopi night down the boozer during lock- lectibles… and a of Emerald Isle coldown, expat Conor Wilde it even has Guinness hit on a on draught. novel idea for this one - to build his “After being cooped own pub! in solitary in March I up like a man The Irish expat, 46, got came up with over and converted his his mates a plan,” the Valencia-based real esinto what he claims is garden shed tate consultant told the Olive Press.

FORGET THE DRAUGH Spain’s small- “I had an old T: Conor est watering hole. shed in the garden. I and pals at makeshi got the lads over – Tuejar, ft local Measuring 2.4m by 2.5m, El Galit counts lego & Champ – and we set about

Is Baqueira really Spain’s top skiing resort?

Page 20

BREATHER! del Toston, where townsfolk take to the countryside to roast chestnuts. I am obviously nutty enough as it is.

This time of year is perfect to make sure you have enough firewood in, align your chakras and perhaps start to plan your Christmas festivities before you are submerged under the tinsel tsunami that hits the coast on December 1.

If you are self-employed however, the main problem with taking it easy in November is that once December starts, Spain gets hit by the double whammy of public holidays on the sixth and the eighth.

You can forget the following week as well as

O P

be well received, being tasked with keeping expats up to speed on all LIVE Your the alarming twists and turns of expat R ESS voic e in the coronavirus crisis, plus a lot, Spain lot more.

LOCKDOWN LOCK-IN Our most important remit was EXCLUSIVE to cut through all the fake news COUNTDOWN TO BREXIT - largely thanks to click bait - as Don’t forget COVID-19 took a hold last year.

And we were praised for it, both from politicians around Spain and from the likes of Google, which actually handed us an award for our reporting.

Back to Blanca While most businesses battened down the hatches and many temporarily shut, we realised as a newspaper we had to keep going.

Tightening our belts as best we Palace con could, we continued to distribute to all the supermarkets, shops and petrol stations that remained open, even during the THE WORD ON THE STR total lockdown of last Spring.

EETS Supporting businesses as best Oh la Lifting the Val we could - particularly British landing Brexit! ones already struggling from Tel: 952 147 834 the spectre of Brexit - we actu95grow 2 147by 83taking 4 ally managed to on new journalists, among them former Telegraph correspondent Fiona Govan in Madrid.

Thanks to our paywall we found a whole March last year the wheels fell off. new audience (thousands of you, in fact) But we held it together and as things prepared to pay for our incisive, quali- eased last autumn, we saw another opty content that amounts to well over 20 portunity to open in the wonderful city stories a day online. of Valencia and its nearby area.

And we haven’t looked back.

The capital of the region has proved to Exclusive be not just extremely welcoming to our When we launched in November 2019 sixth edition, but we have found some on the Costa Blanca south with a great solid local clients, such as Swan and exclusive on a missing British pensioner Partners, Costa de Valencia, Sensat, in Benidorm on the cover, things looked Palacio de la Bellota and Casa Patacoincredibly rosy. na.

As well as sending a journalist to Ma- With the guidance of our local agents drid to witness Franco being interred Daniela Dimitrova and Charles Bamber, from his Valley of the Fallen mauso- we continue to grow again as we apleum, in that same issue we exposed proach 2022 and next year should be a the millions of euros being raked in by strong year for Olive Press all round. disgraced financial advisor Continental Last, but not least, thanks should also Wealth Management, while many of its finally go to our long-term faithful cliinvestors faced financial ruin. ents, who have supported us through Our team of reporters based in Valen- the toughest times in our nearly 16 cia, Alex Trelinski, Simon Wade and Josh years of existence.

Parfitt, made a sterling effort finding ex- In particular Jennifer Cunningham Insurclusive after exclusive until suddenly in ance, Mariposa Energy, Linea Directa and many more that there isn’t enough space to mention here.

Here’s to next November.

The

of fish died HORRIFIC: Millions

LAUNCH: The OP teams for the first editions

team getting the message

A TRADE deal between is on the verge of being the EU and Britain EU looked set to cave in finalised, after the An MEP broke ranks to on fishing rights. likely the French would say that it looked have to compromise with Boris Johnson’s demands over UK waters.

Christophe Hansen said the EU would have to meet the UK’s an agreement. "There demands to clinch will be compromises to be made on fisheries. that is somewhere we're The status quo, not going to land,” he told an event.

French fishermen are understood to have backed the compromise despite losing out on access to certain fishing It came after the EU’s chiefgrounds. negotiator Michel Barnier demanded the need to com-

out around the city this

week

By Dilip Kunar

promise in order to get France had previouslyan agreement. back down on any fishingbeen refusing to near-parity to the UK’s deal, demanding It comes as the governorcoastal waters. of the Bank of England warned that a no-deal Brexit would be more economically damaging than COVID to the UK. Andrew Bailey said failure signed would create a massiveto get a deal trade blockage and damage cross-border goodwill between Brussels and the UK for years.

Meanwhile, Ireland leader Micheal Martin said on Monday he was hopeful that a Brexit deal would be completed this week.

Run by Visit Valencia it offers a huge range of discounts for museums, events, restaurants, transport and even hotels. You can find valenciaon.com, and it it at www. is completely free.

Roland Wareham, 55, director from Andaluciaa company , was impressed by how well handling the pandemic the city was .

On a business trip from his native Mijas this week, he struck by how normal said: “I was life seemed.

In Ruzafa, all the bars and restaurants were open, and the crowded with familiesterraces were enjoying the al fresco and friends lifestyle.

“In Andalucia, meanwhil restaurants must close e, bars and my town is like a ghost by 6pm, and town at night.

“Valencia should serve as a blueprint for the rest of Spain.”

Opinion, page 6

Taoiseach Martin said ‘by the end of this week we could see the outlines of a deal’.

He said it would come will, both in the United down to ‘political clear the political will is Kingdom and I’m there from the European Union’.

EU ambassadors were told end that a trade deal with over the weekverge of being finalised. Britain is on the They were told the majority of the 11 main negotiation issues have ‘joint legal texts with fewer and fewer outstandin g points’.

The European commissio sula von der Leyen, struckn president, Ursaying: “After difficult weeksa positive note, with very, very slow progress now we have days better progress, more seen in the last movement on important files. This is good.”

OLIVE PRESS

The

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FINAL WORDS

​​POLICE have tracked down eight camels and a llama that went on the run from the Quiros circus in Madrid, with the circus blaming animal activists for setting them free.

Pig swill A CADIZ court has dismissed a case where an individual tried to get his brother in law fined €500 for calling him a ‘pig’, saying that it wasn’t serious enough.

Vol. 15 Issue 382

Your expat

voice in Spain

The extra mile

www.theolivepress.es November 17th - November 30th 2021

ROTTEN APPLE

Expat plagued by calls intended for fruit and veg shop A BRITISH expat has found himself in a pickle after phone calls to a greengrocer started to get rerouted to his home phone.

Charlie Bamber in Torre del Mar has been getting up to 15 calls a month from people trying to place orders at organic fruit and veg shop Bioshop El Cambio in Malaga - and it is sending him bananas.

Rocked A MAN has been arrested after he tried to sell online a fragment of meteorite that had gone missing from the Natural Science Museum in the 1960s for an out of this world €50,000.

By Dilip Kuner

Despite his best efforts to stay as cool as a cucumber, he has found himself turning red as a beetroot with rage as the calls have kept on coming for the past four months.

Talking to the Olive Press, he said: “Some of the people calling have been put through to me several times

A CATHOLIC bishop who fell in love with an erotic novel writer has joined a Barcelona-based pig semen exporter.

Xavier Novell resigned in September as Bishop of Solsona in Catalunya. He became Spain’s youngest bishop when he was appointed in 2010. Novell, 52, admitted he had embarked on a relationship with writer Silvia Caballol, 38.

He was quoted as saying that he ‘wanted to do the right thing’.

The ex-bishop and exorcist has now got a job

and they are very apologetic and embarrassed.”

He added: “I have emailed three times asking them to do something about their phone system.”

But the shop owners don’t seem to give a fig about the sales director’s predicament. “They just say ‘nothing can be done’.

“To be honest, I feel a bit of a lemon.”

He adds that he could real-

FROM DEMONS TO SEMEN

with Semen Cardona which exports pig semen to several countries for ‘high-grade swine artificial insemination’. It’s not known what Novell’s role in the firm is. A Semen Cardona spokeswoman said that she ‘cannot disclose information about workers due to data protection laws.

A SPANISH amateur athlete has smashed an incredible world record by pushing his mother in a wheelchair for 26 miles in under three hours.

Dedicated Eric Domingo Roldan pushed himself and his mother Silvia - to the max, in order to raise awareness for multiple sclerosis.

His spectacular effort at the Barcelona Marathon broke the Guinness marathon record for pushing a wheelchair.

Record

ANGRY: Charlie Bamber

ly upset the apple cart if he wanted to.

“I could be telling this shop’s customers anything I like - that they’ve shut down, been taken over by gangsters or that it is far too expensive and their rivals are half the price,” he said.

“Maybe I should be looking around for another grocer and come to some sort of agreement to nick El Cambio’s trade. Now that could be a plum deal!”

Silvia and Eric roared across the finish line, clocking a world record time of two hours 53 minutes and 28 seconds.

Eric averaged 4:07 per km or 6:37 per mile at the 42nd edition of the Zurich Maraton de Barcelona.

It’s not the first time he raced with his mother, as the pair tried to beat the world record last year at the Sevilla Marathon.

His mother Silvia has lived with multiple sclerosis for the last 17 years, and she even survived a serious case of COVID-19 in August.

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