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Read all the scandal, the news and the views as seen through the eyes of the expatriates living the good life in sunny Spain. Click on the image below to read your free on - line copy of the Expatriate Ezine.
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As usual you will find stories not only from the popular Alicante and Malaga regions but also the Canary and the Balearic islands, in fact if there is an interesting story anywhere in Spain involving or of interest to the expats - we will try and find it. Local News In Brief |
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The Guardia Civil in Palmanova, Mallorca, has arrested the 51 year old British man, named as Roger Tony Anders Thorwald Hedin, on charges from an alleged 176,000 € fraud. He had proposed several fictitious business ideas to his compatriots on the Baleares. A statement from the Guardia Civil said the investigation started after a denuncia placed by a British citizen who said he had been victim of fraud by the man now in custody, and that he proposed investing in several businesses which never saw a profit or allowed him to recover the money invested.
THE BRITISH EMBASSY in Madrid has reacted angrily to an article in the ABC newspaper which claims that it is encouraging Britons to come to Spain to take advantage of the public health system here.The article says that the health guide, which is available on the Embassy's website, gives practical tips on how to use the public health system and also information on what paperwork you may need to 'enjoy the health system'.
FOLLOWING a deluge of complaints about the wholesale loss of cash and life savings by CAM bank customers who claim they were misled into purchasing 'cuotas participativas' or 'participaciones preferentes', the manager of a well known high street bank was asked to explain the difference between the two. He said that in the case of 'cuotas participativas' it was only CAM bank that dealt in this type of product and that any money invested in it was now worthless.According to the bank manager, although Banco Sabadell has purchased CAM bank it is under no obligation to honour any contract that involved this product therefore the chances of getting any investment returned in part or full is remote.
AN INITIATIVE - which will see Valencia region's five town planning and development laws fused into one - was presented in the regional parliament last Friday. Councillor Isabel Bonig said the aim is to make legislation clearer and more efficient, 'simplifying development activity' and 'boosting the economy through job creation'.
SPAIN and the EU are studying severe commercial measures against the Republic of Argentina following the nationalisation of petrol company YPF - a subsidiary of Spanish fuel giant Repsol. Industry minister José Manuel Soria was the first to voice the government's anger shortly after the nationalisation was announced by Argentinean president Cristina Fernández on Monday. Sr Soria was adamant: "An attack against a Spanish company is an attack against Spain."
A CRIMINAL court has acquitted both the former Lliber mayor, Jose Mas and former architect Amador Signes following a court case held in Benidorm in March in relation to the building of illegal properties in Lliber. The two were accused of being involved with the sanctioning of 24 illegal builds between 2000 and 2004, granting licenses for houses to be built on rustic, undeveloped land. A senior Spanish lawyer spoke of the result saying he was astonished and shocked and said, "I cannot really understand what our judges have in mind and what kind of Criminal Law they have studied at University."
A New grant scheme for the exchange of Central Heating boilers began on 13th Oct. Only one boiler grant is allowed per person and is available subject to the installer removing your old boiler for correct disposal. Registered installers are listed on the pages of the Aven website at www.aven.es. but for more information contact 100% Plumbing SL on 96 5835939. Hurry though! The scheme is due to end on 30th March 2012 but only whilst funds last!
THE NATIONAL government announced 10,000-million-euros worth of cuts to education and health services on Monday with the spotlight falling on so-called health tourists from Europe. The measures come on top of the ‘most austere budget in the history of Spain's democracy' last week which foresees savings of 27,000 million euros. Prime minister Mariano Rajoy has yet to spell out the specifics of the new announcement which came as Spain faces mounting pressure from the financial markets.
GUARDIA Civil confirmed that divers found the body of a British resident of Orihuela Costa in an irrigation canal in Pilar de la Horadada on Tuesday morning. Peter Cairns, who they advised was aged 54, was last seen leaving Los Dolses commercial centre at around midnight last Wednesday. His disappearance was reported by his family after he did not return home.
A scandal broke this week when it emerged that the new Partido Popular (PP) mayor of Enix, Almería was convicted of a crime of violence against women five years ago, according to a statement released by the left wing PSOE party.Francisco Amate, who replaced the previous mayor, José Arcos of the GIE independent party last week in a re-shuffle, was sentenced to two years in prison in Almería’s courts in July 2007 for causing ‘actual bodily harm’ to a woman. The sentence was subsequently suspended on condition that he kept away from the victim for two years.
Two very nice properties to rent on the Costa Blanca.
The beach at Marina de La Torre in Mojacar will receive a face lift in time for summer thanks to the prompt actions of local businesses. The sand on the beach, which becomes eroded by the elements throughout the winter, will be augmented by the transfer of sand from the mouth of the Río Aguas, where it reportedly accumulates.
A university teacher has taken his case to the Andalucían ombudsman after being banned from becoming a student at the institution where he was suspended from being a staff member. Jorge Lirola Delgado, professor of Islamic and Arab studies at Almería University, was suspended from his job last year for four years and three months, after an alleged problem with a superior, leading Lirola to denounce both the other lecturer and the rector of the university, Pedro Molina, for workplace harassment.
Mojacar’s mayoress Rosa Maria Cano has vowed a policy of zero tolerance on noise in the resort town after a new regional law came into effect last week. The new regulations, which were implemented by the Junta de Andalucía in January in order to comply with an EU directive, supersede all previous noise laws and could radically change Mojacar’s nightlife.
The government has rounded on the Junta de Andalucía over its handling of the Algarrobico hotel saga by accusing the regional administration of changing the boundaries of the Cabo de Gata nature park in a bid to legalise the building. The claims were made this week by the government’s delegate in Andalucía, Carmen Crespo. She said the Junta changed the boundaries of the nature reserve in 2004 in order to exclude the area around the hotel, echoing a claim previously made by environmental associations Salvemos Mojacar and Greenpeace.
AN expat resident of Benalmádena fought off an eagle as it tried to fly off with her dog while she was hiking on Mount Calamorro at the weekend. Suzanne Dodd, 43, was walking on one of the local trails with her two Jack Russell terriers when the bird of prey "swooped across the path and one of my dogs disappeared," she told CDSN. The bird became momentary snagged in some underbrush and she was able to grab it by the wing. It bit her hand and she kicked at the bird, which finally let the dog go and flew off.
Anyone paying more than 10€ per month for a gas deposit (large tank) should contact 100% plumbing for a free replacement tank
THE TAX office began making refund payments to
taxpayers last week within 48 hours of the first 2011 income tax returns
being filed online when the period for doing so opened on Tuesday. The
tax office's website (agenciatributaria.es) was so swamped with
requests for ‘borrador' pre-prepared returns in the first couple
of days that the site was nearly impossible for many taxpayers to access.
By noon the first day more than 50,000 online borrador requests had
been made and more than 13,000 taxpayers had already submitted their
approval of the borrador in order to receive a speedy refund.
A 57-YEAR-OLD man allegedly stabbed his wife to death in their Sevilla home in the early hours of last Sunday morning and then jumped to his death from the rooftop of their seven-storey building. The incident came less than 12 hours after another alleged domestic violence death on the Canary island of Fuerteventura, where a man, 38, allegedly killed his ex-partner, a 28-year-old German woman. And in a third case in just 48 hours, on of last week Monday a 20-year-old man was arrested for allegedly stabbing to death his girlfriend, 26, in the Sevilla town of Estepa.
SOME 900,000 residents of Málaga province are to be allowed to break their council tax and fee payments into a maximum of 11 monthly instalments based on a new plan announced last week by the Diputación de Málaga. The Diputación, through its Patronato de Recaudación Provincial (PRP), collects the municipal taxes and fees for 96 of the towns in Málaga province - all except for Málaga city, Fuengirola, Torremolinos, Benalmádena and Alhaurín el Grande. Previously the PRP allowed a much more limited instalment plan, which the ratepayer had to sign up for by December 31 of the previous year.
MIJAS town hall last week publicly denounced that the local police "had to evacuate a hiker who was injured in the head and one leg, given the slow response of the 061 emergency service". The emergency service denied undue delay, saying the call was handled based on an assessment of the seriousness of the person's injuries. Town hall officials said officers were the first emergency responders to reach the 68-year-old Dutch hiker after he fell and injured himself while walking in the Cerro del Moro zone of the sierra. They said the officers called 061 to seek medical assistance but were told a 061 ambulance was not available, but another vehicle would be sent. "However, due to the long delay in the arrival of the medics, the local police officers decide to take the hiker in their patrol car to the Mijas Pueblo health centre," they said.
HOMEOWNERS in Oliva were in for a shock when they checked their letter boxes this week. Not only have their IBI bills gone up by the full 10 per cent threatened by the central government, but their rubbish tax demands have come early. Normally, property tax is due by June 15 and rubbish rates and car tax is payable in October. But this year the 60-euro refuse tax has been lumped together with the IBI bill, meaning even more money for residents to find this spring.
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LEADING German airline Air Berlin has rejected plans to set up a base at Castellón airport as tourists from that country 'do not know where it is'. Director General for Spain and Portugal, Álvaro Middelmann also insisted that an airport 'does not make a tourist destination' and that Valencia made a great effort 'to put itself on the map'. Sr Middelmann criticised the fact that Costa Azahar would compete with Manises and fragment business, asking 'is that good for this region?'
A man in his 30s was in a serious condition in the intensive care unit of Málaga's Carlos Haya hospital after suffering a firearms injury to his neck early last week. He was one of three people gunned down in a drive-by shooting in Nerja. The men were sitting on a bench in the Los Poetas district of the town at about 5.30pm when, according to witnesses, a vehicle carrying four individuals approached them and a discussion ensued. Suddenly, shots rang out from inside the car which then was driven off at speed. The most seriously injured man was hit in the neck and rushed to Málaga while a 25-year-old from Nerja, who was hit in the stomach, required surgery at Vélez-Málaga hospital. A 32-year-old from Torrox received an injury to an ankle and was also admitted to Vélez hospital. Both are reported to be out of danger.
A CHEAPER option needs to be found for the Oliva bypass to avoid having to wait until 2024 for work to start, says mayoress Chelo Escrivá. The plans approved in 2008 for the N-332 ringroad between El Verger and Gandia running alongside the AP-7 motorway are now 'unrealistic' given the central and regional governments' poor financial situation, Escrivá reveals. And Spain's minister for Public Works, Ana Pastor, announced recently that she would 'reconsider' both the bypass and the Dénia-Gandia rail-link in her 2024 budget.
FIXED speed cameras in Valencia Province have so far this year caught half the number of drivers travelling over the limit compared to 2010. Fines for speeding fell by exactly 50 per cent between January and the end of March, supposedly due to a combination of fear over being penalised and a greater awareness of safety behind the wheel. In addition, the record-breaking cost of fuel is also thought to have helped convince drivers to ease their foot off the accelerator.
A LOCAL ecologist association in Requena (Valencia) has reported an increase in cases of live dogs being hung from trees in and around the town. Last week a hunting hound was discovered hanging in the Rozaleme area, an incident that accoridng to Ecologistas en Acción 'takes place frequently'. The association is calling on the public to report any similar cases to the police.
FIVE members of a family were forced to flee their home in Villores (Los Puertos de Morella, Castellón) when an unknown pyromaniac attempted to burn it down while they were asleep inside in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The victims are a married couple, their two children and the grandmother, who became trapped in her bedroom for several frightening minutes until she could finally be rescued by her relatives. According to reports, the blaze was started at 03.30 hrs by setting light to a barrel of flammable liquid strategically placed outside their front door due to as yet unknown motives.
NATIONAL Police said this week that they have arrested 14 people on charges of drug trafficking and money laundering. Police say the gang, most of whom are believed to be from Scotland, had been under surveillance since 2010 and that they have been working closely with the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCEDA). In the first phase of the operation police arrested two Britons and a Spanish national who were in possession of 108 kilos of hashish, 2,500 euros in cash, various documents and computer equipment and three cars. The drugs were found hidden in one of the cars.
PLANS to drill for oil off the coast of Valencia took a new decisive step this week. Cairn Energy, the multinational Scottish-based firm in charge of the project, has turned down plans to launch oil prospections in the zone nearest the coast. The area classed as 'Albufera' and located just three kilometres away from Cullera beach has been rejected 'due to technical criteria', namely the fact that the largest reserves are suspected to be further out.
AUAN SAY ALBOX PLAN IS NOT AS GOOD AS IT SEEMS Last month, just before the regional elections, the town of Albox in the Almanzora Valley announced that it was the first municipality in Andalucía to approve its plan to regularise illegal houses under the terms of the regularisation decree announced by the regional government. During a press conference given at the time the mayor of Albox, Jose Garcia (PSOE) flanked by the regional delegate for Housing and Planning in Almeria, Jose Ortiz, and the PSOE parliamentary candidate Jose Perez, declared that the decree would resolve virtually 100% of the cases in Albox.
The Minister for the Hacienda and Public Administration, Cristóbal Montoro has announced that plans to reform of the health service, as part of a ten-billion-euro cut in funding to health and education, are being filtered down to regional government heads. The Government is said to be looking to save on medical transport, reducing journeys made by ambulances from home to hospitals, provided that the patient's condition allows. Also, to have greater control over drug use is being considered to implement electronic prescriptions
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Two very nice properties to rent on the Costa Blanca.