Party on

CALPE continues its fiestas this week, with the main event starting on Friday, August 4, the eve of the big party. A parade will showcase the queens and members of the 2023 Party Commission. They will gather in front of the town hall to attend the parish church, where the offering of flowers will be held.

For the second consecutive year, the queens and party presidents from previous years have been invited to attend the offering. At midnight there will be a nocturnal mascleta (loud fire cracker) and then the orchestra "La Tribu" will perform in the Plaza Mayor.

On Saturday, August 5, the feast of the Virgen de las Nieves, Patron Saint of Calpe, the events will begin with a warning ‘thunderclap’ and a parade by the festival committee. At midday a mass will be celebrat­ ed in honour of the patron saint, and at 2pm a mascleta will be fired in the Plaza Mayor. At 8pm the Holy mass will be celebrated and at the end there will be a procession through the streets of the municipality and will be followed by the well­known Castell a la Mar, an “aeroaquatic” fireworks display from the jetty of Arenal­Bol beach. At 12:30am, the Plaza Mayor will once again be the meeting place with a performance by the “Nexus” orchestra.

On Sunday, August 6, San Salvador Day, there will be a traditional Valencian ball game on García Ortiz street and at 2pm the mascleta in the Plaza Mayor.

A TWEET from the mayor of La Nucia, Bernabé Cano, announced on Saturday, July 29, that from October 5 to 15 "the authentic and oldest Oktoberfest in the Valencian community" returns to the town, and will be held in the car park of the Camilo Cano olympic stadium. The popular beer festival, with live music and free admission, is now

Oktoberfest announced

in its thirty­fifth edition. It started to be held in La Nucia in 2021, after being moved from Calpe, where it had been held since the year 1987. A factor that prompted the change of location was the additional parking offered , in addition to the fact that the proximity to Benidorm would attract a much larger crowd.

Denmark

Globe trotter

DANISH man completes decade-long journey visiting every country without flying. Torbjørn Pedersen's trip started in October 2013 and lasted 3,512 days. He relied on buses, trains, boats, and walking to complete the epic journey and all with just a $20 daily budget. He arrived in the Maldives as his 203rd and final country, returning home on a container vessel.

Quran burning

DENMARK faces backlash after a Quran burning incident which lead to protests following the desecration of the holy book outside the Iraqi embassy in Copenhagen. The act triggered widespread condemnation and raised concerns about freedom of expression versus respecting religious sensitivities. Danish authorities' handling of the situation, including the arrest of a woman trying to protect the Quran, drew criticism.

The Netherlands

Litter louts

GOING green can be costly as Amsterdam Council has found out since Holland imposed a refundable fee on buying products in cans and bottles. Many simply throw these away in rubbish bags which are ripped open by those looking to reclaim the deposits from shops leaving rubbish scattered throughout the city streets.

Geothermal heat

ICELAND has learned to live with its volcanoes and geothermal heat which helps to warm 90 per cent of its houses at vastly reduced financial and environmental cost. Now a group in Friesland in the north of The Netherlands, the Stogef Foundation wants to do the same using water from an underwater dormant volcano.

Italy

Joint arrest

A joint collaboration between the police forces of Italy and Spain has led to the arrest in Madrid of a violent fugitive on Monday, July 24.

The Spanish National Police arrested the man who is wanted in Italy for drug trafficking, violence and money laundering offences.

Famous u-turn

Alessandra Mussolini, 60, the granddaughter of Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini and also niece to Sophia Loren, has performed a U-turn, from her infamous far-right homophobic comments to now advocating for LGBTQ+ rights

Ms Mussolini was previously a pop singer, playboy model and film actress before she took up politics.