A Mijas ll about
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Vol. 10 Issue 237
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PERFECT:
La Cala del
Photogenic
Sol, Local
Mijas Pueblo
No. 17, Cala
13
de Mijas,
- April 26th
2016
Napier
olive press
the
PICTURE
by:
April 13th
A lot can change in 12 months but Mijas is still the the most polished jewel in the Costa del Sol crown, writes Iona Napier
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ANCIENT: Ermita de la Virgen de la Pena EISTY flamenco in lunch in a secluded the street, mian den, crashing walled garartists and writers in and ‘60s, birthday party a back-street bistro the 1950s it was immortalised rassingly, and, most ald Fraser’s on a saddle, in Ronstorey car getting trapped in embar- and continues1973 book, white stallions€15 in a carriage) park at 2am The Pueblo, a multito cast a spell jamming my to the bearing Cinderella-style today. after repeatedly carriages. on visitors my ticket) business card (rather Mijas is coming Set just up than – above the These are in the machine! and it’s not on in leaps and bounds Spain is coming some of my square, Tuk-Tuk just about ories of Mijas. overriding donkey taxis, to year and mem- zippy has been the end of its first colourful the famous thrill-seekers But there’s a major draw Segway-mounted tuk-tuks and visits with no time to dwell and anyone The latest for stamina to the spring on news is the police. lacking the scale hilly and an Andalucian weather uponpast million renovation enormous, From Mijas. €4.7 what the burro stables rediscover. treasure trove us which is in the you can see to formed seeing the main town centre most looks like a massive The classic square transhilltop town beyond newbies. The boulder to from Chelsea coming direct recognition, of Mijas, known de la Pena Ermita de with 70% la Virgen box charm, to China for its is, in fact, While change from the European unpretentious chocolate an kitty. vibe at just nails the quaint-small-tow little chapel. endearingly in Plaza Virgenunfolds before Forget the a stone’s your eyes checked tiles coast. throw from n as usual for de la Pena, it’s or the Sagrada of business the guaranteed most, and Discovered Familia’s Notre Dame elled tourists are by the globe’s spiky, bejewstill lowed interior. The hermitage The ways a fabulous visit. more boheout was holfrom the to get around are in the 17th by a single Carmelite two dozen myriad, monk burro-taxis Outside, a century. stone gargoyle (€10 spouts water Continues
F
the good life
Photo by Iona
Vol. 10 Issue
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April 13th - April 26th 2016
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Multilingual road sweeper vows to become mayor Page 3
Brexit risk to UK Spaniards
See Decision of a Generation on Page 6
NOTORIOUS: Activists Ruiz (top) and Torres while (right) one of the 300 dogs at risk
Locked up
A HUGE police operation has seen the arrests of two expats and a vet at one of the Costa del Sol’s longestrunning animal sanctuaries. An incredible 15 Guardia Civil officers were involved in the dramatic raid of Marbella’s Triple A shelter on Monday, seizing computers, documents and other evidence. German President Bettina Pietsch, Dutch Secretary Jan Weima and a senior vet were arrested for animal cruelty and dog trafficking. The trio were carted off for
Expat president, secretary and vet arrested in controversial animal shelter raid EXCLUSIVE By Rob Horgan & Joe Duggan questioning shortly after the 1pm Monday bust, which came about after a denuncia from a lawyer. Sources close to the 25-yearold charity insist the lawyer had made the denuncia after the shelter had itself made
a malpractice claim against him. They believe he also drafted in notorious animal rights activists Pedro Torres and Virginia Ruiz - both known for jumping into Marbella’s bullrings - to help in his case. Suspiciously, Torres slammed the shelter in a Facebook post just hours after the raid. “Those at Triple A are being
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found out as abusers and scoundrels and they are going to pay for what they have done,” he wrote. “I will not be anonymous in this case, I never forget or forgive.” The activist - who was famously kung-fu kicked by a matador last summer - added that more animal shelters would soon find themselves under investigation. However, sources close to Triple A, which is subsidised by Marbella Town Hall, told the Olive Press that there were ‘no grounds’ for the in-
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vestigation. “It is nothing more than a revenge tactic,” the source said. “These people are bitter about something and the police have taken it too far. “Without the shelter, which has 500 cats and dogs at present, Marbella would be consigned to having just a dog pound, where animals are sent to be put down. This is a great injustice.” Officially a spokesman for Triple A said that the shelter was ‘amazed’ by the arrests. A large number of volunteers and nearby shelters have come out in support. Briton Mary Page, ex-Vice President of Estepona shelter ADANA told the Olive Press she ‘does not believe’ any laws have been broken. “I cannot believe Triple A has done anything wrong,” she said. “Like many other charities, Triple A sends dogs to adopters in other countries with all the correct paperwork.” Meanwhile Dutch volunteer Joel Harleman said that all staff are standing by the president, secretary and vet. “They have done a lot of damage by denouncing us,” he said. “They want to blacken the name of Triple A. “We don’t believe this is is true and are carrying on as normal.”
Photo by Talia Giraudo
THOUSANDS of UK-based Spaniards could be stripped of their employment rights in the event of a Brexit. The bombshell comes as the IMF warned last night that a Brexit risked causing ‘severe global economic damage’. The 200,000 Spaniards in the UK could lose free access to the NHS, their social security benefits and require work visas if Britain leaves. It would likely lead to further ramifications for expats the other way. Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond admitted Britain may have to introduce a quota system if we leave and the Spaniards’ future in the UK would be ‘up in the air’. Spain’s foreign secretary José Manuel García-Margallo has already voiced fears about what may happen to Spaniards in the UK, 50,000 of whom arrived last year alone. He said that leaving might also mean shutting the border with Gibraltar. World leaders including Barack Obama are urging the UK to vote to stay in the EU. Meanwhile, the UK’s Airbus Group has warned its 15,000 employees about the dangers of a Brexit vote. “We do not believe leaving will increase the competitiveness of our British-based operations,” a letter insisted.