Olive Press Costa Blanca North and Valencia Issue 126

OLIVEPRESSSPECIAL INVESTIGATION

APPEAL

Nolotil campaign grows

OVER 500 people have signed an Olive Press petition to keep tourists and expats safe from the deadly painkiller Nolotil.

KILL THE DRUG

Our Kill the Drug campaign urges Spanish health professionals to agree to follow the 2018 directive banning the German-made drug for British, Scandinavian and Irish patients.

Since launching on February 12, some 505 people have backed the campaign, with many adding comments.

One supporter wrote: “Well done for tackling this problem. Too many lives have already been lost.”

While Nolotil is now banned in 40 countries, it is still being regularly prescribed around Spain.

Campaigner Christina del Campo of the Association for Drug Affected People (ADAF) claims her group has over 100 cases of British people dying from the drug.

Others have had amputations ‘and worse’.

“Something needs to be done about this as nobody’s taking notice. It’s excellent the campaign is growing,” she said.

We now plan to contact local health facilities to urge them to comply with the official warning from Madrid that urges hospitals and clinics not to hand out the drug to foreigners.

Please sign the petition by searching ‘Stop Nolotil deaths’ on Change.org.

A TALE OF TWO TOWERS: An in-depth Olive Press probe into similarities between Valencia and London’s Grenfell disaster, see page 6

CAN YOU HELP? We are looking for this happy-snapping holidaymaker who lost her camera

A BRITISH expat died while giving birth at a private Costa del Sol hospital after being refused a C-section, it has emerged.

Kelsey Brown, 34, had been rushed to Ceram Hospital, in Marbella, on July 20, 2021, where a scan revealed her baby had died.

Yet, despite the tragedy, the hairdresser from Liverpool was told she could not have a C-section or an epidural and would have to give birth naturally.

While bleeding heavily and in ‘horrendous pain’, there was simply not enough blood on site for the procedure, a UK coroner’s court was told. Incredibly, blood supplies did not arrive until more than five-and-ahalf hours later.

A lack of blood likely led to her death.

Andre Rebello, senior coroner for Liverpool, said: "Kelsey was advised she could not have a caesarean and she could not have an epidural, and would have to give birth naturally."

She began delivering the baby at 1.30pm with doctors using forceps to deliver the boy, named Daniel, who was found with his umbilical cord wrapped around his chest, stopping him from feeding.

A delivery of blood did not arrive

See page 5

Double tragedy

Authorities ‘must bring justice’ for expat mum who died giving birth at private hospital

By Laurence Dollimore

until 6.45pm, but just half an hour later, at 7.15pm, Kelsey was pronounced dead.

Her mother, Maria Brown, told the BBC that she was a ‘loving mum’ to her surviving child, who was aged five when the tragedy occurred.

The family are now demanding answers from the Spanish authorities, who did not provide crucial medical

documents to the Liverpool coroner.

Mr Rebello told the court this impeded his ability to properly investigate the death, forcing him to declare an open conclusion due to lack of evidence.

“Hopefully the Spanish authorities will make efforts to bring justice to what occurred,” he said. “They should be looking to see if there were opportunities to do something meaningful for a different outcome."

Mr Rebello previously told the court that the results of a post-mortem in Spain had been ‘withheld’,

Meet the Valencian Chef who has picked up three Repsol Soles

See page 4

PAINFUL DEATH: For Kelsey and her baby

as had medical notes from Ceram Hospital.

According to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, there could be a long wait for the Spanish investigation to bear fruit.

Healthy

Kelsey’s mother insisted she was ‘very healthy’ and didn't drink or smoke.

“Kelsey really looked after herself. She was a great daughter, a great sister and a great mum,” she said. Kelsey had moved with her husband to the Costa del Sol in 2019, with their toddler, who was five when she died.

The family are not commenting further until the Spanish authorities have completed their investigation.

Opinion Page 6

Arsonist arrest

ELDA police have arrested a man who started several fires on Mount Bateig on Monday evening, with the detainee having previous convictions for the same offence.

Sweat shop

AN ALDAIA sewing factory that paid unregistered foreign workers just €600 per month for long shifts has been closed down with the Bolivian owners arrested.

Unsafe stash

A GANDIA man carrying a black bag refused to open it for police who found a small safe inside, full of drugs including heroin and cocaine.

Hotels galore

SOME 140 hotels are for sale in the Valencia region with half of them in Alicante province, while an unnamed Valencia City four-star hotel has a €31 million asking price.

Nazi dunces

A BRAZEN display of Nazi salutes at an event celebrating the 90th anniversary of the fascist Falange party has stunned Spain…and not just for getting the date wrong!

The Madrid bash witnessed a packed auditorium waving flags and singing Nazi anthems.

But the event comes a year late, with the Falange actually being founded in October 1933.

A shocking video filmed at Goya Theatre shows hundreds of supporters raising their arms as they sing the infamous farright anthem Cara al Sol (Face to the Sun). It was later posted on Falange’s own Twit-

ter page triggering outrage and leading to a police investigation into whether the display violates Spain’s Law of Democratic Memory.

“Nine decades later, the Falangists continue to raise the flag of dignity, national unity and social justice,” insisted current Falange leader Manuel Andrino Lobo. They were able to do it, he argued, despite the ‘rubbish’ Democratic Memory law that ‘changes history’.

The law deals with the legacy of the fascist Franco regime, which is sometimes blamed for millions of deaths in Spain. It outlaws glorifying the military coup and its leaders and the humiliation of its victims.

If found guilty, the organisers could face fines ranging from €10,000 to €150,000 for serious offences.

In his speech to the assembled neo-fascists, some who travelled from Portugal, France and Italy, Andrino railed against the Spanish government, calling them ‘Taliban’ and ‘b******s’ for ordering the removal of ‘crosses, plaques and monuments’.

He also slammed the ‘sad task of removing bodies’ from the fascist tomb of the Valle de los Caídos (Valley of the Fallen), just outside Madrid.

Home wreckers

A TRIO of property scammers have been arrested after 1,200 clients paid up to €55,000 each for homes that will never be built.

The suspects, who are believed to have raked in €20 million from the scheme, are part of the firm Grupo 21, and have been charged with document forgery and fraud.

The trio are accused of tak-

Arrests made over disgraceful €20 million property scam between Murcia and Andalucia

By Alex Trelinski

ing reservation fees for newbuilds by falsifying documents and not owning the properties where the real

LOOTERS CAUGHT

TWO men have been arrested for looting the Campanar building complex ravaged by fire.

The Algerians, aged 23 and 51, were surprised by two police officers at 2.00am. The men ran away but one was intercepted and detained a few metres from the building.

The second thief was caught nearby.

Police found a sports bag on the second floor with stolen taps as well as hammers and pliers.

See Towers of terror page 6

estate developments were taking place.

The projects in question were being marketed in Aguilas, as well as locations in Andalucia.

It’s believed that approximately 80 people interested in buying Aguilas properties were conned.

Some of the victims made a first payment of €12,000 to reserve houses, but many of them still continued to pay for off-plan purchases reaching sums of up to €55,000.

Grupo 21 marketed between 800 and 1,000 pre-sold apartments on land they never owned in five locations.

The firm allegedly did not have the special bank accounts (CCE) required by law for real estate developers. It allegedly syphoned off money given for reservations into current accounts used for other purposes.

Deception

As part of the alleged deception, they told those interested in buying the homes that if they had second thoughts, the deposit money would be refunded.

Grupo 21 has since closed down and most victims fear they will never get their money back.

Puppies dumped

A MAN faces animal abuse charges after abandoning seven puppies in a container. An Almoines passer-by heard noise coming from the container, which almost certainly saved their lives.

The Guardia Civil discovered that a 52-year-old Spaniard had abandoned the pups which came from two litters.

The dogs are now being looked after by an Oliva animal protection society.

PANDA

PENSIONERS

A PAIR of pandas from Madrid Zoo are retiring to China after 17 years in Spain.

Hua Zui Ba and Bing Xing originally arrived in the country in 2007 as a gift from China to Spain. The pair had six cubs during their time in Madrid and will travel back to their homeland as a family with the majority of their children.

Two of their cubs, You You and Jiu

Jiu are now star attractions at the zoo and China has promised to send another young couple.

The scheme is part of the China Wildlife Conservation Association’s mission to boost numbers of giant pandas.

It has had great success, with the species going from ‘endangered’ to merely ‘vulnerable’ in the past 40 years.

WHAT A CAULKER

WIPING the sweat off his brow after a gruelling two-hour training session, player-manager, Steven Caulker reflects on his new life on the Costa del Sol.

“I love it, I honestly love it. You can’t complain about the weather or the location”, he says with a wide, genuine smile.

It’s a stunning Friday morning in Nerja, home of fifth tier side FC Malaga City and home for the latest installment of Caulker’s unique footballing career.

Sat on a bench shielded away from the warm, winter sun, the 32-year old is engaging and articulate about his remarkable journey. He started off with Tottenham Hotspur at 18, moving between different loan spells before time at Cardiff City, QPR, and a stint as an emergency striker under Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool. Internationally, he made one appearance for England, scoring in a friendly defeat to Sweden.

But off the pitch, his personal life and mental health began to spiral.

England international who played for Klopp talks to the Olive Press about life at lowly Spanish football club

EXCLUSIVE by

Ben

Pawlowski

“I’m an addict - I’m addicted to escapism. When I put one thing down, I pick up another. Football was my first addiction, but when I am not playing it can be alcohol, gambling, women, food”. Depression struck and it began to impact Caulker’s work on the pitch.

“I was at rock bottom. I fell out of love with football and the game”, he admits. Following a couple of years in Turkey, a surprise selection for the Sierra Leone nation-

VENOM VISIT

Hardy, 46, is a Jiu-Jitsu champion - even winning an event two years ago. He went to the Gracie Barra gymnasium at Playa de San Juan and posed for photos with Jiu-Jitsu coaches and pupils. Hardy has got to know Spain well in the last year, with Venom 3 shooting in the Cartagena area of Murcia last summer. The Los Mateos district doubled up as a Mexican town and Hardy took time out to sign autographs for children and take selfies with them.

al team and a brief foray back into English foo tball with Wigan Athletic, the Londoner finds himself on the Costa del Sol, with a fresh start. Yet he admits he is a work in progress: “I take it day-by-day,

Caulker’s results

January 7: LOSS

Almeria B 6-0 Malaga City

January 13: LOSS

Malaga City 0-1 Juventud Torremolinos

January 21: DRAW

Malaga City 0-0 El Ejido

January 28: DRAW

Maracena 1-1 Malaga City

February 4: WIN

Malaga City 1-0 Rincon

February 11: LOSS

Arenas Armilla 1-0 Malaga City

February 17: WIN

Malaga City 3-0 Huetor Tajar

February 24: LOSS

Huetor Vega 2-0 Malaga City

doing a lot of recovery. I live in Marbella so I drive in, I do an hour of Alcoholics or Gambling Anonymous, I make a gratitude list, I pray, I speak to people, I balance my family life. I will never be cured of depression but I can manage it much better”.

Caulker’s new life on the Andalucian coast also brings a new role as a player-manager, his first step into coaching.

through my academy Behind the White Lines, which helps footballers released by clubs, and we began a conversation”.

“We lost 6-0 and I felt completely powerless, a real baptism

“I was on holiday in Nerja in the summer with my girlfriend and son, staying in a hotel just down the road. I knew these guys

ROLLING VISIT

ROLLING Stones legend Ronnie Wood has been in Spain enjoying a La Liga match at the invitation of FC Barcelona. Wood, 76, made it a family affair by taking his wife Sally, 46, and their seven-yearold twins Gracie and Alice to watch Barca play Getafe. The invite came after the Rolling Stones sponsored last October's El Clasico clash against Real Madrid.

The trip to the Nou Camp was the first soccer match for the couple's daughters and they were rewarded by an easy four-nil win for Barcelona. Wood knows the city well, having bought an apartment close to the Paseo de Galicia in 2013. Sightings of his family are not uncommon as they split their time between the UK and Spain.

After many WhatsApps and calls, Caulker finally succumbed to pressure from the club’s owner, fellow Englishman George Jermy. His tenure started with a whimper with Caulker’s role constrained by the tribulations of post-Brexit visas: “We lost 6-0 and I felt completely powerless. It was hard to take, a real baptism of fire”.

“When I first came I had the idea in my head of a high press, like Klopp’s, but I soon learnt that you need to adapt to what you have”.

“I’ve been really pleased with this last week, it has been the biggest progression, a massive step”since our interview, Malaga City have climbed to 13th in the table.

Does he feel pressure to achieve results?

“The biggest pressure I’ve ever experienced in life has been what I have put myself under. Today I am wiser and more mature, I know it’s about the bigger picture, not just one game or one day”.

Family reunion

THE Spanish royals met up with their counterparts from around the world at St George's Chapel, Windsor, for a Thanksgiving Service in memory of Greece’s last monarch, King Constantine. Spain’s contingent was led by King Felipe and Queen Leitiza, along with Felipe’s mother and King Constatine’s sister, Queen Sofia. Also in attendance was the Emeritus King, Juan Carlos. Constantine II took to the Greek throne in 1964, but was deposed in 1973 after the military junta abolished the monarchy. His funeral took place in Athens in January 2023 after he died aged 82. The service saw Queen Camilla as the leading UK royal in attendance. King Charles was continuing his cancer treatment, and the Prince of Wales was called away at the last minute on a personal matter.

MEMORIES:

HOLLYWOOD actor Tom Hardy has shown off his martial arts skills during a break from shooting Venom 3 at Alicante’s City of Light film studios.

ROYAL

Kings Felipe and Juan Carlos attended the service presided over by Queen Camilla

FAMILY AFFAIR: Ronnie Wood, wife Sally and kids Gracie and Alice at the Nou Camp

IN CHARGE: Steven Caulker is boss at Malaga City

Still going strong

“GOOD morning, world. Today

I turn 117 years old. I’ve come this far”.

This was the wonderful tweet sent out by Spaniard Maria Branyas, who turned 117 years old this week.

The world’s oldest living person was born on March 4, 1907. She has survived two world wars, the Spanish Civil War, two global pandemics, a deadly earthquake and a major fire. She even beat off Covid-19 in 2020, becoming known as the ‘Super Grandmother’ to her adoring followers on social media.

The mother-of-three, who lives in Catalunya, has been studied by scientists keen to discover the reasons behind her remarkable longevity. She became the world’s oldest living person after the death of 118-year old Frenchwoman Lucile Randon in January last year. She celebrated her record-breaking birthday with family and friends in Olot.

Born in San Francisco, she moved to Spain with her family at the age of eight.

SUNNY DAYS

Valencia chef scoops top honours in the 2024 Repsol awards

By Yzabelle Bostyn

A VALENCIA chef has grabbed a three star award in this year’s Guia Repsol awards.

Begona Rodrigo is the only Spanish chef to scoop the top prize in the 2024 guide. Her Valencia restaurant, La Salita, got three Soles (or suns) for

its creative, quality cuisine. The Ruzafa venue has four tasting menus to choose from inspired by Rodrigo’s extensive travels.

A total of 98 restaurants landed an award this year, with 81 restaurants receiving their first Sol and 16 their second. Each year, petrol giant Repsol hands out ‘Soles’ to the best restaurants and chefs in the country - similar

Baby snatching case

SPAIN’S first ever lawsuit over the ‘baby stealing’ scandal during the General Franco regime has been filed at an Alicante court.

Maria Jose Pico from Elche has denounced the abduction of her twin sister from Alicante General Hospital in 1962.

Maria Jose’s lawyer, Jacinto Lara Bonilla, said the complaint alleges a crime of forced disappearance and crimes against humanity - the latter not having a statute of limitation.

An Amnesty report claims ‘thousands of baby thefts’ occurred between the 1930s and the 1990s - well after Franco’s death in 1975.

Between 1944 and 1954 alone, more than 30,000 babies were stolen.

SUN-DRENCHED: Top Valencian ched Begona Rodrigo scooped three Sols

Getting connected

PLANS are advancing for a €30 million Javea exit between the AP-7 and the Marina Alta.

The Ministry of Transport has approved the proposal for a direct link to Javea from the motorway. It will reduce vehicles by up to 20,000 per day on the N-332 between Pedreguer and Gata. The existing Marina Alta exits are at Ondara and Benissa.

FOREIGN INFLUX

Summer return

A POPULAR Javea park could reopen in time for the summer.

Thievers Park closed for six months of renovations back in September 2021. But the €379,000 project was abandoned with contractor UTE blaming the rising cost of materials. Javea has now advertised a €234,000 contract to finish the work, giving a deadline of three months.

A total of six joints were picked

to the much-famed Michelin star programme. There are only 43 restaurants with the maximum 3 Soles badge.

out in Valencia this year, including La Farola (in Altura), Flama (in Valencia), Origen-Gastronomía Sostenible (Carcaixent), La Masía de Chencho (Elche), Cisoria (Villena) and Orobianco (Calpe).

The gala, held in Cartagena, in Murcia, saw dozens of the leading chefs step up to get their awards. A total of 764 venues are now included in the guide, including 552 with one Sol, 168 with two and 43 with three.

THE number of foreign residents in the Valencian Community has gone up eight-fold over 25 years. The National Institute of Statistics (INE) says there were 102,000 registered non-Spaniards in 1998 compared to nearly 785,000 in 2022 - the latest year that the INE has made a comparison.

Romanians and Bulgarians are the two biggest non-Spanish groupings, followed by Brits. The main British concentration is in the Vega Baja, Marina Alta and Marina Baixa regions of Alicante province with a total of 66,200 - 75% of all UK nationals in the Valencian Community. British numbers have risen by 30,000 - 52% - over two decades and they’re the top foreign group in those three Alicante regions plus the Vinapolo Mitja, as well as the Cofrentes-Ayora.

WHO’S IN THE FRAME?

A MISSION is underway to return a camera containing photos of a mystery woman’s oncein-a-lifetime European trip to its rightful owner.

The thousand-plus photo gallery, discovered on an old digital camera, documents the travels of an unknown blonde woman.

Found on a Costa del Sol beach, they feature her in numerous glamorous locations and fivestar hotels throughout France, Spain and Portugal.

As well as being snapped on a boat tour off Mallorca, she is seen riding the ‘Train of Wonders’ in the Alps and posing by the El Campello tower in Alicante.

The first picture, dated Decem-

Please help: Campaign to reunite mystery woman with her camera and thousands of photos of epic ‘once-in-a-lifetime trip’

By Walter Finch

ber 1, 2022, sees the unknown woman in Madeira swanning it at a €180-a-night hotel.

The final snap was taken on February 3, this year, at ‘the Passion of Music’ festival at Malaga’s Plaza de Toros bullring.

The following day, the camera was found on a beach in Benalmadena by Swedish expat Madeleine Ahlberg, 30.

She told the Olive Press: “I was with my partner having a picnic, and we saw a black case lying by a wall.

“I think she was on a trip of a lifetime, perhaps to celebrate something important like a big birthday or retirement,” she said.

Madeleine suspects the woman - and her out-

of-shot partner taking the pictures - is British, based on snippets of the pair talking in videos on the memory card.

The recruitment specialist, from Stockholm, added: “I lost all my photos from a year I spent in Australia when my camera was stolen, so I know exactly how it feels to be robbed of your memories.

“I would love to be able to get this camera back to her.”

Hell hath

Do you recognise her? Contact us at newsdesk@theolivepress.es

A FEMALE motorist rammed two police motorbikes at the end of a high-speed chase on the outskirts of Valencia City.

The driver drove off from a Denia supermarket without paying for 50 litres of fuel.

Up to 10 police vehicles were called into the chase after the woman failed to stop at the La Safor service area. She reached speeds of up to 180 kms per hour during the 50 kilometre pursuit before being arrested in Beniparrell.

Her route was eventually blocked leading to her deliberately colliding with the bikes.

One of the officers required hospital treatment.

A

Hospital shame

WHAT happened to pregnant expat Kelsey Brown is nothing short of a disgrace.

The 34-year-old was rushed to hospital where a scan revealed her baby had died - however they refused her a C-section and made her have an agonising birth without an epidural.

What’s worse is she bled out for more than five-and-ahalf hours before the necessary blood supplies arrived.

How could a private hospital designed to deliver children have been running so low on blood? And when doctors realised they did not have enough, why was Kelsey not sent to the main, nearby Hospital Costa del Sol?

These are just some of the questions the Spanish authorities MUST answer.

To date, they have done nothing but delay handing over crucial documents, including medical notes from Kelsey’s time at Marbella’s Ceram hospital, and much-needed records from her autopsy.

We call on the Ministry of Health to get to the bottom of what went wrong with Kelsey as soon as possiblealthough sadly, we doubt we will hear any admission of wrongdoing anytime soon.

Far right alarm

OH the shame of seeing hundreds of people doing Nazi salutes in 2024.

The Falange party’s 90th anniversary event is a reminder of a returning threat.

These idiots may not know exactly when their party was founded - it was actually six months earlier - but they feel bold enough to collectively revere Adolf Hitler and his notorious right-arm salute.

They even shamelessly splashed the accompanying video footage on their social media - they want people to see.

It is alarming to think we might, once again, have to fight - and vanquish - the villains of the 1930s.

Fortunately, the Falange show us who they are and we should believe them.

We will never forget what their counterparts did to the Jews, homosexuals and gypsies, not to mention most of eastern Europe.

Not omitting the estimated million Spaniards who died during the Franco regime itself, either through execution, thrown into labour camps or simply ‘disappearing’.

Does Spain’s version of Cable Street beckon in the backstreets of Madrid?

ADMIN

Jon Clarke, jon@theolivepress.es

Dilip Kuner dilip@theolivepress.es

Walter Finch walter@theolivepress.es

Yzabelle

Simon Hunter simon@theolivepress.es

Alex Trelinski alex@theolivepress.es

Ben Pawlowski ben@theolivepress.es

TOWERS OF TERROR

Fire tragedy building in Valencia was ‘clad with material discontinued after Grenfell horror’

EXCLUSIVE by

TBen Pawlowski

HE deadly fire that killed 10 residents of a Valencia apartment complex may have been spread by the use of a highly flammable cladding banned in the UK, the Olive Press can reveal.

Ten people perished in the inferno on Avenida del General Alives on February 22, including a newly-married couple and their two-week old baby.

The tragic blaze has been dubbed ‘Spain’s Grenfell’ in reference to the similar 2017 tower block fire that killed 79 people in London.

The building, which housed approximately 450 residents, was built by Catalan company FBEX, which dissolved in 2010 at the height of the Spanish property crisis after racking up debts worth over €600 million.

Prior to its liquidation, the company operated in Catalunya, Valencia and the Balearic Islands.

Media reports initially blamed Alucobond, a brand of rear-ventilated facades, after an FBEX promotional video claimed that the apartments were wrapped in an ‘Alucobond-type cladding’.

However, images taken from Google Maps of the building’s construction in the Nou Campanar neighbourhood of Valencia show clad-

ding emblazoned with a logo reading ‘Larson’. ‘Larson’ is the brand name for aluminium composite materials (ACMs) produced by Alucoil, a Spanish multinational company based in Burgos.

Alucoil currently produces two types of ACM used to clad buildings - ‘Larson FR’ and ‘Larson A2’, although the latter has only been introduced within the last decade. According to Valencia’s Official College of Technical Architecture, construction works for the building began in February 2006 and finished in 2008.

An investigation carried out by the Olive Press suggests that the cladding used may have been of a type known as ‘Larson PE’, a common version of ACM discontinued by the company in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster.

Marketing materials indicate that Larson PE was still on sale in late 2018.

According to official documentation, Larson PE is a ‘composite panel produced by two sheets of Aluminium with a low density polyethylene inside core’.

Paul Hyett, an expert witness to the Grenfell

BYE BYE PRINCESS

IRA von Fürstenberg, the iconic socialite princess, carved her path through the Jet Set age with elegance and allure. Born into royalty, her early life exuded glamour and sophistication. Ira's lineage as a member of the House of Fürstenberg shaped her into a symbol of aristocratic grace and style. She was just 15 when she married 31-year old Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, who once jealousy refused the great Salvador Dali’s request to paint

2016

A look at the life of Ira von Fürstenberg, who helped build the Jet Set reputation of the Mediterranean gem of Marbella

By Ben Pawlowski

Ira in the nude. The scandalous marriage didn’t seem to harm either party as the publicity helped cement Prince Hohenlohe’s position within European high society. It was during this period that the rakish prince and glamorous model and actress brought world-wide publicity to Marbella as the paparazzi of the day and gossip columns lapped up the never-ending string of personalities visiting the Mediterranean town Known as the ‘Princess of Marbella’, Ira lived a life of glamour, luxury and controversy right to the very end.

Rome

Ira died last month in Rome, aged 83. She was born in Rome in 1940

SOCIALITE: Ira enjoying the Marbella lifestyle with Prince Alfonso

zu Fürstenberg, daughter of the German prince Tassilo von Fürstenberg and his wife, Clara Agnelli, the granddaughter of the founder of automotive giant Fiat. When she married Prince Alfonso her socialite status was set. She not only appeared on the silver screen in a string of movies, but attracted the attentions of the great Salvador Dali , who several times requested she pose for him - a request always turned down.

Together with her husband, she

cemented her status within the ‘Jet Set’ elite, owning homes in Ronda, Marbella, Austria, London, Madrid and Rome.

Popularly denoted as one of the first ‘It girls’, she had two children with Alfonso.

Christoph, known as Kiko, who died in suspicious circumstances in a Bangkok prison in 2006, and Hubertus, a former Olympic skier and fellow member of the clique that Ira called the ‘happy few’.

In 1954, Ira and Alfonso estab-

lished the iconic Marbella Club, the luxurious hotel that put the city, and the Costa del Sol, on the ‘Jet Set’ map. Ira became friends with fellow wealthy elites, such as the German millionaire Gunter Sachs, the French activist-actress Brigitte Bardot, and every corner of the Spanish

as Virginia Carolina Theresa Pancrazia Galdina

HAPPY: Ira with her Prince and new born child and (right) on screen with Klaus Kinski

FATAL BLAZE: The fire (right and above) was reminicent of the Grenfell disaster (far right)

enquiry and a former president of the Royal Institute of British Architects, told the Olive Press that polyethylene is ‘highly inflammable’, with a combustibility akin to ‘diesel fuel’.

Larson PE received a classification of ‘E’ on the EU’s EN-13501 fire safety test, the same score received by Reynobond PE, the type of cladding widely blamed for spreading the flames on Grenfell Tower.

The ratings on the test extend from A to F, with A the lowest inflammability and F the highest. UK regulations currently state that cladding used on buildings with a height exceeding 18

metres must have a rating of either A or A2, indicating incombustibility.

Five tower blocks in Norwich were forced to have their Larson PE aluminium composite cladding removed in 2018 after the facade failed fire safety tests.

Jonathan Sakula (pictured inset below), the official cladding consultant to the Grenfell enquiry, told the Olive Press: “Polyethylene is a combustible filler, like the one used on Grenfell. It is not a good material to use, especially on high-rise buildings, as it is too combustible”.

Larson FR is a more fire-retardant version of

aristocracy.

“Marbella back then was a wild party when you came and went with different people. One night it could be the Franco’s or the Bismarck’s, the next Cayetana de Alba”, she told Vanity Fair. After just six years of marriage, she controversially eloped, starting a passionate romance with the notorious Italian-Brazilian playboy Francisco ‘Baby’ Pignatari, a businessman Ira referred to as ‘the love of her life’.

Larson PE - however, with a score of B on the EU’s fire safety standard, it would still remain unsuitable for high-rise buildings under new UK legislation.

Larson FR was first mentioned on Alucoil’s website in 2008, the year that construction of the Valencia apartment complex was completed.

It was described as ‘the first step of a new composite panel generation with which Alucoil hopes to answer modern

architectural needs’.

A revised technical building code (CTE) was introduced in Spain in March 2006, one month after construction in Valencia began, explicitly mandating ‘the limitation of the risk of fire spread via the exterior of the building’. Buildings known to be clad with Larson PE include: residential blocks in A Coruña and Madrid, a Carrefour supermarket in Mijas, the University General Hospital of Cartagena, the Oceanografic Centre in Valencia and buildings at the Jerez Circuit. The buildings were clad between 2002 and 2014.

Experts from the Official College of Property Administrators (CAF), in conjunction with the College of Architects of Malaga, are reviewing buildings on the Costa del Sol with similar characteristics to the Valencia apartment block that burnt down last month.

Chimney

Manuel Jimenez, president of the Malaga branch of CAF, urged for calm, stressing that ‘the characteristics of this building are not common in Andalucia’.

It is unknown how many residential buildings across Spain contain Larson PE cladding, or similarly inflammable equivalents.

Sakula stressed to the Olive Press that ‘there is no way of truly telling what happened until one does a proper investigation’.

Hyett likewise suggested that other factors, such as the use of cavity barriers to inhibit the passage of smoke and fire through the gap between the cladding and insulation, must be thoroughly analysed.

Susana Gomez de Lara, head of the College of Architects of Malaga, told Malaga Hoy that the cavity space was ‘not compartmentalised’, and that high winds may have created a ‘chimney effect’, helping to spread the flames.

The Olive Press approached Alucoil for comment but received no response.

BRAVE: Firefighters tackled the blaze in Valencia

BIG

As Olive Press becomes THE reference point for news in Spain… take

EAGLE-eyed readers may have noticed how our website was once again followed up by news outlets around the world this past fortnight.

Our exclusive of how two brothers were arrested for kicking out squatters from their flat in Barcelona was picked up by the Daily Mail - and even the leading paper in their home country of Belarus (see right).

It was just one of many original stories that caught the eye of the world’s biggest publishers.

They include the Sun who followed up our story about a Brit missing while holidaying in Mallorca. Fortunately John Webster (below) has since been found alive and well - having been hospitalised with breathing issues without access to his mobile phone.

Meanwhile, our live coverage of the ‘historic’ Christian Brueckner trial in Germany was followed by the Sun, MailOnline, Mirror and Telegraph Editor Jon Clarke was also working for ITV and Germany’s RTL for the start of the trial in Braunschweig, involving a string of vile sex crimes in Portugal. It once again proves that for those interested in news in the Iberian region, there is no better source than theolivepress.es.

And the numbers don’t lie, with over 2,000 readers registering an account on our website so far this year, including from as far away as the USA and Australia.

Only by being a subscriber can you enjoy full, ad-reduced access to our content, which is around 20 stories, features and reviews a day.

To persuade you to make the move, we are today launching our special Spring sale, which will last throughout March and offer an incredible 50% off all our subscription packages.

It means you can sign up for just €2.99 per month, or the equivalent of 75 cents per weekhalf the price of a caña!

Scan the QR code below to be taken to the subscription page with the discount already applied.

HAPPY READING!

The top five most read stories on www.theolivepress.es

1- EXCLUSIVE: Terrifying moment expat brothers are arrested inside their own flat in Spain after the SQUATTERS they kicked out called in police

2- Missing: British tourist, 61, who vanished from Spain's Mallorca two days ago - as partner back home says she's 'worried sick'

3- My Top 10 places in Ronda

4-

This tiny village in Spain with 40 volcanoes and a secret waterfall is a must visit for 2024according to the Sun

5-

Huge 'crystal lagoon' is coming to this major city in Spain's Andalucia - featuring artificial beaches and water sports

SOCIETY: Ira was a regular visitor to Marbella’s Starlite Festival. She is pictured (above) with singer Eros Ramazzotti and (right) with actor Massimo Gargia

Across

1 Source (6)

5 An absolute riot (6)

8 Whisky cask material (3)

9 Dexterous (6)

10 Like some jobs and information (6)

11 Perfectly vertical (5)

13 Did cats frolic? They can’t stop (7)

14 Breathe with difficulty (6)

17 Be a benefactor (2,4)

20 Less sorrowful (7)

22 Infernal writer? (5)

25 Militaristic city-state (6)

26 Wood finish, in marquetry (6)

27 Stage (3)

28 Let out (6)

29 Canadian pole-vault star --- Newman (6)

Down

2 Annual flyer with a famous nose (7)

3 Cake figurine (5)

4 Marginal inscription (4)

5 Lost traction (7)

6 Ruined rug isn’t going to ruin (7)

7 Examine the books (5)

12 “Well, that’s show --- !” (3)

15 British and Roman, for example (7)

16 May birthstone (7)

18 Eccentric (3)

19 It’ll never get off the ground in Africa (7)

21 More than enough (5)

23 Soothe (5)

24 Latvian capital (4)

All solutions are on page 14

BUSINESS 8

FORGING AHEAD

Economy to grow better than expected this year

SPAIN will be the best-performing large economy in the eurozone next year after official forecasts for growth were updated.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) now predicts that Spain’s economy will grow by 1.5% in 2024 and 2% in 2025 following a 2.5%

By Ben Pawlowski

growth last year.

Spain is the only country in the eurozone to see its growth forecast improved after the OECD revised official predictions.

Inflation is also set to be better than expected this year

Fashion brings value

ZARA, the flagship fashion brand of the Inditex group, closed 2023 with a value of €14.7 billion and for the fourth successive time heads the Top 30 list of Spain's most valuable brands.

The total value of the listprepared every two years by consulting firm Interbrand - totals €55.8 billion and has grown by 10% compared to 2021.

The top five ranked brands account for 70% of the total value. Zara is followed by Santander, which climbs to second place with €8.5 billion and then Movistar. BBVA, and CaixaBank.

Several companies are new to the list, such as Cupra, which takes 11th place, with its value placed at €1.2 billion.

forecast price increase in Spain to 3.3%.

The new figures provide Spain with a sunnier economic outlook in comparison to many of its European peers as the continent looks to bounce back from high inflation, spiralling energy prices, and the war in Ukraine. Growth for the eurozone is forecast at just 0.6% in 2024 and 1.3% in 2025.

Germany’s economy is expected to expand by just 0.3% this year, with its French neighbours not faring much better thanks to an official growth prediction of 0.6%.

Meanwhile, official figures released last week showed that the UK is in the midst of a recession.

The Office for National Statistics said the economy contracted by 0.3% between October and December last year, having already shrunk between July and September. The UK is considered to be in recession if the economy fails to grow for two successive quarters.

Price resistance

BAR

to a study by market analysts NielsenIQ.

The firm says that beverage consumption fell by 1.4% last year - the first fall since the Covid pandemic.

NielsenIQ says that the cost of living combined with price increases of an average 9% on beer and water has caused consumers to cut back.

Businesses are increasing their turnover because of price hikes, but purchases are falling.

The study says that bars and cafes suffered a drop in demand of 3.3%, while hotels and restaurants did so by 1.6%.

Celia Rodriguez from NielsenIQ said: “After the pandemic, people went out again enthusiastically and consumption recovered quickly, but now we are seeing demand falling.”

Hands off our plaza!

Mayor wants to charge visitors to enter Sevilla’s most famous square

lance service’.

By Laurence Dollimore

Jose Luis Sanz, said the new levy for visitors would ‘finance its conservation’ and ‘maintain a 24-hour surveil-

GOOD INTENTIONS

SPAIN is moving forward with plans to ban some short-haul domestic flights as part of its 2050 climate action plan.

Which routes will be scrapped would depend on whether there is a high-speed AVE train service that can link two points in less than two-and-a-half hours.

The change is about cutting CO2 emissions but it has met with resistance from some of

the country's regions, fearing a negative impact on business and tourist travel. A key point surrounds hub airports that link with international routes, which means the likes of Barcelona, Madrid, Alicante, and Malaga will be largely exempted from the new rules..

That means the impact of such a measure would appear to be minimal with opponents saying it would make Spain less competitive and would have no positive impact on the environment.

Soaring prices

FLIGHTS will be more expensive across Europe this summer due to a lack of new planes, the boss of Ryanair has warned.

Michael O’Leary said his budget carrier - and others - are waiting for new Boeing planes to be delivered, but expects they will arrive late.

This means there will be fewer seats available for budding travellers, bringing price rises of around 10%.

The new tourist charges would also go towards the ‘permanent restoration’ of the site, Sanz added. It has recently been restored at a cost of more than €10 million.

ATTRACTION: and not for tourists but film stars too

II – Attack of the Clones (2002) and The Dictator (2012).

The iconic site was built in 1929 for the Ibero-American exhibition and is Sevilla’s second most visited monument. Some 97% of the 3.8 million tourists a year who visit Sevilla take in the plaza, according to the Seville Tourism Observatory

The square has had several silver screen appearances, including in blockbusters like Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Star Wars: Episode

One journalist wrote on X : “What the mayor of Sevilla proposes is to close the Plaza de España is an aberration, it is illegal.”

Another said: “Not content with privatising healthcare, education… they now want to privatise the assets of the people of Sevilla. If we don’t wake up, they're going to privatise Sevilla.”

People born in Sevilla or resident in the province will be exempt from the fee.

O’Leary said Ryanair has a scheduled delivery of 57 Boeing 737 Max 8200s in March, but that only up to 45 will arrive for the summer season.

Extra routes

RYANAIR is adding nine new routes from Alicante-Elche airport this summer.

Flights to Cardiff and Norwich in the UK will be launched along with links to Munster, Rzeszow, Zagreb, Sofia, Bulgaria, Budapest and Barcelona. The budget carrier announced that it will also increase its service to Lisbon in Portugal. With the extra high season routes, Ryanair will be running flights to 21 countries.

“We have 89 routes, nine of which are new, and we’re going to have almost a million more passengers to Alicante this summer,” predicted Ryanair General Director for Spain and Portugal, Elena Cabrera.

Discover some of Spain’s most important treasures - and could you find some of your own?

THE Treasure of Villena has hit world headlines after researchers claimed it is partly made with iron from outer space.

This is the second biggest hoard of gold from the European Bronze Age after the Royal Tombs of Mycenae. It consists of 59 gold, silver and iron objects with a total weight of nearly 10kgs and was discovered in the Valencian city of Villena in 1963.

Two iron artefacts - the oldest found in Spain - one of them

The Hoard of Cheste

a small hemisphere covered with a sheet of gold, which possibly served as the pommel of a sword hilt, the other a bracelet or ring, are the subject of the experts’ new report. But the hoard is not the only one to have been found in Spain. Join us as we rediscover some of the most famous treasures from the country. And don’t miss the Buried Treasure section of items known to exist but still unrecovered. You could be lucky and hit the jackpot for yourself!

varre yielded up its long-kept secret. Hidden inside it were 52 coins made of gold, silver and iron. They represented various monarchs - Juana I, Felipe II and Carlos V - indicating they date from different periods of the 16th century. How they got there remains a tantalising mystery.

This haul of gold jewellery and silver coins secreted inside two ceramic pots is one of the most important discoveries in Valencia. The collection was found in 1864 in the town of Cheste and can be seen at the city’s History Museum. Experts believe the hoard may have been hidden during the Second Punic War and date it from around 4BC.

Treasure of El Carambolo

A haul containing 21 pieces of crafted gold jewellery and plaques was discovered by Spanish construction workers in the town of Camas, near Sevilla, in 1958. Whether of Tartessian or Phoenician origin, the booty - including pendants, bracelets and necklaces hidden in a ceramic vessel - has been dated from between the 7th and 5th centuries BC, making it one of the oldest treasure finds in Spain. Some experts even link it to the legend of the Lost City of Atlantis.

The Missorium of Theodosius I

Discovered in Almendrale jo, Badajoz in 1847, this elaborate ceremonial silver dish resides today in Madrid’s Royal Academy of History. Dated be tween 388 and 393 AD, it was probably made in Constantinople for the 10th anniversary of Emperor Theodosius I’s coronation, the last Emperor to rule both Eastern and Western Empires.

Menorca is the place where the oldest tomb in Europe dwells. Resembling a dry stone wall pyramid, it was built circa 1200 and 750 BC. It is presumed to be a collective grave as it contained the remains of at least 100 skele tons, along with bracelets and ceramic and bone buttons on display at the Museu de Menorca in Mahón.

Buried Treasure

Get out your diving gear and metal detectors - these treasures have yet to be claimed

II Republic’s Gold

During the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1713) 19 Spanish ships guarded by 23 French ships sailed into the Vigo estuary in Galicia carrying 108 million silver and gold coins destined to fund Felipe V’s side of the argument. But Anglo-Dutch pirates attacked them and, after a gruelling battle, made off with 40 million. The rest of the booty still lies in its watery grave waiting to be recovered.

The Rande Galleons

More recently, during the 2nd Spanish Republic (1931 – 1936), Governor Juan Negrin arranged for truckloads of gold and art treasures to be moved from the Spanish Central Bank to Girona, to protect it from fascists, also sending seven trucks to France. Only six arrived at their destination. The missing truck could contain 10 tons of gold but it has never been found.

Naveta d’Es Tudons

The law of Treasure Trove

Is it finders keepers in Spain? There’s no simple answer. It depends what it is and where it was found.

● According to Articles 351 and 614 of the Civil Code, treasure trove belongs to the owner of the land where it was found. If someone else discovers it, they have a right to half its value even if the landowner is the State. But if the treasure is ‘of interest to science and the arts’ the State can acquire it for ‘its fair price’ which opens a whole new can of worms.

● For the kind of treasures we’re talking about, the State would almost certainly step in and buy it to retain complete control.

HEALTH

LOOKING FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES?

Scan to visit our website

March 7th - March 20th 2024

Measles rise Deadly prank

TWO measles outbreaks have been reported

in Spain

this year - in Alicante and Toledo provinces - with the virus originating from abroad.

Aragon and Catalunya have also seen one measles case each where the origin of the contagion is as yet unknown.

Spain has confirmed 15 measles cases since January 1 - of which seven were imported.

Just 11 cases were detected throughout the whole of last year, while between 2021 and 2022 only three cases were diagnosed in Spain.

The disease has no treatment and usually clears up in 10 days, but complications can include pneumonia, meningitis, blindness and seizures.

SPAIN'S annual birth rate has fallen to its lowest level since 1941 when current reporting systems were introduced, ac-

BABY LOW

cording to the National Statistics Institute (INE).

There were 322,075 new babies last year - 2% fewer than in 2022 and births have fallen by 24.1% over the last decade.

Just two regions - Madrid and Extremadura - registered increased birth

rates last year. The figures show that the age of motherhood in Spain is rising and there are more births to those aged 40 or over (10.7% of the total) compared to women under 25 years of age (9.4%).

As for deaths, last year’s number was 435,331 - 5.8% fewer than in 2022 but 4.6% more than in 2019, before the outbreak of the Covid pandemic.

Waiting shame

REPORTS of four year delays for early detection cancer screenings in the Valencian Community has prompted a call for an inquiry.

Spain’s Patient Ombudsman, Carmen Flores, has asked the Valencia’s Prosecutor’s Office to see if there were irregularities in breast, colon, and cervical cancer screenings during the tenure of the previous re-

OP Puzzle solutions

Quick Crossword

Across: 1 Origin, 5 Scream, 8 Oak, 9 Adroit, 10 Inside, 11 Plumb, 13 Addicts, 14 Wheeze, 17 Do good, 20 Happier, 22 Dante, 25 Sparta, 26 Inlaid, 27 Leg, 28 Leased, 29 Alysha.

Down: 2 Rudolph, 3 Groom, 4 Note, 5 Skidded, 6 Rusting, 7 Audit, 12 Biz, 15 Empires, 16 Emerald, 18 Odd, 19 Ostrich, 21 Ample, 23 Allay, 24 Riga.

Prosecutors called in to investigate four year wait for life-saving screens

By Laurence Dollimore

gional government.“We want the figures to be verified because if they are current, women’s lives have been put at risk down to a dereliction of duty,”

said Flores.

She has made her request based on article 262 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which obliges people in office who know about a public offence to report it immediately to the judge or the prosecutor.

Valencia’s Health Minister, Marciano Gomez says his department had uncovered four year waiting lists for an early detection breast cancer appointment impacting on as many as 200,000 women.

There were also delays of two years in carrying out follow-up mammograms.

Officials in the previous leftwing coalition that ran the region say that the current PPVox alliance are just interested in privatising medical services. Valencian Parliament socialist spokesperson, Jose Muñoz, offered his full support to work carried out by ‘public health

professionals’. He added that the region is a leader in public screening and ‘this type of issue attacks the professionalism of staff’.

The Ministry of Health says there is an ‘alarming shortage of personnel’, with just 15 active radiologists covering 24 prevention units.

A 14-YEAR-OLD boy has died after drinking a can of Red Bull spiked with over two grams of ‘tusi’, a luxury drug also known as ‘pink cocaine’.

The narcotic is comprised of a mix of cheaper drugs, such as ketamine, ecstasy, and caffeine, which form the basis of the pink powder.

The youngster drank a can of the energy drink given to him by a group he had met on Instagram

The unknown group then fled via the subway, boasting on social media about their ‘feat’ in a video that has since been deleted. Minutes later, the teenager collapsed and died of cardiac arrest.

The effects of recreational use of the drug remain poorly understood, although it is reported to have similarly powerful effects to ecstasy.

OFF THE MENU

ONLY a quarter of younger adults in Spain say they maintain a balanced diet including fruit and vegetables. According to a study by consulting firm Gfk, just 25.3% of adults under the age of 30 consider it necessary to embrace balanced eating habits.

That's in contrast with 48.4% of those aged over 45 who do consider a healthy diet to be important to take care of themselves.

Although 38.7% of households with children consider that eating in a balanced way is important to take care of themselves, only 32.9% of them admit to actually doing it.

The study says that 47.7% of families with children point to price as the main reason why they have not consumed more fresh fruit and vegetables in 2023, compared to 17.6% the previous year.

Feels like home

Hola Quooker!

Quooker has arrived in Spain. You can now benefit from official technical service and local warranty. Visit www.quooker.es to know more or to find a dealer near you! With a Quooker in your kitchen you always have 100 °C boiling water alongside regular hot and cold. Add a CUBE and you will also have filtered chilled and sparkling water – all from the same tap. The tap that does it all.

info@quooker.es

Right royal victory

Save our beers

PLANS to force bars and restaurants to close earlier across Spain have sparked outrage from industry leaders and beer lovers. The idea is being mooted by vice PM Yolanda Diaz.

Top lovers

SPAIN is the most sexually satisfied country in Europe, a study found, partly thanks to the ‘positive change in sexual attitudes’ among young people.

Paradise

ALICANTE is the ‘most affordable paradise’ for British expats looking to retire abroad, according to experts at Internationalliving.com.

Holy Res-erection

Popular priest arrested for illicitly supplying Viagra and aphrodisiacs

A PRIEST and his gay partner have been arrested for selling Viagra and other ‘powerful aphrodisiac substances’.

The cleric is one of six parish priests working in Don Benito in Badajoz province serving 37,000 people. He has been described as ‘popular’ and is said to have a modern approach to his clerical duties.

The unnamed priest testified

By Alex Trelinski

before a judge for four hours before being bailed, but will have to report to court twice a month while his partner has been remanded in custody.

A lawyer acting for the priest said that his client had done nothing wrong and had ‘no knowledge of anything incriminating’. The arrests were made by the Guardia Civil, which seized a large amount of ready-to-sell material.

NUNS have been swindled after fraudsters used AI to make their voices sound like the local bishop.

Around 15 convents in Jaen province were targeted with phone calls coming from bishop impersonators asking for cash.

A man claiming to be the Bishop of Jaen - Sebastian Chico - called several nuns asking for €5,000 so that he could have some surgery.

A Torredonjimeno convent fell

Unsisterly act

for the ruse and transferred €3,000. One nun told a fraudster who introduced himself as the Bishop of Jaen: “You’re not Don Sebastian, your voice is very hoarse.” His quick-witted reply was that he needed an operation to cure his sore throat.

Both men have been charged with public health offences after investigations lasting several months with customers coming to the priest’s home.

The diocese of Plasencia said that it regrets the arrest of the priest ‘because of the pain, suffering and scandal that these events entail’. Earlier this year a priest in Poland was arrested after he allegedly organised a gay orgy during which a man was hospitalised after overdosing on viagra pills.

REAL Mallorca have reached the final of the prestigious Copa del Rey for just the fourth time in their history after a dramatic penalty shootout victory over Real Sociedad.

The Balearic minnows will now face Copa del Rey royalty Athletic Club Bilbao - winners 23 times - in the final, due to take place in Sevilla on April 6.

Mallorca drew 1-1 with Sociedad before Slovakian keeper Greif saved a penalty in the shootout before Sergi Darder converted the winning spot-kick.

Mallorca have reached the final of Spain’s premier cup competition just three times before - the side were runners-up in 1991 and 1998 before clinching the silverware in 2003 after a 3-0 victory over Recreativo de Huelva.

AC Bilbao beat Atletico Madrid 4-0 on aggregate to reach the final for the 50th time.

Reaching the final also means that the Palma-based outfit will compete in the lucrative Supercopa de España, a fourteam tournament that takes place annually in Saudi Arabia. The competition includes the winners and runners-up of La Liga and the Copa del Rey