Olive Press Costa Blanca South and Murcia Issue 95

Kings of cocaine

AN incredible five tonnes of cocaine - worth €265 million - has been seized at a warehouse in Alicante.

Police arrested five Albanians over the haul that is the largest bust ever recorded in the province.

The confiscated drugs, concealed within a shipment of bananas, had an 87% purity.

The raid came after months of careful investigation centred upon Alicante’s Llano del Espartal industrial estate.

The gang members were extremely cautious, frequently travelling abroad and maintaining multiple residences to evade detection.

The criminals had registered both the warehouse and the vehicles used in their operations under seemingly legitimate companies. One Spanish national also arrested has possible connections with other criminal groups in the Valencia region, utilising front companies for vehicle rentals and warehouse leasing.

Police swung into action when several containers arrived at Malaga port from Ecuador in June. They followed two of the containers to Alicante and only made arrests when they were unloaded at the warehouse.

Inside the containers were 400 packages of cocaine, weighing a total of 4,800 kilograms.

Raids were then undertaken at various homes in Alicante and Elche, where €6,000 in cash and four high-end vehicles were seized.

Grains of recovery

OVER €1 million is to be spent restoring sand dunes in over a dozen parts of the Mar Menor.

A total of 15 areas around La Manga will see over 117,000 m2 of dunes restored.

The work will take two years to complete between Los Alemanes beach - next to the Marchamalo salt flats - all the way to Veneziola beach.

An incredible 975 invasive shrub or tree species along with 270 herbaceous species will be eliminated. At the same time, 107,400 dune plants, including the threatened Mar Menor asparagus, will be planted.

O P LIVE RESS The

The critics think so. The Olive Press went to find out why Asador Etxebarri is the world’s fourth best restaurant

See inside

I DIDN’T STRANGLE KIRSTY

EXCLUSIVE: Former Queen’s guardsman insists he found ‘suicidal’ girlfriend dead at Catalan hotel

AN Irishman accused of killing his girlfriend while on holiday in Spain has insisted his total innocence.

The former British soldier - who once guarded the Queen - told the Olive Press how he had found Kirsty Ward’s body lying prone with a ligature around her neck.

Speaking from prison in Catalunya, Keith Byrne, 30, revealed his girlfriend had ‘serious mental health problems’ and had tried to kill herself on ‘various’ occasions.

The former Irish Guard - who protected the royals at Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace for four years - insisted: “I try to protect lives, not take lives.”

The salesman, from County Meath, had actually administered CPR in the doorway and not, as alleged, in the corridor of their hotel room in Salou.

He, along with another hotel guest, a British tourist, tried to bring the mother-of-one back to life.

The ex-soldier insists he had been at a beach bar all day, as verified by CCTV, and came back to find she had strangled herself with an electrical cord.

He had returned to the room at the Hotel Magnolia to get his passport and suitcase, after they had argued and decided to split up.

But when he got there the door ‘wouldn’t open’, as she was rigid and lying prone blocking the door from inside.

“It was awful. Her eyes were grey and her lips were cold and blue,” he revealed by phone from the low se-

EXCLUSIVE

By Jon Clarke

curity unit, near Barcelona.

“I will never get this image out of my mind.

“She had been dead for some time and was so cold. I never felt cold like that before. I just can’t get it out of my head,” he added.

“I took the cord off and screamed for help and some British tourists next door rushed over and one took over and started giving her CPR as well.”

Clearly upset, he continued: “Now I am being accused of killing her, but I have never been arrested in all my life.

Children

“I am stuck here away from my three children and it could take months to prove my innocence. Nobody knows for how long and there are no criminal charges yet,” he continued. His family meanwhile told the Olive Press that Kirsty, 36, had been suffering serious mental health issues for some years and was ‘on medication’.

His sister Tara, 33, said Kirsty had a ‘borderline personality disorder’ and had ‘tried to kill herself a number of times’.

“She had been an inpatient at a mental health facility in Dublin and was visiting as an outpatient every three weeks,” she revealed.

“Things got so bad in Spain that Keith actually called me on the second day of the holiday saying he wanted to come home.

“He said he couldn’t ‘do this anymore’ and was going to get an early

FROM LOVE: to tragedy - Kirsty with Keith on flight to Spain

flight. He said her drug addiction was too tough and she was drinking too much. He said she was ‘too high’ and he just couldn’t ‘calm her down’.”

The pair met in November, via a dating site, and moved in together ‘within weeks’.

They fell ‘madly in love’ and at first didn’t stop ‘laughing and joking’ and even went on a skiing holiday with friends.

But, after a couple of months, Kirsty started to get ‘needy’ and ‘possessive’.

The holiday in Salou started badly when they rowed on the second night about staying out or going home and she allegedly went off with another mystery man.

“Keith woke up on Sunday morning and she’d been out all night,” claimed Tara. “She admitted she had been with someone and they agreed it was over.”

While Keith wanted them to split up on ‘good terms’ and go home together, Kirsty had ‘other ideas’ and stormed off.

Keith spent the afternoon with a German expat called ‘Lars’ and eventually went back to the hotel at

9.17pm to get his passport and bag.

“Fortunately video cameras can prove all the timings, but he entered the hotel at 9.17pm and went up to the ninth floor, where the alarm was raised at 9.22pm,” insisted Tara.

“The police and paramedics were on the scene very quickly, but she was already dead.”

Killed

She continued: “There was literally no time for Keith to have killed her. Evidence revealed to us in court on July 5 shows the window of opportunity was only two minutes tops.”

A Spanish judge decided however, to refuse Byrne bail as he doesn’t have a Spanish residence.

At a secret court hearing in Tarragona he was remanded in custody, while police undertake more enquiries.

A funeral was held for Kirsty at a packed St John the Evangelist Church in County Dublin last week. The mother of son, Euan, was described as an ‘adored daughter’ and ‘much-loved friend’.

Beach thieves

POLICE have arrested three young men who stole wallets, phones, and money from beach-goers in the Alicante and El Campello areas.

Pool death

A BOY, 4, died in hospital two days after being pulled out of a communal swimming pool on the Altorreal urbanisation in Molina de Segura.

Late flights

MURCIA'S Corvera airport has the worst punctuality figures of any airport in the country with just 65% of flights leaving on time this year according to passenger rights group AirHelp.

Junk scam

FOUR men from Catral have been arrested for an online scam that supposedly sold parts from scrapped cars but buyers from around Spain got nothing for their money.

Naked sex cult arrests

LEADERS of a sect that recruited young people, drugged them and stripped them naked have been arrested on the Costa Blanca.

The group called itself ‘The Family of the Soul’ and masqueraded as a conventional psychotherapy group in La Pobla Tornesa, near Castellon. They offered ‘therapies’ to over 100 young victims, some minors, which involved shamanic rituals.

The sessions, costing €10,000, involved drugs given to victims to curb their free will.

Attendees of the collective group sessions had to be naked and sexual therapies were administered - mostly ‘against the will of the victims’.

So far three people have been arrested including the leader, who branded herself as a guru that claimed to know ‘the absolute truth’.

It is the second cult group to have been broken up in Castellon province in just over a year.

In March 2022 the leaders of a sex sect that operated for decades in Vistabella del Maestrat were snared.

Some of the collective had been attending meetings for over 15 years and payments were always made in cash to avoid attracting the attention of authorities.

No place to hide

EXCLUSIVE Liquidators in Ponzi scheme target Russian fraudster’s expat wife in Alicante

By Walter Finch

LIQUIDATORS attempting to recover €40 million missing in a giant crypto fraud are zeroing in on the expat wife of one of the chief suspects.

Gibraltar courts are trying to pin down Alicante resident Alla Babenko, 35, who is married to Globix executive Pavel Sidorov.

The Russian is now the subject of a disclosure order and will face public examination over her role in moving the unaccounted millions. Babenko claims she was kidnapped outside her El Campello villa by a gang of investors who her husband had allegedly ripped off via a giant Ponzi scheme.

Four individuals posing as police - including one female Russian acting as translator - allegedly attempted to seize Globix crypto accounts which had been put in Babenko’s name.

Yet somehow Sidorov managed to contact his lawyer,

who alerted the po lice and the June 2022 kidnap at tempt was thwart ed with all four ar rested.

Judge Yeats grant ed the disclosure order against Babenko during a hearing in the Gibrlatar Supreme Court in which Globix bosses Damian Carreras and Sidorov finally made an appearance by video link. Carreras, 39, allegedly funnelled tens of millions in investors’ cash to his business partner’s wife. According to prosecutor Daniel Feetham KC, the shady manoeuvre has made Babenko ‘a key player’ in efforts to trace the missing millions. She has been given seven days to respond to the order or be held in contempt of court. If she fails to comply, lawyers in Madrid will open proceedings in Spain, while liquidators are also working with a legal firm in Moscow, should

WANTED: Alla Babenko in the aftermath of her kidnapping

they try to flee to Russia.

Gibraltarian Carreras is hiding out in Barcelona ‘afraid for his life’ after reportedly being ‘dangled by his ankles’ over a ledge in order to return the money. It was the kidnap attempt that first alerted Spanish authorities that something was amiss with Globix. Dozens of key establishment figures in Gibraltar, including the leader of the opposition and a former chief minister, have been controversially stung in the fraud.

A BRITISH expat has been jailed for 15 years for child abuse back in the UK.

The Algorfa resident was found guilty of sexually abusing an English girl for over a decade.

Robert Giles, 76, was convicted at Bristol Crown Court after pleading guilty.

A European Investigation Order led to a search of his Costa Blanca home and the seizure of computers and phones with child pornography. Investigating officer DC Hannah Skelding was delighted with the sentence.

“Giles is a dangerous offender who is now off the streets and can no longer harm anyone else,” she insisted.

British paedo jailed EXPAT KILLER

A POLISH national wanted over the fatal shooting of a man in Poland in 1997 has been arrested in Orihuela. He was the subject of a European Arrest Warrant and faces 25 years behind bars if convicted. He was allegedly part of a smuggling gang operating close to the Czech/Germany border in the nineties.

HE might be 78, but Rod Stewart shows no signs of slowing down. The rocker has just completed three dates in Spain - in Madrid, Marbella and Chiclana de la Frontera. These dates were a prelude toa gru-

HAPPY FAMILIES

elling world tour taking in Canada, the USA and South America. But while in Spain Rod decided to have some quality family time and posted a picture of some of his extended family relaxing in the country.

The rare photo shows son Alastair, 17, and his girlfriend, next to Liam Stewart, 28,

holding Rod’s latest grandson Louis with fiancé Nicole Artukovich on his arm, followed by Renee, 31, who posed next to her dad. On the other side of Rod stands youngest son Aiden Patrick, 12, who is just in front of his mum Penny Lancaster, 52.

Next to Aiden is Rod’s daughter Ruby holding her son Otis. Also pictured are his son and daughter Sean, 42, and Kimberly, 43.

THAT’S RICH

Former King Juan Carlos tries to have €126m ‘damages’ case thrown out

A LONDON High Court judge has been asked to throw out a €126 million damages claim against Emeritus King Juan Carlos by his former lover Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn. Her long-standing legal battle - which began in 2020 - has seen her sue Juan Carlos for personal injury that caused her mental anguish by spying on her and harassing her after their relationship ended in 2009. The former monarch has denied any wrongdoing and has challenged the claims made against him. She claims that Juan Carlos tried to resume their relationship and, when she rejected him, the for -

By Alex Trelinski

mer sovereign undertook a ‘pattern of behaviour equivalent to harassment’. For Juan Carlos, Adam Wolanski KC said zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn - also known as Corinna Larsen - wanted ‘damages in excess of £126 million’.

Realistic

He told the judge that her case had ‘no realistic’ prospect of success and that evidence was ‘not viable’ to proceed with the hearing.

“Many of the matters the claimant relies on are subject to state immunity,” Mr Wolanski told the judge.

“The pleaded case of ha -

ADVERSARIES: Corinna and Juan Carlos

rassment is a diffuse collection of complaints, some trivial, mostly historic.” he added.

Different legal teams hired by Juan Carlos have been trying for two years to prevent the merits of the matter from being judged. They argued that as head of state and member of the

Passing of the million milestone

A FOOTBALL legend who became Britain’s first £1 million player has passed away at his home on the Costa del Sol.

Former England star Trevor Francis suffered a heart attack at his Marbella villa, where he spent half the year.

He was just 69 and had been ‘enjoying life’ when he was struck with his second attack.

During an illustrious playing career, he played for Birmingham City, Manchester

City and Nottingham Forest, where he won back-to-back European Cup winning medals.

The football legend maintained his fitness with daily power walks and an annual health check.

According to his spokesman, Francis had been ‘enjoying life very much having eventually got over the death of his wife.’ Helen had passed away six years ago after a battle with cancer.

CAN YOU SEE ME? THEN SO CAN ALL OUR READERS

Royal House he could not be tried in England. Judges at the Court of Appeal agreed , but decided his immunity did not cover the time since he abdicated in June 2014.

Zu Sayn-WittgensteinSayn's legal team led by Jonathan Kaplan KC said the application to throw out her claim should be refused.

“The defendant continues to make every effort to prevent the court from determining this claim,” said Caplan.

“The suggestion made on behalf of the defendant that the claim is somehow abusive in that it is by itself designed to harass a vulnerable elderly statesman is both unfounded and bold,” he stated.

AS temperatures hit sizzling highs around Spain, A Place in The Sun star Laura Hamilton has found a way to cool off. Following the shooting of the latest series in Spain, Laura decided to have some ‘me time’.

The 41-year-old slipped into a swimsuit, grabbed a cocktail and headed for the pool, before posting this snap on Instagram, hashtagging it ‘I love my job’. And she advised fellow visitors to use plenty of high factor suncream as temperatures reached 39C.

SIZZLING HOT

Hot date

COLOMBIAN warbler Shakira, who has reportedly been on a date with F1 legend Lewis Hamilton, could face a date of a different kind.

The 46-year-old mother of two has had a second investigation into her tax affairs opened, which could lead to another court appearance. A court in Esplugues de Llobregat, Barcelona, has started the case following a complaint from the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

She is accused of defrauding the Tax Agency in personal income tax and wealth tax for 2018. But no details of the sums involved have been given.

She was at the time living permanently in Barcelona with her ex, footballer Gerard Pique, 36, who is father to her children. Shakira is already set for a trial for allegedly failing to pay €14.5 million in taxes on income earned between 2012 and 2014.

She has denied those charges stating that she did not live in Spain during those years.

Prosecutors say she spent more than half of that period in the country and should have paid taxes to Spanish authorities, even though her official residence was in the Bahamas. The singer and the youngsters permanently left Barcelona earlier this year for a new life in Florida.

STEAMY

ALICANTE province is dealing with the hottest July nights for a century, according to weather agency Aemet.

The worst affected areas didn’t see temperatures go under 25 °C on Monday.

Xabia recorded 27°C, Orihuela 26.4 °C and Alicante city 25.2 °C that night.

“These are abnormally hot nights, mostly on the coast, due to the high sea temperature,” said Aemat Valencia boss Jose Angel Nunez.

The average temperature during the first 25 days of the month was 28.3 °C. This is 2.5 °C higher than the average temperature between 1991 and 2020.

Third lane for A-7

AN extra lane of the A-7 motorway is to be introduced along a stretch of 17 kilometres.

The extra lane will be built between Crevillente at the intersection with the AP-7 and the Orihuela-Benferri CV-870 exit at a cost of €94 million.

The project will also see the revamping of five junctions.

It's the culmination of a long campaign to see improvements to the busy highway which, according to Ministry of Transport figures, is used daily by 9,000 lorries.

Smashing event

OVER a million carnations will feature at Valencia’s brightest coloured event this Sunday.

The ‘Battle of the Flowers’ will see over 40 floats parade down Paseo de la Alameda from 8pm.

Hundreds of girls throw flowers at each other attempting to hit them away with tennis rackets.

The Paseo ends up being covered in a long line of flowers with the scent lingering.

HEAD-SCRATCHER

A MYSTERY skull found by a dog walker near Granada two years ago belonged to a young man missing from Catalunya.

Police have revealed the head unearthed by an expat, near Orgiva, was that of a 21-yearold man from Barcelona. They told the Olive Press they solved the mystery after running various DNA tests on the skull and later body that turned up two months later nearby.

It also helped that the man’s credit card was found next to the body.

The man had been reported missing in early 2021, having vanished in unusual circumstances. While they ruled out foul play the body and head were found some distance apart, yet both were right next to a popular car park where dozens of hippies live in vans.

“After running a DNA test, we confirmed the skull be-

Decapitated skull

GRUESOME DISCOVERY

EXCLUSIVE

By Alberto Lejarraga

longs to a young man who went missing in Barcelona earlier that year,” Juan Carlos Lopez, a Guardia Civil spokesman told the Olive Press.

“He was a Spanish national who was 21 at the time he disappeared.

“His body was found further down a nearby cliff in January 2022 and next to it, there was a credit card that allowed us to know his identity.”

Despite the victim's head being separated from the body, Lopez says the autopsy did not reveal any signs of vio-

Protect

lence.

“We closed the investigation because the autopsy revealed he died of natural causes, with a hypothesis being an accident.”

The claims fly in the face of the Romanian expat whose dog Dragon found the head on November 18, 2021. She revealed she had been taking a walk around the alternative community of Beneficio, near Orgiva, when the animal dug up the skull by the main car park. She first linked the discovery to the Spanish Civil War, but soon dismissed the idea as the smell was very strong.

Heartless money grab

A COSTA Blanca couple have each been given nine month prison terms for misappropriating €148,000 from two teenage nephews who were orphaned and went to live with them.

The Alicante Provincial Court also ordered compensation payments of €80,000 each to the two now grown-up nephews.

The boys were 13 and 17 when they went to live with their relatives, based in Sant Joan d'Alacant, after the death of their father and mother. However, over the next six years their adoptive parents stole €109,181 in orphan's pensions, €40,000 from their mother's account and €182,000 from their grandfather after his death.

CRACKED

“Nothing like this has ever happened to me before and I knew straight away I needed to call the police,” she told the Olive Press At the time the discovery led to considerable speculation that it might have belonged to a Dutch expat woman who had lived in the community years before.

The Guardia Civil is unable to reveal the identity of the deceased, as the family has not given them permission to do so.

POLICE in Villajoyosa have arrested a pair of safecrackers who stole €50,000 plus jewellery in 16 robberies from hotel rooms across Spain. They forced open room safes by drilling a hole in their sides. The investigation was carried out in association with Europol as the men were part of a gang operating in Germany, Portugal, Austria and the Czech Republic.

The men entered hotels posing as guests in their search for wealthy victims, sometimes checking in the night before.

The thieves have been remanded in custody with associates also nicked in Austria and Portugal.

A RIGHT KICKING

THE leader of Vox went on the attack after his far-right party took a hammering in the general election.

Santiago Abascal (left) was furious after losing 19 seats in the 350-seat Congress of Deputies after Sunday’s poll. The horse-riding politician blamed the ‘disengagement’ of right wing voters turned off by Popular Party (PP) leader Alberto Nuñez Feijoo.

He also railed at the media, which he said had ‘demonised’ his party and ‘manipulated’ the vote that saw Vox drop from 52 senators to 33.

Despite most exit polls predicting Vox and the PP would have enough seats (over 176) for an absolute majority, in the end the two groups fell well short.

The pair only gained 169 seats between them meaning they cannot automatically attempt to form a government.

While Vox suffered a near 20% crash in the polls, its biggest drop came in Castilla y Leon where the party lost five of its six deputies.

It came as the ruling PSOE party under Pedro Sanchez actually gained two seats taking its total to 122.

The new left wing Sumar group - expected to side with the PSOE to form a government - got 31 seats.

Neither of the two main parties however, can form a government alone and both will need support of their natural partners, plus some of the regional parties.

BAH HUMBUG!

ANOTHER general election could be called for December.

While the Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez took considerable criticism for the late July poll, he may now hold one at Christmas. Either way, the clock is now ticking in terms of the parliamentary schedules.

Once a speaker of the house has been elected a first likely investiture debate will be held to choose a prime minister in the first week of September.

Any potential leader will have to either win an absolute majority of 176 votes in the 350-seat

chamber, or a simple majority in a second round 48 hours later.

Should the situation be one of deadlock, parliament would be dissolved in November, with a 47-day period until fresh elections –taking the date to Christmas.

PP candidate Alberto Nuñez is unlikely to be able to get a majority as most parties in Congress refuse to back a Vox/PP administration. The PSOE meanwhile will need the support of left alliance Sumar as well as the pro-Catalan independence party, Junts pel Si (Together For Yes) to stay in power.

found in the Alpujarras belonged to missing young man who ‘died of natural causes’

HOW WE TOLD IT: In November 2021

Abascal’s party had 20% drop in votes

Voted top expat paper in Spain

OPINION

Read behind the headlines

‘DON’T believe everything you read in the papers’, was the old adage.

And today it’s the perfect advice for half the things that pop up on Twitter, Facebook and TikTok

Above all, don’t be satisfied with the obvious story and always look behind the headlines.

The experienced hands at the Olive Press have decades of national newspaper experience behind them and we know dogged determination is needed to get to the root of the matter.

It’s sometimes called good old fashioned journalism, at other times digging.

But above all, it’s always worth going the extra mile to get to the truth.

Two stories in this issue exemplify this.

On our front page we tell the heart-rending story of a former soldier behind bars accused of strangling his girlfriend on holiday.

While investigations into Kirsty Ward’s death continue, Keith Byrne languishesin jail thousands of kilometres from his three young children.

To make matters worse, sensationalist reporting in the international media has all but dubbed him a murderer, as well as claiming he’s (wrongly) a member of the Kinahan crime gang.

Only the Olive Press has actu-

CRACKING UP

AS Spain suffers under record sweltering temperatures the drought affecting most of the country continues to worsen.

ally sought out his side of the story and it throws the suspicious death into a whole new light.

We appreciate that such a serious alleged crime needs to be investigated fully. But with a solid alibi maybe the humane course would be to allow Byrne bail.

Now turn to page 5 for another example of proper reporting by following something up. When we broke the story in 2021 of a dog called Dragon finding a human skull, the Spanish media followed us. It made headlines across the country but then the media went quiet. It was a short-lived sensation.

But what the papers forgot was that basic tenet of journalism - always follow it up. We did what no one else remembered to do, and never lost track of the story.

Now two years later we can finally reveal the skull belonged to a young man who went missing in Barcelona. We felt it important to follow up for a simple reason.

We had in the past been contacted by worried relatives of missing people wondering if the victim- was their relative.

At least now they know he is not and will no longer have to continue fretting.

With the power of the press comes responsibilities, and we take them seriously.

water restrictions start to kick in, Dilip Kuner

of 1995

Reservoir levels are dwindling, particularly in Catalunya, Andalucia and Alicante –and with the falling reserves, restrictions on water usage are starting to be rolled out.

On the Costa del Sol town halls are reducing the number of beach showers, using non-potable water for street cleaning and watering plants, among other measures.

But there is still some way to go before the restrictions are as Draconian as seen in the tinder dry drought experienced across Spain in 1995. When I moved to Spain in 1994, I thought it was normal: No rain and scorching weather were just facts of life on the sun ny Costa del Sol. What I didn’t know was it was actually not nor mal at all.

Since 1993 the country, and An dalucia in partic ular, had been in the grips of a drought that was killing crops and livestock.

But if you weren’t a farmer it was hard to notice. The taps flowed on the costas, with little apparent effort made to save water.

Each winter since 1992 water authori ties had watched reservoir levels drop as they prayed for rain that simply failed to fall.

Their hopes that God-sent inundations would refill reservoirs and top up groundwater proved unfounded.

Their historical inaction when it came to fixing leaking pipes, arranging water transfers from wetter regions of the country - or building desalination plants - was founded on complacency. Well, the chickens were about to come home to roost. In a big, big way.

PUBLISHER / EDITOR

Jon Clarke, jon@theolivepress.es

Dilip Kuner dilip@theolivepress.es

Alberto Lejarraga alberto@theolivepress.es

Jo Chipchase jo@theolivepress.es

John Culatto

ADMIN Victoria Humenyuk Makarova (+34) 951 273 575 admin@theolivepress.es

Simon Hunter simon@theolivepress.es

Alex Trelinski alex@theolivepress.es

Cristina Hodgson cristina@theolivepress.es

Walter Finch walter@theolivepress.es

OFFICE MANAGER Héctor Santaella (+34) 658 750 424 accounts@ theolivepress.es

DISTRIBUTION ENQUIRIES (+34) 951 273 575 distribution@ theolivepress.es

NEWSDESK: 0034 951 273 575

For all sales and advertising enquiries please contact 951 27 35 75

HEAD OFFICE

Carretera Nacional 340, km 144.5, Calle Espinosa 1, Edificio cc El Duque, planta primera, 29692, Sabinillas, Manilva

Deposito Legal MA: 1650-2019

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. AWARDS

It all reached its nadir in the summer of 1995, when drastic measures had to be taken as the taps – quite literally – began to run dry.

Large swathes of Malaga’s population were warned not to drink the tap water. The underground aquifers were so low that they became brackish.

In Mijas Costa, where I ran the Curry House restaurant at El Chaparral (I’d left a job at the Mirror in London to help my ailing father keep things ticking over), we didn’t even get the undrinkable water for most of the day.

Water supplies were cut, except for two hours a day in the morning and two in the

early evening. This presented a challenge just for simply living. I didn’t finish work until 3am.

So that meant getting up just a few hours later for a shower before collapsing back into bed. Then when I reached work, it was a question of waiting for the water to come back on before washing the floors, and filling drums of water for toilet flushes before the supply was cut off again.

And remember – this was not drinkable water. For that we had to wait for a water lorry sent round by the town hall once a day. People queued with bottles and plastic containers to get their fill.

Fortunately, I did not have to hang around waiting for hours for the tanker to show up.

We found a different solution: My father lived on the road to Mijas pueblo and so he had Mijas spring water. Fresh, refreshing and unlimited!

So each day I would load up my car with six 25-litre drums and fill them with water at his house, before carting them back to the restaurant, where I would use this drinkable water for cooking and washing the dishes.

Things were worse elsewhere: Sevil-

CURRENT RESERVOIR LEVELS

la was so badly affected that various (seemingly crackpot) schemes were floated as the city and surrounding region gasped for water.

Serious consideration was actually given to evacuating the entire city as water supplies slowed to a trickle.

Last ditch proposals to sail tankers of water up the Guadalquivir and even float an iceberg to the region were made. In the event turning off the water in Sevilla for 14 hours a day proved just about enough to tide the city through until the drought broke. And boy did it break! I clearly remember when it did as I was on my honeymoon in Extremadura.

After 12 days of touring, we were in Badajoz when the skies finally opened. The heaviest rain I had seen literally fell – and fell – and fell.

After 24 hours sheltering in the hotel, my wife and I decided to cut the honeymoon a week short and head home – in the nick of time.

Just three hours later the entire city of Badajoz was cut off by the rising flood waters.

The reservoirs actually overflowed as it pelted down for the next three months. God had finally answered the water authorities’ prayers.

Since then, a new reservoir has been built for Sevilla (with EU money - with the condition the authorities had to reduce the amount of water lost to leaks by half).

The Costa del Sol also got a desalination plant - although politics of course reared its ugly head.

Corrupt Marbella mayor Jesus Gil, who eventually went to prison for fraud, kept getting reelected despite his criminal activities because ‘he got things done’.

35.81%

Nationally, levels are 44.66% capacity compared to 30.37% in 1995

In this instance he really did. In 1996 he used Marbella money (around €40 million) to build the plant with a pledge the water produced was for the entire costa. It was actually completed in 1997. But the Junta refused to take on the running costs, preferring to sit back and watch as it remained unopened while, inevitably, reservoirs started to run dry again within a few years.

It took another drought before agreement was finally reached, and the plant was finally opened in 2005.

Best expat paper

It says a lot that a convicted crook and embezzler was willing to do more for the residents of the Costa del Sol than the Junta was.

Complacency rules down here.

As

takes a look back at the last serious drought

DRYING UP: Roman bridge emerges from lake while (left) fish are dying

See page 10

NEW GOLD RUSH

AMERICANS are coming to Spain for longer both as digital nomads and to retire.

The number living in Spain grew by 13% from 2019 to 2021, while home sales to US buyers jumped by 88% from 2019 to 2022.

Americans also splash the cash more than any other buyers, apart from the Danes, cough-

By Alex Trelinski

ing up an average of €2,837 per square metre.

And their purchasing power grew the most in the same period, according to the General Council of Notaries report.

American buyers tend to focus on urban areas like Madrid, while

SurgeinbuyersfromUSwithsalesup88%

Valencia and Andalucia are key locations.

“As with any big city, people are attracted to its job opportunities and amenities,” said Alex Ingrim from financial services firm Chase Buchanan.

“There is a strong word of mouth about Valencia, with a large ex-

pat community and among them many Americans,” he added.

Spain launched its digital nomad visa earlier this year, making it easier for foreigners to move and work in the country.

The visa is tailored for ‘international teleworkers’ and applicants must comply with a set of require-

ments, such as accreditation or professional experience of at least three years.

“Prior to having this visa, it was difficult to work in Spain because the tax rates were so high and there wasn’t a clear-cut immigration regime, other than the ′golden visa’ that allowed you to move to Spain and work,” added Ingrim.

REAL ‘SPANISH STYLE’

CULTURAL ICONS: Are these Spain’s 6 best buildings? Look inside

Sales slide

HOME sales registered in May showed a fall of 6.4% compared to the same month last year according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

Some 56,137 deals were completed but May’s percentage fall was lower than April’s 8.1%. It was the seventh successive month of negative figures, according to the INE report published this month.

The sale of older homes fell by 8.6% in the fifth month of the year accounting for 45,479 of the overall total.

In a month-on-month comparison, home purchases went up by 29.6% compared to April - the biggest May increase since 2017.

In the first five months of the year, home sales have fallen by 4.1%, with new properties down by 2.4% and used homes down by 4.5%.

Andalucia had the most transactions in May with 11,736 sales, followed by the Valencian Community (9,453) and Catalunya (9,000).

In terms of sales per 100,000 people, the largest total was in the Valencian Community (232), Cantabria (183) and Andalucia (173).

*Slowingdown,seebelow

Million euro home club

THE exclusive enclave of Benahavis (pictured) is once again dominating the national rankings for the most expensive municipality in Spain. Based on listings published by real estate portal Idealista, the average price of properties in Benahavis, home to exclusive urbanisation La Zagaleta, is an eye-watering €1.9 million. But there are a few other exclusive resorts where the average price is over a million.

The select million euro home club includes Calvia, in Mallorca, with an average price of €1.58 million, while Marbella, has an average asking price of €1.37 million.

Closer and closer to joining the club is Sotogrande, in Cadiz, where the year started with an average price of €995,000.

Close behind is Sant Cugat, in Catalunya, in fifth place with an average of €810,240. Madrid has the priciest homes for a city, with the average price sitting at €428,100.

Silver screen battle

MORE than 11,000 people have signed a petition opposing the conversion of Murcia’s last historic cinema.

They are furious that Cinema Rex is to be turned into a multipurpose space, including a gym.

The cinema opened its doors as the Teatro Ortiz in 1914 but switched to screening movies in 1926.

It was renovated in 1946 but screened its last film in August 2019, having outlasted all of the city’s other major theatres.

The building owners submitted their conversion plans in April and now Murcia City Council is going through a public consultation phase, which prompted the petition.

Safest city

MALAGA has been ranked as the second safest city in Spain, one of the safest cities in Europe and 58th worldwide, according to Numbeo’s 2023 crime index rank.

San Sebastian tops the list for Spain and Europe and comes seventh in the world ranking.

A group collected signatures outside the Rex last week and called for it to reopen ‘since it is an irreplaceable piece of people’s memories’.

“This is the last historic cinema located at the intersection of four districts which contributes to a way of city living that refuses to die,” insisted a spokesman.

The Rex was even mentioned by Murcia filmmaker Elias Leon Siminiani during his acceptance speech in February’s Goya Awards in Sevilla after winning the best short film category.

The Madrid-based AISGE Foundation that manages copyright and intellectual rights for 17,000 Spanish actors has also backed the Rex in a letter to Murcia’s mayor.

CROWD APPEAL

NORMALLY the collection plate is passed around when church repairs are needed. But with just 27 residents, the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption in the tiny hamlet of Masa had to move with the times to hit its necessary €55,000 target. An online crowdfunding ap-

Ancient church turns to modern methods

By Alex Trelinski

peal has been set up for the Burgos province church, which needs urgent renovations.

BAD DISGUISE?

EUROPE’s largest vertical mural has been completed. Covering over 6,000 square metres, Les Rivages de Almunecar, by artist Jose Rios, is painted on three 12-storey buildings.

The mural, on Granada’s Costa Tropical, depicts a figure of a dog walking on the beach, the silhouette of a woman and waves and sand.

Its conception was to convey a sense of transparency and disguise the ugly tower blocks on which it is painted.

As of mid-July, €26,000 had been banked with contributions from all round the world to fund a new clock and altar.

Standing since the 13th century it is the cornerstone of the village, which has only eight permanent residents, the rest coming at weekends or holidays.

“We are the

HELP NEEDED: The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption

classic example of depopulated Spain,” said Josechu de Miguel, who is leading the fundraising drive. The key innovation has been joining forces with heritage charity Hispania Nostra to launch the crowdfunding drive with donations starting

Slowing down Mark Stucklin

Spanish home sales in May 2023 show cooldown continues

THE Spanish property market continues to cool down after a post-pandemic boom in 2022 but there is no sign yet of a crash in sales, as shown by the latest housing market figures from the Spanish notaries’ association. There were 58,880 home sales witnessed by Spanish notaries - actually more than recorded by the National In-

www.spanishpropertyinsight.com

stitute of Statistics - in May, down 8% on last year, and the seventh consecutive month of sales dropping. However, if you compare sales (see graph) to previous years looking just at the month of May there is no sign of a crash, just a return to normal business after a boom that followed in the wake of the Covid-19 disaster. Sales

this May were lower than 2021 and 2022, but higher than the normal

years of 2018 and 2019. Looking at the 12-month rolling sales total, which smooths out the ups and downs of each month and gives a better picture of the underlying trend, you can clearly see the end of the boom and downward trend that looks like it will be with us for a while. All regions of interest to for-

at just €10. Contributions have so far arrived from as far away as Canada.

Each donor, depending on the amount, will receive a gift that can range from a thank you card to key chains, coasters or even a guided tour of

the village. Other options include sponsoring pews, the choir, or the weather vane from €150. Work will begin once €40,000 is reached, as it is now backed up by a promised €10,000 grant from the Burgos Provincial Council.

eign investors have been following a similar downward curve with modest variations, Sales fell the most in the Balearcis (-19%) followed by Madrid (-17%), Catalunya, Andalucia and the Canaries (-12%), and the Valencian region (-10%). Sales in Murcia bucked the trend with a 1% increase.

The national average house price increased by 1% in May, according to the notaries, suggesting the boom in prices has also come to an end . By region, prices increase the most in the Balearics (+17%), followed by Murcia (+9%), Andalucia (+7%), Valencia (+5%), Catalunya (+4%), and Madrid (+2%).

There is no sign of a crash, just a return to normal business

Cultural icons

IT is known as the Nobel prize of the architecture world. And this year the Pritzker prize, as the Olive Press reported in the last issue, was awarded to British architect David Chipperfield, who has a firm affinity to Spain. Aside from having a holiday home in Galicia, he has designed many masterpieces in the country - as have a host of other Pritzker prize winners. The gong is awarded each year to architects who have used their craft to

Six iconic buildings in Spain designed by Pritzker Prize winning architects

By Regina Roberts

‘contribute to humanity and the built environment’ and the work of the winners can be found around many of the country’s favourite cities.

Many of them have become major cultural attractions with their unique designs that pay homage to Spanish culture. Here, the Olive Press picks six key buildings designed by winners of the illustrious prize which showcase how important Spain has become as a centre for the latest ideas in architecture.

PHILIP JOHNSON, GATE OF EUROPE TOWERS OR TORRES KIO, MADRID, 1996

American architect Philip Johnson was the first recipient of the Pritzker Prize in 1979.

Ten years after receiving it, he collaborated with John Burgee to design

this remarkable twin office building on Plaza de Castilla, in Madrid. The world’s first inclined skyscrapers, slanted at a 15 degree angle, they are the second tallest towers in Spain

standing at 115 metres in height. The tower’s iconic design has made them a well-known part of the Madrid skyline and they have been featured in various movies.

JEAN NOUVEL, TORRE AGBAR/TORRE GLORIES, BARCELONA, 2005

French architect Jean Nouvel, winner of the 2008 prize, also partnered with Fermin Vazquez to design the Torre Glories, the third tallest building in Barcelona. The bullet-shaped building has become a tourist attraction and one of its enticing features is its night lighting.

Its futuristic construction, configured by aluminium, concrete, and glass, makes it stand out alongside Barcelona’s historic architecture.

RAFAEL MONEO, TOWN HALL, MURCIA 1998

Spaniard Moneo, who won the Prize in 1996, was commissioned to design this modern institutional building for Murcia’s town hall.

Set in historic Cardenal Belluga Plaza, between the 16th century cathedral and the Episocal Palace, it needed to be sensitive, but also impactful. The building’s design shows a contrasting modernity that has made it a subject of controversy… but it certainly stands out.

ZAHA HADID, LOPEZ DE HEREDIA WINE PAVILION, HARO, RIOJA, 2006

Visionary Hadid was commissioned for this winery by Lopez de Heredia for its 125th anniversary. Chosen for her innovation and daring designs, the pavilion combines the architect’s modern style with the winery’s traditional feel.

Hadid described the design as a ‘bridge between the past, present, and future evolution’ of the bodega.

In 2004, she became the first woman to be awarded the prize.

From previous page

DAVID CHIPPERFIELD, AMERICA’S CUP BUILDING ‘VELES E VENTS,’ VALENCIA, 2006

Winner of the 2023 prize, Chipperfield designed the America’s Cup Building ‘Veles e Vents,’ which was inaugurated in 2006.

The building was constructed to be the social centre for the America Cup, the world’s premier offshore racing competition.

It was designed specifically with the

sport in mind, with its overlapping panels that provide shaded views of the sea and outdoor space that takes up more than half of the building.

The four-story building offers two bars, restaurants, a wellness centre, and VIP lounge, making it the hub of activity during competition season.

TOYO ITO, FIRA TOWERS TORRE REALIA BCN AND HOTEL PORTA FIRA, BARCELONA, 2009

The winner of the 2013 Prize, Ito collaborated with Fermin Vazquez to design these two red towers, which are 112m in height.

The Torre Realia’s surrounding windows give it its clean-cut translucent appearance with a red diverging line in the middle to add a touch of colour.

In contrast, the Hotel Porta Fira is entirely red and in the shape of a distorted cylinder. In 2010, it won the Emporis award for the best skyscraper globally.

‘SPANISH STYLE’

AN unsuspecting Twitter user waded into a storm of controversy after tweeting pictures of what she described as ‘Spanish style homes’ in the US. Savannah Vicario’s tweet racked up more than 11 million views and thousands of replies in just three days. They ranged from the serious to the comic, such as this reply from a user named Salma: “Spanish style is not a thing.

American’s tweet about a ‘Spanishstyle’ home led to a deluge of replies and much debate

By Simon Hunter

This is Mudejar architecture, inspired by Al-Andalus, combining Islamic aesthetics with Iberian structures.” And as

for the comic, users all around Spain sent her their own versions

of ‘Spanish style homes’.

These included ugly housing blocks surrounded by riot police, pictures of the ugly ‘gotele’ dimpled wall paint used to hide often uneven walls in apartments, and a sitting room typical of a grandparent’s home.

The jibes appeared to have been taken well by the original poster, who took advantage of the huge traffic from her tweet and invited people to follow her on Instagram

HISPANIC FLAVOUR: Or is US home more

Mudejar or Al Andalus in style?

REALITY: Some of the true design ‘abominations’ in Spain

PAYING HOMAGE

IT’S a food pilgrimage that thousands of Americans, Japanese and Europeans make every year…but, as far as the French go, it’s nothing to get excited about.

Gallic food bible Michelin almost begrudgingly admits Asador Etxebarri is ‘worth a stop’, but only gives it one solitary star and then adds, with no sense of irony, you’ll need to book ‘a minimum two months ahead’.

Sacre Bleu! Is it any wonder the Spanish leapfrogged the French in the global cookery standings over a decade ago.

This rural retreat in the heart of the Basque Region has been in the world’s Top Ten best restaurants for a decade for its incredibly original and simple way of cooking.

Now firmly cemented in Spanish foodie folklore, chef Victor Arguinzoniz hasn’t fallen out of the prestigious World’s 50 Best list since entering in 2011 and, well, quite frankly he probably couldn’t care less.

This chef’s chef launched his style of ‘fire cooking’ three decades ago in the small village of Axpe, where he grew up without electricity and gas and where his mother and grandmother would

cook on an open hearth.

He also cooks entirely on an open grill - everything, including pudding - and the world’s top chefs rave about him and plan their annual holidays around a meal here.

It’s a romantic tale and this village, sitting on the GR-229 walking trail by the beautiful Urkiola natural park, is almost impossible to beat. So I certainly wasn’t expecting to land a table when I found myself driving through the area on a weekday earlier this month.

But logging onto its website a couple of days before out of interest, I miraculously discovered a 1.30pm slot for two people on the very Tuesday we were passing.

After my heart missed a beat and I slammed the button to ‘book’, I heard nothing, except an email saying we would get another email asking for our credit card details.

It wasn’t looking optimistic, but as the restaurant was shut on the Monday, I figured we’d just rock up and hope for the best. I also sent a personal email to Victor, congratulating him on, once again, making the Top Five, last month. With these things, you simply never

know. Of course, we arrived to find the booking was not confirmed… but, despite a disdainful look, Maitre D Mohamed, from Algeria, did understand the mix up and sat us down on an outside table and brought us a

Once again in the world’s Top Five, Jon Clarke moved heaven and hell to grab lunch at mythical Basque restaurant Asador Etxebarri

couple of cold beers. He did insist there was ‘no space’, but he promised to see what he could do. After a 30-minute wait, enjoying the peaceful surroundings, with views across the church spire towards faraway peaks and braying Monchina and Betizu cows, a delicious cold broth suddenly arrived. ‘Just to try,’ exclaimed a waitress, making sure we didn’t get our hopes up… and then suddenly a tablecloth came out and our table was dressed. “We can’t do the full 15 courses, but we can offer you a lobster, a steak and a few starters,” ventured ‘Moha’, as he is known to his fellow staff. Are you kidding? We bit his hand off and sat down to, arguably, the most authentic meal of our lives.

First things first, it might seem amiss to be reviewing a restaurant when you’re not sampling the full tasting menu. But the Asador does have an a la carte option and, in any case, it turned out Moha was under-selling. The first thing that arrived was a plate of thinly-sliced chorizo, which I knew was a signature dish and made on the premises. And boy was it good, so unbelievably moist and melt in the mouth, despite being hung for just two months.

Next up were anchovies on toast with olive oil and tomato. They come from nearby Ondarroa, where Victor is a long-time buyer and he salts them for six months in a special drying room. Again, the tenderness and flavour was the ticket.

I was really starting to relax, enjoying the leafy terrace with its oxidised iron feed-

ers full of rhododendrons, bees and blue tits. Sure, there was a sense of missing out by not eating

in the buzzing main dining room, with its beams and double height ceiling, but we weren’t the only diners on the terrace and, by now, Moha was really starting to warm to us, explaining each dish and particularly wines (he’s the sommelier too, it turns out).

We really loved his choice of flinty dry albarino, called ‘O Equilibrio’ by the bodega Fulcro, which was the perfect choice for what I can only describe as the best seafood dish I’ve ever eaten. Quite simply, you will never try anything like it. And yes, I’ve dined on the amazing turbot up the road in Getaria, the bluefin tuna in Zahara and giant red shrimps in Sanlucar de Barrameda, but the lobster served at Etxebarri is simply remarkable.

Garnished with exactly nothing - it is simply cooked to a tender tee on Victor’s wood grill, its juices taking the plaudits. It may seem hard to believe, but once you’ve mopped up the juice from its brains and ink with the local bread, the extraordinary richness will stay on your palate for weeks. Indeed it’s still helping me sleep.

But that wasn’t all. Next came out a veal chop, so beautifully cooked that, even though we were full, you wouldn’t dream of leaving a sliver.

And then came the climax: a bowl of smoky ice cream that was also smoked over the grill and then served with a beetroot coulis, so sweet I thought it was cherry.

Even better, all the ingredients come from the village, as does as much as Victor can get, including plenty of the vegetables that he grows in this garden. All in all, an exceptional meal, one that - thanks to its unfussy staff and plain simplicity - actually deserves four stars. Now hop off, Pierre.

www.asadoretxebarri.com

“

“

Garnished with exactly nothing - it is simply cooked to a tender tee on Victor’s wood grill, its juices taking the plaudits

SIMPLICITY: Asador Etxebarri’s simple food, including smoked ice cream and lobster, complement the mountain location

CHEF’S CHEF: Victor Arguinzoniz and (top) his anchovies and a steak

Desert warning

‘Iberian oven’ tag given to Spanish city by weather expert

ANOTHER heatwave in Sevilla leaving temperatures above 40 degrees has led a weather expert to predict the city is becoming a desert due to climate change.

It’s dubbed by some as the ‘Iberian oven’ as hot air comes in from the Sahara and because it is in the foothills of mountains, it is a regular candidate for some of the highest urban temperatures in Spain.

So much so that one weather expert believes the city’s future is gloomy if changes are not made.

Jim Dale from British Weather Services said:

“We’re getting into the category of between 40 and 50 degrees and you’ll find temperatures increasing as the summers go on, as essentially, the city is turning into a desert.”

“Locals might be accustomed to the hot weather, but tourists need to be careful over risks of sun -

HOT WATER

EXPERTS are predicting new record highs for sea water temperatures in Spain.

Last summer saw sea temperatures of up to 32.4C recorded. With the scorching temperatures already recorded in July, it is predicted that those levels will be beaten, negatively affecting marine ecosystems.

By Alex Trelinski

stroke and dehydration.”

The heatwave of 2022 in Spain alone killed at least 2,064 people as a result of the high temperatures. Droughts have directly affected crops and the disruption in production also led to a disruption in supplies for all of Europe.

Wildfires also dramatically increased with many serious incidents last summer across the country.

change

A NEW EU regulation requires that all batteries sold must be recyclable within the next four years.

The law was initiated by Spain’s minister for ecological transition, Teresa Ribera, in an effort to increase sustainability and promote a circular economy.

Producers must adapt the design of their products to ensure that batteries within appliances are removable and replaceable for consumers.

The regulation applies to types of batteries used in all items, from phones to cars.

Governments everywhere need a proper kick up the backside

We’re in uncharted territory

CLIMATE temperature records are tumbling, leaving planet Earth in uncharted territory.

Scientists are understandably worried at the speed at which global warming is advancing. Ocean temperatures are higher than ever. Antarctic sea ice is melting just as fast. Heatwaves are becoming increasingly dan gerous.

The cause of global warming is the burn ing of fossil fuels. Add into the equa tion the heat generated by the first El Niño since 2018 ( a warming natural weather system) and, to coin a fa mous quotation, HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM!

● Last month was the hottest on record

● The average global temperature topped 17C for the first time on July 4

● The Pacific and Atlantic oceans in the last three months have recorded higher temperatures since Met Office records began in 1850. Extra heat trapped by the buildup of greenhouse

gases has gone into warming the ocean’s surface

● Recorded heatwaves are more frequent, hotter, and longer lasting I have said it before, and without doubt will have to say many times more, that unless we make dramatic reductions to greenhouse gas emissions, temperatures will continue to rise. We do not have the resolve or the available technologies available

to cut our emissions. Runaway warming and climate collapse alarm bells are ringing.

ADMIT YOUR FAILURES

So says the president of this year’s COP 28 conference, Sultan Al Jaber. Ironically he is the head of the UAE’s state oil company. That’s enough in itself to spark another debate.

How can the head of one of the world’s largest oil producers host a conference aimed at getting the world’s leaders to commit to saving the planet?

Despite the blatant hypocrisy in this, the message is bang on.

Governments do need a proper ‘kick up the backside’.

I remain unconvinced that the boot is on the right foot to make this happen. His argument is that only when the world has enough renewable energy can the production of oil, gas and coal be reduced. Does anyone else see a conflict of interest here ?!?!

Martin Tye is the owner of Mariposa Energía, a green energy company specialising in solar

Green Matters By Martin Tye

BAD APPLE

Colluding giants fined €194mn for restricting competition

By Alex Trelinski

SPAIN'S competition watchdog, the CNMC, has fined Amazon and Apple a total of €194 million for collusion in the sale of products.

The two firms had limited the sale of Apple products on Amazon’s Spanish websites ‘which restricted competition’, a CNMC spokesman said. It launched a probe in July

2021 for ‘possible anti-competition practices in the sectors of internet sales of electronic products and the provision of marketing services to third-party retailers through online platforms’.

The CNMC said at the time that it had access to ‘certain information’ from which it had found ‘rational indications’ that Amazon and Ap-

SEA TRADE

THE premier cruise trade event and conference for the Mediterranean and its adjoining seas, Seatrade Cruise Med, has chosen Malaga for the second time to hold what it considered one of the most important fairs of the cruise sector. It will bring together representatives from the main cruise lines on September 11 and 12 next year at the Palacio de Ferias. Last year it attracted 2,000 visitors from 78 countries, including more than 170 cruise line executives.

OP QUICK CROSSWORD

ple were in breach of laws related to the defence of competition and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Both firms agreed in 2018 to sign two contracts in which they updated Amazon’s role as an authorised distributor of Apple products.

The CNMC discovered that only a series of distributors approved by Apple could sell its wares via Amazon’s Spanish portals.

“This meant that 90% of resellers on Amazon in Spain who had been selling Apple products were excluded from the country’s main online market,” the watchdog commented.

There was also a price rise in Apple products on Amazon, according to the CNMC. Amazon says it ‘disagrees’ with the ruling and plans to appeal it.

VARIOUS regions are jockeying for pole position in a nationwide business beauty contest to win a $1 billion (€889.92 million) investment in Spain by a US semiconductor maker.

The CEO of Broadcom, a prominent US-based designer and manufacturer of semiconductor products, announced his plans to open a state-of-the-art semiconductor facility within the country.

Charlie Kawwas, wrote on Twitter: “I am thrilled to unveil our decision to invest in Spain’s semiconductor ecosystem, in line with the semiconductor support pro -

CHIPPING IN

gram #PERTE_Chip and EU Chips Act principles.” This move comes as part of Spain’s ex-

Battery boost

SEAT has announced that it will build a vehicle battery cell assembly plant in Martorell, Catalunya. The car maker - owned by Volkswagen - says the €300 million project will create more than 400 direct jobs.

The new factory will cover an area of 64,000 square meters and will also be used to assemble PowerCo cells that will be made at a new gigafactory in Sagunto, Valencia province, where construction started in March.

tensive efforts to bolster its semiconductor and microchip sector, with a planned investment of over €11.5 billion by 2027.

ARMED STRUGGLE

AT HOME WITH XANDER

It’s good to be back in the civilized polo fields of Andalucia, after taking a battering from the bulls of Pamplona, writes Xander Fiske-Harrison

NAVARRA could not be more different from Andalucia.

Down in the south, they provide an archetype of Spain, propagated as something of a national myth since the 19th century and a lure to foreign holiday makers and their money.

In reality, Andalucia was once an endless warzone, out of which the survivors built unions of Castilian formality merged with Moorish art and flamenco.

In contrast, Navarra was once a great kingdom, spanning both sides of the Pyrenees, and later absorbed by the Catholic Kings, Ferdinand and Isabella, in their 15th century reconquest and unification of Spain.

The French side came to be abandoned as indefensible by

their grandson, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in the 16th, but the history and influence remain.

It is beautiful, verdant countryside, which I have walked through many times on the Ruta De Santiago, or Way of St James. As you cross the border through the stunning Roncesvaux Pass nothing changes except the name to Roncesvalles. Many locals actually call it ‘Orreaga’, as Basque was the original language here and has had a strong resurgence since the 1970s, even if the politicians who encourage the region’s separation - and once used armed struggle to do so - now take a hammering at the ballot box. Speaking of armed struggle, mine is struggling to work after running the bulls in Pamplona, the capital of Navarra.

Judging by the comments section on previous columns, many readers will be delighted that I took a hammering.

On day two, I tripped on a fallen runner while matching my feet to the hooves of the bulls of Cebado Gago, from Cadiz, a breed which strikes fear into the hearts of all experienced bull-runners. While a half dozen other runners landed on my back, putting a hairline fracture in a rib and destroying my knee, the bull did something far more interesting when it landed on my arm. It doesn’t look quite so bad today, but it doesn’t look normal either I would have been far better off joining the Olive Press

editor in the nearby cool leafy hills, sampling the food at Asador Etxeberri (see review on page 34) often said to be Spain’s best restaurant. Sadly, I was not invited, and I would have been interested, as I recently listed a restaurant more local to the Olive Press as the best in this country in the Daily Telegraph: Azulete in Gaucin, which is under new management.

I hoped to be there this week to lick my wounds, but instead I’m watching my better half, Klarina (left), enter her own preferred zone of animal-based risk.

As I write I am watching her run rings around other players, both

OP Puzzle solutions

Quick Crossword

Across: 7 Anarchy, 8 Group, 9 Tames, 10 Observe, 11 Yokel, 13 Ecology, 15 Mariner, 17 Sleep, 19 Dunster, 21 Other, 22 Cubic, 23 Leotard.

Down: 1 Earthy, 2 Haymaker, 3 Ices, 4 Bygone, 5 Door, 6 Speedy, 8 Gaseous, 12 Lunatic, 14 Overheat, 15 Medico, 16 Rarely, 18 Parade, 20 Nibs, 21 Oxon.

male and female, on the polo pitch of Puente de Hierro, ‘Iron Bridge’, in Sotogrande.

Polo is one of the few sports where men and women can play together at a high level, and Klarina is among the top dozen female players in the world. Her team Las Sacras Romanas – ‘The Holy Romans’, a nod to both her Austrian heritage and Spanish residency – made it to the semi-finals of the British Ladies Open at Cowdray Park, the Wimbledon of polo, last year.

This year, though, we are in Sotogrande, looking after her breeding herd – her stallion, El Star, is first cousin of Frankel, the highest rated racehorse of all time – and she trains and sells them from Iridike Polo Club in Jimena de la Frontera.

For now, between typing and sipping cava on the impeccable lawns of Sotogrande, I keep my fingers crossed she doesn’t end up under half a dozen horses in a sport at least as dangerous as the taurine craziness they call sport up in Navarra.

Somehow, my injury is a tiny bit more deserving, I hear you say.

RIDING PARTNER: Xander and polo star Klarina

DESERVING?: Xander’s fractured arm after a bull landed on it, while (below) ringed running

Navarra was once a great kingdom, spanning the Pyrenees

EAT YOUR GREENS

ADULTS should eat at least 400 grammes of fruit and vegetables per day, according to the latest WHO report. The institution has updated recommendations on healthy eating after ongoing scientific research. The study claims that adults should also consume 25 grammes of natural fibre per day.

Spain and the UK are two of the top 10 countries in Europe for eating fruit and veg. According to a Eurostat study, 78.3% of Brits and over 75% of Spaniards have at least one piece a day. However, only a small percentage of Europeans (12%) eat at least five pieces a day.

NUTRITION NIGHTMARE

Shocking new stats show quarter of patients in hospitals at risk of malnutrition and complications

AN alarming one in four patients in Spanish hospitals are at risk of malnutrition andshockingly - this percentage jumps to 37% for patients over the age of 70.

The most vulnerable groups at risk include those with cancer-related diseases (35%), cardiovascular issues (29%), and respiratory conditions (28%).

The cause for this has been put down to the fact that Spain remains the only country in the European Union that does not include dietitians and nu-

Cafe hope

By Walter Finch

tritionists as part of its public healthcare system.

This omission is particularly concerning given the crucial role these professionals play in preventing and identifying malnutrition and hindering its harmful knock-on effects.

The lack of prevention means patients are treated with drugs and pharmacology, which often expose patients to complications and adverse effects.

A SHOT of espresso a day could more than just wake you up - it may also keep Alzheimer’s at bay.

A study from the University of Verona in Italy has found that the caffeine in coffee, when consumed in moderation, could yelp against the condition. In 2020, the Spanish Coffee Federation found that around 170,000 tonnes of coffee were drunk - which is around two cups per person daily.

As an example, cancer is now the second leading cause of death in Spain, with half of cancer patients experiencing malnutrition during hospitalisation.

Malnutrition alters drug properties and their effects, often requiring higher doses, leading to increased toxicity and extended treatment cycles or even treatment abandonment due to inefficacy. Conducting nutritional screening upon hospital admission would reduce costs, shorten hospital stays, decrease the likelihood of readmissions, and, most importantly, improve treatment efficacy for patients. Nutritional screening upon admission would enable doctors and medics to catch malnutrition early and undertake a more effective treatment approach. In fact, its inclusion in healthcare could result in a remarkable cost reduction, with potential savings of up to €99 for every euro invested in dietary treatment.

It would also align Spain with the standards proposed by the World Health Organization and the European Union.

Take care of the family

Dear Jennifer: A Life Policy can be as flexible as you need and doesn’t cost the earth

THIS is so important – are you prepared to protect your family?

We can assist you with our bespoke life and mortgage protection policies to protect those that are most important to you, should the worst happen.

The first question would be – have you taken out Life Insurance?

You may have a Mortgage Protection policy, which means on your death the mortgage will be paid. But of course, this does not provide your family with some financial security when they really need it.

Mortgage Protection is a good policy to have as it will pay off any mortgage you have on your house, keeping your family secure in their home. This is death only cover, however there are some additional options you can add on if you require them.

For example for Mortgage Payment protection, for €100,000 of cover for a 50 year old can be as little as €305 per year.

Whereas life insurance provides a payment to your family. You can tailor the life policy to your own requirements and create a bespoke life insurance – whether to cover the initial costs incurred on your death or give your family a lump sum to provide for their future.

For example, life cover of €50,000 for a 50 year old, can be as little as €155 a year.

Our bespoke life policies can give you the cover most suited to you needs with standard death only cover and additional covers to include:-

● Repatriation

● Permanent Absolute Disability

● Death by Accident

● Death by Traffic Accident

● Permanent Absolute Disability due to an Accident

● Permanent Absolute Disability due to a Traffic Accident

● Serious Illness cover/Serious Female illness cover

You do need to be resident in Spain for these policies and there will be a simple health/medical questionnaire that you will need to complete online. These policies are available with monthly direct debit payments, and our policies will be in English.

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR A QUOTATION, PLEASE CALL ONE OF MY OFFICES, EMAIL INFO@ JENNIFERCUNNINGHAM.NET OR VISIT THE WEBSITE WWW.JENNIFERCUNNINGHAM.NET

O P LIVE RESS The

COSTA BLANCA SUR / MURCIA

Escaping the Rat Race

We use recycled paper

Wedding gift

LOS ALCAZARES will give €500 to the first three couples who get married on local beaches after the council approved wedding ceremonies to be held at three locations.

Horse power

TWO horses were spotted running amok on the A-7 in Marbella after escaping their nearby paddock, with police closing the motorway before catching them.

High temper

FLOWER sellers are fuming over Barcelona cannabis shops bypassing zoning rules by registering as florists, with 118 of them in one district alone.

Turned off

VICTIMS of noisy neighbours will be giving a (quiet) three cheers after a man was jailed for blasting out electronic music at full blast for five years. And to top it off he has been banned from any profession linked to electronic music. The Catalan has been given a 15-month prison term and ordered to pay €18,000 compensation to his neigh -

Noisy neighbour jailed for pumping out electronic dance music for five years

By Alex Trelinski

bours for playing the music with a thumping beat at full volume day and night between 2012 and 2017.

Flip flop voter

His neighbours certainly did not feel like dancing as the selfish music lover ignored a series of com plaints.

VOTERS and election operators were treated to a comedic sight on a most serious day in Spanish electoral politics: a man coming in to vote wearing flippers, snorkel and clutching a cool box.

In desperation, long-suffering residents called police reached 56 decibels at night26 above what was permitted. A Mataro court also fined the man - named as Jordi F - €2,160 as well as imposing the professional ban. One of his neighbours in El Masnou - north of Barcelona - suffered from insomnia resulting from the noise, which required specialised medication.

Sunday’s snap general election, held in high summer on the day of rest, provoked the ire of one lottery salesman irked that he had been dragged away from the beach to vote.

Jorge, known for his quirky sense of humour, made his splashy entrance at the Manuel Fernandez school polling station in Malaga.

out several times over the fiveyear period - but he still refused to turn down the volume. Measurements showed the music blasted out at 57 decibels in daytime22 decibels above the limit - and

Another person had their Alzheimer’s disease condition worsened due to anxiety caused by the high volume of electronic music pumping out from his home.

DOZENS of doped up rats on a city break have been spotted approaching locals on the Costa Blanca.

Instead of scurrying away to hide, the rodents are nonchalantly strolling the streets of Alicante, with local authorities claiming they have been ‘stunned’ by poison rather than killed.

And what’s more, a representative of the local pest control company is claiming they are ‘country’ rats causing the problem, rather than their local city-dwelling kin.

Shady business

UMBRELLA summer beach war comes to Malaga, with several beaches in the province taking action to those beachgoers who keep hogging the sand including in Algarrobo, Torrox and Velez Malaga. Leaving an umbrella in place is considered a minor offence, punishable by a fine of up to €300 euros, but higher fines of up to an eye-watering €3000 can be slapped out.