NEWS
www.theolivepress.es HOLLYWOOD director Wes Anderson is heading for Madrid this year as work begins on his newest project Elaborate sets have been spotted under construction in the outskirts of the Chinchon region of Madrid, 46 kilometres south of the capital. Although very few details of Anderson’s latest
June 3rd - June 16th 2021
3
Chinchon cheer
masterpiece are known, the sets appear to resemble western style backdrops, complete with a train station. With a budget of €35 million, it is expected that Anderson regulars such as Owen Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Bill Murray and Tilda Swinton could be involved in the
yet unnamed project. Mayor of Chinchon, Francisco Martinez has welcomed the director and his crew to his town, however remains tight-lipped on details of the new project. “We have all been sworn to secrecy, but the project is really exciting,” said Martinez.
Hungry like the wolf By Graham Keeley
THE wolf has divided society for centuries but now it will be protected in Spain after a ban on hunting comes into action from September. The Spanish government will declare the wolf a ‘wild animal under special protection’ which means hunting it is illegal. It will bring to end decades of hunting which almost drove the wolf to extinction on the Iberian peninsula. Traditionally, the wolf has been portrayed as a figure of evil in popular culture, preying on characters from Little Red Riding Hood to the Three Little Pigs. After progressive measures to preserve the animal in some northern Spanish regions, the wolf has gone from being seen as an enemy to an asset – of the tourism industry. Until now, hunting was allowed in some regions on a strictly controlled basis. Spain and Portugal are thought to be home to about 3,000 wolves, the largest lupine population in Europe, according to data from Ecologists in Action, a conservation group. THE King of Spain has received his first COVID-19 vaccination, joining more than 5 million people who have been given the jab across the country. King Felipe was given his injection in the Wizink Centre in Madrid, according to
HAPPY COUPLE: Carlos and Belen
Walking on heir
LEFT IN PEACE: Wolves will be protected from hunters come September
Ban on hunting creatures that devour livestock Yet opposition to the move persists and not just among hunters who believe the wolf must be stamped out. Wolves kill some 15,000 farm animals across the country every year, according to the
Spanish agricultural association COAG. Lobo Marley, a pressure group which campaigns to protect wolves, estimates that about 300 are killed by hunters every year.
Royal jab
King Felipe turned 53 years old in January, making him eligible to get his vaccination alongside the rest of the Spanish population his age. Meanwhile Queen Letizia, who is five years his junior, has not yet been called to receive her jab.
official palace sources. It is understood the King went to the hospital for the vaccine after marking National Armed Forces Day alongside the Queen.
Peru Carlos de Munain, a livestock veterinarian in the Basque town of Errigoiti in northern Spain, said prohibiting hunting will not solve the conflict between farmers and the wolf.
Effective
“There are many other ways to deal with wolves which will be more effective. Creating pens for the sheep at night, or places for shepherds to stay at night, or using GPS trackers to give some warning of wolf attacks might be better ways,” he said.
ONE of Spain’s richest and most aristocratic couples tied the knot in Madrid. The wedding of Carlos Fitz-James Stuart y Solis and Belen Corsini marked the union of two of Spain’s wealthiest families. Carlos is the youngest grandson and one of the heirs to the late Duchess of Alba, who was known as Spain’s richest woman. Meanwhile Belen is the great-granddaughter of Carlos Corsini Senespleda, the engineer and founder of construction and public works company Corsan, which was sold for €325million in 2004. Their spectacular wedding took place in private at Liria Palace. THE last known survivor of the International Brigades who fought against General Franco and the fascists in the Spanish Civil War has died, aged 101. Jose Almudever Mateu was a dual Spanish-French national born in July 1919 to Spanish parents in Marseilles. Jose lived in Valencia, when aged 17, he joined the republican force, liening about his age to enlist. After being wounded, his deception was discovered, and he returned to Marseilles to sign up for the International Brigades using his French nationality.
End of an era
