Olive Press Gibraltar - Issue 203

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POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a man died in a shocking car crash in Gibraltar early Saturday morning that left another man fighting for life in a Spanish hospital.

Unconfirmed reports said the second serious victim has died after being treated in a private hospital.

A third man was recovering from his injuries in Gibraltar after images showed the car hit the barrier and postbox outside Natwest Bank on Line Wall Road at about 3.45am.

Royal Gibraltar Police are especially looking for a woman who approached the scene of the accident at 3.45am and then made a call, possibly to the Police Control Room.

Information

CCTV caught images of her and police hope she could offer more information on how the crash happened.

“The Royal Gibraltar Police Control Room received a report for police and ambulance assistance following reports that a car had collided with street furniture outside NatWest Bank,” a police statement read.

“The family of the deceased male, 18, have been notified of his death and a police liaison officer is currently supporting the family.”

Early reports suggest that the driver hit a postbox and the barrier to the parking of Natwest Bank on Line Wall Road.

The fire service, ambulance and Gibraltar Defence Police all deployed to the accident, and the police declared it a major incident.

Police officers closed the road and put up traffic diversions between Cathedral Square Park and the traffic lights at the British War Memorial Steps following the fatal accident. Anyone with information should call the police hotline 200 72500.

NO PLACE TO HIDE

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

LIQUIDATORS attempting to pin down €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 locate Russian Alla Babenko, 35, who is married to Globix executive Pavel Sidorov.

She is now the subject of a disclosure order and will face public examination over her role in moving the unaccounted millions.

Babenko, who claims she was kidnapped by a gang attempting to seize her crypto accounts in June 2022, is living in Alicante, the Olive Press can reveal.

Judge Liam Yeats granted the order during a Gibraltar hearing in which owner Damian Carreras and technical officer Sidorov finally made an appearance by video link.

A previous court hearing already established that Carreras, 39, had funnelled tens of millions in investor cash not to crypto wallets controlled by Sidorov, but in fact to those in the name of his wife, Babenko.

According to prosecutor Daniel Feetham KC, the shady moves have made Babenko a key player in efforts to trace the missing millions.

She has now been given seven days to respond to the court order or be held in contempt of court.

And to underline that the suspects have no place to hide, Feetham told the court that they are in close contact with lawyers in Madrid in order to open proceedings in Spain should they try to evade the law in Gibraltar.

Gibraltarian Carreras is hiding out in Barcelona ‘afraid for his life’ after receiving death

By Walter Finch

threats.

Russian nationals Sidorov and Babenko are still believed to be based in Alicante city, putting them all within reach of Spanish justice.

It was a kidnap attempt on them last June by angry investors frozen out of their funds that first alerted authorities that something was amiss with Globix.

In the shocking kidnap, the couple were snatched outside their El Campello villa, before they somehow managed to contact police to be rescued.

It was during the attack that Sidirov was able to send an estimated €40m to Ukraine in a crypto-wallet.

Russia

Liquidators also remain in touch with a highly reputable legal firm in Moscow, should any of them try to flee to Russia.

Carreras, who studied at Tambov University in Russia, demonstrated his Russian fluency to the Gibraltar court by translating for Sidorov after the latter claimed he did not speak English.

The liquidators elected to excuse Sidorov from public examination, officially due to the lack of a translator.

But Feetham also reasoned that, due to Sidorov’s total lack of cooperation, they needed access to the crypto wallets in Babenko’s name before they could effectively cross-ex -

Tel: 952 147 834

See pages 4 & 5

WANTED: Alla Babenko in the aftermath of her kidnapping

amine him.

Through what meagre disclosures the liquidators have been able to ascertain, they established that €25 million in crypto currencies was transferred from a wallet controlled by Carreras to the Globix cash wallet, controlled by Babenko.

Carreras and Sidorov stand accused of running a Ponzi scheme that lured in €25 million in investor capital through their Globix crypto trading platform, trading under the British Virgin Islands-registered Miracle World Ventures.

Carreras managed to ensnare some of the most powerful and influen -

tial individuals in Gibraltar, as the Olive Press revealed previously, including former Chief Minister Sir Peter Caruana, leader of the opposition Keith Azzopardi and wife of the current Chief Minister, Justine Picardo. With supposed returns of an ‘unbelievable’ 30% per month, Globix claimed 50% of the profits each investor made.

Luxury

The solo director then took these millions and went on a spending spree at various luxury goods shops in Marbella’s Puerto Banus.

Liquidators are trying to determine if these purchases, made in 2021 and 2022, were with Carreras’ own earnings or if he funded his luxury lifestyle with investor funds.

SPENDING SPREE: Damian Carreras

Health handover

LAWRENCE Llamas will take over as Gibraltar Health Authority’s Executive Director of Workforce from Evelyn Cervan who is retiring in August.

Sticking out

A MEN’S and women’s team from Gibraltar competed in European hockey championships in Poland and Croatia respectively.

Shocker saviour

HEALTH experts showed people how to use emergency defibrillators which are now located around the Rock and used to revive heart attack victims.

Disability friendly

FRONT office staff at Gibraltar public service counters trained up to communicate with people who have disabilities and make their services more inclusive.

Looky look out!

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

DAYLIGHT: Uzi firing gangster

A POLICE dragnet hit several known Marbella nightspots and rounded up a number of drug dealers just two days after a broad daylight shootout in Puerto Banus. Over 100 officers swooped on popular nightclubs and the nearby area following the shooting that allegedly involved an African Looky Looky man wearing a football shirt. Many armed cops were involved in the operation, which saw 75 individuals searched and 12 arrests for drug possession. It came after a man, in a baseball cap and apparently wear-

TWO men who left their boot prints on another man’s face in a vicious Queensway attack will spend years in prison after the incident was filmed.

Aaron Santos, 34, of Laguna Estate has been jailed for four years and eight months, and an unnamed juvenile has been given 16 months behind bars over the ‘unprovoked and random attack’ on Boxing Day last year. The court heard how at about 6.30am a man was walking south along Queensway by Ocean Heights. A man and a juvenile who were riding by got off their motorbike and started to beat him for no apparent reason.

“The two men punched and kicked the victim multiple times, leaving bruises and swelling all over the man’s body,” a Royal Gibraltar Police spokesman said.

By Walter Finch

ing a West Ham shirt, fired an Uzi submachine gun around Puerto Banus at 6pm. According to Olive Press sources the man was from Gambia and ‘has a day job as a Looky Looky man’, revealed a local businesswoman. The restaurant manager, who works in the port, added: “Various local guys told me he is from the Gambia and involved with the local mafia, but his day job is selling stuff to tourists.”

RANDOM ATTACK

“The assault was so severe that a boot print was left on the victim’s face.”

“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you here,” shouted the juvenile as they kicked him.

Santos then took his mobile phone and the pair left the scene on their bike.

The man struggled to his feet and walked home.

He later went to the police station and the hospital, kicking off the investigation.

Officers soon detained the two suspects and they later pleaded guilty to the charge of robbery.

EXCLUSIVE: Police swoop on Puerto Banus night spots after shootout involving African trinket seller ‘from Gambia’

She added: “This shooting was part of a settling of scores.”

Fortunately nobody was hurt in the shooting beside the Cristamar centre, although one woman is said to have fainted.

The man, who has since been linked to a drug cartel, managed to escape with an accomplice. They set their getaway car, a BMW, on fire five kilometres

away, causing a fire next to the AP-7 motorway. While police did not confirm the raids were connected they were part of the Strategic Police Response Plan ‘to combat drug use and street-level drug trafficking’. Police have long identified certain leisure areas of Marbella as being a hotbed of drug use and mafia activity. Local police denounced one Banus nightclub after finding 500 people in a space designed for just 200.

Cam catch

A CCTV app foiled a burglary after a juvenile climbed into a flat and tried to make off with the owner’s valuables. The resident was sent a warning to his phone by the app that someone was in his home and immediately called the Royal Gibraltar Police. The burglary took place at Flat Bastion Road and the homeowner got an exclusive live feed on his phone of the then 17-year-old rummaging through his belongings. Magistrates have jailed him for eight weeks.

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.

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.

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. Indeed the various regional parties, who have gained the remaining seats, now have the balance of power. Most have already stated they will not consider working in a coalition with Vox.

Climate crisis

GIBRALTAR’S Minister for the Environment has slammed ‘increasing support for right-wing politicians’ that question the climate change argument after the Earth had the three hottest days ever recorded recently.

John Cortes said that these politicians were ‘actively working against the measures we need’ to reverse climate change.

FLYING RETURN

Airport boost a passenger numbers bounce back

Heatwave hell

By John Culatto

TOP TALKS CATALAN SUPPORT

GIBRALTAR’S deputy leader had a high level virtual meeting with a UK minister to prepare for a possible hard Brexit as uncertainty over EU talks continued.

Deputy Chief Minister of Gibraltar Joseph Garcia had a video call with the UK Minister for Europe Leo Docherty on EU treaty talks this week.

They stepped up talks and preparations for ‘No Negotiated Outcome’ which would halt frontier fluidity.

“The UK and Gibraltar Governments remain fully committed to concluding an

Andorra attack

Political row as Opposition allegedly suggest Spain could have a say in Gib

By John Culatto

GIBRALTAR’S Chief Minister has slammed the GSD Opposition leader for allegedly suggesting an Andorra solution for the Rock that would give Spain a say in its affairs.

The issue was the subject of a fiery debate in parlia ment this week when Fabian Picardo said that he would refuse to work with a GSD government on an EU treaty if they won this year’s elec

The GSD claimed in a state ment that this amounted to ‘political arrogance’ and was so ‘shameful’ that it would be a ‘total disservice to Gibral

But Picardo quoted GSD leader Keith Azopardi’s book

‘ Sovereignty and the Stateless Nation in his reply.

The book says that ‘the Andorran model is not one of joint sovereignty but rather a model based on sovereign independence of Andorra’.

DEPUTY Chief Minister of Gibraltar Joseph Garcia (above) said having one of the Catalan nationalist parties in government with the PSOE would be the best solution for the Rock.

Garcia said that the Catalans ‘have set out in their manifesto to convince a future Spanish government to recognise the wishes of the people of Gibraltar’.

He predicted that the kingmakers could now be Catalan separatist parties Republican Left of Catalunya or Together for Catalunya that won seven seats each.

In a recent, highly charged Budget speech he pointed to the need for the private sector to follow the government lead to push toward Net Zero. He will soon publish his 25 year plan for the environment. He called it a ‘high level but critical document’ that ‘sets important standards as we embark on our collective goal of delivering a clean, green, pleasant, safe and resilient Gibraltar’.

Orcas back

A POD of orcas has attacked three yachts near the upmarket marina of Sotogrande, causing more alarm among mariners.

GIBRALTAR airport finished off 2022 with a 70% increase in passenger movements compared to the year before, bringing it close to pre-pandemic levels. Nearly half a million people arrived or departed via the airport, but it was hindered by the Brexit process that means European airlines cannot fly directly from the UK to Gibraltar. Despite this, there are 39 flights a week from the UK every week this summer, with London Heathrow and

HEALTH chiefs in Gibraltar are warning the public and especially the elderly and vulnerable to hydrate during heatwaves after temperatures passed the 35C mark recently.

The Rock’s director of public health Dr Helen Carter said vulnerable groups could be at greater risk of heart attacks and infections as the heat soars.

Weather forecasters MeteoGib reported a high of 36.5C in July, four degrees short of the record of 40.6C.

“This is good for overnight

Gatwick being the two main connecting airports. The report was part of Minister for Business, Tourism and the Port Vijay Daryanani’s budget statement. He said the recovery also continues to grow, with the first quarter of 2023 showing passenger levels were up nearly a quarter on the same period last year. British Airways have helped this quota by adding an extra flight to Heathrow every Saturday.

HATERS GONNA HATE

GIBRALTAR’S Minister for Transport

Paul Balban has complained how people have mocked him in the street and on social media as he tries to promote cycling and walking on the Rock.

jects more emotive than our cars and our parking spaces, and sparks often fly.”

tourism, retail, restaurants, our hotels, and Gibraltar PLC as a whole,” Daryanani said. Easyjet also put on a daily service to Manchester, while they also run three flights to and from Bristol every week.

Popular

Dr Carter said the elderly and chronically ill needed to take ‘extra care’ during heatwaves. This situation worsens when the heat would not let off during the night, the Gibraltar Health Authority said in a statement.

“Heatwaves can be dangerous, particularly for those who are elderly or have long term illnesses,” said Dr Carter.

Anger has especially built up on social media, even though his commitment to promoting cycling on Gibraltar’s narrow roads has been unrivalled in recent history.

Minister said that his coalition ‘fundamentally rejects’ this point of view.

“We do not want anything other than exclusive British sovereignty,” Picardo said in a government statement.

“We cannot agree to form part of the GSD’s negotiating team on Brexit because of the deep policy differences

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between us.”

He also accused the GSD of having ‘flip flopped and u-turned repeatedly on the UK/EU Treaty’.

This is another reason his coalition would not want to form part of a GSD negotiating team in the ongoing talks.

And the Chief icised his actions for not being part of the original UK/ EU Trade and Commerce Agreement. That would mean, ‘no fluidity of movement for people or goods’, rather than the bespoke deal the Rock needed to continue the current status quo, Picardo insisted.

He argued that the GSD crit-

EXTENDING LOAN

THE Chief Minister and Financial Secretary of the Gibraltar Government have agreed to extend the flexible £500 million revolving loan with Natwest Bank for three more years. Called a ‘revolving facility agreement’, it allows the government to ‘draw down or withdraw, repay and withdraw again’, according to the Investopedia website.

The government said in 2020 when it signed the agreement (pictured below) that the flexible loan was aimed at paying for pandemic costs, restarting the economy and infrastructure investments.

The agreement was backed by the UK Government ‘sovereign credit rating’ and was supposed to end in 2024. He boasted in 2020 how it would provide ‘additional firepower at much reduced rates’ and was ‘a massive show of support from the UK’.

Government ministers laid a copy of the extended agreement before Parliament recently.

Garcia told the national TV station that it was ‘extremely unlikely’ that the Partido Popular would now be able to form a government with Vox. He also revealed that the Spanish government has assured Gibraltarians they will be able to continue using red ID cards at the frontier.

The Deputy Chief Minister said negotiations for the EU treaty would continue under the caretaker government headed by Pedro Sanchez. Leader of the GSD Opposition Keith Azopardi said a PSOE coalition government is the ‘best we could hope for from a Gibraltar perspective’.

The orcas – also called killer whales – bit at the rudders of the yachts just a few kilometres from the Cadiz coast. Scientists observed how they had shifted from the Straits of Gibraltar where they last attacked yachts to the Sotogrande coast.

He said that with Gibraltar having ‘one of the highest vehicle ownership rates in the world’ and people preferring to take the car just for short trips, his efforts to push for more walking and cycling have been ‘unpopular’.

“I have often been jeered from a distance, insulted, I have been the subject of many, many, memes,” Balban said.

“The reality is that there are few sub-

“Change needs to be taken like bad medicine with much honey. I struggle somewhat with the honey,” he admitted.

The minister recently unveiled a cycle path from the runway to Ocean Village, the first of many projects earmarked for coming months.

“This has become a very popular route with our passengers and provides excellent access to the northern part of the United Kingdom,” the minister added as he draws near to his first term in office.

“Manchester Airport is itself becoming an important hub with 171 destinations and this service brings with it excellent opportunities to expand connections with Gibraltar.”

“But simple things like staying cool by seeking shade and staying hydrated by drinking plenty of water help us to stay healthy.”

DECOMMISSIONING of Spain's oldest nuclear reactor is set to begin 'very soon'. Production halted at Garoña in 2012 after owners Nuclenor objected to a new tax. After failing to get a new licence in 2017, the government confirmed it would shut the plant, which opened in 1971. A ministerial order has now authorised specialist firm Enresa to undertake the job, which will take a decade and be done over two phases.

Around 350 people will be employed for the complex work, which has a budget of €475 million.

Long farewell Watch out

HUNDREDS of vicious Portuguese Man O’War have led to beach closures in northern Spain. The main affected beaches are in Cantabria and the Basque Country, where a number of bathers were stung.

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.

Voted top expat paper in Spain OPINION

Hope or dread?

THE Spanish elections have brought Gibraltarians a sigh of relief few of them could have expected.

Despite the fact that the Partido Popular won a much larger share of the vote, Vox lost so much support that the feared rightwing coalition government in Madrid now seems all but impossible.

And as Deputy Chief Minister Joseph Garcia said, if the PSOE brought the Catalans into a coalition it would benefit the Rock.

They extended their own desire for respect of their self-determination to Gibraltar in their manifesto pledges, he said.

From what we can gather, it means EU treaty talks can restart again, although no date for a new round of negotiation has been officially set so far.

These will continue until a government coalition is reached and if no deal is realised by September, a new election could take place and talks would be paused again.

That would send the community of Gibraltar into another spiral of existential dread.

So, as with Brexit before it and to a certain extent the current EU treaty negotiations, Gibraltar will have to wait on other powers to be able to have hope of a fairly normal future.

Though this is the lot of the ex-colony in many ways, the situation is very tiring for its people.

Waking up everyday thinking it could be the last time you will be able to leave the confines of Gibraltar’s 6km2 has become a sense of deja vu.

Macro political forces always prevail over the feelings of people, and surrender to a Spanish government that has shown itself unfriendly to Gibraltarians’ unique identity is also not an option.

So, finally, local people will keep pulling on, trying to maintain their own privilege while hoping things will shape up in a way which calms their anxiety and allows them to leave the fortress mentality behind.

Jon

Dilip Kuner dilip@theolivepress.es

Alberto Lejarraga alberto@theolivepress.es

Jo Chipchase jo@theolivepress.es

John Culatto

CRACKING UP

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

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 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 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.

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.

As water restrictions start to kick in, Dilip Kuner takes a look back at the last serious drought of 1995

Simon Hunter simon@theolivepress.es

Alex Trelinski alex@theolivepress.es

Cristina Hodgson cristina@theolivepress.es

Walter Finch walter@theolivepress.es

For

See page 24

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 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 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 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! clearly remember when it did as was on my honey

moon in Extremadura.

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

After 24 hours sheltering in the hotel, my wife and 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’.

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.

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

was.

Complacency rules down here.

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 10 best buildings? Look inside

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

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.

Sales slide

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.

Ancientchurchturnsto modernmethods

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 56,137dealswerecompleted 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 by2.4%andusedhomesdownby 4.5%.

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

The Ten key 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 10 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.

By Alex Trelinski

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 appeal 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.

Slowing

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

There were 58,880 home sales witnessed by Spanish notaries actually more than recorded by the National In-

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.

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.

HELP NEEDED: The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption

“We are the at just €10. Contributions have so far arrived from as far away as Canada.

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

down

Mark Stucklin

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-

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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%).

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.

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.

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.

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.

EVERY PARENT’S NIGHTMARE

He was a quiet expat kid whose mother moved him to Spain to avoid his abusive father and violent bullying at school… but when he became withdrawn and locked himself in his room, she had no idea he would become a globally infamous hacker. Walter Finch unravels the tragic, complicated story

SANDRA O’Connor, 58, had watched her son, Joseph grow more and more withdrawn and isolated in his bedroom with his computer. But the English criminal lawyer at least thought he was ‘safe in his room’, away from the normal dangers that teenagers face on the Costa del Sol. So when an army of riot police kicked down their front door in Estepona, she could have had no idea that he was one of the world’s most wanted cyber hackers.

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:

American’s tweet about a ‘Spanishstyle’ home led

Sought by the US authorities for a string of serious cyber crimes committed when just 19 years old including hacking into the private Twitter accounts of President Biden and Elon Musk he was also a serious fraudster who stole $794,000 from a Manhattan cryptocurrency firm. And perhaps most disappointingly for his mother, he also stole naked photos of young women and then tried to extort them.

Now, Joseph, 24, also known as PlugWalkJoe, has just been handed a five year stretch in one of New York’s toughest prisons. But it could have been a lot worse… and if it wasn’t for a series of moving pleas from his mother and wider family he could have faced 70 years in jail, the Olive Press can reveal.

In a series of remarkably emotional letters addressed to Judge Rakoff at the famous Southern District of New York, they helped to explain how a kind-hearted expat who struggled to understand

normal social interactions became the world’s online public enemy number one.

Unearthed via requests to the US court service, they paint a tragic picture of violence, neglect and isolation that saw the bright youngster failing to receive the guidance and support he was obviously in need of.

Born to a violent and absent father, it emerges Joseph was raised by a single mother who was also traumatised by the same man. His teenage years in Liverpool were fraught, as he suffered from bullying by other kids that he could not understand.

Sandra confessed that she had not been ‘emotionally available and nurturing’ to her youngest child (with his other two brothers born to different fathers). She described herself as ‘effectively broken’ by the violence she had suffered at the

in turn Joseph would speak about him as if he had known him himself.

“He would tell me lovely things about his deceased grandfather,” his grandmother Agnes reminisced in another letter.

“When you're bereaved, it is very comforting. It was as if he knew I almost needed this to help me cope.

“He would tell stories with so much love and add funny anecdotes about what his grandfather would say if he were here.

“He was such a sweet, funny boy and so kind to others,” she added.

As his mother explained: “When younger, he would try to encourage me to meet someone who could be his dad, which is so sad.

“He saw his young friends with their loving families and he effectively only had me.”

path that would finally find him languishing in a New York jail, struggling to understand how his life had gone so wrong.

In another sad knock-on effect, the enormous costs of the proceedings have depleted Sandra’s financial resources and imperilled her retirement.

“There will be no inheritance for Joseph and his brothers,” she wrote, adding her own inheritance from her father is gone, and Agnes only has enough to pay for her own funeral.

Joseph has so far been spared this tragic full understanding of the long-term impact his deeds will have on his family.

His cousin, Niamh, 23, told of an anecdote during one visit to Joseph in prison that summed up the difficulty he has dealing with life.

a deluge of replies

and

to

much debate

By Simon Hunter

“Spanish style is not a thing. 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

hands of Joseph’s father, who had not wanted the child and at one time inflicted such a severe beating on her she required 17 stitches to her head.

“I just went to work on autopilot,” she recalled.

“But it's the children who suffer the most as those crucial early years of loving nurturing are absent and damage results.”

Unwelcome efforts by Joseph’s father to come back into his life in secondary school reopened unhealed wounds.

“Joseph was always saying how sad it was that his father had ruined my life, and that it would have been better if he had not been born,” Sandra told the judge in one heartbreaking missive.

“I reassured him that he was worth it, and would not change the situation if it meant he was not born.

“He told me I was rubbish at choosing men,” she continued, “and that he hoped one day I met someone who was kind and would treat me well.”

Sandra’s father, who had been an excellent father figure for Joseph’s two older brothers, died unexpectedly while she was pregnant with him.

“Not a day goes by that do not think about him and miss him and feel saddened that Joseph never got to receive the love and care his grandfather provided to his siblings.”

Sandra would constantly tell Joseph of his grandfather, and

Having moved Joseph back to Estepona at the age of 17, Sandra watched him retreat from the perplexing world that had treated him so cruelly into an online one.

One where his anxieties and peculiarities vanished and he made friends and found respect.

But so obsessed did he become with his gaming and his computers that in turn he became oblivious to the real world around him.

Conversations and constant nagging had little effect as he withdrew almost entirely to his room, even refusing to eat meals with his mother and instead ‘eating himself fat’ and snacking on processed foods.

“He told Sandra his mum, she looked pretty,” she wrote. “She thanked him. Then he said, ‘well you are, even with your wrinkles and you being old, you should try and get Botox before you start looking as wrinkly as nan.’”

They all burst out laughing.

“He was just being how we all know him to be, honest without realising that it can be too much to hear sometimes,” Niamh went on.

The people he was chatting with were not gamers but, in fact, hackers

When she flew to Liverpool for work trips, the lawyer would have to leave pre-prepared foods and snacks that just needed heating in the microwave. And upon her return, she would be faced with a chaotic pigsty of dirty dishes and cups piling up, which he noticed not one iota.

When Covid struck, Sandra found herself stuck in England and unable to get back to look after Joseph. Instead she hired a housekeeper. It was during this period Joseph finally managed to find friendship, albeit with a community online. Sandra would get back to hear him laughing loudly with his online friends - ‘something he rarely did.’

“For me, this was comforting and a good sign,” she wrote.

It was preferable he was laughing in his bedroom rather than exposed to ‘a world on the outside where he was ill-equipped to navigate.’

“I believed he was safe from this world, where he was not in touch with any dangers [such as] alcohol, drugs, bullying and the worst aspects of society,” Sandra told the judge.

But she had no idea the people he was chatting with were not gamers but, in fact, hackers.

And it would be they who led Joseph down the

“He had no idea why we were laughing and there is little point in explaining it to him.”

For his mother’s birthday in June, Joseph arranged through a friend to send her a personalised card with a huge beautiful bouquet of flowers, a gift-wrapped perfume, and a box of gold decorated cupcakes with messages on the cakes.

Attached was a personalised card.

Inside, it read: "Happy birthday to the one who has loved, cared, helped, worried and been there for me through it all.

“Thank you for always being there for me, you're a great mother and love you a lot.

“You are the smartest woman know and will ever know and very kind and beautiful.

“Everyone who meets you, or their families, always say you are their favourite person and extremely rare and for that I am very proud of you and not have a bad word to say about you.”

Having spent two and a half years in jail waiting to be sentenced, Joseph is already half way through his five year sentence.

Awaiting him when he gets out is a job offer: A UK-based energy firm is willing to take him on as a Web Developer Apprentice.

For his part, Joseph told the judge: “I want to lead a productive life. now look back at what an empty life led. A solitary life alone with gaming and online friends in an unreal, unhealthy world, the only life that mattered.

“I neglected my family, my future, was without plans or any aims in life.”

SNARED: Estepona police picked up Joseph while mum Sandy (inset) was at home downstairs

HACKER: Joseph was badly abused and bullied at school

Best country

DANCERS from Gibraltar waltzed their way to the Top Country Award at the Global Dance Open Finals held in the Spanish city of Avila.

Four different dance groups took part in the event and scooped many medals, earning the congratulation of culture minister John Cortes.

Mediterranean Dance School, Stylos Dance Company, Danza Academy and Show Dance Company all represented Gibraltar at the dancing competiton.

“Winning the ‘Top Country Award’ is an outstanding achievement and an amazing success that has put Gibraltar once again on the map,” Cortes said.

“Congratulations to everyone who through the many hours of hard work and dedication have been praiseworthy participants and have done Gibraltar extremely proud,” he added. Over 2,500 dancers from 39 countries take part in GDO events.

A WHOPPING £10,000 in prize money is up for grabs at Gibraltar’s 50th international art competition to be held at the end of October.

The Ministry of Culture will invite a judge to make the call on the winner, who will receive the £5,000 Gustavo Bacarisas Prize named after the Rock’s historic artist.

Second and third prizes of £2,000 and £1,500 respectively will also be on offer, named after two other famous local artists, Jacobo Azagury and Leni Mifsud.

Artists can enter a maximum of two paintings and two sculptures for the

Cash giveaway competition.

Artists who paint about Gibraltar also stand to win the Rudesindo Mannia Prize of £1,000.

And the Mario Finlayson Prize will go to the best young artist from 16 to 24-yearsold who can get the attention of the adjudicator.

The resulting exhibition of all the works will take place between October 25 and November 4, after the winners are announced.

BREAK A LEG!

Gibraltar scoops awards at prestigious British drama festival

By John Culatto

A GIBRALTAR director and cast won two awards at the British National Drama Festival in Coventry, England.

Signed Me by Christian Santos and Hannah Mifsud got awards for Outstanding Festival Contribution and Best Backstage Team.

OP QUICK CROSSWORD

National Day party

EXHIBITIONS, festivals, a boat procession and fashion show are all planned for this year’s National Day Celebrations.

The Self Determination for Gibraltar Group (SDGG) said it had teamed up with Gibraltar Cultural Services (GCS) to put on the ‘wide-ranging series of events’.

The two weeks leading up to National Day now promise to be one of the most exciting cultural celebrations of the year.

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

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.

CHIPPING IN

The overall winning play at the Gibraltar Drama Festival last March also came second in the Best original

script section of the annual UK event. Top directors and performers from all over the UK took part at the Albany Theatre event on July 20-23.

Christian Santos, former mayor of Gibraltar, runs the Gibraltar Academy for Music and Performing Arts (GAMPA) that put on the play. The Rock’s culture minister John Cortes congratulated GAMPA for ‘another successful result at an interna-

tional event’, in a government statement.

“I am very proud to have been able to be present at this event, and witness such an amazing, outstanding, and incredible performance,” Cortes said.

“The play was both brilliant and emotional, with excellent acting by all the players.

“Once again, another hugely proud moment for Gibraltarian culture and for Gibraltar as a whole!”

“As in the past, the emphasis remains very much on celebration, with varied entertainment, offering a range of shows and activities for all to enjoy in the spirit of this special occasion,” SDGG chairman Richard Buttigieg said. “I am confident that Gibraltarians of all ages will have much to enjoy in the lead-up to and on National Day itself.”

THE PROGRAMME IS AS FOLLOWS:

Gibraltar Fair

August 19 to 27– Ad- miral Rooke Site 7pm onwards

‘Our Gibraltar’ Exhibition

August 30 to Septem-

ber 8 – Gustavo Bacarisas Gallery

Gibraltar Wine Festival

September 1 – My Wines – 5pm

Made in Gibraltar

September 2 – Bayside Sports Complex – 4pm- 2am

Soak it in

ROMAN baths in a great state of preservation have been discovered in Merida (Extremadura).

A group of 20 archeologists, including six Granada University students, have found the ancient bathhouse as part of a major excavation in the city.

The public baths date back to the first century A.C. but are in a great state of conservation.

“The baths are perfectly preserved and we have found all the original decorations - marble panelling, the mouldings of the cornices, paintings on the walls and all the underground infrastructures,” Ana Maria Bejarano, the archaeologist who has led the excavation, said.

The discovery has been made as part of an excavation in the city’s famous Amphitheatre House.

This is a domestic compound dated back to Roman times in the Iberian Peninsula that is located next to Merida’s well-known Roman Theatre and Amphitheatre.

The excavations in the Amphitheatre House started six months ago and more findings are expected to take place soon.

“A pool, which is often associated with this kind of construction, has not been discovered yet, but it is possible we will find it in the future,” Bejarano continued.

‘Rock & Paper’ Exhi- bition by ACE Art

September 5-29 – The Fine Arts Gallery

‘Model for a Day’ – Charity Fashion Show

September 6 – 8.30pm

Boat Procession

September 8 - Coal- ing Island - 7pm for a 7.30pm start

National Day Mass

September 9 – The Shrine of Our Lady of Europe - 7.30pm

National Day September 10 Pro- gramme of Events to be released shortly

National Day – Nobig- gie Festival 2023

September 10 – Victo- ria Stadium Recreational Area

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.

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.

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-

gram #PERTE_Chip and EU Chips Act principles.”

This move comes as part of Spain’s ex-

tensive

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.

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

ARMED STRUGGLE

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

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.

Dear Jennifer:

Take care of the family

THE new Director General hopes to set up ‘an integrated care model’ when he takes over the top job at the Gibraltar Health Authority (GHA) in October.

Kevin McGee, who has 35 years experience in healthcare and is currently working as CEO of Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, will replace Patrick Geoghegan whose contract was extended until McGee could take on the post.

Minister for Health and Care Albert Isola said McGee’s appointment would continue to improve the health service.

“These are exciting times for the GHA,” Isola said.

GHA chair Ian Cumming said the appointment of ‘another distinguished leader in healthcare’

New health boss

would also benefit the Rock.

Departing Geoghegan said McGee would ‘continue to drive the necessary transformations in the best interest of patients and their families’.

And McGee himself said that ‘Gibraltar possesses the necessary resources and capabilities to set an example for the UK’. He said creating ‘an integrated care model’ had always been his ‘personal aspiration’.

“While it may take the UK a considerable 10 to 15 years to realise this vision, the potential of achieving it in a shorter timeframe is genuinely thrilling,” McGee added.

Botox warning

PUBLIC Health bosses have warned the public about the dangers of injectable beauty and lifestyle treatments if their providers are not registered locally.

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.

Navarra was once a great kingdom, spanning the Pyrenees

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It is beautiful, verdant countryside, which 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 took a hammering. On day two, 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 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, was not invited, and I would have been interested, as 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. 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 write am watching her run rings around other players, both 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

NUTRITION NIGHTMARE

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.

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 resi-

dency – 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, hear you say.

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.

Cafe hope

AN alarming one in four patients in Spanish hospitals are at risk of malnutrition and - shockingly - 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 nutritionists 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 that patients are treated with drugs and

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.

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.

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

By Walter Finch

pharmacology, which often expose patients to complications and adverse effects.

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.

Admission

Conducting nutritional screening upon hospital admission would reduce economic 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.

Some communities are already wise to the danger and have employed

professional dietitians and nutritionists in their health care systems. Among these are Catalonia, Valencia, the Balearic Islands, Navarre, Murcia, Castilla-Leon, La Rioja, Aragon, Basque Country, and recently Galicia.

Director of Public Health Dr Helen Carter told local individuals to check who the provider is, what they offer and how it will be provided. Researchers have revealed that some dermal fillers can cause allergic reactions, infections or even blindness. Less serious but more widespread effects of bruising, headache and facial paralysis were often reported.

Dangerous

“Beauty and lifestyle injectable treatments can be dangerous,” Dr Carter said. She asked people to check the qualifications of who is giving the injection, and what training they had received.

One of the best ways to check they were not giving dangerous treatment is to make sure they are on the Gibraltar Medical Registration Board. Finally Public Health Gibraltar asked private customers to check the safety measure their beauticians use.

“If you are in any doubt at any time before or during the treatment, stop,” said Dr Carter.

“Your health is more important,” she added.

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

RIDING PARTNER: Xander and polo star Klarina

We use recycled paper

Umbrella war

MALAGA beaches are fining beachgoers up to €3,000 for using beach umbrellas to reserve places at busy spots, while bathers in Benidorm are claiming patches with deck chairs while it is still dark.

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.

P LIVE RESS The O

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

Escaping the Rat Race

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.

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

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.

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.

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

One of his neighbours in El Masnou - north of Barcelona - suffered from insomnia resulting from the noise, which required specialised medication.

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.

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.