Olive Press Gibraltar Issue 219

P LIVE RESS The O GIBRALTAR

I’M NOT PUTIN!

Government hits back as Transparency International calls for controversial new bill to add anti-interference clause as the McGrail inquiry looms

THE government of Gibraltar is facing calls to include guarantees in the upcoming public inquiry bill to ensure it cannot be used to interfere in the McGrail inquiry.

Transparency International UK has sounded the alarm over the new bill, which will effectively give the government powers to delay or even shut down public inquiries. It is set to be controversially rushed through Parliament on Friday - bypassing the usual mandatory sixweek debate - and less than a month before the McGrail inquiry begins.

The anti-corruption watchdog likened the move to ‘moving the goalposts and appointing yourself referee when you’ve just been cautioned for foul play?’

Chief Minister Fabian Picardo hit back, asserting that the new legislation will be ‘more agile and modern’, before adding he has ‘no intention of using it to stop the inquiry’.

The much-delayed investigation is looking into whether Picardo placed inappropriate pressure on former Police Commissioner Ian McGrail, 58, or interfered in police investigations before the latter’s shock retirement in June 2020.

the inquiry. So there is quite clearly a conflict of interest.”

war and the ongoing Covid inquiry.

The opposition Gibraltar Social Democrats called on the government to abandon its plans to pass the bill before the ‘McGrail Inquiry concludes its work’.

Transparency International also questioned the timing of the new legislation, coming just three weeks before the inquiry begins on April 8. “Given what’s at stake for the government and some leading figures, it’s understandable why some people are less than trusting of the government simply giving their ‘word’ they won’t use these new powers to interfere,” said Steve Goodrich, Transparency International Head of Research and Investigations.

Speaking exclusively to the Olive Press, he continued: “It should be relatively straightforward for the government to offer cast iron guarantees in the legislation that they will not and cannot interfere in the inquiry’s terms of reference, pace, or when it ends.”

He also claimed there had been no ‘cogent argument’ for the need to update the old legislation and rush it through now.

“It’s clear that this move is at least intended to intimidate the [McGrail] inquiry and possibly seek to fetter its independence,” Goodrich continued.

“The ones bringing forward the bill and those who’ll stand to benefit are the same people who are going to be grilled by the inquiry.

“Under the current legislation it is the chair of the inquiry [retired British judge Sir Peter Openshaw] who has most of the discretion in how it proceeds.

“But under the new law, the very people being questioned would have much more of an ability to influence

The Overseas Territory has argued that the new bill will modernise the existing Gibraltar Commissions of Inquiries Act, which dates back to 1888. They also claim that it will be a direct copy of the more modern UK Inquiries Act, which dates from 2005.

“I’m not bringing to Gibraltar Vladimir Putin’s inquiries law,” Picardo told GBC News

“I’m bringing in the most progressive and modern inquiries law there is in the United Kingdom.

“Not in order to have the power to be able to stop the inquiry, but in order to give the inquiry the agility and the modernity that it would have if it was being held in the UK.”

He pointed out that it was the same legislation that underpinned the UK’s Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq

“The Chief Minister, Government and Office of the Governor are all deeply conflicted here,” the opposition said in a statement.

Conflicted

“There should be no step taken that looks as if any of those deeply conflicted parties are seeking to affect the Inquiry process.”

When contacted by the Olive Press, the government directed this newspaper to a press release which reiterated that it will ‘confirm on the record in Parliament that it has no intention to and will not seek to exercise the power to suspend or can-

Final 40 for Faith

cel the McGrail Inquiry or to otherwise affect its ability to fully and properly inquire into the reasons for the former Commissioner of Police’s early retirement.’

With this declaration, it looks like the inquiry is finally set to take place nearly a full four years after McGrail claimed he was forced from his job amid ‘misconduct and corruption at the highest level of government’.

The former commissioner announced he was retiring as Commissioner of Police after serving just two years of a four-year term without revealing his reasons behind the move at the time.

The Olive Press is aware of the allegations but will await the inquiry

FAITH: reached the final 40 while (top right) Krystyna Pyszkova won

MISS Gibraltar, Faith Torres, secured a place in the final 40 of this year’s Miss World Pageant. But she didn’t make it to the final 12 as only three contestants from each continent were chosen to proceed. From Europe these were Spain, England and the Czech Republic. Torres has previously reached the final 14 in the talent round with a piano performance. She has only played publicly once. This year’s pageant was held in Mumbai, India and crowned Krystyna Pyszkova of the Czech Republic as the 71st Miss World.

QUESTION: Steve Goodrich (centre) wants clause added before McGrail (left) inquiry despite Picardo pledge

Stay in school

LOW classroom attendance is set to be tackled by a new public awareness campaign to educate parents, carers and children about the importance of going to school.

Helping hand

A NEW pilot scheme will see pictograms rolled out at zebra crossings across Gibraltar to help persons with learning difficulties and disabilities cross the road safely.

Sidegrade

A SOFTWARE upgrade for the court system which cost more than £3.5 million has been snubbed by the Magistrates Court system, which claims it is satisfied with the current system.

Covid cash

THE GHA has launched a public consultation to decide what to spend a £2.8 million fund raised during Covid on and they are canvassing public opinion to help them choose.

AN African man has been arrested over the death of a Norwegian expat whose body was dumped on a Torremolinos street last September.

Anne Mathea Morken, 22, died as a result of ‘drug intoxication’, say police, after going to the home of two Senegalese men in Fuengirola and having a ‘negative reaction’ to a narcotic.

Mystery solved

Two men then put her body in a car and dumped it in Torremolinos.

One of the men, 33, was arrested while trying to travel to Lisbon with fake IDs. A second suspect remains on the run.

ATTEMPTED MURDER

Man charged with stabbing after failed burglary

A MAN has been charged with attempted murder after stabbing his victim in the leg during an attempted break in. The incident occurred on Saturday at St Joseph’s Estate.

A GIBRALTAR woman accused of defrauding her employer of nearly £3 million will learn her fate this week.

Nearly 400 people were summoned by the Gibraltar Supreme Court for jury servicebefore being whittled down to 12 - to listen to testimony from over 50 witnesses in the case of former Royal Bank of Scotland International senior manager Gillian Balban. After two months of hearings, the jury has retired to consider its verdict. The former Natwest employee is facing four counts of fraud by abuse of position dating back to 2011 and 2012.

on Monday.

However, Royal Gibraltar Police reported that when it was time to leave for court, Danino claimed he was unwell. After being examined by a

Jury retires

Prosecutors also charged the 51-year-old with two more counts of false accounting that occurred between 2012 and 2017. Balban, of Varyl Begg Estate, allegedly tried to cover up a £2 million hole in the bank’s accounts. She’s also in the dock for running up unpaid IOUs totaling £600,000. Balban, who has no previous convictions, denies all the charges and has blamed a software failure stemming from a bank merger for the missing funds.

doctor, he was declared fit to attend court. There, he was remanded in custody and will appear before the Supreme Court on April 4. He was held in New Mole House after he was arrested on March 17. Bail was refused.

Response Team officers were called to the scene at around 9pm on Saturday night, following a report that a man had broken into a residence and stabbed one of the occupants in the leg. According to police, Danino was found with a metal pick and screwdrivers. They continued their investigation before charging the St Joseph’s Estate resident at 8pm on Sunday.

Dogged

before publishing them. The government went on to claim the former commissioner resigned because he had lost Picardo’s confidence and that of the then-Governor of Gibraltar, Nick Pyle.

The decision to retire early after 36 years with the Royal Gibraltar Police provoked fierce speculation and questions in parliament, with McGrail himself calling for the matter to be properly investigated.

Controversies

An inquiry was set up at the request of the Chief Minister in February 2022, but it has since been dogged by a constant stream of delays and controversies, including Covid, a March 2023 data leak and ‘logistical problems’ in finding an appropriate judge. In a further shock twist, McGrail was arrested for sexual assault in April 2023, but later cleared of all charges. The inquiry’s most recent September 2023 start date was delayed once again over a criminal investigation into whether former and current police officers who testified against McGrail had received inducements.

Karl Henry Danino, 39, of the estate was due to appear in Gibraltar Magistrates’ court

By Yzabelle Bostyn

THE god of goth rock will be casting his cloak of darkness over Spain this year.

Nick Cave and his legendary Bad Seeds will play two shows in Barcelona and Madrid, followed by a date in Portugal.

As part of the Australian band’s Wild God tour, they will bring their blend of rock, post-punk and gothic sound to Palau Sant Jordi in Bar-

Runway success?

celona on October 24, the WiZink Centre in Madrid on October 25, and the MEO Arena in Lisbon on October 27. Support band The Murder Capital’s debut album, When I Have Fears, has had widespread critical acclaim.

Escape the crisis!

Queen Camilla’s secret Spanish holiday escaping the media frenzy back home over Wills and Kate

DOMINGO COMEBACK Cave in town

EXCLUSIVE By Ben Pawlowski

QUEEN Camilla has enjoyed a secret hunting break in a luxury Spanish finca as a royal crisis engulfed the British Royal Family, it has emerged.

King Charles III’s cancer diagnosis and Kate Middleton’s prolonged absence from public duties have provoked a major issue as speculation swirls over the marriage of Prince William and Kate. In perfect timing, the Spanish media went into overdrive over rumours of the split just as Camilla was trying to get away from it all. It started when Cuore, a women’s magazine, suggested Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley had been ‘having an affair’ with William.

SPAIN’S top opera singer is taking to the stage this summer, despite a string of allegations of sexual assault and harassment.

Placido Domingo, 83, will perform at the Starlite festival in Marbella on August 13.

Alongside Luciano Pavaraotti and Jose Carreras, Domin go was one of the Three Tenors, renowned for their spectacular voices.

However, 27 women have accused the Ma drid-born performer of sexual assault and harassment, in-

The pub lication added Han bury is ‘said to be divorcing’ her husband, Da vid, the 7th Mar quess of Cholmonde ley.

It was followed up by magazine that trumpeted that ‘Kate is asking for a divorce’ over ‘rumours of infidelity’. With King Charles sidelined as he begins treatment for

cluding unwelcome fondling, grabbing and forced kissing in incidents dating back to the 1980s.

A 2020 investigation by the LA Opera into the allegations found the tenor had engaged in ‘inappropriate conduct’ with multiple women over the three decades he worked there. Other acts confirmed for the summer include Tom Jones, Keane, Gipsy Kings, Simple Minds, Take That, UB40 and Myke Towers.

cancer, Camilla has been heading up constitutional duties with various official appointments. Formerly Camilla Parker Bowles, she is a long-time fan of Spain and has been a regular visitor over the years. This has included various trips to Tarifa and Sevilla, as well as a number of ‘secret’ week-

ends in land when she herself was having an affair with This included a number of trips to the giant hunting estateSpain’s biggest - owned by the Duke of Westminster that straddles the border of Cordoba and Ciudad Real. Finca La Garganta, near Conquista, has long hosted members of the British royal family for hunting weekends, with Prince Harry once allegedly shooting a rare protected eagle there.

Richest

The giant estate has been caught in various other controversies, including its owner, the UK’s 11th richest man, the Duke, Hugh Grosvenor, blocking public roads through it. Journalist Marisa Martin confirmed to TV show TardeAR Camilla had flown in to get ‘some respite away from the stresses and strains’ of royal life.

She said she was ‘hunting partridges’ at a luxury finca used by King Juan Carlos and other members of the Spanish nobility.

His forthcoming theatre production, Fashion Freak Show, will dazzle audiences with a host

of artists from the world of circus, music and dance. Gaultier, on a visit to Barcelona, said that the fashion shows he stages are like ‘a play’ with himself choosing ‘the music, models, and scenery’.

He said his new venture should not be a total surprise as 'fashion is synonymous with theatre'.

Catch it at the Teatre Coliseum in Barcelona between April 4 and 21.

Leo’s Sunny outlook

FILM star Leonardo di Caprio is well known for his environmental credentials. Now he’s making his first foray into a green business in Spain.

The Hollywood legend has pumped an undisclosed sum into Barcelona company SolarMente. The solar start-up works with solar panel installations - assuring homes get the full benefit of green energy. It was co-founded by CEO Wouter Draijer, who could not believe how few domestic solar panels there were on Spanish properties compared to his native Netherlands. “My support is a responsible move towards a cleaner future and I'm proud to see SolarMente actively shaping a sustainable energy landscape,” said di Caprio.

A real inspiration

A GIBRALTAR police officer has been recognised with an ‘Inspirational Female Award’ at an international police conference.

Patricia Gonzalez was presented with the award at the International Association of Women in Police (IAWP) conference in the Cayman Islands.

Sergeant Gonzalez, who is part of the RGP’s Criminal Justice and File Preparation Unit, said: “I’m honoured and truly humbled to be recipient of this award, and feel privileged to work side by side with amazing women.” She was chosen by nominations from over 200 attendees, who were then voted for by their respective forces. Then, an independent panel made the final decision.

Ocean mapper

THE latest Royal Navy vessel Gibraltar has welcomed to its naval base is not your usual death-dealing warship.

HMS Scott is the navy’s sole ocean survey vessel, armed not with cannons and missiles but the advanced High Resolution Multi Beam Sonar System (HRMBSS).

This piece of kit allows it to collect incredibly detailed depth information across a vast swathe of the seabed several kilometres wide.

Since she was commissioned in June 1997, she is estimated to have charted a staggering 3.7% of the world's oceans.

HMS Scott is the largest survey vessel in Western Europe, and at 13,500 tonnes and 131 metres long, is the fifth largest vessel in the Royal Navy.

CHUCKED OUT

FOUR members of the Royal Navy have been deported from Spain. The group, including a captain, were removed by Spanish authorities for allegedly not meeting entry requirements set out by the Schengen borders code. They had been staying in a

Book worms

THE Hebrew Primary School celebrated World Book Day by encouraging pupils to read for pleasure. In the weeks leading up to the day, teachers designed fun activities to get kids excited about reading. They were encouraged to try a range of authors and genres.

The activities included reading races, book presentations and library visits, where pupils were encouraged to claim their library cards.

HPS also invited local author and poet, Levy Attias, to perform stories.

Royal Navy servicemen deported from Spain after checking into hotel

By Yzabelle Bostyn

four star hotel on La Linea, where they were put up by the Royal Navy.

The hotel is just 100 metres from the border.

They had arrived a few hours before at the Rock’s airport on a civilian flight. Reportedly, they came to Gibraltar to participate in Royal Navy drills due to take place this week.

After landing, the group made their way to their hotel but it wasn’t long before Spanish authorities sent them back to Gibraltar.

British citizens wishing to enter Spain must comply with Schengen rules. These include: stating the reason for your visit, the conditions of your visit, where you will stay and demonstrating you have enough money for your stay.

These conditions do not apply to Gibraltarians, who were granted an unwritten privilege by Spain. The groups’ return to Gibraltar came as politicians debate relations between the EU and Gibraltar after Brexit.

Mayor of Algeciras, Jose Ignacio Landaluce, said many questions need to be answered by the Spanish government.

These include why the sailors were able to enter Spain in the first place if they did not meet Schengen requirements.

Landaluce added: “Why is it that everytime Spain and Britain are negotiating Brexit…some sort of incident happens with the Royal Navy?”

Light at the end of the tunnel

A PROPOSED Spain to Morocco tunnel could turn into reality as Spanish Development Minister, Oscar Puente, says Spain ‘wants to play an important role’.

The tunnel, due to take passengers under the Straits to Africa, was first suggested over 30 years ago.

According to Puente, ‘plenty’ of Spanish businesses want to invest in the project, which could provide a much-needed push.

He also suggested that Morocco’s state railway network construct the 170 trains needed for the service.

So far, not enough research has been done to develop the project and neither Spain nor Morocco have invested sufficient funds.

The shortest route, at just 14.4km, would be from Punta de Oliveros in Tarifa to Islote Punta Cires.

However, strong currents in this area of the water make it impossible to build the tunnel.

Another option is the Playa de Punta Paloma, near Cadiz, to Malataba, near Tangier. This route would be much longer, at 38km, making this option much more expensive.

In 2021, the project received €2.3 million from the Spanish Recuperation and Resilience Plan, funded by the EU.

March for Palestine

AROUND 300 took part in a protest on Monday calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Participants began their march at 5pm, travelling from Casemates to Convent Place.

They carried Palestine flags and placards reading ‘Free Palestine’.

The event was largely attended by the Rock’s Moroccan community but included people from all communities.

Marchers held a minute’s silence at the Gibraltar Parliament and Covent Place.

The peaceful protest included chants of ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’. It is the first of its kind in Gibraltar, despite daily protests across the world.

BRITISH MPs have voiced their concerns over Spain's demands to jointly manage Gibraltar’s airport.

An urgent House of Commons question over the territory's sovereignty was asked on March 12..

The nature of Gibraltar’s longterm post-Brexit relationship with the European Union still remains unresolved including possible changes to the way the airport is managed.

Foreign Office Minister, David Rutley said: “We are prepared to explore practical and technical options to facilitate flights between Gibraltar and the EU.”

“The UK will only agree to terms that the government of Gibraltar are content with and will not agree to anything that compromises sovereignty.”

Arch-Brexiteer Sir Bill Cash, who chairs the Commons European scrutiny committee, said concerns over sovereign-

Rock auctioned

A RARE painting of the Rock by an 19th century British painter is set to go under the hammer.

Frederick Richard Lee’s 'Gibraltar from the Sandbanks on the Western Shore of the Bay, Apes Hill and the African Coast in the distance' is expected to fetch £20,000 - £30,000 at Cheffins Fine Sale.

Measuring 69.5cm x 124.5cm and dated from 1860, it depicts Gibraltar from the western shore of the Bay of Algeciras. Apes Hill, as referenced in the title, can be seen in the foreground and the hazy outline of the African coast visible in the distance.

It also features a large three-masted ship, likely part of the Royal Navy's Mediterranean fleet, capturing the heyday of British imperial might.

RED LINE

Questions asked in UK Parliament over Spain’s joint management demands over airport

By Alex Trelinski

ty had been outlined to him in a letter from Gibraltar's chief minister, Fabian Picardo.

“I was disturbed at what had been agreed in principle between the UK and the EU which would include EU Schengen border checks being performed in Gibraltar and joint UK-Spanish management of Gibraltar’s airport and, therefore, defence issues,” said Cash. He asked if ministers would pass a bill to solidify Gibral-

tar’s future border arrangements and whether Gibraltarians would be offered a

The work was produced by an artist who rarely painted beyond the shores of Great Britain, marking it as a rare gem.

Egg-citing!

CANCER Relief Gibraltar is holding a charity Easter Egg Hunt.

The easter celebration will take place in Alameda Botanic Gardens,and will see kids follow clues to find prizes between 10am-12pm on Sunday.

After the hunt, there will be games, entertainment, food and an interactive storytime. Tickets can be bought at BuyTickets.gi, by searching for ‘Easter Egg Hunt’. The event is sponsored by iGaming platform, Comeon Group Gibraltar.

For more information, contact Cancer Relief on 20042392 (option 4) or email them at fundraising@cancerrelief.gi

treaty negotiation on Gibraltar and, in particular, planning for a No Negotiated Outcome.

“Similarly, we have been working as closely together on the negotiations and we are confident that we can reach an agreement between the UK and the EU which delivers the result that Gibraltar wants and needs and without any concessions in respect of sovereignty, jurisdiction or control.” vote on the proposals. Minister David Rutley once again emphasised that nothing will be agreed to that 'compromises sovereignty'. Meanwhile, the UK’s Minister for Europe, Leo Docherty, has been in Gibraltar to discuss the UK/EU

Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said: “Minister Docherty has been working hand in glove with the Deputy Chief Minister on matters relating to a potential no negotiated outcome of the UK/EU Treaty negotiations in respect of Gibraltar.

Creative class

GIBRALTAR’S annual Spring Visual Arts Competition is set to begin next month at the Gustavo Bacarisas Gallery with a grand prize of £3,000.

Running from May 15 to 25, it welcomes submissions in the categories of painting, sculpture, photography, and video. The competition is open for £10 to Gibraltarians and residents of Gibraltar aged 16 and over.

Each entrant is welcome to submit a maximum of five entries but no more than two per category.

Are the games finally over?

THE various machinations, manoeuvring and chess moves that have dogged the McGrail inquiry since it was announced in February 2022 may be entering their end game.

The checkmate seems to be the passing of new public inquiries legislation, which the government claims will put the hearing on a surer footing.

However the critics were quick to point out that it would also damage the McGrail inquiry’s independence by granting the government greater powers to interfere.

The inquiry will look into the circumstances surrounding the early retirement of former Police Commissioner Ian McGrail, who alleged that the Chief Minister himself pressured him out of the job.

Thus, new legislation that gives the Chief Minister the power to delay or shut down an inquiry into his own conduct is a clear conflict of interest.

Why else go to the bizarre lengths to rush the new law through Parliament before the hearing starts on April 8?

But there is another side of the coin.

If the government is going to be subjected to a fully independent inquiry into its own conduct, it stands to reason that it wants the most effective and efficient legislation underpinning it.

What through one prism looks like the fingerprints of a flagrant cover up, from another may just be a reasonable move to ensure the inquiry can properly do its job.

The government has stated that it will ‘confirm on the record in Parliament’ that it has no intentions to abuse its newfound powers with regards to the inquiry.

Should it do this, it would go some way to showing good faith in an endeavour that has continually been undermined by developments that have seemed distinctly bad faith.

These include trumped up sexual assault charges against McGrail, as well as a criminal investigation into whether RGP officers were bribed into testifying against him.

Let’s hope the games are over and the inquiry will finally be able to get to the bottom of the McGrail case ‘without fear of favour’, as they say.

Jon Clarke, jon@theolivepress.es

Dilip Kuner dilip@theolivepress.es

Walter Finch walter@theolivepress.es

Yzabelle Bostyn yzabelle@theolivepress.es

TOURISM WARS

Wave of anti-tourism in Spain reaches Tenerife - after Malaga, Valencia and Palma - but locals are divided on the issue

EXCLUSIVE

By Laurence Dollimore & Walter Finch in Tenerife

IT began in Mallorca in the summer of 2017, quickly followed in Barcelona and Valencia and now it has spread around almost all of Spain.

The anti-tourism protests, organised by anarchist group Arran, first gained international headlines when they rocked diners at a portside restaurant in Palma.

As reported in the Olive Press (below), the two dozen masked protesters held banners and flares outside the restaurant Mar de Nudos then showered the mostly foreign punters with confetti.

The following week an unnamed organiser revealed they would ‘continue to carry out’ numerous plans they had for the summer, adding: “We know tourism is something we can’t avoid, but we want people who come to our island to realise they are contributing to its contamination and destruction.” They claimed to have over 500 members and went on to plaster 1,000 rental cars with anti-tourism stickers.

Soon a sightseeing bus in Barcelona had its tyres slashed and was daubed with graffiti claiming ‘tourism kills neighbourhoods’. The masked protesters were so intimidating the tourists believed they were being attacked by terrorists. In Valencia, meanwhile, protesters seized a rental apartment used for city breaks and unfurled a banner decrying the

gentrification of the centre caused by tourism. It led to Spain’s then Prime Minister Rajoy to condemn the ‘crazy’ actions, with Arran hitting back accusing him of ‘giving little importance’ to ‘unsustainable’ tourism. Their message was certainly a reasonable one: that ‘touristification’ destroys neighbourhoods, causes prices to go up and makes long term rental accommodation almost impossible for most locals. While the protests slowed down, particularly with the pandemic, they came back with a vengeance last year with signs warning tourists off beaches on the Costa Blanca and anti-tourist graffiti being seen around Malaga and Sevilla. Protests were organised in Mallorca, Sevilla and Barcelona.

The latest campaign kicked off in Tenerife this month, when the holiday island made global headlines when a series of graffiti messages were scrawled on walls and buildings, reading ‘tourists go home’, ‘your paradise, our misery’, and ‘average salary in Canary Islands €1,200.’

The Olive Press went out to investigate, discovering that tensions are very much bub-

bling under and it’s likely to spread all round mainland Spain anytime soon.

Locals in Tenerife are furi ous that holidaymakers are turning their paradise into a ‘tourism ghetto’ thanks to soaring rents, inflation and yobbish behaviour. In 2023, Tenerife received 5.6million visitors, up 600,000 compared to 2019, setting a new record. While some locals attempt to shrug off the graffiti as the work of a disgruntled few, there are many on the island who find agreement with the message.

Josua Garcia-Garcia, 33, who works in a bar in Playas de las Americas, told the Olive Press: “It can be a nightmare when the tourists come, I only get four hours of sleep every night because of the music and noise, which keeps me up until 3am.

“We need stricter rules for tourists, a lot of them are ignorant of how we are suffering. “Rents are soaring and people on average salaries cannot afford to live here anymore, once they pay their rent they have no money

The atrocity that changed politics

20 years after Spain’s worst bombing the effects are still being felt, writes Alex Trelinski

Simon Hunter simon@theolivepress.es

Alex Trelinski alex@theolivepress.es

Ben Pawlowski ben@theolivepress.es

THE King and Queen of Spain have led a memorial service to mark the 20th anniversary of the Madrid train bombings that killed 192 people and injured 2,000 others.

The Al Qaeda attack - the country's biggest terrorist incident - is regarded as having influenced the general election held three days later which saw the PSOE socialists swept into power.

On March 11 2004, the capital was plunged into chaos as 10 bombs planted by the terror group devastated four commuter trains during the early-morning rush hour.

Although Spain had experienced decades of violence at the hands of the Basque separatist group ETA, it had never been hit by an attack of such magnitude.

Pajamas

There is no doubt that the emergency services and the people of Spain rallied together. Images that are best remembered are of ordinary people who rushed to help.

Neighbours still dressed in their pajamas helping and comforting the wounded , buses being used as ambulances and masses of people queuing to donate blood.

The attacks had a major political impact as before that fateful day, the ruling Partido Popular led by Jose Maria Aznar were strong favourites to stay in office by defeating the PSOE Socialists led by Jose Luis Zapatero.

But within hours of the attack, Aznar’s government was laying the blame at the door of Basque separatists ETA.

This was viewed by many as either a cynical election ploy by the traditionally hard-line anti-ETA party, or an effort to avoid any imagined responsibility for the attacks having supported the US led war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Al Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden, had threatened reprisals against any countries that took part in the operation. Doubts over the government's explanation quickly spread across Spain, and during huge demonstrations the following day, pro-

testers expressed hostility towards the authorities who were accused of lying.

On March 14, Aznar's government was swept out of office, with the administration's handling of what happened playing a pivotal part in their defeat- according to political experts.

The Partido Popular stayed in opposition until 2011 when Mariano Rajoy won that year's election - ousting Zapatero.

In early April 2004, seven suspected members of the terrorist cell involved in the atrocity blew themselves up as police surrounded an apartment where they had been hiding on the outskirts of Madrid - with a police officer also killed.

After a three-year investigation, 29 suspects - the vast majority Moroccan - went on trial in 2007 with 18 convicted.

Only three are still behind bars - two Moroccans who were each handed nearly 43,000 years, and a Spaniard, who supplied the explosives and was jailed for nearly 35,000 years.

They will remain in prison until 2044 at least while the others have been released after serving their sentences - the vast ma-

of them deported or extradited, mainly to Morocco.

FOR AND AGAINST: Tourists love Tenerife, but some locals hate tourism

jority

CARNAGE: 192 people died in a series of train bombings

for food.

“Some areas have been totally saturated by tourism. The police need to be tougher and bring in stricter rules, people are fed up.”

Anti-tourism campaigners claim an increase in holiday lets means an increasing number of homes are unavailable to rent to locals. This decreases supply and therefore brings price increases. Homeowners are more tempted to rent to high-paying holidaymakers than long-term tenants.

Last May, hundreds of protesters took to the streets, holding up signs reading ‘The Canaries are no longer a paradise’ and ‘the Canaries are not for sale’.

The march was organised by almost a dozen social and environmental groups, who are calling for a tourism ‘eco-tax’.

They claimed the island’s services ‘totally collapsed’, with ‘a coast full of sewage spills, kilometre long traffic jams’ and the ‘destruction of the environment due to the construction of new hotel complexes in coastal areas’.

Olivia Valdiva, 50, who lives in Palm-Mar, said: “Life is very hard here now, the only people who live well are the foreigners and tourists. “We can’t afford to eat well and maintain a car and house, the locals are tired of having no money.”

Zarite Chinea, 39, described the area as ‘a bit of a tourism ghetto’ due to its fierce reliance on the industry.

“It’s like there are two worlds in Tenerife, the tourists and the locals, and we don’t mix. “I would try to reduce the number of holiday-

makers and I think we need better quality tourists, who respect our land and nature, who want to explore the real Tenerife and go hiking for example.”

Alex Kelly, 20, is a British expat working in the popular Rejoyce bar in Las Playas de Las Americas. She said: “Living here has gotten tough in the last few years, rent is just unaffordable.

“I’m living with my boyfriend in his parents' home because we can’t afford to move out.

“‘I totally get the viewpoint of the anti-tourism people, a lot of young people feel that way, the prices are crazy.”

We need tourists!

Emiliano del Pino, 58, (pictured below), who was born and raised on the island, admitted there were problems but insisted tourism is still very much welcome.

“There is a problem with drought and water since last year, and the government’s priority is to make sure the tourist areas are cared for ahead of the locals in the countryside, and that can obviously rub people the wrong way.”

However, he insisted that tourism is essential to the island’s economy.

The retiree added: “The people behind the graffiti are just kids who have been spoon fed from birth and now there are economic problems, they are lashing out.

“But there are the same problems all over the world, not just here, we can’t blame tourism for that.”

Jorge Sanchez, 58, who works in a local cinema, echoed this sentiment, telling the Olive Press that ‘without tourism, Tenerife is f****d.’

He said: “The whole anti-tourism movement is stupid. Take away all the tourists and what the hell are we going to do? These young people want to blame others for society’s problems, but we need the British, the Germans, the Italians, without them we don’t have an economy.’

Brits bark back

Meanwhile, British bar owners raced to defend themselves over what they see as an attack on their businesses and way of life.

Scott Walters, 35, from Stoke-on-Trent, has owned the Havanas bar in Playas de Las Americas for 10 years. He told this paper: “I understand the young people’s point of view,

rents have gone crazy, there are people with five or six Airbnbs and this pushes prices up.

“For a studio around here it can be like €1,200 per month, which is more than the average salary.

“It’s also upsetting to see friends who are local but have to live so far away to be able to afford a place.

“But Tenerife needs tourism and I think we bring a lot to their economy so it’s kind of a Catch 22 situation.”

Dawn Warriner, 33, who owns the Sun Lounge next door, also feels disheartened by some of the anti-tourism comments.

The Manchester native, who opened her bar just before Covid struck, told the Olive

“Some of the locals clearly don’t want us here but I think it’s a minority.

“There were hundreds of protesters a few months ago shouting all this anti-tourism stuff.

“I understand that rents have increased a lot recently and I do get that, but they need tourists here, they’d be nothing without it.

“Police here have also not been friendly to us Brits, when I went to the station to report a crime I had witnessed, they heard me speaking English and shouted ‘Brexit’ and laughed.”

DOING OUR BIT

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

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

Since launching on February 12, some 587 people have backed the campaign, with many adding comments.

Despite expanding in recent year, the Olive Press remains a community newspaper at heart.

We are not afraid of ruffling feathers and shining a light on the injustices around Spain. One supporter wrote: “Well done for tackling this problem. Too many lives have already been lost.”

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

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

Others have had amputations ‘and worse’.

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

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

Please sign the petition by scanning the QR code on your mobile device.

Have you been affected by Nolotil? Email us tips@theolivepress.es

The top five most read stories on www.theolivepress.es in the past two weeks are:

1- Are Kate and Wills on the rocks? Rumours swirl in Spain and beyond after speculations of an affair and the ‘disappearance’ of the princess

2- This 'sun-drenched' city in eastern Spain is the most affordable 'paradise' for British expats, according to experts

3- Inside Amazon's new pre-fabricated house that's available in Spain for just €27,556but how safe is it?

4- 'We were paid to run the only bar in a tiny town in Spain - and are loving our new life'

5- Drought latest in Spain: Has this weekend's rain helped relieve the pressure on Malaga's reservoirs?

PRO: Jorge Sanchez says tourists are needed

NIGHTMARE: Sleepless nights for Josua Garcia-Garcia (above)

TOUGH: Alex Kelly says rents have become unaffordable

GHETTO: Olivia Valdiva (pictured right with friend) says only tourists live well

Sinking feeling

THE world's first map showing areas most vulnerable to soil subsidence has Spain as one of those most affected in Europe.

Sinkholes are becoming more common due to underground water extraction via aquifers.

The extraction occurs in porous areas of the subsoil, which causes the progressive compaction of underground sediments and eventual deformation of the ground.

In research published in Geophysical Research Letters, scientists at the Colorado Mining School say there’s a direct correlation between the rate of groundwater extraction and land subsidence.

They conclude that greater attention needs to be paid to managing water resources to reduce the risk of subsidence and sinkholes.

IBERDROLA has been given the goahead from the government to build a 275 megawatt pumped storage project in Caceres. It aims to harness the Tagus River's energy potential by seasonally storing the system’s surplus energy in the Valdecañas reservoir.

The capacity of a reversible pumped-storage power plant allows

large amounts of energy to be stored and released quickly with the plant itself acting as a large storage battery. The project will slash 200,000 tonnes of CO2 per year thanks to the greater use of renewables.

River power

Iberdrola says it will create 165 jobs plus another 500 indirectly, and claims that it will have a major impact on the local economy.

HOTEL BATTLE GOES EUROPEAN

Algarrobico case taken to ECHR

GREENPEACE has gone to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg over the long dispute over an illegally-built hotel in Almeria province.

The campaign group wants the 21-storey El Algarrobico hotel demolished because it is in a protected zone of the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park.

Built just 14 metres from the shoreline, the structure has been at the heart of 20 years of legal wrangling with multiple court rulings.

Greenpeace wants an Andalucia Supreme Court rul-

BUSINESS

Merger go-ahead

SPAIN'S government has approved a merger between telecom firms Orange and MasMovil following EU clearance last month.

Digital Transformation Minister Jose Luis Escriva said that plans for the new combined entity were 'truly ambitious' with big investments in fixed and mobile infrastructures. It would become Spain's biggest mobile operator serving over 30 million customers. Orange's Spain division and MasMovil are currently the country's second and fourth largest telecoms providers. The deal with a value of around €18.6 billion is expected to be formally completed by the end of April.

By Simon Hunter

ing in favour of Carboneras council overturned. It stated that the hotel could not be demolished because it did have a building licence. The group says the European Convention of Human Rights has been breached, which is why the matter has gone to Strasbourg. It argues that since the court has given judicial powers to Carboneras council over the matter, citizens are being denied the right to have an ‘independent judge’ and ‘effec -

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tive judicial protection’. Greenpeace also wants the European Court to investigate why a Supreme Court

judge took a leave of absence and worked for a law firm that had dealings with Carboneras council.

Hotting up

THIS winter was the joint warmest since records began, and is likely to be followed by a spring that is also above average in terms of temperatures. That’s according to Spain’s Aemet state meteorological agency, that revealed temperatures this winter are on a par with that of 2019 to 2020.

Rainfall, meanwhile, came in at regular levels, with 170.5 litres per square metre in the peninsula. While 10% below average, this is still considered to be ‘normal’, according to Aemet. Del Cambio also warned about the ‘speeding up of climate change’ that is being reflected by the weather, given that four of the last seven seasons in Spain have been warmer than average.

“There is a trend for drier winters,” he said. There is a ‘very high probability’ that April, May and June will be very hot, in particular in areas such as the Costa del Sol and the Balearic Islands.

As for the summer, a very hot and very dry season in Spain is also likely, according to Aemet.

CASH CROP

Mercadona makes record profits as market share rises

SPAIN'S biggest supermarket chain, Mercadona, recorded a record net profit of just over €1 billion last year - up 40% on the 2022 total.

Sales grew by 15% to €35.5 billion, according to annual results presented by the company.

Mercadona chairman and main shareholder, Juan Roig, said it had been the company's 'best year'.

Results were driven by improved productivity; good tourist numbers; growth in

SPAIN’S Supreme Court has ruled that the time taken for a morning coffee break and period employees take to settle into the working day should count as part of their hours worked.

The decision allows workers a courtesy margin of up to 15 minutes at the start of the day - if this has been agreed between company and workers beforehand.

This decision stems from a dispute involving the employees of Caixabank and its top brass over their assertion that hours worked must be a ‘faithful reflection of reality.’

The ruling specifically addresses a 1991 agreement between unions and the bank, which stipulated that clock-

By Alex Trelinski

Portugal; and more users of their online service.

Mercadona increased its share of the market by 0.6% to 27.6% in Spain in 2023, well ahead of other supermarkets, with Lidl next at 6.4%.

Roig says they are reaping the rewards of €10 billion of investments made since 2016 to refurbish stores and logistics centres.

Coffee rights

ins within 15 minutes before or after the scheduled start time are counted as effective work time.

However, in 2019 Caixabank released a new ‘Time Registration Guide’ which argued the opposite, provoking the trade unions to go up in arms.

The new guide claimed ‘the breakfast break is not counted as effective time, unless it has been dedicated to professional or commercial tasks.’

It also introduced a new clocking-in system, meaning that if an employee arrived five minutes late, they would

He stated that 1,364 of its shops have been renovated in recent years, and are twice as profitable as the old units.

"We have changed the location of 400 stores and closed

130," Roig said. “Closing or relocating sites is one of the bravest and sometimes unpopular and annoying decisions I have had to make to increase efficiency,” he added.

Prices

Mercadona's record results come at a time where food price increases have been making the headlines. Roig said the company, which raised prices by an average of 10% in 2022, made reductions in a thousand products between April 2023 and February 2024. These price cuts have contributed, according Roig, to the retailer gaining a 0.6% market share rise last year.

EYE SPY

SPAIN’S Data Protection Agency (AEPD) has temporarily blocked a US-based firm called Worldcoin from its activities, after it emerged that the company has been scanning people’s irises. The company has scanned the eyeballs of some 400,000 people, paying them in its own cryptocurrency.

The AEPD has taken action against Tools for Humanity Corporation, a German company that has been working for Worldcoin to carry out the scans.

The Worldcoin app can be used to store cryptocurrency but also can be used for identification purposes.

The company calls the iris scan a ‘proof of humanity’, and offers the user the option of creating a unique code based on the data from their eyeball and then destroying the image, or the preservation of the photo.

But it is still less than clear exactly how these scans are being used, which is what has prompted the fears over data protection.

The company has been notified that it can not collect more scans, nor can it do anything with the data that it has already collected from 400,000 people.

ILLEGAL CLAIM: Massive hotel in Natural Park

Voice of the stars

ONE of Spain's most prolific dubbing actors, Montserrat Miralles, has died at the age of 67.

Miralles' range was broad and included TV and movie voice dubs of mainly-English speaking roles into Spanish.

The Barcelona-born actor became Victoria Principal's character of Pam Ewing in the epic soap Dallas and took on the vivacious Marilyn Monroe in the classic comedy film, Some Like It Hot.

Miralles started acting in the theatre and then developed a career in dubbing movie legends like Claudia Cardinale, Olivia de Havilland, Ingrid Bergman, Sophia Loren, and Barbra Streisand.

Making

Spanish police smash counterfeit art ring selling fake Banksy works

SPANISH police have smashed a counterfeit art ring that was selling fake Banksy pieces around the world.

Officers arrested two people at a workshop in Zaragoza for allegedly creating the forgeries.

They also arrested another two people for selling the artworks.

The suspects are under suspicion of continued fraud and infringement of intellectual property.

Each piece, supposedly by British street artist Banksy, sold for between €80€1,500.

AT WORK: Painter went too far

By Yzabelle Bostyn

According to the Mossos d’Esquadra Catalan police, the scammers made up to €10,000 in the scheme.

Mossos d’Esquadra seized nine works and have identified another 25 in Scotland, Spain, the US, Germany and Switzerland.

The group sold the pieces, often spray painted onto cardboard, in specialist shops, Barcelona auction houses and online.

Officers also seized the various stencils and paints used to create the artworks.

A PRIEST has apologised to angry locals after ordering workers to paint over historic frescoes during a church’s restoration.

Hector Lunar, a priest on Tenerife, has asked for forgiveness following an outcry by churchgoers, claiming that he never knew that the 300-year old artworks, fragments of which survived, had been given protected status over a decade ago.

The Church of St Anthony of Padua, which dates back to the 16th century, was being restored when

bank-sy

LOOKED GOOD: but were counterfeits

The group claimed the works had been created as part of Banksy’s Dismaland project, a temporary exhibition resembling a dreary theme park.

Named ‘The UK’s most disappointing new visitor

Fresco fiasco

the walls were ordered to be repainted. “No one told me about the frescoes. All I wanted to do was add another coat of paint to that bit of the church to get it ready for Holy Week events”, Lunar insisted. The frescoes were discovered two decades ago during separate restoration works, with the church listed in 2011.

attraction’, the exhibition was held in Weston-superMare near Banksy’s native Bristol.

The scammers reportedly included stickers, stamps and certificates from the exhibition to make the product seem more authentic.

According to police, the creators were ‘young Banksy fans in economic trouble.’

The investigation remains open and police could make further arrests.

They are working with Pest Control, the only official company to verify authentic Banksy pieces. Banksy, an anonymous artist, is famous for his murals, critical of modern politics and art, often found in unexpected locations like the West Bank and Gaza.

Talking bulls

BRITISH LGBT campaigner

Peter Tatchell has urged Spain’s first pansexual matador to ‘turn his back’ on the ‘oppressive’ bullfighting industry.

Mario Alcalde, a 31-year-old matador from Madrid, came out as pansexual in January. Now Tatchell has sent Alcalde (below) a letter imploring the bullfighter to see ‘the obvious parallels between the oppression of LGBTQ+ people and that of animals’.

“Bullfighting is the ritualised killing of innocent animals, who have no choice but to enter the ring. They stand no chance of coming out alive. It is the killing of living, feeling beings for entertainment and pleasure," writes Tatchell.

"Our LGBT+ community has long fought against oppression and injustice.

“Not only is torturing animals to death in a bullring morally indefensible, it also flies in the face of the altruistic values we stand for as a community."

LA CULTURA

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passion and penance

EVERY year during Holy Week, streets throughout Spain turn into a swaying sea of robed and cone-hooded penitents marching to the solemn beat of brass instruments and drums.

The scent of candle wax and incense hangs in the air, mingling with the heady fragrance of spring orange blossom.

Those who have experienced the passion and pageantry of Semana Santa know that this is one of Spain’s most soul-stirring celebrations.

Religious associations known as cofradías or ‘brotherhoods’

HOLY REVERENCE: Spain’s Easter celebrations feature processions of penitents, while (right) in Alicante the Christ of the Sea arrives by sea

are at the heart of the traditional ceremonies. Many brotherhoods were formed in the Middle Ages. Semana Santa processions are also known as ‘penance processions’ in which members of the brotherhoods, nazarenos, parade from their church to the city’s cathedral carrying floats, known as tronos.

Precious religious icons are brought out of churches and paraded on immense golden thrones in lavish processions that bring millions of locals and tourists together in the run-up to Easter.

Dilip Kuner delves into the pageantry of Spain’s Semana Santa Easter processions

HOLY MOTHER: The Virgin takes an important place

From Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday, city centre thoroughfares come to a standstill to make way for these mega fiestas.

Many of the biggest paradeson which no money is spared - have been declared events of tourist interest to offset expenses.

SEVILLA

Those who live in the city centre will have grown accustomed to the colourful cacophony that persists into the early hours of

the morning during Holy Week. It is estimated around 500,000 people take part in Sevilla’s parades.

As the sun sets, floats (tronos) decked with flickering candles surrounding ornate statues of the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ light up the streets. The most famous of Sevilla’s multiple processions is La Madrugada (dawn), during which, you’re likely to see women dressed in black lace mantillas and flamenco dresses expressing their emotion through this iconic Andalucian genre of music, dance and song.

MALAGA

Wherever he’s filming, Hollywood actor Antonio Banderas never misses the cue for his home town’s Semana Santa processions.

The Malagueño has often played a co-starring role helping the brotherhoods to carry the floats of the Virgin of Malaga and the María Santísima de Lágrimas y Favores and has been moved to tears himself during the procession. Semana Santa has been celebrated in the city for more than 500 years and was declared a Fiesta of International Tourist

TAKING HIS PLACE: Every year Antonio Banderas helps carry a float in Malaga

Interest in 1980.

Although its origin is religious, it has evolved into a social celebration of Spain’s culture and the start of Spring, and the scent of newly-minted orange blossom fills the air.

ALICANTE Easter celebrations in Al-

TRADITIONS: Cleopatra makes an appearance in Lorca (left) while crowds throng the streets around Spain to view the floats and pay their respects

VALENCIA

icante have a maritime flavour starting with the figure of Christ of the Sea coming into harbour aboard a boat, accompanied by port police. Another unusual event is the Last Supper, where a monumental float requiring nearly 200 bearers is paraded through the streets.

On Easter Saturday Valencianos like to make a noise. They celebrate Christ’s Resurrection with fireworks at midnight but they are not noisy enough for the locals.

They join in the noise by throwing pots and old crockery from upper floor balconies. Take an umbrella if you are visiting - water is regularly dumped on unwary visitors too.

LORCA (MURCIA) Declared a Festival of International Tourist Interest in 2007, this procession is more reminiscent of a flamboyant carnival.

The city’s different religious brotherhoods spend months preparing floats for what has become something of a competition.

Dear Jennifer:

OUR property is likely to be your most valuable asset, and needs the right protection.

Marc Anthony, Nero and Cleopatra are among some of the pre-Christian characters that feature in this Easter procession.

I have regularly extolled the virtues of Liberty’s fully comprehensive house policy. When asking the right questions, you will discover that many house insurance policies are inadequate.

You do need to read the small print on your house policy, including checking that you have all the coverage you require. One of the very important issues when discussing house insurance is the amount of contents cover, always remembering that with Spanish Home insurance the kitchen is included in the contents, not the buildings.

Also there is a wonderful extra you can add to your policy and that is accidental damage, which is unique to Liberty Seguros and covers many breakages and claims within the home.

Therefore can I please ask you all to double check the coverage of your home policies, whether you are with Jennifer Cunningham Insurance and Liberty, or another company, to understand the cover you actually have. Finding out you have the incorrect and insufficient coverage when you want to make a claim is far too late.

My consultants are currently working on assessing the home policies, and if they feel you would benefit with increased, additional coverage, they will contact you at renewal. In the meantime, if you have any concerns or questions, please contact one of my offices and we will be able to give you the advice you require and answer any questions.

We also have optional guarantees available, which include dangerous dog liability, public liability for mobility vehicles, cover for electric vehicle chargers, and illegal occupation if the policy is for a second home and unpaid rent if you are a landlord renting your property.

If you have expensive garden furniture, we can increase the cover for these. We can also offer increased cover for valuable objects and jewellery in event of theft with violence.

We can tailor your house policy to suit your own individual needs.

SPECTACULAR: Trono in Sevilla is surrounded by onlookers

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

ALICANTE

LA SALITA

INDUSTRIAL engineering was Begona Rodrigo’s initial career plan when she attended Valencia Polytechnic University.

But after a trip to Amsterdam she got the travel bug and ended up working around

the Netherlands and then the UK’s restaurant business.

After a couple of years at the head of London’s two-Michelin star Aquarium, she came home and, in 2005, opened La Salita in Valencia’s foodie barrio, Rufaza.

The winner of Spain’s first Top Chef TV show (in 2013), Valencia’s Cook of the Year title in 2014, she has a second restaurant, and a phenomenal cocktail bar, La Coctelería al Nu. Today she counts on a Michelin star and, as of last month, three Repsol Sols, the only chef to snare the top award this year. As she told the Olive Press last year on a trip to the Costa del Sol: “Cooking was in my veins and it’s my passion. “Valencia really has it all when it comes to food and the sheer range of top chefs now is extraordinary.”

Pere III El Gran 11, València, 46005, España Tel.: +34 963 817 516 www.anarkiagroup.com

L’ESCALETA

A family restaurant that opened in Cocentaina in 1980, it is named after the ladder you had to climb to get into it.

It later swapped location and the second generation, chef Kiko Mayo and his cousin Alberto Redrado, took over. Since then, L’Escaleta has accumulated two Michelin stars and three Repsol Suns. Mayo works with local products to produce tasting menus that change according to the season. He emphasises memory

and a cuisine that goes back to forgotten recipes such as chicken crest. When asked to define his cuisine, at a bash last year, he told the Olive Press: “I aim to create a cuisine that is simple, honest and humble in every sense. I want everyone to feel at home from truck drivers to food critics!”

Subida a la Estación del Norte, 205. Cocentaina, Alicante Tel.: +34 965 592 100 www.lescaleta.com

Andalucia and Valencia are running neck and neck in the race to tempt travellers with stellar gastronomy. DILIP KUNER dishes up his A-list, while, JON CLARKE talks to the chefs

SPAIN once again beat its own record with more than 84 million international visitors in 2023, spending a whopping €108 billion.

But these days it’s Michelin stars and Repsol Soles, not beaches, that are pulling in the punters.

gastronomy with an emerging generation of chefs at the forefront of culinary innovation that goes way beyond patatas brava, tortilla and paella.

But what has really changed in the last five years is the big spread of where the top chefs work.

60 31

And that’s no surprise with the country being, unequivocally, the world’s best place to eat. Spain has so many chefs in the world’s best lists and the huge growth of Michelin stars backs this up. The past 20 years has seen a revolution in Spanish

Valencia-born Jose Manuel Miguel worked in the Ritz in Madrid and Le Bristol in Paris before returning to his native soil. As chef of Beat, located in the Cook Book Hotel in Calpe, he has been awarded one Michelin star and also scooped the Sapiña Prize for Innovation. The 46-year-old has developed a very personal style, adapting

BEAT

highly refined and technical French cuisine to fresh, local products.

His favourite bywords: ‘Tradition, technique, elegance and innovation’.

Partida Marisol Park, 1. Calpe, Alicante Tel.: +34628277858 www.thecookbookhotel.com

BONAMB

Born in 1984, Alberto Ferruz already holds an impressive record for such a young chef, and he shows much more promise.

Originally from the Zaragoza region, Ferruz has trained and worked in France and Spain where he collaborated with Quique Dacosta. His style follows the up-and-

While they almost all used to ply their trade in Catalunya and the Basque Region, today they can be found all around the country.

And it’s the regions of Valencia and Andalucia that have grown the most in recent years… and incredibly they are neck and neck with a scoreli-

QUIQUE DACOSTA

Dacosta is one of the most notable leaders of Spain’s culinary revolution. His Denia restaurant was awarded three stars in the 2012/13 Michelin guide and he has held on to them ever since. He also has three Repsol soles and was awarded the Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts in 2020 - and his signa ture dishes certainly are artistic.

This year’s menu, Por amor al arte (For the love of art) hammers home the message that his edible creations are full of ‘knowledge, innovation, culinary vision and passion for creativity’. And all for just €295 (drinks not in cluded).

Coincidentally, he also runs the ama zing two-star El Poblet in Valencia city, plus Deessa, at the Ritz in Madrid.

Carrer Rascassa, 1 Urb. El Poblet, 03700 Dénia, Ali cante Tel.: +34 965 784 179 www.quiquedacosta.es

coming trend of tradition, anthropology and innovation. “I am for an avant-garde cuisine that is 80% Mediterranean product, but I also recuperate old, forgotten recipes,” he told the Olive Press last year. BonAmb has been awarded two Michelin stars and three Repsol Suns.

Carretera Benitaxell, 100. Jávea, Alicante Tel.: +34 965 084 440 www.bonamb.com

TEAM VALENCIA: Rodrigo, Dacosta and Ferruz and tally of Soles and Stars below

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

ne of 31-31 in their Michelin star count, while Repsol Soles (Spain’s equivalent) lands 74 for Andalucia to Valencia’s 60.

Much of the spread south is due to young chefs jumping on the locally-sourced bandwagon, rediscovering forgotten recipes and voicing their modernity through theatrical reinterpretation. Tradition, culture and region are now celebrated in haute cuisine menus and although technique keeps improving, ingredients are the new protagonists.

In southern Spain, Malaga and Cadiz are leading the way, although the other provinces are getting into the mix. In the West it is Valencia and Alicante that have the foodie hotspots. But it’s really no contest. If fine dining is your thing, you can’t go wrong either way. Here we pick out the top stars for each region.

MESSINA

Mauricio Giovanni is an Argentinian from Cordoba who started his Spanish career ma king pasta ‘like many Argentinian cooks do’.

In 2003 he opened Messina in Marbella, along with his wife Pia Ninci whose name is an homage to his grandpa rents who were natives of the eponymous Sicilian town.

The restaurant has long been a favourite among Marbella’s dining cog noscenti although it didn’t

earn its first Michelin star until 2016.

Giovanni’s a la carte and tasting menus are based on local products, particularly fish and shellfish. He combines avant-garde culinary techniques with a simple and elegant presentation.

However, you will have to wait to pay a visit - it is temporarily closed for renovations.

Av. Severo Ochoa, 12. Marbella, Málaga Tel.: +34 952 864 895 restaurantemessina.com

BARDAL

Benito Gomez learnt his trade under Spain’s most famous chef of all time, Ferran Adria. The El Bulli boss liked the Catalan livewire so much he sent him to help launch his Andalucian diffusion joint, at Hacienda Benazuza, near Sevilla, two decades ago. And he simply never went home, loving the southern region so much, he decided to stay when Benazuza shut, opening his own restaurant Bardal in Ronda.

74 31

One of Andalucia’s top restaurants, with two Michelin stars and two Soles, his laboratory champions the best local ingredients and changes regularly.

He has a second diffusion restaurant, Tragata, in the town and he is usually found crossing the road between the two joints which are 100m apart. “I love Ronda and its amazing range of cheeses, mushrooms and vegetables,” he told the Olive Press this week. “Andalucia is the front line of food these days and there are so many chefs doing amazing things here.”

C. José Aparicio, 1, 29400 Ronda, Málaga

Tel.: +34 951 48 98 28

www.restaurantebardal.com

November 29thDecember 12th 2023

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March 20th

APONIENTE

The Chef of the Sea, as Angel Leon is known, is famous among other things for being the first to introduce plankton as an edible ingredient in dishes. Hailing from Jerez, he studied in Sevilla and worked in France before starting his own restaurant. Aponiente quickly earned a reputation for its creative cutting edge dishes featuring fish and seafood never previously seen in cuisine. He guaranteed this by going out and buying his own fishing boat to find his very own fish.

With three Michelin stars and three Repsol Suns, the New York Times considered it one of the ‘10 restaurants in the world worth taking a plane for’. Set in a former windmill, it boasts a team of 70 professionals for just 30 diners. The marine-themed tasting menus astonish with their elaborate presentation. He told the Olive Press last year: “Sustainability in cooking is my main driver and I just pray the days of overfishing are coming to an end.”

NOOR

Chef Paco Morales met his wife Mariana in her native Cordoba, Argentina, and in 2016 they realised their life project: opening Noor in Cordoba, An dalucia.

One year later they earned a Michelin star and a Rep sol Sun, and now have a very im pressive three of

each.

Francisco Cossi Ochoa, s/n. El Puerto de Sta María, Cádiz Tel.: +34 956 851 870 www.aponiente.com

Noor’s interior is influenced by Andalucia’s Moorish heritage, while dishes combine modern culinary techniques with flavours and aromas from the past.

Every season, the restaurant explores a different historical period, currently the ‘Golden Age’ of the 18th century, when the New World brought its ingredients to Spain. A genuine culinary genius (some might say mave -

SKINA

When Marcos Granda opened his tiny restaurant in the heart of Marbella nearly two decades ago lots of people expected it to last a few months. With just 12 covers (yes TWELVE covers a night) it seemed impossible to imagine that it would survive. But today the Asturian businessman - who is a sommelier by trade - has three Michelin stars in Marbella alone (two at Skina and one at Nintai) not to mention two more stars at Clos in Madrid and Ayalga in Ribadesella.

rick) his creativity is off the scale. Above all, he is a diplomat and true champion of southern Spain.

“There is no doubt the chefs in Andalucia are now starting to push the boundaries,” he told the Olive Press. “Our creative edge is finally getting noticed.”

Pablo Ruiz Picasso, 8. Córdoba

Tel.: +34 957 96 40 55

www.noorrestaurante.es

Having trained at El Bulli and at Greenhouse in London helped, as did various stints in the north of Spain.

And that’s not all, his new restaurant, Marcos, which opened in Gijon exactly a year ago, won a star in this year’s Michelin guide after just TEN months.

The man is on fire… a dynamo, who has not just put Andalucian cuisine on the map, but now exports it all around the country.

“Nobody trusted my ideas,” he revealed shortly after winning his first Michelin star in 2008. “Noone would have bet on my vision. But in my mind, the secret was clear… however, I wanted to put it to the test first.”

Aduar Street, 12, 29601 Marbella, Málaga

Tel.: +34 952 76 52 77

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TEAM ANDALUZ: Giovanni, Gomez and Morales and awards

PROPERTY

Upfor investment

SPAIN has been named the fourth most attractive European country for investment in 2024.

Meanwhile, Madrid has claimed third place in the top ten European cities for investment.

Barcelona was just behind, in seventh place, in the report by the Global Real Estate Service.

Only the UK, Germany and Poland rank higher.

The report also praises Spain and Italy for ‘making progress in environmental, social and governance issues’.

It also estimates that by 2025, market activity is expected to return to rates seen before the global rise in interest rates in 2022.

And only 27% of those surveyed believe geopolitical issues will be a major issue for real estate investors, down from 42% last year.

GETTING A LIFE

A POPULAR TV show is recruiting for participants in Spain’s Andalucia.

Producers of the Channel 4’s A New Life In The Sun follows Brits as they set up businesses abroad, from microbreweries to glamping sites.

After their successful ninth series aired just a couple of weeks ago, they are already on the lookout for new participants in Spain.

Produced by True North, those interested should email anewlifeinthesun@ truenorth.tv

Rafaservesupabeauty

TENNIS star Rafa Nadal has bought a €4 million luxury Madrid apartment in the city's Colon y Serrano district.

The property is one of 11 luxury homes in the Villa de Paris residential block that he built with businessmen Abel Matutes Prats and Manuel Campos Guallar several years ago.

The trio constructed the building with direct views of the Plaza Villa de Paris, the Supreme Court, and the Church of Santa Barbara.

It was designed by the prestigious architect Rafael Robledo and is regarded as one of the most exclusive residential projects in Madrid.

The homes were sold on the basis of offering a fusion between classicism and modernity in the finishes and design.

One of the purchasers is the president of the fashion giant, Inditex, Marta Ortega. The block has a spa and gym, plus an allocation of two parking spaces per apartment.

Nadal's home in the five-storey building has all kinds of amenities covering 281 m2.

The open plan design features five bathrooms, four bedrooms, a spacious living room and a balcony around five metre long. The rest of the apartments are far biggercoming in at around 900 m2. The Calle General Castals complex is part of a portfolio

STILL STANDING: But huge amount of work needed

Palatial dreams

AN ambitious American has revealed her plans to transform an ancient palace in Spain.

Monica C purchased historic Quindous Palace online while surfing the web from her home in California.

The medieval property, in Cervantes, Galicia, had

Sweat no more!

A LUCKY Scot has won a villa in Spain worth £3 million as well as £250,000 in cash after entering a lottery while trying to buy a second-hand armchair.

Edinburgh man Graham Dunlop’s prize comes from a charity draw called Omaze, which runs regular lotteries with extravagant prizes such as houses, and then splits its profits with charities. Dunlop, who now lives in Southampton with his wife and two children, entered the draw when he met the woman who was selling a battered old armchair online.

Instead of taking payment she told him to donate to her favourite charity, Alzheimer’s Research UK, given that her late husband had suffered dementia. As well as donating, Dunlop spotted the £75 raffle draw which was also supporting the same charity. His lucky ticket left him the new owner of a four-bedroom villa in Mallorca, complete with a swimming pool and stunning views.

AmericanwomanbuysamedievalpalaceinSpainwith bigplanstobringitbacktolife

By Laurence Dollimore

failed to sell over a four-year period.

Monica, originally from Col-

orado, flew in at the beginning of January to assess the mammoth task ahead of her.

The castle has more than 20 rooms, which she plans

FANTASTIC PRIZE: This amazing Mallorca villa

“This win is fantastic for our family’s future,” he said. “It just opens up so many opportunities. The money really helps give us a bit of peace of mind and gives us some choices about how we choose to spend the rest of our lives.”

The draw not only made Dunlop and his family multi-millionaires, but also raised £3.1 million for Alzheimer’s Research UK.

Good year for Spanish property...

SPAIN’S house prices rose by 4.2% last year proving the resilience of the market.

It comes despite a fall in the final quarter of 2023, according to the National Statistics Institute.

While prices fell around Europe, due to rising interest rates, prices here grew solidly until October.

An upward trend in new build prices appears to be slowing however, with costs rising 11% during the third quarter of 2023 and 7.5% in the final quarter.

Overvalued

Although construction materials costs remain high, prices have stabilised or even gone down slightly over recent months.

According to European Central Bank (ECB) estimates, the Spanish market was overvalued by 11% in the third quarter of 2023.

But a decline in prices during the fourth quarter is expected to lead to a slight drop in overvaluation.

Meanwhile, prices in most other eurozone countries are even more overvalued.

The home mortgage market fell by 17.3% last year due to higher interest rates and high house prices putting off buyers. Analysts expect interest rates to fall this year, which will be good news for the property market.

to turn into a cookery school that will teach students how to cook Galician food. Monica, who had never before visited Galicia, also plans to open a restaurant on the site. The small village of Cervantes is home to just 1,200 people. The palace was first built in the

15th century and was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in 1949.

It sits atop a 9km winding road and offers stunning views of the Os Ancares mountains.

It was first put up for sale for €500,000, which was reduced by half in 2018, before eventually going for €225,000.

It was finally sold to Monica at the end of last year via Country Homes, a real estate firm owned by British expat Mark Adkinson.

...while global pricesare also on theup

GLOBAL house prices have largely recovered after hitting the ‘deepest property downturn’ in a decade.

Data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows the property market has ‘hit a turning point’.

Based on data from 37 industrialised countries, house prices grew on average by 2.1% in the third quarter of 2023.

It comes after house prices dropped in many countries in 2022 after interest rates were raised at the ‘fastest pace in decades’ in order to curb inflation.

Overall prices grew by only 0.6% by the end of the year, the lowest rate since 2012.

Experts now predict that central banks will cut borrowing costs to help boost mortgages.

A shortage of properties has also helped growth.

of real estate assets owned by Nadal - worth €30.3 million.

BERRY BAD

THE EU has issued a food safety alert after a 1.5 tonne shipment of straw berries entering Spain from Morocco was found to contain traces of hepa titis A.

The risk was classified as ‘serious’ by the EU’s RASFF (Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed) after officials conducted tests on the haul after it arrived in the port of Algeciras.

The Valencian association of farmers (AVA-ASAJA) called on the central government and the European Union to enact ‘urgent measures’ to prevent a dangerous repeat of the situation. Officials believe the strawberries contain hepatitis A, which can cause a highly inflamed liver, due to the irrigation of fruit farms in Morocco with fecal water.

Cristobal Aguado, head of the AVA-ASAJA, has sent a letter to the Minister of Agriculture, Luis Planas, urging him to “urgently ask the Moroccan government for explanations and to specify what measures it intends to take to prevent this type of thing from happening again”.

He also lobbied the under-fire minister to insist that all strawberries coming from Morocco should undergo a thorough health inspection and, in the event that more health alerts are detected in other fruit and vegetables, controls should be extended to those products.

Junta president Juanma Moreno stated that ‘those strawberries should never have entered Spain’.

Authorities have confirmed that the strawberries were detained at the Andalucian port and prevented from entering general circulation.

What is hepatitis A?

Hepatitis A is an infectious virus that causes inflammation of the liver.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the disease can cause mild to severe illness.

Hepatitis A is transmitted through ingestion of contaminated food and water or through direct contact with an infectious person.

Symptoms include yellow skin or eyes, no appetite, vomiting, stomach pain, fever, dark urine and diarrhea.

Almost everyone who contracts hepatitis A recovers fully with a lifelong immunity. Vaccinations for hepatitis A are available.

Vaccination is recommended if you are travelling to a country where hepatitis A is common, have recently been in close physical contact with an infected person, have a long-term liver disease, have a blood clotting disorder such as hemophilia, are a man who has sex with men, or work in a role that puts you at greater risk of infection.

OP Puzzle solutions

Quick Crossword

Baby gloom Step to health

SPAIN has the second lowest fertility rate in Europe, with just 1.16 live births per woman in 2022, according to new figures by Eurostat, the EU’s statistics agency.

The country also has the second highest ‘mean age’ at childbirth, at nearly 31 years and seven months.

The country with the lowest birthrate in Europe is Malta, with just 1.06 children per woman, while in Italy the average age at birth is 31 years and eight months.

SCIENTISTS have revealed the optimum number of steps per day to reduce your risk of heart disease.

Research from the University of Sydney found that walking 9000-10,000 steps a day could reduce the risk of early death by 39% and the risk of cardiovascular events by 21%.

Just 4,000-4,500 steps could be enough to give you half of these benefits.

Any step count higher than 2,200 a day was associated with lower mortality rates and cardiovascular events.

URIC-A MOMENT

Researchers discover safer treatment for painful condition

SPANISH researchers have come up with an innovative way of easing gout. They’ve patented a treatment based on a molecule found in coffee and cocoa.

Dr. Antonia Costa and Dr. Felix Grases from the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB) have revealed the benefits of 7-methylxanthine. This increases the solubility of sodium urate and stops the formation of uric acid crystals, which cause pain and inflammation in the joints of affected people.

The breakthrough comes after a decade of research to find a solution to the condition that affects up to 5% of the world's population. The success of the two doctors has its origins in the discovery, in 2014, of theobromine as a substance that inhibits the crystallisation of uric acid.

That research led them to study substances derived from theobromine - namely caffeine - to stop crystals

By Alex Trelinski

Not so fast

A POPULAR meal-skipping plan could increase the risk of cardiovascular death by 91% according to new research.

Fasting for 16 hours has been linked to 91% more risk of cardiovascular death in comparison with those who eat within a 12-16 hour window.

Those who fast, often spend the majority of the day without eating anything.

Eating during an eight hour interval and fasting for 16 is the most popular version of intermittent fasting.

Dangerous

However, research carried out by the United States Heart Association has warned that fasting for this long, even if you sleep during this time, could be dangerous.

Previously research had shown that fasting can reduce blood pressure as well levels of sugar and cholesterol.

diuretics to increase urine excretion, and medications to reduce uric acid production.

All of these have notable side effects, including increased cardiovascular risk, which makes the UIB discovery even more appealing. and more effective option to combat this painful disease.

People with gout have to follow a strict diet that helps prevent excessive uric acid production.

At the same time, there are various medicines based on anti-inflammatories to reduce pain,

BEING EQUAL

THE Spanish government has announced a string of new health equality measures.

Women will now be able to choose where they access abortion healthcare. The plans are part of a document which will be presented to regional health leaders at the Inter-regional Forum for National Healthcare next month. It will advise health professionals on how to ensure equal access to abortion rights across the country.

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

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

Now, a study using over 20,000 US adults has found fasting for 16 hours or more increases the risk of cardiovascular death by 91%. It also found that fasting is not associated with living longer.

Researchers say they were ‘surprised’ by the findings. The study concluded that although there was a correlation, there was no direct link between fasting and cardiovascular issues. forming in joints. The UIB says that the pharmaceutical industry has already expressed major interest in their discovery. It hopes that a licencing agreement will make the treatment widely available to gout sufferers as a safer

Recognising that there is an issue is the first step on the road to recovery. Are you depressed? Suffering from anxiety? Worried about the year ahead? Are your kids having social issues? PERHAPS YOU NEED SOMEONE PROFESSIONAL TO TALK

I understand the issues many expats feel in Spain. Change through relocation abroad can really add to mental health pressures and these life changes are never easy.

Counselling and therapy has changed the lives of many. Getting in touch is the first step.

Paw patrol

AN autonomous robot police dog will soon be using artificial intelligence to patrol the streets of Malaga on its own, sniffing out crimes with a suite of stateof-the-art sensors.

Nun-fluence

SPAIN’S leading pollster, who was widely ridiculed after misjudging the recent Galician regional elections, has blamed conservative nuns for boosting the rightwing vote.

Crunch time

DORITOS Spain have dumped Spanish transgender influencer Samanatha Hudson, 24, after tweets emerged - from when she was 15 - detailing her ‘depraved’ desires towards under-age girls.

PARROT PATOIS

RESEARCHERS have found parakeets - a common sight in Spanish cities - have developed regional dialects. A study compared the calls of monk parakeets in eight cities and four countries across Europe and found each had ‘different accents’. Published in Behavioral Ecology magazine, the research was carried out by the Max

Researchers reveal escaped parakeets have developed regional dialects

By Yzabelle Bostyn

Wheely bad move

AN e-scooter rider has been filmed carrying a door and huge slats of wood on the base of his two-wheeled vehicle in southern Spain. The viral video is alleged to have been recorded in San Fernando, Cadiz. The middle-aged rider can be seen travelling in between cars on his scooter while trying to balance the large number of items perched on the electric vehicle by his feet. He is then seen taking on a roundabout, as travellers in the car behind him record a video on their mobile phones.

According to the study author, Stephen Tyndel: “Similar to humans, monk parakeets have developed unique ways of communicating according to where they live.”

The birds are the ‘ideal’ subject

to study the evolution of communication in a non-human species.

The birds originate in South America, but escaped pets have established colonies around Europe.

The researchers carried out their study in Spain, Belgium, Italy and Greece. Each city had a different dialect, with variances in the structure and frequency of each call. Although difficult for humans to distinguish, it was discovered that the Brussels parakeets had the strongest dialect. The results surprised researchers, says Tyndel: “This suggests the dialects came out passively, as birds copy each other, they make mistakes and over time these become a new dialect.”

The team believes accents could develop actively as a form of social communication to help birds recognise their friends in big groups.

City parakeets live in very crowded nests, leading researchers to think ‘slang’ could have developed.

A VULTURE has won a legion of fans online after being pictured ‘taking over’ an apartment balcony on the Costa del Sol.

Pictures shared on Instagram show the bird of prey seemingly posing for pics as its claws clutch onto the railing of the terrace in Fuengirola. The snaps were taken from an apartment in the Stella Maris building next to the Paseo Maritimo on Sunday.

Commentators joked that the vulture was ‘a new type of squatter’.

MOO-VING ON UP

TWO men doing Spain’s famous Camino de Santiago pilgrims walk had to take refuge up an oak tree after being charged by several cows. The hikers, aged 28 and 64, were in the Caceres area when they were surprised by the animals. One of the cows was with her calf and took an instant dislike to the men and charged them. They climbed to the top of an oak tree and stayed there for 20 minutes until the Guardia Civil arrived to help them.