“If it was locals they would have had a jail sen tence already,” he “Beingclaimed. handed bail of just €7,000 is ridiculous after all the damage that they have caused me,” he Theadded.taxi driver re vealed that before working as a taxi driver, he worked as a bouncer for 15 years and in all those years he only had one problem with an Heattacker.insists he knows how to calm people down and deflect and avoid violence. Yet now he is in bed and unable to work since the in cident as he feels sick and aching.
“I think that is completely unfair and ridiculous considering my injuries.
EXCLUSIVE: Taxi driver and father of four hit by two tourists in brutal Magaluf attack reveals how he will suffer from long term medical side effects forever
EXCLUSIVE By Jorge Hinojosa
BYBATTEREDBRITS
CUTS: Staples were needed
Idiots
Tourism bonanza MALLORCA’S tourist industry is predicting a record September with arrivals set to exceed those recorded in the same month three years ago. The key indicator is that Palma airport is scheduled to welcome more visitors than in what was a re cord-breaking month back in 2019. All signs are pointing to the airport exceeding the record high of 3.7 mil lion passengers recorded in that year. Tour operators have upgraded their September forecasts ‘because the de mand of European tourists going to the island does not stop growing’. Hotels are predicting an average oc cupancy of 70%, though in some ar eas that will rise to above 80%. September is also viewed as the most profitable month of the year, with wealthier tourists going to Mallorca after the high peak summer season has passed. It also allows hoteliers to raise prices which, depending on the area, will range between €120 and €160 per night. As a counter-balance, hotels and other businesses do have far higher operating costs due to the cur rent economic situation.
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“I feel really sick, he tried to attack them - but Gabriel insisted that it is not true that he had no intention of attacking them. “If I attacked them, I would have marks on my hand, but I don’t have them,” he insisted. “I’m also sure CCTV will clear it all up and prove I am right.” He concluded that while he doesn’t feel any malice to wards British people because of the attack, he is insistent that the violent minority need to be punished.
Punched It was then that one of them, a ma rine and ‘a very strong guy’ punched him in the face which practically knocked him unconscious and he fell to the floor injuring his shoulder, hip and face. But it didn’t end there. While lying on the pavement the two British hooli gans started to kick him around the Thehead.two men have since claimed they were drunk, but Gabriel does not be lieve that they were under the effect of alcohol. A Spanish court has released the two men on a bail set at €7,000.
A TAXI driver who was viciously assaulted by a British holidaymak er in Mallorca has revealed how his soldier attacker has left him maimed for Gabriellife. Callero, 57, who is married to a British woman, has spoken exclu sively after being brutally assaulted by two British men in Magaluf.
“What these idiots did was a disgrace and they need to be properly punished for it,” he Thesaid.Spanish authorities have been attempting to clear up the drunken tourism that has badly scarred resorts like Magaluf for decades. Various measures have been introduced to stop groups organising pub crawls and so-called ‘booze cruises’ on Theboats.name of the resort has even been changed in an attempt to clean up its reputation.
KICKED: Gabriel was left with serious injuries dizzy and I have a constant ringing in my ears which I’m told by doctors could stay with me forever caused by the damage,” he added. The two Brits claimed in court that
“Everything happened when I was passing the strip where all the En glish bars are. “Just as I was passing the White house hotel slowly three guys came up too close to my car and one of them jumped on the bonnet,” he ex “Iplained.stopped immediately and got out to find that no damage was done to it,” he continued. “But then two of these British guys started to laugh at me, so I asked them what was so funny?”
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A WOMAN was allegedly raped by a Dutch rapper in a Palma hotel after she and a friend went to see his performance. After the concert, the two wom en met the rapper and took photos with him before he sug gested to one of the women that they should go to his hotel. The woman said that she had consensual relations with him, but when she told him to stop, he refused.
TWO police officers have found themselves under investi gation after a video showing them joining in local fiestas in Menorca went viral. The pair from the Policia Local were pictured being carried on shoulders through the crowd at festivities in Alaior. To the delight of revellers in Sa Plaça, the duo were hoisted into the air during the song ‘YMCA’ by the Village People and as they bounced their way across the square. Both were clearly enjoying themselves but such revelry is against the rules for uniformed officers.
POLICE have arrested a Ger man owner of a supermarket and restaurant for allegedly ex ploiting his workers. The officers started an inves tigation after former workers complained about poor work ing Workersconditions.claimed that he of fered attractive working con ditions including high salaries and days off. However, they were forced to work 12 hours a day with only one day off a week.
Pox rise THE Spanish Ministry of Health recorded 165 new cases of monkeypox in the Baleares between Friday and Tuesday. Bag snatch TWO foreign tourists chased down a pair of female robbers who snatched their bags from Palma beach and managed to recover one bag that contained €260 in cash, though a second bag with €700 was lost.
haulCoke POLICE have seized three kilos of cocaine at Ibiza airport. They first found the drug hidden in the shoe heels of two women and a man, then found they had also swallowed packages of the narcotic. That’s rich THE Baleares have 22.1% of Spain’s lux ury housing stock, ac cording to real estate portal Idealista, with 9,000 homes on the islands worth more than €1 million each.
POLICE have swooped on a gang who targeted elder ly tourists in Palma to steal their expensive watches. Four men have been arrest ed over a spate of thefts that saw tourists robbed of their watches, often using violence. The Italians had travelled to Palma specifically to steal
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QUEEN OF THE SOUTH
By Fiona Govan NABBED: Maria del Mar Mellado A NOTORIOUS drug trafficker dubbed the Queen of Ronda has been busted by police in LegendaryMadrid. Maria del Mar Mellado, 38, ran a network of mules bringing in cocaine from the Caribbean, while leading a double life as an out-of-work Basedbeautician.outof sleepy Cuevas del Becerro, near Ronda, her drug trafficking empire recruited dozens of local unemployed people to smuggle from the Dominican Republic. The class A drugs, mostly imbibed in condoms, was then processed in Ron da and distributed across ToSpain.keep her cover and instill good feeling locally, she helped pay for local sports facilities as well as donating huge sums to pay for the town’s Three Kings parade at Christmas. She also distributed toys to needy children around the Ron da Knownarea. to police she was pre viously arrested in 2012, when she was handed an 11 year sen tence, getting out a couple of years ago. She is now back behind bars after police recently tracked a woman who had acted suspi ciously while on a commercial flight from Colombia. Believing her to be carrying cocaine, police followed the woman from Madrid airport to a contact in the city. From there she was given an address to make her delivery and it was there that police rec ognized the ‘well-known drug trafficker nicknamed the Queen of PoliceRonda’.said that in addition to the 11kilos of cocaine smuggled, they found a hidden compart ment in Maria’s car containing €23,000 in cash as well as six encrypted phones. Her earlier arrest in 2012 was the inspiration behind Arturo Perez Reverte’s bestselling book Reina del Sur - Queen of the South - which has been made into a hit TV series and movie.
CRIMEwww.theolivepress.es August 26th - September 8th 20222 NEWS IN BRIEF
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BARCELONA star Robert Lewandowski had a nasty welcome to his new life in Spain. The Polish star, who has just signed for the Catalan out fit, had a €70,000 watch ripped off his arm when arriving for a himproachedfanswhenhappenedcidentThesession.traininginaptoget
Bambi saved
Luveetoseeyou Extra time autographs and photo selfies.Ashiscar window came down, a man grabbed his arm and snatched his watch before running away.The player ini tially tried to chase down the thief himself be fore thereturnedarrestmadepoliceanandwatch.
“I feel delighted that the hard work that so many peo ple do is recognised,” said Silva.
“It was a dream come true to have one of the world’s most successful artists at our new ven ue,” explained venue boss Andy McKay. Dream come true
father’sfollowingPortilloFOOTSTEPS:histrail
TOGETHER: The Portillo family A TEAM of firefighters battling flames in Aragon have shared a vid eo of them giving water to a roe deer and soothing its burns, providing a heartwarming moment during the horror of yet another wildfire. The fawn was dehydrated and suf fering mild burns after running from the burning forest in a blaze in Mon cayo, in the province of Zaragoza. This summer has been the worst in terms of forest fires on record with more than 270,000 hectares already devastated by flames across Spain.
HOLLYWOOD superstar Richard Gere has brought a sprinkling of stardust to Spain this summer. The 72-year-old joined fellow Hollywood A-lister An tonio Banderas at Marbella’s Starlite Festival. They were the big names at the 13th edition of the fes tival’s charity gala - founded by Banderas and busi nesswoman Sandra García-Sanjuan - which raises cash for good causes. During the event, tenor Andrea Bocelli was awarded for his foundation’s work in helping the poor in Italy. Gere's wife, Alejandra Silva, was also awarded for collaborating with charities including Open Arms and the Rais Foundation.
momentsLandmark
Former UK minister celebrates his 40th wedding anniversary and retraces his father’s steps during his civil war escape from Spain
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ByEXCLUSIVEJonClarke earliest memories included his father speaking of his ha tred of Franco. “His tone was shocking be cause he was the most loving and gentle of humans. Yet loathing for Franco poured from him. He carried a debili tating wound, of the spirit not the “Mybody.father's life had been devastated by the Spanish conflict. As a supporter of the government in 1936, he had fought against the rebels. In January 1939, as the govern ment side was stumbling to defeat, he crossed the Pyre nees into exile.” Today, life has come full cir cle for the Portillos, with Mi chael spending a lot of time in Spain, where he chose to cele brate his 40th wedding anni versary recently with family and friends. He and his wife, recruitment consultant, Caroyln Eadie, have owned a charming townhouse in evocative Car mona, near Sevilla, for over a decade. Children “I’ve known my wife since we were small children, so the 40 years is only the married bit,” he Thesaid.couple were unable to have children after she de veloped cancer early in the Hismarriage.father died in 1993 in London, but was buried in Madrigal, in Avila, where he has a grave. The Pyrenees with Michael Portillo started on Channel 5 last week
REVELLERS in Ibiza got a surprise when Brit ish star Robbie Williams got up on stage during aTheconcert.crooner joined his pals Flynn Francis and Tim Metcalfe, whose band Lufthaus were per forming at brand new venue 528 Ibiza.
IT has been a landmark year for former British government minister Mi chael Portillo. As well as celebrating his 40th wedding anniversary in Andalucia, he has been trav elling around the Pyrenees learning about his father’s escape from Spain after the bloody civil war. In a four-part series, The Pyrenees, he revisits how his father Luis, a left-wing academic at Salamanca Uni versity, was forced to flee his homeland. Despite not fighting for the losing Republican side, he was a staunch supporter un like his six brothers, who all fought for the victor, dictator ItFranco.meant a long and tricky journey to escape the new regime that executed tens of thousands of Republicans af ter winning in 1939. His son, who served as a Tory minister, in the government of Margaret Thatcher and lat er John Major, has now paid tribute to his father walking stretches of the Pyrenees that he took. “I hope he might think that my coming here is a tribute to him and his sacrifice,” he ex plains in one episode. “The Spanish Civil War hung over us like a big, black cloud every day, and his sadness of a potential unrealised.” He revealed in 2009 that his
Health boss warns that idiotic viral challenge attackers could spread HIV and hepatitis and have different motiva “Buttions.we are taking this very seriously and need to stress the dangers to people,” she Meanwhile,added. a Professor of Forensic Toxicology from Santiago de Compostela University, Angelines Cruz, warned that as the same nee dles are probably being used on different victims, there's a danger that serious diseases like hepatitis and HIV can be transmitted. Drowsy But she also does not believe that drugging or sexual abuse is the motive. “To drug someone with a nee dle, the perpetrator needs a lot of time to inject the drug,” she explained. “Also, the effect is not imme diate, so it makes no sense to me that this technique is used to override their will.” She concluded: “Now that the perpetrators know that they are committing a crime, they will think twice before doing Theit.”
THE Baleares are among 15 communi ties declared disaster zones due to devastat ing forest fires In a year in which 220,000 hectares of land have so far been scorched, the Council of Ministers approved this week the declara tion of disaster zones in regions affected by 119 forest fires, which have caused the death of three people and the evacuation of more than 27,500 people. The declaration re leases aid for the af fected areas and pro vides compensation for death, injury and damaged property.
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NEWSwww.theolivepress.es August 26th - September 8th 20224
STEAK-OUT decree was approved this week establishing the measure to help minimise suffering.
Reset. Friends. Sunset. Music. Good life. Comfort.
“I believe that clubs are still safe for women, our staff know what to do in case a woman is pricked or is spiked in a club, also there are a lot of cameras that are monitor
AN alarming summer craze for pricking unsuspecting partygoers with needles could spread Hepatitis and HIV, an expert has warned the Olive Press There is no official data on the number of victims spiked, but already it is into the hun Andaluciadreds. alone has seen a shocking 96 possible cases of ‘hypodermic needle spiking’ with dozens more reported in Valencia and the Balearic TheIslands.Spanish press has specu lated that the spikings could be attempts to drug young women to later sexually as sault them. ing what’s going on the prem ises,” he added. Despite the police reports that no one has been drugged, several victims have report ed feeling woozy after being pricked, suggesting other Miriamwise. Alba, 20, wrote on Twitter that she was a victim of needle spiking in a Barce lona club. She said: “Someone pricked me in the thigh. As soon as I realised it, I ran to the bounc er who helped me and sat me on a “Tensofa.minutes later I col lapsed feeling drowsy and with a feeling that I would do whatever I was told.” 6
President of the Associ ation of Nightclubs, Daniel Espasses, 33, told the Olive Press that a protocol has been put into place in order to stop this ‘viral challenge’.
“When a case is detected, we immediately contact the po lice, they arrive at the club with an ambulance to carry out the first test and then an other test is made at a hospi tal,” he said.
Much more than four stars.
Needle pricks!
Opinion Page
EXCLUSIVE By Jorge Hinojosa
However, an Olive Press in vestigation has found that this is unlikely, with police sources revealing that it ap pears to be part of a ‘danger ous prank that started in the UK’ last year. While a Guardia Civil investi gator confirmed they are still searching for ‘definitive mo tives’, she revealed it appears to have started out as an on line ‘challenge’. The Madrid investigator, Ma ria Luisa Calcerrada told the Olive Press that, incredibly, none of the 96 cases involved But,drugs.she added, the conse quences of the irresponsible ‘prank’ could be deadly. “We haven’t had any cases of drug-facilitated sexual as sault. All of the tests of wom en who reported being needle spiked were negative.” She added: “We are currently investigating what the perpe trators’ motivation is, but it always happens in crowded “Theyplaces. are not an organised group. The perpetrators come from different backgrounds
ANIMAL welfare in Spain’s slaughter houses will be mon itored by mandatory video Asystems.surveillanceroyal
zonesDisaster
A BRITISH expat is fighting for his life after contracting Le gionnaires Disease. Richard Dickman, 80, was rushed to Marbella’s Costa del Sol hospital after being diag nosed with the potentially le thal disease. At least two more people have also been affected by the out break, the hospital confirmed on Dickman’sTuesday.family believe he caught the bacterial infection near his home in La Cala de Mijas and have appealed to the Olive Press to try and identify the source. His daughter confirmed that at least one other patient is also being treated at the same hos pital, while a further outbreak happened in Almeria last week.
NEWSwww.theolivepress.es August 26th - September 8th 2022 5 *Data extracted from process closure surveys after using our roadside assistance and breakdown services. 952 147 834 TheOlivePress-256x170-MP0622.indd 1 6/6/22 10:43 THE EUROPEAN DENTAL PRACTICE EMERGENCIES: 636 308 789 Tel: 971 681 www.theeuropeandentalpractice.com439 Dr.Mónica Bonet – University of Barcelona Dr. Yasmina Adebibe – B.D.S London Susan Taylor-Vickers – BSc, EDH Mercadona Centre, Son Caliu, Palma Nova Established 1989 alarmLegionnairesraised EXCLUSIVE: Possible outbreak of lethal disease in Spain after an expat is rushed to hospital
AIRPORT workers in Spain are NOT going on strike for 25 days despite what UK media outlets reported this week. UK reports claimed ‘holidaymakers are being warned of further disruption to their plans throughout the remain der of 2022 amid further industrial action’. But the news is five years out of date and refers to an Au gust 2017 union announcement.
BIG STRIKE GAFFE
Investigating “We have detected more cas es and the Spanish Ministry of Health is currently investi gating it.” a press officer con firmed to the Olive Press. The first outbreak in Europe took place in a Benidorm ho tel in 1980 - when half of the guests, around 150 people, got sick with four of them dying. The guests picked up the ill ness from piped water. One person died, a 68-year-old journalist, and 14 others were hospitalised after an outbreak at Benalmadena ice rink in 2007.
“He started to feel sick on August 12 at home, and after collapsing he was admitted to hospital four days later,” she told the Olive Press this week. She added that her dad, who has lived in Spain for a decade, hadn’t ‘been to a lot of plac es’ before contracting it so it should be possible to trace the Sheoutbreak.knows one other neigh bour who also contracted the illness and is being treated at the same Legionnaires’hospital.disease is a se vere form of pneumonia - lung inflammation usually caused by infection. It’s caused by a bacteria known as legionella, often from stagnant water. She is particularly angry that he had received a visit from a doctor from a private medical service four times before being admitted to hospital.
By Jorge HinojosaA SUDDEN summer storm saw hailstones the size of golf balls fall on Menorca causing damage to cars and buildings. According to official data, 23 litres of water fell per square metre causing flash floods across the island. The most affected area was Ciudadella on the west of the island which saw 34.6 litres of water fall between 2pm and 3pm last Thursday. Some drivers caught in the downpour had to abandon their cars while those on the beach ran for shelter. One twitter user claimed “The hail stones were 7 cm, which I think is the biggest ones that the Baleares have seen in 12 Spain’syears.” state meteorologi cal agency, AEMET recorded 10,000 lightning strikes over Menorca and Mallorca during August Mallorca18.and large parts of the Baleares have been put on yel low alert for more storms for today (Friday) and tomorrow. Hail hell
Nadal wife scare observation on Tuesday as she entered her 31st week of pregnancy. Local media reported that the 34-year-old may need to undergo an operation within the next few days to prevent complications.
HAPPY: The couple
Rafa, 36, is currently in America ahead of the US Open which starts next Newsweek. that the couple were ex pecting their first child emerged in June when Xis ca was photo graphed relaxing on the beach with a noticeable baby Thebump.pair who first met as teenagers and finally tied the knot in 2019 are said to be ex pecting a baby boy.
“I can’t see any improvements in my dad’s health, it’s very worrying,” she said. It is not the first case of Legion naires detected at the Hospital Costa del Sol over the last few weeks.
JUST days before tennis ace Rafa Nadal is due to play in the US Open, his wife was admitted to hos pital in Palma for obser Mariavation. Francisca Perello, better known as Xisca or Mery, was admitted into the private Quirónsalud Palmaplanas hospital for
Questions remain as to whether targeted victims are being dosed for nefarious motives or in some sort of sick craze designed to sow terror. Others consider that it’s all an urban myth, a so cial panic gripping an anxiety-ridden generation as they emerge from a pandemic. Whatever the truth, it is having the very real ef fect of promoting a climate of fear. Women already have to be wary of so many things on a night out, from unwanted attention to sexual predators spiking their drinks or following them home. Every case should be taken seriously and night clubs should step up efforts to promote a safe environment.
WELL you’ve made it this far… and only a week to go. Be content that the majority of heatwaves are behind us and the so-called ‘mad month’ of August is nearly at an end. But beware; it’s usually now, during the final throes of the long hot summer, that the real ‘mala leche’ (or bad milk) starts to come to the boil. A month of extreme heat, traffic jams and pushy city dwellers demand ing perfect speedy service is when the locals’ tempers start to fray. And when the hot and humid days combine with a full moon - as happened on August 12 – the loco vibe is at its worst. Here are our eight forms of madness on the Costas.
SECRETS FROM
2 - Too much fiesta Whether it’s your local town fiesta or a random late night concert, the party in August never stops! Sadly, this may result in a constant resaca’ (hangover), which tends to ‘calentar la cabeza’ (heat the head) and makes peo ple very unreasonable. Drinking in the sun doesn’t help.
5 - School’s out… seemingly forever Back in June, you couldn’t wait for the kids to break up for summer, imagining the family fun you could have! Now, after a few trips to the waterpark and some fraught days out at the beach, you can’t wait for school to restart. And why must we wait until the second week of September with the purse completely emp ty? Of course we mustn’t forget to mention the teens moaning endlessly, having crawled out of bed at 2pm. 6 - Rude waiting staff Cooking in the heat isn’t fun, so why not visit the local restaurant? Unfortunately, everyone else who didn’t decide to head north on July 15, for six weeks, had the same idea. So it’s hard to find a table, the waiters are rushed off their feet, and the prices have seemingly gone up by 20%. After that, it takes 30 minutes to get a drink and then, after forgetting your or der, the starters and main courses all turn up together. Of course, the bill has plenty of er rors and, when you point this out, the waiters are openly hostile.
Experts seem to think it a highly unfeasible way to surreptitiously administer the volume of date rape drug required to render a victim helpless and to do it without being caught in the act, while police and hospital reports seem to back that up. Very few victims of suspected jabbings, not only in Spain, but in France and the UK where this sort of crimewave first emerged, have tested positive to any drugs. And no suspects have ever been However,arrested.there is anecdotal evidence of people experiencing drowsiness and even black-outs and memory loss accompanied by what appear to be puncture wounds to the skin.
Keep them safe
MEDIEVAL: Arches at the Cijara reservoir have reappeared
1 - Water disputes As water gets increasingly scarce and streams and taps dry up, neighbours can frequently be found screaming at each other, perhaps because someone took their ‘acequia’ (wa tercourse) water at the wrong time of day or inserted a pipe without permission.
NEWS FEATUREwww.theolivepress.es6 HEAD OFFICE Carretera Nacional 340, km 144.5, Calle Espinosa 1, Edificio cc El Duque, planta primera, 29692, Sabinillas, Manilva NEWSDESK: 0034 951 273 575 For all sales and advertising enquiries please contact 951 27 35 75 ADMIN Sandra Aviles Diaz (+34) 951 273 575 admin@ theolivepress.es OFFICE MANAGER Héctor Santaella (+34) 658 750 424 accounts@ theolivepress.es DISTRIBUTIONENQUIRIES (+34) 951 273 575 distribution@ theolivepress.es Voted top expat paper in Spain OPINION A campaigning, community newspaper, the Olive Press represents the huge expatriate community in Spain with an estimated readership, including the websites, of more than two million people a month. AWARDS Best expat paper in 2016Spain-2020 Best2020English language publication in Google2012Andalucia-2022NewsInitiativegivestheOlivePressasubstantialgrant. PUBLISHER / EDITOR Jon Clarke, jon@theolivepress.es Alex Trelinski alex@theolivepress.es Jo SimonChipchaseWade simon@theolivepress.es Cristina Hodgson cristina@theolivepress.es Fiona Govan fiona@theolivepress.es Dilip Kuner dilip@theolivepress.es George Mathias george@theolivepress.es Jorge Hinojosa jorge@theolivepress.es Deposito Legal MA 1097-2020 As reservoirs dry up, long lost ancient sites are revealed, writes Fiona Govan ACROSS Spain archaeological trea sures are emerging from the deep as a prolonged drought causes res ervoir levels to drop to their lowest in Thedecades.severe drought parching Spain this summer is proving disastrous for farmers and has forced water restrictions on urban areas, but for those who enjoy seeking out historical sites there is a surprising silver Fromlining.a Roman fort in Galicia to the Stone henge of Extremadura and a medieval church in Catalunya, the Olive Press takes a closer look at long lost treasures exposed by receding waters. In Extremadura, a flock of sheep find shade from the sizzling glare of the midday sun beneath the arches of a medieval bridge, a 14th century structure lost to a watery mate change has left reservoirs at their driest in 1,200 years, and winter rains are expected to diminish further, a study pub lished last month by the Nature Geosci ence journal showed. Just outside the sleepy town of Peralêda de la Mata, a clutch of megalithic stones now rise up on a muddy shelf laid bare by the receding water; an archaeological site dubbed the ‘Stonehenge of Spain’. Dating back 5,000 years, the circle of granite menhirs are all that remains of a sun temple built by Bronze Age man on the banks of the Tagus River in Caceres prov Valuedince. as a site of interest by the Romans, the stones had been ignored until the 1920s, when a visiting German priest with a keen interest in amateur archaeology made detailed sketches and sent the most moveable material back to a museum in his home city of Munich. So undervalued were the stones, many of which had fallen from their upright position to lie forlornly in the mud, that in 1963, officials in the Franco regime thought little of flooding the area to create a vast water reserve.
BOILING OVER Feeling the heat? Hot under the collar? Jo Chipchase picks her Awful 8 things that make August Spain’s ‘mad month’ partying outside your house until the early hours, oblivious that you have work at 9am, is another. And then just when you finally drift off to sleep, some one throws a ‘petardo’ (banger) down your street.
4 - Bad driving Motorists hurtling to SLEEPLESS: Summer is just too noisy
THE huge surge in supposed needle-spiking cas es experienced in bars and nightclubs across Spain this summer is worrying on so many levels and is the latest in the long list of potential dan gers facing women when they go out to have a good Authoritiestime. appear to be taking it seriously but there is so much mystery surrounding the cases that it isn’t clear what the motives are or wheth er, in fact, there really is a new danger lurking.
SPA TOWN: was once popular then flooded for reservoir fate when the valley was flooded in 1956 to create the Cijara Yetreservoir.nowits 16 mude jar arches stretch across a parched dust bowl having reemerged after one of the driest summers Itsever.buttresses rise from the cracked earth supporting a 225 metres pathway that crosses from nowhere to nothing, over little more than a few murky puddles after the reservoir lost some 90% of its Thewater.story is repeated across the Iberian peninsula where cli
3 - Lack of sleep Aside from the heat and humidity which is a key cause of insomnia, the amount of people wards you on your side of the road, people who refuse to reverse, motorway tailgaters, and tiny cars blocking the entrance to your property. And then, of course, you’ve got the Moroccan tourists returning home for the summer from England, France and Germany, loaded up with goods on the roof and exhaust ed after a steady 12 hours of driving non stop. Never take your eyes off them!
OOPS: Road madness descends
ANCIENT: Megalithic stones at Peraleda de la Mata
7 - Queues for everything August means queues – whether it’s for a pop ular visitor attraction, a viewpoint to take that Instagram snap, or a visit to the public toilet. This doesn’t improve anyone’s mood, particularly as the Spanish aren’t very good at doing it and fre quently barge ahead of you.
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THETHE DEEP
TIP OF THE ICEBERG
2 - 1500 people evacuated as worst fire in a decade rages in Alicante province area of Spain 3 - 2,500 evacuated as wildfire hits Spain’s Zaragoza and Alicante
The remains of a vast Roman camp can now be viewed once more
8 - Vital businesses being closed Your car has developed an annoying fault that needs fixing right now, but your mechanic is obviously away or on the beach with his family. Meanwhile, your bank manager has gone hiking with his friends, and the town hall and public offices are basically shut for anything important you might need. You’ll just have to wait for Sep tember 1.
4 - Map images from space show in real time where wildfires raging in Spain
NOT one, not two, but three great in vestigations in this week’s paper. And then there are the exclusive leads on pages 4 and 5 and our doz en or more features on everything from the severe drought to the anniversary of Spain’s little-known explorer Elcano. Yes, the Olive Press is full of content. And known for it around the country and abroad.Butwhat you are reading here is just the tip of the Theseiceberg.are merely the main stories from the last few days.
WATERY GRAVE: The Roman camp churchQuerquennisAquisand(below)thethatwasatthe heart of Sant Roma de Sau
EURO MONTHLY NEWS
Arence.prolonged dry spell and extreme heat made July the hottest month in Spain since at least 1961 and August may well follow into the record books. Spanish reservoirs are at just 40% of ca pacity on average in early August, well be low the ten-year average of around 60%, official data shows.
5 - General weather forecast in Spain’s Anda lucia for the rest of the summer
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The top five most read stories on www.theolivepress.es in the past two weeks are:
1 - Secrets from the deep as reservoirs dry up across Spain long lost ancient sites are revealed
“We are in a particularly dry year, a very difficult year that confirms what climate change scenarios have been highlighting,” Energy Minister Teresa Ribera confirmed earlier this month. At the Buendia reservoir, just east of Ma drid in Guadalajara, the ruins of a spa town made popular for its restorative waters during the reign of Isabella II in the early 19th century have reappeared, caked in dried mud. For half a century, the once elegant resort on the banks of the Tagus served as a getaway for Madrid’s wealthy bourgeois, until it fell into neglect once trips to the beach became more popular. It too suffered a watery fate under the Fran co regime’s rampant reser voir Hundredsscheme.of villages across Spain were sent to a watery grave and their residents forcibily evicted during Fran co’s mass construction of a network of reservoirs. The projects brought not only the loss of towns, villages and sites of historical interests but also human trage dy with several disasters resulting in mass deaths, events which were covered up by the totalitarian regime. A reminder of such acts of destruction in the name of progress emerged earlier this month at a dam just north of Barcelona. Little by little, the bell tower of a ninth-cen tury Romanesque church appeared from the receeding waters revealing the fully intact building that was once at the heart of the community of Sant Roma de Sau be fore it was flooded in the 1960s. But nowhere has the reveal been quite so impressive as at a reservoir in Ourense province in Galicia. Here, the archaeological remains of a vast Roman camp can now be viewed in their entirety. Known as Aquis Querquennis, the vast site once served as a fort and military barracks for Roman legions during the building of the Via Nova road until it was abandoned around 120 AD. For nearly two millennia the once im portant military outpost lay forgotten until the 1920s when local archaeologist Florentino Lopez Cuevillas rediscovered the site and ex cavations began. But in 1949 the valley near Os Baños in Ourense province was earmarked as one of the first sites in the reservoir project and the area was flooded to form the As Con chas Reservoir. As a result only parts of the site, which measures 2,5 hectares in total, are usually visible depending on the water level at dif ferent times of year.
The all but forgotten site made headlines during the exceptionally long hot summer of 2019 when the megalithic stone circle emerged for the first time since the valley was flooded. After garnering international press attention, Spain took steps to issue cultural protection status which was grant ed only after the menhirs had once again disappeared when the reservoir filled with the autumn rains. Now again they appear in what, with global warming, could become an annual occur
Looking for current, up-to-the-minute news ev ery day then you will need to use our website. Every day, our team of nearly 20 journalists and writers scattered around Spain are reporting on the things that matter here. Be it the terrifying, fast-moving fires, a new law passed or the arrival of a famous politician or sportsman, you can be sure to find out first in the Olive Press online. And there is much, much more content on museums to visit, exhi bitions launching and musical extravaganzas. Our archive alone is already tens of thou sands of articles published since we launched in 2006. We aim to ensure that anyone reading www. theolivepress.es will be the best informed expat or tourist visit ing TakeSpain.alook, you’ll definitely be inspired.
EXCLUSIVE
Green MattersBy Martin Tye
A POPULAR Spanish city is hoping to save up to 79% of its power consumption by switching all its street light ing to BenidormLEDs.council has award ed a €2.5 million contract for phase two of an Energy Effi ciency project, which will see lights renewed in the Levante and Poniente areas. Some 3,512 light points and 55 control centres will be converted. The network will have the flexibility to change the power and intensity of the lights when needed. Phase one of the project cost over €2 million, and covered the Old Town area as well the Foietes-Colonia Madrid and Imalsa-Els Tolls districts. That phase saw 2,379 LED lights installed.
RAVAGED: The sea meadows before (left) and after
Asian algae taking over Spanish waters of Malaga and 200km in the direction of Portugal. It has also been found in the Canary Islands where re searchers have warned of its danger to the marine ecosys tem of the archipelago. Now towns on the Costa del Sol are having to spend huge amounts of money in an effort to combat the species. Estepona has so far removed By Dilip Kuner more than 3,000 tonnes of in vasive algae from beaches at a cost of €1 million. The problem is spreading rapidly with fears that it will reach Murcia, Va lencia and the Baleares soon.
SPAIN’S cities are having to play catch-up with Valencia in trying to get people out of cars and onto two wheels. The city has seen a 21% rise in people using its cycle lanes between January and July this year compared to 2021. The Xativa to Russafa section is the busiest with a daily average of 7,996 users. Valencia has around 170 kilometres of bike lanes with a new 2.1 kilometre section being built on Avenida del Cid and another 5 kilo metres in the pipeline. The cycle network received praise from the OCU Consumer Organisation. A 2020 bicycle users study rated Valencia as the best city in Spain to get around by bike or scooter and this year, the OCU gave the city a five-star cy cling rating.
Pedal power
A report from Global Forest Watch last week stated that in the past 12 months, around 16 football pitches of trees PER MINUTE were lost to forest fires. This is twice the amount of tree cover burnt compared to 20 years ago. Last year alone a for ested area the size of Portugal was lost. Fires are becoming more frequent, and more severe, and as a consequence stored carbon is unlocked. Trees and soil store carbon dioxide. This is one of the key gas es warming our atmo Thesphere.United Nations says that the outlook for forest fires in the decades to come is Itgrim.forecasts an expect ed increase of 50% in extreme fires by the end of this century. Apart from fires, deforestation continues to increase. Last year in the Brazilian Amazon the losses caused by agricultural clearance and logging were the highest in the past de Deforestationcade. changes local and regional cli mates and removes a lot of the evapotranspi ration that helps keep temperatures low and more humid. So cutting down these forests is actually making them hotter and drier, and makes them more prone to fires. None of this is rocket science. The reality is staring us in the face. When will we see the elephant in the room removed? Sadly, I don’t think it will be in my lifetime.
PLANSLIGHTS
ALIEN INVASION
AN Asian algae now declared an ‘invasive species’ is wreak ing havoc to native biodiversi Inty. just a year it has spread 400 kilometres along Span ish coastlines, costing local councils millions in cleaning beaches and, even worse, it is destroying local sea meadows. These are crucial parts of the ecosystem that are a haven for marine life. Rugulopteryx Okamurae is a species of brown seaweed na tive to the Pacific Ocean that mainly inhabits the coasts of Japan, China and Korea. Experts suspect that it arrived on Spanish shores through the ballast that ships dump when they arrive in port. Its presence was detected in Spain for the first time off the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on the North African Coast. Its advance, at breakneck speed, has allowed it to cov er 400 kilometres in a single year from the Strait of Gibral tar – 200 km in the direction
GREENwww.theolivepress.es August 26th - September 8th 20228 +34 951 120 830 | gogreen@mariposaenergia.es | www.mariposaenergia.es 100% Certified Green Energy Reduce your energy bill Switch to our 100% Green Energy Save even more money with our solar PV panel installations! Generate your own electricity Solar PV Panels Simply send us a recent bill & we will calculate how much you can save. Get a quote today Contact us today Martin Tye is the owner of energy switch company Mariposa Energy. +34 638 145 664 ( Spain Phone ) Email him at martin@mariposaenergia.es When will we see the elephant in the room removed? N O not the 1999 Stanley Kubrick film starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kid Iman.refer to the inactivity of the world’s leaders who refuse to see something in plain Theview.effects of climate change are reported constantly in all the media. Not just here in EYES WIDE SHUT the Olive Press, but in all newspapers, TV channels, and radio stations. Excuse the pun, but it really is a ‘hot topic’.
MEGALITHIC SITE: One of the biggest in Europe ANCIENT: Standing stones are impressive Cash for culture By Dilip Kuner
IT was a throwback to the Jamaica of the 1980s. Two of the legendary Marley family graced the same stage to pay tribute to their father, the most successful reggae artist of all time. Headlining Rototom Sunsplash festival, Marley’s brotherly love in Benicassim, Valencia, Damien Mar ley was clearly delighted to welcome his older brother Julian on stage during an Sharingencore. the stage for their dad’s seminal hit, Could You Be Loved, will certainly go down as one of the best live moments of the Andyear.the pair clearly get on despite their three-year age gap - and brother Damien’s bigger commercial success. Bouncing around and grinning at each other, they have both had successful mu sical careers, although Damien has won four Grammys over recent years, in part due to his fusion with rap music. The duet came during the second encore of the headline slot for Damien in which he played a medley of his dad’s hits in cluding War, Is This Love and Exodus It had been a great opening night to Eu rope’s biggest reggae festival over an ex traordinary seven nights at the FIB fiesta ground in Benicassim. Reggae legends the Skatalites opened the festival with their classic brand of ska/reggae fusion, on the go since 1963. But it was Damien Marley that whipped the crowd up into a frenzy in particular with his hits, There For You, Medication and Jam Rock
LiDAR (laser) data, revealed a much richer archaeological Expertsworld. from the universi ties of Huelva and Alcala de Henares describe this com plex - which began to be erected at the end of the sixth millennium B.C. and was maintained for almost 3,000 years - as ‘unique’. The farm is located on the left bank of the Guadiana River, around the Monte Gordo hill. The article El sitio megalíti co de La Torre-La Janera (Huelva): monumentali dades prehistoricas del Bajo Guadiana outlines the finds. Most of the menhirs (up to 260) are concentrated in 26 alignments and two stone circles. The alignments, from one to six rows, can reach 250 metres in length. They were all built on slopes or Thesummits.stone circles were built ‘on the tops of hills with a clear horizon towards the ris ing sun’ aligned during equi nox and solstice, according to the report. In addition, numerous dol mens, tumuli and cists (stone lined graves) have been de tected. Isolated The dolmens have been found both isolated and grouped together. One of them has a chamber 3.50 metres long, almost a metre wide and a circular tumulus surrounding it with a diameter of seven Themetres.study was carried out as part of the general research project Menhigua. Menhirs and megaliths in the Lower Guadiana. The work began at the end of 2021 and will con tinue until 2027, when it is planned to conclude analysis of the site.
STONE ME!
BRITISH band Coldplay will play the Olympic Sta dium in Barcelona on May 24 and 23, after a seven year break from Spain. Tickets will be available from August 25 via Tick etmaster and Livenation websites costing from €50 to €150. The Music of the Spheres World Tour started in Costa Rica in March and includes six sold-out con certs at Wembley stadium in London. Coldplay return cluding 526 menhirs (stand ing stones) plus numerous dolmens, burial mounds, two ‘observatories’ and a wealth of other ancient material. Originally, archaeologists only had evidence of two menhirs, five dolmens, three circular burial areas (tholoi), a quarry and four necropolis es. But the new survey, which included photo-interpreta tion of satellite and aerial images, as well as the use of SOME 180,000 people have already applied for the €400 youth culture voucher. The Ministry of Culture is handing out the ‘bono’ to youths who turn 18 to spend on cultural activities and products. The application period opened on July 25 and ends on Octo ber 15, with around half a million people eligible. Called the Bono Cultural Joven, it is valid for 12 months with the objective to inspire a new generation of art lovers while also giving a much needed boost to artistic and cultur al centres that are still recovering from the Covid pandemic. Applications can be made through the bonoculturajoven. gob.es website.
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A SCHEME to plant a 600 hectare avocado plantation has led to the discovery of one of the biggest megalithic sites in Europe, dating back some 7,000 years. The owner of the La Torre-La Janera farm in the province of Huelva had asked the Jun ta de Andalucia permission to grow the lucrative crop, which was given on the con dition a full archaeological survey was done on the site. Now this survey has borne fruit of a rather different sort envisaged by the farmer, in One of Europe’s biggest megalithic sites discovered on planned avocado plantation
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Spain’s caves are national treasures. The Olive Press has dug around to find the best but, with so many open to the public, it’s fair to say we’ve barely scratched the surface
CAVES OF MALLORCADRACH, T his is one of the few places you can take a boat ride (albeit a short one) in peak summer in Spain without the risk of sunburn. The Caves of Drach should be the name for a Bond villain’s lair, but it’s actually one of Mallorca’s top tourist attractions. Over 1km in length and 25m deep in places, the cave system boasts a large underground lake, Lake Martel, and, even more unusually, four classical musicians. Yes: as if being in a cave wasn’t excite ment enough, all visitors are ushered to a lakeside auditorium for a short concert that kicks off with Offenbach and ends with a light show over the water, before being transported towards the exit in little boats.
LA CULTURA10 August 26thSeptember 8th 2022
W HEN Spain’s peak summer temperatures start nudg ing 40, visiting a cool, dark, damp cave sounds pretty good. The fact these hidden tourist sites are also atmospheric and spectac ular is a Sometimesbonus.the attractions are man made: The cave paintings in the Cave of Altamira, near Santil lana del Mar in Cantabria, were described as masterpieces of cre ative genius by UNESCO. Altamira is part of a world heritage site that includes another 17 caves in Northern Spain where Paleolithic art has been found, the oldest dat ing back to 35,000 BC, which is fair ly Othersmind-blowing.havestar attractions that are totally natural and millions of years old, like weird stalactites and stalagmites, while a few have all mod cons, fancy lighting and live There’smusic. a cave to suit everyone, but check out these: One of the UNESCO group of 18 with Altamira, the cave art (engravings not paintings) is the big draw. Images of horses, bison, goats, a stag and snake are accurately observed, which makes the image of a man with one arm raised and a long tail just a little chilling. The oldest date from 18,000 BC, and the more ‘contemporary’, from 13,000 BC. One to explore with torches, wearing a hard hat, and in maximum groups of four, this is not for clautrophobics who don’t like bats (there’s a resident colony). But as one recent visitor said: ‘a visit to this cave was one of the best days of my life’.
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The depths of cool
LA CULTURA August 26th - September 8th 2022 11 OP QUICK CROSSWORD All solutions are on page 12 7Across The BBC (6) 8 They’re sniffed at (6) 9 Extinguishes (4,3) 10 Chinese dynasty at the time of Jesus Christ 11(3) Mountain-climbing aid (5) 12 Besmirch (7) 15 Body make-up? (7) 16 Baby transport? (5) 18 Sum charged (3) 19 Settings (7) 20 Wet cement mixture 21(6)Arranged like matry oshka 1Down(6) Horse sense (8) 2 Most technologicallysophisticated, (5-2-333)Andrea Bocelli, for ex ample (5) 4 Butler’s underling (7) 5 A zero-risk position 6(7,2,4) St. Paul’s’ architect 13(4)Underscores (8) 14 Engages (7) 17 Perfume (5) 18 Abrading tool (4)SUDOKUOP 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 CUEVA DEL CANTABRIASOPLAO, NERJA MALAGACAVES, GRUTA DE MARAVILLAS,LASHUELVA CAVING doesn’t get much easi er: Nerja has a Cueva Tren (cave train) that makes the short jour ney from the museum to the site, near Maro. Once there, visitors get to see jagged, needly stalac tites, and a worthy contender for the world’s largest stalagmite (a massive thing standing 32 me tres tall) on a 45-minute tour. It’s all surprisingly colourful thanks to the copper, iron and lead con tent of the rocks. Ancient artists were busy here too: so far 589 paintings have been discovered, but they’re out of bounds. Atmospheric night tours are available.
OPENING to the public in 1914, the Grotto of Marvels is Spain’s oldest subterra nean tourist attraction. The grotto was carved out of limestone by the water which lies in crystal clear pools and drips through the walls. Two of the three levels are currently accessible, and each has multiple cham bers, well lit to allow you to admire the extraordinary rock formations and spar kling Locatedcrystals.under the hill, un der the castle in Aracena, legend has it the grotto was discovered by a farmer who was looking for his cow.
YOU don’t have to be a spele ologist (someone who stud ies, stalactites, stagmalites, gorges, columns, helictites and so on) to be awestruck by this cave, but if you are an enthusiast, you’ll be in para Thedise.cave has the world’s largest concentration of ‘eccentric helictites’ – that’s stalac tites that grow in multiple di rections (for reasons no-one understands). And the system is big, stretching 20 km. Discovered by miners who chipped through a dividing wall in 1908, the derricks, furnaces and tunnels of the industrial heritage form part of the visitor attraction at this very special, very isolat ed spot.
KILLED: Magellan (right) died in battle nautical exploration - only made it Despitehalfway.that, Magellan had been the mastermind – the man with the plan to find a trading route around the Americas to the Spice Islands. Out of favour with the king of Por tugal (for complicated reasons), he’d come to Sevilla seeking crew, boats, maps, first hand information from other explor ers, and the financial backing of Charles I of Spain, all of which he got. Equipped with his ships, (the Trinidad, Concepcion, Victoria, San Antonio and Santiago) and a crew of 250 men, he set off across the Atlantic. Among his men was Elcano, a 43-year-old Basque sailor and ship owner, an expedition veter an who’d been living in Sevilla and had joined the venture as a ship’s There’smaster.aplaque beside the beach in Sanlucar of Magellan and Elcano, which suggests they were equals and allies. In fact, just seven months into the trip, as the fleet bobbed off Patagonia, in Argentina, Elcano took part in a mutiny against Magellan. He was spared (oth ers were not) and served five months of hard labour on shore in chains as a consequence. The circumnavigation was ulti mately a triumph but it wasn’t without its problems. Visit the full-scale replica of the Victoria (once it’s back at its moorings in Sevilla) and you’ll marvel how any of these narrow, 26-metre wooden sailing boats got any Thewhere.Santiago, sent to hunt around the southern tip of South America for a passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific, was wrecked in a storm. The crew of another ship, the San Antonio, deserted and sailed it back to Spain. After successfully finding the passage, later named the Strait of Magellan, and entering the Pacific, several of the crew on the three remaining boats got sick and died from scurvy and Onmalnutrition.arrivingin Cebu, in the Phil ippines, Magellan got to work immediately, converting the lo cals to Christianity and forging Heallegiances.lastedthree weeks before being killed in a battle (on April 27, Days1521).later, two captains, Bar bosa and Serrano, who had stepped up to jointly fill Magel lan’s shoes, were invited to a local tribe’s banquet and mas sacred along with 27 sailors. The depleted fleet sensibly moved hurriedly on, abandon ing one, the Con cepcion, because there weren’t enough sailors left to sail it. Just two ships reached the Moluc cas, the fabled Spice Islands of Indonesia, after two years and a month at sea. The boats were stuffed full with ginger, nutmeg and cloves but, as they were about to set off for home, the TO mark Elcano’s amazing voyage, the V Centenary Festival beginsat Sanlucar (Cadiz) on September 6 with a flotilla of naval ships.The replica of the Victoria will cross the mouth of the Guadalquivir,500 years to the day, and lead a procession of boats upriver, pastthe shores of Bajoquía and Bonanza.Also in Sanlucar on September 6, the cyclists of the Vuelta deEspaña, begin stage 16 of their own long-distance enduranceendeavour at noon. And the Royal Symphony Orchestra of Sevillaperforms Magallanes Requiem in memoriam in a grand marqueebeside the Paseo Maritimo in the evening.On September 7, the Victoria and accompanying boats will sailpast the towns of Puebla del Rio and Coria del Rio, arriving in Sevilla the following day where festivities continue September 8-11at Muelle de las Delicias. (tickets at festivalvcentenariosevilla.org).Expect artisans market; historical reenactments; demonstrationsby potters, glass blowers, blacksmiths; theatre; puppet shows; andfood ‘served in a vintage maritime atmosphere’.Afterwards the Victoria will be open to visitors, moored beside theFirst Around the World interpretation centre (Paseo Marqués deContadero).
HERO: Elcano (left) returned home in the Victoria
ELCANO COMMEMORATION WEEK boat,mainingthe Victoria, around the Cape of Good Hope, and up the coast of West Africa. He finally sailed into Sanlucar in September 1522 with a total of just 18 men out of the 250 who had set sail… and fittingly their names are all listed on a plaque on the library beside the town’s square Plaza de Cabildo. In a letter to Charles I, Elcano marvelled at the roundness of the world, and told him his crew had spread peace, forged alli ances, collected spices, and en dured sweat, hunger, thirst, cold and heat. The king rewarded Elcano with a large reward of ducat coins and sent him on a new expedition to the Pacific three years later. It would have made him one of the country’s richest men on his return, but as fortune would have it he ended up dying of scurvy in 1526.
12 Trinidad sprang a leak, and had to stay behind. The new expedi tion leader and 53 sailors elect ed to stay behind too. Elcano’s rise through the ranks was helped by a combination of various misadventures and stay ing He’dalive.ended up captaining most of the ships, and now he was in charge of the last ship sailing for Hehome.skilfully brought the one re OP Puzzle solutions Quick Crossword Across: 7 Auntie, 8 Odours, 9 Puts out, 10 Han, 11 Piton, 12 Tarnish, 15 Anatomy, 16 Stork, 18 Fee, 19 Locales, 20 Slurry, 21 Nested. Down: 1 Gumption, 2 State-of-the-art, 3 Tenor, 4 Footman, 5 Nothing to lose, 6 Wren, 13 Stresses, 14 Employs, 17 Scent, 18 File.
LA CULTURA
ELCANO COULD
While Magellan and 232 others didn’t make it, it is 500 years since intrepid Spanish explorer Elcano made the first circumnavigation of the world IT is 500 years since Spanish explorer Juan Sebastian Elca no circumnavigated the world. September 6 marks the an niversary of his return to Sanlu car de Barrameda (Cadiz) after completing the remarkable feat, just two decades after Columbus had discovered the Americas. A fitting celebration involving a large flotilla of boats will be marking the event in both Sanlu car and nearby Sevilla, the final port of call. The expedition had begun three years earlier on September 20, 1519, under the command of celebrated explorer Ferdinand FiveMagellan.ships set sail from Sanlucar but only one came back. Not many people realise that Portu guese navigator Magellan - so often credited with this feat of By Sorrel Downer
The first week of the measures between August 8 and 14 saw a 3.7% fall compared to the pre vious week. That also coincided with an other major heatwave. Ecological Transition Minister, Teresa Ribera, said: “I thank everybody’s efforts as a whole to abide by the measures such as limiting air conditioning temperatures.”
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After taking a tumble at the start of the month as a result of the Bank of England’s (BoE) recession warning, the GBP/EUR ex change rate remained subdued through the second week of Au gust amid lingering concerns over the UK’s economic trajectory. Exacerbating these concerns was the publication of the UK’s latest GDP figures. While these reported a smaller-than-expect ed contraction in growth in the second quarter, they stoked fears the UK could slip into a recession in Q3. Meanwhile the euro traded in a wide range through this peri od. The single currency’s negative correlation with the US dollar prompting swings in the euro amid fluctuating USD exchange Therates.middle of August saw the pound mount a convincing recov ery with the publication of some high-impact UK data releases. The UK’s latest wage growth and inflation figures both printed above forecast, bolstering expectations the BoE will pursue a 50bps rate hike in September and strengthening Sterling sen Duringtiment. this time the euro was left on the back foot, in part due to Germany’s latest ZEW index, which reported sentiment in the Eurozone’s largest economy continued to deteriorate this Themonth.single currency’s upside potential also remained limited amid growing concerns that Europe will face a gas shortage this winter.
BUSINESS August 26th - September 8th 2022 13
WHAT YOU NEED TO Looking ahead, the immediate focus for GBP and EUR inves tors will be the publication of the latest UK and Eurozone PMI releases. If these report that private sector activity in the UK or Eurozone continued to weaken in August then their respective currencies could fall. In terms of data a key focus will also be the Eurozone’s upcoming consumer price index. August’s preliminary figures could propel the euro higher if they report inflation in the bloc continued to ac celerate this month. Another uptick in inflation is likely to increase the odds of another 50bps rate hike from the European Central Bank (ECB) at its next interest rate decision. However, any upside in EUR exchange rates may remain limited in the face of ongoing concerns over Europe’s energy security. Meanwhile, the final weeks of the Conservative leadership elec tion may infuse additional volatility into the pound. GBP investors will be paying particularly close attention to frontrunner Liz Truss for more clarity on how she will tackle the UK’s cost of living crisis as Prime Minister.
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PROTECTING AGAINST VOLATILITY
GBP/EUR exchange rate firms on hawkish BoE rate hike bets
This kind of volatility can cause some nasty surprises if you need to transfer money overseas. On a £200,000 transfer, just a onecent gap translates to a €2,000 difference. And the larger the sum, the higher the discrepancy. Fortunately, there are ways that you can protect against volatility. Specialist currency brokers, such as Currencies Direct, offer dif ferent tools to help you navigate the ups and downs of the cur rency market. For instance, you can use a forward contract to secure an ex change rate for up to a year. This way, you won’t lose out if the market moves against you. Services like rate alerts and daily updates make it easy to keep track of what’s going on in the forex world so that you can make informed decisions. And with Currencies Direct you’ll have a ded icated account manager there to provide guidance and support whenever you need them. At Currencies Direct we’re here to talk currency whenever you need us, so get in touch if you want to know more about the latest news or how it could impact your currency transfers.
Highest Euro zone annual inflation hit a new record high of 8.9% up from 8.6% in June, with the lowest rates seen in France, Malta (both 6.8%), and Finland (8.0%). The highest annual rates were recorded in Estonia (23.2%), Latvia (21.3%), and Lithuania (20.9%). ised criminals in the area. The European Commission is looking to sign similar deals with Algeria, the Gambia, Sen egal and Mauritania. With Rabat claiming it invests €435 million to stop the mi grant surge, it has pressed the EU hard for the €500 million figure. The sum is supplied by the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument of the EU (NDICI). The fund has a budget of €79.5 billion for 2021 to 2027, 13% more than the previous period. Teresa Ribera
By Alex Trelinski
Cash handoutTHE European Commission could give Morocco €500 mil lion to keep migrants out of the EU for the period of 2021 to The2027.two sides are set to reach an agreement that would be a 50% increase on the sum of €343 million for 2014 to 2020, according to a Commission Thesespokesman.funds will pay for inte gration and protection projects for refugees living in Morocco, forced returns and police coop eration to fight against organ
Euro on the back foot
THE past couple of weeks has seen the pound to euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate fluctuate, before trending broadly higher in response to Bank of England (BoE) rate hike speculation. During this period we have seen GBP/EUR trade between a high of €1.1913 and a low of €1.1780.
WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING?
INFLATION in Spain rose to 10.8% in July - the high est rate since December Figures1984. from the Nation al Statistics Institute(INE) showed that despite signif icant falls in petrol prices, rising electricity and food costs led to a 0.6% increase over the June inflation rate. Some basic foods have risen by well over 20% in a year. Inflation has gone up for three consecutive months after a 1.5% fall in April. In May it climbed to 8.7% and reached 10.2% in June, de spite the introduction of a government price cap on gas and other initiatives to lower the rate. Core inflation (which does not include fresh food or en ergy) also went up by 0.6% in July to stand at 6.1% - the highest since January 1993. In regard to food, the INE said that basic products in the shopping basket such as oil have registered a rise of 28.6% in one year.
timetablePipeline
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energySaving
A NEW gas pipeline con necting Spain and France could be ready in ‘eight or nine months’, according to Ecological Transition Minister, Teresa Ribera. The pipeline is seen as a major way for European countries like France and Germany to counter ex pensive or disruptive sup plies from Russia. Emergency The line would run through the Catalunya region and the Pyrenees mountains. Ribera de scribed the situation as an ‘energy emergency’ for Europe as it looks to wean itself off Russian gas Sheflows.added that the pipe line plan would need ‘very important investment’ including the financial backing of the European Union.
READY:
Cost of food driving inflation up despite fall in petrol prices
Getting poorer
Eggs and milk are up by 22.5%; cereals 20%; and bread at almost 15%. Chick en is 16.3% more expensive than in July 2021, with other rises including fish (11.4%); beef (14.5%); fruit (15%); potatoes (13.5%); and coffee (12%).
ELECTRICITY usage in Spain fell by 3.7% in the first week of measures introduced by the government to reduce demand on gas generated energy. The European Union wants a 7% fall on gas demand in Spain to reduce energy dependency on Russia across the region. Spain’s target figure is over half of what most other EU mem ber states have to produce.
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PROPERTY14 August 26thSeptember 8th 2022 kitchens Modern concept, sophisticated designs, custom made in homeGermanyKitchen, bathroom, living room, and bedroomelementsdecoration We produce and fit custom made woodwork – cabinets, furnitures, tables, doors also outdoor kitchens tel: +34 971 13 42 info@leanti-group.com45 www.leanti-group.com c/ Son Bugadelles, 9, Calvià, 07180 Mallorca Situated in a well-kept community | CP000130 | Price: 695.000€ 3 bedrooms | 2 bathrooms | build: 270m2 | plot: 200m2 In a pleasant neighbourhood | CP000286 | Price: 2.250.000€ plot: 2.574m2 Villa in Santa Ponsa Magnificent land situated in Santa Ponsa Walking distance from beach | CP000274 | Price: 425.000€ 4 bedrooms | 2 bathrooms | build: 150m2 | plot: 100m2 Adorable townhouse in Santa Ponsa Designed For Entertaining | CP000296 | Price: 1.495.000€ 7 bedrooms | 5 bathrooms | built: 447m2 | plot: 1.250m2 Spacious Villa in Santa Ponsa www.crocodileproperties.com Removals UK-MALLORCA-UK weekly Jason 679 216 www.mallorcaexpress.com527BasedinPalma Jason 07831 846528 UK 01924Office464 Basedmove@mallorcaexpress.com857inWestYorshire MALLORCA EXPRESSLTDREMOVALS GET OUT! squatters’toProposalallow evictions in 24 hours
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Accion Liberal. Its author, Daniel Rodriguez Asensio, stated: “Allowing squatting is just one more step towards a communist and authoritarian regime in which the will and rights of individuals are subjugated to the random wishes of the government of the day.”
NO ROOM
THE supply of shared flats in Spain’s provincial capitals has fallen by 45% in just a year. This is in line with a sharp reduc tion in rental housing stock, ac cording to a report by Idealista The availability of flat shares has plunged the most in Palma (-78%), Barcelona (-73%) and San Sebastian (-71%). They are followed by reductions in Malaga (-62%), Madrid (-59%), Guadala jara (-55%), Alicante (-54%), Tar ragona (-53%) and Girona (-53%). Just eight capitals have more rooms available than a year ago - Albacete (plus 50%) Cordoba (20%), Cas tellon de la Plana (13%), Caceres (13%), Almeria (11%), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (8%), Palencia (7%) and Segovia (3%). While supply is drying up, rents are rising. Three capitals share the highest percentage increase in Spain (20%): Tarragona, Almeria and Malaga. These are followed by increases in Valencia (18%), Santander (16%), Alicante (15%), Guadalajara, Barcelona and Ma drid (14% in all three cases), San Sebastian (13%), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (13%), Lleida (11%), Huelva (11%) and Toledo (10%). San Sebastian is the city with the most expensive room rents in Spain, reaching €460 per month on average. It is followed by Bar celona (€450), Madrid (€420), Palma (€400), Bilbao (€370), Malaga (€350) and Pamplona Ciudad(€350). Real is, on the other hand, the cheapest city (€175 per month), followed by Palencia (€200) and Jaen (€200).
residence - occupied ‘ille Thegally’.
families in
By Dilip Kuner
Boom time ESTATE agencies and property consultants are booming, with revenues up 42% in 2021 to a massive €7.8 billion According to the DBK Informa Sector Obser vatory the estate agencies had a turnover of €7.4 billion, 43.1% higher than 2020, while businesses with a real estate consultancy pro file took in €400 million, an increase of 21.2%.
In terms of freehold residential sales, 650,000 transactions worth €115 billion were made in 2021, an increase of 39.1%over 2020. The sector expects to maintain the upward trend in revenues this year, although in the short term the pace of growth is expected to slow with the worsening economic situation and an upward trend in interest rates.
Work till you drop BUYING an average property in Spain now costs 11.1 years worth of wages compared to 8.2 years at the turn of the Whilecentury.this may sound bad, other countries are much worse off, accord ing to the Organisation for Economic Co-oper ation and Development In(OECD).NewZealand ot takes 18.7 years worth of sala ry to buy a 100m2 home, followed by South Korea (16.6), Ireland (16.1) and Luxembourg (15.8). Spaniards are in line with the Portuguese (11.4 years), Swedes (11.2 years) and almost on a par with the British (11 Atyears).the other end of the scale, US households only need the equivalent of 4.1 years of average gross annual income to finance housing. This is ahead of Lithuania (6.5 years) and Finland (6.7 years) and Japan (7.5 years).
An estimated 49 properties are newly squatted each day. The proposals are in line with recent recommenda tions of a report on squat ting in Spain by thinktank
THE PP opposition party has announced it will pro pose legislation to force squatters to be evicted is a major prob estimates of 120,000 Spain having their secondand sometimes main proposed legislation - which has a slim chance of becoming law - would reinstate the crime of usur pation of property, with jail terms of between three and five years. It would also al low the community of own ers to report squatters and start the eviction process. The problem is particular ly bad in Catalunya where nearly half of reported squatters live. Two months ago the Cata lan European Democratic Party (PDeCAT) made simi lar proposals that would see squatters evicted within 48 Theyhours.argued for a change in the law to make it possible to remove people from prop erties if they are unable to produce property deeds or a rental contract to demon strate their right to remain. And the proposal also sought to give communities of owners the right to start proceedings. If neither the community or owner start ed the eviction process, then the town hall would be given the power to do so.
SQUATTERS: are a controversial topic in Spain
Squatters
trusts,
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Wheeled marauder
Points to order
A DISABLED Dutchman stalked two Ger man tourists then punched one in the face and stole his wallet, before racing away at high speed in a wheelchair. Joseff M. 56, didn’t let the fact he was in a wheelchair stop his criminal plan when he followed the tourists through the Plaza del Olivar in Palma. Without warning, the thief punched his 62-year-old victim in the face before making his getaway, with the Germans in hot pur suit as he bounced over the cobbles in the SIMPSON 2. HOMER 3. 05-12-56 ESPANA4a. 05-12-12 4a. 05-12-22 5. C4043243 market square. A National Police patrol spotted the com motion and joined the chase, eventually catching and arresting the Dutchman. He now stands accused of an alleged crime of robbery with violence. His victim was taken to hospital by ambu lance bleeding profusely, while the attacker got a trip to the police station. By Dilip Kuner IT isn’t quite the publicity Barcelona was hoping for. A television interview with tourists about what they love about visiting the Catalan capital unwittingly revealed one of the major bugbears. While a holidaymaker shared what he saw as the delights of Barcelona, a man can be seen in the background picking up a rucksack and making off with it. Moments later an other man returns from a swim to discover his bag has been stolen. Love “I love the beautiful beach, the clean sea water, the good weather… the food,” said the interviewee on TVE as in the background the victim of the robbery shouts ‘my bag, my bag. Did some one see something?’. The video reveals one of the prevalent gripes from vis itors to the city that petty crime is rife and pick pock eting very common. Luckily, thanks to the vid eo, the perpetrator was soon identified by police and arrested.
Fall guy ended up with MINUS 321 points on his driving licence
FREE OPRESSThe MALLORCA LIVE Vol. 5 Issue 138 www.theolivepress.es August 26th - September 8th 2022We use recycled paper REREREuseducecycle
1. JAY
ABAGGEDTHIEF
A MAN has been arrested after he lost 333 points from his driv ing licence after taking the fall for other motorists’ offences. Under Spain’s licensing system everyone has between 12 and 15 points on their licence (eight for new drivers), which are lost for certain driving offences. Once the total reaches zero, a ban kicks in. The 28-year-old Armenian resident of Valencia had MINUS 321 points on his Nowlicence.police are investigating 91 motorcyclists who had put the man’s name on paperwork to say that he was the rider. The ruse was uncovered by Guardia Civil in Mallorca after a motorcyclist sped through a checkpoint, almost hitting an officer. Police sent a notification of several serious road offences to the registered owner of the thatproblemThenianofthethewhomotorbike,returnedformwithdetailstheArmeonit.onlywasaspeed camera photo clearly identified the rider as a woman. Police dug deeper and found the Armenian had lost the huge number of points for driving offences. Investigations revealed that he used social media to advertise his service of taking the blame, charging between €75 and €200 per point. Ban He had long since been banned and his licence was not even valid for motorbikes - but that did not stop his lucrative scam. Police remain puzzled that the DGT had not taken action.
changeCarrion FARMERS are complain ing after a vulture killed a two-day-old calf on a farm in Salamanca in the second incident in a few days. They say the birds have changed behaviour because of food shortages caused by new health regulations.
WORDSFINAL
Silly who25-year-oldcalledFIREFIGHTERSdronewereouttorescueadronepilothadclamberedup a steep cliff in Malaga to rescue his expensive crash landed toy only to get stuck himself Guns to order A MAN in A Coruña has been arrested for mak ing guns on 3D printers including an almost com pleted AR9 assault rifle after officers spotted his presence in online discus sions about firearms.
