German influx

TOURISM operators are predicting that an extra 300,000 German tourists will travel to the Balearic Islands this year.

German tour operators met with representatives of the Spanish government and Mallorca Council at the ITB travel fair in Berlin and predicted a ‘10 month’ tourist season this year. It is predicted to start from February and last until about mid-November.

Mallorca Minister for Tourism Andreu Serra said it highlighted that tourists were taking advantage of the island’s spectacular climate all-year round and not just planning trips during the summer season. Minister of Economic Model, Tourism and Labor Iago Negueruela said that ways in which Mallorca can become a more sustainable destination to cater for the extra loads of tourists was also discussed at the fair.

A COMMISSION set up to investigate the Catholic Church finally admitted there are ‘thousands’ of victims of paedophile priests in Spain.

A spokesman for the church-organised probe confirmed that they didn’t have an exact figure yet, but it was ‘quite a few thousand victims’.

The leader of the probe Javier Cremades has been criticised for taking so long to admit a basic figure, in particular as he is a devout Catholic and member of shady religious group Opus Dei.

In contrast, El Pais newspaper already has 1,770 registered victims and 929 individuals accused from within the Catholic Church. In France, a special independent commission has so far compiled 6,500 victims,

HUNDREDS of people are thought to have been ordered to pay penalties for fines which they were never notified about when thousands of letters were dumped by lazy postmen. Now Palma council has decided to find a new contractor after CI Postal didn't deliver notifications on time. Sanctioned residents knew nothing about penalties until they got a fresh letter saying they had incurred an extra fine for late payment. An action group was formed by them to protest about their rights being violated.

Two former CI Postal employees have been charged with falsifying notification receipts and dumping letters in areas like tunnels. Their contract expires at the end of March and Palma council has made it clear that they will not get an extension.

The authority has advertised a tender for €15.5 million to cover three years - a 40% rise on the current budget as the number of fines has tripled.