Mallorca Olive Press - Issue 82

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Vol. 4 Issue 82 www.theolivepress.es June 12th - June 25th 2020

SEEN THEM:Van or paedophile Christian Brueckner, believed to have taken Maddie?

EXCLUSIVE: Did Maddie kidnapper bring her in his distinctive van to this Valencia restaurant?

Pic by Joshua Parfitt

Closing in, Page 2

INTRIGUING: Various witnesses swore to police they saw three-year-old Maddie get out of a VW van and go into the Tunnels Restaurant in Alcossebre in May 2007

MOCKERY

Demands from victims as convicted holiday rentals conman avoids prison AND paying back stolen fees

EXCLUSIVE

By Dilip Kuner

A BRITISH couple conned out of €2,800 through a fake holiday website have turned detective and had a Spanish fraudster convicted.

However, the angry holidaymakers are now demanding action after the conman with Valencia links failed to return their money, despite a court order.

The couple, Lucia and Peter Myers, both 54, from London, are furious that Alvaro Lopez Uribe only paid one installment out of an agreed 11, after being found guilty of the elaborate scam.

A Spanish court sentenced Uribe to six months jail for ruining their holiday in Mallorca last year and then

SCAMMED: Brit Lucia Myers had Uribe (right) convicted over luxury villa rental (above) but now conman is ‘bankrupt’ and free suspended the term on condition he re-paid the couple.

But Uribe has now declared himself insolvent and the court has therefore declared the case over.

“I thought that the lockdown might have been why we have had no payment for months, but then I got an email informing us that the matter was now ended,” IT specialist Lucia told the Olive Press this week.

She and husband Peter, who runs a computer business, had handed over the cash via a bank transfer to pay for a one-week stay at an upmarket villa near Palma, in 2017.

But just the day before they were due to fly out, they were told the villa was no longer available.

The couple, who were travelling with their two children, Julia, 15 and Alicia, nine at the time, were forced to book another villa.

Incredibly, on an internet search for a last minute rental they were offered the actual villa by the real owners and told that they had been the victims of a classic scam that has caught hundreds out over the last few years, as the Olive Press has frequently

warned.“It turned out these scammers had simply stolen the pictures from the internet and set up a fake site,” Lucia explained. money to be returned was refused as there were no funds in the account.

Lucia managed to find two other couples who had fallen for the same scam. One of them turned up in Mallorca with their two children to find they had nowhere to stay.

Dossier

Determined that no-one else should fall victim to the site, she managed to have it closed down after making an official complaint.

She also went to the Guardia Civil, which eventually took on the case, with Lucia twice flying out as a witness to Granada.

“The court paid the expenses, but I think the defendant’s lawyer was surprised to see me. If I hadn’t turned up, that would have been the end of the case,” she said.

During the two year investigation she compiled a huge dossier of information – including details of a

bank account in Valencia that was also used by the same scammers.

“The authorities in Spain don’t seem to take this very seriously,” she continued. “But to my mind this is a big crime. How much money has been stolen from innocent people?”

While Uribe claimed he was not guilty and other shadier figures were behind the scam, she believes he should pay for the crime for which he is convicted.

“This puts us off visiting Spain. We have gone to Corfu instead for the past few years. Scams like this are not good for Spain – the authorities should realise this and make it harder for conmen to work online and easier for people to get their money back.”

A home address given to the court

by Uribe in Granada appeared empty this week.

Neighbours told the Olive Press they had not seen him for ‘some time’.

An official address for his ‘holiday lettings business’ turned out to be empty with local businesses saying they had never heard of him.

Opinion Page 6

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June 12th - June 25th 2020

DID YOU SEE CHRISTIAN (RIGHT) OR HIS VW WESTFALIA VAN ON THE COSTAS?

Case against prime Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner grows stronger as series of key Spain links emerge EXCLUSIVE

By Laurence Dollimore & Joshua Parfitt, in Alcossebre

MADDIE McCann was reportedly seen getting into a German-owned VW van with a mystery man just weeks after her disappearance, it has been revealed.

Unearthed police files, published this week, show how a witness was convinced he saw the British toddler leave a restaurant in Alcossebre on the Costa Blanca.

The alleged sighting took place at Tunnels, at 11am on May 28, 2007, just three weeks after the three-year-old vanished.

The area in Valencia is 600 miles from where Maddie was snatched in Praia da Luz, in Portugal, and is popular with people living the camper van lifestyle, such as prime suspect

Pics by Jon Clarke

SPOTTED: At Tunnels in Alcossebre

CLOSING IN Christian Brueckner.

The 43-year-old paedophile was living in Praia de Luz when Maddie vanished and was driving a distinctive VW T3 Westfalia van (pictured).

A German expat, who has lived near the restaurant for years, remembers the day well as it was his friend who contacted the police.

Jorge, who asked to stay anonymous, told the Olive Press that it was ‘the talk of the town’ and his friend clearly saw the VW van and he ‘still swears it was Maddie’.

Following the tip off at the

BIRD’S EYE VIEW: Breuckner’s rental home overlooked McCann’s apartment in Luz

time, Leicestershire cop DC John Hughes issued an international Interpol alert with a ‘risk to life missing person’ warning demanding that both Spanish and German police investigate.

He urged police to check the location for CCTV and witnesses and asked for the German van’s details, which were allegedly BMS 1049. It is not known what checks were made. The police report, issued as part of

Operation Task, explained that the restaurant was in an area called ‘Cap Y Corp’ and that the witness had an ‘unimpeded’ view of the girl who walked straight past him.

German police said there were indications that he could have used either the van or a Jaguar model XJR 6 with a German number plate to commit the snatching of Maddie and appealed for help tracking where they were parked.

The Olive Press has established (see box) that he was seen back in the Algarve area a couple of weeks later in the same van,

EXPOSED: The paedo’s lair SPECIAL INVESTIGATION

by Jon Clarke & Laurence Dollimore, in Foral

HIDEAWAY: House where Breuckner stayed in Foral and (below) our story in Mail on Sunday

T

HIS is the house where the prime suspect in the Maddie case spent several months following the toddler’s disappearance.

The extensive property sits in the sleepy village of Foral, around 45 minutes drive from Praia da Luz, where the three-yearold vanished in 2007.

Several locals confirmed to the Olive Press they saw Brueckner, now aged 43, and his distinctive Westfalia van parked outside the property, where troubled German teenagers were supposedly nursed back to health.

The German paedophile was around for months and often worked at the village’s O Faro restaurant and did odd jobs to earn cash or in exchange for showers.

“He came and went and was a really scary

SCARED: Landlady Lia

guy, people were scared of him in the village,” owner Lia Silva revealed.

“He claimed to be a private detective and he carried a gun which was obviously really terrifying.”

She revealed how the house was rented to a German woman Nicole, who was living there with her boyfriend Roman, who allegedly beat her up.

She explained that the woman had a young daughter of her own, but she also took in troubled teenagers from Germany, who she fostered for a living.

“She was supposedly running a rehabilitation programme for troubled youths, but one escaped and came back pregnant, alongside that man who I believe was Christian.”

The property has become a key part of the investigation into the movements of Brueckner around the time of Maddie’s disappearance.

The home, which is currently being rented by two Brits, has extensive grounds and a large swimming pool and barbecue area.

Nicole abandoned the property in 2009, owing Silva around €10,000 in unpaid rent.

“They left behind needles, used syringes with a spoon and bricks of hashish,” re-

called Silva, “it was horrible finding that in my house, but I burnt it all, I didn’t want to be incriminated by that stuff.”

Brueckner was not seen in the village after Nicole and Roman left.

Police turned up a couple of times looking for Roman but did not reveal to Silva why.

“He received some serious looking legal letters from Lisbon so maybe it was related to that.”

Talking to the Olive Press inside the grounds, she said she welcomed police digging up if it helps solve the Maddie case.

“I just want this case closed like everyone else, the parents need closure. If it was him who took Maddie, then I hope they hang the bastard.”

Several other witnesses in the town confirmed that Portuguese police have never visited to ask questions about the case.

but that he could have easily have been driving any number of different vans.

It comes as Brueckner, who lived for many years around Praia da Luz, allegedly told colleagues in Germany that Maddie was dead.

Reports say he became frustrated when his work pals would not stop talking about the case while working at a kiosk between 2012 and 2014.

“The child is dead now – and that’s a good thing!” Brueckner reportedly screamed, “you can make a corpse disappear quickly… pigs also eat human flesh!”

Boasted

While he was discounted from the Portuguese investigation in 2007 and again in 2012, the net began to close when German police started probing him in 2017.

It came after Brueckner told a pal on a night out about the case and boasted how he had raped a 72-year-old American woman in Praia da Luz, two years before Maddie was snatched.

It came after a picture of Maddie flashed onto the TV screen in a bar they were in, it being the 10th anniversary of her disappearance.

He went on to show the pal videos, allegedly of the sadistic rape, for which he has now been convicted, and possibly of Maddie.

The suspect has 17 convictions, many of them sexual offences against young children.

His first known offence was when he molested a six-yearold girl in Germany at the age of 17 in 1993. A year later he attempted to sexually assault a nine-year-old girl.

He moved to Praia da Luz with his then-girlfriend in 2005, but broke up with her soon after arriving.

He had a series of other girlfriends, including a British girl, and also found work as a waiter and carried out odd jobs.But meanwhile he was also robbing apartments and selling drugs.

Eerily, he was living in a rundown property, rented from a British owner, which overlooked the resort from a nearby hill and just a short walk to the beach.

One of his neighbours, an Austrian woman, Salamanda, told

the Olive Press he was always polite to her and a good neighbour. “I even had coffees with him on a few occasions and he seemed fine,” she said.

It is the circumstances of his sudden departure from the resort around the time of Maddie’s disappearance, plus a mysterious 30-minute conversation with someone called ‘Diogo Silva’, on the night she vanished, which is so intriguing.

The fact that he sold or at least re-registered his Jaguar car the day after her death is suspicious, as is the fact that just a couple of weeks later he started living in a small village, Foral, some 45 minutes away inland.

German police issued both phone numbers used on the evening an hour before she vanished, and also gave out photos of his van and car.

Yet, Portuguese police became obsessed that it was her parents who killed her and did not even include Bruekner on a list of 600 possible suspects.

Despite his close links, now confirmed by the Olive Press in Foral, police have yet to search the property or properly probe his links there.

Sex attack

The village has now become filled with investigators and journalists trying to crack the case, following our expose, including the BBC that filmed on Monday in the strange property that housed troubled teenagers brought in from Germany.

Brueckner would go on to commit more crimes against children, including another sexual attack in June 2013.

He has now been linked to another five missing children and a series of rapes both in Portugal and Germany.

Whether he could have committed offences in Spain on his many trips across the country is now a question for Spanish police to grapple with.

According to German magazine Der Spiegel, in September 2013, he wrote in an online chatroom that he wanted to ‘capture something small and use it for days.’

Do you recognise the van or jaguar pictured? Do you remember seeing either of the vehicles throughout the 2000s? Contact newsdesk@ theolivepress.es

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June 12th - June 25th 2020

Party prince

That’s rich ENRIQUE Iglesias and Anna Kournikova have been named as Spain's top celebrity power couple and 22nd worldwide.

Credit company Guarantor Loans released its list which combined couples’ net worths and social media followings to rank the top 40 pairings in the world.

In first place was Oprah Winfrey and Stedman Graham, worth a combined €2.75 billion.

The top performing couple that includes at least one Spaniard was singer Enrique Iglesias and tennis star Anna Kournikova who ranked 22nd worldwide, with assets of €133 million between them.

Cue music ONE of Spain’s most prestigious international awards has been awarded to two of cinema’s great composers.

The Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts has been given to Ennio Morricone (right) – responsible for much of the iconic music in Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns including The Good the Bad and the Ugly – and John Williams (right), most famous for the Star Wars music.

Morricone has written more than 500 movie soundtracks while Williams has composed the music for some of Hollywood’s biggest hits including ET, Fiddler on the Roof, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List and the Indiana Jones movies. This latest award adds to the long list of Oscar, Grammys and other prizes the two composers have to their names.

THE biggest festival in Mallorca has announced its return after cancelling its initial dates due to the coronavirus crisis.

Goth god Marilyn Manson will headline the Mallorca Live Festival alongside London pop-duo the Pet Shop Boys and Leeds indie band the Kaiser Chiefs between October 8 and 10.

This will be one of Manson’s only appearances outside of specifically punk rock or mental events where fans can expect to hear hits like The Beautiful People and The Dope Show.

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Kickback King

Spain’s former monarch embroiled in new scandal amid probe by country’s top court

DISGRACED former King Juan Carlos is being investigated by Spain’s Supreme Court over whether he illegally received millions of euros of kickbacks from Saudi Arabia.

The probe dates back to another inquiry launched by Spain’s anti-corruption prosecutor into a massive contract won by Spanish companies in 2011 to build a high-speed railway linking the cities of Medina and Mecca.

Swiss newspaper La Tribune de Geneve claimed that before his 2014 abdication, Juan Carlos received nearly €100 million from the late king of Saudi Arabia.

As king, Juan Carlos enjoyed

EARNER: King ‘took €100 million from Saudis’ immunity from prosecution.

But now the supreme court prosecutor is looking to see if he can be included in the case for any actions that took place after he abdicated in favour of

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his son, when he ceased to be covered by immunity.

A statement from the prosecutor said: “This investigation focuses, precisely, on establishing or discarding the criminal relevance of deeds that happened after June 2014, when the King Emeritus was no longer protected by immunity.”

Juan Carlos had enjoyed immense popularity and respect, built up during Spain’s transition into democracy after dictator Franco died in 1975.

A series of scandals destroyed his reputation and eventually forced him to hand the throne to his son, Felipe.

One of these centred on his relationship with businesswoman Corinna zu SaynWittgenstein. The former king is alleged by La Tribune de Geneve to have given her nearly €57 million.

BELGIAN Party Prince Joachim has been fined €10,400 after his jet set lockdown antics were uncovered.

The 28-year-old prince flew to Spain from Belgium in May to visit high society Spanish girlfriend Victoria Ortiz Martinez-Sagrera.

But instead of self-isolating for two weeks, he attended two bashes in Cordoba before he and another guest tested positive for COVID-19 First he partied with 11 others at his girlfriend’s family farm, then the next day he joined 15 friends for more revelries.

His fine will be reduced by half if he pays within 15 days.

Costa crime FOOTBALL star Diego Costa has been sentenced to six months in prison for tax fraud, but will avoid serving time.

The Atletico Madrid and former Chelsea striker has also been handed a €543,208 fine.

The 31-year-old pleaded guilty to charges relating to €1.1 million in unpaid taxes.

Brazilian-born Costa also failed to declare more than €1 million in image rights.

He will avoid jail, as Spanish law allows sentences

shorter than two years for non-violent crimes to be exchanged for a fine, in this case an extra €36,500.

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June 12th - June 25th 2020

RIP: Guerrero dead

Tragic end THE body of a missing man has been found floating in the sea off the coast of Mallorca.

The lifeless corpse of Layo Guerrero, 37, was discovered in Portals Vells by specialist search and rescue members of the Guardia Civil.

Guerrero, who worked as a SAMU-061 ambulance driver, was reported missing by his wife in the same area on June 3.

He had been on the beach with his partner and 10-yearold son when he decided to go snorkelling in the sea equipped with the necessary underwater equipment.

As time passed and Guerrero failed to return to the shore, his wife notified the emergency services.

The missing father has now been found after a search and rescue operation involving more than 100 members of law enforcement.

An autopsy will now be carried out by a forensic team based in Palmanova.

Horrific!

Police probe house of horrors with dozens of animals dead

CARNAGE: Bodies of dead dogs littered the house

By Alex Trelinski

OVER 100 animals have been rescued from squalid conditions, surrounded by the decaying corpses of dogs, rabbits, pigeons and chickens, in Murcia.

The Guardia Civil’s nature protection service Seprona was alerted by concerned neighbours after they realised no one had visited the property in the small town of Moratalla for some time.

Officers were met with a scene of horror.

A menagerie in ‘deplorable’ condition was discovered, with the stench of decompos-

Breaking bad broken up POLICE have busted a large-scale narcotics laboratory in Mallorca.

Copious amounts of illegal substances, including cocaine, speed and ecstasy, were found at the makeshift drugs lab set up at a home in the Son Cotoner district of Palma.

As part of ‘Operation Gas,’ Policia Nacional officers were able to shut down one of the main suppliers of narcotics on the island.

They arrested a 48-year-old Spaniard on suspicion of drug trafficking.

Covert surveillance on the detainee in the weeks prior to his arrest revealed that he had made multiple trips from his home each day.

ing animals overwhelming the house. Excrement and urine were in every room of the property as well as wild finches – a protected species - and a Vietnamese pig. They had no access to food and water.

None of the animals had the required veterinary documentation. Police took the rescued animals for vet treatment before handing them over to animal sanctuaries, who are now looking after them. The owner of the property is being investigated on numerous charges, including animal abandonment and possession of a protected species. Guardia Civil were helped by the CARM Animal Health Service, the Cleaning and Disinfection Service, the El Valle Centre for the Recovery of Fauna and Flora in Murcia and an animal recovery centre in Mazarron, as well as local police.

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‘Nonpriority’ THE Government of the Balearic Islands has vetoed the reopening of nightclubs in Phase 3 of Spain’s COVID-19 de-escalation plan.

Despite the Spanish government allowing for their activity in the final phase towards a ‘new normality,’ President Francina Armengol has ordered clubs to remain closed.

This directive has been published in the Balearic Islands Official Bulletin (BOIB) and allows for autonomous communities to adjust rules laid down

by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

Speaking at a press conference, Armengol stressed that it was a ‘non priority’ to reopen clubs and that evidence has suggested that a new wave of infections could occur if she permitted their reopening.

She said: “We are not in the ideal conditions to allow nightlife to resume as we have seen an increase in contagions in other countries which have been linked to large gatherings.”

The president added that the utmost caution was needed at this moment and for this reason she did not want to risk ‘any wrong steps’ being made in the region’s fight against coronavirus.

June 12th - June 25th 2020

Tourism test

THE pilot test for international tourism in the Balearic Islands will commence next week, bringing the first of 10,900 German nationals to the region.

The Balearics will be the first destination in Spain to allow the entry of tourists, a request that has now been formally authorised by Spain.

The aim is to promote the region as a safe destination amid the pandemic, and to give the Balearic Islands a competitive advantage over other other European holiday spots.

President of the Balearic Government, Francina Armengol, outlined the agreed logistics and precautions that will be taken during the pilot tourism test.

VISITORS: The number of holidaymakers permitted to enter the region has been set at 10,900 and all of these visitors will fly in from Germany.

These tourists will be spread across Formentera, Ibiza, Mallorca and Menorca, and will either stay in hotels chosen by the government or at their second homes.

TIMELINE: The German tourists will arrive in staggered stages from June 15 under the condition that

First of 10,900 Germans jet into Balearic Islands next week with temperature checks upon arrival

By Isha Sesay

their holiday is between five and 14 days.

SANITARY MEASURES: Visitors will not be permitted to quarantine for two weeks, a measure imposed on international travellers under the state of alarm.

It will not be necessary for those taking part in the pilot scheme to have a COVID-19 test in Germany, however upon arrival they will undergo a temperature check.

During their flight they will complete a questionnaire about their health and be asked to include their contact information.

They will also be given a telephone number which they must call if experiencing any symptoms of the virus.

A rapid response test will then be carried out by healthcare professionals and if a positive result is produced, they will be quarantined at a residence provided by the government.

RESTRICTIONS: Tourists must follow the rules laid down in Phase 3 of the de-

BACK: Germans descend on Mallorca one again escalation plan and adhere to social distancing.

ACCOMMODATION: In Mallorca, five hotels have been chosen in Palma and Alcudia and include Vivagolf, Alcudia Jardin, Iberostar Cristina, Riu Concordia and Riu Bravo.

The hotels earmarked for Formentera, Ibiza and Menorca are yet to be revealed.

President Armengol explained that Germany has

been chosen for ‘two obvious reasons.’ First because Germans make up the largest proportion of the region’s tourism market and that the country has epidemiological data ‘very similar to the autonomous community.’

Armengol assured that the pilot test is an opportunity to ‘reinforce the image of the Balearic Islands abroad,’ and that it will provide a much needed boost to the economy and employment.

Shut down MULTIPLE beaches across the Balearic Islands have been closed by police due to citizens ‘failing to adhere to social distancing.’

Four beaches in Mallorca and two in Ibiza were cordoned off to the general public after authorities determined that they had exceeded their capacity.

In Mallorca these included Bougainvillea, Oratori, Portals Nous and Cala Comtessa, all located within the municipality of Calvia.

In Ibiza, Benirras and Cala Calonet were shut down, where the latter had held a private party with more than 100 attendees.

However, the most alarming incident took place at the infamous Benirras beach in Sant Joan where more than 200 people descended for a ‘drum party.’

Footage of the large gathering soon circulated on social media showing revellers packing the beach without respecting the two metre social distancing rule laid down in Spain’s COVID-19 de-escalation plan.

Complaints from residents quickly drew the attention of the Guardia Civil who were mobilised to shut the party down, as the ‘Phase 2 regulations had been breached’.

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www.theolivepress.es Voted top expat paper in Spain

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.

OPINION Deal with this scum AS Spain tries to recover from the coronavirus crisis it definitely cannot afford to get a bad name for tourists.

Millions of foreigners are eagerly scouring holiday websites looking to rent a villa or apartment as they try to brighten what has been a very miserable year.

So to find themselves scammed by a lowlife keyboard warrior over a villa rental in Marbella or Mallorca will be the final insult.

Sadly, the world is full of dodgy people looking to make a fast buck at the expense of honest, hard-working holidaymakers, as the Olive Press has pointed out for the last three summers.

But not everyone is willing to lie down and accept losing thousands of pounds, as we report on the front page this issue.

Hats off to Lucia Myers who turned detective to ensure someone was held to account for a fake website advert that stole money and inevitably wrecked dozens, if not hundreds, of holidays in Spain.

A jail sentence resulted for one con man – suspended as long as the cash was paid back.

But now, by the simple method of declaring bankruptcy, scammer Alvaro Lopez Uribe seems to have got away scot free.

Legal experts say it is highly unlikely a court will activate his jail sentence.

If Spain is to recover from the coronavirus crisis then such conmen need to be brought to account. And sent to jail for a stiff sentence.

Justice must be done, otherwise people will – like the Myers family – simply go elsewhere.

Every little counts IT has been 13 long years since Madeleine McCann disappeared.

Leads have been unearthed and followed, but none have answered the question of what became of this heart-breakingly gorgeous little girl.

Now police in Germany and the UK have their biggest lead yet – but they need your help in tracing the movements of prime suspect Christian Brueckner.

The Olive Press sent its reporters, plus editor Jon Clarke, around the four corners of the Iberian Peninsula at the weekend to follow up leads.

Do not hesitate to help if you know anything. Even the tiniest thing can help Madeleine’s parents Kate and Gerry to finally bring this horribly long and painful saga to an end.

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FEATURE

June 11th - June 24th 2020

A life in the ti Rodents on the rampage, cockroaches and flies on the uptick, a bacteria dubbed ‘the other coronavirus’ wiping out olive trees … COVID-19 is bringing pestilence to our doorstep and turning the natural world upside down. And that’s not half of what we can expect in 2020 - prophetically, the Chinese Year of the Rat, as Cristina Hodgson (right) reports

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HOEVER thought there would come a time when we’d see peacocks strutting in the streets of Madrid or wild boar trotting through downtown Barcelona.

As people around the globe change their daily behaviour to slow the spread of COVID-19, the absence of people is having a ripple effect throughout the ecosystems of the world.

RATS: It’s their year Experts an-

DEADLY:

ticipated that many Red palm pests would flourish as a direct result of decreased human activity, especially in and around urban areas.

Rats in particular have come out of hiding as lockdown eliminates litter on the ground and rubbish in bins. Some have even taken to the streets in broad daylight and invaded homes in a frantic search for food.

According to Favio Ulloa, of Prestige Pest Services, New Jersey ‘There could be about two million rats running around in New York City.’ Coronavirus may have put

paid to Chinese New Year celebrations this January but their Year of the Rat is living up to its name.

In Spain and the UK it’s not only rats that are running rampant.

Both countries have seen an uptick in cockroaches and flies. Add in the seasonal invasion of mozzies and other pests as the summer months approach, and unwanted visitors are out in force.

Pest control is already in action on the frontline of public health and agricultural sectors worldwide; and now their work could prove even more essential

Lowering the Tone Mud slinging in the Cortes is putting Spanish politics to shame, writes seasoned commentator Lenox Napier

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HE current crop of insults traded in the Spanish Parliament reached a new low last month when PP spokesperson Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo (right) branded Pablo Iglesias (below) ‘the son of a terrorist’.

You may not like his hairstyle or the colour of his politics but does the leader of Unidas Podemos deserve such an insult … or, indeed, does his father?

The Speaker, for one, didn’t think so. He ordered ‘La Marquesa’ as she is known, to withdraw the slander. She refused. Then ex-president Jose María Aznar added his centimo-worth, telling reporters that she was right to make the point.

Not all of the PP sees mud slinging as a valid tactic with another conservative leader, Galician President Alberto Nuñez Feijóo, saying that such attacks against a political opponent ‘are a grave error’.

But, as one political observer from the University of Barcelona puts it, ‘Politics is not like football, with goals scored against the other side in the Cortes’.

Nor should we, the citizens, be behaving like fans as ‘our team’ scores an insult on the other side, shouting simplistic slogans and waving our party-colours like football scarves. Nevertheless it’s a game of two halves and even the media has joined in with enthusiasm.

The ‘story’ that Pablo’s father Javier was a notorious political hit-man who once murdered a policeman is a ‘bulo’ - an invention - first put out by a Vox MEP called Hermann Tertsch who was subsequently ordered to pay €15,000 to Javier for his calumnies (plus a further €12,000 for slandering Pablo’s uncle into the bargain) back in 2016.

My thoughts by Lenox Napier

Javier was publicly accused of ‘terrorism’ in 2016 by the leading MEP for Vox, an ex-journalist called Herman Tertsch. He wrote that Javier was part of the ‘FRAP In fact Iglesias Senior was spending two communist terror group’ who murdered a months in prison for sharing political policeman. In fact, Javier was banged up leaflets (commie propaganda if you like) and on rations of bread and water when at the time of the shooting in 1973. Pabthe crime was committed. Now, reluclo’s mother didn’t mince her words later, tantly, he must sue La Marquesa. ‘I hate Tweeting that Álvarez de Toledo was ‘a having to go through with this, precisely fork-tongued tin-pot marquise’. because, when politicians are sued for Spain is once again in a period of politislander, it’s the taxpayer who has to foot cal extremes and although nothing written the bill, because politicians are exempt’, here will necessarily change the views of he says. readers, background is always a useful Coincidentally, Pablo’s grandfather Manthing. uel was a socialist politician who was So let’s take a closer look at the wispy comimprisoned and sentenced to death, munist politician with the ponytail, second later commuted to 30 years (finally he vice-president of Spain and – keeping it only served four) following close to home – married to the Spanish Civil War. He Irene Montero, the 32 yearin 1988. His greatold Minister for Equality.

Pablo, with his died uncle (also slandered by Pablo Iglesias is well-versed rebel hairstyle Tertsch) was an air-force in his subject. He took Law captain executed by the and Political Science at and politics, is Nationalists in 1939 and university and has a PhD, in an unmarked grave. among several other dishated by the PP lies Pablo, with his rebel hairtinctions. He later became a style and far-left politics, voters lecturer in political science is basically anathema to a at Madrid’s Complutense swathe of Spanish voters.

University.

He formed He is regularly accused Podemos in late 2013 and the next year of being in the pay of Nicolas Maduro became an MEP for the party. He speaks from Venezuela (who for some improbItalian and English. able reason wants to bring his ‘BolivarThere’s no doubt that his ideas stem from ian revolution’ to Spain). Much is also his background (‘Pablo Iglesias’ was also made of his new home in a swanky part the name of the historic founder of both of Madrid. While it was bought with two the PSOE in 1879 and the UGT general mortgages, many people think he should workers union nine years later). be living up to his ideology in a draughty His father Javier, loft somewhere in a working class disnow a retired work trict. Meanwhile, the Anticapitalistas (the inspector who Junta de Andalucía’s Teresa Rodríguez, also studied Law the mayor of Cádiz José María González, at Complutense, known as ‘Kichi’ and others… who recentwas an anti-Franco ly resigned from Unidas Podemos) have activist in his day claimed indignantly that Pablo Iglesias ‘… (there were lots of has now evolved towards more moderate them, as might be positions’. Something of a sin for a lefty. supposed). His son The right, when not chipping away at the Pablo says of him national government, claims that ‘the cor‘For the Dictatorrosivity in politics is due to Podemos’. The ship, he was conright-wing ABC newspaper recently ran sidered a criminal, not one but two articles with the peculiar and so he still is by COMRADES: Podemos leader Iglesias with his assertion that Pablo Iglesias is plotting a the spokesperson coup d’état. pamphleting padre (left) who was labelled a terrorfor the Partido PopWe hope he takes his father’s advice first. ular, 50 years later’. ist by the Spanish far right

7

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ime of plague FATAL: The bite of an asp viper

Olive Press online ‘Spain’s best English news website’

Leading the way

W as unwelcome critters flourish during the coronavirus outbreak.

A town in the province of Malaga has recently spent over €5,000 on batches of Torymus sinensis wasps in order to protect its chestnut productions.

They are the natural predators of the Chinese chestnut wasp which has been wreaking havoc on chestnut production in the Malaga town of Farajan.

They are not a new threat - the area has suffered from this winged plague for the last five years resulting in the almost total destruction of the chestnut crops behind Marbella’s La Concha mountain.

However treatment during the pandemic is crucial.

“Animals are always quick to adapt and, as a result, we expect that many pest species will flourish because of these necessary global measures,” according to PelGar International, leading British manufacturer of insecticides around the world.

Meanwhile, failure to act in time is having a detrimental effect on the fight against Xylella in Italy where the dangerous bacteria affecting olive trees has been nicknamed ‘the other coronavirus’.

Xylella, neglected in Italy as the country battled to control COVID-19, has resulted in 600 new cases, 100 of them in olive trees with no containment measures.

“The coronavirus pandemic cannot be an excuse for not dealing with emergencies like Xylella, an epidemic that is threatening the extinction of olive groves throughout the Mediterranean,” says Carmela Riccardi, president of the Association of the Comité Libero Anti-Xylella.

In Spain meanwhile, the first outbreak of Xylella fastidiosa was detected at the end of 2016 in Mallorca.

Subsequently, numerous other outbreaks have been recorded in the Balearics while in June 2017 it was detected for the first time on the Iberian Peninsula, specifically in almond plantations in the Alicante town of Guadalest.

More recently, in 2018, its presence was reported in olive groves of Villarejo, Madrid.

The disease could cost billions of euros over the next 50 years in Spain, Italy and Greece, the three countries most susceptible to the bacterium because of prevailing climatic conditions. Together, they account for almost 95% of PREDATORY: European olive Asian wasp oil production.

As a result, severe restrictions are being placed on imports of olive trees and lavender bushes, where Xylella also thrives, in an effort to halt the deadly infection.

Another big threat is posed by the lethal red palm weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus), first detected in Spain in 1993 in the Granada coastal towns of Motril and Almuñecar. This invasive species hitched a ride on palms imported from Egypt causing astronomical damage to

Creepy crawlies and more...

Rodents, cockroaches and bedbugs are the most widespread pests in Spain. Other destructive animals and harmful creepy crawlies found in Spain include: Processionary pine caterpillars (Thaumetopoea Pityocampa): Don’t be deceived by their cute and furry look, avoid touching! They are extremely dangerous to children and dogs. That said, the species is protected in Spain and can be found all over the national territory.

Spiders: There are over 1,700 species of arachnid in Spain, but only four are in any way harmful to humans. The ones to watch out for are the Mediterranean tarantula, the Mediterranean funnel web, the black widow and the brown recluse spider.

Scorpions: Buthus Occitanus, the common yellow scorpion, has a painful sting and when food is lacking, the females are known to eat the males.

You might also come across the European black scorpion but it’s sting is less painful than a bee’s.

Snakes: There are 13 different types of slitherer in Spain, five of them fatal to humans. Beware of the asp viper, Lataste’s viper (aka snub-nosed viper), Seoane’s viper, false smooth snake and the den adder or common viper Fortunately, of the estimated 50 snakebite deaths a year in Europe, only three to six occur in Spain.

Wild boar which have become so numerous that they now venture into towns, even camping out in Barcelona and Madrid. Fencing off the countryside to try to keep them at bay is complicated and the more time the boars spend in urban areas, the more fearless they become and encroach increasingly on non-rural zones.

palm trees as it spread along the coast, running up ‘billions of euros’ in bills for treatments to curb its rampage.

Huge economic damage, border restrictions on imports ... sound familiar?

Controlling coronavirus and harmful pests on a global scale have many similarities.

A key question on deciding the best course of action in both cases is whether to focus on eliminating the harmful species entirely or controlling its spread to prevent the next outbreak.

According to Adam Lampert, an assistant professor with the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at ASU, three factors determine whether the species should be controlled or eradicated: the annual cost of maintaining the controlled population, the natural growth rate of the harmful species, and its response to the treatment.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Covid coin, lockdown could be endangering wildlife.

The Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), together with CREAF, an ecological and forestry institute attached to Barcelona’s Autonomous University, warn that the reduced presence of people in open spaces is creating ‘a false perception that cities are suitable places to live’.

Lockdown is effectively an ecological trap for many animals.

The coronavirus outbreak has coincided with the breeding season of many species. Birds are nesting in areas that were previously avoided due to human activity and noise pollution. When traffic returns to normal levels, the chances are offspring will suffer.

But environmental organisations such as the Spanish Ornithological Society (SEO Birdlife) and the World Wildlife Fund stress that the reduced human presence in urban areas will not last long enough to alter the behaviour of fauna.

In the meantime, animals are reclaiming what used to be their natural habitat.

Peacocks have invaded the streets of Madrid, a giant eightmetre shark was videoed prowling the waters off Granada, and dolphins DANGER: Pine in Mallorca are swimming in water once polluted with sewage.

The pandemic is turning nature upside down but who knows, it just might be our opportunity to create a new and better world.

HEN it comes to English language newspapers in Spain there is one, literally only one, that invests in quality journalism – the Olive Press.

We are proud to be the only investigative expat publication in the country and know that we rely on the quality of our staff to bring you the latest news.

This is why whenever trained and experienced journalists are available, we reach out a hand to pull them on board.

The newest member of the team is highly experienced former BBC journalist Alex Trelinski (right). After 30 years with the BBC as a journalist, presenter and sports reporter, he moved to the Costa Blanca and carried on reporting for local papers.

Having had a bad experience with one particular local rag, he now joins other journalists with extensive national media experience on our team.

These include: Dilip Kuner (below), who has years of writing and editing expertise, including the UK’s Sunday Mirror.

The irrepressible Giles Brown is a former Mirror man, while our very own Mistress of Sizzle, Belinda Beckett, worked on the Daily Express before making Spain her home.

And it’s fair to say that the UK national press recognises the talent nurtured by the Olive Press under owner and editor Jon Clarke – who himself still contributes articles to the Mail on Sunday and Daily Mail on a regular basis.

Bylines familiar to our readers include Tom Powell, now on The Standard in London, Iona Napier (below) who walked into a job with ITN after her stint in Spain and Joe Duggan who is now a reporter at The Sun. The reason? We give our staff the chance to shine. No other English language newspaper in Spain would even consider dedicating two journalists to sniffing out information over several days on one story, as we have, this week alone.

Our Digital Editor Laurence Dollimore has been in Portugal to cover the Madeleine McCann case for five days, while our Alicante man Joshua Parfitt has been digging for more information about the chief suspect on the Costa Blanca for two days.

The Olive Press values journalism – which means we value our staff and they value us.

The results speak for themselves, we hope.

The top five most read stories on www.theolivepress.es in the past two weeks are: woman arrested after lying that €140 had 1- British been illegally withdrawn from her bank account (21,901) British expat on Spain's Costa del 2-SolEXCLUSIVE: has card details hacked losing nearly €500, but bank refuses to refund amount (20,363) Police in UK and Spain reopen case 3- ofEXCLUSIVE: Costa del Sol bar owner who vanished 27 years ago (18,001) Two arrested in Benidorm after robbing foreign 4-cars at ‘40 golf courses’ across Spain’s Costa Blanca (17,958) From June 8 you can travel through5- BREAKING: out whole of Spain's Andalucia, Government announces (14,853)

Get in touch today at sales@theolivepress.es or call us at 00 34 951273575 for a special quote

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Made in Mallorca

EXCLUSIVE by Isha Sesay

South African filmmaker is behind emotional Government covid video – the first to shoot with actors during lockdown Webb, Salimos más fuertes was the first video in Spain to be shot with a full crew of staff and actors since the state of alarm was enforced.

The idea to thank citizens for

‘putting up’ with the lockdown came from the Ministry of Health itself, Webb exclusively told the Olive Press.

CAPTION xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx

Keys Isl nd to the

Border restrictions may be stopping luxury foreign buyers, but at the lower end and locally there has been a surge in demand MALLORCA, Menorca and Ibiza have now joined Formentera into Phase 3 of the releasing of coronavirus restrictions.

The main difference being that residents of the Balearics are permitted to travel within their region, but travel to the mainland and other Spanish territories is still prohibited, except for health and essential work.

The maximum grouping of 20 people are allowed to meet in groups.

Being a good few weeks ahead of our British based friends and acquaintances, I have found it interesting to witness a change in some people’s attitudes.

Many of course are happy to see how things are improving from the photos posted on Instagram and Facebook, and although I felt a little reticence in sharing, concerned about people being judgmental after such a serious lockdown, I decided to post away to share the positivity that there was light at the end of the tunnel. In retrospect perhaps not such a good idea since it certainly opened me up for abuse of being irresponsible.

But in my defense we have all been under much more severe lockdown restrictions that the UK, and with the release of restrictions our lives have to go on.

Did I personally feel threatened by this virus? Initially perhaps watching all the chaos ensue, but as we learned more about the statistics the fear was replaced with a feeling of over exaggerated suppression.

I have two friends who had it, a brother and one of my brother’s wives – they all survived, none requiring hospitalization and with no more discomfort than a bad cold, but they were fit and healthy. I sincerely hope there isn’t a Phase 2 of this virus, but if there were to be I would hope that only those who are vulnerable due to age and condition, and those who are close to them, should be asked to quarantine – and let the rest of the stronger workforce stay in work and keep the economy going.

There will be so many more affected by this as a financial crisis than a health crisis in months and years to come, and we

He said: “They not only wanted to express their sincere thanks but to encourage the public to continue to act responsibly until a new n o r mality returns.”

F o r those w h o h a v e s e e n the video, the round of applause by health workers serves as a metaphor of appreciation to citizens that fought bravely during the health crisis.

“If it was not for the effort of the general public, Spain could have suffered much worse,” said Webb.

Although bidding against a renowned production company in Barcelona, TwentyFourSeven had the competitive edge thanks to Mallorca be-

ing granted acceptance into Phase 1.

“During lockdown, footage for adverts was captured through phones or equipment couriered across the country, but we had the opportunity to shoot on location with a full team of staff,” explained Webb.

Filming during a pandemic did however have its constraints as strict measures had to be followed in order to halt contagion.

Health

As well as a doctor and COVID-19 coordinator onsite to closely monitor all those involved, the crew had their temperature taken daily and were asked to sign a disclosure form to confirm that they were in good health to the best of their knowledge.

“All those on location also had to practice social distancing, regularly wash their hands and put on face masks and gloves as an extra precautionary measure.”

When it came to obtaining feedback from the government, the production team live streamed all filming and set up a ‘video village’ conference room to discuss the necessary changes that needed to be done.

Webb praised the final result and is already working on another video for the government this month.

By Amanda Butler

Home-grown seriously cannot afford another complete lockdown as a global economy. It just doesn’t seem to make sense!

Interest in property during this time continues to be mixed.

During this lockdown period Rightmove reported the search for properties in Spain as a whole were up 34% compared to May last year.

Apparently, Ibiza property searches jumped 174%, clearly coinciding with the release of the Netflix murder mystery White Lines. Supposedly set in Ibiza, it was in fact mostly shot in Mallorca, which is included in the top four most popular searches.

A property expert at Rightmove, Miles Shipside said: “It’s still early days as we’re not out of lockdown yet and most airlines are still shut, but this is an indication that this has been a lifechanging period for many who are reappraising both how and where they want to live.”

Real estate agent colleagues here on the island are giving mixed reports. As predicted a few months back, there has been a surge in demand from the local market in the lower end, with apartments with terraces and gardens taking a very short time to convert to a sale.

There has also been a surge in interest for coastal sea-view homes at the higher end, but with border restrictions still in place only residents are viewing, with a reduction in numbers for obvious reasons.

For others the higher end from key nationalities just is not there – our friends from Sweden being amongst those, so I understand from some Swedish focused agents.

Not much more to report at this time – here’s hoping that the airbridge deal for the UK will come through … we are ready and waiting to help you make that life-changing decision of buying a property in Mallorca!

Amanda J Butler – an holistic approach to real estate in Mallorca.

MJC Associates - +34 690075169, ajb@mjcassociates.net

Laura Martinez Valero

lorca during Phase 1 of the de-escalation plan.

Produced by the creative minds at TwentyFourSeven under the direction of Executive Producer Richard

Pic by TwentyfourSeven

THE Spanish Government has released a poignant video as a show of gratitude to citizens confined to their homes during the unprecedented lockdown.

Entitled ‘Salimos mas fuertes,’ or ‘Together we are stronger’, the emotional broadcast was filmed in Mal-

June 12th - June 25th 2020

Strawberry fields for terror EXPLOITED strawberry pickers are regularly abused by their gangmasters after a long day’s toil, it has been claimed.

A charity, Women’s Link Worldwide, is calling for a probe into the rights of the mostly migrant workers in Andalucia.

It claims the Moroccan seasonal fruit pickers have been left vulnerable to unscrupulous bosses, who behave like sexual predators.

In a communication to several UN departments, Women’s Link, backed by seven other organisations, also raised the alarm over the risks.

“These workers may be exposed to new forms of exploitation, particularly sexual violence, due to greater difficulties in accessing healthcare and the justice system,” said a spokesman.

Around 7,000 of the usual 18,000 seasonal workers are expected to travel between Morocco and Spain this year.

LA CULTURA Summer shutdown THEY scrapped Semana Santa, now they have called off feria season.

The Junta de Andalucia has ordered that all town carnivals should be cancelled until at least September amid COVID-19 fears.

Health chiefs have warned that 37 ferias and festivals planned for June, July and August must be postponed.

The move is a devastating blow to the region’s alreadycrippled economy, which could shrink by up to 16.2% this year.

The call to curtail this summer’s events came after spokesman Elias Bendodo said it was ‘completely impossible’ to maintain strict health protocols at these huge summer gatherings.

Bendodo also urged ‘common sense’ in the fight against coronavirus, while emphasising that the ferias are the responsibility of the town halls.

He said: “Other moments will come, but now it is time to secure the end (of the pandemic) and not to take any wrong steps.

“We have based our recommendation on scientific reports.”

ART lovers are in for a treat at Madrid’s Prado Museum.

It has now reopened its doors and announced stringent coronavirus restrictions to ensure the safety of visitors.

This meant it had to keep attendances to fewer than 1,800 people a day, and large sections of the massive art gallery had to remain closed.

With just a quarter of exhibition space open, many of the most famous works by artists of the calibre of Velazquez, El Greco, Rubens, Ti-

Pure Prado

9

June 12th - June 25th 2020

tian and Goya were out of bounds.

So Miguel Falomir, director of the art gallery, decided to bring together 250 of the most important works into one ‘super exhibition’.

The 16 exhibition rooms host what Falomir calls an ‘unprecedented’ concentration of the greatest art pieces in the museum collection.

He said: “As many times as you have seen the Prado, you have never seen it like this. And you will probably never again be able to see it like this.

This is pure Prado.”

Masks and crafts A CREATIVE design and technology teacher has raised nearly €1,000 for charity by recycling old fabrics into novelty face masks.

Mandy Henry, a teacher at the Lady Elizabeth School, in Javea, launched the business to help struggling families during lockdown.

The expat of four years has so far made 200 masks,

British DT teacher raises nearly €1,000 for struggling families with personalised mask campaign

including one for her favourite local newspaper.

“I’ve been a teacher all around the world, and have fabrics from the countries I’ve lived in like Oman and Thailand, so it was a good way to get rid of cotton too,” Mandy told the Olive Press.

She put the word out on social media that she was ready and willing to make personalised masks for a donation to the Todos Juntos charity.

Within an hour,

By Simon Wade

she was ‘inundated with orders’ for 100 masks and after another hour, she had to delete the post for fear of being overwhelmed.

In the end she made 200 masks and is still getting ‘daily requests’.

There are three types; a flat style for adults, a smaller version for children and a curved version so the wearer can wear glasses.

All cutting of the fabrics, sewing and delivering was done alone, with her collection of fabrics being used up without charge.

“I made personalised masks,

CREATIVE: Teacher Mandy some with lips on, or an IKEA-themed one, and an Olive Press one too,” she revealed.

“I may make more masks in the future, but I am so desperately in need of a rest for now!” she admitted.

SEALS: Nerja’s cave art

Not so Neanderthal A TEAM of researchers has decided that what was thought to be the only example of Neanderthal cave painting in the world may be the work of modern humans after all.

It comes after ancient cave paintings found in Nerja’s famous caves in 2012 were hailed as being possibly the only Neanderthal art ever discovered.

The abstract pictures are thought to depict seals that the cavemen would have hunted.

The team analysed charcoal remains found beside six of the paintings with radiocarbon dating suggesting they were between 43,500 and 42,300 years old.

Further studies using uranium and thorium deposits gave a similar date.

It would have made the unique pictures more ancient than the 30,000-year-old Chauvet cave in France.

LETTERS Beach wars

10

June 12th - June 25th 2020

A pot of bother

Dear Olive Press, Pic: Allan Binderup

I was appalled, although not

LEAVERS: surprised, to read of entirely Trio of Brits in Spains fining of citi-

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Female expats slam police for sanctions, as it emerges Spainridiculous issued over ONE million fines has for breaking the lockdown

EXCLUSIVE

By Giles Brown

the ridiculou zens and ex-patriots by police during the coronavirus crisis (That’s a fine mess, pg 6, Issue 31). This is not the first time the Olive the dupage story aboutpolitical Press has run a front lly, asina uniform. essentia EU,these sees the Moore Rosebious people ur of behavio The 7). pg 325, Issue and proud, is any compete dictatorship (Leave nt I wonder whether there are 28 sovereign states, reality is the opposite. Therecontrol to police, the of in is who authority the UK, which voluntarily chose to become including and zeal their from people ordinary rd would safegua UK the that believes Dunne Steve associated. themthey to to ensure going andterms. notnot I’mare excesse Not so. on s,WTO fair better is my opinand authority chapter their by g page quoting. It exceedin letters down your weighselves tion into the overreac looks and Steve nd that tion police intimida I recomme butthat verse,ion Trump That cy that knows. democra industry withhethe of any ble that specifics compati is not should UKordinary an EU-free deal with a tradeitself to get and that is trying to be, claims Spain deals trade Trump’s know: to want you all to go able tell you be to right absolute an people have forof speaks Mahler Brent Finally, labels.

US-firsttheir have about fear legal day-to-day lifeEUwithout force armed an wary ofoppress citizens UK of a number not do I ion. called be only what can , these are ideas union. However and an ever closer thing a is ’ consent by ‘policing that consider am I and not EU policy. floated by specific peoplethat bepolice respect this country of proyears 40-plus insidious any at the and moreinworried d with compare be only can deserve they h, lieve Telegrap Mail, the by EEC/EU the paganda against this Is did bullies. by school What comman thatTimes The Sun. of course, and,ded Express, their inantireally was so hewant Spanish asked why the whatsay he waspeople when Murdoch ? of: “When I go into the lines kingdom democragticalong EU? Somethin lett, The the EU.” Cam go toian No. 10 they do what I say: when IAdr ent! rola Fuengi implication is that he had to ask for an appointm

A PAIR of female expats have pealed to their town halls over aptimidation and overreaction intheir local police forces during by the COVID-19 lockdown.

In particular, the officers wanted The British duo are demanding to between us, but the tion over extortionate fines, as wellac- know why the freelance writer had I was walking with police said that ‘rough treatment’, they received as not driven to the bank, failing to be- nounced me. It wassomeone and defor lieve that she did not drive. completely unbreaking the coronavirus lockdown. true and unfair.”

Natalie Rose Kern, 37, from London, "They told me that I was paseando – To make matters worse, the officers walking too slowly. 'This is NOT how Page 9 is furious she was fined €1,000 then followed the shaken expat to ‘walking too slowly’ back from for you walk to the bank,’ they told me, her house where they her ‘You are showing no urgency’." took her details local bank in Estepona. and issued the fine.

The mother-of-one told the Olive In another alarming incident, an Ol- At no time, she says, were the police ive Press reader was stopped after Press she had also been shouted wearing masks or gloves. at chatting to a friend, while and questioned why she did not have walking Another expat, who preferred her dog, in the countryside near a car. her main anonymous, also had to rehome. an en"They said they were fining counter with the €1,000 – despite having a bank me Istan resident Corran Fraser, 36, was when he borrowed same Istan force ceipt to show them," she insisted. re- then marched back to her apartment He said: "I had justa friend's car. got home when a “But the fine was nothing compared and given a €650 fine by officers not patrol car roared around the corwearing masks. to the intimidation. They took ner. They hadn't recognised my “I was walking my dog and handbag and went through it, queschatting to a woman that I had bumped into. the car that I was driving and tioning me about its contents. thought that it was someone I live alone and if I see someone it's breaking “They were really shouting at me the restrictions.

Page 10 frightened and humiliated me." and nice to interact,” she explained.

“Even though I know the “I think there was a five-metre gap officers they informed me that I ‘wasn't allowed to drive THE SKY a car that wasn't mine’ and that I DOCTOR wouldn't be allowed ALL AREAS COVERED to leave my house in it.

“They also wanted to TURBULENCE 4G UNLIMITED know exactly how I INTERNET ON THE had picked up the car, ANGRY: Kern and (inset) IDEAL FOR checking if I had broken STOCK MARKET Fraser both fined in lockdown STREAMING TV any social distancing BRINGS rules.”

ALSO IPTV, pathised with Corran, and while exNatalie and Corran have SATELLITE TV plaining he had no influence admitOPPORTUNITIES since received replies ted: “The powers given to the police from their local mayors tel: (0034) 952 763 840 are affecting each person differently.”

TALK TO US TODAY advising them to appeal. info@theskydoctor.com A Facebook group, ‘Covid 19 InjusIstan mayor, Diego www.theskydoctor.com tice Costa del Sol’, has since been set Marin Ayllon, symBinckBank.com/opportunity up, with many women sharing similar stories.

Spanish police have issued a staggering ONE million plus fines during the lockdown, over 100 times the UK and three times almost every other EuroSee page 9 & 13 pean country.

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Vol. 13 Issue 344 www.theolivepress.es May 27th - June 9th 2020

From next year Brits with property in Spain which they let will be required to pay 24% tax on the gross income.

EU nationals can deduct expenses, IBI, cleaning, laundry, electricity, water, community fees, agents’ fees, etc.

Paying on gross income will mean paying 24% tax on all the expenses. That will mean a very small income. In an example I sent to a lawyer, the income this year would be €2,000, while next year on the same gross rental they would be left with €80. The lawyer agreed. When potential UK, non-EU resident buyers realise that, I assume many will decide they cannot afford to buy a second home. I would think the knock-on effect on property prices will be significant.

Spaniards boiled over with banging pots and pans, andanger, roads across Spain in protestblocking at Government’s COVID-19 response at the weekend

Inside Spain’s TV hit, White Lines Page 3

The Costa del Sol’s Nazi shame

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Readers react to announcement of new dog beach in Torrevieja, Alicante, after mayor blames dogwalkers for causing ‘conflict’ on previous beaches

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That’s a fine mess, Page 6 Opinion Page 6

E n d s

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1

21/6/19 13:30

Humans with dogs leave waste and very seldom pick it up. Last year I helped clean a one mile strip of beach in Malaga, and I alone collected 600 small bags of dog poo left on the beach!

The hundred or so volunteers, we covered about 5 miles in total, and collected over 3,000 small bags of dog poo!! Bins are available to use but, no, they leave it on the beach instead. I have 6 dogs, and they stay home in the summer. My granddaughters and children want to use the beach, a clean beach, not go blind from dog poo! People think they are entitled to do what they please and let their dogs run free, poo, no control, no lead.

Enough! I’m sure in October when I meet up with the volunteers again there will be plenty more dog poo to pick up.

John Carrington, Malaga

Do as I say, not as I do I saw a recent story about someone getting fined €600 for stopping at a five metre distance to speak to a friend (That’s a fine mess, pg 6, Issue 31).

But this policeman was ok to speak to his friend, without a mask on May 31.

The guy was about 3 0 c m away and was literally leaning into the car!

Alex Neate, Ardales

Fair enough I thought all dogs were banned on beaches from May to September? It is a reasonable ban. There are other places to walk dogs in the summer.

Lisa Codrington , Elche

Paws for thought Beaches are far too hot in summer. Have you ever walked barefoot on hot sand? Don’t let your dog do it either!

EMary S. Burns, Cartagena Has anything piqued your interest in this week’s Olive Press? Have your say on the matter by emailing letters@ theolivepress.es or message us on at www.facebook.com/OlivePressNewspaper or Twitter @olivepress

Neil Tufnail, Torremolinos

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Mallorca Issue 81

Shocking but not surprising The

Check out our issues online at www.theolivepress.es

22

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Across 7 Romance language (7) 8 Continuous dull pain (4) 9 Ooze (4) 10 Wrist band (8) 11 Corridor (7) 14 Cinder (5) 15 Expel (5) 17 Exacted retribution (7) 21 Rousing (8) 22 Silent (4) 23 Retained (4) 24 Imitate (7) Down 1 Picture theatre (6) 2 Door fastener (4) 3 Knapsack (6) 4 Relative by marriage (2-3) 5 Rep (8) 6 Steal (6) 12 Safety (8) 13 Period of history (3) 16 Protruded (6) 18 Vitalityl (6) 19 Respect (6) 20 Duck with soft down (5) 22 Fosse (4)

All solutions are on page 12

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

Up and running Hundreds of Mallorca hotels set to reopen in July to meet growing demand from international tourists OPEN: Mallorca’s hotels are back with a bang (Pictured: Iberostar) MORE than 300 hotels in Mallorca will reopen in July after receiving a surge in requests for holiday bookings from international tourists.

The Federation of Hotel Businesses in Mallorca (FEHM) has revealed that hoteliers have been inundated with requests after tour operators and airlines announced that they would resume flights to the island next month.

The FEHM point out that after discussions with business owners, hotels in Playa de Palma, Alcudia, Can Picafort, Cala Millor, Capdedpera, Palmanova, Magaluf, Muro and Soller will open their doors during the

By Isha Sesay

first two weeks of July.

Palma will be one of the areas that will have the most hotels in operation in July, with 25 out of 75 establishments reopening.

Moreover, leading hotel chains such as Iberostar, Riu, Barcelo, and Melia have ‘changed their strategy’ to resume their activity earlier to promote Mallorca as a safe destination and to ‘support workers currently in an ERTE.’ The FEHM has been working closely with

Bulli for Ferran

SPANISH chef Ferran Adria – the man behind the world-famous El Bulli restaurant – has spoken of the challenges the hospitality industry faces post COVID-19.

While restaurants around Spain are starting to open their doors as the country comes out of lockdown, Adria has been working hard towards the relaunch of El Bulli nine years after he closed it down.

Easy does it EASYJET has revealed which Spanish airports serving British holiday hotspots will be back up and running in July and August.

Last week the airline announced that it would resume 50% of its 1,022 routes in July and 75% in August.

However it was unclear which of Spain’s airports would be included as services were ramped up.

PENSIVE: Top chef Ferran Adria It was once renowned being named best resfor the exceptional qualtaurant in the world in ity of its cuisine, with it 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.

But at the height of its fame Adria closed it down to concentrate instead on the El Bulli Foundation dedicated to creation and innovation in gastronomic science.

Now El Bulli will reopen in August, as a ‘creativity laboratory to foster The budget airline has inventions in both gastronomy and other arconfirmed to the Olive eas,’ rather than as a Press that the followrestaurant. ing airports would be

taking passengers in and out of Spain in July and August:

Malaga Bilbao Alicante Madrid Ibiza Gran Canaria Mallorca Murcia Barcelona Santiago Lanzarote Almeria Fuer teventura Seville Menorca Valencia Tenerife Reus

Boarding Card

Difficult

Creativity is the key to the future of the restaurant trade, said Adria, as the coronavirus lockdown has caused ‘a lot of grief’ for the sector.

He added that it was going to be difficult for the hospitality industry to recover as it has changed many people's relationship with their own kitchens at home.

Speaking to AFP he said: “It's a brutal situation, a real tragedy.”

the Balearic Government alongside other unions such as the Confederation of Business Associations (CAEB) and Federation of Small and Medium Sized Businesses (PIMEM) to ‘revitalise tourism at the earliest possible date.’

“Tourism is a fundamental element in our economy which represents 40% of total employment and accounts for more than 40% in regional GDP,” said a spokesperson for the FEHM. The U-turn comes after more than 50% of hotels in the Balearic Islands stated their intentions to remain closed until Easter of 2021 during Spain’s lockdown.

11

June 12th - June 25th 2020

Island hopping INTER-ISLAND travel has now been permitted in the Balearics as of June 8,when the islands entered Phase 3.

Ibiza, Mallorca and Menorca join Formentera in the final phase of Spain’s COVID-19 deescalation plan.

This further easing of restrictions in the territory will allow for the freedom of movement across the region by air and sea without residents having to justify their reason for travelling.

This was confirmed by the Minister for Mobility, Marc Pons, who expressed that ‘it was a positive step forward towards a new normality.’

President of the Government, Francina Armengol is currently working on the formalities of the order which will be published in the Balearic Islands’ Official Bulletin (BOIB) this weekend.

With free movement, commercial flights will be allowed and any Balearic resident will be able to move from one island to another without issue.

Private jets will also be permitted, as well as ferries and private boats.

12

PROPERTY Covid crunch 12

June 12th - June 25th 2020

A SPANISH property boss has predicted house prices could crash by 20% this year because of the coronavirus crisis.

President of the Remax real estate agency network in Spain, Javier Sierra has forecasted that house sales could plunge between 10% to 30% with corresponding ‘coronavirus discounts’ having to be offered by sellers.

The boss of the estate agen-

Spanish property prices to ‘crash 20%’ says expert cy franchise, which has more than 150 offices in Spain, gave the extremely negative forecast to the Idealista property portal.

Most property forecasts have predicted more modest price reductions, with banks generally anticipating

a 6% drop, while other predictions – including from the EU – are around the 3% mark.

Sierra said: “We mustn’t forget that the real estate market takes time to adjust because sellers need time to find out at what price they

should sell at, and the same happens to people who need to buy.”

But the Olive Press’s property commentator, Adam Neale, is unconvinced by Sierra’s gloomy assertion.

He said: “I would equate trying to forecast what is going to happen with trying to predict the score in a world cup final - extremely unlikely to be accurate and at best a wild guess.

Discounts

“The last financial crisis did not see a blanket reduction in prices but rather a random pattern based on location and circumstance.

He added: “I would say at present most buyers are looking for discounts between 5% and up to 15%.

“Some owners based on circumstance are willing to trade but the majority are not, so expect discounts of 5% to 10% at the most.”

“People want to get back to normal as soon as possible and not just what they were doing before.”

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INVESTORS are still looking to buy properties in Spain despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Latest figures from the National Statistics Institute (INE) show that prices for new-build homes have risen by 6.1% over a year, compared to March 2019.

Analysts say that it

New build boost is an indication that people regard Spanish properties as a good bulwark during any recession.

The INE report does not break down where the buyers live, as the country´s real estate

Catching a break OFFICIALS have begun looking at tax breaks for second Spanish holiday home-owners who are unable to travel amid the pandemic.

Letting agents in tourist areas have reported a collapse in demand for the summer season over fears of international travel restrictions.

Agents that deal in bookings for mainly UK visitors like in Murcia’s Mar Menor area have reported little or no interest from potential travellers.

That means that property owners are left to count the cost on their investments with revenue streams drying up for them.

OP Puzzle solutions Quick Crossword Across: 7 Italian, 8 Ache, 9 Seep, 10 Bracelet, 11 Passage, 14 Ember, 15 Eject, 17 Avenged, 21 Stirring, 22 Mute, 23 Kept, 24 Emulate.

Down: 1 Cinema, 2 Hasp, 3 Kitbag, 4 In-law, 5 Salesman, 6 Thieve, 12 Security, 13 Era, 16 Jutted, 18 Vigour, 19 Esteem, 20 Eider, 22 Moat.

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sector looks to regain traction after the severe lockdown restrictions.

Busy In overall terms, Spain´s property price rises, including the second-hand market, have seen their smallest increase between January and March for five years.

As interest rates continue to remain low, and construction sites in areas like the Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca remain busy, the foreign buyers market is seen as crucial.

Notary figures from the second-half of 2019 showed that 57.7 per cent of all property transactions involved non-Spanish residents, and that´s clearly where the market is going to look to over the coming months.

BUSINESS

Our Twitter feed gives users direct access to all our stories and every digital newspa-

ur s to er Yo ory ed st ot 00 llow om 6,0 fo pr 2 ok o eb

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TOUGH: De Schutter on Spanish poverty He said: “The scheme will provide much-needed relief to those in need and is a great example of how to develop an inclusive approach to addressing poverty and

Taxing times SPAIN’S proposed Google tax has cleared its first hurdle despite opposition from right-wing parties.

The tax is part of a finance bill currently going through parliament.

The conservative PP, centre-right Ciudadanos and far-right VOX had backed a series of amendments that would have seen the tax dropped.

But Congress rejected the amendments.

Although this is a victory for Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s socialist coalition government, the Google tax is a long way from being approved.

The entire finance bill still has to be approved by Congress.

It also includes other new

y r or ou s st to er ur d low Yo ete fol e 0 Tw ,00 8

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A UN expert has called on Spain to extend its new minimum income scheme to more people.

Olivier De Schutter, the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, said the plan shows how states can take advantage of the global COVID-19 pandemic to address extreme poverty and reduce inequality.

l 0 e ee ia 0 sit Fr tor 0,0 eb i 0 w ed ur 1 ay o -d in r -a ito

Calls for Spain’s minimum income scheme to be extended amid pandemic

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Package for poorest

When you take out an advertising 13 campaign with the Olive Press, you get a lot more than just the printed newspaper

taxes, including environmental ones, as well as a reform of corporate tax.

Minister of Finance, Maria Jesus Montero, said the Google tax would not affect small and medium businesses or retail e-commerce sites.

It would apply to tech giants with a global revenue higher than €750 million a year and more than €3 million income from Spain.

They would be faced with a bill of 3% of earnings from online ads, deals brokered on digital platforms and sales of user data.

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inequality.”

At the moment, Spain’s ‘minimum vital income’ scheme is expected to reach more than 850,000 households and benefit 1.6 million people living in extreme poverty.

The poorest households would receive between €451.5 to €1,015 per month, depending on family size.

“I encourage the Spanish government to continue to expand coverage for this scheme and lower eligibility and bureaucratic requirements,” De Schutter said.

“Public spending on social protection at this time is a crucial investment whose impacts will last for years to come.”

“It is essential that the scheme be designed to reach as many people in need as possible.”

Despite the economic recovery experienced after the 2008-11 crisis, inequality in Spain has remained well above EU averages and regional minimum income schemes have been largely inadequate.

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HEALTH

14

June 12th - June 25th 2020

Fag frenzy

AROUND 40% of Spain’s smokers are getting through more fags during lockdown than normal, a study has revealed.

Meanwhile 20% of habitual or social smokers claim they are partaking in the habit twice as much.

Also, 30% of ex-smokers have sparked up again since Spain shut down amid the COVID-19 pandemic in March.

The findings have been revealed by Top Doctors, a Spain-based private health platform.

Surveys were carried out for SALES of pregnancy tests have exploded in Alicante during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Health experts are worried that mass unemployment has seen more couples shelve plans to become a family.

An increase of over 100,000 tests were recorded in the province throughout April, compared with the same month last year.

The 10.9% increase in sales brought total sales to 950,100, according to statistics from Spain’s branch of US pharmaceutical analyst IQVIA. Figures also showed that sales of tests for ovulation fell a dramatic 16.3%, while ovulation stimulants dropped

Four in 10 smokers have been sparking up more often during Spain’s lockdown, study finds

two months from March 14 when a state of alarm was announced in Spain.

The increase in smoking is due to the pressures of life under lockdown, according

Couples shelve baby plans 11.9%.

Couple therapist and coordinator of Sexology for the Official College of Psychologists (COP) said the cancellation of medical appointments cannot explain the figures by itself.

He said: “I think a large factor in these figures is couples losing motivation to get pregnant, whether due to fear of catching coronavirus in a medical setting, or probably because right now couples have lost their jobs due to the pandemic.”

to Dr. Coll Klein, head of the Pneumology service at Barcelona’s USP Dexeus University Institute. He said: “For smokers with a more volatile, more anxious character, the impact of confinement in relation to tobacco use will be higher than usual. “Confinement has led us to almost completely limited situations, and this may have favoured in some cases a return to tobacco.

“Although to be able to take stock and collect more exact data, we will have to wait a few more months.”

Another striking finding is that two out of three former smokers who have started up again are on the Government’s ERTE programme. “Being locked up has a negative impact, since it causes a perception of anxiety, stress and anguish,” said Malaga doctor Salvador de Oña. “To combat this sensation, smokers increase their tobacco consumption,” the regional boss of the Spanish Association against Cancer added.

Weighing in Lisa Burgess offers her experience on weight-watching and how chemo can affect things

M

Y weight has always gone up and down much like Elizabeth Taylor except she was much more beautiful and had more husbands than me.

In my late teens, I weighed in at a hefty 15 stone. I was planning my first big fat American wedding in Los Angeles and was desperate to lose weight.

I watched a motivational programme on the Oprah Winfrey Show which changed my life.

It gave advice on starting your weight loss slowly by simply walking every day.

I kept at it and headed down the aisle at a more decent 11 stone. I forged ahead with Jane Fonda videos, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and a sensible nutritious diet until I had whittled myself down to 8 stone. It lost me my first marriage. Instead of being invisible on Doritos aisle 4, I had metamorphosed into a decent looking broad on eye candy aisle 5.

I tell you all of this because I believe weight was a factor in my contracting cancer. When I lost my dear mum in 2014 my weight ballooned out of control.

SKINNY DAYS: Lisa and TV stylist Cathy O’Connor I had to hit the weight control restart button again in 2018 and repeat.

Some people on chemo actually put on weight due to progressive anti-sickness drugs but I was determined to lose what my oncologist strictly advised.

With the beautiful weather in Mijas, the breathtaking boardwalk and a communal pool at my disposal it wasn’t that difficult. I was very careful with what I ate, keeping portion sizes small but frequent and sticking to a diet of fish, vegetables, fruit and nuts.

This brings me to what I learnt just recently as I embark yet again on a weight loss regime with one more stone to lose before my operations ahead.

Don’t buy any junk food AT ALL because you will eat it and you know it is there. It is a very simple tip but I have never tried it properly, always having a hid-

Lisa Burgess den cache of crisps, my weakness, in the house.

I don’t weigh myself daily, it’s far healthier mentally to weigh in weekly or fortnightly. As my ‘Bridget Jones’ knickers slacken, I am on the way to my goal, albeit at a snail’s pace. It really is mind over matter.

For those who totally despair, I really understand and I would recommend small steps towards weight loss. Take the stairs instead of a lift, park away from where you are going to lengthen your walk and force yourself to stick at it every day so it becomes your routine.

Find different physical activities you enjoy such as golf, pilates, swimming (when we are allowed) and just keep walking.

Keep an eye on those portion sizes and replace your dinner plate with a side plate or small bowl, visually your plate looks full. Vary your routine so you don’t become bored, find different walks, try a new sport.

I had to adapt after my mastectomy and swap tennis for padel as my right arm is usually in freeze mode having had 25 lymph nodes and 15 tumours removed, I am lucky I am a lefthanded player. We all need to make our physical and mental health a top priority and I recall famous American musician, Steve Adler, who said: “you can have all the riches and success in the world, but if you don’t have your health, you have nothing”.

COLUMNISTS Yay, I made it back to Mallorca

15

Terenia June 12thTaras - June 25th 2020 Telling it like it is

After nine weeks locked down in Britain away from her new life in the Balearics, it’s good to be home, writes Terenia Taras

I

HAVE never been so happy to walk through an airport arrivals door as I was after returning to Mallorca (on Friday 29th May). Travelling was certainly a different experience from pre-Covid times. Firstly what should have been a two-anda-half-hour flight took two days and two flights! We left Harrogate with our compulsory masks and an entourage of cases, well I was taking everything because who knows when I will dare to leave the island again. The train to Kings Cross was sectioned off with people only being able to sit in alternate rows and we were the only people in our carriage.

There was no refreshment trolley or food served but I’d come prepared with a healthy, not, supply of sweets, well we needed all our energy dragging five cases along! We arrived at Kings Cross which was very quiet but at least we saw people around which was encouraging. We jumped in an Uber from Kings Cross to Heathrow because we weren’t keen on travelling by tube where there’s no hope of social distancing. But the most startling sight of all was when we entered Heathrow airport. It was so quiet in comparison to normal. It felt like the world had ended and we were the only survivors BANNED: Certain seeking refuge! Never seats on train

in my lifetime would I have expected to see the UK’s main airport so eerily quiet. Again the lounges were closed and the only shops open were Boots and WHSmith, so dinner was a packet sandwich and bag of midget gems, you’re getting a running theme when it comes to my food intake here, I eat way too may sweets for a grown woman. After handing over all our paperwork to the check-in staff and thankfully ditching all the cases, we had our temperature checked and went through security in record time, that was one plus! On our Iberia flight passengers were spaced one seat apart and it was compulsory to wear a mask throughout the journey, if you don’t wear one you would not be allowed to board. We arrived in Madrid and again handed over our paperwork to immigration and were asked why we were travelling to Spain and again had our temperature checked? We were given a 14-day self-isolation do’s and don’ts notice before leaving the airport and headed straight to our hotel in the centre of Madrid. There was no usual hotel bar open to enjoy a welcome drink and the restaurant was shut, so the only option was the mini-bar. The next day our flight to Palma was leaving at 5pm so we had all day to kill. We got a late check out and even though I did my usual of researching things to see and do, we weren’t going to be doing or seeing even one of them! However, with masks and gloves on we did venture out to buy some food before our flight, and I cannot tell you that after more than two months in lockdown here and in the UK how amazing it was to see people sitting in cafes eating and drinking and the shops open! Well we had one more hurdle and that was getting from Madrid to Palma. As we waited to board our flight

BEFORE AND AFTER: Terenia in transit in the UK before sunning it back home in Mallorca three Guardia Civil were grilling everyone board- down” but decided on keeping it zipped and siming, asking for their Residencia, which we didn’t ply replied “si”! The GC are not people I want to try have as we’d only been in Mallorca three weeks and joke with! On approach to Mallorca I craned prior to lockdown and hadn’t had time to get that. my neck to see the island through the window and We handed over what paperwork we had, a letter felt so happy to be back. Again at immigration the from Calviá Town Hall stating we were permitted paperwork had to be shown and we were handed to travel and lived in Mallorca, our tenancy agree- another 14-day isolation notice before making a ment, Paul’s Spanish work contract and our NIE dash for the exit. We’d been away from our home numbers. When it came to our turn we were asked in Mallorca for nine weeks but I’m back and here if we lived in Mallorca and Paul explained that he to stay! Now, I just can’t wait to be able to go out was a pilot for Jet2 based there. Then they looked for dinner in a restaurant, wander around Palma’s at me and asked if we lived together, I would have shops and explore more of the island. See you all said “we’re practically conjoined twins since lock- in two weeks after our quarantine is up!

@tereniataras

We use recycled paper

Embassy grilling

FINAL FINALWORDS WORDS

ECUADORIAN embassy bosses have opened a disciplinary process against one of their attachés after police found him at a Madrid barbeque with 46 people.

Arab aid THE United Arab Emirates has sent 18 tonnes of medical aid including PPE and alcohol gels to Marbella.

Bikini bust BIKINI-clad PP Councillor Paula Moreno has left an Andalucian town hall red-faced after attending a Zoom meeting from a beach with her kids.

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SCARE: Locals rocked by beast sighting

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Vol. 4 Issue 82 www.theolivepress.es June 12th - June 25th 2020

Turtley worth it A SEA turtle entangled in a Spanish fishing net has been returned to the sea by police.

The creature was rescued thanks to the quick thinking of a sailor, who sounded the alarm off the coast, near Aguilas, in Murcia.

Moving Guardia Civil footage shows the turtle

Rescued turtles escape back to the wild after two lucky escapes fighting to survive after becoming snared by the net.

Luckily agents from the Special Group for Underwater Activities (GEAS) swiftly arrived and were

COVID charge A TWITTER storm has erupted after a bar in Tenerife started charging a ‘COVID tax’.

One disgruntled customer posted a picture of a re-

PAY UP: Extra charge

ceipt showing a ‘servicio COVID’ levy of €1.

Some have backed the business, pointing out that gloves, alcohol gels and masks all cost money.

But most responses have been less understanding, with consumers’ rights organisation FACUA branding it illegal and urging people to make official complaints about the practice.

able to carefully aid the turtle’s escape.

The incident occurred just days prior to Oceanografic in Valencia releasing its 500th turtle, which was rescued after swallowing plastic.

The release coincided with World Oceans Day, at El Saler de Valencia, this week.

The turtle was rescued by a fishing boat in the Cullera area, after ingesting significant amounts of plastic including a long string of a helium balloon 50 centimetres long.

It also had a piece of fish lodged in its dorsal and a serious fracture in the shell, possibly caused by a collision with a boat.

After seven months of vet-

Eye tests now available by appointment at Specsavers Ópticas.

We’re ready to welcome you back in store, but we’ve made some changes to our normal practices to make sure it’s always as safe as possible for all our customers and colleagues.

For more information or to request an appointment visit specsavers.es Santa Ponça Avda. Rei Jaume, 117 Tel. 871 964 331

Olive Press Mallorca – 170mm x 256mm – Color

w/c 8 June

FREE: Turtle released

erinary care in which it underwent various treatments, it was released by rescuers from ARCA del Mar. They said the incident 'crudely exemplifies' the human impact sea turtles face in the Mediterranean.

The Guardia Civil’s animal protection arm SEPRONA investigated over 4,000 crimes against the environment in 2019.

What a croc

A CROC hunt has been launched after a 1.5 metre long crocodile was spotted roaming around Valladolid.

Terrified locals reported multiple sightings of the beast on a stretch of the River Duoro between the towns of Simancas and Tordesillas.

Drones have been dispatched to look for the giant reptile, which experts said is likely a Nile crocodile.

The species, which can weigh up to half a tonne, is native to Africa, and the croc in Spain is thought to be an escaped pet or was released by his owner.

As a precaution, fishermen and kayakers have been excluded from a five kilometre radius of the first reported sighting of the animal.

The discovery of ‘two nests’ has bolstered the alleged sightings, while fish have been spotted with distinctive bite marks, typical of a large reptile.