News
Vélez MRI
Massive car cloning scam uncovered
The Hospital Comarcal in Vélez-Málaga is to have its own MRI scanner . Between 7,600 and 8,000 patients a year are presently referred from the hospital to other health centres for scans . The new unit will cost around € 1 million , plus a further € 100,000 for internal work to create the 300 square metres of space for the scanner plus patient waiting areas .
Lagos flag
For the first time , the beach at Lagos in Vélez-Málaga is flying the Ecoplayas flag . The environmental award comes from the Technical Association for Waste Management and Environment which lists the best beaches in the country in terms of managing waste and maintaining sustainability . As well as Lagos , Vélez flies the flag on five other beaches in the municipality .
Cold classes
Students at Granada ’ s Royal Conservatory of Music say the building is too cold to work in . They say temperatures in study rooms have been recorded at 13 ° at around 1.00pm forcing them to wear outdoor clothes , when the minimum under health and safety regulations is 17 °. The provincial education department says the problem is a boiler breakdown which is to be resolved “ in the coming weeks .”
Suspect detained
A 21-year-old man with suspected links to IS was detained in Melilla last month . The Interior Ministry said he had been carrying out recruitment work on the internet and social media , and had “ full affiliation ” to the terrorist organisation . It added he had accessed “ very violent and explicit videos ” over a clandestine communications network .
Priority boarding
Passengers on British Airways will be boarded in order of the price they paid for their seats . Starting December 12 , boarding passes will be split into five groups with First Class passengers in Group One boarding first and the cheapest , handluggage-only travellers in Group Five boarding last . Only disabled passengers and those with young children will have priority over Group One .
When a Madrid car-owner started receiving speeding fines from places to which he had never been , he contacted the police . He told them that the photographs accompanying the fine notices showed a car that looked just like his , and an investigation opened .
Officers found that two cars of the same make and model , and bearing identical matriculation plates , were on Spain ’ s roads , which then led to the discovery of a massive international car cloning scam . At least 85 vehicles have been stolen and cloned with their illegal twins sold across Europe , generating profits for the gang estimated at over € 1.5 million . A local government civil servant is reported to be amongst 19 people arrested , with five more under investigation .
The cloned vehicle of the first victim was found to belong to a Bulgarian national with a long history of car theft ,
Thousands of people from Extremadura flooded into Madrid one Saturday evening last month , but most didn ’ t make the journey by train . They claim that the 400 kilometre journey from the city of Badajoz would take over six hours by rail , but can be covered in under four hours by road .
Protestors say the rail service from Madrid to the Portuguese border which passes through Badajoz is subject to breakdowns , delays and cancellations and are demanding improvements . Saturday ’ s 6.30am train from Badajoz , for example , arrived at Madrid ’ s Atocha station at 11.30am , some 23 minutes late . Part of the poor service , they explained , is that stretches of track are supported by sleepers dating from the 19th century , forcing trains to reduce speed to 40 kilometres an hour .
Almost 300 town halls have signed a petition callings for urgent upgrades and , in the longer term , an AVE highspeed line to be built on the Madrid- handling stolen vehicles and forging official documents . He and other gang members are alleged to have stolen vehicles mainly in the Madrid area and disabling their GPS systems to avoid being tracked , before cloning them and producing fake registration plates and paperwork . A public worker at an unnamed provincial government office is alleged to have assisted them by checking details on a Tráfico database to which he had access .
Cars were then sold to buyers throughout Europe either individually or in bulk , although some of the stolen vehicles were broken up and sold as parts . Most went to buyers in Romania , Poland , France , Russia , Bulgaria , Belgium , Portugal and Austria . The scam is thought to be the biggest cartrafficking network ever uncovered with gang members active in Spain , Greece , Estonia , France , Romania , Poland , Portugal , Brazil and Bulgaria .
Rail protestors drive into Madrid
Badajoz-Portugal route , a call which has been supported by 3,000 signatures on-line . Politicians and trades unions plus groups representing tourism , farming , sport and culture are also backing the call , and were represented in the weekend turnout .
Metro crash
A car was in collision with one of Málaga ’ s metro trams last month . Noone was injured in the incident at a spot on Bulevar Louis Pasteur where the tracks cross a road . However , both the private vehicle and the tram were seriously damaged .
Kidnap warning
National Police in Granada have reported three cases of “ virtual kidnap ” in the city last month . In each , the call demanding up to € 10,000 for the release of a family member , who in reality was not in any danger , came from Chile . Police are advising the public to ignore unexpected calls with the prefix 0056 or + 56 .
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