Drugs bust
One of the largest networks trafficking
hashish in southern Spain has been
broken up by police. Fourteen people are
reported detained with 5,100 kilos of the
drug confiscated. Police say a well-known
businessman from Huelva was behind the
importation of hashish by sea for national
and international distribution, as well as
money laundering and the financing
criminal activities.
Child porn
Two suspected paedophiles arrested by
National Police in Barcelona and Almería
are reported to have stored over 5,000
photos showing sexual abuse of children
between six and ten years of age on a web
server in New Zealand. A further eight
have been arrested for allegedly
distributing child pornography. At least
two were identified after complaints from
the public to the police.
Asteroid falls
Part of an asteroid travelling at 140,000
kph crashed into the Mediterranean last
month. Observers saw a ball of fire pass
across the sky as it burned up in the
Earth’s atmosphere. Scientists said it had
burned out 52 kilometres in the air before
its remains fell into the water between
Valencia and the Balearic Islands.
Spanish view
Spain’s foreign minister Alfonso Dastis
views the US recognition of Jerusalem as
the Israeli capital as “lamentable” and
could have worrying consequences. He
said the issue was “extremely sensitive.”
The Minister added, “We have always
said that the status of Jerusalem must be
the result of negotiation,” to create, “two
peaceful and safe states, side by side.”
Minor smuggled
A 65-year-old Moroccan man has been
detained after trying to cross the border
into Melilla with a 12-year-old boy
hidden behind the dashboard of his car.
Guardia Civil officers found the boy
disoriented and dehydrated during a
search of the vehicle. The driver who
attempted to smuggle the youngster into
Spain is to be charged with an offence
against the rights of foreign citizens.
Road death
A 60-year-old man died in Asturias last
month when his car was struck by a large
boulder. His two passengers escaped
uninjured. They were on the AS-112 road
close to the San Isidro ski resort when
their vehicle was struck by the rock fall.
Rescue and recovery efforts were
hampered by thick fog in the area.
Disputed artworks
return to Aragón
A pre-dawn operation last month saw
police in Cataluña remove disputed
artworks from a museum in Lleida and
return them to the neighbouring
region of Aragón. Arguments over the
ownership of the artefacts have raged
since the 1980s when they were
purchased by the Catalan government
from a 17th century monastery at
Villaneuva de Sigena in Huesca
province.
temporary powers could not be applied
to “sacred art,” and insisted the legal
battle still has, “a long way to go.”
Protestors had gathered outside the
Lleida museum in an effort to stop the
pieces leaving Cataluña, and a few
scuffles were reported when officers
arrived at 4.00am. The crowd chanted,
“Hands up! This is a robbery!” as 44
works left the museum. In 1923, the Sigena monastery was
declared a national monument to
protect its archaeological treasures
which included altarpieces, murals,
choir stalls and royal tombs belonging
to 13th century monarchs of the
Kingdom of Aragón. Many were
removed during the Civil War, but in
the 1980s, some were sold to Cataluña’s
National Museum of Art in Lleida.
Spanish courts ruled in 2015 and 2016
that the sales had been illegal and
ordered that the artefacts at the Catalan
museum should be returned to the
Aragón monastery.
The operation was ordered by the
Culture Minister, Íñigo Méndez de
Vigo, who accepted a petition from a
judge in Aragón. Madrid is presently
controlling affairs in Cataluña
following the region’s illegal
independence referendum in October,
but the move been disputed by Lleida’s
mayor. Àngel Ros said Madrid’s Former Catalan president Carles
Puigdemont, who remains in exile in
Belgium following his failed
independence attempt, has denounced
the operation. On his Twitter account
he wrote, “Under cover of night and
using military police, as always, to take
advantage of a coup d’etat to plunder
Cataluña with complete impunity.”
Doctors set to warn on
unfit drivers
Spain’s legislators are considering a
change in the law which would oblige
family doctors to advise the traffic
authority if a patient is considered
unfit to drive. At present,
confidentiality rules prevent GPs
giving such warnings to Tráfico, except
if the patient is considered to be a
danger to herself, himself or others. considers that the mandatory five or
ten year health checks required for
driving licence renewals in Spain may
be insufficient for the detection of such
conditions. Class B licence holders, the
most common amongst private drivers,
are required to be checked every ten
years to age 65, and every five years
thereafter.
The government is in the process of
reforming parts of the Road Safety Act
and is aiming to improve coordination
between Tráfico and health authorities.
The Committee on Road Safety in
Congress is exploring ways in which
GPs could raise the alarm if someone
with a driving licence has an injury or
suffers from a condition which
diminishes their capabilities. Tráfico
could then suspend their licence,
according to proposals from the
Partido Popular. The Committee Other aspects of the traffic laws under
debate at the moment include whether
it should be compulsory for
motorcyclists and moped-riders to
wear protective jackets and safe
footwear, aimed at outlawing two-
wheeled motorists driving in flip-flops.
The Committee is also considering
upgrading the requirements for crash
barriers in an effort to reduce the
number of motorcyclists who die every
year on Spanish roads as a result of
impacting against them.
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