News
Officer arrested
A policewoman has been arrested in
Barcelona after her husband’s severely
burned body was found in a car boot
last month. Police believe she was
having an affair with another officer,
now also detained. The dead man had
been suspended from his duties with
the local force following an alleged
assault on a motorcyclist.
Orphans’ pensions
Congress last month moved to ensure
that children of women killed in
domestic violence incidents receive an
orphan’s pension. Under present plans,
such individuals would receive a
minimum of €677 a month; if the
victim had more than one child, the
total would be increased and shared.
They note that young mothers may
not have worked enough to entitle a
pension to be paid normally.
Hacker honoured
A former computer hacker who was
employed by Telefónica has been
awarded a top honour by the Guardia
Civil. Chema Alonso received a white
distinction medal, granted to civilians
for extreme merit, at a ceremony in
Madrid last month marking the
security force’s 173rd anniversary.
Unfortunately, however, Alonso was
on ten days leave when the Wannacry
ransomeware attack struck Telefónica
a fortnight ago.
Rescue failure
The Guardia Civil on Lanzarote have
arrested a 29-year-old man suspected
of failing to assist a drowning woman.
Elaine O’Donovan from Ireland lost
her life after going for a late-night
swim on Playa Grande in Puerto de
Carmen last month. Police say the
suspect saw her body lying face down
in the water but left the scene without
helping her or summoning assistance.
Officer killed
A local police officer in the Galician
town of Carballo died last month after
being struck by a car whose driver was
over the breath alcohol limit. The 50-
year-old officer was operating a
vehicle check point with three
colleagues when he suffered serious
injuries by being dragged ten or 15
metres. The driver, a 60-year-old
Swiss national, was arrested at the
scene.
Málaga’s Top Traps
Three radar speed traps in Málaga are
amongst the Top 20 nationally which
generated most in fines during 2016.
According to the traffic authority
Tráfico, the province has 51 fixed and
mobile units which contributed to the
national total of €164.2 million
collected in fines from motorists found
guilty of speeding and other offences.
However, three locally stand out
having brought in €3.61 million
between them last year. The largest
figure of €1.52 million was generated
by the unit on the MA-20 western ring
road just before the Carlos Haya tunnel
where the speed limit is 80 kph.
Runner-up is the radar at kilometre
256.7 between Rincón de la Victoria
and Benagalbón which resulted in
€1.09 million in fines, while third, on
the A-7 eastern bypass around Málaga
at the Cerrado de Calderón tunnel,
brought in a further €1 million.
Excluding Cataluña and the Basque
Country which have their own regional
traffic authorities, Spain has about 600
fixed and mobile radar speed checks
on its roads network. Tráfico says fines
generated by the 20 most “profitable”
of these brought in €26.4 million, or 16
per cent of the national total of fines
collected in 2016.
However, according to a report from
European Automobile Associates (AEA)
in March, seven of the most active speed
traps in 2015 appeared to be out of
order last year. These include the unit at
kilometre 128.7 on the A-45 Las Pedrizas
motorway in Málaga which produced
no fines in 2016, compared with 58,000
sanctions the previous year.
Spain wants eurozone
review
Madrid has submitted proposals for
deeper economic integration amongst
countries in the eurozone to the
European Commission. The Economy
Ministry confirmed last month that the
paper has been sent ahead of the EC’s
planned debate about the future of the
common currency in the coming weeks.
In its summary, the Ministry says that
the structure of the eurozone has
proven vulnerable to economic shocks
and that the lack of absorbing
mechanisms has resulted in “high
unemployment rates in the countries
most affected by the crisis.” Madrid’s
suggestions to meet the problems
include an anti-crisis budget, a
common unemployment insurance
system, euro-bonds and the
completion of the banking union,
which would include the sharing of
risks.
Amongst the 19 members of the
eurozone, Spain and France now
appear to be in broad agreement.
However, Germany and others
enjoying full employment, growth and
other positive factors are less keen.
However, Madrid maintains that the
currency, “does not just need fire
fighters; it also needs architects.”
20
“The banking union will be the test,”
according to Spain’s Foreign Minister,
Alfonso Dastis. Speaking last month, he
said that it is, “clear that we need to
improve the governance of the
eurozone.”
Spanish attacked
The Spanish Embassy in London is
asking any Spanish nationals who are
subjected to xenophobia in the UK to
get in touch. The move follows a
number of reports of hate attacks on
individuals and Spanish-run businesses
since the Brexit referendum. Spain’s
Pode