News
BSE detected
Five cattle have been slaughtered
following an outbreak of BSE, better
known as mad cow disease, in
Cantabria. The virus was detected
during a routine check on an animal
born in Camargo in 2002. Regional
minister Jesús Oria says that rigorous
test procedures mean that there is no
danger to the public and nobody has
to stop eating beef or drinking milk.
Silent protest
Spanish flags have appeared
throughout Barcelona last month and
are being interpreted as a silent
protest against Catalan independence.
Police caught seven youths sticking
flags on public fixtures in the early
hours and they have been fined for
vandalism. Social media has been full
of photos of Spanish flags stuck to
road signs, in bus shelters and on post
boxes.
Suicide risk
Google, Twitter and Yahoo have
distanced themselves from some of
the 15 websites, YouTube uploads,
Tweets and blogs which reportedly
incite suicide. The list was presented
to the prosecutor in Cataluña on May
5 by the region’s Audiovisual Council.
Its analysis recorded 89,000 hits on
YouTube for a search on “suicido,” of
which it says 58 per cent included
“risk content.”
Drunk driver
A bus driver who left Granada en
route for Valencia was found to be six
times over the legal alcohol limit for
professional drivers when he was
stopped by police on the A-7 in
Murcia last month. The vehicle was
carrying 40 Chinese tourists at the
time. The alarm was raised by a
service station worker who called
police to report the driver’s inebriated
appearance.
Plan to withdraw
Francoist honour
is unnecessary
A retired history professor has told
Nerja Town Hall that there is no need
to revoke an honour bestowed by the
municipality, because such action was
taken 38 years ago. It concerns the
former government minister and vice
president during the Franco era, José
Utrera Molina, who lived in the town
until his death last month at the age of
91.
A lawyer, Eduardo Ranz, called on the
town to withdraw all “honour and
awards” granted during the dictator’s
life, which include the title “Adopted
Son” bestowed on Utrera by the town
council in October, 1969. Such
annulments are covered by the Law of
Historical Memory passed by the
Zapatero government in 2007.
As the town began planning a session
of the council to approve the move,
Francisco Capilla took to Facebook to
explain that a debate is unnecessary.
The historian confirmed that the title
Adopted Son was given to Utrera on
October 9, 1969, but added that it was
withdrawn on May 10, 1979.
He said that the same meeting 38 years
ago also withdrew the same courtesy
title from Francisco Giménez-Reyna
who was a lieutenant in Nerja’s Guardia
Civil in the late 1940s. It further agreed
to rename a number of streets whose
names had Francoist connections.
While mayor Rosa Arrabal can now
remove the debate from her to-do list,
she has been asked by the government
delegate in Madrid to investigate the
circumstances surrounding Utrera’s
funeral which was held at the Church
of San Miguel, close to the Balcón de
Europa, almost last month.
Reports say that around a dozen
people were heard singing the Falangist
hymn “Cara al sol” at the church doors.
This is understood to be in violation of
article 32 of the Law of Democratic
Memory, recently approved by the
Junta de Andalucía, which bans, “praise
of the Franco regime.”
Three more detained
following fatal shooting
Bus fire Three more people have been arrested
by National Police in Málaga who are
investigating a shooting incident in the
Los Asperones district of the city in
February. A 32-year-old man died
while another aged 44 was injured and
six people have now been detained for
questioning.
One municipal worker required
medical attention after a Málaga bus
caught fire in Alameda Principal on
Sunday evening. The vehicle was
parked and empty when the alarm
was raised and staff attempted to
extinguish the flames until fire crews
arrived. The employee, who was
treated at the scene, had inhaled some
of the powder dispersed by hand-held
fire extinguishers. When the emergency services arrived
at the scene shortly after midnight on
February 3 they found it deserted.
However, it was then discovered that
the fatal victim had already been taken
to the Hospital Clinico by his family.
He is reported to have been admitted
in a critical condition with around six
bullet wounds to the chest and leg, and,
despite desperate attempts to revive
him, he died shortly afterwards.
32
The injured man was treated for a
gunshot wound to the shoulder and
was admitted to Carlos Haya Hospital
where he was formally arrested. Two
other men who accompanied him are
reported to be members of the same
family and, following their detention
after the incident, were ordered by a
judge be held in custody.
The search for three other suspects
then continued and eventually lead to
simultaneous raids in Granada, where
two men were detained, and in Málaga,
where the third was found. The reason
for the dispute remains unclear
although police now think it was
connected to the alleged theft of some
livestock, rather than being drugs
related.