News
Spain’s constitutional
crisis
As Soltalk went to press, a battle of wills
was raging between central
government in Madrid and the
regional government of Cataluña in
Barcelona. Ever since Catalan president
Carles Puigdemont announced that a
referendum on independence from
Spain would be held on October 1, the
government of Mariano Rajoy has put
every obstacle in his way to prevent a
vote taking place.
The country’s Constitutional Court
suspended the decision of the Catalan
government to organise the poll;
anyone found guilty of helping to do
so faces prosecution and at least 14
senior regional officials were arrested
on charges of breach of trust,
disobedience and embezzlement of
public funds. Madrid also took control
of Catalan funding to ensure that “not a
Euro” would be spent on the
referendum.
Hundreds of mayors who agreed to
enable the vote in their municipalities
have been subpoenaed by the
prosecutor, while millions of leaflets
and posters promoting the event have
been seized by police.
Inevitably, tensions grew as voting day
approached and many cities and towns
in the region saw protests against
central government which, according
to president Puigdemont, was acting
like a “totalitarian state.” A number of
Guardia Civil officers had to be led to
safety from government offices in
Barcelona where they were searching
for evidence of referendum planning.
President Puigdemont promised that,
within 48 hours of a public vote
agreeing to Cataluña seceding from the
Spanish State, moves would be set in
motion to create a new, “republic of
social and democratic law.” Whatever
the outcome, however, Spain is
suffering a constitutional crisis with
serious consequences.
Tigers invade the city
The bite causes a rash and severe
itching, plus inflammation in the
surrounding cell tissue which swells
and hardens. Doctors have been
prescribing antihistamines, along with
cortisone creams and, if necessary,
antibiotics to combat infection.
The tiger mosquito (Stegomyia
A 45-year-old British woman died last
month while diving off Gran Canaria.
She is reported to have got into
difficulties and suffered a heart attack as
she was being returned by boat to Puerto
Mogan where unsuccessful attempts
were made to revive her. Six days
earlier, a 54-year-old man from County
Durham died after suffering a cardiac
arrest while diving off Lanzarote.
Terror suspect
A man detained in the Valencia town of
Vinaroz last month is suspected of
involvement of August’s attacks in
Barcelona which left 16 dead. He is
reported to be a 24-year-old Moroccan
resident in Spain who was allegedly in
contact with the other suspects. It is
believed he bought the explosives which
blew up a house at Alcanar, under ten
kilometres from his home.
Welsh suspect
A 34-year-old Bangladeshi man detained
in Mérida last month is suspected of
supporting IS from his office in Wales.
The Interior Ministry claims Ataul
Haque was behind a network which
supplied military grade weapons to
Syria. It said he was running, “one of the
most secretive and sophisticated”
branches of the terrorist organisation
from Cardiff and planned to supply
them with armed drones.
Ferry security
Brittany Ferries has called for
heightened security at Spanish ports to
halt illegal immigration. Between
January and August, 1,251 people, most
young male Albanians, were caught on
the Bilbao to Portsmouth route,
compared with 436 in the whole of 2016.
According to the ferry operator, most
offenders try to get into a sealed
container or trailer before it is loaded
onto a ship.
Health centres in parts of the city of
Málaga have reported a sharp rise in
the number of patients seeking
treatment for mosquito bites. Experts
say the culprit is a tiny insect which
moves quickly and attacks close to the
ground, with most victims suffering
highly potent bites to their legs when
outdoors.
Known as the “invisible mosquito”
because it is rarely seen before the bite
is felt, it is thought to be the agile tiger
mosquito which appears to have spread
from its water habitat and started
nesting in built-up areas. The city’s
health centres at Puerta Blanca, Cruz
del Humilladero, El Palo and La Roca
have been reporting dozens of cases.
Diver dies
albopicta) comes from tropical and
subtropical areas of Southeast Asia, but
it recent years has spread to many
countries by stowing away in goods
transportations and through
international travel. It has black and
white striped legs and a small striped
body.
A free mobile phone app, Mosquito
Alert, is available to download. It aims
to fight mosquito-borne diseases and
invites users to submit reports and
pictures of tiger and yellow fever
mosquito sightings. The app is
presently showing recent several tiger
mosquito reports east of Málaga,
particularly in Nerja and Almuñécar.
9
Circus donation
A Spanish circus has donated a lion and
seven tigers to an exotic animal
protection centre in Alicante as it gives
up using wild animals. Those from
Wonderland Circus are joining 32 other
lions, tigers and leopards at the AAP
Primadomus centre which also houses
over 100 primates. Five regions and
over 400 municipalities now ban the
use of live animals for entertainment
purposes.
See Smalltalk on
page 22