News
Dozens stung
Dozens of people were stung by jellyfish on beaches east of Málaga last month with 39 victims reported in Rincón de la Victoria alone , four times more than on an average day . Experts say low rainfall has increased sea water salinity levels along the shoreline . Bathers are urged to respect danger flags flown by lifeguards , with children and the elderly urged to take extra care .
Tunnel fire
A vehicle on fire inside the Torrox tunnel of the A-7 motorway brought the westbound carriageway to a standstill last month . A tailback of over a kilometre built up before one of the three lanes was reopened . The driver of the vehicle which caught fire raised the alarm and there were no reports of injuries .
Tax fraudsters
A worker at the National Tax Agency office in Málaga has been accused of masterminding a major fraud . Eleven others have also been accused of bribery , falsifying documents , fraud and membership of a criminal gang . An enquiry opened in March after a member of the public complained he had been offered a saving by paying a fixed monthly sum instead of his outstanding tax bill .
Sun powered
The first car powered entirely by sunlight was launched last month by the Málaga company Evovelo . The Mö , which its manufacturers say is made from noncontaminating materials , can travel up to 90 kilometres on a full charge and has a top speed of 50 kph . The first 100 % ecological car costs between € 4,000 and € 5,000 .
Drunk arrested
Granada police arrested a 58-year-old man in the city last month after witnesses reported him failing to start his motorcycle around midday because he was apparently drunk . A test showed he was five times over the legal alcohol limit for drivers . Officers were also surprised to find he was carrying a 4.5mm BB air gun , similar in appearance to weapons issued to the local force .
Black spot
A car and a tram collided last month at , what has become , a black spot on Málaga ’ s metro system disrupting services for 12 minutes . On Line 1 near the Hospital Clínico Universitario , the car driver allegedly skipped a red light giving the tram priority at a point where vehicles and trains share the same space . No-one was injured in the incident
Spain is an international waste dump , say police
The environmental arm of the Guardia Civil , Seprona , says huge volumes of waste from other countries are being dumped illegally in Spain . It adds that the trafficking of waste has now become big business for criminal organisations . During June , Seprona took part in Operation Tyson , an international investigation covering 43 countries which investigated the global nature of the problem . It revealed that 1.5 million tons of rubbish had been disposed of in illegal ways during the exercise .
In Spain , Seprona officers inspected over 1,000 companies which transport waste , along with 500 treatment centres , more than 300 recycling plants and almost 500 landfill sites . As a result , almost 1,500 violations have been recorded , while five crimes have been uncovered with 12 more under investigation .
However , the operation has also revealed that huge amounts of waste are coming into Spain illegally from Gibraltar and Malta , zones which , on their own , could not produce such volumes . Seprona believes that criminal gangs are importing waste from other countries to places like Gibraltar from where it then enters Spain .
Officers found two vessels in Spanish ports which were discharging 6,600 tons of metal into the sea without any security controls , while another from
Plans for a park in Rincón de la Victoria based on the fantasy novels of J . R . R . Tolkien have been revived . It was first proposed over two years ago , backed by a grant of € 500,000 from the provincial government , but was shelved as a result of the financial crisis and following threats of legal action from copyright owners .
The park , complete with characters from Lord of The Rings , was to be built on a 80,000 square metre site close to La Marina college in Benagalbón . It was to include play areas for children , with a lake in the centre of the park to encourage wildlife . When the work was
Senegal was carrying plastic waste without any authorisation . In one waste centre , 136,000 litres of used vegetable oil and 32,000 litres of residue water were discovered , again without any relevant paperwork . Three suspects face various offences for allegedly bringing 34 lorry loads of waste illegally from Gibraltar into the Cádiz region where it was supposed to be treated and returned to Gibraltar . However , it was simply offloaded at disposal sites .
Each country is obliged under international conventions to dispose of its waste products , but investigators believe that even highly developed states are involved in the illegal trafficking of rubbish , simply because it is cheaper to hire criminal gangs than following legal disposal procedures . Seprona has named the countries which it claims are sending consignments of waste to Spain ; the list includes Andorra , Argentina , Colombia , Greece , Honduras , Israel , Italy , Oman , Portugal , United Arab Emirates and Uruguay .
The European Union has now given environmental crimes the same status as drugs trafficking and terrorism , and has made combating them a priority . Those found guilty of such offences face up to five years in jail and the obligation to repair any damage which has been caused to the environment by their actions .
Rincón ’ s fantasy park revived
put out to tender in April 2015 with a budget of more than € 1.7 million , it attracted 25 bids .
The present political coalition at Rincón Town Hall , with the support Ciudadanos , has now proposed reviving the plan for the park with finance from the EU . It intends to have plans drawn up by next month and wants a share of € 5 million which it claims is already earmarked for the area . However , because the original plan did not go ahead , Rincón Town Hall now faces having to return the € 500,000 grant received from the provincial government , plus € 50,000 in interest .
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