Soltalk December 2017 | Page 22

Tourist shot A 67-year-old Spanish woman has died in Brazil after military police opened fire on a vehicle which the officers alleged failed to stop at a checkpoint. She was on holiday in Rio de Janeiro with her sister and brother, and was in the vehicle with an Italian national and a Brazilian guide. Two police officers are reported to have been arrested following the incident. Las Claras Vélez-Málaga is reportedly trying to acquire the town’s 16th century Royal Monastery of Our Lady of Grace, known locally as Las Claras. It is one of the town’s officially-listed Assets of Cultural Interest and was in use as a convent until 2009. The present owner Unicaja acquired the building in 2012 after plans to convert it into a luxury hotel fell through. Abuse alleged The parents of an eight-year-old boy with learning difficulties have alleged that the child has been maltreated by a scout leader in Granada. They told National Police that their son, who requires 24- hour care, returned from a camping trip with bruises on his wrist and arm. The alleged perpetrator has denied ill-treating the boy and the case will come to court on December 22. On charge The second recharging point for electric vehicles in the Axarquía is now operating outside the town hall in Canillas de Aceituno. The only other in the area is in Vélez-Málaga. The operation is described as “semi-fast and free,” with the town now part of the national charging points network. Intimidation charge National Police in Málaga have arrested a 29-year-old woman accused of publishing sexual content about her former partner on the internet without his consent. She reportedly advertised that he was available for sexual services and published his photograph and phone number. The suspect is being charged with coercion. Rajoy calls for end to “separatist havoc” Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy says that December’s elections in Cataluña will end “separatist havoc” in the region. He was speaking in Barcelona last month during his first visit to the city since direct rule from Madrid was imposed in October. elsewhere in Spain not to boycott Catalan produce so that the region does not, “pay the bill after having suffered the fracture.” Sr Rajoy said that he had “exhausted all avenues” before the decision was taken to oust former Catalan president Carles Puigdemonte and detain several of his senior colleagues. Speaking at a Partido Popular event, he called on the “silent majority” who refused to participate in the illegal independence referendum on October 1 to “convert their voice into a vote” in the election scheduled for December 21. “With democracy, we want to reclaim Catalonia for everyone,” he added. Meanwhile, separatists staged a huge rally in Barcelona against the detention of a number of former regional ministers who were last month questioned by a judge and two prosecutors and now face possible charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds. Carme Forcadell, the former speaker of the Catalan parliament, was released after promising to respect the Spanish constitution in the future and paying bail of €150,000. Bail of €25,000 was set for four others, and one was released without bail but remains under investigation. Sr Rajoy was in Cataluña to launch the campaign for the PP’s Xabier García Albiol to become the next leader of the regional parliament, a man who he said, “speaks clearly and always with the truth.” But the PM also took time to ask companies thinking of abandoning the region to remain and to ask people Eight other senior former parliamentary figures and two activists remain in custody in Spain while arrest warrants have been issued for Carles Puigdemont, still in exile in Belgium along with four of his former senior ministers. They continue to fight against extradition orders. Málaga pushes for new by-pass The city of Málaga is pushing for construction of new roads to improve mobility in the province. In a meeting with 14 other mayors last month, Málaga’s mayor Francisco de la Torre outlined the need to create a link between Chilches, east of the city, with Fuengirola, so by-passing the southern stretch of the A-7. Málaga commissioned ARCS Te