News
Gatwick bonus
Having bought take-off slots left free at London Gatwick airport by the collapse of Monarch , British Airways is planning increases in the number of flights to Málaga , Alicante , Tenerife and Lanzarote starting in March and continuing through the summer . BA has also announced new routes from Gatwick to Menorca and Palma , plus six daily flights a week to Gibraltar starting in May .
Melilla migrants
Hundreds of migrants stormed the sixmetre high fences on the border at Melilla last month leaving a number injured , including a police officer who received cut to his ear . The government said 209 had reached Spanish soil . EU border agency Frontex says almost 22,900 people reached Spain from north Africa last year , twice the total for 2016 .
Last editions
The magazine Interviu is set to close after suffering “ dramatic ” financial losses . Its publisher said last month that it would also cease printing the political magazine Tiempo and concentrate instead on its online edition . Interviu , which became known for its shock reports and nude pictures , was launched six months after Franco ’ s death in 1976 .
Air crash
A 61-year-old pilot escaped without serious injury after his light aircraft crash landed in a field neighbouring the Axarquía airfield last month . He said he had experienced mechanical problems on take-off and tried to return to the airfield but fell to earth from a height of 300 metres . National Police opened an investigation at the scene of the incident in an avocado plantation .
Hospital theft
A woman driver who jumped a red light in Granada was found to have equipment stolen from a city hospital in her car . Police who stopped her found a € 1,700 breast pump which appeared to have been ripped from its mounting . The item has been returned to the Hospital Materno Infantil and the suspect faces a charge of theft .
Festive thefts
Thieves struck at least five homes in the same district of Antequera on New Year ’ s Eve . National Police said those responsible planned their actions to take advantage of residents without burglar alarms being out enjoying the festivities to steal objects of value from the properties . This included cash and jewellery and , in one case , a complete safe .
Granada surprised by “ abandoned ” immigrants
Granada Town Hall has made a public complaint about the treatment of around 50 illegal immigrants who , it alleges , were abandoned at the central bus station in December . Social rights councillor Jemi Sánchez said last month that the group did not even know what city they were in .
The incident began on December 12 when the immigrants were rescued from a boat which had set sail for Spain from north Africa . They were taken to Motril where each was subjected to police checks , as is the protocol in such cases .
Once processed , they were then boarded onto a coach which took them to Granada where , Councillor Sánchez added , they were “ abandoned without further explanations or any help .”
Controversy over Archidona death
A First Instance Court in Archidona has dropped an investigation into the death of a 36-year-old Algerian man being held in the town ’ s unfinished jail , presently being used as an internment centre . Considering the preliminary post-mortem report , the court concluded that the cause of his death on December 29 was suicide by hanging .
Mohamed Bouderbala ’ s brother , who had been in daily contact with him , has told journalists that he was not suicidal , yet , according to police , the official post-mortem recorded he had , “ hanged himself with a sheet .” Algerian prosecutors are now reported to have opened their own investigation into the death of Bouderbala who was found hanged in his cell , while Algeria ’ s Justice Minister , Tayeb Louh , referred to his death as “ suspicious .”
A lawyer for the family has criticised the Spanish court ’ s decision not to investigate further after it was discovered that Bouderbala had been held in isolation for 18 hours before his
Shortly after their arrival , the Movement for Peace ( MPDL ), which manages accommodation for immigrants was advised of their plight , and working with the town hall ’ s Social Services department , found lodgings for the entire party . The formal complaint from the city points out that responsibility for the care of immigrants following processing is that of the NGOs , not the government or , in this case , the police .
The MPDL has described the case as a “ flagrant violation of human rights ,” adding that such abandonments have also been recorded in Málaga and Almería . It claimed that local councils are the last to know of the arrivals of groups of immigrants , despite the fact that the individuals will probably become users of their social services .
death for reasons which are unclear . Amanda Romero said that the speed with which the investigating judge closed the case was , “ surprising .”
The use of the new prison at Archidona as an internment centre for illegal immigrants has been controversial . Activists say the migrants should be allowed free movement within the centre , not confined to cells overnight and guarded by riot police . Romero said that her client had been deprived of his freedom , so there could be a criminal liability connected to his death .
Harbour bump
An investigation is underway following a collision between a ferry and a cruise liner in Barcelona harbour last month . No-one was injured when the ferry of the Grandi Navi Veloci line arrived from Tangiers and collided with the Viking Star liner , operated by Viking Ocean Cruises , which was moored in Terminal B . Neither was seriously damaged while the port authority described the incident as “ atypical .”
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