News
City runaway
No progress on Vélez trams
The driver of a horse and carriage in Málaga required hospital treatment after his horse bolted . He was thrown to the ground after a harness snapped and a wheel of the carriage ran over his hand . Local police officers managed to stop the runaway in the city ’ s calle Hilera before any serious damage or accident occurred .
Maroma rescue
A 51-year-old man has been rescued near the peak of La Maroma in Alcaucín after slipping and injuring himself . A Guardia Civil rescue team found him just 200 metres from the top of the 2,069 metre mountain in a place of difficult access . He was evacuated by helicopter to Vélez- Málaga Hospital suffering from a suspected double facture in one leg .
Rubbish cleared
Five thousand tons of rubbish have been removed from an illegal dump between Nerja and Frigiliana . The site at Barranco del Viejo had been in use for 15 years before being cleared by workers from the regional government . A much larger illegal rubbish dump at Río de la Miel is presently the subject of an investigation by a Torrox court .
Tyre fraud
Fourteen people have been detained in Málaga in a Guardia Civil investigation into illegal tyre sales . Two companies in Antequera have been identified as selling over 200,000 tyres , previously scrapped in third world countries , in the last five years . They are said to have bought the unserviceable tyres for € 1 each and sold them in Spain and elsewhere as secondhand .
Pupils assaulted
The Torre del Mar teacher accused of assaulting five of his young female pupils at the town ’ s Custodio Puga school faces a long jail sentence . The prosecutor has asked for 30 years behind bars when the case comes to court . The suspect , who was arrested in January , has confessed and reportedly told police he had assaulted girls in other schools where he had worked .
Vélez-Málaga is to ask the regional government to include the tranvía within the metropolitan area of Málaga . The town council says the tramway , which runs between Vélez and Torre del Mar and which has been closed since June 2012 , should be treated in the same way as a similar transport system in Jaén .
All political groups in the municipality supported the proposal which was launched at an extraordinary council meeting last month . The Junta de Andalucía has previously agreed to subsidise 40 per cent of the deficit of the tranvía when it reopens .
In March , the Junta declared the Jaén tranvía to be of metropolitan interest , implying that the regional government is free to specify items for its
Raisins produced from moscatel grapes grown in the Axarquía region of the province of Málaga have been recognised as Agricultural Heritage . The Minister of Agriculture , Fisheries and Rural Development , Rodrigo Sanchez Haro , accompanied by mayors of municipalities where the grape is harvested , were in Rome during April to accept the honour from the UN ’ s Food and Agriculture Organisation .
About 2,000 families in the Axarquía make their livings from the production of raisins , a process which is now protected as “ intangible heritage .”
The Minister said that Andalucía ’ s Rural Development programme 2014- 20 has a budget of € 2.2 million for the sector , with an incentive of € 359 per hectare for those growers who use traditional methods to prevent erosion .
It is planned to create a new body to be responsible for an action plan for the sustainability of the Axarquía ’ s raisin production which produces about 300 tons annually from grapes grown on 1,600 hectares . The Minister referred exploitation . The Partido Popular spokesman Francisco Delgado said simply that Vélez-Málaga should be treated equally .
Earlier last month , transport councillor Marcelino Méndez-Trelles ruled out any possibility of the tranvía reopening this year . He blamed the Junta de Andalucía which , he claimed , is showing no interest in the project .
The region ’ s PublicWorks Minister , Felipe Lopez , said during a visit to the municipality in January that he hoped that the regional government and Vélez- Málaga could reach an agreement with the concession holder Alsa to allow the tram services to restart , “ in the coming months .” However , since then there has been no progress in efforts to get the system restarted .
UN recognises Axarquía raisins to a process which it is impossible to mechanise and has a low profit margin , but which is linked to the traditional cultural practices of an historic viticulture society .
The designation of the sector as one of the UN ’ s new Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems ( GIAHS ) was described as “ one of the most important days ” for the Axarquía ’ s agricultural , social , economic and tourist development by Iznate ’ s mayor Gregorio Campos . He added that this is the right moment for authorities and official bodies to take advantage of the recognition .
However , experts say there has been a fall in production throughout this decade , and that the viability of the product ’ s cultivation in the province is becoming tougher to achieve .
All grape production , not just those grown for raisin production , has lost ground to more profitable agricultural varieties , including subtropical fruits , avocados and mangoes , and even olives .
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