News
Drugs rebuff
Rafa Nadal is suing a former French sports minister who said he had tested positive for drugs . Roselyne Bachelot claimed the tennis player ’ s seven-month layoff for a knee injury was a cover up for his suspension from playing . Nadal ’ s prosecutors in Paris say the charges are “ very serious ” and are demanding compensation of € 100,000 plus a custodial sentence for the politician .
Theft suspects
National Police in Granada have detained four Moroccan youths suspected of a series of break-ins , some with force , across the city . More than 30 thefts of mobile phones , computers , other electronics and cash are being attributed to them . They are believed to have scaled walls and balconies to access windows left open during warm weather .
Noise control
Málaga is to trial the use of acoustic panels to reduce noise from bars and terraces . Next month ’ s experiment in plaza Montaño , simulating the noise levels , will be followed by use of the panels in real establishments to find out if they give enough protection . The devices absorb and diffract sound and their inventor claims noise reduction of between 20 and 30 decibels .
Vélez first
Vélez-Málaga is claiming to be the first Spanish municipality to have defibrillators installed in all its schools and municipal nurseries . It will soon become obligatory by law to have the devices available in educational establishments but Vélez already has 21 in place . The councillor responsible , Ana Campos , said the town was becoming a “ cardio-protected municipality to the benefit of its school children .”
Death enquiry
A court in Cantabria last month opened an investigation into the death of a Málaga man . José María Callejón , aged 62 from La Cala del Moral , died from carbon monoxide poisoning while 92 others required hospital treatment following a leak from a faulty boiler in an hotel in Isla last month . The court is considering a possible offence of homicide and reckless injury .
See Smalltalk on page 22
Mezquitilla wins beach regeneration plan
Vélez-Málaga is to receive € 4 million from the EU towards a project to restore the beach in Mezquitilla . The plan , Operation Brick Beach , aims to use recycled waste from construction and demolition sites to upgrade the village of fewer than 300 residents which lies within the municipality .
The cash is coming from the EU ’ s Innovative Urban Actions initiative which attracted over 200 applicants from 28 countries . Confirming the news last month , Vélez ’ Councillor for Enterprise and Employment , María José Roberto , said only one other Spanish project , in the Madrid town of Fuenlabrada , was amongst the 16 finally approved .
The plan includes the construction of a treatment plant for waste materials from building and demolition sites which will turn them into a product of the optimum grain size to be used for beach regeneration . It also includes
The government has agreed to allow airline pilots and air traffic controllers to communicate in Spanish . An EU directive requiring the use of English at all times was appealed by the pilots ’ unions SEPLA and USCA .
They said that precedence should always be given to effective communication and argued that it was illogical for native Spanish speakers to communicate with one another in a foreign language , especially in emergencies . The Public Works Ministry has now agreed that Spanish is permissible , “ where operative scenarios make it advisory .”
The unions say they are happy with the outcome and have claimed that other EU member states have already made similar local exceptions . Spain must communicate the agreement to the EU before the end of this year .
The EU ’ s intention to make English the common language between pilots and controllers is to increase repopulating the sea off Mezquitilla with seagrasses .
Collaborating with Vélez Town Hall on the three-year project are Málaga University , the Federation of Waste Management Companies , the Costas department and the education and conservation group Aula del Mar . They will collectively provide the remaining 20 per cent of the € 5 million budget .
The town hall says the project will end illegal dumping by construction companies in the municipality and will turn waste rubble into an economic asset . It is also thought to be a pioneering project not only in Spain , but throughout Europe .
It is hoped that the space created by Operation Brick Beach will facilitate the growth of leisure areas , which , in turn , will promote economic development through sustainable tourism .
Flying in Spanish
safety . It applies only to airports which have more than 50,000 passengers a year ; in Spain this includes Alicante-Elche , Barcelona El Prat , Gran Canaria , Madrid Barajas , Málaga , Palma de Mallorca and Tenerife South .
However , the directive also acknowledges that any state which has a working language recognised by the International Civil Aviation Organisation can continue using it when the situation allows or when it is recommended .
Raisin reasons
Almáchar is to have a museum and visitor centre which will explain the history and importance of the production of raisins in the Axarquía . A property in calle Francisca Hidalgo is to be converted to house the centre in a € 940,000 project . For two centuries , the raisin was one of the important economic motors of the province of Málaga and generated intense commercial activity .
2 0