News
Cannon project
A 18th century cannon, rescued from the
sea off Nerja ten years ago, will be restored
and displayed in the town’s museum. The
cannon, believed to have come from the
fortress which stood on the site now
occupied by the Balcón de Europa, was
placed on the Mirador del Bendito,
overlooking Calahonda beach where it was
found. A specialist firm is to undertake its
restoration.
Boar hunt
One of the wild boars which have been
terrorising parts of La Cala del Moral has
been tranquilised with a dart and removed.
Residents say at least four more of the
animals have been seen searching for food
nearby. They report the boars have killed
two dogs and injured a third, while a child
was luckily uninjured in a collision with
one of them.
Student travel
Vélez-Málaga Town Hall is again to subside
travel costs for local students who will be
attending University or Further Education
colleges in Málaga this winter. €130,000
has been set aside by the Council to pay
for 61% of the return fare between Vélez
and the city. Applicants must have been
accepted for a college or university course
to be eligible for the subsidy.
Drugs mule
A 41-year-old Italian national of Nigerian
origin has been detained at Málaga airport
on suspicion of drugs trafficking. He was
preparing to board a flight to Barcelona
when 50 packets of cocaine, with a total
weight of 562 grams, were detected in his
stomach. The suspect was taken to
Málaga’s Hospital Clínico Universitario for
urgent treatment.
Carer detained
Local police in Málaga, following reports
of a fight between two women in the city
centre last month, found that a 49-year-old
Moroccan had slapped an 83-year-old
woman several times. The younger woman
was detained when it was found she was
acting as carer to the older lady who
suffers from dementia and uses a wheel
chair. The suspect is facing allegations of
domestic abuse.
Under quota
Oxfam has asked the EU to take action
against Spain for failing to fulfil its refugee
quota. The NGO claimed last month that
Madrid had met less than 13.7% of its
obligations. Oxfam was concerned that,
with the refugee accord set to expire on
September 26, Spain has only welcomed a
handful of the 17,337 individuals which it
promised to take in.
Juana Rivas dispute
continues
The Granada woman who is in dispute
with her Italian former husband over
custody of their two children last month
repeated her assertion that she has not
been able to speak to them. The
youngsters are at the Italian home of
their father, Francesco Arcuri, and,
according to Juana Rivas, when he hears
her voice on the phone, he hangs up.
Last month in Italy, Arcuri announced
that he has filed a lawsuit demanding
€1 million from 12 Spanish journalists
and politicians who, he claims, libelled
him on social networks and the media.
He referred indirectly to the president
of Andalucía, Susana Díaz, and other
parliamentarians who, he added, do
not have the protection in Italy which
they enjoy in Spain.
He is also reported to have asked
several Italian MEPs for help through
the European Court of Human Rights
and the European Commission to fight
what he considers is an intolerable
interference in the private life of an
Italian citizen. The following day, the
Seville law firm which has been
representing Arcuri in Spain severed
their connections with him. In a
statement, Sariego Abogados said they
had had disagreements with the Italian
firm of lawyers who are representing
him in his home country, and made
reference to, “the decisions and
unfortunate comments” made by the
Italians’ team leader.
Last month, around 20 towns and cities
across Spain staged marches in protest
at domestic violence and in support of
Juana Rivas. In Granada, around 400
people walked for 90 minutes before
gathering outside the government sub-
delegation offices.
Police officer shot in
Granada fight
A 34-year-old man is in custody after a
Guardia Civil officer was injured by a
bullet fired during a fight in a Granada
town in the early morning last month.
The suspect was detained five hours
later following the incident on the first
night of the annual fair in
Guadahortuna, 60 kilometres north-
east of the capital. Reports say the
officer was trying to break up the fight
when he was shot in the abdomen.
However, the wound was shallow,
failing to enter the abdominal cavity,
and he was released from hospital later
the same day.
Witnesses to the incident reported
hearing anything from a dozen to 15
shots, several of which hit buildings
and a parked car. They said that, after
the gunshots, other officers were
pointing their firearms into an alley
where the attacker was thought to have
been hiding, but he had fled. The
suspect is understood to be a local man
with a dozen previous convictions
linked to robberies. Investigators have
failed to locate the nine millimetre
10
pistol used in the attack and believe he
may have disposed of it before his
arrest. He is now being held in custody
without bail.
Earthquake death
A 33-year-old from Málaga is thought
to have died in the 7.1 intensity
earthquake which hit Mexico last
month. Jorge Gómez Varo was born
and raised in Pedregalejo and worked
in Mexico City for a Galician
construction firm whose offices were
reduced to rubble. A second Spanish
national also died and number of
others are missing.
Gang smashed
Five Romanian and two Spanish
women were rescued from a
prostitution gang on Ibiza last month.
Three people suspected of controlling
them have been detained. Police said
the gang recruited Romanian girls
through men pretending to be their
boyfriends, who persuaded them to
come to Spain for a better life, but
instead threatened and abused them.