News
Dead turtle
The body of a giant leatherback turtle has washed up on a beach near Barcelona . A digger was called in to remove the 700 kilo creature , which was in an advanced state of decomposition , and taken for examination . Although the species is not common in the Mediterranean , it is the second time in a month that one has been found .
Cable laid
A new undersea cable linking the USA and Spain is complete . Confirming the news last month , officials said the 4,000 mile cable , named Marea , which lies 17,000 feet below the Atlantic will improve data connectivity between Europe and North America . Marea operates at 160 terabytes per second , enough to stream 71 million HD movies simultaneously , and is expected to be operational next year .
Mango thieves
Four youths from Canillas del Aceituno have been caught stealing mangos from a farm in Benamargosa . They were caught red-handed by a Guardia Civil patrol from Vélez-Málaga which came across a car parked on the MA-3113 close to field of mangos . The officers recovered eight bags of the fruit weighing a total of 233 kilos .
Sea rescue
A paraglider pilot was rescued from the sea after falling into the water off Almuñécar ’ s la Velilla beach last month . Emergency services were alerted following reports of the incident and a Swiss woman was found and taken to hospital in Motril . However , she was reported not to have been seriously injured .
Abandoned baby
A newly-born baby is out of danger after being found , wrapped in a blanket , in a rubbish container . The child was found in Ourense last month by a vagrant who was sorting through the contents of the bin . Police are searching for the mother of the infant who weighed two kilos and still had the umbilical cord attached .
Warm , dry autumn ahead
Autumn began officially last month and the season is expected to be warmer and drier than usual , following a summer which was “ full of records .”
The state meteorological agency , Aemet , says the coming three months usually provide a third of Spain ’ s annual rainfall . However , forecasters expect October to be very dry , especially in Extramadura and southwest Andalucía and to a lesser extent along the Mediterranean coast .
November and December will be wetter , they add , with greatest intensities expected in the Basque Country and the Balearic Islands . Temperatures will be above the average 15.9 ° for the season , with 1.5 ° more in the south-west and a degree or so more than usual elsewhere .
Aemet says this summer has been the second-warmest since 1965 , and has
Torrox has fought off a € 33 million compensation claim from UTE Almedina , the joint venture company awarded the concession to operate the town ’ s La Almedina underground car park . On hearing the news , Torrox mayor , Óscar Medina of the Partido Popular , who has held office for three years , described it as , “ the most important day of my time as mayor .”
The car park in Torrox Pueblo opened in late 2008 and the operator was claiming compensation for the losses which it sustained from under use of the facility by motorists . It has around 400 vehicle spaces on three floors , of which around 150 were reserved for residents , and cost more than € 7 million to build . Less than two years after its opening , however , the operation was reported to be more than € 2 million in debt with the car park reportedly only half full on weekdays and 70 per cent empty at weekends .
By 2014 , the franchise holder had complained to the town hall several been “ full of records .” This included cities such as Córdoba which experienced 37 days in the three month period when the mercury rose above 40 °.
Andalucía , Extremadura , Castilla La- Mancha , Madrid , Castilla y Leon and the south of Aragon were “ extremely warm ,” it added , while the rest of the peninsula was very warm . June was the warmest since 1965 with temperatures averaging 3 ° above normal , while July and August were both around a degree or so up on the average .
Despite the threat of a drought later in the year , summer rainfall nationally was actually seven per cent up , at 79 litres per square metre . However , it was “ exceptionally dry ” in western Andalucía and in the southeast of Extremadura , as well as in patches between Granada and Albacete , and on the western Canary Islands .
Torrox sees off huge compensation claim
times about a lower than expected use of the car park by drivers , and in the spring , said an indemnification of € 700,000 was needed to bring economic stability to the project , in addition to which it wanted the concession period to be extended from 40 to 70 years . Talks were said to be “ continuing .”
Last October , the town council agreed in principle with a proposal by the Partido Popular to negotiate a loan of € 5 million to buy the car park from the concession holders , although the figure later increased to € 5.2 million , while the joint venture group was demanding € 33 million in compensation for , “ lack of profitability .” Now , however , an administrative litigation court in Málaga has dismissed the lawsuit because , it ruled , at no time had Torrox Town Council breached its contract with the concession holder . It also noted that the fact that the economic forecasts made by the operator were not achieved is not a municipality responsibility . The ruling can be appealed .
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