News
Record fungus
Catalan leader
bailed in Scotland
A former education minister in the
regional government of Cataluña has
been freed on bail by a Scottish court.
Clara Ponsatí was the subject of a
European Arrest Warrant over her
involvement in the illegal
independence referendum held in the
region during 2017.
A Spanish chef is reported to have found
the world’s largest mushroom growing
amongst woodland in the province of
Leon. Experts from Guinness World
Records are presently examining the claim,
but the fungus’s finder says that his
discovery beats the present record for
mushrooms by 23 kilos. The newly
discovered mushroom weighs a whopping
68.8 kilos (152 lbs).
Briton murdered
A 39-year-old British man, named locally
as import-export businessman Peter
Andrew Williamson, was shot dead on an
urbanisation east of Marbella in the middle
of November. Witnesses reported seeing a
gunman fleeing from the scene in a high-
end vehicle. The incident is one of a
number of recent killings including two
attacks on Britons, the shooting of a
Dutchman in a restaurant in Benalmádena
and the murder of a Frenchman outside his
home in Marbella. Police are believed to be
linking the shootings to a gangland drugs
feud.
Terror arrest
Police on Tenerife have arrested an alleged
jihadist who has been accused of calling
Muslims to armed struggle. Investigators
say the man, originally from Mauritania,
praised and justified attacks carried out by
Islamic State against non-believers, “for
which the West is held responsible.” He is
also reported to have used social media to
circulate images of executions and manuals
for making explosive device.
Border protests
France called in riot police last month after
Catalan protestors blocked a motorway at
the country’s southern border with Spain
for almost 24 hours. Officers arrested 19
people as they pushed demonstrators back
across into Spain and removed barricades
which had been set up on the carriageways.
The protest had been organised by a pro-
independence group known as Tsunami
Democratic.
Early last month, Spain’s Supreme
Court reactivated arrest warrants for
Ponsatí and two more former
members of the Catalan government,
following the jailing of 12 other leaders
of the secession bid. To avoid being
arrested, the former Catalan leader
Carles Puigdemont fled Spain in late
2017 and is presently in Belgium, while
Ponsatí travelled to Scotland where she
resumed her academic career at St
Andrew’s University. Madrid wants her
to be returned to Spain to be tried on a
charge of sedition, a demand which
Ponsatí describes as “politically
motivated.”
On November 14, Ponsatí appeared in
an Edinburgh court after handing
herself in to police. She was released
on bail, was allowed to retain her
passport and is due to appear again on
December 12. Her lawyer Aamer
Anwar, said that Spain was “abusing the
extradition process,” adding that, “in
Scotland, sedition was abolished a long
time ago.”
Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola
Sturgeon, leader of the pro-
independence Scottish National Party,
has given her support to the nine
Catalan politicians and activists jailed
for their part in the 2017 referendum.
She said last month that, “Any political
system that leads to such a dreadful
outcome needs urgent change.”
Meanwhile, the present leader of
Cataluña, Quim Torres, has appeared
in court after refusing to remove
separatist signs from buildings during
elections last May. He is said to have
ignored warnings to maintain
neutrality during such periods.
Post Brexit tourism plans
The UK’s National Statistics Office says
that Britons are moving away from
traditional European holiday spots
such as Spain and are looking to more
long-haul destinations. The analysis
comes as Madrid makes plans to retain
the important annual number of
British visitors in a post-Brexit world.
A new report suggests that the number
of tourists opting for far-flung holiday
resorts has increased by two per cent to
a total of 2.6 million a year. It does not
specify popular destinations but the
news has clearly alarmed the Spanish
tourism sector where Britons greatly
outweigh other international holiday
makers.
Amongst plans reported to be being
formulated is the possibility of an
aviation deal between Spain and the UK
to protect against the possibility of
disruption to air travel after the UK
leaves the bloc. The Deputy Minister for
European Affairs in Madrid, Jorge
Toledo, says that such an agreement
would be valid regardless of whether the
UK leaves the EU with or without a deal.
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He added that if there is no such deal,
then Spain will have to have a Plan B
ready, and that this needs to be in
place soon because airlines plan their
schedules well in advance. The slogan
“Always Brit Friendly” is being touted
as a way to connect with British
tourists by promoting the country as
safe and hospitable. The Valencia
Tourist Board is reported to have
already earmarked €650,000 for such
promotion, with other holiday
hotspots considering similar strategies.
The plans are reported to include
important advertising campaigns in
British media.
Meanwhile, Britain’s new ambassador
to Spain, Hugh Elliot, has met the
president of Málaga’s provincial
government, Francisco Salado, to
address the possible consequences of
Brexit. Mr Elliot said over 18 million
British nationals have visited Spain so
far this year, and have spent more in
local businesses than last year. Sr
Salado add that bookings until March
2020 have maintained this year’s
levels, which he called “remarkable.”