Date Published: 05/02/2022

Spanish News Today Editors Roundup Weekly Bulletin Feb 5

CLICK HERE FOR THE FEATURE ARTICLES "All-inclusive Spanish Island resorts limit Brits to six drinks" and "These are the places you can fly to from Corvera Airport this summer"

It’s always exciting when a small, unassuming corner of Murcia makes national, and even international, headlines, but only if it’s for the right reasons. Alas, it seems that Lorca has risen to notoriety for all the wrong reasons this week in scenes oddly reminiscent of those we saw a year ago in the USA when Trump supporters violently stormed through the Capitol building… only this time there were fewer bizarre Indian costumes. Full story below.

Then again, Lorca’s reputation couldn’t be any worse than the way Brits on holiday in Spain are seen – namely as drunken, antisocial lager louts who can’t be trusted not to drink to excess and who need legal limits and fines to put them off.

Also in this week’s bulletin: speed cameras, airline deals and disasters, and welcome news for those expats in Spain made to declare their assets abroad.

“An attack on democracy”

Remember just over a year ago when those extremist Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building in Washington? It seemed like an attack on the seat of democracy itself tacitly supported by Donald Trump himself, who whipped up violent fervour against his political opponents.

Well, an occurrence in the Murcian city of Lorca this Monday has been likened to that harrowing event when videos emerged of a mob of angry pig farmers who broke through a police cordon around the Town Hall building and stormed their way in to stop a plenary session.

The debate due to take place in the Town Hall was about whether or not to ratify a new law limiting where new intensive pig farms in the municipality could be built, and how big they could be. Some owners of existing pig farms in the local area swarmed into the municipal building, overrunning the police trying to block the doors and, in some cases, pushing them to the ground or otherwise assaulting them.

The protestors managed to reach all the way to the mayor’s office, and at that moment it was decided to suspend the plenary session and take the issue up again at a later date – exactly what the protestors were trying to achieve.

Arrests have since been made, with the suspects facing between six months and two years in prison.

This all raises a couple of questions, though: what was so bad about the new proposals, and what compelled these respectable businessmen to go to such extreme lengths to oppose them?

The plan behind the new regulation is to extend the distances of these large intensive farms away from towns, schools, health centres, watercourses and natural springs: “The new pig farms may not be installed within 1,500 metres of the urban land of the nucleus of Lorca, the nuclei of districts, schools, health centres and medical offices; less than 500 metres from catalogued springs or natural sources; less than 100 metres from ramblas or streams included in the Inventory of streams in the Region of Murcia.”

So far, so sensible. Who wouldn’t want the smelly, loud, polluting pig factories and their buzzing flies a little bit further away from their bedroom window? Who’s really opposed to this, apart from big meat companies who want to set up new farms? And why would pig farmers in Lorca who already control 50% of Murcia’s pig production protest that their competitors aren’t allowed to set up new farms?

It comes down to a case of deliberate misinformation, with Lorca politicians and those who were on the ground at the protest scene alike pointing fingers at rightwing parties PP and Vox for “planning” to stir up trouble and “heating up the atmosphere”.

“They had announced that they were going to bust up the plenary session and they fulfilled what was planned in their roadmap”, said the president of the neighbourhood platform ‘Stop cebaderos junto a viviendas’ (which means ‘Stop feedlots near homes’), who considered that the objective was to prevent the approval of the new regulation, which would have gone ahead with the votes of the other political parties.

And why should Vox care so much themselves, unless there was in turn the hand of big, moneyed corporations behind them? So… a lot like the Trumped-up assault on Capitol Hill then really!

Boozed-up Brits abroad

What do easyJet, the British Ambassador to Spain and the Tourism Minister for the Balearic Islands have in common? They’ve all issued reminders that all-inclusive resorts on the islands of Mallorca, Menorca, Formentera and the infamous party destination of Ibiza are limiting guests to a total of six beers, wines or spirits per day – three at lunch and three at dinner – in an effort to clean up the image of drunken British tourists being antisocial.

It used to be that when you bought a holiday package at an all-inclusive resort, you’d get unlimited alcohol, but not anymore. Certain resorts introduced a rule prohibiting the free flow of booze back in 2020, with happy hours, pub crawls, and two-for-one drink deals also off the menu and shops being banned from selling alcohol between 9.30pm and 8am.

Anyone caught breaking these laws could face fines of up to £50,000 (60,000 euros).

It may seem unfair, and unfairly targeted at Brits, but the truth is that foreign holidaymakers in Spain’s sunny islands, and especially those from the British Isles, have a bad reputation for drunken, antisocial behaviour like going out on wild party boats and the infamous ‘balconing’, when drunken tourists climb from one balcony to another, or jump from the hotel’s balcony, sometimes with disastrous and lethal consequences.

Really, six drinks should be plenty enough for anyone as it is, but if you really want to go out and get lathered remember that there will still be bars and clubs selling drinks until late. And the law limiting alcohol is only in place for certain hotel resorts and bars anyway, so it’s always best to check the rules for the place you plan on going before you travel. You never know, you might be able to have sixteen free drinks and take a leap from your fourth-floor balcony into the swimming pool, if you’re lucky.

Life in the fast lane

Another week, another batch of traffic notifications from the DGT. The authorities warned last year that they would be stepping up their road safety campaign in 2022 and they’ve certainly kept their promise.

Some 26 new speed control radars will be installed on Spanish roads in the first quarter of 2022. A dozen of the cameras will be fixed radars of the kind most commonly seen in Spain, but 16 section radars will also be acquired which are capable of measuring the average speed at which a vehicle has been driving on a specific section of road. With the second type, the DGT hopes to cut down on drivers slamming on the brakes when they see a speed trap, only to accelerate above the limit once they have passed it by.

And if all this isn’t enough to cut down the number of road accidents, all newly manufactured cars in Spain from this year will have to be fitted with an EDR device, more commonly known as a black box, that will register vital details in the event of an accident. The black boxes or EDR (Event Data Recorder) will be installed under the driver’s seat and will use 15 separate parameters to record everything that happens before and after the unfortunate event of an accident.

For those who can get their heads around all the new driving regulations and still plan to hit the road, motoring is unfortunately set to get a whole lot more expensive, as petrol and diesel prices are now approaching an all-time high and the experts don’t see this changing any time soon.

But never fear: the helpful folk at the Organisation of Consumers and Users (OCU) have divulged 10 top tips for reducing petrol and diesel consumption, which include not using higher grade fuel than the car needs and using the vehicle’s air conditioning rather than putting the windows down in summer.

Coronavirus

Spain finally appears to be beating the sixth wave of the coronavirus pandemic into submission as the 14-day cumulative incidence rate – the average number of people infected with coronavirus per 100,000 in the last two weeks – has dropped for nine days running and now stands at 2,420 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. Partly as a result of these positive figures, Spain’s government has done another about-turn and just two days after Congress voted to extend the mandatory use of facemasks outdoors, the Ministry of Health is planning on scrapping the measure early next week.

With the incidence rate falling in Murcia too, regional authorities decided this week to reduce restrictions by scrapping the enforced 1am closing time for bars and nightclubs. They can now stay open as long as they want, but things like dancing and standing at the bar are still a no-no.

In fact, each and every one of Murcia’s 45 municipalities are still at risk level 4 – Very High, which has led some to question why the rules are changing now, and others scratching their heads about what the current regulations are. Luckily we’ve got you covered, there, with a comprehensive FAQ about what’s allowed and what’s not.

For instance, large groups of people standing and milling about at mass events are tricky because they increase the chance of the spread of contagion. The authorities would rather have them sit still in chairs placed 1.5 metres apart. February often signals the beginning of Carnival season, but sitting in one place in your own little socially distanced bubble for hours watching the parade go by isn’t exactly in the spirit of the festivities, which is why many towns and cities in Murcia – from Cartagena to Águilas to the capital city itself – have decided to put their Carnival celebrations off until later in the year. Here's the full list.

Having started the week with a glimmer of hope as infections fell from more than 57,000 the previous weekend to 23,166, hospital admissions increased with an additional 88 patients on wards across the Valencia region.

The week progressed in a similar vein, with a worrying rise in fatalities. In fact, by the middle of the week, the Ministry of Health revealed the Valencian Community recorded the highest number of Covid-related deaths in Spain, with 120 fatalities in seven days.

However, it turns out that overall deaths due to Covid in Alicante province were 75% lower in January compared to the same month in 2021, despite an avalanche of new infections as the sixth wave tightened its hold on the province. According to the Ministry of Health, the data shows that whilst cases skyrocketed last month with record-high figures, the sixth wave has been much less lethal and that the Omicron variant of the virus “generally causes a milder form of the disease”.

All the same, to try to stem the new infections and fatalities, the Ministry reopened mass vaccination centres in Alicante province this week with a view to jabbing 4,000 people a day, and stepped up the immunisation of schoolchildren. Health centres are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel with Covid consultations falling by up to 30% in the last week, meaning many GPs are finally bringing back face-to-face appointments, though there are delays of around 15 days.

The cumulative incidence rate in Andalucía is still less half that in Spain and as of this week stands below 1,000 per 100,000 inhabitants, at 807.3 as of Friday. Judging by the way the curve of the sixth wave is heading, we should be approaching an incidence rate close to zero within the next couple of weeks. However, the hoped-for decline in the number of deaths per day is remaining stubbornly high – over 130 fatalities in the last 7 days.

CORONAVIRUS LATEST NEWS

We’re taking this health crisis seriously, and are of the opinion that the better informed everyone is about the latest of the fast-changing developments, the more protected we all are. That’s why we endeavour to bring you all the most up-to-date coronavirus news as it comes out, which you can always consult using the link above.

Murcia

It was a glorious week in Murcia, as in many other parts of the country, with temperatures hitting as high as 25ºC. Not bad for early Feb. But if you fancy a getaway down to the Canary Islands where the weather is, on average, even better than in Murcia all year round, then you’re in luck. The airline Binter has launched an offer of flights to the Canaries from Murcia for under 100 euros, available to anyone who books before February 14 (would make a nice Valentine’s Day present to a special someone) to fly between March 1 and May 31.

In fact, Corvera Airport has released its full list of summer destinations that you can fly to (and from), including Stansted, Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham. There are also several sunnier climes as well as the Canary Islands, such as Casablanca and Menorca, though nothing from the Netherlands as yet. However, airport staff haven’t ruled out the “possibility of adding some more in the coming weeks”. Watch this space!

Los Alcázares is implementing a new plan to reduce traffic and create more pedestrianised areas in the town centre. Semi-permanent barriers will be placed at either end of Calle de la Concepción, between Avenida 13 de Octubre and Calle Santa Isabel, completely blocking off the road to traffic. At the same time, more parking spaces are also going to be created along Avenida 13 de Octubre and there will be new, alternative car parks on Calle de Los Luisos and Avenida de la Libertad.

In central Murcia, two pensioners – a man and woman in their 80s – were discovered dead in their home in Rincón de Seca and, although the police ruled out foul play, there were several strange factors surrounding the couple’s death. For starters, the woman was discovered completely naked and also both bodies were found lying close together by the front door. A pet bird and three cats were also in the house when the gruesome discovery was made.

The couple reportedly lived on welfare benefits, and their rural home was found to be in an incredibly dirty “unsanitary condition”. Police from the National Police’s Scientific Unit found no evidence to suggest foul play, and a post mortem confirmed the deaths were the result of an accidental butane gas leak.

In San Javier, 14 people were arrested in connection with a spate of house burglaries and car thefts, several of which involved violent threats. Police have recovered a stolen safe, a television, two electric scooters, tools, money and other items that were abandoned by the roadside in the robbers’ hasty escapes or during searches of their homes following the arrests. It is thought that the gang mostly operated in groups of two to four people to break into homes, businesses and vehicles, including lorries, caravans and even buses in a calculated and ‘professional’ way.

Finally, in Mazarrón, a court case against two former mayors and three town councillors and several construction business owners has been suspended after it was revealed that two of the defendants tested positive for Covid. The men all stand accused of corruption for awarding municipal construction contracts to their buddies without the requisite transparent and fair tender system. The trial is due to resume on February 9, or as soon as the accused are well enough to return to court.

Want to know what’s going on in your local area? CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT OUR EVENTS DIARY!

Spain

While we may not need masks in the streets any longer, it doesn’t look like they’ll be disappearing from flights anytime soon, with several airline sources indicating that masks will continue to be mandatory on planes until there is “international consistency” on the measure, with carriers unwilling to scrap the restriction unless a common consensus is reached, which could potentially take years.

While Ryanair claims this is a small price to pay for keeping international travel open, the budget airline’s opinion may not count for much at the moment as Michael O’Leary’s company has been voted the worst short-haul carrier for processing Covid refunds in a timely manner, closely followed by British airways.

And those flying with BA this year are soon to be in for a sweet treat as the airline has decided to begin offering complimentary water, hot beverages and snacks on all its short-haul flights after axing the free refreshments back in 2016 in an attempt to compete with the likes of Ryanair and rake in savings of 400 million pounds (479 million euros). BA received a lot of flak from customers for their decision and is now desperately trying to turn around that negative image.

Despite this rum view of the airlines in flyers’ eyes and the aforementioned drinking limitations in the Balearics, the Spanish summer looks bright as international arrivals in Spain at the beginning of the year have soared by 320%, well above the 200% increase experienced in the rest of Europe. This may not be helped, though, by Spain’s new rule that from this week anyone presenting a rapid antigen test to gain entry to Spain must have obtained the negative result within 24 hours, rather than the previously agreed 48 hours.

This doesn’t apply to fully vaccinated tourists, who can still enter Spain freely if they show proof of having had their second jab (or one in the case of the Janssen mono-dose vaccine) administered between 14 and 270 days of travel. PCR tests can still be taken within 72 hours of arrival to Spain.

If you’re still looking to save a few quid, there was some good news this week when the Court of Justice of the European Union declared that the system of sanctions which the Spanish Treasury applies to taxpayers who fail to correctly declare their property and assets abroad is illegal, ruling that it is a “disproportionate” measure that contravenes EU law. As a result, the Spanish Minister of Finance has estimated some 60,000 taxpayers who annually file the Modelo 720 declaration will have to be reimbursed for fines which have been handed down.

Sadly, it’s not been such as great week for our furry friends. Back in January we told you that dozens of Beagle puppies were going to be sacrificed as part of a drug testing study in Madrid, and despite protests in Spain and around the world, the experiment is going ahead next month. There is a glimmer of hope, however; a tiny minority has been given a reprieve as the researchers have confirmed that the first six puppies treated with the drug will not be subsequently killed, but will be given up for adoption. However, the remaining 32 dogs are not so lucky, as the scientists claim in the second part of the study, it will be “imperative” to carry out post mortems to study how their tissues react before a trial with people can be considered.

Alicante

New data from Aliante’s Provincial Traffic Headquarters revealed road traffic accidents in the province are 38% higher than a decade ago, despite figures falling in recent years. Last year, 1,254 accidents were recorded on interurban roads, 348 more than in 2011, although there were fewer incidents with victims – not only fatalities but also injuries. In fact, the number of deaths on the roads last year (34) was the lowest since 2013.

A stark reminder of the vulnerability of motorcyclists was evident with bikers involved in almost a third of last year’s fatal collisions. Of the 34 people who died on the roads in 2021, ten were motorcyclists, and a further 54 were seriously injured.

Adding to the statistics, a drunk driver smashed into several parked cars before mounting the pavement and ploughing into a bar terrace in Torrevieja this week. Thankfully, the bar, called Safari Lounge, was closed at the time and nobody was hurt, but considerable damage was caused to the terrace structure and furniture. The premises is just metres from the local police station and officers were quickly on the scene to charge the motorist with drink driving and an offence against public safety, but the crash has raised concerns about the “vulnerability” of hotel and catering establishments with tables and chairs placed so close to the roadside.

Further along the coast in Javea, another drunk driver smashed his car into a tree in the town centre before abandoning the vehicle and fleeing the scene on foot. With the help of eyewitnesses, police were able to track down the driver who was breathalysed and found to be three times over the legal alcohol limit.

Meanwhile, an ambitious 19-million-euro project has been given the go-ahead in Torrevieja to transform the port into a leisure centre and regenerate the fishing area, with work expected to start next month. The redevelopment will convert the port into a commercial and leisure area with a cinema, bowling alley and other recreational activities, with shops, bars, restaurants, a hotel and underground parking for 600 cars. There will be an area for hosting events, open-air concerts and exhibitions, whilst 1.5 million euros will be ploughed into Lonja fish market to regenerate the local fishing industry.

And whilst Torrevieja is keen to attract tourists to its coastline, Sax has been drawing Hollywood A-listers. The Alicante town has been chosen as the backdrop for scenes in an upcoming Hollywood action-war thriller ‘The Interpreter’ starring Oscar nominee Jake Gyllenhaal and directed by British screenwriter Guy Ritchie. Around 100 vehicles, including huge trailers for actors and directing crew, descended on Sax this week to begin shooting scenes for the Afghanistan war-themed movie inspired by real events.

In scenes reminiscent of a bad movie, three drug traffickers had to abandon their drug-laden yacht after it sank due to excessive weight and rough sea conditions 15 miles from Torrevieja Port, and this week they were jailed for a total of 12 years. The boat was carrying two-and-a-half tonnes of hashish, and in addition to losing drugs with a street value of four million euros, the “ringleader” was also ordered to pay eight million euros in fines.

Andalucía

In Fuengirola, an 88-year-old British woman who was hit by a car on Tuesday as she was crossing the road in her wheelchair has sadly died in hospital. Her husband, 86, who was pushing the wheelchair at the time of the accident, is still in Intensive Care at Marbella hospital. They were both British citizens resident in Spain for several decades, and were knocked down by a private rental vehicle, although speeding, drugs and alcohol have all been ruled out.

In the sailing paradise of Tarifa in Andalucía’s Cadiz, a German sailboat had to be rescued by the Salvamento Maritimo recovery team late last week after being attacked by killer whales in the area of Punta Camarinal. The 14.86-metre-long ‘Wal’ was being sailed by two experienced crew members but they lost control as they headed towards Barbate at around 5.30pm on Friday January 28 when a pod of orcas collided with the boat.

Orca attacks on boats are becoming more common in Spanish waters, with the current leading theory being because their natural habitats are being invaded ever more by humans. In this case, the whales snapped off the rudder and left the two Germans to float aimlessly with no way of steering back to shore. Thankfully they weren’t harmed, and neither were the animals, as far as we know.

Also on the water in Cadiz, the world’s largest cruise ship, the Wonder of the Seas, is due to dock on February 8 for a two-day technical stopover (without any passengers) before its onward journey to the United States. At a staggering 362 metres in length and 66 metres in breadth, the ship is the biggest cruise liner in the world and the biggest to have ever docked at the Cadiz Port. Get down to the Puerto before next Thursday for a glimpse of this behemoth of the seas, and see how it truly lives up to its name!

Finally, from the sea to the air as tour operator TUI announced this week they would be launching direct flights between the Costa de Almeria and the UK this spring. These new flight routes to Almeria will go from both Manchester and Birmingham airports between May and November 2022, and are expected to bring an additional 20,000 Brits to Almeria, which is a popular holiday destination in the south of Spain.

You may have missed…

1. Caixabank warns of massive text scam across Spain.

This week Caixabank warned of a new scheme designed to trick customers out of their hard-earned cash, which involves fraudsters sending a text message to phones purporting to be from the bank.

2. Cartagena plans to turn empty municipal market into a gastrovenue and tourist landmark.

Cartagena City Council plans to transform the abandoned Gisbert Market into a gastrovenue, and a commercial and tourist landmark similar to projects in Murcia city and Lorca.

3. Torrevieja to introduce hefty fines for begging and drinking in the street.

Torrevieja Town Hall is cracking down on anti-social behaviour and plans to fine ‘offenders’ up to 1,500 euros for "organised" begging, drinking in the street, spitting and urinating in public, setting off firecrackers and playing ball games in public squares.

4. The war against illegal tourist apartments wages on in the Region of Murcia.

Three years ago it was estimated that there were between 60,000 and 70,000 illegal flats in the region, which experts warn are a “clear catalyst” for the underground economy.

5. Clock starts ticking on Covid passport validity.

From Tuesday February 1, the original Covid passport will have a finite time stamp within the European Union and it will essentially expire for travel purposes nine months after a second vaccine is administered.

And that’s it for another week! Thanks for reading, as always, and if you liked this roundup, please do TELL A FRIEND about it, or better yet share the following link with them: https://murciatoday.com/weekly_bulletin.html

See you next week!

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