October 2006

The camera never lies

By Web Manager on October 31, 2006

By Jason Heppenstall I have to admit that I wasn’t prepared for it. I had barely lurched out of the car, roadmap still in hand, when a young man with the impressively sized shoulder-mounted television camera was in my face. After a leisurely lunch featuring gambas pil pil I had only just rolled into the […]

Andalucía dreaming

By on October 31, 2006

RICHARD HARVEY asks whether buying or building a dream home and settling in southern Spain really helps to strengthen a relationship. Or do the demons merely resurface when the dust settles?

Seventy years on – an International Brigadier returns to Spain

By Jon Clarke (Publisher) on October 31, 2006

By Theresa Hogue. Additional reporting by Mark Roulston “VIVA Rusia,” the women shouted from their balconies as a group of mainly French and German soldiers readied themselves to defend Madrid. It was October, 1936, and the rebelling Nationalist troops led by General Francisco Franco were advancing on Spain’s capital. Volunteers from around the globe had […]

EU backs Spain in peace talks bid

By on October 30, 2006

BRUSSELS has narrowly backed Spain’s peace plan with separatist group Eta after a debate in the European parliament. Politicians voted 321 to 311 in favour of lending support to the government’s drive for dialogue with the Basque group in a debate in the European parliament on October 25. Supporters of the move say it is […]

“Clan” mayor announces resignation

By on October 30, 2006

ARMILLA mayor José Antonio Morales is to step down at next year’s municipal elections. Señor Morales announced his decision not to run for a fourth term in office during a televised interview on the Localia channel. The Granada town has been at the centre of a political storm recently over allegations of town planning irregularities […]

Mayor sentenced to one year in jail

By on October 30, 2006

JUDGES in Motril have sentenced the mayor of Castell de Ferro-Gualchos to one year in prison for town planning irregularities. PSOE mayor Miguel Torres Maldonado has also been banned from holding public office for seven years.

Alhambra work still suspended

By Jon Clarke (Publisher) on October 30, 2006

BUILDING work is still suspended inside the grounds of the Alhambra Palace – more than a month after it was discovered a licence for the construction of a wall had not been granted. Granada City Hall ordered the work in the gardens below the Patio of the Sultaness to be stopped on September 29 after […]

The Orionid Meteors

By Jon Clarke (Publisher) on October 27, 2006

By Paul Downing There’s an important and exciting astronomy event going on in the skies during late October – the annual Orionid meteor shower. A meteor shower is essentially a lot of what we usually call “shooting stars”. Of course they’re not really falling stars, but grains of dust and tiny lumps of rock impacting […]

Your right to vote in Spain

By Web Manager on October 27, 2006

ON the 27th May 2007 municipal elections will be contested throughout Spain. This is an excellent opportunity for anyone interested in the running of their municipality to express an opinion. Article 13.2 of the Spanish Constitution grants foreign residents voting rights in municipal elections as long as a reciprocity treaty exists with the country of […]

The Amputee – Issue 10

By Annie B on October 27, 2006

Journeyman tailor MY grandfather, Charlie McCarthy, described himself as a “Journeyman Tailor.” I learnt this a few years ago when I applied for a copy of my mother’s birth certificate to support my application for citizenship. I had to go to the Public Records Office on the Strand to get the document and it involved […]

The great biodiesel con

By Jon Clarke (Publisher) on October 27, 2006

In Issue Two of the Olive Press we published an article entitled “The benefits of biodiesel”. Several readers wrote in to refute the claims made therein, referring to an article written by George Monbiotin which he points out that biodiesel enthusiasts have accidentally invented the most carbon-intensive fuel on earth By George Monbiot OVER the past […]

Shine on – Renewable energy in Spain

By on October 26, 2006

Like many people it all had to do with a growing awareness of my so-called carbon footprint. We are all net emitters of carbon in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere.

Police investigate Vélez murder riddle

By Jon Clarke (Publisher) on October 26, 2006

A WOMAN found dead near the main Motril-Granada road may have been murdered by a gang dedicated to the white slave trade, police claim. The semi-naked body of the woman was discovered by a local farmer in a water irrigation channel on the evening of October 12 – 50 metres from the N323 within the […]

Drought delays tree plan

By on October 26, 2006

LACK of rain has forced the delay of an emergency plan to halt soil erosion near the Negratín reservoir for the second consecutive year. Regional government officials had initially planned to reforest the land around Baza, Benamaurel and Zújar with pine and juniper trees in 2004 but had to postpone the start of the project […]

Mayors defend Moors and Christians

By Jon Clarke (Publisher) on October 26, 2006

LOCAL mayors are vowing to continue a traditional fiesta despite calls for it to be banned from one leading lslamic group. The Moors and Christians festival is celebrated in 30 towns and villages in the Granada province at different times of the year. It depicts the reconquest of Christian Spain from its Moorish invaders but […]

Granada man ends India hunger strike

By Amie Keeley on October 26, 2006

A GRANADA man has ended his 13-day hunger strike in India after the country’s authorities finally allowed him to buy land to build sporting facilities for vegetarian children. Juan Manuel Rojas, 58, started his protest on September 26 after the regional government of north western state Rajhastan denied him permission to buy the land in […]

Illegal building victims told to pay up

By Jon Clarke (Publisher) on October 26, 2006

JUDGES in Granada have ordered almost 100 residents of Cenes de la Vega to hand over almost 200,000 euros of their own money in compensation after it was discovered their homes were illegally built. The provincial session of the National Court heard how construction company Avila Rojas “stole” 2,500 square metres of scrub land to […]

Police seek seventh in intimidation scam

By Jon Clarke (Publisher) on October 26, 2006

Alleged case of real estate intimidation in Granada

Activists set free thousands of mink

By on October 26, 2006

{mosimage}ANIMAL activists have broken into three mink farms near A Coruña in Galicia in northern Spain and set free more than 15,000 of the creatures. Five thousand American mink (Mustela vison) were released in Muros while almost 11,000 were set loose from a farm in the town of Oza dos Rios.

Golf complex work halted after rare bird threatened

By Jon Clarke (Publisher) on October 26, 2006

PLANS to build a luxury golf complex on protected woodland have been temporarily postponed after a legal order was issued banning the felling of trees outside the Avila village of Las Navas del Marques. Work had started on October 8 to clear an area of pine forest – home to the endangered imperial eagle (Aquila […]

Domestic violence fatalities grow

By Amie Keeley on October 26, 2006

THE number of fatalities in cases of domestic violence in Spain this year continues to grow after three women died in as many days this month. Fifty-eight women have so far been killed in 2006 – four less than last year’s total of 62. In the most recent, an Argentine man strangled his partner, 29, […]

Spain told to scrap Valencia Property Law

By on October 26, 2006

THE European Commission has ruled that Spain has two months to {mosimage}change controversial land laws that have wrecked the holiday home dreams of many northern Europeans. The so-called “land-grab” rules have left foreign home owners in Valencia region facing huge unexpected bills and the partial or total loss of their property. The ruling comes after […]

Marbella police in stolen car network claims

By on October 26, 2006

POLICE investigating town planning corruption in Marbella have uncovered an alleged local police scam that involves changing the paperwork of stolen top of the range cars and then selling them at auction.

Boy dies during fight at school

By on October 26, 2006

A SCHOOLYARD fight led to tragedy when a boy died after receiving a blow to the head. Jordi R, 17, fell and hit his head against a wall at the Santa Coloma de Farners agricultural school in Gerona on October 5.

Slipping towards Winter (October)

By on October 10, 2006

Slipping Towards Winter by Paul Downing WE are now at the time of year when the summer constellations and the summer Milky Way, which we learned about last time, start to slide into the western horizon. But some reminders of summer remain. Look directly overhead at 10pm at the beginning of October and you will […]