From
Ben Pawlowski
Dear Olive Press readers,
Some things change, some things never do.
It’s Ben here, stepping in for Walt (don’t worry readers, your trusty Digital Editor will be back in your inboxes next week) – but while it may be a different pair of hands typing out this weekend’s newsletter, the content remains all too familiar.
Following on from last week’s red alert in Ibiza and record-breaking rainfall (a remarkable 254mm in just 24 hours), weather was once again the big talking point at Olive Press towers.
With the first anniversary of last year’s catastrophic Valencia floods looming on the horizon, Spain’s eastern coast was at the mercy of yet another red weather warning as DANA Alice swept in. Streets were flooded, campsites were evacuated and regional day celebrations were cancelled. State support has been called in to Murcia, where eagle-eyed onlookers even spotted a freak tornado. It’s far from over – an orange alert remains in place over the weekend for Valencia and the Balearics. Stay safe all.
Away from the rain-soaked Costa Blanca, it’s also been a busy week on the Costa del Sol. Last Friday, we reported on the demise of a 25-year-old man who was brutally shot to death in broad daylight in swanky Puerto Banus. The victim has since been named as Hamza Karimi, a Swedish rapper with a rather chequered past. An investigation is ongoing – but all evidence is pointing to gang violence.
On a similar front, we also reported on how a British man alleged to have assassinated two notorious Scottish gangsters outside a busy Fuengirola pub in June desperately tried to claim that his human rights would be violated if he were locked up in a Spanish prison. Unsurprisingly, that didn’t work. He is set to be extradited shortly.
Elsewhere in Andalucia, there were cries of relief after officials in Malaga finally banned horse-drawn carriages. Here’s hoping other places soon follow suit.
On to the grisly world of politics, where it was a bad week for the Junta. The regional health minister, Rocio Hernandez, resigned in disgrace earlier this week following revelations that up to 2,000 women may have experienced delays in the diagnosis of breast cancer. According to one breast cancer charity, a woman died last week after waiting up nine months for a diagnosis.
Elsewhere, there was controversy in Madrid after Vox (for an explainer on the rise of far-right extremism in Spain, click here) pushed pseudo-scientific theories over abortion. Prime minister Pedro Sanchez duly responded, and vowed to make abortion a constitutional right. His political opponents claim the move – unlikely to ever materialise – is an attempt to distract from allegations of corruption levied against his inner circle, much like Sanchez’s vehement support of Palestine (the attorney general is the latest figure to be met with an upcoming date in court). I’ll let you make your own mind up on that one.
Aside from domestic wrangling, Sanchez also faced the wrath of the world’s most powerful man this week. Speaking in the Oval Office, the ever-outspoken President Trump laid into the Spanish PM – and even suggested that Spain should be kicked out of NATO over Sanchez’s reluctance to up defence spending. It won’t happen, but one suspects Sanchez already has enough on his plate without an angry leader of the free world in his ear.
In contrast, Santander – the leading Spanish bank – is looking towards the blooming defence industry to boost their profits. Their newest employee? General Sir Patrick Sanders, until last year head of the British Army. He’s also the honorary colonel of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment and – according to our sources – a popular figure on the Rock famed for his drinking exploits. Cheers to that.
On that note, our main story from the Gib area this week was a fire of criticism for three friends who swam with a pod of whales passing through the Strait of Gibraltar. My colleague Walt spoke to the CEO of conservation group WeWhale, who called for more education after a video of the incident sparked outrage.
Finally, we’re pleased to announce that we have teamed up with leading hospitality group Sala Group Holdings to relaunch our Smash the Spiking campaign following a string of harrowing stories from victims this summer. I’m sure we can all agree that is a worthy cause to get behind.
Have a great weekend all,
Best,
Ben
newsdesk@olivepress.es
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