News
Serious accident
A 23-year-old British man on holiday in
Benidorm may be paralysed for life after
breaking two neck vertebrae in an
accident on a water slide last month.
David Briffaut lost consciousness after
hitting the water as he came off the slide
in a water park and was rushed to hospital
in Alicante where he was put on life
support. Management at Aqualandia
claimed he had not followed the rules, but
his family have demanded a full
investigation.
Parents assault
A couple in Alava have been accused of
assaulting their 16-year-old son after he
told them he was gay. The father
allegedly caused major injuries to the boy
by striking him with a stick while the
mother is alleged to have threatened to
stab him. A court in Vitoria also removed
custody from the couple and put the
teenager’s care in the hands of the local
town council.
Teenagers vanish
Police are looking for two 14-year-olds
from Sierra Leone who disappeared after
competing in a junior soccer competition
in San Sebastián. They had arrived early
last month to compete in the 28th
Donosti Cup as members of the Diamond
Child soccer team. They are believed to
have escaped through a window in the
middle of the night, but have no money
or contacts in the Basque Country.
Racist rant
A woman who abused two British men
over the colour of their skin has been
identified as a school teacher in Bilbao.
The incident, which took place on a train
in the Basque Country on July 1, was
videoed by the victims and was released
by non-profit group SOS Racismo
Madrid. The middle-aged white woman is
heard delivering a rant using extreme and
profane racist language and seen making
racist gestures.
Spain favourite
Spain remains the favourite destination of
Britons wanting to start a new life abroad.
Around 13% of 2,000 people surveyed by
rental firm Anyvan.com gave Spain as
their first choice, followed by New
Zealand and Australia. However, age
appears to play a part in such decision
making with under-34s opting for the
USA followed by Australia, then Spain,
while New Zealand was the top
destination for over-55s.
Juan Carlos and the
Saudi railway
A Royal scandal is brewing in Spain with
news that a former mistress of King Juan
Carlos is to be questioned over her
claim that he demanded a commission
for helping to secure a €6.7 billion rail
deal for Spanish companies in Saudi
Arabia.
Prosecutors in Madrid have asked the
British authorities for permission to
interview Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein
who claims the King, now 81, asked for a
share of the secret €80 million payment
by Spanish businesses to win the deal to
build a high-speed rail line from Mecca
to Medina in 2011. Juan Carlos, who
abdicated in favour of his son Felipe in
2014, enjoyed good relations with the
Saudi royal family so was involved in
helping to broker the deal as part of his
royal duties.
Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, who is 27
years younger than Juan Carlos, has
long been linked to him romantically
and claims he asked for the money after
telling her he required funds to divorce
his wife, Queen Sofia, and marry her.
The German business woman is
reported to have made the claims in
2015 while talking to a former British
police officer in London during a
conversation which she allegedly was
unaware was being recorded. He later
leaked their discussion to Spanish
media.
She has also claimed that the alleged
€80 million backhander which secured
the contract to build a high-speed rail
line in 2011, was raised by 12 Spanish
businesses and handed to the wife of a
Saudi businessman.
Spanish prosecutors are investigating
whether any of the business allegedly
involved can be prosecuted, although at
least one has already stated negotiations
had been conducted legally. Juan Carlos,
who remains married to Queen Sofia,
cannot be prosecuted over the deal
because he was the reigning monarch at
the time. The Spanish royal household
has refused to comment.
More wrangles with Franco’s heirs
The socialist government of Pedro
Sánchez has claimed ownership of a
property in Galicia which was used as a
summer retreat by Francisco Franco.
Earlier this year, the Pazo de Meirás
was put on the market by the late
dictator’s heirs with a price tag of
around €8 million.
The palace was built in the late 19th
century and in 1938, funds were raised
to buy it and gift it to Franco from the
people of A Coruña. On his death in
1975, it passed to his daughter and after
she died at the end of last year, the
family decided to sell it.
At the beginning of July, the Justice
Ministry presented a claim alleging
that the funds to buy the property were
raised by forced donations, not by
public subscription, and that it was
fraudulently sold to Franco in 1941
after the end of Spain’s Civil War.
Acting deputy prime minister, Carmen
Calvo, said the government had a
“solid argument, documents and legal
position to defend public ownership”
of the palace. The legal status of Pazo
de Meirás is also being contested at a
10
European level by the Galician MEP
Ana Miranda.
The announcement from the Ministry
came as plans to move Franco’s
remains from the Valley of the Fallen
to a Madrid cemetery were put on hold
by the Supreme Court. An appeal by
his family against the Government
decision is presently awaited.
Meanwhile, Spain is complaining
formally to the Vatican about
“interference” after a diplomat with the
Holy See alleged that the plans to
remove the remains of Franco have
“resuscitated” the former dictator.
Carmen Calvo said the remarks were
“uncalled for and unacceptable both in
content and style.”
Hair raising
A 65-year-old Colombian man who
flew into Barcelona airport last month
aroused suspicion because of his over-
sized toupee. Police who removed the
disproportionately large hair piece
found it was hiding a package
containing half a kilo of cocaine with a
street value of around €30,000. The
suspect was arrested.