Fossil fuel
The government is planning a ban on the
sale of vehicles using petrol, diesel or
natural gas by 2040, and a prohibition of
such vehicles on the roads by 2050. A
debate on the transition from fossil fuels
to clean energy is expected in Congress
by the end of the year. Also proposed is
the obligatory installation of electric
charging points in filling stations.
Cremations crisis
Valencia has backtracked on plans to ban
the cremation of bodies with morbid
obesity because the burning process
generates too many toxic emissions. The
measure had been included in draft rules
aimed at curtailing pollution. Also
earmarked to be banned are the
incineration of bodies which “underwent
cancer treatment with radioactive
needles,” and coffins which produce
highly toxic substances during
combustion.
Briton drowns
A 55-year-old British man drowned last
month while snorkelling in a remote cove
between Alicante and Valencia. He was
with a friend who raised the alarm after
the victim vanished from sight. A
Maritime Rescue vessel recovered his
body which was taken to the port of
Xábia in the north-east of Alicante
province.
Ferry collision
Dock workers ran for their lives after a
ferry collided with a large crane in
Barcelona’s port at the end of October.
No-one was injured after strong winds
and heavy seas pushed the vessel off
course, but as the massive crane came
down, the cargo of explosives it was
carrying ignited. Meanwhile, three people
were rescued off Gran Canaria after a
ferry was in collision with a Maritime
Support vessel throwing some of its crew
members into the water.
Drugs bust
National Police in Vélez-Málaga have
arrested a man and woman in their 20s
after the discovery of four marihuana
cultivations. Information led officers to
two houses in Pueblo Nuevo de la
Axarquía where a strong smell was
noticed coming from two extractors.
Almost 400 plants were seized while the
couple also face a charge of connecting
illegally to the public power supply.
Formal charges have been lodged
against the former leaders of Cataluña
who staged an unauthorised
referendum in the region on October 1,
2017, after which they made a
unilateral declaration of independence.
A total of 18 people are expected to
face trial early in the New Year.
Prosecutors are calling for a 25-year
prison term for former deputy premier
Oriol Junqueras of the Catalan
Republican Party (ERC), accusing him
of rebellion and misuse of public
funds. They also want him barred from
holding public office for the next 25
years.
The former speaker of the regional
parliament and two leaders of civic
groups which campaigned for
independence face 17 years each
behind bars, while others being
charged face fines or custodial
sentences of up to 16 years.
Meanwhile, the Solicitor General, who
represents the Spanish state in the
courts, has not accused any suspect of
rebellion; his written accusation
focuses on the crimes of sedition and
misuse of public funds which carry
prison sentences of between 15 and 30
years. The charge of sedition does not
involve a violent uprising in the way
that a rebellion does.
Those charged in early November do
not include the Catalan politicians who
fled from Spain shortly after the
independence declaration. These
include the former leader of the region
Carles Puigdemont who moved to
Belgium but was arrested and held in
Germany in March. A German court
decided that he could be extradited
back to Spain for misuse of public
funds, but not for the more serious
charge of rebellion.
In July, Spain dropped the European
Arrest Warrants against Puigdemont
and other Catalan officials in exile
and Puigdemont returned to
Belgium from where he launched
his new independence movement,
Crida Nacional (National Call), in
October.
Businessman robbed in
Torre del Mar
A 40-year-old man was injured in Torre
del Mar when he was attacked as he
arrived to deposit money in his bank.
The lunch-time incident took place
outside a branch of Unicaja on avenida
de Andalucía, barely 200 metres from
the National Police offices.
The victim, who owns a shop in the El
Ingenio commercial centre, was
approached as he entered the bank
carrying a briefcase. The attacker
threatened him with a firearm and
demanded to be given the briefcase,
but when the victim refusing and clung
on tightly to it, the attacker began
striking him on the head with the butt
of the gun.
At this point, onlookers scattered with
one ATM user dropping his withdrawn
money on the ground as the thief
grabbed the briefcase and escaped on
the back of a waiting Suzuki
12
motorcycle driven by an accomplice.
The victim was left bleeding profusely
from his injuries, although remaining
conscious throughout, and was taken
by ambulance to Vélez-Málaga
Hospital for treatment where he was
later reported to be out of danger. It
has not been revealed how much cash
was stolen in the incident.
BA planning
After Brussels warned that UK-based
airlines may be excluded from the
European Open Skies deal, it is
reported that the parent company of
British Airways may move to Spain.
The International Consolidated
Airlines Group (IAG), which also owns
Iberia and Aer Lingus, is reported to
have had high-level talks with the
Development Ministry in Madrid.
However, IAG has denied plans to
move its headquarters out of London.