Nerja blaze
Crews from Vélez-Málaga joined local
firefighters to tackle a blaze at a property
on the N-340 in Nerja last month. The
private home at the entrance to the Oasis
de Capistrano has been the subject of
complaints from neighbours regarding the
amount of rubbish stacked outside. One
member of the emergency services
received a leg injury during the six-hour
operation.
Replicas seized
Police in Rincón de la Victoria have seized
five replica assault rifles from a group said
to be “playing” guerrilla tactics. Officers
intervened after residents in Torre de
Benagalbón reported the presence of a
dozen uniformed people in military attire
and carrying weapons. Investigators said
the “Air Soft” replicas had the same
characteristics as the genuine rifles.
Teacher jailed
A teacher found guilty of abusing five
pupils aged 10 and 11 at a Torre del Mar
school has been sentenced to 25 years
behind bars. He was also banned from
coming within 500 metres of his victims
and from communicating with them for
ten years. The parents of one child rejected
compensation of €10,000 which he was
ordered to pay each victim, arguing that
his employer, the regional government,
has a case to answer.
Drugs related
Two people have been detained in
Switzerland and one in Marbella in
connection with explosions detonated in
San Pedro Alcantara and Benahavís last
October. Both incidents are believed to be
drugs related. The arrests follow a number
of significant detentions in late 2018
thought to be linked to rival drugs gangs
on the Costa del Sol.
Footpath vote
Residents of Rincón de la Victoria had
until December 23 to register their views
on proposed designs for a new coastal
footpath in Torre de Benalgabón. The 3.6
kilometre walkway will include a cycle lane
and is to be constructed with a view to
durability and its ecological impact.
Alongside the voting, there were 15
meetings with interest groups and 25,000
hits on the footpath’s website.
Bilateral voting rights
under discussion
Madrid and London are reported to be
negotiating a bilateral treaty to
maintain local voting rights for Britons
living in Spain and for over 115,000
Spanish nationals living in the UK. If
there is a final agreement on the deal
for Britain to leave the European
Union, UK nationals in Spain will
preserve most of their rights intact
until December 2020.
Spain is home to the largest
community of British migrants in the
EU. These 280,000 individuals
registered as residents make up the
second-largest group from another
European country, after the
Romanians. However, Madrid has
recently acknowledged that there are
“several tens of thousands” of Britons
living in Spain whose presence is not
reflected on any municipal register.
The reciprocal rights deal between
Madrid and London is reported to be
similar to those which Spain presently
has with countries including Norway,
Iceland and several Latin American
nations. However, in recognition of the
fact that there are already a number
Britons who have been elected to local
Spanish councils – eight of whom are
in Andalucía - the agreement with the
UK will endorse the right to stand as a
candidate as well as to vote in local
polls.
Once the final draft of the bilateral
treaty is signed in Madrid and London,
it will have to be ratified by the
Spanish and British parliaments.
Diplomatic sources say this is unlikely
to happen before the municipal and
European elections scheduled for May
26 this year in which residents from 27
EU states and 12 non-EU countries are
already eligible to vote.
Free wi-fi for Frigiliana
Frigiliana is set to become one of 40
municipalities in Andalucía to provide
free internet connections for everyone.
A European project, WIFI4EU, has
selected 233 sites across Spain to roll
out the initiative with Frigiliana being
the only town in the province of
Málaga to be included in the first
phase.
Frigiliana Town Hall, Antonio Manuel
López, said he was delighted that a
high quality internet connection could
be offered free of charge to residents
and visitors. He added that as many
access points as possible will be
installed, the first of which will be at
the town’s tourist office.
Building death
The aim is to make the internet
available in all public spaces and the
town is being awarded €15,000 from
European funds to make this a reality.
At least ten transmitting nodes are
expected to be installed on municipal
buildings over the next 18 months.
These will include popular tourist sites,
as well as parks, libraries and museums. A 34-year-old man died last month
after falling from the third floor on an
apartment block in Torre del Mar. He
was reported to be a member of a team
refurbishing the property and was
moving marble slabs with a forklift
truck when the accident occurred. The
police and the works inspector both
immediately opened enquiries into the
incident.
Nationally, Spain is to receive €3.36
million of the €42 million earmarked
for the opening phase of the project.
Municipalities selected have agree to
undertake maintenance of the system
once installed for at least three years.
The EU initiative is expected to
provide 8,000 sites with free wifi access
to the internet at speeds of at least
30Mbps. Fatal breakdown
The councillor of new technologies at
14
A 59-year-old woman died and two
others were seriously injured after their
car broke down on the eastbound A-92
in Granada. As they waited on the hard
shoulder for a recovery truck to arrive,
their stationary car was hit from
behind by another vehicle. The driver
of the second car received only light
injuries and tested negative for alcohol
and drugs.