|
Send
us your Classifieds |
|
|
|
FRANCE AND SPAIN ACT ON
SUSPECT TANKERS
By David Eade
DURING THEIR RECENT
SUMMIT IN MÁLAGA, THE PRESIDENTS OF FRANCE AND SPAIN, JACQUES CHIRAC AND
JOSÉ MARÍA AZNAR, AGREED TO JOINT CONTROLS ON ALL SUPERTANKERS PASSING
THROUGH THEIR COASTAL WATERS.
Both France and Spain now reserve the right to ward off suspect vessels to a
distance of 200 miles offshore.
However, ecologists, merchant vessel operators and maritime lawyers have
stated that the accord can have no validity in the Straits of Gibraltar. The
Straits are international waters and the distance at the narrowest point
between Tarifa and Morocco is just 14 kilometres.
LEGAL LOOPHOLE
Jaime Castro, a lawyer who specializes in maritime law, has stated that the
norms of maritime law defend ships' right to free passage in international
waters. By that norm no vessel can be impeded in passing through the Straits
of Gibraltar except in exceptional circumstances or in war.
Nonetheless, Admiral José Antonio Balbás Otal ordered the frigate
'Andalucía', which is normally based in Vigo, to proceed at speed to the
Gulf of Cádiz. The 'Andalucía' is now monitoring shipping passing through
the Straits zone with orders to intercept tankers over 15 years old or with
single hulls.
TAKING ACTION
Within days of taking up her new station the 'Andalucía' diverted two petrol
tankers away from the Straits. The first was the Maltese registered 'Bizantio',
owned by the same company that owns the 'Prestige'.
The second tanker intercepted, the 'Express', was also flying the Maltese
flag. This vessel belongs to Coch Shipping and is said to have had various
problems. Both tankers were escorted by the 'Andalucía' to the stipulated
200 miles off the Spanish coastline.
CÁDIZ AND MÁLAGA TOP
MOTORBIKE DEATH LIST
By David Eade and Dave
Jamieson
According to a study just
published by the RACC Motoring Club the provinces of Cádiz and Málaga are
the most dangerous for users of two-wheeled motorized vehicles. Only
Tarragona and the Balearics have worst safety records.
The new study showed a 23.3 per cent mortality rate for motorcycle and moped
drivers in Málaga - 8 points over the national rate and 5 more than
Andalucía as a whole - with 30 of the province's 129 road deaths last year
being those of riders. The RACC attributed the worrying figures to failure
either to wear a crash helmet or to use it properly. In Madrid and
Barcelona, where crash helmets were worn by riders in 90 per cent of
motorcycle accidents, the Club reported the death rate was a third of that
in Málaga. Two-wheeled travel accounts for the way 17 per cent of the
province get around, with 150,000 motorbikes and mopeds registered last year.
In Cádiz last year 115 people died in road accidents and 29 of those where
on motorbikes, scooters or motorbikes. That represents an average of 25.2
per cent, the overall average for Andalucía being 18.7 per cent and the
national average 15 per cent.
The province of Cádiz has more two-wheeled motorized vehicles per head than
anywhere in Spain. At the start of the year there were more than 100,000
motorbikes in Cádiz, which is one for every 11 inhabitants.
Cádiz's head of traffic, Luis Javier Herrero, said that he recognized the
seriousness of these 'black statistics'. He stressed the importance of
motorcyclists wearing crash helmets conceding that usage in Cádiz was very
low.
NERJA
RESIDENTS STUNNED BY CORREOS AWARD
"Best in Spain" accolade for
Post Office ridiculed
By Dave Jamieson
FOREIGN RESIDENTS
HAVE BEEN STUNNED BY THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT NERJA'S POST OFFICE IS OFFICIALLY
THE BEST IN SPAIN THIS YEAR.
The Association of Urbanisation Presidents has expressed continued
dissatisfaction, following the announcement of the award from Correos last
week.
Evaluation teams compiling the data for the Spanish postal service visited
the Nerja office, sometimes unannounced, and assessed the public service
offered, based on nine criteria. These included the capability of the
manager in leadership and innovation, staff courtesy, efficiency, and
ability to meet financial and environmental targets. Their results placed
Nerja 150 points ahead of its nearest rival. The local manager, José Antonio
Carmona, was reported as saying that constructive criticism was always
welcome and he would be studying the suggestions for further improvement
made by the evaluation team.
Last year, the Nerja office was named the best in Andalucía and was in the
national top 10, and this year's award as the national Number One would,
said Sr Carmona, ensure the name of Nerja reached a wider public.
LOCAL DISSATISFACTION GROWS
However, many local residents have vociferously complained about long waits
- often over 30 minutes in the low-season - as well as incivility and
inefficiencies at their post office over many months. In October, the
Association of Urbanisation Presidents formally complained to Nerja's Mayor,
José Antonio Armijo, over the high level of incorrectly delivered letters,
suggesting that a sub-office in Capistrano Village could alleviate a serious
problem. As a result the Town Hall promised extra postal staff would be
appointed.
Last week's events led the Association to reiterate their complaints about
irregular and incorrect deliveries, saying no improvement had been noted
since last month's meeting with the Mayor.
Two britons arrested in luxury car scam
News Staff Reporter
Police in Benalmádena
have arrested four people who are believed to be members of a Bulgarian-led
international gang dedicated to stealing luxury cars. The gang's modus
operandi is to steal cars from petrol service stations and restaurants. They
strike when the vehicle's owners leave the keys in the ignition and go to
pay at the cash desk.
The four arrested men were identified as Kevin J.L., Anthony A., both
British, plus Bulgarians Krasimira G.T., and Dessilava F. They were all
seized in the Avenida Ghandi in Benalmádena, where they have their home.
Inside the property, police found six pairs of car ignition keys plus the
effects from previously stolen cars.
BRITISH
MIGRATING BIRDS FOUND DEAD IN THE STRAITS
The after effects of the
Prestige disaster spread south
By David Eade
TO DATE MORE THAN
100 DEAD BIRDS HAVE BEEN FOUND ON THE SHORES OF CÁDIZ PROVINCE NEAR THE
STRAITS OF GIBRALTAR.
The birds have died from the effects of the oil spilling from the sunken
tanker Prestige which lies in the north west of Spain off Cap Finisterre in
Galicia. The birds have either died from being covered in the thick black
tar or from digesting it.
The majority of the birds found on the coastline have flown from Iceland,
Britain or other Northern European countries as part of their annual winter
migration. The worst affected birds are the common razorbill of which at
least 80 have so far been found. Also the bodies of gannets and various
gulls have been discovered by patrols of regional government's environment
department.
Seprona - the environment arm of the Guardia Civil, naval patrols and
various environmental groups are taking part in the search for contaminated
birds and are covering the entire coastline from the Campo de Gibraltar to
the Bay of Cádiz. The contaminated birds are being taken to a specialist
bird rescue centre in El Puerto de Santa María.
The biologist David Ríos said: "The majority of the common razorbills are
born in Iceland, the Faeroe Islands, the English Channel and the British
Isles whilst others come from Scandinavia and Finland".
Their migration route takes them along the Iberian Peninsula across the
coastline of Galicia and Asturias where they have been registered in
densities of 1,000 birds per hour. After passing over Portugal they arrive
in the Gulf of Cádiz where they divide in to two either heading directly for
Morocco or the Straits of Gibraltar. As many as 400 birds per hour have been
seen in the Straits of Gibraltar.
FILM FESTIVAL IN MÁLAGA
By Dave Jamieson
Plans for the sixth
Málaga film festival have been unveiled. Despite the downturn in the
production of Spanish feature films over the last few years, the organisers
are confident that the event, running from April 25 to May 3 next year, will
have plenty to showcase. The festival director, Salomón Castiel, said that
it would exceed the quality level seen last year, although Tedy Villalba of
Antena 3, one of the sponsors, commented that this year's total of 104
screenings might drop to 80 or 90 in the spring.
The event has become economically important for the city as well, with
Málaga's Mayor, Francisco de la Torre, revealing that the last festival had
an economic impact of 9.3 million euros in the area, with 50,000 tickets
sold at the box offices - 25 per cent more than in 2000. The sixth festival
is expected to be a homage to the director Juan Antonio Bardem, who died
recently, while two new awards - Best Short Film and Best Documentary - will
be introduced. The event will run in parallel with two others - Mercadoc,
dedicated to documentaries, and Market Screenings, which aims to sell
Spanish cinema films to foreign distributors. |
|
PARKING ACCORD
The Mayoress of
Fuengirola, Esperanza Oña, has announced that work on the underground car
park in the Punta Umbría will start very shortly. The project to provide 300
badly needed parking spaces in the zone was in danger of being abandoned due
to the initial opposition of the residents. The project has been strongly
backed by the association of traders of the Camino de Mijas.
COMPROMISE ENDS WAR
Peace has finally
broken in the Water War between Vélez-Málaga and the city of Málaga. For
months, the two have been fighting about the cost of water supplied from
Vélez' Lake Viñuela reservoir to the capital, but have now compromised on a
price of 0.06 euros per cubic metre. However, water will only be supplied in
emergencies, and then with the permission of the Confederación Hidrográfica
del Sur, who own the water.
AZNAR COMES TO DINNER
Following his summit
with France's President Chirac in Málaga, Spain's President José María Aznar
attended a dinner with 1,600 members of his PP party in Marbella.
Accompanied by his wife, Ana Botella, he presided over the meeting at the
Palacio de Congresos, which saw Ángeles Muñoz chosen as the PP's candidate
for mayor of Marbella for next year's municipal elections.
NERJA CLEARS CARS
Nerja police have
removed 287 abandoned vehicles from the town's streets so far this year.
April was the busiest month, when 40 cars were recovered, and the
authorities estimated over 281 tons of scrap have now been collected. Police
have been acting on complaints from residents about vehicles abandoned in
both public roads and the campo, but they admit that it is often difficult
to locate the owners, particularly in the case of foreigners.
A RISING DEBT
The IU group at
Torremolinos Town Hall has claimed that the municipality's debt rose in 2001
by nine per cent. Based on the IU's examination of the Town Hall's accounts
the party says Torremolinos' debt, including that of the municipal companies
stands at more than 73 million euros.
PROTECT MÁLAGA WINES
A call has been made
for better protection of Málaga wine. A socialist deputy in the province,
Miguel Ángel Heredia, says that there should be a more belligerent defence
of the use of the label to prevent US producers from using the name. Sr
Heredia criticised the Government's lack of action, contrasting the way in
which France protects the name "champagne".
MOUNTAIN DEATH
A 42-year-old
mountaineer died in the Sierra Nevada on Saturday. He had been ascending the
Hoya de la Mora and was at an altitude of 3,000 metres when, according to
his companions, strong winds of around 90 kilometres an hour caused him to
topple and fall about 400 metres. The body of the victim, who lived in
Marbella, was recovered by mountain rescue volunteers and taken to a
hospital in Granada.
OUT WITH VIDEO GAMES
AND TV
Benalmádena Town Hall
is taking a unique initiative to reintroduce traditional games to offer
young children in the municipality an alternative to video games and
television. As part of the new activities being organised next year by the
education department children will be encouraged to use humming tops, kites,
skipping ropes and hopscotch. |
