ARCHIVED - Murcia and Spanish news round-up week ending 18th August 2017

Spain in shock after death toll in Catalunya terrorist attacks rises to 14

Spain was abruptly jolted out of its August holiday mood on Thursday afternoon when the appalling news broke that an IS-related terrorist attack in the city of Barcelona had left over a dozen people dead and more than 100 injured.

The style of the attack was identical to half a dozen others which have been carried out in Europe during the last few months, using vehicles as a weapon to target a large number of people in a public area, and this time the target was the busy central thoroughfare of Las Ramblas in Barcelona, where residents and tourists were wandering along the tree-lined avenue. At 17.00 the boulevard was at its busiest as people emerged from an afternoon siesta to enjoy a cooling drink in one of the many open-fronted bars and shop for the evening meal, but the van ploughed into tables, chairs and the public, zig-zagging along the street for more than half a kilometre to cause maximum damage, leaving the streets littered with the dead and injured.

Police attempted to evacuate the street and urged the public to remain indoors while the area was cordoned off and the search for the perpetrator or perpetrators began. The death toll was originally stated as a dozen, but has since risen to 13.

But the day of terror in Catalunya was not over yet, and just eight hours later five individuals were shot down by the police in Cambrils, in the province of Tarragona, where they were attempting to carry out a second mass killing. The van they were occupying sped through a police check and the police immediately gave chase, but during the pursuit the vehicle careered towards passers-by and six people were injured: one has since died, and all five terrorists were shot dead.

It has now emerged that the chief suspect in the Barcelona attack is a teenager named Moussa Oukabir, and that he was part of a 12-strong Jihadist cell which prepared its explosive devices in a house in Alcanar where one died in an explosion on Wednesday. On his Facebook account the suspect reported having recently spent time in Yecla, in the north of the Region of Murcia, but this has yet to be verified.

The reaction to the events in Barcelona and Cambrils was one of universal horror, repugnance and condemnation, and on Friday at midday at an official minute’s silence there was a rare display of unity among the King of Spain, the Prime Minister, the president of the regional government of Catalunya and the Mayoress of Barcelona. When the silence was over shouts of “I am not afraid” could be heard ringing round the Plaza de Catalunya as a massive crowd gathered firstly to show their grief and sympathy for the deceased and injured and their relatives, and secondly to reiterate their defiance in the face of terrorism.

Similar gestures of grief and defiance took place at Town Halls all over Spain, and the Region of Murcia was no exception as the business of government came to a standstill at midday. At the same time, security measures were stepped up throughout the country, and in Madrid the anti-terrorist bollards and flower-pots which were installed at Christmas re-appeared in the city centre.

As the dust settles analysis now focuses on what could have been done to prevent these tragic happenings, with some of the attention focusing on the steady migratory pressure which has caused mass assaults on the Spanish border fences in northern Africa and the constant flow of immigrants from north Africa attempting to cross the Mediterranean into Andalucía. At the same time, a question mark now hangs over the continuation of the recent boom in international tourism in Spain: will this country now be tarred with the same brush as Turkey and north African nations as a hotbed for terrorism?

It’s too early to tell, of course, but what is for certain is that if Catalunya was already bound to be one of the focal points of the world’s media this autumn due to the threatened independence referendum on 1^st October, it will now be even more firmly in the spotlight.

Naturally enough, all other news in Spain pales into insignificance after the events of Thursday and Friday, but in the Costa Cálida there has been plenty going on as the last fortnight of the peak tourist season has been marked by numerous items related to this sector of the regional economy…

Trouble on the beaches as swimmers defy logic and lifeguards to put their lives at risk

During the first half of this week the sea conditions along the Mediterranean coast of Murcia were distinctly rough, and red “no bathing” flags were hoisted as a result at various beaches from La Manga del Mar Menor to Águilas. But despite all the warnings there were numerous cases reported of individuals choosing to ignore common sense and place their own lives and those of others at risk.

One of the most widely reported instances occurred at the southern end of La Manga, where lifeguards and members of the public formed a human chain to rescue four swimmers who were unable to make their own way back ashore. This happened on Tuesday, a national holiday, and on the same day and on the same beaches another ten people were rescued by lifeguards from the Mediterranean.

It really is hard to understand the attitude of these bathers, most of whom (there are exceptions) do not have the stamina and strength of cross-channel swimmers. Apart from endangering their own lives and those of the lifeguards, they are apparently undeterred by the heavy fines of up to 3,000 euros which can be imposed, ruining their day at the beach or indeed their annual summer holiday.

But perhaps the clinching argument against taking a dip in rough seas is the following: many might not be aware of it, but the lifeguards on duty on the beach are not always obliged to rescue bathers in trouble. In theory, their obligation is merely to notify the emergency services coordination centre, where it is decided what resources are to be deployed, and on many occasions they themselves only take to the water out of a sense of duty.

In Águilas the authorities report that there have been no beach drownings for 23 years, and all bathers are urged to avoid being the unfortunate one to break that run: surely no-one really wants to become an unwanted statistic?

Other tourism and airport news

Murcia-San Javier airport passenger numbers up again in July: the good news continues at the airport on the shore of the Mar Menor during its 50^th anniversary year, with the number of passengers passing through the terminal 5.8 per cent higher than in the same month last year at 158,773 and those on flights to and from the UK and Ireland accounting for 87 per cent of the total.

That numbers are not higher at San Javier is largely due to the wider range of flights available at Alicante-Elche, where passenger numbers also rose last month, this time to over 1.56 million. Again the UK accounted for the bulk of traffic (688,000 passengers, or 42.2 per cent of the total), and the only cloud on the horizon at Alicante-Elche is the threat of strikes by security staff in September…

Costa Cálida hotels enjoy bumper first fortnight of August: hotel occupancy rates reached 92 per cent in Águilas and the Mar Menor, and the figures were also positive in Mazarrón, Murcia, Lorca, Cartagena and the spa resorts of Archena and Fortuna.

Murcia continues to reduce the dependence of the tourism sector on July and August: as the last fortnight of the peak summer season begins the regional government in Murcia is stressing once again that one of the main aims within the sector is to de-seasonalize tourism by attracting more visitors from abroad during the autumn, winter and spring.

Ryanair campaigns against in-flight drinking: steps are taken after “disruptive behaviour on the part of passengers taking off from British airports” is found to have increased six-fold in the last five years, with flights to Ibiza and Alicante-Elche among those targeted.

Caravaca Jubilee Year wooing religious tourists in Rome: where better to tout for visitors to the north-west of Murcia than in a city where religious tourism is perennial?

Agriculture and environmental issues

CHS water authority under fire over waste water in the Campo de Cartagena and Totana: adding to problems such as hundreds of dead fish appearing in the River Segura and the ongoing saga over who is to blame for the deficiencies in waste water and sewage treatment in the residential development of Camposol, there was tension in the Campo de Cartagena this week when it was reported that more salty and brackish water was being fed into the Rambla del Albujón, from where there is a risk that it will be washed into the Mar Menor.

When CHS officials arrived to seal off the pipes carrying the waste water they were confronted with angry farmers who maintain that their crops depend on the desalination and water treatment plants used in the countryside, and on top of this the Town Hall of Totana is also criticizing the CHS for failing to prevent the spillage of untreated waste water into the River Guadalentín.

Two arrested in Moratalla for poisoning pets and wild animals: this type of illegal use of poisonous substances often occurs when hunters are keen to preserve their prey (typically rabbits and partridges) from other predators, such as foxes, eagles, cats and dogs, but of course the consequences of their actions reach far further than that and great cruelty is inflicted on their victims.

Wild fire in the Sierra del Carche in Jumilla: 1.3 hectares of pine groves burnt in the Jumilla countryside.

Spanish property news

The steady upward trend in the level of activity in the Spanish property market is reflected this week in the latest statistical bulletin published by the country’s notaries, who report that during June 51,477 residential sales were finalized. This figure not only represents an increase of 17.4 per cent in comparison with June 2016, but is also almost the highest since the notaries began to produce comparable data nearly a decade ago.

Murcia government aims to legalize over 2,000 tourist apartments: the aim is to double the number of official tourist rental properties in the Costa Cálida, thus ensuring both that certain levels of quality are guaranteed and that rental income is properly declared.

Other items in the Murcia news this week

Mazarrón man murders ex-partner and commits suicide in Totana: the murder victim was a mother of three living in Cazalla in Lorca, and had recently broken off her relationship with her murderer, Pedro Pérez.

Drunk driver causes chaos by driving the wrong way on the La Manga motorway: various Guardia Civil patrol cars were dispatched to intercept the vehicle and halt its progress towards La Manga on the wrong side of the road, but before they could do so the driver was involved in a collision with two other cars close to the turn-off to Playa Honda.

Spectacular car chase ends on the Playa Barnuevo in San Javier: the car ploughed into the sand on Playa Barnuevo, where its occupant continued to attempt to escape arrest on foot before finally being caught and subdued by officers of the law, three of whom sustained injuries.

31 illegal immigrants detained off the coast of Cartagena and Portmán: one of three small and fragile craft was spotted by those on board a fishing boat on Thursday afternoon, and not long afterwards a second boat was seen from the air six miles from Portmán.

Murcia man found dead with genitals tied to rifle trigger: the Policía Nacional are investigating what appears to be the bizarre suicide of a 30-year-old in Murcia.

400 march to protest against Cabo de Palos lighthouse privatization plan: the demonstrators are indignant over the possibility that the iconic lighthouse, which has stood on the promontory at the south-eastern extreme of the Region of Murcia since 1864, could be sold off to private owners with a view to it being converted into a hotel.

Spanish national news

Even prior to the terrorist attack in Barcelona on Thursday attention in the press had focused on the situation regarding immigrants and refugees in Spain, as the government struggles to fund a way of dealing with migrants from Africa and the Middle East.

As the September 26^th deadline approaches for Spain to meet its EU-established quota of receiving 17,337 refugees from Syria and Iraq, the total currently stands at a miserly 1,724. The uproar in Spain was as loud as anywhere following the tragic death of 3-year-old Aylan off a Turkish beach in 2015, but since then the national government has been unable (or, some would say, unwilling) to find a way to fulfilling the obligation which was subsequently agreed.

Meanwhile, though, hundreds of people continue to make their way into Spain and the EU either by crossing the Mediterranean on board perilously small and fragile boats or by storming the border fences in the north African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. On Wednesday alone one maritime rescue vessel picked up 200 people from four boats in the Mediterranean and ferried them to port in Tarifa, in the province of Cádiz, while another 139 were intercepted in the Strait of Gibraltar, and in Ceuta, so flimsy has the border protection proved to be that following the assault which resulted in almost 200 Africans making their way into EU territory last week all border crossings were closed for a week, even to commercial traffic, for a week, before reopening this Thursday.

Other stories making the headline include manta rays invading a beach in Gran Canaria and another beach story in Almería, where the curiosity of bathers caused the death of a baby dolphin which had strayed from its mother. 

But that was before Thursday, when attention suddenly shifted from the Costas to Catalunya and to the Jihadist terrorism which has now affected Spain along with other European countries.

For more Spanish news stories this week scroll down below...

Would you like to receive this bulletin?

If you enjoyed this free weekly round-up, then please forward it on to your friends. If you have received this from a friend and would like to have it sent directly, then click Register for weekly bulletin to sign up.

NONE OF THE TODAY PRODUCTS HARVESTS OR SELLS EMAILS IN ANY WAY and we GUARANTEE your details will not be passed on, sold, or used for any other purpose, and are maintained in an off-site facility from which you can unsubscribe at any time.

We also welcome contributions from local charities or clubs, including post event reports, news items and forthcoming events. Use the contact button in the top header to contact our editorial team.

Images: Copyrighted Murcia Today and Efe. Full or partial reproduction prohibited.