Author: Bob James

Catalunia
Protesters calling for Catalan independence kicked off the regions bi-annual human towers building competition yesterday.
Though the competition is not an official pro-independence event, human towers building is a deep-rooted tradition of the Catalan culture.
The event, which drew 6,000 spectators in Tarragona, came almost a week after tensions flared up with thousands marching in Barcelona to mark the anniversary of the Oct. 1 2017 referendum.
People carried the Catalan separatist flag .. others shouted pro-Catalan independence slogans while others displayed banners demanding the release of imprisoned pro-secessionist politicians and the return of those in exile.… Read all the news

Right Wing Politics
Thousands of people attended a rally of the fledgling far-right party VOX as it tries to grab a foothold in Spain’s political spectrum.
Javier Ortega, the party’s general secretary, told the crowd in Madrid yesterday that VOX has “one clear objective: Spaniards first.”
VOX has no lawmakers in the national parliament. Founded in 2013, its hoping that its vehement stance against immigration and against the separatists in Catalonia will allow it to break out of obscurity and into public office.… Read all the news

Airport Strike
An indefinite strike which threatened to cause chaos at all of Spain’s airports in ten days’ time has been called OFF at the last minute.
Unions representing the 60,000 ground staff who would have walked out over pay and conditions have reached an agreement following 24 hours of talks.
The call to strike on October 15th has therefore been cancelled and ground handling services, such as loading and unloading luggage, will go ahead as normal.
An agreement was reached during a last-ditch conciliation meeting between unions and the employers who had previously failed to reach any sort of agreement in nearly three years of negotiations.… Read all the news

Murder Victim
THE victim of the Estepona kidnapping has been identified as a young Spaniard.
The 29-year-old, whose name has not been released, had a history of drugs and tobacco smuggling.
His body was found in Algeciras just hours after the kidnapping and gunshots on Tuesday Evening.
Police confirmed the corpse, which had been stabbed before being dumped, is that of the man who was bundled into a BMW Car in Estepona.
The victim’s appearance and tattoos matched witness statements from the kidnapping leaving police convinced it is the same person.… Read all the news

Deaths
Police are investigating the deaths of three Dutch nationals found in a house near Coín Málaga Province yesterday. The bodies of a man of 62, his 59-year-old wife and her mother aged 89, were discovered by the property’s owner who had not heard from them for some time .. the man was found hanged, but an autopsy will have to show how the women died.
All three bodies were in an advanced stage of decomposition.
Reportedly, the wife had terminal cancer and police are working on the assumption that the three may have decided to commit suicide together.… Read all the news

IMF Boss
A former managing director of the International Monetary Fund yesterday had his prison sentence for corruption crimes confirmed by Spain’s Supreme Court.
The court ratified the 2017 verdict by the National Court that sentenced Rodrigo Rato, who headed the IMF between 2004-07, to four-and-a-half years in prison for embezzling funds through opaque credit cards while he was president of a Spanish bank whose losses following the 2008 financial crisis saw it bailed out for at least 22.4 billion euros.… Read all the news

IMF Boss
A former managing director of the International Monetary Fund yesterday had his prison sentence for corruption crimes confirmed by Spain’s Supreme Court.
The court ratified the 2017 verdict by the National Court that sentenced Rodrigo Rato, who headed the IMF between 2004-07, to four-and-a-half years in prison for embezzling funds through opaque credit cards while he was president of a Spanish bank whose losses following the 2008 financial crisis saw it bailed out for at least 22.4 billion euros.… Read all the news

Gunshots and Kidnapping
POLICE have found a body in Algeciras just hours after a shooting and possible kidnapping on the Costa del Sol last night.
The man’s body had suffered stab wounds but has not yet been identified.
The National Police are investigating to see if the two incidents are related.
Last night the sound of gunshots rang around Estepona after a diner at a restaurant was chased and shot at, before being bundled into a car by ‘hooded men’.
The events unfolded in front of many witnesses at around 10.45pm when the victim was approached at a restaurant on the Avenida de España.… Read all the news

Catalonia
The government yesterday said it rejected any ultimatum from Catalonia on moving towards self- determination and remained focused on having a wide-ranging dialogue with the region to resolve a secession crisis.
Catalan regional head Quim Torra had threatened earlier to withdraw parliamentary support for Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez if he did not agree within a month on a self-determination mechanism.
“We don’t accept ultimatums,” the government’s spokeswoman told journalists at a news conference.
“Self-government yes but independence no,” she added.… Read all the news

Catalonia
The Spanish government has accused the Catalan president of “encouraging radicals” after a day of protests to mark the first anniversary of the region’s unilateral independence referendum ended with riot police charging demonstrators outside the Catalan parliament.
About 180,000 people were estimated to have gathered in Barcelona yesterday to commemorate the vote and show their support for Catalan independence,.
Catatonia’s nationalist president, Quim Torra, praised those undertaking direct action earlier in the day, urging them to “keep up the pressure”.… Read all the news