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.
Catalan leader Quim Torra, attended the finals of the Competition.
Wildfire
A wildfire that scorched woodland and forced the evacuation of villagers in rural Galicia province was brought under control by firefighters earlier today.
The blaze consumed some 150 hectares of countryside to the east of the coastal city of Vigo, and encroached on nearby villages where dozens of locals were required to leave their properties until firefighting services deemed the situation to be safe.
Crime
BRITISH police officers probing the death of one of the country’s richest criminals have linked the shooting to several other cases including a double murder in the Canary Islands.
Essex police have been investigating the killing of John Palmer, otherwise known as ‘Goldfinger’, who died in June 2015.
Officers said they had linked the death, suspected to be a gangland killing, with the double murder of a British couple in Tenerife in 2006.
Billy and Flo Robinson were kidnapped while on their way home from a restaurant on the island. Both were killed after being tortured.
Billy Robinson is believed to have been a member of Palmer’s gang. Palmer ran an illegal timeshare scam in Tenerife in the 1980’s. The investigation continues.
Salmonella
Seven Britons have fallen ill with salmonella food poisoning linked to liquid egg whites imported from France.
The Dr Zak’s Barn Farmed Liquid Egg White is popular with people on a calorie-controlled diet or trying to eat healthily.
The product is French but the eggs come from Spain, where problems of salmonella contamination on farms have led to food poisoning outbreaks in the past.
There have been seven confirmed cases of salmonella poisoning in the UK and one suspected case is under investigation in Ireland.