Far Right Politics
The far-right party Vox has signed up three former generals to run for parliament in next month’s general election, two of whom have expressed support for the legacy of former dictator Francisco Franco by signing a petition last year.
The inclusion of openly pro-Franco candidates with senior military backgrounds underscores the ground that Vox has broken in a country that had largely shied away from far-right politics since General Franco’s rule ended with his death in 1975.
Former generals Agustin Rosety and Alberto Asarta will run as parliamentary candidates for Cadiz and Castellon. Another former general, Manuel Mestre, is running in Alicante. Vox had already enlisted another general to run for mayor in Palma de Mallorca.
Latest opinion polls show support for Vox as high as 12.1 percent. That could translate into 38 seats in parliament.
Walkers Rescued
Rescuers reached a group of 25 walkers that became trapped in sub-zero temperatures on a mountainside.
The group, made up of people between the ages of 24 and 73, and a dog were trapped at 1,700 metres in the Saja Besaya Natural Park.
A 73-year-old woman suffering from hypothermia and exhaustion was taken to hospital for treatment.
The Cantabria emergency centre said the walkers made an emergency call ..rescuers finally located them in snow where the temperature had plunged to -8C.
The walkers, mostly over 60-years-old set off at 10 am on Sunday morning but failed to make it back to the meeting point with the bus.
Specialist mountain rescue teams were involved in the operation which saw the walkers return to their hotel at around 5am.
Brexit Demo
Around 100 British expats have confirmed they will fly to London this week to take part in a huge Brexit protest.
They are all part of anti-Brexit group Bremain in Spain, whose aim is ‘campaigning for the UK to remain in the EU’.
The ‘Put It To The People’ event on March 23 is expected to be the ‘largest protest march in British history’.
It is organised by the People’s Vote campaign
Sue Wilson, the group’s chair said “We’ve supported the campaign for another referendum from the start.”
The march will take place just six days before the UK is set to leave the EU, on March 29.
Drug Bust
A FOREIGN drug trafficking gang which hid drugs behind the licence plates of vehicles has been busted on the Costa del Sol.
The network, made up of French nationals, transported cocaine and hashish from Morocco and Algeria to Malaga before stashing the drugs in hidden compartments on vehicles.
Ten have been arrested after Guardia Civil and French Judicial Police seized 46 kilos of cocaine and 500 kilos of hashish in a joint operation.
The arrests were carried out in Arenas, Mijas and on the outskirts of Paris.
The hidden compartments also hid money and arms.
Five vehicles, an automatic sub-machine gun, three semi-automatic pistols with ammunition and €9,000 in cash, among other items, were also seized.