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02 August 2008

King Juan Carlos and Hugo Chavez Make Up

Diplomatic relations have returned to normal between Spain and Venezuela following a meeting on Mallorca between King Juan Carlos and Hugo Chavez. It was the first time the two men had met since the King asked Chavez to shut up at the Ibero-American summit in Chile last year. During the meeting Juan Carlos gave the President a t-shirt with the now famous words ‘por que no te callas?’

Venezuela to Sell Oil at 100 Dollars per Barrel to Spain

Following a meeting between the two countries’ leaders, Chavez and Zapatero, Venezuela has agreed to sell oil to Spain at 100 dollars per barrel in exchange for building materials, medicine and new technologies. The oil price recently reached 147 dollars but dropped back to 125 dollars.

Telecinco Sues YouTube

Spain's television channel, Telecinco, has won the first round of a legal case against YouTube to stop it distributing copyrighted material. It has also announced that it is planning to seek compensation from the video sharing website. The head of the network's legal affairs said that Telecinco has decided to divide the case into two parts due to its complexity and that the company would seek compensation. A representative of YouTube said that the website always aims to respect copyright laws.

Eagle Goes Missing from Madrid Safari Park

A Pigargo eagle has gone missing from Safari Park Madrid and the park has offered a 500 euro reward for its return. The bird has leather identity rings on its legs and experts believe it can probably survive in the wild. The brown bird with a white head is much larger than the Spanish Imperial Eagle. As it is a large bird, it cannot fly long distances and so it's thought that it might still be close to the safari park.

AVE Link for Jaen

The AVE link from the existing Madrid line to Jaen has been awarded to the company Comsa SA at a cost of 33.6 million euros. The project, consisting of 7.1 km of new lines including 2 underpasses, 6 bridges and 3 pedestrian bridges is expected to take 40 months to complete.

PGOU Urban Plan Regulations

The new PGOU Urban Plan regulations for Malaga are to continue a ruling that any new flats constructed in the city must be at least 31 square metres in size. The average size for newly built accommodation is to be 70 square metres. The new regulations will also require developers to create three parking spaces for every two homes. This new plan for the city has taken more than two years to prepare and is expected to receive final approval during the Malaga Feria in August and be in force for eight years.

Walkway to IKEA

The Development Ministry has put out to tender a 655,000 euro project to build an overpass, which will allow pedestrians a safer way to cross the MA21 (old N340) motorway near the Malaga Ikea store. The pedestrian walkway will be 5.8 metres high and 35 metres long and be located at kilometre 229.3 on the MA21.

Plane Lifted Off the Ground by Walkway

Passengers on a flight from Norway to Malaga last Sunday had a shock when the walkway to the aircraft lifted the plane off the ground as passengers were disembarking. It is not clear whether it was human or mechanical error that caused the incident but, AENA, the Spanish airport authority has opened an investigation.

Waiting List for Moorings in Malaga Province

Boat owners in Malaga province are having to wait up to four years or more for a mooring. There are nearly 3,500 people on the waiting lists, this demand should be met by the proposed creation of a further 4,000 moorings. In Fuengirola the creation of a floating quay in the fishing port has made room for 159 berths. In Marbella, the waiting list for places in the four marinas is over 1,000. Many other marinas in the area also have long waiting lists. Nerja and Torrox have plans for a new marina where the two municipalities meet and there are also two other projects on the drawing board for the city of Malaga together providing over 1,000 moorings.

First Step for Conversion into Hotel

The Junta de Andalucia will hand over the keys of the Palacio Miramar to the hotel group Hoteles Santos on Monday July 28th. The emblematic Malaga building is to be converted into the first five star luxury hotel in the city. The next step is for the architects to draw up the project for the conversion, which will preserve the façade and gardens of the building, used recently for judicial purposes. The hotel should be ready for opening in about two years.

Elephant Born in Selwo Park, Estepona

Samy, the first Asian elephant to be born in captivity in Spain, was born at the Selwo park in Estepona on July 19th. The elephant, which weighed 91 kilos at birth, is doing well and feeding on her mother's milk.

Culture Festival in Malaga

Yesterday saw the start of El Festival de Cultura Andalusi which will take place in various locations in the city until mid-August. The festival includes exhibitions, concerts and other activities.

Antequera Blues Festival

The last night of the Antequera Blues Festival takes place tonight July 26th starting at 10.30 pm in la Colegiata de Santa Maria. Entrance is free.

Rock Festival in Estepona

Tonight July 26th sees the first Highway Classic Rock Festival take place in the Plaza de Toros, Estepona at 10.00 pm starring Chuck Berry and John Mayall.

Enlargement of Museum in Alora

An agreement has been made between the diocese of Malaga and Alora town council regarding ceding sites which will be used for the enlargement of the Rafael Leria museum in Alora. The Ayuntamiento will cede land for parochial use in exchange.

Malaga Football

The Spanish League fixture list for the 2008/09 season has been announced and Malaga's first game will be away against Atletico de Madrid on 31st August. Their first home game will be on 14th September against Athletic de Bilbao with games against Barcelona and Real Madrid scheduled for November.

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