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11 June 2007

Spain Looks to Counter Jellyfish Problem

Every beach-goer's nightmare, the jellyfish, faces a new enemy in Spain under a plan to create an armada of recreational boaters to spot the stinging blobs along the coast and summon help, the pilot project, which has just been approved at a Cabinet meeting, has been devised to counter an exponential rise in jellyfish populations in many areas of Spain's coast, the world's second most popular tourist destination.

The problem stems in part from overfishing that has sapped stocks of natural jellyfish predators like tuna and turtles, and of small fish that compete with jellyfish to feed on plankton, said Josep-Maria Gili, a marine biologist who is helping to coordinate the project. Another factor is global warming: jellyfish are drifting close to beaches more frequently as decreasing rainfall causes a drop in cooler, fresh-water runoff from rivers, a natural barrier for the creatures, he said. "The fact that jellyfish make it to the coast is a sign the sea is sending us about how badly we treat it," said Gili, who works at the Barcelona based Institute of Sea Sciences, affiliated with Spain's top research body, the Superior Council for Scientific Research.

Spain to Clamp Down on Land Use Abuses

Spain's Environment Ministry is preparing a law to stop local authorities reclassifying protected land and building on more of the country's coastline. Legislation, which could be approved by ministers next week, will apply to all land included in an official list of ecologically sensitive zones called Red Natura 2000 which covers about a quarter of Spain's territory. Provinces such as Malaga, Barcelona and Alicante have built up more than 50% of their coastline.

Landmark Hand Transplant Surgery Carried out in Valencia

Pioneering surgery has been carried out by doctors at the Virgen del Consuelo Hospital in Valencia. The operation, performed on 29th April, is the first of its kind in the world and will allow the man to use his hand 'reasonably well' after a few months. The patient was incapacitated as he had been missing his left hand for 40 years and three years ago suffered a stroke that paralyzed the right side of his body. The operation consisted of switching the thumb to the other side of the hand to convert a "right hand into a left hand," in order to subsequently implant it on the handless wrist.

Planned AVE Tunnel Concerns Sagrada Familia Management

Officials at the Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona have expressed their concern that vibrations from the new tunnel could damage the building. The Management of the Constructors of the Sagrada Familia Cathedral have threatened to take legal action against the Ministry for Development if they go ahead with plans to approve the tunnel for the new AVE high speed train to go under Calle Mallorca, which runs beside the famous cathedral designed by Gaudi.

The cathedral authorities presented three reports they had commissioned and all agreed that it would be dangerous for the AVE line to go along Calle Mallorca.

Lyrics to be Written for Spanish National Anthem

The Spanish National Anthem is to have lyrics after complaints by athletes who want something to sing at big competitions. The President of the Spanish Olympic Committee, Alejandro Blanco, has said he has called for the lyrics to be inspired by the values of sportsmanship. He has also ordered no political references. Spanish competitors generally hug or hum while their national anthem, known as the Royal March, is played, leaving them at a disadvantage compared to other sporting nations whose anthems have lyrics. Spain's anthem is one of the world's oldest national anthems, dating back to the 18th century, but it has never had any words.

Spain, Turkey and Hungary take Euro Radio Top Prizes

The votes are in and the winners have been announced in this year's ESC Radio Awards, Esctoday.com reports that Spanish boy band D'Nash are the winners in both Best Song and Best Group categories, Kenan Dogulu won the Best Male Artist award while Hungarian Magdi Ruzsa, adds one more award to her collection winning in the Best Female Artist 2007 category. For the second year running, the worldwide listeners of ESC Radio had the opportunity to vote for their favourites in this year's Eurovision Song Contest. The results are as follows:

Best Song 2007

1. I love you mi vida by D'Nash (Spain)
2. Unsubstantial Blues by Magdi Rusza (Hungary)
3. Molitva by Marija Serifovic (Serbia)

Gore Wins Spain's Top Award

Former Vice President Al Gore won Spain's most prestigious prize this Wednesday for his "decisive contribution to progress in solving the grave problems of climate change which threaten our planet." Gore won the Prince of Asturias award for international cooperation, considered by some to be a warm-up for the Nobel Prizes, for which Gore is nominated this year in the peace category. The jury meeting in the northern city of Oviedo called Gore "a public man who, with his leadership, has contributed to making societies and governments around the world aware of this noble and transcendental cause." The prize is named for Spain's Crown Prince Felipe and is one of eight given out annually in categories ranging from arts to sports.

Syrian Arms Dealer Arrested in Spain

A Syrian arms dealer previously accused of arming militants from Iraq to Somalia was arrested on suspicion of plotting to send millions of dollars worth of weapons to Colombian rebels, Spanish and American officials said Friday. Two other men were arrested in Romania. The U.S. Embassy in Madrid said Monzer al-Kassar and the men arrested in Romania are accused of conspiring to sell surface-to-air missile systems, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, thousands of machine guns and millions of rounds of ammunition to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a rebel army classified in the United States as a terrorist group.

In Washington, federal officials said Drug Enforcement Agency agents posed as FARC members forged a business relationship with al-Kassar, first in drug dealing and then in arms trafficking. The officials said al-Kassar offered to ship thousands of rifles, grenades and missiles to Colombia for the FARC's use against the Colombian government and U.S. officials posted there. Authorities seized al-Kassar before any arms could be shipped, two federal law enforcement officials said Friday on condition of anonymity because the arrests had not yet been announced in the U.S. The undercover operation spanned four years, the officials said.

Al-Kassar, a long-time resident of Spain, was arrested Thursday evening at Madrid's Barajas airport after he arrived on a flight from Malaga, the Spanish Interior Ministry said.

Norwegian Nazi Found Living in Spain

A Norwegian man who was once a Nazi has been discovered in Marbella, Fredrik Jensen, 86, was once the most highly decorated Norwegian in the Nazi army. Spanish authorities found him during a search for Dr. Aribert Heim, the so-called Dr. Death of the Mauthausen concentration camp, who is the second most wanted Nazi in the world.

Spanish Navy Prepares to Search U.S. Salvage Ship

A judge in Spain, with the support of the country's Defence Minister, is preparing for the possibly of searching the ships belonging to a U.S. based shipwreck salvage company, which are currently docked in Gibraltar. Culture Minister Carmen Calvo: "Put in very simple terms, Spanish and international laws protect us and if anything against the law has occurred, we will respond and what was ours will be returned to Spain." The company, Odyssey Marine Exploration, recently recovered a record haul containing over 500,000 silver and gold coins but wouldn't disclose the wreck's location, Spain is now waiting for Odyssey to enter their waters...

Shuttle Atlantis Seems to Have a Flawless Liftoff

The shuttle Atlantis thundered off the launching pad into a stunningly clear evening sky on Friday on a mission to continue building the International Space Station, it blasted off at 7:38 p.m. Eastern standard time with the rattling roar of more than seven million pounds of thrust and rose on a snaking column of smoke and a flame nearly as bright as the dipping sun. Atlantis had what appeared to be a flawless ascent, though the videos that will show whether insulating foam or other launching debris hit the craft have yet to be examined thoroughly.

In a mission already delayed three months by a hailstorm that damaged the foam on the shuttle’s external tank, the preparations for launching were smooth, weather concerns and technical glitches that often cause last minute delays were nowhere to be found, and the launching unfolded with clockwork efficiency.

Movie Festival in Granada

An international movie festival dubbed as "Cines Del Sur" will start today in Granada for nine days, the Festival's organizers said 56 works from 18 countries will compete in the festival. The aim of the festival, which began its work last year, has been declared proximity of cultures and civilizations. A spokesman for the festival said participating countries in the movie festival include Tunisia, China, Brazil, Iraq, Senegal, Paraguay, Argentina, Spain, Austria, Netherlands, Germany, occupied Palestine, Nigeria, Lebanon, Britain, Turkey and Iran, he added, "Mr. Jaffer Panahi, a well-known Iranian movie director, will be a member of jury of the festival."

Granada Festive of Music and Dance

If music is your delight consider the Festival of Music and Dance, held every year in the Generalife Gardens of the Alhambra, the streets come alive with the echoes of Spanish guitars and the varied flamenco dancers, the festival is based on a diverse mix of Spanish dancing, classical music and ballet, in the past they have hosted ballet legends Margot Fonteyn and Rudolph Nureyev, however now the music reaches almost everyone via individual performances in churches, cafes and clubs throughout the city, here is your chance to participate. Granada's International Festival this year is held from the 22nd June to the 8th July.

Businessman Jailed for Giving Guests Cake Containing Drugs

A court in Jaen jailed a businessman for two years for celebrating his birthday and inviting his employees to eat cake laced with marijuana, the businessman, Enrique F.P., was convicted of a crime against the public health, in addition to the prison term and a small fine, the court also awarded damages to two female guests who became ill after eating the cake. They noticed that something was wrong and later, when they began to feel worse the two women left the party, one of them approached a police patrol car to ask for help and they were taken to a hospital where doctors confirmed that they had both ingested a large amount of pot.

Bodies Exhumed from Malaga Civil War Grave

Six hundred bodies found in a Malaga mass Civil War grave have been exhumed as part of the regional government's Historical Memory programme. The excavations are being carried out as part of the new law for the recovery of the historical memory in Spain and have resulted in the exhumation of the bodies from the San Rafael Cemetery in Malaga. The victims were shot there by Franco forces during the Civil War according to the Councillor for Justice from the Junta de Andalucia, Aurora Santos.

It is believed that up to 4,000 people are buried in mass graves at the San Rafael, of which 1,000 came from other parts of the province. The regional programme for the historical memory, organised by the Junta de Andalucia, is being carried out with the collaboration of eight universities in the region. At least 300 mass graves have been found across the region with 49 of them in Malaga province.

Bacardi to Close Malaga Factory

Bacardi is to close its Malaga factory after 33 years in the city. Production is being moved to Barcelona, and workers will be offered a transfer or early retirement. The Malaga factory opened on the Santa Teresa industrial estate in 1974, and its closure, planned for March 2008 is part of the company's consolidation plans.

Airline Companies Plan Increase in Direct Routes for Malaga Airport

Airline companies operating out of Malaga Airport have expansion plans to include the establishment of approximately hundred routes that one can fly to from Malaga without stopovers. There will be a regular direct flight to Montreal, Canada, by the Air Transat airline. New direct routes will be established to European cities like Frankfurt and Bremen. The increase in tourism from the Eastern European countries to the Costa del Sol has resulted in new direct flights from Vilnius, Budapest and Bratislava. Another series of the routes that Malaga plans to recuperate this summer is with Scandinavia. The national market has also increased due to the growing demand of Spaniards themselves to spend time on the Costa del Sol.

Road Death Figures in Malaga Down this Year

New figures from the Central Traffic Authority, the DGT, show that 30 people have died on the roads of Malaga province this year up until the end of May. It is a reduction of 16.7% on figures for the same period last year, when 36 people died. Figures for the number of vehicles involved were also lower down to 58 from 70. More than 60% of this year's victims were not using any safety precautions although the main cause was infractions on the part of the driver.

Malaga 'Terral 2007'

Elvis Costello, Bryan Ferry and Joe Cocker have been booked for next month's “Terral 2007” concert season in Malaga at the Penon del Cuerva beach. Concerts begin on 13th July, with Costello appearing on 14th July, Ferry on 26th July and Cocker on 27th July. There will also be performances by composer Michael Nyman and Brazil's Carlinhos Brown.

PSOE Wins Local Election in Alora

Jose Sanchez Moreno will remain the mayor of Alora after his party the PSOE won the highest number of seats in the recent local elections. The Spanish Socialist Party, PSOE, expanded its majority by winning 10 seats (one more that the previous election in 2003), while IU lost one seat and PP maintained 3. The investiture of Jose Sanchez Moreno as Mayor will take place on 16th June.

Almeria 2 - 2 Malaga

Poor tactics cost Malaga a win as the team lost a two goal lead. This follows a 1-2 home defeat by Murcia the previous week. Malaga meet rivals Cadiz this Saturday, 9th June, kick off at 6.00 pm at La Rosaleda.

Soccer Ciudad de Murcia to Sell Place in Second Division

The newly formed team of Granada 74 are poised to become the first Spanish club to buy themselves a place in a higher league by purchasing Ciudad de Murcia's berth in the second division, Granada 74 are taking advantage of regulations introduced prior to this season which allow clubs to sell their right to compete in the league to another team rather like the franchises that are common in American sport. Granada president Carlos Marsa told a news conference on Wednesday that the deal was very close to being finalised although he was not prepared to reveal the cost of the operation, Marsa said that players under contract to Ciudad de Murcia could transfer to Granada 74, but that given the club's change in location they would be allowed to rescind their contracts, he also said that he hoped five or six Ciudad de Murcia players would play for the new team.

Spanish Sport

Spain is looking forward to a big sporting weekend over the next couple of days. Today, Saturday 9th June, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Sevilla all kick-off at 9.00 pm with the league title to play for in this penultimate day for the Primera Liga. In Montmelo, Barcelona the Catalunya Gran Premio in the World Motorbike Championship will take place. Fernando Alonso will be in action in the Canadian Grand Prix and Rafael Nadal will playing at Roland Garros this afternoon in the semi-final against Nikolay Davydenko.

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