Andalucia

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News - Andalucia

The Cranberries to play Motril this summer

Sunday, 02 May 2010 17:07

This time the capital of the Tropical Coast will be the centre of attention thanks to the celebration of an internationally important concert- the Irish group The Cranberries will act in the city this summer dragging an alluvium of visitors that will fill hotels and restaurants.
The Cranberries will play in Motril this summer, probably towards the ends of July. The mayor, Carlos Rojo, and the councillor of Culture, Nicolás Navarro, will shortly release finalised details of this musical appointment that promises to fill the city.
The concert will be in the city bullring, that has capacity to receive some 8.000 people, and local businesses are preparing to receive with open arms to all the public that will come to this important event.
The City council has been working hard to bring the Irish band act to the town. Besides which, his overriding aim was that it be attained with zero cost for the municipal coffers. {loadposition advert}
For this collecting has been necessary -a collection that raised some 50.000 euros-, asking the collaboration of employers and local tourism associations to act as sponsors.
The success of the group in the town seems to be ensured because the Irish quartet lead by the singer PAINS Or'Riordan attracted eleven thousand souls when they played at the Palace of Vistalegre in Madrid some months ago.
After eight years without appearing in the capital of Spain, the Cranberries did Madrileños well by playing famous songs like 'Salvation' or 'Zombie'.
Municipal sources explain that the organizers looked to celebrate this musical event at a costal city and that chose the city of Motril because it is inbetween Málaga and Almería, amongst other things.
The tourism sector is already thinking how it will fill these days in Motril. When Bob Dylan played in Motril in 2004, some 8,000 people turned up, and the city is hoping to attract a similar number this time.
Now with the performance of The Cranberries in full summer, everybody expects that the city will fill up with as many as came to see Dylan and that all who come will remember the amazing time they had at the coastal resort of Motril.

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News - Andalucia

Nijar and Lepe subject of New York Times report

Sunday, 02 May 2010 10:18

The municipalities of Lepe (Huelva) and Níjar (Almería) will be leading in a special report by the newspaper 'The New York Times' on how these villages of intensive agriculture are surviving the economic crisis.
In Lepe, reporters interviewed the local mayor, Manuel Andrés González (PP), as well as local employers and immigrant workers in order to understand how the village is coming together to survive these tough times.
The Mayor highlighted that the interview was based on how the economic recession has affected agriculture in Lepe, although the reporters were also interested in how daily life in the village continued. “They [The New York Times] were very interested in Lepe and in our daily lives, they have promised to come back to our next fiesta!” he commented.

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The Mayor added that it is «an honour that the province of Huelva has become international news news thanks to the village of Lepe», and said that it is «important» to speak of this town in America.
In the same way, Manuel Andrés González remembered that the sailor Rodrigo of Triana, «the first person to actually see America, was lepero», a fact that also is «an honour for the town».
Subsequently the journalists travelled to the town of Níjar, where they interviewed the mayor, Antonio Jesús Rodríguez (PP), with the purpose of finding out more about the agriculture of Andalucia and his particular take on the crisis. The municipalities of Níjar and Lepe are known for their intensive production of fruits and winter produce. Lepe is also one of Europe's largest strawberry producers.

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News - Andalucia

Andalucia cracks down on toy flotation devices

Sunday, 02 May 2010 08:30

The Andalucian Consumer's Department has announced that it has started a major check of toy flotation devices for sale in shops across Andalucia to ensure that they are safe for use.

Included in the plan this year are children's flotation aids, after Consumo decided that they could be classified as "toys" and therefore be included in the plan.

The aim of the plan is to identify any potentially dangerous flotation devices and to remove these products from the marketplace before anyone can buy them.

Last year, in Almería alone, two potentially dangerous products were identified and removed from the nation's shelves.

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Inspectors will be visiting shops throughout the community and looking at all flotation devices on sale to identify products that do not comply with European safety laws. Upon identifying such products, the importer is required to recall these products, and failure to do so can result in fines of up to 30,000€.

Cristóbel Sanchéz, speaking for Consumo, said that dangerous flotation toys could be lethal, if they lead to a poor swimmer getting into difficulties.

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News - Andalucia

PP asks for El Ejido townhall to be dissolved

Thursday, 29 April 2010 14:26

The PP party has presented a motion in the Andalucian Parliament calling for the dissolution of the townhall of El Ejido.

If accepted, the Andalucian Parliament will ask the Conference of Ministers for permission to dissolve the townhall and put an independent team in charge until the next elections.

"With the mayor and senior aides in prison, it is impossible for this town to be run efficiently, and it is in the interests of the people of El Ejido for the townhall to be run by an independent Junta-appointed team until the next elections" said the PP in a comuniqué.

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This is the second attempt to dissolve the El Ejido townhall, after an IU proposal, backed by the PP, failed to pass last month. The PP has asked the PSOE to reconsider its opposition to the dissolution of the townhall.

However, the PSOE said this morning that it still believes that dissolving the townhall "is not legally possible" and indicated it will tell party members to vote against the motion when it comes up.

Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that Mayor Juan Enciso, who has been remanded in custody until a trial can be arranged for charges of stealing 150 million euros from townhall coffers, is sharing a cell with a Moroccan man in a Granada jail. Sources at the Albalote jail told media that Juan Enciso, reknown for failing to prevent race riots in his town between immigrants and locals on several occasions, is "getting on well" with the man, who speaks some Spanish, despite having to share a cell for almost 20 hours a day.

Last Updated ( Thursday, 29 April 2010 14:39 )

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News - Andalucia

Almerias largest hotel group owner arrested for corruption

Sunday, 25 April 2010 15:12

The President of the Senator Hoteles group, José María Rossell, one of Almería's richest men, has been arrested along with six other people into a land corruption investigation in the Canary Islands.

The main shareholder of Andalucia's largest hotel group was supposed to have been arrested yesterday morning at his luxury home in Almería, but when officers of the Guardia Civil arrived there he had left on a business trip to Málaga. Upon hearing of the warrant for his arrest, he agreed to hand himself in at the Arrecife Guardia Civil station, along with his Chief Financial Officer of the group, but local media reports the two men were eventually taken to the station by officers on Saturday.

The arrests from part of the second phase of Operation Jable, an investigation into corruption surrounding a series of land deals in the Canary Islands over the last decade.

The first phase resulted in the arrests of seven men in the Canary Islands last Monday and searches of offices. According to the Guardia Civil, all fourteen men arrested so will be charged with corruption, bribery, trafficking of influences and money laundering.

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Operation Jable was launched after a previous operation, codenamed Unión, which investigated the affairs of the independent MP Dimas Martín, who controlled the Lanzarote Independent Group. Sr Martín was charged with a series of charges allegding he received money in exchange for political favours whilst negotiating a series of land deals in Teguise (Lanzarote). The prosecution alledgeds that Sr Martín received over 8 and a half million euros in kickbacks.

Also charged in the case are lawyer Francisco Rodríguez-Batllori (of the Canary Coalition party, and a previous Canary Islands' Minister for Work, and Vice Minister for Justice), and Susana Martín, Sr Martíns' daughter.

Andalucia's largest hotel chain

José María Rossell Recasens is one of the richest men in Almería, and built up his family owned hotel into Andalucía's largest hotel group.

Playa Senator Hotels has only one hotel in Teguise, the Hotel Playaverde, but had plans for several more in the immediate area.

The company has over 6,000 rooms across Andalucia, as well as owning several tourism ventures such as the Oasys Zoo in Tabernas and Mini Hollywood theme park.

Sr Rossell was a previous president of Exceltur, the tour operators group, as well as holding a position in the Almería Chamber of Commerce and the regional tourism board. He is married to Senator María del Mar Agüero (PP), who, according to her publically declared asset list, has no shares or dealings with her husbands' group of companies.

Sr Rossell is currently in the cells at Arrecife, and is expected to be called before Judge Romero Pamparacuatro, who is instructing the case, tomorrow. The details of the case, are, currently, still under judicial secrecy laws.

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