Spain will consider a “green corridor” for vaccinated British tourists if there is no EU agreement on vaccination passports, the country’s tourism minister has said, as the European commission prepared to table a proposal for leaders this month. Fernando Valdés said his government would seek to find agreement on a common system among the 27 member states to allow tourism to restart, …

Quirónsalud Alicante and Torrevieja Hospitals have launched a breast cancer prevention campaign by conducting free mammography tests to mark the world breast cancer day to be held on 19 October. Early diagnosis of the disease through mammography screening reduces the mortality rate by 15% to 20%. Mammography screening will be done from 21 to 25 October for women aged 40 and over who have not had a …

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New Astra in showrooms in October priced from £15,295 OTR. Up to £2,200 less expensive than the outgoing model Class-leading powertrains achieve up to 91.1mpg and as low as 82g/km Luton – Vauxhall's all-new Astra will be in showroom...

Francisco Martínez, the Secretary of State or Security, says that the decline in organised crime in Spain is closely linked to the growing efficiency of the law enforcement agencies

At a seminar on the application of the National Security Strategy organised by Grupo Atenea, which took place two years on from the approval of the National Security Strategy, the minister focused his speech on the two "major challenges" for the security and freedom of all citizens: organised crime and energy security in the area of critical infrastructures.

He pointed out that with the latest data of 662 criminal groups registered in 2011 and 456 in 2014 "there is a clearly falling trend in the activity of organised crime in Spain, which is closely linked to the growing efficiency of the law enforcement agencies and intelligence work, and a testimony to the civic values of Spanish society."

As he explained: "Spain is today the third safest country in the European Union, or to put it another way: one of the safest countries in the world." This statement is based on the fact that the current crime rate has fallen from 48.4 crimes per 1,000 residents recorded at the close of 2011 to 44.4 in April 2015.

In this respect, the State Secretary for Security has highlighted the "excellent work" of the Intelligence Centre for Terrorism and Organised Crime (Spanish acronym: CITCO), which in 2014 investigated more than 17,000 individuals and arrested over 6,000 related to this type of crime.

In addition, he said that in the fight against various forms of organised crime CITCO also detected 456 groups, of which 431 - in other words 94% - were totally or partially dismantled.

At the same time, Francisco Martínez highlighted the work carried out by the law enforcement agencies to combat human trafficking for sexual exploitation.

He pointed out that on the preventive front, 14,000 people, mainly women, were identified in 2014 as being in a situation of risk and, with respect to policing, 270 police reports were issued, 561 people arrested and 63 criminal groups dismantled.

On energy security, Francisco Martínez stated that Spain is a country that depends excessively on foreign sources when it comes to energy resources such as natural gas and oil, making it a vulnerable country from the energy point of view.

That is why he explained that currently the State Secretariat for Security is participating actively in the preparation of a new National Energy Security Strategy, which is due to be approved in the coming weeks.

The State Secretary then referred to the system of protection for critical infrastructures against terrorist attacks or other threats.

Here he explained that the National Centre for the Protection of Critical Infrastructures (CNPIC), which is part of the State Secretariat for Security, is responsible for developing strategic energy plans in the electricity, gas, oil and nuclear industry sectors.

Among the actions included is identification of the main critical infrastructures in the energy sector and design of the strategic measures necessary for their protection.

Marisol Moreno, the new councillor for Animal Protection in Alicante, says that she supports a national ban of bullfighting in Spain, and calls for a referendum to ban the activity throughout the municipality.

She says that ban is supported by a large number of government councillors, members of the Guanyar Alicante, which is made up by EU, Podemos and politicians from plataformas Ciudadanas.

She also states that there is some support from members of the PSOE and Compromís parties and that a council vote would see the municipal government position itself clearly behind the veto.

Indeed the new Councillor for Youth and Animal Protection, was out protesting within hours of being sworn in, taking time to attend the protest at the Plaza de Toros in support of the Alliance Platform ‘Animals Feel'.

The organization is also calling for the closure of the Bullfighting School in Alicante which teaches the ‘sport' to children aged between 9 and 16. Moreno said that she believes many of the children are simply "victims" of bullfighting and pressured into attending the school by their parents.

And the protests are just beginning with the next demonstration scheduled for 20 June the first day of the San Juan bonfires in the city. The rally will be held in the Plaza de la Estrella under the title of ‘Bloodless Fires'.

Discussion surrounding bullfighting bans are not only being held in Alicante. The new Los Verdes government team in Villena has already said that they will no longer allow bullfights to take place in the town.

In Alicante a further motion was passed to ban circuses in the city that use live animals in their shows.

Last year, Spain's parliament bestowed cultural-heritage status on bullfighting, making it much harder for further bans beyond that of Catalonia in 2010, and the Canaries in the early 1990s, to take effect. Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the former Socialist Party prime minister, has said that he is not in favour of prohibition, too, while the currently ruling Partido Popular party has rejected the notion completely.

Bullfighting is also enjoyed in some southern parts of France which added La Corrida, as it is known, to its list of “intangible heritage” back in 2011, but subsequently removed any mention of it from their website after outrage from animal rights activists

It seems hard to believe that in this so-called civilised age, such a cruel spectacle continues to flourish in Spain.

Bullfighting is yet another example of a barbaric ‘sport' and many people feel that it should have been banned several years ago.

Here on the Costa's golf is one of the biggest leisure time activities for both tourists and resident alike and with this in mind we have secured the services of Mike Probert of Costa Blanca Green Fee Services to provide a weekly round up of local golf...

We've had the rumoured affairs of former King Juan Carlos, the ongoing fraud trial of Princess Cristina, stripped of her title just last week. Well now it appears that the next generation of Spanish Royals are trying to get in on the act.

On the evidence of the tantrum that he threw at a Madrid leisure park last week, Fourth in line to the Spanish throne, Felipe Juan Froilán de Todos los Santos de Marichalar y Borbón, known as Frolián, would seem to have all the signs of growing into yet another spoilt brat .

Not wanting to stand in a line along with us mere commoners, and suggesting that it was his birthright to do so, the little prince attempted to jump the queue on one of the park's more popular rides, but as he tried to push in he received a ticking off from a school teacher who was also waiting in line along with his students.

According to a report in Spanish newspaper El Economista he promptly declared "I'm fourth in line to the Spanish throne."

The ride attendant then joined in then responding that being fourth in line to the Spanish throne did not mean he could push in line and get on the ride before the other visitors, who had been patiently queuing.
It was then that he threw his toys out of the pram making a racist slur at a young Chinese boy who also told him off for not queuing, shouting, "You shut up, you f...ing chino."

Spanish media reported that the prince was accompanied by several friends and a security guard. He eventually calmed down and moved away from the ride.

Unfortunately, as he continues to build a reputation as a royal bad boy, young Froilán seems to be hitting the headlines on far too many occasions, for the wrong reasons.

When he was 6-years-old, he famously kicked one of his female cousins at King Felipe and Queen Letizia's wedding. After his parents got divorced, his behaviour is then said to have gone downhill. Two and a half years ago he was kicked out of school for failing his end of year exams twice and in 2012 when he was just 14 years of age he shot himself in the foot (literally) while out hunting with his father Jaime de Marichalar.

During his last family holiday, he allegedly headbutted his cousin Paul and then tried to stab him with an iron skewer

But as with all rotten and spoiled children however, we can't really blame the children, in this case the young prince as much of the responsibility must sure by put firmly at the feet of his parents.

Its always good to hear of new visitors enjoying our wonderful island. However, I guess it is even better to learn about a resident that has been lurking on the island for thousands of years; not the same one, of course, but a family member.

No, I am not talking about some ancient drag queen, who is suddenly discovered in an embalmed condition in the cellar of a long forgotten show-bar in Playa del Ingles, but a new species of beetle.

Love them or hate them, beetles (not drag queens) are all part of the Canary Islands' package of experiences, alongside cockroaches, millipedes and spiders.

This new species of beetle is called Oromia thoracica, not the catchiest name I grant you, but the people who study such things can be a tad boring when it comes to catchy sounding names. It is a blind weevil that lives beneath the depths of the Agaete Valley, to the north-west of Gran Canaria.

This area has some of the oldest soil on the island, somewhere between 5 and 23 million years old, but it is hard to be accurate about such matters, which can be irritating for those who like detail.

This new beetle, now commonly known as Thor, popped into the radar in the subsoil in this fertile valley about six years ago.

Traps were duly laid, but Thor and his kind are canny creatures that deceived the investigators until recently when five of them fell into a trap following a heavy night out on the town. When they awoke two days later, it was too late, because the scientists had discovered them and, sadly, they were popped into a collecting jar.

Now this is the part where it all gets a little personal. What Thor lacks in size, since he is not a big boy at less that five millimetres long, he gains in his extremities that are longer and flatter than his cousins.

This is actually a very useful attribute, because it means that Thor and his family can adapt more easily to life in their underground environment and narrow cracks, where headspace is at a bit of a premium. Thor and his family are blind, but are all dressed in rather natty reddish-brown jackets, which is typical of subsoil insects.

The clever thing about Thor is his thorax, which extends over his head as a sort of heart shaped shield, perfect for the more romantically inclined mate, which makes him unique from other species, but his opening line of "Love me, love my thorax", can be a little daunting to a potential mate.

When it comes to fine dining, forget it, because Thor indulges in the rotting roots of bushes prevalent in the Agaete Valley, which makes him cheap, if not boring, to feed. Still, if you are looking for a cheap night out...

Apparently, the underground world of Gran Canaria is still a bit of a mystery, but there are many more surprises in store, to which I am sure many of our visitors will testify.

However, I am referring to biodiversity, since the island is considered to be a real hotspot for future discoveries. I am told that a new species is discovered on the island every six days or so, which is an amazing statistic. Meanwhile, I wish Thor and his family well, but he should warn the rest of his species to keep away from the traps that lie in wait in the Agaete Valley.

If you enjoyed this article, take a look at Barrie's websites: www.barriemahoney.com and www.thecanaryislander.com or read his book, ‘Expat Voice' (ISBN: 9780992767174). Available in paperback, as well as Kindle.

iPhone/iPad and Android Apps: ExpatInfo, CanaryIsle and CanaryGay now available.

© Barrie Mahoney

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