Puerto Banús bar owner has set himself his biggest ever charity challenge – to climb La Concha 40 times in 40 days.

Russell Soden

 

Russell Soden, a co-proprietor of Terra Blues in the port and Lick FM DJ, is taking on the mammoth trek to raise funds in memory of his daughter Coral, who he lost to cot death 14 years ago.

The money raised will go to the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (FSID), the UK's leading baby charity aiming to prevent unexpected deaths in infancy and promote infant health.

Russell, who has lived on the Costa del Sol for 11 years, is no stranger to fundraising challenges. In previous years he has trekked up Kilimanjaro, built a school in Africa and earlier this summer leapt out of an airplane with 14 other Marbella area bar owners in a sponsored skydive to raise 2600€

But the 40-day hike could be his biggest yet and he hopes to have raised 4000€ at the end of it all.

“Obviously, this cause is one that couldn’t be closer to my heart and over the last few years I have picked one big charity push each year, usually by getting involved in organised expeditions, to help raise money for it,” said Russell, aged 40, originally from Leamington Spa in the UK.

“I was struggling to find something different to do this year so first I managed to rope some other local bar owners into jumping out of an airplane. Then I thought I would try and do a more physical challenge close to home rather than flying halfway round the world.

“My initial idea was to climb La Concha twice a day for 20 days but then I thought that was a bit much – so I’ve made it a little gentler at 40 times in 40 days!

“It does seem like a huge task that will go on for well over a month but it’s too late to back out now. I have climbed La Concha a few times before so know what I am a letting myself in for but it is still a little daunting.

“I really hope that people can get behind me and support me on this and that we can raise a significant amount for this vital research and support from FSID which I know from first hand experience can be a huge help at a very difficult time.”

La Concha is 1,215 metres high at the western end of the Sierra Blanca mountain range. Russell will start his first ascent on 19 September from Refugio de Juanar. It is 11 kilometres to the summit and back and expects it to take about six hours each time.

You can sponsor Russell by www.justgiving.com/russell-sodeno or find out more on the terra Blues website at www.terra-blues.com, or call 686 908 016

Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_31881.shtml#ixzz1XXh5I0DG

Malaga beaches are now accessible to blind people thanks to technology

 

The capital of the Costa del Sol is the second Spanish city to implement an electronic device that enables blind people to enjoy a swim at the beach. The two beaches of Malaga capital where these devices are installed are El Dedo and La Misericordia. These two beaches are as well adapted for the disabled and have amphibious chairs and specialized staff. Devices for the blind consisting of a wristwatch with an audio system that provides the swimmer at all times information about the depth and with an alert button through which rescuers come to help them out of the sea. This service is available to swimmers during the beach season, from June 15 to September 15, from 11 am to 8 pm.

Death causes concern in the Sierra Nevada

 

The death last Saturday of a 42 year old worker from Cetursa, the company which runs the Sierra Nevada ski resort, has reset alarm bells ringing in Granada. The 42 year old died of a heart attack in his home in Güéjar Sierra and it’s not the first time that an employee at the Sierra Nevada has died so young. Union Commisiones Obreras calculates that some 20 employees have died over the past ten years from heart attacks, while a similar number have had to leave their posts because of permanent incapacity. Workers at the ski station think it is because they work at altitude, and although they get an extra payment for doing so, they are increasingly worried about their health. The first symptom of working at altitude is tiredness as the number of red cells in the b blood increases. Workers are now calling on the Junta, the owner of the Cetursa company, to carrying out an exhaustive study into the risks of working at such a height to see if there are preventative measures which can be taken. President of the workers committee, Miguel Ángel Vargas, has told the press that a study was started three years ago, and now because of the recession there is no money to complete it.

Pilots complain of laser lights at Málaga airport

 

The Spanish Air Safety Agency has called on the local authorities in Alhaurín de la Torre, Málaga to control the lights coming from discotheques on the Costa del Sol. The high powered spotlights and laser lights fired up into the sky to draw attention to their venues are bothering pilots trying to land and take off at Málaga airport. The pilots say the problem is worse in the summer and obviously on night time flights. There is a body in Spain, The Department of Operative Coordination of Airspace, which can inform the discos about the conditions which are attached to using such lights, limiting the bother to pilots and allowing the normal development of services at the airport. The Department is requesting that they are allowed to control new opening licences on such establishments to ensure correct use near airports. Alhaurín de la Torre Town Hall commented that they have already sent a local policeman to patrol the airport area, to stop anybody pointing laser lights at the planes.

Marbella Town Hall debt continues to increase

 

Despite paying off a million € every month to Hacienda and Social Security, the debt at Marbella Town Hall is continuing to increase. The million € payment is only covering the interest generated on the debt amassed in the 15 years of the GIL administration in the town when the Mayor was the late Jesús Gil y Gil. The debt which remains is put at some 300 million €, and the administration led by the PP Mayor, Ángeles Muñoz, says the Town Hall is suffocated. Three moratoria and different agreements reached between the Town Hall and Central Government have not solved the matter. Hacienda and Personal coordinator, Carlos Rubio, has said that there are already judicial sentences in favour of the Town Hall worth some 400 million €, and he told La Opinión de Málaga that this should be taken into account. The Mayor travelled to Madrid on Monday to meet with the PP Economy Spokesman in Congress, Cristóbal Montoro to discuss the matter. They agreed to present Congress with the proposal to allow debt payments to be linked to the judicial processes which are open, investigating the differet corruption cases which have emptied the public purse in Marbella. The PP notes however that the PSOE does not want to get implicated in the problem.

PM denies Spain on verge on bailout

 

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero insists Spain will not require an international bailout, and will "survive tensions" that are sweeping the markets. "Spain, of course, will finance itself," he told a news conference in Ankara with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that was carried on Spanish television. "We will survive these tensions. They are not good for our economy, but we will survive them."We have strength. We have taken measures for that and we planned for the scenarios that we might face in the last part of this year." His remarks came a day after a union leader claimed that Zapatero told unions on August 17 that Spain was on the verge of a financial rescue. But the Labour Union chief, Ignacio Fernandez Toxo, backtracked on Tuesday, saying Zapatero did not, in fact, use those words. Madrid's IBEX-35 index of leading shares fell 1.61 per cent by the close to fall to 7936.4 points, below the symbolic 8000-point barrier. On Monday, the market closed down 4.69 per cent. Spain's biggest unions were holding an evening march in Madrid to protest against a legislative reform that will enshrine balanced budgets in the Spanish constitution. "The reform of the constitution to guarantee long-term budget stability is a reform that helps us maintain our credibility to keep up our financing capacity and reduce tensions," Zapatero said. He called for "concerted action between Europe, America, emerging countries and the IMF" in order to "regain growth momentum and support the liquidity of the financial system". Finance Minister Elena Salgado earlier also denied that Spain had been on the verge of needing a financial rescue itself. "Like other countries we suffered debt market tensions in August and that led to the ECB intervening, but since then we have been very far from a rescue," she said. Under the constitutional change, Spain must stick to a long-term deficit cap except in times of natural disaster, recession, or extraordinary emergencies and even then only with approval of the lower house of parliament. Although unions oppose the change, it easily swept through the lower house with support from both the ruling Socialists and conservative opposition Popular Party. It is expected to cruise through a Senate vote Wednesday.

Ailing Spanish bank CAM posts massive first-half loss

 

Spain's struggling Caja Mediterraneo (CAM), under state control since in July, Monday posted first-half losses of 1.136 billion euros ($1.602 billion). It also reported a non-performing loan ratio of 19 percent, far above the average of 6.416 percent for the sector in June. The Bank of Spain announced on July 22 that it would take control of the CAM through an injection of 2.8 billion euros and the opening of a 3.0 billion euro line of credit. It now plans to sell-off the ailing savings bank. On Friday, the business daily Cinco Dias said the CAM may need about 1.0 billion euros in additional public funds. The CAM was one of five Spanish banks that failed new European stress tests on July 15 to see if they can survive a major crisis. Spain's lenders, especially its regional savings banks which account for about half of all lending in the country, have been heavily exposed to bad debt since the collapse of the property sector at the end of 2008. The government and Bank of Spain have forced a wave of consolidation in the sector this year and are requiring banks to quickly increase the proportion of core capital they hold to above international norms. CAM, based in the eastern coastal region of Alicante which was one of the worst hit by the bursting of the property bubble, had been set to merge with three other savings banks but the deal fell through earlier this year.

Surgeons repair Spanish king's ruptured tendon

 

Spanish surgeons successfully repaired 73-year-old King Juan Carlos's ruptured Achilles tendon on Monday, medical and palace officials said. The popular monarch had surgery to the Achilles tendon of his left foot at the private USP San Jose hospital in Madrid and has returned to his Zarzuela palace on the outskirts of the capital, they said. "The procedure was carried out successfully under epidural anaesthetic," the hospital said in a statement. Surgeons repaired the tendon through open reconstruction surgery, strengthening it with a transplant from the king's own body and with plasma rich in growth factor, it said. In typical open surgery, a surgeon makes a long incision along the back of the leg and sews the broken tendon back together. The ankle is often immobilized for up to three months afterwards. "His majesty is feeling well at the Zarzuela palace, where he will continue his recovery," said the statement, signed by operating surgeon Angel Villamor and the palace's chief physician, Avelino Barros. The king underwent surgery by the same team on June 3 to place an artificial joint in his right knee and he has since been seen in public relying on a crutch. He will now embark on a "long programme of rehabilitation" and the heel will be temporarily immobilised, the palace had said earlier. The king had a benign tumour removed from a lung in May 2010 when he was kept four days in hospital and then had 10 days' rest at a private Barcelona clinic. In September last year the royal household said he had completely recovered from the lung operation and would not require further tests. Born January 5, 1938, in Rome, Juan Carlos was proclaimed king November 22, 1975, two days after the death of General Francisco Franco who had designated him as his successor since 1969. After Franco's death, the king promised to rule for all Spaniards, signing a new constitution three years later and defending parliamentary democracy from an attempted right-wing military coup in 1981.

GUARDIA CIVIL caught three people in Almeria using instruments which are banned for recreational underwater fishing

 

GUARDIA CIVIL caught three people in Almeria using instruments which are banned for recreational underwater fishing.

 

They seized the fish which they had caught and handed it over to a charity.

They could be fined up to €60,000. One of them had already been reported for a similar event on another occasion. 

Councillor in trouble for urinating in the street in San Roque

A political row has broken out in San Roque, Cádiz, after the local Socialist councillor, Juan José Puertas, was caught urinating in the street during the local fair last month, and was then involved in a difference of opinion with local police agents at the doors of the Town Hall.

Left wing candidate at the last local election, Franco González, has said that both incidents are well known in the village and he is waiting for the Mayor, Juan Carlos Ruiz Boix, to take some form of disciplinary action. If he doesn’t the left winger says he will demand the resignation of Puertas.

PP councillor Fernando Palma noted that the two local police involved in the incident, a man and a woman, have now been disciplined, and ‘that does not seen a coincidence’. He said the Socialist was not appropriately dressed, it was out of office hours, and the police did not recognise him. That was why they denied him access to the Town Hall building. He said there were complaints presented by the policeman and woman to the courts.

The PP also wants action from the Mayor who, up to now, has remained quiet on the matter. Previous Mayor from the PP, Fernando Palma, said urinating in the street is ‘lamentable behaviour’ from a public servant.

 

Reporting restrictions in the Astapa case, which is investigating alleged corruption at Estepona Town Hall, have been lifted

Reporting restrictions in the Astapa case, which is investigating alleged corruption at Estepona Town Hall, have been lifted in a ruling from the investigating judge made public this Thursday.

EFE indicates that the secrecy order which has been in place on the investigation until now has been lifted on the entire case summary.

The case broke in June 2008 with the arrest of Estepona’s then Socialist Mayor, Antonio Barrientos, and other suspects including councillors, politicians, businessmen and municipal technicians. It followed a complaint presented by two Socialist councillors, David Valadez and Cristina Rodríguez. Valadez took over as Mayor after Barrientos was arrested, remaining in the position until the Partido Popular were voted into power at the Town Hall in the local elections which were held this May.

A total of 99 people are listed as suspects in Astapa. The latest five were charged in July, three of whom have already been questioned by the judge. The remaining two are expected to be called to court this month.

The Bank of Spain says more than 1.7 billion € worth of pesetas are still in the hands of the public

The backs of Spanish sofas or the bottom of drawers still hold 1.713 billion € worth of notes and coins in pesetas. In times of crisis such as now the amount is even more remarkable; enough to buy all the shares of the BME, the Spanish Stock Markets Holding which groups together the four Spanish markets.

The amount is also the same as the budget for the Judiciary in the State Budgets for 2011.

The Bank of Spain says that at the end of July there were still 901 million € in pesetas notes, and 812 million € in peseta coins, showing that 16 million € had been exchanged since the same time in 2010.

If have pesetas you can still exchange them, but the Bank of Spain warns that only coins and notes which were legal currency at the introduction of the Euro will be accepted. That means the notes issued after 1997, and those dating from 1939 and the Civil War will have to be examined to determine their value.

Meanwhile the number of 500 € notes in circulation has fallen, according to the Bank of Spain. Data for July shows that there are 500 € notes worth a total of 50.717 billion € in circulation, 170 million less than in June, and 2.378 billion € down on July 2010.

Tourist carves initials on Spain's Alhambra

An official at Spain's Alhambra palace says a Jordanian tourist was caught carving his initials with a coin into a wall of the complex that is considered a gem of Moorish architecture.

The official says the incident took place Aug. 13 and the man was detained, spent a night in jail and went before a judge before being released pending trial.

He is charged with damaging a building classified as part of Spain's historic heritage.

The official said the spot where the man etched can be restored.

The official at the Alhambra's board of trustees spoke on condition of anonymity in line with board policy.

The Alhambra, in the southern city of Granada, is a UNESCO world heritage site and Spain's most-visited tourist attraction.

 

International child abduction between Spain and Great Britain

SUMMER AND other holiday times always bring an increased risk that children may be taken out of their home countries against the wishes of one or the other parent, especially if a marriage or other relationship is breaking down. If this has happened or you are afraid that it might happen, what can you do?  

Both Spain and the UK are signatories to the Hague Convention and Luxembourg Convention, both of 1980 designed to reduce the number of disputes and shorten the procedures for returning children to the countries where they are normally resident and to the care of the parent legally entitled to custody. The conventions also provide a mechanism for arranging visits under judicial supervision by children to the parent who does not have custody.
The conventions apply only to children under the age of 16. The principle is that a child should not be wrongfully removed from the country where they are normally resident. The technical term is ‘Habitual Residence’ which is not the same as nationality: a child of British nationality will be returned to Spain after being wrongfully taken to the UK if the child’s normal home is in Spain.
If you believe that your child is in danger of being abducted from Spain you should keep the following information ready:
The child’s full name, place and date of birth, passport or identity document number, date and place of issue, a photograph of the child and a physical description

The full name, aliases, place and date of birth, passport details, photograph, occupation, connections to particular places, and likely departure details of the person who you believe may attempt to take the child

Copies of any agreements or Court Orders concerning custody, and the child’s birth certificate, and in Spain the ‘libro de familia’
Time is of the essence in these cases. Under the conventions a child may not be returned to their original country of habitual residence if more than one year has passed and a Court is satisfied that the child has settled down in the country to which they have been taken.
Under Article 225 of the Spanish Criminal Code child abduction to another country is punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment unless the abductor advises the parent or guardian in Spain of the whereabouts of the child within 24 hours and agrees to return the child immediately.
In England & Wales under the Child Abduction Act 1984 it is a criminal offence for a parent or guardian or any person who has a custody or residence Court Order relating to the child to take the child out of the United Kingdom without the consent of any other person having rights to the child.
If a child has been unlawfully taken out of Spain a standard form, which is available from the Ministry of Justice website (www.mju.es), requesting the return of the child must be completed and sent to the Ministry of Justice by fax together with the following documents:
•    a copy of the birth certificate
•    any Court Order for the custody of the child that may exist
•    A photo of the child
•    A photo of the person who is believed to have carried out the abduction
•    All documents which show that the child is normally resident in Spain
In the UK, the parallel procedure is to contact the International Child Abduction and Contact Unit via the office of the Official Solicitor (www.officialsolicitor.gov.uk) with similar information but which shows that the child is normally resident in the UK. If you do not know where your child has been taken it is best to contact the local police who will issue a ‘Port Alert’ to circulate your child’s name and details to all UK points of departure.
If the child has actually left the country, the police in the country where the child is believed to have been taken will be alerted and once the child is found, proceedings will be started for their return to their home country. However the search for the child and the proceedings can take time, especially in the face of determined efforts by the abductor to hide themselves and the child.
Where there is no international convention between countries, proceedings for the return of children can be very much more difficult.
In these situations it is vital to be prepared and to act quickly if the worst happens. We at Link Point can help you prepare an emergency file ready for use if your child is taken without your consent, or to help deal with the authorities in an emergency.

 

Sasha Baron Cohen has started filming for his new film, ‘Finchley Dreams’, at the Plaza de España in Sevilla.

The newly decorated Plaza de España in Sevilla - EFE

To be released across Europe under the name, ‘The Dictator’ it sees the actor who is already well-known as Borat, Bruno and Ali G take on a heavy beard and dark glasses to become the dictator of an unnamed Arab country. The Plaza de España has been decorated to become his presidential palace.

It’s the first Cohen film to be financed by Hollywood, and reports indicate that the 39 year old actor has been given ‘carte blanche’. Supporting him and also in Sevilla currently filming are Megan Fox and Ben Kingsley. The production is produced by Paramount Pictures and the Spanish company, Kanzaman Productions.

It’s estimated the filming in Sevilla, which will be concentrated in the Plaza de España on August 30 and 31 from 9am to 9pm both days, will bring a million € to the city in hotel room costs for the actors and crew alone. Total budget is estimated at 36 million €.

Two castings have already been carried out in the city to select 1,500 extras. Also 150 dancers have been selected to make up the dictator’s security contingent.

On September 1 the crew moves to the old terminal at Sevilla airport where they will shoot scenes of the dictator descending from a plane.

The film has a projected premier date of May 11 2012 in New York, and will open elsewhere in later weeks.