Bob James’ Spanish News Headlines – Visual format – Dateline: 18/03/24
Hundreds of farmers paraded through Madrid on tractors and on foot yesterday in the latest protest over the crisis facing the agricultural sector.
The farmers marched from the Ministry of Ecological Transition to the Ministry of Agriculture after the European Union proposed legislative changes to drastically ease the environmental rules of the Common Agricultural Policy on Friday.
Rallied by their trade union, farmers carried banners proclaiming “We are not delinquents” to the sound of horns and whistles. One decorated his tractor with a mock guillotine.
“It is as if they want to cut off our necks,” he said explaining his gesture.
Friday’s concessions in Brussels aimed to loosen compliance with some environment rules so EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said.
While the move was welcomed by the government, some environmental NGOs criticised the measures.
Yesterday marked the fourth demonstration in Madrid since the start of the wider European farm protest movement in mid-January.
A 20-year-old man is in a serious condition in Hospital after being shot several times in Puerto Banús.
The incident happened in the early hours of Saturday. Eye witnesses said the victim was outside a bar and several vehicles were involved.
The man was taken to the Hospital in Malaga.
This is the second shooting in the last week in Marbella and the fourth in the last month in the town, although none of them have resulted in fatalities.
On Monday the 11th two people on a motorbike fired several shots in the middle of the street in Nueva Andalucía. Five bullets hit the window of a restaurant, but no one was injured.
A month ago, another young man was injured after being shot twice in a street in Marbella.
An Irishman has been found dead in a police cell on the Costa del Sol.
The 30-year-old had been arrested on suspicion of domestic violence.
He was being held in police custody ahead of a first court appearance where an investigating judge was due to decide whether to keep him in prison or release him on bail.
The alarm was raised on Friday morning as an officer carried out routine checks in cells at a National Police station in Torremolinos.
Medical experts were unable to revive him and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The unnamed man is said to have received medical attention before being put in a police cell due to his “state of agitation.”
Denia´s famous Bous a la Mar celebration which takes the animals into the sea every July has been revised after the rise in protest demonstrations.
Last year, an incident in which a bull died from drowning, caught the attention and criticism from international press and animal welfare associations. Many have urged the local authorities to terminate the celebration.
Now, the local government finally has spoken out, announcing changes to this year’s programme.
Denia´s Festival Councilor stated: “It is not the time to remove the bulls completely,” but changes have been made.
This July, the Bous a la Mar, will no longer take place from 12pm until 2pm, as the hot weather conditions can negatively affect the animals and there will be no afternoon celebration on Sunday during the Festa Major.
Felix Redondo, the Councilor of the Vox group, emphasised the significance of the celebration, urging people to, “take into account the tourist impact” that this event has on the town.
Denia´s Mayor spoke out about the changes, saying the celebration has to “evolve.”
That’s the latest from TRE, I’m Bob James.
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