News from Andalucia & Costa del Sol
In association with
Week December 11th -
Price hikes on toll motorway
By David Eade
The new year has brought at least on bad tiding for regular users of the AP7 toll motorway along the Costa del Sol. The Ministry of Public Works has approved a new set of charges that came in to force on January 1, with prices rising by between 3.5 and five per cent.
The new cost for driving between Mijas and Marbella in a car or on a motorbike is 3.75 euros, compared with 3.60 euros in 2008. This represents a rise of 4.2 per cent, and refers to the normal tariff that applies between October and May, and not during peak holiday periods. The price jumps to 6.10 euros during the holiday season, also a rise of 4.2 per cent over last year..
New Zealander dies after brawl
NEWS Staff Reporter
A New Zealander died in hospital in Cádiz on Christmas Eve after being involved in a brawl in La Línea on December 19.
It is alleged that the victim and a Briton were involved in a row which first broke out in a pub in Gibraltar and then for reasons unknown the pair decided to go to La Línea where the deceased man lived.
Eyewitnesses say that the second encounter took place in La Atunara after a further row between the two. The injured man received a heavy blow to the head. Although there is a hospital in La Línea he was transferred to the Cádiz hospital which has better facilities for dealing with very serious brain injuries.
No details about the nature of the fight have been released. However on the Monday after the assault, four days after the incident, the family of the injured man made an official report at the National Police HQ in La Línea. They alleged that the other Briton was the instigator of the attack.
Dead baby found on Málaga beach
Autopsy results indicate the baby was alive when she was thrown into the sea
By Oliver McIntyre
Police are investigating the discovery of a dead newborn baby washed up on a Málaga beach on Sunday morning. The baby girl, believed to be less than a week old and Caucasian, was completely naked and still had the umbilical cord clamp attached.
The terrible discovery was made by a passerby who spotted the tiny corpse on the shoreline near the old Tabacalera building in the city's Huelin district shortly before 9.20am. Several witnesses later stated that the man at first thought it was a doll but upon closer inspection realised it was a real baby and immediately called emergency services.
Autopsy results indicated the presence of water in the lungs and other internal organs, leading investigators to believe the baby was alive when she was thrown into the water. The finding marked a turnaround from initial police theories that the baby was already dead when it was thrown into the sea.
ROAD DEATH DROP
Record reduction in traffic fatalities during 2008, to lowest rate since 1964
By Oliver McIntyre
Spain ended 2008 with the lowest traffic death toll the country has seen in more than four decades. Figures released last week by the Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT) showed a drop of more than a fifth on 2007.
The total number of fatalities in road accidents last year was 2,181, some 560 fewer than the previous year. Tráfico said the record low figure continued the trend seen over the last five years and attributed the improvement to the new legislation that introduced penalty points for driving licences, as well as heavier punishments for offenders. There is also, said the DGT, a heightened awareness of road safety amongst the public.
Last year's blackest months on Spanish roads were July and August with 231 and 260 deaths, respectively, while September, with 150 fatalities, recorded fewest and showed a drop of more than 40 per cent on the same month in 2007. The average number of deaths per day has fallen from 11 in 2003 to 5.9 last year, while the number of seriously injured in 2008 was 25 per cent down on the previous year.
Hot deals on home air-conditioning/heaters
300 euros off as climate control devices added to green-appliance subsidies plan
By Oliver McIntyre
People in the market for an air-conditioning/heater unit can save up to 300 euros following the Junta de Andalucía's announcement that climate-control devices are to be added to Plan Renove, its green-appliances subsidy scheme.
For the last two years the plan has provided government-subsidised discounts for the purchase of energy-saving refrigerators, freezers, washing machines and dishwashers. But this is the first time that AC-heater units have been included.
Under the plan, participating stores sell qualifying green appliances at an established discount and then get reimbursed by the Junta, which has set aside 14 million euros for the latest edition of the scheme.
The discount of 25 per cent, up to a maximum of 300 euros, is available for A/C-heaters rated Class A or with 'inverter technology'.