Did the earth move for you last night? (There was an earthquake!)

Jimena slept right through it

At 4.11 am and at 4.8 on the Richter scale

ANDALUCÍA / Jimena From what we gathered this morning, not many people felt it the earthquake that took place some 46 kilometres underground. The epicentre was located northeast of Jimena de la Frontera and was felt as far away as Cádiz, Málaga and Sevilla, though there are no reports of damage. Residents of Arriate, Manilva and Estepona, all in Málaga province, as well as in La Línea de la Concepción, did report feeling the earth 'move'. The 112 emergency number registered some ten calls on the subject. The media in Andalucía had full reports, to which the vast majority of Jimena residents, including Prospero, woke this morning to hear about it.

Twenty-five brothel owners arrested in police operation

Platinium brothel, Los Cortijillos (Los Barrios)

Establishments in Cádiz, Sevilla, Huelva and Córdoba are closed · Platinium Club in Los Cortijillos is one of them

SEVILLA A network of six brothels located in Andalucía were closed on the instructions of a court in Sevilla. There are 25 people arrested and another 50 on various charges. All of the detained went before the judge, and all made use of their right not to speak. Among them are a former PSOE Councillor of Ayamonte, Huelva, and the president of the Chamber of Commerce there. Most of them have had their ID documents and passports confiscated, so they can't leave the country, and they must report to the court regularly. Charges variously include belonging to a criminal organization, several degrees of crimes related to prostitution, tax evasion, money laundering, against the rights of foreigners, traffic of influence and in human beings.

19 firearms seized from tobacco smugglers

21 people under arrest and 60,000 cigarette packs confiscated · La Línea connection

SEVILLA The Guardia Civil have arrested 12 people allegedly belonging to a tobacco smuggling gang in the first phase of Operation Pisonova carried out in the provinces of Sevilla and Cádiz, where the gang has been dismantled. More arrests are expected. Aside from the tobacco, the GC also confiscated ten vehicles, six real firearms and 13 simulated ones that could be made to fire real bullets, plus €166,000. The operation began several months ago, when the GC received a tip-off that there was a gang in the Aljarafe area of Sevilla possibly involved in criminal activity. Further investigation led to a well organized and structured with close connections to another gang based in La Línea and another in the centre of Sevilla, both used for distribution purposes. So far, nine properties, homes and storage units, have been searched in several areas of Sevilla, as well as La Línea. Other searches have been made at shops, presumably looking for contraband tobacco.

Special trip to Isla Mágica in Sevilla for Jimena Day

Good value fun day out!

JIMENA At about this time every year the fun resort at Isla Mágica holds a Special Day for most if not all villages and towns in its catchment area. August 22nd is Jimena's Day (We will try to find out when the rest of the Campo's days are, but no promises). As the poster says, adults over 25 pay €26, 13 to 25s, €24 and 5 to 12s, only €22. The price includes entrance tickets and transport to Seville. But places are limited, and lists will be closed on August 17, so better hurry! Reserve your places at Jimena town hall, the municipal office in San Pablo and, on Tuesday only, at the Reina Sofía Cultural Centre in Estación. (We've been there and the kids love it!)

Born to save her brother

Photo: elmundo.es

SEVILLA (Agencies) Little Estrella (Star - lovely name) was born so the doctors could use the blood from her umbilical chord to save her brother Antonio's life, 6, who needed a bone marrow transplant. Estrella, born  on February 11, was genetically selected to be totally compatible with her brother. After the operation carried out at the Virgen del Rocío Hospital in Seville, brother and sister are back home, where Antonio can no0w lead a perfectly normal life after recovering from bone marrow aplasia, an otherwise incurable disease that prevents healthy cells from being produced. The Virgen del Rocío Hospital is one of very few centres that can perform the kind of genetic selection procedure necessary for these types of hereditary diseases.

Woman dies in shootout at bank branch

Ambulance crew screening off the
bus stop where the woman was
shot.

SEVILLA (Agencies) A woman died after being caught in crossfire between robbers and Local Police. The incident began at about 8.40 this morning when the police surprised two men trying to hold up a branch of Banca Cívica in San Juan de Aznalfarache. When they tried to escape, the robbers began shooting at the police, during which Concepción Barreiro, about 50, who was waiting at a bus stop with her daughter but got caught up in the cross fire. Local sources she lived on the same street as the bank, and took care of a quadriplegic son and her 90 year old mother. The National Police have announced that the robbers have been detained, one of whom is seriously wounded in the chest and has been taken to hospital. NP sources say that the robbers had held up the same branch but were never caught.

Head of layoff-fund scam and driver “spent 25,000 euros a month on drugs,” court hears

(Photo: noticias.terra.es)

Trujillo was sent to prison without bail

SEVILLA (El País / Javier Martín Arroyo) The former chauffeur of an ex-official in the Andalusian administration at the head of an alleged multimillion-euro layoff scam involving public funds said on Tuesday that he and his boss spent tens of thousands of euros of the region’s money on cocaine every month. Juan Francisco Trujillo, the then-driver of regional employment office chief Javier Guerrero, told Judge Mercedes Ayala that he and his boss spent around 25,000 euros a month on cocaine that they shared in “marathon sessions.” They consumed up to five grams a day. Trujillo received 1.3 million euros from a 650-million slush fund managed by Guerrero that was allegedly used to pay generous but unmerited early retirement packages to friends, family members and political allies.>>>

Sevilla, chosen for 2011 Davis Cup Finals

Davis Cup Final, Seville, 2004

SEVILLA (EFE/Agencies) The Royal Spanish Tennis Federation has selected Seville as the venue for the Davis Cup final in early December, when the host nation will square off against Argentina. The federation said Wednesday it opted for Seville ahead of Valencia, which initially appeared to be the frontrunner. The race to host the Davis Cup final began on Sept. 18, when Spain and Argentina wrapped up their semifinal victories over France and Serbia, respectively. Because the last Davis Cup tie between the two countries - the 2008 final - was played in Argentina, it was Spain's turn to be the host nation.Madrid, Malaga, Seville and Valencia were all in the running but the federation narrowed the selection down to the latter two cities and eventually decided to propose that Seville host the event from Dec. 2 to 4.>>>

Gun battle arrest for father of murdered child, now out on bail

SEVILLA (El País and Agencies) Juan José Cortés, the father of Mari Luz Cortés, a five-year-old girl whose 2008 abduction and murder in the El Torrejón neighborhood of Huelva shocked the nation, was on Wednesday arrested in the same area of the city following a shootout between the Cortés family and that of his wife, Irene García. He, and all the rest of the acused in the case, were released 'with charges' yesterday, and will have to face charges. The incident took place at around 2.30am on Wednesday morning for reasons as yet unknown to investigators. Those involved used shotguns and one person was taken to the hospital with a head wound before being subsequently discharged. Four further members of Cortés' family - his father, his brothers Diego and Francisco, and a brother-in-law - were also arrested.>>>

Three men charged with exchanging daughters and nieces among themselves for abuse

SEVILLA (Agencies) Two brothers-in-law have been charged with a host of indictments based principally on their having allegedly exchanged their daughters/nieces for sexual abuse. Accused also are the girls' mothers for consenting to the abuse, an uncle of the girls and a family friend. The charges include continued abuse, sexual violence, corruption of minors and family abandonment, among others. The two fathers have been in prison for eight months but are at present out on bail to prepare for the trial. Apparently, the matter was discovered in 2008, when the three girls involved -aged six to eight at the time- drew the attention of teachers at their school for signs of abuse, after which they were examined by doctors. The children were removed from their homes and are now in care.

Nick Nolte shot in Sevilla

SEVILLA (Agencies) It's true, Nick Nolte shot a film in Sevilla. Actually, the veteran American actor is still shooting a movie under the direction of  young Spanish director Xavi Puebla. It is called A puerta fría, which can be translated as Cold Call. The movie is about a star salesman who is in a slump and threatened with losing his job, played by Antonio Dechent. Nolte admitted he knew no Spanish and would probably mispronounce the name of his director, but it was nevertheless "an honour to work with these actors." The 70 year old actor, known for his fondness of independent films, added, "It is a terrific experience to work with such good people, and a script of this caliber. It is one of those great European movies you could never find in the US."

Gay couple file complaint after they were ejected from April Fair in Sevilla

SEVILLA (Agencies) A couple have made a formal complaint to police in Seville after they were stopped from dancing together at the city's yearly April Fair (Feria de Abril), on the basis that they were gay.José Carlos Iglesias and Juan Carlos Cabezas were stopped by a married couple from dancing traditional sevillanas together in one of the many casetas (marquees) that host the festivities. According to Iglesias, aged 31, when the woman realized that the couple were gay, "she ordered the group that was playing music to stop," and then alerted her husband, who was the "president" of the particular tent. According to the complaint, the married couple then approached the gay men, and told them "they could not dance, that they were in a respectable caseta, and that two men could not dance together." The men were then invited to leave the tent, "on the basis that it was private property."
This is the second year running that such an incident has taken place at the Seville Fair, after a gay couple were also discriminated against in 2010 after they kissed one another. Discrimination on grounds of gender is illegal in Spain.
 

17 arrests in voodoo prostitution ring

ALGECIRAS (Agencies/Photo: illustration only) Two people were arrested in Algeciras in an operation involving the National Police in Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla, Tarragona and Las Palmas as well., in a total of 17 arrests. The gang forced women to prostitute themselves using threats of voodoo practices, according to a press release from the Jefatura Superior de Policía in Madrid. The operation came about after a woman was offered witness protection; she reported that a gang had obliged her to prostitute herself in the street when she was tricked into coming to Spain under offers of employment. The police say that the gang was perfectly structured and made up of men from Nigeria, Benin, Niger, Algeria and Morocco, through which the victims were transported into this country. Constant beatings and voodoo threats were the norm. Aside from charges related to kidnapping, pimping and people traficking, the gang is also accused of using false documents and credit card fraud. They are all 'at the disposal of the courts'.

Castellar's Ismael Vaca becomes youngest Andalucía deputy

CASTELLAR (EuropaSur) Ismael Vaca, of Castellar, took possession of his seat in the Parliament of Andalucía, which he takes over from Antonio Fernández. At age 23, that makes Vaca the youngest parliamentarian in this autonomous region. He is in the last year of engineering studies in Algeciras, which he says he will put aside for the moment to concentrate on his new position. Ismael, the first person from the village to become a member of the parliament, is a nephew of Castellar Mayor Francisco Vaca, who looked on proudly at the investiture in Sevilla.

Seville prosecutor studies lawsuit against Daily Mail for revealing 10 year old mother's photo and name

SEVILLA (Agencies) The Prosecutor in Seville is looking into taking the Daily Mal to court for revealing the name and face of a 10 year old Romanian girl who gave birth to a baby last week in Jerez (see What's in the future for 10 year old mother? on Alexander Bewick). The Mail went ahead and published the full name of the mother and the father of the child, a cousin of 13, despite warnings from the Prosecutor's Office in Seville against doing so. In Spain it is not allowed to reveal the name or picture of any minor involved in what might be a crime, which this birth may yet turn out to be.

ORANGE WEATHER WARNING for Cádiz, Sevilla and Málaga, from midnight tonight

PROVINCE  The Spanish weather agency AEMET, has issued an orange weather warning for the provinces of Cádiz, Sevilla and Málaga, and parts of Catalonia and Valencia, that begins in the South at midnight tonight and ends at 15.00 tomorrow. Heavy rain storms reaching up to 30 litres per m2 per hour are expected with a probability of between 40 and 70%, accompanied by thunder and lightning. Much of the rest of the country is under a yellow alert, as you can see in the image.

Four dead in fireworks factory blast

SEVILLA

Four people are dead and one severely injured at a small fireworks factory in Benacazón, Seville. The blast , which occurred shortly after 1pm yesterday, completely destroyed the family-owned factory, killing one of the owners, a relative and two workers. The injured man, who helped out occasionally, has burns on 98% of his body. All were under 45. As yet there are no official statements as to the cause of the explosion and identification of the bodies has to be via DNA samples.

Díaz Lima finishes documentary on unprecedented medical accomplishment

ALGECIRAS
(Photo: EuropaSur) Documentary film maker Juan Manuel Díaz Lima finished shooting a documentary in Algeciras on the life of Andrés Mariscal, who was subjected to an unprecedented medical procedure a year ago, receiving his brother's umbilical chord blood to save him from severe and, until then, uncurable congenital anaemia. The story with a happy ending received hardly any media coverage, which led Díaz Lima to make the documentary.>