Allergic reaction to sun cream ruins holiday for British Tourist in Spain

The poor woman and her family came to Spain for the first two-week holiday in five years, but her time in Cala’n Forcat, Menorca was ruined by a bad reaction to a sun "protection" cream. She ended up needing emergency care in hospital for two days.

 

Before and after: Clare Myers

The product she used was the popular Piz Buin's 1 Day Long sun cream, but instead of protecting her skin, the mother-of-two was left looking "less model and more Michelin man", as her face swelled up.

42-year-old Clare Myers was rushed to the Clinic Juaneda on Menorca in the Balearic Islands, where she was immediately put on a drip to bring down the allergic reaction.

 

“My cheeks were so big I had to drink through a straw,” she said, adding that she was put on a course of steroids cream and antihistamines to try and stop the reaction.

 

Doctors in the A&E department were worried about her high blood pressure and feared that she would have problems breathing due to the swelling. 

 

According to Myers, "It ruined our holiday and it shouldn’t be on the market.”

 

"It cost us over €2,000 and it was our first two-week holiday in five years," she added.

 

The family originally thought her reaction was a result of mosquito bites until she underwent medical tests.

 

But the manufacturers, Johnson & Johnson insist that "Piz Buin 1 Day Long is a safe and effective sun protection product. It contains only permitted ingredients and is labelled according to legal requirements."

 

However, that said, apparently Marie Goldie, 37, (below) from Glasgow, suffered a similar reaction to Myers while on holiday in Tenerife, Spain in 2011. According to doctors in Tenerife, her reaction was so bad, they actually feared that she would need surgery to save her sight. 

 

 

Before and after: Marie Goldie 

The manufacturers did, however, add, “We have received a small number of complaints that Piz Buin 1 Day Long has led to skin irritation. These incidents equate to approximately 0.01% of sales.”

 

BBC'S Watchdog did an article on the subject on the Piz Buin sun cream in June. They reported that two years ago, Dr Ian White of the St John’s Institute of Dermatology and his colleagues noted that the allergy was caused by a particular chemical called C30–38 olefin/isopropyl maleate/MA.

 

Reportedly Dr White recommended that urgent action be taken to identify the cream's safety and called for the use of the chemical in Piz Buin’s 1 Day Long lotion to be re-assessed.

 

Two years down the line, the contents of the cream remain exactly the same.

 

Myers added, “There’s no warning on the packaging, nothing about doing a patch test.”

To the source: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/354272

Ali Campbell's UB40 to appear in Fuengirola's Plaza de Toros this August

The place is the Plaza de Toros de Fuengirola, located at Calle de Camilo José Cela, 12, Fuengirola, and the date to put in your diary is Saturday 10 August 2013 at 22h00.

With Ali Campbell's UB40 will be featuring all their best hits, including "Red, Red Wine" (see video below) and "Kingston Town", and supported by Loremba, this will be a night to remember.

Transport is available from other Spanish cities for convenience and at an affordable price and you can stay in town to take advantage of the weekend.

Tickets are available here, and local accommodation is on offer here.

* Photo by Eva Rinaldi from Sydney Australia
--

And the world cocktail 'Oscar' goes to Spanish bar tender

David Ríos, who owns and runs a café with his brother in Barakaldo, in Spain's Basque Country, has become the first Spaniard to win the prestigious and coveted Diageo Reserve World Class competition.

The competition is thought to be the "Oscar of Cocktails" and the biggest prize in mixology. At the end of the competition, which featured 15,000 hopeful bar tenders in 50 countries, 37-year-old Ríos was last man standing in the Diageo Reserve World Class 2013.

 

This year saw the sixth final in the competition, which took place on board the luxury Mediterranean cruise ship Azamara Journey. Local TV channel 20Minutos has a video showing Ríos at work winning the event.

 

Diageo Reserve quotes Ríos as saying: “I am thrilled and humbled to be awarded Diageo Reserve World Class Bartender of the Year amongst the incredibly talented group of bartenders at the Global Final. I have been truly inspired this week by the unequivocally high standards and limitless talent at the Global Final. I look forward to the year ahead, traveling the world as an ambassador for the program, meeting my peers, educating new talent, and learning about new cocktail cultures and trends around the globe."

 

He told 20minutos that he got started "a little bit accidentally" when he was just 18 and the bar where he worked hosted a cocktail party. However since then, he has worked as a sommelier in Michelín 2-starred restaurant Mugaritz and as maître d' in the Michelín-starred Sheraton Hotel in Bilbao, now run by the Melia hotel group.

 

The creation that got him the big prize was "el Ponche de Oro Vasco" ('Basque Gold Punch'), which is a technically demanding cocktail of Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve whisky, pineapple juice, grenadine and soda, adorned with an orange slice, anise and mint.

 

"My creations are based on classic cocktail-making, but with some modern touches," explained Ríos.

 

According to Diageo Reserve's Spike Marchant, “Diageo Reserve World Class 2013 was a closer-fought battle than we’ve ever witnessed before, particularly as some of our newer markets had advanced such a lot. But there could only be one winner and David Rios stood above the rest of the 43 finalists. His cocktails and appreciation of flavor were consistently outstanding, his technical precision was jaw-dropping, and he maintained his composure under extreme pressure. Throughout, his strength of personality shone through, reflecting the best traditions of bar tending.”

Ríos normally works at Café Kobuk in Barakaldo, in Spain's Basque Country, with his brother and fellow owner, serving up breakfasts, coffees, beer and, naturally, cocktails. He apparently also displays his art as a barman in Bilbao's "The Jigger Cocktail".

Ríos was planning to open a new establishment in Bilbao, but these plans will have to be put on hold, as he embarks on a year-long global tour as ambassador for the Diageo Reserve brand. At the same time, he will be starring in a TV show, to be aired in 100 countries, showing the best moments from the mixology competition. This month, a brand new guide book, featuring his cocktail creations, will be available on sale.

To the source: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/354241

Spanish mayor goes on hunger strike after town's water supply dries up

The mayor of Valle de Abdalajís, Victor Castillo, went on a hunger strike after the town's water supply dried up for the 8th year in a row.

Castillo is furious that damage to the town's aquifers by the train company, Adif, has not not been repaired and overcome.

The water supply was damaged in 2005 when the construction of a tunnel for the AVE train from Cordoba to Malaga hit the town’s main aquifer.  But while Adif agreed to promised to repair the damage and compensate the town, some clauses have been ignored.

Castillo's protest only lasted one day, however, after the infrastructure group stepped in promising to at least pay to have water brought to the town through the summer months. 

Every year since the damage was done, the small town of  2,800 people has to pay hundreds of thousands of euros to bring water in by truck.  In 2012 alone, it cost €380,000 to bring in enough potable water for the residents.

“We are a small town and our reserves simply cannot support these costs,” insisted the mayor.

“This year, I was not prepared to let it happen again.”

Read more Spain news.

Chinese residents call for justice in Fuengirola robbery & killing

Four youths were arrested on Saturday in connection with a robbery at a Chinese bazaar in Fuengirola, in which the owner was very seriously injured and died on Sunday. On Wednesday, Chinese residents protested at the town hall for justice.

Protests in the plaza in front of the town hall in Fuengirola are becoming a regular thing these days, but Wednesday's event is probably the most tragic of them all.

The background to the story is that on Saturday, four youths were arrested, after they robbed a Chinese bazaar in Fuengirola, beating the owner and seriously injuring him.

As his injuries were so severe, the owner was airlifted to a hospital in Málaga, and he regrettably passed away on Sunday.

Read more, see photos and video: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/354076

Stag night prank hits headlines in Madrid as 'armed kidnapping'

The media reported a "masked and armed kidnapping" in Madrid last Friday. Only later did the actual "victim" see the police reports and realized they were talking about his stag party!

Madrid police had received several calls from worried bystanders on Friday, saying that two masked gunmen had rushed a victim at gunpoint into a black Mercedes, in Salamanca, an upmarket Madrid neighborhood.

The story hit the media on Sunday. 37-year-old IT worker José Manuel Conde was browsing the Spanish daily El Mundo on Sunday and saw the kidnapping story. He immediately thought, "Shit, that's my stag party!"

He told the media that the unusual party pickup was his friend, David's idea. David, with the help of a third man, collected poor José, bundled him into the car and rushed him off to the party.

"We had to see how to get him there (to the party) and I had the idea of the kidnapping," David explained.

"We parked the car and the first thing we did was put on our balaclavas."

David did say that they had warned several people in the area, while they were waiting for José to finish work and that most people were laughing during the "kidnapping."

However, he added that "Someone else must have seen us from a distance and misinterpreted it."

David and his friend captured José, whose marriage is set for July 27, covered his head with a bag and threw him into the trunk of the Mercedes. 

"He believed it for about 20 minutes, he was scared, then he started laughing." 

"When I read the news in El Mundo I freaked out a bit," added David.

On seeing the media reports, David immediately phoned the police, who for some reason couldn't see the funny side of the story, and told him to visit the police station. Once there, he was sternly warned that they had been playing "a dangerous game". 

To the source: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/354094

Spanish policeman delivers baby in a car near Seville Airport

A couple were zooming along, en route to the hospital, when they got snarled up in traffic. An officer had to intervene and assist with the birth. As the baby was tangled in the umbilical cord, without his swift action the child might not have survived.

On June 27, while the National Police officer was conducting foot patrol in the airport area in Seville, he saw a vehicle travelling at high speed towards him.

 

The car became snarled up in stopped traffic in a tunnel at the airport. The man inside the car called to the officer, "Help, please help, my wife is in labor."

 

The officer then found the woman was actually in the process of giving birth and could even see the baby's head crowning.  He was then forced to intervene, as the baby was tangled in the umbilical cord. If not for his quick action, the newborn may have suffered some kind of injury.

 

The agent first notified the Health Services of the San Pablo airport that the woman was giving birth, but realized there was no time, and that he had to intervene himself.

 

First of all he needed to free up space in the vehicle, as the couple's two other children were in the car. He then reassured the mother, who was naturally in quite a state.

 

Finally, because of the strong contractions the women was experiencing, the agent was determined to deliver the baby safely.

 

He then untangled her from the cord and wiped the infant's airways clear of fluids, using the father's jersey. The agent, holding the baby girl in his arms, then gently massaged her back to encourage her to breath and cry.

 

He then wrapped up the baby and placed her in the arms of her mother.

 

The agent did not, however, have suitable tools to cut the umbilical cord, and had to await the arrival of the ambulance to complete the process and transfer both the mother and the newborn baby to the Hospital Virgen de Macarena.

 

While the health services transferred mother and baby, the agent took it on himself to deliver the couple's other two children to their grandparents' home.

 

The medical services from Seville airport commended the officer for his swift actions, which almost certainly saved the life of the newborn.

 

The mother and her new daughter were healthy and hearty, and recovered in the Neonatal Unit of the Hospital Virgen del Rocio.

To the source: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/354084

Migrants storm fences on Spain's North African border

In the latest of many attempts to cross the border, around 100 African migrants stormed the fence between Morocco and the Spanish territory of Melilla on Tuesday.  Five police officers were injured, according to Spanish authorities.

According to officials, around 40 of the migrants managed to cross the fence into the Spanish enclave of Melilla on the Mediterranean coast.  They stormed a section of the six-meter (20-foot) fence close to the Melilla airport on Tuesday morning.

Spanish government officials said in a statement:

"The immigrants were grouped in a grove of trees on the Moroccan side and carried out a massive coordinated assault which the Civil Guard managed to partially abort."

"In their efforts to defend the border fence, five civil guards were injured, none of them seriously for the moment."

Over recent months, authorities have reported hundreds of Africans attempting to enter the territory, either by sea or over the fence.  These incursions have left both migrants and security forces injured.

Around 25 people were injured on March 11, when they tried to breach the fence. According to a Moroccan human rights group, one of them, a Cameroonian migrant of 30, died of his injuries in Morocco. 

The Spanish territory of Melilla is home to around 80,000 people, and has one of the European Union's two land borders with Africa, the other being Ceuta to the west.

In the wake of violent unrest in northern Africa in recent years, there has reportedly been a surge in attempts to scale the fence.  On top of this, a crackdown on arrivals via Spain's Canary Islands has increased numbers trying a different way into Spanish territory.

According to human rights groups, many migrants are camping in the wild on the Moroccan side waiting for a chance to cross.

In protest at the treatment of migrants brought to Morocco by traffickers and allegedly abused by both the Spanish and Moroccan police, the medical aid group Doctors Without Borders this year closed its projects in Morocco.

Spanish police nab one of the UK's 'most wanted' (video)

Despite being in a totally hidden, anti-assault "panic room" in his villa in Málaga, the 41-year-old man was arrested on Saturday after being on the run for years. He had received a 24-year prison sentence for drug dealing in the UK, in absentia.

Mark Alan Lilley is originally from Warrington in Cheshire, and skipped bail in 2000 after being charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, amphetamines, cannabis and cannabis resin, and for possession of a firearm.

In his absence, he was convicted and sentenced to 24 years in jail, and since that time has regularly featured in "Most Wanted" lists published by the UK newspapers and also by crime prevention units including Crimestoppers UK.

He was described by the UK National Crime Squad as one of the “worst types of drug dealers” who used violence against people who “crossed him.”

Despite the fact that he has changed his appearance with tattoos, shaved head and body building, he finally got recognized and was found to be living in a luxury villa in the Alhaurín de la Torre area of Málaga, under a false name.

According to the police statement, Lilley's appearance had "changed considerably" and that he had become an expert in "vale tudo," a "no holds barred" Brazilian martial art.

Once the Spanish police had traced Lilley's suspected location, they called on GOES, a Special Security Task Force, who raided the property on Saturday.  The video below shows the actual raid.

On entering the house, police found two men and two women, but there was no trace of the suspect himself. Apparently, Lilley's dogs had alerted him to what was about to happen.

However, after a thorough search, officers uncovered a wardrobe with a false door in the master bedroom.  This led to a security door opening onto a "panic room" and it turned out Lilley was holed up in there, complete with a computer, monitoring the CCTV cameras.

According to the UK press, the six-foot tall man was found to be naked.

While sounding like something out of a TV series, Lilley has been arrested at last and will be returned to the UK to serve out his well-earned sentence.

To the source: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/353998

Brit dies from fall from 10th floor in Mallorca, Spain

According to local media, police in Mallorca are investigating the death of a 35-year-old British man who died after falling from the tenth floor of a building in the popular resort area of Magalluf on Tuesday.

Photo by: Rafael Ortega Díaz

The local newspaper, Diario de Mallorca reported that initially police thought the man had been murdered.

The man died after falling ten stories and landing on a car, parked in front of 5 Magalluf Avenue.  A local, out walking his dog, found the man's body at six o'clock on Tuesday morning.

The man, so far identified only by the initials D.L.K. was found wearing only a swimming costume and flip flops.

Further investigations on the scene revealed no signs of violence, and his injuries were consistent with his fall, according to police, who are now trying to determine if the man's death was a suicide or accident.

According to sources at the British Embassy in Madrid, they are aware of the death of a British citizen in Magalluf and consular services in Mallorca are providing support to the family of the man.

Police find hashish stuffed sardines in a luxury villa in Marbella

Police discovered the frozen sardines in a truck en route from Morocco this week, and found them to have a rather unusual herbal stuffing — around 900 kilos of hashish.

The operation, which was codenamed "Maria," was run by customs officials, who tracked the cargo from Morocco to a dockside warehouse in Cádiz, from where it traveled to a luxury villa in Marbella

 

Reportedly, police had been monitoring the gang for over a month, since the syndicate leader arrived in Spain from Morocco to plan the shipment. The operation led to the arrest of 14 suspected traffickers, together with the confiscation of cannabis worth more than €3.6 million.

 

A police spokesman told the media, “Officers found 325 kilos of hashish hidden inside the frozen sardines in the refrigeration truck.” “A further 570 kilos was intercepted in a warehouse of El Puerto de Santa María in Cádiz,” he added. 

 

Another hashish bust just down the coast: 

 

It seems this wasn't the only hashish bust in the past week, as apparently a luxury pleasure craft off Almuñécar’s Velilla beach was seized by the Guardia Civil with 300 kilos of hashish on board.

 

Two men, aged 36 and 31, both Spaniards and both from Málaga, were arrested in the bust. One of the men has been arrested before for drug running.

 

That particular action was part of Plan Telos, a police operation started at the beginning of the year to heighten land, sea and air vigilance over the North African drug route.

 

The proximity of Morocco to the Costa del Sol invites many illegal incursions of this kind and police have to keep up the fight constantly.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/353945

 

Seeking the "Best Beach in Spain" for 2013

The Spanish television channel, Antena3.com, has launched a competition to find the very best beach in Spain and is inviting people to vote for their favorites this summer.

With an incredible choice of sun and sand locations in several regions, many with the coveted Blue Flag status, it will be a strong race for the final.

 

 The competition is free for everyone to vote for their favorite beaches, separated by Spanish coastal region, through the Antena3.com website and on Twitter...

Read more and see the main contenders:
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/353871

Call the Police, I missed the concert!

Turns out Sting was in Marbella, just down the road, and I had no idea.

The British singer, with a spectacular career spanning three decades, wowed fans with renditions of his best loved hits, including Roxanne, Every Breath You Take and So Lonely.

Former Police frontman, Sting, performed in Marbella as part of his latest tour which will take in 60 cities around the world.

The concert was held on June 30 in the Puente Romano Tennis Club.  Damn.

Photo by David Shankbone

Spanish family rescued in Greek yachting drama

The drama arose during gale-force winds in the Aegean Sea. A Spanish family of five were stranded on their yacht and had to be rescued by helicopter airlift and speedboat.

The incident unfolded west of the Cycladic island of Kythnos, some 52 nautical miles (96 kilometers) from the port of Piraeus.

 

A Greek Merchant Marine Ministry spokeswoman told AFP, "We received a distress call from a Spanish woman on board a yacht with three children, who said her husband was on a life raft."

 

"We do not know exactly what happened because the lady was not very cooperative, possibly because her English was not very good," the spokeswoman said. "We hope to know more when they give their report to the coastguard," she said.

 

The woman and the three children were apparently rescued by speedboat, and her husband was later picked up from the raft by a Super Puma helicopter, as passengers on a nearby Greek ferry reportedly watched the incident. The spokeswoman added that the family would be reunited at the nearest Athens port.

To the source: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/353944

Spanish police detain owner of Nazi hate crime blog

On July 4, National Police agents arrested a 40-year-old man in Sabadell, Catalunya for running a blog able to publish ideas likely to cause discrimination, hatred and violence, on racist, anti-Semitic or ideological grounds.

The investigation started in the middle of November last year after agents detected the existence on the network of an online publication, participating in the national socialist ideology and strongly propagating the supremacy of the white race over all others. 

The man used his blog to disseminate ideas that can cause discrimination, hatred or violence against groups on ideological, racist and anti-Semitic grounds, taking advantage of the anonymity and speed of social networks.

There were more than one hundred weapons found in his home, including knives of different types and sizes, machetes, Samurai swords, axes, a cane stylet, ninja stars and daggers, baseball bats, mallets, American cuffs, wood, rubber and extendable tonfas, shackles, nunchakus (otherwise known as Japanese chain-sticks), and others.

Police also seized 3 revolvers, 4 guns and 1 air rifle, 40 cartridges of different calibers, self-defense sprays, Nazi-themed films and CDs, as well as 2 laptops, 3 hard drives and several mobile phones.

Research has been conducted by officials assigned to the Provincial Information Brigade of the Police Headquarters of Catalonia, in collaboration with the General Information Office, National Police.

To the source: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/353912

Gibraltarian & two others detained in Marbella for illegal weapons

Spain's National Police have this past week detained a Gibraltarian and two other men for the illegal possession of over 11 firearms, along with a large cache of ammunition.

The 44-year-old native of Gibraltar is suspected of being the ringleader of a Marbella-based illegal weapons network, thought to facilitate the sale of weapons to multiple criminal organizations.

 

Investigations began several months ago, after a gardener working in a Marbella urbanization found a collection of cartridges, and called the police.

 

The tip led the National Police to the home of the Gibraltar native in Marbella, which was close to where the cartridges were found, and who was already known to police for his involvement in drug trafficking.

 

The weapons seized by police included five assault rifles with long-range scopes, six handguns, including a pistol with laser pointer, and a pen gun.

 

Investigations also uncovered a large quantity of ammunition, a vehicle and 500 grams of hashish. 

 

Police believe that the man could have used the weapons in such illegal activities as armed robberies and drug raids.

 

Of the other two men detained in the raid, one was believed to have been working inconspicuously as a gardener, while the other had a criminal record for possession of weapons, ammunition and explosives. They are suspected to have helped store the weapons between transactions.

To the source: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/353904

Cádiz, Spain project world-first to convert sewage into bio-fuel

A waste-water plant in Chiclana de la Frontera, Cádiz will be first in the world to convert sewage into clean fuel to be used in vehicles. Under the project, dubbed All-gas, the plant is using sunlight to create algae, which in turn is converted to gas.

The project is part of a €12 million plan to produce alternative energies and reduce Spain’s reliance on foreign oil.

Factories and mills have produced waste-water gas for their own energy needs for some time now.

However, All-gas is the first to produce the bio-fuel with the intention of exporting it for the purpose of powering vehicles.

“Nobody has done the transformation from waste-water to bio-fuel, which is a sustainable approach,” said All-gas project leader Frank Rogalla.

“Carbon dioxide is used to produce algae biomass, and the green sludge is transformed into gas, a clean biofuel commonly used in buses or garbage trucks because it is less polluting," he added.

The waste-water plant is owned by the water company, Aqualia, and is still in its pilot phase at just 200 square meters.

As the process requires a lot of sun, Chiclana de la Frontera was a perfect choice, with its southern Andalucian location. However, another 300 small towns have also been pin-pointed as suitable for additional sites in the future, as the project grows.

By 2015, All-gas plans to be producing €100,000 of bio-fuel annually, on 10 hectares of land (equivalent to 10 football fields), which would be enough to power 200 cars or ten trucks for the year.

While researchers have stated that it may be years before algae bio-fuel is economically viable on a large scale, they do admit that the project will be able to replace a portion of Spain’s petroleum use, a good cause indeed.

Rogalla is even more optimistic though, saying, “The opportunity is such that 40 million people, roughly the population of Spain, would be able to power 200,000 vehicles from just flushing their toilet!” he said. A moving statement indeed!

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/353875