Afghan boy who wore Lionel Messi shirt made from plastic bags meets his hero [VIDEO]

Almost a year ago, photos of six-year-old Murtaza Ahmadi went viral, as he proudly wore a Messi shirt made from plastic grocery bags.

Photo by Fanny Schertzer / CC BY 3.0

Finally, young Murtaza Ahmadi has met his hero, Lionel Messi, after his story touched the hearts of people all over the world. It happened this week, when the young boy walked out onto the football pitch with the Barcelona star footballer.

Arif Ahmadi (Murtaza's father): "He kept crying for days asking for the shirt until his brother made one from plastic bag to make him happy" pic.twitter.com/9XqEvAX3j3

— Barça News Forum (@BarcaNewsForum) December 14, 2016

Barça was playing a friendly against Al Ahli in Qatar at the time and Murtaza was flown from his home to meet both his idol, Messi, and the rest of the Barça team. This meeting was arranged by the organizing committee of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The young boy was thrilled to have his dream come true, saying with a big smile on his face, “I’m very happy to have met my hero. It is a dream for me.” He also wore a real Barcelona jersey to the event. Murtaza accompanied the Barça team on to the pitch just before Tuesday’s match kicked off, firmly holding the five-time Ballon d’Or winner by the hand.

Little Murtaza Ahmadi who once wore a plastic 'Messi jersey' bag has finally met his hero:https://t.co/PpAfDkOuGH pic.twitter.com/CEEh1qFSr5

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) December 14, 2016

The story first came out in January, after photos of Murtaza playing football in the snow near his home in eastern Ghazni province went viral. He was five years old at the time and was pictured wearing an Argentina team Messi jersey, created by his older brother from shopping bags.

At the time, he was sent his own official shirt, signed by the Barça player, who is a Unicef Goodwill Ambassador. However, fears arose that, due to the international interest in the story, the young boy might be kidnapped and due to his sudden notoriety, his family were forced to flee Afghanistan and settle in neighbouring Pakistan.

Watch Murtaza interacting with Lionel Messi and the Barça and Al Ahli teams in Qatar below.



Source: The Local 

Madrid police find lunchbox full of giant cockroaches in local park

Police in Madrid, Spain made a rather surprising – and definitely creepy – discovery in a park in Carabanchel recently. 

 

On opening a plastic lunch box left in the park in the suburb of Carabanchel, police discovered 54 living, giant hissing cockroaches inside. The insects are native to Madagascar and are known to grow to between 5 and 7.6 cm. Possibly even more scary, the cockroaches can live for up to five years.

They are one of 20 known species of giant cockroaches and emit a hissing sound, which is produced by forcibly expelling air through specially-adapted respiratory openings on the fourth segment of their bodies. The insects have no wings and live in rotting tree trunks when in the wild. 

The Local notes that some people find the cockroaches make good, if rather bizarre, pets. However, the owner of this bunch of insects had obviously had enough. 

Compañeros de la Unidad de Medio Ambiente localizan 54 #Cucarachas gigantes de Madagascar en un descampado de #Carabanchel pic.twitter.com/wQYk7IeiYk

— Policía de Madrid (@policiademadrid) December 14, 2016

A police spokesman told Europa Press that they have no idea how the giant cockroaches ended up in the park, adding, “Somebody must have dumped them.” 

The cockroaches were collected by officers from the environmental unit of Madrid’s Municipal Police force and have been taken to a wildlife centre in the capital.

Spain may put the clocks back to GMT to aid productivity

At the moment, Spain runs one hour ahead of the U.K. in winter and two hours ahead in summer, but that could all change.

Photo by Muffingg / CC BY-SA 3.0

Discussions are afoot to make Spain go back in time –  without the aid of a time machine –  as the government considers changing back to the original GMT time zone.

The country does officially lie in the same time zone and both Portugal and the U.K., but the dictator Francisco Franco decided to change it in 1942 to keep in line with Germany, under his then great pal Adolf Hitler. With the exception of the Canary Islands, that time zone change has stayed in place ever since.That is until now.

Spain set to move from 'Nazi time zone' to GMT https://t.co/a0TI5FtTWv pic.twitter.com/wLSDGb81uJ

— Daily Mirror (@DailyMirror) December 14, 2016

The writer reported back in 2013 that talks were ongoing to change the time zone, to keep it in line with GMT. Now things appear to be firming up.

According to labour minister, Fatima Ibañez, the current time zone has led to Spaniards working longer days than workers in other European countries. Now the Spanish government is saying that changing to Greenwich Mean Time would reduce the length of the working day and improve productivity in the country, by allowing workers to strike a better work/life balance. 

According to a statement by Ibañez on Monday, December 12, the government will seek agreement with representatives of companies and trade unions to allow the reform of the time zone. The plan was reportedly approved in August this year by the Partido Popular and Ciudadanos parties.

Will Spain changing to GMT improve workers' hours?

When reading comments on a report by Euro Weekly News on the subject, some people do rightly point out that people's working hours will remain the same. They will simply move back one or two hours –  depending on the season at the time –  so it is debatable whether this will actually help.

No doubt those of us here in Spain who suffer whenever there is a daylight savings change will feel it even more, should the country definitely decide to change to GMT. However, we will, at least, gain an hour or two that day.

Elton John to appear at Starlite Festival Marbella in 2017

Popular British musician Elton John is confirmed to  appear at the Starlite Music Festival in Marbella next year

Photo Elton John by David Shankbone / CC BY 3.0

With the music festival running between 13 July and 26 August, 2017 in Marbella, Elton John has been confirmed to appear at the Starlite Music Festival on 20 July.

John is only the latest in a line of international stars who have confirmed their appearance at the popular musical festival. Soprano Ainhoa Arteta and baritone Dwayne Croft will also be in concert at the festival, appearing on stage together for the first time in 15 years on
8 August. The latter stars will be accompanied by the Málaga Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Marco de Prosperis, and will be singing some of the great classics from Hollywood and Broadway.

Elton John estará en el próximo Starlite Marbella https://t.co/o3tEeGKIAP | #Andalucíahoy #Música

— ABC de Sevilla (@abcdesevilla) December 2, 2016

Elton John was last seen on the Costa del Sol in 2015, when he starred at the Palacio de los Deportes Martín Carpena in Malaga in front of 60,000 people.

Source: Surinenglish

Travel: Visit Lugo in northern Spain for the best in free tapas

Lugo in Spain is famous for one of few still completely intact Roman walls in the world, but this city has something else that is special.

Photo via Flickr by sanfamedia.com / CC BY-ND 2.0

Lugo in the Basque Country has been around for some 2,000 years and is a fascinating and historic city with a wonderful and warm welcome for visitors. However, there is nothing quite like free food. Across the city, bars can be found serving delicious free tapas with every drink you order. 

You can enjoy such delicacies as “pulpo con cachelos” (octopus with potato), tasty empanadas and bollos preñados (stuffed pastries), as well as anchovies, tortillas, and Cuban rice in several of the city’s tapas bars.

Take a virtual visit to Lugo, the home of free tapas https://t.co/RdIpJutogn #Spain #travel #goodeats pic.twitter.com/nnIqPouCHp

— El País in English (@elpaisinenglish) November 21, 2016

According to El País, the best tapas bars to try are located in the area of Rúa da Milagrosa and Rúa Nova and in the Plaza do Campo and Augas Férreas areas. And just think, go to enough bars, have enough drinks and you won't have to worry about dinner! 

The following are places to enjoy on a free tapas route of Lugo – have fun!

1. Fonte do Rei 2 (Av. de Madrid, 63)

2. Lagar (Rúa da Milagrosa, 38)

3. ¡Oh, mi Habana! (Av de Magoi, 134)

4. Ave César (Rúa Nova, 10)

5. 101 Vinos (Rúa do Miño, 6)

6. La Fábrica (Rúa Nova, 15)

7. Cervecería A Carballeira (Av. de Magoi, 63)