<These articles were originally submitted to ThinkSpain Today on 19 November 2007. ThinkSpain Today was the country's only national English-language newspaper until it was closed down at the end of December 2007>
A 22-year-old student died in hospital in Birmingham following injuries sustained in a mysterious fall in an Ibiza apartment building. Rachel Turner had worked promoting clubs in San Antonio over the summer. On 1 October she suffered severe head injuries after she fell ten metres down a stairwell. She was flown back to England where she died a week later in Edgbaston's Priory Hospital.
A message from Rachel’s sister Sarah-Louise on the popular online networking site Facebook says: “I am really sorry but Rach has gone to heaven, she was a fighter and fought till she got home. she died with her family and is at peace with God, in heaven with our brother Ben.”
Sarah-Louise and 300 friends are finalising plans for a huge party in Rachel’s memory. “We thought about having a Pink Party for her, as those who knew Rach, knew she loved all things pink!,” says Sarah-Louise on the Facebook commemorative page entitled: “We love you Rach!”
The authorities in Ibiza are still trying to discover exactly how Rachel came to fall. It is expected they will pass on any findings to the British police. An inquest will be held in Birmingham in the New Year.
A representative of West Midlands Police said: “We are undertaking inquiries on behalf of the Birmingham Coroner. Results of the police inquiry will be presented to the Coroner in the New Year. At this stage, the investigation, which has included contact with the Spanish authorities, remains inconclusive.”
Final ban on Ibiza “after parties”
An opposition councillor warns banning 24-hour clubbing by forcing Ibiza’s discos to shut from 6am to noon will only shift problems to other places. Partido Popular representative Encarna Castro said: “When these bars are closed tourists will look for somewhere else to continue partying such as apartments, parks or beaches.”
By last summer only one council Sant Josep still licensed “after hours” clubs and bars, but those included the biggest and most famous Space and DC10. Castro was speaking just after Sant Josep had fallen into line with the other councils by introducing a law which will allow hefty fines for any club staying open between 6am and noon.
Jellyfish radar
Scientists are to use a high-tech surveillance system to track the jellyfish that bring holiday misery to thousands of Ibiza tourists every summer. The wireless network of buoys and beach antennae will not eradicate the creatures, but will enable boffins to understand what causes their proliferation.
Marine scientist Pedro Arnau of Barcelona University said: “We’ll be looking at the effect of the overfishing of species such as tuna, swordfish and turtles along with the effect of other factors such as desalination, the destruction of coastal habitats and the increase in nitrates in the water as the result of their excessive use by agriculture.”
Columbus wasn’t from Mallorca
An investigative journalist has reignited a row between Majorca and Ibiza which both claim to be the birthplace of explorer Christopher Columbus. The argument has rumbled on for years despite the fact that the majority of historians believe the first European to discover America since the Vikings was born in Genoa, Italy.
Other experts claim that Columbus’ writings are full of “catalanisms” and say the famous sculpture at the foot of the Ramblas in Barcelona shows Columbus pointing towards Ibiza. And the main landmark in the Ibiza tourist hotspot of San Antonio is a giant egg containing a model of his ship the Santa Maria.
Nito Verdera, author of “Christopher Columbus: the book of lies and the four truths”, said that if the explorer’s father was the Prince of Viana, as the Majorcans claimed, Columbus would have been only 46 when he died not 60. Verdera also claims that DNA evidence proves Columbus was Jewish.
Ibiza's low-spending British tourists
Ibiza attracts more British tourists who spend less than the other Balearic islands of Mallorca and Menorca according to a government survey. It also shows that almost two-thirds of Brits (63.3%) coming to the party island are on a package holiday compared with the average for the Balearics of just over a third (36.5%). The number of UK visitors to Ibiza was 602,058, an increase of 10.5% compared with a rise of 2.8% for Majorca and a fall of 6.2%. Only 6.3% of unhealthy Brits took part in any sporting activity while on holiday in Ibiza while a quarter sampled the island’s infamous nightlife.
Police confirm murder
Months after an anonymous tip-off to a local newspaper led police to a body in a disused military building in Ibiza Town it has been confirmed that the man had been murdered. It is believed the Romanian vagrant had received one shot to the face. His corpse, when it was found, was in an advanced state of decomposition and hidden under a pile of newspapers. No weapon has been found and police admit they are not following any specific line of enquiry.
1 comment:
I always suspect that the police only ever "solve" crimes when the perpetrator actually gives him/her self up or they stumble of the crime as it is in progress. Considering the police admit they only solve about 45% of crime it's a wonder anyone gets caught at all.
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