In Monday’s Spanish news, Guardia Civil rescues several protected animals, trial starts in child motorbike karting track death, and grandmother and her grandson arrested for drug trafficking. Monday is a holiday in the Valencia region (and others, see the traffic bulletin for details).

Spanish News Headlines

The Nature Protection Service (SEPRONA) of the Guardia Civil, during the past year has rescued numerous specimens of animals protected by the CITES Convention (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) in the province of Alicante. Among the animals intervened are two Nile crocodiles, a 25 kg African spur tortoise and a 2 metre Burmese python. On Monday, 1 April, starting at 10:00 a.m., the Criminal Court number 4 of Huelva will host the trial in relation to the death of a minor in Karting de Cartaya in 2018, in which the private prosecution asks for four years of prison and compensation of more than 300,000 euro, whilst the entity’s defence affirms that free acquittal must occur since “there is no crime,” according to the court documents. The events date back to March 2018 when the minor, a resident of Aljaraque who was 16 years old at the time, died after colliding with a tree at a Cartaya karting venue while preparing for a competition race. The incident took place around 12:45 p.m., when 112 received a call reporting the incident to which the emergency services were deployed but medical staff could do nothing other than confirm the minor had died. The Guardia Civil arrested a 72-year-old woman and her 17-year-old grandson for drug trafficking. Likewise, a woman has been investigated who used her two minor children, ages 9 and 12, to sell drugs at her home, even going so far as to use her eldest son to make deliveries. The operation began when the Guardia Civil learned, at the end of February, that a woman could be using her grandson for drug trafficking in a town in the Valencian Ribera Baja. Once identified, the agents proceeded to arrest these two people since the grandmother was also subject to two judicial charges of arrest and imprisonment. To read these articles in full, visit SpainToday.news

Business, Markets and Statistics

European stock markets are closed for the Easter holidays, normal business resumes Tuesday.

Things to Do Today

For runners, Crevillente on 6 April has a 6k race, and the Dama de Guardamar half marathon, which takes the form of both a 10k and 21k variant, and will take place in Guardamar del Segura on 14 April 2024. Looking ahead, on 26 April there is a film music tribute concert taking place in the International Auditorium in Torrevieja, specifically a tribute to the music of Morricone, Williams, and Zimmer, three of the greatest film score composers of modern times, arguably. The Film Symphony Orchestra will also perform in Torrevieja on 26 May, offering music from the likes of Harry Potter, Indiana Jones and Mulan. In the El Raso area of Guardamar del Segura on 11 to 14 April you can celebrate with the Neighbourhood Party, including a Tapas Trail, and a dog show. Fans of the music of Queen might want to take a trip down to Cartagena on 20 April, where the concert, Symphonic Rhapsody of Queen, A Kind of Magic, will be taking place. Sticking with big-name music, James Blunt is back in Alicante on 19 July, as is Tom Jones on 25. Other popular groups coming to Spain in the near future include AC/DC, Depeche Mode, and Simple Minds. Aircraft fans can look forward to the Patrulla Aguila aerobatic team performing locally in the San Javier Airshow, taking place from 3rd-5th May – Festival Aéreo San Javier – over the playas de Santiago de la Ribera, San Javier, Murcia. They are also at the DIFAS 2024, taking place in Oviedo on 1 June, and on 15th June, the 50º Aniversario del ALA 14, in Albacete, where a competition is open to design a Eurofighter livery. For more local events, pick up The Leader newspaper every Monday, and This is Torrevieja for Torrevieja events.

Traffic and Travel

Today, the Easter RETURN begins in the Autonomous Communities in which this Monday is a holiday: Cantabria, Catalonia, Valencian Community, Balearic Islands, Navarra, Basque Country and La Rioja, with circulation problems on the main road axes of these Communities, as well as on the access roads of the provinces bordering them, with the return of vehicles occurring in a period similar to that of the previous day in the rest of the Autonomous Communities. In these Communities, traffic planning and regulation measures will be installed throughout the day to encourage the entry of vehicles into large urban centres. In the rest of the Autonomous Communities there will also be return movements, motivated mainly by the beginning, the next day, of school and university activities. The unfavourable hours for this day will be from 11 a.m. to midnight. At midnight on Monday night, the Special Operation HOLY WEEK – 2024 will end. REMEMBER: “Avoid traveling during unfavourable and very unfavourable hours” For information and updates about driving in Spain, visit N332.es

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