Google 'loses' Córdoba Mosque

Church quietly takes over historical sites throughout the country

Breathtaking columned hall
of the Mosque

CÓRDOBA -- One of Spain's, and the world's, most visited sites, the Cathedral-Mosque in Córdoba, suffered the indignity of not being properly named by the world's most-used websites. Google Maps, who had called it the Cathedral-Mosque for years, 'downgraded' the fabulous building to a mere cathedral. The official title given it by Córdoba Council in the mid-1990s was changed. Uproar. A temple built by the Omeya Califate that became a Roman Catholic bishop's headquarters in 1239 went back to normal by Tuesday. Behind all this, though, is a much more important issue: for years the Church in Córdoba has been trying to have the word Mosque removed from its official title. In more recent documents, including posters and even access tickets (see photo below), the word has been eliminated, according to reports. This would simply erase an absolutely unique piece of universal architecture that brings together not only the art of Al-Andalus but also that of the Gothic period, the Rennaisance and of the Baroque. The Cathedral-Mosque was granted the title of World Heritage Site by UNESCO as far back as 1984.

Judge Alaya, the new star judge

Said to be 'horrified' by her popularity

(infolibre.es)

SEVILLE -- First there was Judge Garzón, who was pretty much ousted from his job in a major court in Madrid for getting too close to unseemly behaviour by some politicians (he had also been a Minister in the Zapatero PSOE government). Now there's Judge Mercedes Alaya, who is handling several major cases out of her Seville courtroom. Among these are the ERE Case (about dodgy employment dismissals), the false billing for adult education courses known as the Facturas Falsas case, etc. etc. In the ERE case, she has already officially charged 299 people, about which there are many complaints, mainly from the Junta de Andalucía (majorly implicated in the case) and the Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Andalucía (High Court in Andalucía), her boss. Another significant case is that regarding the sale of the Real Betis Balompié football club; and a further one is that of Mercasevilla, from which is derived the very serious ERE case but considered separately, a case of extorsion against two business people who wanted to set up a catering school on land belonging to the city. In the meantime, Judge Alaya appears in the media, usually with photographs similar to the one illustrating this item.

Four accused of 'irregular animal sacrifice': highlights animal control problem in the country

(Illustration only)

LOS BARRIOS (Cadiz) -- Four people were accused last week of killing animals at a shelter without the proper permits. Three of them are employees of a company called Control Zoosanitario, which has a contract to take abandoned domestic animals in Los Barrios and Algeciras. Among other things, they are impugned for alleged irregularities when putting the animals down, such as giving false dates in order to shorten the animals' stays at the shelter. According to a communique from the Guardia Civil, the four are the vet who attends at the shelter, and two employees of the dog 'home' in Los Barrios, plus someone with no proper connection to it, but who was the one killing the animals without permits or even a veterinary license to do so.

‘Regularization’ of 300,000 homes in Andalucía is a ‘scandal of incalculable consequences’

Marbella

SEVILLE – A new decree on the legalisation of otherwise illegal homes in Andalucía has been called a ‘guarantee of savage urbanism’ by the environmental pressure group Ecologistas en Acción (Environmentalists in Action). These homes were built on what was officially classified as ‘non-buildable land’ (SNU, Suelo No Urbanizable), and the new decree is ‘a fiasco that will have serious legal, territorial, environmental, social and economic consequences [that attempt against] the general interest of the citizenry’, according to the NGO. When the Junta de Andalucía asked SNU for it opinion on the proposed decree, Ecologistas en Acción sent in their own proposals which would eliminate the principal attraction to building on agricultural land, which would be extremely profitable to developers. The Junta never replied nor consulted them again. Below we have summarised the main arguments presented by the SNU.

Do I have to indemnify the tenants if they leave before the contract ends?

Q: I’m ending a rental before the contract runs out. Is it legal for the landlord to demand indemnization of a month’s rental for each year left on the contract?

SPAIN – (Original source: idealista.com, and consultation with specialist attorneys) First, read the contract carefully (which you should have done before you signed it). Most of them contain a period of notice, which if it is met, you need pay nothing. However,

Congress urges Government to grant asylum to gays

MADRID – The Foreign Affairs Commission of Spain’s Congress unanimously agreed last week to urge the Government to grant asylum to homosexuals, transsexuals and bisexuals (spelt gais in Spanish) who are persecuted in their country of origin and find themselves in this country. There are over 75 countries in the world where homosexuality is forbidden; in seven of them, the penalty is death. The Law of Asylum and Refuge of 2009 already allows people who are persecuted for their sexual orientation to apply for refuge in Spain; but, as with too many sensible laws, it has never been applied, despite the fact that there are almost 300 of these applications, according to Socialist Deputy Delia Blanco.

Junta de Andalucía coalition is still negotiating pact on illegal homes

Illegal homes in Chiclana (Cádiz)
(elperiodistadigital.com)

SEVILLA – Sources in the Government of Andalucía say that, if two vital items in the region’s 2015 budget are settled (See this week’s article Health and Education to be saved from Budget cuts)and ‘minor issues’ are sorted, both parties (PSOE AND IU) agree that new legislation is needed to ‘legalise’ between 20,000 and 25,000 homes or houses that were built ‘illegally’ during the construction boom, and bought in good faith, most often by foreigners, at least in Andalucía. This subject is supposedly ‘close to the heart’ of Junta President Susana Díaz, which is not necessarily a guarantee of its coming to fruition (they've been at it for a while now...). More on ‘Regularisation of Illegal Property’ by Rafael Berdaguer Abogados (written and published last year -- they're still negotiating!)

France to impose unbranded cigarette packets and forbid all advertising

PARIS – France will be the first European country to make ‘neutral’ cigarettes obligatory, as well as prohibit publicity. The French government announced last week that it will be following the example of Australia, the first nation to impose these measures. The new regulations (which can be expected to eventually become law in Europe, but it will take years) include the order that all packets must have ‘the same size and shape, colour and typography’ in order to eliminate any possibility of publicity among the young. A number of scientific studies, according to Spain’s Comité Nacional para la Prevención del Tabaquismo (CNPT, National Committee on Prevention of Tobacco Addiction), have demonstrated that removing any attraction from the packs helps the young to be less tempted to start smoking. However, Spain has already stated its position against these measures, as have also another eight EU countries: Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Italy, Portugal, Poland, Greece and Czech.

DNA tests to be allowed only in presence of attorney

MADRID – The Supreme Court has clarified the criteria that allow DNA tests as evidence in trials. However, if such a test is taken by the police in the absence of the detainee’s legal representative, it will not be valid as evidence, even when the accused has given his or her consent. The only alternative will be a court order. The detainee may impugn comparisons with his own samples taken previously and are registered in the police’s data bank.