News August 29th

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August 29th 2007

Neighbours Victorious
The mayor of San Jose, Josep Mari Ribas, announced on Monday that he had cancelled the planning permission granted to the promoters of the Punta Pedrera project in Port des Torrent.  The mayor confirmed that they had studied complaints made by the ecologists GEN, who had highlighted various illegalities in the project, coupled with objections from neighbours.  After a thorough investigation, Ribas announced that the licence had been cancelled due to serious improprieties, namely the misrepresentation of various parts of the proposed construction in order to cram in 141 more bedrooms.  The cunning tactic used by the promoters involved naming bedrooms as commercial premises or offices, so as to avoid them being counted as living space.  It was described as a common practice used by architects, but one that now nullified the licence issued by the previous administration.  A report by a technician from the Consell Insular stated that on studying the plans, he found it impossible to approve the project as the “annexes” indicated were clearly not suitable for the purpose designed, and would, in his opinion, be used as bedrooms.  His verdict gave the green light for the Town Hall to begin the process of revoking the licence.
The building work aroused criticism amongst neighbours when the fences were put in place last March.  However, the previous Town Hall said that there was nothing that could be done, as the licences had been granted legally after extensive studies had been carried out by technicians from the administration.  However it seems that local residents have finally won the day, and the coastal land at Port des Torrent is set to remain untouched.  The president of the Port des Torrent Neighbours Association, Carmen Juan, confirmed that she was delighted at the decision and criticised the previous administration for ignoring their pleas earlier in the year.

AROUND THE ISLAND

Strike Abandoned
The taxi strike which had been called for 27th August was called off at the ninth hour, after an agreement was reached between the taxi associations and administrators, which will mean a heavy crackdown on the unlicensed taxis currently operating on the island.  The strike was called two weeks ago after a taxi driver was assaulted by a “pirate taxi driver” in the centre of Ibiza Town.  The spokesman for the five associations on the island said, at the time, that the drastic action had been called to try and protect their members from the ever-increasing threat of the unlicensed drivers.  There were reported to be over 100 of these drivers now operating on the island.
However, in a meeting on Wednesday between the five taxi associations, representatives of the five Town Halls and the Consell Insular that lasted over three hours, an agreement was reached where police would target the “pirate taxis” to try and ensure a greater protection to the licensed drivers.
The minister in charge of transport, Albert Prats, said that the recent problems underlined far greater problems about the general state of public transport on the island.  He said that an improvement of the system would greatly reduce the stress on other forms of transport, and warrant the unlicensed taxis unnecessary.  He hinted that the problem had not been helped by a clear lack of taxis in the height of summer, which had enabled the unlicensed cars to grow to such a number, and promised to talk to all the parties involved to ensure that there were plenty more licensed taxis available next year.
The president of the taxi association in Ibiza Town, Jose Serafin, said that he was happy with the result of the meeting, but that they would be closely monitoring the promises of the administrators and did not rule out further strikes next month. 
Hoteliers, in the meantime, called for a further 300 temporary licenses to be granted during July and August, double the number currently in operation.  They said that during the high season it had become more and more difficult to try and call a taxi, and that the service offered to clients was poor.

Road Floods
The 28.8 litres of rain in Ibiza Town on Wednesday brought chaos to the road network, after the main road from the town to the airport had to be closed for eight hours due to the flooding of the underground pass in the area.  The problems began at around 6.30a.m. when the rain started to fall more heavily in the Can Fonoll area, causing soil on the bank of the road to slide down and block the drainage system.  The temporary pumps installed in the area were not strong enough to extract the necessary water, and the road had to remain closed while fire services continued to pump the water out. 
The minister for transport, Albert Prats, confirmed that he had alerted the previous Consell of this risk several years ago, but that they had continued with their plans for the underground carriageway.  However, he said that the company responsible for the roads had not expected so much rain so early in the year, and were waiting to install far bigger pumps which would ensure that the problem did not reoccur. 
The traffic had to be diverted through San Jordi causing heavy delays, which meant several tourists missing their return flights home.       
They were scenes that were repeated, to a much lesser extent on Friday, when the road had to be closed for 40 minutes due to the heavy rains.

Numbers Up
Hotel occupancy rose 3.4 per cent during the last fifteen days of July, in comparison to the same period in 2006.  Levels rose to 90.42 per cent across the island, with Santa Eulalia the only municipality to fall, with a 1.7 per cent drop in numbers.  However this was in contrast to other areas on the island that all saw increases, the star being the beach areas of San Jose (including Cala Tarida and Cala Vadella) which saw occupancy levels of 96.44 per cent, an increase on 2006 of 6.9 per cent.  This was followed closely by Ibiza Town (5.8 per cent) and the north of the island (5.4 per cent). 
Formentera saw a moderate increase of 1.8 per cent, with a total occupancy level of 88.96 per cent. 
The increases on both islands were described as very encouraging, and things are set to get even better as August comes to a close, with figures expected to rise again.  Members of the Hotel Association said that the season was improving remarkably, and that they hoped a positive September, which looks likely, would help to end the season on a positive note, after a poor start.

Fight Back
The six restaurants under threat in ses Salinas and es Cavallet have presented the Coastal Authorities with a report, attempting to legalise their situation before the new law comes into practice.  The Coastal Authority produced a damning report several months ago in which they ordered the demolition of the six “kiosks”, which they claimed encroached onto public land and were damaging the dunes in the area.  The protection of the natural park which is ses Salinas, has become a high priority for the Coastal Authority.  In the report they said they understood the importance of the restaurants to the island, and claimed that they would be happy if the restaurants were reduced in size to around 150 sq. metres.  The restaurants threatened are considerably larger than that, with official measurements as follows – Guarana - 1,049 sq. metres; Malibu – 1,452 sq. metres; Jockey – 1,097 sq. metres; Sa Trinxa – 363 sq. metres; Chiringay – 819 sq. metres; and es Cavallet 1,550 sq. metres. 
The Town Hall of San Jose, who granted the original opening licenses, has stepped in to try and act as a mediator between the two groups.  They said that they understood the importance of the restaurants to the tourist trade on the island, and were attempting to find a solution that would please both parties. 

Red Tuna Crisis
Various ecological groups have joined forces in Ibiza to try and fight the ever-growing problem of diminishing schools of red tuna in waters off Ibiza.  One hundred nautical miles off the coast of Formentera, in international waters, under the jurisdiction of the Spanish government, lies an area that up until ten years ago was the most important reproductive area for red tuna in the Mediterranean. 
Jorge Saez, spokesman for Ecologists in Action, explained that the area is the oldest known source of red tuna in the western world, with reports of the Phoenicians fishing at this spot.  However during the last five years fish stocks in the area have been reduced by 85 per cent.  Saez explained that it was still a mystery how we could have been allowed to over-fish to such an extent, that an area that has been used for centuries now stands on the verge of distinction.  Over- fishing to supply the Japanese market was blamed for the crisis, in addition to the ever increasing popularity of sushi in the western world. 
Captures of tuna in the area have fallen to alarming levels over the last five years.  In 2001 there were 15,000 tonnes caught, whilst last year just 1,800 tonnes were captured.  The groups have called on the European Union to intervene before it is too late, and for a total ban in the area to be declared.  The crisis has become so grave that the move by the ecologists has even been backed by the major manufacturers of tuna, who have seen quantities diminish over the last few years, and have realised that if the situation does not change soon, then the species could soon face extinction.        

First Year Success
The electronic prescription system celebrates its first anniversary this week, with opinions still very mixed.  The system allows people with long term illnesses to pick up prescribed medicine from their local pharmacist, when their current supply runs out, by simply presenting their medical card on which their history is detailed.  Consumers are, in general, extremely happy with the new method and over half of those qualified now use the scheme on a regular basis.  At first there were several teething problems with the computers in the 43 different pharmacies on the islands (40 in Ibiza and three in Formentera) which all had to be linked up to a central office at Ib-Salut.  It took several months for these initial hiccups to be ironed out, but they eventually were, and the rewards are now being reaped by all concerned. 
A survey of 2,554 people using the new system confirmed that 83 per cent were “extremely happy” with the new process, and said that it had made their lives much easier.  However, there were still a few complaints from pharmacists, who revealed that problems with the network meant that they were sometimes off-line for days, proving a great inconvenience.  However all of the pharmacists questioned agreed that the majority of their customers were very happy with the system.    

Fags Up
The sale of cigarettes in the Balearics grew during the first six months of the year for the first time in three years.  The highest previous records were in 2003, when a total of 203.7 million packets were sold.  This worked out at a staggering 4,070 million cigarettes.  However these highs were followed by three consecutive years of falls, a pattern which has been reversed this year.  The results bucked the national trend which showed levels continuing to fall in 2007. 
A relaxing in campaigns at local level was blamed for the blip.  A spokesperson for the Spanish Cancer Association said that after the law change, which restricted smoking in public places, campaigners became overconfident and thought that the battle was being won.  She continued by saying that they would increase their campaigning on both a local and national level until smoking had been completely prohibited in all public places, to fit in with the European trend.  

Pensioners Increase
Imserso, the state run programme which enables the retired to travel at heavily subsidised rates, is to bring a record number of tourists to the Balearics this winter.  The scheme, which will get underway in November, is set to transport 210,600 pensioners to the islands for stays of between seven and fourteen nights.  This amounts to an increase of 8.55 per cent in comparison to last year, and will mean a total number of stays during the six month period of 2,221,300.  
The number of hotels signed up for the programme is 36, with 13 of those located in Ibiza.  Although the hoteliers have negotiated a 10.87 per cent increase on last year’s prices, they will still only get paid €17.74 per day for each tourist on a full-board basis.     

Jellyfish Alert
The invasion of jellyfish, which was predicted earlier in the season, seems to have finally arrived after the reported number of stings during July increased dramatically.  In Cala d´Hort alone there were 350 reported cases during the month, considerably more than last year.  The only municipality which recorded a decrease was San Antonio.  The next few months do not look any brighter, and it was predicted that more of the species will soon arrive, as sea temperatures start to increase.

Kylie’s Back
Kylie Minogue seems to have made a full recovery from her cancer scare, and was once again seen dancing in Pacha last week with friends including Jade Jagger.  The popular singer, who has made several visits to the island over the past ten years, spent several days on the island enjoying the beaches and the nightlife.  Witnesses at Pacha said that the singer seemed relaxed and at ease, and chatted easily to friends and fans. 

Speed Radars
The traffic commissioner, Maria Teresa Sau, announced that there will be two speed radars installed on the Ibiza-San Antonio road by the end of the year.  She could not reveal the exact location of the radars, as it had not yet been decided where they would be installed, but said that they would be around the San Rafael area.  However she added that everyone would be informed as soon as she did know, as the radars were meant to be a preventive technique.  She continued by revealing that a further two radars would be installed during 2008, most probably on the San Antonio-San Jose road and the Ibiza-Santa Eulalia road. 
There have so far, according to the Traffic Commission been eight deaths on the roads so far this year, (including the accident this week in Formentera), a statistic which is in reality nine, as the Commission only counts those who die within twenty-four hours of the accident.  This compares to twenty deaths in the same period in 2005.  The decrease was credited to the improved road system, with Sau pointing out that there were three critical factors in accidents – the road, the driver and the vehicle.  She said that although the driver was always the most important component, improvement in any of the other two would considerably change the overall affect. 
It was further revealed that of the road victims this year in the Balearics, 49 per cent were not using the required safety measures stated by law, including the use of seatbelts, and crash helmets for motorbike users.       

Low Cost Travel
The number of passengers arriving in Spain aboard low cost airlines increased by 31.5 per cent last month.  In total 2.6 million travellers used a local cost carrier to make their journey to Spain.  This represents a total of 38.1 per cent of the total number of people arriving in the country, according to statistics from the Institute of Tourism.  The increase continues the trend of 2007 which has seen numbers grow during the first seven months of the year by 24.1 per cent in comparison to the same period last year.  Of these, over half travelled with the companies Ryanair, Easyjet and Air Berlin, underling the three as the market leaders in the sector.  

Govern Hopes
The Govern Balear has announced its intention to reorganise aerial transport between the islands and the mainland, and has not ruled out the possibility of a maximum price of €27.50 on all journeys.  The minister for transport at the Govern, Gabriel Vicens, promised that they would look at the situation calmly but hoped they would have an answer to the ongoing problem by the end of the year.  His said that the current system did not sufficiently cover the necessities of the island’s residents, and that changes needed to be made.  This could be done in various ways, including an expansion in the current service, changes to the existing system or a complete overhaul of how things are presently done. 
The idea of a maximum price of €27.50 was first suggested by the former president of the Consell, Jaume Matas, who stated that competition between the islands and the mainland, but especially Ibiza and Menorca, was non-existent and had therefore pushed prices up. 
Vicens continued by saying that he would also look at the current problem with ClickAir, part of Iberia, after it was announced two weeks ago that those starting their journey in Ibiza with the company would not be entitled to a discount on their second journey, even though it was with Iberia.  He went even further, claiming that his administration was looking into the possibility of a discount being available on both flights, (within Spain), even if the second was with a separate company.       

Expats
The number of British people abandoning their country of birth has reached record numbers.  A total of 196,000 nationals emigrated to foreign shores last year, looking for an improved climate and more security.  Spain was the second most popular destination after Australia.

IBIZA TOWN

Boat to Stay?
Iscomar, the owners of the ship Don Pedro which sank off the coast of Ibiza Town last month, have stated their intention to leave the vessel at the bottom of the sea when the extraction of the fuel has been completed.  Although the extraction process was interrupted towards the end of last week due to the bad weather, the company revealed that it was so far all going to plan, and would be finished in the ‘near future’.
Their claims have upset ecological groups, who have insisted on the ship being refloated and, at the very least, transported further out to sea.  They say that the vessel simply cannot be allowed to rest permanently inside the natural park of ses Salinas.  They claim that although the fuel will have been extracted, the vessel still poses many threats from various machines and fluorescent lights that remain in the ship.  They have written a letter to the central Government demanding that the vessel be removed, something that Iscomar are trying to avoid, due to the high cost of the process.  
However, there was good news on Thursday after the beach at Talamanca, the most effected by the oil spill, finally opened up fully to the public.  Tuesday saw the last of the filters taken away, and it was business as usual the following day for the first time in just over a month.

Eivissa Centre
The project to remodel the centre of Ibiza Town, which has become known as Eivissa Centre, will get the go ahead by the end of this year.  The project has found many critics, including the former PP-run Consell Insular, who refused to give the scheme the green light, resulting in four years of delays.  However, with the change in the Consell (the former mayor of Ibiza Town, Xico Tarres, is now president) the project, which was the brainchild of Tarres, looks set to get underway by the end of the year. 
The plans include the demolition of some of the older buildings within the town. The most contentious is that of the Santa Margarita building.  Although the 86 apartment owners in the building have been offered a new apartment in a new building close by, there are still 17 proprietors who have yet to agree the move.  However, the Councillor now in charge of the project, Vicente Torres, announced on Tuesday that these residents would be his priority.  He denied that the owners were against the scheme, and claimed that many had been misinformed by the scare-mongering tactics of the previous Consell.  He remained confident that all of the owners will have signed the agreement in the near future.
The plans also include a new school in sa Bodega, and new law courts in the town.

Port Increase
Figures released by the Port Authorities have showed that there were 73,000 more passengers in the port of Ibiza in June this year, than in the same month five years ago.  Of the 260,114 passengers arriving at the port, 164,318 came from Formentera, with the rest - 95,796, arriving from the mainland.  The figures were described as very encouraging, and underlined the need for improved facilities within the port area in Ibiza.

SAN ANTONIO

Licence Back Down
The Town Hall of San Antonio has nullified a licence that was issued a year and a half ago, after a complaint from the Coastal Authority.  Permission was granted to a construction company to build on the site after two technicians were sent to the area, just behind es Pouet beach on the border of San Jose.  The builder had planned to construct business premises on the ground floor, and three apartments on the first floor.  However a subsequent inspection by a technician from the Coastal Authorities, after the building had been started, revealed that the site was in fact on public coastal land, and never should have been granted in the first place.  The Town Hall has now had to cancel the licence, and will be required to pay compensation to the promoter for the work that he has already carried out. 

Rainy Fiestas
The heavy rain failed to dampen spirits in San Antonio as the municipality celebrated its Saint’s Day on Friday.  As the service in the church to pay tribute to San Bartolomeu began, the rain started to fall outside.  However, a shortened procession went ahead and the day finished with the spectacular fireworks above the town.  It seems that the rain and San Bartolomeu go hand in hand, and Friday once again did not disappoint.  

SAN JOSE

Road Changes
New Councillor for Cala de Bou, Angel Luis Guerrero, has admitted that the current “Plan of Excellence”, currently at its midway stage, will need a few changes in order to avoid the continuing traffic problems on the avenida Sant Agusti.  The work carried out last year on the Port des Torrent road meant that it became part of a one-way system which ended up pushing a lot more traffic onto the top road.  Guerrero admitted that the Boulevard road could not be changed, and reminded voters that they had been highly critical of the plans when they were first announced by the previous administration.  However, he said that the situation would be looked at with the technicians of the Town Hall, and answers would be found, especially in the two areas described as critical, which were in front of the Suma supermarket and around the Bergantin Hotel/Sa Flama bar where the road changed into the one-way Boulevard.  

Police Leniency
Neighbours in the es Cubells area were left bewildered last Sunday after the “relaxed” attitude of the authorities meant that an illegal party continued into the early hours.  Neighbours were aware that something was being organised earlier in the day, as trucks started to arrive off-loading large amounts of drink, speakers, lights, etc. to a house in the area.  However, they only became aware later that evening the full extent of the event after over 2,000 eager partygoers arrived through the night, in around 700 vehicles.  Neighbours contacted police on several different occasions throughout the night, but nothing was done due to the fact, according to the police, that they did not have the proper permission to enter the property, or details of the individual who organised the party. 
The following day the Town Hall revealed that a public “denuncia” had been instigated against the owner of the property.  Meanwhile the deputy police chief, Jaime Ramon Planells explained that they had acted according to the law, and to its limits.  He claimed that they had not been able to do any more than what was done at the time.  

Serra in the Dock
The former mayor of San Jose, Jose Serra Escandell, is to be questioned by judges over an illegal house built in the natural park of ses Salinas.  Escandell, who in June escaped punishment over a similar case in Puig den Serra, will be called to the trial on 14th September this year.  The enquiry centres on a house that was built within the natural park without any of the appropriate licences.  It has been made clear that the Town Hall knew about the construction, but chose to take a “liberal” view whilst it was being erected.  An official complaint was eventually made about the property by the Consell Insular.  This could be the first of three trials that the ex-mayor is set to face over the coming months, all of which concern building irregularities.  

SANTA EULALIA

Green Mayor
The new mayor of Santa Eulalia, Vicent Mari, looks set to fulfil his promise of a greener municipality, after he revealed that he would put to tender a project to study improvements which could be made to the current environmental policy of the area.  Mari confirmed that the study would be finished by the end of the year so that its conclusions could be included in next year’s budget.  He continued by saying that he was already looking at changing the current waste collection contract which was due to expire at the end of the year.  He said that he was looking to increase three-fold, the number of recycle containers within the municipality, which would be run concurrently with a campaign to encourage residents to separate their household waste. 
He also confirmed that he was considering a proposal given to him by the Friends of the Earth party, which concerned the increased production of compost from households.  He said that the idea was being studied, and that anything which would reduce household waste that would eventually end up at the island’s refuse tip would be welcomed.  

Man Drowns
The body of a German tourist was found dead on Tuesday afternoon in the sea around the Punta Arabi complex, in Santa Eulalia.  The 28 year old tourist had arrived on the island with friends the previous day, and was staying at the Club Punta Arabi hotel.  According to reports, the group had spent most of the afternoon and evening drinking before they had all split up.  This was the last time that the victim was seen alive.  At 2a.m. the following morning his friends reported the man missing and a search party was sent out.  The body was discovered floating in water below cliffs inaccessible by land, at 5p.m. that day.  The body was taken for an autopsy, but police revealed that it had showed no signs of violence and it appeared as if the man had died from drowning.  Nothing has yet been ruled out, and as the investigation continues his friends have been ordered not to leave the island.   

Traffic Chaos
On Wednesday, the mayor of Santa Eulalia revealed that he is in talks with the president of the Consell, Xico Tarres, about ways to solve the traffic problem in Jesus and the Ibiza-Santa Eulalia road, which has regularly seen traffic jams of several kilometres during most of the summer.  The mayor, Vicent Mari, has proposed the building of a roundabout on the road (somewhere near Eivissgarden) and the construction of a thoroughfare that would give access to the Cala Llonga road, easing some of the traffic both from this road and the centre of Jesus.  He claimed that Tarres had been in agreement, and said that it was something that he also had planned for the future.  This diversion would be in addition to the proposed plan to link up the 8 d´Agost road (Pacha road) with Jesus.  This project has already had the agreement of the necessary authorities, and Mari hopes that it will be started sometime next year.  

FORMENTERA

Fatal Accident
A 17 year old man, resident in Formentera and of Colombian nationality, died on Wednesday, when the motorbike that he was driving collided into a taxi coming in the opposite direction.  The accident occurred at 2.45a.m. on the bend entering Sant Ferran de ses Roques.  Although a police investigation is continuing, it is thought that the bike entered the curve at high speeds, and invaded the opposite lane, on which the taxi was travelling.  The car had three occupants at the time of the incident, the driver and two passengers, one of whom was slightly injured.  The motorbike was heading towards Sant Ferran whilst the taxi was going in the direction of Sant Francesc Xavier.
The emergency services were immediately called and the youngster was taken to the local hospital, where despite all the efforts of hospital staff, he later died.  Both the motorbike and the taxi were completely destroyed in the accident.        

CRIME & INCIDENTS

Warehouse Robberies
Police continue investigating a series of robberies which took place this month on various warehouses on the island.  In the space of five days, robbers broke into three properties, taking almost €147,000 in the process.  All of the incidents have striking similarities, and police are confident that it is the same group that has committed all three. 
The first took place on 5th August, and to this date has been the most successful for the gang.  After breaking into the Punto Cash store on the Ibiza-San Antonio road, they opened up the safe with the help of a blow torch, managing to get away with €90,000, as well as eight plasma televisions and an array of liquor. 
The second incident took place a few days later at the Distribuciones Montiel warehouse.  After forcing their way in though a ground floor window, the assailants then forced open the safe, again using a blow torch, before taking the contents – €15,000.  The owner of the premises, Agustin Pineda Montiel, insinuated while showing the press around the property, that he thought the robbery had been undertaken by someone who had a good knowledge of the installations.  They had entered through the front entrance but carefully made their way to the back, avoiding video camera surveillance, to a waiting car.
The third break in took place on the morning of 9th August in Helados Nestle on the airport road.  The thieves entered the building via a second floor window, nullified the alarm system, before heading straight to the safe and taking the €42,000 inside. 
Although police initially did not rule out the possibility that the men had already left the island with the loot, as the Ibiza Sun goes to press there were reports of another robbery in the warehouse of Coca-Cola in Can Bufi.  This would be the fourth robbery of its kind in August, and confirmed police fears that they were dealing with an organised gang still operating on the island.

Gunpoint Robbery
Two men in balaclavas entered a supermarket on Wednesday and stole €25,000 at gunpoint from the proprietor.  The incident occurred at the Ofiusa supermarket, on the outskirts of San Ferran.  The 35 year old owner had just closed the shop and was sitting in his office at the time.  The men, who had climbed over the fence at the back of the shop, kicked down the back door and stormed into the office.  Realising that the owner was on the phone at the time, they hit him violently in the face, chest and abdomen before disconnecting the telephone.  They then tied his hands behind his back, and his feet together, before both placing handguns to the side of his head and frogmarching him to the safe.  One of the men then demanded that he opened the safe, in heavy accented Spanish.  They then grabbed the money, and made their escape. 
The man was on the phone to his wife when the attack happened.  She heard the shouts of the men before the phone went dead.  She became alarmed and headed straight to the supermarket.  On arrival she found her husband tied up.  She released him, before phoning police.      

Poor Defence
A 27 year old Frenchman was arrested on Thursday, at his hotel in Cala de Bou after a week of vandalism.  The owner of the establishment finally decided to call the police after the culprit damaged a door with a fire extinguisher.  The man was with eleven other friends who were all asked to leave the hotel.  The owner explained that the tourists had been warned on several occasions about their behaviour, but after yet another drunken night, he decided to call in the Guardia Civil.  The arrested man, in his defence, said that he had been told “that anything was allowed in Ibiza”, an argument not likely to hold him in good stead.  Although a trial date has yet been set, it is assumed that the man will have to pay for approximately €1,000 worth of damage caused. 

NEWS FROM THE MAINLAND

ETA Bomb
The ceasefire which the terrorist group, ETA, had announced earlier in the year was well and truly over, after a car bomb exploded in the northern Spanish town of Durango (Vizcaya) on Friday.  The explosion occurred at 3.30a.m., when a Citroen C-15 which had been stolen from San Sebastian two days earlier, exploded outside a police station in the town.  The car had been packed with between 80 and 100 kilos of explosives.  Two police officers inside the building were slightly injured in the blast, but were released from hospital several hours later.  There were no warnings given and the head of the combined police force, Joan Mesquida, said that the incident could have been much worse.  There was considerable damage done to several of the surrounding buildings and to parked cars, but fortunately, due to the timing of the bomb, casualties were limited to the two police officers.
It was revealed the following day that two terrorists had had to return to the scene minutes before the bomb exploded, to make a last minute adjustment that they had forgotten to carry out beforehand.  They then both made their escape in a Seat Ibiza.

Immigration Control
The Interior Minister, Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, revealed that so far this year Spain has returned to their country of origin 13,000 illegal tourists trying to enter the country by plane.  This is considerably more than the 7,000 who were returned in the whole of 2006.  As security is tightened up along the African coast, and it becomes more difficult for the immigrants to try and abandon their poverty ridden countries by boat, many are now trying to arrive as “false tourists”.  This proves a far harder way to get into the country, as they have to pass through tight security controls and most are picked out.  The extradition process has now been severely shortened, and within days most are on their way back to their countries of origin. 
The number of people caught arriving by boat has also been greatly reduced, after the arrival of tens of thousands over the last few years.  They come from impoverished countries on the western coast of Africa, lured into the treacherous journey by the promise of a better life in Europe.  The journey is made in small boats run by illegal traffickers, and “travellers” pay up to €1,000 for the opportunity to get to Spain.  However, due to the rough seas in the area, many never survive the gruelling journey.  The Canaries and the south of Spain are popular destinations due to their close proximity. 

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