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The Olive Press News Editor recalls how he fell in love with Mijas when he got married there
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Vol. 10 Issue 247
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May 7th - May 20th 2025
MAGICAL
See page 13
Housing milestone
TREATY LATEST
Hopes
The UK’s defence budget of €75 billion in 2024 accounted for nearly 20% of military spending when combined with that of its EU neighbours, underlining the importance of military cooperation and the joint threats they face. Part of the negotiations hope to bring the UK into a joint military procurement program with EU states, enabling European militaries to buy British-made military equipment through a new €150 billion European defence fund. With so much at stake, the EU Commissioner Maros Sefcovic has even hailed the UK as a ‘key partner’ and said he is looking forward to a ‘new chapter’ in relations. He also praised the ‘exemplary cooperation’ between the respective foreign ministers of the UK and Spain in Gibraltar talks, which he said are moving in a ‘positive direction.’ Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares echoed these comments earlier in the week when he said negotiations are ‘making good progress.’ Speaking on Wednesday, he reaffirmed that removing the physical fence between Gibraltar and Spain remains the ‘core objective’ of ongoing talks with the UK and the European Union. Coupled with the relentlessly optimistic messaging coming out from all camps on the hopes of sealing a deal in recent months, it raises hopes that a historic treaty could be announced at the London summit.
Shining a light on sensational Costa del Sol corruption charges
LAMPPOST LADY
Spanish mayor facing prison and resignation calls over claims he paid lover with public money to check ‘lampposts and flowerpots’
A MIGHTY Spanish politician who has long been a fixture on the Costa del Sol is facing possible jail time over claims he misappropriated public money. The mayor of Estepona, Jose Garcia Urbano, is facing up to three years in jail for allegedly paying a lover for a bogus job to ‘check lampposts and flowerpots’ in 2023. The PP heavyweight, seemingly a future president of the Junta, is set to face a jury trial in June over the case, which stems from a series of lurid allegations made by the woman – dubbed the Amante La Farolera, or ‘lamppost lover’ – and her policeman ex-husband last year. The claims by the former Policia Local are linked to Urbano allegedly coercing them into a sordid menage a trois over 18 months. They alleged that Urbano used a combination of threats and favours - including a free beachside apartment - to control them, in exchange for lurid wife-swapping sessions at a castle/hotel Urbano owned in Monda, near Marbella.
By Walter Finch
However the judge eventually shelved the case on the grounds the unusual relationship had been ‘consensual’. While the mayor has spoken publicly claiming he was ‘being smeared’, Judge Inigo Jose Villar, decided there were other charges that needed to be levied. In particular, how the woman, initials ‘CPB’, took home over €5,376 of taxpayer’s money for just 48 days of work between February 13 and March 31, 2023. CPB testified in an earlier hearing that she ‘never once set foot in the town hall’ during this period. “I didn’t even go into the office once,” she told the judge. “When we saw each other he (Urbano) gave me money so that I wouldn’t go, because he knew my financial state, which wasn’t good. “I couldn’t afford monthly rent so he offered me this position.” Estepona PSOE Councillor Emma
Molina this week told the Olive Press she had called for Urbano’s immediate resignation over the ‘very serious’ charges. “Handing out public money to a person he had an intimate relationship with – and who never worked there – is surely enough to make him stand down,” she insisted. It marks an unlikely toppling of a teflon titan who has long enjoyed a level of impunity within Andalucia, and will likely have his fellow costa mayors feeling nervous. The step-son of the PP Marbella mayor, Joakim Broberg, is currently facing up to 22 years in jail in a trial just begun in Madrid.
Allegations
He is accused of importing hash into northern Europe and laundering the cash through Marbella real estate while leading a Swedish mafia drug trafficking network. The case connects to the mayor through her husband, Lars Broberg, who was also indicted for drug trafficking before his death. Meanwhile, closer to home, the mayor of Algeciras, Jose Landaluce (also PP), has been battling allegations of sexual harassment earlier this year towards two female councillors on his team. CONNECTIONS: Urbano is married with four children
Opinion Page 6
GRAPHIC CREDIT: Telecinco
ALL eyes are turning to London for an upcoming summit on May 19 to discuss an historic new security and defence partnership between the UK and the EU. A number of other topics including youth mobility and trade will also be high on the agenda, sparking hopes that a grand accord can be reached to resolve a number of outstanding issues. Speculation on the Rock has been rife that the announcement of a treaty with the EU has also been added to the list. It follows on from the optimistic mood shared between the UK and the EU for the first time in years after an era of Brexit-related tension. The threat of a revanchist Russia and an unreliable Trump administration has focused minds in both London and Brussels on the importance of new ‘strategic partnership’.
HOMELY: The newlyfinished Hassans towers and (right) a graphic render of Chatham Views
THE second phase of Hassan Centenary Terraces is now complete, delivering a further 285 new affordable homes to local families. The completion marks the final stage of the development, with all 665 properties now ready for occupation. Purchasers of the second phase properties can expect to receive Notices to Complete in the coming days, according to a government statement released yesterday. Additional developments are also underway at Chatham Views and Bob Peliza Mews, while plans for further affordable housing at the projected inner harbour reclamation are also in the pipeline.
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