The health authorities in Spain are attempting to produce a swine flu vaccine in readiness for the colder weather and a possible increase in the incidence of the infection.In Murcia the doctor’s association has asked that the process is not speeded up and for the health authorities not to bring the vaccination schedule forward.

they are stating that the vaccine must be safe and that additional tests must be carried out before it is used on a wide scale.The research and test procedures and their timings have to be respected and must be rigorous.Murcia doctors do not want to have the vaccine without these safeguards.

They feel that there is no need to launch a special protection campaign in Murcia as they have not experienced too many cases and they  do not want residents to be alarmed.If people follow good basic hygiene and common sense then it could be enough to protect people from the flu.

The president of the association agrees that A and E departments could be inundated but it will very much depend on the potency of the virusduring the autumn and winter.The virus has not been very active in the Murcia region so far.

Representitives from all regions of Spain met in Madrid last week to establish a common medical protocol with regard to swine flu and also to coordinate their actions.

A man from El Altet near Alicante has the same name as a man who is wanted by the police.This man has now been detained by the police on two occasions and has never received an official apology.

The first time it happened was when he needed to have his national identity card replaced.When they checked his name it registered as someone who was wanted by the police and he was detained in the offices for over two hours until it was proven that he was not this man.

He thought that the matter had been cleared up and it went to the back of his mind until last week while on a walking holiday with his family in Castalla he was arrested by the Guardia Civil and because it was the weekend and his identity could not be verified because all of the offices were closed( where are the databases on police computers?)he was kept in custody for 48 hours.

During his two day stay in prison he suffered anxiety attacks and a serious asthma attack.To add insult to injury when the authorities realised that they had made a mistake not one person apologised for the mix-up.This is a man who needs to know that this will never happen to him again.He will now walk in fear of being detained once again.

He now has a lawyer working on his behalf and who is seeking that the police in some way ensure that this man is not misidentified again and that he receives some compensation for the trauma that he has suffered.He is not a criminal and has never committed a criminal act and yet the police don’t seem to care about his problem.

A stateless Lebanese man was arrested yesterday for shooting at the british flag outside the British Consulate in Malaga.He also scattered leaflets in the doorway of the Consulate.

It appears that the man fired five shots at the flag and was then arrested as he tried to drive away in his car.He has had an ongoing dispute with the British Consulate because they will not allow him to enter the UK ,even though his children are there.

The Spanish authorities say that he has been arrested previously because of forgery and making threats.Considering the number of people who are already living in the UK illegally ,without seeking the permission of anyone.It seems ironic that this man is seeking to enter the country legally and cannot do so.When people are so thwarted then sometimes they do make threats and sometimes they do attempt to forge documents ,out of sheer frustration .

The British authorities may have very good reason to keep this man out of the country but he obviously feels very angry about something ,maybe it has nothing to do with his family but if it was for a more furtive reason then why would he try to go through the  correct channels?

If a building is illegal because it has contravened Spanish law,then it is illegal.In San Juan playa ,near Alicante a building company had permission to build an hotel ,El Cabo Hotel.It is right on the beach front and it is within the non-building zone according to the Ley de Costa.The company Inversiones AM 2000 which owns the now derelict  hotel has said that it will demolish the building once it has the permission of the council to do so .It seems that the company has an agreement to build an apartment block on the same sight once the building is demolished.The agreement is with the council.How can this make any sense ?

Getting the building demolished has been high on the agenda of the council’s urban image department which has said that the building is in a very dangerous condition and has become the haunt of drug users and vagrants.Last week the Alicante council declared the building a ruin and that the general state of the building was giving cause for concern.

The owners of the building say that they will pull the building down within 15 days of receiving the demolition order and that they will then begin proceedings that will permit them to build 14 apartments and garages.

How can the council allow another building to be built on the same site when it is right on the sea front and within the no-building zone?That is the question which now needs to be answered.This zone is covered by the Ley de Costa which is being enforced in many areas obliging people to demolish their homes.

Rumour has it that Inversiones AM 2000 obtained permission to build in April 2008 provided that their plans were amended.This is one of those very strange cases which seems to have the hallmark of many similar cases in the past.Watch this space.