2022: The Year in Review – June

Friday 30th December 2022 · Mike Smith
Source: Original

The World in June

A NATO summit held in Madrid with invited guest countries from the European Union and Indo-Pacific sought to find a consensual defensive reinforcement policy to respond to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the sustained threat against other countries territorial integrity.

In Spain, the country experienced its hottest pre-summer heatwave for almost a century with temperatures exceeding 40°c in many places and remaining above 20°c overnight. Almost the whole Spanish mainland was placed in amber or yellow weather warning levels. The high temperatures sparked a series of wildfires in Zamora which destroyed over 25,000 hectares of land.

In the UK, disruption at airports attributed to staff shortages affected holidaymakers with many flights cancelled. Queen Elizabeth enjoyed her Platinum Jubilee weekend celebrations but her husband the Duke of Edinburgh was missing after testing positive for COVID-19. On June 12th she became the second longest reigning monarch in history, behind Louis XIV of France. UK Government plans to reintroduce imperial measurements were criticized by Asda boss and Conservative Peer Lord Rose as only pleasing “a small minority who hark for the past”. A vote of confidence in Boris Johnson is held with more than 40% of party MP’s voting against him; the final result is 211 to 148 having confidence in Johnson’s leadership. Monkeypox continued to spread in the UK with more than 1,000 cases detected. The average price of petrol rose to almost 181 pence per litre. Although the Court of Appeal authorises the first flight to Rwanda carrying asylum seekers, it was cancelled following legal challenges from the European Court of Human Rights. The Bank of England increased the interest rate to 1.25%; inflation increased to 9.1%. The hottest day of the year was recorded at Santon Downham in Suffolk, which recorded 32.7°c. Thousands of protesters marched through London to demand government action on the cost of living crisis. The biggest strike since 1989 took place, affecting 80% of services across England, Scotland and Wales. Barristers in England and Wales walked out of courts over legal aid funding. Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon proposed a date in October 2023 for a second referendum of independence. The population of the UK had risen to 66,966,400, according to preliminary results of the 2021 census. Finally, Tamworth MP Chris Pincher resigned as Conservative Party deputy chief whip after an incident at a party.

Xàbia in June

01: It was reported that residents in Castellans were fed up with never-ending construction work after the installation of a new sewage network which should have taken three months to complete were on track to take more than nine months to finish.

01: The ecological action group ‘Ecologistas en Acción de la Marina Alta (EAMA)’ demanded the withdrawal of the prestigious Blue Flag status from the Arenal beach in Xàbia in an extensive 10-page report which it sent to the Foundation for Environmental Education, the entity which issues these awards each year.

01: On the occasion of World No Tobacco Day, the Ministry of Health updated the map of smoke-free beaches in the Comunidad Valenciana, a total of 81 beaches that add up to almost 70 kilometers of 16 municipalities of the region. Xàbia did not feature, despite the local council’s desire to make all the municipalities beaches smoke-free.

03: Xàbia Council carried out emergency work on the historic building known as ‘Casa del Xolbi’ after a small movement of the structure was detected during inspection being carried out to draw up a comprehensive renovation project for this Gothic mansion.

06: It was reported that the contractors tasked with renovating Parque Reina Sofia in Thiviers had been given a deadline of July 6th complete the work.

07: It was reported that The town hall in Xàbia had given the owner of the restaurant-bar ‘Casa Rosita’ ten days to close the premises and cease its activity in accordance with the Supreme Court ruling that requires that the local council acts to do so.

08: Construction work on the new municipal swimming pool in Xàbia continued apace and this month one of the most visible milestones was reached, which was the structure of the public gallery that will run down one side of the larger pool and underneath which will be located the changing rooms and other facilities.

10: TETMA, the company responsible for waste collection in Xàbia for the next eight years, began fencing off the first Punt Verds in the municipality, the first phase of the closure of these facilities in order to avoid the improper use of these spaces for recycling in urbanizations.

11: After almost 137 weeks, the biggest party of the year returned to the heart of Xàbia – the Fogueres de Sant Joan. And this very special edition kicked off with the crowning – finally – of the Fogueres Queen for 2020, Marta Ortuño which was then followed by the coronations of Nara Rodriguez (2021) and Olivia Clemente (2022).

27: It was reported that Xàbia Council was to modernise the access control system and management of the underground car parks in the Plaza de la Constitución and the Portal del Clot, which provide just over 880 spaces for parking in the historic centre of the town.

27: It was reported that from Friday 1st July to Friday 30th September, Xàbia would have a permanent base for firefighters equipped with a heavy rural fire truck for the first time. This reinforcement aimed to improve the response to operational needs and reduce the response time during the few months in which the population of the municipality increases significantly.

28: The town hall in Xàbia claimed that the Alicante Provincial Council continued to ignore requests made back in October 2021 to act to stop vehicles parking alongside the Carretera del Portitxol, a road that belongs to the provincial council.

29: The end of June kicked off the municipal cultural programme dedicated to the fashion designer Cristóbal Balenciaga, one of the most renowned masters of haute couture who passed away in Xàbia 50 years ago whilst spending some time relaxing in the town.