Man arrested for killing seagull that tried to steal his food, Pope condemns ‘indifference’ towards migrants on Canaries trip, two dead and 24 injured in Magaluf fire and more news on Friday June 12th.
Man arrested for killing seagull that tried to steal his food
A man in the northern Spanish city of Gijón has been arrested by police after he was seen violently killing a seagull.
According to local newspaper El Comercio, the man was sitting at a bar terrace table when a seagull swooped down to try to steal his pincho (usually a sandwich or a slice of Spanish omelette), a common occurrence in downtown Gijón as it’s a coastal city.
Witnesses said the man grabbed the bird, beat it and twisted its neck. As a result of the attack, the seagull was seriously injured and died shortly afterwards.
Local police officers were called to the scene and the man was arrested for suspected animal abuse.
“It was clear something like this was going to happen because you can’t even sit down to have a vermouth; they swoop down for the tapas,” one local told El Comercio.
Two dead and 24 injured in Magaluf fire
Two people have died in a fire in an apartment building in the holiday hotspot of Magaluf, on the Balearic island of Mallorca.
According to emergency services, 24 people were also injured, one of them critically. Eight firefighters are among the injured.
The fire broke out in the third floor of the building in Magaluf’s popular nightlife area of Punta Ballena.
The cause of the blaze is yet to be confirmed.
According to the town’s mayor, Juan Antonio Amengual, the deaths occurred while people were trying to leave the building via the stairs. All residents have been evacuated.
Group of minors identified in alleged sexual assault of 12-year-old classmate
Spanish National Police have identified a group of minors, aged between 11 and 12 , for the alleged sexual assault on a classmate, a 12-year-old girl, during a birthday celebration in a private venue in the northern city of Burgos.
The incident was reported by the girl’s family in May. Police have now referred the case to the Juvenile Prosecutor’s Office.
As the suspects are under 14 years of age, they are not criminally responsible, police have only been able to identify the group without specifying the number of those involved, which is thought to be five or six.
The students were suspended from school for five days and have returned to a different class than the victim.
Pope condemns ‘indifference’ towards migrants on Canaries trip
Pope Leo XIV on Thursday condemned “indifference” towards migrants during a visit to Spain’s Canary Islands that symbolised the perils of deadly irregular routes to Europe.
The pontiff cast a wreath into the sea in tribute to the thousands who have died trying to reach the Atlantic archipelago, on day six of a trip to Spain that has repeatedly highlighted the plight of migrants.
Leo visited the port of Arguineguín on Gran Canaria island, where he met migrants and those who help them before blessing a cross made from the wood of migrant boats.
“Even today, monsters lurk in these seas: mafias that profit from despair, traffickers who enslave women and children, and those whose indifference allows the poor to be swallowed up by exploitation or forgetfulness,” Leo told a ceremony at the port.
Nearly 1,200 people died or went missing on the route from Africa to the Canary Islands last year, according to the International Organization for Migration, making it one of the world’s deadliest migration routes.
With additional reporting by AFP.
