The Comisiones Obreras have called on workers at the Extranjería in Alicante to start protesting outside the capital office (c/ Ebanistería, 03007 Alicante) on March 27th and 31st and April 3rd from 11:00 to 11:30.

They state that the organisational and resource crisis facing immigration offices is expected to get worse when the new immigration laws go into effect on May 20th. Alicante, where 21% of the population is foreign, is one of the provinces with the highest concentration of foreign residents, along with Madrid, Barcelona, Andalusia, Valencia, and the Canary Islands, they claim, despite the fact that this has sparked protests throughout Spain.

The third province that processes immigration applications is Alicante

According to the union, the province of Alicante processes the third-highest number of immigration applications. Over 6.8 million foreigners, or nearly 14% of the nation’s total population, lived there overall in 2024. In 2024, almost 1.2 million applications were handled in Spain.

“Unsustainable” and “at their limit,” according to union sources, the situation has prompted calls for nationwide protests to demand rapid answers.

The demonstrations aim to draw attention to the immigration system’s current breakdown and call for the assurance of the financial, material, and human resources required to satisfy the rising demand. Without an effective immigration system, thousands of people may not be able to work and live in Spain lawfully, which would have a significant negative influence on both their personal lives and the nation’s economy as a whole.

An immediate assessment of the job list is one of the group’s demands, considering that there are now just 1,500 employees nationally and that 30% of open positions remain empty. They clarify that even if the number of foreigners has grown exponentially over the past 20 years, this number has remained constant.

In recognition of the intricacy and accountability of the work done, they also call for comparable compensation with other General State Administration agencies like Social Security, SEPE, or Traffic.

They are also calling for better internal mobility and teleworking arrangements, as the rules governing them now differ greatly between provinces.

There have been new developments in the investigation of the murder of 15-year-old Cloe, who was slashed in the throat by her 17-year-old ex-boyfriend in Orihuela Costa. Authorities have acknowledged that a second youngster is being investigated for allegedly actively participating in the crime, following the lifting of the summary’s secrecy.

While her ex-partner attended vocational training in the afternoon after dropping out of high school, this minor also attended the IES Playa Flamenca, even attending the same class as Cloe, who was in her fourth year of ESO.

Additionally, the second youngster is scheduled to testify today, Wednesday 26th March, before the Juvenile Court in Alicante, where the primary suspect—who was taken into custody shortly after the incident at his Los Balcones home—has already done so.

The event took place in the La Florida residential area on November 24th, the eve of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. When Cloe made the decision to break up with her supposed killer, they were left on a dimly lit street. According to the Guardia Civil’s theory, he then stabbed her, slitting her throat.

In excruciating pain, Chloe travelled 200 metres to her brother’s house in Venus via a tiny, half-metre-wide alley. Even though the cleaning was completed in a matter of hours, blood stains were still visible along that convoluted trail the next day. A terrifying scene in which Chloe’s bloodied handprint, nearly at ground level, attests to her suffering. She passed very soon after her brother took her to Torrevieja Hospital in critical condition.

The primary suspect, who is currently being detained in a juvenile facility pending trial, escaped towards parque oeste La Florida, which is close to the scene of the murder.

The Consell authorised the Attorney General’s Office of the Generalitat to take popular action in the case of the young woman who was deemed a victim of gender-based violence, four days prior to March 8th, International Women’s Day, by approving the Department of Social Services’ proposal for institutional action in the case of murders of women victims of gender-based violence.

Residents of La Florida and members of the educational community at IES Playa Flamenca were so outraged by the crime that the “In Memory of Cloe” platform was created, calling for a rally on January 25th to demand that the park in front of the school be renamed Cloe Tirelli Youth Park.

Additionally, the platform asked that a memorial area be created in the park across from the alley where the events were held. Ever since, the alley where she was decapitated has been transformed into a temporary altar, adorned with floral arrangements, words of love, and sincere remembrances.

You may write recurring phrases like “fly high” and words of memory like “you’ve been an incredible friend, you didn’t deserve that” on notebook paper and cardboard.

Meanwhile, the number of clashes at Playa Flamenca High School has increased. They have gone up, according to local police sources. The same sources admit that it’s a challenging issue to resolve, despite the fact that cops have been working on it for more than a year through the juvenile unit and have increased police presence.

The implementation of Benidorm’s orange and green zones for regulated parking has been completed. The contract to provide and install parking meters, control devices, and a management platform for these regions has been awarded by the Local Government Board. With an offer of €362,758 (IVA included), Flowbird España SLU was the successful bidder.

In this manner, additional orange and green parking areas will be added for both locals and tourists, however the latter will have to pay to park on these coloured streets. The city started to be divided into sectors in 2021, and some roadways were painted green and orange. However, up until now, only residents—that is, cars that were correctly identifiable with a card when registered—were allowed to use the streets. But this tender will bring about a thorough overhaul of the system.

Therefore, only residents are allowed to park in the orange-regulated parking zone for a maximum of ten days without incurring a fine. Non-residents of the municipality of Benidorm are not permitted to park. This parking area is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

However, non-residents who can demonstrate their right to be in city establishments are now permitted to park in the orange zone. They will use a form to demonstrate their rights. Parking will therefore be allowed for one hour for those who spend between €5 and €9.99, two hours for those who spend between €10 and €14.99, and three hours for those who spend €15 or more.

Parking in the green zone will be restricted to a fee, subject to vehicle pricing, based on the terms of the blue zone, and will be enforced around-the-clock, every day of the year. However, residents are allowed to park in this area for a maximum of 48 hours without incurring a tax.

The bidding process

On February 21st, the Contracting Committee proposed the award based on the scores the company’s bid received based on the several criteria used. After the Governing Board approved the proposal and the corporation provided the final assurance and the necessary paperwork, the award is now in force.

In order to accomplish the goals outlined in the 2023 Sustainable Tourism Destination Plan, “Verde Benidorm,” which is a component of the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan and is funded by the European Union (NextGenerationEU), this contract is a vital step. Action number 16 (Reorganisation of traffic flow in green and orange zones) is the milestone, and it is specifically part of Programmatic Axis number 4, which is related to competitiveness.

According to the contract, regulated parking in the aforementioned locations is necessary to build a traffic flow control and management system. With a basic tender budget of €394,299, the process was transparent, standardised, and carried out as a regular operation.

64 parking meters

Eighteen months is the specified execution timeframe. “The supply, installation, and commissioning of the equipment and management platforms must be up and running within a maximum of six months, while ensuring the software’s operation has a further twelve months,” explained Francis Muñoz, the Councillor for Mobility. The system’s operational guarantee is set at one year, and the parking meters’ guarantee is set at two years. A total of 64 meters will be placed in accordance with the specifications.

The red zone

He further explained that “the contract stipulates that both the management platform, the control devices, and the parking meters must allow for parking regulation based on the characteristics of each zone type, so that variables such as schedules, rates, and permits can be modified.” He went further to say that “in the future, they must allow parking management in the so-called red zone, which would be where parking would only be permitted for residents, for a limited time and without paying any fees, but which expressly prohibits parking for non-residents of Benidorm.”