“We don’t know what would have happened if they had gotten in .” When firefighters tried to attack the plenary hall of Alicante City Hall yesterday, Thursday 27th March, one eyewitness characterised their level of anxiety as follows. In the end, local police officers stopped them from going inside.

The plenary session in March has turned into one of the bloodiest in recent memory. An attack attempt by municipal firefighters who were protesting their working conditions was the cause.

During the plenary session, the demonstrators yelled, “Barcala, comply,” “Barcala, take off your tie and come to the park,” and “Come here and talk to us.”

They tried to push their way in, and their anger erupted because they weren’t being heard. They were also halted by officers from the Rapid Intervention Task Force of the Local Police. Eventually, they were forced to leave.

The demands for the promised improvements—first, the state of the city’s fire station facilities, and second, compensation for the unusual services required for their work—were the foundation of the violent protest.

Barcala bemoaned the manner in which these demands were implemented, calling it a “disgrace to the plenary session,” according to Europa Press. Rafa Mas, a spokesman for Compromís, was summoned to order “stirring up the protests.” Mas bemoaned the “precarious situation” and “lack of resources” faced by the city firefighters during his remarks.

PSPV, Vox, EU-Podem, and the rest of the opposition concur that while they do not agree with the “forms” of the firefighters’ protests, they do agree with the “demands” and the “substance.”

Although Silvia Castell, a socialist councillor, has urged the mayor to “listen to them” and “fulfil his promises,” Manolo Copé, a spokesman for EU-Podem, feels that “their demands must be heard” because the mayor “is not up to the task.”

A 37-year-old Moldovan male has been taken into custody by the Guardia Civil in accordance with an Italian European Arrest Warrant (EAW). Known as “thieves in law,” the detainee belonged to the Russian-Soviet criminal organisation VOR V ZAKONE, which was committed to committing significant crimes.

The arrest happened on February 28th in Torrevieja while Guardia Civil officers were performing a public safety duty. While on patrol, they spotted three people on a restaurant terrace and saw one of them attempting to hide after spotting them. The officers became suspicious of this behaviour and went on to identify him.

After doing technical examinations, the authorities concluded that the person’s Romanian passport, which was of excellent quality, was a fake. After being detained and brought to government facilities, his fingerprints were recognised, proving his identity.

On March 2th, 2022, the Verona Criminal Court sentenced the detainee to 11 years in prison for international criminal conspiracy offences of a mafia nature. The detainee was a member of the VOR V ZAKONE organisation, which was committed to committing crimes against people and property using mafia-style intimidation, threats, and violence.

The man had been hiding in Spain since the sentencing, using fictitious paperwork to evade discovery. To ascertain whether the fugitive has committed crimes in Spain, the Guardia Civil is still looking into the matter.

The detainee was taken to the Court of First Instance in Torrevieja, where he was ordered to be detained until his extradition to Italy.

The Guardia Civil underlines its commitment to combating international crime and deals another blow to organised crime with this operation.

During the summer of 2025, Ryanair will run daily flights between Alicante and Seville.

The company plans to connect the two cities on a daily basis from today, March 27th, until October 25th. This year, the connection is strengthened with a flight every weekday, in contrast to the 2024 summer season when the route ran six days a week (with double frequency on Sundays and no flights on Wednesdays). Additionally, Ryanair plans to launch eight weekly flights in April 2025, with the addition of a second daily frequency on Saturdays.

Reaching 125,581 passengers in 2024, the link with Seville, the capital of Andalusia and Spain’s fourth most populous city, saw stratospheric growth. Compared to 2023, when the route carried 58,361 people between the two cities, this number marked a 115% increase.

A potential increase of frequency on the Alicante-Elche and Seville route has not been ruled out, and Ryanair will soon release its 2025–2026 winter schedule. Given the ongoing increase in demand on this route, the Irish airline may be planning to improve connection, as it ran five weekly flights during the previous winter season.