Torrox made a new ‘statement’ as the fastest-growing town in the Malaga Province. During an extraordinary plenary session, the Town Hall approved its municipal budget for 2025: €36.3 million. The new budget will come into effect following its publication in the Official Gazette of the Province of Málaga (BOP).

Mayor Óscar Medina named the budget an “expansive” one. The plan is to strengthen Torrox’s economic momentum. According to the mayor, this is just the beginning of “the best years for Torrox.”

Known as the town with the best climate in Europe, Torrox has risen in the last years, with increases in per capita income, job creation, and quality of life. Mayor Medina wants to continue the growth, and he noted that actual spending could exceed €40 million once surplus funds and the town’s lack of deficit are factored in.

The new budget includes more than €3 million in real investments and forecasts an initial gross savings of over €625,000. In the last ten years, while expanding its population and public services, Torrox’s budget has doubled, from €18.6 million to over €36 million.

The local administration says that it will prioritize sustainable urban growth, quality tourism, and long-standing community needs. At the same time, they want to focus on preserving local traditions and identity.

Read here more news from Axarquia.

The Junta de Andalucía has introduced drones into the daily operations of its environmental agents to enhance the protection and monitoring of the region’s rich natural heritage.

This new Drone Unit, part of the Ministry for Sustainability and the Environment, is made up of agents trained and certified to operate UAVs under European safety regulations. The unit was launched in 2022 and it evolved all these years.

Now, the agents have expanded their capabilities with a new non-EASA certificate. This allows them to use drones typically excluded from EU aviation regulations, such as those used in police or military operations, for environmental and territorial surveillance.

Drones now assist the agents in essential tasks such as monitoring conservation work in natural spaces, inspecting administrative cases on the ground, or emergency support during wildfires, floods, or missing person searches.

This ‘drone move’ is part of a strategy to modernize and digitize environmental protection efforts in Andalusia. It enhances data analysis, streamlines fieldwork, and supports real-time decision-making in remote areas.

The use of this modern technology strengthens the role of environmental agents as guardians of Andalusia’s forests, biodiversity, and protected areas.

Read here more news from Axarquia.

As the world mourns the sad passing of Pope Francis, a question has arisen: Did Nostradamus predict his passing, and perhaps even more interesting, who will succeed him?

French astrologer and apothecary Michel de Nostredame, more commonly known as Nostradamus, is the famous writer of Les Prophéties, which he ‘penned’ as far back as 1555. It is extraordinary to think that he could have possibly conceived the future of humanity, and yet his prophecies still appear to apply to the world that we live in today. Now, many are saying that one prophecy in particular foretold the passing of Pope Francis.

What does Nostradamus’ prophecy say about the Pope?

In his book, Nostradamus wrote:

‘Through the death of a very old Pontiff / A Roman of good age will be elected / Of him it will be said that he weakens his seat / But long will he sit and in mordant activity.’

Nostradamus also hinted at details of the successor of Pope Francis, writing, ‘A young man of dark skin with the help of the great king will deliver the purse to another of red colour.’

Reflecting on this poignant description, astrologists are now claiming that Nostradamus was referring to Pope Francis‘s death. Others have taken this one step further and said that it also predicts the weakening of the Catholic Church and Catholicism as we know it.

Of course, the Catholic Church does now face a critical moment in its history as it must choose a new spiritual leader. Here, too, there may be some truth in Nostradamus’s prophecy all those years ago. Considering the candidates that have been put forward, it is entirely possible that the next Pope could indeed be of African descent. Three African cardinals from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, and Guinea are among the contenders for the papacy.

Did Nostradamus predict the war between Russia and Ukraine?

While it is fair to say that the words of Nostradamus are vague enough to be applied to significant world occurrences post-event, there do seem to be a number of ‘coincidences’.  For example, some believe that he predicted Russia’s war with Ukraine when he stated:

Through long war all the army exhausted, so that they do not find money for the soldiers; instead of gold or silver, they will come to coin leather, Gallic brass, and the crescent sign of the Moon.”

The allusions to ‘the crescent sign of the Moon’ and ‘Gallic brass’ have prompted some to hypothesise that France and Turkey could be involved in settling the dispute in some way.

What predictions did Nostradamus make for 2025?

However, scholars of Nostradamus are more concerned about another prophecy pertaining to this year, which seems to suggest the Earth will be devastated: “From the cosmos, a fireball will rise, a harbinger of fate, the world pleads. Science and fate in a cosmic dance, the fate of the Earth, a second chance.”

Personally, I hold on to the fact that this says ‘a second chance’ at the end, but whatever you believe about Nostradamus, it will certainly be interesting to see if his ‘Pope prophecy’ plays out.

Over to you: Are you a believer in Nostradamus’s book of prophecies, or do you think it is too easy to make it appear as though they are coming true?