Euro Weekly News - Mallorca 1 - 7 May 2014 Issue 1504 by Euro Weekly News Media S.A.

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ISSUE NO. 1504

1 - 7 MAY 2014

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Cheaper flights A PLAN to make flights to Mallorca cheaper and improve connections to the rest of Europe has been proposed. President of the Mallorca Government Jose Ramon Bauza has been speaking to Ana Pastor, Minister for Development, about the possibility of allowing the airlines a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;bonusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; for flying into the Balearic Islands. It would consist of reducing the charges airlines have to pay so that the discount could be passed on to the

passengers, thus increasing the attractiveness of the islands as a holiday destination. Rafael Catala, Head of Infrastructure, commented that the government was doing everything in its power to better connect the islands with the mainland, especially with a view to encouraging more tourism. Bauza called the meeting a success and hoped that the support from the mainland would continue to be positive.

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THIS WEEK IN

EWN News 1 - 19

Finance 21 - 26

Letters 27

Daily TV BEACH LIGHTING: Has helped, but hoteliers want more on other beaches.

Hoteliers want light on other beaches THE tourist sector in Palmanova has welcomed the night time illumination of the beaches in the Magaluf area which have helped deal with the problems of vandalism and security. But now they are worried that rather than solving the problem it has just been moved elsewhere.

As such, the hoteliers in Palmanova have petitioned the mayor of Calvia, Manu Onieva, to extend the lighting to all the beaches in the area. The beaches causing most concern to hoteliers are Son Maties, Palmanova and Carregador; they are all close to Magaluf and the most logical choice for criminals.

Leapy Lee 32

Time out 36 - 37

Classifieds 44 - 46

Sport 56

NEWS Tree falls A TREE fell on a parked car in Calle Niceto Alcala Zamora in Palma. Local Police and firemen were called in to remove it. Fatal accident A GERMAN cyclist, 60, died on the Cap Blanc road. Guardia Civil believe he fell and no other factors were involved. Woman injured A PIZZA delivery motorcyclist fled the scene after hitting a woman who was cycling across a pedestrian crossing in Manacor. She was taken to hospital to be treated for her injuries. Drunk driver A DRIVER was arrested by Local Police in Palma for drunk driving after she hit another car and ran onto the pavement on Via de Cintura with her son in the back of the car. Serious collision A MOTORCYCLIST, 21, was seriously injured, losing part of his leg, after being hit by a van in Palma. Witnesses said the van went through a red light.

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Police jailed for beating suspect TWO local policemen in Manacor, Mallorca, have been sentenced to two years each in prison for beating a man in 2005. As well as the prison sentence, the policemen will not be able to hold public service jobs ever again and they will have to pay €860 to the victim. The incident took place when the police, in the execution of their duties, forcibly removed the man from a popular nightclub, they then went on to throw him to the ground and handcuff him in

order to take him to their car where they proceeded to kick him and hit him with their truncheons. The man tried to flee but was unable to get away. The prosecution explained that the policemen exceeded what would be considered reasonable restraint of the victim. The victim suffered cuts, severe bruising, and cracked ribs which took more than 30 days to get better.

80 per cent are happy at work T

ODAY (Thursday) is Labour Day, and as most of us spend more time at work than anywhere else, it is important to be happy there. Almost 80 per cent of

workers in Spain say they are happy with their job, according to a survey by temporary work agency Adecco. Almost 79 per cent believe that contentment in the workplace is more important than having a higher salary. But for more than 71, having a stable job is more important than being happy in the workplace. This explains why

Car overturned A GERMAN tourist overturned his hire car on the Manacor road in Algaida, while drunk driving. He attempted to go straight across a roundabout and was slightly injured. Cocaine smuggler A WOMAN, 33, is facing five years in prison for bringing 500 grammes of cocaine to Palma hidden in her underwear and an intimate area. She was caught at the airport.

‘

Quote of the Week It’s so sad. I live on €300 and with the help of my 88-year-old mother.’

Rosalia Iglesias, the wife of former Partido Popular Treasurer Luis Barcenas, facing charges in court in the Gurtel corruption case.

CONTENT: Most workers believe being happy is more important than a higher salary.

almost 63 per cent wouldn’t leave their current job even if they weren’t happy. However, more than 81 per cent believe they would be happier if Spain had working hours similar to the rest of Europe or if they could work more from home. And 41 per cent believe they would prefer to have their own businesses. Meanwhile, amongst the unemployed in Spain, the average level of happiness is 5.4 out of 10, which would increase to 8.1 out of 10 if they found a job. And not having a job will lead to fewer women being treated for Mother’s Day, which is marked on the first Sunday of May in Spain, as 80 per cent of couples say they are delaying having a family because they are out of work. Before the financial crisis, the main reason for not having children was ‘not having found the right partner’. The Spanish Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics reports that lack of work also affects the decision of how many children to have, and at what age women decide to become mothers.

Number of the week

are currently held in 5,117 women Spanish prisons, representing 7.6

per cent of the total number of inmates, when the European average is 5.3 per cent. Drugrelated crimes are behind the majority of incarcerations, followed by theft.

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Wife attacked A MAN was arrested in Palma for beating his wife in front of their children, aged four and seven. The older boy explained to Local Police what happened.

Mystery charges THE IB Salut health service is reportedly charging €10.54 for a card which only costs €4 to make. They say the rest goes towards the salary of the member of staff who issues the card.

Help needed URGENT requests to the Social Services in Palma for help have almost doubled over the past year to 36 daily grants to pay bills and food.

Prolific offender A BOY, 17, believed to be responsible for more than 39 burglaries in the Cala Rajada area in the past months was arrested by Guardia Civil.

Child hit A BOY, 11, was injured after being hit by a car when he was cycling on the Cami vell de Lloret and was admitted to Inca Hospital.

Better access CALVIA Town Hall is negotiating with Balearic Port Authorities for the creation of an alternative access route to El Toro cove, closed since August due to landslides.

And finally... A MAN, 32, was arrested in Madrid for allegedly stabbing his 19-month-old son to death and seriously injuring his other son, aged five. The children’s mother and grandmother witnessed the scene which occurred when they went to pick them up.

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NEWS EXTRA

Forged goods GUARDIA CIVIL seized thousands of false brand name t-shirts, as well as sweatshirts, sunglasses and other items, worth €20,000 in s’Arenal.

Clear signs THE Arta IniciativaVerds environmentalist group has asked for signs at the entrance to beaches to avoid problems with dog owners.

No guidance A COUPLE has been sentenced by Palma Provincial Court to put their daughter, 8, into an official school, as she was being schooled by a cooperative with no government guidelines.

NEWS

€700,000 swindle of ‘dyed’ cash A CAMEROONIAN man, 31, is going to court in Palma accused of swindling €700,000 out of a local Palma businessman. The prosecution is asking for a six year prison sentence due to the severity of the fraud. The suspect made the victim believe that he had managed to take €55 million out of Cameroon by dying the cash black so that it wouldn’t be noticed at customs controls. The victim gave the suspect €700,000 in exchange for the paper cash and the chemical products necessary to remove the dye. What he was given was no more than coloured cardboard. The events took place in 2009 when the suspect,

and another four men who have already been sentenced, approached the Palma constructor with several building projects designed to make him think that they had a lot of money to invest. After they had gained his confidence they explained that they had €55 million in legal tender but that they had dyed it to get it out of the country. They convinced the victim to buy the cash from them as well as the chemicals. The victim paid them in several instalments until reaching the agreed price of €700,000 but all he got in return was a stack of coloured card. The courts are asking for six years and a fine as well as the return of the victim’s money.

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Mallorca’s most talented is Albie AFTER many weeks of competing, the finalists for Mallorca’s Got Talent came together to reveal the winner. It had become a very strong and competitive competition which was very well supported by the local community. The winner was named as Albie Davis after he performed ‘Happy’ by Pharrell Williams. Albie put his own twist on the song and totally mesmerised and engaged the audience having them hanging on his every word. All 12 finalists were interviewed by Euro Weekly News prior to the competition to get a feel of how they all felt and you could really feel how excited, full of enthusiasm and oozing with talent they were at the thought of possibly being about to embark on working towards their future career as singers, musicians or entertainers. The show was very aptly opened by last year’s Mallorca’s Got Talent winner Jessica Sophie, a stunning young lady with a beautiful voice. The finalist who opened up the show was Benji

JUDGES: Rony, Humphrey and Carlos from EWN judged the contest.

Albie, the winner. Emmerich on electric guitar playing music from the legendary Santana. Benji went on to win third place in the competition. There was such an astonishing level of talent and a great variation of songs and music ranging from ‘Ave Maria’ sung by Margaret McKenna, to ‘Crazy’ by Patsy Kline sung

by Olivia May Green, to a John Secada song called ‘Just another day’ by Arthur Nuruwa from Holland, who was supported by some friends who flew over from Holland especially for the final. There was also an amazing medley of music played on the electric guitar by Gus Carsten from Holland, to ‘Rolling in the deep’ by Adele sung by Angela Arce aged just seven years, who went on to be the runner up in the competition. Izzy Newman entertained the audience while the three judges consulted to come to a final decision. The party ended up at

Ash, Alistair the owner of Aroma, and sponsor Lee.

Aroma and about 150 people carried on partying until about 5am in the morning . The sponsors for the competition were Lee Maguire and Katie Rosco, the owners of the company LM Stabilizer + Hydraulic Engineering SL who gave €1,000 as prize money, the other sponsor Rony B from the company Mallorca Party Band, was one of the judges and did all the signs and was lighting manager. Willy Meyer from Audio Visual Palma gave a prize of the chance to record for half a day in a recording studio for the winner to make their own master demo tape or to record a song of their own in the studio, an amazing opportunity for the winner worth €2,000.

Sponsorship for next year’s Mallorcas Got Talent 2015 is already

lined up and in place along with a 500 seater venue!!

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NEWS EXTRA

Sexual abuse A MAN, 49, has been sentenced to four years in prison for sexually abusing his wife when their young children were in the home in April 2008.

Flag burned TWO men in their twenties were arrested in Sa Pobla for stealing and burning a Spanish flag and could face fines.

Officer down A GUARDIA CIVIL motorcyclist on traffic duties had to be admitted to hospital after being hit by a car while overtaking in Felanitx.

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Aston is limbering up A LOCAL man is limbering up for his fourth sporting challenge to raise money for the Allen Graham Charity 4 Kids. Aston Williams White is going to take part in the gruelling Iron Man 70.3 race on Saturday, May 10 which is a two km swim, 90km bike ride followed by a 21km run. So far this year he has completed the Alcudia Duathlon, a 10km run / 40km bike / followed by a 5km run. He then took part in the Pollensa Half Marathon in order to raise money for the charity. He also took part in the

CHILLY DIP: Little Ducklings help. Mallorca Classic Bike Race which was a 100km bike race. Local companies Little Ducklings and Excel Marine sponsored Aston

A lack of judges THE courts in Palma have had to suspend a case, for over â&#x201A;Ź500,000, against the Social Security due to the lack of a judge; a case cannot be heard with only two judges. As well as the lack of a judge one of the defendants did not turn up, so the case has been delayed until September 3.

ASTON: Iron Man.

by supplying him with all his sports equipment for the races, his triathlon bike and all his entrance fees. Allen Graham Charity 4 Kids cares for children living all over Mallorca who are in need of help. The charity helps orphaned, abandoned and abused children. Nannies from the Little Ducklings decided to help raise cash by doing a sponsored dip. They jumped into a pool at a

chilly eight degrees earlier in the year. Astonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Aunty Joy, runs the Allen Graham Charity 4 Kids Charity shop in the Port of Pollensa.

NEWS

1 cyclist killed, 1 injured WITHIN 24 hours, one cyclist died and another was injured on the roads of Mallorca. The first accident occurred on the road between Esporles and Puigpunyent when a group of Danish cyclists was riding. One of them failed to avoid a pothole, lost control of his bicycle and fell off, hitting his head. He was rushed to Son Espases Hospital in a serious condition. Local Police in Esporles say they have reported the condition of the road on several occasions and that there have been at least four falls in three weeks. Later, on the Arta road, a German cyclist, 55, fell accidentally. He sustained severe head injuries and was taken to Manacor Hospital in a critical condition, but later died.

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NEWS EXTRA

Swimmer found A BELGIAN who had been reported missing while swimming between Cala Sant Vicenç and Cala Estremer in Pollença was found in good health.

Dark rescue A GERMAN tourist, 43, was slightly injured in the Mortitx cascade in Escorca. Despite firemen receiving the call after 10.30pm, they still rescued him.

Sick leave THE Balearic Islands is the Spanish region with the highest number of accidents at work, with 3,181 accidents requiring sick leave per 100,000 workers.

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NEWS

One dead, one seriously hurt in hit and run A MAN suspected of being the driver of a car which hit and killed one and seriously hurt another was found to have cocaine in his system. In the incident in Palma the two men were hit before the driver ran away on foot as his car was too badly damaged from the impact. The alleged driver has a record of reckless driving and had had his licence suspended after another hit and run case in which he was involved. Judge Jose Castro, due to the elevated risk of the driver running again and the severity of the incident, has ordered he be remanded in custody accused of negligent homicide and causing reckless harm to others. The driver commented: “I’m very sorry. It was

very dark and I didn’t see them. I knew one of them. When I saw him I went into shock”. The incident took place on the old road of Sineu: the MA-3011. The rider of a Suzuki, Raul G.O. 32, stopped due to a break down - another motorcyclist who was passing by stopped to help him. The two victims were standing by the side of the road when a Citroen Xsara ran them over. The brutality of the impact made the rider go right through the

windscreen and end up with half of his body in the passenger seat - the other victim was thrown several metres through the air and landed by the side of the road. The driver of the car then fled on foot with one of the victims still protruding from his windscreen. Despite the efforts of the IbSalut ambulance service, they were unable to save his life. The other victim was taken immediately to the ICU of Son

Espases Hospital where he remains. The Guardia Civil set up road blocks to find the fleeing driver who they suspected to be a local security guard, aged 28. They arrested a man who was breathalysed and found to be clear of alcohol but gave a positive reading for cocaine. They took his statement and then took him to prison where he will remain until the case comes to court.

€3,000 for a massage licence fee THE number of illegal masseuses on the beaches of Calvia has pushed the council to ask for a licence fee of nearly €3,000 from each of them. The council has now received the necessary permissions from the Baleares government and the Department of the

Photo from flickr by RobW_

Environment to install a dozen massage stalls on beaches throughout the municipality. There will be an even distribution to all the beach areas as this service is one of the more appreciated by weary tourists. Licences will cost €2,859 and be valid for one year.

BEACH MASSAGE: Appreciated by weary tourists.

NEWS

Things worse since recession EIGHTY SIX per cent of workers in Spain think that their working conditions have got worse since the recession began. This contrasts heavily with other European country’s workers levels of satisfaction like Denmark where 94 per cent of interviewed workers say they are satisfied with the conditions under which they work; Austria and Belgium also have a high percentage of satisfied employees. According to data released by the European Commission only Greece has lower levels of satisfaction at work (33 per cent). The factors taken into account when determining the levels of satisfaction were the hours worked, the organisation of the work, health and security at work and the attitude of their superiors. Sixty three per cent of Spaniards say they are happy with the balance between work and family.

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2 youths to pay €4,000 for hitting a policeman THE two youths who hit a policeman when he intervened in a mass fight in Port de Soller have admitted to the courts in Palma that they were in the wrong. The two young men declared themselves guilty and accepted the fines and the compensation pay of €4,000 to the policeman. The events took place in the Port

of Soller in August of 2012 when there was a mass fight outside a popular local nightspot. The local policeman, who was off duty at the time, intervened for the safety of all those concerned and tried to calm them down. Unfortunately, one of the brawlers took this rather badly and started punching the policeman breaking his

eardrum in the process. He had to go to the hospital and has subsequently had two surgeries to try and reconstruct his broken eardrum. Before the trial even started the men admitted their guilt and saved the courts a lot of time by accepting their fate with no excuses.

Expats Club party in Key West a success THE new and growing membership club for Mallorca’s English speaking residents, Expats Club International, had another of their monthly cocktail parties last Friday. The venue was newly inaugurated Key West Bar and Restaurant in Puerto Portals, which was a very nice setting for the gathering. Many nice and friendly people from both the UK and other nationalities spent the evening networking and having fun together.

They were meeting new interesting people, making new business contacts in a cocktail party environment and at the same time getting special memberhsip offers from the growing number of companies connected to the club. It is a simple but increasingly popular new concept. People who become a member on www.expatsclubinternatio nal.com get invitations to all monthly parties. Next event to look forward to is at Mood Beach on May 26.

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NEWS EXTRA

E-cig scare CASES of poisoning due to the use of ecigarettes appear to be on the rise, being the reason for 35 emergency calls so far this year, compared to 29 throughout 2013.

Go to jail THE family of a girl abused by her uncle in Huelva when she was eight will demand that he enters prison to serve a two-year term. He currently lives opposite their home.

Busy roads SPAIN’S General Traffic Department expects more than 5.5 million movements on the roads over the May Day long weekend. NETWORKING: A simple, but popular concept.

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Clothing firm to pay €1.6m THE courts have found in favour of the company which rented out commercial space to a clothing company which

NEWS EXTRA

Gang detained GUARDIA CIVIL arrested members of a gang, including two under 18, accused of at least 30 burglaries throughout Mallorca.

Fire damage A FIRE caused damage to the ground floor of a house in Port d'Andratx. The occupant was away when the fire started and firemen had to break down the door.

never completed the contract and did not move into the space at the correct time. According to the Superior Tribunals of the Balearic Islands, the original amount they

were supposed to pay was €600,000 but this has now been elevated to €1,650,000. The clothing company had signed a contract to rent the space for 15 years starting in 2008 but

they did not take possession of the commercial space until 2010 and did not pay rent from 2012. The owners of the space claim they have lost a lot of money due to the

tardiness of both the occupation and the rental payments. The amount fixed by the courts includes back rent as well as compensation for damages.

Prison cells for juveniles deficient THE war of words being waged by inmates and the security guards against the prison authorities at the Es Pinaret juvenile detention centre has taken a new turn with the inmates now denouncing the state of their cells as not fit for humans. The security guards agree that some of the cells are not in good condition: they lack proper ventilation, need cleaning and some have no intercom meaning if an inmate is in trouble they cannot contact a guard. The prison authorities claim that the cells meet all of the national requirements and they deny all accusations of any wrongdoing.

UNFIT CELLS: Lack ventilation and need cleaning.

NEWS

Unusual newcomer to island A ZORSE (cross between a zebra and a horse) has been born in Algaida, Mallorca. The zorse is the natural offspring of a 12-year-old zebra called Paquirri, and a mare called Julia, who live on a 25-hectare property. In fact, young Franquesa, as the brown, striped zorse has been named, has a ‘zonkey’ half brother, from when her father became intimate with a female donkey more than four years ago. The owner says for the same zebra to father two different types of zebroids is a rarity. He claims to have been obsessed with exotic animals for years and bought a pair of zebra in Germany to join the horses and donkeys on his property.

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Man, 70, arrested for abuse of minor LOCAL police in Manacor have detained a man, 70, on suspicion of abusing a 12year-old girl. The victim and her mother were so upset by the incident that they both had to receive medical attention. According to the police report the incident took place when the girl was out walking her dog in the street and the old man was in the doorway of his house. On seeing her he approached and said he had a present for her. She repeatedly refused to go anywhere with him and at

this point he grabbed her and dragged her, struggling and kicking, into his house. Once inside the girl tried to escape and shouted for help but he then took her upstairs and, allegedly, kissed her face and subjected her to intimate touching while he held her by the neck with one hand; when he unzipped his trousers, the victim scratched him and managed to escape the confines of the house and shout for help. Neighbours heard the shouts and called the police.

Accident 4 minutes after traffic lights inaugurated JUST five minutes after a set of traffic lights was inaugurated in Palma de Mallorca, an accident occurred. The collision between three vehicles occurred on an exit from the motorway to the airport which leads to the Llevant Industrial Estate and Portitxol area, opposite the Congress Hall, just 4.42 minutes after it had been inaugurated. No-one was injured but all three vehicles were damaged and the Guardia Civil had to attend the scene, closing the exit to traffic for approximately an hour.

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NEWS

Cyclists relieving themselves daily NEIGHBOURS in the Port d’Andratx area are very angry with the over 200, supposedly German, cyclists who arrive every day and, as soon as they get off the bus from Alcudia, relieve themselves anywhere they can find often in bushes and gardens right in front of

resident’s houses. The cyclists arrive at around 9.30am in four buses and the first thing they do is look for a spot to relieve themselves; they don’t go into the bars but instead just go anywhere they can on Avenida Gabriel Roca - one of the most attractive

Boy, 15, to blame for fire in Son Servera LOCAL POLICE have identified the culprit of starting a fire in Son Servera in mid-April, a 15-year-old who was playing with a lighter. The small forest fire was in the Na Penyal forest area, near a medical centre and several houses, and was quickly brought under control following calls to alert the emergency services. It was initially handled by Local Police and Civil Protection before firemen arrived to extinguish the blaze. The boy was reportedly playing with a lighter with two others and was handed over to Guardia Civil Nature Protection Service (Seprona).

areas in the Port. Entrances to houses are also one of the spots chosen by the unwelcome arrivals. One resident comments “the smell is awful and every time we leave our houses, the scene is awful.” Recently there have been incidents between the cyclists and neighbours and the Local Police are trying to mediate.

Old keep fit SOME parks and beaches in the Platja de Palma area are to have exercise machines installed to help the aged stay fit. The machines, specially designed for the elderly, will be installed from Molinar up to the s’Arenal in areas where there are more old people.

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NEWS

Angels help Charley with island trek FIVE ladies finished a 110kilometre sponsored trek across Mallorca at a special party at Katmandu adventure park. The five, known as Charley’s Angels completed the Island Challenge walk from Cap des Pinar to Katmandu in order to raise funds towards the medical treatment of Charley. The enthusiastic and strongwilled ladies, Debbie Crooks (Charley’s mum) Emma Conlin, Carole McCarthy, Victoria Dearing and Mary Willoughby tackled some fairly difficult terrain and weather, from walking in pouring rain to brilliant sunshine and intense heat. That required a lot of willpower, courage and stamina, with them walking between six and eight hours a day for four days to raise money for the the Support Charley fund. When Charley was born on September 4, 2008, he weighed just 1.280 kilos (less than three pounds), and spent his first seven months of life in intensive care, six of them on a ventilator. Charley has been diagnosed as having some of the signs of CHARGE syndrome, which is a fairly rare genetic condition and occurs in only one out of every 9,000-10,000 births worldwide. Charley however has his own signs and symptoms that have never been seen in medicine

supporters, friends and family. Although the ladies were obviously very tired they before and so his Lions Club were in high spirits and wore condition is now Mallorca, and Kelly’s Cakes - a big smiles as they approached known as Charley’s stand with many varieties of to a welcome of cheering. syndrome. In most cases, At delicious homemade cakes. There was a mix of emotions there is no family history of the finishing There were tombolas, and flowing when they finally CHARGE or similar conditions; it point, Katmandu, there were raffles and a silent auction. crossed the finish line, and literally arrives out of the blue. different charities raising money Katmandu also kindly donated realised what a great You can read more about including Help for Heroes, Age part of the ticket proceeds from achievement they had just CHARGE at the Charge Concern, Kat and Kitten and visitors that day to the fund. On experienced. Syndrome Foundation website. Furry Friends Mallorca, the arrival the girls were greeted by There was entertainment by various talented singers, dancers and performers from around Mallorca, including the winner of Mallorca’s Got Talent, takings on the day. Niki Can Balache, and the Albie. Liles became the count-down began. The winners of the Euro compere, and others Everybody was there Weekly News raffle who involved in The Dip, to support Debbie, and will be contacted directly including Nickie Baylis, through her the cancer are Daisy Jane Dance, took on all sorts of charities. Julie, M Brady, Linda organisational tasks. Eventually the deed Dietz, Carol D, Liz Smith The day dawned on was done and Debbie and M Jenkins. Saturday and pessimists emerged, looking very Total funds raised from were saying that it good with her locks the event were €5,000, looked like rain again. (It removed. which will go towards The excitement did not BEFORE: Brave Debbie. AFTER: Still smiling. rained for The Dip.) medical and travel Debbie already had stop there. Nickie Baylis expenses for Charley. To donate directly visit produced a cheque for sister Sarah volunteered the accommodation for €1,000 of sponsorship. http://www.youcaring. to do the dirty deed! the event, and a It was impossible to €2,648 for the Cancer com/medical-fundraiser/ Can Balache offered percentage of their food get through the crowd at Support Mallorca group. charley-s-angels/137476

A close shave after taking a ‘dip’ ONCE again people from the north of Mallorca came together to support cancer charities. A few weeks ago the port of Pollensa hosted a very successful ‘Dip’ for cancer charities. After the event one person decided to take the fundraising for charity a step further. Debbie Felstead decided that she would have her head shaved to support the charities and

Crowds greeted the five intrepid ladies as they crossed the finishing line at Katmandu, having walked from Cap des Pinar.

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Stories making headlines in Europe

S CANDINAVIAN P RESS

GERMAN PRESS Later starts

BRITISH PRESS Cave living

BBC bashed

NORWAY - A Norwegian teenager has been living in a cave in the most fjord-filled region of Western Norway for almost a year with little more than a high-grade sleeping bag to guard against the cold.

A BBC golf presenter is lucky to be alive after being drugged and robbed while on holiday in the Costa del Sol, Alan Tait was brutally assaulted and left for dead in Puerto Banus.

Dalai Lama dilemma NORWAY - The planned visit to Oslo by the Dalai Lama is torn between the country’s will to warm up to China and warnings from the public not to compromise on Norway’s human rights stance.

Invasive aliens DENMARK - The Danish government spends staggering sums of money (914 million kroner) every year protecting the biodiversity of Danish nature from invasive species like the grey squirrel, rats and the Spanish slug.

Hair cut LIVERPOOL fan Uke Krasniqi has vowed to get his hair cut for the first time in 11 years if the Reds win the Premier League.

Racist lollipop A BLACK Jamaican lollipop man has been sacked after making racist comments and calling a council worker King Kong; Jon Seymour says his comments were referring to his colleague’s anger and not his colour.

Doggie recliner

STUCK PUP: Had to be rescued.

EIGHT firefighters were called to rescue a dog which became stuck inside a reclining chair; Princess the corgi was snoozing when she got trapped by the ‘scissor mechanism.’

Mark Shand dies THE Duchess of Cornwall’s brother Mark Shand, travel writer and adventurer, has died after hitting his head on the pavement outside a New York hotel.

THE Communist Party has announced that it wants to raise the game in its fight against corruption by pushing for legislation which would allow for the execution of officials found to be taking bribes. BERLIN WALL: Russia building their own.

VOLODYMYR OGRYZKO, former Ukrainian foreign minister, has accused Russia of building a new Berlin Wall by laying land mines between Crimea and the Ukrainian mainland.

No swearing THE State Duma has cast doubt over

Carolingian sword A VITENS water company worker has found a Carolingian sword (800 - 1000 A.D.) during work in the town of Vianen. The heavily corroded sword will, after restoration, be exhibited in the town hall.

Crystal meth CONSUMPTION of crystal meth in Germany has reached a record high with police seizing the drug on 3,847 occasions in 2013.

€40 million

Bribery executions

New Berlin Wall

GERMAN union bosses have called for later starts to work during the World Cup this summer; some games will be screened at midnight due to the time difference with Brazil.

RECORD HIGH: Crystal meth.

RUSSIAN PRESS

INVASIVE: The grey squirrel.

EUROPEAN PRESS

some contemporary shows by passing a bill that will ban the use of swearwords from film, theatre and other works of art; a council of experts will determine what counts as “profane language.”

Space shift

AMID concerns that US sanctions could cripple their space agency, Russia has pledged further technological cooperation with China.

Zhirinovsky apology THE State Duma ethics committee has recommended that Vladimir Zhirinovsky make a public apology to the journalists he insulted with rape comments last week.

GERMAN arms sales to Russia have come under scrutiny following the crisis in the Ukraine. In 2012 Germany sold Russia €40 million worth of rifles, pistols and armoured vehicles.

Live bonfire TWO 12-year-old German girls found live ammunition lodged into a branch in an Easter bonfire in Twistringen, Lower Saxony it was due to be lit the next day.

Egg damage POLICE chiefs in central Germany are embarrassed after splashing out €900,000 on a water cannon which was damaged by eggs and tennis balls in a preliminary test.

Foreign affairs

DUTCH PRESS Heart attack

Resistant rats

Solar panels

ROBERT BRAAKSMA, husband of the famous Dutch singer Liesbeth List, has died of a heart attack, aged 64 years. Robert and Liesbeth had been together since the 80s.

THE University of Wageningen found that 25 per cent of rats in several parts of The Netherlands have become resistant against the only poison exterminators are allowed to use, rodenticide.

THE NUMBER of solar panels in The Netherlands increased by 70 per cent in 2013. At the end of the year there were 3.4 million panels on Dutch roofs.

MINISTER of Foreign Affairs Frans Timmermans is strengthening his policy towards misbehaving foreign diplomats in The Netherlands by naming and shaming, withdrawal of petrol cards and, as a last resort, withdrawal of diplomatic immunity.

NEWS

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A note from the

Editor

New laws are welcome T

HIS newspaper is generally against the creation of new laws. The burden of red tape in Spain is such that it is a real hindrance to businesses, and an interference in the everyday lives of law-abiding citizens. The fact that a whole sector of legal firms - known as ‘gestors’ - is needed simply to navigate confused business owners and private citizens through the sea of regulation tells a story unto itself. A matter that in other countries is relatively simple - for instance transferring ownership of a car - and possible to do by post, can in Spain mean personal visits to several different offices, plus the payment of several different sets of fees. Hence the existence of gestors to do the legwork. Usually new laws make the situation worse, with paperwork added for the

completion of the simplest of tasks. But two new laws should be welcomed. Firstly small businesses, particularly in tourist areas, are to have some of their opening hours’ restrictions removed. As anyone who has run a business knows, the ability to cater to clients’ needs in a flexible way is vital. Any measures that let people run their businesses as they see fit are to be welcomed. The second regulation being relaxed concerns the adoption and fostering of children. The process should be quicker and easier. It is scandalous that up until now it has often taken many months worth of paperwork before vulnerable youngsters could be given a stable home. The new laws are very welcome, and the national government deserves a pat on the back.

1 - 7 May 2014 / Mallorca

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1 - 7 May 2014 / Mallorca

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STAT OF WEEK SPANISH families consumed 615 million litres of oil in 2013, an increase of 3.3 per cent. The €1.517 billion that they spent represented 2.19 per cent of their food budgets, according to the Agriculture ministry.

MERCADONA owner Juan Roig is Spain’s fourth-richest man and worth €3.78 billion according to the Forbes Rich List. But how much is his supermarket chain worth? Were Mercadona a public company quoted on the stock exchange there would be no mystery. This is not the case, so Spanish website www. Finanzas.com asked economist and

retail specialist Franciso Fernandez Reguero to make a guess. Working on 2013’s discounted cash flow (DCF) which expressed the company’s value independently of external market influences, Fernandez Reguero arrived at €9.91 billion. He also used the alternative method of comparing the financial indicators of other chains like Wal-

Building on timid growth SPAIN’S economy has built on its tentative return to growth at the end of 2013. Its gross domestic product (GDP) rose 0.4 per cent in the first quarter of the year - its fastest rate for six years since the property bubble burst. It was the biggest quarterly increase since the first quarter of 2008. In the third quarter of 2013 the economy grew 0.1 per cent to officially end the recession. “In the first quarter of 2014, the Spanish economy continued on a path of gradual recovery in the context of increasing normalisation on the financial markets

and a gradual consolidation of the labour market,” the central bank said in a statement. The bank has now forecast a growth in the economy of 1.2 per cent this year and a 1.7 per cent increase next year, confirming earlier predictions. Spain’s Economy Minister Luis de Guindos broadly agreed with the predictions - he forecast an average growth of 1.5 per cent over this year and next. He said: “The goal is to achieve two years in a row of growth, with net job creation, and that will be the exit door from the Spanish crisis.”

Mart, Carrefour or Ahold. Having taken into account sales, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) as well as earnings before interest and taxes (ebit) he arrived at a figure between €6.44 billion and €6.62 billion. After including liquid assets and unused cash potential this would reach approximately €8.24 billion.

usiness extra

Go it alone workers A THIRD of autonomous workers plan to contract employees this year, according to professional association ATA. The sector would create between 70,000 and 75,000 new jobs in 2014, ATA predicted.

Call to order COMPANIES and institutions should not oblige the public to use 902 premium rate help lines, said consumers’ association Facua. A 10-minute call will add €5 to a phone bill, the association said.

Social Security payments up ANOTHER 15,201 non-Spanish contributors joined the national Social Security system in March. This was 0.99 per cent more than in February and the largest increase since June 2012, revealed the Ministry of Labour. The number of foreign workers on contracts and incorporated in the system has now increased for two

consecutive months, bringing their total up to 1,535,889. Despite the recent increase, the number of non-Spanish contributors fell by 68,249 - a reduction of 4.25 per cent - compared with March 2013. The majority - 1.3 million - of Spain’s foreign workers come under the general category and 226,217 are self-employed.

CORDON PRESS

Hazarding a Mercadona guess

Juan Roig,right, with brother Fernando.

E W N 1 - 7 May 2014 / Mallorca

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C H A N G E ( P ) % C H G. 2.50 0.57 -1.00 -0.07 -4.00 -0.26 -13.00 -0.85 0.00 0.00 2.00 0.21 -7.82 -0.91 4.00 0.14 524.00 12.84 1.14 0.22 3.00 0.25 -0.40 -0.10 0.76 0.31 -1.10 -0.31 -56.50 -4.93 -19.00 -0.99 -3.20 -0.65 9.50 0.28

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C O M PA N Y MMM 3M Co AXP American Express Co T AT&T Inc BA Boeing Co CAT Caterpillar Inc CVX Chevron Corp CSCO Cisco Systems Inc DD E I du Pont de Nemours and Co XOM Exxon Mobil Corp GE General Electric Co GS Goldman Sachs Group Inc HD Home Depot Inc INTC Intel Corp IBM International Business Machine... JNJ Johnson & Johnson JPM JPMorgan Chase and Co MCD McDonald's Corp MRK Merck & Co Inc MSFT Microsoft Corp NKE Nike Inc PFE Pfizer Inc PG Procter & Gamble Co KO The Coca-Cola Co TRV Travelers Companies Inc UTX United Technologies Corp UNH UnitedHealth Group Inc VZ Verizon Communications Inc V Visa Inc WMT Wal-Mart Stores Inc DIS Walt Disney Co

PRICE CHANGE %CHANGE VOLUME 136.56 87.03 34.49 128.66 104.69 123.99 23.00 66.66 100.41 26.60 158.24 79.38 26.26 189.63 99.79 55.70 100.73 57.24 39.91 72.70 30.75 81.41 41.01 88.31 117.21 75.66 45.94 198.93 78.62 78.23

-0.09 -0.38 -0.01 -1.20 -0.59 -0.31 -0.33 -0.45 +0.40 +0.14 -2.61 -0.39 -0.49 -0.59 -0.17 -0.49 +0.89 -0.29 +0.05 -0.69 +0.04 +0.26 +0.31 -0.28 -1.77 -0.93 -0.34 -10.47 +0.31 -1.36

-0.07% -0.43% -0.03% -0.92% -0.56% -0.25% -1.41% -0.67% +0.40% +0.53% -1.62% -0.49% -1.83% -0.31% -0.17% -0.87% +0.89% -0.50% +0.13% -0.94% +0.13% +0.32% +0.76% -0.32% -1.49% -1.21% -0.73% -5.00% +0.40% -1.71%

2.1M 4.2M 22.0M 3.0M 5.7M 5.8M 25.1M 2.9M 10.4M 33.8M 3.3M 6.4M 33.6M 3.9M 5.9M 15.9M 5.0M 6.2M 56.9M 3.2M 18.7M 7.5M 16.8M 2.3M 3.4M 5.4M 24.4M 9.6M 5.4M 6.2M

1.21437

0.82346

C H A N G E ( P ) % C H G. 15.75 -3.00 -0.10 -3.00 2.00 -2.00 6.00

C O M PA N Y

2.31 -0.34 -0.03 -0.18 0.14 -0.18 0.26

NET VOLUME 298.23 64.70 133.06 30.12 52.35 15.35 6.84

PRICE

CHANGE NET / %

$ 18.16 $ 39.96 $ 4.43 $ 19.66 $ 4.38 $ 4.65 $ 11 $ 8.73 $ 16.64 $ 4.76 $ 34.18

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$ 47.485 $ 18.62 $ 6.45 $ 33.61 $ 12.34 $ 8.93 $ 28.94 $ 17.93 $ 31.04 $ 16.13 $ 11.37

21.095 ▼ 30.76% 6.01 ▼ 24.40% 1.45 ▼ 18.35% 6.07 ▼ 15.30% 2.14 ▼ 14.78% 1.47 ▼ 14.13% 4.60 ▼ 13.71% 2.68 ▼ 13.00% 4.18 ▼ 11.87% 2.05 ▼ 11.28% 1.42 ▼ 11.10%

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C O M PA N Y PRICE(P) Centrica PLC 331.75 Coca-Cola HBC AG 1494.00 Compass Group PLC 942.00 CRH PLC 1716.00 Diageo PLC 1811.50 easyJet PLC 1653.00 Experian PLC 1124.00 Fresnillo PLC 850.50 G4S PLC 240.45 GKN PLC 380.35 GlaxoSmithKline PLC 1676.00 Glencore Xstrata PLC 313.52 Hammerson PLC 580.50 Hargreaves Lansdown 1171.00 HSBC Holdings PLC 603.50 IMI PLC 1496.50 Imperial Tobacco Group 2562.50 InterContinental Hotels 2003.00 International Consldtd 400.35 Intertek Group PLC 2926.50 ITV PLC 186.00 Johnson Matthey PLC 3295.00 Kingfisher PLC 412.30 Land Securities Group 1064.50 Legal & General Group 208.10 Lloyds Banking Group PLC 74.93 London Stock Exchange 1825.50 Marks & Spencer Group 437.85 Meggitt PLC 472.45 Melrose Industries PLC 284.20 Mondi PLC 977.25 National Grid PLC 824.00 Next PLC 6315.00 Old Mutual PLC 195.30 Pearson PLC 1084.00 Persimmon PLC 1310.00 Petrofac Ltd 1443.00 Prudential PLC 1343.25 Randgold Resources Ltd 4676.50 Reckitt Benckiser Group 4960.50 Reed Elsevier PLC 888.00 Resolution Ltd 297.10 REXAM PLC 501.50 Rio Tinto PLC 3220.75 Rolls-Royce Holdings 1035.50 Royal Bank of Scotland 301.70 Royal Dutch Shell PLC 2391.50 Royal Mail PLC 519.00 RSA Insurance Group PLC 96.10 SABMiller PLC 3152.00 Sage Group (The) PLC 417.65 Sainsbury (J) PLC 323.75 Schroders PLC 2547.50 Severn Trent PLC 1797.50 Shire PLC 3292.00 Smith & Nephew PLC 923.75 Smiths Group PLC 1285.00 Sports Direct Intrntnl 780.00 SSE PLC 1491.00 Standard Chartered PLC 1282.50 Standard Life PLC 378.30 St James's Place PLC 776.00 Tesco PLC 299.80 Travis Perkins PLC 1779.00 TUI Travel PLC 426.25 Tullow Oil PLC 851.25 Unilever PLC 2613.50 United Utilities Group 779.25 Vodafone Group PLC 218.83 Weir Group PLC 2663.00 Whitbread PLC 4039.00 William Hill PLC 346.90 Wm Morrison Sprmrkts 197.20 Wolseley PLC 3406.00 WPP PLC 1260.50

CHANGE -1.06 12.00 6.38 9.00 4.00 -6.00 -1.00 0.00 -1.60 -1.30 19.66 -2.50 2.50 2.00 1.00 -1.00 1.00 4.00 0.20 0.00 1.00 6.00 1.10 9.12 0.50 0.08 11.00 0.00 -3.10 0.60 -0.50 0.24 -21.40 0.70 -6.00 -9.00 0.00 1.00 -1.00 2.00 2.00 2.60 -1.50 -58.00 -3.00 -1.40 -10.50 -0.25 0.25 19.50 0.50 1.76 7.00 2.00 82.00 8.75 5.00 1.00 -2.61 -10.50 0.89 -2.50 0.45 -9.00 0.20 12.00 14.70 2.00 1.50 1.00 -6.00 7.10 0.85 -19.00 0.00

% C H G. -0.32 0.81 0.68 0.53 0.22 -0.36 -0.09 0.00 -0.66 -0.34 1.19 -0.79 0.43 0.17 0.17 -0.07 0.04 0.20 0.05 0.00 0.54 0.18 0.27 0.86 0.24 0.11 0.61 0.00 -0.65 0.21 -0.05 0.03 -0.34 0.36 -0.55 -0.68 0.00 0.07 -0.02 0.04 0.23 0.88 -0.30 -1.77 -0.29 -0.46 -0.44 -0.05 0.26 0.62 0.12 0.55 0.28 0.11 2.55 0.96 0.39 0.13 -0.17 -0.81 0.24 -0.32 0.15 -0.50 0.05 1.43 0.57 0.26 0.69 0.04 -0.15 2.09 0.43 -0.55 0.00

VOLUME 140.24 3.82 69.80 30.13 197.15 13.42 59.97 26.94 145.78 45.37 929.98 1,665.07 12.62 26.81 1,161.76 6.84 53.72 25.64 146.60 3.38 330.96 10.27 108.58 51.85 302.32 3,604.81 3.26 45.82 40.35 19.76 34.77 146.99 12.24 21.24 82.53 35.59 89.49 64.58 10.88 50.61 48.22 363.45 40.46 243.59 155.48 280.92 135.09 39.63 305.08 54.97 15.19 356.81 3.76 4.69 433.32 95.62 48.32 13.27 50.73 140.15 66.12 8.51 1,377.52 5.84 21.57 348.52 77.76 17.50 1,533.93 5.06 13.14 1,208.68 214.06 13.18 145.91

Courts back bonus appeal TELEFONICA had its knuckles rapped for not paying an ex-employee’s bonus. It was ‘abusive’ to withhold a bonus because a worker had left by the time it was paid but was employed when it was announced, ruled the National High Court in Madrid. The economic impact in cases like these was ‘very small’ owing to the limited number of employees likely to find themselves in this situation, said judge Ricardo Bodas. Ruling on an appeal presented by the General Work Confederaton (CGT), he ordered the annulment of the pertinent clause in the 1998 collective agreement between Telefonica Moviles and employees. By stipulating that the worker had still to be on the staff at the time the bonus was paid, Telefonica was “unfairly enriching itself” and benefiting from the “fruits of extra effort.” It was one thing to pay a bonus the following year to ensure that targets were met, but another to require that a worker who had met these targets was still in Telefonica’s employ, he concluded. The decision was open to appeal and Telefonica may take the case to the Supreme Court.

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Mike Walsh Mike Walsh was for 20 years Regional Assessment Manager for the Guild of Master Craftsmen, Britain’s biggest quality assurance body for businesses.

www.michaelwalsh.es • 966 786 932

THE bard Robert Burns surmised: “The greatest gift that God can give us, to see ourselves as others see us.” Social forum comments made about local restaurants suggested dreadful service. Had their owners seen these comments the problem could have been addressed. Likely they were unknowing or blasé as to how patrons judged their businesses. If you are clueless as to customers’ opinions about your business you will pay a heavy price. Years ago, a General Motors CEO tried to figure out why Japanese cars were outselling his. His company’s cars were every bit as good. Delegating members of staff he instructed them to visit both dealers’ outlets posing as customers. Each bogus customer was given a questionnaire to be completed after their call. The company boss was shocked to discover that whilst service at the Japanese showrooms was outstanding, service at his company’s

State-owned Aena finally makes a profit AFTER years of being in the red, state-owned Aena made €715 million in 2013. This was the first time that Aena Aeropuertos, which was created in 2011 and together with air navigation division makes up the Aena group, has paid its way. It contributed net profits of €597 million. Two years ago it reported losses of €220.39 million and the company attributes the turnaround to restructuring, plus earning more and spending less. The world’s biggest airports authority is still burdened with a debt standing at €11.394 billion by the end of last year. This is down from €14.943 billion in 2011 and now equals seven times Aena’s operating profits,

AENA GROUP: The world’s biggest airports authority. compared with 14 times more in 2012. Meanwhile it has doubled pre-tax earnings from €883 million in 2011 to €1.610 billion last year. Higher airport and navigation tariffs have

Listen to your customers... Talking shop

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FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

outlets left much to be desired. This was the genesis of what is now known as ‘mystery shopping.’ The practice of using spies to detect weaknesses in customer service is now widespread. Typically a department store will pay a mystery shopping agency €60 per visit. Their investment pays off as the shopping experience disappoints customers less often. Customers are your business partners; treat them as such. Encourage them to be candid in expressing their opinion. A good way of doing this is to provide customers with a small form inviting their opinion on staff service, food, accessibility, entertainment, and ambience. Ask what attracts them to your business, what they find off-putting. Customers’ contact details being optional. Those who respond, if identifiable, will have their names placed in a draw for a free meal or other prize. With the information garnered you can start putting your house in order. As the purpose of the exercise is to create a profitable business with job security, it is important that you involve your staff. Their attitude improves and in my experience they love playing ‘spot the mystery shopper.’ Mike Walsh was for 20 years Regional Assessment Manager for the Guild of Master Craftsmen, Britain’s biggest quality assurance body for businesses.

helped, as have agreements with the unions. A redundancy plan accepted by 1,170 employees - 11 per cent of Aena’s staff brought savings of €134 million. Aena also benefited from

commercial operations that included concessions for airport car parks and dutyfree shops in 26 airports. These deals should bring in more than €2 billion between 2013 and 2020, the company said.

Hacienda gripes have multiplied due to crisis TAXPAYERS’ complaints to Hacienda have multiplied since the economic crisis. According to 2012 figures, the latest available, 223,417 people lodged appeals resulting from their tax deductions. This was 83 per cent more than in 2007, when Spain’s Central Economic Administrative Court (TEAC) handled 190,374 appeals. “That is a 100,000 increase in only five years,” said Luis Alonso, a professor in tax law at Barcelona university and author of a survey on fiscal litigation in Spain. Alsonso dismissed the crisis as the sole reason for the increased number of complaints. “There is also a structural problem,” he said. “Spain has a massive self-assessment system and interpreting the rules is left to the individual, which can lead to errors.” Taxpayers in Spain have to complete forms for Hacienda’s tax agency AEAT, as well as regional taxes when making declarations for

income tax (IRPF), VAT (IVA) and corporation tax (Sociedades). Although AEAT now makes it easy to present declarations online, frequent changes and varying regional regulations all contribute to later litigation, Alonso said. Innocent mistakes can also cost taxpayers dear, as fines vary between 50 per cent and 150 per cent of what Hacienda regards as a defrauded amount. Most of the claims and complaints received by Hacienda involve sums of less than €150,000. Eighty per cent of these are for amounts of less than €20,000 and are dealt with by the Regional Economic Administrative Court (TEAR) while larger claims are handled by the TEAC. Around 40 per cent of cases are settled in the claimants’ favour. “It’s obvious that the system does not work well,” Alonso added, who praised the “fluid relations” between the UK’s tax authorities and big companies when settling points of discord.

E W N 1 - 7 May 2014 / Mallorca

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Profit while having fun in the sun and grow your own vegetables ONE of the big costs for any family or individual is food. A trip down to the local supermarket to get a week’s supplies can amount to a hefty grocery bill and that’s not counting breakfast out, coffee breaks and the odd tapas or dinner in a restaurant. We have to feed ourselves but at the same time nurturing our bodies plays havoc on our finances. There is a way, however, to cut down on the cost of grocery bills and it involves pots, soil, shovels, seeds and gardening gloves. According to the National Allotment Society in Britain, an organisation that promotes small-scale gardening, a family can knock as much as €1,600 off the annual grocery bill

BUSINESS EXTRA

Gas takeover

A look at finance for females

SPAIN’S energy multinational Endesa paid Southern Cross €225m for its 50 per cent stake in Gas Atacama. Endesa now owns 100 per cent of the Chilean company.

Jane Plunkett

3 survivors

Loose change

NOT all of Spain’s telecommunications companies will survive, said Vodafone chief Vittorio Coloa. Eventually just Telefonica, Vodafone and Orange will remain, he predicted, although all would create employment.

jane.plunkett@euroweeklynews.com

by growing their own vegetables. One family surveyed admitted by spending just €35 a year on seeds everything from tomatoes and peppers to leeks, courgettes, carrots, artichokes and potatoes they saved at least €600 on their annual shopping bill and as well benefited from the pleasure of growing their own produce. “But I live in an apartment,” you may say. Well don’t worry - you can grow lots of vegetables

ALLOTMENTS: Popular in Spain if you have no outdoor space. and fruit in pots and containers on your patio, balcony or terrace. Tomatoes and chilli peppers are great starter plants that are quite easy to grow in pots or growbags and do not take up a great deal of space. While lettuces and potatoes are among the best value-formoney crops.

A bag of salad leaves may cost €2 in the supermarket but a packet of salad seeds costs a few euros and will keep you in organic and fresh lettuce throughout the summer. For those with no outdoor space, the idea of ‘allotments’ or ‘huertas’ is taking off all over Spain and plots of land

can be rented out. This obviously will cost you, but the price is usually reasonable enough. Even with the price of an allotment, savings can still be gained by growing your own food and what’s more you get to enjoy your own private outdoor space!

Big deal A CONTRACT worth €410 million to equip a new north west high speed train line with signalling equipment has been granted. It goes to a consortium made up of French Alstorn, Canada’s Bombardier and and Spain’s Indra.

Spanish inheritance tax Q. My father-in-law owns a villa here in Spain. He is a resident and lives You and the here permanently. My husband and I have just moved in with him, I have Law in Spain heard there are heavy inheritance By David Searl tax bills which my husband, being the only son, may face when his father dies. There is a daughter who lives in the UK but I have heard that only the son can inherit. Can you clarify the situation? LE (Costa del Sol) A. First, who told you only the son can inherit? It is not true. Under Spanish law, if your father-in-law as a resident dies without a will, his estate will be evenly divided between the surviving children. If he makes a will, Spain will respect the terms of the will of his home nation. In the UK he has free disposition of his estate, so he could make a Spanish will leaving his entire estate to one of his children. However, if he bequeaths his property to his son and daughter in equal shares by a Spanish will, the tax on this is about €10,000 each. If the son is a resident of Andalucia, he has an exemption of 95 per cent. If the home has been the son’s main residence for three years, the exemption jumps to 99.99 per cent. The daughter, as a non-resident, pays the full tax. Send your questions for David Searl through lawyers Ubeda-Retana & Associates in Fuengirola at Ask@lawtaxspain.com, or call 952 667 090.

Franchises not all they are cracked up to be BY 2013 there were 1,087 franchise chains in Spain, 24 per cent more than before the crisis. They provide employment for 242,140 people and span sectors from catering to beauty to household goods. They cost between €3,000 and €800,000 to set up and the Spanish increasingly turn to them as an escape route from unemployment. Not of all the newly-fledged business people find that a franchise automatically leads to success or prosperity, however. Two brothers who chose a supermarket franchise have closed the shop although the terms of their contract mean they have lost their deposit and

owe €190,000 which they will be paying until 2037. The two men never did enjoy the 13 per cent profit margin they claimed they were promised. It was closer to 2.5 per cent, they said, and not enough to cover costs. “The need for self-employment has brought a change in the profile of the type of person now interested in a franchise,” said Santiago Barbadillo, owner of a long-established franchise consultancy. “The franchise sector isn’t speculation or a way to get rich quickly,” he added. “No-one should ever take on a franchise if they want to double their investment within a year,” he warned.

OPINION & COMMENT

Speak up to make the most of Spain TO Jim Massey re English language availability, all the staff in my local bank speak English and speak it well. Two years is no time at all to spend on learning another language. Has he tried joining an ‘intercambio’ group to expand his vocabulary? If there isn’t one locally, he could try setting one up as a friend and I did over here. Our confidence has improved, as has our vocabulary if not (in my case) verbs, as I don’t study as I should. We have also now got Spanish friends and acquaintances. Has Mr Massey no dictionary in which to look up relevant words and phrases? When I first came here I regularly wrote down what I wanted to say and read it in the bank, shop or wherever. Local people appreciate your trying to speak their language and react accordingly, helping out with pronunciation and vocabulary. Failing that, has he Spanish friends who could go with him to help out? Of course he could just have a bank with unfriendly or ignorant staff. I do hope things improve for him. Helena McGinty, Alhaurin El Grande (Malaga).

Here and there JIM MASSEY should simply have tried harder. Congratulations anyway, at least he had the gumption to make up his mind that he had ‘enough of Spain’ and is undoubtedly completing his move back to the UK. Great, one less whinger who believes Spain owes you something by being British. If in two years he could not reach a level of Spanish to get by in a bank, enough said, unless they could not understand what part of the ‘billions’ he was contributing. Enjoy going home to the UK. You know: the sun, the tapas, the blue sea, the multilingual staff at the bank, winter woollies, snow,

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IT’S that time of the year again, and many people where I live are busy bringing in the nisperos (Chinese Medlars). Except my cat, Catalina, that is. Frances Thurgood (by email)

sleet, courteous people et al. As he says: rubbish. Brit moaners come, some of them go, but those of us that are happy stay and give thanks for having made the right decision. Keith MacGaul , Estepona (Malaga)

Road sense YOUR great paper gave details about the new Spanish laws regarding the use of Englishregistered cars whilst driving in Spain. I visit Spain for about three months or more each year and as I drive there, I would be pleased if you would explain the new laws to me. When I moved to Spain in 2007, I soon discovered where to find the latest news: good and bad but always correct and up-todate. Paul O’Connor (by email) Editor’s note: As a nonresident you may bring your car to Spain on its UK licence plates for a period up to six months in each calendar year and not be liable for Spanish taxes. Once you are in Spain for more than 182 days you

WHEN YOU WRITE All letters, whether by email or post, should carry the writer’s postal address, NIE and contact number though only the name and town will be published. Letters may also be edited. Readers who have missed earlier correspondence can see all letters posted on:

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are considered to be a resident and Spanish law requires you to pay an import tax and have your car reregistered with Spanish licence plates. There are fines for those who fail to do this.

Slow surfing I NOTICE that Movifresh/ Movistar are advertising 10mb broadband for €24.90 per month. I entered into a contract with them after supplying my postcode and being informed that I was in range. I was told a router would be delivered and the contract was sent online. Having read it I was disturbed to find that it stated 3 to 10 Mb would be provided. I again

contacted them, explaining that 3 was too little and they replied that it would be at least 5. The router arrived and I installed it and carried out the speed test. I was getting less that 1 Mb. I informed Movistar the next day that I was terminating the contract and returned the router. I was not pleased to find they had debited my bank account but after numerous calls to 1004 I was told the money would be refunded the next month. To my horror on checking my bank statement they had taken another payment for the following month and I still await my refund. Margaret Walker, Zurgena (Almeria)

Fair shares I WOULD like to reassure Tom Hawksworth. By saving children’s lives we are not ‘adding to the problem of supply and demand.’ Experience has always shown that when living standards improve, birth rates fall, whereas it is often the poorest and most desperate who produce as many children as possible (or at least as many as are conceived, where there is no

EWN

access to birth control and female education is poor). Provided that the aid we give is aimed not only at saving lives under actual threat, but at making those communities decently self-sufficient, we are moving them away from the iron laws of nature that Tom refers to. We must also remind ourselves that those starving people have as much right to live and have children as we. There can be no excuse for not helping them to reach the standards of living that we enjoy, and by doing so, we are also helping ourselves, as they become able to buy our products Bill Campbell (by email)

Man power FOR decades ‘Save the Children,’ ‘Band Aid,’ ‘Live Aid’ and many other worthy causes have been pumping money into these Third World countries. Every night we see mothers holding starving children up to the camera. This, to me, begs the question: “Where are these very fertile fathers”? Are they resting in their huts, building up strength to sire yet more children? I think that if a reward was offered to them to have a vasectomy, they could still have their moments of pleasure but not sire more ‘Born to die children.’ I hope that you can find space to print this and please carry on your good work. The Euro Weekly News is an excellent local newspaper. John Frensham, Ciudad Quesada (Alicante).

Parents usurped I AGREE with Leapy Lee’s comments entirely regarding the Cinderella Law. It’s also interesting to note that another proposal was announced the same week to prescribe the ‘morning after’ pill to girls as young as 12 without their parents’ knowledge. Not only is this condoning law-breaking, but removes the parents’ ability to provide moral guidance. Not something that should be done to Cinderella. Opposing messages are being sent out here. Gerry Silwood (by email)

The views expressed and opinions given in Letters are not necessarily those of the EWN publishers. They accept no responsibility for accuracy of information, errors, omissions or statements, and reject claims arising out of any action that a company or individual may take on the basis of information contained therein.

E W N 1 - 7 May 2014 / Mallorca

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OPINION & COMMENT

Actions speak louder than words… Luke Cameron, 26, has hit the headlines after deciding to do one good deed a day for a year. Do you do good deeds, and what is the best thing a stranger has ever done for you?

ETTING the sack when the company he worked for was taken over, was the best good deed ever done to Adrian Crossley, 48, from Marbella, Malaga. The salesman said: “It didn’t feel like it at the time, though! But it made me realise how unhappy I was in my work and with my life, which is probably why I got the push to start with. “I needed a fresh start and moved to Spain for a break. That was 10 years ago and I am still here

STREET TALK and loving every minute of it. As far as doing good deeds is concerned, I really admire Luke and hearing about him makes me think about what I could do to help people. I have always been willing to help a friend out, but maybe I could be more proactive about it and go out of my way to find people to help.” Melissa Samuels, 52, who works in a charity shop in London, and was on holiday in Torrevieja, Alicante, believed there were lots of people who do good deeds. “Think of all those charities out there. The vast majority rely on volunteers who work really hard giving their time up for nothing. “If that is not doing good deeds every day, then I don’t MELISSA: Simple acts of kindness.

know what is! I would encourage every one to find a charity they can help. It is very rewarding being able to help others, and I know from personal experience how people who benefit can be overwhelmed by simple acts of kindness,” Melissa said. Jeremy Anderson, 27, who lives in Torremolinos, Malaga, said: “It depends what you mean by a good deed. If anyone needs help I am very happy to give a hand, but that is normal, isn’t it? “For me, it is when a stranger is willing to help out that it really hits home. For example, my granddad was out on holiday in Fuengirola a couple of years ago and had a fall. He needed to go to hospital for stitches, but didn’t speak a word of Spanish. The owner of a nearby restaurant took him to Casualty and stayed with him through the night – they arrived at midnight and

left at six in the morning – then took him back to the hotel. He didn’t have to do that, my granddad had not even eaten in his restaurant! That is something which really makes you feel better about people and human nature in general.” Jeremy added: “Our thanks to him, and I would do the same myself in a similar situation. I think many people would.”

JEREMY: It is normal, isn’t it?

E W N 1 - 7 May 2014 /Mallorca

Thursday

Friday

SATELLITE CHANNELS - SkyMoviesAction/

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ITV2/ 4:00pm The Jeremy Kyle Show 5:05pm The Jeremy Kyle Show 6:10pm The Real Housewives of Miami 7:00pm Dinner Date 8:00pm You've Been Framed! 8:30pm You've Been Framed! 9:00pm Two and a Half Men 9:30pm Two and a Half Men 10:00pm Underworld

TV LISTING

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5:05pm Sunday

•Will Smith •Tommy Lee Jones

Saturday BBC1/ 5:30pm Final Score 6:20pm Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa 7:40pm BBC News 7:50pm NewsRegional News 7:55pm Weather 8:00pm Pointless 8:50pm The National Lottery: In It to Win It 9:40pm Casualty 10:30pm The Guess List 11:10pm BBC News 11:25pm Weather 11:30pm Match of the Day

BBC2/ 5:30pm Snooker 6:30pm Natural World 7:30pm Flog It! 8:00pm Snooker 10:30pm Generation War: Our Mothers, Our Fathers

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CH4/ 5:10pm Come Dine with Me 7:45pm Channel 4 News 8:00pm For the Love of Cars 9:00pm Grand Designs 10:00pm Green Zone

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BBC1/

Men In Black II (Film, 2012)

5:30pm Flog It! 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm Regional News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm EastEnders 9:00pm Holby City 10:00pm Happy Valley 11:00pm BBC News 11:25pm Regional News 11:30pm Weather 11:35pm Party Election Broadcast by the UK Independence Party 11:40pm Miller's Mountain

When a vengeful alien goes back in time to kill secret agent K, his partner J travels back to the swinging 60s on a mission to save him. Sci-fi comedy.

Sunday

Tuesday

Monday

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4:00pm Escape to the Country 4:45pm Monkey Planet 5:45pm Points of View 6:00pm Songs of Praise 6:45pm Pointless 7:35pm BBC News 7:50pm Regional News 7:55pm Weather 8:00pm Countryfile 9:00pm Antiques Roadshow 10:00pm The Crimson Field 11:00pm BBC News 11:15pm Regional News 11:20pm Weather 11:25pm Have I Got a Bit More News for You

6:45pm Pointless 7:30pm BBC News 7:45pm Regional News 7:55pm Weather 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm Bang Goes the Theory 9:00pm EastEnders 9:30pm Miranda 10:00pm When Corden Met Barlow 11:00pm BBC News 11:15pm Regional News 11:18pm Weather 11:20pm Match of the Day 2

5:30pm The Hairy Bikers' Food Tour of Britain 6:15pm Antiques Roadshow 6:55pm Party Election Broadcast 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Escape to the Continent 8:30pm Great British Menu 9:00pm The Big Allotment Challenge 10:00pm Watermen: A Dirty Business 11:00pm Later Live with Jools 11:30pm Newsnight

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Wednesday BBC1/ 4:00pm Escape to the Country 4:45pm Spring Kitchen with Tom Kerridge 5:30pm Flog It! 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm Regional News 8:00pm The One Show 9:00pm MasterChef 10:00pm Vertigo Roadtrip 11:00pm BBC News 11:25pm Regional News 11:30pm Weather 11:35pm Party Election Broadcast by the Green Party 11:40pm Match of the Day

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FINANCE

EUROPEAN PRESS

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1 - 7 May 2014 / Mallorca

EWN

The End Of Financial Privacy Over the last 15 years there have been a number of initiatives to clamp down on offshore tax evasion, each one whittling away at financial privacy as we knew it. The Savings Tax Directive in 2005, with its automatic exchange of information on savings income, was revolutionary at the time, but far from the end of the story. We will now see the introduction of global automatic exchange of financial information. The 2008 financial crisis prompted governments, desperate to increase tax revenue, to renew the campaign against offshore tax evasion. Offshore centres fell into line and around 1,100 new tax information exchange agreements were signed within four years. These are bilateral agreements between two jurisdictions and generally provide for information provided on request. Last year saw a pivotal move to multilateral agreements, where several countries share vital information. This will happen automatically each year, regardless of whether someone is

by Peter Worthington, Senior Partner, Blevins Franks

suspected of tax evasion or not. This new approach dates back to 2010, when the US enacted its Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). It requires foreign financial institutions around the world to report account details of American customers to the US authorities. Working with the G5 (Spain, UK, France, Germany and Italy), they developed a model for the “intergovernmental agreement” to be used to implement FATCA.

In April 2013, the G5 announced their intention to exchange FATCA-type information and promote it as the global system of automatic information exchange. Over 40 jurisdictions have since joined the pilot group. In September, G20 leaders announced plans to introduce automatic exchange of information as the global standard. Then in February, the Organisation for Cooperation and Development (OECD), working with the G20, released the Common Reporting Standard covering the reporting and due diligence rules to be imposed on financial institutions around the world. The Standard is specifically designed with a broad scope across three dimensions: • The financial information to be reported includes all types of investment income, and account balances and sales proceeds from financial assets. • Besides banks, custodians,

brokers, certain collective investment vehicles and certain insurance companies need to report. • Reportable accounts cover those held by individuals and entities such as trusts. Financial institutions will determine the residence of each client and collect data on their assets and income. This will be forwarded to the tax authorities in the clients’ country of residence. The OECD lists the main benefits of automatic exchange as: • Provides timely information on non-compliance where tax has been evaded on the investment income or underlying capital sum. • Helps detect cases of noncompliance even where the tax authorities have no previous indications of non-compliance. • Deters tax evasion, encouraging taxpayers to report all relevant information • May help educate taxpayers in their reporting obligations, thus increasing tax revenues. The EU’s Savings Tax Directive

is also being revised to cover investment funds, pensions and innovative financial instruments, and capture payments made through trusts. A further Directive will cover other income. The EU is also closer to reaching agreements with Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco and San Marino on their revision of their savings agreements. How could the loss of financial privacy affect you? Are you sure your tax planning is fully compliant? Are your assets as tax efficient as possible or are you paying more tax than necessary? What happens when your beneficiaries inherit your assets? International tax planning is very complex these days. To ensure that you save tax wherever possible, and in a fully legitimate manner, is it essential to seek specialist advice. To keep in touch with the latest developments in the offshore world, check out the latest news on our website www.blevinsfranks.com.

32 E W N

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1 - 7 May 2014 / Mallorca

OPINION & COMMENT

Rot set in with trendy teachers T

HE reports this week that British schoolchildren were some of the most badly behaved in Europe didn’t surprise me one bit. This particular rot started years ago when the first ‘trendy’, left-wing teacher turned up in jeans and a teeshirt, perched himself on the corner of his desk and told the class to call him John. That was the day respect went out of the window; schools were doomed and virtually guaranteed to descend into the unruly mire they now find themselves in. Children need discipline. If they don’t get it they will push and push in a constant endeavour to see just how far they can go. This is actually a desperate search for security. Until young minds know the boundaries, they are constantly at a loss and utterly insecure in their young and often confusing formative years. Not giving them the discipline they need is

NO DISCIPLINE: Children need boundaries.

LEAPY LEE SAYS IT OTHERS THINK IT to my mind bordering on child abuse. The mother, who was reported last week as purposely giving her four offspring a completely free rein in their upbringing, is on a trip doomed to failure. I have seen the results of this particular parenting ‘path’ before. When I was in the States,

many years ago, I was invited to the home of film actor James Mason and his wife Pamela. They were bringing up their children on a no-discipline basis. To see their son of around 14 smoking a cigar and drinking a beer as he sat watching TV was bad enough. However, the interesting youngster was the daughter, Portland, who was around 18. She was almost too timid to even say hello. What had

occurred was, that on moving out into the world, she had discovered that in real life you simply couldn’t do exactly as you pleased. Realising this, she had become totally withdrawn and almost frightened to say boo to a goose. A direct result of not being taught the boundaries in life that keep us from total anarchy. I also feel that this parental attitude is down to bone idleness. How much easier to

simply let ’em get away with everything, than having to control and risk confrontations with their offspring. Show me a child who has been correctly and fairly taught the rules and I’ll generally show you a well-adjusted human being, confidently facing a world that can only exist within the boundaries of discipline and order. Slight slip last week (which was gleefully pounced on by a number of you). Muslims are allowed four wives by the Koran, not five as I stated. However, in my defence, they are actually allowed one mistress. A sort of ‘spare’ as it were. So my statement wasn’t that much adrift By the time you read this I shall be back in Mallorca with my lovely children. Wheeee! Thanks, Tenerife, it has been a blast.

Keep the faith Love Leapy Leapylee2002@gmail.com

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Cryptic

Quick

Across 1 Shaking in rage - get back (6) 5 Quite eye catching (6) 8 Of a female lover for a champion (4) 9 Could start Serbian riot for firearms (8) 10 Produce blended green tea (8) 11 I be cross with a goat (4) 12 A sailor coming back for a book of maps (5) 14 Long time getting to the point (5) 18 Bans plastic bags (4) 20 Head furniture maker? (8) 22 Copy isles Ken designed (8) 23 Signal to a famous cyclist? (4) 24 Deprived female in a hat (6) 25 Ramblers problem - sores (5) Down 2 Meet Len in order to design a component (7) 3 Only an advance, say (5) 4 Canter around for a delicious drink (6) 5 Confer with beaten player (6) 6 The journalist has ice if in the building (7) 7 Signature tune from ‘The

Meeting House’ (5) 13 Hard stone in gold before (7) 15 Causes for change of season after the third of March (7) 16 A Canadian's first coin, in a manner of speaking (6)

17 Heard one taking hold of Roman leader (6) 19 A Spanish acceptance of French digression (5) 21 Wanders around for nothing, among the sheep (5)

Code Breaker Each number in the Code Breaker grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. In this week’s puzzle, 25 represents F and 10 represents Z, so fill in F every time the figure 25 appears and Z every time the figure 10 appears. Now, using your knowledge of the English language, work out which letters should go in the missing squares. As you discover the letters, fill in other squares with the same number in the main grid and the control grid.

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTIONS CRYPTIC Across: 1 Tears, 4 Raisin, 9 Emanate, 10 Start, 11 Eden, 12 Carmine, 13 Sue, 14 Heap, 16 Edam, 18 Lid, 20 Archive, 21 Base, 24 Think, 25 Profile, 26 Rugged, 27 Asset. Down: 1 Thebes, 2 Aware, 3 Scam, 5 Assorted, 6 Stamina, 7 Nether, 8 Peace, 13 Sprinkle, 15 Etching, 17 Halter, 18 Leapt, 19 Behest, 22 Amiss, 23 Goya. QUICK Across: 1 Dromedary, 4 Ass, 6 Aware, 8 Khaki, 9 Amend, 10 Reach, 11 Cravat, 13 Appeal, 16 Style, 17 Raise, 19 Macaw, 20 Algae, 21 All, 22 Mardi Gras. Down: 1 Drastic, 2 Osaka, 3 Aikido, 4 Agitate, 5 Slash, 7 Elevate, 10 Replica, 12 Abysmal, 14 Larders, 15 Brewer, 16 Salsa, 18 Eager.

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

English - Spanish The clues are mixed, some clues are in Spanish and some are in English. Across 1 Employer (9) 5 Gusto (sentido) (5) 7 To take out (5) 9 Six hundred (11) 10 Motorbikes (5) 11 Cansado (fatigado) (5) 13 Embalse (9) Down 1 Comer (comida) (3) 2 Ejercicios (físico) (9) 3 To wake up (9) 4 Faces (body parts) (5) 6 Falda (prenda) (5) 8 To quote (writer, line, passage, source) (5) 9 To add up (5) 12 To give (3)

Hexagram The purpose of the Hexagram puzzle is to place the 19 six-letter words into the 19 cells. The letters at the edges of interlocking cells MUST BE THE SAME. The letters in the words must be written CLOCKWISE. The word in cell 10 (COBBLE) and one letter in four other cells are given as clues. ASSURE

LONELY

ENGLISH-SPANISH Across: 1 Socks, 3 Chalk, 6 Loar, 7 Barato, 9 Caracoles, 12 Cartas, 13 Pavo, 14 Ounce, 15 Tears.

BAIRNS

RECEDE

BARELY

SAYING

CACKLE

SEARED

CHEERS

SHRILL

CHEERY

SOILED

Down: 1 Sala, 2 Chaparron, 3 Clavos, 4 Ama de casa, 5 Knot, 8 Pasaje, 10 Ocio, 11 Dogs.

CLOSER

SPEARS

COBBLE (10)

USABLE

ELDERS

WATERS

INVERT

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

Funagram Unscramble the name of a television game show (one word): STOCKS RUBBLE FUNAGRAM SOLUTION: BARRY MANILOW, BLOCKBUSTERS

Unscramble the name of a famous American singer-songwriter and producer: LIBRARY WOMAN

Across 1 December 24 (9,3) 7 Ambience (4) 8 Parts of a whole (8) 9 Military engagement (6) 10 Pictures (6) 11/16 Become empty of water (3,3) 12 Abnormally high body temperature (5) 14 Commonplace (5) 16 See 11 18 Increase threefold (6) 20 Overindulgence (6) 22 Lasting two years (8) 23 Very light coloured (4) 24 At infrequent intervals (4,2,1,5) Down 1 Bravery (7) 2 Respond to (5) 3 Evening meal (6) 4 Edge (6) 5 Corkscrew shapes (7) 6 Scene (5) 13 Obliterate (7) 15 Free from blame (7) 16 Draw up plans for (6) 17 Colour between green and orange (6) 19 Rule (5) 21 Italian island (5)

1 Elders, 2 Pallet, 3 Cheers, 4 Either, 5 Dealer, 6 Reacts, 7 Healer, 8 Render, 9 Rivers, 10 Lender, 11 Rulers, 12 Desert, 13 Deeper, 14 Breach, 15 Meters, 16 Plumed, 17 Reader, 18 Seduce, 19 Formed

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OPINION & COMMENT

Attract more of what you want Sally Trotman Based in Mallorca, Sally Trotman is a qualified Counsellor who works with Astrology, Numerology and the Tarot. Each month she will deliver the forecast as an intuitive tool to aid increased self awareness.

www.sallytrotman.com

WOULD you like to discover how to attract more of what you want into your life? The answer is simple - be truly grateful for what you already have! May 1 is the perfect day to give thanks for all the blessings in your life. When you share your feelings of gratitude with others it is even more powerful, so this would be a great day to chat with a friend over a cuppa whilst discussing the many blessings in your life. As you give thanks for everything in your life you will start to feel good, and this good feeling will then help you to quickly attract even more of what you desire! The first two weeks of May are the perfect time for you to

strengthen the foundations in every area of your life. The influence of the new moon in Taurus at the end of April will help you to make practical plans. Whether you wish to develop your business, move to a new location, or improve communication with those close to you, this earthy sign is helping you to create both inner and outer stability. The full moon on May 14 is the time at which Buddhaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s birthday is celebrated. The teachings of Buddhism are to be present, and develop an attitude of loving kindness towards yourself and others. By being in the moment you are truly giving thanks for the gift of life and this in turn will create a feeling of peace within your mind. Practise being in the moment whenever you remember, simply by focusing on your breath. By taking three deep breaths you will soon forget about the past. By creating a calm and peaceful mindset in the present moment you will create a peaceful and happy future.

month. Listen to your ideas, work with others to implement them and create a strong, grounded plan so that your ideas manifest quickly.

Learn how to live passionately!

BREATHING TECHNIQUES: Create a feeling of peace. The full moon this month is ruled by the transformative sign of Scorpio, which is helping you to get in touch with your true passions! When confused about which direction to take in life, always follow the path which excites you the most. This month is a great time to master your mind, and emotions. All too often your busy mind,

which can too easily become filled with thoughts of fear and doubt, will take you right off track. Stay true to yourself and do only what you love. May is the fifth month of the year, and the number five is an expansive, sociable number. Think of the five-pointed star and this will give you an idea of the potential for expansion this

This month I am holding two workshops so that you can learn how to follow your bliss. During these workshops you will discover how you can change your thoughts by learning simple breathing techniques, following guided visualisation meditation and taking the passion test! These workshops will be held on the evenings of May 1 and 14 from 7pm-9pm at a location in Palma (Mallorca) close to Las Ramblas. I also offer individual sessions in Palma and via Skype. Please visit my website for more information about workshops and individuals sessions: www.sallytrotman.com

FEATURE

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Advertising Feature

Euro remains unchanged against sterling and the dollar Commentary by Moneycorp

EUR The euro’s moment came on Thursday with a speech by the European Central Bank president. He said the ECB was ready “to deal effectively with... low inflation.” He also spoke of the deflationary danger of a rising euro. Normally such comments would have sent the euro lower but investors doubt that Sig. Draghi will be called upon to make good his pledge. It was therefore unchanged on the week against sterling and the dollar.

USD There was worrying news from the US residential property sector with a sharp monthly fall in new home sales. If the property market has weakened as quickly as the last few ecostats suggest, it could encourage the Federal Reserve to wait even longer before it takes interest rates higher. But the news hardly put a dent in the dollar. It was unchanged on the week against sterling and the euro. CAD The Bank of Canada pointed out in its

Clarisse Musselwhite is Moneycorp’s Account Manager for Mallorca

She can be contacted on Tel: +34 902 887 243 Mobile: +34 687 932 472 Email:mallorca@moneycorp.com

902887243 mallorca@moneycorp.com monthly statement that investors should not assume the next move for Canadian interest rates will be upwards. The comment weighed on the Loonie but its effect was diluted by figures the following day which showed inflation accelerating by more than expected to 1.5 per cent. The net effect was to leave the Canadian dollar unchanged on the week against sterling, the euro and the US dollar.

AUD The Aussie’s defining moment came with the first quarter inflation data. Instead of the 3.2 per cent figure analysts had predicted, prices went up by only 2.9 per cent in the year to March. As it reduced upward pressure on interest rates, investors sold the Aussie on the news. The week cost the Australian dollar three quarters of a US cent and one euro cent. It was down by a cent and a quarter against sterling. NZD The Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s decision to raise its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 3 per cent was positive for the NZ dollar. But the move was so expected its impact was fleeting. The Kiwi was down by half a US cent and lost one cent to sterling.

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& DRINKS

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FOOD & DRINK

Costa de Almeria’s best guide to local sport

Mallorca’s best guide for local restaurants

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Dressings and accessories are essential for plain salads SUMMER and salads go together like gin and tonic but sometimes it can be a little difficult to make them interesting; we usually just put oil and vinegar on them, or salad cream, but the more salads you eat the more dressings and accessories you need. With just a few basic ingredients, you can make the same meal taste completely different. As well as the obvious (mayonnaise) you can substitute the oil with ripe avocado flesh, coconut milk, cream or even hummus. The

SUMMER SALADS: Dressings and accessories can make your meal taste completely vinegar can be replaced by almost any citric fruit juice; even grapefruit. Mustard, ginger or sour

cream also work well. As far as accessories go you may want to add bacon (any meat really), bits of

toast, bits of fruit, beans or even bread. Finish off with a herb such as dill, oregano or cilantro.

Pimms is one of the world’s best cocktails for summer

PIMMS: Add whatever fruit you can find plus some cucumber.

PIMMS is one of the world’s favourite cocktails, but how did it all start and does it really need borage? James Pimm started with an oyster business in the industrial area of east London in 1823 but soon realised there was more money, and fun, in alcoholic drinks. Pimm teamed up with

Samuel Morey in 1860 to start commercialising the drink through his oyster business which had become a restaurant. In winter they served it hot as a sort of toddy and in summer cold with all the accessories. Bar Pimm Oyster became one of the ‘in’ places and was taken over by Sir Horace

David Davies, a bon viveur, MP and mayor of London between 1897 and 1898. Pimms became an independent distillery in 1906 and international distribution came with expansion. The basic ingredients are whatever fruit you can find, cucumber plus Pimms and a sprig of herb - it doesn’t have to be borage!

PROPERTY

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Property TO READ MORE VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

Advertising Feature

Home & Yacht Finest Bed Linen Expands AFTER a hugely successful year of their new showroom in Santa Catalina, Home & Yacht Finest Bed Linen is proud to announce the opening of a new division within the company. Their new Home & Yacht interior division has been a project that company directors Danny Burnard and Philip Hay have developed through customer demand. Danny Burnard, director of Home & Yacht Finest Bed Linen said, “A client said how great it was to choose crew linens made in house whilst at the same time have us make bespoke master linens or choose brand names. She asked us why we didn’t do the same for interior products.” Three months on, Home & Yacht Finest Bed Linen launched

THE TEAM: Danny and Philip had successful year. their interiors division offering everything from logo door/dock mats, luggage mats, brand name crockery and glassware, bespoke

table cloths, freeze dried roses, bespoke mattresses and by Flex Beds, rattan basket, shoe boxes and much more.

Developed to create a centre where clients can meet for a coffee and discuss their linen and interior requirements, the showroom has already become a centre of choice for stewardesses and property managers. Recently they were pleased to add the renowned fragrances of Jo Malone to their yacht amenities collections. With brands such as Molten Brown and Rituals they have a great range to create some wonderful fragrance zones on board or at home. Home & Yacht Finest Bed Linen is the largest yacht bed linen showroom in the Balearics. Most recently they secured the exclusive distribution for Frette Bespoke bed linens for the Balearics, enhancing their existing

distributor deals from Schlossberg Switzerland and Zimmer Rhode and Escada. Home & Yacht Finest Bed Linen is currently the only company to produce guest and staff/crew bed linens in-house from their range of Italian woven Egyptian cotton. Whilst at the same time offering exclusive brand names and their own ready-made products for the yachting industry, homes and hotels., they also produce linens for other companies in the Balearics and the mainland. So whether it is luxury linens or tableware items they can help. www.finestbedlinen.com info@finestbedlinen.com + (34) 697 914 233 Calle Caro 9 Santa Catalina, Palma De Mallorca.

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PROPERTY

Hopes rise for knock on effect from UK market HOPES are rising for the Spanish property sector as the UK market surges ahead. Traditionally in Spain British buyers have a strong influence on the market, especially on the Costas. As people in the UK feel richer as house values increase many have in the past been tempted to use their equity to fund a second home in Spain. With Spanish prices still at low levels it is hoped that a resurgent UK

market will have a knock on effect in Spain. UK home owners expect property prices to rise by 8.8 per cent on average over the next six months, double the rate of growth predicted last year as market confidence rises, a new survey has found. As a result some 42 per cent of home owners plan to invest in home improvements to capitalise on growth, according to the latest Zoopla Housing

PROPERTY SALES: Growing strongly.

Market Sentiment survey. It also found there is a significant increase in the number of home owners planning to buy a property this year. The survey of 4,972 UK home owners found that a record 95 per cent expect house prices to rise over the next six months, up from 74 per cent this time last year. Some 3 per cent of those surveyed stated that they expect prices to remain flat over the next six months and only 2 per cent predict house prices will fall over that period, down significantly from 13 per cent one year ago. In anticipation of expected strong pricing gains, 42 per cent of those home owners surveyed plan to carry out home improvements over the next six months. And stronger confidence in the housing market has also led to a sharp increase in those planning to move with 31 per cent planning to buy a property in the next 12 months, up from 22 per cent in January. Londoners remain the most bullish about the health of the property market, with 97 per cent of homeowners in the capital expecting house prices to rise further over the next past with the first quarter six months and predicting of 2014 showing a decline average price growth of 12 in prices of 1.1 per cent per cent. compared to the previous In a positive sign for the quarter. wider market, the largest But despite the slow- jump in confidence was down prices are still edging found in Wales where the down; the latest figures proportion of owners who were the 49th straight expect property prices to quarter of price falls. increase over the next six In June 2013 the price months has risen from 85 fell in all Spanish regions, per cent to 92 per cent in with six registering double- just three months. digit declines year-on-year. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As properties receive In December just two more viewings from interregions had double digit ested buyers, smart sellers falls compared to the are seeing all the signs of previous December - La demand in the market and Rioja and Navarra. are looking to capitalise on By contrast the latest potential capital gains to be figures show prices rose had," said Lawrence Hall of quarter to quarter in four Zoopla. regions, and that could be The hope in Spain is that the first sign of a change in increasing confidence will trends. Another sign is the lead to more sales in this number of mortgages to be country from Britons lookapproved has jumped up. ing for a home in the sun.

Good news as sales up and prices are stabilising THE good news for the property market is that sales are up, the numbers of mortgages approved are rising and prices are stabilising, leading to hopes that the sector may have finally turned the corner. Property sales grew strongly, increasing by nearly 40 per cent in February compared to 2013. The figures could be distorted, however, because a subsidy scheme ended a year previously, meaning sales were extremely low as most purchasers had completed their deals previously to cash in, so the latest figures showing the increase are compared to a low base. But even then the signs are encouraging as sales seem now to be on an upward trend as it was the

second month in a row of rising sales. That is corroborated as the rate of house price falls has slowed, and it is starting to look as if the market may have hit bottom The value of property sold so far this year has steadied and there was a slight increase in average selling price in the last three months. A recent report from Fotocasa.es showed that the market for resale property is finally flattening out after a dreadful 2013. Last year the property website registered big falls in prices, in June the Fotocasa.es real estate index saw an 11.8 per cent fall in prices year-on-year. That sort of decline is now hopefully a thing of the

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For daily news visit www.euroweeklynews.com INTERNET DRIVING LESSONS LEARN TO DRIVE IN MALLORCA. Scottish Driving Instructor now qualified to teach in Mallorca. Classes in English or Spanish. Obtain your Spanish licence easier or have refresher lessons and get behind that wheel. Interested! Call 648 133 929 (201557)

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WE ARE currently the market leader in our country in the sale of direct car, motorbike, home and company fleet insurance. Since we started out in 1995, our philosophy has always been to offer an excellent service with the best prices in the market. For the most competitive quotes in English, call Linea Directa on 902 123 309. (200726)

Price per word: 0,42€ + IVA minimum 15 words - Discount: Book 10 weeks, get 2 weeks free - Deadline: 4pm Mondays Contact: Phone (0034) 971 682 795 • Fax (0034) 971 680 438 • email classifieds@euroweeklynews.com • www.euroweeklynews.com

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PETS PET-COURIERS.COM – If you love your pet try us first – we are the best. Door to door service throughout Europe. Specialised vehicles – bespoke service. Full legal service including documentation if required. For further information call or e-mail us: Tel: (0034) 651 033 670 or (0034) 637 066 227. Email: info@pet-couriers.com or www.pet-couriers.com

PARTY HIRE

FELIX Dog and Cat Kennels. Based at Manacor. Boarding available. Home sitting Island wide. Tel 689 795 049 WANTED PET: a pure bred male. Schaefer, Bulldog or Labrador. From May onwards. We are a mature adult couple living in Alcudia. Please email: soda1123@msn.com (224721)

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PROPERTY FOR RENT LLUCMAJOR. Completely furnished first floor apartment with 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, kitchen, lounge, terrace, 450 euros/month. Ref 2940 Inmobiliaria Llucmajor. Tel 971 662 402 (222097)

PROPERTY FOR SALE CALONGE, 2 bed 2 bath, centralheating, klima, sea views, pool, garage. €275.000 - private sale, real estate welcome. Tel. 0034 971 64 84 10 - 0034 619 22 14 14 pics: calador@sacoma.es (220327)

PROPERTY SERVICES BRITISH property services in Mallorca. Construction & home reform services. Our promise: We WILL beat any price like for like ISLANDWIDE. All work guaranteed. See our large advert in this edition. Contact us at enquiries@j-mac.es or tel 971 230 136 (216932)

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SITUATIONS VACANT HGV Class 1 European drivers UK/European tramping. Day workers 6/5 day shift patterns, many locations throughout UK. Excellent rates. Call 0044 7846 624312 or email camb scontractors@live.com (222314)

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Maserati celebrate with Heidi Klum MASERATI, continued to celebrate its 100 years of history with a seven-page pictorial featuring supermodel Heidi Klum called ‘Beyond the Swimsuit’ in the introduction iconic American magazine Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 50th Anniversary issue. “We started our next 100 years of craftsmanship by kicking off 2014 with the launch of one of the best received Super Bowl commercials ‘Strike’ featuring the all new Maserati Ghibli, and extending the brand to another massive Sports cultural icon, Illustrated Swimsuit 50th Anniversary issue, ” said Harald Wester, CEO of Maserati. “I had a great time driving the new Maseratis for their new campaign shot by Francesco Carrozzini,” said Klum. Shot by Italian Master Photographer, Francesco Carrozzini, the seven-page pictorial piece ‘Beyond the Swimsuit’ brought together ‘day in the life’ scenes that befit one of the world’s most famous women, Heidi Klum, the Hollywood star with the glamorous Quattroporte Ermenegildo Zegna

HEIDI KLUM: Features in pictorial.

Volkswagen rolls out the new Polo VOLKSWAGEN is rolling out the international advertising campaign for the new Polo, which celebrated its market launch on April 25. Under the motto ‘Drive confident. Drive the

advanced new Polo,’ the campaign focuses on the comfort and safety technologies offered by the new Polo as one of the top cars in its class. These include assistance systems such as the Front Assist surroundings monitoring

system with City Emergency Braking and the Automatic Distance Control ACC as well as Driver Alert, which detects fatigue. For the first time, the new Polo will be offering LED headlights as an optional extra. According to AndersSundt Jensen, Head of Marketing Communications at the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand, “for the first time, the new Polo offers a unique NEW POLO: International advertising campaign.

range of assistance systems that were previously reserved for higher vehicle segments. That deserves to be showcased and this campaign is designed to do precisely that.”

BEYOND THE SWIMSUIT: Brought together ‘day in the life scenes.’ Limited Edition, the businesswoman with the Ghibli S Q4, and the thrill-seeker with the GranTurismo MC Trofeo Race Car. This is also a nod to a brand with proven tradition and one of the highest standards of quality in the industry, which has been hard at work engineering automobiles that will usher them into the next 100 years of innovation automobiles with their own power and personality capable of striking against the status quo.

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PALMA BOAT SHOW

Palma International Boat Show is here at last… WITH the Palma International Boat Show upon us, the expectation is that it will be another

great year. After a break in 2012 the show returned last year for a record breaking

year, and in 2014 it will be bigger than ever after a string of improvements. Guy Norrish from longterm exhibitor Marina Estrella commented: “Following a 2012 hiatus, the comeback 2013 Palma International Boat Show was a real hit. The new format of fewer days, better opening times, more boats on the water and reasonable ticket prices suited both exhibitors and visitors. The Palma Superyacht Show, which now runs alongside the mainstream event, is growing from 47 yachts over 24 metres in 2013 to 65 or more for 2014. The show runs from today (Wednesday) until May 4. For the first time Pier 2 will be connected to Pier 3 by a swing bridge which will not only allow boats

to exit for sea trials but also enable visitors to walk around the show in a continuous flow - from superyachts to ‘normal,’ and vice versa. This year’s show will benefit from the recent completion of Moll Vell Marina’s €6.5 million makeover which releases 25 per cent more on-land exhibition space previously taken over by construction work. Meanwhile the new pier configuration will increase the number of berths overall from 110 in 2013 to 200 in 2014. Once again superyachts, for sale or for charter, will have a major presence, with vessels up to 70 metres in length on display. Regattas, tapas and other cultural events will also enhance the show.

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PALMA BOAT SHOW

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PALMA BOAT SHOW

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Advertising Feature

Leisure Marine for and for dealing wit LEISURE MARINE in Santa Ponsa has a long history of boat sales, new and pre-owned. Sea Ray and Beneteau are just some of the top brands that they work with. They take good care of customers who, year after year, buy their boats from them and entrust them to Leisure Marineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s care. The company is located at Club Nautico Santa Ponsa, Locals C and D. They sell both power boats and sailing yachts from six metres to 36 metres. As well as taking very good care of their clientsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; boats, they also manage moorings, finance and insurance services. At Leisure Marine they have a very personal

relationship with their clients. Many of them are first time buyers, but then go on to buy bigger boats placing full trust in them. They also arrange moorings in other places for whenever clients want to go sailing, even down to booking restaurants, so that the client has a stress free time. For Sea Ray owners, Leisure Marine holds its Aquapalooza every year which is where customers and staff get together and party. People meet other Sea Ray owners and make

LEISURE MARI new friends Although based in Santa Ponsa covering mainly south west Mallorca, Leisure Marine has clients all over the island.

PALMA BOAT SHOW

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the personal touch th the top brands

INE: As well as sales, also have a full service team available. They started 24 years ago doing service, maintenance, chandlery and the occasional boat sale, but the boat sales took over and now they deal mainly in sales but also have a

full service team to take good care of the boats Throughout the year they have really good promotions on new boats. They let buyers

know when these are happening so they can take advantage of fantastic opportunities which are very difficult to find elsewhere. For more information please contact them via e-mail sales@leisuremarine.com, telephone +34 971 695 738, fax +34 971 693 916, mobile +34 629 748 477. They are open from Monday to Friday 9am until 6pm and Saturday 10am until 2pm. However, you can contact them by mobile outside office hours.

LEISURE MARINE, Janet Cain, Club Nautico Santa Ponsa, Via de la Cruz 46. www.leisure-marine.com

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SPORT

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Sport

Tito Vilanova Tito Vilanova, who made Barcelona ‘great,’ has died aged 45 and ex-Rangers and Scotland defender Sandy Jardine has passed away, aged 65.

Mallorca’s best guide to local sport

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By Lynda Demangeat AFTER a busy weekend of matches played in Son Caliu, Madrid was awarded the winner’s trophy in the Orange Rugby Challenge in which five teams from provinces in Spain participated. Teams from Madrid, Navarra, Valencia, Cataluña and the home Baleares team played each other on Saturday to determine who would play for the top two places and then third and fourth. The finals were played on Sunday with Cataluña playing a tough match against Madrid who were only able to score three points to nothing, but enough to give them the Championship. Valencia took third place and the Baleares team showed the high level of rugby now to be found in the Islands by beating Navarra by 25 points to nil to take fourth place.

Pablo Mateu Zelarayan

Madrid U16s crowned champions

HOME TEAM: Baleares against Madrid. To round off a full day of rugby in Son Caliu on Saturday, El Toro RC played a friendly match against a team from Handsworth RFUC. The guys were out for a weekend to enjoy a break in the Mallorcan sun and a rugby match was a good excuse to let off some steam and sample some ‘Spanish’ rugby. The players and supporters had arrived on Thursday and had been enjoying the local hospitality so were not particularly ready to play rugby. It was a very good-natured game in which the home team

took the opportunity to present some of next season’s seniors and give them chance to taste a match with the ‘big boys.’ The match began with a fast start for Handsworth who spent the first 10 minutes in the opponents half trying to score. This didn’t last long and once El Toro RC found their rhythm the visitors didn’t stand a chance as the home team kept the tries coming. The final score was 81 points to 12 and the two teams took part in the traditional ‘tercer tiempo’ after the match. Requests to return the match in Birmingham were offered with the promise of the ‘First’ team to play against, as their captain had been unwilling to let them join in the friendly in case of injuries ahead of an important cup final match next weekend.